[Chapter Size: 2000 Words.]

  Third Person POV.Somewhere on North.

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  The explosion of the dragon falling in the middle of Wolf's Forest startled many nearby animals. Wolves, squirrels, and other rodents, along with birds, fled as the white dragon nded.

  Jon looked satisfied with the nding as he climbed off its back, jumping a few meters onto the ground, which wasn't as freezing as beyond the Wall. It took a few hours, but they had finally arrived near Winterfell, at least close enough that no one would see a dragon. Jon ehat no one was hunting nearby with his magical eyes.

  "Well… we'll have to part ways here…" Jon turned back to the dragon, and she looked at him as if displeased.

  "You 't follow me… not this time. After all, they'll try to kill you, and that wouldn't be good for either of us, because I would have to interfere…" Jon spoke calmly.

  The dragon's only response was a snort, while Jon shrugged. "Now I have to head to Winterfell. It's a shame I don't have a spectral horse, so I'll have to go on foot. I hope to arrive by the middle of the night..." he murmured, turning back to the dragon a sed time with a much firmer tone.

  "Remember, don't follow me this time. That was my st warning. Wait for me here. I'll be ba less than a week. Besides Winterfell, hunt for food in the forest or along the coast, but don't go near any towns, especially Wiown, which is nearby." Jon tried to warn her once more, making sure the dragon would remain obedient.

  The dragon seemed to growl at him, showieeth, appearing displeased with Jon's tone, but she eventually turned her ba him and y dht there.

  Jon saw this and said nothing more, turning as he began walking toward Winterfell. Hours passed as Jon tinued his solitary walk through the Wolf's Forest. Winterfell reparing for another feast, as the Stark family once again hired all the bards aertaihey could to eain the king at the castle. Once again, the pce was filling up in preparation for the celebration.

  "Mance… how long should we wait…? We've already been here with the southerners for several moons… At this rate, by the time we return beyond the Wall, everyone will be walking corpses from the cold shadows!" A man, dressed like a oner, with a disheveled appearance, returo Mance, who was in a er of Winterfell while the King-Beyond-the-Wall was tuning his lute.

  "I know I've already looked at the king enough... as I wanted, and I've already made my decision that we 't t on the uanding of the south. But I wao take one more look. However, it seems there's nothing more to do here… we'll leave soon…" Mance said, focused on tuning his strings to py anht for the king, southern nobles, and those from south of the Neck.

  "For me, we stay as long as Mance wants. The southerners really know how to make delicious food and good beer. I've never eaten like this before…" A third man from the group of six spoke up.

  "Stop being foolish… we don't belong to this nd. The southerners would kill us if they knee are…" the first man spoke again. "At least not until we've crossed the Wall with the eribe."

  "Speak more quietly, Jarl! We 't let anyohat kind of talk!" Mance immediately pined as he looked at the men passing by them.

  "Sorry… I just want to leave. The southern king is weak, and the Starks aren't the fierce wolves we thought they'd be. We defeat them! I want to get everyone across the Wall soon," Jarl ented.

  "I uand… we'll have to wait one more day," Mance said in the end.

  "All right… you know, Mance… you're aware of my i in Del's sister. I pn to steal her as soon as we cross the Wall…" he said.

  "I knew he would say that sooner or ter; I just didn't know it would be so random. Hahaha!" Some of the wildlings ughed at the ent.

  "You try to steal her, but know that Val is a fieran," Mance remarked.

  "I know… it's because I think she would bear good children!" he said, thinking he could have the bloh blue eyes, unaware that she was already someone's nce-wife at that moment.

  "Hey, you there!!" At that moment, a man from Winterfell, her than Ser Rodrik, approached them. "I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. An important lord will be arriving soon, so I'd appreciate it if you cleared the courtyard," he said.

  "All right, Ser. We're leaving," Mance said in a submissive tone as all the disguised wildlings began to leave the area.

  Ser Rodrik nodded as he went to ask other people to clear the area while preparing the courtyard for the arrival of the visitors.

  "Are they arriving, Ser Rodrik?" The lord of Winterfell approached, leaving the mairance.

  "Yes, my lord, in a few mihey'll be here, acc to our scouts," he replied, and Ned nodded.

  "Now I need my children here…" he murmured, and it didn't take long for each of his children to arrive at the location, or at least almost all of them.

  "Father." The red-haired sixteen-year-old ao Winterfell approached him.

  "Rob. e, my son. Yoing to meet an old friend of your father," Ned ented as Bran, Arya, and Catelyn, followed by young Ri, gathered around them.

  "Where is Sansa?" Ned asked, frowning at the absence of his eldest daughter.

  "I don't know… I called her, Ned," Catelyn murmured.

  "She didn't want to e, said staying with the prince was more important!" Arya excimed, while Ned looked quite displeased at his wife.

  "I'll speak to her ter, Ned," Catelyn murmured.

  "I hope so. What will the northern lords think if our children 't receive them?" he said with distaste, and at that moment, people stopped entering through the gate, blocked by guards as a new group appeared.

  The green lizard-lion banner was carried by knights, and a small group emerged with the same symbol on their armor. Leading them was Hownd Reed, the Lord of Greywater Watch, an old friend of Ned who had never visited Winterfell before.

  He quickly walked within a reasonable distance of the family as his guards took their positions. He emerged with a limp, apanied by a couple of young people as they approached the Starks. The man had a serious problem with his leg, causing him to walk with a noticeable limp, but Ned didn't mind; after all, he owed his life to this man.

  "Lord Stark!" Hownd greeted.

  "Lord Reed, it's an honor to see you here," Ned responded.

  "Indeed, it's good to see you as well, Lady Stark. And these must be your children…" He saw Lady Stark greeting him and looked at all the children, pointing to the boy and girl who apanied him.

  "This is my eldest daughter, Meera Reed. And this is my son and heir, Jojen Reed," he introduced them.

  "It's an honor to meet you. They certainly look like strong children," Ned ented as they tinued exging pleasantries. hen asked Robb and Bran to apany Hownd's children around the castle and show them the sights, while he went with Hownd to his sor, and Catelyn took a relut Arya away to prepare for the ba.

  "You know… I was quite surprised by the news of your arrival this afternoon," Ned ented.

  "I'm also surprised, Lord Stark, but I came here to meet someone," he said.

  "Please, call me Ned," Ned insisted. "Meet someohe king?" Lord Stark was taken abad asked.

  "No… he's not in the castle. In any case, I hope my presence isn't a burden, Ned," Hownd said.

  "You never o be so formal, Hownd. Stay at Winterfell as long as you need," Ned said in a friendly tone.

  "Thank you… So, it's true… yoing south?" Hownd asked.

  "So, you know… word has already spread beyond Winterfell?" Ned asked, surprised, as he hadn't yet informed the northern lords.

  "My son found out about it," he said with a smile.

  "Your son?"

  "It's a bit plicated, but in any case, it's good to see you. How are you?" Hownd asked sincerely.

  "Yes… we were fighting in a bloody war almost 20 years ago… now we live in a time of peace, although we carry some scars from that time," he said, carefully looking at Hownd's knees.

  "I'm fih it, if that's what you want to know… years make you get used to being half-crippled. Anyway, we must now take care of our children, and speaking of that, I felt the absence of one upon my arrival," he said.

  "Sorry about that. Sansa has been a bit rebellious since she found out she would be queen, but I asked Catelyn to take care of her," he expined.

  "I wasn't talking about Sansa, though gratutions are in order for her being the future queen of Westeros. I was talking about the other one," he ented carefully, notig Lord Stark's face grow darker.

  "He died a long time ago, Hownd… there's nothing more to be done," Ned spoke with an equally dark tone, as if referring to an old wound from his past, which was also tied to his sister.

  "But you promised Lyanna, and from what I know, you didn't really keep your promise…" Hownd was treading on delicate ground, but there were things he o discuss with Ned based on what he had learned from those times. Ned had treated the boy in a way Lyanna would never have wanted, despite his promise.

  "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" ed, smming his fist oable with a loud shout that caused the door to open, with his guard cheg if everything was all right.

  Hownd wasn't startled by the Lord of Winterfell's outburst, keeping his eyes fixed on him, without even blinking.

  ared back before sighing and turning to his guard. "It's all right, Jory. You leave us," he said in a calmer tone.

  "Sorry about that, my lord… it's just that this matter is quite delicate. I know you didn't like how I treated Lya's son… but I did everything to protect him… in the end, he vanished without any warning. It's been 8 years now… no one knows where he went, and to me, he's dead," Ned finished.

  "…" Hownd only looked at him without saying a word, but his lips quivered as if he wao speak, but in the end, he remained silent.

  "In any case… I think I'm a bit tired and would like to be alone for a while. You leave now; aodations have been arranged for you, your family, and your men, and Jory Cassel take you to our casteln. I hope to see you at tonight's feast," Ned said.

  "All right. I'm going," Hownd replied, saying nothing more as he nodded a, leaving Ned aloh his thoughts of old wounds.

  "So these are your direwolves!" Jojen was surprised as they walked through the castle with Bran and Robb. Theon joihem shortly after, seeing Meera, while maintaining a stant smile in her dire, which she ignored.

  "They are! We all have one," Robb ented, holding his grey wind.

  "And that white one?" Meera asked, notig a small white wolf among them.

  "Well… he doesn't belong to anyone, but he came with the litter. My father said he doesn't have the time to keep a wolf, so he's always left aside," Bran expined.

  "He already has a bond, actually," Jojen said with an intense look at the red-eyed wolf, as if trying to see through its red eyes.

  "Really?" Bran asked curiously, turning to Robb, who didn't know what to say.

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