Eddard read through the final tax counts of the North one more time. The numbers have always been in flux in the aftermath of the Rebellion but now it has steadied somewhat. The final count came to sixty thousand gold dragons and ten thousand silver stags. It was a high number for the North to pay but long summers have made this number affordable for the Northern Houses. There was some grumbling about high taxes but it was nothing he couldn't handle. After making sure all the papers were in order he signed at the very bottom and affixed his seal. He rolled up the parchment and tied it up with a white piece of cloth and affixed his seal on the knot. Opening a wooden box he arranged all official scrolls and documents into the box. With that part finished all of the official procedures and documentation has been verified by himself. Now all that was left to do was send the taxes to the capital which means he needed to find the men to properly escort the caravan. Just as he was about to find some of the men that would be going to Kingslanding he paused and sat down on his seat as Maester Luwin escorted Jon, Asher Forrester and Dacey Mormont into his study.
In his rush, he had all but forgotten that his nephew was leaving today. Thankfully he had already arranged everything with Lord Manderly so he didn't have to worry about anything else. The tax collecting of each year was always a time that he would be distracted from all other activities and it seems even this year the trend remains the same.
"We will be taking our leave Lord Stark." said Jon and his two companions bowed briefly to Eddard
"I see. I have arranged everything with Lord Manderly. He will be waiting at White Harbour with a ship and he will have further instructions." Edward nodded as he stood up from his seat
"I would like to thank you, Lord Stark. You spared my father from the pain of exiling his own son. House Forrester will not forget this kindness." Asher bowed to Eddard to show his appreciation
"House Stark has always supported House Mormont even at our lowest moments. I will ensure Jon will stay safe in Braavos, my lord." Dacey promised
Eddard acknowledged her with a nod and hoped that she would be able to bring Jon to Bear Islands.
"Come, I will escort you myself." said Eddard as he walked together with Jon. As the Maester, Asher and Dacey led the group Eddard held Jon back before they reached the open grounds.
"Don't share your true name with anyone else and if there is any trouble take the first ship out of Braavos straight for White Harbour. I don't want you to get hurt while am still alive. Do you understand?" Eddard looked straight into Jon's eyes to get the point across
"Yes, I understand. You have my word." Jon promised
"What happened to your eyes?" Eddard asked bewildered that his nephew's eyes had changed colour and this was the first time that he was seeing it
"Doesn't matter. I will visit sometime after I have set myself up in Braavos. Thank you for everything you have done uncle." The last part Jon whispered into his ear and Eddard patted his nephew on the back and let him go to say goodbye to others.
Eddard watched silently as Jon said goodbyes to his children. Arya was most affected by Jon's departure and his strong-willed daughter had unshed tears in her eyes. Edward nodded at Jon as he threw a final look at him and stared on as his nephew rode off on horseback. Edward had insisted on taking a few men with him to Braavos but his nephew settled for only two. He personally knew Nester and Shack so he knew they would watch over Jon to the best of their abilities.
"You have to assign the men for the transportation of tax revenue to the capital my lord." Maester Luwin reminded him subtly by his side
Edward nodded and went about his duties but he noted that up in the balcony his wife was starting in the direction Jon was heading intensely.
Catelyn was a simple woman with simple aspirations in life. She was the favourite of Hoster Tully's children because she was the only one smart enough to think what's good for her house rather than what good for her. That's why when she was arranged to marry Brandon Stark she never put up a fight despite knowing about his womanizing ways. Then the Mad King murdered her betrothed and she was married to Eddard Stark who became the Lord of Winterfell in the absence of his father and brother. Again she never protested and went along with the decision of her father for the betterment of her house. She knew the marriage was a political match and didn't expect much from it but Eddard surprised her. He was everything she dreamed of a husband. In the short time that they were together at the start of the rebellion, she found her husband to be honourable, caring, chivalrous and truthful. It was more than she expected from the young man she married in Riverrun and for a time she lived in fear of how the rebellion will turn out. War claimed men in thousands and the Stranger spared neither the common folk nor the lords. She had prayed and prayed that her husband would be returned to her and the gods heard her prayers as her husband fought battles with victory after victory. She was proud and then the good news came one day that the capital had fallen and this ended the war. The dragons that were ruling from the Iron Throne was cast away and the Stag took the crown of Westeros.
She should have been happy that her husband returned safe and sound to her arms and she had a present in the form of a son to continue his name. She delivered her first son in Riverrun, a strong and healthy heir for House Stark to rule the North but all her happiness fled as her husband returned with a child in his hands he claimed was his own. In all her life she had never felt such overwhelming hatred and anger at someone and all of that was directed at Ned. She confessed this to her Septa who reminded her of the crooked nature of bastards and the woman that gave birth to such sin. After a lengthy talk with her septa, her ire was directed at the woman her husband lay with and the bastard that he brought back.
The news quickly spread around Riverrun of the bastard of Ned Stark and with it came the speculation of the woman that must have shared his bed. Catelyn was also curious to know and her lord husband refused to share the identity of the woman. At first, the rumours went from some tavern wench to some farmer's daughter. But soon rumours tart to float around of Ashara Dayne's suicide and it took no time for many to point at the Dayne woman as a possible candidate for giving birth to the bastard. On one hand, the information if true put her at ease as she could understand that the bastard was conceived long before her husband married her. At the same time, her fears intensified because of the bastard's connection to two noble houses and the threat that he posed to her son. The story of Daemon Blackfyre and how he rose up in rebellion was not lost on her and her insecurities of not being an equal to Ashara Dayne before her husband drove her mad.
Thankfully a distraction came in the form of travelling back to Winterfell and her duties as Lady of Winterfell kept her engaged. She was determined to prove her worth to her husband and replace Ashara Dayne from his heart. Ever so slowly she felt that the rift between them was closing up and the only grey area that they had in their relationship was about Jon. At one point in time, she had even prayed to the gods to take the child's life when he was struck with fever. She knew that it was a sin to wish ill upon others but the child was a bastard and bastards are sin given form according to the Seven's teachings. Unfortunately for her, the gods decided to not heed her prayers and the bastard survived. Year's passed and she watched with growing concern as the bastard rivalled all of her children in every field. She had tried to put a stop to giving the bastard the same education as Robb but again her husband intervened. She had raged against him at his decision accusing him of favouring his bastard with Ashara Dayne. The response that she received from her husband that day shook her to her core.
"I will ask my lady to stop insulting the dead who can't defend themselves on your baseless accusations. Even if that were true I will not let you commandeer how I raise my children. Jon is my blood and he will be brought up same as that of Robb. If Jon shows much promise than Robb in the lessons then perhaps you ought to focus on improving our son's skills rather than try to suppress Jon. This is not your South where the weak thrive by pretending that they are strong. This is the North where only the strong and sturdy survives the harshest winters. If Robb can't even compete with his siblings then he won't be able to hold the North much less Winterfell." Her husband spoke coldly while his eyes flashed with cold wintery rage and it brought shivers to her spine. For a moment Catelyn felt as if she was in the presence of the Winter Kings of old and the full might of their power was bearing down upon her.
After that incident, she had mellowed out and hadn't ever again brought up the issue with her husband again. She had tried several times unsuccessfully to let him come clean with the identity of Jon's mother. No matter how hard she tried her husband would neither deny nor confirm the rumours. In the end, she let the matter go and had instead focused on assisting Robb. In the years that followed, she had more children and slowly she felt the love between them blossom once again and this time it was stronger than before. But her concerns with Jon Snow never ended as all her children took after her in appearance and colouring while Jon was a pure Stark. It was only with Arya that she let out a sigh of relief as she took the appearance of a proper Stark. Although, she was less than happy that Arya and Bran were closer to Jon Snow than any of her other children.
Even after living with Jon Snow for thirteen years, she could never adjust with his presence. She knew in her heart that he didn't have any malicious intent towards her children but she couldn't help but dislike the bastard. If Jon was born as her son she would have loved him more than Robb or any of her children. Unfortunately, that was just a fervent wish of a desperate mother cursed with hatred and pity for the boy. In the privacy of her heart, she knew that she felt sorry for the boy but her mind would go to the teachings of the Seven to hate the boy who was a rival and curse for her son. So it would have been understandable if she felt great relief when the bastard left Winterfell for Braavos far across the Narrow sea. Instead, she only felt hollow as she watched the retreating form of her husband's bastard. She would like to think that it was his own wish to move away to Braavos but she suspected that Jon did this for her to let her know that he would never threaten her children. She knew how kind the bastard was in his heart as she had made it her life's work in detecting any flaw in the bastard for her peace of mind. Outside of his penchant for joining in with Arya to play pranks on Theon, she could never find any noteworthy flaws in Jon's character. In her mind, Jon was someone who inherited all of Ned's good qualities and maybe more. A single tear escaped from her eyes and fell to the floor before she could hold it back and she immediately sought out the sanctity of the Sept to put her mind at ease and the guilt that was threatening to devour her whole.