Chapter 23: Jon

Jon Snow had read the letter over and over. My little sister. He had smiled when he read it, one of the few smiles he allowed himself these days. He really didn't have much to smile about. He picked it up and read it again. She was safe. She hadn't married Ramsey Snow at all.

The second part of her letter had given him pause. I am under the protection of His Grace Aegon Targaryen. His first thought was that she was a hostage as Sansa had been in King's Landing but the rest of the letter didn't fit with that. The rest of the letter was pure Arya and clearly not written under duress.

It did not stop him questioning the Targaryen's motives. He wished he had read the letter sooner. He would not have been so quick to want to march south. He might not have been attacked by his brothers though Melisandre was quick to say that she had seen it in her flames. It might have happened anyway.

The red woman was never far from him these days. She had revived him after the attack, restoring his life. Ever since that time she had given him little rest. The little time he did not spend trying to keep peace between the free folk and the Night's Watch was spent trying to avoid her talk of his King's blood. No matter how many times he tried to brush it off, to brush her off, telling her the Starks were Kings in the North, descendants of the first men, she would not let it rest. Her red eyes followed him, her desire to perform some fell sorcery using him unrelenting. A sword without a hilt he reminded himself.

"Corn' cried Mormont's raven. "Corn, Corn, Corn" It flew at his hand and he swatted it away.

"I've already fed you"

He picked up a second piece of parchment, also in Arya's hand. This one did not make him smile. It declared war. His blood had run cold reading it. He felt a certain sense of pride that she had been bold enough to send it out but that was overwhelmed by the fear he felt at what she might be bringing down upon herself. House Lannister would not have taken it well. The Boltons and Freys would not have taken it any better. Jon could only hope this Targaryen had the strength to match them.

Ghost stirred at his side and he remembered that Arya had Nymeria with her. I hope Nymeria is to her as Ghost is to me. He so badly wanted to see her. I miss you. Those three words had almost undone him. He wanted to see her face and muss her hair. He wondered what she looked like now. He supposed she would be almost a woman grown. It was hard to imagine.

He rose to leave his chambers. As he stepped outside, he could see that the light was holding out. There had been a lot of dark days now that winter had begun, he knew that there would be a lot more to come. He was thankful for the current reprieve. It was cold at the Wall but it wasn't the sort of cold that he feared. They had not seen the Others yet. Our fortune cannot keep holding out.

He could still feel the tension. The free folk trusted the black brothers even less now that they had seen them turn on one of their own. Those who had attacked him had been killed in the aftermath. Jon was amazed there was anything left of the Night's Watch. It was a daily battle to keep the peace. The Wall was better defended now though. Many of the castles were in various stages of restoration. Building had been slow but it was progressing.

He had been relieved when he heard Stannis and the men with him had defeated the Bolton forces and taken Winterfell. That relief had been mixed with apprehension over what would be done with his sister. By the time the girl had arrived at Castle Black, he had seen Arya's letter and knew it wasn't her. Jeyne Poole. He had recognised her. She had broken down into sobbing when she saw him.

"They said I had to be Arya"

He would have been angrier at the ruse, angrier at the girl if he hadn't seen the state of the poor wretch. Instead he just felt old and tired. He reserved his anger for the Boltons and Lannisters. His sword hand opened and closed. He had to keep reminding himself The Night's Watch takes no part every time he thought of them.

He had plenty of duties to keep him busy and the days passed quickly. When the horn blew and he was told the arrivals had come from the South he was surprised. He was even more surprised when he saw it was Stannis. Jon took a knee.

"Your Grace, we did not expect you"

Stannis glowered at him, his jaw working. How have I displeased him this time?

"I see one Stark knows how to bend the knee"

Arya, what have you done? He had just received another letter from her, this time from Winterfell. It said she had claimed Winterfell but was sketchy on details. The words seemed hesitant and when he read that she hoped to see him he felt his stomach clench. He could not leave, no matter how much he wanted to see her. He was trying to work out how to word a reply. He had written to her at Storm's End but his raven had missed her. Her arrival at Winterfell had come out of the blue.

"I am sorry my sister has offended you Sire"

"Offended me?" Stannis ground his teeth. "She spat on me, she scolded me in front of the men and the men who swore service turned on me".

Arya scolded Stannis Baratheon? His little sister had often spoken out of turn but usually she needed some sort of provocation. This is not all my sister's doing I'll wager. Stannis was harsh. Jon could imagine it would be difficult for him to make friends let alone keep them.

Stannis strode off to find Melisandre and Jon continued on with his day, organising accommodations for the new arrivals. It was not long before the tale of what had happened spread around Castle Black. Stannis' men did not keep it to themselves long.

He could scarcely believe it. He hadn't liked the thought of Stannis giving his sister to one of his men. He hadn't imagined for one moment that Arya would take it so badly that she would stage a rebellion. He remembered her letters. The second had been so angry and the first... I practice my needlework whenever I can. His sister certainly wasn't a little girl anymore.

Later in the day he heard even stranger tales. Stannis had been heard arguing loudly with Melisandre and when Jon saw the red woman afterwards she looked shaken. There had been talk of dragons, of misleading prophecies. He heard whispers. Arya had declared Stannis was not Azor Ahai but then Jon had already suspected that. Arya had known things. The men were speaking of her in hushed tones.

Jon did not see the red woman for some time after that. She was closeted away, staring into her flames. He thought on the strange stories he was hearing. The talk was of the ferocious wolf girl who drew a knife out seemingly from nowhere, a girl who spoke more than one tongue and knew of prophecies and dragons. My little sister. It didn't even sound like the same person. What happened to her? He felt exhausted as he climbed the steps to his chamber. When he arrived there, he sat down and took out parchment and ink and began to write.

AN: I'm hoping this isn't a disappointment. It is more of a catch up with where Jon is at. I have been deliberately vague on certain things, I don't want to guess at what happened and be way off. Apologies if you were hoping for a reunion in this chapter, Arya and Jon are both too tied to duty for that. I found it harder to write than expected. As with all chapters it is rather Arya centric but this is above all an Arya fanfic. I do welcome constructive feedback. I have a fair idea of where I'm going with the story but every so often one of your comments triggers an idea or adjustment for me :-)