Chapter 2: 2
"This chapter is told from Mother's perspective," Robb said as he read the title.
Arya perked up. "Are you going to investigate the dagger now?" she asked, eyes shining in curiosity.
Catelyn nodded. "I think so," she said. "Hopefully going to King's Landing will help give us some answers." She turned her attention to Robb as he started reading aloud.
Catelyn turns away from the ship's rail when she hears the captain saying that they will arrive in King's Landing within the hour.
"Already?" Sansa asked quietly. "The ship must have been very fast."
She forces herself to smile, and says that all his oar men shall receive a silver stag as thanks.
Ned smiled at his wife's insistence that the men be paid their share. She was always very generous to serving ladies, oar men, and other people who spent their time working for them. That was one of the things he loved most about her.
This is Captain Moreo's fourth fastest ship, and was the fastest available when Catelyn and Ser Rodrik Cassel arrived in White Harbour. Catelyn had insisted on a galley, which was a good thing – they had needed the oars to fight against the strong winds on the way south.
Sansa nodded in realisation. This made sense – it was a very urgent trip, after all. She was glad to hear that it had worked, and her mother would make it in time.
They are so close, she thinks. Her fingers still throb in pain, serving as a constant reminder to what happened. They would never again be dexterous, but it was a small enough price to pay for Bran's life.
Bran looked down at the reminder. He didn't want anyone to suffer for his sake, least of all his mother.
Catelyn noticed her son's look, and touched his shoulder gently to shake him out of it. "Remember,
Bran, this will never happen," she said softly. "Although my future self is very right – it is a small price to pay."
Bran still wasn't very reassured, but accepted the answer for now, not wanting to delay the reading.
Ser Rodrik appears on deck, looking much better, if a little thinner than he had been when they set out from White Harbour. He had shaved his enormous moustache off midway through the journey, since the storms and rough waves during their journey had not agreed with him.
Jon quickly suppressed a snort at that thought. It wasn't funny, he told himself sternly, resisting the urge to meet Arya's eyes, which he knew would have the same amusement reflected in them. Logically, Jon knew he would probably be just as miserable on a ship during a storm that lasted weeks. Still, he couldn't quite get rid of the glint of amusement in his eyes at the mental image.
Catelyn tells him that their voyage is almost over, and Moreo leaves them alone to talk.
Catelyn says that here, they hope to reach the king's master-at-arms and hope he can be trusted.
"Would he know the dagger?" Sansa asked. "How do we know he is the one who forged it?"
"We don't, Sansa," Ned replied. "But until we have further clues, he is the one who is most likely to know the answer and therefore the best option at this point in time."
Ser Rodrik replies that he is an honest man, and he may know the blade, but the moment they leave the ship they will be at risk.
Bran, Sansa and Arya sent their mother a worried look. What would happen in King's Landing? Would Catelyn be in danger?
There are people here who will recognise Catelyn.
"Littlefinger," Robb and Catelyn said at the same time, laughing a little as they noticed what happened. Catelyn gave her oldest son an apologetic smile, and gestured for him to keep reading.
Catelyn tells Ser Rodrik the story of how Lord Baelish was once her father's ward, and they grew up together in Riverrun.
Arya looked at her mother in curiosity. She didn't think she had heard this story before.
Catelyn thought of him as a brother, but his feelings for her were... more than brotherly. He challenged her betrothed Brandon Stark to a duel
Ned briefly closed his eyes in pain at the memory of his brother. He should have expected Brandon's name to come up during this conversation.
and barely got away with a scar, and was sent away from Riverrun. Catelyn hasn't seen him since, though he did write her a letter after Brandon was killed, which she burned without reading, since by that time she had already known she would marry Ned.
Arya nodded in understanding. She still didn't think she had ever heard Lord Baelish's name before, but this made sense.
Ser Rodrik tells her that Lord Baelish is on the Small Council now,
Catelyn raised an eyebrow. "On the Small council?" she asked, not expecting an answer. She couldn't say she was surprised. Petyr had always been ambitious, after all.
and Catelyn replies that she knew he would rise high, since he was always clever, though not very wise.
As they are talking, King's Landing slides into view on its three hills.
Sansa's eyes shone in excitement. Despite everything they had heard so far, she still desperately wanted to see King's Landing herself.
The city covers the entire shore, with brick storehouses and busy streets and markets, the grand Sept of Baelor, the Dragonpit and traders from Lys, Braavos and Pentos, and the tall city wall visible in the distance.
"It sounds beautiful," Sansa whispered.
Bran nodded, in awe of that description. Winterfell was already so big... King's Landing sounded absolutely huge in comparison. He had always dreamed of one day being a knight in King's Landing – maybe one day that could still be a reality.
And above it all is the Red Keep – seven huge towers with covered bridges, dungeons, and vaulted halls, all fashioned of pale red stone, and on the battlements are golden banners with the stag of House Baratheon.
Robb's voice slowed down as he, too, was fascinated by the descriptions of the city and the castle. It must have taken ages to build all that, he thought to himself. He noticed Jon giving him a curious glance as his voice got steadily slower, so he quickly shook himself out of the trance and continued reading normally.
Ser Rodrik tells her not to enter the castle. They agree that he will go instead while she stays in a safe place. They land, and Catelyn personally gives each of the oarmen a silver stag in gratitude, as well as a copper to the two men who carry their chests halfway up Visenya's hill to the inn Moreo had suggested.
Ned smiled once more at his wife's clear generosity, approving of her decision to pay each man in person. Who knew what the captain would have done with the money had he kept a hold of it himself?
Once she is settled into her rooms, Ser Rodrik promises to be back before nightfall with Ser Aron, the master-at-arms. Catelyn decides to rest for a bit, after her tiring journey, and has no trouble falling asleep.
She wakes up to a knock at the door.
Ned and Catelyn exchanged bewildered looks. Who could that be?
Catelyn was slightly on edge. She hadn't realised it would be this short a time before someone in King's Landing recognised her.
She takes her dagger before unlatching the door, and it surprised to find that it is a group of
men of the City Watch, carrying a ribbon with a mockingbird seal.
"A mockingbird?" Arya asked loudly, frowning in confusion. "What does that mean?" "You would know the answer if you let me read without interrupting," Robb teased gently.
Arya bit back an annoyed retort and sat back in her chair, impatiently waiting for the answer as she continued listening to her brother's voice.
Petyr gave them orders to bring her to him. Something must have happened to Ser Rodrik - how could Littlefinger know she is here? Ser Rodrik would never betray her... Moreo, she realises. Damn him.
Sansa gasped silently, surprised at her mother using such language.
She hopes he at least got a good price for the information.
Jon snorted softly, slightly impressed by the unexpected direction of that thought despite himself.
When she reaches the Red Keep, the guards escort her through a narrow door and up endless steps to a tower. Petyr is alone in the room, and he greets her quietly. She icily tells him that she is not accustomed to being summoned like a serving wench, and asks if he has forgotten all courtesy.
He immediately looks contrite. Catelyn notices that he hasn't changed much since he was a child.
Catelyn's lips curled in amusement. He really did sound the same as he had been as a child. Always getting his way with people and looking contrite and apologetic afterwards to get them to forgive him.
Petyr says that it was Lord Varys, the Master of Spies, who knew Catelyn was in the city – one of his little birds heard about it.
He asks why she is here, and Catelyn answers that a wife is allowed to yearn for her husband and a mother can want her daughters close.
Ned suppressed a smile at that response. "Not bad, my lady," Ned said softly, eyes glinting in amusement. Catelyn smiled back.
Littlefinger laughs and says that he hopes she doesn't expect him to believe that – he knows her too well. The Tully words are Family, Duty, Honour, all of which require her to stay in Winterfell. So, something must have happened.
Someone knocks on the door. A plump, perfumed, hairless man walks in and takes Catelyn's hand, greeting her.
"Lord Varys," Ned murmured, intrigued to see what would happen next. He hoped this would help Catelyn find out more about the dagger – would Vars even know anything of use?
He asks what happened to her poor hands? She pulls her hand back and graciously declines his offer of a burn salve.
Lord Varys says that he was grievously sad to her about her son, especially being so young - the gods are cruel. Catelyn says that at least they both agree on that, and Varys replies that he hopes there are more topics they can agree on than just that; for example, they both dearly love King Robert.
Ned breathed in sharply, uncertain how convincing Catelyn's response would be, but relaxed as Robb read that Catelyn was forced to say yes. He looked at his wife with a mix of sympathy and pride at the way she was handling herself in this situation.
He offers to send for a healer for Bran.
Catelyn grew tense. She hoped her future self would not accept the offer. She trusted Littlefinger only a little, and Lord Varys not at all.
But Catelyn quickly shuts that topic down, saying that Maester Luwin is doing all he can. She will not speak of Bran with these men.
Catelyn nodded, approving of that response.
She says that Lord Baelish told her she has Lord Varys to thank for bringing her here.
He giggles and agrees. Sitting down, he asks if she might show them the dagger?
"What?!" Arya asked. Eyes wide, she looked around the room for answers, and saw the same surprise reflected in everyone's faces.
"How could he possibly know that?" Sansa said, shocked.
Ned, trying to stay calm, said: "Well, being the Master of Spies, it is explainable. It will still be very interesting to hear how he managed to get all this information, though."
Catelyn stares at the eunuch in disbelief. He truly is a Spider, she thinks. How could he possibly know? Immediately, she asks him what he has done to Ser Rodrik.
Ned raised his eyebrows. He hadn't even thought of that. But his lady wife was right – there was a big possibility that something had happened to Ser Rodrik. Suddenly growing slightly nervous, he listened intently to his oldest son's voice.
Littlefinger is confused by the conversation, and asks what dagger they are talking about.
Varys explains that Ser Rodrik came to the Red Keep earlier that say, and talked to the master-at-arms, Ser Aron, in the armoury, where they talked of a certain dagger. Afterwards, they left the castle together and came to the dreadful hovel where Catelyn is staying, waiting for her return. When she asks him how he could possibly know all this, he says that his little birds tell him everything – it is the nature of his service to know things.
Jon raised an eyebrow. This Varys person sounded dangerous. What other things did he know? What did he do with all the information he had?
She shows Littlefinger and Varys the dagger, and Littlefinger takes it, flipping it in the air and praising its balance and the Valyrian steel edge. Petyr says to Catelyn that if she wants to find the owner, she should have come to him.
The entire family sat up in their seats at that news. So Littlefinger knew about the knife's owner! Nobody took their eyes off Robb, eager to have this particular mystery solved.
There is only one knife like this in King's Landing, and it belongs to him.
This doesn't make sense to Catelyn – Petyr had not been at Winterfell.
Littlefinger says that it was his, until he lost it in a bet, at Joffrey's name day when Loras Tyrell unhorsed Jaime Lannister in a tourney. He lost the knife to the Imp.
Catelyn's face grew pale in shock.
Tyrion Lannister.
"Tyrion Lannister?" Ned and Jon asked at the same time.
"How?" Arya asked.
"Why? Didn't he seem so nice the past few chapters?" Bran added, frowning.
No one seemed to know what to say.
Was Littlefinger lying? Had Tyrion been lying in all of his chapters?
After the silence had stretched on for a few moments, Robb cleared his throat.
"Should we read one more chapter before taking another break?" he suggested. "I need to see what would happen next."
Ned nodded. "That seems like a good idea."
Chapter Notes
Jon III
Hello! Firstly, thank you so much for your patience. I was away on holiday, and then exams started immediately afterwards... I've been trying to write this chapter for a while now, and I'm really happy it's finally finished. Thank you all for your support <3 I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please tell me your thoughts and feedback!
Jon reached out to take the book from Robb.
"It's my turn to read now, right?" he asked, looking around the room.
"I think so," Robb said.
When no one objected, Jon found the correct page and raised his eyebrows. "Oh," he said, surprised. "This is a chapter from my perspective."
Arya frowned. "Has this happened so far? Someone reading their own chapter?"
"No, I don't believe so," Ned said, turning to Jon. "If you're comfortable with it, though, I don't see a reason why this shouldn't be alright."
"I don't mind," Jon said quickly, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself.
He shifted in his chair to get into a comfortable position, and started reading the thoughts of his future self. He didn't think he would ever be used to this.
Jon and Grenn are practising sword-fighting in the yard.
Brann perks up. "Are we going to hear about Castle Black?" he asked, excited.
Sansa nodded in response. She was herself strangely curious and interested in what it would be like.
Grenn is very big and clumsy, clearly unused to fighting. When Grenn falls into the snow, Jon knocks the sword from his hands, resulting in a scream of pain.
"Well done, Jon!" Robb said quietly.
Jon smiled, a little proud of his future self.
Ser Alliser Thorne stops them immediately, and Grenn says that the bastard broke his wrist.
Arya's eyes widened in disbelief. She had never broken anyone's wrist before, but it can't be that easy, surely? Wouldn't Jon have noticed if he had broken that guy's wrist?
Ser Alliser replies that he would have been dead if these swords had an edge, and sends him away.
Jon takes a moment to breathe, and is immediately mocked by Ser Alliser, who calls him "Lord Snow",
Jon frowned while reading that sentence, surprisingly hurt by that, but quickly tried his best to school his features into a blank expression.
and says that a longsword is not a walking cane.
"Hey!" Arya's voice mixed together with Bran's in protest. "Don't talk to him like that!" Arya added, indignantly.
Jon hates that name. The boys had picked it up from Ser Alliser and now he hears it everywhere.
Jon says that he won, but Ser Alliser replies that Grenn, "the Aurochs," lost, and that he can't stand ineptitude. Jon stays silent. He has beaten everyone he has fought against, but the master-at-arms hates him all the same.
"Why?" Robb asked quietly. He couldn't imagine being hated by his own master-at-arms. Surely, a teacher was there to each and train and improve his students, not bully everyone around?
No one answered his question, and Jon quickly kept reading.
He walks to the armoury alone, as usual. There are almost twenty recruits here, but no one he could call a friend. None of them could fight properly; Jon despised them.
Jon's voice was growing quieter as the paragraph went on. He couldn't believe it. There was no one he could call a friend? None of the recruits could fight? Was this really what the Night's Watch would be like?
He kept his eyes fixed on the book in front of him and forced himself to continue reading normally, but couldn't get these thoughts out of his head. Why had no one warned him properly?
He starts to take his armour off, ignoring the others. He is so cold, despite the coal burning at the door.
No one, apart from Tyrion Lannister, had told him the truth about what the Wall would be like. Jon starts to wonder if his father had known... he must have; but that thought only makes it hurt worse.
Jon glanced up at his father, but quickly looked down again. He didn't want to confront him about this right now.
Ned saw the lingering questions in Jon's eyes and felt a sudden rush of shame. He strengthened his resolve to fix as much of this mess as he could. He would talk to Jon soon. If there was one thing these chapters were teaching him, it was that he had handled this entire situation all wrong. He had thought he was doing the best thing for everyone, but... Jon didn't deserve this, Ned thought.
Even his uncle has abandoned him. Jon had barely spent any time with Benjen since he had arrived. Now Benjen is on a mission beyond the wall. He had refused Jon when he begged to be allowed to join, since he was no ranger, and still under Ser Alliser's command.
Jon's only comfort in this cold, hard place is Ghost. He misses his true brothers: little Rickon
who was always begging for sweets, Robb, his best friend, and Bran, stubborn and curious.
Robb shot a wide smile at Jon, his eyes warm. Jon smiled back.
"I'll miss you too, Jon!" Bran said, making Jon laugh a little, lightening the tension in the room. It helped knowing he still had his siblings on his side, despite everything that was going wrong in this chapter.
He misses the girls, too, even Sansa, who only ever calls him "half-brother."
Sansa looked down awkwardly. She suddenly felt a little guilty for not thinking about whether she would miss Jon or not. Was she wrong for calling him half-brother?
And Arya... he misses her even more than Robb. She can always make Jon smile.
Arya rubbed at her eyes angrily. She wouldn't cry, it was stupid to cry about something that was in a book, that wasn't even real and probably would never happen. She swallowed hard to make the tears in her eyes go away and met Jon's eyes, giving him a big smile instead.
Why did he even have to leave? Especially now, with everything they were learning? It was stupid.
A sullen voice interrupts his thoughts. Jon looks up to see Grenn, with three of his brute friends behind him, saying that Jon broke his wrist.
Arya sucked in her breath, eyes wide with worry, immediately distracted from her thoughts. What would they do to Jon?
Jon stands up and offers to break the other one too
Catelyn sighed. She could easily foresee how this confrontation would end - Jon clearly hadn't learned how to control his temper yet.
and the situation escalates quickly.
One of Grenn's friends twists Jon's arm behind his back, and says that the little lordling has a mouth on him. When he starts talking about -
Jon stared at the words in front of him. He paused for a second to calm himself down and then continued reading, trying his best to keep his voice strong and steady.
Jon's mother being a whore, Jon breaks free and jumps at him, both hands at his throat.
Donal Noye, the armourer, walks into the room and shouts at them to stop.
Sansa breathed a sigh of relief that someone was stopping this. Honestly, why did everyone have to say all these aggressive things all the time? Jon was much too similar to Arya. Couldn't they just stay quiet?
They all obey immediately. The four boys tell him that Jon tried to kill them and broke Grenn's wrist, but the man sends them outside to Maester Aemon, saying that the wrist is only sprained.
"Yes!" Arya said. "I knew it would just be a sprain!"
Jon shook his head in amusement at his little sister, fighting a smile. She could always cheer him up.
He stays to talk to Jon once they are gone. He says the Night's Watch needs every man it can get, and Jon won't win honours by killing people. Jon tells him what they said about his mother, and Noye says that words can't make her a whore; she was what she was, and no words can change that.
Jon read these words out loud very carefully, reflecting on what this man was saying. This sounded like what Tyrion had said a few chapters ago. He had never really thought about things this way before.
He goes on to say that Jon didn't have a hard life being a lord's bastard. Some of the boys here are sons of tavern wenches, or septons, or whores.
Jon doesn't care about them or Thorne or anything. He hates it here. It's too cold.
The rest of the family were silent, looking at Jon uncertainly. They couldn't even imagine... would it really be like that for Jon?
Noye tells him to accept it the way it is, because either way, he's stuck here for life and it's up to him whether it's going to be a short one or a long one.
Jon steadily kept reading, actively not thinking about what words were written on the page in front of him. 'Stuck here for life...' He would have plenty of time to reflect on what all of this meant when he didn't have the eyes of his entire family on him.
With the amount of enemies Jon is making, one of these days, one of his brothers will slit his throat in the night. Jon says they're not his brothers - they hate him because he's better than them. Noye tells him that he acts like he's better than they are, and that Jon is a bully.
Robb looked up indignation. Jon, a bully?! How dare that man talk about his brother like that? He was clearly a better fighter, and those brutes from earlier were the ones who were threatening to beat Jon up, not the other way around.
Jon was just as shocked by the use of that word... bully? He kept reading, hoping for an explanation.
Jon humiliates them every day, and all the brothers are probably afraid of him. He's the only one who had any training by a master-at-arms growing up - most of the other recruits have never held a sword before in their life, let alone had enough money to buy one.
Jon's frown disappeared from his forehead. He felt a little guilty at the way he had thought of the other recruits in this chapter.
Jon is still angry, but he starts to feel ashamed and guilty. He had never thought of it this way.
Robb also calmed down a little after hearing this explanation. He felt a bit stupid - he had completely forgotten that the people at the Wall would have grown up without a master-at-arms. Still, he reasoned, that was no excuse for treating Jon the way they had been this chapter. Maybe Jon could help them?
Jon leaves the armory and sees that it is almost midday. He turns to look at the Wall, filling up half the sky and glittering in the sunlight. Even after all these weeks, it still gives him shivers. Centuries old, and almost seven hundred feet high, it makes Jon dizzy when he looks up. Somehow, Jon knows that if it ever fell, the world would fall with it.
Everyone in the room had shivers listening to this description.
Apart from Ned, none of them had ever seen the Wall for themselves. It sounded absolutely majestic.
Jon couldn't even imagine that feeling of looking up and seeing half the sky disappearing from view. But would that magnificent image be enough to counteract everything he had learned about the Night's Watch since they had started reading?
Bran desperately wanted to visit one day and see it for himself. Maybe he could visit Jon one day? Or... he suddenly remembered the strange dream that had been in his last chapter. Suddenly he was a little less eager to see the Wall. He still had goosebumps at the thought of all those corpses speared by icicles. He quickly pushed that line of thinking away and focused on Jon's voice, sine Jon had already continued with the chapter.
A voice interrupts his thoughts, and Jon whirls around to see Tyrion Lannister.
Catelyn raised an eyebrow at another mention of the Imp. She was very curious to see how he would act, after last chapter's revelations that it would be his knife that would almost end her son's life.
Could Petyr's information be trusted?
He has hardly seen him since the journey ended - as the queen's brother, Tyrion was a guest of honour, dining at Lord Mormont's own table and sleeping in the King's Tower.
Tyrion gestures at the Wall and asks why everyone wants to know what's on the other side of a wall as soon as it's been built. Jon says that it's nothing special, just woods and frozen lakes.
Ned frowned. He still hadn't forgotten the prologue of this book, and looking around at his family, he could tell that they hadn't either.
White Walkers.
The entire realm, but especially the Night's Watch, needed to be aware of the threat. He hoped the Lord Commander would believe him if he wrote a letter after this chapter was over. Ned would have to be very careful with his wording.
And grumkins and snarks, Tyrion adds. What else would that big thing be for, Lord Snow?
Jon breathed in sharply at that nickname, but immediately calmed down. He needed to start taking these lessons to heart - they did make some sense, after all. If you gave a name no power over you, it wouldn't be able to hurt you. Jon suppressed a snort at his own thought process. He sounded exactly like Lannister.
Jon tells Tyrion not to call him that, but Tyrion repeats his words from a few months ago, that Jon should take their name for him and make it his own, so that it can't hurt him anymore.
Arya smiled as she heard that. She liked Tyrion, she decided. As much as anyone could like a Lannister, obviously.
She didn't think that he would want to kill Bran anymore. That Littlefinger person must be the one who was lying.
On their way to the dining hall, Tyrion asks Jon where the wolf is, and Jon replies that he's chained up during training and in Jon's chambers at night. The rest of the recruits are scared of Ghost, so it's better that he's by himself.
Tyrion also asks about Benjen, who was supposed to have returned on Jon's name day, which had been two weeks ago. They were on a search looking for Ser Waymar Royce.
"Ser Waymar Royce?" Sansa asked. "Wasn't he the one who...?" she couldn't finish the question.
Catelyn nodded with a sad smile. "I hope Benjen realises that the search won't be successful soon," she said quietly, a look of worry on her face for her brother-in-law. "And that they won't go too deep into the woods in hopes of finding him."
Ned looked at his wife as she spoke, the same worried expression reflected on his face.
No one spoke for a bit, thinking about Benjen's safe return.
Once they sit down at a table with their bowls of stew, Ser Alliser Thorne tells Jon that the Lord Commander wants to see him. Tyrion asks for the reason, and Ser Alliser says that it's news from Winterfell about his half-brother.
"Bran!" Arya said excitedly. "Or Robb?" she second-guessed herself.
"No, I think this will be news about Bran," Robb said, eyes glinting in excitement.
The energy in the room picked up at that thought, and smiles returned to the faces. Jon was finally going to find out that Bran was going to live.
Jon immediately scrambles to his feet, breathing that something's happened to Bran. He brushes off Tyrion's comforting hand and starts running towards the doors. Breathless, he bursts into the Lord Commander's rooms.
"What does it say about Bran?" Jon asks, wild-eyed and panting.
Lord Commander Mormont hands him a scroll as a raven flies off his arm to eat some corn.
A shiver ran down Bran's back at that sentence, as flashbacks about the three-eyed bird entered his mind, but he quickly shook it off, seeing the joy in everyone's faces. He didn't want to ruin that now, when they had had so few happy scenes in this book.
Jon looks at the text, recognises Robb's hand, but the words seem to blur before his eyes. Jon realises he is crying. Through the tears, he finally finds the meaning in the letter and looks up, saying that Bran woke up.
Jon read the entire paragraph with a grin. He was still so happy about those news.
Mormont says that his brother will be crippled, offering his apologies, but Jon hardly hears him. That doesn't matter. Nothing matters, apart from the fact that Bran is going to live.
Bran is going to live. The raven repeats the words: Live! Live!
Jon runs down the stairs, smiling and tightly holding Robb's letter, telling everyone he meets that his brother is going to live.
Everyone was smiling, genuinely happy for once.
Bran gave Jon a small smile that Jon returned immediately. It was nice to know how much he was cared about, even if the situation was very weird.
He finds Tyrion in the hall, picks him up and spins around in a circle
The mental image made Bran and Arya giggle loudly.
Sansa's lips twitched in an urge to join in the laughter, but she only just managed to control herself.
The atmosphere in the room was a lot lighter than it had been a few minutes ago, and the family was glad for the relief of tension.
whooping that his brother is going to live! Lannister looks startled and Jon gives him the letter to read.
He turns and sees Grenn in the corner, a thick bandage around one hand.
Robb looked at Jon in curiosity, wondering what would happen. He honestly didn't know what he would do in this situation and was interested to hear Jon's future thoughts.
Jon smiles at him, apologising for the wrist and offering to show him how to defend that move.
Ned nodded in approval at that decision.
Alliser Thorne overhears sneering that Jon will have an easier time teaching a wolf to juggle than teaching that lot how to fight.
Jon barely suppressed a snort before reading the next sentence.
Jon responds that he'd love to see Ghost juggle.
That comment made even Sansa laugh as she joined in with her siblings.
Grenn sucks in his breath as shocked silence falls.
Then Tyrion stars laughing, and some of the black brothers join in. The laughter spreads until even Grenn begins to chuckle.
Ser Alliser's face darkens and his hand curls into a fist. He warns Jon that this was a grievous error.
"This chapter is over," Jon said, closing the book and handing it back to his father.
"Very good," Ned said. He looked around the room. "I suggest we take a break for the day and continue tomorrow morning. It's beginning to get dark, after all."
"Good idea," Catelyn said, clapping her hands before standing up. "Children, you may go to the
hall for dinner if you wish. I believe food is about to be served."
Arya and Bran jumped up immediately, heading out the door. Sansa followed her siblings, also feeling pretty hungry. She looked back questioningly at her mother, who decided to accompany her.
"I'm going to go look for Theon, and see how he is doing," Robb said. "He must be wondering where I've been lately."
Ned walked over to the desk in the corner of the room to put the book back in its safe place, and then turned back around to see Jon still standing there.
"Jon..." Ned said. He didn't know how to finish the sentence. "I wanted to -"
"Never mind," Jon said quickly. "You don't owe me an explanation, Lord Stark." He ducked his head and turned to follow the others out into the hall.
"Wait," Ned said.
Jon stopped and looked back at his father.
"I will explain everything soon, Jon, I promise. I'm sorry. I know this is unfair to you. As soon as this book is finished, we'll sit down and talk. And you can ask me anything that's on your mind. Alright?"
Jon breathed out slowly. Just a little more patience, he told himself. "Alright."
He hesitated, not sure if he should say something else, but decided against it. "I'm going to go to dinner, Lord Stark."
Ned nodded and watched Jon leave the room, guilt rushing through him. He had only ever wanted the best for Jon, but it seemed he had failed completely in that regard.
With a heavy heart, Ned walked over to his desk and pulled several pieces of parchment out. He had quite a few letters to write. To his bannermen, urging them to send more men to support the Night's Watch, to the King, asking how the journey is going, and most importantly, to the Night's Watch itself.
It would be best to start with the most urgent business first, Ned reasoned.
To Lord Commander Mormont, ...
Oh gods, how was he going to word this? Best not to draw attention to anything conspicuous. Maybe he could tell the Lord Commander to be aware of increased danger? That his bannermen would send more recruits?
Eddard Stark set quill to parchment and began to write.
Chapter Notes
Eddard IV & Tyrion III
Thank you guys so much for your patience and all your lovely, amazing comments! <3 I hope you enjoy this update. This was my first attempt at combining chapters - I hope I'll get better in the future ;)
As always, I really appreciate any thoughts and feedback you guys have. Thank you!
The next morning, the family all reconvened at breakfast.
Eddard was feeling tired after a fitful sleep as worries about the future plagued his mind. He had sent off his letter to the Night's Watch last night, telling the Lord Commander to expect new recruits from his bannermen. He had also sent a message to Lord Manderly to remind him to repair his defenses at White Harbour, just to be safe.
Still, even after considering all options for future action, Ned didn't know what to do. Should he notify Galbart Glover, telling him to fortify Moat Cailin? In apparent times of peace such as these, that would certainly raise eyebrows among his bannermen. For now, Ned decided to hold his tongue. Hopefully, the books would reveal more information soon, and Ned was conscious to not make any rushed decisions, especially since he hadn't even seen Robert yet.
Ned glanced at his wife beside him, eternally grateful for her love and support as she helped him and gave him advice. They would all get through this, he knew.
And until the king arrived, the most pressing problem was that of the Night's Watch, which he had helped a little. Perhaps after they had finished reading, he could travel to Castle Black and speak with Mormont about a reform of the Night's Watch. Possibly a several year long contract for knights and trained fighters, to motivate them to join? Ned filed that idea away in his mind, to expand on later. First, they needed to learn more about the future that threatened if they did nothing.
Further along the table, Robb and Theon were laughing together, talking about the girl Theon had been talking to last week.
Theon still didn't know what Robb was doing when he disappeared all day, but had decided to accept it for now. And at least Robb wasn't forcing him to spend as much time with Snow anymore.
Arya giggled as she helped Rickon with his breakfast. The three-year-old was trying and failing to eat a slice of bread, and Arya's hands were shaking too much from laughter to help him hold the blunt butter knife.
"Rickon!" she reprimanded him, shaking her head as he gave up and tried to steal her breakfast instead. Sadly, she couldn't hold a serious expression for long before she started laughing again, which made Rickon giggle too.
Sansa rolled her eyes from across the table, watching her two younger siblings struggle. She suppressed a fond smile at their ridiculousness, and reached over across the table to fix the
situation.
Arya looked up in surprise, the amusement still on her lips as she met her sister's eyes. She smiled shyly, and Sansa smiled back. Arya still wasn't used to the nice treatment, but tried her best to make everything as normal and natural as possible. She knew that with time, she could get used to not teasing her sister as much, but for now it was still a little strange.
Bran finished his breakfast quietly, and looked around to see if everyone was finished.
He had been outside this morning, exploring Winterfell a little more. Since reading the horrible chapter where he had fallen, Bran had been afraid to go climbing, something he had never felt before. So for now, he was staying on the ground, looking for new tunnels and secret passageways. Maybe one day he would go climbing again, but for now he was happy to run around on the ground levels.
One by one, the members of the Stark family got up from the table and walked to the reading room.
Jon was already there, deep in thought about the conversation he had had with his father last night. He wasn't really happy with the answer he had gotten, but... at least he wouldn't have to wait that much longer now.
Jon looked up as his siblings entered the room, and smiled in greeting.
Robb immediately sat down next to him, Arya on Jon's other side. Bran and Sansa sat down too, anxiously looking at the door as they waited for their parents to arrive.
"What do you think will happen next?" Bran asked quietly. "In the book, I mean."
"I don't know," Robb answered. "I'm excited to hear more about what King's Landing is like, though. I'm sure Father will arrive there soon."
Sansa nodded, perking up a little. "That will be amazing to hear about," she said dreamily. "I can't even imagine all those people living in the same place. It must look beautiful at night, with all the lights in all the windows."
Her face darkened as she remembered the queen and Joffrey. She was already a little worried about meeting them for the first time, after everything she had heard.
Robb noticed the change in her expression and smiled comfortingly.
Ned and Catelyn entered the room soon after, Ned already holding the book in his hand.
"Are we all ready?" he asked once he had sat down.
The children all nodded, looking at each other for a volunteer to begin reading aloud.
Bran cleared his throat and raised his hand shyly. "I can read for a little while, if you don't mind," he said.
"Go ahead," Ned told him, handing him the book.
Once Bran had found the correct page, he smiled as he read the title. "Eddard." Everyone sat up in curiosity. What would happen now?
Eddard Stark arrives in King's Landing and is immediately summoned to an urgent meeting of the small council.
Robb lifted his head in interest, and exchanged an excited glance with Jon. He had always wondered what those meetings were like.
When Ned walks into the meeting, in borrowed clothes since his luggage had not yet arrived, he finds four members of the council waiting for him. The eunuch Varys,
Bran stumbled over the word. Catelyn gently corrected his pronunciation, and nodded encouragingly for him to keep reading.
who Ned likes least, starts talking immediately, telling Ned how sorry he was to hear of the troubles on the road and how they all pray for Prince Joffrey's quick recovery.
Arya frowned. She still wasn't quite over what had happened a few chapters ago.
"Quick recovery," she repeated sarcastically under her breath, earning her a warning glare from her mother.
Ned is cool but polite in response, and turns to greet Renly, who consistently surprises Ned by how similar he looks to a young Robert Baratheon. He also begins a conversation with Littlefinger, who smiles insolently and mentions Lady Catelyn and his late brother Brandon.
Sansa shot her parents an interested look. It was a little strange, hearing so much about Uncle Brandon and Petyr Baelish in such a short space of time, after hearing almost nothing for her entire life before they had started reading.
Before this book, she had never really thought about the life her parents had led before she and her siblings were born. It would take a little getting used to, she supposed, now that she was hearing her father's future thoughts and conversations.
Ned finishes this conversation quickly, since he has no patience for this game the southerners like to play, this dueling with words. He quickly greets the very old Grandmaester Pycelle as well, and sits down.
As the other men join him at the table, Ned suddenly thinks that he does not belong here. He remembers what Robert had said in the crypts about being surrounded by flatterers and fools, and wonders which of these four men are the flatterers and which the fools. He thinks he knows already.
Bran tilted his head in thought. From this short description, he didn't think he could tell the flatterers and the fools apart. Possibly the Grandmaester was the fool? But how could you become Grandmaester without being very smart?
Lord Baelish was definitely a flatterer, Bran decided. But Lord Renly? Varys? Bran decided to let this topic go for now, and kept reading.
Ned suggests that they wait for the king and Ser Barristan, but Renly says that the matters of the small council bore Robert to tears and he rarely joins meetings. Robert had sent an urgent message though, and Ned is shocked to see that it is a command to stage a great tourney in Ned's honour.
"A tourney?" Sansa repeated softly, her eyes lighting up in interest.
No one responded, as Bran quickly kept reading.
It will cost ninety thousand golden dragons, not including the food, singers, jugglers, and so on. Littlefinger tells Ned that the treasury has been empty for years, and he will have to borrow the money from the Lannisters.
Ned is stunned to hear that the crown is six million gold pieces in debt.
"Six million!" Ned repeated loudly. He shook his head in disbelief. "What was Robert thinking ?" he muttered, softly this time.
Could they truly allow the Lannisters to hold this much power over the Crown? He really, urgently needed to speak with Robert once he arrived in Winterfell.
He cancels the meeting in hopes of persuading the king to change his mind, since this tourney is not something they can afford. He stands up, nods at them all, and leaves.
Robb looked at his father in awe. He never would have been brave enough to just cancel a meeting like that!
But then, Robb supposed, being the Hand of the King did mean that his father was allowed to cut short any meetings he wanted.
He crosses the outer yard, still thinking about Sansa and Arya.
Sansa met Arya's eyes briefly, and they smiled awkwardly at each other before looking away again.
They had both spent the last two weeks of the journey in misery, as Sansa blamed Arya and thought Nymeria should have been the one to die, and Arya was brooding over what happened to the butcher's boy.
Suddenly, Littlefinger appears in front of him and says that he's going the wrong way, and that his wife is waiting for him.
"Ooh," Arya said loudly, sitting up in excitement. She couldn't wait to see what her mother would tell her father about everything that had happened in Winterfell since he had left.
She hoped her future self would be able to see her mother as well.
Hesitantly, Ned follows him, not believing him. He is growing tired of all these intrigues - his wife is in Winterfell, after all. They walk downstairs and along a deserted corridor, until they end up outside again.
Littlefinger climbs down some rocks, warning Ned not to fall to his death as he follows. There are two horses waiting at the bottom, and they ride into the city together, until they stop in front of a brothel.
"A brothel?" Robb repeated, frowning. He and Jon exchanged a confused look. "I assume that must be a safe place for them to meet?" Jon suggested uncertainly.
Littlefinger says that Catelyn is inside. For Ned, this is the final insult. He slams the small man back against a wall and takes out a dagger, but suddenly an urgent voice calls that Lord Baelish is telling the truth.
Ned spins around, knife in hand, to see Ser Rodrik Cassel running towards them. Ned is lost, since he had thought Ser Rodrik in Winterfell, but finally believes that Catelyn truly is inside.
They walk into the brothel, no one paying them any mind, and enter a room. Catelyn cries out when she sees him, and embraces him fiercely.
Bran, Arya, Sansa and Robb smiled brightly as they heard their parents reunite. Ned and Catelyn exchanged a smile.
Ned leaned over to his wife, eyes warm, and whispered: "I still maintain that it was foolish of you to travel all this way, my lady."
"It was important," Catelyn reminded him. If a similar situation ever appeared in this universe, she would undoubtedly make the same decision her future self had made.
She says that she had feared he would never come. She has heard what happened with Arya and Joffrey, and asks how the girls are.
Ned replies they are both in mourning and full of anger. He asks her what she is doing in King's Landing, but can not bring himself to ask whether Bran
Bran's voice broke a little as he saw that sentence, but he simply cleared his throat and steadily carried on reading.
whether Bran is dead.
Then he sees her hands, the raw red scars and the awkward way she holds them, and he takes them in his hands to examine them.
The room was silent as everyone listened to this scene unfold.
Catelyn pulls out a dagger and tells Ned that the blade was sent to open Bran's throat and spill his life's blood. Ned immediately asks questions, but she hushes him and begs him to let her tell the whole story.
When she is done, he sits down, dazed, and thinks dully that the wolf had saved Bran's life. He remembers Jon's words: "Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord." And he had killed Sansa's. For what?
Sansa swallowed harshly at the recurring thought of her wolf dying. She couldn't even imagine how sad her future self must be feeling.
She saw her father send her a concerned look and forced a smile onto her face to reassure him. Nothing had actually happened, after all.
He doesn't know whether he is feeling guilt or fear. If the gods had sent them these wolves, he has most likely made a terrible mistake.
The children all sent Ned uncertain glances as they heard that sentence. None of them could deny the incredibly strong bond they already had with their wolf pups. As they grew up, it would probably only get stronger. But were they really sent to them by the gods?
Chills went down Bran's spine at the thought.
Painfully, Ned forces himself to think about the dagger and the Imp. Why would Tyrion Lannister want his son, who has never done him any harm, dead?
Littlefinger says that he probably did not act alone, and Ned replies that he can not believe the queen or the king could have been involved.
Listening to this now, Ned raised an eyebrow at his future self's thought process.
Obviously Robert hadn't had anything to do with it, but the queen? Ned struggled to remember why he had thought the queen to be so trustworthy before they had started reading.
But suddenly, he remembers what the king had said that cold morning when they were riding, about sending assassins after the Targaryen princess. He remembers Rhaegar's infant son being slaughtered, and how the king had turned away. He can hear Sansa pleading, the way Lyanna had pleaded once.
Sansa shivered as she imagined her aunt Lyanna, who she had never met, pleading the way she had a few chapters ago. That image sent goosebumps onto her arms, and she closed her eyes tightly to focus on her brother's voice instead.
Littlefinger says that the king probably didn't know, and that he is practiced at closing his eyes to things he'd prefer not to see. Littlefinger continues, saying that an accusation against the king is treason either way, but the queen... if they can find proof and convince Robert, then perhaps...
Ned says that the dagger is proof, but Littlefinger replies that Tyrion could easily say that it was stolen from him, and how could anyone prove that he was lying?
"I don't think it was Tyrion," Arya said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her.
"I mean," she continued, uncharacteristically hesitant, "we've read a few of his chapters now. Don't you think he would have thought about it if he'd actually done it? And he seems to really like Bran."
"I agree," Robb said. "I think someone's trying to frame him."
Jon nodded in agreement as Bran continued reading.
Littlefinger advises Ned to throw the dagger into the river and forget about it.
Ned looks at him coldly and say that he is a Stark of Winterfell, and his son and wife almost died, and if Littlefinger believes he could forget about this, he is as big a fool now than he was
when he challenged Brandon to a duel. Littlefinger replies that he may be a fool, but at least he is still alive, while Brandon has been dead for fourteen years now.
Sansa gasped. Did he really just say that? She looked around the room, still shocked, and took her parents' grim faces as confirmation.
He also says he will try to keep Ned alive for Catelyn's sake.
Catelyn says that Petyr has promised to help them uncover the truth about Jon Arryn's death. Ned is not happy to hear that, but he agrees anyway. He asks about Varys - none of them know how he found out about this, but Littlefinger tells them to worry less about Varys, since he can deal with him, and more about the Lannisters.
Ned agrees that they are the bigger threat, thinking of Cersei's quiet voice as she suggested to kill Lady, of the boy Micah, of Bran's fall and Jon's death, of the mad Targaryen king dying on the floor of his throne room.
Everyone was silent as they took in how much had happened already, and the way everything seemed to be connected.
He turns to Catelyn and tells her she must return north, to protect Bran from further danger. Catelyn asks to see the girls first, but Littlefinger and Ned agree that it is too dangerous. He will watch over the girls, she must protect their sons.
Sansa and Arya sighed simultaneously in disappointment. They knew this couldn't have happened for many reasons, but still, they had both hoped for another scene between them and their mother in this book.
Maybe the books would show their reunion once they all returned to Winterfell, Sansa comforted herself.
Catelyn agrees, and Ned kisses her.
Littlefinger leaves with a snarky remark, and Ned and Catelyn both thank him for his help. Once they are alone, Ned tells Catelyn that once she arrives home, she must send word to Helman Tallhart and Galbart Glover to raise a hundred bowmen each and fortify Moat Cailin to protect the Neck against an army. She should also tell Lord Manderly to man all defenses at White Harbor, and to keep careful watch over Theon Greyjoy. If there is war, they will desperately need his father's fleet.
Ned was nodding along to every word his future self was saying. Of course they couldn't fortify Moat Cailin now, since the king's party would undoubtedly notice as they rested there on their journey north, but other than that, he had already done most of those things, to be absolutely prepared. Just in case.
Catelyn repeats the word war , fear on her face, and Ned promises that it will not come to that. The Lannisters will not attack the North, since they don't have the realm behind them. For now, Ned must go on and act as if nothing is wrong. But if he finds proof that the Lannisters murdered Jon Arryn, then he will go to the king.
Ned adds silently that he prays the king is the man Ned thinks he is, and not the man Ned fears he has become.
Ned was deep in thought, not at all sure that this new Robert was the man he thought he was. "The chapter is finished," Bran said, looking up uncertainly.
Ned lifted his head quickly, surprised at the interruption, and smiled reassuringly at his childrens' concerned looks.
"I'd be happy to read next," he offered, holding out his hand. Bran handed the book over.
"Unless anyone would like to say anything to this?" No one spoke. "Alright," Ned said, nodding, "then we'll just continue. This chapter is from Tyrion's perspective."
He cleared his throat and started reading.
Tyrion tells the Lord Commander that he must leave the Night's Watch soon, otherwise his brother Jaime will fear he has taken the black. Mormont replies that he wishes Tyrion would, since cunning men like him are needed on the Wall.
Jon nodded seriously. He genuinely liked Tyrion, judging from what they had read so far. He would definitely be better than that Alliser Thorne, or some of those other people.
Tyrion replies with a joke about dwarves, which Thorne overhears and is offended by, thinking Tyrion is mocking them. He says that Tyrion has a sharp tongue for someone who is less than half a man, and tells him to repeat his statements about the Wall with steel in his hand. Tyrion, who is currently eating, points to his fork as he says he has steel in his hand, and begins a mock duel.
Sansa let out a surprised giggle, but quickly covered her mouth, blushing. Arya met Jon's eyes, who was also trying to hide his amusement.
Ned raised his voice to keep reading over the sounds of his children trying not to laugh, while Catelyn shook her head fondly.
Everyone at the table is laughing. Mormont also struggles to catch his breath, before reprimanding Tyrion not to provoke Thorne like that. Tyrion asks why Thorne is training the new recruits instead of mucking out stables, since he is obviously unsuited to the position, and Mormont replies that Thorne is an anointed knight who fought bravely at King's Landing, though another man points out that Thorne fought on the wrong side, and only took the black to avoid Tywin putting his head on a spike.
Ned raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't heard that story before, though it made a lot of sense. It was a shame how the system worked, Ned reflected again, sending men to the Wall as punishment, instead of the Night's Watch being treated as an honour.
"Were all men who fought on the wrong side sent to the Wall?" Bran asked.
"Not all of them, no. But quite a few were," Ned replied. He quickly kept reading, not wanting to delve deeper into that topic.
They talk about the war and Tyrion's father a little, before Tyrion holds out his cup for more wine. Bowen Marsh says that he has a great thirst for such a small man.
Maester Aemon softly says that he thinks Tyrion is quite a large man, in fact he is a giant come amongst them, here at the end of the world.
Sansa tilted her head in thought, trying to decide whether or not she agreed with that sentence. Tyrion did seem smart, and he hadn't seemed evil at all in his chapters so far. Maybe he truly was a good person? After the shock she had had with Queen Cersei, Sansa didn't want to come to a conclusion too quickly.
Arya smiled a little. She liked Maester Aemon, Arya thought.
Tyrion gently answers that he is very seldom called a giant, but Maester Aemon insists that it is nonetheless true. For once, Tyrion is lost for words, and simply nods politely, saying that Maester Aemon is too kind. The old, blind man smiles and responds that he is very seldom called kind, which makes Tyrion laugh.
Jon, Robb, Arya and Bran smiled as well, genuinely enjoying this unexpected conversation.
Jon really wanted to meet Maester Aemon one day, he decided.
Much later, once the others had left, Mormont offers Tyrion a chair next to the fire. He tells Tyrion he shall have three men of the Night's Watch to accompany him on his way south, since the King's Road can be dangerous.
Tyrion thanks him, and asks whether Jon Snow could come with them, to see his brothers again
Jon, Robb and Bran exchanged excited looks as Bran held his breath in anticipation.
but Mormont declines
Jon sighed softly, as Bran leaned back in disappointment. He'd really been looking forward to reading about a reunion.
since all the recruits need time to forget their families and not stir up feelings of homesickness.
Robb conceded that point. Still, he knew his future self would have liked to see Jon again.
Mormont then ask Tyrion to speak to his sister and his brother-in-law of their need here. The Night's Watch is dying - they have less than a thousand men, and the Wall is a hundred leagues long. In case of an attack, they would only have three men for every mile of wall.
Arya looked at her father in surprise. "I didn't know there were that few men on the wall," she said.
"Yes, especially now that we know how important the Night's watch still is," Ned agreed. "I have already arranged for more trained recruits to go to the Wall, but of course that isn't enough."
"What will you do?" Jon asked.
"I'm not sure yet," Ned responded thoughtfully. "I'll have to think about it when we have more information."
He then tells Tyrion that he sent Benjen Stark out to look for the Royce boy, since Gared ran
away and was executed for it and Waymar Royce has disappeared. Now Ben Stark has also gone missing, and there is no suitable person to go after him. Soon Mormont will be seventy - he is getting too old for this, but cannot give up command, because then who will pick it up? The Night's Watch is full of sullen boys and tired old men. There are hardly any who can read, and no one who can think, or plan, or lead .
Everyone was silent as they listened to Mormont's speech. It was clear how desperate he was for support.
Jon felt a little bad for being so shocked by his last few chapters and how horrible the Wall sounded. Maybe he could still go to the Wall to help them? If they truly needed every person who could come? If these books were good for anything, at least they could help show them where to improve things in the Night's Watch and society in general. Even though these books were shining light on a lot of subjects and giving them all so much information, Jon knew that his own prospects weren't going to change. Once they were finished reading, Jon would still be a bastard with no real place in the world. And who knew, maybe things would improve by the time he actually joined the Night's Watch? Still a little unsure, Jon resolved to seriously consider the option, at least.
Tyrion realises how important this is to Mormont, and feels a little embarrassed. Mormont has spent most of his life here, and needs to feel that his life had meaning. He tells Mormont that the king shall hear of this, but doesn't mention that Robert will most likely ignore Tyrion's words.
"I shall tell the king as well, once he arrives here. He needs to understand the urgency," Ned said decisively, before he continued with the next paragraph. Catelyn nodded in approval.
Mormont warns Tyrion that the long summer is coming to an end. Tyrion must make the people in King's Landing understand. There are direwolves and mammoths in the woods, and Mormont has seen darker shapes in his dreams. Tyrion repeats "in your dreams," and thinks about how he needs another drink.
Arya leaned forward, heart pounding in her chest. "Why isn't he taking this seriously?" she demanded.
"Of course he doesn't believe those stories," Sansa told her. "Tyrion's from the south. He doesn't actually believe there's any danger beyond the Wall - why would he?"
"But -" Arya protested.
"We wouldn't believe it either if we hadn't read about Ser Waymar Royce," Sansa reminded her.
Arya frowned unhappily, but nodded, accepting this answer.
Mormont ignores him and says that White Walkers have been spotted by Eastwatch
Ned paused in the sentence, taking that in. At Eastwatch? So far south?
He looked at his family, who seemed just as shocked. To think that the White Walkers had already reached the Wall...
Jon shook his head in disbelief. And this was only a few months into the future! He prayed they were not going to plan an actual attack.
and the mountain people are moving south quicker than ever before. What are they running from? Mormont asks. When winter comes, only the Night's Watch will stand between the realm and the darkness in the north.
Bran shivered at that thought. He didn't even want to imagine that. He reached out and held his mother's hand tightly for comfort, suddenly very happy that this book was warning them.
Tyrion ends the conversation and says that he needs sleep, but thanks Mormont for the courtesies. Mormon repeats that Tyrion must tell his brother and the king, and make them believe.
Tyrion walks outside, bundled thickly in his furs to protect himself from the bitter cold. He wanders around aimlessly for a while, then decides to go up on the Wall for the last time.
It is bitingly cold up here, he thinks once he has arrived. Thankfully the Wall is very thick, so he has no fear of falling, but the ice is slipperier than he would have liked. As he starts making his way along the Wall, a voice calls out for him to halt. Tyrion stops as he recognises Jon, accompanied as always by Ghost.
Jon bit his lips to hide his smile. He was strangely excited to hear about this conversation.
Tyrion explains that he decided to come up here on a whim, and asks if Ghost will bite his hand off if he touches him.
Robb suppressed a laugh at the thought of quiet Ghost biting anyone's hand off for trying to stroke him. If it had been Shaggydog, he could understand the fear, but Ghost?
As he scratches Ghost behind the ear, he notices glumly that the beast will probably be taller than him soon. Jon says that he is the guard for tonight, and proudly tells Tyrion about the progress Grenn and Pyp are making in training, now that Jon is helping them - though Ghost sadly hasn't learnt how to juggle yet.
That made them all laugh, grateful that the tension was relieved for now.
They walk together for a while, and Tyrion says that he leaves tomorrow, and that he will stop at Winterfell on his way to King's Landing.
Jon says that Tyrion should tell Robb that he will become Lord Commander and keep the realm safe, so Robb might as well have Mikken melt his sword down for horseshoes, since he won't need it anyway.
Robb gasped in pretend shock, looking at Jon in mock betrayal, a hand on his heart.
"How could you?" he asked, making everyone laugh.
Jon rolled his eyes, grinning, and said: "It's true, so..." He let his words dangle in the air.
Rob shook his head slowly in disbelief, a small smile on his face as his father continued reading. Tyrion laughs and says that message would most likely get him killed.
"It truly would," Robb joked, earning himself a playful hit on the shoulder from Jon.
"Alright, calm down," Ned said, a glint of amusement in his eyes. Robb and Jon immediately grew quiet and looked down, a little embarrassed.
Tyrion should also try to explain to Rickon where Jon has gone, and that he can have all of Jon's things. Jon doesn't know what message to send to Bran, and asks Tyrion to help him with his words, like he has helped Jon.
Jon and Bran exchanged a warm smile. Bran still couldn't imagine what his future self must be feeling. To know you'll never be able to walk or climb again... it must be awful.
Listening to this conversation, Arya only grew more certain of her belief that Tyrion had nothing to do with the assassin. She could tell, looking at her family's faces, that none of them believed Littlefinger anymore, either.
Jon offers Tyrion his hand, and says they are friends. Tyrion is oddly touched, and accepts the handshake.
Everyone smiled at that. Tyrion did genuinely seem like he cared about Jon.
They turn to look out beyond the Wall, at the edge of the world. Tyrion can see the forest in the moonlight, running perfectly parallel to the Wall. As he stands there, Tyrion can almost believe all that talk of the Others. He suddenly finds his old jokes about grumpkins and snarks a lot less funny.
Bran had goosebumps as Ned nodded seriously while he read that.
It was a lot more difficult to make jokes about these monsters if you were actually standing there, staring out into the darkness beyond the Wall.
Jon says that his uncle is out there, and hasn't come back, and Tyrion tells him to give him time. Jon promises that he and Ghost will find Benjen if he doesn't come back. Tyrion says that he believes him. Tyrion shivers as he silently wonders who will then find Jon.
The room was deathly silent as they all processed that last sentence. Jon was staring blankly at the book, deep in thought.
After a few seconds, Ned cleared his throat. "This chapter is finished," he said calmly. "Should we continue reading immediately?"
No one objected to this suggestion.
"Perhaps I should simply continue reading?" Ned said.
Catelyn nodded in agreement. "That seems like a good idea," she said quietly. Ned turned to the next page and continued.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone