All rights belong to GRRM

Robb V

Inside the solar, a young man and the Blackfish were casually talking. The young man was fat, no amount of clothes could hide that. He had two things in his hands, one of which was a weapons belt. He had a pudgy pale face with dark, stringy hair and a patch-work, scraggly beard. He seemed pleasant enough though.

When Robb and Jon entered, a smile of relief came over the fat boy's face. "Jon," he said happily.

Ghost flashed across the room and circled Jon's legs, making sure he was alright before he went over to Greywind, the two playfully nipping at each other.

Jon smiled. "Sam, thank you for holding those for me," he said, taking back his belt before clapping Sam on the shoulder. "I want you to meet my brother, Robb," he said, introducing the two.

Sam turned and bowed slightly to Robb. "It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord."

Robb waved aside the greeting. "Call me Robb," he said. "Any friend of Jon's is a friend of mine."

The Blackfish nodded. "I'll take my leave. I have two of my most trusted men right outside the door. They'll make sure you aren't interrupted."

Robb nodded. "Thank you, Uncle," he said.

The Blackfish bowed slightly and strode out of the room, closing the door behind him. When they were alone, Robb walked over to the small table on the side of the room and grabbed the tray bearing a few hunks of bread and a small bowl of salt. He held it out to the others.

"Bread and salt," he offered. Both Jon and Sam grabbed their piece, eating it quickly. With the guest right established, they all sat down. Robb sat behind the desk while Sam and Jon sat on the other side.

"Right, get on with it," Robb said, gesturing for Jon to start.

Jon nodded, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. "The Night's Watch was not what I thought it would be." he began. "It was full of criminals who had no respect for their fellow watchmen. I began to doubt whether I wanted to stay there or not. When I heard of father's imprisonment, I struck out that night to join you. Sam came with me. He was the only one who was kind to me at the Wall. The night I was leaving, he approached me and asked to come with me. He was bullied worse than I was and we knew he wouldn't last long without me."

"And neither of you took the Black." Robb clarified.

Jon nodded. "We were a day or two away from taking the Black, but we never took it," he answered firmly. "Please believe us, Robb. We are not deserters. I would never shirk away from my duty, not if I had taken an oath."

"And you're vouching for your friend as well?" Robb asked, glancing at Sam.

Jon nodded. "I am."

"If I may, my….Robb." Sam said. "We stopped at castles in the North on our way south. If we were deserters from the Watch, we would have been executed by now, or the Lord Commander would have sent men to bring us back."

Robb raised an eyebrow. The large lad may not be a warrior, but he certainly was intelligent. The thought never even crossed Robb's mind that others would have stopped the two on their way south. Now that it was brought up, it made sense how Sam and Jon made it this far.

"Fair enough." he conceded. "Go on."

"We stopped by Winterfell and saw Bran and Rickon. Both are doing well." Jon said, continuing the story. "When we crossed the Neck, we were visited by Lord Reed and brought to Greywater Watch. That's where things get….odd."

"Odd?" Robb asked curiously.

Jon nodded seriously. "Robb, what I have to say can not leave this room. What I was told by Lord Reed could cause untold chaos and death to a lot of people. I need your promise that you'll never tell another soul what I tell you."

Robb raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Sam, who looked just as serious. "Surely Jon it's not that…." he began, but Jon cut him off.

"Robb," Jon said sharply. "I need your word. Please."

The Heir to Winterfell nodded. "I swear on my honor that anything you say will never leave this room," he promised.

Jon relaxed a little. "You remember Robert's Rebellion. What father did after he relieved the Tyrell siege."

Robb nodded. "I do. He went to Dorne and came back with Aunt Lyanna's remains," he answered.

Jon nodded. "Father fought three of the Mad King's Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy, where his sister had remained during the Rebellion. After the fight, he found his sister in a pool of her own blood, with only a mid-wife for company. In her final moments, Aunt Lyanna explained what had happened and made Father promise something. To protect her child."

Robb's eyes shot open. "Child? We have a cousin?" he asked, leaning forward in his seat.

Jon grimaced slightly. "According to Lord Reed, who was the only surviving member of Father's companions, Lyanna said that she went willingly with Rhaegar when he went looking for her. She wanted freedom from her betrothal to Robert Baratheon, and she thought she could get that from the Bard Prince. The two went into hiding in Dorne. When her brother and father were killed in King's Landing, Lyanna wanted to leave, but Rhaegar wouldn't allow her."

Robb frowned. "Why? Why did he go after her in the first place? The man was married to Elia Martell? He had children?"

Sam nodded. "That's true, but Rhaegar needed something from your aunt," he said, taking up the story. "Lord Reed told us that in Rhaegar's later life, he became obsessed with an old prophecy, A Song of Ice and Fire. He thought he had it figured out, and he needed your aunt to make it come true. Targaryen and Stark. Ice and Fire."

"So he was mad. Just like his father."

Sam nodded slightly. "A different kind of madness. Rhaegar probably thought what he was doing was for the best. But that doesn't excuse his actions."

"You mean taking another man's betrothed," Robb said.

Jon shook his head. "It gets worse. When Lyanna wanted to leave, Rhaegar couldn't allow her. He had his Kingsguard hold her down while he got her with child." he said grimly. "Ser Arthur Dayne was the only man who did not partake in the...action."

Robb gripped the armrest. "He raped her," he said angrily. "With his Kingsguard? So much for the most honorable knights in all the realm."

"They broke their knightly vow to uphold their kingsguard oath," Sam said quietly. "They may have been honorable men, but after that day, they no longer were."

"What happened to the child?" Robb asked.

Jon sighed. "Lyanna lived for only a short time after the birth, long enough to see our father one more time. She told him how Rhaegar had gotten her with child and that he was obsessed with the prophecy." he shook his head, chuckling with grim humor. "Rhaegar wanted a daughter, like the Conqueror and his sister-wives. Lyanna had a boy. The final insult to the dead prince was that the babe looked nothing like his father. He had black hair and grey eyes. He was a Stark."

Jon grew quiet, looking down at his hands. For a long moment, he didn't speak. Robb raised an eyebrow and looked towards Sam, who simply shook his head.

"Jon needs to be the one to say this," he said simply.

Robb nodded slowly and looked back at his brother, who had finally found the strength to go on. "On her death bed, Lyanna asked our father to name the child. Give him an honorable name. Father chose Jon, after Jon Arryn."

Robb frowned. "What are you saying?" he asked quietly, a sick feeling seeping into his gut.

Jon looked his brother in the eye, his grey eyes meeting Robb's blue ones. "I am the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark," Jon said quietly.

Robb didn't know how to react. He wanted to shake his head and laugh, thinking this was all a big joke. On the other hand, he wanted to punch Jon in the face for making such a statement.

"That can't be true," Robb said quietly. "You're my brother. We grew up together!"

Jon nodded slowly. "We did." he agreed. "Robb, Rhaegar is not my father. He did not raise me. The children of Elia Martell are not my siblings. You are. You and Arya and Bran and Rickon and Sansa. You are my family." he said firmly.

Robb nodded. "So why did Father call you his bastard?"

"Lord Reed said he did to protect both Jon and his sister," Sam explained. "Lord Stark was afraid King Robert would kill Jon for being the son of Rhaegar Targaryen."

"He tarnished his honor to save the reputation of his sister and to keep me safe," Jon added.

Robb sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Certainly is something Father would do," he said. "So what does this mean for you?" he asked, looking at Jon.

Jon shrugged. "I don't want the throne," he said firmly. "I just want to be me. I want to be Jon."

Robb smiled slightly. "Aye, that's a good idea," he said. "Exactly the sort of thing I expected from you. Is that why you want to keep all this a secret? Because you don't want to be known as a Targaryen?"

Jon nodded slightly. "That's part of it. If I come out as the last remaining son of Rhaegar Targaryen, who knows what might happen? Some lords might raise their banner in support of me, others might try and kill me for it." he shook his head firmly. "No, I don't want anyone else to die for me."

Robb tapped the desk, glancing at the parcel in Sam's lap. "Anything else I should know? Are you hiding a dragon somewhere?"

Jon smiled at the joke. He was glad to see that Robb had accepted the story so well. He was fearful that Robb might send him away, or even worse, kill him because of it. But Robb felt the same as Jon. They were brothers, and that would never change.

"I don't have a dragon, but I do have something else that's been lost for quite some time," he said, unsheathing his sword and placing it in front of Robb.

Robb looked down at the blade before gasping quietly, looking back at his brother. "Where the hells did you get valyrian steel?" he asked.

"The maester at Castle Black gave it to me," Jon explained. "At the time, I wasn't sure why. Lord Reed suspects that it's Darksister, as the last person to wield it was Bloodraven. He must have left it with the maester, who's also a Targaryen, when he vanished north of the Wall."

"Did he know that you're secretly a Targaryen?" Robb asked.

Jon shrugged. "I'm not sure. But that's not all," he said.

Sam unwrapped the parcel in his lap, revealing it to be a sword. On the pommel, a massive ruby sat while the steel crossguard curved upwards around the blade. The large youth unsheathed it slightly and laid it on the desk next to Darksister.

Robb looked at both Jon and Sam before glancing at the metal. He quickly connected the dots. He crossed his arms.

"Blackfyre," he said.

Jon nodded. "Lord Reed and Father found it when they found Lyanna. The only logical assumption is that Rhaegar found it and left it there for his heir to wield in case he fell in battle."

"But why didn't he wield it in battle?" Robb asked. "That very well could've saved him when he fought Robert Baratheon on the Trident."

Jon shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But Lord Reed kept it with him all this time. Father didn't want rumors spreading if he returned to Winterfell with a child and a Targaryen heirloom."

Sam coughed. "Lord Reed mentioned that the prophecy that Rhaegar was so obsessed with mentioned the rise of a great evil. If he thought his child was the answer, perhaps he wanted to make sure Jon had the sword so that he could fight the great evil, instead of Robert Baratheon taking the sword for his own."

Robb grunted. "Fair point."

"I want you to wield one," Jon said suddenly.

Robb looked up quickly. "But they're yours," he argued.

Jon shook his head. "Robb, I can't wield both at once," he explained. "There's no reason for weapons such as these to go unused."

Robb picked up Darksister, getting a feel for the sword. It felt ridiculously light in his hand, even though it was about the same size as the sword he wore now. Finally, he nodded. "Alright, I'll wield Darksister. I like the irony of you wielding Blackfyre." he joked, tossing the larger sword to his brother.

Both Sam and Jon laughed sightly at the joke as Jon caught the sword. He slid the sheath for Darksister from his belt, handing it to Robb before sliding Blackfyre in its place. As he did that, he nodded to the sword Robb had in his hand.

"I had Mikken change the crossguard and pommel. I didn't want anyone guessing the sword," he explained. He patted the large ruby pommel on his new sword. "I might have the pommel on Blackfyre changed as well."

Robb nodded. "We probably shouldn't call them Blackfyre and Darksister either." he pointed out.

Jon nodded. "True. Blackfyre will be….Frost."

Robb raised an eyebrow. Frost was the name of the weapon Stark King's wielded before they began using Ice. "This will be….Claw," he decided, liking the name.

After a moment more of admiring the blade, Robb sheathed the sword and leaned it against the desk. The trio sat in silence for a while, not sure what to say. The conversation about Jon's heritage and the swords was finished. Finally, Robb broke the quiet.

"Well...that was an interesting conversation." he joked, pouring himself some wine. Both Jon and Sam chuckled as well.

"I guess that's that," Jon said.

Sam shifted in his seat. "Robb, may I ask a favor."

Robb raised an eyebrow. He nodded. "If I can help, I will," he said.

"I would like….well….I mean…." Sam stuttered.

Jon looked at his friend. "Sam, what's wrong?" he asked. His friend had been quiet for a few days, and Jon was beginning to wonder if he was finally going to find out.

Sam looked at his friend. "I want to go to the Citadel," Sam said. "I want to train as a maester."

"You need an escort." Robb guessed. The Mountain was rampaging through the lower Riverlands. It would be unsafe for anyone to travel south alone, let alone someone like Sam who could barely fend for themselves.

Sam nodded. "Yes."

Jon shook his head. "So you're just going to leave?" he asked, hurt obvious in his voice.

Sam smiled sadly. "Jon, you said it yourself. This is war, not fit for someone like me. I like to learn, I like to read. This," he said, gesturing to the sword at Jon's side, "isn't me. I can't swing a sword. I'm no use to you here."

Jon shook his head quickly. "You can't leave Sam. You could become a healer! I'm sure Robb can find you a place in the army."

Robb, who had decided to stay out of the conversation between friends, simply nodded in response. But Sam shook his head.

"Would that be best for you, or for me?" he asked bluntly, surprising the Bastard of Winterfell. "Jon, I am glad to say that you have been the best friend I have ever had. But I need to do this for me."

Jon looked at Robb, looking for an ally, but Robb was nodding in agreement with Tarly. Robb respected Sam's desire to do something for himself. He knew how strong the desire was to keep friends close, but he knew that it was important for men to do what they think is best. It was obvious that Sam had his mind set on becoming a maester, and that it hurt him just as much as it did Jon to leave.

"You want to do this?" Jon asked quietly.

Sam nodded. "I want to make something of my life," he said firmly.

Jon nodded slowly. "Then I will not stand in your way," he promised.

Robb smiled. "I can provide you an escort of ten men to help you get to Oldtown," he promised. "I look forward to seeing what becomes of you, Samwell Tarly."

Sam smiled back. "My father tried to force me to become someone I wasn't. I now can choose my own path."

"Hopefully it's safer than the one Robb and I must now take," Jon said, looking at his brother. "The Kingslayer said that there are other Lions are the prowl. Let us see how they fare against a pack of wolves."

Robb smiled fiercely. "Direwolves."