Jon

The morning raysbrokethrough the slats of the window covers and into his old room, a room that held all types of memories. Some good, most bad. He remembers the miserable nights he spent trying to get to sleep but kept awake instead, his mind would wander, his wandering would turn into worry, mainly worrying about his future.

He stretched hisentirebody under the furs, the crack from his back felt like heaven. Hisnight'ssleep had itsinterruptionsbut at the end of the day he couldn't complain, sleeping in his childhood bed gave him an extra comfort he didn't think he would feel. He also didn't expect to even have a childhood bed anymore, he thought that this room would have been completely stripped by now but obviously someone didn't have the heart to do such a thing.

Almost like somebody had a guilty thought.

He sat up and swung his legs off the bed, rolling his neck he noticed his recently collected bags. Theinterruptionin the middle of the night was the explanation for theirpresenceat the moment. Aninterruptionin the form of a very big and very annoyed dragon.

Kireinahad scared the living shit out of him in the middle of the night, thank the gods she had the sense not to make an actual appearance in Winterfell. She just decided to make anabruptappearance in his dreams instead, something he didn't even know she could do.

Turned out it wasn't something he should have been incredibly worried about, she was just annoyed with the bags that were still tied to her back. He didn't expect her to be so stroppy about it butclearly,she wasn't impressed with having to lug his bags around when she really didn't need to be.

Sneaking out of Winterfell had been easy 3 years ago, after many lessons fromMaster M,he could have done it with his eyes closed. Sneaking back in was a little bit more difficult but he still managed it with relative ease.

Kireinahad been very happy to see him, either that or she was just glad to get those bags off her back. He'd giving her a kiss on the snout and a scratch under her jaw before she sprang back up into the night sky without a trace. After the huge mess she'd made inHornwoodForest, she seemed to be a little caring of her surroundings now.

Now he was sat there on his bed staring at the bags that contained his clothes, valuables and two very dangerous swords to befoundin possession of.

I should really getthese swords back to their respective owners thought to himself.

He didn't know how to go about doing that though.

"Oh hello, my names Jon and I just happen to have come across this sword, Ithinkit might belong to you."He thought amusingly. Who was he kidding, he was probablygonnabe as straight forward as possible the stories he'd heard fromGerion, he was quite looking forward to meeting the great Tywin Lannister, he'd just have to takeGerion'swarning into consideration and be careful what he said. He didn't wantKireinaturning it intoCasterlyDust if any harm came to him because of something stupid he'd said.

He sighed, he missedGerion. Hopefully it wouldn't be long before he'd be seeing him again, he'd made the man a promise after all.

He was asked to tellGerion'sdaughter about her father but Jon had another idea. It was a mad plan that might not even be necessary but if the girl was treated like any other bastard, the chances were high that he would go through with it.

It was how to go about it that would be the biggest pain in his arse.

And whether or notKireinawas open to the idea of it.

He scrubbed his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stoodupandwalked to the bowl of tepid water towash his face, the cool water thoroughly waking him up in the process. Today was the big day, the day he would get the truth out of his father even if he had to beat it out of him.

Would he have to resort to that? Would he have to pay the consequences for attacking the Lord Paramount of the North?

DoubtKireinawould allow something like that to happen anyway.

All of a sudden there was anincessantbanging on his chamber door.

Somebody' thought.

He dressed as quick as he could, pulling a tunic over his head in the process of walking towards the door, which was now shaking at the hinges with how hard it was being hammered at.

He whipped the door open and looked at the culprit with narrow eyes, eyes thatimmediatelysoftened when he saw who it was.

"You'reup!" His little sister chirped as she walked into his room and ploppedherselfon the furs of his untidy plastered on her face as he attempted to scowl at her but failed miserably.

He could never be mad at Arya. Annoyed sometimes, but never mad.

"Pretty difficult for somebody to sleep through that racket, who knew somebody so small could cause such abigpain in my arse." He said as he moved across the room and grabbed his dark blue gambeson. The gambeson in question was one of his favourites,Gerionhad told him wistfully that it brought out the colour in his eyes, the man just laughed when he'd replied that he would bring out the colour of his nose with his fist if he didn't shut it.

Arya's smile grew as she leapt from his bed and startedsniffingaround his bags "You're not mad, just admit it, you missed this." She said as she fiddled with one of the straps on his bag, the bag with the twovalyrianswords he soon realised.

He realised his mistake when he moved across the room in a flash and batted her hand away from the bag, a cheeky grin emerged on her face like a game had just been initiated. She knew he was hiding something now and she'd make goddamn sure to find out what it was, the way Arya always did.

"You'reright, I did miss this..." He said as he moved the bag to the other side of the room, his little sister's eyes glued to it. "...but I didn't miss yousnoopin..."

"What'sin the bag?" Sheinterrupted, he tried to play it cool as he placed the bag on the floor near the ,the noise it made when he did put it down didn't help in cooling her intrigue, if anything, itfuelledit.

"Nothing for you that's what. Why are you here soearl..."

"Is it my present? Is it a sword? I've always wanted a real sword, mother saysthat I shouldn't be playing with swords but I'vealways wanted tolearnhow to use one properly. Me, Bran and Rick sneak out into thegodswoodsometimes and practice with sticks. Sometimes Jory finds us and teaches us little tricks instead of telling on us, I like Jory. Can I have my sword now?Pleeeeeease?" She rambled on.

He sighed, he'd not really thought about presents when he decided to come back, he had other things on his mind at that moment. But looking at his pleading sister, who was doing that thing she always did with her eyes that made them look bigger than they actually were, who was quite clearly making her bottom lip tremble on purpose, he decided he would have to find a way to get a proper sword in her hand.

He was annoyed that her little tricks, that hewas fully aware of, had worked so easily on him.

"No,it'snot your present." He said as crossed his arms.

"Oh..." She said as her face fell, she looked down at the floor and started nibbling on her bottom lip. Her shoulders slumped and she sniffed.

Now he had an upset little sister on his hands and his soul couldn't take it.

With his decision made he lifted the bag back up and sighed "If you're good and you promise not to tell anybody about what I'm about to show you, I will askMikkento make you a sword that is just right for you hmm? I know there's no point in me trying to hide the contents of this bag from you, you'd find a way of getting into itand probably cause more trouble for me." He said as he sat on his bed and placed the bag down on his lap.

Jon got nothing from this deal except from making his sister happy which in hindsight, wasdefinitelyworth it.

Her face lit up and she sprang towards the bed before hugging him tight around the neck "Thank you thank you thank you!" She happily declared whilst crushing his windpipe. He tapped on her back and she let go, a sheepish grin on her face.

Oh,she knew what she'd done. She'd well and truly played him, and he couldn't for the life of him be mad at her for it. He was almost proud in some twisted way.

"Right, I'm serious, what I'm about to show you cannot, I repeat, cannot be mentioned to anyone about, nobody, not even Bran and Rickon. Do you understand?" He said as he worked on the straps of the bag.

She nodded her head furiously as she stared at the bag in awe.

He slowly untied each of the straps as slow as he possibly could "C'mon, hurry up!" She said as she almost with excitement from where she sat.

With a flourish, he grabbed the two scabbards inside the bag and lifted them out. Hemanoeuvredthe bag to the floor and placed the two swords on his lap, Arya was just in awe as she stared at the hilts and pommels of each of the swords. She reached out a hand to touch them but he grabbed her wrist before she could.

"You have to be careful touching these, they are extremely precious and not to mention, extremely sharp." He said as he let go of her wrist and slowly unsheathedBlackfyreon his lap. Her eyes lit up even more when she saw the swirling patterns that adorned the blade.

"Like father's..." She muttered out as she stuck a single finger out and touched the steel.

"Aye, likefather's." He said,successfullykeeping out the anger from his tone at the mention of that man. She slowly rubbed her finger down the steel.

"Is the other one the same?" She asked.

He grabbed the hilt and stood up, seemingly shocking Arya out of her daze. The rest of the scabbard was pulled from the blade and placed on the furs of his bed next to Arya, along withBlackfyreitself. She was that preoccupied with staring at the old Targaryen heirloom on his bed to notice him unsheathingBrightroaras well.

"Wow..." Was all she could say as he placed the second blade onto the bed, her eyes didn't know what to stare at as she looked back and forth between the two blades.

He smirked when thinking about what her reaction would be with what he was about ask.

"Would you like to hold them?" He asked as her head and eyes snapped towards him and her mouth just fell open.

"Can I?!" She asked excitedly, almost whispered in fact. The look on her face was the look of somebody who'd just been offered the world.

He nodded as he smiled "See if you can pick one of themup on your own first,ifnot then I'll have to help you." He said as she gripped both hands aroundBlackfyreand attempted to lift it. Shemanagedto lift it somewhat but he didn't trust her arms that were already starting to wobble so he gripped over each of her hands with his and helped her lift it all the way so it was pointing towards the ceiling.

"Wow...it'sbeautiful." She said as she attempted to swing the sword left and right with her hands from underneath his grip. He rolled his eyes and smiled as hehumouredher and helped her swing the blade left and right very carefully, if any accidents occurred and Arya gothurt,he'd never forgive himself.

After they'd finished wieldingBlackfyretogether, which was a mad thought in and of itself, he sheathedboth of the swords and placed them back in their bag.

He turned around and noticed Arya had her hands on her hips and a quirked eyebrow "And where did you get twovalyrianswords from Jon?" She asked. He had to chuckle, it felt like she was trying to tell him off.

"Not justanyvalyrianswords Arya, those are the ancestral swords of House Targaryen and House ." He announced as Arya's hands fell from her hips and her eyes went even wider than before.

"...How?!" She exclaimed, a look of disbelief on her face. He just walked up to her and placed his arm across her shoulders.

"That'sa story for another time. I thinkit'sabout time we goand break our fast, I could eat a small horse." He said as heledthem out of his room."And then after, we'll have to have a little trip to seeMikken." He finished.

All her heard was a'Yes'as his little sister darted down the hallway, he shook his head and smiled as he closed his door behind him.

He started following her but noticed that she'd stopped at the door to theoutside "IfI get to the great hall first, you have to spar with me later!" She shouted towards him, leaving him high and dry as she bolted out of the door.

He just smiled as he sped up his walk.

He'd missed this.

Catelyn

No.

This wasn't happening.

She refused tobelievethat this was happening.

Her family had just gotten over the loss, they were moving on with their lives, moving on from the ordealthatboy had bestowed upon them. She just couldn't understand the sheer audacity of him to just turn up out of the blue and disrupt her family to the core.

He'd made his intensions clear, that he was leaving to live his own life, to discover himself, he'd said so in his letter to her couldn't for the life of her understand why he'd decided to turn up again like nothing had happened.

She huffed as she made her way to Ned's solar, he'd rebuffed any sort of conversation about the bastard yesterday but she wouldn't be denied the right today.

She didn't even bother knocking as she got to the door, Jory looked like he wanted toannounceher but she wasn't interested, she'd come here for answers.

Ned looked up from whatever it was that he was looking at from behind his desk "Cat! What's themean..."

"We need to talk." She said as she closed the door behind her, catching a glimpse of anuncomfortablelooking Jory before it closed.

He sighed as she walked towards his desk and took a seat "If this is about J..."

She cut him off yet again "Of course this is about the bastard..."

"Catelyn..." He said in a low tone "I'vewarned you before aboutreferringhim like that..."

"I don't care anymore Ned. He's not staying here so I don't see how that is even important right now. What is important is what we are to do with this situation." She said with determination. She was getting a result from this conversation, she had to.

She could practically hear him grinding his teeth "What do you mean he's not staying here?" He asked.

"Exactly what I said, he's not staying here, end of conversation. The real conversationis what we could do to help him on his way,it'sclear that he's been struggling out there these past few years and has obviously returned behind the safe walls of Winterfell becauseit'sbecome too much for him." She said.

Ned looked at her like she'd grown a second head "...what?" He said.

She just shook her head "Don'tbe silly Ned, even you must see how obvious it is that he'smade a huge miscalculation of hisown worth and has reluctantly turned back to you for help. We owe it to him to at least help him find his feet." She said.

It was Ned's turn to shake his head as he looked at her oddly "We owe it to him?Youdon't owe him anything, you've made that quite clear in the 'swith the change of heart?" He asked.

She looked down at her skirts and brushed her hands across them "Answer me this my lord, would you consider me a religious woman?" She asked.

Now he really looked confused "I'm not sure what this ha..."

"Just answer the question please." Sheinterrupted.

He sighed "Isuppose Icouldconsider you a religious person yes, but I still don't see how this has anything to do with the current topic ofconversationwearehaving." he replied.

It was her turn to sigh as she looked up at him "I pray to the seven on a daily basis my lord, I pray for many reasons, for the safety of you and our children mostly. And the gods have answeredmyprayers on manyoccasion, so I deemed it necessary, in the name of the seven, toforgive a motherless child, forgive him for his sins and to lead him onto a path of redemption." She answered.

Ned scoffed and shook his head "I knew it was too good to be true, you justcan'thelpyourself,can you?" He said annoyingly.

She shook her head and pleaded with him "You wound me Ned, I'm trying to be the bigger person in this situation.I'mtrying to help the boy not hurt him, whycan'tyou see that?" She pleaded with him.

He just looked at her "Okay, I'll bite, how do we'help'Jon out hmm? Not that he seems to need the help but still." He asked as he folded his arms.

This was it, she just needed to sell it right "We give him something to be proud of, a duty that he could take pride in. Wecan'tgive him a purpose, he made that clear when he left Winterfell all those years ago, no,we have to pointhim inthe right direction, give him the ability to make something of himself, the ability to be his own man. He'll loveyou even morefor coming up with this idea for him, trust me." She said, she almost convinced herself of her own plan.

Almost.

She didn't care if the bastard found the light or made use of his life for once, she just wanted him gone, never to return.

Her husband was sceptical before but now, leaning back in his chair and stroking his stubble, he looked almost convinced.

"It is an interesting idea I suppose, give him the tools to achieve what hewanted to achieve when he decided to leave home. That way, he'll realise that I have beenlistening to him and I do respect his wishes and choices." He said to himself. She didn't know what he was really talking about but at this point she didn't really care, she just wanted his blessing. "It might also keep him busy for the foreseeable future, keep him distracted." He finished, he looked like he was in his own world as he stared off into nothingness.

She managed a smile and nodded at him "I think he'll really appreciate whatyou'retrying to do for him, instead of giving him a life, your letting him earn it himself, like he wanted to in the first place. He'll respect you for giving him that." She said. She could feel the tide turning, he was actually going along with it.

He started nodding to himself "Okay."

She blinked, he agreed with her? Was it really going to be this easy to get rid of that boy?

She nodded herself and smiled "It'sthe right thing to do Ned, for all of us, you'll see." She said.

"I hope so." He replied.

He clapped his hands, making her jump "Right, since it was your idea, have you got any suggestions on how we proceed?" He asked. He seemed determined which was good for her since the next words to come out of her mouth would be the final step to her plan.

"I have had oneideabut I'm not sure how you'll receive it. You might not like it but it would be the best for Jon and ultimately, that's what all this is for, remember." She said.

He took a deep breath "Okay, hit me with it." He said, preparing himself for her next words.

"Let him join the Night's Watch with his UncleBenjen." She said. Mentioning his brother in an attempt to ease the impact of her sentence.

It didn't work.

His eyes closed and his head dropped, she was losing momentum.

"The Night's Watch is anesteemedorder,a place where any nobody can become somebody, something Jon has clearly been trying to achieve. Plus, his uncle is there as well,it'snot likeit'sgoing to be some lonely life living up there. He can still visit Winterfell whenever he's allowed, I'm sure the children will appreciate those visits." She pleaded. She left the last part in begrudgingly, she wanted him gone forever but if the promise of sparse visits here and there was the price for him to be gone, well, we all had to make sacrifices at some point in life.

"...get out." He said, almost growling at her.

She shook her head "What?" She said.

He looked at her with suchdisgust that she had to straighten her spine as to not cower under his gaze "I said, Get. Out." He said.

She raised her chin at him, she was so close to getting her way that she wouldn't be giving up that easily "And whywould I do that? We are finally gettingsomewher..."

He stood up from hischair and pointed at the door "ISAID GET OUT!" He shouted.

She wasn'tgonnaget anywhere with him being like this, she'd made good progress today but had obviously gotten too greedy in her attempts at finalise her plan. It had taken a hit but it would recover, and when he'd calmed down, she'd be having this chat with him again.

She cut her losses as she stood up and curtsied "As you wish my lord." She managed to get out.

Jory gave her a worried look when she exited the room, she barely gave him a second glance as she made her way down the hall. The sound of glass shattering coming from herhusband'ssolar was the last thing she heard as she made her way to break her fast with her children.

Let'shope the bastard is still in bed.

Elia

The afternoon sunbeameddown on her and her little friend as they sat on a bench in the royal gardens. She always felt at peace whenever she was sat in the warmth of it, made sense with her being a Martell and all. It would seem her guest enjoyed the sunshine as well.

SerOswelland Ser Barristan were on duty, currently protecting the Queen and her littlePrincess.

"Bab!"

She smiled as she looked down at her lap where she held her granddaughter, littleAlysannehad a small white sundress on with a little matching hat, and she was currently pointing at all the different flowers on display in front of them.

"What'sthat sweetie?" She asked her precious.

Alysannelooked up ather whilst still pointing towards the flower bed "Bab!" She said.

Elia smiled at her, she was an intrigued little girl, even at such a young age. She was alsogonnabe trouble when she was a little older, she was still young but already had a vocabulary of two entire words. One being 'Bab', which she said whenever she pointed at anything and the other being 'No', which was slowly becominga problemfor her mother.

She had to laugh when she offered to look afterAlysannefor a few hours, poorMargaerylooked like she'd been offered the world when she'd been 'snot thatAlysannewas a difficult child, it's the fact that Margaery was new to the whole motherhood aspect of being a wife and was clearly in need of a little break, a break Elia was all too happy to give her. Especially if it meant spending time with herfavouritelittle person in the whole wide world.

Had nothing to do with wanting to hold a little baby girl in her arms again.

She was broken from her sad thoughts asAlysannegripped her forearm and pointed at Ser Barristan, who was currently walking towards her with a smile on his old friendly face.

"Bab!"Alysannechirped as she pointed at Ser Barristan.

The veteranKingsguardchuckled as he approached them "My Queen, princess." He said as he knelled in front of them.

"No."Alysannesaid before she could even open her mouth. She smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders "Apparently not Ser Barristan, the Princess has spoken." She said amusingly. She held out a hand and motioned for him to stand.

He laughed as he stood back up "It would seem I have been misunderstood all along." He said. She looked down atAlysannewho was currently blowingraspberrieswith her mouth and fiddling with one of the rings on her finger, the one with the ruby thatRhaegarhad gifted to her for one of her past name days.

She looked back up at the knight "What can I do for you Ser Barristan?" She asked, bobbing one of her legs asAlysannestarted to become a little restless. She'd been trying to climb down and crawl in the flower bed ever sincethey'd sat down.

He cleared histhroat as he looked down at the little Princess "Your nephew, PrinceQuentynrequests an audience with you, your grace. He's just at theentranceto the gardens." He said.

Interesting.

She nodded "Ifyou would Ser Barristan, tell my nephew I would be delighted if he joined me and the little Princesshere on this fine afternoon." She said as the old Ser nodded inaffirmationand went to go and get her nephew.

"I wonder what he wants." She said, mainly to herself.

"Bab!"Alysannereplied.

She looked into the distance where Ser Barristan had just rounded a corner out of view "Babindeed, little one." She 'sanswer was to just bounce up and down where she sat.

She huffed as shereadjustedher grip on the little rascal "Slow downsweetie, I'm not a pony." She looked up at her and gave her a gummy smile, carrying on with pretending her lap was a horse.

"Your grace." She heard as she turnedherhead, her nephew was stood looking at the two of them with a bemused look on his face.

She patted the space next to her on the bench "Quentyn, please sit." She said as he took a seat next to stopped bouncing on her lap, thank the gods, and was currently staring atQuentynlike she didn't know what to make of him.

QuentyngaveAlysanneone of the most forced smiles she'd ever seen and went to shake her little hand. Unfortunately for her nephew,Alysannehad other ideas and snatched her hand away before he could even reach it.

"No!" She exclaimed.

Quentynlooked up at her like he didn't know what to do "Don'tworry about her, she's in one of those moods. Think she might be getting hungry that's all." She only just recently been fed, just before Margaery handed her over but she didn't wantQuentynto feel bad.

"Oh, that's alright." He said. "I love babies and all their little charms." He finished as he smiled down at the little girl.

She narrowed her eyes "Since when?" She smell a fish and wasn't best pleased that it was a family member trying to play games with her.

He wasn't fooling anybody.

His smilefalteredwhen he looked ather "What do you mean?I'vealways adored babies." He said.

She just hummed as she started rockingAlysanneon her lap again.

"Ser Barristan said you wanted to see me for something..." She said as she looked at him.

Her nephew seemed to prepare himself before saying whatever itwashe was about to say, he cleared his throat and looked her dead in the eyes "I was hoping you could help me?" He said before he looked down at his lap.

Now she wasreallysuspicious,Quentynhad never asked her for help involving anything, it was always her two brothers or even his sister that were asked before her.

She humoured him by nodding, she was still a little bit intrigued as to what he wanted help with in the first place "Go on." She said asAlysannefinally calmed down on her lap.

He sat up andlooked at her"I came to the capital with PrinceViserysnot only to see you and my cousins, but to give you a warning." He said ominously.

She looked at him in confusion, now she was really lost. Her hold onAlysannebecame more secure as she checked to see where her twoKingsguardwere in her peripheral vision.

Quentynwon'thurt us, he's notthatstupid. And Doran would disown him in a second.

"A warning? And what prey tellisthis warning, dear nephew." She said a little shortly.

He sighed "Its father, he's beyond upset, he's angry and he's losing his patience."Quentynsaid.

She scoffed "I find that hard to believe. Your father is one of the tamest men I've ever known. Are you sure you've not gotten him mixed up with your uncleOberyn?" She asked.

He looked a little annoyed by her reply "No, Ihaven't. UncleOberynisn'tthe one getting it in the neck by the residents ofSunspear, my father is." He said.

She arched an eyebrow at him "I fail to see how this has anything todo with meand thisso calledwarning. Your father is a capable man, any problems orgripes his people have will be resolved in time." She replied.

He shook his head and got closer to her as he lowered his voice "Arianne hasbeen complaining to him as well,it'sabout PrinceViserys." He said in anonspiritualtone.

She rolled her eyes, of course it had something to do with that man child. She felt so sorry for her niece, having to put up withthatfor the rest of her days. Her andRhaegarhad had a little falling out when that betrothal wasannounced.

"And what has he done now?" She asked, her nephew looking a littleuncomfortable.

"He's out of control. He's beenharassinganybody and everybody inSunspearwithout a single ounce of remorse. He walks around like he owns the place even though my sister is technically the one in chargewhilstfather is at the Water Gardens. The people want blood but my fatherhasto protect him from them. Ifanythingweretohappen toViserys,it could kickstart a war between Dorne and the Crown. Father wants to avoid that." He finished.

Her brow scrunched in confusion, the spider, Lord Varys wasn't the only person in the capital with their own personal line of spies,Rhaellahad a few of them herself. A few of them she had planted inSunspearwith the sole purpose of keeping an eye on her son while she couldn't. She got monthly reports onViserys, to make sure he wasn't going the way of his father.

IfViseryswas causing trouble inSunspear, his mother would know and do something about it. The only things those reports ever said were that he was rude toservants, cold to his wife and in general, miserable living there.

Sosomebody was trying to pull a fast one here.

She was beyond annoyed, but was rather interested in what he actually got out of all this so played along with him.

"What does my brother suggest?" She asked asAlysannestarted to babble.

He cleared his throat "He thinksViserysis being the way he is because he fells isolated, he misses his family." He said as he attempted to look sad at that notion.

It took all of her willpower not to burst out laughing,Viseryscouldn't give a shit about his family. The only family member he showed an ounce of respect to was his mother and even that was very little.

She decided to play along though, she would have to send Doran a raven to see what in the world his son was playing at. "I suppose it makes sense then that he came to the capital, he just missed us all." She said.

His eyes widened as he nodded his head " , father thinks the visit will do very little to change his ways and that he needsa family member inSunspearwith him, someone to calm him down." He said.

All the bits were fitting into place for her, another Targaryen inSunspear. Shecouldn'tpossibly guess who her unmarried nephew was about to suggest move there.

She decided to play with him some more.

"Somebody to calm him down." She said as she tapped her chin "Ooo, I know. The Dowager Queen would be delighted with a little trip to Dorne, in fact, we'll go see her now and you can ask her yourself." She said.

Quentyneyes widened, it was no secret to anybody how fearsomeRhaellahad become after going through what she had all her life. The woman was likevalyriansteel now, beautiful but incredibly dangerous.

"Nono, I...fatherwasn't suggesting QueenRhaella, no, he'd come up with a solution to all of this whilst alsostrengtheningDorne's ties with the Crown." He said frantically.

So predictable.

Doran willdefinitelybe getting a raven now.

"And what suggestion has my brother come up withdearnephew." She said asAlysannesat still on her lap again, a lap that was slowly getting warm.

You pick your times you littlemadam.

He took a deep breath and looked ather, she'd have found it amusing if he wasn'tlyingto her face and she wasn'tcurrently being shat on by a baby "Abetrothal, between Dorne and the Crown. He suggests a marriage between Princess Daenerys and me." He said.

"Of coursehe does."She said under her breath as she stood up, desperate to get out of here to change miss stinky who was currently giggling.

Quentynstood with her "Are you alright aunt?" He asked.

She nodded her head but refused to look at the boy, she wastooangry for that "YesI'mfine, the little Princesshere needs changing that's all. You'll have to excuseme."She said as she started to walk away from him.

"Sowas that a yes?" He shouted at her as she reached Ser Barristan.

She rolled her eyes and turned around "I'msorry?" She asked.

"To the betrothal. Father would be beyond pleased for this tobe resolved so quickly." He said. She ground her teeth at his shameless attempt atmanipulatingher.

"I'll have a word with the King. See what I can do." She said.

She had no plans to talk about this to anybody but Doran.

He seemed to relax as a smile crept on his face "Thank you, your Grace." He said. She nodded her head and headed off back towards the keep.

Don't thank me too early boy, this could very easily turn sour for you.

"Bad!"Alysannesaid as they walked along. She looked down and smiled.

"Yesclever girl, he wasbad,wasn't he?" She cooed.

Alysannejust started laughing.

Ned

He'd not seen Jon all day, well, apart from this afternoon when he spotted him, Rickonand Arya sparing in thegodswood. He'd gone there to prey but changed his mind when he saw them. He'd told himself that he didn't want to disturb them.

That was partially true, he'd not seen Aryaand Ricksmile like that in years. However, as much as he tried to deny it, he just couldn't.

He was avoiding Jon. In the hopes of avoiding the talk he was dreading. And he'd managed to avoid it all day.

It was currently the hour of the wolf, the black of the night sky cast the whole of Winterfell in darkness. The air was cool and all that could be heard were his own footsteps.

Everybody was in bed, all the children had gone soon after supper along with Cat who was still sleeping in a separate room to him, the argument they'd had this morning had done nothing to help fix that.

Jon hadn't been at supper which had shamefully made him thankful, he'd asked Robb where he was and was told that he'd headed out into theWolfswoodfor some alone time.

Even when avoiding him he was still wary about him disappearing again. Arya had seen the worry on his face and affirmed to him that Jon would be back.

He wished he had hisdaughter'sconfidence right about now.

He cupped his hands and blew his hot breath into them, the night hadtooka chilly turn as he walked towards his solar. He nodded at the guard who was on watch at the time.

"Has anyone been to see me?" He asked.

The guard straightened as he answered "No mi Lord, it's been everyone's asleep mi Lord." The guard said as Ned nodded and walked towards his solar door.

Heshoulderedthe old wooden door to his private solar as he proceeded to unfasten his cloak. The room was in total darkness, completely pitch black. The servants had obviously forgotten to light any candles, he'd have to have a word with Vayon about thattomorrow.

He fumbled around the room, looking for the hook to hang his cloak on whilst squinting his eyes in concentration. He managed to find the hook and placed his furs on it before working on finding the flintandsteel near the fireplace to light the candles himself.

He jumped out of his skin as the sound of steel striking flint resonated through the darkness. His eyes jolted towards the direction the noise came from as he saw Jon sat at his desk, striking sparks into a char cloth tin and lighting a candle with it.

"Looking for this?" Jon said as he held the flint and steel in one hand and a candle in the other. He placed the candle in its holder and tossed the flint and steel across the desk, the noise of the impact making him jump.

His heart rate calmed down as he came to grips with thesituationhe'd found himself in "Seven hells Jon! Are youtryinto kill me?" He asked as he grabbed the candle from the holder and worked it around the room, lighting all the candles he could see.

Not at all stalling what he deemed inevitable at this point.

He returned to the desk and placed the candle back where it camefrom, Jon was currently sat in his chair and seemed to make no effort in moving from his spot "What are you doing sneaking around at this ungodly hour?" He asked as he moved towards the side cabinet to pour himself some ale. "In fact, how did you get in? The guards said nobody had been." He finished, confused.

He turned and looked at Jon, catching the shrug of his shoulders "Not important." He said as he leaned back inhischair and folded his arms. He was already indefencemode.

He shook his head and sighed as he leant against the cabinet "I wish you wouldn't do that." He said as he took a sip of his ale.

"Do what?" Jon replied. Closing his eyes and slowly rolling his neck in a circle.

"Playing my questions off as not being important." He said.

Jon's eyes opened at that as he stopped with his neck rolling "Compared to the reason why I'm here, itreallyisn'tthat important." He replied.

"I beg to differ, I thinkyo..."

"Go on then." Joninterrupted.

His brow scrunched up in confusion "What? Go on then?" He asked.

"Go on..." He said as he nodded to the ground "...beg." Jon finished.

His nostrils flared in anger, he could hear the air leave it as he took in his words.

"I'mnot going to do that." He almost growled out. Jon just sat there with a passive face, he looked so uninterested in his response.

He was shocked out of his thoughts as Jon slammed both of his hands on the desk "Right, I think it's time we hadthatlittle chat, don't you?" He said as he rubbed his hands together. He was enjoying this.

He sighed as he sat in the chair opposite him, he was trying to delay but it seemed that his actions were for nought "Aye,let'shave a chat." He said.

Jon leant forward in his chair "I think we should start with the bigquestion,don't you?" He said as his glare intensified. The walls felt like they were closing in as he realised there was only one way out of his current situation.

He placed his mug of ale on the desk and looked at Jon, really looked at him. His sister's eyes stared back at Ned as Jon waited for him to speak. He wasn't proud of what he was about to do butitwas necessary for the safety of his family.

He just hoped one day he would be forgiven.

He cleared his throat "I'll start from the beginning if that would please you?" He asked. Jon just nodded as he leant back in his chair.

"It all started atHarrenhal, more specifically, the tourney ofHarrenhal. That's where I met her, your mother." He said. Something flashed across Jon's eyes but it was gone as quick as it came.

"When I first sawher,she took my breath away. Everything about her was otherworldly, from her hair to her eyes, beauty me, I wasn't the only person whose head she had turned." He said.

"What's her name?" Jon said. He couldn't tell him just yet, he had to sell the lie the best he could.

"Please Jon, I'll get to it I promise, just...let me finish okay?" He said. Jon looked at him for a few seconds before nodding.

"She had so manyadmirersthat all hope seemed lost for me, I wasquiet,sullen and a second son. A bit likeyouused to be in a way." He japed as he chuckled. By the look on Jon's face, hedidn'tfind it very funny.

"Anyways, it seemed like a wasted endeavour,I'd resigned myself to just looking at her from a distance and just settling for that. That's until your uncle Brandon caught me staring at her during a feast." He chuckled "Your uncle Brandon was a loose cannon and when he had a plan, he always found a way of making it work." He said.

"Not always." Jon replied, striking him right in the heart in the process. Jon's facehadn'tchanged from the glare he'd been sending his way ever since he started his story.

He sighed as he looked down "No, not always." He said, the rest ofthatincident going him think, how would Brandon have dealt with Jon if he were still alive?

"...he caught you staring...then what?" Jon asked, breaking him from his sad thoughts.

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he continued "He thought it would be a good idea to go over to her and ask if she would dance with me, all without telling me what he wasgonnasay in the first place. When he returned to his seat and told me, I was mortified. What was even shocking was the fact that she said yes." He exclaimed.

Jon's eyes seemed to be growing softer as he went on, like he was losing himself in his story.

He took a swig of his ale "So, we ended up sharing a dance...and that's when I was truly lost. I was nervous as hell as we moved around the room, I even stepped on her toes a few times but she didn't seem to mind, it was hard to look into her eyes asitwas so easy to get lost inthem. At one point, I was that mesmerised by them, she had to wave her hand in front of my faceto bring me back to the real world. I was mortified but she just laughed it off, that's what she was like, she was so considerate and understanding." He said.

Jon looked towards the window "She sounds lovely." He said.

He nodded "She was." He replied. "Over the next fewdays, wespent every minute of spare time that we had with each other and I couldn't have been any happier if I tried. I was living a dream, living a life that didn't seem real at that moment, a life that I found out she wanted to share with me." He said. It stillgenuinelyhurt that he couldn't live that life that he wanted.

Jon's eyes shot up from where he was staring out the window "Share with you...as in marry?" He said. There was an edge to his tone that he couldn't decipher.

He nodded "If the rebellionhadn'thappened,she would have been my wife. We planned to marry soon after we...we..."

"You what?" Jon asked. Eyes devoid of softness they carried only a few moments ago.

He sighed "Weconsummatedour love and agreed to marry, we justneeded we could evenask,Rhaegarwas crowning the wrong person after winning the joust andwe were beingseparated, I was returning to the Vale and she was returning south." He said.

The mug in Jon's hand creaked, he'd not realised that he'd taken it from his side of the desk "So what you are saying is that all of this isRhaegarTargaryen's fault?" He growled out. In a twisted way, he felt relieved that he wasn't taking the brunt of the blame. He would later find out that Jon's anger wasn't aimed at the King of the Seven Kingdoms.

He fiddled with his thumb and forefinger, a nervous twitch some might call it "Yes and no,it'snot all hi..."

"What'sher name Lord Stark?" Joninterrupted. He was disturbed by what he was seeing, Jon was almost vibrating from where he sat.

"If you let me finish myst..."

"What. Is. My. Mother's. Name?" Jon growled out, his tone sending shivers through his spine as he looked into his eyes. Molten silver swimming with emotion, clawing for a release.

He gulped, there was no going back with what he said next.

"Ashara. Your mother's name isAshara." He breathed out.

There was silence for at least half a minute as the grip on the mug in Jon's hand creaked with added pressure.

Jon cleared his throat as he looked towards the window again "Dayne?AsharaDayne?" He asked.

He just nodded but realised Jon wasn't looking at him so replied "Yes."

Jon sat there and slowly nodded, his face was a picture of emotion, he couldn't tell if it was grief or relief from what he'd been told.

They sat there for a whole minute in silence, Jon was obviously trying to take in the information he'djus...

The mug in Jon's hand was launched across the room, narrowly missing his head, specks of ale flying from it and spraying his face as the mug impacted with the wall behind him, cracking into numerous pieces as it landed on the floor.

He turned back around towards Jon whenhe heard the sound of a chair being pushed back, he didn't realise what was happening until Jon had him hauled out of his chair and pressed against the wood cabinet on the left side of the room. The pressure on his chest was immense as Jon held him there, he could practically feel the heat off of him as a crazed look took over his face, a look he would pay to never see again.

"Why are you lying?!" He spat out as the grip on his gambeson became tighter, Jon's hands were awfully close to his throat that genuine worry for his ownwellbeingslowly leaked into is system.

He shook his head as he gasped out "I'm not lying, I loved your mo..."

"LIAR!" Jon screamed into his face, he closed his eyes in fear as Jon's right hand released from its grip on him and morphed into a fist. The impact ofithitting the cabinet behind him making all the colour in his face drain out when he hears a crack and the rattlingofthe contents inside the piece of furniture.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked to his left where Jon's fist had just been, a broken crater of splinters and shards of wood left in the door to his cabinet.

The grip of his right hand returned to his gambeson as Jon hunched over and looked down at the floor, his raven curls covering his face from his view.

This had gone so wrong, how had it gone so wrong?

"Why? Why do you keep lying to me?" Jon said, barely audible. It sounded like he was asking himself that question.

He was released from Jon's tight grip as his son moved around the room, wandered he would describe it. Not once did he look at Ned as he muttered to himself.

"Jon...Itsnot a lie...I still love yourmothe..."

The chair in front of Jon was picked up and hurled across the room, breaking against the wall behind his desk and sending papers flying. Jon walked to the window and gripped the windowsill, still refusing to look at him.

He had to gain some sort of control back from the situation, he was the warden of the North not some child being told off "Can we just sit and talk about this...maybe leave out youbreaking all this furniture?" He asked as he made his way towards his desk.

"I either break the furniture or a Ibreak you. Your choice." Jon growled out, still staring out the window.

He gulped at that.

Minutes passed with nothing said, the only noises that could be heard were Ned's attempts at cleaning up the wooden shrapnel scattered behind his desk.

"I knowyou'relying, youknowthat right?" Jon said as he still refused to look at him.

He shook hishead,hecouldn't know that...right? Unless...oh gods...

His fears were confirmed when Jon spoke again "I've metAsharaDayne. I've met this woman you claimto bemy mother."He said as he finally turned around. He looked angry and tired as he glared at him.

"Funny story,she has no recollection of me. She doesn't even remember birthing me. Might have something to do with her not actually being my mother!" He said, looking like he wanted to break something again. "SoI'll ask you again...who is my mother?" He finished.

He couldn't, he just couldn't tell him. It was too dangerous andunfortunatelyfor him, he wasshitout of luck and excuses.

Sohe just stood there, silent. As the rage and anger built and built in Jon's face.

"WELL!?" Hebellowedout as he walked towards him. He mentally prepared himself for what was about to happen because deep down, he knew it was about to happen. And inthe end, hedefinitelydeserved it.

He shook his head as Jon advanced "Ican't, I'm sorry." He said, ready and waiting.

"So am I." His son said as heswung.

The Darkness awelcome respite from his problems.