The King in the North, in his castle, was surrounded by strangers. When he left King's Landing he expected to have the queen and her dragons, perhaps some unsullied. But he would never have expected the Lannister army, with the Kingslayer at its head, to come to the North to defend Winterfell.

Davos had insisted that he needed an escort to move about the castle, but he had refused. If he surrounded himself with bodyguards, it would have been interpreted as a sign of fear and distrust, and if they really wanted to kill him they would have been of little use to him. The only protection he needed was that of Fanstasma. The direwolf could smell enemies from a distance, even those who hid hostility behind a smile.

But Ghost had moved away. Jon removed a glove, put two fingers to his mouth and whistled.

- Ghost! -

As he had imagined, the white wolf was on the ramparts. He never howled, but there was something that drew him to the heights anyway; then he sat there on his hindquarters, and while his hot breath formed white clouds, he drank up the stars with those red eyes.

- The golden knight - Val warned him - He's coming that way -

She was not mistaken. When she turned around he was approaching, with his golden armor and hair of the same color. ''No wonder it was silent in the courtyard'' he remembered the first time he had seen the Kingslayer. - it was here, at Winterfell, with the royal retinue. At the time I thought he looked much more like a king than Robert did.

- My lord," Jon greeted.

- The queen would like to see you - he looked at Val - Alone -

- May I change my clothes? - Jon dismounted from his horse - I do not look fit to present myself to a queen -

- We will wait for you in her chambers -

We'll wait for you'' - he wondered. He hung up his coat and breastplate in the armoury, went up to his room, took off his dust-soaked clothes from the journey and put on clean ones. He knew it would not be as cold inside the castle, so he chose a light cloak without a hood. Finally, he picked up Garra and strapped the bastard sword to his waist.

Ser Barristan Selmy was waiting for him by the door, standing tall as a lance.

- What do you want of me, your highness? - Jon asked when he stood before him.

- I could not tell you, my lord," he opened the door, "You had better ask him.

Daenerys Targaryen stood at the window, gazing out at the castle and the vast godswood beyond. Beside her stood Jaime Lannister, closer than one might expect.

- The King in the North - Tyrion warned them, standing across the room.

The queen turned to study him. In King's Landing he had never seen it so closely. The eyes were unfathomable violet wells.

- Your Majesty," Jon greeted.

- Jon Snow. I hope you found what you were looking for at Dragonstone -

- Indeed I did. All that and more - ''Maybe we can fight this war'' - We have enough dragonglass for every man to wield a sword and a dagger. And arrows, and spears, and axes... -

- I'm glad to hear that - Daenerys grimaced - I'll fight... We'll fight for you, and for the North -

- I thank you, your highness. We need you, your dragons and... - he gave Jaime Lannister a suspicious look - your armies.

The queen frowned in a gesture of displeasure.

- Lannister, Stark... - Daenerys snorted - I want you to sign a truce, here and now -

"With the Kingslayer?''

- Signing a truce takes trust - Jon's voice became stern as he said that.

Surprisingly, Jaime smiled at that.

- I told you, your highness, he is a Stark.

- If it wasn't for him you might have died in King's Landing - the queen looked at the Kingslayer - Ser Jaime reminded me of my duty when all I had in my head were my rights. I was trying to win the throne to save the realm, when I should be saving the realm to win the throne - she looked at him again - We have waited all these weeks for you to seal our alliance. When the cold winds rise, we will live or die together. The time has come for us to ally against our common enemy. You are both men of honor, so I want you to pledge your allegiance to each other -

The Lannister extended his hand to him and Jon shook it without much thought.

- And... the North? -

- The North will remain one of the Seven Kingdoms, as it has been until now - all traces of warmth had vanished - But we will talk about it after the war -

Jon bowed his head stiffly and left.

'' If father could see me shaking the Kingslayer's hand... He went upstairs to his room. '' '' Where has Val gone? ''. He found her things where he had left them, but no sign of the girl.

- The princess has gone that way,'' a servant girl told him, pointing to the stairs leading to the top of the tower.

Jon went to where she indicated and suddenly found himself in the gloom. ''She can't be here,'' he was beginning to think when he heard her laughter. He continued straight towards the sound, but he hadn't even gone ten steps up when the light vanished altogether. He groped for something to grab hold of when he inadvertently opened a door that was ajar.

- Val? -

- I'm in here -

Jon had to crawl a dozen steps before a faint light came back to illuminate him as Val shone a torch.

- What are you doing here? - he asked.

- I'm investigating your castle - She waved her hand - How did it go with your queen and your golden knight? -

- Well, or so I think - Jon said - They'll fight and then we'll see -

- After? - she whispered as she nibbled his neck - When the dead come, there will be no after -

Jon pressed his nose into her hair and was filled with her scent.

- You sound like Old Tata when she was telling Bran a monster tale.

- Are you calling me old? - Val asked, punching him in the shoulder.

- You're older than me -

- Yes, and smarter too - she turned away from him and began to undress.

- What are you doing? -

- I'm going to show you how old I am - she untied the loops of her coat, threw them aside, and unbuttoned her woolen shirts.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a small figure crept in. Val let out a little shriek as she retied her ties.

- Who is it? - asked Jon, who couldn't see well because of the darkness.

- Jon? - said a little voice he had almost forgotten.

- Arya? - It can't be true. Is it really you? -

His sister entered the room. She was changed, older, not as thin, but still her little sister.

As soon as she saw him she ran and jumped up to hug him.

- I was afraid you had died - he said, excited - Where have you been all this time? -

- Here and there - tears ran down his face - I've missed you -

- And I you - he ruffled her hair as he did when she was a child - And, oh... - he remembered - This is Val -

When he said her name, she came out of the shadows.

- Arya - she said shaking her hand - Jon has told me a lot about you -.

- Are you the princess of the Free People? - she asked.

- That's what they call me - she answered - But not a princess who lives in a castle and wears flowery dresses - I'm the princess of the Free People.

- Better - said Arya - I hate that kind of princess -

Jon looked at his sister's waist.

- You have kept it - he said.

- Needle - smiled Arya as she unsheathed the blade.

- Have you had to use it? -

- Not much... Once or twice.

He hugged her again.

- Come - he said as he started walking towards the door - I have to introduce you to a lot of people -

- Me too - Arya answered - Do you know the Hound? -