A Wolf Speaks, A Dragon Plans

Arya

The excitement in the tent was contagious as she and her siblings ate through their morning meal. She looked across the table and locked eyes with Bran, he grinned at her with a mouthful of bread. She returned the smile as she made quick work of her own meal, excited to get the day going, excited to see the competitions that were to come that day.

"Where's Jon?" She hears Rickon ask to nobody in particular. His eyes bounced between his siblings before landing on her. His legs swung underneath his seat as he ate his food.

"Don't speak with your mouthful please Rickon." She heard Sansa softly chide. Rickon lowered his head before looking back at Arya, waiting for an answer to his question, an answer that she didn't have.

Before she could answer him, the flap to the tent was being brushed open, a freshly awake Jon entering.

"Jon!" Rickon shouted with a mouthful of food. Sansa sighed and shook her head but Arya could see the small smile on her face.

Jon walked past his little brother and mused his shaggy hair as he did so, his hand was batted away by Rickon who was clutching a bread roll like a weapon.

"Morning everyone." Jon said as he took a seat next to Bran, her little brother smiled up at Jon as he did so.

She smiled across at her big brother but it dropped slightly when she noticed the odd look on his face, he looked on edge, like something was about to happen. She also noticed that he'd not even made up a plate of food when he sat down, just poured himself of mug of water.

That wasn't the big brother she knew. The big brother she knew would be piling his plate up with food and thoroughly destroying it.

"Are you okay?" She asked as she looked at him, the rest of the table looking at her in confusion before glancing in the direction where she was looking. Jon was the only person there who didn't look up.

"Jon?" She heard Sansa say, her tone was concerned. She was reassured that she wasn't the only one who thought his behaviour was odd.

Jon eventually looked up from his mug of water, he looked like he was in a world of his own and seemed to break himself free from it as he blinked.

"Sorry, what did you say?" He asked as he looked at Sansa, then at her.

"Arya asked if you were alright." Sansa replied. It was clear on her face that she wanted to know if he was alright as well.

Jon went to open his mouth but clamped it shut when the flap of the tent was opened, her mother and father the ones to enter.

Sansa turned her head at the noise of the tent flap and greeted their parents.

"Good morning mother, father." She said. Arya noticed the smile her mother sent her sister's way before her eyes scanned the table. The smile dropped when she noticed Jon was here with them. Her mother moved and took a seat next to Sansa, squeezing her hand as she did so before looking around the table at the rest of them, nodding her greetings to them. Nobody missed the way she ignored Jon, well, apart from Jon himself. He was too busy looking at their father rather oddly.

She turned to greet her father and noticed the tense look on his face as he looked at Jon, it was still their on his face as he sat down beside her. She wondered if it had anything to do with the odd chat he'd had with her and the rest of her siblings minus Jon. He'd acted very odd yesterday, the things that he'd said to them didn't make sense. He talked about how he was proud of them and that he loved them all dearly, he made it sound like he was going somewhere but when she asked if that was the case, he just shook his head and told them that he just wanted them to know how blessed he felt to have such wonderful children.

All of them had left that conversation yesterday, loved but confused.

Very confused.

She was broken from her thoughts when she hears her father sigh, she turns and looks at him as he closes his eyes and nods. Arya looks in the direction he was facing and notices Jon nodding himself, he takes a deep breath before he stops.

"What's happening?" She asks them. She hated being out of the loop, especially when it was happening right in front of her.

Jon looked at her with such sorrow that she almost dropped everything just so she could move around the table and hug him. She shakes her head at him without even knowing what she was shaking it for. It was like she was already denying whatever grief was about to be spoken about. Her brother never looked this sad, whatever it was he was about to say, she needed some way to prepare for it.

She practically heard Jon gulp as he looked around all of his siblings before looking back at their father, he nods again as Jon stares at him.

Jon sighs as he stands up from the table and grabs one of the jugs at the side of the room, the water in his mug is finished in one gulp before it's being refilled with ale.

She looks around the table at everyone to see what they were making of all of this, she could see that they were all confused by what was happening, even her mother.

The table moved as Jon seated himself, a long drag was taken from his mug before being placed back on the table. He looks at her from across the table with regret.

He's leaving, that has to be it.

She could already feel a little anger brewing with that thought. He doesn't get to just leave again.

Before she could say anything, Jon opened his mouth...

...and destroyed her world.

Her head was shaking through the entire story, her hands were doing the exact same thing as well. Out of anger or grief, she didn't know.

She looked at her father in a daze, surely all of this was just some silly jape they were playing on all of them. Some sort of twisted revenge on them for some of the things they'd done in the past. Although it was a cruel form of punishment, she hoped and prayed to the old gods and her mother's gods that this was all it was, an act of revenge and not a damning truth.

Please.

"Is this true?" She asked as she looked between her father and her b...brother. The tears were already filling her eyes at that thought, and they silently fell when Jon confirmed it with a reluctant nod.

"No." She heard her mother say, a cold tone if she'd ever heard one. She looked at her mother and noticed the look of disgust and anger on her face.

"Cat..." She heard her father say from next to her but her mother was having none of it as she shook her head.

"It's not true." She said in a hard tone as her eyes locked across the table and towards Jon "Lies, all lies. Nothing more!" She said louder as she stood from the table and locked hard eyes with father "This! This is what I have been warning you about for years Ned! This is nothing but a plot to gain power for himself!" She said, almost shouting at him.

Her eyes look back across the table at Jon "I've seen him getting friendly with lords and ladies, talking with the Kingsguard like they're long time acquaintances. It's so obvious, seeing him integrate himself with the nobility and even royalty itself." She said with disgust dripping from every word.

"And now he has the reputation from the melee and the gold from it's winnings, but that isn't enough is it? He wants more, more than he's ever been worth. The lies, the greed, the very nature of a bastard." She continued on.

"Catelyn!" She heard her father growl out as he stood from his seat. They never heard her father shout, so it was a shocking thing for all of them to see. She looked around the table and noticed that Sansa and Bran looked shocked and scared, Rickon looked confused but still scared about the raised voices and Jon, Jon was looking away from them all, burning a hole in the flap of the tent.

Don't you dare try to run from this Jon.

Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach as her father opened her mouth "It's true Cat, It's all true. I was the one to finally tell him everything, everything he's just said." He confirmed. Her mother looked away from Jon and to their father. None of them had ever seen her mother look at their father the way she did in that moment, a look of sheer disgust and anger on her face.

Her mother moved from her spot at the table and walked towards father, the sound of her hand cracking against his face was loud. All of them looked away and down at the table after that, none of them wanted to see that. She looked over at Jon and saw him look at her mother and father, a resigned look on his face.

"Mother?" She heard Bran say, rightfully concerned about what was happening. She turned and looked to see her mother's reaction and saw her shake her head and smile at him, rather forcefully if she was asked.

Her mother points at Jon and looks at father with her chin held high as she stands at the flap of the tent "He will take everything from my children." She said matter-of-factly before exiting. She watched the flap of the tent move around before it settled, she almost didn't want to turn and look at how everybody else was reacting to what had just happened.

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve before turning back to the table, the silence was deafening, the sadness was thick in the tent. So many mixed emotions were barrelling through her, sadness, anger, and fear.

Does the King know? She asked herself.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jon clutch the top of his head with both hands before closing his eyes and dropping his head. It was quiet but they all heard him mutter the words "I'm sorry.".

Why was he sorry? If anything, it was father that should be apologising, he was the one who had hidden this dangerous truth from all of them. She caught her father shaking his head before telling him exactly what she'd just been thinking.

She stood up from her seat and moved around the table as everybody glanced at her, they were probably expecting to see her rage and rant. Instead, she looped her arms around Jon the best that she could and squeezed hard. She was hoping that her hug brought him some sort of comfort.

"It doesn't matter to me Jon, I'll always be your sister and you'll always be my big brother." She assured. She saw Sansa and Bran nodding, Rickon still looked like he didn't know what was happening.

Jon sniffed as he opened his eyes and looked at her, a small tear trail emerged from one of his eyes as he did so. He gripped her and squeezed her in one of those hard hugs she always loved from him, she heard him mutter "Thank you." into her shoulder.

She looked over at Sansa as Jon hugged her, a question leaving her sister's mouth, a question she really didn't know if she wanted answering or not.

"What happens now father?" She asked. Sansa was right to look concerned.

Her father looked around the table at them all, sadness and resignation on his face. That chat they had yesterday now making more and more sense.

His eyes finally landed on Jon who pulled his face from her shoulder and looked at him. They stared at each other like they were trying to convey something.

"I don't know." He replied.

Rhaegar

He blew on the ink of the parchment before dusting and folding it, the wax was dripped onto the centre of the letter before his own personal stamp was pressed into it, sealing the contents away until it was opened again.

That was the last of his thank you letters he'd written for each of his paramount lords, thanking them all for their attendance. Courtesy never cost anything as his mother would tell him. A letter had been written to his good brother back in Sunspear wishing him good health and the potential for a visit from the royal family in a few moons to make up for his inability to attend and in celebration of Aegon's nameday.

The same had been written for Lord Hoster Tully but without the promise of a visit and a letter was written for Lord Balon Greyjoy, letting him know that his presence was missed whilst also subtly reminding him that his heir was a well treated ward of the crown.

He didn't know what or if the Greyjoy's were up to something but it didn't hurt to remind the rebellious head of the Ironborn that the future of his family was in the hands of the Starks and ultimately, the ruling family, his family.

The last of his letters was placed on the pile that was left at the end of his desk. The solar that had been assigned to him during his stay in the castle was fit for a king, beautiful tapestries and rugs, a large floor to roof window that filled the room with natural light. It was beautiful.

But it wasn't his solar, his personal abode back in King's Landing was his little escape from the loud bustle of the Red Keep, beautiful dark woods made up his desk and shelves, those of which held numerous scrolls, tombs and trinkets he'd collected throughout his life. The tapestries and rugs were the colour of thick smoke and blood, the irony of their family's words not lost on him when he thought about that.

Fire and Blood.

In reality, the 'Fire' the words referenced had died many years ago. As much as some of his ancestors believed that fire itself somehow gave them power, it was the dragons that left the world a while ago that gave it to them. That was the fire that their house words referred to, not the basic element or the dark magic known as wildfire but the creatures that essentially created their entire legacy.

But they were gone now, all they had left was blood. And blood would be what guaranteed their family's legacy.

He sighed as he took a sip from his goblet, today was the final day of the tourney, a tourney that up to now, had been a great success. The archery contest was very soon and he was using the time waiting for his family to get ready to sort out some of his missives. But that wasn't the main event of the day, that honour fell to the joust.

He remembers the last joust that happened here in Harrenhal, that damned joust. Hopefully everything went off without a hitch today, he could already hear the songs being sang about Harrenhal being cursed if it didn't.

The joust would be a little more interesting this time around, the announcement that none of the Kingsguard would be competing today was a sure fire way of breeding optimism in most of the competitors. They'd be a lot of knights out there today who believed they could win it now that the majority of the threat was absent from the whole thing.

It also gave his son a better chance at winning it. He knew it wasn't very kingly of him to pick a favourite to win, he was supposed to be a man of the people, an unbiased party. But he just couldn't help it, he was a father and he wanted his son to win.

May the gods strike him down if that was such a crime.

Unfortunately for him and his son, there were still threats out there outside the Kingsguard who could easily ruin that dream. Both Clegane brothers were high on that list, although he wasn't too sure if Tywin would allow them to compete after what had happened during the melee. There were a few others that still had a shout at winning, a selection of Vale knights, Reach knights and even Northerners. One in particular gave him concern.

Jon Snow had put on, what a few of his Kingsguard had echoed, an impressive spectacle of skill and pinpoint efficiency during the grand melee. And it was enough to win the whole thing to the shock of many.

If he was that capable with a sword in each hand, what was he like with a lance and shield? What was he like as a rider? Was he like his aun…

He closed his eyes, today was not the time to lose himself in those type of thoughts.

He sighed, Jon Snow had really made a name for himself at this tourney. A lot of people had taken notice of him, a certain mother of his not immune to the pull of him either.

What was that all about? His mother wouldn't tell him anything whenever he hinted at it during conversation. It was almost like it was her dirty little secret, and how could it not be seen that way? The Dowager Queen of Westeros having secret meet ups with, admittedly, a handsome looking bastard from the north.

He gripped his goblet hard as he took another sip from it, the whole situation didn't sit right with him. He would get down to the bottom of it, his mother wouldn't tell him anything about it but could he expect the same type of response from Snow? Especially if Rhaegar reminded the boy that lying to the King was a serious offence.

Yes, that seemed like the best way of going about this. A casual chat with Jon Snow after all of the festivities had died down was sounding more and more interesting. If anybody asked, he'd tell them that he was personally meeting with him about a potential position in the Kingsguard in the future. Chatter about that very possibility had spread around the castle so nobody would think twice about it.

A small grin grew on his face, he could understand how Lord Varys got a kick out of this kind of stuff.

The door to his solar opened without a knock, there was only one of two people who could get away with that, one being his mother and the other being his wife. This time around it was his Queen that had let herself in, and it looked like she meant business as she closed the door behind her and looked at him seriously.

"My King." She said as she moved across the room to the decanter of wine on the cabinet. She poured herself a small helping of wine before taking a seat opposite him.

"My Queen." He replied with a quirked eyebrow as he waited for her to explain why she had let herself in.

She was looking at him with that look, the one where she seemed to be weighing up her words before speaking. Clearly the reason for her presence was important.

He sighed after a minute without anything being said "Has something happened Elia?" He asked as he stood from his seat and refilled his own goblet.

He looked at his wife as he poured his wine, she was swilling the contents of her goblet around.

"The Tullys." Came her reply. She didn't even bother looking at him as he made his way back to his seat.

"Ah," He replied as he took his seat. "The Tully situation." He said as he took a sip from his freshly filled goblet.

This was not going to be a pleasant conversation, he could already tell "Elia, I understand where you stand in all of this but my hands are practically tied." He said.

His wife quirked an eyebrow at him "You do see what they are trying to do, don't you?" She asked. "I can understand them being kind of upset about the...how can I put this...condition of Lord Edmure when he left the field after being eliminated in the grand melee, but expecting some sort of action to be taken against Jon Snow because of it is just preposterous." She explained.

He shook his head "I wasn't planning on taking any action in the first place Elia." He replied. She nodded at his answer.

"I know, and they weren't expecting anything to happen as well. They aren't stupid, it was nothing more than a pretence for the bigger picture. It's just another thing to convince you of what they really want." She explained. "You know what that is don't you?" She asked. They both knew what it was really about.

He nodded and sighed "Aye, I do. He wants Rhaenys' hand in marriage." He replied. He hated how it'd come about, but even Elia had to admit that the marriage between Rhaenys and Edmure would be incredibly advantageous for them. It would tie the Riverlands to the crown along with the North and the Vale through Lord Edmure's sisters.

Elia shook her head "I get how lucrative it is for the crown that such a marriage would take place, but the whole situation doesn't sit right with me one bit. It will set a precedent and could be damaging to our family." She explained.

He looked at her, brow furrowed "How do you mean?" He asked. Clearly he'd missed something that his wife had picked up. You could always tell she was a student of his mother's.

She took one last sip from her goblet before placing it on the table "Look at it this way, what Lord Edmure has done suggesting a marriage between him and our daughter could be seen by people as just that, a suggestion, yeah?" She said as he nodded for her to continue.

"Now, if you look at it another way, some people would see it as more than a suggestion, it could be seen as a demand so to speak." She continued. He gestured for her to continue. He was somewhat lost but he'd let her explain herself.

"Let me ask you a simple question your grace." She asked, he nodded for her to ask away.

"Which came first, the suggestion of a betrothal between Lord Edmure and our daughter, or Lord Edmure's official complaint about his 'assault' as he liked to call it at the hands of Jon Snow?" She asked, that bloody boy's name popping up yet again. It was as if the gods were trying to tell him something.

It didn't take him long to realise where she was going with this but he still answered her anyway, just to make sure they were on the same page of thinking. He could feel a little annoyance brewing.

"He complained about the perceived assault first." He said before grabbing his goblet and taking a big gulp from it in the hopes of calming his ire.

Elia nodded "Right. He wanted to use it as a tool to get his own way, almost as if you owed him something if you didn't take action against Snow, which you were never going to do, and he knew that." She explained further.

He nodded, he was picking up what she was putting down.

Elia took a sip from her goblet "In this case, there's a fine line between suggesting something and blackmailing someone." She said. "The attack from Lord Edmure and Ser Brynden on Snow looked premeditated, the way they focused on him from the get go. It's no secret that Lord Stark's wife has no love for the boy and by extension, neither would her family. In their eyes, the attack on Snow had no downsides to it but they hit the jackpot when Snow did what he did to Lord Edmure. Best case scenario, Snow is punished for what he did and Lord Edmure gets a betrothal out of it, worst case scenario, Snow isn't punished but there is still a betrothal agreement." She finished.

He sat back in his chair, the wood squeaking as he did so. "And what you're saying is that if we went ahead with the betrothal, it would set a precedent for the future? That families would realise that they could get away with these sort of ploys as well?" He asked. Elia smiled and nodded her head as she took a swig of her wine.

He let out a heavy sigh as he looked at his wife, he gave her a small smile "It's a good job you spotted that, though I'm not sure how to proceed now. The way the conversation between Lord Edmure and I ended, it was left somewhat open to the idea of the betrothal." He said.

"Fuck him. He got his face smashed up in a melee after making a stupid decision. In my opinion, his reward for all that was him walking away without a broken nose." Elia replied, that dornish spunk emerging.

He chuckled at that "I suppose you're right, though I'll have to formally decline his suggestion before we leave. I'm starting to think our daughter will stay unmarried forever." He sighed. "I mean, I don't think I've seen her take any interest in any of the many suitors in attendance." He said as huffed and folded his arms as he leant back.

He saw Elia's brow rise for a split second before she sniffed, his eyes narrowed and a small grin grew on his face.

"What was that look?" He asked.

Elia looked at him over the rim of her goblet before shaking her head.

"Nothing." She said before finishing her wine off.

He quirked an eyebrow as he looked at her, it would seem that his wife realised he wouldn't drop his intrigue.

Her empty goblet was placed on his desk "Fine," She said. "You might of missed it but her mother didn't." She started.

"At first I thought it was just a wandering eye, a passing fancy if you will. But then I started noticing things, lingering looks, the way she goes quiet while she looks at him. She thinks she's getting away with it when she does it." She continued.

His brow furrowed, she was right though, he'd definitely missed all of this. Before he could ask who it was, his wife was speaking again.

"Yesterday I got confirmation of how bad it was. I caught our daughter quietly warning Nymeria to stay well away from 'him'. Arianne caught me listening in and rolled her eyes before explaining that she'd had the same treatment from Rhaenys a few days ago." She finished.

This was a good thing, right?

Their daughter was actively pursuing a suitor and making sure nobody got in the way. They'd practically encouraged her and Daenerys to seek out a match for themselves at this tourney. If she'd found somebody without any sort arrangement from him or her mother, then that was a good thing.

Right?

If that was the case, why was his wife looking at him oddly.

He cleared his throat "Who's this lucky individual that's caught the eye of our princess then?" He asked. For some reason, he was kind of anxious about the name that was about to fall from Elia's mouth.

She sniffed "Lord Stark's son, Jon Snow." She answered, thus complicating everything.

He heavily sighed, Elia chuckled at his reaction.

"I know." She said, sympathising with him.

He shook his head "What is it with that boy?" He said as he scoffed. "He's caught our daughters eye and I'm pretty sure my mother is charmed as well. I fail to believe those secret meetings she's having with him are completely innocent, and I'm not buying the "personal evaluations of a potential Kingsguard" as an excuse either. I mean, I caught him waiting for her in her room a couple of mornings ago, and she personally vouched for him." He finished.

Elia shook her head at him "Let's back up a little and talk about our daughter showing legitimate interest in a bastard boy. Your mother is a grown woman who's been through more hardships than most, she's old enough to take care of herself Rhaegar." She said. She was right of course, but he still couldn't help the way he felt about the whole situation between his mother and that boy.

He sighed and nodded for her to continue.

She nodded back at him "Right, as much as you believe your mother is doing unspeakable things with that boy, I don't agree with your beliefs at all. I've seen the way he looks at her from time to time and not once have I seen any form of lust or longing on his face." She explained.

"Efficiently discrete." He muttered to himself but his wife heard him as she raised an eyebrow, an unimpressed look on her face.

He waved a hand and motioned for her to continue.

"Now, if our daughter is serious about the boy and he returned her affections, a compromise could be worked out." She continued.

"A compromise?" He said, confused.

She nodded "A compromise. For our daughter to wed the boy, he would need a last name." She said, and he could see where she was going with this.

He shook his head "I can't legitimise him Elia, it would cause even more problems. Lady Stark would believe that giving Snow the Stark name would give the boy everything he needs to usurp her children and so too would her side of the family. It would strain our relationship with the Riverlands with her father and the Vale due to her sister, Lady Arryn."

She nodded "I know. I wasn't implying a legitimisation, I was implying that he would need a name." Elia replied as she sat there waiting for his reply.

He sat there as he slowly but surely picked up what she was putting down.

"Wait, you're suggesting..."

Elia nodded as she interrupted him "That he take her name instead. The Tullys can't claim that we are rewarding Snow by giving him the Stark name if he doesn't have the Stark name to begin with. It quells Lady Stark's fear that he would use the Stark name to legitimise his claim and usurp her children's inheritance." She explained.

He drummed his fingers on the desk as he thought about what had just been said. The positives outweighed the negatives of such a union taking place, although they wouldn't have a seat to take over when they did marry. Unless…

"They'd be able to take the seat of Summerhall once the construction is complete. It solves two problems, one, Snow doesn't have a seat of his own or one he stands to inherit, and two, Aegon isn't in line to inherit it and neither is Viserys due to the circumstances of his marriage to my niece. It would be perfect for our daughter to rule." His wife explained, taking the words right out of his mouth.

They sat there in silence together, mulling over everything that had been said, he chuckled as a thought struck him.

"So much for a new member of the Kingsguard eh? I fear him and Arthur working as a cohesive unit would have been comparable to a force of nature." He said, Elia shrugged in reply.

"What's more important, the prospect of a shiny new Kingsguard or our daughter's happiness?"

It wasn't really a question, they both knew the answer before it was even asked.

A knock on the door disturbed the quietness of the room.

"Enter." He said, Ser Arthur opening the door. The knight smiled at the pair of them before speaking.

"Your grace, the rest of the family are waiting to depart." He said. Rhaegar nodded in response as Elia stood up.

"Thank you Arthur, we'll be there shortly." He replied as the dornish knight nodded before closing the door behind him.

"This is just an idea for now, we'll speak a bit more about this later." He said to his wife as he rose from his chair. "Not a word to our daughter either until we've spoken to Lord Stark and his son, last thing we want to do is get her hopes up."

Elia nodded as they made their way towards the door.

It was safe to say that he'd be keeping a close eye on their daughter's gaze now that he knew of her infatuation of this, Jon Snow.

Jon

He almost tripped over his little sister as the pair of them moved around the people in the market. Ever since he'd shared the truth with his family, Arya had stuck to his side like a lost pup, and she took it a step further as she slowly slipped her hand into his.

He looked down at her and gave her a soft smile in which she returned, he assumed it was a comfort to her since she never used to hold his hand when they were both younger, another part believed it was more to do with her being scared that he was planning on disappearing again.

He couldn't blame her, in all honesty, the moment he told them all the truth, he wanted the ground to swallow him up. He couldn't bear to look at their faces when the truth came out, afraid that he would be rejected, looked at differently, but it was thankfully in vain. He remembered when Arya had hugged the life out of him, it made him jump when he felt her embrace him, whispering assurances to him.

He doesn't think that little girl realises how much it had affected him.

He heard the snickers as the two of them walked through the market, a group of young knights along with a lord that he recognised. He kept his eyes forward pretending to have not noticed them but he kept his ears well and truly open as him an Arya walked past.

"Oh look, the wolf and the rat."

"She's a bit young for him isn't she?"

"That's a funny looking horse."

The whispers came and went as they walked past, his jaw locked up and the blood in his veins boiled, his vision narrowed and his breathing became heavy.

One squeeze though, one squeeze from his sister's hand was like a bucket of cold water over his head. He looked down at her expecting to see an angry look, a furious look, not a sad look.

"They're not worth it." He heard her say as they walked on. In the background he could hear more laughs from the group. He squeezed her hand as she looked away from him and sighed.

If he'd heard those things and she wasn't here with him, he'd have blood on his hands and a bounty on his head in no time.

As they rounded a corner of the market, he looked over Arya's head towards the group of snickering knights. The group consisted of four people, all of them sat around a table, joking and laughing as they patted each other on the backs. He caught the shields laid against the side of the table, almost confirming their intention of entering the joust later that day. Of the shields, two of them were forest green with a black sigil in the style of a broken wheel, another was muddy brown with little white gulls painted over it and the last one was chequered with red and white squares, a small blue square at the corner of the shield with the sigil of House Arryn in the middle. He knew what house that was and he knew who it belonged to. The last thing he saw as he rounded the corner was Harrold Hardyng's smile slowly dropping when they locked eyes.

At that moment, he knew his day was going to busy. Jon wouldn't consider himself a spiteful man but he was determined to fuck those cunts chances of winning the lists. The only problem was that he didn't consider himself to be a great jouster. Yeah, people considered him as one of the best riders of a horse back in Winterfell, unbeknownst to everyone that he probably got it from his mother if the stories about her being half a horse were anything to go by.

But Jon was serviceable at best when it came to the sport of jousting, it was more Robb's thing if he was being honest with himself. The last time he'd even practised was years ago with his brother, and it was evident that the art wasn't for him.

All he'd have for him would be his resilience, something that seemed to be limitless when the adrenaline was coursing through him. He still remembers the training session he had with Master M a while back, it wasn't until it was finished that he realised that he'd lost the fingernail off his little finger during their bout.

Master M had learnt quite a few curse words in the common tongue that day.

And Gerion nearly had his nose busted open when he openly laughed in his face when he found out.

He moved across the path to the other side of the market, bringing Arya along with him. She looked up at him and he smiled at her, the questioning look she sent him was adorable.

He needed to procure some armour if he was serious about this. The problem with that was he was unsure if he'd be able to get himself some at such a short notice.

He'd have to enlist too, was he too late for that as well?

"Where are we going?" His sister asked as they made their way towards the busy blacksmith just outside of the castle.

He shook his head at her and smiled as he opened his mouth "What did you think of that archery contest? I don't think Theon was best pleased about being beaten right at the end by some unknown." He chuckled. "What was his name, Argyle?" He asked as they moved through the group.

Arya shook her head and scoffed "His name was Anguy and you didn't answer my question." She said. He just nodded towards the blacksmith and smiled at her.

She looked where he was looking before looking back at him in confusion "What are we going there for?" She asked. He detected a hint of excitement in her tone.

"If you think we're going there to buy you another sword, think again." He japed as he let go of her hand and draped his arm over her shoulders. Arya pulled a face in reply.

"Why not? I've been good with the one you got me before we left Winterfell, nobody knows I even have it." She exclaimed as they squeezed past people.

"Because you only need one sword sweet sister." He said.

"You have two swords, why shouldn't I?" She replied stubbornly.

"Because I said so, that's why." He answered as they approached the blacksmith's counter. The old armoury was behind the keeper and he hoped there was something in there he could use.

He heard Arya sigh and whisper "This isn't over." to herself as he waved the shopkeeper over.

The keeper's eyes lit up when he saw Jon "Ah, Ser Jon, how can I help you today?" He exclaimed with a smile.

He internally cringed as he looked at the shop keep, whether it was the title of 'Ser' or the fact that he knew who he was in the first place.

He knew winning that melee would bite him in the arse, although it did come with a couple of benefits. He thought as he pulled a pouch of gold from his pocket and dropped it on the counter. He couldn't think of a better thing to spend a bit of his winnings on than this at that given moment.

"You don't happen to have any spare armour going do you?" He asked as Arya looked back and forth between him and the shopkeeper.

The older man stroked his beard as he looked into nothingness, deep in thought.

A small nod from him almost made Jon sigh in relief "Aye, I think we can work something out for ya." The keeper said as he disappeared into the armoury.

An elbow in the side made him look towards his sister "What do you need armour for?" She asked. He just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

It only took her a few seconds to work it out for herself as her eyes grew wide "Are you gonna enter the joust?" She exclaimed. He put a finger on his lips and shushed her as he looked around.

He nodded as her smile grew "Yes but don't tell everyone, big mouth."

Arya was about to reply but the shopkeeper returned from the armoury hefting a bunch of dark steel plate onto the counter.

"This the sort of thing you're looking for lad?" The older man said as Jon eyed the armour in front of him. It was very plain looking but the steel looked decent, he stroked his hand down the dark, almost black steel of the chest plate, feeling the little dints here and there. It wasn't freshly forged and was clearly second hand but it would do the job perfectly.

"Perfect." He replied as he handed over the gold dragons the old man was asking for. He grabbed the vambraces and handed them to Arya who huffed as he placed them in her arms. The keeper handed him a large square of cloth which he used to wrap around the rest of the armour, it made it a little easier for him to carry back to the camp.

"You got it lad?" The keeper said as Jon hefted the armour over his shoulder. He nodded in response.

"Don't you need a shield?" He heard his sister ask. She was right, if there was a shield somewhere in all that armour he'd lifted over his shoulder, he'd not spotted it.

He looked back at the shopkeeper "Have any spare shields?" Jon asked as the keeper disappeared back into the old armoury.

"Good shout sis." He said. It wasn't hard to miss the pleased look on her face as he praised her. He was glad to see her feeling a little better after that mess earlier.

The keeper returned back from the armoury, he had more soot and muck on him than he did when he entered.

"Sorry lad, we haven't got much left back there. This was the only one I could find that was in an acceptable condition. Bit dusty but it looks like it's had a new lick of paint not to long ago." The keeper said as he slid the large shield across the counter towards him. The keeper was right, the shield had been recently painted, the whole thing was painted white without any sort of sigils on it, well, apart from the faint shape under the thin layer of paint. But without chipping the paint away, he couldn't really tell what it was.

He looked back at the keeper and handed him a couple of silver for the shield "It's perfect, thanks." He said. The keeper took the coin and nodded at him.

"Good luck." Was the last thing he heard as he turned around and started walking in the direction back to camp, Arya trailing with a small smile on her face.

"Hey." He said as he nudged his shoulder into Arya. She turned and looked at him.

"Yeah?" She replied.

"I might need a bit of help with all of this. You know, getting in and out of it..." He casually announced, all whilst grinning at her.

His sister looked at him and smiled "You want me to squire for you?" She said. He could feel the excitement radiating from her. He shook his head at her which made her smile drop somewhat. It didn't stay dropped for long though.

"You can't be my squire, I'm not a knight. You'll be my honorary partner in crime." He jested. She chuckled in response as they weaved past people and headed to go and actually enlist for this thing.

..