Jon

After riding along the Green Fork for several days, they had finally made it to the Twins. This is what I must do, he told himself.

He felt like a coward almost, having left his host, but he knew it was best. If I send Benfrey to treat with Lord Gyles, I must give Lord Gyles a reason to support me.

Jon was joined by Ser Oswell Whent, Benfrey and half a hundred men. He had taken as few men as he dared, knowing every man he took was one less that would be there should their host clash with Lord Tywin.

He hoped that Lord William would prove capable enough in his absence. Jon had felt that his father's friend would be the best to command for the time. Once I have finished my business here, I will ride back south again.

Lord Gyles will doubtless want a price to be met, and Jon had decided a Prince marrying his only granddaughter seemed fair enough.

The Twins seemed different now this time. Before there had been thousands of men massed, both inside the castle and outside of it, but now there was only 800 men left to guard the crossing. Lord Walder had promised that he would raise more men, so perhaps Jon would be able to take those men south too, he hoped, to bolster his strength.

Nobody seemed shocked as they approached, and the gates quickly opened to allow them through.

He had not set foot in the Twins when they had stopped before, yet now riding through the yard inside the gates, it wasn't quite as he had expected. There was more space, and it was larger on the inside than he had thought, with much more surrounding the main keep. On the other side of the river, he could only imagine it would be the same.

Jeyne is on the other side of that river too, he reminded himself. There was nothing more he wanted than to simply cross, and ride for Raventree Hall or Riverrun and see Jeyne again. Soon, he promised himself.

As he approached the Main Keep, he felt his hand drift towards Dark Sister at this side. He would need to make use of the sword soon enough.

"My lord," he said when he entered, seeing Lord Walder was sitting in a chair, attended by two men who Jon guessed to be his sons.

"Father," Benfrey called out.

"Who is it?" The old man called out. Jon hadn't known what he was expecting, knowing that Lord Walder was over ninety.

"Father, it is Jon Snow," one of the attending sons said to him.

"The Young Wolf's brother?" Asked the lord of the crossing.

"Aye," Jon said. He wasn't truly Robb's brother, but he didn't say that.

"I got your letter… What is it you wished to treat with me for?"

"Marriage," Jon answered.

"Did your brother send you? We had heard from Winterfell that your brother's wife popped out a son. My wife gave me a daughter two days past too… Did your brother want to arrange a match between them?"

"No." He had been warned a little of what Lord Walder was like, but he hadn't expected that. "I'm sure Robb would be honored by your suggestion my lord, and perhaps he will speak to you about such a notion if you bring it before him. It was my marriage I was speaking of."

"What was it Lothar called you? Snow? Why should I wed one of mine to a bastard?"

Before Jon could answer, it was Ser Oswell who spoke up. "He is no bastard, my lord. He has been a Prince since the day he was born, Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, the third son of Prince Rhaegar and Lady Lyanna."

Those words made Jon feel uncomfortable. Something about being called prince seemed wrong to him. All my life I've been a bastard, and now I'm a prince.

"Prince Rhaegar's son? Truly?" There seemed to be a greedy look on Lord Walder's face. Jon didn't doubt the man was glad to be marrying one of his daughters to a prince, and for it to have been the prince who came to make the marriage, rather than him. "I suppose you ought to meet them to make you choice then. Lothar, be a good man and bring some for him to meet."

"It's Roslin he came for," Benfrey said.

"Perhaps he might-" The other son attending Lord Walder began to say, but Benfrey interrupted.

"-It was what we had agreed to," he said. "To win my grandfather's support."

The two sons attending nodded. "Fine, go find the girl and see to it that she's ready to meet him," Lord Walder said, sounding a little disappointed. I didn't come here to please you, my lord.

Benfrey did as he was bid, and descended off into the castle, off to fetch his sister. "My lord, perhaps we might have salt and bread," Jon suggested. He couldn't imagine he would be staying here for any less than a fortnight for as much as he didn't want to.

"Yes yes… Go Raymund… Lothar ought to be enough to trouble me," he said to the son next to him, before turning back to Jon. "I suppose you'll be wanting a dowry with your bride," he said.

Rosby ought to suffice.

"A thousand gold dragons? I'm sure you'll want more, but a thousand-"

"-Would be sufficient, my lord." I didn't come here to bicker about dowries. "Perhaps you might send a letter to my brother at Riverrun," Jon suggested.

"What proof do you have that you are truly a prince my lord?" Lothar asked skeptically. "You were Lord Eddard's bastard son, yet now a Targaryen Prince?"

Jon's hand went to his waist, and he drew Dark Sister from its scabbard. "There is your proof my lord. The sword of the Dragonknight, Dark Sister."

Lothar walked away from his father, and came over to Jon, limping as he did. Jon held the blade while the man carefully inspected it, looking for some sign of a fake. He didn't mind so much as he might have, in truth, he still had found it hard to accept himself.

"It truly is Valyrian Steel… But Dark Sister… Where could you have found this blade?"

Beyond the Wall, he thought to himself, glancing at Ghost next to him. "It was given to me," he answered.

There was still a suspicious look in Lothar's eyes, but he didn't question Jon any further on the matter. "How long will you be remaining here?"

"I must return to the field soon enough," Jon said. "A fortnight should be enough time for the wedding, yes?"

"It would not be proper for a Prince would it?" Lothar asked. "It should be a grander ceremony-"

"-In the Sept of Baelor, overseen by the High Septon and the King? Mayhaps, but we don't have time for that," Jon said. "We could say our vows tonight and be off on the morrow if need be."

Lothar gave a nod. "As you will then."

Before Jon could say more, he heard someone come into the Great Hall, and he saw it was Raymund who had returned with a few servants bringing food.

The food was offered to Jon and his company, and each one of them ate some.

A few more serving men came in, these ones being directed by Lothar, who started leading away some of Jon's men. "We had been expecting you would come with more," Lothar explained after a while.

Jon nodded. "Pray tell, have you raised more men since we passed through here last? We should put them to good use if you have."

"Two hundred mayhaps… A little more… We do not have much more to raise," he answered.

"Two hundred is not none. They will be most welcome." We have a need for every sword, whether it's two hundred or two. Jon counted himself thankful at least.

Before he might have said now, he heard a yelp from a woman. He turned to see Benfrey had turned with who he could only guess was Lady Roslin, who seemed scared of Ghost.

"My lady," Jon called out. "Ghost won't hurt you." He called Ghost back towards him, and had the great wolf sit beside him.

Roslin took a moment to compose herself before she approached. She was pretty, but small, with pale skin and long brown hair that went down to her waist. Her brown eyes were quite big, and when she smiled Jon saw there was a small gap between her teeth. She was hardly the most beautiful woman in the world, but was pretty as Benfrey had described her. "My prince," she greeted.

"My lady." Jon said again, trying to be courteous. All his life he had been taught my lady was a proper way to address noble women, even sometimes Sansa and Arya, so it was proper for his future wife too.

"Benfrey said I am to marry you… That you're a prince…" She said shyly. He could tell she was still nervous about Ghost, and learning that she was to marry him so suddenly.

Jon gave her a nod.

"You're… You're truly a Targaryen… You… You don't…"

Look like one? He had always looked more like Lord Eddard than any of his trueborn sons, and he had sensed some of Lady Catelyn's resentment to him and Jeyne came from that. In truth he was glad he bore almost no resemblance to Prince Rhaegar. "I am one, my lady. I promise you." He drew Dark Sister again, and showed it to her.

She seemed almost in awe when she saw the blade, studying it curiously. He recalled that House Frey lacked an ancestral Valyrian Steel blade, and he wondered if perhaps this was the first time she had ever even seen it.

Jon bid her come forward. "This is my wolf, Ghost," he said, introducing her to him. Dimly he recalled how Robb had introduced Greywind to Princess Myrcella, and how Robb's wolf had pounced on her at one point, but the princess had come to love the wolf. He hoped Roslin would come to feel the same about Ghost in time.

Roslin stepped forward nervously, and pet Ghost's head, looking around to her father and brothers. Lord Walder seemed to be watching, but Jon knew the old man was nearly blind, so he doubted he was taking much of it in, and the two brothers, Raymund and Lothar were talking of some matters together.

"Your name is Prince Jaehaerys?" She asked.

My name is Jon, he thought to himself. He wondered if he would ever get used to being called Jaehaerys, but he didn't think it likely. "You can call me Jon my lady," he told her.

Ghost nuzzled his head up against her, and she seemed to try and back away, but after seeing he didn't mean any harm she stood firmer. At least he likes her.

Jon knew that it would have been his duty as a Prince to make sure he made a good marriage for himself to win allies to their cause. Daemon had wed a Royce, and Rhaenys was married to Theon, and Aegon as king would find some other highborn bride too. For Jon it seemed a Frey of the Crossing and the Lord of Rosby's granddaughter would be sufficient.

The fact that Aegon was a king now still struck Jon as queer. He had not expected Robb to remain true to Joffrey for a certainty, but to make Aegon a king hadn't seemed the wisest course either. Twice he had offered Aegon to have Dark Sister, once at Winterfell, and once when they split at the Twins, and both times Aegon had refused. 'The gods meant for you to wield the sword Jon, not me,' he had said.

He turned back to the others in the room. Ser Oswell and Benfrey had been watching them, he noticed. There was a look on Benfrey's face that Jon judged to mean he was silently asking if Roslin was to his liking, which Jon nodded. Even if she wasn't to his liking, he didn't have much choice on the matter.

"Thank you, my lords," Jon said to Lord Walder and his sons. "We can wed on the morrow, after a night's rest."

Lord Walder seemed a little satisfied, and whispered something in the ears of one of his sons. Jon could only imagine the old man was speculating that he had taken a liking to Roslin and was eager to marry her. Let him think what he wants, Jon decided.

"So be it then, my prince," Lord Walder said. "I'm sure someone will show you to your chambers then."

It was not long before someone did. Someone else came too, timidly offering to take Ghost to the kennels, but Jon told him off, saying he could keep Ghost in his chambers still for the night.

His bedchamber was larger than the one he had once used at Winterfell. Based on the things he saw in it, he judged it must have belonged to one of Lord Walder's children or grandchildren, a man who was off at war now.

Jon began to stretch out, and sat down on the bed, thinking of Jeyne. Are you well Jeyne? He wondered.

He had learned that Jeyne was at Riverrun when the castle had been put under siege, and only when Robb broke the siege had she been freed. Sometimes he seemed to know what she was feeling, and though she grieved Lord Eddard he had sensed her thoughts had been happier of late than they had been in a long time.

Jon hoped than she was happy, wherever she was, and safe too. When this war is done, I will go to her, he promised himself again.

But until then, he had a wedding to worry about.

Author Notes:

Jon do be cringing as hard as me writing this chapter.

Roslin is another character like Wynafryd who we don't really know that much about, but I always imagined she is still always a little shy that comes from just the general family dynamics of losing her mother at a young age and having an old ass father who barely gives her any time. She's probably fairly close with her brothers, but that's working to her disadvantage at this point given Perwyn and Olyvar are off at war with Robb, and Benfrey was only just returning at this point.

Thanks for reading!