AN: As the story gets longer it is becoming trickier to keep all my little details and plot twists straight in my head. Please point out any inconsistencies to me and if there are errors I will endeavour to fix them. I feel as though the last few chapters have dragged, they are not as much action but they covered necessary ground. I have lots of stuff to introduce in the next few chapters. I'm hoping those will be better :-)

I think this one needs some more editing. I will likely tweak it when I reread it tomorrow.

Chapter 30: Jon

Jon sighed heavily as he read the latest letter from Arya. She avoids answering my questions. He had tried more than once but it was a painstaking process. The information he got from her came in pieces. His little sister was very guarded. She wanted to see him, he knew that but he had made an oath. I have no sister, only my brothers. He could not leave no matter how much he wanted to.

He still couldn't understand how Rickon had come to be alive and at Winterfell. Arya hadgiven him an explanation for that but it was brief and short on details. It had become clear that unless she was intent on swearing bloody vengeance and calling for war she was not much for writing lengthy letters.

His train of thought was interrupted by Satin at his door bringing him hot mulled wine and some meagre food to break his fast. The steward lingered after delivering the food.

"M'lord, the Lady Melisandre is waiting for you"

Of course she is.

"Tell her I will meet with her after I break my fast".

The red woman had spent many days shut away looking into the flames after Stannis returned from Winterfell. When she finally emerged word spread quickly that her and Stannis had argued again. She had misinterpreted the flames. Jon had not needed to rely on rumours, Melisandre had sought him out to tell him herself what she had told Stannis. He was not Azor Ahai but she still insisted that she saw him on a throne in the flames. She did not know what it meant but she now believed that the throne she saw was not the Iron Throne.

Stannis had taken the news ill. Jon could not blame him. He had sacrificed much following the red woman only to find out that it was based on a lie. There were those who still urged him to fight for the Iron Throne. Others wanted Melisandre to be sacrificed to her red god. Queen Selyse held fast to the priestess and that had gone some way to having her spared.

Melisandre had somehow risen above it all. Her most fervent desire now was to see Jon's little sister. Jon could not allow it. His resistance thus far had put her off but with each passing week she became more insistent and she haunted him. She was never far from him. He felt her red eyes watching him.

"Snow" the raven cried. "King Snow, King Snow".

Jon frowned. "I do not need that from you too"

I have enough of that from Melisandre. She still would not let up about his King's blood. Whenever she wasn't talking about visions in the flames and her need to see Arya she was pressing him over what they could achieve together. He did not want it. He was grateful that she had brought him back after his brothers attacked him but his views on her sorcery were unchanged.

He looked at the parchment again and frowned. The letters were gaining little. He thought of Arya and Rickon living at Winterfell. He could not even picture Rickon's face. His youngest brother had been little more than a baby when Jon left for the Wall. No doubt the boy did not even remember him. He thought on his old home, on Winterfell and quickly pushed the thought away. His life was at the Wall.

Jon could not afford to feel homesick after all this time. Winterfell was no longer the same. It was burned and broken. Arya had said it was being repaired but Jon knew it could never be the same. It would never be the same place they had grown up in. There were too many ghosts. The rebuilding would have to have made the castle stronger though. I want them to be safe. It was a foolish notion. Nowhere was safe anymore.

They had a very recent reminder of that. Cold winds had risen and wights had descended on the Shadow Tower. Their numbers had been few but the Watch had still lost men. Ser Denys Mallister had sent a report. They had managed to defeat the wights having been well prepared with torches but it had been a terrifying ordeal. Worse still it was not even a fraction of what they would face when the true enemy arrived. It was merely a test. Jon was sure of it.

Stannis lingered at the Wall. He had taken up residence in the Nightfort. Jon knew he brooded there. His Hand had arrived some weeks ago, Lord Davos Seaworth. Jon had been pleasantly surprised upon meeting the man. He was fiercely loyal to Stannis (despite Stannis having shortened his fingers) but was brutally honest. Jon had an audience with him before Davos had left for the Nightfort.

Unlike Stannis, Lord Davos had not made an enemy of his sister. Davos himself could not understand why, a fact which gave Jon his first amusement in a long while. Perhaps my little sister is not as different as I had thought. They had met outside Castle Black. Ghost was at Jon's heels and he noted that Davos did not react as strongly as most did upon seeing the direwolf. He has seen Nymeria and Shaggydog.

"Lady Arya asked that I pass on her regards" Davos had offered.

"Thank you my lord"

Melisandre had been nearby when Lord Davos arrived and Jon did not miss the expression which crossed his face at the sight of the red woman. Davos looked wary as the priestess drew up alongside Jon.

"Lord Davos" she greeted him. "You have met with the Lord Commander's sister".

"Aye, my lady" Davos had responded. "She is as fond of you as I am".

Jon could not repress his smile. Melisandre laughed.

"I have told the Lord Commander I must see her. The Lord of Light shows her to me. She has a role to play in the war to come".

The ruby at her neck pulsed and Jon was unsettled. He noted that Davos looked as unsettled as he was. They had a private audience afterwards.

"My lord, I urge you to be wary of the priestess"

"I am most wary Lord Davos"

"Your sister" Davos paused. "Forgive me but there is something wrong there. Something has happened to her, I know not what. The red woman would use it if given the chance".

I do not like the sound of this. "I thank you for the warning but I do not intend to give her that chance".

Davos looked doubtful.

"I'm not sure you could stop her, my lord". He smiled. "The red woman has power but she will not find the Lady Arya to be easily swayed. She knows her mind and I heard strange tales in Winterfell".

Jon did not see Davos again after that. Davos joined Stannis at the Nightfort. Melisandre, however, had not left. Her talk of Arya had increased and Jon had begun to fear that she would leave for Winterfell of her own accord against his wishes. When he met with her that morning it became apparent that she had sensed his fear.

"You must come with me Lord Snow".

Jon was surprised. "I cannot. My place is at the Wall".

Melisandre smiled. "There will come a time when you will see. That time approaches".

Jon did not see her for some days. He had other things to keep him occupied. He monitored the new recruits. Too few of them. He heard reports of progress on the restoration of the castles along the Wall. Still too slow. He went through another check of the stores of food for the Watch. Not nearly enough and dwindling too fast.

He slept fitfully, plagued by nightmares when he wasn't in Ghost's skin, prowling through the night. Another letter came from Arya, this one relevant to the Night's Watch. She had men willing to take the black in Winterfell's dungeons. She could not send them on herself, she asked that the Watch send people to take them from Winterfell to the Wall. Jon wondered what sort of recruits they might make. It had been some time since they had recruited any men already skilled at arms apart from some of the Wildlings.

He called a meeting with the Lord Steward and First Builder to discuss sending men to Winterfell. Neither of them had any useful suggestions as to who he might send. It was a difficult decision. Jon knew many of the Northern lords remained at Winterfell. Wildlings would not be well received. He retired that night without having made the decision and feeling weary.

His sleep was broken and he dreamed of Arya and of Winterfell. His sister he could not see properly but Winterfell he could. He felt young again and the castle, while not looking as it was when he left it was far less broken than he had imagined. He walked through the gates and saw men bleeding. As he looked on in horror, a creature took to the sky breathing flame. When he woke, he was covered in sweat.

The dream did not leave him. It stayed with him throughout the day and come nightfall, Melisandre found him.

"The time has come Jon Snow". She put her arm through his. "Come with me".

It seems I have no choice. He let her lead him, her skirts swishing over the steps. He baulked as he realised they were headed for her chambers. She urged him on.

"I must show you something".

Must you?

"I'd rather not".

The ruby pulsed again and Melisandre's red eyes seemed to almost glow with it.

"I know of your dreams" she said. "They will keep coming".

Jon tensed. I like this not. He allowed her to lead him into her chambers. The fire was still burning in the hearth as it always was. The night is dark and full of terrors. He knew the priestess would never let it burn out.

"I need you to look into the flames with me Lord Snow".

Jon was startled. She cannot think I would do this. He started to back from the room.

"I cannot my lady".

"Lord Snow, your sister needs you and you need her. You must do this. You need answers".

I do not believe I will get them here.

"You have said you saw my sister before. You were mistaken. You might be wrong still. I do not trust your sorcery".

She did not look offended.

"That is why you must see for yourself. Sit. Look into the flames".

He did not know why he did as she asked. At first he could not focus and his eyes stung. Melisandre was muttering some strange prayer and Jon started to rise but she kept him there. Just when he was about to insist on leaving he saw shapes begin to form in the flames. He saw Winterfell as it was when he left. It was enough to keep him watching.

Images started to flash by, making it hard to make anything out. Suddenly everything paused. Jon saw a young woman. She looked a little as Jon remembered Arya, dark hair and grey eyes but older. She was smiling. A silver haired man stood before her. He put his hands on her stomach. "He will be the prince..."

The vision faded and was replaced with something terrible. It was a winged beast, a dragon full of rage. The air was filled with fire. It was a scene of destruction. Jon shrank back from it. The image was gone and all he saw now was the flames.

"What does it mean?" he asked.

"That I do not know" Melisandre replied. "I do know that I keep seeing the young woman. Is it your sister?"

Jon hesitated. "I don't know. She was a girl when I saw her last".

I am under the protection of Aegon Targaryen... Jon felt a shiver go down his spine as he remembered the vision of the couple. He needed answers. He thought of the dragon. It wasn't just about him anymore. It was about the Watch as well. I am the shield that guards the realms of men.

"I have to see her. I have to go to Winterfell".

Postscript: I'm not done with Jon yet. I couldn't fit it in one chapter so the next will be Jon's POV too.