[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]

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Third Person POV

Winterfell, 298 AC.

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It was morning when Jon and Eragon were in the middle of the forest. A large part of the trees was destroyed on all sides. Jon stood in front of a campfire, while Eragon was nearby, making a small nest as he sat on the ground among the trees he had crushed when landing there.

Certainly, any hunter who saw that place would be frightened, but Jon was not worried about it, for when someone found the place, he would already be far away, north of the Wall.

“I think the time has come. Let’s go to Winterfell, Eragon,” Jon said, as the dragon prepared to take flight immediately.

Meanwhile, at the Stark stronghold itself, the castle still held all the chaos from hours earlier, due to what had happened with the news that a guard was, in fact, a faceless assassin. In the meantime, they had declared that the target was Robb Stark, Lord Stark’s heir, and were wondering who had hired the killer.

Quickly, before dawn itself, Stark guards with Ser Rodrik went to the house of the guard whom the assassin had impersonated and found a rotten smell inside the place as they entered the house, being masked by other types of smells made by plants, but inside, it was foul. They found the body and removed the original guard’s faceless corpse.

A moment later, this confirmed the whole story, with Arya explaining to her father exactly what she had discovered in her investigation as the sun finally rose, while Sansa was in her room after what had happened and Robb was in the kitchen.

“You lured the assassin by going after your brother to fight him? Do you know how crazy that was, Arya?” Her father did not like what he heard at all.

“I already knew his face, but I hadn’t told anyone. I had my eyes on him the whole time and I wouldn’t let him get close to Robb without me showing up to stop him, if you must know, father. And yes, I fought him. I proved I was stronger,” she said, while her father still disapproved of this kind of behavior, as it could have put both her life and her brother’s at risk.

“And you two should have protected her!” Ned turned to the guards Jill and Bari.

“Don’t blame them. That was an order from a princess of Artica. They are obliged to obey,” Arya replied before anyone could say anything.

Either way, the discussion continued in Lord Stark’s solar and Arya left, heading calmly through the castle corridors while the servants and guards looked at her strangely as she walked there with her guards.

“Arya!” That was when someone appeared to her — none other than her friend. “So you fought and killed the faceless assassin, from what I’ve heard… Wasn’t that reckless of you?” she murmured carefully.

“Good morning, Mearin.” Arya greeted her as she sighed upon seeing her.

“You know what you did was madness,” she said with a narrow look.

“I know, but I don’t regret it,” Arya said, while Mearin sighed, knowing well the princess’s behavior.

“…” Mearin just shook her head, knowing how proud and stubborn Arya was.

“Want to take a walk? I’m sure it’s better than staying with these people staring at me all the time,” Arya said, while Mearin nodded with a slightly mocking look at her friend’s words.

“Do I really need to imagine why people look at you like that?” she teased.

“Of course not,” Arya said, and both left, accompanied by the royal guards.

Meanwhile, there was no training that day with Ser Rodrik, for obvious reasons, as he was having all the men evaluated one by one, while he himself asked questions in search of any sign of a second faceless man.

People ran from one side to the other, seeming in a hurry, when Arya, with her arms entwined with her handmaiden’s, noticed something strange as they walked through the castle courtyard.

A bird had landed again on the roof of the castle structure near them, and Arya immediately looked up as she noticed it.

She had kept the information that Jon was, somehow, still south of the Wall — and upon seeing this bird, she realized it was him again.

How did she always know it was Jon, warging the bird? She had been at his side for years. It was impossible not to recognize, even in animals, when he was looking through some creature with his skinchanging.

The bird began to fly as if telling her she should follow it.

Arya’s eyes widened and she moved forward. Her first reaction caught Mearin by surprise.

“Hey, Arya! What are you doing?!” Mearin shouted, wondering what Arya was doing so suddenly.

“Just follow me,” Arya simply said.

Even without understanding her reaction, Mearin followed, along with the guards Jill and Bari, who looked on curiously. They went to the godswood of Winterfell once again, with Arya leading.

No one knew what Arya wanted to do in that place again, now silent, where the assassin’s body had already been removed.

She entered and moved forward, ignoring some bloodstains on the ground, passing through the battlefield of the previous night, and went directly to the heart tree.

What did she want with that? No one understood.

The raven landed on the branches and began making sounds.

“Arya, what are we doing here?” Mearin approached, even Jill and Bari seemed confused.

“Is he here?” she murmured, waiting for Jon to appear.

But then someone began to emerge from behind the tree, out of their sight.

Immediately, the guards drew their weapons, expecting another assassin.

But upon seeing who was there, they quickly sheathed their weapons and bowed their heads without kneeling. Even Mearin did the same, looking stunned.

“Your Majesty,” they said in unison, upon seeing the King of Artica there. It was the last thing they expected.

And Arya’s eyes lit up with joy.

“Jon!” she cried immediately, running to him.

He looked and gave a small smile, receiving a hug from her after she ran to him and held him tightly.

“You came! I knew you would come! But you’re late,” she said before joking with him, still holding him.

“I came as soon as I heard. But I also saw your fight after passing the Wall… I must say… I’m impressed,” Jon commented, as she smiled proudly.

“You were? Of course you should be impressed!” she laughed, as he raised an eyebrow, finding his cousin as proud as ever, but with her own charm.

“How are you? It’s been so long, hasn’t it?” he said, looking at her, and Arya felt a small knot in her chest.

“It’s true… I missed you, Jon. And I want to go home,” she murmured, sounding as if she were cutting her own heart. After all, her family was there — but this place, though she had learned to love it again, did not belong to her. Jon could understand that.

“You want to return? Things are getting dangerous…” he said.

“They’re coming to Artica!?” she raised an eyebrow.

“The war will begin soon, Arya. The army of the dead is nearly at our gates,” Jon said, affirming with a serious tone.

“Then my place is there, fighting with you all. I’ll be leaving immediately,” she said.

“You know your father wouldn’t like this…” he remarked.

“And he didn’t agree,” she countered. “But even so, he accepted that I was going anyway. I’ll go with you, Jon. My place is at your side, fighting to protect Artica. Don’t take that right from me.”

Jon listened to her and watched her for a moment, then nodded.

“Alright. You are a princess of Artica. So you’ll return with us,” he said, smiling.

Cof

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat behind them. It was Jill, standing with a raised eyebrow at Arya, who seemed to have forgotten everyone else was there.

“Can you give us a moment? I’d like to talk with Jon alone,” Arya said, and everyone nodded.

“How has it been here, Arya? Has she been causing much trouble?” Jon asked the two royal guards.

“She’s always doing something, my king, but we’re always keeping an eye on her,” Bari said, and Jon nodded.

“I see. I’ll take care of her for a while, since I’m here,” Jon said with a smile, as the two guards stepped back, standing watch at the entrance to make sure no one interrupted them.

In the end, only the two of them remained there in the godswood.

Arya returned to Jon, while he noticed how much she had blossomed over the past year.

“Come on. Now tell me everything you’ve been up to. How is Lyanna, little Jon, and your other children? I want to know everything right now,” Arya demanded.

Jon nodded, beginning to share the details. They remained there for a while, protected at the gate, letting no one in.

Arya also shared all her experiences from the past year, and Jon listened, raising his eyebrow more than once.

“You’ve really grown. And to think you were changing the Stark family itself,” Jon commented.

“You see? We are more Stark than we’ve ever been. I’m just helping my father to see that. After Catelyn left, things started flowing, and we’ve strengthened our position in the North,” she said, referring to her mother by name — something she had once vowed never to do again, after what happened in the hall a year ago, when Catelyn accused Arya of influencing the family along with Jon.

“I see. I’m sorry for that,” Jon said.

“Don’t be. You know better than anyone what that woman is capable of. I brought justice for you. And my father acknowledged it — publicly. Even Robb is changing. You should meet him,” Arya said, as Jon tilted his head.

“Honestly… I don’t want to see him, Arya,” he said, which surprised her greatly. Jon had no desire to see Robb.

Arya just sighed.

In Lord Stark’s solar, a group of men approached their lord with Jory, while the lord of Winterfell himself had been awake the entire morning since he was roused and found Arya with the dead assassin’s body and his other two children.

“Lord Stark… We want to clean up the rest of the blood in the godswood as you requested… but the Artican royal guards have been standing at the entrance for the past two hours!”

They were complaining about not being able to do their job.

Ned stood up with a serious expression. He himself had made the request, but the area had been off-limits for two hours due to Arya’s guards — and from what he’d heard, the guards were quite firm in not letting anyone enter.

“Arya is still inside all this time? She hasn’t left?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

One of the men who had reported the issue nodded.

“Yes, she’s there. She hasn’t left since we saw her go in with the guards and the other lady. All of them left except your daughter… she’s been in there ever since,” he replied, as Ned Stark frowned, not knowing what Arya could be doing inside for so long.

Immediately, he rose from his chair, passed by the man, and walked outside, advancing with Jory and other guards to the courtyard, heading toward the godswood.

Upon arriving and seeing the two guards, he immediately approached.

“What is this? Where is Arya?”

“The princess is inside, Lord Stark…” Bari said.

“I want to enter,” he said.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Jill replied, leaving Lord Stark and everyone else stunned at seeing him being denied entry into his own home.

And before Ned could respond with a tone of anger, the gate began to open as Arya stepped out, looking directly at her father.

“Father…” Arya said calmly, having already been told by Jon that he was coming to her.

“Arya, what is the meaning of this? We need to clean the godswood. What were you doing in there?” he asked with a serious tone.

“Father, listen. There’s a good reason for this,” she said.

“What do you mean by that?” Ned asked his daughter.

“You should go inside and see. Trust me… it’s better if you go in alone,” she said, causing Lord Stark to stare at her for several seconds. She didn’t seem to be lying, and her gaze was serious.

“I’ll go in,” he finally said, believing Arya wanted to show him something important. She asked them to wait there, then moved forward, with her father right behind.

Everything seemed normal after the gate closed and they walked to the heart tree — until Lord Stark opened his eyes wide at seeing someone standing there.

“Jon…” he recognized him immediately.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Arya said, beginning to walk away.

Ned didn’t even respond to his daughter as his eyes remained fixed on his nephew. He began walking a moment later, approaching Jon, who stood near the lake beside the heart tree, with Blackfyre in his hand being cleaned — a sight others often had of Lord Stark himself cleaning Ice while sitting on that same stone.

Jon didn’t even look at him as Lord Stark approached, focused on the sword, until he decided to break the silence.

“You know, I always admired you when I found you here cleaning the sword… That is, when Catelyn Stark didn’t drive me away, saying this place was only for the Starks and I wasn’t one of you…” he said, still looking at the sword.

Ned looked at him with surprise, glancing at Jon’s sword, then at him, taking in his words.

“She’s Catelyn Tully now… and you were always a Stark, maybe greater than all of us,” Lord Stark replied.

“As far as I know, she’s still married to you by the faith of the Seven, but it’s not as if the Seven Gods really matter, so I believe you,” Jon agreed.

“Jon… I’m sorry…” Lord Stark said carefully as he came closer to him.

“I read that a lot in your letters. I was surprised that you actually did it, but I only read them recently… I was busy this past year, as you must know, and I didn’t know how I’d feel when I saw your apologies, so I ignored them for a while,” Jon said with sincerity, then continued.

“But I know you didn’t read my letter either,” he added, knowing he had sent another one that was left unopened — even Arya had questioned it.

“I know…” Ned admitted in a shameful tone. “The faceless assassin case… it was killing me, knowing someone from our family was being targeted, and now we’ve discovered the target was Robb, for some reason.”

“Any idea who did it?” Jon asked.

“No… whoever it was certainly has money and wants us dead…” Ned replied.

“More than that… they want to create division between us. Obviously, the faceless assassin was meant to cast suspicion on me. I could’ve done it, and people might associate it with revenge,” Jon said.

It was very obvious they were trying to turn him into a scapegoat, to create a rupture not just with the Starks, but with the North itself.

“You think so?” Ned asked carefully.

“Yes, uncle… you’re naive when it comes to politics and how treacherous it can be… you didn’t even see it in your own house. The Crown banned the North from buying food from Braavos because they know how much of a threat we are — and how dangerous it would be if Artica and the North had a strong relationship…” Jon said, looking at his uncle for the first time.

And there they were again — those green eyes Jon wasn’t born with, now brighter than ever, a clear sign the Old Gods had touched him.

But Jon ignored his uncle’s gaze on his appearance and continued.

“Whoever did this is on the council, and I have some people in mind… maybe I should kill them…” Jon said.

“You can’t,” Lord Stark said with a serious tone.

“Come on, uncle. You’re really going to let the one who tried to kill your son walk free? You know they won’t stop,” Jon replied with equal seriousness.

“Even so, we need proof, Jon.” Ned warned him, voice firm.

Jon simply raised an eyebrow. His uncle took honor too seriously — sometimes one had to be cruel, and Jon wouldn’t shy away from that now that problems were rising in his kingdom. He would focus there. But if his uncle wouldn’t pursue the culprit, he would — and would cause chaos until he found the real mastermind.

“Do as you wish…” was all Jon said to his uncle.

After that, Lord Stark closed his lips as Jon looked back at him, with neither saying a word.

“Jon…” Ned finally broke the silence. “I know I never treated you right… and maybe you’ll never forgive me. I just want to say that I’m still sorry for what happened to you here. I am to blame for it all, and I failed Lyanna miserably when I said yes to her dying while begging me to protect you… I was a fool.” He spoke with deep regret.

“If you had read the letter I sent… you’d know that in the end, I forgave you,” Jon said in a simple, but sincere tone.

This man was still his family, and even being a fool, he had never mistreated Jon personally as a child — when he still believed he was his son. In truth, he had protected Jon from Robert, because the king of the Seven Kingdoms — and even Tywin Lannister — would never have let him live if they’d known the truth.

Jon recognized that.

“May I hug you?” Ned asked cautiously.

Jon nodded, allowing it. Ned stepped forward and embraced him, and Jon accepted it, with both seeming to release a great weight from their chests.

Jon accepted his uncle’s embrace. Despite Ned’s mistakes, he had tried to make amends over the past year — and he was still family.

Raccoon Here:

Lord Stark is one thing — but Robb?

Their relationship had reached a point of no return.

Even though Jon still held Ned in high regard, Robb was different. He had helped to frame Jon and mistreated him over the past few years.

Even if Robb now wanted to repair their relationship, Jon would never see him with kind eyes.

He didn’t hate him — but he also didn’t want anything more to do with him.

————-Nexts Chapters —————-

Chapter 274 – Prologue.

Chapter 279 – The Problems That Are Coming to Winterfell.

Chapter 289 – Cannibal.

Chapter 298 – A Small Conversation with the Tyrells.

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