Benjen had gone out with a large group of brothers to range beyond the Wall as the Wildlings were becoming more active across the area. With the Watch's numbers dwindling the ranging capabilities of the Watch has dwindled. Because of this many brothers of the order were vulnerable to Wildling attacks. To counter that he had proposed a different tactic to ensure the Night's Watch had the advantage. The ranging had become completely random to throw off the Wildlings from finding any pattern to the Watch's ranging. Sometimes the brothers would go in small groups and sometimes there would be an overwhelming number and this method was working out so far.

So when he returned from one such ranging mission near the Antler river he was surprised to see his nephew at the Wall. At first, he dreaded that Jon had joined the Night's Watch but after a brief talk, he realised to his relief that was not the case. Although, he was very much wroth with the boy for recklessly going beyond the Wall and thank the Old Gods for keeping Jon safe. Soon the both of them found themselves perched before a fire that was keeping them warm exchanging stories.

"So Robb has no idea who spiked his glass of wine with salt?" Benjen asked incredulously with a hint of a smile

"Oh, he has his suspicions. He most certainly suspects Arya but the fact that she salted the glass the day before Robb took the wine covered her tracks." said Jon with a chuckle recounting the prank he and Arya played on Robb and Theon

"Arya was hoping the cup would be taken by Sansa but Robb accidentally drank from the cup. The real laugh came when Robb spit it all on Sansa who shrieked and began throwing anything she could get her hands on for ruining her dress." Jon continued the tale with a snicker as it was one of Arya's well-executed prank even though Robb was never her intended target

Benjen laughed along at the exploits of his nephew and niece in Winterfell. It was eerily similar to how he himself spent his time with Lyanna in Winterfell.

"I know who my mother is!" Jon suddenly said startling Benjen knocking off his smile

"What!!"

"I know who my real mother is as well as who my real father is," said Jon as he stared straight into his eyes

Benjen recovered from the shock and fully grasped what Jon was saying. It was hard to reconcile that Ned had spilt the secret to Jon this early. But from the look on the face of his nephew suggested otherwise and Benjen knew that Jon must have known the truth.

"So you know, huh!" Benjen sighed tiredly as it was a part of his life that he constantly tried to forget. There were too many bad memories that associated with that period of his life and that's why he took the Black to be far away from those painful memories

"I will be leaving for Braavos soon enough. I came here to meet you as well as Maester Aemon. It is doubtful that we would meet again for a long time so I want to say goodbye. I have already spoken to Maester Aemon for obvious reasons." said Jon as he gave a considerate look to Benjen

"I see. Ned is fine with this?" Benjen was careful not to be too judgemental

"He is opposed to it but I have to go. No matter how much uncle Eddard wishes otherwise I am a dragon, not a wolf. The wolfs are satisfied by living with a pack. A dragon, on the other hand, yearns for the skies. I must find my own way in the world, uncle. The blood running through my veins demands it."

"You are a Stark through your mother. Winterfell is your home too!" Benjen was quick to argue

"I am not a Stark, I never was. Even now I go by the name of Jon Snow. I was born a dragon and when I grace the halls of the gods I will be a dragon. One day I will return back to the North uncle but that will be far into the future." said Jon as he stared intently into the crackling flames

Benjen didn't know what to say to that so he squeezed Jon's shoulder showing his support. What else was there to say? He knew Jon didn't have the best of childhood with his good-sister being a Southerner that saw bastards as some sort of curse. Most of the Northern houses never treated bastard children as some curse. The Mormonts for example always have bastard children yet they are all named as Mormonts. The current lady of House Mormont never married and yet all her daughters are named Mormonts. Similarly, there are other houses that follow this custom that is deeply rooted in the First Men culture. Only the arrival of Andals into Westeros created this whole bastard business and unfortunately, even the Starks of old had taken up this tradition.

If only Catelyn Tully could have found it in her heart to not hate Jon then his nephew would not be seeking home elsewhere. There was no point in thinking about what might have been and thus Benjen decided to change the subject.

"There must be more stories than Robb drinking salted wines in Winterfell. Tell me more…"

The smile he received from Jon this time was more genuine and he listened with some amusement as his nephew explained how Theon Greyjoy was dumped with a bucket full of pig piss.

The last night was pretty eventful in Jon's opinion. It felt good to speak with uncle Benjen who reminded him of a friend in his previous life. That guy had the ability to soak up everything he says and never be judgemental. Then there was Maester Aemon with whom Jon had shared his dinner by sharing some of his stories in Winterfell. The old Maester was so happy that he got the chance to share some of his own stories with someone of his blood and that made the former prince sleep soundly with a peaceful smile on his face. The old Maester reminded him of his own grandfather and Jon vowed that this man would die surrounded by family. The old Maester was very likeable and it would be remiss of him to let this man die with some peace of mind and happiness.

Sometimes he wondered how his family and friends might be holding up. Then again he has no idea whether he really died in the first place. One moment he was in a car with his friends for a Halloween party and the next he was waking up in the body of an infant. It took him quite a while to understand his situation and when he did he was panicking. But being a baby he had a lot of time to think about his options and that was how he decided to make contact with the three-eyed-raven somehow. It was on his sixth namesday that he managed to make contact with the raven by continuously speaking before the Weirwood trees of Winterfell. Even while contacting the raven he never spilt the entire story and rather he told Brynden Rivers that he had a dream about the man.

That was the turning point of Jon's life. From there on out he planned and plotted with the Raven and charted a course of action that yielded optimum results in their opinion. For all his faults Brynden Rivers was someone that focused on a problem with such intensity that was borderline obsessive sometimes and that worked out to Jon's advantage. Brynden never prodded deeper into his story of dragon dreams instead the guy was obsessed with killing the White Walkers for good.

The plan that they set in motion was going to start and he was now in its opening phase. The first phase involved acquiring the resources that he would need for the second phase. The resources varied from weapons, men, money, connections, political influence, ships etc. It was a large order and he had less than three years to collect all of this which was a real pain in the neck. The emeralds are going to be a good help and then there was another plan to extract much-needed funds which would simultaneously deny his enemies much-needed resources as well. That plan was shelved for the moment as it required certain assurances and guarantees from a third party and until that end is met Jon will have to depend on the emeralds as well as his mind to expand his resources.

Jon made sure that everything was in order with his backpack and fastened the bag to his horse's saddle. After saying one final goodbye to Maester Aemon and his uncle Jon and his two companions rode out of Castle Black on their horses in full gallop.

Several hours later they stopped at the Long Lake to let their horses have some rest. Jon observed both Shack and Nester who were staying by the horse's side while the creatures were drinking their water.

"Come sit down you two. The horses are not going to run off on their own!" said Jon as he patted the grass-covered ground beside him

"You are a prince and it would be improper for us to sit beside you." said Nester as he gazed uncertainly at Jon with Shack nodding along

"I am a prince with no kingdoms or armies to speak of. I have no lands, no sworn lords or men for that matter. Calling me a prince is a bit of a stretch don't you think?" asked Jon chuckling at the hesitant looks that Shack and Nester were throwing at each other

Shack was the first to react as he took a seat to the right of Jon. Seeing Jon smile at the action Nester sat to Jon's left.

"Was that so difficult?" Jon asked as he patted them both on their shoulder

For a time they stayed silent and listened to the sounds of birds chirping away. That silence was broken by Shack.

"You are going away from the North, right?" Shack asked never taking his eyes away from the horses

"Yes. I will be leaving for Braavos once I get back to Winterfell." Jon acknowledged

"But you will return one day, right?" Nester asked curiously

"Yes. One day I will return." Jon answered and Nester felt that was more like a promise

"Then I would like to follow you as your sworn sword, my prince. So long as I am by your side then no enemy shall reach you without taking my life." said Shack as he stood up and knelt facing Jon

"Snow or Targaryen your blood is that of the Starks. So long as your mother's blood runs true you are of the North and I would not let a son of Stark face his enemies on his own. There will be enemies for you to cut down and I swear my sword to your cause if you will have me." Neater also took a knee

Jon stood up from his seat on the ground and bid both Shack and Nester to rise.

"I would be honoured to have you both by my side." Jon said as he pulled the two of them into a hug which the two of them were too happy to reciprocate

AUTHOR'S NOTE:I am planning to portray the relationship between Brynden and Jon in similar snippets throughout the story. Hope that's not a problem.Now, Jon is about to return to Winterfell and will Eddard be ready by this time. We can see that in the next chapter. We are going to see Asher and Dacey from now on. Catelyn's POV is pushed back a little to quickly advance the plot so that will have to wait a little bit.