ARYA
The boredom was killing her, of that Arya Stark was sure. Watching as the other young ladies of the North listened to lady Wynafred Manderly tell them about her visit to Braavos, made Arya want nothing more than to be with her brothers, who had at least been allowed to have fun.
Instead, Arya had been forced into the large lofty solar along with the others and made to listen to lady Wynafred report on how lovely and enchanting the ball the Sealord had held in lord Wylis´ honour while staying there.
Who cared about balls and dances? They were all stupid and pointless anyway.
Sneaking a look towards Sansa, who was sitting beside her, Arya wanted nothing more than to interrogate her more about Jon´s dragons.
Just the thought of dragons being back in the world made Arya shake of the lethargy and start fidgeting on her chair in anticipation.
Trying to hide the excitement from the other inhabitants of the room, Arya steadied her hand in Nymeria´s fur as her direwolf sat beside her, looking as bored as Arya had been only moments before, while her other hand clenched the fabric she had been using for practice and the hated dress she was forced to wear.
Would Jon take her flying with him?
As lady Wynafred Manderly blathered on about the ball she had attended at the Sealord´s palace, Arya tried to imagine what it would be like to fly on a back of a dragon. Every time she imagined it, Arya wondered if it would be akin to going horseback riding but with a much better view.
But it could not be like that, could it? Horses and dragons were nothing alike so it had to be different. Right?
They must be too big to be anything like horses by now. Sansa had told her that they had been the size of destriers when they had left for Queenscrown, so by they must be enormous.
After the announcement of Jon having hatched three dragon eggs five years ago to the lords of the North, Arya and Jorelle had rushed to the library to try and find out anything they could about the Targaryen dragons, to figure out how big they would be when they arrived with Jon.
Yet no matter how much time they spent in the library, they did not get a clear answer to their questions. Not with what Sansa had told them.
Sansa had told Arya that they had been six months old when they had been the size of war horses and according to the texts, that should be impossible.
Which meant that Jon´s dragons were growing much faster than the dragons of the Targaryen´s of old. Leaving the texts almost useless to her.
A small sigh escaped her mouth, she would have to wait until Jon came back home to find out. Feeling a hand on her knee, Arya looked at her sister, who sent her a small smile of assurance and Arya realized that her leg was bouncing as it always did when excitement was taking hold of her.
"Sorry." Arya whispered to her sister, who only grinned back at her.
"Do not worry." Sansa leaned a little closer and spoke quietly, bright red hair laying over her shoulder in a Northern braid. "Jon will be here soon."
"But when?" Arya asked as Lady let out a yawn at Sansa´s feet and laid her large grey head on Ghost´s back. The white wolf did not even bother moving, rather seemed content to lay there on his side, his red eyes half closed as the light from the tall windows streamed into the room.
"I don't know but Jon will arrive before you know it."
As her sister took her hand of her knee and started to work on the shirt in her lap again, Arya leaned back in her chair and groaned. "That is not soon enough."
How much longer much she wait until her brother arrived in Winterfell? Arya remembered when her brother had left for his own lordly seat and had promised to write to her and that she would be sick of him within a half a year.
While he had kept his promise to write to her, she was a long way off from being sick of him. No if anything, she needed his letters to her. Jon always replied quickly as if the letters from her were as important to him as any of the high lords and ladies of the North.
He was always there for her, even when he was leagues away. Ready with advice, an insight for her lessons or just to read about her day.
Which made it all the more harder for her as the details of his face were slowly slipping from her memory. Oh, she knew that Jon shared her Stark features and that he looked like thei…her father and yet the more she tried to remember the details, they seemed further away from her than before.
Sighing, Arya picked up the piece of fabric in her lap and continued to repeat the same stitch over and over again as neatly as she could. Irritation reared its ugly head as Arya was forced to redo at least ten stitches when Sansa quietly pointed out how they were wrong.
"What are you working on, lady Arya." Lady Eddara Karstark spoke up, her light grey eyes meeting Arya´s.
The anger of having to redo her work made Arya want to hiss out that it was none of her business yet she managed to keep her temper in check. She was almost a woman grown and no matter how much she wanted to, Arya could not be purposely rude to the other ladies without cause.
Or her mother would be enraged.
"Maester Lewin says that I need to work on my stitches. So, I am working on them."
"You are sewing…for the maester?" Lord Arnolf Karstark´s daughter looked puzzled and stared at her, hands stopping in mid motion.
"Aye, he says that they need to be much better before I can start practising with him." Arya gritted out as she continued redoing the damned things.
"You are studying healing then, lady Arya." Meera Reed leaned forward with an interested glint in her moss green eyes as she worked on her fishing net.
Nodding at the small sixteen-year-old, Arya found herself smiling at her. "Aye, father says that it is good for me to learn, even if it is just the very foundation of the art."
"That is very wise of him." Lady Eddara Karstark injected glancing at Sansa.
"I have heard that you are a rather fine water dancer, lady Arya." Lady Wynafred Manderly smiling at her as she changed the subject.
"An understatement to be sure." Sansa injected; a proud smile lit her face. "Master Syrio says that she is the most talented student he has ever taught."
Arya felt her chest swell with pride at her sister words as a wide grin broke out on her face.
"Well, in that case, I do hope you will give me some advice lady Arya." Lady Wylla flipped her green hair from her face, looking excited. "I simply must get better."
"You can't get any worse." Lady Wynafred said to her sister looking rather smug. "I cannot remember the last time you beat me in the sparring ring."
"Then your old age is showing sister." Wylla Manderly spat as her blond eyebrows were pulled together. "I remember besting you just before we left for Winterfell."
"I am not old, I am sixteen." Lady Wynafred seemed rather offended and crossed her arms over her chest.
As the older Manderly girl started to berate her sister, Arya leaned over to Sansa and whispered so no one else could hear. "Were we ever like that?"
"No, we were worse." At Sansa´s words Arya resisted the urge to snort. It could not be that they had ever been that bad.
Arya had memories of disliking Sansa and of them fighting like cats and dogs. However, to Arya it seemed like that time was so far away as the good memories with her sister seemed to overshadow every single bad one.
Ghost suddenly jumped up, startling everyone in the room, especially Lady who had been napping on him. The white wolf turned and ran to the heavy oak door and started to scratch at it, begging to be let out.
Standing from her chair and tossing her work where she had been sitting, Arya waved off the two servant girls who seemed torn between trying to help the direwolf and running for the hills in fright. "It´s fine, I will get it."
When the door had been opened for him, Ghost bolted out of the room as if being chased. "I am sorry my lady." One of the servant girls, Hilde said as she wrung her hands together while Arya waved her off again, trying to assure her that everything was fine.
Taking her seat again, the conversation started up again.
"Those direwolves of yours are remarkable." Eddara Tallhart, a girl Arya´s age squeaked with her grey eyes shining excitedly. "Is it true that you found them on your way home from an execution?"
"Lord Stark truly takes you with him to executions?" Jonelle Cerwyn asked, looking rather out of place amongst the much younger ladies of the room.
Arya did not understand why she was even here. Even she knew that the only reason that the lords had dragged their daughters along with them to Winterfell was to try and marry them off to Robb and lady Jonelle was past thirty years of age, much too old for him. At least that what Sansa and her mother said.
Not to mention, Jonelle Cerwyn was as dull as dirt. The woman never did or said anything interesting and if someone did, she was more likely to turn her nose up at them. Much too boring for Robb.
Arya hoped that Robb would marry one of the Mormont girls, like Dacey. The heir to Bear Island was a fierce warrior and could beat a man bloody with her Morningstar.
"Of course." Sansa said amiably as she continued sewing. "Our father wants us to be prepared for anything, which means to be prepared to preform executions."
Lady Jonelle blinked at Arya´s sister, horror filling her eyes. "You cannot possibly mean…That lord Stark expects his own daughters…"
As the older lady seemed to trail off and try to speak again, Lady Wynafred grew tired of her. "I will one day be the lady of New Castle and White Harbor and therefore be expected to carry out justice." Her blue eyes cold with fury as she stared at lord Cerwyn´s daughter. "Is there something wrong with that, lady Jonelle?"
"Surely your husband will be taking up that duty for you." Lady Eddara Karstark said calmly, trying to ease the tension.
"Shall I marry an executioner?" Lady Wynafred looked offended as a blush crept up her face. "I am as much a Northerner as anyone here and my ways are the way of the North."
"I do believe that lady Wynafred is right." Sansa spoke up, ever calm and gentle in her manner. "We must learn everything we can so that we might serve the North well. And soon the men will be heading to war and we cannot rely on what is not here."
"It shall not be a long war." Lady Jonelle stared at Sansa with a glint in her eyes that Arya could not read. "Not with…the King having dragons under his command."
The hesitance in calling Jon, the King made Arya´s blood boil in fury as Nymeria fixed her amber eyes on the older girl.
Biting her tongue from yelling at lady Eddara, Arya´s attention was dragged away by Lady as she rushed to her feet and barked loudly as she wagged her tail happily, completely at odds with how the atmosphere had been turning.
The unexpected action had the other ladies jump in their chair while Arya and Sansa looked at the direwolf. As Lady started to yowl happily, Nymeria seemed to grow infected by her sister´s mood.
Feeling the joy rush over her through her bond with Nymeria, Arya felt a smile spread over her face but she did not understand why. Looking at Sansa, who was staring at her own direwolf, Arya saw that she was as affected by Lady as Arya was by Nymeria.
"Lady wants us to follow her." Sansa finally said, standing up and placing her work on her chair as Lady bounced over to the door with Nymeria on her heels.
Jumping from her own chair, the material she had been working on falling to the floor, Arya fell in beside her sister as they walked after the direwolves as the other ladies hurried to follow them.
"What is going on?" Arya whispered to her sister, her grey eyes wide with curiosity.
A smile stretched across Sansa´s face. "Come on, we should hurry."
Sansa grabbed her hand and started to drag her through the halls of Winterfell as Arya felt more confused with every step they took, only half hearing the ladies rush after them.
They arrived in the courtyard of Winterfell, with Ghost having sat down in what seemed to be the middle of it as if waiting for something.
His red eyes stared unblinking as Nymeria and Lady rushed to his side. Nymeria trying to goad her siblings into playing with her, while Lady sat beside the white wolf as calmly and daintily as ever.
Arya´s eyes found the south gate facing them, closed with a few guards walking on the walls while sending them curious looks. Sansa tugged on her hand and lead her to where the direwolves were waiting, clearly her sister knew what was going on.
"Sansa what is happening?" Hissing quietly at the red head as she followed, taking a place beside Sansa and urging Nymeria to sit beside her.
"Jon is coming home." Sansa whispered, her blue eyes sparkling with happiness as they heard Robb call out to them as he and Bran lead the heirs of the North out of the Godswood with Greywind and Bran´s unnamed direwolf ahead of them.
They had no chance to answer Robb´s questions as their father came rushing out of the great hall, with Frost and Shaggydog leading the charge and the lords of the North following. Arya even spotted her mother clutching Rickon in her arms with Ser Brynden by her side, both adults looking as bewildered as anyone in the courtyard.
"Father." Sansa called and their father hurriedly made his way to where they were standing. As soon as he reached them Sansa continued. "You must command everyone to stand down and not to reach for their weapons."
"What? Why?" Lord Eddard Stark asked, his normally stoic face pulled into a puzzled frown.
"Jon is coming."
Staring at his elder daughter, the lord of Winterfell blinked slowly. "How do you know?"
Glancing at Ghost and then back at their father, Sansa communicated with him in some silent manner that Arya was not privy too.
After a moment, their father nodded and started to give out orders to the guards and the lords that no matter what happened, they should not reach for their weapons. Turning her eyes back to Sansa, Arya frowned. "Sansa how do you know?"
"I will tell you later but right now-." Her words were drowned out by a strange unearthly noise.
SANSA
The roar carried over the courtyard, seemingly far away as the lords of the North held their breath. Their faces pale as they searched the sky above Winterfell. Sansa could see lady Dustin look around wildly, her skin grey and her eyes almost distraught.
After having heard the news that Jon was Rhaegar´s son and heir and had dragons under his command, the woman had at first been stunned silent, however after the news had settled in, the lady of Barrowton had made no secret that she thought Sansa had been desperately lying about the dragons so the lords would be more likely to declare for Jon.
How wrong lady Dustin had been.
Another roar echoed the first one, closer now, both coming from the North. Turning, Sansa sought out any hint of winged shapes above them, barely able to hide her excitement from seeing Jon again.
The beating of her heart was reminiscent of a horse charging at a full gallop as the smile on her face was starting to hurt.
A guard that Sansa could not see started shouting and soon the courtyard was filled with yells from the Stark men who were stationed on the walls of the castle. Her father bellowed out his orders for the men to remain calm just as the thundering of leather wings could be heard.
Another roar, this one much closer to them, caused the ground to shudder, just before an enormous shape of Illyrion shot over the castle.
The white and golden dragon flew low, his scales glittering like jewels in the sun light and as he turned, his left wing coming closer to the ground as the right one turned upward and Sansa had to contain a gasp of surprise. She had known that the dragons would have been a lot bigger than when she had last seen them but the size of Illyrion was hard to believe, even now that he flew right before her eyes.
Illyrion let out another roar, the playful sound echoing all around them as the pale dragon started to climb higher in the air above the castle.
"Sansa, Sansa look at how-." Arya´s words were drowned out by yet another roar as Earendil chased after his brother, flying higher than the white dragons had done.
The lords started to murmur among themselves as Earendil and Illyrion flew higher, roaring and shrieking as they played and danced in the sky.
"They are real." Sansa heard her uncle, Ser Brynden breath as she continued to stare at the dragons.
As soon as her grand uncle had breathed out those words, a great shadow passed over Winterfell.
For a moment, Algernon blotted out the sun over the castle as he passed over from a much greater height than his brothers as he let out a faint trilling sound that seemed both out of place coming from such a large creature and at the same time, very fitting.
Feeling a hand placed on her shoulder, Sansa looked up at her father, who had taken up stance beside her. "They certainly have grown." The lord of Winterfell spoke without pulling his eyes from the sky, his pale grey eyes lit with wonder.
The three dragons circled the sky twice before Algernon started to descend slowly, as if trying to give them all enough time to process the fact that dragons were back in the world. Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted the figures on the black dragon´s back.
She was not sure how she felt knowing that Jon had chosen Algernon as his mount, not when in the other life, he had served Daenerys Targaryen.
The black dragon circled down, going in the same direction as the sun moved, never once roaring like the other two had done and as he descended, he was turned over the castle, the tips of his wings almost touching the highest towers of the castle.
Landing just beyond the south gate, Algernon was only just hidden behind the eighty feet high walls of Winterfell and they could all hear his massive form move and she was not sure if it was her imagination or not that the tips of the tallest spikes along his back could be seen. How long until they would be able to see Jon on his back from this angle?
Then she could hear a faint sound of a voice that was etched into her very soul. Sansa could not make out what that voice was saying but one of the guards that had been stationed on the wall replied to Jon and bowed deeply before vaulting to where the guards by the gate house were standing as fast as his feet would take him.
As the south gate was opened, Ghost bolted out of courtyard and surely straight to Jon´s side.
A tense silence fell over the people of the courtyard when the white direwolf had disappeared. They stood in absolute silence that was broken by a shriek from Algernon that had the lords flinching, before the black dragon launched himself back into the sky to join his siblings.
Watching as the enormous black dragon took to the skies again, Sansa was sure that he must be bigger than he had been in his former life.
"JON." Arya´s excited shout dragged Sansa´s attention back to earth as the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms walked through the gates without ceremony, with Ghost stuck to his side as Benjen Stark and Tormund Giantsbane followed him.
Letting go of Sansa´s hand, Arya raced to Jon who smiled at his younger sister, the fondness in his eyes shining. Noticing the angry red scar across his right eyes, Sansa felt the horror pool in her belly as her eyes trailed the straight line that split his brow and ran to the middle of his cheek bone.
The wound caused Sansa to suck in a breath of her own, terrified that someone had come so close to killing Jon or taking out his eye.
Watching as Arya threw herself into Jon´s arms, Sansa could hear her mother hiss out her younger daughter´s name, mortified that she would show such little regard for decorum in front of the lords.
However, Arya paid their mother little heed as she laughed while Jon spun her around before setting her back on her feet and ruffling her hair. Glancing around the courtyard, Sansa noticed that the lords and ladies seemed amused at Arya´s antics rather than appalled from the lack of lady like manners.
"Don´t I get a hug." Uncle Benjen asked his brows raised high on his forehead, making the lord of Winterfell chuckle beside Sansa.
Dislodging herself from Jon, Arya moved to hug their uncle, allowing Jon to make his way to where lord Eddard Stark was waiting for him with Ghost sticking to him, looking pleased with himself for having Jon by his side.
However, before Jon could even make it halfway to them, they all knelt, with her father leading by an example. Keeping her eyes lowered as custom dictated, Sansa could hear Jon almost hesitate as he walked over to them, as she hid the smile that wanted to grace her lips.
Black boots entered her vision as Jon´s voice rushed over her, causing her to shiver. "Please, rise uncle."
Her father rose to his feet again, allowing everyone else to do so as well, Sansa almost staggered back when she straightened.
Sansa had not realized it before but now Jon stood at a height with her father. Jon had never been a tall man and Sansa had stood taller than the rightful King in their last life, so seeing him now almost made her suck in a breath of shock.
The two men hugged each other tightly and when they pulled apart, Arya was back by Jon´s side wrapping her arms around his side.
"It is good to see you again, your grace." Her father said with a wide smile on his face.
"It is good to be back." Jon replied and turned to face Sansa´s mother. Holding her breath, Sansa watched as Jon held out his hand for the lady of Winterfell to take and time seemed to halt as her mother stared at the aforementioned hand before her.
Then slowly as if she was about to touch an open flame, lady Catelyn Stark reached forward and lightly placed her hand in his. "Welcome to Winterfell, your grace."
The words were so faint that Sansa almost did not hear them but when they passed her mother´s lips, she let out a breath of relief.
"Thank you, lady Stark. I am glad that I find you in good health." Bowing slightly over her hand then righting himself again, both Jon and her mother quickly let their arms drop to their sides, both looking relieved that greeting one another was over.
"It is good to see you again, cousin." Robb injected, not allowing any sort of awkwardness to settle over them as he pulled Jon as well as Arya who was still gripping Jon´s waist tightly into a hug.
Only allowing Robb to hug Jon for a moment, Arya pushed her older brother away with a pout on her face. "Stop squishing me."
Laughing at his sister´s annoyance Robb grinned happily at her and pulled her to his side as Arya protested loudly.
Then Jon turned to face her and Sansa felt her heart beat that much faster again. She wanted nothing more than to hug him close to her and tell him how much she had missed him yet, Sansa managed to restrain herself.
Contenting herself with curtsying, Sansa found herself unable to supress the wide smile that spread across her face. "Your grace."
"My lady." Bowing in return, Sansa was sure that she could spy a hint of a blush on his cheeks that made her belly flutter. His appearance reminded Sansa of how he had been just before she had travelled to King´s landing the first time yet, he seemed so different at the same time.
It was something that Sansa was having a hard time placing her finger on. It was like he was somehow more although not yet fully grown into himself.
Her father cleared his throat, making Sansa jump and her face turning red. They had been standing there saying nothing and staring at one another in silence while the people in the courtyard had just looked on.
As the lord of Winterfell lead Jon away to greet the lords of the North, Sansa tried to look anywhere else but at her sister who was narrowing her eyes at her, suspicion painting her face. "What was that?" Arya hissed as she continued to stare at Sansa.
"What?" For the first time in years, Sansa was having a hard time masking her emotions as she felt her face heat up under Arya´s stare.
"You two." Arya had now come to stand by Sansa´s side and whispered as her eyes darted around, trying to see if anyone was listening in on them. "Staring at each other like your brain is falling out of your ears."
"We did not…" Glancing to where Robb was looking particularly gleeful at her, Sansa frowned. "Was it really like that?"
With a snort, Arya crossed her arms. "Well, for you at any rate." A slight smirk pulled on her lips. "You are going to tell me what that was all about."
Sighing, Sansa´s eyes looked from her sister and quickly found Jon and her father as they greeted lord Howland Reed as Brandon and Rickon followed them like little puppies.
"Well, I think father's proposal will go over rather well." Robb grinned at her, having closed the distance between them, unnervingly silent in his approach.
"What proposal?" Arya demanded, looking rapidly between her older siblings.
Sansa bit her lip, glancing quickly at Jon again and then back to Robb. "Do you think that he will ask today?"
"He better," Robb shrugged, his own eyes traveling over the gathered lords and ladies. "unless he wants Jon to become swamped before he can even get a word in edgewise."
"Hey, don't ignore me." Arya piped up with a pout on her face. "What proposal?"
The two eldest children of lord Eddard Stark looked at their sister, before Sansa nodded. "I will tell you later today. You should hear it from me."
Arya stared at her with a frown on her face before she nodded with a rather grumpy look on her face. "Fine, you better tell me."
As Sansa nodded, she looked from her sister and to where Jon was introducing Tormund to the lords of the North. She could not make out what he was saying to them yet Sansa noticed that the lords looked puzzled and rather worried at his words.
They stood there, waiting for the formalities to be over and done with and Sansa finally allowed herself to truly watch Jon as he interacted with the lords and ladies.
As was his way, Jon did not smile and laugh, rather he listened to the lords and held himself in the same reserved manner that she had come to associate with him. Even his clothing served to underline that fact, being made in the functional Northern style and in muted black, grey and brown colours.
The only thing about his appearance that was in any way not understated were the two swords that had been attached to the belt around his waist. The longer one was a bastard sword that she recognized as Blackfyre, even though it´s hilt and pommel were wrapped in plain brown leather. The other one was short, smaller and unfamiliar to her, it´s hilt and pommel also hidden.
Sansa had never known Jon to carry more than one sword. So, why was he now with two swords instead of one? She would have to ask when she had the chance.
After having greeted the lords and introduced them to Tormund, Jon turned to her father and she felt his smooth voice carry over her like a warm breeze. "Lord uncle, would you be so kind to allow me to pay my respects to my mother, grandfather and uncle and perhaps accompany me?"
Sansa watched a slow smile spread over her father's face. "Of course, your grace. I would be honoured."
The lord of Winterfell and the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms walked to the crypts of the castle, followed by their faithful direwolves and when the two men left the courtyard, everyone started to speak loudly to one another and most of the lords were excitedly pointing and watching the three dragons in the sky.
Picking up her skirt, Sansa rushed to her mother, knowing that she would need help with organising a feast fit for a King in only a afternoon.
