A/N: Fun Fact: I haven't reread the series since about a year after A Dance with Dragons came out, and the only related content I've partaken since has been reading a couple of select chapters, watching the show, and way too many fan-fics to be considered healthy.

I have no idea why this wants to be put up now, but I think I'm past the point of caring at the moment, and I figure any bit of work being done only makes it easier to lead to a net-increase of productivity down the line. So. Enjoy the ride, my friends! (More notes at the end).

"Many years have transpired since the War of Crowns and the Second Long Night. Where brother fought brother and then united with even hated foes to bring the dawn, and dragons once more took to the skies. Such were the conditions that saw King Jaehaerys, Third of His Name, through his rise to power.

Though many claims cite different events as the starting point of it all, the beginning of events can be best ascribed to the days of King Robert's reign. The 293rd year after Aegon's Conquest, Stannis Baratheon, then Master of Ships, had announced his intentions to journey northward in order to inspect the Wall. In light of one brother visiting another he considered just as close if not more so, King Robert gathered the court for a trip to visit his foster brother.

Perhaps it is a sign of the machinations of Fate or the will of the Gods that this journey was made when it was. Or it might be mere chance that the suspicions of Stannis Baratheon would bring the Demon of the Trident to meet the son of his hated foe without ever realizing it. Meeting living proof that his beloved had loved another. Regardless of the reason, Jaehaerys III, then living as the infamously purported bastard son of Eddard Stark, Jon Snow, would take the first step of many in his ascent to the Iron Throne…"

- The Writings of Grand Maester Mercer

Chapter One: Barristan I

Many years ago…

Ser Barristan Selmy contemplated his riding companion traveling south on the King's Road from Winterfell. Lord Stannis had originally made plans to travel north to inspect the Wall, and as with so many things involving the North, King Robert heard one word of it and it turned into something of a spectacle.

So instead of a quick journey by sea to White Harbor, or perhaps even Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and accompanied by a small group of stout men, it was instead a lengthy, exhaustive procession up the Kingsroad with what was close to the entire court and all the trappings it entailed.

As expected, Stannis had ridden nearly the day after arriving, leaving Ned Stark to handle his foster brother's antics. Perhaps it was a bit dishonorable of Ser Barristan to think of the King in this way, but it was far from the worst things he had thought while Aerys the Second had sat the Iron Throne. No matter what, Ser Barristan was a Knight of the Kingsguard, and so he served as faithfully as he always had. Someone had to.

Ever watchful for threats, even in a realm as loyal as the North, Ser Barristan had found himself with ample time to observe the family from his post. And that was where he first saw Jon Snow skulking in the far corners of the main hall.

The boy – ten namedays old, by the Lord Commander's reckoning – looked much like a Stark, dark, curled hair, a long face, but purple eyes indicated the other half of his parentage. Old shames and squandered opportunities lingered in the old knight's mind, spurring him to action. So rather than leave Ashara Dayne's son to languish in a castle he could never call his own, constantly reminded of things he would never truly have to call his own, Ser Barristan had decided to offer the boy a chance to become his squire.

It should have been an easy decision, if not for Lord Stark's reluctance to let the boy out of his sight and travel so far from home, reluctant to see any of his children depart for even the most auspicious of opportunities, and young Jon's own apprehension. The boy's adamant intention of taking the Black once he was old enough had been a struggle all on its own.

But Barristan had reasoned that the Wall would still be there when he was older, and that he would do well to understand the realm he would be sworn to protecting. The main threat the Night's Watch had originally been founded to ward off had long since passed into legend, and there would be no great sense of urgency to rush towards it without being thoroughly prepared. And what better way to bring strength to the order than as a seasoned man and perhaps inspiring others to follow suit?

That last point seemed to help the boy come to a decision.

Young Jon – and Ser Barristan would have to think on how to differentiate the names of his new squire and the Hand of the King – was a hard worker. Ned Stark had done his best to educate the lad, and by rights, the boy should have been fostered much sooner. He had the talent, and if the respect afforded to Lord Stark was any indicator, many of his bannermen would have been glad to take the boy in, bastard or not.

Regardless, that would be a task for Barristan to deal with. He could have done without Lady Stark's glee warring with her wounded pride over Jon Snow receiving such attention, but she would be leagues away for the foreseeable future, and perhaps that might help mend the wounds words had done the boy's soul.

"Ser Barristan!" King Robert boomed. A voice akin to rolling thunder, as appropriate of the Storm King's descendants. "I hear you picked up a new squire."

"Yes, Your Grace." Barristan stepped aside, "Eddard Stark's natural son, Jon."

Leaving out "Snow" seemed to catch the boy's attention, but little time to acknowledge or understand it when Robert clapped Jon's shoulder. Lightly enough not to knock the lad over, but enough that the boy must have felt it.

"You have the looks of your father at the same age," said Robert. "Finally getting a Stark in King's Landing after all of these years. Hah! It's been too long since we've had a Stark in King's Landing. A damned shame Ned didn't become Master of Laws when this crown got plopped onto my head. Would have made things easier."

Jon shot Barristan a discrete glance, then back to the King, who was absorbed in his own imaginings of what might have been.

"Maybe with you there, it'll convince Ned to visit me once in a while with you in the capital."

Ser Barristan left his liege to his musings, and the King soon wandered off again. He would obsess over it for a little while, and then be off to the next cup of wine, the next woman, and then Jon Snow would be forgotten for a little while longer. If Jon had merited introduction upon their arrival, Robert might have done the exact same thing, just so he could twist Ned's arm around into accepting a Small Council position. Anything to live out those distant, happier days of his youth again.

Not that Barristan's offer had been made entirely without ulterior motives. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard was an old man. Try as he might, he would not deny it, and as the days passed, the moon turned over again and again, and the years continued to wear down his body bit by bit despite his best efforts. What's more, he doubted his ability to restore any honor and reputation to the Kingsguard before he finally went to whatever recompense or punishment the gods saw fit for his life.

One last desire for his life, and if fortunes were kind, and young Jon was still set on a life of celibacy and service, Ser Barristan hoped that young Jon might be interested in joining the Kingsguard, should a space be opened in due time, to carry on when he could not.

But that was a matter for another day. The Kingsroad had many dangers to consider, there was Jon's training to begin, and Barristan the Bold had no intention of letting another young, promising lad rust away.

A/N: First off, R+L=J is in effect. Second, Jon's birth name is Jaehaerys, as naming your son after the boy's older half-brother when he hasn't been dead for a month might seem a bad omen to some (if Aegon was still alive, I figure Rhaegar was planning on naming him Aemon). Thirdly, the intended pairing is Jon/Myrcella. Mostly going to be operating on book canon, but I may throw in some elements from the show, and possibly some interesting bits from some fan-fics I've read.

A couple of other changes:

The Greyjoy Rebellion happened two years earlier, mostly so Cersei's presumed "hero's welcome" for Jaime can produce Myrcella a little earlier (it's a dark fantasy setting based off of medieval Europe; there's only so much I can do to mitigate the squick from that).

Furthermore, the start of canon has been shifted to begin at 300 AC as opposed to 298 AC (see above).

The Daynes acknowledge Jon as being one of their own by Ashara. Ned is uncomfortable about this for many reasons, but won't refuse the extra protection it extends to Jon, especially as it saves him from him having to lie any further. Catelyn is still a bit nasty to Jon because of this, but for slightly different justifications.

For added confusion, Jon's eyes are a nebulous shade of purple, mostly so I can guilt-trip Ser Barristan into kick-starting the plot.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Am I royally screwing up characterization? Let me know in a PM or review. Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Until next time!

Winterman, out.