Well, the watch is ended. Now we wait for GRRM's version. However long that will take.
It's funny, though. I've always thought Jon was my favorite character, followed by Arya and Dany. But watching that finale made me realize that Daenerys was my actual favorite all along. I really wanted her to win, even after all the burning. It broke my heart to see how her story ended.
What a tragic end for House Targaryen.
Anyway, let's move on. Watching that ending only made me more motivated to finish this.
19. White Harbor - Jon
"Have you ever been to White Harbor?" Jon asked Ser Davos Seaworth. They had just made it across the White Knife, so the city couldn't be very far. Jon had never been south of Winterfell before, but he had studied the maps.
The old knight barked a laugh. "No self-respecting smuggler worth his salt could do his job without coming to White Harbor." His loud voice attracted some attention from the soldiers surrounding them. He noticed their reaction and led his horse closer, lowering his tone. "If Winterfell is the heart of the North, White Harbor is its mouth. It's the richest northern city for a reason, Jon." He glanced ahead to make sure Lord Manderly wasn't paying attention and continued, "Everyone who wants to trade with the North must come through White Harbor. Especially if they hope to avoid the Ironborn." He added in a whisper.
Jon knew a little bit of history about the place. Maester Luwin had taught him that the Manderlys had been exiled from the Reach, long before Aegon the Conqueror landed on Westeros. Back then, the Seven Kingdoms were truly led by seven independent rulers. The King in the North of the time had welcomed the Manderlys and awarded them the Wolf's Den, accepting their oaths of fealty and charging them with defending the White Knife river and the rich lands surrounding it.
"I've never been south of Winterfell." He considered it for a while and corrected himself, "Well, at least not since I can remember." Davos looked a bit confused. "Apparently, I was born in Dorne." He added, in a low voice.
The man nodded. "Still bitter about that, eh?"
Jon shook his head. "No, it actually explains a lot. Lord Stark was overprotective for a reason." He voiced his thoughts. "Most families send their children away to be fostered, in order to develop bonds of friendship at an early age and encourage the kids to learn more about the world. He himself had been fostered at the Eyrie with Robert Baratheon and the two became best friends. But none of his children ever left Winterfell."
"And you think that was because of you?" Davos asked, frowning.
"Why else would he have kept all his sons and daughters so close?" Jon had been thinking about this for some time now. With so many heirs, Lord Stark could have made many allies just by having them be fostered somewhere. If Robb or Sansa had been fostered at Highgarden, and Bran or Arya at Sunspear… Most of these past wars would have been different, he was sure of that.
Davos sighed. "Jon, until you have your own children you'd never understand what drives a parent to keep them close." His voice seemed a bit pained, as if recalling a bad memory. "Blaming yourself for that isn't going to change anything."
He wanted to argue, but one look at the man's face made him rethink it. He must have lost a child. Jon had never given much thought to fatherhood. Being a bastard, his surname wasn't something he was willing to pass on to others. But you're not a bastard, a small voice told him.
After a few more hours on the road, the city came into view. At this distance, Jon couldn't make out much except for the sheer size of it. This is a true city, was his first thought. He had only ever visited Winter Town and a few hamlets beyond the Wall, but the difference was obvious. He was about to say something to Ser Davos, when a figure on horseback came galloping at them, towards Lord Wyman Manderly.
His soldiers gathered in front of the corpulent lord of White Harbor to protect him, but the man stopped short. Leaping from the saddle, he bowed low and greeted Lord Manderly. "M'lord, there's been news from the docks." He stopped to catch his breath.
Lord Wyman waved his soldiers away and approached the man. "Well, don't keep us waiting, good man. What's the problem?"
The man was still breathing hard. "Ironborn!" He said, rather loudly. Pointing at some place beyond the city, he continued, "A while back, we spotted five ships on the horizon, sailing fast to the harbor. They were flying white flags, but the captain gathered our forces just in case." He took a deep breath. "When they reached the docks, we saw Yara Greyjoy and her brother Theon-"
"The Greyjoys are here?" Jon interrupted, moving to get a better look. Just hearing the name brought back bad memories.
Lord Manderly coughed and faced Jon. "Why don't we let him finish first, then you can waste our time asking pointless questions."
"But, m'lord, they came for the King in the North." The man's eyes darted from one to the other, clearly not understanding why his lord was being so hostile towards his king. I guess the news hasn't spread yet, Jon thought bitterly. "Turns out, they had sent a raven before they came. Lord Wylis gave me this." And he presented the letter.
Lord Manderly took it and read quickly. "It seems my son still has much to learn. He should've warned everyone at the harbor the minute he received this." The portly lord scratched his beard. "Apparently, the dragon queen was desperate enough to send her allies as escort." He raised his eyes to Jon. "They're supposed to take you to Dragonstone."
Jon wanted to read the letter, but Lord Wyman made no mention to give it to him. He shrugged. "Then we won't have to spend much time looking for a ship." He turned back to the messenger. "Is there anything else?"
"Aye, Your Grace." The man replied. Lord Manderly scoffed, but made no mention to interrupt him. "We got news from traders. Some say there was a big sea battle down south, with the dragon queen and Euron Greyjoy. And the Targaryen lost."
"What?" Jon couldn't believe it. Considering all that he had heard, the woman seemed invincible. Who could stand against dragons?
"Aye, and some even said the Greyjoy stole a dragon from her." The man added, in a quiet voice.
"That makes little sense." Lord Wyman voiced everyone's thoughts.
The man raised his hands in a defensive way. "Just repeating what I heard, m'lord."
Jon considered it for a moment. "It could be a lie. From what Sansa tells me, Cersei isn't beyond lying to gain the upper hand."
"Might be." Ser Davos offered. "But it's such a ridiculous lie. In my experience, the wilder the rumor the bigger the chances it's the truth."
"I suppose we'll find out when we reach the harbor. Let's go." Lord Manderly gave some orders and everyone was back on the road to White Harbor.
At the outskirts, Jon admired the brightly white houses blending seamlessly with the snow which covered the ground. The steep roofs were of a dark grey color, making the entire city a sort of banner for the Starks. White and grey. And the people seemed enthusiastic too, cheering for their lord as they rode along.
After they entered the city walls, Lord Manderly gave an excuse and hurried along to the New Castle, taking his soldiers with him. Jon didn't really know where to go, but Ser Davos led him along the path towards the harbor. It was so massive that they had divided it in two, with the outer harbor being the larger one. The inner harbor provided better anchorage. That was their destination.
Passing through the Seal Gate into the harbor, Jon saw the ancient fortress of the Wolf's Den in the distance. He remembered it from his lessons because he shared a name with the King in the North who had raised it. Or the name I had prayed for, so many times in front of the Heart Tree: Jon Stark. The old castle used to be the seat of House Manderly before the construction of the New Castle, but now it was just a prison.
Moving on, they walked along until he spotted a woman standing next to the largest longship docked at the harbor. Yara Greyjoy. She was the only woman among several men, but when she spoke they hurried to follow her orders. Jon glanced at Ser Davos, who gave him a firm nod. Together, they dismounted and walked towards her.
"Nah, that price is no good." Her voice was loud enough to be heard from a good distance. She shook her head and pointed at some place behind them. "Come back when that prick gives you a fair share." The man she was talking to seemed rather tired as he walked away. That probably wasn't their first time having this conversation.
As he drew nearer, Jon could get a better look at the woman. She was dressed in men's clothes, with black leather breeches and high boots for ease of movement, her long and lean legs giving him the impression that she had no trouble jumping from ship to ship.
"Like what you see?" Her voice startled him, and he lifted his eyes to face her. She had a crooked grin on her lips. "There's places in Lys where they charge a man just for looking, you know."
Jon coughed and avoided her eyes. "Sorry. I was just…" He trailed off, trying to come up with a good excuse for leering at her legs, but none came to his mind. Let's move on. "I'm Jon Snow."
"So you're that king everyone's talking about." She looked him up and down and frowned. "The way people talk about you, I was expecting someone… bigger."
Jon was curious to hear what people were saying about him, but he made an effort to pretend he didn't care. "I'm sorry to disappoint my lady, but I wasn't expecting you at all."
The woman smiled. "I'm Yara Greyjoy, your escort." She made a grand gesture of bowing low, with one arm stretched out towards the ship and another close to her chest.
He noticed that some of her men were laughing loudly. She's either mocking me or she doesn't think this was worth her time. He found that he actually didn't care this time. "There's no need for that." He waved a hand. "I'm no longer a king."
"What?" She asked, taken aback.
"There has been a… development." Jon didn't feel comfortable talking about his real name here. "Now my sister Sansa is the Queen in the North. She has sent me to deal with Queen Daenerys." My aunt, he added in his mind.
She frowned. "I suppose it doesn't change much. We could still use you as a hostage, after all." Her eyes told him she wouldn't hesitate to tie him up and lock him in a small room somewhere.
Ser Davos coughed, and Jon remembered the old knight was there. "This is Ser Davos Seaworth. He'll be joining me on the trip to Dragonstone."
"The onion knight!" Yara nodded. "I've heard about you too." She offered her hand, and the man shook it.
"Nothing bad, I hope." He said, genially. "I must say I miss having a wooden deck beneath my feet." He looked over at the ship. "This will be my first time on a longship. Is she fast?"
"The Black Wind can outrun any vessel in the open sea." She sounded proud, but Jon couldn't help feeling that she was exaggerating. "Euron's Silence may be tougher in a battle, but my ship is faster. We'll get there in no time."
Jon didn't see the point of staying in White Harbor any longer. "Shall we go then?"
"Sure." She started walking and waved at them to follow her. "I was just waiting for these fat merchants to give us better prices for our haul, but now that you're here I guess I could take what they offered."
They had reached the plank joining the ship and the dock, when Jon spotted a new face. Not new, but… Theon. He was in the ship, probably waiting to welcome them and lead them to their cabins. His face was a bit different than what Jon remembered, but there was no mistaking him for anyone else.
He saw the man try to open his mouth, but Jon's fist hit him square in the jaw. The force sent him reeling to the left. Jon moved without thought, reaching to grab Theon by the scruff of the neck as he prepared another punch. But his arm felt heavier.
Looking back, he saw Yara holding him back with some effort. "That's enough!" She shouted in his ear. "While you're in my ship, you'll obey my rules. And I say my brother's been punished for his crimes."
Jon hesitated, looking from sister to brother. He hadn't planned to do this, but the sight of the man's face had made his blood rise to his head. He betrayed Robb. He took Winterfell. That's when my brother lost his war. Jon knew there were plenty of other people to blame for his brother's death, but in his mind it had all started with Theon Greyjoy.
He looked into the man's eyes. "Robb loved you like a brother." His voice was dangerously low, his lips barely moving as his jaws were clenched tightly. "He trusted you. Now he's dead." After some time, Jon shook his head and finally let him go. Yara also released him, but Jon was still looking at Theon, who couldn't stop blinking and twitching. "But I also know what you did for Sansa." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "If not for you, that monster might have been ruling Winterfell now. You saved her, and she was the reason we won the battle."
Theon seemed to calm down a little himself. Jon had to make it clear. "I won't try to hurt you again. Sansa told me about Ramsay." More than I wanted to know, and less than she was willing to say. He shook his head. "Nothing I do can ever compare to that." Jon took another deep breath. "I'm grateful for what you did for Sansa, but I'll never forget what you did to Robb."
To his credit, Theon didn't look away. "That's fair." His voice sounded strange, due to his missing teeth. "There's nothing I can say to make things better. But I need you to know that I'm sorry. For everything."
Jon nodded back, but didn't reply. Words are wind. He had never really understood that phrase until this very moment. Words without actions behind them weighed less than nothing.
Yara took advantage of the silence and clapped loudly. "Well, now that's settled, let's find your quarters."
I don't know if it's noticeable, but I like Yara. I'll try to keep adding her in every appropriate chapter.
And I know a lot of fans love Theon, but it was important to show that Jon remembers his actions. These two have a long history together, since they were both raised at Winterfell. They provide an interesting parallel, as both were outsiders to the main Starks.
The date is 25/05/2019