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Chapter 11: Pack
Hope you all enjoy, feel free tae comment as always!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Davos
There was an air of excitement within the Northern Host; to reach Winterfell and for Rickon Stark to be reunited with his brother, Jon Snow, the man that had taken the North back. Davos could see that happiness on Rickon's face. Even if the lad kept calling Jon his father. It saddened him every time he heard the boy make the mistake when speaking with Osha, the Stark bannermen and the women that had been freed from the Dreadfort. The eldest of those hostages had been a help, telling the lad tales of Jon in his youth. He'd heard more than a few that had made the lad smile, of how the boy and Jon would be the Starks of Winterfell again.
Davos was anxious to reach Winterfell for different reasons. His King had died in battle before the Starks could reclaim the North. For all that Davos had succeeded in finding Rickon Stark, he wasn't quick enough to secure Stannis' survival.I've failed him like my eldest sons.Stannis' death had brought questions too. Cotter Pyke knew little when he'd told him, having only read a brief statement from Jon in his missive stating that Stannis was dead. Davos didn't know anything about his son, Devan.He can't have died with Stannis.It hurt to think that he might have doomed another of his sons for committing to Stannis Baratheon.
And the princess.It would also kill him if Shireen had died with her father. Davos had cared for the girl a long time. She'd always been smart and sweet. He didn't know whether the Princess Shireen lived either, now Queen Shireen, the only trueborn Baratheon left. Davos knew Stannis would have expected his hand to support Shireen's right as the Hand of the King.And I would, she has the makings of a great Queen, good and kind, smart and brave for all she's lived through.But Davos knew it would commit her to death now that Stannis was gone. Very little support from the Stormlands, the fact that she was a woman and a one marred with Greyscale on her cheek meant that she had no true support besides himself. And the March with Rickon's host of Northern houses of the mainland and the Skagosi houses, numbering six thousand strong, had proven that she would not have the North either.We know no King but the King in the North whose name is Stark.Davos had heard that more than enough in the taking of the Dreadfort and in its aftermath. The Northmen were all set to declare Jon as the King in the North, and Rickon as his Prince and heir. If Shireen lived, Davos doubted she would have their support.If she lives, I promise I will protect her, I can do that,Davos had vowed to himself as they rode closer to the great walls of Winterfell, Stark banners flying on them.
"It's good to be home, free of squids and flayers!"
Old Nan said with a smile as they entered through the gates, leading Beth Cassel and what few women with her. He heard a few of the Skagosi and Flints laugh with her. She was the most upbeat of the women that they had found in the cells of the Dreadfort. The one they said had driven the men of the Dreadfort mad with her constant berating of them. The woman had only given a toothless grin at their words when that had been said one night.
Davos could only nod as he watched Rickon move faster with that massive wolf of his beside him. The thing had been a savage at the Dreadfort, and he'd heard that his brother had one too.I wonder what the two wolves would be able to accomplish together.He was soon to get an answer as he entered the courtyard, seeing a small group waiting, with a dark-haired man and a blonde woman standing at the front. And a White wolf with blood red eyes by the man's side. Davos was shocked,The Wolf's bigger than Rickon's and that's the size of a small horse.Davos watched in silence, as did the courtyard as the White Wolf and ShaggyDog both moved slowly forward, leaving their masters, circling each other.
Old Nan whispered to him,"The two are assessing whose head of the Pack. I once saw Edwyle Stark do the same with his brother."
Davos barely heard that as he watched Rickon's wolf give a snarl and a rabid shout. The White wolf looked unimpressed, giving a howl louder than anything he'd ever heard, louder than any storm. Rickon's wolf stared at the White Wolf for a second, then lay on its belly and wagged its tail. The giant White wolf approached, gave a sniff, then a lick on the top of its head. Both wolves wagged their tails and howled into the courtyard, then ran off, playing with each other. Davos was stunned. Old Nan simply smiled.
"They know they're pack, brothers from birth until the end. And Shaggy knows who leads them."
Davos wordlessly nodded as he turned his attention back to the wolves' masters. He didn't know much about Jon but from the way he looked and held himself, he could see how the lad had beaten back the Boltons.He looks ready for war.That didn't matter to Rickon. Rickon had bolted towards Jon with a cry.
"Da! Jon!"
He watched as Jon, who was dressed for battle, crouch down as the lad engulfed him in a hug. Davos could hear the child sobbing. He wondered when the last time the child had cried, he'd been too hardened for an eight-year-old in Davos' eyes. He hadn't expected tears.Maybe the lad had cried from the nightmare he had told when we first met.Davos watched as Rickon sobbed in Jon's arms for a long time, before calming himself to give pained words.
"I thought you were dead! I watched it in my dreams!"
Jon broke the hug, giving his brother a smile.
"I had thought you were dead too Rickon, I'm glad we're both wrong." Jon replied with the deep Northern accent.
The two hugged again for a moment, the courtyard watching. It ended with the two finally standing, Rickon with a tearful smile and Jon with a grin.The Skagosi will like him, that grin would be natural on that island.Davos waited as he watched the chiefs from Skagos, the Lockes and Flints and the hostages from the Dreadfort speak with Jon. He could see them all measure him up, then nod approvingly as they were offered guest rights into Winterfell. None of them kneeled, though Davos could see the respect they had for the man they were greeting.A rare thing for a bastard to get such respect from Lord,Davos thought as he watched them greet him.None of them Skagosi called him Lord, simply calling himThe Jon.Davos was the last one to approach, after the rest gradually left. Only the blonde woman and Rickon were left standing with him; Rickon clinging to Jon's side.
"The Jon." Davos said, unsure on what way to address him properly.
Jon looked at him and gave him a grin, offering his hand, "Lord Manderly and the Lords you've been travelling with have told me about you Ser Davos. Know you and House Seaworth will always be welcome at Winterfell and in the North!"
Davos took the hand, Jon gripped his arm firmly. "I was doing my duty."
Jon nodded at him becoming more serious, "Aye, I know, doing your duty for King Stannis."
Not a cold comment, just a statement of fact.
"And now he is dead. I was hoping to find out what's become of his family, and my son if they still live. Last, I had heard the Queen was at the wall. My son… he was Stannis' squire." Davos said, almost a nervous ramble.
Jon nodded. "The Queen and her Red Witch are dead Ser Davos. I killed them myself for trying to burn the Princess Shireen. They wanted to sacrifice her to revive Stannis. Her soldiers have taken the black for allowing it."
Davos felt himself hold his breath as he listened to Jon speak of the event, a snarl in his voice like those wolves.Burnt alive by her own mother?
"The Princess Shireen lives, we managed to get there before the flames reached the pyre. She's not long arrived at Winterfell with your son, Devan. A loyal lad."
Davos felt his body unclench at the words and relief fill his face. "They both live."
Jon gave him that almost savage grin, "Aye, and both well. I'll have someone take you to their guest quarters. Much like yourself, they'll always be welcome in the North."
"Thank you" was all Davos could say to the man, the knowledge that his son and Shireen lived was all he could think of. It was all he could think of as he was guided through Winterfell, straight to them.My luck hasn't run out just yet.
Jon
Being home in Winterfell was not a thing Jon expected to ever do again in his life. Feeling the warmth from the hot springs coursing through the walls. Walking in the Godswood, with the power of the Old Gods watching, ever-present. Being surrounded by Stark banners. The symbol of the North. It was Euphoric to be home, to have it no longer in the hands of squids and Flayed Fucks. Seeing all the Lords and Ladies of the North come to Winterfell in support of House Stark had made him grin. And having another member of the pack returned home had made it all the better; seeing his brother had brought him more joy than executing Bolton and his bastard had given him. Winterfell felt truly like home with one of his family returned, to have a part of the pack come back."Winterfell is ours."He had whispered to his brother as they had hugged in the Courtyard. Jon wouldn't let it fall out of Stark hands again. The North wouldn't fall into Southern hands. He had vowed it in his mind as he gutted the Boltons. And he would vow it again tonight at the first meeting of the banners when he showed them the bodies that had finally turned in the ice cells.
"Thinking about your kneelers again Jon?"
Val asked lightly with a smirk as she lay sprawled across the bed with him, her honey blonde hair flowing over her bare hips. She was stunning. Jon couldn't help but look at her with lust filled eyes, roaming down her body as he lay beside her.I'm a wolf in heat.They'd been rutting like wolves since they'd taken back Winterfell, taking each other in the Lord's chamber. Jon wasn't sure who had managed to steal the other in the end. All he knew was it had ended with her riding him and his tongue. For Val, that seemed to be an indication that she'd stolen him. He thought otherwise every time she bucked her hips to him with her pupils dilating, filling the room and the halls of Winterfell as they grunted and screamed. Honestly, Jon didn't care who had truly done the stealing; he was content, happy…alive.
Jon grinned at her as he placed his hand on her thigh, brushing it. He brought his grey eyes towards her blue and spoke almost lazily.
"A little, more that I'm hoping Tormund won't do anything too brash at this."
Val kept smirking, moving her eyes between him and his hand. "I'm sure the infamous she-bear will keep him in check."
Jon couldn't help but laugh at that. The stories of Shelia the bear had turned out to be an embellishment of the truth, having lain with the Lady of Bear Island in his past. And had become one of the answers to how Mormont women had children. Jon doubted that Maege's youngest, Lyanna, would be pleased at the revelation that the bear who fathered her was the definition of a wildling.
"Aye, I doubt he'll want to displease her if he wants to warm her bed again."
Val brought her head back onto the pillow as she gave a full laugh. Jon laughed with her as he watched her hair shift to the side, showing her full cleavage rise with her chest.
"I wonder how the kneelers we haven't fought beside think about us all." She said lightly as they calmed down. He still had his hand on her thigh, moving ever further to her centre.
Jon might have worried about that once. But he'd seen them all mingle on the march and at Winterfell, each testing each other's mettle as each of the Lords arrived. They were the blood of the First Men and it showed.And if any don't, they will, Winter is Coming and I won't have the blood of the First Men divided.
Jon shook his head with a smile. "There won't be any problems. You're all blood of the First Men, of the North, just like them. Besides, there won't be any arguments when they see you at my side."
Val gave a flirtatious smile, "I look forward to seeing their faces when they see that their leader has been stolen by me."
Jon gave a lust filled grin, "I think they'll see it the other way around Val."
He didn't let her respond as he cupped her face and kissed her deeply, then slowly moving down to her teats and curves. Jon grinned as he made his way further down, enjoying her body and her growing moans.They'll know I've stolen you when they walk these halls as you scream in joy.
Davos
The Northern bannermen made a loud bunch in the Great Keep of Winterfell. The mix of Mainlanders, Free Folk and the Skagosi had made the occasion a raucous one. Davos wasn't sure whether the affair would have turned to bloodshed. He knew how they had all viewed each other. But it hadn't come to that amazingly. The fact that they were all blood of the first men seemed to prevent that, or it least resulted in fights being a way of testing each other as Northmen. Davos had seen the Locke, Flint and Hornwood troops do the same when they had met the Skagosi for the first time.
And that had worked out well in the end.
Davos thought with a smile as he sat with his son and Shireen, happy to be with the two despite the hardships they had all suffered.You might not have thought it the way Shireen speaks.Shireen had been happily teaching him and Devan all of the Sigils of the Northern Houses that were in the hall. Something they needed. They were the only three of the Baratheon party left, and the only ones from the South of the Neck in the room. It didn't seem to matter to anyone in the hall, Davos knew, much like them, knew that Shireen would not be making her claim. The Princess didn't particularly want to either."I'd rather not go South where everyone shunned my father. I only will if the realm requires it."Davos had smiled at the words. They weren't ones for debate, she had been very much like her Father in that moment. For now, the Princess Shireen and House Seaworth to be guests of the North, free to leave if they pleased, but the North was the safest, even with the threat that Stannis had been warned about was coming.
Davos continued drinking with his family as he listened to the Lords starting to argue about where to start fighting, whether it be the Freys at the Crossing, the Squids on the Iron Islands.
"They're out for blood." Shireen said quietly.
Davos could only agree with that. "Aye they are, you haven't seen them all fight. They've got a bloodlust on them for vengeance."
"Where do you think the North will strike first?" His son asked.
Shireen gave an answer, having clearly thought about it. "The Crossing. I would say there. It is the nearest to the North and with a large portion of their armies destroyed here, the Freys will be most vulnerable. And they have the most blood on their hands directly."
Davos couldn't help but smile, "The Red Wedding was a death sentence for House Frey. They just didn't know it."
Davos took a drink, watching the hall quieten as Jon stood from his seat at the head table, in response to Lords' argument. He'd spent most of the night speaking with any Lord or Lady that approached his table, recently though he had been speaking with a black brother. Davos could see that the Hall was completely silent.I can see why the Lords say he's a terror in the battlefield,Davos thought as he looked at Jon Snow. Once again, Rickon's brother,cousin in truth as the Lords all say, was dressed for battle; full Northern attire with stark colours, sword at the hip and knife at the leg, with a long face etched with a savagery to it, even in its serious form. The Northmen were all looking to the head table now, with Jon at the centre, Rickon to his right and Val, the wildling woman to his left. The two Direwolves were lounging by their side. Jon's voice was calm, but it projected across the walls.
"The Boltons betrayed us. They're dead. The Squids that infested the North are dead. The Freys that came North to take our lands are dead."
Davos watched the Lords and Ladies in the room clank their tankards at the words.
Jon's face turned to a snarl as he spoke. He heard the two Direwolves growl with him.
"And I know just like everyone one of you here that more blood needs to be spilled. Walder Frey and his crossing still stands, Pyke and the Squids still stand on their islands. And Cersei Lannister and her brood of incestuous Lannisters still live in King's Landing. We'll make them suffer."
Davos could hear the Lords getting riled up at the thought of the Lannisters.
"But not with the bulk of our forces. Winter is Coming, and the North must be prepared for it. I won't have us starve in Winter… I won't have the North fall to the Others."
A lot of the Free-Folk seemed to tense. Some of the Northern Lords were looking at him with a grimace. Others looked slightly confused at the final remark. Jon didn't give them time to respond, motioning for one of the guards to open the doorway. A piercing screech came as the door opened. The wolves were starting to growl. A group of ten black brothers had entered, some holding lit sconces and swords. The others, they were holding the chains of the three screeching corpses. Corpses that were trying to free themselves, trying to claw at anything and everyone. They were not of this world. The childhood stories of the Others were true.Dead men
It was a terrifying sight, seeing corpses of men, with a mix of visible bone and rotting skin, with bright blue eyes shining. They were a horrific sight as they tried to claw at them. The men and women in the hall looked at them grimly, some going pale, others not hiding their fear. Davos watched his son go white as a sheet. He placed his hand on the lad's shoulder. It wasn't much comfort in Davos' eyes, he was as terrified as everyone else in the hall. Davos turned back to Jon, he looked angry as he stared at the dead men.
Two of the brothers edged closer, bringing their sconces to one of them. It set alight and burned until it turned to ash. The two others were screeching.
"Take the other two back to the cells, keep them in the coldest part!" Jon bellowed.
The black brothers nodded, dragging the dead men back out of the hall, he could hear the screeching until the door shut. The hall was tense and silent, all staring at the ashen pile, then towards Jon. The Crowl was the first to speak.
"How many are there?" The Old Skagosi asked.
One of the Free Folk responded, "Enough to make us try and break through the wall."
Jon answered calmly,
"The brothers at the watch that survived at the Fist of the First Men said there were thousands of them. They weren't sure how much of their army even attacked them."
"Is fire how we kill them then?" Lord Manderly asked with a shaken voice.
Jon nodded, "Fire and hacking them to bits with our swords and axes kills the Wights. The things that command them though, only Dragon Glass is known to do it. Maybe Valyrian Steel if the records at the wall."
The hall started grumbling at that. Shireen leaned in to them. "Father had been sending Obsidian to the wall from Dragon Stone when he was told by Jon. It only comes from volcanic areas."
"Skagos will have some then, I've seen them wield daggers made from it." Davos whispered to her.
Lord Cerwyn spoke up, "Do we have a chance against them?"
The hall went silent for a long moment, then he heard a bellowing laugh from down his table. It was Crowfood and Whoresbane Umber, with the young Ned Umber nestled in between. Whoresbane stood up, waving his tankard.
"Aye we do Cerwyn! We're Northmen for fuck's sake! The Blood of the First Men! Those dead men might have made us piss our breeches but we beat them once! We'll do it to the Cunts again!"
Davos heard some of the Northerners and Free-Folk bang their tankards off the table in approval.
Lord Wull of the clans stood up, raising his tankard to Jon "And we've all seen The Jon fight the Boltons! He'll make Brandon the Breaker look like a Green Boy when he's done with the others!"
The clansmen started chanting with him.
"The Jon!"
"The Jon!"
"The Jon!"
Lady Mormont seemed to take that as a cue to speak, shouting over them, "It's time we reminded the Others who the King of Winter is!"
She then turned to Lord Reed, a short man. "You have the will."
Davos looked at Jon, he looked interested.
Lord Reed nodded, "As some of you know, King Robb had made a will before his death, declaring Jon as his heir to the North. The King in the North should Robb fall. A Stark in name as well as his blood. I intend to support it, we need a man of house Stark to do it."
At the head table, Jon Snow gave a smile.
"We don't need the will to say that. King Jon Stark did that the moment he took the squids out od Deepwood Motte. I declared him a King the moment he walked through Winterfell." Lady Dustin stated firmly. She got up from her table, motioning for one of her men to give her his sword. She placed it into the ground, facing Jon.
"King Jon Stark, son of Brandon, The King in the North!" She shouted.
Lord Manderly followed, "You avenged my son, I fight with the King in the North!"
Davos watched as one by one, everyone in the hall did the same, declaring for Jon Snow, now Stark. Even the young Rickon was shouting with them.
"The King in the North!"
"The King in the North!"
"The Jon!"
"The King of Winter!"
"The King in the North!"
"The King in the North!"
Davos stood alongside his son and the Princess Shireen among the chants of the first men, declaring for the King of Winter. To his surprise the Princess Shireen started to chant as well.I wonder what she's thinking.Davos smiled, with him and his son following the Princess.And once again I've committed myself to another King. Stannis hoped to beat back the Long Night, we will help fulfil that duty.Davos promised as he chanted.
"The King in the North!"
Hope you all enjoyed it! I wanted tae have the Northmen fully aware of the threat beyond the wall. And in the books Jon had put dead men in ice cells tae wait fir them tae turn so I thought it would work quite nicely. Hope everyone liked the reunion between Jon and Rickon, wasn't sure on where tae go wae that exactly, just wanted it tae be a happier one. This happened before the previous chapter and the reason I chose this order was because Arya had been on her way since Jon got stabbed so it made sense fir covering what she was up tae in that time. Same wae the Great Jon, being a hostage.
There will be attacks on the Southern Kingdoms, dinnae worry there will be. He isnae leaving them, just won't be using the bulk of his forces.
Jon plans on making the South suffer in Winter.
If anyone has questions, please ask, though I won't be spoiling my plans
The next chapter is the reaction fae the realm tae a new King in the North