Note: This is an old story. It had originally ended with Arya's letter to Sansa summarizing what had happened and wrapping things up (chapter 12). That was back in 2014. Then some months later, I decided to add another chapter. I wrote Sansa's letter to Arya telling her side of the storyline. But that opened up a lot of loose ends that I needed to tie up. I had always felt this story was unfinished and had that sensation gnawing at me for the past couple of years. So, finally, I have decided to give this story a proper ending. In this chapter, we'll see Rickon together with Sansa and Jon. And then we'll go back to Catelyn and Tywin to finish things up. So, we'll have this Rickon chapter (number 14) and then two more.

Recap ofthe story so far, in case you don't remember (most likely since it's been a while):

Tywin has this great master plan to control all of Westeros. Catelyn is spared at the Red Wedding and sent to Casterly Rock to become his wife. Obviously, she is not happy about this and makes her feelings known (almost killing Tywin in the process). After their wedding they go to Kings Landing for Joffrey's wedding to Margaery. The Purple Wedding happens, but with a twist: it is Sansa who is accused of murdering Joffrey, not Tyrion. Tyrion and Sansa have already been forced to marry by this point (just like in canon). After a trial she is acquitted of the crime. But, unlike canon, the trial by combat had been rigged and plotted together by Oberyn, Tywin and Tyrion. Oberyn killed the Mountain and Sansa was set free to go back to Winterfell with Tyrion as Wardens of the North. Meanwhile, the Hound shows up at Casterly Rock to sell Arya back to her family. Originally, he had taken her to the Eyrie to ransom her to Lysa, but Lysa sent him to Catelyn instead. So, that's how Catelyn and Arya reunited. And now Catelyn has become pregnant with Tywin's son – something both her and Arya are finding hard to come to terms with.

Sorry for the long hiatus. Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks

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14) Rickon I

I like it here. It's not as cold as Septa Mordane and Old Nan had said. They were just women and they were old, that's why they thought Castle Black would be cold. And it's not as scary as they said it would be. Travelling through deserted frozen lands with my crippled brother, Hodor, Osha and Meera and Jojen, THAT was scary! We never knew if we were going to die and I kept thinking we would be attacked by grumkins and snarks – thank you Old Nan! But we never were. ...But yes, we were tired, scared and starving by the time we found the fat boy. Or should I say, he found us. We were hiding in an abandoned mill when he burst in looking for shelter. We got to talking and he said he was friends with Jon. We got to more talking and that's how he took us to Castle Black – to Jon.

"Rickon, come here!" Osha yelled interrupting his training with the dummy. "You shouldn't be playing with swords like that, you'll get hurt!" Osha had been taking good care of Rickon ever since they escaped Winterfell and Theon Greyjoy. She had become his mother-of-sorts, a fact Rickon both appreciated and resented. He was glad to have a caring woman like Osha who allowed him to be free while making sure he was safe. But on the other hand, he longed for his real mother and his real family. They had all abandoned him. Father left with my sisters and Jon went his own way. Then Mother left, and then Robb. And they never came back – and they never will. Fortunately, having found Jon again helped to fill that void somewhat. He still had his brother Bran and Hodor, and the Reed children were not that bad. And now he also had Jon. "Your soup will get cold" Osha called him again.

When he entered the Mess Hall, he saw Jon and Bran discussing and he even saw a hint of a smile on Bran's face, something he hadn't seen in ages. When he got closer he saw a letter on the table. He couldn't read most of it, Maester Luwin never did manage to finish the reading lessons with him. But the few words he was able to make out were enough: Sansa … Winterfell … Home … Safe … Mother ... Arya …

"We're going home Rickon!" Bran announced with glee.

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As impressive and exciting as it was, he was not sorry to leave the Wall. He was going home, back to his family. Bran and Jon had tried to explain all the details of what Sansa had said in her letter. There was not much he could fully comprehend, but what he did understand was enough to lift his spirits and get his hopes up. Apparently Sansa had not married Prince Joffrey as she was intended to but the short Lannister. He remembered him, he was funny. She had come back with her husband to Winterfell and rid the castle and the surrounding lands of the Ironborn. They had also restored peace and rooted out the Boltons, who apparently had come to loot Winterfell after Theon and his men. The letter also spoke about his mother and Arya and how they were both safe living with the Lannisters. He saw Bran and Jon exchange worried looks about this but decided not to ask. His mother and sister were alive and safe, that's all he cared about.

"I cant believe we are all going to go back home again. We'll be a family again!" Rickon exclaimed excitedly giving his horse a kick to make it go faster.

"Whoah! Slow down boy!" Jon instructed him.

"But I want to get home as soon as possible. To Sansa, and Arya, and Mother. I can't wait for all of us to eat together in the Hall as we used to. Can we have Osha stay as well? You like her, don't you Jon? We can all be family!"

"Osha is good" Jon said softly. "And you'll be with Sansa. And of course Bran and Hodor" he finished with a sad smile.

"And you?"

"No, Rickon. I'm not staying home. I'm a Man of the NightsWatch now. I guard the realms of men" he added with a pompous glint in his eye meant to alleviate Rickon's visible disappointment.

"But you're not staying with us" Rickon replied matter-of-factly.

"No, Rickon, I'm not. I'm sorry, I can't. But you'll see your sister again. Sansa will be more than happy to have you back. And Bran."

"She'll be happy to have you back too!" he pleaded with faint hope.

"I know she will, but I can't. I'll stay for as long as I can, but then I have to return. But I'll be close. Castle Black is only a few days away from Winterfell."

"Will Mother and Arya be there as well? " he asked, only now realizing Jon had only mentioned Sansa but had failed to mention his mother and his other sister.

"Mother is not home, Rickon" Bran interjected. "She married again and stayed with a man who is not Father" he spat with resentment.

"Bran, don't say that. You mother loves you dearly. She wouldn't be with Tywin Lannister if there was a way she could be with you. She probably thinks you two dead. It will gladden her heart to see you again. The same with Arya" Jon tried to reassure an unconvinced Bran.

Not much was said after that uncomfortable exchange. Bran had really changed after he woke up from the long sleep. Before that, he used to be a very happy boy who would play with Rickon all the time. But then, after he woke up and could not walk, he became very sad. He blamed his father for befriending the King, his mother for leaving, Robb for going off to war, Sansa and Arya for preferring the capital and not coming back to him, Jon for preferring his new Brothers. He even blamed Maester Luwin for not finding a cure for his legs and resented Rickon because he could no longer play along. Rickon had hoped seeing Jon again would lift his spirits, but it had only served to remind him that things would never be the same. Now he hoped that seeing Sansa again would cheer him up …

Spotting the walls of his beloved home in the distance certainly cheered him up, and he rejoiced when he made out the Stark banners hanging from the battlements. He spurred his horse forward giving it a forceful kick to gallop away following the road to the North Gate. He wanted to arrive before anyone else did. But his horse had other ideas and refused to approach the gates without the others.

Mother! She was there! He could see her! But where was Sansa? Maybe Arya was here too! Oh, that's not Mother. But she looked just like her. Just like he remembered. Was this Sansa? She had changed. She looked taller. Maybe she thinks I look taller too, he thought. He had no time to ponder on such things as his long-lost sister pulled him into an embrace and kissed him all over his face. She tried to do the same with Bran but he offered a more standoffish reaction. She also approached Jon and they both hugged and cried tenderly. She introduced herself to Osha and the Reed children and then proceeded to introduce her husband Tyrion Lannister – the short Lannister. Now I'm even taller than he is! Rickon realized.

A feast awaited them inside the Keep and Rickon relished to be back home. He ran to all his favourite places and half expected Bran and Arya to come running after him. But Arya is not here and Bran can't run. He expected his mother to admonish him and his father to shake his head silently – oh, how he feared those silent glares! But Mother lives in another place and Father is never coming back. He half expected Robb and Jon to help him hide and cover for him like they always did. But Jon is a Man of the NightsWatch now and Robb is gone. He even waited to see if Theon would play a prank on him like he used to. Like he used to before he turned bad. … The happiness he felt was slowly ebbing away as he realized things would never be the same again. But if things have changed, there's only one thing we can do: make the new things as good as the old things. With that thought in his head he retuned to the Dining Hall, to his siblings, his family.

Sansa explained things in detail to Bran and Jon, about Father's execution, the war, about Robb's campaign. She flinched when Jon pressed her for details about her life in King's Landing. In the end she just explained how they had forced her and Tyrion to marry and how together they had reclaimed their House. Rickon was quick to spot Tyrion squeezing her hand tenderly and she returning the gesture. She looks happy with the short Lannister.

The conversation then veered off to what had happened in a wedding somewhere in the south. That's when they killed Robb. Sansa said she had been told her Mother had been killed as well, but then she had turned up some time later in Casterly Rock. Rickon felt a pang of envy when his sister mentioned she had seen their Mother in King's Landing, but then regretted his jealousy when she talked about the trial she had faced and how she had almost been executed. And then apparently Arya herself had turned up as well and was now living with Mother. Can't we all move in together now?

So, by all accounts the war was over, Sansa cheered with a half-hearted toast of her glass.

"Not all the wars" Jon started to say ominously but then decided to drop the matter. He asked Sansa about the recruits they had for the NightsWatch and Sansa explained how they had gathered a lot of prisoners that had chosen the Wall to being kept in dungeons. She mentioned something about the Ironborn and many traitors to House Stark. She promised Jon that these recruits were not weak men from the lowest rungs of the dungeons, but trained soldiers and experienced veterans who would be of use at the Wall. And Jon seemed pleased. "That would be a welcome change," he said.

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Just as he had promised, Jon stayed for a few days, which then turned into weeks. But in the end he had to leave.

"Take care, little wild wolf" he embraced Rickon tousling his hair. "Be safe Bran and remember: the problem is not being unable to walk, the problem is you believing you are a cripple. A very wise man once told me: Never forget what you are for the rest of the world will not. Wear it like an armour and it can never be used to hurt you" he finished embracing Bran and, for some reason, smiling at Tyrion who nodded knowingly in return. He shook hands with Tyrion and told him something Rickon could not hear, but he saw Tyrion patting Jon's arm reassuringly and giving him a brotherly smile. He then addressed Osha and thanked her for taking care of his younger brothers and the same with Meera and Jojen. He finally turned to Sansa and whispered things in her ear Rickon was unable to hear. Sansa hugged him and he gently wiped her tears away from her face. "We'll see each other again" he promised her. "When you go there, tell Arya, I miss her and tell your mother I am glad she is fine. Send them my regards." With those last words, he got on his horse, spurred it and rode away with his men and new recruits.

It was not until Jon was out of sight that Rickon pondered on his last words … When you go there.

"Sansa, what did he mean?"

"Who?" Sansa asked confused.

"Jon"

"What did he mean when?"

"When he said it."

"What?"

"What he said before he left"

"What did he say?" she replied not hiding her frustration.

"He said: when you go there. What did he mean? When you go where?"

"Oh, Rickon" she smiled tenderly. "We're going to see Mother and Arya!"

TBC