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!

After watching the king, turn the corner and disappear from view, Jon looked over to see his uncle slightly shaking his head, before stopping and looking at Jon.

"I heard you had quite the duel this morning, perhaps not the best idea to draw attention to yourself like that. But I suppose if indeed you are to come south with us attention would be paid to you no matter what. I have a feeling that in the long run your duel will end up helping my cause concerning you."

Jon looked at his uncle, "Father?"

"Not now, there are still several things I am finalizing and I have to finish plans for the hunt tomorrow. Tomorrow after the hunt but before the final feast come to my solar and we will have a discussion regarding your future. Until then I hope you enjoy your remaining time here, within Winterfell, as I do not know when you will next return. We will have words tomorrow, take care Jon." Ned said as he as well took off in the direction of his solar.

Jon was left standing in the hallway wondering what exactly was in store for him tomorrow. With a sigh, Jon shrugged his shoulders and decided that what will happen tomorrow will be for him to worry about tomorrow.

While Jon had been initially disappointed that he had not been invited on the final hunt for the second time, as he lay in his bed he could not help but enjoy the fact that unlike everyone else who woke up significantly before dawn to go on the hunt, he had been afforded the opportunity to sleep in. A luxury he was making the most of, knowing that soon he would be travelling south, forced to sleep on the ground and spend entire days in the saddle.

After a couple more minutes of luxuriating in the bed, Jon decided if he wanted to grab anything to eat this morning he would have to get up now. With that thought he finally moved to get out of bed, smiling as Ghost let out a small whimper as he was forced to cuddle by himself and no longer along Jon's side.

Jon quickly did his morning stretches, a habit he had picked up while at the Wall, as he felt it loosened him up and prepared him mentally for the day, before getting dressed and heading right to the Great Hall. Jon nodded at Bran who was leaving the Hall as he entered, before sitting at one of the tables alone and grabbing some food and savoring the taste hoping that the quality of food on his trip south would not suffer.

Jon felt a weird sense of concern intrude upon his being as if with all that had been going on since the King's arrival he was forgetting something. However, before he was able to put any thought into it his shoulder was clasped from behind.

"Ah the Bastard of Winterfell awakens," Ser Jaime greeted him.

Jon spun around and smiled at the knight, "Good morning Ser Jaime, how are you on this fine morning? All prepped for the trip back to King's Landing?"

"Aye, I was ready to head back the moment we left. I will admit Winterfell is not as…pathetic as I imagined, it pails by far in comparison to King's Landing and to be honest in comparison to most of the big cities in Westeros. However, I hear you shall soon experience that yourself, I did not realize you were coming south with us. A bold move from Ned Stark, bringing his bastard to court. Not sure if you will be the most welcome individual but I imagine it will still be warmer than the way you are treated here," he paused as he looked in the direction of the head table, where currently Lady Stark was sitting talking to Queen Cersei.

"So what were your plans this morning bastard, fancy a match? I grow tired of embarrassing the best that Winterfell has to offer. At least you were no embarrassment, although the match still ended surprisingly quick, I expected better from the son of the man who managed to kill Ser Arthur Dayne."

Jon who was getting frustrated at the tone of Ser Jaime every time he referred to him as a bastard replied, "I will take you up on that. I look forward to learning from such a great knight as yourself." Jon replied the littlest bit of irritation creeping into his voice.

Ser Jaime smirked, "Well we will see if you Northern fighters are capable of using your head for anything other than keeping a hat on in the winter." With that, he turned and headed out of the hall. He called back without turning around, "Do not dawdle bastard, I have plans later."

Once more Jon felt the weird sense of foreboding, one that he could not attribute to a particular reason yet. Shrugging his shoulders, Jon finished his drink and headed towards the yard.

Arriving at the yard, Jon acknowledged Ser Jaime who was already prepared and appeared to be practicing a complex pattern of thrusts and parries at half speed. When Jon finished donning his practice armor, he grabbed the sword and headed towards Ser Jaime.

Jon looked across at his opponent, "I am ready when you are."

Ser Jaime let out his usual smirk and replied, "I am always ready for a fight. I offer this one piece of advice before we begin. You should focus on your breathing. It appears you have trained for short matches, possibly, as you are better than your competition or due to a fault of your illustrious Master-at-Arms. While that is fine if you are fighting an opponent who you can quickly dispatch, if you are involved in a fight with an opponent who is an equal or better fighter or if you fight multiple opponents you will quickly expend yourself and find yourself quickly beaten. Breathing will help you maintain your endurance in a fight and allow you more of an opportunity to focus on finding an opening to take advantage of."

Jon paused, accepting the wisdom of his words before adopting his stance.

Ser Jaime noticed the positioning and adopted his own stance. "When you are ready bastard come at me."

Unable to control a flair of anger over the injustice of still being called and treated as a bastard, Jon rushed towards Ser Jaime and prepared an overhead swing, only to be stopped short as Ser Jaime's blade was pointed directly into his midsection.

Jaime shook his head, "Perhaps our fight the other day was a one-off, that was one of the most pathetic attempts I have ever witness, I could have been starved and fighting with my off hand and I still would have been able to end the fight in a second. My second lesson for you is to control your emotions. A bastard you may be but as soon as you start fighting in anger, you lose control of the fight and you should always be in control. For the second you lose control of yourself and the fight is the second you lose."

Jon stared angrily across at Ser Jaime once more having no choice but to accept his words.

Jaime adopted his position again, "Now once more bastard, lets fight".

Rather than responding in anger Jon chose a defensive posture forcing Jaime to come to him and asked, "What does it matter than I am a bastard, it was not my choice, but surely it should not mean I am without honor, as your tone implies that I am somewhat lesser?"

Rather than respond, Ser Jaime took the opportunity to test Jon's guard with an overhead slash followed by a jab towards Jon's stomach.

Jon managed to block the overhead slash and stepped backwards to avoid the jab.

"Good, good, lesson three do not be afraid to move. If you are stuck fighting in one position, you will lose. Instead, keep moving and attempt to slowly move to a position where you have the advantage. As for being a bastard, it may not be the child's choice but it is for you to live with."

As Jaime had been talking, Jon thought he saw an opening and tried to take advantage of it, realizing only as he was in mid swing that it was a trap, Jon dropped and narrowly avoided Ser Jaime's blade before rolling away out of danger.

As Jon regained his feet, he face Jaime and asked, "Surely there are plenty of bastards throughout Westeros and indeed the whole world who have gone on to achieve great things, should those individuals be viewed differently because of their birth. Should the manner of a child's birth affect the perception of them. Is not it better if individuals were judged for their actions. I am sure King's Landing and even the Red Keep are full of individuals who are bastards by birth." Jon smiled internally as Ser Jaime seemed to freeze at that comment. "Should not these individuals be judged rather on their actions, just as every other man or woman is judged on their actions."

Jon had to jump back quickly as his opponent launched a seemingly underpowered swing to his strong side before following it up with a much stronger attack to his weak side.

Jon smiled feeling confident at his evasion so far, doubly confident in the fact that he was breathing less heavy seeming to support that Jon was conserving his energy much better.

After several seconds of an offensive attack from Jon, which was defended with ease, Jon once more adopted a defensive posture and looked up at Ser Jaime for any hints as to what he was about to do before initiating conversation again, "I mean look at the Mad King, he was of Noble birth, but he was a monster."

Jon spent the few moments defending against a vicious round of attacks that left him panting despite his best efforts. Realizing that he had hit a nerve, Jon attempted to clarify his statement. "I do not understand why you are treated the way you are, why others whisper behind your back the way they do. You ended the reign of the Mad King, something they were trying to do."

Rather than press his attack on his slightly fatigued opponent, Jaime looked at Jon appraising him before answering somberly, "It is because I swore a vow and I broke it."

Jon looked at Jaime as they slowly circled each other, each looking for holes in the others defense, and replied, "I am curious about that, as we talked about previously the entire world views me as a lowly bastard, one of the ways I have found for me to consider changing my fate is to become a knight. However, I am confused about the vows. What happens if your vows come into conflict? Obviously you swore vows to protect the King, but as a knight did you not also swear vows to protect the people of the realm. Of course hearing what happened to House Stark at the hands of the King leads me to believe the Mad King was a monster, but I am sure that was not his only terrible act. Personally, I imagine that he would have never surrendered and would have killed as many people as he could have, friend or foe, in order to try and fight his way out of the situation. He was a monster was he not?"

Jaime looked at Jon with a look bordering on surprise, "Aye he was, he…", Jaime stopped. "Well it does not matter, I made my choice and everyone judges me for it."

"Not I, or at least I believe you did your duty to protect the realm over standing behind a monster, I only hope that if I were in your position I would have the strength to make the hard choice and stand for what is right. I hope I would be able to make the tough decision and have no regrets. When you killed the Mad King, how did the action affect you? Were you okay with the consequences?"

Jon who had been attempting to move Jaime into a position where he knew there to be loose dirt in the training yard chose the moment he finished asking his question as the moment to attack. However, Jon had not been able to catch him unaware, it was as if Jaime knew exactly what Jon had been planning. Slightly off balance, Jon felt the butt end of Jaime's sword contact his ribs with a force that left him gasping for breath as he dropped to his hands and knees, once more feeling a sword on his neck, indicating the end of the fight.

Jaime leaned in and helped him to his feet. Jaime quietly replied in a voice that was completely serious and contained none of his usual joviality, "I have not lost a moment of sleep since I made that decision and I would do it again in a heartbeat."

Jon looked at Jaime and opened his mouth to ask another question,"…"

However, he felt the flat of Jaime's sword smack the side of his head, causing him to abruptly shut his mouth.

"I am done with questions. If you really want to talk to another Lannister, I suggest you wait until my brother returns from the hunt. For if he is not entertaining a whore or he does not have his head in a book, there is nothing Tyrion likes more than the sound of his own voice."

"For what it is worth, that was a much better fight, you keep that up and you might almost be a challenge one day. Good day…Jon Snow. Going to head off, after a good fight gets my blood up, there is only one thing I really enjoy doing."

With that, Jon watched as Jaime left the yard, leaving him to clean up after the duel and put the swords and armor away properly.

Over the course of cleaning up, Jon felt the same sense of foreboding slowly come over him again. Jon paused for a second to try and identify it… before freezing and dropping the sword he was currently holding, a hoarse call being emitted from his mouth, "Bran…"

FLASHBACK

Jon sat down across from Bran, at his request, although every impulse in his body called on him to get up and strike down Jaime Lannister for what he had done.

"What do you mean?" Jon hissed out, barely concealing his fury. "Jaime Lannister pushed you out of a window and you do not think he deserves to die. What madness is this?"

Bran maintained his eerily calm composure before answering in a detached voice, "I mean what I said, you would be very unwise to attempt to kill him. While Jaime Lannister's actions resulted in my injury, he helped me become who I am and there is no changing that. The man himself has been on a journey of redemption. He is no longer than man. Beyond that, and even more importantly, we need him for what is coming our way, we need everyone. You need to let this go Jon; I have. The past is the past, you cannot change it."

With the realization of what was likely to occur, Jon tore off the remnants of his armor before dashing out of the yard towards the First Keep, praying to any and all Gods who might be listening that he was not too late.

As Jon was running through Winterfell he was muttering under his breath, "The past is the past? Like hell! This is my present, I can change it. I will save you Bran."

When Jon arrived, out of breath, at the base of the First Keep, he was not greeted with the broken body of Bran lying in the ground and as such released a huge sigh of relief knowing that at least he was not too late. Looking up Jon realized from his vantage point on the ground he was unable to see the top of the First Keep and as such would be unable to see when Bran was in danger. He walked around trying to see if it was possible to get a better vantage but eventually realized he would need to find some other way up there. Praying he had time, Jon helplessly looked around trying to figure out a way up there; concerned that with every second he wasted, he would eventually look up to be greeted to the sight of Bran flailing his arms, falling towards the ground.

He knew that if he ran back to the Godswood it was technically possible to climb up onto the walls and from there he would be able to climb over the tops of several buildings and access the roof of the First Keep. However, Jon discounted that idea as he would have to backtrack nearly half the length of Winterfell and he was dubious that he would be able to climb up on to the walls in the first place knowing he lacked Bran's agility.

Jon froze as his view had been shifting towards the Godswood, even as he discounted the idea. For he recognized that one of the buildings Bran would have to cross was the guards hall. He immediately ran into the building remembering that from games played with Robb and Theon when he was younger, there was a little door that led to the roof on the top floor of the guards hall. Knowing that time was getting ever-shorter Jon entered the building and ran by the handful of guards who were sitting around just inside the door. Thankful that they recognized him and let him proceed.

As Jon reached the stairs he nearly ran into Benjen Stark, who Jon remembered had chosen to stay in the guard quarters rather than in the quarters for the Stark family as he felt they were too much considering he was used to accommodations at Castle Black.

Benjen startled, clearly not expecting to be run over by his nephew, "Jon? I have been meaning to talk to you since the welcome feast. I did not mean what I said with any ill intent…"

Not wanting to delay but also not wanting to be stopped and forced to explain what he was doing, Jon acknowledged his uncle quickly, "There is no cause for an apology uncle, I reacted poorly. I know you meant nothing of it. But I apologize, I am trying to get something done before everyone returns from the hunt. I will make time either tonight or tomorrow to see you before our departure, I believe that I owe you an apology for the way I acted."

With that, Jon blew by his uncle and immediately started running up the stairs, pretending not to hear as his uncle called out, asking what he was up to.

With each level Jon's body ached, begging for him to stop and catch his breath, but Jon knew that each second he waited, was a second in which Bran could be falling towards the ground and therefore Jon pushed his body hoping he would make it in time to prevent that outcome. When Jon made it to the top floor, he ran towards the small door that led onto the roof and threw his body weight into it.

Only to stumble backwards, looking in dismay at the door that did not budge. Jon nearly collapsed in anguish. He could not have come so far, only for it to all have been in vain.

Had they sealed up this door, had something fallen against the door from the other side, was Bran falling from the window as he sat here, was he unable to change the events that had occurred in the past? Questions raced through his mind, nearly causing him to break down in panic.

Jon took a breath to try to settle himself and looked back at the door. He noticed that there were latches holding the door securely shut. He exhaled loudly as he saw the latches did not have a padlock on them. Jon immediately released the latches, threw open the door, and raced out onto the roof.

As he took a second to orient himself, Jon noticed that on the adjacent building he saw the figure of a person…nay the figure of a boy… walking closer to the edge of the roof. With a strangled cry, Jon took off running across the roof as quickly as his exhausted muscles could carry him. As he crossed from the guards hall onto the First Keep he saw Bran lean down closer to the lip of the building and begin to lean over the edge…

"Bran!" Jon yelled, not caring who heard him.

For a moment everything froze for Jon, it seemed the wind had died, light itself seemed to lessen as everything appeared to get darker, and Bran continued to lean over the edge…

All of a sudden, as if everything was rushing to make up for being frozen in time, things resumed. The wind blew in his face making him wonder if Bran had heard his voice over the wind, the light seemed to intensify, and Bran…

Bran stood up and looked towards Jon and took a step away from the edge. "Jon?"

Kind Regards,

FavoriteAuthor

Riachan -well now that would be super unfortunate indeed, although to the best of my knowledge that 'little bird' was just 'working' as a serving boy and not in a brothel, so Jon should be ok ... I hope

gezeniaquintero - Ugh oh! Looks like Jon might not have forgotten, well almost did... would have been super awkward if he did and then told someone he had knowledge of the future... probably would finally give Catelyn a reason to hate him

cliff west- Thanks so much! Oh I have really been enjoying writing the Queen interaction with Jon in King's Landing and you are right, she is not his biggest fan, looks like Jon may have only slightly forgotten ...

kingmanaena - Thanks so much for the feedback!

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