"How dare they!" He yelled loudly, angrily, as he paced through his tent, carelessly throwing parts of his armor into the corners. "I am their future king and they made me look like a fool." He yelled more profanities that his mother would most likely punish him for, but Jon stopped paying the angry prince any attention.

Instead he looked around, seeing Rob and Theon, as both discarded their armor. Though they did it in a much more orderly fashion. Both boys looked annoyed, but neither would tell Joffrey to stop. They had grown accustomed to his temper tantrums, which had been quite frequent in the last few years. Complaining would not help in the slightest, it would only make things worse.

"I am the laughing stock of all Seven Kingdoms now! How are people supposed to respect me, when my own father does not even believe that I can win a fight against my own cousin?" The prince continued his rant.

"Relax, Joffrey, it's not like we can change it now. You will surely get your chance to fight that Lannister boy. We will surely run into him, especially as long as Robb here moons over his sister." Theon Greyjoy said with a chuckle.

"I'm not mooning over her, Theon." Robb exclaimed in annoyance.

"As if. And don't get your hopes up, her family is on the other side in this whole conflict, they are our enemies. Just look at how hard people have fought today. War is coming and those dornish Lannisters will be our enemies." Jon looked curiously at Theon as he said that. It was obvious that the Greyjoy knew more than he let on. No one had talked about war before, only about the tense relations between Dorne and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. But Theon used the word war so easily, as if he had thought about it before... or had he heard about it before? Jon could only guess. Maybe his father, Lord Eddard Stark, had talked about war before. Theon, in his position as his squire, was privy to much more information than the rest of them, that much was sure.

"It doesn't matter." Joffrey said hotly, "Dorne cannot win against the combined might of the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. They would fail, no matter what kind of rebellion they hope for."

"Can we please talk about something other than war and fighting?" Jon asked, finally fed up with the foul mood inside the tent.

Robb laughed when he saw the worried look on his half-brother's face, before he said, "Then tell us, Jon, what have you been up to? We could have used another sword in that battle."

"I've been... wandering..." He wouldn't tell them that he was actually busy thinking about his own future. So far he had only told his father about his wish to take the Black. His lord father had insisted on taking him to this Tourney, before he would allow him to make his final decision. Jon never stopped wondering why. Why was Eddard Stark opposed to letting his bastard go to the Wall? He had not opposed when his brother went there, so why deny him and take him here instead?

And then there was this strange meeting he had with this woman earlier. He did not know her name, but he had seen her with Jamie Lannister before, so he could only guess that she was his wife. He wondered why she had asked him such strange questions. As if he still knew whether he had ever been to the south before. Neither did he know who his mother was, his father never talked about her, no matter how often Jon asked him about her. Why would the wife of a foreign lord be interested in the mother of some northern bastard?

"Just walking around, doing nothing? You are such a bore," Theon said mockingly. "I don't know what you guys are going to do, but I will find myself a pretty wench for the evening. I will see you all later." And with these words the young Greyjoy was gone, leaving only two Starks and a still fuming prince behind.

"And what now?" Jon asked.

Robb looked at Joffrey for a moment, but the prince was still mumbling curses, ranting angrily about interfering guardsmen and disrespectful fathers. It was obvious that Joffrey saw it as a personal insult that his father obviously believed him to be too weak to win this fight on his own.

"I think it would be the best for us to leave as well. Father is most likely searching for us." Robb said, before he exited the tent as well. Jon glanced at Joffrey one more time, before he followed his brother. It was definitely for the best to let Joffrey cool down on his own.

As he and Robb returned to their own tents, they found out that their father had yet to return, because he and his most trusted advisers were still with the king, talking about the tense situation they had found themselves in. Jon was no fool, he could understand what kind of consequences this could have for all Seven Kingdoms. And just the tenseness he could feel around the camp was proof enough that something was terribly wrong.

He saw his father return from his latest meeting with the king, a worried frown on his face. Jon knew that it was never good when his father looked this worried. As a lord there were many things Eddard Stark had to consider, so this look by itself was not new or surprising. But the young Stark bastard had rarely seen his father this wary and downright tired, deep lines marred his face, making him look much older than he actually is.

But at least a bit of his worry seemed to dissipate, when his youngest daughter, Arya, entered the camp, followed by her direwolf. With the recent chaos during the melee it was easy to guess that Eddard Stark had been deeply worried about the whereabouts of his elusive daughter. But the girl was obviously fine.

"Where have you been, Arya?" Eddard asked his daughter sternly.

"Wandering. It's so boring being cooped up in this camp all the time." Arya replied evasively before she walked towards her own small tent. For a moment it looked as if her father was about to stop her and ask another question, but he obviously let it drop. Jon, as well as the entire family, knew that it was hard to get a proper answer from her, if she did not want to answer. And his father was obviously content just knowing that she is safe and unhurt. For now at least. He would most likely still press for some answers at a later time, when nothing else was troubling him like this.

But Jon still followed his sister to her tent. He, too, was curious about where she had been and why she looked happier than ever before on this trip, despite the graveness of this days events. Whatever she had done, it had improved her mood.

When he entered her tent, he could see her rummaging through a chest. She was searching for something, but the object of her desire obviously eluded her, much to her growing frustration. It amused him to see her like this. To see her scrunch up her face as she obviously thought about something.

"Lost your favorite doll?" Jon asked jestingly. He laughed when she gave him a dark look. "You've had us worried. No one knew where you had ended up after the chaos at the melee."

"I was learning."

He could not keep the disbelieve from his voice, even had he tried to. "And what did you learn today?"

"How to defend myself." She looked almost sheepish now and Jon looked even more intently at her. He would not voice it, but his gaze alone was more than enough command for her to elaborate. No one could really force her to tell her secrets, but Jon knew that they were close enough to share their secrets. She was the first he had told about his wish to join the Night's Watch, even before he had approached his father with this topic. And even now he knew that she would share her newest experiences with him. "Well... I kind of ran into someone who would finally show me how to fight and not scoff at me and tell me that a lady should not hold a weapon."

"Is that so," Jon found this highly suspicious. Maybe he was a bit cynical, but he doubted that anyone would teach her without ulterior motive. And he knew for sure that it was highly unlikely that this so called teacher was from their own camp. No one here would do anything that could possibly harm Arya without getting her father's consent first. And almost everyone else was watching the melee or taking part in it. "Who?"

Arya did not answer at first. Instead she looked back towards the chest and started rummaging again. But Jon would not let her drop the subject this easily. He did not wish to try and force her, that would be a waste of time and put strain on his relationship to his sister. But he had quickly realized that there was an imminent danger. The melee had shown to everyone, just how tense the entire situation really was. Robb and Joffrey had their minds on other pursuits and thought little about the strained political situation. They would do as their father's would tell them. But he knew better and saw the signs.

"Arya, please tell me who you have been with today?"

Arya finally abandoned her search and looked back at her favorite brother. Jon could practically see how she tried to figure out what she should do now. Would she tell him? And if she did, would she tell him the truth, a half-truth or an outright lie to protect whatever secret teacher she had found?

"Well... I met this boy, Edric. He agreed to show me some tricks and some mock fights."

"So some random stable boy is your mysterious teacher?"

"No. Edric is a squire." She stopped, obviously hesitant to say the next part of her sentence, but after a short pause she continues. "He is the squire of Jaime Lannister."

Now Jon's eyes widened as he heard this. She had been with one of the Targaryen loyalists. Their father would be furious, should he find out about this. The melee had nearly turned into a bloodbath because of the rivalry and hatred of Targaryen and Baratheon followers and Arya had spent the day in the company of possible enemies.

"Arya, do you even know how dangerous it is for you to go near those people? Father would be worried to death, should he find out that you run around with Lannisters and their likes."

"Do you even know them?" She replied tersely. "Obviously not. I've met them, even Jaime Lannister himself. I was also at the melee when the chaos erupted and Ser Jaime ordered one of his entourage to keep me and Edric safe from harm. The woman he had ordered, Obara, is a great fighter and taught us how to fight before he sent me back to our camp to avoid trouble with father."

"Still, the dornish Lannisters and pretty much all of Dorne are not looking favorably at us Northerners and all those who are loyal to the king." Jon said, stressing especially the part about the very tense relations between the south and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms. "Promise me that you won't go back to them."

"But..."

"Promise me, Arya. Else you leave me no choice but to tell our father."

"You wouldn't," He winced when he heard the outrage in her voice and saw the look of betrayal on her face.

"You leave me with little choice here, Arya. You are playing with your life. If the situation here escalates you would be in the middle of a battlefield with no one to protect you." Jon almost pleaded with her now. He did not want their relationship to deteriorate, but he also wanted to keep Arya safe. If he had to earn her resentment for that, he would do it. "Promise me, Arya."

The girl bristled, before she finally relented. "Fine, I won't go back to them..." She said through gritted teeth. Jon did not leave her a real choice in this matter. Eddard Stark would send her back to Winterfell, the moment he hears about this.

Jon nodded in satisfaction. But it soon morphed into hurt, when she wouldn't even look at him again and told him to leave her alone. He did the right thing, he knew that much. Now he would deal with one more sneering face at home. Winterfell couldn't be any less welcoming to a bastard than it already was.

Another day passed, as Jon watched the knights of both royal families stalk around each other, like predators on a hunt. Tensions ran high and even the Jousting had to be postponed, due to the hot tempers. The Tyrells were not willing to risk this event, by allowing too many deaths in what was supposed to be a happy competition.

After the events of the Melee, Joffrey and Robb had returned to their martial training, encouraged by King Robert's loud complaint about his son's supposed inadequacy in comparison to his Lannister cousin. Joffrey hated it, when his father doubted his abilities and openly showed disdain for his heir. But Jon was hard pressed to relate to that feeling. He grew up in a world where everything he did would be seen as inadequate, simply because of his birth.

This was also one of the reasons why Jon wanted to leave. Why he wanted to join the Nights Watch. There he would only be judged by his actions, not by his father's. But his father was not convinced of this and tried to dissuade him. He even brought him here, to see a grand tourney, to show him what he would miss out on. But why Eddard Stark acted like this, was a well guarded secret that he shared with no one.

So Jon had ended up in the city of tents, just outside of Highgarden, left mostly to his own devices. Unlike Robb and Joffrey he had no pre arranged duties. He was no heir, just a bastard of a great lord. No one expected anything of him here, so he could wander around, much more freely than his brother. And since his sister now shunned him, he had more time to waste than ever before.

So he wandered around and watched this strange event. This place where all great Houses had come together to vie for glory and show their superiority. All he had known before was Winterfell, where he grew up with his true-born siblings, never seeing much more than an occasional visit of one of his father's bannermen. This place, so full of new and exotic things, had a strange allure, that much was true. But even here he felt as if he didn't belong. In the end all these people were knights and members of important families... and he was still nothing more than the bastard son of Eddard Stark.

It was in these moments, when he was left to his own devices, where he started to wonder about the right path for his future. The Nights Watch's call was still alluring enough for him to consider joining them as soon as this Tourney was over.

After some time he had finally reached the gardens of Highgarden, a place of beautiful tranquility. But even here he was not alone. Underneath a nearby gazebo, he could see a group of young women, talking animatedly. But what held his attention was the identity of these women. He easily recognized one of them. Rhaenys Targaryen, one of the most important women in all of the Seven Kingdoms.

He had heard much about this young woman. His father had spoken in length about the Targaryens and the importance of the last living child of Prince Rhaegar. Eddard Stark wanted his sons to understand the dangerous world they were living in, so he told them who to watch out for. But the lord had always omitted just how dangerous the last dragon in Westeros really was. Jon had to admit at least that there something about her presence that captivated him. She was a beautiful young woman, he could easily see that, even though he had never shown much interest in women before, unlike Theon who had another girl in his bed every fortnight. But there was something else about her, that held his attention, he just couldn't figure out what it was.

"By the gods, what do we have here? A little wolf, far away from his pack. Has no one ever told you that the lone wolf dies?" Before he knew what had happened, he had a knife pressed against his neck and another woman spoke mockingly. "Here to spy, northerner?"

"I am no spy."

"No spy? Is that so."

"And I am not a lone wolf." As if on cue a low growl could be heard. The woman snorted derisively, as she saw a pure white wolf appear from the nearby bushes of the garden.

"You better control your pet or else it will need a new master."

"I do not control Ghost. He does as he pleases."

"Nymeria, this is enough. We are not here to fight. We have given our word that no blood will be spilled inside the walls of Highgarden and I intend to keep my word." The princess had obviously seen the interaction of her servant and the Stark bastard. Her voice was was calm and serene, but it still held a hint of authority.

"As you wish, princess." The woman, Nymeria, finally released Jon and pushed him towards Ghost, before she walked over to Rhaenys and retook her place at her princess' side.

Now that Jon could see her, he realized that strangely enough this woman seemed to have the grace of a noble born daughter, but had the ferocity and strength of a trained warrior. Not to mention that he was unable to find a trace of her knife, as soon as she had let him go. It had disappeared somewhere in the silken folds of her rather revealing dress.

"Who are you, boy, that you come here to spy on me and my sister?" Now he had to look into the violet eyes of a dragon. There he found suspicion, but also quite a bit of curiosity.

"Jon Snow," he answered carefully. His father had said that the Targaryen loyalists are not particularly fond of northerners, so he was unsure how these people would react to him.

"What are you doing here, Jon Snow? Why did you spy on us?" Rhaenys demanded to know. "Why is Lord Stark's bastard here and not with the Usurper's sycophants?"

"Don't scare him like that, princess. This little wolf is far away from his pack and might get scared in the face of dragons, lions and snakes." Joanna said jokingly.

"I'm not scared. I am a guest at this castle and I can go as I please. The Tyrell's welcomed all of us equally." Jon replied, trying to sound calm, despite his current predicament. Though he could only see four women, he was sure that they are far from helpless and most likely not as alone as they seemed. The Dornishmen are sneaky, that's what his father had told him. And they liked to ambush their enemies if possible.

"No look at that, the wolf has teeth, how cute. But are you willing to use them, Snow?" Joanna said mockingly. Jon wondered why this girl seemed to dislike him. Her features were similar to Joffrey's, so he could only assume that she had to be the daughter of the Kingslayer, even though her eyes were as foreign as those of the dragon princess.

"Joanna, this is enough." Rhaenys admonished her surrogate sister. "Know one thing, Jon Snow. I do not take lightly to being spied on. And I don't favor the house that has spawned the woman who had lured my father away from his family. So heed my warning. Stay away from me, little wolf, I will not allow any chances for history to repeat itself."

It took Jon some moments to realize what she meant. She was talking about his aunt Lyanna. Her disappearance had sparked the rebellion that had doomed the Targaryens.

"I am not a spy, princess. But I will take my leave now." Jon said, before he turned around to walk away. "Come, ghost." All he wanted was to get as far away from this Targaryen as possible. She gave him a very bad feeling. Suddenly the Wall seemed so much more appealing. Far away from dragons and their wars.