EDDARD

His feet carried him over to the Weirwood tree in the Godswood, and he could feel the weariness seep into his bones.

The last few days had been spent entertaining the lords and listening to their complaints, and he had longed for a little peace and quiet, if only for a few moments.

Winterfell was now being steadily filled with the lords of the North, and they were waiting on the last few so that they could begin discussing matters like the war in the south and the Wildlings gathering beyond the Wall.

Both Sansa and Jon´s letters from Queenscrown told him that they needed to ally themselves with the Wildlings, or the Freefolk as Jon always addressed them as, and Ned was inclined to listen to them.

Both Jon and Sansa had survived the long night in their last life, albeit by the skin of their teeth, and it would be prudent to listen to them.

Ned sat down before the Hearttree and almost immediately a large, fluffy head placed itself in his lap, and large amber eyes stared at him, begging him for a rub.

He smiled and chuckled at Frost´s puppy like behavior and gave into her begging.

The grey direwolf closed her eyes in contentment. "You are just a gigantic puppy aren´t you?" He asked the wolf quietly with a small smile.

All the lords that had arrived had been astounded by Frost and her pups having taken up residence in Winterfell, and many of them seemed convinced that the wolves were a message from the Gods.

Something Ned would have been hard-pressed to believe in his last life.

"My lord." His wife´s voice carried over to him, causing Frost to open her eyes slowly and Ned to turn his head to the lady of Winterfell.

Cat was looking pale and worn, and Ned could feel guilt rumble in him, because he knew that he was the cause of it.

Ever since he had told her that he intended to crown Jon and place him on the Iron throne, she had been troubled and silent, clearly worried about how Robert would take it when the truth would come out.

But Ned was under no illusions that Robert would take it well when he found out. The man would be furious when he would hear that a child of Rhaegar still drew breath, and Ned was sure that the man would resort to the same tactics he had when he had been told that Daenerys Targaryen was pregnant.

Jon would have to be surrounded by guards and have food tasters making sure that Robert and his other enemies couldn't poison him.

But even knowing the truth was wearing on her, Ned couldn't find it in himself to be sad that she finally knew the truth.

Cat deserved to know, and he had wanted her to know and be prepared when he made it clear to the lords of the North that house Stark was throwing its weight behind Jon´s claim.

"How are you, my lady?" Ned asked his wife gently and keeping his words formal. "Is something the matter?"

He regretted his words, as he could see a flash of anger in her blue eyes.

"No, there is nothing wrong as such," Her words and tone was civil and polite even though a bit icy. But he understood, he had kept such a large secret from her, which if anyone found out, her children and herself could have been hurt.

She wrung her hands together and glanced away from him and stared into the calm pond by the Hearttree.

"Would you like to have a seat?" Ned asked her, and her eyes darted back to him. After a moment of contemplation, she nodded and made her way to him.

Ned nudged Frost to move so that Cat could take a seat beside him, and the large direwolf huffed and decided to lay down by his feet, looking offended that she had to relocate.

Cat took her seat, but there was a nervous air around her and she seemed to fidget a little before she spoke. "The lords are charmed by the children, and Robb seems to be making a favorable impression on them."

"Aye, I think that Ser Wylis is hoping that Robb will become his good son before he has to return to White Harbor." Ned was glad that his words caused his wife to smile.

The heir to White Harbor had brought both his daughters to Winterfell with him, and he had been very busy singing their praises and bragging about how talented they were in waterdancing, which seemed to have become the new fashionable pursuit of any young Northern lady.

"Yes, but I am sure that Arnolf Karstark is if anything more determined than Ser Wylis, even though lady Alys is a bit young to be married." Cat gave a soft laugh, and Ned chuckled out of relief that his wife could still stand to have a conversation with him.

"And how have you been doing? I am sure that having the lords around is a lot of work for you." Ned inquired as Frost yawned and leaned against his legs.

Cat smiled faintly at him. "It is no trouble at all, the lords of the North do not need much other than ale and hearty food."

There was a lot of truth in her words, if the Northern lords were happy and content then they were easily pleased. But if angered then there few that could hold grudges like the lords of the North.

That was something that worried Ned. He knew that many of the lords had been very grieved when his father and brother had been murdered by King Aerys, and that they would have preferred Brandon to become the lord of Winterfell like he was supposed to be.

And now that the time for revealing the truth about Jon was at their doorstep, he was a bit worried how many of the lords would take the news.

Lords Ryswell and Karstark were prickly at the best of times, and lady Dustin was a hard woman who had hated him for years now.

"What about you, Ned?" Cat sent him a searching look. "You have been rather distracted in the last few days."

Ned knew that Catelyn suspected why he was behaving like he was walking on a knife´s edge.

Ever since he had sent the letter to Robert, he had been anxious. Ned knew that Robert would be furious when he found out that he wouldn´t be marching south and giving him Sansa´s hand in marriage.

He could see Robert, red faced, throwing things in his fury while he cursed Ned to the depths of the seven hells.

"I am fine." Ned tried to smile at her, to offer her some reassurance but he knew that he wasn't fooling her. "But I will be glad when everything is over and done with."

Cat closed her eyes, almost like she was in pain. "Ned are you sure this is a good idea?" When she opened them again, Ned could see the fear and uncertainty in them, and he couldn't blame her.

Going to war was not something that he was eager to do, or something that he desired, but he knew that it couldn't be avoided.

When Robert found out, and it would happen whether Ned told people or not, there would be hells to pay and he was sure when he found out, the eldest of the Baratheon brothers would fly into a fury that would burn hotter than any of his past rages.

"I have to, there is no other choice."

If he told her the truth of why Jon needed to be placed on the throne, Ned knew that his wife would question his sanity.

"Ned, if you do this, do you know what it will do to this family?" She sent him a pleading look.

Ned frowned and clenched his fist in his lap. "Cat," He whispered and leaned in closer so that she could hear him, without them having any fear of anyone entering the Godswood could overhear them. "if it was Robb who had been denied his birthright, wouldn't you fight to help him reclaim it?"

Cat glared at him angerly and whispered coldly. "Robb is my son, it is different. You will be heading into a war against Robert Baratheon and taking my son with you. To fight for the grandson of the man who burned your father while Brandon was forced to watch as he strangled himself to death."

Like always when Catelyn mentioned his brother, he felt like his chest had been filled with ice. Ned knew that Brandon´s specter would always be between them, haunting their marriage.

"How do you think that the lords of the North will take it, when you make it known that you intend to place the son of the man who took your sister and the grandson of their lord´s killer and the man who denied them-." His lady wife cut herself off, but it was too late, he knew what she had meant to say.

Denied them of the man who would have been a better lord, denied them of the man who she was to marry.

He felt like his body had been dunked into an icy lake. "My father is as much Jon´s grandfather as he is Robb´s." His voice was cold, and he did his best to keep himself calm. "Jon is not Aerys, nor is he Rhaegar. Jon is a good man and has been ruling Queenscrown since he was ten-years-old with better results than most men who have ruled their own lands for decades."

Gone where the small, almost shy smiles that they had shared only a few moments before. Now there were glares between them and looks that could freeze water.

"The lords who share borders with the Gifts have nothing but praises to say about Jon, and all the lords of the North share a deep seeded dislike for Robert and his behavior over the last few years."

Catelyn and Ned stared at each other for a moment, before Cat looked away and stared furiously ahead of her.

As they sat there in angry silence, the bad temper started to melt off him and he could feel nothing but guilt and sadness.

His wife made herself likely to stand up, but his hand darted out and gently grabbed hers. Her blue eyes stared at his hand in surprise and slowly they found his grey ones. "Cat," His whisper almost sounded broken. "please, I understand why you are afraid, and you are right to be. What we are about to do is extremely dangerous, but I believe that not only will the North be better off with Jon on the throne, but the Seven Kingdoms as a whole."

She continued to stare at him as he continued. "I know that Jon is not likely to become anything like Robert, drinking and whoring his life away and he will never be anything like Aerys."

They sat in silence, neither of them speaking for a short while before Ned broke the silence once more. "I know that it is a lot for me to ask of you, especially after everything that you just found out, but I have to ask you to trust me."

Cat looked down on their entwined hands, her long red hair falling over her shoulders, almost obscuring her face from view, and as he could feel himself loosing hope, her smaller hand squeezed his.

They sat there in somewhat comfortable silence, but Ned knew that their marriage was still on rocky ground.

His lies and Brandon´s ghost were hovering over it, tearing it down from the inside, and if Cat and he were to have any hope of piecing it together and moving forward, they would have to work together and be honest with each other.

But the silence was broken by footsteps coming towards them.

The maester of the castle walked to them, the chains around his neck clicking with every step.

"My lord, my lady." Maester Luwin bowed to them. "I am glad I found you."

"Is something wrong?" Ned asked with a frown. "Are the lords asking about my whereabouts already?"

Ned had thought that he would be allowed a few moments in the Godswood after having spent every waking moment with the lords that had already arrived in Winterfell.

"No, my lord." The maester looked rather worried as he spoke. "The lords are being entertained by young Robb and the others and I am sure that they haven´t even noticed that you are gone."

Ned didn't know whether to laugh or be offended. "Then what is wrong?"

"A letter my lord, from King´s Landing." The smaller man pulled a letter out of his sleeve and handed it to him quietly.

He could hear his wife´s breath hitch and her hand grab his tighter, Ned gave her hand a squeeze, trying to assure her that everything would be alright before he let it go, to grab the letter from the maester.

The sigil of a crowned stag glared at him from its yellow-colored wax that sealed the small roll that contained the words of his once friend, Robert Baratheon.

He stared at it for a moment. Over the last few years, he had been so angry at Robert for his behavior towards the North and his family, and now the moment he would have to raise his banners for Jon and march to war against the man who for so long he had called friend and brother, was almost here.

Ned sighed and opened the letter, there was no point in delaying it any further.

The shacky handwriting did not match the angry words that almost jumped of the letter at him.

As he read the letter, he could feel both his wife and maester grow more anxious. "Ned what is it?" His wife asked hesitantly.

He didn't answer for a moment, too angry to form words, but after a few breaths to calm himself down, he answered her. "Robert is again demanding that I march south with my banners to help him fight the Lannisters, and that I bring Sansa with me, so that he can marry her at the earliest opportunity."

Cat when completely white and she brought her hands to her lips. "He wants to bring Sansa into a war?"

Ned nodded at her words, if he were to do what Robert was demanding of him, he would be bringing Sansa, to the Westerlands to a war against Tywin Lannister.

But Ned would not be doing anything that Robert was demanding of him.

The lords of the North would never agree to ride to war with Robert, the lords that were already in Winterfell had no trouble showing their anger and disgust at Robert´s behavior in the recent years, and Ned was sure that the lords that were only days away from here would be a lot more vocal in their displeasure of the eldest Baratheon brother, as it where the lords that were closest to the Wall.

But he had a feeling that it would be Sansa herself who would be harder to convince than any of the lords of the North.

Sansa would never agree to marry Robert and would probably just take a horse from the stables and ride to Queenscrown to Jon, who would never hand her over to be married to Robert, or any man that she objected to.

That much he was certain of.

He had to fight to maintain the stern look on his face, as he almost smiled at the image of anyone trying to get Sansa to marry Robert Baratheon and thinking that they could succeed.

Words couldn't describe how proud he was of his daughter and of the woman she had become, and he was sure that if she married Jon, she would truly thrive and be allowed to be her own person who was respected and cared for.

"What are we going to do Ned?" Cat asked, her voice shacking with fear of Robert´s reaction when he would get a second letter, denying him what he wanted.

He turned his light grey eyes to his wife. "I will send him another letter, very much like the one we sent him before, and I will show this one to the lords and the one I received from him earlier."

"Are you sure that it is wise, my lord?" The maester asked hesitantly with worry written all over his face. "The lords of the North are angry at King Robert and might even contemplate trying to break away from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms."

Ned was almost surprised how accurately maester Luwin had predicted the lords and what they would do. Or what they had done in another life.

But he wasn't sure if the lords of the North were as eager to tear themselves away from the rest of the Seven Kingdoms now that they had a lot stronger trade deals with the Vale, the Riverlands and Dorne.

And Sansa had been writing to Jon and they had been talking about possible deals with the Crownlands and the lords of the Narrow Sea.

And if they decided to break away then those deals would most likely be affected. "Why don't we head to my solar, and ask Robb and Sansa to come as well, and we can talk about this situation some more and decide our next move."

As maester nodded and Ned stood up getting ready to head to his solar, Cat remained seated on the log, looking at her hands.

"Cat, aren't you coming with us?" Ned asked her gently, hoping that she would say yes.

She stared at him in surprise. "You want me to come with you?"

"Of course, I would like to hear what you think as well." He could feel his heart become a little lighter when she smiled so happily at him, and he could feel a sense of hope rise in his chest that maybe their marriage could be saved.

JON

He scratched at the healing wound over his right eye as he made his way into the courtyard of Castle Black, and he could feel like there was weight lifted of his shoulders that he hadn´t know he was carrying around.

It felt good to be on the south side of the Wall, and the sooner he could go to Queenscrown and make sure to get the Freefolk settled, the better. Every step of the way back to the wall had been overshadowed by fear of the Others attacking them as they made their way to safety.

They had been forced to travel slowly as they had so many that were wounded or infirm, making traveling fast impossible, making an attack from their rear more likely, and the fact that they had lost many of their warriors in the battle with the dead.

"Jon, how are you holding up?" Jon turned to face his uncle, who was wearing a look of concern on his face.

"I am alright uncle Benjen," He fought the urge to scratch at his healing wound on his face again as he spoke. "just glad to be heading home."

But Jon knew that it was almost time for him to travel south and start to try and unite the Seven Kingdoms against the dead and the White Walkers. And when he headed south to try and take the iron throne, his life would cease to be his own.

"Are you sure?" Benjen asked seriously, his blue grey eyes boring into his grey ones.

Jon had thought that his uncle had been protective on the way North, but it was nothing compared with how protective he had become on their way back to Castle Black.

The man had hovered around him the entire way, and he had insisted that he was always with his guards around him and a part of him, a prideful one wanted to brush of his concerns, but the rest of him knew that he shouldn't.

"Aye, I am sure that I am alright." Jon smiled at his uncle as they walked across the courtyard, and Jon could see that the black brothers that hadn´t come with them beyond the Wall were all watching.

Most of them had looks of suspicion on their faces, but there were a few of them that had looks of clear hatred and contempt at seeing the Freefolk among them.

One of such men was Ser Alliser Thorne, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard, with such look of pure loathing that was reminded of when he had been elected as lord commander. But this time the look was not directed at him, but rather at the refugees that were making their way south, to safety.

"I see Ser Alliser isn't happy with the Freefolk being allowed south of the Wall." Jon noted to his uncle.

"Aye, I wouldn't expect him to. Most of us have lost someone to the Wildlings and carry grudges."

Jon looked at the man beside him. "And how many of them have been killed by Night´s watch men?"

Benjen looked at him with his brows raised high on his forehead and looked ready to say something, but Jon was quicker. "My point is that we have killed their people, and they have killed our people, and the only way to stop the killing is to make peace and it has to start somewhere, why not with us?"

He knew that it would be a difficult process to make peace between the Northern lords and the Freefolk, and he did dread heading to Winterfell and try and make the lords see that this was the right course of action and the best way for them to win against an enemy that they most likely didn't even believe that existed.

"Wise words Jon." His uncle put his hand on his shoulder, and Jon could almost sense that there was more that his uncle wanted to say, and that there was a deeper meaning in his words. "Words that more of us should take to heart."

He felt a sense of pride at his uncle´s words. Even now, he wanted the people around him to be proud of him and that he was worthy of their love and trust.

"Will you be heading with me to Winterfell?" Jon asked his uncle, trying to change the subject.

"Aye, I think that it will be for the best, especially when the lord commander is staying here." They walked across the courtyard, the Freefolk parting as they made their way, and Jon had to fight the urge to duck his head, at the looks that were being sent his way. "It would be best for him to stay here just in case."

Jon had to admit that he would have liked it better if the Old Bear had decided to travel with them to Winterfell and tell the lords of what he had seen beyond the Wall as it would only help in trying to convince them of the truth.

Lord commander Mormont´s word carried a lot of weight in the North, and he was one of the North´s most respected figures even though his son had proven to be a slaver.

But Jon could understand why Mormont had to stay in Castle Black. If Mormont wasn't at Castle Black, then the men who were against the Freefolk being allowed to come south of the Wall might attempt to do something stupid.

"Stark." They both turned when they heard the old bear call for his uncle. "It is time, why don't you and lord Snow come and meet us in my solar."

Benjen clapped his shoulder, and they made their way into the solar, and as he was walking, he could feel Ser Alliser´s eyes on him. Jon felt the urge to rub at where he had been stabbed in the heart in his last life.

When they entered the solar, his uncle Aemon was already there as were the lord steward Bowen March and the first builder Othell Yarwyck.

Seeing Bowen March again was harder than seeing Ser Alliser. Jon had disliked the knight from the start and the betrayal while surprising hadn´t cut like Bowen March´s had.

Jon had liked the lord steward well enough, and he had served under him until he had gone with lord commander Mormont beyond the Wall.

The lord commander entered the solar and bade them to take a seat. Jon sat down beside his uncle Aemon and greeted him warmly.

But there was no chance at a conversation as the old bear began immediately. "Thank you all for coming." The Old bear spoke calmy, but his face was grave.

But neither Bowen March nor Othell Yarwyck shared in that calm demeanor. "Lord commander, what were you thinking?" The lord steward looked both enraged and terrified as he spoke. "We had thought that you have only gone beyond the Wall to see what they were planning, not to let them south."

Mormont sent the man a cold look, that would have made most men think twice about what they had to say. "March, you weren't there." The leader of the Night´s Watch leaned forward and stared at the lord steward with grim look in his eyes. "We were set upon by something, things that are more horrifying and dangerous than the Wildlings."

Bowen stared at him with wide eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"It´s the Others, they are back." Benjen spoke, his face as stoic as his older brother often was. "We were met with a force of them, and we would have lost if not for Jon." His uncle placed his hand on his shoulder again, and Jon could feel the embarrassment heat up his face.

Every step as they had travel to the Wall, the black brothers, the Freefolk and his own men had been sending him looks of awe, which never failed to amuse Tormund.

Othell and Bowen both stared at Jon for a moment, before the first builder spoke. "And how did young lord Snow do that?" Jon wasn't deaf to the almost cautious tone that the man used when saying the word Snow.

It was no secret that Othell Yarwyck didn't trust those with bastard names like most of those who had been raised in the light of the Seven, and Jon was no exception even though he had been working with the Watch for almost five years, helping to rebuild the castles and feed the men.

Jon decided to remain silent, which didn't seem to bother Benjen, who seemed more than happy to explain the men how Jon had defeated the Other.

As his maternal uncle told them how Jon had used the sword Darksister, which had been given to him by Tormund as a token of good faith, to kill a creature out of legend, Jon´s hand itched to scratch the healing wound over his right eye.

"You have Darksister?" The soft but frail voice of Aemon Targaryen broke though the silence after Benjen had finished telling them how the Others had fallen on them during the peace talks.

"Aye." Jon confirmed and unstrapped the sheath around his hips and handed him the sword of their ancestors.

The old man took the sword with weathered hands and traced the hilt with his fingers. "What color are the flames?" He asked, his voice shaking with emotion.

"Golden," Jon confirmed. "as are the flames of the cross guard, and the hilt is black."

The maester gave a soft but tearful laugh. "So, it is truly Darksister. I haven't been close to this sword since my uncle Brynden left on a ranging beyond the Wall, and I had never thought to be in its presence again."

The man handed it back to him, but Jon decided to speak up. "It belongs to you; you should have her."

Jon knew that even if he would soon have to reveal himself as Rhaegar´s trueborn son, it would be strange for people to see a bastard of Winterfell carrying one of the missing Targaryen Valyrian swords, which was why he never carried Blackfyre, who remined hidden in Queenscrown, waiting for the day he would have to reveal his parentage.

But maester Aemon just laughed. "No, she belongs to you. I am no warrior, and an old man besides, and it would be an insult to the sword to lay unused in a maester´s solar."

Jon opened his mouth to say something more, to ask him if he was sure, but decided against it when he suddenly became very much aware of the other men in the room. So, instead he thanked the man profusely and strapped the sword back to his body.

"Are you sure it was an Other?" Bowen asked, skepticism in his voice was so clear that even a deaf man could have heard it, as he dragged the conversation back to the Others.

"Of course, we are sure." Jeor Mormont growled, looking just like an angry bear. "Unless you can name another creature that was made of ice and commands an army of the dead."

Yarwyck seemed uncomfortable for a moment. "We aren't doubting your word, lord commander. But you have to appreciate how unbelievable it all sounds to us."

Jon thought it strange that a Westerman seemed more open to believing in the Others returning than the Northern Bowen March. "But it would have been better if you have brought one of those things with you as proof."

The lord commander grunted at that. "Aye, it would have been better, but even if we had managed to capture one, it would have endangered the women and children that we were traveling with."

Bowen scoffed at that. "Wildlings, it would have been better if they had died."

"These are innocent women and children you are talking about." Benjen sounded offended at the lord steward's words and stared at him in disbelief.

Before this argument could devolve further, the lord commander stopped the two men. "Enough of this both of you. Lord Snow has come to an agreement with their leader, Tormund Giantsbane and if they keep their half of the deal then we will not have any trouble with the Wildlings."

Bowen March now sent Jon a cold look. "He is just a boy; how can he hope to force the Wildlings to obey anything? And why should we trust any promise that Tormund Giantsbane makes? Because he gave the bastard a Targaryen sword?"

"This boy has been ruling the Gifts for the last five years with more success than most lords of the realm combined," Benjen spat out, jumping to his feet in anger. "this boy saved the heir to Winterfell from certain death and was knighted at ten-years-old, this boy killed an Other in single combat."

As Benjen´s fury grew, Jon decided that it had gone far enough. He placed his hand on his uncle´s forearm and spoke softly. "Benjen." The man didn't take his eyes of Bowen March who seemed to be afraid of his uncle. "I am sure that the lord steward didn't mean any offence."

Jon knew full well that March had meant every word that he had said, and offence had very much been intended, but Jon felt that it would be best to ignore it.

He was done with holding grudges because of childish insults, like he had so often done when he had been younger.

There was a time, not so long ago when Jon would have looked for any perceived insult that might come his way, and no slight had been forgotten, but he knew now that it only served to make him angry and bitter, and it really didn't help.

Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not.

Jon hadn´t forgotten the words of Tyrion Lannister, and he never would. Those words had helped him more than he could say, and he would always be thankful for them.

Jon looked at the man, who had once helped stab him to death, in another life. "I understand your concerns lord steward. The Night´s Watch and the Freefolk have been enemies for thousands of years, and such deep seeded enmities do not stop overnight."

He let his hand fall of his uncle´s forearm as the other men looked at him with furrowed brows. "But we cannot hope to stand against the dead by ourselves. We have no idea how many of the Others there are, and we have no idea how many of the dead they have under their command."

"Aye," The lord commander gave him a look of approval. "if the Others are truly back in force, we have to stand together and fight. We cannot afford to fight wars on two fronts. And lord Snow has been keeping the Wildlings who are living on his lands in line just fine, and I am sure that he will do the same with the ones arriving now."

"You are sure that the Others are returning?" Now the lord steward´s voice waivered as he spoke.

"Aye, we are sure." The lord commander stared Bowen March down, and Jon could see how the lord steward seemed to accept his words for the truth, even if he didn't want to believe it.

Jeor Mormont gestured for Benjen to sit back down, which was reluctantly obeyed as the first ranger continued to stare angerly at March.

"Now, lord Snow, when are you going to Winterfell?"

"I have to go to Queenscrown and make sure that the Freefolk are settled, and then I will be heading to Winterfell."

The old bear rubbed his brow. "How long do you think that it will take for you to make sure that they are settled?"

"Not long." Jon replied without hesitation, making the other man raise his eyebrows. "I have spoken to Tormund at length, and I have good people that I trust to help in these matters."

The man seemed relived at hearing that. "Good, we have to move with haste and convince the lord of the North that we are telling the truth."