NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19 - Adventures in the North 16.
[Chapter Size: 3894 Words.]
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Eddard Stark POV
Northern Kingdom, Winterfell, heart of the realm, 289 A.C., In the same flashback.
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While the adults were stunned, Mikaela, one of the girls who spent the most time with Jon, exclaimed,
"Are you from the bad family that sent Jon away... HMMMM ?!" The girl couldn't finish her sentence, as Andreza, her mother, grabbed her daughter and quickly covered her mouth.
"Forgive me, Milord, it was not her intention to speak ill of House Stark!" The 35 namedays old woman exclaimed quickly, thinking that the worst could happen, as did Dult, who was sweating after hearing his daughter. Everyone was tense, while the children were still not understanding why the atmosphere changed so much after a question.
However, Ned could only show another sad smile; he knows that with Jon's emotional state before heading to the Wall, the boy didn't need to say anything to figure out that he had a sad past. Ned Stark could only feel helpless.
The families were so nervous that they didn't look closely at Lord Stark from the beginning, but stopping to notice his face better now, they began to realize the great resemblance to Jon; it really seemed to be the biological son of the Lord of the North.
Dult, seeing the smile on the high noble's face, spoke cautiously, as it was his daughter who spoke inconsiderate things, which she shouldn't have.
"My lord, please forgive my daughter for the disrespect; she is still a child and doesn't know what she says. Jon never spoke about his life before he met us and always avoided talking about his past for some reason." Dult said cautiously and continued.
"But we could all see his sad eyes, which was always very disturbing in a child. Jon told us that he was going to the Wall when he got caught in a snowstorm in the middle of summer, and magically ended up here."
"Personally, I believe there is more to it than just appearing in the region, but he didn't tell us, and we didn't bother to ask, as the boy never harmed us and we only benefited from his presence. Jon said he was going toward the Wall, and I myself wanted him to stay with us instead of going to the Wall, but he always said he needed to go there. Little Jon once said that it seemed to be some kind of task or mission for our gods, and after seeing all that he can do, we didn't want to go against our old gods." Ned heard this and was stunned; he hadn't heard this part from Helman.
"It's okay, there's nothing to forgive your little daughter; I understand why you might think that way. Jon had some issues in my house, and I wanted to resolve them by having him stay with his uncle, my brother, for a year until I put things in order, but my men really caught that storm as it's described, and only Jon disappeared." Ned said lost in thought.
"But I'm worried about my son; he may have all these powers, giant wolves, and everything else, but he's only 8 namedays old, and I'm concerned for my son. I don't want him to face the danger he faced here to the extreme point of the realm." Ned spoke sincerely to Dult and the others.
"I-I understand, Lord Stark; I am a father, and I worry about my boys, like any man here." Said Dult.
Ned nodded but still lamented in thought about his 8 namedays old boy; now he was wandering alone in the north. Ned wanted to run to his horse and catch up with him and bring him back to Winterfell, or at least send a large escort to help him.
He just wanted his son safe; that's why he made an extreme decision and sent Jon to the Wall, the best place beside his brother with that emotional state, and now, not only did he never reach the Wall, but he was also leaving the entire North stunned with his stories.
He could, at this moment, leave to return to Winterfell, but he saw a chance to get to know his son better with these families, in their castle, with all the duties of a lord as the protector of the realm in hand or Jon always never showed or developed his skills because of his bastard status; he noticed he could never know his own son.
"Well, anyway, how could I get angry at your daughter, I'm sure Jon would never forgive me if that happened. Now, could you tell me more about my son while he was here?" He asked, and as an immediate response, the families became more at ease with him.
"If I may speak, Lord Stark, your son saved my life, I will never forget that favor." Said Lucas, a now lame man, but alive thanks to Jon.
"He saved you with those gifts of his, didn't he?" Ned asked.
Then, they started what lasted for a few hours of conversation, which even gave the children a chance to talk about what they thought of Jon and his pranks. Ned couldn't help but laugh; Helman Tallhart remained stoic and silent, but his son mingled with the children and ended up hearing a lot about Jon.
Ned left for Winterfell straight from Icehill; he had already seen and done everything he would like in the Tallharts' territory, besides getting to know the noble family, Lord Stark visited the remaining prisoner of the 12 bandits before going to IceHill, it was quite disturbing, but Ned would like to have these thoughts a little later.
A week later, Ned arrived in Winterfell with his men, and his family was waiting in line when he passed through the gate.
His wife, Catelyn, couldn't even greet her husband at this moment because Arya was already yelling at him, demanding Jon and his whereabouts.
"JON?! WHERE IS JON? WHY ISN'T HE WITH ANY OF THE HORSES? WHERE IS HE, FATHER?" She shouted, quite distressed.
Ned looked at his daughter with a broken heart.
"Sorry, Arya, Jon wasn't found, we arrived too late..." He said with regret.
"WHY? WHY WAS JON SENT AWAY? JON WOULD NEVER STEAL AS THEY WERE SAYING, I DON'T BELIEVE THIS STORY! IF YOU AND MOM HADN'T SENT HIM TO THE WALL, HE WOULD BE HERE WITH US!" Arya was now attacking Ned himself.
"ARYA STARK! YOU BETTER SHOW RESPECT TO YOUR PARENTS. YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S BETTER FOR THE BASTARD..."
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! HE'S NOT A BASTARD, HE'S MY BROTHER, I HATE YOU, ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT, I HATE YOU!" Arya didn't let her mother finish and insulted her in front of the entire courtyard, then ran off to the Godswood without looking back.
Catelyn stared at Arya, unable to say anything at this moment, while Robb was equally lost, Sansa didn't know if she should be horrified by what Arya had just said or start crying like her family was in such disarray.
Bran was crying at this moment; Ned wondered where everything started to go wrong.
"Catelyn, what did I say about speaking your thoughts about Jon in public or in front of me?" Ned growled at his wife, who snapped out of her stunned state after hearing his voice.
"But Ned, I want to protect our family! Look at what your son is doing to us! That filthy thief!" Venom dripped from her voice, but Ned had no idea how hypocritical it was for her to say something like that.
"Silence, Catelyn! I've told you that you have to keep those thoughts to yourself," Ned said, disregarding the crowd that was already forming with the family drama in the courtyard.
"Jory, gather 200 men for a search for Jon in the Glovers' territory north of the Tallharts' territory. I want 10 groups with 20 men, and I want results by the next moon." Ned demanded, calling Jory into the midst of the crowd.
"Consider it done, my lord!" Jory affirmed.
Catelyn was horrified by this, but this time she stayed quiet, hoping they would be in some private place.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll look for Arya. Robb, take care of your brother; he's scared." Ned left the courtyard and went to the Godswood in search of Arya.
It didn't take him long to find her crying when he entered the place. He sighed and approached Arya, who was crying next to the weirwood tree, sitting in front of the lake.
Ned looked at the tree with red leaves, not remembering the exact number of times he found solace in this place; he just hoped to find something that could help ease his daughter's pain.
"Arya..."
"GO AWAY, I WANT TO BE ALONE!" Arya shouted.
"I know it hurts; I feel the same way, believe me," Ned said.
"If you did, you wouldn't have sent Jon away!" She snarled but didn't shout this time.
"I didn't want any of this, Arya. Jon's place is in Winterfell, in our home. I swear by the gods; I wouldn't want to see anything more than all my family united again." Ned admitted. Arya didn't respond as she faced the lake, not turning around to face her father.
"I thought I was doing the right thing, I admit. But I regret it; I shouldn't have sent Jon away." Ned sighed.
"But you know, daughter? I found out that everything that bard sang about was true. Jon really fought against 12 bandits and has 4 giant wolves!" Ned said, trying to lift his daughter's fragmented mood, which worked because she turned around surprised.
"REALLY?!" She exclaimed, but soon turned away in embarrassment at the sudden change of mood.
"How about I tell you more incredible things that Jon did beyond what that bard told?" Ned tried to entice Arya with this idea.
"Please! Tell me, I want to hear!" She was excited at this moment, even though the tears had not yet dried on her cheeks.
"At dinner, I'll tell you, don't worry. Just go with your sister to the septa's lessons, and I'll sort out a few more things with your mother..."
"Okay, Dad..." She said, getting up to leave, but before that, Ned touched her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Arya, our Jon will be with us again soon." Ned reassured her.
"Yes..." was her response, but there was more enthusiasm in her tone.
When Ned entered his solar, it was no surprise that Catelyn was alone, pacing back and forth as she waited for her husband.
"Catelyn..." Ned said, but his tone showed no enthusiasm for talking with his wife at this moment after closing the door.
"NED! Why do you care so much about him? Now that we've finally gotten rid of him, you want to bring him back?!" She exclaimed, yelling at him. However, the fury was surpassing all bounds of the Warden of the North at this moment.
"SHUT UP, CATELYN! I'M SERIOUS HERE. YOU WILL NEVER, AND WHEN I SAY NEVER, I MEAN NEVER AGAIN GIVE YOUR OPINION ON THIS MATTER! ARE WE UNDERSTOOD?!" He roared like never before; Ned was tired of his wife's antipathy towards his nephew.
He had thought in the past few years that he could confide in her his darkest secrets, but now he began to see that telling her the truth about Jon would be a mistake. If he was treated this way just because he was a potential candidate for Winterfell after all his 4 children and the next one to be born, imagine when this threat sparks a war with the current king for harboring Rhaegar's last son in Winterfell as his bastard, given the antipathy that Robert and the Lannisters have for this blood.
Catelyn was horrified by her husband's outburst; he had never spoken to her in that tone before. She ran away crying, heading towards the sept, if Ned had to bet.
Ned felt a little regretful about it and wanted to console his wife because of the pregnancy, but he couldn't hold back any longer when he heard those venomous comments. He could only think of how she would react if she knew that Jon was the prince of the realm, but as he had thought before, he no longer trusted her due to her hatred, and this could have a chance to lead us to the destruction of the Starks with Jon and a North in a bloody war.
That night, at the main table, Ned recounted his experience on the farm where Jon stayed. His wife, unsurprisingly, was disgusted by all the stories she heard about the bastard. To him, even more with what he heard, it didn't even seem like the same boy who stayed in the castle with a bad mood all the time.
Ned noticed his children as he recounted all the events about Jon. Sansa listened, remaining quiet, but Ned knew his daughter was thinking about how Jon had acted like a hero from her songs. Robb seemed to have a strange guilt in his eyes when he heard about his brother, making him believe that this guilt should be that his son had drifted away from his brother over the past few years. Theon seemed sullen.
Ned didn't tell much about the fantasies of that story, but he told how the land was fertile like no other in the North, how Jon opened up to the families on that farm, and how he helped defend that land from a group of adult bandits.
Ned told of how the adults praised his courage in the face of danger when they asked him to run, but instead, he told their brother, just went out to get a bow and came back to put arrows in the backs of the bad men. This earned Jon prestige at the table; the boy was now seen as a hero by the younger ones, and even his sister Sansa had a sparkle in her eyes when Jon returned to help the farmers fight.
Ned didn't speak of the brutalities in the lyrics of that song that told the fantastical part of the story, as he found parts too disturbing for his young children. He hid that Jon made the plantations grow while pressing his hands into the soil, or how he controlled animals, or how he shot at 80m and killed bandits, or even that Jon had 4 giant wolves because he imagined his children's reaction.
Not to mention that, when he went to Torrhen's Square to visit the Tallhart family before heading to Icehill, besides wanting to visit his vassal's family, which could be considered disrespectful when he was in the region, otherwise. There was also another reason; he wanted to see the bandit who survived the attack that Jon fought.
Ned had to admit it wasn't the best experience, hearing from a prisoner that his 8-namedays son is a demon and a sorcerer in a child's body who can kill any enemy. The ruffian wanted to stay as far away as possible from that demon boy with his traumatic screams after the experience.
Now, the Lord of Winterfell should think about what prisoner Jon will encounter if his son reaches the Wall. But Ned wasn't afraid of some threat to his nephew; with the fear of Jon, he would spread plenty of rumors about the boy when he got there, and what do thieves and rapists fear? Monsters bigger than them.
Even before talking to those farmers, Ned had heard a direct victim of his nephew, and he hadn't been very surprised when he confirmed everything that had happened through the farmers' reports.
But he needed to find Jon; everyone reported the circle around his eyes, which wasn't there before, but the rest of the appearance was Jon entirely in the descriptions, and his actions only showed a kind and honorable Jon, even though he had to take extremes when facing the bandits but saved innocent lives in the process.
Everyone in the hall fell silent when Ned had finished; who was the bastard to them? Jon was the boy caught stealing in Winterfell, considered a disgrace in the past few weeks; now he was risking his life to protect the people who welcomed him?
And now the whole hall was hearing about him, wanting to meet the bravest and most honorable child living in the North, who even has his own song now. Once everyone finds out that little Jon is, in fact, the famous bastard son of Ned Stark, the one who was caught stealing in his castle and sent to the Wall for 1 year, people will start asking questions about the truth of the theft, things that all the servants began asking each other, while the servant who was stolen from started to feel quite uncomfortable.
Catelyn seemed very disturbed by the direction of events, while Ned thought that his son was now gaining uncontrollable attention from the entire North, but he was proud like the spirited Arya.
How could he not be proud and happy for Jon; the North has always lacked heroes beyond the hero's age. In the South, people have much more time for these things and often make songs about any fight in their lands or fair in their tournaments; northerners don't have this luxury, besides fighting to survive the cold and the tough land for planting before winter.
Southern songs basically play with knights, but his daughter, Sansa, seems to enjoy it a lot with the influence of her mother and septa and dreams in her fantasies.
But today, Ned knows it's different; Jon was the first hero to come out of the North in hundreds of years, and that with only 8 namedays, something unprecedented, representing courage and heroism.
The Lord of Winterfell also didn't fail to report how Jon acted like a happy, humble, kind, and intelligent child during his time in Icehill.
Arya and Bran were jealous of this Jon with other children; Jon had never shown this side, which ended up making Arya mock her mother at the table for always making Jon be shy without giving her brother a chance to show his true emotions.
"Arya, respect your mother at the table, please," Ned had to intervene.
"I won't apologize!" Arya stubbornly replied.
"Arya, you can't speak to our mother like that," Robb said.
"I hate her now, I won't apologize for anything!" Arya shouted at her siblings.
Catelyn was lost again, as everything in her family was falling apart because of that bastard. Her husband had no patience with her anymore, and her daughter publicly spoke that she hated her now, always causing a lot of gossip at the servant's tables. Her family that she had maintained for 8 years began to crumble in just one moon.
"ARYA STARK! To your room now! Please, Septa Mordane, accompany Arya to her room, please!"
"Yes, Milady," said the septa, not happy with Arya's behavior.
While Arya got up sullenly from the table, her action was interrupted when a guard entered the room where they were dining and went straight to talk to Ned, who paid attention and asked him to proceed with his approach.
"My lord, I apologize for interrupting you and your family at dinner, but a hunter appeared at the castle gate, claiming to have spotted wolves the size of horses in Wolfswood!" When he spoke these words, he left everyone stunned immediately, as there were stories about Jon and heading north with giant wolves.
"Giant Wolves!?" Arya exclaimed, not wanting to leave anymore after hearing this.
"Bring him in immediately!" Ned demanded.
"Can I stay, Dad? Please, please, please!" His daughter went into a frenzy at this moment, and Ned was powerless as he nodded to his daughter despite her earlier disrespect.
When the man entered with his son, Ned offered a place at the table with the servants.
"Thank you, Lord Stark, but I already ate before coming here, and I'm in a hurry to get to the forest tonight." With the man's refusal, Ned could only wave for him to continue.
"I apologize, my lord, for coming so late. I heard about your interest in the ballad of young Jon just before coming here, and as I was leaving and didn't think we could have another opportunity in the next few days." He explained.
"There's no need to explain, hunter. Any information about the ballad is of interest to me, and I don't care about the time, so please, tell me what you saw." Ned said with a friendly smile, and the hunter began to speak.
"Lord Stark, we were hunting in the west when we spotted two of the creatures we thought were only in books or on the other side of the Wall, as the stories say." He recounted and continued, seeing the expectations of the high table.
"I and my son here were tracking moose tracks until we found it, or at least part of it..." He nervously smiled at the memory.
"I say this because when we found the animal, the carcass was being devoured by 2 wolves the size of a horse, devouring the animal as if they were drinking water from a river. Even though my first instinct was to run away with my son, I recognized one wolf as dark as the hour of the wolf, its partner had grayish fur, which I would bet is a female, seen from afar."
"What scared me the most, Lord Stark, is that both noticed us, even when we were 50 meters away, hidden. My first feeling after realizing this was that my son and I were doomed." He sighed as everyone released equally tense sighs.
"But they didn't seem to see us as a threat or that they had already filled their bellies with that moose, just looked at us for a while, and as we didn't get any closer and didn't pose a danger, they just went back to devouring what was left of the animal."
"As for me, even when I saw that we were out of danger, I grabbed my son, and we ran as fast as we could to the opposite side! Haha!" He nervously chuckled, but no one found shame in his act. Who would have the courage to face two giant wolves?
"When we told people in town about this event, they laughed at us, saying we were drunk seeing some normal wolf and believed they were giants, but when I heard about the ballad of young Jon, I believed the story is real since then!" He said, emphasizing the last part.
"Of course, he's real, he's my BROTHER!" Arya thundered, emphasizing that Jon is her brother.
The hunter was stunned by the comment, and Ned spoke.
"We all believe," Ned said with a smile.
"But tell me, where and when did you witness this?" Ned asked the most important question.
"About 6 days ago, more than 80 kilometers to the west," said the man, and Ned nodded thoughtfully.
"Jory, ask the guards to escort them and give some silver coins to the hunter." The hunter could only express his gratitude, but before leaving, he spoke again.
"Lord Stark, before I retire, may I make one last comment?" Ned just nodded, and the hunter continued.
"My son and I will remember that moment for the rest of our lives, but I can say that those giant creatures were the most beautiful animals I have ever seen in my life. I would be proud to be a lord of such a renowned house as the Starks with such symbols as those wolves!" Ned smiled at the man's comment; after all, these types of wolves were the story of his house and ancestors.
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