They have taken back Winterfell and he was held as King in the North despite being a bastard. Jon needs to prepare the North for the Great War.

Winter is here...

As soon as the gathering of the lords is finished, Jon takes shelter away from the sight of people to his old room, the small room he stayed in from the very beginning. This room holds memories of his childhood, his beginning.

Sansa had offered the old chambers of the late Lord Ned Stark and late Lady Catelyn Stark yet he is adamant in taking it.

You are a King now. King in the North, act like one and live like one.

Those were Sansa's words. Jon only nodded at it, but it does not mean he wants to be one. He does not want to be King but he had no choice but to accept being the leader of his home. He would rather give the position to Sansa had it not been for the threat coming to them along with the cold Winter.

The coldest one in a thousand years...

He dreads what is to come. Should they fail in killing the Night King, everyone will perish. No one will have a chance to reminisce their past or enjoy their home for they will live like the dead.

A living dead.

Jon stands from sitting on his old bed and steps to the door. He leads himself towards the chambers of his late father. This is the first time he has been in this place. Lady Catelyn made no subtle actions of her disgust to the bastard boy. Jon missed his father and his honorable words. It is such a shame he is not here to see Jon to the King he had become.

'I supposed had they been alive, I won't be King' he jests himself. Lady Catelyn will do anything in her power to prevent that from happening, not when she had her children take the position they rightfully deserve.

The chamber still had the old belongings of the Lord and Lady of Winterfell. He supposed he should arrange those. He does not want to ask any servants in the castle to do it. If he will take this chamber, might as well clean it for himself. He is still used to fending for himself.

He starts with the cabinets full of their clothes. He must ask Sansa to take care of it tomorrow. Jon moves towards the cabinets full of papers, scrolls, books. A lot of things and if he is to rule North in this winter, he needs to know of it.

It took Jon about an hour before he was able to organize it - not perfectly but at least organized enough for him to look at it the next day. He starts inspecting more of the cabinets available and was surprised to see a very small box at the very bottom as if it is meant to be kept away.

The object makes him curious. Why hide this box? No one will hide this unless someone doesn't want anyone to see what's inside or had the late Lord and Lady made a mistake?

Curiosity wins him over as he takes the small box in his hand and is surprised to see a Sigil at the top of it.

The sigil of Targaryen. Three-headed dragons.

Why does Lord Ned Stark have a box with the sigil of Targaryens? Considering the history behind both families, this should most likely be destroyed. Curiosity flooded him as he takes the box and walks toward the large bed. He opens it. Inside contains letters.

Blinking in confusion, he thinks for a moment if he should ask Sansa to read it with him in case the letters are for the true Starks. Still, he can't help but feel as if the letters are important, that he must read them.

So he did. He randomly picks the first letter at the top and it says:

To my unborn child... I will love you even on my death... - Rhaegar Targaryen

Rhaegar Targaryen - a famous name across Seven Kingdoms, the person who started the war that led to the downfall and demise of the Targaryens.

Jon feels even more curious about the box which is filled with documents and scrolls. He randomly selected another letter.

I worry for you, my Prince. Our love caused the war in this kingdom. May you come back to me and our unborn child.

- With love, Lyanna Targaryen.

Jon frowns at the letter. His aunt Lyanna, according to the stories, was kidnapped by Rhaegar and was raped by him. Yet, this letter says otherwise. Why would she use a Targaryen surname? The more he thinks about what the letters contain, the more he becomes nervous.

A part of his mind thinks that these could be fake letters, but looking at the seals of the letters, he thinks not. No one in their right mind will use the seals of the noble houses and only the direct descendants can use them.

He sets the letter aside and takes another letter to read.

I hope my family can forgive me. I hope you can forgive me, Ned. I do not love Robert Baratheon. I fear that if I don't run away now, I won't be able to run anymore.

Forgive me, Ned...

- Lyanna

So Lyanna Stark ran away from home, away from her betrothal to Robert Baratheon. The stories they heard had been wrong all this time and these letters are nothing but proof of that.

He wants to know more. He is really curious and confused at the same time. Stories were often not accurate, but what Jon discovered is contradicting to the stories told across Westeros.

To my Queen Lyanna,

The war is still far from over. Once this is over, I will ask forgiveness from your family for what my father did to your father and brother. It pains me how my father had been madder than he already is. I wish I was there with you and our growing child.

With Love, Rhaegar.

Rhaegar and Lyanna had a child. They loved each other. The stories are all wrong.

Another letter caught Jon's attention. It bears a Stark Sigil.

Lyanna,

I will come for you at the Tower of Joy. No matter what, you are my sister. You are my family

- Ned Stark

Then another letter from his father, but this is for the House of Reed.

To my friend, Howland,

I am thankful that the babe resembles a Stark. Lyanna's blood flows strongly to the child. I am more thankful that his eyes remained brown and his body is not of a Targaryen. I fear for his safety every time Robert speaks of hunting every last Targaryen. I promised my sister to keep her boy safe, and I will, even if it means forgetting my honor.

- Ned

The boy is alive, the offspring of Lyanna and Rhaegar is alive and Lord Stark is aware of it. Where is the boy? Where did Ned Stark hide him?

Looking at the letters inside the box, he feels as if the answer is inside, so he searches for it. And that's when he finds something, proof. A proof that Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen are married. Witnessed by Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Gerold Hightower.

This explains why Lyanna used the surname Targaryen in her letters to Rhaegar. It is a pity. The love blossomed only for blood to be spilled.

Shaking his head, he focuses his mind on reading the other letters.

This time, it's from House Reed.

Jon was about to read it when a knock prevented him from doing so. Jon immediately gathered all the spread letters and shove them inside the box. He quickly hides it under the bed and braces himself to face whoever was knocking.

"Come in." He says, feigning nonchalance. The door opens, revealing the servant boy. He bows to the King in the North as he delivers a message.

"Raven came from Castle Black, Your Grace." Jon takes the scroll and dismissed the servant. As Jon opens it, the box temporarily forgotten, he reads the letter from his old friend, Edd.

Jon,

We had a visitor from the land beyond the wall. He claims to be your brother, Bran Stark, the cripple. We have sent him and his companion to Winterfell. You should expect him in a day or two from the time you read this letter.

The wall is getting colder, my friend. They are coming, no doubt.

- Edd.

Jon is happy, yet worried. He is hopeful that Edd is right about Bran. Soon Jon told Sansa of Bran's arrival in the Wall and on his way to Winterfell. While they are hoping it is Bran, they still prepared themselves should the claims tend to be false.

Every other day, they will receive news of their siblings, informants ask for rewards in a form of coins. They grew tired of hearing false news.

In the day, Jon is busy doing Kingly duties in the North and at Night, he reads the letters in the box. He wonders where the baby is right now and the more he reads the letters, the more nervous he becomes. He had an impending conclusion that he does not want to admit, till he saw the letter from Ned Stark to Howland Reed.

Rhaegar left a letter for the baby, a gift. He named him Jaehaerys Targaryen, yet I cannot bear to let the baby have such a name. It will be the death of him, so I gave the baby the name Jon. It pains me how he needs to grow as a bastard, but this is for his safety. I have to fulfill my promise to Lyanna.

Jon is silent while staring at the letter. His eyes dart to the words that his father wrote. Jaehaerys Targaryen was named Jon. Him.

Jon, a bastard.

But if what Ned stated in the letter is true, then the name Jon is not his real name at all. His name and his identity have been a lie all his life. His breathing became harsh, heart pounding in shock as he stared at the letter.

This can't be…

Everything had been a lie. His birth, his life, his name.

He looks back at the memories of how people talked about Ned Stark's honor. How impossible it is for him to forget his vows for some southern slut.

Now, Jon understands why. He did it for his sister. He took Lady Catelyn's wrath and people's jests for the sake of protecting Jon from Robert Baratheon's rage.

Words from Maester Aemon rang inside his head...

"We're all human. Oh, we all do our duty when there's no cost to it. The honor comes easy then. Yet, sooner or later in every man's life there comes a day when it's not easy. A day when he must choose."

Did Ned Stark, his father - no - his uncle - decided to forget his honor and fulfilled his promise to Lyanna?

Jon looks at the Sigil at the box. A gift to him from his father. Strange that the father he used to know is not his biological father and now what is left of his connection to his real father is the sigil and the letters that remind him of where he truly came from.

He is not a Snow... He is not Blackfyre either.

But a Targaryen...

Sighing in exasperation, Jon takes one last letter. This came from Rhaegar. A letter to Lyanna.

Lyanna, my love,

I wish I can leave the battlefield and rush to your side. I know it is only a matter of time before our child is born. I prepared a gift for him or her. You will find three dragon eggs in the box. The dragon has three heads - a phrase he should always remember when the time comes.

I thought of a name for the child. Jaehaerys Targaryen if it will be a boy and if our child will be a girl, Rhaeanna will be a good name, no?

I will see you soon, my love.

- Your Prince, Rhaegar

He lets all information sinks in but it is rather difficult to think that it is. A scoff leaves his mouth at the ridiculousness of his situation.

His mind is in chaos. All his life, he always wanted to be a Stark... He is, half of him is. And half is the blood of the dragon...