Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire.

Another dragon, another wolf, another stag

Chapter 25: Jocelyn

"Talking"

"Thinking"

(Location: Riverrun)

Jocelyn followed her mother into the room and saw Lady Catelyn sitting there. Her first thought was that she came to speak about Jon and last night. She had never seen her brother snap like that, to anyone. But the ladies who were playing the game had driven him to a corner, so to speak. She just hadn't thought Lady Catelyn would be there.

"Lady Stark," Mother said as they came into the room. "Thank you for seeing us."

"Lady Dayne," Lady Catelyn said politely. There was a slight frown on her face, like she didn't want to be there.

Both mother and daughter sat down at the table. Jocelyn's mother sat opposite of Lady Catelyn while she sat between them. She watched the two of them facing each other. It was almost like they were completely opposites. Her mother relaxed into the chair, her dark hair falling freely down her back, and wearing a small warm smile. Lady Catelyn sat properly in her chair, her red hair done up in a bun, and looked impassively at them both. Jocelyn knew that if it was only her in the room, the look would just be saying that she didn't her in the room.

The silence dragged on until Jocelyn could not take it anymore. "Mother," she said, "what are we doing here?"

Her mother looked at her, her eyes sad oddly enough. "We're here about you, Jocelyn."

"Me?" she repeated, looking back at Lady Catelyn. "Is this about last night?"

"No," Lady Stark said to her. "It is not."

"What happened last night?" Mother asked, her eyes narrowing into a dangerous look.

But she was not afraid. "The young ladies playing the game cornered Jon Snow. They were angry he did not compete in the tourney. It did not turn out the way they expected."

"He did not compete?"

Jocelyn nodded her head. "Not in a single one. They were quite angry at him for his refusal." Her eyes found Lady Stark as she spoke. She wondered what the older woman was thinking about what happened.

Her mother's chuckle stopped her wondering and turned her attention back to her. "I'm not surprised," she said. "Ned's brothers practically had to bully him into joining the brawl." She smiled, almost as if she was seeing the memory play out.

"Lady Dayne, is there something you required of me?" Lady Catelyn asked. "Or did you ask me here so you could reminiscence about my lord husband."

She lost the smile and settled into the chair properly. "I came here to set the record straight, Lady Stark. You deserve the truth and I doubt that your husband told you it."

"What truth?"

"So he didn't. Damn that man. Damn that stupid, honor-bound," she tried to sound irritated and angry as she spoke but it all seemed to be an effort that didn't last long, "sweet, considerate, wonderful man," she finished with a small smile.

But Lady Catelyn just looked even more displeased. "Lady Dayne, if all are you going to do is slander my husband—"

"I do not slander him, Lady Stark. I praise him," she rebuked her, her voice becoming harder and her smile disappearing. The last time Jocelyn had seen her like that, she had been told she was going north and protested vigorously.

Her mother lost the anger and started again. "At Harrenhal, you know that we played the game for Eddard Stark and I won. But that night, when I went to claim my prize, he refused me. I was shocked and angry. No one had ever refused me before. I called him craven and fool. I demanded why he would refuse such a thing." There were small tears in her eyes and a bitter smile on her lips. "He told me that he respected me too much to ruin my honor like this. I was astounded that a man would refuse me for the sake of my honor even when we both knew how he watched me during the days before.

"I felt ashamed of what I was trying to do and left his rooms. But as I left, the shame turned into embarrassment and anger. The next morning, I knew I would be found out for not having slept with him and I would be mocked." She sighed, almost seemingly in sadness. "Then I met his brother out in the corridors and an idea came to me, something that felt spiteful to the man we have played for."

Lady Stark's eyes were wide, almost comically so. "Are you saying…?"

She nodded gravely. "I am."

Jocelyn was very confused. She looked back and forth at the two women sitting at the table. She wanted to know what they were talking about for it seemed the conversation had taken a turn that she didn't understand. "Mother, what is this all about?" she asked.

She looked at her with a sad expression. "Oh, Jocelyn," she said, "My lovely little star. It's about you, you and your father."

"My father?" she repeated. That made no sense. The three of them knew who her father was. Lady Stark had despised her for it ever since she came to Winterfell. "My father is Lord Eddard Stark." She spoke with the conviction of knowing that she was right.

But her mother shook her head sadly. "No, he isn't. Your father was his brother, Brandon Stark."

Jocelyn went still as her notion of the world came crashing down. She wasn't the daughter of Eddard Stark? How could this be? It couldn't be true. It had to be a falsehood. But why would her mother play such an elaborate trick on her? It wasn't even a funny one! She had to be lying!

And yet…?

And yet, when she actually thought about, Lord Stark had never actually called himself her father. He had always said that she was of his blood. She had taken it to mean that was his way of saying he was her father without actually saying the words. But what if it hadn't been? What if he said the literal thing? The more she thought about it, the more it made a funny sort of sense. And as that made more sense, the words she had heard just now set themselves in stone.

Eddard Stark was not her father.

Eddard Stark was not her father!

The air she breathed in would not come out. She could not breathe. Her vision started to blurred. She began to panic inside. "Am I dying?" she asked herself. Was it possible to die from learning such a shocking thing? But even as she wondered, she immediately refused to believe such a notion. She was not dying from a shock. It was probably more likely that she was about to faint.

The notion of that happening was absolutely stupid. "I am not going to faint from this!" she declared to herself. She was not some soft-hearted lady. She was a child of Dorne! She forced herself to breath normally. Her vision cleared and she started to hear voices. With a start, she realized that her mother was talking to her.

"Jocelyn. Jocelyn! Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Mother. I'm just…shocked." It probably understated what she was feeling at that moment, but it was also the best description she could find. She was shocked by this news. She wondered how Lord Stark could lie to her like this.

"Why would he do this?" Lady Stark asked. She looked just as surprised. "Why would Ned lie to me about this? Why would he let me believe this farce?"

Jocelyn felt anger at being called a farce. But then she realized that Lady Stark must have been talking about the situation, not her. It was a small comfort but it did nothing to sooth her hurt feelings. She didn't speak but her mother did. "I suspect that he did it because of you, my lady."

"Me? What do you mean by that?"

Mother was solemn. "I remember you at Harrenhal, Lady Stark. You looked at Brandon with such admiration and love. Eddard must have seen the same thing and did not want to deprive you of what you thought you might have had."

Lady Stark opened her mouth but then closed it. She stayed silent for a long moment before finally saying, "What do you want me to do with this?" she asked.

"It is yours to handle with, Lady Stark. I had thought that Eddard had told you the truth when Jocelyn came to Winterfell. It was a truth that you deserved to know."

She was silent again. She turned her head to look at Jocelyn. There was a new look in her eyes now. It wasn't the one that Jocelyn had gotten used to from her. "Jocelyn—"

"Please, Lady Stark," Jocelyn said, stopping her before she could begin. "Don't talk about this with me, not now. I still need time to fully understand this. I think it would be best if we had this conversation back in Winterfell, with my lord…uncle in attendance." Gods, how hard it was to say such a simple word.

"Yes," she said with a nod. "You are correct."

"Then, if you will pardon me, I will take my leave." She stood up from the table. "Good day, Lady Stark, Mother." She left the room without another word to the other two women at either of them.

But even so, her mind was still trying to understand what she was had just learned. She was the bastard daughter of Brandon Stark, not Eddard Stark. What did that mean for her exactly? Did it mean her position in Winterfell had changed? Since she was the eldest child of the firstborn son, she could technically have a claim to Winterfell and the North. But she stopped herself from even considering that idea because it was completely foolish.

She would only have a claim under Dornish law and Winterfell was not in Dorne. There was also the fact that she was a bastard and a daughter of Brandon Stark. If she tried to make a claim, she would be laughed out of the North. And besides, she would not do that to Robb or any of the other Starks. They were family.

As she went through the corridors, she ran into Jon Snow. "Jocelyn," he greeted her warmly, as family ought to do.

"Jon," she greeted just as warmly. Her eyes fell to the space where Ghost should've been for a second. She looked back up at him. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, there was that little scene last night…?"

His eyes widened slightly at what she was saying but then they fell back into their normal position. "Oh, that," he said shortly.

"Are you alright?" she asked him. Despite what it might look like to others, she did care for him. They were siblings, part of the same pack. They looked out for each other. She had seen the ladies leaving the hall to go after last night and had tried to reach him first, only to fail.

"I am fine, Joce. I…I just wish that I had some warning ahead of time."

She couldn't help but giggle at that. "Jon, the whole point of the Woman's game is not to let the man know he's been selected for it, not if he's unaware. It's half the fun, so I've been told."

"It could harm someone," he told her. "And have they ever considered what would happen after the game was done? What if the man had fallen in love with the woman he chose?"

She didn't laugh. He was serious about what he was talking about. She could see it in his face. Truth be told, she hadn't given it much thought. She had never played the Woman's game before going to Winterfell, having only heard about it from the older ladies of the court. But they had never talked about something like that. "I don't know," she admitted.

"This isn't a good game, Joce. If I had known about it, I would have refused to play it at the start."

"You were already doing that when you refused to participate in the competitions. I had never seen the ladies so irritated before." She thought about what happened last night after he walked away from them. The whispering and talking had sprung up almost instantly. She would have thought that his outburst would turn them against him even more but it was the opposite. "You should know that the ladies still consider the game to be on."

His face went pale at those words. "What?"

She nodded. "They seem more determined to win you before we leave."

He shook his head rapidly in denial. "This cannot go on, Joce. It has to stop."

"Would you like to tell them that?" she asked him dryly. "That's probably only going to make them even more insistent. It would be best if you keep Ghost close by."

"Aye, I've been told that already by Bran. Ghost is not the only one who's been keeping watch."

She was surprised by what he was saying. "All of them?" He nodded. She looked back down at the space the direwolf was but also saw air and floating dust. An old envy filled her heart as she kept looking at the space. When the wolves had been brought back to Winterfell, she had counted them and when she reached only six, she had been confused. Then she had been angry and jealous. It was a feeling that wouldn't leave her, only lower its head before rising back up again.

Jon saw her gaze. He looked down at the same space. "Joce, what's the matter?"

She tore her sight from the spot and looked at him again. "Were there only six wolves, Jon?" she asked him.

He became grim and somber. He nodded and said, "There were. When I found Ghost, I thought there was one more. So did Robb. We spent thirty minutes looking everywhere for a seventh wolf but we didn't find one. I'm sorry."

She had heard the answer many times before. But each time, it wasn't a comfort. But now, she wondered if it was because she wasn't a child of Eddard Stark and only they received the direwolves. It made no sense to her but how was she to argue with fate? "I'll see you later, Jon," she told him. "Will you be attending the joust?"

"OF course I will. Robb's in the final round."

They both grinned. All of the southron lords and knight hadn't thought that a Northman would be able to joust this well. Not only had Robb proved them wrong, but he was on the verge of winning the joust. She wondered who he would crown as the Queen of Love and Beauty but she was more concerned about the joust first and foremost. "Then I'll see you there."

As the joust went on, Jocelyn sat in the royal box alongside Rhaenys. She paid barely any attention to the joust unless it was Robb at the tilt. She was still thinking about the fact Brandon Stark was her father. When the others learned about it, what would happen? What would Lord Stark say?

"Is everything alright, Jocelyn?" the princess asked quietly.

"Yes, Princess," she replied absently.

Rhaenys looked at her. "Are you sure?"

She looked back at her friend. "Yes, I…received some news earlier today."

"What news?"

She paused in her talk. She thought about what would come if she mentioned her true parentage. It could do harm to both of her parents' houses if revealed at the wrong time. The only way she saw any good coming of it was if it was her mother or Lord Stark who revealed the truth. "Just something from my mother," she finally said. She could see that Rhaenys was not happy with the answer and was about to ask again. So she asked first, "Where did you go last night, your Highness? After my brother left you all in the corridor?"

"Nowhere of importance," she replied instantly, trying to look interested in the jousting.

That alone told Jocelyn more than she wanted. "I didn't realize you considered my brother to be nothing of importance."

Rhaenys looked back at her. She tried to hide it, but there was surprise in her eyes. "How did you know?"

"I just did," she said. "You went after Jon, didn't you?"

Once she was revealed that she was lying, she didn't bother to try it again. "Of course I did. Do you think that I would have given up such a chance?"

"No. Did anything happen?" She thought back to what she and Jon talked about hours before. Now she was hoping that nothing had come of their meeting.

"Some things did happen."

"What are 'some things'?"

She frowned slightly. "Why are you asking me these questions, Jocelyn?"

Jocelyn heard the silent threat in her voice. But she wasn't scared. She was protective. "He's my brother, Rhaenys. I don't want to see him get hurt."

The frown vanished and when she spoke, the threat was gone too. "He said as much too in the godswood. Convinced me that the two of us could never happen, that it was best to leave it be before anything came of it." She sounded a bit regretful as she spoke, looking out at the lists with a mournful look.

"It sounds like Jon did the honorable thing," she remarked, "As well as the right one."

"This is the final joust! Ser Loras Tyrell and Robb Stark take your positions!" the herald announced suddenly.

Jocelyn turned her attention to the lists immediately. She saw her…cousin at one end of the yard. As before, he wore armor of plated steel that had a color of Northern storm clouds. It was a plain suit that was meant for the battlefield. The armor of the Knight of the Flowers wore, on the other hand, seemed completely ostentatious by comparison. She had never seen a suit so enameled with gems and flowers. She wondered if he was actually wearing any sort of armor there.

He sat his horse confidently and had his lance at the ready, but Jocelyn had her doubts. "Is he actually any good?" she asked the princess.

She looked at Jocelyn like she had just said something foolish. "Of course he is. Ser Loras is regarded as one of the best lance arms in the Seven Kingdoms."

But she scoffed at that. "I'm sure they said the same thing about his sword arm. Then Jon came and knocked him on his arse without breaking a sweat." She remembered the fight in the training yard. Ser Loras had been so swaggering confident, so sure that he would be able to beat Jon. It didn't take ten minutes before Jon had disarmed him and knocked him down to the ground.

She turned her attention to where the Starks were sitting. Lady Catelyn was watching with worry, not pride. But her children were all at the rail, cheering for Robb. The only one who wasn't was Sansa. She sat with a red rose in hand and looking uncertain as to who to cheer for. Jocelyn realized immediately why it was so and it made her angry. "Now that's just low, even for a knight," she declared.

"What do you mean, Jocelyn?" Rhaenys asked, looking her way to see what the matter was.

"That," she said, pointing to Sansa. "That's just low of Ser Loras."

"What, the rose?"

"Aye, the rose," she agreed with a nod.

"It's just a rose. There's no harm in it."

"It is harm when the girl thinks that life is a song full of gallant knights and fair maidens. Sansa is that kind of girl." She saw Sansa look her way and raised a questioning eyebrow. Sansa looked embarrassed but still held onto the rose. Jocelyn looked at her for a second longer before turning her head slightly to look at Prince Viserys, who was sitting next to his brother and sister. She followed her gaze, realized who she was looking at, and promptly dropped the rose. "Much better," Jocelyn thought in victory.

The herald waved his flag and the two jousters raced down the lists towards each other. Jocelyn's heart was in her throat as she watched Robb smash his lance against Ser Loras' shield. They both stayed in their saddles and took their places, taking new lances in hand. They charged at each other, smashing against their shields again.

They did this two more times. They were swaying in their saddles, Robb a little more than Ser Loras. "Come on, Robb," Jocelyn thought as her…cousin took another lance in hand. "You can beat him."

The herald raised his flag once more but screaming suddenly erupted from the end of the yard. She turned her head that way and saw people running from something. "What is it?" she asked, standing up to get a better view.

The people who standing at the end to see the joust parted ways as five men were circling around someone, swords bared and swinging around. But whoever they were fighting was able to hold them off. They didn't seem to know where they were going as they fought. She looked at who they were fighting but she couldn't who it was. She tried hard to look at them. When she got a glimpse, her eyes widened. "Is that—?"

"Jon!" Robb shouted out, dropping his lance and shield. He threw himself off his horse and shouted, "Get me a sword!" at his squire.

"Lord Stark, return to your horse at once!" the herald shouted at him. But he was already running towards, grabbing the sword his square held out for him. He pulled it free from the scabbard and threw himself at the five men, bashing against one of them with his shoulder, knocking him to the ground, and joining Jon in the middle.

Jon saw him coming and instantly turned his back. They stood back to back, swords at the ready. "Nice of you to join, Stark," he said over the din of fighting, almost conversationally so..

"What happened here, Snow?" Robb asked back, fending a sword strike.

"I'll tell you later."

"Is that one of the Redwyne twins?" Princess Rhaenys asked. Jocelyn looked at what she was seeing, the man that Robb had knocked down. It was one of the Redwyne twins. She could tell by his orange hair. But she couldn't tell which one of the twins it was. He got back up and joined the fight, alongside his twin. More men were coming from outside the jousting yard, swords bared too. They seemed intent on joining the fight.

"Quentyn!" shouted Queen Elia. Both Jocelyn and Rhaenys whipped their heads to see Prince Quentyn leap over the railing of the royal stand, somehow managing to have a spear in his hand. As he raced across the yard, he was joined by Ser Daemon Sand and Ser Archibald Yronwood. Another man, Jocelyn didn't know his name but knew that he had been a part of Jon's group, joined them as did two people from the smallfolk crowd. Suddenly, the fighting looked much more even-footed.

She saw the king moving from the corner of her eye. "STOP THIS FIGHTING AT ONCE!" he shouted with such a fury and intensity, she had thought that he was an actual dragon.

The fighting stopped instantly when Jon's group knelt to the ground. The Redwyne twins and their men tried pressing the advantage but they saw that all eyes were on them. They lowered their weapons and moved away, probably hoping that distance will lessen whatever punishment they get. Robb and the others slowly stood up and looked at the royal stand. Some of them looked directly at the king, others lowered their eyes.

Suddenly, Jocelyn heard the queen gasp in surprise. "Lyanna," she whispered.

"What?" she thought, turning her head to look at Queen Elia. She was looking right at the field, at Jon as he stood there, a sword in each hand.

The king was looking at Jon too. His eyes were alight with confusion, pain, and…realization? Jon must have seen how the king looked at him. "Your Grace, forgive me," he said. "I did not mean to—"

The king turned his head to House Stark and now his eyes were ablaze with fury. "Lady Stark, what is the meaning of this!?" he demanded.

Lady Catelyn stood up. "Your Grace, I can assure that I do not know why this fight happened," she began.

"I don't speak about the fight! I speak about him!" He pointed at Jon. "Why does House Stark have Lyanna's son? Why do you have my son?"

Jocelyn felt her stomach drop at such an accusation. Silence followed the king's proclamation and she saw shocked looks all around. But none were more shocked than both Lady Catelyn and Jon. The only difference was that Jon looked more horrified.

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

I don't think I need to explain anything, right?

By the way, I've seen the new Power Rangers movie and an idea came to me: Powers Rangers in Game of Thrones. It sounds ridiculous, I know. But take out the whole acting as a team bit while shelving the Zords, give a ranger for each kingdom and you've got something. Think about it, Jaime "the Kingslayer" Lannister, Lion Ranger!

I'll see you all next chapter!