(Jon)
The next morning saw Jon wake early and visit Maester Aemon. It was rare that he got to entertain others with his harp, and he wanted to see the Targaryen again before he left on his journey. Though it pained his heart to think about, Jon was well aware that he might not ever see Aemon alive again due to his advanced age. The two broke their fast together ang Jon played for him one last time before he older man placed a hand on his shoulder in an almost familial fashion. Neither said a word as Jon was overcome with the urge to gently wrap the man in hug as if he was Jon's paternal grandfather before he turned to leave.
"I would very much like us to meet again Aemon. I will keep my promise." Jon said as he left. Never seeing Aemon's tender smile and tears. Jon met up with Benjen at the stables, making sure to avoid Alliser and his followers. The day would be a great one and he wouldn't allow ignorance to dampen his mood.
"This is goodbye for now lad. Take care of yourself out there and send a raven or two when you are able." Benjen said as he pulled out a bag of silver for Jon. It wasn't much but it would be enough to ensure Jon got a warm meal and place to stay ever couple of nights as long as he rationed it well. Added to what Jon took with him from Winterfell, it should be enough for a couple months' time.
"I will uncle and thank you." Jon said. He hesitated for a moment, remembering his dream.
"Uncle, why do you think the wildlings have been coming south so frequently recently?" Jon asked. Benjen frowned in confusion.
"They've always done such a thing over the years Jon. You know that." Benjen replied, not sure where Jon was going with his question.
"I was with father when he killed a night's watchman deserter. He seemed terrified out of mind. Maybe there is more to this then we know. Perhaps if we could reach an accord with them, we could find the reason and stop more blood being shed." Jon stated. If his dream wasn't a dream then the wildings weren't coming to conquer, but to escape death.
"Many have tried before Jon. The wildings and Night's Watch have had treaties and even fought together in the past, but it always fails eventually. Sometimes peace is impossible between two different types of people." Benjen said lowly. Jon was silent for a time, he had been raised on stories of the wildlings being savages who would rape, pillage, and murder if given the chance and he knew that to be true to a point.
'But what makes someone born on the other side of the wall so much more different than us?' Jon thought to himself.
"I understand Uncle. I just wonder if they have been forming and moving toward the wall to conquer or if there's something more to it." Jon said, more to himself then Benjen. Jon's nightmare of walking dead men and ice creatures was still fresh in his mind.
"Maybe Jon. Maybe." Benjen said staring at his nephew with conflicted emotions. He was still not completely sure he was comfortable with Jon taking this journey on his own, even if he did have Ghost and his own protection. He was not blind and saw the sword that was wrapped in a cloth hanging at Jon's waist. That he'd gotten it from someone at the Watch was apparent, but who and why Benjen didn't know.
'Who would gift him a sword after only meeting him for a day?' Benjen wanted to ask but decided to leave well enough alone. He knew of his nephew's skill with a blade first hand after watching him spar and Robb and other guards in Winterfell on his last visit. It was safe to say that he pitied anyone that attacked Jon on the road. However, even the greatest of warriors could make a mistake that cost them their lives or could be overwhelmed with superior numbers. In the end though. He had to trust in Jon and let him make his own decisions. He doubted the lad would let anything stop him anyway now that his mind was made up.
'He's a lot like Brandon and Lyanna in that way.' Benjen thought wistfully with a stab of pain that always accompanied thoughts of his two deceased siblings.
"I'll think on your words Jon. Old God's know that we've spilt enough blood fighting the wildlings. If there was a way to ensure lasting peace, I'd take it." Benjen said.
He wrapped Jon in a hug and watched as the young man saddled his horse and turned to leave with Ghost at his side. Benjen heard a door open and looked up to see Maester Aemon come from the library and seemingly star in Jon's direction despite his lack of eyesight. It still marveled Benjen that Aemon seemed to be able to see more without his eyes than others could who had full use of them. Benjen turned back as the gates of castle Black closed behind Jon and Benjen was once again the only one of Stark heritage at the Wall.
'Much as I'd love you to come here. I feel your future is ahead of you Jon. Stay safe.' Benjen thought as he turned and was surprised to see Aemon was now staring in his direction. Making a decision Benjen moved to the stairs to have a conversation with the elderly man.
A few days later Jon was washing his face in a small stream while Ghost drank from the water. They'd been traveling for a few days south and Jon felt they were making good time. He's plan was fairly simple, he would conserve his money, only staying at inns and keeps if the weather turned bad. He was content with the freeing feeling of resting under the stars hunting his own food or sharing with the game that Ghost was able to track and kill for them. He would travel south until he reached Dorne.
'I can't board a ship to Dorne. I don't have enough money to achieve that, and that's not even mentioning Ghost. I doubt a captain would allow a direwolf on board for the time it would take to reach the southern most region of Westeros.' Jon thought to himself. Jon also wanted to see more of the kingdoms. Should he decide to one day join the Watch he couldn't leave so why not taken in as much of the continent that he could.
Jon stood and grabbed his swords. He practiced every day with Dark Sister planning to be a worthy wielder of the legendary blade. Valyrian steel was said to be lighter but much stronger than any other metal and swords forged from it never lost their edge. He had to get used to the lighter blade and familiarize himself with its reach, grip and movements. Ser Rodrick always told him and Robb that a weapon needed to be an extension of the wielder. Thought the blade was most likely superior than most others he would not rely solely on his weapon to win a battle, he would train his body and mind as well.
Jon also toyed around with the idea of duel wielding Dark Sister with his regular sword. He didn't want to neglect either blade as both were gifts from those precious to him, despite how brief his meeting with Aemon was, and with Dark Sister being a lighter sword it wouldn't tire him as it would if he used two regular swords at once. He's practiced a bit with it but knew he had a while to go before he could say he was proficient.
Jon had only gotten through a few of his forms, practicing his footwork, before he heard cries for help and the sound of weapons clashing. Ghost was instantly at his side and Jon moved to investigate. Through the trees further down along the main road Jon saw several figures fighting around a carriage, there were more than a few that were on the ground unmoving and likely dead. Jon took a moment to study what was going on. He had no idea what this battle was about and honestly had no reason to interfere.
That changed when the last one of what Jon could only assume was the guards protecting the carriage fell to the two remaining attackers and they pulled a large body from the carriage. Whoever they were, they were begging for mercy on their knees and appeared to be crying. The two figures seemed to laugh and kick at the figure and Jon felt his blood ignite in anger. Whoever they were, they seemed to be enjoying abusing the man and Jon would have none of it.
'It's not my business but I can't very well allow what looks like bandits to kill someone.' Jon thought and he turned to Ghost and moved forward. The two figures were not paying Jon any attention, having their backs to his approach and continuing to kick the downed man and seemed to be determining who would kill him.
Jon didn't allow himself to hesitate. To hesitate would be to put himself in danger. Jon pulled out his sword and stabbed one of the men through the chest. He didn't even have time to process that he'd made his first kill before he pulled the sword free, allowing the dying man to cry out weakly as he fell to his knees and turned to the other. To his credit, though he was surprised the remaining bandit turned, assessed the new threat and broke his word to bear on Jon.
This was Jon's first time in actual combat. It wasn't like the sparring that they did in Winterfell, there would be no yielding, one of them would die. Jon felt fear creep into his heart as he continued to cross swords with the bandit. He was not as skilled as Jon but was older and stronger and obviously had been in more than one fight in his life. Regardless, Jon controlled his frantically beating heart, remembered his training, and waited until the man made a mistake before sliding his sword into his belly. The man made a chocked cough of surprise at the move and dropped his sword. He too fell to his knees but didn't die instantly. He seemed to be trying to say something but only blood came from his throat. Soon enough he stopped moving and his eyes lost their light.
Jon stood frozen at the sight. He's just killed not one but two men in as many minutes and the smell of blood, piss and defecation hit his nose. Jon quickly moved behind a tree and puked his guts out. He looked to the blood coating his sword and his hand and tried to stop his body from shivering.
"Um e-excuse me."
Jon turned to the man who had gotten to his feet. Upon closer inspection Jon saw that this was no man but a young lad close to his age if he guessed correctly. The young man was very fat, with dark hair, pale eyes and a large moon shaped face that was wet with tears. Jon quickly composed himself and kept his sword ready. He still didn't have any idea who this person was and though he'd saved him from the two he wasn't about to let his guard down. The young man seemed to perceive this as he held his hands up and fresh tears began to run down his face.
"W-wait please! I will not harm you. I only want to give you my thanks." He said as he raised his hands in submission and backed away.
He just so happened to pump into Ghost, who like his namesake seemed to appear behind the young man without a sound. He turned and noticing the large direwolf gave a shout of fear and fell to his backside. Jon looked to his companion and sensing that Ghost wasn't wary of the figure in the snow clean his sword and put it away before helping the young man to his feet.
"Who are you? What happened here?" Jon asked after he got the man to calm down and ensured him that Ghost wasn't going to eat him.
"I-I am Samwell Tarly." He managed to say, finally tearing his eyes off of Ghost to look back at Jon.
"Tarly? I recognize the name. Your family is one of the more powerful bannermen in the Reach. What are you doing all the way up here?" Jon asked curiously. Samwell's eyes widened at Jon's knowledge of his house given that it was so much farther south than their current location but answered none the less
"I was on my way to join the Night's Watch. These men set upon my party looking for loot." Sam said turning and explaining the dead bodies. In doing so he seemed to finally recognize the dead bodies around him and the same smell that Jon had noticed before and he was quickly behind a tree throwing up as well. He fell to his knees and once again seemed to weep, and Jon felt the urge to pat the young man on the back in sympathy.
"I am sorry for your loss. These men fought bravely to protect you" Jon said awkwardly. He was unused to comforting others save for his siblings and he had not personally lost anyone he could consider a friend before, so he was unsure if he as doing any good. Samwell stopped weeping after a time before looking to Jon again.
"I wouldn't exactly call them my friends. Many didn't like me." Sam said softly. Jon frowned at this, more confused than before.
"What is your name?" Sam asked curiously.
"Jon Snow. This is Ghost." Jon said introducing himself as well as Ghost. Reasonably sure that Ghost wasn't going to eat him anymore, Sam's eyes lite up and he turned to Jon excitedly.
"He's much bigger than a regular wolf. Could he honestly be a direwolf? They haven't been seen south of the wall for hundreds of years!" Sam said in wonder. Jon was again thrown off by how quickly Sam went from frightened and tearful to excited and inquisitive but shrug his shoulders and moved toward the bodies.
"I will explain as we finish here." Jon said as he leaned down towards one of the bandits. It still made him slightly nauseous, but he needed to do it.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked fearfully again, not at all comfortable around the dead bodies.
"We need to bury them. Friends or not they gave their lives for you and they deserve a proper burial." Jon said, though he didn't really know how he would accomplish this. He had no tools for digging and the ground was too cold and hard to do it by hand. A solution came from Ghost coming beside Jon and seeming to know what he wanted began to dig int eh ground. Jon smiled, this would be quick work with Ghost helping.
"I-I understand." Sam said though he looked green in the face and Jon wondered if he would actually be able to even get close to the bodies much less put them in the holes Ghost was digging.
Sam proved of a tougher sort than Jon took him for as either guilt from seeing Jon doing the work alone or for the men dying for him won out and he slowly walked over and helped Jon. The work took a few hours but soon the men were all buried. Jon had checked the bodies of the bandits for any items he could use and unsurprisingly found very little, thought the guards did with their armor and weapons. They finished the work but once they did it was well into the afternoon and Jon invited Sam to share a fire with him. He didn't want to young man he'd killed to protect to die of the cold wondering at night.
Jon quickly discovered that Sam really didn't know anything about survival. He couldn't start a fire, didn't know how to hunt or even how to prepare the three hares that Jon caught to be eaten. It annoyed Jon but Sam looked so sad at his failings that Jon let it go. No use beating someone up who was doing it to themselves. As they sat around the fire eating the hares Jon sat in contemplation of what Sam had shared over the last few hours.
Samwell Tarly was the eldest son of Randyll Tarly the Lord of Horn Hill in the Reach. He had a younger brother and sister and a loving mother. However, his father disapproved of having such a "weak" heir. Sam didn't like to fight, couldn't use weapons, and preferred reading and eating to hunting and training. His father considered him a failure and a waste of an heir and demanded that Sam take the black so his younger brother Dickon whom Randyll considered a much better prospect as the ruler of Horn Hill to become the new heir.
Jon felt his blood boil as Sam had informed him of his father's opinions and once again could only give a small bit of thanks that Lord Stark was not such a man. His lord father believed that everyman had worth though not all were talented in the same fields. For example, Jon was widely agreed upon as being the best swordsman in Winterfell even at his age, but Jon was not as good as Robb was in lances and, though he hated to admit it, Theon was in archery. Sansa could sing and dance, two things Jon couldn't do. Arya was amazing at stealth and sneaking into placing and no one could out climb Bran. Jon could tell just from speaking to him that Samwell had a vast wealth of knowledge as supported by his love of books and found a bit of a kindred spirit from his own fascination with history.
"Your father is wrong. Just because you don't want to fight, or kill doesn't make you weak." Jon said suddenly, almost making Sam drop his rabbit in surprise. Sam turned to him and in his eyes, Jon saw pain, sadness, disbelief, and fear.
'He would not do well at Castle Black.' Jon thought to himself. EH could only imagine how many of the recruits would treat Sam, especially if Alliser was the trainer of new recruits. He wouldn't put it past the man to perform cruel acts and dish out unwarranted punishments in the name of "toughening them up". Jon asked Sam a question that surprisingly struck himself deeply.
"Sam you don't want to join the Night's Watch, do you?" Jon asked. Though his father had seemingly forced him to do so Jon wanted to know what Sam wanted. For all he knew Sam had come to accept his fate and decided it was what he wanted to do.
"I don't have a choice Jon I have to join." Sam said sadly turning away.
"No, you don't. You always have a choice Sam. What do you truly want to do?" Jon asked intensely. Sam flinched from Jon's tone but after a few minutes looked to Jon.
"I always wanted to be a maester." Sam said softly, as if expecting Jon to laugh at him. Jon nodded approvingly.
"I can see that. You seem smart Sam and you know your history from what little I've spoken with you. I think you'd be a great maester." Jon replied. Sam's eyes once again widened with fear that Jon was teasing him but upon looking at Jon's face saw that he believed ever word.
"Thank you Jon. You're the first person to say that to me and believe it." Sam said as he looked down in happiness. Jon smiled, pleased that he was able to cheer up the young man and leaned back to look at the stars, something he'd made a habit of recently.
"Jon?" Jon turned to look at Sam who had an interested look on his face.
"Why are you out here all alone? I know from your name that you..well" Sam began hesitantly.
"I'm a bastard Sam. It's alight to say it." Jon said without a hint of anger or pain. He knew Sam wasn't a malicious person and even if he had been Jon wouldn't allow that word to hurt him ever again.
"If you don't mind my asking. Who is your father?" Sam asked, wanting to know the man that raised his savior.
"Eddard Stark." Jon said quietly. He still felt conflicted when thinking of his father. On one hand Jon was furious about his refusal to tell Jon who his mother was or even the truth about the Night's Watch and what kind of men were there. On the other hand, Jon could tell from speaking with Sam that he was still fortunate to have a father like Ned Stark who actually loved his children, never looked down on them as lesser for any reason and gave Jon a far better up bringing than other bastard or even true born children enjoyed if Sam was any indication.
"Lord Eddard Stark! The Lord of Winterfell." Sam said in surprise and he once again gained the look his face Jon was starting to recognize meant he'd found a puzzle he wanted to solve and learn as much as he could about.
"Aye." Jon said shortly. Sam seemed to sense that Jon didn't want to talk about it and let it go.
"So where are you going Jon?" Sam asked returning to his earlier question to change the subject.
"I'm actually heading to Dorne Sam." Jon said with a wistful look on his face.
"All the way down there? What's in Dorne?" Sam asked curiously.
"Hopefully my mother." Jon answered truthfully seeing no reason to hide it from Sam. Mayhaps he was too trusting but something about Sam set him at ease.
Sam for his part was quiet. His mother and sister were the only family members that loved him. His brother wasn't all bad, but he ignored Sam in favor of being the favorite child of their father. Sam didn't know what he would have done without his mother caring for him and protecting him as much as she was able from his father's brutal tactics.
"Well I haven't known you for long, but I imagine she'd be pleased that you saved someone you didn't even know from bandits." Sam said encouragingly. Jon looked up to him and gave a smile of appreciation. Having someone reaffirm that this quest would have a happy ending for him was comforting.
"What will you do Sam? No one can force you to take the black if you don't want to." Jon asked him. Sam was silent for a time before looking up to Jon encouragingly.
"I owe you my life Jon. If it'd be alright, I'd be honored if you'd let me accompany you and help you find your mother in Dorne." Sam said shakily, fearing rejection. In truth there was little Sam could do physically to help Jon. He was no fighter, cook or healer but he did have his mind and being from the Reach he knew all about the noble houses of Dorne and their customs, despite the centuries' bad blood between the two regions.
Jon was surprised by the offer and didn't answer for a minute. He saw Sam look down nervously as he continued to think on the offer. He truthfully didn't know Sam despite their conversations and insight into he's past. The fact remained that Sam could be a skilled liar, despite how highly doubtful that was it had to be considered.
'I would be nice to have some company and he does know about Dorne given he was the heir of arguably the second stronger house in the Reach.' Jon thought. As he always did, he turned to Ghost, his closest companion, to gauge his opinion in the matter. Some would think that odd, but Jon had learned to trust Ghost instincts without question. Ghost looked back and relaxed beside the fire telling Jon all he needed to know.
"Thank you Sam. I'd be happy to have you accompany me." Jon said, surprising Sam who looked up with wide eyes.
"I've never been outside of the North. I'd be a great help to have you with me. And who knows afterward maybe we can sneak you into the citadel." Jon said with a smile. Sam's jaw dropped at the statement. Jon gave a short chuckle before deciding to rest for the evening. He knew just how long of a trip was before them and wanted to get an early start. Sam saw his intention and moved to do the same.
'I think I've made my first friend from the south.' Jon thought as he allowed the warmth of the fire to lull him to sleep. He didn't fear an ambush at night from either man or creature. Ghost would be aware of them long before he ever could and would awake Jon if need be.
Over the next few weeks Jon and Sam moved swiftly through the North heading towards the Neck, the region that separated the dominion of the North from the Riverlands. During that time the two quickly cemented their friendship through their shared rough childhoods as well as their love of book and history. Jon decided that it would be a good idea to help Sam learn to properly defend himself but was quickly frustrated with just how inept Sam was with a sword or any other weapon that Jon was well versed in.
Sam openly admired Jon's movements during his morning training but when he held a sword, he turned green in the face and began to tremble. Jon was unsure of how to get through to Sam that a weapon could not hurt anyone. It all fell to the wielder of the weapon, but it appeared his father had caused quite a bit of damage to Sam's self confidence and self-worth. Should he ever meet the man, Jon wasn't sure he'd be able to keep from punching Lord Tarly in the face. The most he was able to get Sam to do was attempt to draw a bow. They'd taken what possessions they could from the bandits and the guards and Jon personally didn't care for the bow, though he respected those that were skilled in it. His father had always felt the same.
'When you kill a man, you owe it to him to look him in the eyes when doing it. If you can't do that, perhaps the man didn't deserve to die at all.' Jon recalled Eddard Stark saying once when he, reluctantly, spoke about the wars he'd fought in.
Jon lay beside Ghost looking at the stars as Sam slept. Try as he might Jon couldn't sleep. Tomorrow they would cross the Neck and enter the Riverlands. He would be leaving the North for the first time in his life. He also felt a bit apprehensive about entering the lands of Lady Stark's birth but shook it out quickly enough. He would not judge a region just because he had a bad experience with one person from there.
Another reason he'd been losing sleep recently was the dreams. He didn't dream about White Walkers anymore, but he did find himself dreaming that he was Ghost and remembered running through the woods and hunting game. He remembered stalking his prey and the exhilaration of bringing down a deer. He remembered the taste of fresh flesh and blood in his mouth and how he would look in the distance and feel his packmates. While he missed them, he was content with his partner and the larger but kindly new human in their group.
Jon shook his head and stood up as he tried to pull his thoughts away. He looked to Ghost and was not at all surprised to see the Direwolf looking directly at him. They'd always had a strong bond, but he'd never actually had a dream so vivid that he would swear on the gods Old and New that he was inside of Ghost's body.
'Old Nan told stories about those who could enter into the minds of animals. Skin-changers she called them.' Jon thought to himself. He didn't tell Sam about these dreams. He knew how crazy it would have sounded. Jon decided to try and burn off some energy and began to practice his swordsmanship. He was getting used to duel wielding his swords but still favored his old over Dark Sister for the moment. After awhile he stopped and felt himself grow tired and decided to sleep. As he always did, he leaned into Ghost's body and closed his eyes.
'Tomorrow I leave the North. One more step towards my mother and the truth.' Jon thought.
The next morning Jon and Sam moved into the Riverlands. Jon was amazed at how much green he saw, from the trees, to the grass to a multitude of flora that he'd only read about in books. He was mesmerized and turned to Sam to explain everything that he knew of the Riverlands. Sam was only to happy to do so and regaled Jon with tales and stories that even Jon didn't know, despite his fondness for book and history. They decided to stay in an inn and get a warm meal and loggings for the night. Jon was being very frugal with their money and didn't want to spend excessively but he felt like celebrating, as silly as that seemed. Sam was only to happy to agree, not used to sleeping outdoors and without the comforts of his home. Jon once again knew he'd made the right decision with allowing Sam to accompany him. He shuddered to think what they would have done to him at the Wall.
Jon allowed Ghost to remain in the surrounding woods as he and Sam entered the inn and enjoyed a night of comfort. Over a warm bowl of soup and watered-down wine, they discussed their next destination.
"Jon, I believe that we should take a ship to Starfall." Sam said as they ate, greatly appreciating the warm meal.
"Why do you say that?" Jon asked curiously.
"I have no doubt that we can reach Dorne by traveling the King's road but it's going to be difficult to navigate the sands of Dorne without a guide and I don't believe they will take kindly to me being a Tarly." Sam said. Over the last few weeks Sam's confidence had very slowly begun to raise to the point that he didn't immediately apologize or look down in expectation of a harsh word or look from Jon.
"I had thought about that myself Sam but what about Ghost? I doubt there are a lot of ships that will allow a full grown direwolf onboard." Jon said thoughtfully.
"True but pay a man enough money and you'd be surprised what he'll do." Sam recited. Jon smirked a bit at the statement.
"If you hadn't noticed Sam, we don't have a lot of money." Jon said with a chuckle, though he didn't disagree with the statement.
"But we do have items we took from the dead bodies. We could sell them, and it might give us enough for a ship." Sam said. Jon thought on this for a few minutes before agreeing.
"Where should we go to sell our items?" Jon asked his friend.
"If we turn east, we could go to King's Landing." Sam suggested. Jon froze at the statement.
'King's Landing? That where my uncle and grandfather were killed by the Mad King all those years ago. It's also where Aegon the conqueror landed when the Targaryens began their conquest of Westeros. Could I possibly find information about Aemon's remaining family there?' Jon thought to himself as he contemplated Sam's offer. A ship would be ideal, and they'd definitely be able to sell their items to a blacksmith as well. He'd have to leave Ghost outside of the city to roam but knew he could call the direwolf to him without hassle when the need called for it.
"Alright Sam. To King's Landing." Jon said as he raised his cup. Sam did the same and the two friends prepared for the next stop in their journey.
The next day they turned east towards King's landing. Jon was thankful that they hadn't encountered any trouble along the road from bandits and continued to train every morning. Sam had gained the confidence to shoot his bow a bit more and the two friends continued heading towards the capital of the country until one evening as the sun began to set, they came to the crossing of the Trident and the Ruby Ford. Jon and Sam took a few minutes for their horses and Ghost to drink water as they began to set up camp. They would cross in the morning and continue to head towards King's landing. Later as they sat around the fire, Jon became lost in thought once Sam began explaining the history of the Ruby Ford.
'The location of the Battle of the Trident where my father's best friend and future king Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar Targaryen and crushed the loyalist army. It gained his named when Robert's War hammer smashed into Rhaegar's breast plate that was lined with rubes in the shape of the Targaryen three headed dragon symbol. The rubies scattered into the river and both armies stopped fighting to try and grab the gems.' Jon thought as he allowed Sam to get lost in his explanations, as he was want to do.
Jon always held strange feelings when he thought of the dead Targaryen Prince. Those in the North seemed to hate him and agree that he kidnapped his aunt Lyanna and inadvertently started Robert's rebellion. However, the thing that stopped Jon from thinking the same was that his father never uttered a bad word about the fallen prince. If anyone brought up the subject during a feast or meeting, Ned would grow quite with a contemplative look on his face but never showed any anger or rage. Ned rarely talked about the wars he'd been in, but Jon and his siblings were always hungry for information and every now and again Ned would divulge a few little details. During these stories Ned's face would lose its cool demeanor as he became lost in the memories and it was easier to read his feelings about certain events.
'If anyone would have a right to hate the Targaryens and Rhaegar especially it would be father, but he doesn't do so. In fact, I overheard Lord Umber and a few of the others that took place in the Rebellion mention that father almost came to blows with Robert Baratheon for the murder of Rhaegar's wife, Princess Elia Martell and their two young children.' Jon thought to himself and if true he found himself agreeing with his father.
No matter what the crimes of the parents, innocent children should not be judged or killed for them. Jon knew these thoughts came from his own treatment but felt it was true regardless of his admittedly biased opinion. Sam seemed to recognize that Jon had begun to think deeply, or 'brood' as Jon had joking called it and allowed his friend his space as he went back to the wagon and began polishing the armor and weapons. They'd fetch a greater price the shinier they were. Jon shook himself from his thoughts and moved to go to sleep.
Jon's dreams were of battle, men's cries of mercy, blood-soaked earth and of the personal battle between two men. He couldn't understand what he was seeing before one of the men slammed a massive war hammer into the chest of the other, scattering rubies and sending the man to the water. He tried to speak a single word before he went motionless and sank below the water's surface. Jon then heard a single word.
'Awaken!'
Jon awake with a gasp of air, his face covered in sweat and his body trembling even with the mild evening temperature and fire roaring. Sam was still asleep in the wagon and Ghost turned to look at his partner before Jon climbed to his feet and moved to the river. He fell to his knees and began to splash water in his face trying to calm his racing heart. Jon took deep breathes and looked out among the still water. There was a full moon and the light sparkled over the river. Jon stood to move back to camp when he saw the moon light reflecting off of something red in the water.
He didn't know why but the light called to him and he quickly removed his boots and cloak and dove into the water. In doing so his vision turned black beneath the depths of the river but he struggled forward towards the red light. Soon enough his hand reached towards it and grasped something small but hard. Jon moved back to land and as always was unsurprised to see Ghost awake and waiting for him. Jon stood before his direwolf and looked down at his hand. A small red piece of ruby sparkled brilliantly in the palm of his hand. Unsure of what to think about this Jon walked back to the campsite with Ghost.
He sat in silence in front of the fire long into the night.