notes:
Bran and Rickon are at Winterfell with Ramsey, who was sent there to defend them in case of an attack on Winterfell.
present day…
(Robb Stark)
He stood in the middle of his tent and kept looking over the letters that Jon gave him. He trusted Roose Bolton's bastard to protect his brothers, and it turned out that Boltons were traitors. And now Bran and Rickon were no longer safe. If Ramsey got a word of what happened here, he would surely kill Bran and Rickon or use them as hostages.
Talisa was sitting not far from him looking worriedly at him. She was still shocked by what happened, and by finding out that Jon was here.
His mother was also shocked. She definitely didn't expect to see Ned Stark's bastard here. And it seemed as though she wasn't happy that he was the one who saved him.
No one said a single word. No one knew what to say. They were supposed to die, but they were alive and well. There was too much running through everyone's mind to say anything.
The silence was interrupted by someone walking in.
It was the red haired woman that had Roose Bolton at arrow point. She was no longer wearing furs, instead she was wearing brown leather trousers, a simple black shirt and black boots. Her bow was no longer with her, instead she had two daggers strapped to her hips.
"Jon is waiting for you."
Robb put the letters down and walked to the exit of the tent. But the woman stopped him with a slight smirk.
"All of you."
Robb looked confused but motioned Talisa and his mother to stand up.
They followed Ygritte through the Wildlings' camp. All men and women stopped to stare at them. Some kids were running around laughing at jokes about 'southern kneelers'. He noted to himself to ask Jon about this later.
Their group was stopped by a man and a woman in a red dress. He was clearly not a wildling. He had a sword on his hip, simple leather clothes and a grey cloak. And the woman looked like a proper lady.
Robb noticed the annoying look on the woman's face when she stopped before the man.
The man smiled warmly.
"Your Grace."
Robb nodded.
The man bowed his head lightly.
"My name is Davos Seaworth, I am the hand of King Jon, I wished to meet you before the executions."
Robb nodded. Even if he was surprised. Where in the seven hells did Jon find himself a Hand of the King who wasn't a wildling.
Davos motioned to the woman beside him.
"This is Lady Melisandre, she is a red priestess. She is the one who brought Jon from the dead."
A red priestess? like the one Stannis Baratheon had?
Robb decided to leave those questions for later.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both."
He turned to Talisa and his mother who were slightly behind him.
"This is my wife, Talisa. And my mother Lady Catelyn Stark."
Davos nodded.
"Jon spoke often of his brother Robb Stark, but he never mentioned Lady Talisa. Nevertheless it is a pleasure to meet you, your Grace."
He then turned to his mother.
"My lady, I have heard about you during my service to Stannis Baratheon."
Robb frowned.
"You served King Stannis?"
Lady Melisandre smiled.
"Yes. he was the hand of the king. And I served the king as well."
Robb huffed.
"So you are the red priestess that burned people for Stannis?"
"I simply followed Rhollr's orders."
Davos was clearly uncomfortable and he turned his face away, he seemed to bear no warmth for the lady.
Robb noticed that the wildling woman seemed bored by their conversation and began fidgeting with one of the blades in her hand.
He looked back to the red priestess.
"Why do you serve my brother?"
She smiled.
"I brought him back from the dead. If that's not enough of a reason then perhaps you should ask him that question."
Suddenly a knife flew by right in front of Robb's nose.
They all turned to face the wildling.
"Are you done running your tongues? You fucking southerners with your meaningless chatter. Jon is waiting."
She glared at the red priestess before continuing to walk forward.
They had no choice but to follow her.
He got ahold of Talisa's hand. She looked up at him and smiled reassuringly. But he could see the worry in her eyes.
This was not planned. Nothing was going as planned. This war took an unexpected turn when Jon arrived.
Finally they came up to an opening. He noticed that a few Northern Lords were already present, along with the Blackfish and Theon. There was a chopping block in the middle of the clearing. Two giants stood in the back of the crowd of the wildling. They were all cheering for blood.
Jon stood in the middle talking with Tormund.
He had a slight smile on his face even if worry was evident on his face.
He was led to the front of the crowd with his family, meanwhile Davos joined Jon in the middle.
They exchanged a few quick words. After that Davos stepped back along with Tormund.
Jon sent a nod to Tormund who smiled wickedly and turned to a few wildlings.
"Alright! Bring those fuckers out for King Crow! It's time for them to die!"
Now Robb understood what Tormund meant earlier when he referred to him as 'the crow's brother'. But that didn't explain why Jon was called the 'crow'.
Most wildlings cheered or laughed, while Lords looked sheepishly around themselves. The giants were sitting quietly but they seemed interested by the events taking place. Their resemblance to humans surprised Robb.
Jon put a hand up and everyone shut up. The prisoners were escorted to the chopping block and forced on their knees. There were three in total. Lord Walder Frey, Lord Bolton, and Lord Karstark.
Jon took out his sword.
Everyone froze. Even Robb himself. He knew that sound. The silent swoosh of valyrian steel. Just like Ice.
Where did Jon get a valyrian steel sword? Just another question added to the list of unanswered questions.
Jon placed the tip of the sword on the ground just like their father used to do.
"You are accused of treason and conspiracy against the King in the North. Any last words?"
The prisoners kept quiet. The shame and fear evident on their face.
Jon nodded slowly.
"I, Aegon Targaryen, sixth of my name, rightful King of the seven kingdoms, king of the andals and the first men, protector of the realm, and chosen king of the freefolk, sentence you to die."
Jon lifted his sword and cut off Lord Frey's head with one quick move. The Wildlings cheered.
Then he executed Lord Bolton. The cheers grew louder.
Then Lord Karstark was dead too. This time even the giants joined in with screams and laughter.
Jon's sword was covered in blood as he stepped away. He gave the sword to Ser Davos, before stepping in front of the crowd.
"I thank you all for joining me for this special occasion." There was a hint of humor in his words which made the wildling laugh even louder. The red haired man put a hand on Jon's shoulder and they laughed together.
Whatever happened next was too much of a blur to remember clearly. The laughter died down eventually, but Robb couldn't hear much.
All he could focus on were Jon's words.
"Aegon Targaryen, the rightful king of the seven kingdoms…."
Jon was not his brother?... But the rightful king?... And he wasn't Jon at all?...
He stood there for a few seconds before he managed to look at his brother who was now headed in his direction.
He heard his mother's voice from behind.
"What is the meaning of this, you bastard!"
Jon ignored the woman and looked apologetically at Robb.
"I need to tell you a few things. I suppose there is much that needs to be explained."
Robb nodded and tried to regain some composure before speaking.
"That sounds like an understatement."
Jon nodded.
"Yes, I suppose…"
He gestured to Ser Davos.
"My hand will show you around if you need anything and he'll escort you to my tent tomorrow morning after breakfast. You can also ask Tormund. He is a bit loud and rash, but he'll help you out if needed."
Robb frowned.
"Tomorrow morning?"
"Yes. My story is long, and we all need rest after today's events."
Jon put a hand on Robb's shoulder, as he used to do, before walking away.