Hello! I was reading fanfics today and came up with this interesting idea, now that my first fic is going to come to an end and I have little idea for a continuation... I´m not abandoning the proyect, but for now I´m going with another project.
A song of ice and fire is not mine
"Okay, boys, time to start our inspection! Remember that whoever brings us something new gains a special bonus in their final exam" said the professor, bored. Having brought class after class to this freezing medieval castle during years, the reaction was natural. Not even him could say there was something new to discover about the place by now, but this was the closest place to the campus his Introduction to Archeological Methods class could practice, so he kept bringing them here for a few days to have some field training. Huh, what a drag. If only he had accepted that job in King´s Landing University.
His students dispersed, the most enthusiastic of them going to the crumbling towers or the lower level while the most realistic ones went to the rooms, hoping to find some forgotten items. A little group from the last ones hoped to find themselves in Winterfell or Sunspear… really, something more interesting than this relatively new castle from the early period of the Free Kingdom, when the Free Folk started building like the southern kingdoms. That should happen.
Andrew Giantsbane was not one of them. He was half enthusiastic and half realistic, which was the reason he ended up in the basement. Or the dungeons, as some people wouldl call it. Looking around lazily, he found himself in a cell where the owner… or the prisoner inside it… carved in the stone an elaborate direwolf. He passed his hand through the place, feeling it. What was House Stark´s symbol in there? They were enemies of the Free Folk, at least before the Kingdom of the North absorbed them a few centuries before his time. Curiosity took hold of him and he lighted it. Woow, it was not the Stark symbol. The Stark direwolf didn´t have wings. And such strange wings…
"BOOO!" Andrew jumped, losing his phone and dropping it in a corner of the room. A female laughing was the next thing he heard, making him frown. He knew this voice. And got quickly angered by it. "Arya!"
"You should have seen your face!" the girl continued laughing, joking about how she made him drop his phone. He grumped, between all the students of his class, Arya Snow was the most annoying of them all. She was very smart and liked to make jokes at the expenses of others despite being herself quite the loner. Perhaps it was because of that. "Oh, I should have taken a photo for Instagram…"
"Shut up, I didn´t make any face" he said, dropping to his knees to find his cell. There he noticed something strange, there was a wind breeze despite not being any window. He lost interest soon, as he saw a hole on the wall. He stretched a hand to take it, only to have Arya kicking it right into the hole. He raised his face to glare at her, only to find her smirking expression.
"Uppps" she taunted him. "Did I make you lose something important?"
"You better not, because if you did, you will pay it" Andrew said, frowning and trying to feel around in the hole to catch it. To his surprise, the space inside the hole was bigger than he thought… or deeper? Definitely deeper. Frustrated with the loss, he banged his fists against a stone on the floor and, much to his surprise, found it hollow. He froze, suddenly not caring about the lost device. He punched the floor again and obtained the same sound. Even the rock moved a little bit to the inside.
"Ehhhhh… did I overdid it? Have you finally got mad?" she asked, not finding a sense in his recent actions.
"I think there is some kind of secret passage here, where my phone just felt" the boy explained, doing that action again.
"A secret passage? On a dungeon?" the girl laughed. "You must have hit your head when you jumped because there is no way…" the stone felt with a strenuous sound, revealing a hidden room. "Well, I will be dammed" she pointed her own light inside, illuminating the stoned on the wall and the floor, covered by dust over the years. "No prisoner made this…" she said, showing her classmate to the side and jumping in to see the walls closely. She put a hand on carvings, admiring the exquisite stonework. "This was made purposely."
"Hey, can you see my cellphone over there?" Andrew said, jumping on the hole. There was no way in the world he was letting Arya take the credit for his discovery.
"Can´t you be serious for a second?" the female retorted, suddenly very angry. "This shouldn´t be here. It´s early Kingdom era, possibly late Wall one. There was supposed not be any constructions like this in this place at the time."
"Well, apparently there was" he answered, lazily scanning the carvings he could see. There was a Tower in the middle of nowhere, with three men on the bottom. And, in the sky, the sun and spear of House Martell could be seen. "Do you think it´s Sunspear? I have never been in the place, but you surely have gone. Your family has money, after all."
"It´s not Sunspear" Arya pointed her light to the floor, searching for the other´s phone. Finally, she was able to find it and, while the boy got down to recover it, she illuminated the tower again. And noticed something new. There was a woman in the window, caressing an enlarged belly. "But this could have happened in Dorne."
"Dorne? What relationship could have this place in the Far North with the most Southern place in Westeros?" the male turned on his light again, trying to see the carvings. They look pretty much like an ancient nursery history his mother used to read him when he was five. "OH… you think this might be the Tower of Joy."
"What else could it be?"
"Well, definitely not a place the archaeologists hasn´t found a trace from." He said, staring at the lady on the window again. "Come on, Arya, there was not such a place like the Tower of Joy. That place never existed."
"Tell it to the carvers" the girl continued, walking towards the complete darkness. She kept her phone flashlight directed towards the wall, continuing the history. Next she found an exact replica of Winterfell on the stone, with a family in the courtyard. Then some men finding a dead wolf and baby wolves. In the following image, the children were not children anymore. Or at least the older ones. The history continued with one of them going to the Wall… "I think this is a place of the Night´s Watch"
"The Night´s Watch? Wasn´t that a penal colony disbanded in the late Free Kingdom era?"
"In reality, it was an order, but the people tended to treat it like a penal colony for their openness to accept any kind of recruits, even from the dungeons in the castles" her hands traced the carving. The boy of Winterfell on the top of a gigantic wall, along with a wolf, seeing at the other side, a sword on his hands. And a dark figure on the other side. "A boy from Winterfell becoming a man of the Night´s Watch…"
"Jon Snow?" asked Andrew, who also knew the history. It was the most famous mythical king in Westeros, after all. No one could ever find a proof of his existence, but his memory lived in the minds of every child in Westeros. "You mean this walls are telling the history of Jon Snow?"
"Tell what else could it be?" Arya started signalling the carving all over the place. "The Tower of Joy, where he was born, Winterfell, where he grew up, and then the Night´s Watch, where he rose to Lord Commander…" they continued walking, passing the beheading of Ned Stark, the Great Range and his meeting with Mance Rayder. After a few others… "Wait, this is different." There was no sign of Jon Snow, only a group of people getting massacred over a table. And a symbol, the Twin Towers. "Want to bet that this is the Red Wedding?"
"King Robb´s murder, the death of a beloved brother, an event which marked the hero for the rest of his life" the boy continued, having heard the history plenty of times, enough to see where the girl was going. "Is that the battle of the Wall?"
"And Hardhome and the Betrayal and the Resurrection by the Red Priestess" she said, speeding a little bit on that carving. The witch on the Wall looked nearly alive, as if she was looking at you, and that was a little bit creepy. "The battle of the Bastards, his Proclamation as the King in the North, his trip to Dragonstone, meeting with Daenerys, their love, the lost of a dragon, the Battle of the Dawn…"
"It´s only I, or this have gone a little bit creepy?" Andrew said, staring right in front of the Night´s King, flying in the dead dragon´s back. The battle of King´s Landing and the Queenslaying were the next ones. You could practically see the pain in Jon Snow´s face as he was forced to kill the woman he loved to save hundredths of lives. And how was he rewarded? "Look here, it´s the council of his banishment. Bran the Broken, Sansa the Mockingbird and Arya the Faceless."
"Yes… and then he goes beyond the Wall with the wildings, becoming the next King Beyond the Wall and the first King of the Free Kingdom. Yes, Arya, I know the history" They both searched for more carving on the Wall, but the thing ended there. And a big arch with inscriptions started, giving a way towards a dark room. "What does it say?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"You were the best in the ancient languages classes, remember?"
"What I do remember is that you barely passed" she answered walking towards the inside. The first thing she noticed was that there was a big statue of a man with a crown, a direwolf made of white stone and rubies for eyes at his side. On the hands of the man was a sword, shinning the place enough for them to see the big coffin at the statue´s feet. Andrew went to examine the statue, his eyes on the sword in it´s hands.
"Have you seen this? It´s Valyrian steel" he practically jumped. "Haven´t seen it since that exhibition at the museum, where the ancient families showed their familiar swords." He continued staring at it, practically salivating. "Arya? Are you listening to me? I told you that…"
"I got distracted by this" she tapped the top of the coffin. "Listen: Here lies Jon Snow, Aegon Targaryen, The White Wolf, The Hidden Dragon, 99th Lord Commander of the Night´s Watch, Commander of the Battle of Dawn, King in the North, Rightful Heir of the Seven Kingdoms, King Beyond the Wall, First King of the Free Kingdom. The Gods might grant him rest."
"Woow" Andrew gaped a few moments before continuing. "Then… then that sword is… is…"
"Longclaw" finished Arya for him, pointing her light at the sword. The pommel had a white wolf, just like in legend, and was a longsword. "Now I understand. The castle must have been constructed over the tomb. And someone who knew what lied under it, probably a guardian, carved the winged direwolf to signal the place so someone could find it again."
"I don´t care what the prisoner wanted, just look at this place!" he screamed, laughing like a little kid. "With this discovery we don´t even need to do the exam! And forget the exam, we will be catapulted to the history books without even finishing the career! We are famous!" he climbed into the pillar supporting the statues of Jon Snow and his life companion, Ghost the direwolf. He took the sword on his hands, lifting it from the king´s hands. "Hello, Jon. Hello, Ghost. Hope you don´t mind if I take this, no one is going to believe us if we don´t get a proof…"
"Which leads me to another problem, how the hell are we going to get out of here?" she finally said, making his joy balloon explode. She was right, they jumped on a hole with no meanings to get out. No ladder or rope or any equipment to get out of the damn place. Only Jon and his memories. "And?"
"I don´t know" he confessed, nearly dropping the sword. "Should we scream for help?"
"Guess so, but do it near the entrance. No one is going to heard us from here"
"Right" both of them exited the room, Longclaw still in Andrew´s hand. Once they left the room, a ghostly presence exited the tomb, a wolf at his side. The canine bumped his head on his human´s hand, licking it like trying to cheer him up. The man, Jon Snow, just stared at the pathway the kids just disappeared into, feeling guilty, sadness and… relieve. The sword was lifted, his job done.
"Jon Snow" a dark figure suddenly appeared behind him, it´s face covered with a black hood. "Your time to cross has come. You are free to stop fighting now, to stop suffering. Your Watch is over and now it´s time to reunite with family and be happy." It lifted an arms, opening some kind of dark tunnel. "Go now, Hero of the Dawn, time to rest."
"What I regret the most" started the ghost, not paying attention to the passage. "is that I couldn´t stop them indefinitely. The Night King will come back now" he turned to the hooded apparition. "Answer me, do I really have to be free? Can´t I stay here fighting them, keeping them trapped, protecting the world from the Long Night?"
"You always knew that this was not a complete solution, just a palliative. Azor Ahai bought humanity centuries of peace to prosper and prepare for the new Long Night, so have you. It´s time to cross and receive the deserved reward" a light appeared on the other side of the tunnel. "Now come, your family is waiting for you. Don´t keep them waiting."
"Does it have to be them? They are just kids!"
"So were you when you fought the Long Night. A child that should have stayed with his loving family. A loving family that is waiting for you" his arm raised even more. "It´s time, cross the door."
"It´s going to hurt?" he asked, reading for a last time the runes on his tomb´s entrance: May the Gods have mercy on my soul, Because I shall not rest until the Ice come forth.
"Did death hurt? The last time, at least, because the murder should really have hurt" Jon shook his head, remembering the last time he died. Tormund was by his side, promising to bury his body just like he asked to, his children surrounding him and keeping him company while the ice filled his veins and he mentally prepared for the eternal fight he had ahead of him… well, really long fight. "Come"
"Will I see her too?" asked the boy, thinking about Dany. Sometimes during his later live, he felt a little bit guilty for not loving Val like a husband should love his wife, but she never cared. She only cared that their relationship was good, the sex satisfying and their children loved. She also never left his side while he needed her, despite having other one night lovers. The Wilding Princess was a remarkable woman… but she was not Dany.
"You will only find out on the other side. Now come" Jon breathed in once before finally crossing the portal to the other side. He walked in the darkness with Ghost by his side, directly to the glowing end of the tunnel. The man finally got out to find himself in… Winterfell. And not any Winterfell, but the warm one he remembered from his childhood, filled with known faces and…
"JON!" a blur suddenly collided with him. For the first time in centuries, he found himself holding Arya, his dearest little sister. She hugged him for long before punching him in the gut, putting a pout on her face. "You idiot, what took you so long? I have been waiting for you for centuries!"
"Sorry, little sister" he answered, uttering the first smile he had in centuries. "I only had to act as a guardian to keep the Great Other and the Night King in his prison for ages" he said, following with his eyes Ghost, who was running around with Nymeria. "But I am here now. And I won´t leave again."
"You better" Arya took his hand, dragging him towards the Great Hall. There, in the biggest hall there ever was, the Lords of Winterfell and Kings in the North feasted together, laughing like family members. Between them was his father… uncle Ned. And surprisingly, not Sansa. "She is not here. Mother either" Jon turned to his sister, who licked her lips nervously. "They heart you were coming and left. They didn´t know if you would like to see them."
"Why wouldn´t I?"
"They… well… made your life hell or took everything from you" the boy shook his head. He left his resentments behind when he died. "Mother felt very guilty for how she threated you. You were an orphan and she should have been a mother to you… Lyanna had a hand on her change of mind" the girl smiled wickedly. "You should have seen the brawls they organized in the main hall. Not even Rhaegar could stop her."
"Is he here too?"
"Not for now, he went to King´s Landing to be with his mother, but he tends to stay with aunt Lyanna most of the time. He only went because that brat Viserys was being released from purgatory and Rhaella needed the support."
"I see" for now, Jon was not going to ask about that part of his family. "And Sansa?"
"In her room" answered the female, playing with her fingers. "She finally grew up, you know. Wearing the crown actually taught her that she was not the best to wear it. Too much intrigue, too much… hunger for power. In the end, even she admitted it was not worth what she lost. That it was not worth you" her hand took his. "You should have heard the speech she said in your funeral, it was very pretty."
"She was there?" he shook his head. "Then I will go to see her" he turned to return to the main hall, but then he noticed two people coming towards him. One was his uncle/father, Eddard Stark, that was beaming in pride for him. and the other was… "Mother?"
"My brave baby boy, I´m so proud of you" Lyanna encircled him with her arms, holding him tightly against her body. "Look at you, you were so tiny when I last saw you and now you are a man grown. And a hero in your own rights. When did so many centuries passed?"
"I´m many more things, not all pleasant. I hope you don´t mind I´m…"
"My dear, you aren´t perfect, I know. But you are all I could ever hope for. And more, much more" she kissed his forehead and he finally felt it, he was at home. Well, not completely. "She has been waiting for you too."
"Who?"
"Dany, who else?" the princess shook her head. "Seriously, what were you expecting? The girl is still head over hills for you. And, after so many centuries, understood why you had to do it. Killing her, I mean."
"Then where is she?"
"With Rhaella, but don´t worry, Rhaegar offered to get her here" he grunted, not sure if he was ready to meet his biological father yet. "Oh, don´t worry, sweetie, there is time for you to adjust. And to know each other, you have centuries."
-In the other world-
"Has everything been getting colder here or what?" asked Andrew, shivering in his jacket. He was with Arya at an excavation in the tunnel they have just discovered. It was really amazing and very interesting. There were parts of the tunnel they haven´t seen before, showing the history of Harrenhal and Robert´s Rebellion, as they were also important events in the King´s live.
"I guess. After all, Winter is coming" answered his classmate, enduring a little bit more than him.
"Wait, really?" he laughed, looking straight at her. "Are you now a Stark, Snow?"
"Who knows? Perhaps I am. After all, I have the North in my blood"
Well, here is the game. I´m going to post 4 doors to my worlds of ice and fire in the form of oneshots and you will have to choose between them, voting for the one that you like the most. Whichever wins, I´m going to continue. Hope you enjoy it. Review!