[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Beyond the Wall, 298 AC.
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"It can't be..." Benjen murmured, taking a few steps back after Jon finished the story, with Lyanna dying in childbirth and leaving behind a male baby.
"It can't be... you..." he repeated, looking at Jon with eyes that trembled.
"I know, it sounds crazy... Thinking that my mother is, after all, Lyanna Stark... I almost went mad when I found out," Jon said, giving a small, sad smile as he revealed it.
"So... that means you're... I mean, you're... you're the..." He couldn't finish, stopping before saying something that might offend his nephew.
"If I'm a prince's bastard, uncle... no, you're wrong about that. After all, you know very well that Rhaegar would never bring such shame to my mother, from what you knew of her," Jon said. "And they were married..." he added.
"What?" Benjen asked. Jon hadn't exactly shared the details, so Benjen was still confused. After all, to him, Rhaegar was married to Elia.
"They got married after the septon at the time annulled Rhaegar's marriage to Elia. Then he married Lyanna Stark. I was conceived shortly after. Nine months later, I was born at the Tower of Joy. I was taken to Winterfell as a bastard of Ned Stark. My appearance certainly favored that. And, as you can see, my uncle hid this... even from his brother," Jon said, referring to Benjen himself.
Benjen stayed silent for a moment before turning his face to the heart tree, ignoring all the blood that stained it.
"Damn it, Ned... you bastard...!" he murmured, before starting to curse his brother from Winterfell. He turned back to Jon.
"I didn't know," he said in an apologetic tone.
"And it's not your fault, Uncle Benjen," Jon replied. "My supposed father avoided telling anyone. The only one who survived that battle was Lord Howland... and he also kept the secret," Jon said.
"He shouldn't have let you be treated that way... then at least, he should've sent you maybe to Lord Reed..." Benjen murmured, with some anger.
Jon gave a small smile, knowing that Lord Reed had said the same thing, wanting to adopt him when he learned of his condition at Winterfell.
"It's all right. Things happened as they were supposed to happen. Besides, uncle..." Jon said, looking with a more serene expression at the sacred tree, stained with blood.
"I wouldn't change anything that happened in Winterfell."
He spoke with pride woven into his words. After all, if his fate had changed, he might not have built what he had until now. He wouldn't have become who he was today. Perhaps he could have had a better childhood, grown up in another house, stayed there, maybe becoming a guard, a knight, a master-at-arms in some castle, if not for the Wall, where his uncle served...
He might never have become Jon of Arctica. So, it had been worth it. Even with all those horrible conditions for a child. Despite never wanting to see that woman again — for he would face her with disdain, openly Lady Stark — he still had to be thankful. Even to her.
Benjen looked at Jon, there, fixed, thoughtful. As he opened a soft expression, he managed to understand exactly what his nephew meant by that.
"You said a war is about to begin... against those White Walkers?" Benjen spoke again, asking Jon carefully.
"Yes. We took the chance since we came to deal with Craster. So being here, I already wanted to see you, but also wanted to make some things clear to the Night's Watch, since we're going to shut down the entire North beyond the Wall. I'm sure the Lord Commander won't want to take part in this conflict between us and the dead. So it would be best if you just protect the Wall," Jon said.
Benjen nodded as they continued talking, changing the subject again, speaking about Jon's life in Arctica.
If Benjen had already been quite surprised — and even a bit angry at what he'd heard before — now he seemed even more surprised as Jon spoke about his own family, his children, the fact that he had five wives, among other things he mentioned. Although he had omitted the information that he had a dragon or dozens of them, he spoke about almost everything. At another moment, Benjen was amazed.
"And you already have four children?" Benjen murmured.
"Yes. And five more are about to be born," Jon said, while Ghost kept carrying him, finding again a group waiting for them near the tree, and moving just behind. The two passed through the king's guards.
"I'd like to see that kingdom," Benjen murmured, clearly curious.
"Maybe you can, uncle. It'll depend on what kind of conversation the Lord Commander will have. After all, I have some men of the Night's Watch in Arctica. Prisoners, of course," Jon said, making Benjen raise an eyebrow, a little confused, but upon hearing the second part, he was quite surprised.
"So... they're alive?" he asked. He couldn't hide the plea in his tone. You couldn't blame him. Jon hadn't wanted to touch on that subject until now, because he knew it was sensitive and his uncle would be worried about his fellow men — or rather, brothers of the Night's Watch.
"Yes, they're alive, of course. But of course, our prisoners don't just sit in cells. They have to work for their own food," Jon said, while walking. Benjen said nothing as they made their way to the entrance of the Wall.
"I'll be waiting for the Lord Commander here. I give you my word I won't attack him, as long as he shows respect to me and my people. But I can't do anything if he doesn't act that way. Still, I'm willing to negotiate the men of the Night's Watch," Jon said, as Benjen nodded, galloping back to the Wall, leaving his wolf behind, still next to Ghost, to stay a bit longer with his brother.
It took a while for Benjen to enter the Wall. After ten minutes, a larger group began to emerge, with a peace flag being raised. Jon's men did nothing, they just waited for them to approach. Closer and closer, there were at least twenty men advancing with the Lord Commander at the front.
They approached and began to slow down. As they got closer, they stopped ten meters from Jon, up there on his giant wolf — which clearly startled all the men, seeing that three-meter-tall creature, the size of half a large tree.
"That's a giant wolf, by the gods... look at the size of that thing!" some men murmured.
The Lord Commander, Ser Jorah Mormont, was leading the group, but remained silent, still looking at Ghost cautiously.
"You better step back a bit, big guy," Jon said, patting Ghost as he dismounted, landing in the cushioned snow, bent.
The wolf began to back away with its massive body along with Benjen's wolf, while some soldiers, along with Ducken, also approached, leaving their basilisks behind, which made all the rangers look cautiously at the creatures as well. All the Arcticans were prepared for a fight, while a line of armored men appeared around the king, watching the Night's Watch and waiting for any hostile reaction.
At first, things seemed quite tense there, as Jon could see the hatred in the men's eyes on horseback. Anger for what they probably knew — their companions had been killed by the men of Arctica along with people from the south. But there was also fear, and the latter was the strongest feeling there. No one really wanted to face someone who could wipe out 16,000 men without leaving a trace, not to mention all the rumors they'd heard from Jon's travels through Essos and Westeros. This man had been responsible for turning half the world upside down and was now standing there facing them in Valyrian steel armor.
"Lord Commander Jorah Mormont. It's been a few years since I last saw you. I hope you made good use of the resources I gave to the Watch back then. It's a shame I had to find out, while sailing the sea, that some of you led a small army from the south into my kingdom, in my absence," Jon said, with a narrowed gaze, making the atmosphere even more tense between them. Even Benjen was a bit cautious about it.
"We had no choice. It was a direct order from the south and the king. After all, your resources don't last forever and we still need to supply the Wall..." the Lord Commander finally began, making a brief pause before continuing.
"And Benjen told me you have members of the Night's Watch alive in your kingdom. Is that true?" he asked, obviously wanting to save his men — even after years in captivity, there were still good men among them.
"Yes. Some survived. Even the one known as Qhorin Halfhand... I must admit he's a hard-working man, despite his age... He is among our prisoners," he said.
"Bloody bastard..." someone murmured from the group suddenly after the king finished.
Immediately, all the men beside Jon drew their swords, offended by the insult to their king, while the men of the Night's Watch quickly responded more cautiously, obviously. The sounds of animals began to rise as the basilisks let out hostile noises, a group much larger than the Watch's — even Ghost began growling at them, making the rangers' horses take a subconscious step back.
"Stop. Sheathe your weapons," Jon was the one who spoke firmly, calming his group, while the Night's Watch men still seemed cautious. Everyone began to put away their swords, looking at the king, but Jon wasn't done yet.
He took a step forward, about three meters from where he was, stopping in front of the group and removing his sword, revealing Blackfyre.
"I'm not such a coward as to ask my men to kill the one who offended me. I challenge you to come here and say that to my face, draw your sword and fight me to the death," Jon issued the challenge.
Surprisingly, all the rangers looked at each other with great caution, but no one actually moved. Some glances turned toward a man who lacked the courage.
"You insult me behind my back, but don't have the guts to face me?" Jon asked again. As no one stepped forward, he considered this man a great coward. Either way, Jon turned his gaze back to the Lord Commander.
"I can release them, if that's what you want. But there will be a price. After all, you were the ones who started this," Jon said, looking at Jorah Mormont.
"What do you want then?" Jorah Mormont asked.
"First, a warning — which I believe my uncle has already given you. We no longer want the Night's Watch north of the Wall. Trust me, I'm saying this for your own good. Also, be careful with the Wall. After all, the free folk here in the south will be quite desperate with winter coming. So you'd better stay very alert," Jon said.
"You don't want us continuing to explore north of the Wall?" someone asked, with some dissatisfaction in the group.
"Exactly," Jon replied. "We'll be at war here, over things you won't believe. So I won't try to convince you. It's better that you're not involved in this conflict," Jon said, making Jorah raise an eyebrow at that.
They seemed quite hesitant, but didn't want to give an answer before discussing among themselves. Jorah turned again to Jon, with a questioning look.
"Benjen said you killed Craster."
"Yes. In a rather brutal way, if you want to know," Jon said calmly, provoking a negative reaction among the Night's Watch.
"Why did you do it? Benjen didn't explain it properly," Jorah said with a slightly hostile tone, since Craster had always helped the Night's Watch.
"Craster gave his male children to the White Walkers as an offering. I merely followed what the Old Gods demanded as punishment. And I did the Blood Eagle," he said.
That shook the Lord Commander a bit, while others exchanged glances, skeptical — and even some laughed, before looking surprised at the mention of Craster's execution, a few turning pale, recognizing the term. But Jon didn't care. It wasn't worth the effort to convince these men, but the message had been delivered.
Either way, Jon spoke again to wrap up the matter quickly.
"If you want your men back, do not cross into the North beyond the region north of the Wall anymore. And also, my condition is that Benjen Stark comes with me to Arctica. At this moment, we will send a message with the prisoners and the First Ranger back to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea on an Arctican ship in a few moons, as soon as they leave Arctica. I believe that's a fair deal. You know very well I would never harm my uncle, and you may call me a liar if I don't keep my word — I believe my dealings across the world can prove I'm not lying," Jon said, surprising especially Benjen, who hadn't expected that.
Jorah didn't respond immediately, seeming thoughtful, looking back at Jon.
"You give me your word that you'll bring them back, and safely?"
"Yes. Even if we are monsters to you, we are not liars," Jon said, beginning to sheathe Blackfyre under everyone's gaze, while he had still kept the sword unsheathed, challenging whoever had offended him — but no one stepped forward.
As he put the sword away again, some recognized it, quite surprised, seeing the legendary blade of the Blackfyre Rebellion in someone's hands.
"I'll discuss this with my men and we'll give you an answer. Can you give me an hour?" Jorah asked, and Jon nodded.
"All right. But before you go..." Jon said, casting a look with a more dangerous tone.
Then suddenly, one of the horses in the group simply bolted, neighing, surprising everyone, as it ran forward, leaving the group. A man tried to stop it immediately, but the animal was no longer under control. It skidded to the side as it approached Jon, causing the rider on top to lose balance and fall due to the force of the brake. His body was flung forward with the momentum, landing directly on the ground.
He barely had time to understand what was happening or regain his breath after feeling his lungs compress, when someone grabbed him.
"If it isn't Alliser Thorne? Long time..." Jon said, making the man look up at who was holding him.
"You like calling others bastard, don't you? But you don't have the guts to admit it was you. I expected more courage from you," Jon said, and Alliser didn't even have time to react before taking a punch directly from Jon's fist, hitting his face.
"Be careful calling someone a bastard, because it might cost you your life," Jon continued, delivering another punch to the man's head, now on the ground, while the Night's Watch seemed stunned, unsure of what to do.
"Stop that!" the Lord Commander quickly shouted, trying to make the King of Arctica stop, but not approaching while the other rangers were cautious, unsure of what to do. Jon then delivered one last punch and stepped back.
"I said that my men and I would be respected. But it seems you didn't keep your word. I'll let this go for now. Take your man," Jon said, throwing Alliser a few meters forward.
Surprisingly, the men wondered what kind of strength that boy had to do that to a grown man. Alliser still rolled a few times before stopping, his nose full of blood and shards. They must have been broken with the first punch — and Jon had damaged them even more as he kept hitting.
In the end, they approached cautiously, while Jon stepped aside so they could retrieve the man. Jon guided his own horse to approach them again, as they lifted and placed Alliser on the saddle. The master-at-arms of Castle Black was unconscious like a dead animal, but alive, while everyone still watched cautiously, stepping back and returning to the Wall.
"Now... we just have to wait," Jon said, not seeming to care much about what had happened.
They took out some supplies from the basilisks' packs and began to eat, as they hadn't eaten anything since they started attacking Craster's Keep.
Either way, the gate of the Wall opened fifty minutes after they had left. Jon saw Benjen return, with his wolf just behind, walking forward with a backpack on his back, while Jon showed a smile.
"Looks like the Lord Commander didn't accept my conditions." Jon murmured.
It didn't seem very advantageous for Arctica, under the conditions they had, to return the captured men to the Night's Watch. And even Benjen could have information about Arctica — but he was Jon's family, his mother's brother. Jon didn't mind sharing his accomplishments with him, knowing that Benjen wouldn't give away information about Arctica.
"I see you're going to Arctica, uncle," Jon smiled.
"Yes," Benjen murmured. "The Lord Commander accepted your conditions... although what you did to the master-at-arms seems to have angered a lot of people at the Wall," he said, as Jon shrugged.
"Anyway, we'll have to change your mount, uncle. The horse will slow us down too much," he said.
"You want me to ride on those things?" Benjen asked, somewhat cautiously, looking at the basilisks.
"You'll ride one alone, while I'll ride Ghost. Don't worry, I'll control it — like I did with Alliser Thorne's horse," Jon said. Benjen agreed after some reluctance.
He passed all his luggage to one of the basilisks, afraid of the animal the whole time while Arctican men laughed, leaving Jon's uncle a bit frustrated, and mounted the saddle carefully, still trying to be cautious not to be attacked by the beast. But in the end, he gained a bit of confidence and finally got comfortable atop the basilisk. That basilisk belonged to Jon, and was the largest among all the others.
Jon sent Benjen's horse back alone to the gate of the Wall, while he and the others headed north.
Finally, all mounted, they departed for Craster's Keep, to take the women there northward with the basilisks. They would have to abandon all horses and animals from their farms — after all, if they wanted to reach Arctica quickly, it would be through these creatures in just a few days.
-------------Nexts Chapters ----------------
Chapter 264 - What does Westeros know about Arctic?
Chapter 269 - Reunion.
Chapter 279 - The Problems That Are Coming to Winterfell.
Chapter 288 - The House of Dragons.
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