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Jon bid his mother goodbye, ready to ride off with his father to Kings Landing, but was confused as to why his mother seemed so desperate for them to do everything possible to keep their wolves with them and safe. Jon really thought nothing of it until a couple of weeks into the journey when he and Arya had snuck away to practice her sword fighting, their parents had always supported her learning, with the understanding that no was to know about it as it was an unladylike ability. Jon just secretly thought their mother wanted Arya to be underestimated as an added source of protection.
Sansa had followed them, and was sitting on the grass a short ways off, her bow sitting at her side, waiting patiently for her turn to work with her brother. Of all the Stark the two girls were by far the most skilled with a bow, though he would forever have a hard time telling which was better.
He was the one who spent the most time teaching his younger siblings as Theon Greyjoy was always following Robb like a lost pup, and making jokes when the younger ones didn't quite get something right. After seeing more than enough downtrodden looks on Sansa and Bran's faces, and having true concern that Arya might actually kill their father's ward Robb and Jon decided it would be best for Jon to do the teaching and Robb to distract Theon.
"What's this, too weak to take on a proper opponent so you have to fight a little girl?" Jon was ready to just ignore the snide voice and escort his sisters back to camp when he heard the sound of steel being drawn. "I'd be glad to give you a proper lesson bastard."
"That's live steel, Jon only has a tourney sword, it wouldn't be a fair fight." Sansa was quick to jump in, trying to diffuse the situation.
"It wouldn't be fair for the queen's bastard you mean, even with just a tourney sword Jon could beat him with one hand tied behind his back, he's one of the best fighters in Winterfell" Arya was quick to jump in, and Jon knew there would be trouble by how quickly the prince's face turned colors.
"Call me a bastard again and it will be the last thing you do." He focused all his hatred on Arya, and Jon saw Sansa reaching for her bow even as he gripped the pommel of his sword even tighter. Against a skilled fighter wielding live steel his tourney sword wouldn't stand a chance, which is why he was grateful Joffrey wasn't a skilled fighter.
"It's what you are isn't it? The bastard son of your mother's twin brother who will be shipped off to who knows where when the king puts a true heir in your mother's belly and no longer needs you to pretend." Arya fired back.
From what Jon understood the King tried to hush up the fact that there was a very real possibility that the royal children were not his trueborn children for fear that the news would destabilize the realm. He also didn't set aside the queen and send her and her children back to her father, or worse, kill them all, because he needed her father as an ally. Jon had over heard the king tell his father that the realm owed Tywin Lannister a huge debt, so could not afford to make an enemy of him. It was why Jamie Lannister had been let off so easy after trying to kill him and Bran, and had just been removed from the Kingsguard. Unfortunately, the rumors hadn't been stopped and the whispers were slowly spreading, though Jon didn't know it that truly mattered as so many people seemed to fear this Tywin Lannister that he was sure no one would go against the man whether or not the rumors were true. It seemed to him it would take something truly horrendous to stir people to move against him, and with the rumors of him being behind the slaughter of Elia Martell and her children Jon didn't think there ever would be anything.
He pushed all thoughts aside when he saw Joffrey lunge at Arya, blocking the blow meant for her with his sword. He heard Sansa's frightened scream, and blocked out everything around him so as not to be distracted in the fight. He knew the fight would have been over quickly if they had been equally armed as Joffrey had no fineness to his fighting style, his swings were wild, and big leaving plenty of openings that Jon would normally happily take advantage of, had it not been for the fact that the prince was wielding live steel, and he didn't want to risk accidentally getting his head taken off.
Eventually he saw what looked to be the safest opening, lunging forward and luckily disarming the prince. "Stay down." He growled as he tried to catch his breath, waiting to see if the prince would heed his warning. When the arrogant blond showed no signs of getting up he turned and made his way to his sister, ready to take her back to the camp. He had no time to process anything before he heard snarling, and found Nymeria had sunk her teeth into the prince while Ghost had positioned himself protectively in front of him and his sister.
"Call it off! Call it off!" The prince started shrieking, and Arya called panicking for her wolf to let the prince go, Nymeria releasing him after the first command!
"Jon! Arya!" They both turned at the sound of their father's voice, and saw him, the king, the queen, and a few members of the royal party watching them, "Take your wolves and return to our tent, your sister is worried sick."
"Please Father, don't let them hurt Nymeria, she was just trying to protect us." It was the closest he'd ever seen his sister come to tears and instantly his father softened.
"I assure you no harm come to your wolf." He then hardened his voice and turned to the king, "Will it your grace?"
"Aye, the beast is safe." The King agreed, and instantly the queen was in a rage.
"That beast mauled our son." The woman argued, obviously displeased with her husband's decision.
"Aye, after your son tried to attack her master when their back was turned, Joffrey got what was coming to him, got off lucky too if you ask me, i remember what the boy's wolf did to your precious brother's hand." The king seemed to get some sort of pleasure from speaking that last bit, before turning to one of the guards, "Selmy, escort the Hand's children back to his tent, make sure they come to no harm." He then turned to the queen, "You return back to your tent as well, I wont have you here for him to hide behind your skirts."
"And who will be escorting me back to my tent?" The Queen icily asked.
"You damn well know where the blasted thing is, you can make it back there yourself." Ser Barristan set off after that statement, leaving Jon and Arya no choice but to follow.
The two dutifully followed the old knight, and found their sister sobbing in their father's tent, being comforted by the Septa. "There now, see, both your brother and sister are perfectly fine."
"Thank the Gods, I didn't think I would make it back in time to tell Father that Joffrey had attacked you." Sansa sobbed as she threw her arms around him, Arya pouring their sister some water in the hopes of calming her down.
"So it was you who sent father and the king to us." the teary eyed girl nodded, "You may have just saved Nymeria's life. The Prince tried to attack when our backs were turned, but Nymeria bit him in the arm, while Ghost took up post in front of us.
"Father and King Robert saw the whole thing and silenced the queen when she started to argue that her son had been hurt." Arya was quick to jump in, excited to fill their sister in in everything she had missed.
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"Were you able to finish your lessons before you were interrupted?" Ned asked his children when he returned to the tent after making sure his friend dealt with the Queen's son.
Catelyn, Robert, and Luwin had all explained to him why they felt it important to continue the farce that Joffrey was Robert's heir, but Ned still found the deceit left a bitter taste in his mouth. It was the reason Robert refused to end the betrothal between Sansa and Joffrey, the fear that Tywin Lannister would know the prince would be set aside, and not be king. However when Ned said it was not a reason to force his daughter to marry Cercie's bastard Robert had flown off the handle and thus came the threat to marry his daughter to the Imp if he were to back out. He had never expected his daughter to speak up and say she would prefer a kind husband to a handsome one, he just wished he could have given her both.
He had feared she had heard his and Cat's entire conversation, and knew about her mother's vision, but after some questioning by Cat they found she had come into the room for news on her brothers around the time the talk had changed to marriage proposals.
He had gone to his friend and told him of their decision of the Imp over the prince, hoping Robert would relent when he realized he was not getting his way, but a a raven flew to Casterly Rock that night telling Tywin Lannister of the betrothal of his youngest son, and Ned was told that if he did anything to jeopardize the story they were trying to sell Sansa would handed over to Joffrey, bastard or not.
It went against everything he believed in to allow the lie to continue, and wondered if there would be war should Robert die without fathering a child with Cercei. They had tried to hush up the rumors about the state of undress of the twins when they had exited the broken tower, but the news that Ser Barristan had drawn his sword, ready to protect Ned Stark's bastard had made the news of everything that happened at the tower spread like wildfire. The fact that Ser Jamie had been attacked by Jon's wolf and the wold walked away with its head had not helped matters either.
He just thanked the Gods that at this time all they were were whispers. He was sure that should Robert die without a true born heir Stannis would call his banners and Westeros would be at war once again.
"We didn't get a chance to practice my archery." He gave a soft smile to his crestfallen older daughter, remembering a time when she would pretend to hate archery because her Septa said it wasn't a proper activity for a little lady. That had all come to an end on her eleventh name day when Robb, Jon, Arya, and Bran presented her with a beautiful weirwood bow. The bow was light weight and slender with rose vines climbing the length of it. Robb said it was a proper bow for a proper lady of the north, and Cat had a talk with the septa about her discouraging the girls from learning to protect themselves.
"The next time we have a chance to sneak away we shall start with archery." Jon promised his sister, and not for the first time Ned wondered what the boy would be like as a king. He quickly shook those dangerous thoughts from his mind, telling the children that they were each to make sure they had a member of the household guard with them at all times from here on out.
He waited till he was alone and most of the camp was asleep before pulling out the scroll that had come all the way from Pentos on the leg of a raven. Not for the first time he wished his wife was here to give him counsel, as the man they had charged with watching over the remaining members of Jon's actual family reported the young man's descent into madness was progressing faster and faster by the day, and that he now planned to sell his sister to a Khal in order to gain an army to invade Westeros.
It had been Cat's idea to send someone to watch over the Mad Kings two remaining children, though who to send had been a fight until the proper person practically fell into their lap. The man got close to the two by posing as a Targaryen supporter, and from there did his best to try and guide the two children. From the reports they received the boy was likely a lost cause, but their informant said the girl was sweet and loving.
He knew he would never get a message to his man in time to secret the girl away, for all he knew she was already married to the Khal. However, it wasn't like he could have brought her here, Robert would have had her killed once word reached him, no she was safer across the narrow sea.
