Disclaimer – It has come to my attention recently that I unfortunately do not own any part of the Game of Thrones universe or the characters mentioned below. Who knew.

Author Note – I enjoy writing short stories for my own enjoyment but at a suggestion from a friend, I have decided to start posting some of my stories that I am working on or have completed. All feedback is welcome (hopefully constructive!) Looking forward to what you think!

The Stranger threw back his head with laughter as he interrupted, "What makes you think I was giving you a choice."

And with that he put his hand on Jon's forehead. Jon was initially surprised at the cold, even up north of the Wall he had never felt such cold. However, the feeling of cold disappeared as quickly as it appeared but left behind pain. This was pain unlike anything Jon had ever experienced, unlike anything he could have imagined. This was the type of pain that made a second feel like hours, and in this pain, Jon spent years.

And suddenly as if it had never been there, it disappeared. Jon tenderly opened his eyes and right in front of him looking up at him were small red eyes.

"Ghost…"

Jon's breath caught in his throat, going lightheaded for a second. For indeed, right in front of him was Ghost. However, not Ghost as he most recently remembered him, a full-grown direwolf sitting outside of the gates of Winterfell as Jon rode off south towards the Kings Landing before Cersei and Daenerys in concert destroyed the city and he had…

Jon shook his head, mentally chastising himself. If the newborn pup looking up at him was truly an indication, then Jon had indeed been sent back to the start of it all and there was no need to wallow in the past. As he reached down to grab the baby direwolf, feeling the bite of the cold wind of the North, Jon steeled himself that he indeed would make sure that things did not end up the way they had.

He would save his family from the fates they had suffered; his uncle, Rob, Rickon, Bran surely deserved happiness in life and deserved to grow old. While he harbored no love in his heart for Theon and Catelyn, even they deserved a better fate than what befell them, while certainly they offered him no love, they did what they did out of a desire to do best by their families. Jon would do everything in his power to save his family. After this, he would find some way to save Daenerys, for he had no doubt that it was her struggling and suffering on her journey that ended up leading to the twisted version of a savior that she had become. On top of this, he would make sure that Westeros was prepared for…whatever the upcoming darkness was that The Stranger had hinted upon.

At that point, with his pup in his arms, Jon turned around, nearly staggering to his knees, for there, in front of him, mounted on their horses were his uncle and Rob, gazing down at him.

However, when he saw Bran sitting atop his horse, smiling down at the direwolf pup swaddled in his lap, Jon did lose his composure and start to tear up from a combination of relief and joy. At this point he did indeed fall to a knee.

Bran looks so young and happy…and whole. Jon thought, fighting the urge to run over and embrace them all.

"Are you alright son?" His uncle questioned.

Using a second to fight back the tears and get a hold on his emotions, happy that the rest of the party were mounted on their horses high above him, Jon looked up and replied, "Ay all is well."

Behind Rob and his uncle another horse stepped forward, no doubt in an attempt to see what Jon was now carrying, and he saw that riding the horse was Theon Greyjoy.

"An albino," Theon said in an amused tone. "This one will die even faster than the others."

Jon glared, clenching his open fist and fighting the urge to lunge across the space separating them and immediately kill his uncle's ward. But he held back, if the stories that Sansa had told him about Ramsay were even partially true, then the Theon deserved his anger had suffered already, and this Theon Greyjoy before him, had not done those acts.

This did not however prevent Jon from giving Theon a chilling look. "I think not, Theon, he will surely outlive you. This one belongs to me."

The entire ride to Winterfell Jon was quiet, several times Rob and Bran had attempted to engage him in conversation however Jon was unsure what to say. He tried several times but each time the words died in his mouth. Each time he looked over and saw Rob riding along carefree and at peace, he could only remember the letter arriving describing the Red Wedding and his feelings of powerlessness as he was honor bound to stay at the wall, rather than retaliate against the Freys, Boltons, and Tywin Lannister. When he looked at Bran smiling and bouncing in the saddle, he could only see the broken boy lying in his bed, unmoving and then later the haunted, eerie, sallow boy that had returned from beyond the wall.

Until he had a moment to fully process what had happened to him and decide on what needed to be done from this point and how he, who was not even a man yet, would carry this out, Jon resolved to sit in silence and appear to be brooding. Luckily, was this was largely in character for him and raised no questions, eventually arresting attempts from Bran and Rob to engage him in conversation.

When they returned to Winterfell Jon watched as his uncles men brought the new pups to the Stark children. There was nothing else he would have preferred than to be there and watch as Sansa and Arya got to meet Lady and Nymeria for the first times, but he knew that as he had barely managed to hold it together when seeing Rob and Bran, there was no way he would be able to maintain his composure when seeing Rickon. Even though, this Rickon would look significantly different to the boy who had laid dying in his arms, taking his last breaths, Jon decided that was a moment he would push off for as long as he could. Besides Jon reasoned, he needed to start on a plan. He knew that soon enough the King would arrive and pieces would start to fall into place, setting the future for what was to happen in Westeros. Jon was determined that the future would be brighter and for that he needed to plan and act. With that, Jon stopped by the library to grab a piece of parchment to make notes on and then headed to his room, making a small detour to the kitchen to grab a couple strips of raw meat and a little bowl of goats milk.

Sitting at his small desk in the corner of his room Jon starred at the naked piece of parchment in front of him deep in thought.

Ok Jon, what is it I want to do…what is it you can realistically accomplish. After all it's not like I can just go up to my uncle and tell him he can't go to Kings Landing cause he will die and I'm not able to just grab a ship from White Harbour and convince Daenerys to flee with me back to Westeros where I will somehow protect her.

Jon stared at the paper for almost an hour without writing anything down before shaking his head dejectedly and going to lay down on the bed with Ghost, scratching behind his ears in an area that Jon knew he really enjoyed. He stared at the roof for a while before eventually dropping off into an uneasy and troubled sleep.

The next thing Jon knew he was in a dark open area, or at least he assumed it was an open area as he could not see the walls, he could not see anything. Everything around him was covered in pitch black darkness. All of a sudden, a sound behind him caused him to spin around.

"You killed me." Daenerys' voice could be hear accusing from the darkness.

Then from his side another sound.

"You betrayed me" accused Ygritte.

Quicker and quicker voices were popping into existence.

"You ran to the wall instead of staying and helping, I died at my wedding because of you." Rob's voice blamed.

"I thought I was safe when I saw you but you let me die in your arms." Rickon's small voice was barely heard over the din.

"You failed your family, I am glad you are not my son." Ned said sternly, "My sister would be so embarrassed that she died to give you life."

Jon dropped to his knees calling out feebly, slowly losing himself to the feelings of hopelessness as the darkness seemed to press in. "I didn't mean for any of that to happen, I would have done anything I could have to save you".

All of a sudden the noises stopped. Daenerys voice questioned from the dark, "Anything?"

"I would do anything to save you all." Jon pleaded, sounding pathetic even to his ears.

"You know nothing Jon Snow." The voice of Ygritte said full of scorn and derision.

It was this voice that gave Jon pause. This was not the playful teasing voice of the Ygritte that he had come to know over their time together, it wasn't even the simple matter of fact voice that she had originally used with him.

This voice was full of hatred, anger, and …darkness. And it was at that moment, with that realization that Jon started feeling a sense of hope flowing through him. This feeling of hope slowly pushed away the feelings of despair as he managed to climb to his feet.

Jon yelled into the darkness, "That's not true anymore, I am the only one who does and I will save you. I will fight for my family, I will fight for my friends, I will fight the Others, and I will fight against the darkness."

Jon squinted his eyes closed, as there was a sudden flash of light in front of him, revealing a raven sitting on the arm of The Stranger. The raven turned to him and surprised him by speaking, "then do something, learn from the past and save your family, even small actions can lead to significant changes" looking around at the darkness that was once again beginning to encroach on the little spot of light in the vast field of darkness, the raven continued, "Save Us All".

Jon startled awake immediately, sitting up in a cold sweat before noticing that at some point during his nightmare Ghost had climbed into his lap and even after Jon's awakening was still laying curled up on his legs. His red eyes however, open and focussed on Jon seeming to question the rude awakening. Jon carefully picked up his pup and gently placed him at the head of his bed doing his best to comfort Ghost.

"Everything is ok Ghost. I promise we will make a difference. We will save our family, we will save our families." Jon stated resolutely.

And with that Jon headed over to his desk and began writing.

Unsure of how long he had sat in front of the desk scratching away, Jon finally leaned back to stretch out his back and shoulders, looking over the piece of parchment. It was full of notes, lines connecting passages, and certain sentences scribbled out and other areas circled for importance.

Jon let out a sign of contentment and smiled for the first time that evening. He finally had a plan for what he needed to do and was pretty confident he would be able to accomplish most of the list. And even if not everything was accomplished… he was not confident in getting the opportunity to personally kill Joffrey, he was sure that enough of the other wheels he set in motion should have a big enough effect that a difference will be made.

Jon stood and walked over to rekindle the fire, which he noticed had burned down to the embers, while he was lost in the planning, basking in the feeling of warmth from the flames. He walked back over to the desk, slowly rereading every line of his writing, making sure everything had been committed to memory before lowering the parchment into the flames, watching to make sure the entire document was engulfed in the flames.

There were definitely notes on that sheet that could raise serious questions, and while not as likely as if he was in Kings Landing, the last thing Jon needed was for that document to have fallen into the little fingers of Varys' little birds or… well… Littlefinger.

After seeing the document was completely burnt, Jon headed out of his room to see if he would somehow be able to start laying the groundwork to have his uncle let him come south with him.

When Jon had been thinking about what he needed to do, he originally was leaning to heading to the wall, he knew the importance of building rapport with the wildlings and certainly getting Longclaw was a big point in favour of joining the Nights Watch. On a personal level, Jon wondered if he could develop a better relationship with Maester Aemon, possibly learn more of his family's history, but the fact that weighed heaviest on his heart was that he was loath to abandon the relationship he formed with Sam, fearing for what might happen to Sam without him there.

However, Jon could not ignore that there was just too much happening in Kings Landing that he would be unable to affect while at the Wall, whereas with the ear of his uncle and the king. He might be able to affect proceedings at the wall.

So with a goal in mind, Jon headed to the Godswood, knowing there was always a reasonable chance that Ned Stark would be found under the branches of a weirwood tree.

As he was about to turn into the Godswood he was almost knocked over by Catelyn Stark, who started to apologizes for colliding with him before noticing it was Jon. The look of contrition was quickly replaced by a look of disgust.

"My lady,…" Jon started.

"Ah the bastard knows that I am lady of this house, how may I help you today bastard? Is there anything special you require." Catelyn overrode him.

Jon clenched his fists and bit his tongue to prevent his immediate response and he realized that mending the relationship might never be fully possible, even if she was to learn the truth, there is just too much hatred in her heart.

However, Jon had planned to eventually talk to her and decided he might as well get it over with now, so he began again, "My Lady, I know why you hate me, certainly for the circumstances of my birth as I can think of no slight I have delivered to you or your children that would be responsible for the way I am treated. However, I swear to you on my head and I would swear to you before the Seven that I will never take the seat of power in Winterfell and I am no risk to your children or their claim. I love your children, there is not anything I wouldn't do for them, I would follow them into battle, I would kill to protect their lives or their honor, and if need be I would die for them".

Catelyn looked at Jon and he could see that her sneer dropped slightly; however, when she spoke her words were still coated in bitterness. "I appreciate your kind words, however even if you have no desire on the seat of power there are others who may use you for their gains. And what of any future children you have, are you able to speak for them."

Jon looked at her saying nothing, knowing there was no response he could give which would mend the relationship or convince her he was no risk to her children.

She continued, quietly this time, "Every time I see you it is a constant reminder that the most honorable man in the entire kingdom found someone who could give him something I could not and was worth breaking his vows for. And you Snow will have to live with the fact that you are a daily reminder of his decision."

With that she collected herself, shaking her head at him and storming off. Before turning over her shoulder, "Your …father …is in the Godswood should you need him." She stated, looking surprised for a second at the consolation. This look was quickly replaced by the usual sneer she reserved for him as she once again headed off in the direction of the kitchens.

Under his breathe Jon whispered, "Aye, I am a constant reminder of a secret your husband is holding from you but not the secret you believe." With that he looked down the hallway seeing her disappear around the corner before turning and entering the Godswood in search of his uncle.

Finding him at the base of the weirwood tree, Jon saw that his father must have received word that Robert was on his way, as he was smiling…or the closest Ned Stark ever came to smiling. "Ah …father…there you are. I just ran into Lady Stark and she told me you were here."

Ned looked up in surprise. "She had a conversation with you?" He questioned.

Jon looked down at the ground thinking how best to reply. "Well those were not the only words she had for me but aye she told me where I could find you."

Ned had the decency to look guilty, "I apologize Jon, her anger at you is a result of my decision. And while she is within her right to be angry at my decision, it breaks my heart to see her treat you so."

Jon nodded not saying anything.

Ned looked up at Jon before motioning to a stool an arm's length away, "Aye but if you were in search of me, there must be something you require. Have a seat and tell me your struggles. How may I help you today?"

Jon had thought hard on how to best start this conversation but realized Ned preferred blunt conversation rather than honeyed words. So he chose to start off as bluntly as he could, "Father should I be embarrassed of who I am."

Ned looked startled and nearly dropped his sword, "What do you mean?" He asked seriously.

Jon paused for a second, letting Ned stew on the question before continuing, "Because I am a bastard." Jon noticed Ned's shoulders relax a little. "There are plenty in the castle who snort with derision when they see me and I would have to be blind not to notice the looks I receive, even when people know I am aware."

Ned's relief turned into pity and despair and his shoulders dropped. "Jon, you should never be embarrassed of who you are, for you are family. I wish people could look on you and there would be no judgement in their hearts as to what or who you are. But people will judge you for the decision of your parents. It should not matter who your fath…family is, nor should it matter who a boys mother is. A man should only be judged based on his actions and inactions. But people can be cruel, especially without knowing all the information. At the end of the day you have the blood of a Stark in your veins and you should be proud of that. Maybe one day everyone throughout Westeros will be lucky enough to know the man that you really are."

Jon paused looking at Ned, impressed that he managed to say the right thing while speaking truthfully, balancing the need for comforting family without giving away too much.

Jon began to speak deciding to lead the conversation in a direction he wanted, "I know I am approaching manhood and I realize that my presence here is not always welcome. I wonder if it be best I leave."

Ned looked on shocked with just a little panic in his face. "But where would you go? I will not share about your mother but I promised to keep you safe to her. And that is a promise I intend to keep."

"I had originally thought of joining the wall. However there is much to experience in the world and I would like a chance to explore some of the world or at least Westeros before I would join the Nights Watch."

Ned looked on contemplatively, "you speak wisely, and the Nights Watch is truly an honorable calling. However, you are still young and seeing more of the world would not be a bad decision before pledging your life to The Watch. Becoming a knight would be a respectable decision, that could lessen the importance of your birth on individuals you come into contact wih. Normally I would be against the idea of letting you go off on your own; however, there may be an opportunity for you to leave home. I was going to tell your brothers and sisters tonight at dinner. But the King is coming here with a large retinue, likely to ask a favor of me."

"I have yet to make up my mind on what to do in response if that is truly the case, however I may be able to at least find you a knight to squire for …possibly …more. As I am not yet decided on my response to the King and I have no idea what his response would be, I would caution you not to get your hopes up. However if anything comes from the chat with King Robert I will let you know. Now run along Jon, the King will be here shortly and I am sure you will be able to find much to do. Off with you now. And have no fears, I will think upon what you ask, for it is a fair question."

Kind Regards,

FavoriteAuthor

Again appreciate all feedback whether positive or positive! Haha but seriously constructive criticism or suggestions are welcome!