Chapter 89 - The Ruins of the Dreadfort (II)

"I want to fly it!!!" Arya Stark thought excitedly as she saw Caraxes landing outside Winterfell.

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

North, Winterfell - home of House Stark.

Arya, almost six years old, looked at her younger brother with pride as she saw Bran finally eating on his own, without any help. Previously Bran had eaten with Catelyn's help, even though he was four years old, this was completely unacceptable to Arya, who had taught Bran to eat alone.

Looking over, she saw her older brother, Robb, eating in silence next to Theon Greyjoy, someone she didn't like at all for insulting Jon behind his back. Of course, after his father revealed Jon's true identity, the Pyke heir never dared to speak ill of her brother again.

Noticing the empty seat next to her father, Arya showed an uncomfortable expression. Although Catelyn forced her to learn to sew and act like a lady, in the end, her mother still loved her, and she loved her back.

But ever since Jon's identity was revealed, the tension in her parents' marriage seemed to grow by the day. Catelyn no longer broke her fast with the family, preferring to stay in her room praying or reading a book, with no intention of leaving any time soon.

"Father, when will Jon be back?" Four-year-old Bran asked innocently. He missed his loving and gentle brother, who always brought him sweets to eat in secret. Knowing that Jon was the true Heir to the Iron Throne didn't cause any special feelings in the boy, it just made Jon more powerful in his eyes.

At the same time, Bran wondered if Jon would accept him into the Kingsguard!

Like any boy who grew up and played role-playing inspired by great men like Aemon the Dragon Knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, Arthur Dayne the Morning Sword and Barristan the Bold.

Eddard let out a sigh and answered his son with a gentle look:

"I don't know, Bran, but it will probably be soon."

Bran, oblivious to the impact of his words, smiled broadly as he devoured his bread. One-year-old Rickon was on his older sister's lap, helping him to eat. His meal consisted of milk, served in a spoon small enough to feed his baby mouth.

Sansa, who was feeding Rickon, felt satisfied with every spoonful her brother drank. Seeing his chubby cheeks, she couldn't resist squeezing them, causing little Rickon to show an expression of displeasure.

However, hearing his other brother's question, the smile on Sansa's face stiffened. The image of the handsome boy appeared in her mind. She couldn't imagine that the prince she had always dreamed of had always been by her side. And he wasn't her brother, but the cousin hidden by her father in Winterfell.

Sansa looked discreetly at her father and wondered if she could marry Jon. The eight-year-old didn't know what disastrous consequences could happen if Jon's existence became known to Robert, especially Eddard Stark's betrayal, but she was still thinking about marrying Jon and becoming a queen just like in the stories she had been told.

At this point, Aenar had to say that the customs of Westeros were strange in certain matters. Incest between brother and sister was taboo, but incest between cousins was readily accepted as normal.

Tywin Lannister himself and Joanna Lannister were first cousins, and Tywin's uncle was his own father-in-law. How such a close blood relationship was not considered incest was a mystery in the eyes of Aenar, who came from another world.

Eddard didn't know what his daughter was thinking or perhaps he would actually kill old Septa for having contaminated his daughter with so many stories of knights, princes and princesses.

But the mention of Jon, or rather Aenar, brought a look of emotion to Eddard's face. News of the Second Field of Fire had reached even the North. Eddard didn't know whether to be worried or proud of Aenar, but he was certainly glad that everything had turned out well, at least for House Targaryen in Essos.

Breakfast ended in silence. As soon as she had swallowed the last piece of bread, Arya slipped away without hesitation, she knew that her father would soon order her to attend Maester Luwin's lessons. She hated those tedious lessons that put her to sleep in less than five minutes.

Eddard let out a weary sigh as he watched her flee, but a gentle gleam lit his eyes. His daughter reminded him of Lyanna, so much so that he sometimes wondered if Arya wasn't Lyanna herself reincarnated.

-

In the stables, Arya was about to mount a horse when a strange sound caught her attention.

It was similar to the flapping of a bird's wings, but much louder. There was something else in that noise, a guttural sound, deep and powerful.

Curious, she raised her eyes to the clear northern sky. She saw a small black dot in the distance, so far away that she wondered if she was seeing things.

She frowned and narrowed her vision, making the black dot clearer.

The sound became more intense. The black dot grew.

Then Arya understood.

Her heart almost stopped.

"FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!"

She shot back into the castle, screaming at the top of her lungs as she ran up the stairs.

In the corridors, servants looked at each other in alarm. Guards stood in the way, but Arya flew past them like an arrow, climbing the steps in twos.

When he reached his father's office, he didn't even bother to knock.

The door opened with a bang.

Eddard, who was about to start his day, froze. He had already heard his daughter's screams echoing through the castle, getting louder by the moment. Now Arya appeared before him, sweating, gasping, her eyes shining with wild happiness.

She tried to speak, but she was out of breath.

Recovering quickly, she declared in one breath, her voice still quivering with excitement:

"A dragon is coming towards us! It's Jon! He's back!!!"

Eddard heard his daughter's words and his eyes widened. He abruptly got up from his chair and quickly walked out of the office together with his daughter.

It wasn't just Arya who had heard the sounds earlier. As long as he wasn't deaf, he could hear such a loud and clear sound at that moment.

Robb, who had just dressed appropriately for a training session with Ser Rodrik Cassel, also looked up at the sky with shock and disbelief. There wasn't a person in the world who could see Caraxes and not marvel at his imposing, gigantic figure.

Putting his training aside, Robb ran towards the Stables and rode his steed towards the exit from Winterfell, where the dragon had landed earlier.

In the end, Robb saw that his father was faster and was already dozens of meters ahead of him. He saw a small figure next to his father, assuming it was Arya.

A large entourage left the gates of Winterfell and all headed towards the gigantic dragon now resting on the snowy ground.

The closer they got, the more Robb was shocked. Seeing the size of Caraxes from afar and seeing it up close were two completely different things.

(Note: Caraxes is currently about 81 meters long, not counting his tail. In the year 296 he will be the size of Vhagar and in the year 300, he will be the size of Balerion).

Robb then saw Jon, or rather Aenar again.

He looked taller in the few months since he had seen him, his black hair was now white-gold and he was dressed exquisitely, in an apparently very expensive red suit. He looked like what you would expect from a king.

However, the girl next to him caught Robb's eye, not because of her beautiful appearance, but because of her eyes. They were so similar to his father's eyes that it was simply shocking.

Seeing the armor and white robes, Robb knew that the girl was part of Aenar's Kingsguard, which didn't surprise him. Having known Aenar since he was a boy, he knew that his cousin didn't care about gender, as long as it was useful, he would accept whoever it was.

"JONNNN!!!" Arya jumped off the horse and without any hesitation, jumped into Aenar's arms with a big smile.

Aenar held the girl with a smile on his lips and spoke in an amused tone. "You're a lady, behave like one."

Arya practically growled at Aenar's words, but said nothing and just hugged him tightly.

"Welcome back home, Jon." She murmured with an emotional tone, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Aenar showed a dazed expression for a moment, but smiled broadly and hugged the girl back.

"Yes, I'm home." He said with a warm smile.

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

There will even be a chapter until I complete the 40 advanced chapters on Patreon (currently at 34).

Read more than advanced chapters in my Patre on!

Read chapters ahead on Patreon. Two chapters are updated every day except Sunday.

P-atreon.com/GOTSW

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)