Reunion with The Starks

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The Following NINE Chapters are avaliable for Patrons.

Chapter 32 (Night at Winterfell), Chapter 33 (A Tourney), Chapter 34 (Ned's Regrets), Chapter 35 (Direwolves of House Stark), Chapter 36 (No Time Left), Chapter 37 (A Wildling's Life), Chapter 38 (Crow's Eye), Chapter 39 (To The South), and Chapter 40 (White Harbor) are already available for Patrons.

Ned Stark

Ned thought of trying to talk to him again when the hall doors were blasted open, Ser Rodrik walking inside, his face as pale as snow, yet smiling.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ned shouted, standing up from his seat.

"My lord. Your son, Jon Snow, is in front of the gates. He has returned," Ser Rodrik said loud enough for everyone to hear; a gasp reached his ears. Ned felt a rush of different emotions engulfing him like wild flames; before he even knew it, he was already outside of the main hall walking towards the Courtyard, marching forward as all the servants moved out of the way for their lord, behind him was what looked like the entire Stark Family.

Arya ran ahead of him, Catelyn called her name, but the wild girl ignored her mother, her little legs running as fast as they could take her.

Ned, on the other hand, felt relief, anger, anguish, dread, everything; he didn't know which one he felt more but knew he wanted to see Jon, his nephew, to talk to him, to explain and tell him something he should have done a long time ago.

Ned knew there was a slim chance of someone else saying he was his nephew, but Ned quickly dismissed the thought; Ser Rodrik had trained and known his nephew for many years for him to think someone else was Jon Snow.

"Where is he?" Ned demanded to know, thinking if his nephew was already inside or not, Ser Rodrik walking just a little behind him to his right.

"Just behind the gates that lead inside the Courtyard, my lord. I saw him myself; there's not a single doubt that is him." He reported without missing a beat.

Catelyn was standing behind everyone else, her face getting paler the closer they got to the Courtyard, sending small prayers to the seven, hoping that Ser Rodrik had been mistaken and this one was someone else, anyone but him.

"Please, the Seven, you answered my prayers once. Please tell me this is just a mistake. Please, The Father, The Mother, The Warrior, The Smith, The Maiden, The Crone, and The Stranger," she prayed, mumbling, her words only reaching the septa beside her who was praying like her, hoping for the bastard to be cast away.

A broad smile spread across Robb's face, a genuine one he hadn't had for some time. Theon was good company most of the time, but he was nothing compared to his brother; he wondered where he had been, Essos, where in Essos had he seen Bravoss, Myr, Pentos, and many other places that he had only read and heard about.

Robb wondered if Jon had gotten better in swordfighting; the last time they fought, he had lost against him, but now, Robb was convinced he could beat his brother, he had trained relentlessly for so many years, and he was the future lord of Winterfell, he knew he was going to win. Everything was in his favor.

Despite not having the best friendship, even Sansa was quite looking forward to seeing Jon. She wondered if he had brought any gifts for them.

Ned noticed that Benjen hadn't spoken a word since they were informed; he wondered what was going through his brother's mind; he knew his brother would want to tell Jon the truth, but No.

Ned wanted to tell Jon himself, no one else, not Benjen, not Maege, nobody else.

Reaching the Courtyard, it was booming with noise from servants, soldiers, and workers who had stopped to see what was happening. From the persecution of someone who didn't know anything, one would think they were expecting the King of The Seven Kingdoms to walk inside at any moment.

Ned saw perhaps over a hundred people had gathered in the Courtyard. His eyes went to the gates, they were still closed, and Arya seemed to be shouting at the guards.

"Open the Gates, Dummies, my brother is waiting on the other side," she shouted; at this moment, she would want to be more like Bran, to climb up the wall and see for herself who was on the other side.

"Arya, Come Here," Ned ordered his little girl, who pouted, stomping the ground covered in snow.

His attention turned to the guards at the top of the tower. "Open The Gates," Ned shouted at the top of his lungs; the guards nodded and started moving a wheel that slowly opened the gate from the middle.

He was waiting with his children for the gates that led inside the Courtyard to open. Arya was jumping up and down and seemed to want to open the gates herself, not that Ned could blame her; he felt as if the gates were opening way too slowly. The snow falls off the gates as they open, letting out a loud annoying metallic sound.

Benjen was standing to his right with his eyes glued at the gates. Ned hoped Jon's arrival would stop the bickering between Arya and Sansa, not that Cat was saved from her insults.

Calling Catelyn different names, crying, saying it was all her fault that he was gone. But the worst happened when Sansa said something Arya didn't like.

' He was in the great hall waiting for all his children to arrive; Sansa, as always, would always be the first to arrive; Robb then would arrive with Theon and sometimes with Bran; his wife would sometimes come with Rickon and often leave him with a wet nurse.

He saw as everyone came except Arya; everyone started eating, except Ned, who was about to ask Robb where his sister was but before he could. Arya walked inside with red eyes and with a scowl on her face.

Little Arya made her way to Sansa and looked at the food in front of her like she would fight with it.

"Father, has Jon been found?" She asked with a tiny voice cracking; her voice alone broke his heart. He sighed sadly, knowing he needed to tell her the same thing he had been telling her for the past four years.

But before he could answer, Sansa, who was fed up with Arya, gave her an annoying look. "Your bastard brother is gone," she shouted disgustingly, but before Ned could tell Sansa not to talk like that, Arya threw herself at her like an arrow, making both of them fall to the ground from their chairs. Arya started hitting her. "YOU'RE ANIMAL," she screamed at her as she was throwing her hands wildly.

Ned quickly stood up, pulling her away from Sansa, but her arms were still moving around the empty air. Sansa was crying from a small cut under her lower lip. "You're an animal just like him," Sansa shouted with tears, quickly checking herself with Catelyn, who shouted for the maester to come. Arya's face turned redder, now trying to break free from his arms.

"Both of you, calm down, Now," Ned ordered with a booming voice that echoed throughout the entire hall. Arya stopped struggling against his arms; Maester Luwin walked up to Sansa, checking the small cut under her lower lip.

Breathing heavily, he looked at both of his daughters with a cold look like the wall. "Now you will both eat like normal people, and Arya, I don't want you to do something like that. You're both sisters," he ordered, looking at both of them with Sansa looking at her little sister smugly. He then directed his attention to Sansa.

"And you will not talk like that about Jon," he ordered; his daughter reluctantly nodded before looking down at the dress.'

The gates opened fully, and riding inside on top of his direwolf, who now seemed larger than a fully grown Horse, was Jon Snow, accompanied by a beautiful woman with long blonde hair riding an elk the size of Ghost.

Ned's heart felt like it was gonna explode out of his chest; he could feel the rapid beats throughout his entire body. His ears had a slight buzz to them, and his breathing was becoming harder and harder to grasp with every second that passed.

In front of him stood the one person he had failed most of all, the person he had lied to for eleven years. The person he had condemned with the life of a bastard. The person who suffered angry looks, insults, unfairness, and many other things because of me.

Promise me, Ned, his sister's words echoed in his ears. Reminding him of the broken promise.

Ned's eyes briefly went to the girl riding beside his nephew; if he didn't know any better, he would have thought she was a princess and a Targaryen one. Her long hair briefly reminded him of the Silver hair of house Targaryen, but hers were golden rather than silver. She was quite beautiful, behind only Ashara Dayne and his sister.

Ned looked at his nephew once again, with long curly hair, with a handsome face; he looked identical to Rhaegar from before the Rebellion, before he grew a beard. Minus the dark hair and grey eyes of his mother, everything else was all Rhaegar; one good look and people would see the similarities right away; it was almost frightening in a way. The old gods truly had a twisted way of making jokes; the son who was raised the furthest from his father looked identical to him, almost uncanny. Not just his looks, but his build was very similar to Rhaegar.

Looking at him, Ned felt like he was suddenly back at Harrenhal when he had first seen the prince at the feast; back then, he had only looked at him for a few seconds out of curiosity. The only thing missing was his harp.

"Jon!" Benjen shouted beside him with tears in his eyes.

Ned didn't know when but Arya ran towards him and jumped in his arms, crying loudly. "You're Here, Jon," her cries muffled by his clothes; Jon let out a chuckle before ruffling her hair, something he hadn't done for a very long time. He had missed all of them, but especially his little sister.

"I'm here," he said, hugging her back, his arms holding her close as she seemed not to want to pull away yet; Val smiled behind Jon; she didn't need to ask which sister she was. Soon Arya pulled away, her eyes all red with tears but a bright smile on her face.

Jon jumped from Ghost, only to be met with his uncle's eyes.

"Uncle Benjen!" He said, surprised; he hadn't expected to see his uncle in Winterfell. His uncle hugged Jon closed, tears rolling down his cheeks, he knew he probably shouldn't be in front of so many people, but at this point, he didn't care.

"Is good to see you, uncle!"

"My nephew, where the hell have you been?!" Benjen questioned, pulling away, his voice sounding a little angry, wanting to know what possessed his nephew to leave his home for so many years.

Jon had a downcast look before looking at Benjen. "I will explain everything later," he replied after a short pause. Benjen released a tired sigh; he wanted answers right now but figured he could get the answers later. Looking at him from up close, he could see Lyanna in his eyes, his sister's eyes; this almost made him want to tell him the truth right away.

Ned thought Jon would address him next. Instead, he turned around and walked to the woman who jumped from her elk, their hands intertwined, something he noticed right away, and he wasn't the only one who did.

Walking up to Lord Stark, Jon spoke with a neutral tone, lacking all the warmth he used with Benjen and Arya. He pulled the woman more in the front to introduce her.

"My lord, this is my wife, Val," Jon introduced the woman who looked at Ned up and down as if analyzing him, something he found strange.

His wife!? Ned thought, a bit alarmed; he didn't know who she was but knew for a certainty that she was either a bastard or a lowborn; he knew whenever Jon reunited with his family and was revealed that he was a prince of the realm, the chances of the Royal Family not breaking the marriage were slim to none, but he quickly pushed that thought away, that was a problem for another day.

He thought she would bow her head toward him, but instead, she did none of that. "Is good to meet you, Lord Stark; Jon has talked about you and your family," she spoke with an icy tone, her accent sounding a bit strange for a Northern woman. Her eyes showed disdain catching Ned off guard, who quickly cleared his throat.

"Lady Val, you're welcome in Winterfell. I hope you enjoy your time here," he spoke sincerely before his eyes turned to his nephew.

"Jon has been a long time. I welcome you back to your home. I would like to talk with you later," he spoke warmly; he expected a warm reply. Instead, Jon had the same look as his wife on his face.

"Of course Lord Stark, I'm sure we can talk during lunch," Jon said with a neutral tone as he greeted Robb, who glanced briefly at Val before turning back to Jon.

"Brother is good to see you again," Robb spoke with a smile before shaking hands with Jon, who looked happy to see him.

"Same here, brother. I hope you have been training because the last time I kicked your butt," Jon japed, and both laughed; Ned felt relieved to know Robb didn't seem distant towards Jon; the heir of Winterfell briefly glanced at Val when Jon greeted Sansa, ignoring Theon whose eyes were glued at Val.

"You have grown beautiful, Lady Sansa," he spoke, his tone a bit friendlier.

"Thank you, Jon," Sansa said flatly, receiving a glare from Val.

Jon greeted Bran and Rickon; the latter didn't know who he was before his eyes landed on Catelyn Tully, who wasn't even trying to hide the hatred she felt, her face color red; Val wondered if her face would burst into flames at any moment.

"Lady Catelyn, I have to say you look gorgeous," Jon said with a smirk, his voice dripping with sarcasm. If possible, Catelyn's face turned redder, and Jon wondered if any blood vessels would suddenly burst. Everyone looked shocked, while Cat looked like someone had thrown cold water in her face.

Cat looked ready to explode from anger, her teeth almost grinding. "You Bast-" "Cat," Ned shouted, grabbing her arm, and getting in between them; he didn't want this moment to be ruined. No one noticed Val's hand around her bone dagger, glaring at the woman, knowing what she had wanted to say.

"Jon, I will have your room cleaned and prepared for you and your lady wife; meanwhile, I would appreciate it if you joined us at the table," Ned offered.

Jon turned to him with a smile that was unsettling in a way. "Of course, Lord Stark,"

Aemon Targaryen - Later

"Where have you been all this time, Jon?" His uncle asked the moment they sat at the table; his and Val's seat were at the high table. He figured his uncle wanted him as close as possible, even if Lady Fish had anything against it.

The servants quickly brought them food. In front of them was enough food for ten people, sausages, boiled eggs covered in pepper and sauce, bread filled with different types of meat, jugs filled with water, and chicken covered in different ingredients. Jon remembered to eat with manners despite not doing so for the past four years, unlike Val, who simply grabbed the piece of meat with her hands without bothering to use a knife or a fork, something that took some by surprise, and a few were disgusted.

"North of The Wall," he answered, biting a piece of steak. Arya and Bran looked at him awestruck, Robb with disbelief; Theon scoffed while his attention was entirely on Val all the time, something the wildling woman knew and didn't bother acknowledging.

Ned looked worried to hear that, of all places, he hadn't thought Jon would go north of the wall, and why did he never receive a letter from the Wall.

"You have been to the Wall?" Ned questioned, his voice louder this time, with a hint of anger and disbelief.

"Yes, only for half a day; after that, I took Kessa and flew over the Wall. I wanted to see every place this world could offer, but when I passed the Wall. We were attacked, and then I met Val. We have been together since then until a month ago we got married," Jon explained, cutting a piece of bread, letting out the detail that she was part of Mance's group. They didn't really need to know that information since that would be told only to his birth father when the time came for them to know the truth.

His words got the reaction he expected; everyone's attention turned to Val, who kept eating without bothering to look at them.

"You mean, she's a..." "Filthy Wildling!" Catelyn cut Lord Stark's words with a disgusted look, but Val didn't really care what the helpless woman called her.

Catelyn looked at both Jon and Val sitting together. "Is fitting, a bastard with a wom-" "Catelyn," Lord Stark shouted, slamming his hand on the table; everyone fell silent, even the servants stopped moving. Rickon looked at Val, scared, hiding a little under the table, knowing the stories of how Wildlings kidnapped children at night.

Jon put his hand on top of Val's hand, who gripped the knife in front of her, slowly lowering her hand.

Benjen wanted to laugh at how fate seemed to love screwing with them. His nephew's father married a Northern, and his son married a wildling woman of the true North. He almost burst out laughing, but Tully's words made him stop. Instead, he glared at the woman for using such language. He had never liked her; at first, he had simply disliked her, but as time passed and she didn't seem to want to stop the way she treated Jon, that dislike quickly turned to...

"Jon. I'm very happy for you and don't worry about anything. Your wife is welcome to stay here as long as she likes," Ned spoke, looking at everyone, making sure they understood not to say anything harsh towards the wildling woman. Trying to see if anyone disagreed with him and quickly understood the only ones against it seemed to be his wife and the septa; Sansa seemed neutral.

Arya looked at Val with stars in her eyes, the same way she would look whenever Visenya was mentioned, especially at her dagger hilt strapped on her waist. Lord Stark noticed that Robb was looking at Val a certain way that made him frown; his son was betrothed to Wynafryd Manderly, and looking at Val that way was inappropriate, he made a mental note to talk with his son later. He didn't want problems with house Manderly, and Robb should know better than to look at women that are not his with lust.

For the following two hours, the remembers of House Stark were talking with each other, mainly Jon and Val, who would tell them about their experiences beyond the Wall.

Arya asked questions like. "Is it true that you ride bears to the battle?" She shouted from where she was before standing on her feet on top of her wooden chair, causing the chair to start shaking.

"Only skinchangers can ride wild animals!" Val answered, liking how Arya was talking; it reminded her a little of her sister when they were younger and before she was stolen from Mance.

"Skinchangers! They are real!" Surprisingly it was Rickon who asked; he had been quiet most of the conversation and was scared to be in the presence of a wildling woman, but hearing about skinchangers made his curiosity peaked.

"Yes, the true north has many of them," Val answered; Rickon let out a whistle before leaning closer from his chair.

After the lunch, Robb, Theon, Jon, and Val walked to the training yard. Robb wanted everyone to see him beating Jon after years of training. His heart was pounding in his throat at the thought.

He briefly glanced at Val, who was solely focusing on Jon, who grabbed a blunt sword to fight him. This caused him to grimace, but he quickly turned his attention back to Jon.

Ser Rodrik checked them before telling them not to cause major injuries. "Start," Ser Rodrik shouted before taking several steps away.

Jon parried the blows and moved to the side to aim his own, feigning and thrusting at the same time before spinning away from Robb's riposte. Robb hit home the first and second after a few minutes, but Jon felt himself loosen up and began to move freer and more quickly than he had been.

Thrust, parry, thrust, spin, attack from the left and spin, then right and feign a spin before attacking with a flurry. When he caught Robb's shoulder, he saw the wince and knew he would win, feigning to go for it again and forcing Robb to overcompensate to cover it up. Jon began to throw in more jumps and spins, Robb easily parrying them all, but he knew how they'd look to those watching on.

The riposte he hit caught Robb on the shoulder once more and gave Jon the edge he needed. Once again, concentrating on the other side while Robb protected his injured shoulder, Jon felt a little sorry for the stiffness and pain he knew he'd feel on the morrow. He moved in for the kill feigning sweeping Robb's legs and making him fall on his injured shoulder, allowing him to take the role without a strike back. When Robb realized he was behind him, it was too late, and Jon held the sword to the back of his head, and Arya with Bran cheered.

"Yield?" he asked, and Robb frowned before nodding. Jon extended his hand to help Robb, and he accepted with a smile.

"It seems you're still at the top!" Robb said, a little hesitant; Jon picked up on it but acted as if he didn't notice it.

"Don't worry, Robb. Soon you will be the best between us," Jon said, slapping his shoulder before walking past him. The heir of Winterfell let out a groan before roughly throwing the sword on the ground.

Val, who had enjoyed the fight, knew Jon had barely tried; she had been there when Jon fought Rattleshirt, one of their strongest warriors, and won without much trouble.

"Awesome, Jon!" Arya cheered before begging him to train her now.

"Don't worry, Arya. I will train you!" Val said behind the little girl who looked at her with stars, making her chuckle in amusement.

Soon the time came for them to leave; Ned told Jon to go to his solar tomorrow morning, saying he needed to tell him something. Jon simply gave him a nod before following a servant that led them to their bedchamber, and it surprisingly wasn't his old room that Jon hated.

This new room had more furniture, the bed was better quality, and there was plenty of wood in the fireplace burning and warming up the bedchamber.

"This is your room?" Val questioned, looking around; being in a castle was strange. When they finally saw Winterfell from far away, with large stony walls that put Castle Black to shame, at that moment, Val accepted a harsh truth that she had tried to avoid for a very long time.

' "We are almost there!" Jon spoke beside her, and it seemed Ghost was just as excited as he was because he started running forward. Val followed behind, soon reaching the end of a small cliff.

In front of them stood Winterfell in all its glory. Val almost gasped at what she was seeing, the last four years, Jon had told them all about the South, the castles, roads, and everything. But to see it herself was an entirely different experience.

Her eyes looked at the walls, strong, steady and tall, leaving no openings, the towers filled with arches being able to see everything for miles away around the castle. She felt a pang in her heart; Jon had told her they stood no chance; the south had castles, better weapons, and better armor than them. Armor that a bone dagger could never penetrate, but she hadn't wanted to believe it, looking at this castle now. Her people had nothing to break down these walls; they had the giants, but their numbers weren't that big, and even she doubted they could break down gates like that. If they tried, they would be slaughtered like sheep. Swallowing a huge breath, she understood now why Mance often talked about reaching an alliance instead of invading the North.

For my sister. I will do everything, Val thought with conviction, gripping the reins around her elk. If it meant bending the knee, she would, as long as her sister would survive and not turn into... she shuddered just from the thought.

She touched the walls and pulled her hand away. "The walls are warm?" She exclaimed, backing away a little before touching the wall again, almost not believing it.

"Winterfell is surrounded by hot springs. The water is piped through walls and chambers to heat them," Jon explained, finding her reaction very cute. Val looked at him as if he had just grown a second head before removing her top clothes, leaving her in a thin piece of cloth that barely covered her big breasts.

"Was this your bedchamber?" Val questioned, noticing the raft full of books, not that she knew how to read them before she sat on their bed.

"No, it seems my uncle wanted us to have a better bedchamber," Jon spoke, sitting beside her; she turned to him, leaning closer as he was engulfed by her smell, like being in fresh snow; she started giving him small kisses on his neck.

"Val," he moaned, loving the feeling of her lips on his neck; she sucked softly before sitting on his lap. His hands were holding her plump ass.

"I saw the way the ugly one was looking at me; perhaps he wants to steal me," Val spoke in his ear, earning a growl from Jon, whose hands moved underneath her clothes, his finger moving to her dripping pussy earning a moan from Val. The image of his lover with the squid made his possessive side come out roaring like a dragon.

"If he touches you. I will cut his cock before I shove it in his mouth. You're mine," Jon declared with a deep and low tone in her ear, making her shudder in anticipation.

"I'm yours, and you're mine," she spoke, finally kissing his lips.