Well, this is even shorter. There are still some nuggets of info here, so I couldn't simply skip it.


7. Visitor - Jon

Alys Karstark was squeezing his arm tightly as they walked along the castle grounds. For such a young woman, he had been surprised to discover a large bosom hidden underneath her heavy furs. She clearly knew this, for his arm hadn't left her side ever since they started walking together.

"Do you really not remember?" She asked, looking at him with her big blue-grey eyes. Alys had been telling him of a time when she visited Winterfell with her lord father, and she had danced with both Robb and himself.

"Forgive me, my lady." That must have been a very long time ago. "I'm sure it was a good memory, but lately it seems I can only recall the bad ones." Jon was looking at a patch of snow on the ground. I won't forget that.

She grabbed his arm even tighter, so he had to stop walking. They are really big. "Then we simply must dance again." She leaned into his ear. "I'll make sure you don't forget this time." She whispered, with a suggestive look.

Jon's eyes widened as his imagination ran wild. His gaze went from her bosom to her face and lingered on her mouth. She noticed it and licked her lips, moving her head towards him. He leaned over and...

"Your Grace! My lady!" A loud voice made him turn his head.

It was Sansa, walking with Brienne right behind her. She put on a pleasant smile as she approached them. "I'm afraid I'll need to borrow my brother, Lady Alys. There's an important matter we must discuss." Alys seemed disappointed, but she nodded and excused herself, pecking him on the cheek before leaving.

"So what's this important matter?" He asked, looking from Sansa to Brienne.

Brienne helped. "There's a visitor in Winterfell, Your Grace. He requests an audience with the King in the North." The big woman said, looking between them.

"And who is this visitor?" He asked, more than a little surprised. They hadn't received many visitors these days. Winter has come indeed. Most people just wanted to stay in their warm homes and dream of Spring.

Sansa supplied the answer, "Lord Howland Reed. You remember how highly father spoke of him." He did remember. The crannogman had been father's best friend, which only made his absence even more curious. Where was he when father needed him? Or Robb? Why only now did he leave Greywater Watch? "We must treat him with respect, Jon." She said, almost reading his mind.

"I wonder why he's only decided to come now." He voiced his thoughts, hoping Sansa could explain it.

"Well, he did send Meera and Jojen to help Bran." She said, looking up at the clear sky. I hope they're well too. The last time Jon had seen his young brother was before he left Winterfell for the first time, when Bran was still unconscious from the fall.

"So where's Lord Reed?" He asked, finally ready to face this mysterious man.


I wanted to have the big reveal happen in Sansa's POV, so I had to cut here. Sorry about that. And I know Alys Karstark is described differently in the books. Call it my interpretation ;)

The date is 16/05/2019