Chapter 25: How to Erase a Noble House 101

*Shwing!!*

*Urgle!!*

The gurgling of a dying Bolton guard was heard for but a moment, then all was silent!

So far, Will had already purged 29 of the household guards who manned the Dreadfort, and this now brought the total to 30.

His goal for now was to kill every guard on watch first, then he would move to inside the fortress. Stealthily making his way around, Will took out another 45 guards, taking out everyone who happened to be on duty.

It wasn't a time of war, so they didn't need too many people out guarding the walls. The next stop was the barracks, which was just ripe for the picking.

Almost a hundred sleeping soldiers were butchered, none of them having enough time to get out more than a gurgle.

Will was quick and efficient, making sure there was no chance of them somehow miraculously surviving the night. Removing their heads was a sure fire way to do it. So was using fire.

Moving through the halls of the castle, Will wondered where Roose Bolton slept, while also wondering where the hell his bastard, Ramsay Snow was.

Entering one of the first rooms which had an occupant, Will moved over to the sleeping man before he placed one hand over his mouth, while the other held a blade to his throat.

He woke up with a start, but the hand over his mouth prevented any shout or cry from getting out, and upon feeling the blade at his neck, he wisely chose to keep still.

"Where are Roose Bolton and his bastard son sleeping?!" Will asked in a menacing tone, his glowing red eyes giving him a sort of demonic visage.

With his mouth covered, the man could only point towards a certain direction. "If you shout or cry for help, I'll rip out your throat without a second thought! Nod if you understand!" Will said, causing the man to nod his head furiously.

Removing his hand, Will asked, "Describe how to get to their rooms!" Like a dam had burst, the man began spouting directions to both of their rooms, then gave the rooms to any of the commanders of the Bolton guards, of whom were the most loyal, as well as the most cruel and sadistic.

"Thanks!" Will said with a smile, then drove his dagger through the man's heart. Innocent or not, the man had seen his face, and Will didn't need anyone spreading this story around.

Moving along with the directions given, Will reached the first of the two commander's rooms. The door was barred, but that wasn't all that big of a deal when the stone wall next to it simply opened up to allow Will entry.

The man in bed was sleeping so comfortably as he laid on his stomach, which made this all the more delightful for Will when he raked the tip of his dagger across the man's back, instantly bringing him awake.

The man could barely get his mouth open to let out the scream of pain, when all of the sudden a rag was stuffed into his mouth to muffle the sound.

"Good morning sleeping beauty!" Will teased in a cheerful tone, which did not match with his cold dead expression.

Seeing the intruder in his room, and the obvious cause for his pain, the man tried to swing his legs out of bed to get to his feet, but just as the right leg touched the floor, Will slammed his dagger down hard, piercing straight through the kneecap and into the wooden supports of the bed frame.

The man screamed again, but like before, the sounds were muffled from the rag still in his mouth.

"I don't need you and your master for my plans! This world will be better off without you and the rest of House Bolton! When I'm through, this house and all it's occupants will be forgotten in history!!" Will said hatefully as he began to stab the man over and over with his other dagger.

Before long there was simply a mutilated corpse, and Will had to wonder if he had gone a little overboard. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided that the man most likely had it coming, then moved on to the next room, though not before he looted every item worth a damn in the room, minus the bloody bed.

Going from room to room, Will slaughtered every person as they slept with a quick slice or stab of his dagger, but when it came to the head guards or most trusted of Roose, Will let them suffer an excruciating amount of pain before he finally let them die.

He didn't know why, he had most certainly done far worse things than these people, but there was just something about them that drove him to doing it.

Before long, Will found himself staring over the sleeping form of Roose Bolton, and he couldn't help but compare the man to his tv counterpart.

For one thing, this one had more hair, though it was thinning. His skin was almost as white as snow, looking a little pasty.

'Whatever!' Will thought, no longer interested in the comparison. Looming over the man who was sleeping on his stomach, Will cocked his fist back, then slammed down into Roose's spine as hard as he could.

Roose's eyes shot open as all of the air in his lungs was expelled from his body, momentarily paralyzing him from the blow.

When Roose tried to suck air back into his body, Will grabbed one of Oberyn's paralysis potions from his inventory, then quickly pulled Roose's head back so he could pour it in.

There was some coughing and sputtering, and though some of the potion was spat out, most of it was swallowed.

"There we go, nice and easy!" Will cooed softly as Roose's breathing was starting to settle out.

The potion would still take a few seconds to kick in, so while he waited, Will began to bind Roose's hands and feet together.

"That potion you just took, it's a bit different from the paralysis potions I usually use! It paralyzes you, but it keeps all of your other neurological functions intact! In other words, you can't move, but you feel everything! It does nothing to blunt the pain, and you're about to experience more of that than you could ever fucking imagine!" Will stated, taking a quote from one of his favorite movies.

Law Abiding Citizen had given him a number of inspirational ways to get his vengeance in the past, and he couldn't help but quote Clyde in this situation, as it was going to be extremely similar to what Clyde had done to Darby.

Roose struggled with his bonds for a few seconds, but Will could fill his movements coming fewer and far between, letting him know that the potion had in fact kicked in.

Dragging Roose by the collar of his shirt, Will walked out of the room and down the hallway to where he was told Ramsay's room would be.

Without even trying the door, Will moved through the stone wall like it wasn't even there in the first place. He knew the kid was fucked in the head from the show, but that didn't prepare him for what he saw.

Little animal skins decorated the room, some of their heads could be seen as well. Disgustingly enough, Will saw a few human fingers and toes mixed in with all the crap.

'WHAT THE FUCK?!! Isn't this little fucker like a year or two younger than I am?!!' Will thought, wondering how the hell someone could be this fucked up.

'This world is sick! Cersei, Joffrey, Ramsay, The Mountain, they all need to die!!' Will thought, shaking his head to get rid of the scene before him.

Looking to the bed, Will found the origin of all this, and he was a little intrigued to see Ramsay sitting up in his bed, staring at him with a frown on his face.

"Who are you?" Ramsay asked quietly, his gaze staring intently towards Will's.

"Your judge, jury, and executioner!" Will answered, dropping the still form of Roose as he moved quickly towards Ramsay.

Seeing Will's approach, Ramsay jumped to his feet, but scarcely had he stood upright when a boot coated in earth collided with his head, removing it from his shoulders in an instant.

Despite Ramsay being a psychotic nutbag, he hadn't actually done anything of note yet, and he was still a child.

He wouldn't spare him from death, but he wasn't going to give him the same fate as his father, though most people would say that was exactly what needed to happen. Especially those who's fingers decorated this little shithead's walls.

Continuing down the halls with Roose's still form in hand, Will made a few stops as he dispatched anyone else in the Dreadfort he had missed earlier.

Walton, called "Steelshanks", Roose's captain was also found, and Will had to wonder if Roose found these men like this, or if they were naturally sick and twisted.

Steelshanks was still wide awake in his bed chambers, and he wasn't alone. A woman in her mid to late 30's was in a half dead state, naked and bleeding from nearly every part of her body.

Her eyes were swollen shut, and it looked like she had given up all reason to live on. Steelshanks was momentarily stunned when someone came into his room without knocking or going through the door, but that only lasted until he noticed who Will was dragging.

Upon seeing Roose, he jumped off his bed towards his sword, hoping to put an end to Will. Sadly, with himself being completely naked, his cock was a clear target.

Dropping Roose to the ground like a discarded piece of garbage, Will moved towards the approaching Steelshanks, meeting the man head on with one of his Valyrian steel swords.

Blocking the attack with the sword in his right hand, Will used the dagger in his left hand to slice the tip of Steelshanks cock off, causing the man to drop his sword and begin screaming in agony.

As the man staggered back to hold what was left of his penis, Will moved towards him and began to cut him anywhere that he could, as well as poking a few holes in key places which would cause the most pain.

As he lifted an arm to defend himself, Will removed it from his body, then took the other one for good measure.

"You'll never get to put those on anyone else ever again!" Will snarled as he stabbed the tip of his sword into Steelshanks eyes, taking his sight away from him for the remainder of his life, however short that may be.

Walking over to the woman, Will wiped the blood from her eyes, then asked, "Do you have any family?" She couldn't speak, and for a few seconds she didn't move.

Will was starting to wonder if she could even answer his question when her head shook slightly, letting him know they were most likely dead. The fact that she could move her neck was already a surprise, considering the state she was in.

Missing her ears, lips, part of her nose, teeth, fingers, toes, and parts of her body were just the obvious things he could see that was wrong with her. He couldn't grow those back.

"Do you want to live?" He asked, already suspecting the answer he would get. Just as before, she shook her head in the negative, and Will silently cursed Steelshanks as he kicked him in the balls, getting more whimpering and crying from... whatever he was now.

Taking a vial from his inventory, Will popped the stopper, then brought it to the woman's lips.

"This will take away your suffering. I wish you luck in your next life." Will said soothingly as the woman drank the potion, the same potion the Faceless men gave to people who came to them sick and in pain.

It was a mercy killing on their part, and Will didn't see why he couldn't use it here. Almost instantly she let out a sigh of relief, as if the pain had disappeared.

Will held what was left of her hand for the few minutes it took before her life finally came to an end, then stored her corpse into his inventory. He would wait until he was out of this place before he burned her, not wanting to let her ashes remain here. Somewhere in the forest or something, just not in the Dreadfort.

Turning back to Steelshanks, Will glared at him for what felt like an eternity as his rage bubbled up inside of him, then without any warning, he began to boot stomp the shit out of him. Figuratively and literally!!

By the time he finished, Will didn't think the man was even still alive, but just in case, he burned his corpse until it was nothing but ash, leaving the remains right where they fell.

Any and all members of the Bolton household could lay scattered in this place for the rest of eternity for all Will cared. Speaking of, Will turned to look at the unmoving Roose who had been forced to listen to the events up until now.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you!" Will grumbled as he grabbed one of Roose's legs and began dragging him feet first through the Dreadfort halls, making their way to the lower floors.

When they finally reached the lowest floors where the dungeons and torture rooms were, Will found basically what he expected. Half dead people tied up spread eagle, looking as though they had been through hell.

Walking over to one of the bound men, Will didn't even need to check to know the man was dead. Untying the ropes, Will moved the man's body to his inventory, then strapped Roose to where the dead man had been.

Looking into Roose's eyes, Will could tell the man was terrified, and it only seemed to make him angrier.

Roose had done horrible things to his subjects, even killing a man for having married without his blessing, then raped the woman, who had then given birth to Ramsay, and now that he was finally getting what should have happened to him long ago, it looked like he would beg if he was given the chance.

Lords shouldn't have a say in who their subjects marry. If two people wanted to marry each other, no one else should have a say in the matter as long as they were both old enough and both consented to the marriage.

With hatred filled eyes, Will grabbed a random instrument from the table next to them, then said "Let's get started!"

----------

Roose had suffered for hours before he was finally allowed to die, and that was only because Will was too sick of torturing to keep going.

The few people in the dungeons actually cried out in what Will could only interpret as joy once they realized it was Roose Bolton getting tortured, their final moments being ones of happiness.

Like the woman, they had also been given the drink that would let them escape this world. Everyone of them were missing at least 2 appendages, and almost all of them had their eyes ripped from their sockets, as well as had their tongues cut out.

This was actually so if Roose decided to let them out, they couldn't report what he had done to Ned Stark, while at the same time warning his citizens what would happen should they ever displease their lord.

Every single one of them had chosen death, and Will really couldn't blame them. Like the woman, he would take their bodies out of this hellhole, then burn them so they couldn't be brought back as undead.

Before he left the Dreadfort, Will looted every piece of gold, silver, copper, every piece of weaponry, armor, and anything else of value.

If something said 'Bolton' on it, Will either turned it to ash or melted it so there was no mention of the Boltons left in the Dreadfort.

Even paintings of Roose and his ancestors were burned, as well as the bodies of all of those who Will had killed tonight.

The only body throughout this whole ordeal that hadn't been burned was Roose's, and that was only because Will wanted everyone to know that he was dead.

With all of the piles of ash lying around, Will hoped people would think it was the Lord of Light who did it, knowing his reputation for burning people alive.

He would take any little victory he could over the gods, and if he got all of the North to hate the lord of light, all the better.

By the time he finished up with the place, the only things to remain were piles of ash and an extremely mutilated corpse.

With some potential future problems taken care of, Will left the Dreadfort, making his way back to Trojan before he rode a few miles into the forest.

Once he found a good enough clearing, Will brought out all of the corpses before he turned them to ash, letting what was left of them be taken away by the wind to move about and be free from this world.

--------

After his incursion on House Bolton, Will spent 4 days traveling to Winterfell. He could have arrived faster if he wanted to, but he headed Southward for 2 days then headed north, making so it didn't look like he was coming from the Dreadfort but the White Harbor.

The events that transpired could still be linked to him, but no one could prove it, and it's not like they could do anything to him even if they did.

Coming out of the tree-line to the vast array of fields surrounding Winterfell, Will had to stop to check if he was seeing right. Winterfell looked almost the spitting image of what the movie showed, just quite a bit bigger.

The walls looked to be around 30 feet high, but rather than a little fort like he expected, the city stretched for quite a ways, at least 10 times what Will was expecting to see.

As he approached the city, he couldn't help but laugh inside at how easy it would be to breach the walls if he wanted to, while at the same time wondering how the hell this place was the capital for the North.

To get inside the city, Will literally just rode through the gates, giving the guards a friendly nod as he passed by them.

Getting a glimpse at the inside of the city, Will let out a low whistle. The place was quite a bit bigger on the inside than it seemed on the outside, especially the area that was clearly where the Godswood was located.

It didn't look all that big in the show, but it was easily 3 acres, and that was just the wooded area meant for the Starks, not counting the rest of the city itself.

Riding through the city, Will took in a few sights, checking out a few things here and there that weren't described in the show, or simply were never there to begin with.

The market was neat, people trudging around here and there, actually filling the place, rather than the dozen or so people Will expected to see.

Wintertown, the village just outside the walls, was as big as a small town in his previous life, but here it was actually quite big.

The buildings were all packed together to form a nice little community, and Will couldn't help but smile at some things and frown at others.

The layout of the place wasn't all bad, but some of the homes were a little too close together, and if a fire ever broke out, those buildings would all go up in flames.

There were a few other things he critiqued in his mind, but decided they weren't his problem and moved on.

As he was riding down the street, his attention was drawn to something, or rather someone, he hadn't expected to meet just yet.

Three young boys, around 10 years old, were running through the streets causing quite the commotion wherever they went.

"Faster, Jon!!" The boy in the lead shouted as he ducked into an alleyway, the other two kids only seconds behind him.

A few seconds after the last kid ducked into the alley, 2 full grown men came running down the street from where the boys had come running from, stopping to look around for the youngsters.

The boys could have been any random kids, but Will had a suspicion that they were in fact, Rob Stark, Theon Greyjoy, and Jon Snow (Aegon Targaryen).

Not having anything better to do, Will made his way through the back alleys until he found the three boys hiding behind a woodshed.

Dismounting from Trojan's back, Will slowly crept up behind where they were hiding, then jumped out into the open, damn near causing the boys to all shit themselves.

"When you're trying to hide, a good rule of thumb is to make sure there's nothing hiding around you as well!" Will said jokingly as he began to walk back towards Trojan.

The three boys looked at each other, then as if agreeing to something, then also began to follow after the strange man.

"Who are you?!" One of the boy's asked, scoffing at Will's statement.

"It's disrespectful to ask for someone's name without first giving your own!" Will stated, ignoring their question. The boy who had asked the question to begin with, and the obvious leader of the group stepped forward.

"My name is Robb Stark, son of Eddard Stark, the Warden of the North!" The boy now known as Robb, stated.

"My name is Theon Greyjoy, son of Balon Greyjoy, the ruler of the Iron Islands." A second boy said, stepping forward with his head held high.

"My name is Jon Snow." The last boy said, choosing not to state his lineage because he was bastard born, and either didn't want to insult the Starks or he just didn't see the need to mention his father.

"So you're little Lordlings! I could have guessed that! Regular people don't just demand names from strangers they haven't met before." Will said, letting out a small chuckle at the end.

"So what's your name?" Robb asked again, looking a little annoyed at having been ignored. "My name is William, but you can just call me Will. Anyway, who were those guys you're hiding from?" Will asked, not bothering to give his last name.

He wasn't sure how famous he was in the north, but it was best to wait a bit before he revealed he was here.

"Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrick Cassel! We're supposed to be studying, but we ran off!" Theon said, causing both Robb and Jon to glare at him. Apparently they didn't feel it was necessary to blurt out that they had ditched their studies.

"If you're trying to get out of your studies, you'd best leave the area as soon as possible. They're right over there!" Will said, pointing towards a building not far away from their current position.

The boys looked skeptical, but quickly hid themselves on top of the wood stack. A few seconds later and the two men who Will now knew to be Maester Lewin and Ser Rodrick came around the side of the building.

"They couldn't have gotten far!" The man in armor, no doubt Ser Rodrick stated. Upon seeing Will, Ser Rodrick came forward and spoke, "Pardon Lad, but have you seen three boys around here?!"

With an evil smirk, Will pointed to the top of the wood stack, causing both men to follow where he pointed with their eyes.

Understanding what he meant, Ser Rodrick walked over to the wood stack, then with cat-like agility, he climbed to the top of the stack in almost an instant, grabbing hold of Robb before the boy even knew what was happening.

"Gotcha!!" Ser Rodrick shouted victoriously, pulling Robb down to the ground. With the ringleader of the trio captured, Theon and Jon begrudgingly came down.

"You're going to be given double the training today!" Ser Rodrick started with a cruel smile as he held Robb by the back of his shirt, the three boys all visibly shuttering at the mere thought of more training.

Looking over to Will, Ser Rodrick gave a thankful nod. "Many thanks, Lad!"

Seeing it was Will who had sold them out, the three boys looked like they had just been betrayed, but before they could say anything, Will spoke, "I told you to run, not hide!! I also never said I wouldn't give away your position, so don't give me that look!"

Brushing off the hateful stares, Will mounted Trojan before taking a few steps closer to Ser Rodrick and the boys.

From previous discussions with Elia, Rhaenys and Aegon, Will knew they would all come to find Jon in the future. Rhaenys and Aegon because Jon was their half brother, while Elia wanted to find him for whatever reason suited her.

Will wasn't sure the exact reason, but he did know she was interested in meeting the boy, and if he guessed right, she most likely wanted to take the boy as her own son.

He couldn't understand why she cared so much for Rhaegar, but she truly loved the man, and that included his children, despite the fact that they weren't all hers.

When Will told her that the boy was being raised as a bastard, she had made it quite clear that she would be coming to find the boy in the future, though Will wasn't sure when that would be.

Reaching into a saddle bag, Will pulled out a dark brown satchel before tossing it to Jon, who fumbled a bit in surprise, but managed to get a hold of it before the bag fell to the ground.

"What's this?" Jon asked, looking up to stare at Will. "A few gifts from your family!!" Will answered, puzzling everyone present, Jon most of all.

Will saw the boy look at Robb, who in turn shrugged his shoulders.

"Idiot! You have more than one parent!! If you're living with one of your parent's family, then this gift is obviously from the other parent's family!!" Will stated like it was the simplest thing in the world.

His words may have been simple to him, but to everyone else it was though a cask of Wildfire had gone off.

"My... Mother?" Jon choked out, looking as though it was getting hard for him to breathe.

"I'll not say, just know that you have people who love you Jon, and they will come find you within the next few years." Will stated, causing everyone to look at him as if he had just said the world was ending.

No one but Lord Stark himself knew who the boy's mother was, and yet someone claimed that he not only knew her, but that she was coming to find him within the next two years.

Will hadn't actually said which family member or parent the gifts were from, so any conclusions they came to on their own wasn't his fault.

Without saying anything else, Will nudged Trojan forward. He had done more than he originally wanted to do in Winterfell, even going so far as to stir up a mess of trouble for himself and Ned Stark!

Not stopping to buy any provisions or meet anyone else, Will left the gate the same way he arrived, spurring Trojan on Westward towards Deepwood Motte.

----------

(Jon Snow POV)

'Family.... I have family looking for me... My mother....' Jon thought, his mind running a thousand miles a minute, not quite processing everything he heard.

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice Will leaving, and when he finally came back to reality, Will was gone.

Looking down to the bag in his hands, Jon was a little nervous and excited at the same time to see what was inside of it.

With shaky fingers, he began to untie the knots binding it closed when a hand fell atop the bag.

"Not here, Lad! Wait until we're back in the keep." Ser Rodrick stated, getting a nod from the boy.

As one, all five of them began to walk back to the keep, each of them shooting glances at the bag Jon was holding, while his eyes never left the bag for even a second, with a grip that made one think it was the only thing keeping him alive.

-----------------

(Ned Stark POV)

Before long the boys arrived back at the keep where they were greeted by Lord Ned Stark, who was frowning at each of them as they arrived.

However his frown only deepened when Jon walked right past him and towards the keep, heading towards his room.

"What's happened?" Ned asked the question directed towards Lewin and Rodrick, though his eyes were staring at Robb.

"Forgive me my Lord, but I think you might be interested in what happened. A young man gave the young Snow a satchel, saying it was a gift from his other parent's family." Maester Lewin informed respectfully, his words freezing Ned in his tracks.

'That's not possible... Rhaegar's dead!!' Ned thought, his mind wondering who it could be. Then the thought of the two Targaryen children who escaped across the sea came to mind.

Snapping his gaze to Rodrick, Ned ordered, "Find the man who delivered the satchel and bring him to me!!"

Turning briefly to look at Robb and Theon, Ned ordered, "Go with Maester Lewin and study!!" After that, he ran off towards Jon's room, wondering what the Targaryen's would have sent him.

He hadn't thought of the fact that Rhaegar might have told his mother or someone close to her about Layanna being pregnant, and then putting it together after he returned from the war with his sister's body and an infant child.

*KNOCK!!*

*KNOCK!!*

*KNOCK!!*

"Jon?!" His father's voice echoed from the other side of the door. Jon hadn't even got the chance to say anything before the door quickly opened to reveal his father, who stepped inside before closing the door behind him and locking it.

Seeing the look on his father's face, Jon asked, "Who is she?"

Ned swallowed hard at the question, his gaze going to the satchel in the boy's hands. He wasn't sure what he already knew, but he was sure the boy wasn't ready to know.

"What's in the bag, Jon?" Ned asked quietly, stepping towards the boy sitting on his bed.

Looking into the bag, Jon pulled out a black scarf with a small crimson dragon on one end, while the other end had a white wolf sewn into it.

Next, Jon pulled out a small finely crafted dagger, made better than almost anything he had ever seen.

Putting aside the dagger, Jon pulled out a small black coin purse, which had quite the sum by the looks of it. Finally there was a piece of rolled up paper tied together with a small ribbon.

"Let me." Ned said, moving to grab the piece of paper, but before he could grab it, Jon pulled it close to him.

His father hadn't told him a thing about his mother for his entire life, and his first thought was that his father would try to hide the information from him.

"Trust me, Jon." Ned said, seeing the fear and sadness in his son's eyes. It hurt him to keep it a secret from the boy, but he couldn't risk Robert ever finding out.

Reluctantly, Jon did pass the letter to Ned, who in turn untied the ribbon and unfurred the parchment. The contents left Ned confused, and he wondered what the hell he was reading.

--------

Dear Jon,

You haven't met us before, but we're your family! We hope these gifts find you well, and hope Will hasn't done anything to terrify you. He may be a terrifying monster, but he's the best man you'll ever meet. At the time of you getting this gift, know it won't be too much longer before we finally get to meet you! We hope you're strong when we finally meet, so train hard, as we will be doing the same. We love you!

-------------

The message was brief, but it didn't mention who it was that sent it, only a 'we' that just confused Ned. It did mention a Will, but that was most likely the messenger than anyone related to them.

Seeing how the letter's contents wouldn't reveal next to anything about his origins, Ned handed it to Jon, who scanned the letter twice before looking up to Ned.

"Who are they?" Jon asked, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Other than his father, none of the Starks had ever called him family.

Robb treated him like a brother, but he never said it, and although he would never admit it, it hurt.

Lady Catelyn despised him, that much was obvious. Sansa was only 7, but even she was cold to him in no small thanks to her mother.

Arya was 4 while Bran was 3, both of them too young to really despise him all that much, though they never treated him the same they did Robb.

With Lady Catelyn currently being with child, Jon had no doubt the next child would grow up just like the others.

He felt like an outsider in this house, never once a part of the family, and now he finds more than one person was looking for him, already claiming him as their family, while at the same time telling him they loved him!!

He hadn't even met them before, and already they were more of a family than those he's been with for almost 10 years!

Ned could see the sadness in his eyes plain enough, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"When these people get here, I'll explain everything! I'll tell you all about your mother!" Ned said, taking a seat beside Jon on the bed as he pulled the now crying boy into his embrace.

Ned stayed like that, holding Jon close for a few minutes before he let him go.

Looking into the tear stained eyes, Ned spoke, "When you meet these people, you'll need to be strong! Much stronger than you are now! Let's get you back to training!"

Jon took on a determined look in his eyes, storing everything back in his bag before putting it under his pillow, then left the room to go train.

Meanwhile, Ned stared down at his hands, a shaking feeling taking over.

The world was going to hell. If it really was Viserys Targaryen and his sister that were coming, Robert's assassins would no doubt be following them as well.

If Robert ever found out what Ned did, it might spark a war, or he might be forced to kill Jon to appease Robert, something he would never do.

To top all of this shit off, there was the tragedy that happened at the Dreadfort.