Winterfell

It had been a long few weeks, mainly because Jon had to sleep with one eye open as Remsey had tried to attack him multiple times during their journey. But he was glad it was finally over as in the distance he could see Winterfell, though he couldn't help but frown as there seemed to be quite a few tents in the fields outside of the fortress 'Are there visitors?' Jon thought to himself as he rode on his horse with Remsey secured in front of him with her hands bound. Ever since she tried to strangle him with the stirrups he made sure to keep her bound, hopefully she'd know where her home was and he could be rid of her.

"Remsey make sure not to cause any trouble, if you piss off the wrong person in here I won't be able to help you, in Winterfell I'm just a bastard like you" Jon warned, though she didn't say anything in reply Jon knew she had gotten the message. Jon could feel Remsey tense as they got closer to the city, the town was positively packed full of people so much so that Jon considered dismounting his horse and guiding it, he could feel Remsey shaking in front of him as she kept on rapidly looking around 'This must be the first time she's been around so many people' he thought to himself. He sighed as he slipped his arm around her stomach, she jumped at the initial contact but allowed him to keep his arm there.

Jon noticed that there were a lot more guards than usual and a lot of them weren't ones he recognised, though he quickly understood what was happening when he saw the Targaryen banner flying high 'So the Royal family have come to Winterfell... but why?' He thought to himself with a frown, he spurred his horse on a bit faster navigating through the crowd until he reached the gates of the keep

"Halt!" The guards shouted as they stood in front of his horse with their spears out. Jon quickly dismounted his horse and was recognised by the guards "Good to see you, Jon, you finished your business quickly" the guard said with a smile.

Jon smiled as he reached over and clasped the guard's arm "Good to see you too Rolf, you know me if the task involves fighting it'll always be easy" he said with a grin "I had no clue a royal procession was coming here, when did they arrive?" Jon asked Rolf

Rolf shook his head in annoyance "They came just a few days ago without so much as a Raven, Damn white-haired cunts" he whispered in anger.

"Truth be told Jon I'm glad you're back, the Crown Prince has been strutting around the courtyard with a cocky grin on his face ever since he beat Lord Robb," Rolf told him which caused Jon to frown slightly, Robb was a good Swordsman, though not as good as himself he was probably one of the best in Winterfell.

Eventually, a smirk made its way onto Jon's face "I guess I'll have to show our guests what the north is made of" he said drawing a laugh from Rolf who clapped him on the back and waved him through. Jon led his horse through the gate and they entered the courtyard of the massive keep, while it was good to be home Jon didn't much like how busy it was, it was as if a stranger had come in and taken control of his home "Remsey, if you hurt anyone or cause trouble... I'll kill you myself" he said giving her a severe look, something that made her shiver. This time she didn't ignore him and gave him a small nod which set Jon's mind at ease a bit.

He led the horse to the stables and gestured for Remsey to get down which she did without any fuss, as he was taking his bag off the horse a stable boy walked towards him "Lord Snow, Lord Stark wished for me to tell you that he wants to see you as soon as you return" he stated with a quick bow.

Jon smiled and chuckled "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jon, I'm no more a Lord than you are Erik," he said as he ruffled the boy's hair. The boy smiled and tried to move Jon's hand off his head "I'll go see him now, please escort Remsey here to my quarters" he asked and the boy nodded enthusiastically.

Jon turned to her looking at her with the eyes of a seasoned killer "Behave" he simply said before turning around and leaving the stable, he walked through the courtyard and into the main keep, he was immediately hit with the warmth that the keep radiated as it sat upon a hot spring that warmed the entirety of the keep. He smiled at all the guards and servants that he passed, at least the ones that were familiar to him, there was a lot that he did not recognise and so he assumed they must have been part of the royal precession. He continued walking through the corridors of the keep until he made it to the outside of Lord Stark's solar, he couldn't help but wonder what was so important that he was summoned as soon as he returned.

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Enter" Jon heard from the inside of the room, he quickly opened the door and went inside. Lord Stark was sitting behind his desk seemingly writing a letter, and Lady Stark was standing behind him watching intently "Lord Stark, Lady Stark, I'm here as requested" Jon said as he walked in and stood before them with a quick bow.

Lady Stark looked up and smiled brightly "Jon! It's good to see you've returned" she said as she walked around the desk and engulfed him in a warm hug, Jon returned the smile "I just finished stabling my horse when I was told Lord Stark wished to speak with me" he replied.

"Then I shall make myself scarce, there are still lots of things that need my attention though I hope I shall see you later Jon," she said with a smile before walking past Jon and leaving the room. Jon walked forward and sat down in the chair opposite Lord Starks, he sat and waited for him to finish with his letter. Eventually, he did look up "Any news from Karhold?" He simply asked

Jon shook his head "The wildling party was easily dealt with, on the way back I ran into a group of bandits who had murdered most of the men of a town" he reported.

Lord Stark nodded his head "And the Bandits?" He asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"I dealt with them, though there was a slight unexpected issue," Jon said sheepishly as he fidgeted in his seat. Lord Stark stared at him waiting for him to continue "There was a girl, similar in age to me they used her as a sort of attack hound, so I knocked her out and brought her back here" he said stiffly.

"What purpose would bringing her here serve" Lord Stark simply said

Jon shrugged "I suppose I pitied her, it didn't seem fair to kill her for a life that had been forced upon her" he replied.

Lord Stark leaned forward in his seat he seemed to grow at least 10 feet as he did so making Jon sweat slightly "And are you willing to take responsibility for her" he asked in a cold tone.

Jon took a breath and nodded "I am, I'll take on the responsibility of looking after her and returning her home" he said resolutely meeting Lord Stark's stare.

Lord Stark leaned back in his seat, the atmosphere becoming less tense as he did "As I'm sure you've guessed the Royal family have come to Winterfell" he stated with a sigh. "Any idea why they've come on such short notice" Jon asked.

Lord Stark shook his head "The King has said that he'll inform me in private about what he's doing here" he replied "Has he brought the whole of his family" Jon asked to which Lord Stark nodded once again.

"Then it means Visenya has finally come home" Jon stated

Lord Stark got up from his seat and walked to the window in his solar "She hasn't visited the North even once since she was born... this isn't her home, and I'm sure she doesn't think so either" he said with a heavy tone. Jon stood up and walked next to him by the window "The North is in her blood I'm sure she'll come around" he said as he looked out the window. Lord Starks Solar overlooked the sparring ring in the courtyard and at the moment a slender girl with shoulder-length brown curly hair was fighting against a larger boy with short silver hair "Where is Robb?" Jon asked as it was unusual to not see him or Theon practising in the courtyard.

"Prince Aegon fought against them the first chance he got, although it pains me to admit it he humiliated them, made them look like they'd never held a sword before" Lord Stark said with gritted teeth.

Jon frowned as he looked at them in the courtyard "I see..." he said as he felt his hands clench and his heart start to race.

"It's part of the reason I've asked you here," Lord Stark said as he looked towards Jon.

"I want you to avoid fighting or sparring against any members of the royal family or anyone in their precession" he stated with a serious tone.

Jon looked at him with a smirk "Is that an order, my Lord?" He asked.

Lord Stark cracked a small smile "A suggestion, in the south skill with a blade is much higher than it is in the North so do not believe they'll be like the opponents you've faced thus far" he explained. Jon raised an eyebrow at Lord Stark, while it's true he didn't know much about the culture of the South to say that they were so much more skilled with a sword seemed doubtful "The people of the North have their tricks and techniques as I'm sure you've seen at Karhold, but when it comes to the blade we'd lose outright" he explained.

"And the Royal family are the best, they are trained by House Dayne, so it's understandable why Robb lost against the Prince" Lord Stark said as he looked back out the window.

Jon couldn't help the excitement that started to run through his body, his blood felt hot and he wanted to walk out to the courtyard and fight every single one of them 'If the Royal Family are here then it means he is too' Jon thought to himself. Arthur Dayne was known as the Sword of the Morning and the greatest warrior in Westeros, during the rebellion it's said he slew over a thousand men at the trident before killing Robert Baratheon in single combat. There was no one else in this world that Jon wanted to fight more than him, and now he might get the chance.

"Jon please keep an eye on my children, make sure they don't get into any trouble" he asked with a sheepish smile.

Jon nodded "Of course my Lord" he said with a quick bow. Lord Stark had always treated him as both a member of his own family and a trusted Bannermen, in most cases, it would be Jon that was sent out on tasks that were of great importance as Lord Stark knew he could trust his ward, even alone he insisted that Jon call him Ned but he could never get into the habit of that, he owned the man a lot so it felt wrong not to call him by his title.

"You can go and rest now, it must've been an arduous journey," Lord Stark said before returning to his desk. Jon bowed once more and left his Solar walking out into the corridors.

———————————————————-

Remsey sat on Jon's bed with her legs drawn to her chest, she had a dagger in her hands that she had found in one of Jon's drawers. She hated waiting and doing what she was told but she had little choice as Jon was a lot stronger than her and could've killed her multiple times already, even when she tried to kill him when he was sleeping he seemed to already know and be one step ahead of her. She had always thought she was strong that's what Reek always told her, that he had made her strong, but if Reek was lying then did that mean he lied about everything else?

Remsey put those thoughts behind her as her stomach grumbled, she carefully moved off the bed and slinked towards the door, as long as she didn't hurt anyone like Jon had told her to then she could go and find some food, from what she had learnt about him over their travels is that he wouldn't kill her for such a minor offence, he's what Reek would call an idiot or a fool. Remsey opened the door to Jon's chambers and walked out, as soon as she entered the corridor her entire body tensed as it usually did when she was in unfamiliar territory, she walked down the corridor hugging the wall and making sure to conceal the knife in her sleeve just in case.

As she walked down the steps she came to an exit and decided to go through it, she had never been in a castle before so she was not entirely sure where food would be kept, but she did know that food was plentiful outside. Outside many people were walking around in different directions, Remsey sniffed the air and could tell they carried food with them on the trays they carried, she looked at the direction they were coming from and saw it was from a different part of the keep adjacent to where she was now.

She started to walk there though her eyes were drawn to the courtyard as right now a young girl with brown curly hair was fighting against an old man. Still, either she wasn't very good or the old man was leagues above her. She wondered how she would do against the old man but quickly shook those thoughts off, she had started to doubt whether she was even strong in the first place, Reek had made her slaughter scores of peasants and guards with some hired swords but it seemed they amounted to nothing in the grand scheme of things.

As she kept walking she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and she instinctively sidestepped just in time to see a hand reach for her from behind. She managed to hold back her impulse to let the knife into her hand and kill whoever tried to grab her, when she turned around she saw a tall boy with silver hair and an arrogant smirk on his face "Where has Winterfell been hiding someone as beautiful as you" he said flashing her a charming smile.

Remsey looked at him and didn't reply though that didn't seem to stop him "I don't think I've ever seen an exquisite beauty such as yourself, even my aunt Daenerys doesn't have skin so fine" he said as he reached for her again. This time Remsey couldn't help herself and she slapped his hand away from her before taking a step back. The boy frowned when he did this looking somewhat in disbelief at her "Girl do you not know who I am?" He asked his voice a lot less sweeter than it was before.

However to his annoyance Remsey still did not reply to him and just stood there staring at him her body tense and her knees slightly bent "I am Prince Aegon, you should be so honoured that I deign you worthy of gracing my bed" he said as he reached for her again more aggressively this time though she had no control of herself, the person in front of her was an enemy and was trying to harm her, she let the knife fall out of her sleeve and brought it up where the hand was.

Aegon however caught her wrist with his other hand and stopped her before she even got close "Attacking the Crown Prince is a crime punishable by death you know, even though you wouldn't be able to so much as graze me" he said cockily as he squeezed her wrist making Remsey grit her teeth. He then pulled her wrist up lifting her from the ground and then turned around before slamming her on the floor. Remsey twisted herself in the air before he slammed her so she was able to brace herself on her legs before hitting the ground, she jumped up and hit Aegon's elbow with her knee, she wasn't expecting it to be as solid as it was, however, it still had the effect of making him let go of her wrist.

She then backed up from him before hitting a wall behind her, she held her dagger up in a defensive position. She looked around and saw that while guards and servants had witnessed their spectacle they were ignoring it and she didn't understand why, was he a lord or someone important she heard the word Prince but didn't understand what he meant, whether it was a title or his first name.

Aegon rubbed his elbow before approaching Remsey once more "I'm bored now, you'll accompany me to my chambers and maybe I'll gift you a bastard" he said with a smirk as he reached for her. However as Aegon was about to grab her he felt someone grab his arm, he tried ignoring it and pushing through but the grip was solid he turned his head and saw a boy with shoulder-length black curly hair and a large cloak on "Is there an issue here my Prince, I hope the girl hasn't done anything to offend you" he said though Aegon could tell the words were not genuine at all, this was backed up by the fact that his grip hadn't eased at all but had gotten harder.

"What is your name boy" Aegon asked with slight venom to his voice as he shook the boy's hand off his wrist. "I am Jon Snow the Ward of Lord Stark my Prince," he said with a small bow.

"Did you know it's an offence to even touch the Crown Prince without their permission, but since I am a generous man and would not like to insult our hosts by killing their ward, be a good boy and command this girl to accompany me to my chambers" he said as he looked at Jon with a smirk.

Jon let out a small chuckle that he quickly tried to hide, though Aegon was able to catch it "What is so funny bastard?" He said with a scowl as he fully turned to face Jon ignoring Remsey. Jon gestured with his eyes to Remsey and she understood immediately sneaking off to somewhere safer, Jon then faced Aegon with a smile "I apologise my Prince but I had heard that you were a great warrior so I was quite shocked to see that you had to command women to your chambers" he said as respectfully as he could muster.

Aegon clenched his fists as he walked right up to Jon getting in his face "What would you know about being a great warrior bastard! You and all these other savages in the North can barely hold a sword" he said venom dripping from his voice.

Jon however remained calm "As you say my Prince" This however only served to anger Aegon more "Since you've ruined my mood for carnal entertainment you shall make up for it, come on bastard get in the ring" he said as he pushed Jon over to the sparring ring. The brown curly-haired girl that Jon recognised as Visenya was still sparring against the old man but that didn't matter to Aegon "Visenya, Ulrick, leave the ring, me and Jon Snow here are going to have a little spar" Aegon said menacingly as he grabbed a blunted sword from one of the racks.

Visenya scowled at her brother "Aegon don't be a cunt, leave him alone you know father doesn't like it when you bully the small folk" she said as she stopped fighting.

"Indeed my Prince, your father would remind you that your skill with a blade should be used for a better purpose than beating those weaker than you" Ulrick said as he placed his sword back on the rack.

"You're assuming that I'm weaker than him, but until we spar we won't know will we?" Jon said as he chimed in, being spoken of and being called weak as if he wasn't even there was beginning to grate on him. Aegon smirked "See sister? He wants to spar as well now clear out and give us some room" Aegon commanded, and with a huff, Visenya did so allowing Jon and Aegon to enter the ring. Aegon threw Jon a blunted sword which he deftly caught "Try and last a bit longer than the Stark boy did, though I believe that might be asking a bit much" Aegon said cockily.

Jon smirked, he knew exactly what he was about to do and knew how much it would humiliate the Prince 'Is this a good idea?' He thought to himself, though it probably wasn't but the Prince's attitude had been annoying him the entire time they'd spoken and so he couldn't help but want to bring him down a notch. Aegon stood opposite Jon with a lazy smile as he held his sword with one hand "Ready when you are" he simply said.

Jon adopted the demeanour of an inexperienced fighter as he clumsily edged towards Aegon, he swung his blade wide giving himself tons of openings based on the belief that Aegon wouldn't take them as he wanted to humiliate Jon. Aegon easily swept Jon's blade aside, Jon swiped again only for Aegon to do the same thing this time kicking Jon away slightly.

Jon smirked as Aegon was completely defenceless so he swung his sword to make it look as if he was aiming for Aegon but in actuality, he wanted his sword, Aegon moved his blade to intercept which is when Jon flexed his back muscles and the power of his swing increased a few times, Aegon's eyes widened but it was too late and a moment later all that could be heard in the courtyard was the clanging of Aegon's sword hitting the ground "I guess this is my win Prince Aegon" Jon said with a smirk, Aegon looked at his hands and then at the sword in bewilderment, he then looked at Jon who was still smirking and his bewilderment turned into a rage "That was dirty..." he growled out in anger.

Jon raised an eyebrow "Didn't you go into this spar with the hopes of beating a simple ward with little sword training?" He asked but Aegon didn't answer, instead, he just growled as he pulled his sword from his sheath and swung it at Jon at a speed far faster than he was expecting. Jon barely dodged before he brought his blunted blade up arced it up and swung it down, something which Aegon easily blocked, Jon switched to a one-handed grip and used his free hand to throw a punch at Aegon something which he caught, Aegon then kicked at Jon's leg which made him kneel.

Jon had to roll out of the way to avoid the swing that was coming his way, he spun with his sword flexing his back muscles as he did, as Aegon blocked the swing it had enough force behind it to force him to the ground, something which shocked the people watching, Jon twirled his sword in his hand as he got ready to face Aegon again as he stood up. Aegon clicked his neck "I'm done warming up, time to fight for real" he said as he started inhaling, he inhaled an inhuman amount before gripping his sword, Jon could see his muscles bulge slightly and veins start to appear.

However, before they could fight once more "AEGON!!!" The voice rang out throughout the courtyard making the Prince tense. He turned around to see his mother, Queen Elia Martell marching through the courtyard with her handmaiden Ashara Dayne "What have I told you about fighting with live steel, the Starks are our hosts and you'd maim one of their wards, you idiot!!!" She said as she walked up to him and grabbed him by the ear. She then turned to Jon "I'm so sorry for my idiot son" she said before dragging him away.

Jon just stood there with a confused expression on his face, however, he was brought out of his daze when he heard the Queen's handmaiden make a sound "Are you okay my Lady?" He asked as he saw her wipe her eyes. She looked at him and smiled brightly "I am now" she simply said before heading back in after the queen.

While most ignored that interaction and continued about their day once the fight ended, there was someone who watched both interactions in great detail. This was none other than Ulrick Dayne, elder brother of Lord Beric Dayne and Ashara's Uncle.

'Interesting...'

———————————————————-

Lord Stark stood by the window of his solar as he watched the fight between them unfold, truth be told he wanted to see how much Jon had improved as he'd never seen him go all out in a fight, he'd long since run out of those who could fight him equally at Winterfell. However, he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door "Enter!" He called out and the person who came in was none other than the King. Lord Stark turned around and bowed slightly "Your grace" he simply said in a terse and cold manner, he'd never forgiven the Targaryen dynasty for what they've done and he especially blamed the man in front of him for most of it. Beside him was his best friend and Kingsguard Arthur Dayne, someone that Lord Stark also hated for his role in killing his best friend Robert.

Rhaegar however seemed oblivious to his tone and smiled "Lord Stark, I'm glad to see you are well, I suppose I've kept you waiting long enough for the reason for our journey" he said as he walked to the desk "I can't say that I'm not interested" Lord Stark simply replied as he walked behind his desk.

Rhaegar looked up at him "Tell me Lord Stark, how much do you know about Skagos" he said questioningly.

Lord Stark raised an eyebrow "I have to admit I know very little even if I am their liege lord, they pay their taxes and I leave them alone and it seems everyone's happy this way" he replied.

Rhaegar nodded as he placed a scroll on the table before unravelling it "I've been looking for a certain relic for years now, a stone mask that is said to grant life to those who wear it, but I hit a dead end a long time ago, until this..." he said as he pointed towards part of the painting on the parchment.

The painting was of a temple and in the centre in an alter was a stone mask that had a hole in the centre "This painting originated from Skagos, so that is where I plan to go, what I've come to ask from you Lord Stark is a guide as Skagos is an alien place to us" he asked.

Lord Stark looked at the painting with scepticism, he did not believe a word that came out of the King's mouth, he thought the idea of a mask being able to grant life was foolish "I'm afraid very few people in Winterfell ever go to Skagos, they're a very private people" he replied.

Rhaegar looked disheartened "Lord Stark please there must be someone who could guide us" he asked pleadingly.

Lord Stark sighed 'I guess he always did wish for more entertainment' he thought to himself "My ward Jon Snow is the only person here who has gone to Skagos and interacted with the people there, you'd find no better guide" he stated.

Rhaegar smiled "Excellent, then I won't keep you for much longer, I'll also reimburse you for the cost of having us stay" he said as he clasped hands with Lord Stark and left the room. Lord Stark sat in his seat and breathed out a tired sigh before letting out a chuckle.

'Stone mask...'

(AN: Sup guys sorry for not uploading for a while, past 2 days I've had two 9-hour shifts in a row so pretty tired. Anyway for this story I was kinda stuck on where to take it but I made my kind up, for any Jojo fans out there yes the Stone Mask is the same one and yes the pillar men will exist but I'll fit them into the lore. Stands won't be a thing but hamon might, as you can see Aegon was about to use Total concentration breathing, there will be loads of fighting techniques from different shows in this. Anyway hope you enjoyed it, time to finish life can change)

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