Robb walked through the halls of his home, running his fingers along the granite walls as he had done when he was a child, feeling the ancient ridges against the pads of fingers. Robb had taken a bath in his old chambers, had found some of his old clothes and was now making his way to his father's solar…which he supposed was now his solar. The thought troubled Robb, who frowned before putting on his 'king's face'.
"Lord Howland, it is good to see you. I thank you for commanding the bowmen and the scouts. You will be rewarded once I have returned to King's Landing." Robb said, walking past the smaller, older man, who bowed his head at Robb but looked up with a smile and a shake of his head.
"Thank you, Your Grace. But that is not why I have come to see you now." Lord Howland said, taking a seat as Robb did behind the desk.
"Oh? Then what can I help you with, my lord?" Robb asked curiously, clasping his hands on his desk and leaning forward to listen.
"Your Grace…the things I have to tell you…will not be easy for you to hear or believe, but I hope you do. Your father and I were the greatest of friends, do you know that?" Howland asked, rubbing his upper lip before leaning forward to speak.
"Aye. I do. He spoke highly of you as a bannerman, as a lord, and he told me of your adventure to Harrenhal where my aunt Lyanna saved you from the Freys. He also told me how you rode with him to save her, and was the only man to survive with him. But he said nothing more. Am I to learn what great secret my father was keeping?" Robb asked with a hint of amusement, before drumming his fingers on the desktop. The half-smile he wore dropped and he rose from his seat at what Howland said next.
"What?! What did you say?!" Robb demanded, causing Howland to lean back and raise his palms up in surrender.
"Your Grace, please. I am not lying, I am only here to tell you the truth. Your aunt was my greatest friend in this life, I loved Lyanna as much as Ned, Brandon or Benjen did. When she was taken, I raised the crannogmen to follow Ned without question. I was there at the Tower of Joy when your father and I lost our friends to the remaining Kingsguard. Your father…your father killed the Sword of the Morning. It was a gruesome and beautiful battle. Your father was an incredible swordsman, he never sought glory for it though. When we reached Lyanna…she had birthed the boy, and as young as she was…unattended by a Maester, the birth killed her. Rhaegar's treatment of her…killed her. He had swayed your aunt with notions of freedom and love, but all he sought was a strong woman to give him an heir of ice and fire. Lyanna learned of Rhaegar's death and she mourned, but she also knew her son would forever be in danger and she begged your father to take him. She made him promise on a bloody bed of blue roses, Jon Snow in her weak arms." Howland explained, taking Robb back to the scene. Robb could not believe what he was hearing, his half-brother was not his half-brother. He was his bastard cousin. A royal bastard. And his father had never besmirched his honor…Ned Stark had only ever kept a promise to his sister.
"Why did-…this…this cannot be true! Why did my father never tell my mother? She hated Jon. She chased him from Winterfell practically. She blamed him for everything. And he was only a boy needing a family. We were his family…" Robb shook his head, rising from the chair to fold his arms as he paced the length of the room.
"This is madness…Jon is half-Targaryen?"
"Aye, he is. But that is not…all…Robb. Its about your brother, Bran." Howland sighed.
"What about him?" Robb asked warily, prompting Howland to explain of his son Jojen's powers of the greensight, of how the Starks were perhaps gifted with the powers of the warg, and that Bran might be the most powerful among them.
"And what do you expect me to do with this knowledge? This…fairytale? Wargs and greensight, this is a song from my childhood, my lord!" Robb protested, placing his hands on his desk to hold Howland's gaze.
"Far from it, Your Grace. Speak to Bran yourself, but its true. The three-eyed-raven seeks him out, and he in turn must seek it out. He must go Beyond-the-Wall and find his destiny."
"Beyond-the-…now I know you're joking. A crippled boy in the Lands of Always Winter. A farce." Robb snorted, standing upright to see that Howland was not smiling, and was looking quite seriously at Robb.
"I cannot let him go. He is my heir. He must hold Winterfell in my absence. He will die out there…and what if these dreams aren't even real?" Robb demanded of Howland who shook his head.
"They are real. Speak to your brother, and speak to the wildling woman if you don't believe me. Winter is coming, Your Grace. You, of all people, must be prepared for it. Send your brother North with a token force of men while you go to the Iron Islands. My son has foreseen your victory there, he has foreseen you raising a great dynasty that will lead and revultionize Westeros for thousands of years, he has seen you and Margaery Tyrell at Renly Baratheon's camp and he has seen you behead Euron Greyjoy as Pyke burns to the ground. He has seen Jon Snow surrounded by enemies in the North, and he has seen a blonde girl with three dragons trapped in chains in Qarth who needs your help, and finally he has seen her by your side along with Jon Snow as the three of you face the Long Night."
"The Long Ni-? Ok. Alright. I've entertained this for long enough, my lord. But I can hear no more. I thank you for all you have done for my family but I cannot heed the counsel you have just given me. It is madness."
"Actually, it's the truth, Your Grace." Came a voice from the door. Jojen Reed stood, holding the door open as he looked at Robb and his father.
"Jojen! This is the King's private solar! Have you no respect?" Howland reprimanded his son sternly, who looked ashamed for a moment before he once again spoke out of turn.
"I am sorry, Your Grace. I am sorry, father. But I saw that the King would not agree…and that this sets us on a far more dangerous course. Jon Snow will be killed at Castle Black in a month if you are not there to assist him in holding off a wildling army. Daenerys Targaryen will die in chains if you do not cross the Narrow Sea with Jon Snow, Dacey Mormont, Smalljon Umber and Ser Loras Tyrell to save her. The Long Night will not be stopped, and the Kingdoms will fall one-by-one. I saw you and Queen Margaery frozen in the Throne Room of the Red Keep as the Others march over your corpses. If you do not believe me…sleep tonight close to your direwolf, and I will show you."
"What? Sincerely, are you Reeds touched with madness? Do you hear the words you speak?" Robb said incredulously earning a sharp look from Howland.
"The Crannogmen follow a different way of life, Your Grace. That does not make us any less loyal to you and your cause. I loved your father like a brother, and for that love I will remain here until you are convinced of the threat my son preaches."