News of the agreement at Harrenhal spread across Westeros at blistering speeds. Well out pacing Jon's arrival. The mood at Winterfell was exuberant. For the first time in nearly a decade, their portion of Westeros was at peace. The news of peace should have made Arya feel better, but it hadn't, she had spent the majority of the last decade fighting and running, and now she didn't need to. Instead she and her family had hunkered down at Winterfell to await Jon, Robb and their father's return.
They fall into a rhythm of sorts while waiting, Sansa, their mother, and Davos all spend time serving as regent for Jon, while she takes on looking after the garrison of men at arms. It's a change of pace that she's not quite used to, as she now has to watch men train, and build patrol rosters and manage their time. And then of course she spends most of her free time with Gendry.
She finds herself good at it, managing the Winterfell Men-at-Arms and then spending time with her family is a welcome distraction and change of pace from the constant fighting and traveling that she had done for the last years that they had spent apart. She helped in the preparations for the Great Council that would decide who would rule the North and its expanded kingdom now that the wars were over. Whether that would happen in any decent amount of time was up in the air, as winter had come in full force, with storms and snows blanketing the landscape. For the first time since she had returned to Winterfell she could not easily get out of the castle.
She finds herself sitting in one of Sansa's council meetings and watching the snow fall as her family and the lords who had stayed at Winterfell spoke. "There's also the question as to what to do with the Night's Watch, with the White Walkers defeated, and the Wildlings … I mean Free Folk" a hard look from Sansa made Lord Robett correct himself "Theres not much reason for the Night's Watch to continue its existence."
"There will always be a reason for the Night's Watch to exist" Lord Hornwood "Jon Snow might be King of them now, but he won't always be, and theres certainly some who stayed North of the Wall when he brought them south"
"What are we to do with the Free Folk?" Lord Robett asked. Arya thought that if he had his way, then they would all leave and go back north of the wall.
"The ones who wish to stay will stay and adopt our customs, the ones who wish to leave and go back north of the wall we will let" Sansa declared from her place at the front of the Great Hall where they had all deigned to have this impromptu meeting. "The Free Folk helped defend the Living, and it is my hope that this brief time of working together will foster in a time when we no longer must fight constant wars with them"
"Of course, my Lady" Lord Robett said "His Grace has made his opinion on the Free Folk quite clear, as have you, we will follow the Starks has we always have" the way he said that unerverd Arya, like he was agreeing, but had his own, traitorous thoughts on the matter.
"Still this gets away from our previous discussion" Lord Hornwood said "The Night's Watch has been bled dry, how many of them survive? They will need more men, more money, and of course food" his face darkened "and of course food is going to be very hard to gather in this winter"
Arya shook her head and for the first time she spoke "Then maybe this is something we decide when His Grace" she hated calling him that, not that she wasn't proud of Jon, but the courtly titles and everything else got to her.
Sansa seized on Arya's suggestion "I agree, King Jon and my Lord Father will be back in Winterfell in the next week, then we can decide what to do"
Lord Hornwood bowed his head "Of course my Lady"
Luckily that was the end of politics discussion for the day, and soon the two lords are on their way, leaving the herself and Sansa alone. "They bring up good questions" Sansa says as she sips at a cup of wine "They're testing us, seeing if they can get one of us to publicly break with Jon's Free Folk policy"
Arya wetted her lips in thought and then replied "If they think that one of us, or Robb or Father can be convinced to break with Jon, then they'll be likely to support one of them over Jon at the council"
The mention of the council makes Sansa brow deepen in what she thinks is annoyance "Jon wants to call the council as soon as he can" and that's all she says on the matter, Sansa going into one of her moods where she tries to politic around the lords.
"I doubt after Jon secured Northern Independence, the victory with the Night King, and the War of the Bastards, that anyone will speak against Jon" Arya says. It would be stupid to try to change horses now, especially when they finally had peace.
"I agree" her sister responds and then stands from the table "I must go and look into our food situation, and then I need to speak with the gardner and see how our gardens are doing in the glass gardens"
She nods her head and stands as well "I can go and make myself busy"
As she goes about her rounds, she finds herself in the smithy, with Gendry yet again. She's sitting on a crate as she watches him work. They don't speak, and just enjoy spending time together. As she watches him lean down and stoke the flames, she finds herself thinking on what she was going to do now. Cersei was dead, so was everyone else on her list that she had been working towards. She felt adrift in life. She hated to admit it, but she enjoyed how life had been in the time since Jon, Robb and her Lord Father had left, they had fallen into a routine and it was one she could see herself living, for at least the time being.
It would also mean being able to marry Gendry, she thought to herself. Arya wanted that, wanted that more than she thought possible, and now that everyone was dead and her family was safe, she could do that.
She sees Gendry grimace and turn around "When are you going to leave?" he asks her.
She is taken back by the question, but she knows immediately what Gendry is speaking about. "I'm not sure, my whole reason for leaving was burned alive a month ago, I'm not sure what I'll do now."
He turned away, and now hammering a piece of metal on the anvil. In between swings he says rather than asking "You're thinking about staying."
She racks her brain, she thinks she could, she had just been thinking about it. "Yes, I'm considering it, things are different now, I have my family, I have you"
"Then marry me" he presses "We can stay here or do anything, but I want to marry you" Gendry had leaned in closer to her.
She found herself nodding her head "Let me speak with my family" she grabbed his smoke and soot colored hands "I will marry you, but I have to think about the rest of them, and make sure that Jon doesn't try to marry me off to some lord"
"I doubt His Grace would do that" Gendry said with a lopsided smile that told her that he was happy.
"I doubt he would as well? She agreed. She spends much of the rest of the day with him, dreaming about their future together. She thinks she can be happy with him.
Its only a few days later when she's back out on the battlements of Winterfell, with Sansa, Rickon, their mother and Davos watching as Jon's entourage arrive from the south. Jon is the first from the carriage that had been carrying them. A chorus of Your Grace come from them all. Arya zones out as they go through the same process that they have the last few times Jon had come back from somewhere.
They find themselves, the whole family plus Davos, sometime later in Jon's solar. "Between the glass gardens, and the food coming from Essos, I think we're going to be fine" Sansa is telling Jon as he, Robb and Father eat.
"Good, and with my treaty with the Dragon Queen, we can finally send the soldiers home and then we can call the council, and decide the future of the North once and for all"
A tension fills into the room, one that Arya hasn't noticed since they had come back from the Wall. "We can certainly talk about that, but it will take a while for the Lords to gather, and with Winter upon us" Sansa says before being interrupted.
"Honor compels us to call this council, that was the agreement we made with the bannermen after they came back" Jon waves at Robb and Eddard. "The sooner we have put this question behind us, the sooner we can get back to normal" Jon declares.
"I agree, the bannermen must see we are united" her father says.
"And are we united?" her mother asks "Who are we going to support? Who am I to support?" her mother seems to be disgusted at the notion, but she's keeping her own opinions to herself.
A quiet falls over the solar and Arya swallows and looks around, Jon looks between Robb and her father quietly, an unasked question falling between them.
"I was King in the North once" Robb suddenly says, shame evident in his voice "I did my duty the best I saw, but I failed, and that failure will be remembered, no I don't want, nor do i deserve to be King" Robb finished sadly and the he looks across the room at his mother.
"The only reason I would have stepped up and asked for the crown would be to stop the marriage between you and Sansa, but seeing as though that is not something I think you two want to be stopped, I have no interest in it, I will advise you and do anything you need of me"
"Thank you, but I don't deserve, I have no claim" Jon started and then was cut off.
"You are my sisters son, my nephew, and the bannermen declared you King, that is your claim" her father stood up "When the council arrives, I will announce that I will refuse the throne."
Arya then spoke up, something that she had been thinking about and not really paying attention to what had been said "Gendry and I are going to be married" she shot daggers at everyone in the room "Don't try to stop me."
"Well, that's good" Jon finally decided on saying "Let me legitimize him, as Gendry Baratheon, so at least you're not going to be marrying a bastard."
"I think Gendry would like that"
"Arya, are you sure this is what you want?" Her mother asks her "I mean, you have such a future ahead of you, there are several castles that could be given to you"
"Bear Islands does lack a lord or lady" Sansa continued on "We could declare you and Gendry as Lord of the island" she looked at Jon "Right?"
"Of course, I think you'd be popular there Arya" He answered "The people there are accustomed to strong women being in charge"
She didn't want to be a lady, but Bear Island was far away, and largely peaceful, it would give her a small fleet to explore lands if she wanted, and income, however little it was. "Let me speak with Gendry, but I'll consider it."
"Good, there's at least something we can take off of the council's agenda" Jon jests.
Davos Seaworth stood on the right of the throne of Winter, taking in the amount of nobles that had descended upon Winterfell in the last few weeks. Now finally they all had arrived, and the time to actually kick the Council was ready. Davos stood and watched the nobles and lords of the three kingdoms talk and speak to each other. He had done some talking with the lords from the Riverlands, most of whom had all indicated that they planned to support Jon since he was to marry Sansa.
The Lords of the North we're a bit more divided, but the announcement that neither Lord Robb nor Lord Eddard were to present a serious challenge to the throne left only a cripple and child as their only real options to oppose Jon with, and so the Lords of the North had fallen in line as well. The Lords of the Vale, the most recently arrived, we're the only ones that concerned Davos now, Yohn Royce and the others from the Vale had yet to make their opinions known, although Davos had the suspicion that if they had their choice, it would be Lady Sansa who would be made Queen in the North over Jon being King.
He leaned down to be eye level with Jon Stark "Your Grace" he started "I believe we can get started whenever you deem it so"
Jon blinked once, then twice and then nodded his head "Then lets get on with this"
Davos nodded and stood back straight and stepped forward, down a single step that led up to the Throne "Everyone! May I have the honor of presenting, King Jon, of the Houses Stark and Targaryen, the King in the North, and Lord the Riverlands and the Vale, Lord of Winterfell, and Protector of Westeros from the Wall to the Riverlands!"
Many stood and gave a "Hail King Jon!"
Davos took his place back at the side of Jon as the man stood up "We all know why we are here, the recent reemergence of my family" he looked down as he gave a wave to the Starks who sat at the table below the throne "while a great and wonderful gift to my family, has caused concerns and questions over who should be the rightful King. All who wish to present a claim to the throne may do so, and it will be up to you, the Lords of the Kingdom of the North, Trident and the Vale to decide." he paused and then said "Know this, whatever is decided, be it for me or against, I swear upon my honor as a Stark, that I will adhere to the words of this council."
Silence fell over the Great Hall as King Jon ended his speech, and then one of the Northerners stood, Lord Cley Cerwyn, if Davos was right "Your Grace, if we vote in favor of you, do you intend to marry Lady Sansa as was previously agreed?"
Jon answered before the question was out of Lord Cley's mouth "Yes, my Lord, myself and Lady Sansa are still to be married."
"Thank you, Your Grace" and Lord Cley sat back down at his seat. And then another Lord stepped forward, with questions that needed to be answered. It went on like this for hours, as Lords and Ladies asked all kinds of questions to Jon, from questions over grain rights, hunting rights to claims on the now many empty castles that made up the North and the Riverlands.
Finally Lady Alys Karstark, a girl that was near fanatically loyal to Jon since he had named her Lady of Karhold stepped forward "Your Grace, you know my position on this matter. I believe you are the rightful King. However, I must ask. Why has Lord Eddard and Lord Robb not taken any questions?"
She sat down at the end of her question. Davos shook his head. He could plainly see what Lady Alys was trying to do, try to force Lord Eddard and Lord Robb into answering questions. So far, it had the lords had only been looking to Jon for answers.
His Grace nodded his head at the question. "I understand the question. However, I cannot answer that question, only my Lord uncle, and my cousin can."
Davos crossed his arms as he watched as Lord Eddard stood from the tables in front of the throne. "Lords and Ladies" he said as he stood tall. "I have luckily, not been asked questions from the assembled lords, because I have no interest in serving as King in the North. My place is here to advise whichever of my two heirs you decide to support. I have made my opinions clear on this to them, and they have agreed to adhere."
The announcement of his decision to refuse the kingship should not have come as a surprise to the lords, but to Davos's amazement, many did indeed look surprised.
It was Lord Glover, the one who had campaigned most fervently for Lord Eddard to made King, who stood, with his hand closed in an outstretched fist, he nearly yelled. "Lord Eddard! How can we trust a Targaryen to rule over us? Remember what they did to your family, what the Dragon Queen to the south did to King's Landing! How can we trust him to rule over us?"
Davos shook his head. He had known this was coming, this question about Jon's parentage was a problem, it would continue to be a problem.
"Lord Robett, you know as well as I do, that there is peace between our three Kingdoms, and the remaining four." Ned Stark answered calmly. "His Grace negotiated fairly, and honorably with the Dragon Queen. In fact, the very peace we have between us is based in part, in that he would revoke his Targaryen half, and when he marries my daughter, Lady Sansa, he will take the Stark name in full."
"It could be just a ploy!" Robett yelled. Davos started to take a step forward. He subtly nodded at a few of the soldiers. If Lord Glover got violent, they would have to step in a deal with it quickly.
"I was there." A new voice came from the Stark table. The last King in the North was standing. "I can promise you that it is not a ploy. My br- cousin, has treated us all honorably, he has defeated the White Walkers, and he brought peace to our portion of Westeros, we should accept that there is no ploy, at least not from him."
A new voice joined the chorus of what was quickly turning into an argument, one that silenced everybody. "Lord Robb, are you saying that you are withdrawing your claim?" Lord Wyman Manderley asked quickly.
Davos turned, and watched the red-haired man. The former King in the North stared at Lord Wyman for just a moment, and then nodded his head. "Yes, that is what I intend to do. Jon Snow, my cousin, led us to victory both beyond the wall, against the Boltons, and then made peace with a woman who seemed certain to conquer the rest of Westeros. We need peace, and I believe, no, I know that Jon can make that happen."
Davos watched with a barely concealed smile as the arguments gave way after that. Everyone had known that the council vote would come down to three men, Jon, Eddard Stark, and Robb Stark. With the latter two basically stepping down, it seemed as though the council had been decided in less than a full day of deliberation. While the Lords would not leave for at least a few weeks, it was still good to get this figured out so soon.
At Lord Robb's words, young Jon Umber jumped to his feet. Hand raised he yelled out. "I call for a vote for the King in the North!"
There was a general murmur of agreement. And with that, Davos stepped forward. Someone had to explain how these things worked, and he had had Sam Tarly explain how the Great Council voted. "Each of you will be given a slip of paper and write who you wish to be King in the North! Once you vote, I propose that we break for the mid day meal, and once the results are counted we will announce it!"
The lords and ladies, each one now with the slip of paper, and some of those who couldn't read and write, with their maesters, cast their vote. The lords who votes, handed the slips to servants, who then handed them to the assembled maesters and they removed themselves from the great hall to count the votes. Davos felt confident as he watched them leave. He turned to see King Jon, silently watching them leave as well.
He walked over to the King. "That went well." Davos whispered as he got within earshot.
The king nodded. "Yes, yes it did."
Lady Sansa had made her way to be on his right. "Jon, I think everything is going to be fine. Lord Robett and the others who didn't support you didn't seem to know what to do when Father and Robb both announced that they were withdrawing their claims!"
"You did well today." Lord Eddard said. "The vote is not in doubt anyway, the lords of the North are sensible people, they will choose you, especially since we" he gestured at himself and Robb.
Jon nodded his head. And then he stood. "Once this votes gets over with, I think we should focus the lords attention on making our three kingdoms into one."
"What do you mean?" Lord Davos asked quickly.
"I want this to be a nation that lasts, not just for my lifetime, or my child's lifetime, but forever. We need to talk about religious divisions between ourselves and the southerners, we need to talk about different tax policies, we need to talk about our armies and everything."
"I agree." Davos said. "But now that this is out of the way, we can focus on those issues."
"We can also focus on rewarding those lords who supported you." Robb says with some uncomfortableness in his tone. "Divvy up the lands and castles that no longer have any lords or ladies. Like the Dreadfort, or the Crossing."
"I have two people in mind for those two castles. But I'll only go into detail on that after the votes are counted."
They retired and ate the midday meal in a side room with the Stark family. It was a quiet one, with only Sansa speaking about her plan for the rest of the council, with the others speaking in order to agree with the girl. Davos noticed with happiness that Lady Catelyn no longer seemed to glare at Jon like he had when they had first come back from death.
A short time later, Davos found himself back standing in the great hall, as Samwell Tarly stood with his hand on a scroll. "Lords and Ladies, I have been asked to count the vote, and having done so, It is my honor to hand the counted votes to His Grace." he turned and with a bow of his head, he handed the scroll over to King Jon.
Jon took it gingerly, between his fingers, and he opened the scroll. A small smile tugged its way to his lips. "With a clear majority of the votes, the lords of the Kingdom of the North, the Trident, and the Vale, have chosen me, Jon Snow, to be the rightful King in the North!" he stood up, looking every bit the king he now truly was. "I promise to be a king for all of our people, and I promise to rule as justly as my uncle did, and rule with the strength and unending victory that my cousin did."
He turned to Davos. "I would like to extend my thanks, to my Hand, Lord Davos Seaworth. One of King Stannis's men, he has proven himself loyal, and one of my closest advisors. Which is why I can trust him with this new responsibility. Lord Davos, I command you to take possession of the Crossing, the former lands of Walder Frey. You and your descendants will rule over the lands."
Davos looked at the King in shock, but only for a moment. He bowed his head. "Your Grace, I thank you and I promise that I will rule over those lands in your name, and that I will be ever faithful."
"I know you will be, Lord Davos." he turned again this time back to the crowd. "I know that there are many castles just like the Crossing, all empty, and without lords. I intend to choose new lords for those castles in the North, and allow for Lord Robin Arryn, and Lord Edmure Tully, to choose the lords in the Vale and the Riverlands." he held up a hand. "If you would allow me to make one more decision without your advice." he turned away from the crowd and to Robb Stark. "Robb Stark, as your king, I command you take possession of the Dreadfort, rip down it's banners, and clear out everything that has to do with the Bolton family. I give you leave to rename the fort if you so wish. You and your descendants will rule the lands that the Boltons once did."
Robb Stark hadn't been expecting this, but bowed his head all the same. Davos allowed himself a small smile. He had lost everything when they had come north to fight the King Beyond the Wall, but maybe now he had gained friendship and a new purpose in life.
Jon sat at desk in his solar, several grain reports and updates on the goings on in the south laid around. He laid the paper he was reading down and looked up. Ned Stark was sitting a bit away from the hearth right next to Catelyn Stark. They were talking about something that Jon didn't follow.
Things had been better between himself and Lady Catelyn since he had come back from Harrenhal. Something Sansa had mentioned. Speaking of which, he looked over to the other desk, where Sansa was reading through a similar report. Her desk, unlike his, was much neater and organized. She looked up and found his eyes. And she smiled at him. "Is something wrong?"
He shook his head. For the first time in a long, long time, maybe for the first time in his life, he felt truly, and unashamedly happy. He had his family with him, he didn't have any wars to worry about, no plans to make, no soldiers to move around the board. No horde from the north coming to kill them all, no crazy queen to the south with dragons. No he had found peace. He had Sansa, who had promised to stand by him in everything, he had Robb, who was already at the Dreadfort, now named Starkfort. He had Bran, who was more and more like himself everyday, he had Arya, who was due to be married to Gendry in a few moons time.
He leaned back in the chair at his desk. He was King in the North, but more importantly, he was a Stark. He may not yet be married to Sansa, but they would be in a moons time, life was good, and he felt that maybe, just maybe, he deserved to enjoy it. He smiled to himself, and brought himself forward and picked up another report, this one from Jaime Lannister, explaining how his soldiers were settling in in the Crossing. Davos had taken the man with him, along with his army, saying that they would be better served in the south than the North.
There would eventually be trouble, but Jon couldn't, at least for the night, worry about them. The Wolves had returned, and now that they were all reunited again, he felt like nothing could stop the Starks, especially now that they were on the same page and on the same side.
As news spread of the peace agreement at Harrenhall, and the conclusion of the First Great Council of the Kingdom of the North, The Vale and the Trident, peace for the first time in a decade, reigned supreme across Westeros. In the newly intendent kingdom, support rallied around the reign of King Jon and his wife, Queen Sansa. The two ruled as strong monarchs, with the North recovering much of its strength over the coming decades of their rule. The Riverlands, the long suffering lands of the Tully's also benefitted from the peace and the support of the North and the Vale. Edmure Tully ruled as the Lord Paramount, and he would continue to be loyal to the Starks. In the Vale, Robin Arryn, would grow to be a good young man, and would father a single son, before sickness took him. His death caused a series of wars across the Vale that continue to this day.
The newly minted Lord Robb Stark continued to rebuild the newly named Starkfort, and scrubbed cleaned the reputation of hard Bolton rule. It would take the entirety of his rule for the people to grow accustomed to strong, and honorable government. Lord Gendry Baratheon and Lady Arya Baratheon would rule well in Bear Island, but Arya Baratheon would be an absent ruler as she would spend much of her time exploring and sailing around Westeros, news of her exploits would bring great boons to King Jon's Kingdom. The Crossing, under the rule of Davos Seaworth, would be pulled together after the decimation of the Frey's. Davos would rule for ten years, but already an old man during the wars, he would die childless. King Jon would then name Jaime Lannister as lord of the Crossing, who continues to rule the land to this day. Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn would spend their time marching across the kingdom, seeing to people's problems and helping where they could. Where they went, happiness and good government were sure to follow. They also spent their time not traveling advising the King and Queen in all matters.
In the south, an uneasy peace reigned, as Queen Daenerys Targaryen ruled through strength and duty, as much as she did fear and hatred. The South would take most of the Dragon Queen's reign to recover, and with the loss of the North, Vale and the Riverlands, many wonder if there were to be another war, but none ever came, as Daenerys proved herself to be too preoccupied keeping her four kingdoms under her rule. The peace in Westeros would continue to hold for the rest of this generation of leaders.
AN: This is the final chapter of the Wolves Return. After two years of no updates, I'm happy to say that I could no longer live with myself with not having this story finished. In all honesty, I lost interest in Game of Thrones, but I always wanted to come back and finish this story. I wanted to thank everyone for their reviews and everything with this story. I'm sorry it took me so long to finish it.