Edit Note: I decided after sleeping on this chapter that I should have done things a bit differentlyt in order to better facilitate the story I want to tell. Also based on the comments (Thanks by the way) I want to make it clearer that this is a show AU, it doesn't necessarily follow the show canon. It largely stays the same through the Battle of the Bastards, but with a few major exceptions, the War for the North was more of a war than a single battle, and the Knights of the Vale arrived shortly before the Battle of the Bastards, which allowed for a more even engagement against Ramsay's forces. I just wanted to make that clear, as I probably could have made it clearer. Once again thanks for the reviews and favorites, they mean a lot to me!
Jon Snow, the King in the North, and the King Beyond-the-Wall stood on the top of the Wall, watching as his former sworn brothers, and the soldiers that he had brought with him worked on building hundreds of catapults and trebuchets that had once lined the Wall during the peak of the Night's Watch. Beside him stood the interim Lord Commander, Edd Tollett, and his Hand of the King, Davos Seaworth. Jon had spent much of his time since his being named King here, trying to get ready for the inevitable White Walker assault on the Wall. "Preparations are coming along quite nicely" Jon commented dryly. They were too. The increase of attention the Wall had received in the long months since he had been named King had returned much of it to its old condition. "When is the next shipment of dragonglass expected arrive?" he asked his Hand.
"Soon Your Grace, I received a raven saying that they were approaching White Harbor" Davos answered. Davos had proven to have been a good hand, and Jon was happy to have met him.
"Good" Edd said dourly, and the look on his face showed what he thought of that. Edd had told Jon the night before that the dragon glass wouldn't do any good if they didn't have more men. Edd looked down towards where the northerners worked on readying barrels of pitch and tar and said "We simply need more men" he reiterated.
Davos nodded his head at that, and Jon agreed. The war to come would certainly be a very bloody affair. Even if they emerged victorious against the Night King, Jon also had to contend with the Dragon Queen to the south, who looked to be running roughshod over the southern kingdoms. Jon, however had received a very interesting raven the night before, from Moat Cailin, that a Lannister army led by Jaime Lannister had arrived, and was offering their support for the war against the White Walkers. Jon didn't quite know what to make of that. He had sent ravens out to all of the realms of Westeros explaining the danger that they were in, but he had not received any ravens back. He had assumed that he would have to fight the White Walkers off with the 20,000 men that he had available to him, but if Jaime Lannister was being genuine, then that could change things dramatically. "I'm going to go south to Moat Cailin and see what Ser Jamie Lannister wants" he waited for Edd or Davos to say that it was a bad idea, but they didn't. They understood the situation they were in, and that they needed the reinforcements.
"I'm coming with you of course" Davos said. Ever since Davos had arrived at the wall with Stannis, he and Jon had developed a great working relationship, and Jon suspected that Davos saw Jon as something of a son. Jon simply nodded his head in agreement and turned to the Lord Commander.
"Continue with preparations as we laid out Edd and tell Tormund to do the same" He had sent Tormund at the rest of the Free Folk soldiers to man the other Castles on the wall, with Tormund setting camp at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea. Edd agreed and shook his head before Jon and Davos went back down to Castle Black.
A few hours later, a small procession of Northmen and Free Folk riders exited the gates of Castle Black. Jon at the head of them with Davos behind him. These were made up of the his guard that had developed during the war against Ramsay, and Jon was happy to have them follow him, especially now that he was heading towards a large Lannister army led by the man that had crippled Bran.
Jaime Lannister invoked mixed feelings from the king, he had been instrumental in the War of the Five Kings, and had crippled Bran, but rumors coming out of the south spoke of a growing rift between Queen Cersei and her brother. Lady Brienne, who had traveled with him during the war with Ramsay, said little of him, aside from saying that he was becoming a man honor and deserved a second chance, or at least that was what she told Sansa, who told him during one of their morning meetings they had had before they left. Sansa also had told him of how Brienne had been sent to find and protect her by Jaime, his way of honoring the agreement that he had supposedly made with Catelyn Stark.
Thinking of the former lady Stark made Jon tighten his grip on his horses' reins. Even now, after having not seen her for years, and it also being several years since her death, the mere thought of the red headed women made him wish to find a dark corner of a room and stay there until she was gone. The petty part of him, which had found a more pronounced presence in the king since his revival, wondered what she would have to say about him being King in the North. He knew it was wrong to think ill of the dead like that, be he thought he would relish the feeling of seeing her face. Of course you're only king because Robb is dead and Bran won't take it that thought had found a recent home in the back of his head, and it only increased his own guilt of what had happened before he left. Thoughts of his dead brother led him naturally to another set of thoughts that had plagued him in recent moons, his true heritage.
He wished that Sam and Bran had kept his parentage to themselves. He had come to terms that he wouldn't know about his mother, and then Sam and Bran come and tell them that his mother was Lyanna Stark, and his father Rhaegar Targaryen. He could accept that Lyanna was his mother, and a part of him was happy to know, but he couldn't accept Rhaegar has his father. Rhaegar had spurned the women who had given him two children and had instead went off and married a young girl because he was infatuated with her. The two of them had started the series of events that brought down the Targaryen dynasty, and by extension, many of the events that had led him here. No, Jon could accept Lyanna as his mother, but not Rhaegar as his father. His father had been the man who raised him, Eddard Stark, who had sacrificed his honor for him. Of course, Jon wished that Lord Stark had told him his true heritage, but he hadn't, and he would never get the chance to ask him why.
The biggest problem with the revelation, was that he had felt honor bound to inform his bannermen of the revelation. Jon had declared that he would not be a Targaryen, and that he would remain a Stark, and while it had kept some of the Lords and Ladies placated, they wanted assurances that Jon would not march south to make a claim on the Iron Throne. He hardly wanted the throne that he had, he had no interest in another one, but that assurance hadn't been enough, and instead Sansa had to save him, and seeing that the revelation, made her his cousin, proposed a marriage, saying that as she would never go south again, she could keep Jon here, and it would ensure that trueborn Starks would inherit the North. Jon had later told her that she needn't do it, as she had told him after she had escaped Ramsay that she would never marry again, and that he could work something out with the bannermen, but she had remained unconvinced.
"At least you will be nice to me Jon" she had told him, and he had winced, remembering the damn letter that Ramsay had sent him that had started the War of the Bastards. Jon had been happy when he learned of what Sansa had done to him, she deserved her vengeance on the man who had taken away so much from her.
The march to Winterfell took the better part three weeks to complete, and a day before his arrival he sends a raven to Sansa, informing him of his being only a day away. As they approach Winterfell, it looked much the same as it had when he had left it, the Stark banners hang proudly from the walls of the castle, and Jon is pleased to see that more and more of his bannermen have arrived. He makes a quick return, not wanting to slow down his march, as this is not an official arrival, just a short stop over so he can explain things to Sansa and grab Lady Brienne.
Jon and his entourage enter the main courtyard of the keep, the area where he and Robb had taught archery to Arya and Bran, and where he and Robb had trained together. This is a place of remembrance for him, and has he gets off his horse, and it's taken away from him by one of his guards. He his greeted by a number "Your Graces" before he is even gets to the steps of the Great Keep, where Sansa stands, with Lady Brienne and Podrick on both sides.
He approaches and watches with a barely constrained groan as Podrick and Brienne kneel and Sansa curtsies. "Your Grace, welcome home" Sansa says with a small smile.
He bows his head slightly at his betrothed "Thank your for welcoming me" they fall into an unusual silence as he moves with her on his side into the keep. He still is not used to the formalities of being king, and he doesn't think he ever will be comfortable with them. "Where are Bran and Arya?"
"Bran and Arya are breaking their fast in my solar" she answers as the move into one of the hallways leading to his office. "Jon" she says, dropping the 'Your Grace' "Something has happened" and she appears to search for a word. This worries him, Sansa is rarely left without words and if she has, it usually bad.
"What is it?"
"A miracle has occurred Jon" Jon regards her for a moment. What does that even mean? A Miracle?
His eyes narrow as he asks her "What kind of miracle?"
She smiles and says "The kind of miracle that brought you back" Jon stares, he starting to understand but refuses to without proof, he refuses to get his hopes up. "Mother, Father, Robb and Rickon have returned to us" she breathes out. Jon lets out a shaky break, What? He asks himself, what sort of magic is this? He looks down into Sansa's blue eyes, and she's staring at him, almost begging him to believe her.
"When did this happen?" he asks carefully.
"Late last night" she answered, and then she is pulling towards the Lord's solar, where he and Sansa had shared an office since he took the throne.
He stops before they get insight of the solar, and pulls Sansa to stop as well "Wait" he commands in the voice that he had adopted during his time as Lord Commander, and the one that he had honed during the war. To her credit, Sansa does stop, with Brienne and Podrick coming up along side them. Sansa looks at him with questioning eyes and he does his best to answer "I have received a letter from Ser Jaime Lannister" a look of alarm passes through Sansa, and he sees Brienne tense at the mention of him "He has brought an army to Moat Cailin, and he claims to want to help us against the Night King" he takes a moment and says "I need to speak with you, Bran, and Arya in the war room"
Sansa does not give anything away as she bids Podirck to go fetch Bran and Arya from her chambers, and they follow him to the war room. The war room has seen a fair bit of use in the recent months since Jon became King, the table in the middle of the room had a map of the Wall, and has detailed maps he could get from the Free Folk of the lands beyond the North. He reacclimates himself to the room, and pushes the map of the Wall to the side as he replaces it with a map of the North, placing a symbol representing his armies at Winterfell, and the Wall, with a smaller piece at Moat Cailin, representing the 1,000 men he had sent there to keep an eye on the South. He places another piece, this one gold, at Moat Cailin, showing where Jaime Lannister and his men are encamped.
Davos takes his place on his right, as Sansa does on his left, and when Arya and Bran enter into the room, with Arya pushing Bran to a corner of the table and Arya taking a place on the side. He watches his reunited family and for a moment he is caught up in the elation that they have been reunited, then he remembers that the other Starks have supposedly returned as well. Worry builds up inside him at that. Would he be regulated to the corner as he had been as a child or sent back to the Wall after? He didn't know and swallowed. It wasn't important, getting the North ready for the Night King was.
He held up the letter he had received from Lannister and read it. Every few moments he took the time to gauge his families' reactions. Sansa is unreadable as usual, Bran does not let any emotion enter his speech, let alone his face, but Arya looks almost confused on why Jaime Lannister would come North. Lady Brienne looks confused, but almost…hopeful at his words. As he finishes the words he asks them "What do you think?"
Sansa wrings her hands in worry, her eyes look to be elsewhere, probably trying to figure out how they will feed an additional 15,000 men. He can't blame her, he had been racking his brain for thoughts of that too, and he hadn't come up with one yet. He turns his attention to Bran who has begun to speak "His army will be needed for the coming war" While Jon might have been happy to see Bran, his new personality still unnerved him, and he didn't know what to do about him.
"I agree" Jon said and he sighed, aside from Davos, none of the others knew of his plans, and with the news that the other Starks had returned, they were certainly not going to want to split the pack up again so soon "Which is why I am going to go to Moat Cailin and to see if he is being truthful"
Sansa's does not show the expected anger, but instead it is unreadable "Very well" she says, and looks from the table to him. "When?" there's and edge to her voice that he recognizes, and he realizes that he needs to be careful, lest they get into one of their stupid arguments.
"I plan to leave tomorrow" he admits, and before she can raise objections he adds "I want to take Lady Brienne with me"
Brienne looks apprehensive as he says that, and he understands why, she and Jaime Lannister have a history, and he's trying to take advantage of it. It's probably not the most honorable thing to do, but he is needs every advantage in his wings if they are going to save the North from the Night King. To his side Sansa lets out a sigh and asks "Is that and order, or are you asking Brienne to go?" the edge has only increased.
Jon clenches his teeth, and his is ready to say that it will be an order if it needs to be, but Brienne interjects "My lady, thank you, but the King has asked me to go and I will go" she smiles at Sansa ruefully "I believe that I can help ensure that Jaime is convinced of the threat"
"Thank you, Lady Brienne," Jon lets out a sigh and silently thanks the old gods that Brienne had saved him from having to order her. "Podrick will take command of guarding my family while we are away"
She simply nods, and he gives her permission to leave. The meeting is basically over, but he has another question "Sansa tells me that a miracle has occurred, that Robb and rest have returned to us" He hesitates to speak further as the previous worry begins to well up inside of him again. That he will be regulated to the side, and that Robb or his father will take the mantle of King, and that he will be little more than the bastard he was growing up, it's a selfish fear, by rights the North is either Robb's or Ned Stark's.
Arya answers his nonquestion "Yes they are breaking their fast in Sansa's solar" there's a couple not asked questions, which Arya thankfully doesn't make him ask "Yes father told them of your heritage"
"What was their reactions?"
ROBB
Robb had not had a good night's sleep, he hadn't for many moons, not since the start of the war with the Lannister's, and even now, with years and his own death in between them, he still couldn't. Much of that had less to do with the war that was no longer ongoing, and instead because his thoughts were of Talisa, and their unborn child. His grief had kept him from going to sleep for most of the night, and when he did, it was full of nightmares and things that he didn't wish to dwell on. And so now, he found himself back in Lord's solar, breaking his fast with the whole family, well the whole family besides Sansa and Jon.
Sansa had been summoned to greet Jon as he arrived in Winterfell. That was still a weird thought for Robb, to think of his bastard brother as the king. Jon had never seemed like he cared or wanted about titles or ruling others, the only thing that he had ever wanted was to be called Stark. That had been something Robb had planned on rectifying after he returned from the war. He sighed as he placed a slice of cheese on a slice of bread and then brought it to his mouth. The family ate in quiet silence as they waited for Sansa and Jon to return. He noted the quiet anger that exuded from her mother.
Arya sat off her in the corner, not eating, and instead sharpening a short thin blade that he had heard her call needle. Bran sat next to her, with furs covering his legs as he at looking towards the four of them. He was worried about the part of his family that had survived his and the rest of their passing, the story that Sansa had told them last night still affected him. How Roose Bolton had come north, and he and his bastard Ramsay had begun terrorizing the North, and how Jon had been forced to ride south to stop them. He shot a glance at Rickon, whose demeanor had improved sharply from the previous night, and sat at his seat with a small smile.
He looked towards his father, who looked troubled by something, it wasn't often that Eddard Stark wore his emotions on his face, something had to have been troubling his father if he was doing it now. Almost as if Father had seen what he was thinking, he set his fork and said "There's something that I must speak with all of you about" they all turned their heads to look at their father, and the familiar scraping of Arya's sharpening her blade stopped as she was looking at their father as well. "It concerns Jon's mother and father". Robb's mother breathed out an angry sigh as she stared his father down. Robb wondered at why his father would bother telling them now, when Jon had spent years practically begging him to tell him, Robb resolved that the next time he saw Jon he would tell him about this conversation, his brother deserved at least that. Eddard Stark continued "Jon's mother was Lyanna Stark, my sister" bile runs up Robb's throat as an unfathomable idea that his father, and his sister had been together. He nearly coughs up the little he has eaten but his father continues "his father was Rhaegar Targaryen; they were secretly married and Jon was the result"
An eerie silence falls over the table, with the only sound being Arya's sharpening her blade, her mother shoots a hurt glance at Ned, and then turns her attention to Arya "Is this not important to you Arya!"
Arya doesn't stop, but answers "I've known for several moons now, in fact the whole North knows" the whole North? He looks to his father, and while his expression is unreadable, Robb has a sinking suspicion that he knows more than is being let on.
"And they kept him as King, a Targaryen prince?" his mother demands, shocked and angered by the thought that Jon, the boy she had hated all of his life, was not Ned's bastard, but something far worse, also a lost Targaryen prince.
A knock on the door interrupts the brewing argument, the door is slowly opened, revealing Lady Brienne, she looks flushed, as if she has received word of something important. "Lady Arya, Lord Bran, the King has asked for you two to come to the war room". Arya stood, put her sword in it's scabbard and buckled it around her waist. She went over to Bran and wheeled him out of the room. Now only the four that had returned were left in the room.
"Why didn't you tell us Ned?" his mother asked him, her blue eyes staring into his grey ones, there was obvious anger, but also relief flowing through her, as it true that Ned didn't betray her.
"You were there at the end of the rebellion" Ned said, growing disgust rising from his voice "You know what the Lannister's did to the Targaryen children, they were being slaughtered" he paused, and visibly tried to compose himself "I held Lyanna as she died, and she made me promise to protect Jon, and the only way I thought I could is if I passed him off as my bastard"
"You should've told Jon" Robb said, "It plagued him all of those years, drove him to the Night's Watch, he could've at least known" Jon had moped around in the corners as the unwanted bastard for their whole childhood, all because Ned Stark had made a promise to his sister.
They fell into an uncomfortable silence after that, as no-one knew what else to say on the matter. His mother seemed to go between being angry and relieved, while Robb only felt anger towards his father. Like he had told him, he should have told that to Jon. It would've eased Jon's burdens to know who his mother was, and even his father. He let an angry sigh. He didn't know what to do.
A few more minutes passed before door opened to the solar, revealing Arya, Bran and Sansa. Arya and Bran took their previous seats, while Sansa sat herself at her desk. Where's Jon? Robb thought to himself. He worried briefly that Jon, despite being King would not feel fit to bei in the same room as Catelyn Stark, and that Jon would go without seeing them until after she returned to her and father's new quarters. "Jon has arrived right?" he asked the three other Starks.
"Aye" a voice he had thought he would never hear again said from the doorway. Robb and the whole family turned to look at him. Robb was shocked as he look at his brother or cousin? Robb didn't know if he could ever think of Jon as anything other than his brother. Jon wore the black fur coat that showed his status as King in the North, otherwise he was dressed in the traditional Stark armor of leather and chain, forgoing the extra plate that Robb had worn during his tenure as King. Jon Snow walked around the table, giving Mother a wide berth as he made his way to his own desk, where he sat down at the center of it. "I'm not here for long though" he clarified as he seemed to shrink under the added gazes of all the Starks.
"Where are you-" his father starts but is interrupted by Sansa.
"Let's not discuss business" she said "I would much rather simply spend time with you all" she looks at all of them, with a small smile that is no unlike the Sansa he knew before, the Sansa he knew would have been beaming that her family had returned, and while Robb had no doubt that she was ecstatic, the new Sansa wouldn't.
"Aye" he heard Jon agree with her. He brushed aside the paper and parchment on his table and leaned back "Are there any questions for me?" looking at Jon, who simply looked exhausted, he had lost weight since the last time they had been together as well. Robb was reminded of the late nights and foregone meals that he had when he had been King, and he had been fighting the Lannister's at that point, not stories come to life as Jon claimed to be.
"Is it true?" Their father asked, "The stories about the Night King and the others?"
Jon's eyes went cold for a moment, and he said "Aye, it is" he looked directly at his father "All of it, I've seen them…. I have seen him"
"That's why you brought the wildlings south of the wall" Rickon asks from his seat "I heard the maids talk about you doing that?"
Robb looks at both Jon and Sansa, and pained looks have formed on both of their faces. Jon nodded his head slowly "I lived with them for a year, and when the time came, I couldn't let them die" Jon face has turned dour at his short recanting of the tale. Robb understands why, Sansa had said that it was a mixture of him bringing those wildlings through, and his decision to attack the Boltons that had led directly to his death.
Arya brings up a story of how she had traveled with a Baratheon bastard, and it slowly livens the mood, Robb tells his father of the North's many victories against the Lannister's when he had been king, and answers his father's questions as best he can remember, and he tells his whole family of Talisa, and while that is painful, they deserve to know. Throughout all of this reunion, Robb does notice that Jon and Sansa do very little talking.
The hours go by as the Starks try to reconnect with themselves, and it only ends Sansa explains that she announces that she had called for a meeting of the lords to explain what has happened, and they are soon ushered out of the solar, and into a side room adjacent to the Great Hall.
EDDARD
Ned Stark watches from the side room as the Stark children, or the ones who were known to be alive, sat at the front of the Great Hall, the level of chatter coming from the hall means that it must be nearly full. He watches as Jon rises from his seat in the middle of the table and immediately grabs everyone's attention. Ned is proud of the man that Jon has become, he always knew that could be a great leader if the duty called, and it has. He looks to his eldest daughter who seems to hang on every word that Jon utters. The betrothal that she had told him of bothered him. He still felt the pang of disgust as he thought of it, he doesn't know if he considered taking the crown so Jon and Sansa would not have to do it, but the way that Sansa had so forcefully argued for Jon's claim had persuaded him not to bring it up, and yet he still had reservations, and they would be brought up, but Jon had claimed a need to go south to Moat Cailin, and wanted to get this over with now.
He brings his attention back to the hall, as Sansa is now standing now "they were brought to my chambers, I can attest that they are who they say they are" she looks towards the side room that he, Catelyn, Robb and Rickon are standing in, that being their signal to come out and reveal themselves. Silence fills the hall for only a moment before everyone begins yelling, Jon is on his feet also yelling as is Robb, and slowly lords to calm down.
All eyes are on himself and Robb. Ned knows what he has to do "I do not know if it was by magic or my the god's grace that we returned, but we have" he looks at Jon and then at Robb "We have found ourselves in a world far different than the one in which we left"
"Aye" Robett Glover says, as he brings himself up "Much as changed" Glover looks uncertain for a moment before continuing "By rights, the throne of winter is yours to command Lord Stark"
A small girl jumps up from her seat, a girl of no more than ten and twelve "We named Jon Snow our king!" she looks around for support, and finds some support from some of the lesser lords "Jon Snow stopped the Boltons from terrorizing our lands, and without him we would have never learned of the threat beyond the wall!" She points at Robb "He lost the North and his cousin had to regain it from the Boltons and you would ask that we follow him again?" Ned glances at Robb, who looks grieved at the words.
Ned is surprised to see Robett look almost cowed at the girl, who continues to rally support for Jon Snow, when Wyman Manderley, the Lord of White Harbor stands, and declares "Lady Mormont speaks truly, we did declare Jon Snow as King, I even named him the White Wolf" Wyman looks down "However, tradition and the law says that Lord Eddard and Lord Robb take precedence over His Grace"
Sansa stands, he hands folded in front of her "I propose this, Jon will remain King through the war with the Night King" she looks at Jon, and Ned can't see what is said as Jon's head is pointed away from him. "And afterwards we will come together to decide who should lead us" Ned thinks that's its an agreeable compromise, and as the young girl sits in agreement, he turns to look at Glover, who has given his consent.
Manderley agrees "I agree Lady Stark, It would be foolish to change our horses mid-stream" he looks to sit down, but before he does he asks "Will this change the betrothal?" Terror gripped Ned and he shot a glance at Sansa and Jon, Sansa looks as though this was an expected question, while Jon has tried to make himself look as small as possible in the chair.
"The betrothal is still on Lord Manderley"
"What betrothal" there is a quiet anger in Ned's wife question, and he can only assume that she is putting the pieces together.
"Lady Sansa and His Grace have agreed to be married, Lady Stark" Lady Mormont answers Catelyn. He watches Catelyn pale, and he can virtually feel Robb become apoplectic in his rage at the news as he stared at Jon. What was this news going to do their family?