In the late morning, Arya was walking atop the breezeway, balancing on the edge of the wall like Bran had used to. She wore a thick wool, and pants, despite her sister trying to convince her to trade them in for skirts. Beside her, walking on the wooden planks of the hallway, was Nymeria, trotting along contentedly.
Arya turned, looking over the misty rolling hills, snow patched along the grass. She sighed, tucking a loose strand from her braid behind her ear.
She turned north, looking towards the Kingsroad in the distance. She swallowed, waiting.
Then she saw it appear. The Stark Banner, flapping in the wind. Her stomach flipped over in excitement.
She jumped down, next to Nymeria, and without missing a beat, ran down the breezeway, around a corner, and down a set of stairs. She hurried to the hall where the solar for the family was. She found Rickon's door, and banged on it.
"They're back! He's back!" she cried, giggling.
Beside Rickon's room, was Sansa's, and Arya's shouting and banging woke Jon. He sat up, listening, a smile on his face. A moment later, he heard scrambling.
"They're here?" he heard Rickon ask.
"The banners are approaching just over the Kingsroad!"' Arya said.
Arya and Rickon's eyes met, and they both grinned.
"Sansa." Rickon said.
The brother and sister scrambled down a ways, to Sansa's door. Jon smirked wider, shaking Sansa awake.
She sat up, confused, hearing both Arya and Rickon pounding and calling her name.
"They don't know I'm here." Jon whispered.
Sansa smiled, and pulled herself out of bed. She put her finger to her lips, and walked to the door, opening it a crack.
"What?" she hissed, playing at being out-of-sorts.
"Jon's home!" Arya said. "Come, get dressed, we can ride out and meet him."
Sansa smiled, nodding.
"I'll meet you in the courtyard." she said. She shut the door. She went to the wardrobe, pulling on a dress. "Come down in a few minutes, I'll make sure their backs are turned."
Jon laughed. "You've become more lighthearted in my absence, Lady Stark."
"It's amazing what not being a prisoner can do to a woman." she said dryly. She smirked at him a final time, before disappearing out of the door.
After a few minutes, Jon stood, still dressed, and called Ghost to his heel. Ghost gave him a somewhat withering look, and Jon laughed.
"I know it's a bit ridiculous." he said to the wolf. "But we need to humor them. They need it."
Ghost sniffed, and nudged his head against Jon's waist.
Jon opened the door, and walked down the hallway. He looked through the openings of the breezeway, down into the courtyard, where Sansa was talking to Arya and Rickon, assuring their backs be turned towards the gate. Jon went down the staircase, and wound back, so he could approach them from behind.
Jon crept up behind Arya, as Sansa was continuing on about the plans for the evening, and grabbed her hips as he shouted into her ear. She screamed, spinning, and Rickon did as well.
She looked up at him, and then half laughed, half screamed, and jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck. When she pulled away, she smacked him on the chest.
"You ass." she said. Rickon stepped forward, giving Jon a tight hug, clapping him on the back. Sansa was laughing, delighted, as she watched the entire scene. Arya whipped around to her.
"You knew." she said, mock anger thick in her voice. She narrowed her eyes. Sansa shrieked, as Arya lunged for her, reaching for the fabric on her dress. Sansa ran, through the mud, slipping a bit as she rounded a cart, Arya on her tail.
Arya caught an angle, and tripped, sprawling into the mud, dirtying her front. She made a noise of disgust, pulling herself up so she was sitting. Sansa had stopped when she fell.
"Arya, are you alright?" she rushed over, making to help her up. Arya took a handful of the mud, and flung it at her sister. It splattered down her front, and Sansa screamed. Arya and Rickon dissolved into peals of giggling.
"Arya!" Sansa cried, both amused and also heavily annoyed.
"Sister..." Arya began, in between her bouts of laughter. "I only wanted us to match."
Sansa's lips curled into a smile, despite wanting to be put off by it all.
Jon walked over, and pulled Arya up.
"Enough horseplay." he said, gently. "Both of you, go get cleaned up. We can break our fast after Rickon and I go to the barracks, to ensure they're prepared."
"They are." Rickon said. "They've been ready for a week. Fully stocked on linens, hot water, rations, clean weapons."
Jon looked at him, surprised.
"You left me in charge, did you think I'd let it all go to shit?" Rickon said, but he was beaming with pride.
"Sansa helped you?" Jon asked, and Rickon shrugged.
"Maybe a little."
"Well, in that case, we can skip to the part where I go over the new and agreed upon regulations of the North." Jon said. "Let me get to my horse, the book is in the sack."
Rickon followed him towards the stables.
"Are we going to officially claim our independence?" Rickon asked. Jon looked at him, surprised. "I mean, I know, normally, the south doesn't bother with us much anyways."
"Now that Arya took the Twins, and House Manderly holds it for House Stark, there's no way any army from the South can take the North by land." Jon said thoughtfully. "I suppose..."
"What about by sea?"
"I doubt it." Jon said. "Manderly holds the port as well, and every other port town is now outfitted with Stark soldiers, to assure the loyalty to our house."
"Good." Rickon said. They reached the stables, and Jon took his pack hanging from the hook, and pulled out a leather bound book.
When they returned to the Courtyard, the army was near to the village. Jon found the commanding officer of the castle watch, and told him that once the army approached, they were to take leave, and eat and rest, as the journey had been long. He and Rickon went to the great hall, to eat, and Jon flipped over the notes with Rickon. He explained the agreed upon laws he'd discussed with each house. Following the incident at Deepwoode Motte, the punishment for rapers had been changed from the choice between castration and the wall, to simply death or the wall. Jon figured this would assure more men to be sent to the wall, to aid the men there. Not to mention, this would keep wildlings, perhaps, for doing it at all.
He also went over the new trade agreements, explaining them in detail, not noticing that Rickon's eyes had become glazed over with boredom.
"Oi." Jon finally said, and Rickon snapped his head towards Jon.
"Yes, taxes." Rickon said, and Jon gave him a withering look.
"We'll talk about it once you're fed." Jon said, as the kitchen doors opened, and plates of food were brought out. At the other end of the hall, Sansa walked in, trailed by Arya and Nymeria.
The family ate, listening mostly to Jon tell them stories of the campaign. They ended up sitting around, plates clean, still enraptured with his tales, an hour later.
"Alright." Jon sighed. "What have I missed here?"
"Oi, House Tallhart came to propose to me." Arya laughed, remembering.
"What?" Jon looked surprised. Arya looked at Sansa, expectantly.
"He already knew about that, I think." Sansa said. "Not much else really happened, other than the decor-"
"Wait, hang on." Jon held up his hand. "Who proposed?"
"The nephew of Lady Tallhart." Arya said. "Well, I 'spect it was more the Lady doing the proposing."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Jon looked at both Sansa and Arya.
"I sent you a raven." Sansa said, raising a brow.
"I didn't get one. When was this?"
"A couple weeks ago, now." Arya said.
"I never got a raven, are you sure-"
"Yes I'm sure." Sansa said, but panic was budding in her chest. "Are you sure someone else in the battalion didn't receive it by accident?"
Jon shook his head once.
"Well, it was just correspondence about a marriage proposal." Arya said, waving her hand, uninterested. "Big help that'll be to any spies."
Sansa swallowed, desperately trying to recall the contents of the letter. She felt Jon's eyes on her, but gave him a weak, reassuring smile.
"She's right." she said softly, not wanting him to worry.
Jon felt she was hiding something, but didn't make mention of it.
"Arya." Jon said, turning to her. She looked up. "How is the training going?"
"It's fun." she grinned. "Your men are a bit sloppy, but I 'spect it's from the heavy sword wielding."
"But you're teaching them all the secrets?" Jon said, grinning. She nodded, and stood.
"Speaking of that, I thought you could come see?" she said, waiting, excited.
"Yeah, I will." Jon said. "Give me a minute to change out of these clothes, I've been in them for a while."
"Right." Arya said, wrinkling her nose. She swatted at Rickon's ear. "You coming too?"
Rickon looked at Jon, who nodded.
"Yes!" Rickon said, jumping up.
"But tonight we need to talk, alright?" Jon called as Rickon ran after Arya.
As soon as they were out of the hall, Jon turned to Sansa.
"What?" he asked. "What else was in the letter?"
"Jon, it probably just got lost. Ravens aren't a foolproof delivery system."
"Sansa." He said, making her meet his eyes.
She sighed, pressing her palms against her face.
"If someone found the letter." she began, speaking slowly. "They may gather that you and I are...closer than-"
"Oh." he said, considering this. "And that would imply-"
"Nothing good, Jon." she whispered.
"Because if they think we're related," Jon sighed. "And then to disprove it we'd have to tell them I'm Targaryen."
Sansa swore, and Jon laughed, despite himself.
"We don't know if anything is going to happen." Sansa said. "Perhaps it really was lost."
She looked at him, and saw the fear in his eyes.
"Gods, Jon, I'm so sorry, I'm so naive." she whispered.
He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. "It would have happened eventually, Sansa." he said.
With that, he stood, and left.
Sansa tried to shake the nerves from the possibility that their secret had come out. She felt foolish, regretful, and ashamed, constantly. She tried to throw herself back into the duties of the household, but she was distracted often, and couldn't usually stay on task. She felt like she was just waiting for some impending doom. Or perhaps that's how she would always exist. Perhaps it was a side effect of being a Lady of a great House. You never knew peace.
Jon spent most of his time with either Rickon or Arya. Arya, to help train the men. They needed to be as competent as possible, as the impending threat of the Winter that was coming was nearly around the corner. Otherwise, he was working with Rickon, and making sure Rickon knew the ins and outs of running both an army and a household. Sansa was able to teach Rickon about court, and the politics therein. Together, as they advised, they only grew stronger in their own abilities.
At night, after they ate dinner in the great hall, they all gathered around the hearth. They sometimes spoke about business, or reminisced about the family passed.
One evening, a week and a half after the return of the army, a raven arrived, and a steward brought the news to the sitting room.
"House Cerwyn." Jon said, noting the sigil on the stamp as he took it.
He scanned it, and swallowed. He handed Sansa the letter.
"I think we know who intercepted us." he said.
"What is it?" Rickon asked, standing from his place on the floor next to ShaggyDog, and walking to the settee Sansa was on.
"House Arryn is marching North, on the Kingsroad." Sansa said. "They passed Castle Cerwyn without a word, and Lord Cerwyn thought it was worth mentioning."
"Good man." Jon said softly. "Only a few hundred men, though."
"Maybe he just wants to council with us." Rickon said. "Or offer us men, to gain favor."
Jon gave him a sad look.
"Maybe." He said.
"I don't want to back to fighting." Rickon said, his voice heavy.
"It won't be much of a fight, Rickon." Jon said. Rickon sat beside Jon, and Jon gave him a reassuring shoulder squeeze. "It will just be an unnecessary one."
"Why do you think he's coming?" Arya asked.
"We don't know for sure." Sansa said. "But we have a feeling it was he who intercepted the raven I sent to Jon."
"Why would that matter?" Arya asked. She studied Sansa's face, and then her brows shot up. She made a face.
"Right." she said softly.
"It'll be fine." Jon said, looking at them all. "Hopefully we can finally have Littlefinger's head on a spike."
"Excellent." Arya said, grinning.
Sansa swallowed. She reached for Jon's hand, and he took it, stroking the back of it with his thumb.
"Don't worry." he said to her, again. She nodded.
But it was easier said than done.