Ashes of Winter: The Stark Revival and the Game of Thrones

It was then he felt the brush of a tongue against his hand and looked down to see Ghost there. Bending down to rub the white wolf's fur he looked into Ghost's eyes and soon found himself far from the Wall and yet once again in a place he knew all too well. Though it was a place he'd never felt at home in and seeing the shadow that was standing in front of the statue, he felt his tears begin to fall as he saw his father once more.

"I've done all I can, Lya. I've kept my promise as best I can. I can do no more." his father said as he looked at his aunt's statue.

Before he knew it he was on the Kingsroad and he looked on as he spoke to his father and as words were said that had never come true.

"There's great honor in serving in the Night's Watch, the Starks have manned the Wall for thousands of years and you are a Stark. You may not have my name, but you have my blood."

"Is my mother alive? Does she know about me, where I am, where I'm going?. Does she care?"

"The next time we see each other, well talk about your mother, hmmm. I promise."

The sadness he felt knowing that he was looking at the last time he and his father spoke was quickly turned to anger as he felt the lie in the words. There was no true intent to tell him, more it was a way of dismissing the question, another way of dismissing the question that he'd asked so many times over the years.

His father's promise had meant nothing to him, had it to his aunt? Had he kept his promise to her?

"Yes and no." a voice called out and though he looked around it was not a voice that came from outside but in.

"Who are you?"

"Long have I waited to speak to you and have you hear my voice. I had thought it would be you and not the other that came, though I welcomed him all the same. But it was you I wished to hear from and wished to hear me, and had you done so then perhaps things would have been different for so many of both our kin."

"Who are you?

"I am you, you are me. We are bonded as we've been since first you held me in your hands when I was but a pup."

"Ghost?"

"I am Ghost."

"How?" Jon asked not understanding it and then he laughed as Ghost or whatever it was that was claiming to be Ghost in his mind, answered.

"I am Ghost because you named me Ghost." the wolf said, the wolf, the voice, whatever this was.

The images came quickly to him.

Jon as he lay in bed with the white wolf on his chest looking into his eyes. The first hunt that Ghost returned from, washing the blood from the white wolf's fur. Dreams of running through the woods and of waking in the morning with an odd taste in his mouth. Memories of the Wall and of locking Ghost up and the look the wolf gave him when he did so. Ghost as he ran Beyond the Wall and the two were separated and yet not for many moons. Then Ghost looked at him as he lay on the table dead, the white wolf moving his head against Jon's chest as if he was trying to wake him.

"You were gone and then you were back." Ghost said.

"I'm sorry."

"We are bonded, there is no me without you."

"Or me without you." Jon replied and he swore he felt a tongue lick his face though there was no one there and yet he knew he was not alone.

"You've never been alone, brother." Ghost said and the comfort of those words was something that Jon welcomed greatly.

Before he knew it he was in Winterfell and he was walking into the crypts. The height he was at showed him that he wasn't the one doing so and somehow he was, as he was in the white wolf as Ghost moved past the statues.

"Father." he said softly as he passed his father's statue and yet something felt wrong to him as if a voice was telling him, no, that he was wrong, and he couldn't understand what it was it was trying to tell him.

"Aunt Lyanna." he said a moment later and this time the feeling was even stronger, the voice telling him once again that he was wrong, and then for the briefest moment he was somewhere else.

Hearing the screams he ran up the tower's steps, taking them two at a time and as he reached the door he heard the voices from inside.

"Promise me, Ned, Promise me."

"I promise."

"His name is….His name is…."

Suddenly he was standing in a different room and looking down at a bed and he felt his anger rise as he looked at one brother in a wheeled chair while his sadness threatened to overwhelm him as he looked at the other who was laying in the bed unconscious.

"He is gone to you, send him back and then return for we both need our brother back with us to face what's to come." Ghost, the voice that he now knew was Ghost's said.

"I…"

Jon sat up in the bed and coughed and sputtered to get the water out of his lungs though it was no longer there. He'd been on the cliff with Sam, Sam, no not Sam, whatever that thing that had claimed to be Sam was.

"Jon, thank the gods." he heard Dany say and he looked to her, the sunlight reflecting off her silver hair making her look as if she was there and not there at the same time.

"Is this? Am I dreaming?" he asked and then he felt her as she took his hand in his and in the blink of an eye he'd thrown his arms around her and was embracing her tightly.

"Dany, I… Dany." he said as she whispered in his ear that all was well, that he was well, and that she was so relieved that he was well.

When he let go of the embrace and moved a little from her, he saw that she was crying, that she had been crying for some time and it almost broke his heart to see her so upset. He reached out and brushed away the stray tear that rolled down her cheek and his eyes locked with hers. Then he moved forward and his lips met her own. The kiss was soft and when she pulled away from him, he looked at her in confusion only for her to move to him and kiss him even more truly. Eventually one of them stopped and which of them it was he knew not.

"If I am dreaming, then I owe the Old Gods much for this one." he said making her laugh, and then he reached up to touch his fingers to her lips and felt her eyes on his once more. The two of them moved together again and this time it would be some time until the kisses stopped.

Somewhere in Westeros, 303 AC

Rickon Stark.

"Who are you?"

Where are we?

"We're traveling for a mission. I don't know much about where, but I wish we could stop. You haven't answered my question. Who are you?"

I am Rickon Stark.

"Rickon? Little Rickon from Winterfell?"

How do you know Winterfell? Or me?

"That's where I came from!" the being said happily. "I remember you when you were little. I was little too! You rode on me and my brother Dancer rode with your brother Bran.

Rickon gasped in surprise as he understood he was in the body of one of his former horses. They had thought all of them had been killed during the Sack of Winterfell, but he was glad that it wasn't the case.

I do not remember your name, I'm sorry.

"You've named me Unicorn."

Then I'm more than sorry, Unicorn.

"Why?"

For naming you so. I was young and I shouldn't have given you that name… He said sadly, thinking about Shaggydog and how that name suited him, but how many times he had heard Osha say the wolf should have been named something fiercer.

"Do not worry, I have loved this name. It reminds me of better times with my family ."

Rickon could see through their shared mind images of the horse running with his brother and sister, Dancer and Snow, who were Bran and Arya's mounts. It warmed their hearts to reminisce together about a time almost forgotten. When they had run together to the limits of the Wolfswood, when Rickon still had a united family who loved each other. He felt a kick on their flank and when he gained awareness of his surroundings, he realized that it was snowing. He could feel the cold seeping through his body as well as the exhaustion. His legs hurt and he wished they would stop walking. He felt a little confused to feel a lot of weight on him and the startling move he made, made the weight begin to talk.

"What's wrong with this damned horse again? I swear, the Old Gods bundled me with the worst for this journey!"

He recognized this voice and felt anger at hearing him. Of all the places he could be, he had to find himself traveling with Robett Glover.

The man sitting on Unicorn's back didn't seem to care, though. Unicorn showed Rickon how Glover kept complaining about the weather, and the long road as if he was not using him to walk those distances for him. And most of all, about his family.

"At least we are far away from the army of the dead," Cley Cerwyn said.

"How much would you bet that the dead are coming because of them?" Glover grumbled.

"Who, the Starks? How would they be responsible for that?"

"They're cursed. Their whole family is. Everything started going bad for the North the moment Ned Stark agreed to go South and left his green boy in charge" Glover said disdainfully.

"Robb Stark was named King in the North -" Cley retorted only to be interrupted.

"Not because he was fit to rule, but because he was Ned's eldest trueborn son. And look what happened when they did so. He went back on his word like a petulant child and our families and friends got killed or suffered because of it."

"What does that have to do with the dead coming for us?"

"Look at them, Cley. Sansa Stark is as southern as her mother and like her mother, she thinks she is better than us. She came back to Winterfell and married the bastard of Bolton, for fuck's sake! She never held any respect for her family nor ours when she accepted she was to wed him. And then when life became too hard for her, she came to us and demanded we honor her father's memory and fight for her to get her back Winterfell. She just wanted to get rid of the Bastard of Bolton and get the power for herself."

"He tortured her, Robett." Cley said shaking his head.

"She should never have married him in the first place. And to think she's actually the best of the Stark children, it makes me shudder. Ned Stark must be rolling in the crypts."

"She could perhaps have been a good ruler if she didn't spend so much time with this Littlefinger fucker and if she showed she really cared about anyone but herself." Cley said.

"Littlefinger might be the only one around the Starks that has their eyes open to the truth of things."

"What do you mean?" Cerwyn frowned.

"I mean that he understands how wrong it is to have Rickon Stark as King in the North. How detrimental to the North it is to be ruled by an abomination." Robett spat.

"He has been named so by all of us, mind you." Clay said firmly.

"The Lords here all think of Rickon Stark's coming back from the dead as a blessing from the Old Gods, and that the Starks reuniting is a good thing for the North, but I don't."

"Why not? They took back Winterfell and they warned us about what's coming!"

"Brandon Stark always says he is not Brandon Stark anymore, whatever that means, he is not mentally fit to rule the North either. Arya Stark is no better if you want my opinion."

"You've heard what she did to the Freys? She avenged the Red Wedding!"

"Ha! As if a woman would really do what they said she did. No, she did as much as Manderly claimed Snow did. Fucking bootlicker!"

"But they're all dead. How do you explain that?"

"I don't know and I do not care either. I do not feel safe around her and even less around the King. That one is clearly cursed and I fear he'll bring us more problems with that attitude of his."

"I think he's handling things well, regarding the circumstances."

"He was dead, Cley! He is no better than the Wight he made us see. What makes you so sure he is not working for them now? What cares the dead about the living after all? He's making my granddaughters train to fight them as well. They are children! Girls! They have no business on the battlefield!" Robett said angrily.

"Lyanna Mormont would disagree with you there. Moreover, we don't have a lot of soldiers left and so while I agree that they shouldn't face them on the battlefield, they at least should know how to defend themselves should the need arise." Cley said, to no reply for a few moments at least, then Robett began his moaning once again.

"And now he's sending part of his forces on this pointless errand. No one from the South has ever managed to get past the Neck, much less in Winter. Yet that boy has sent us to man the Moat when we would be more efficient or needed elsewhere. I'm telling you, Cley, he wanted to get rid of us."

"Well maybe he wouldn't have if you hadn't riled him up that first time about his brother."

"I was telling the truth. We should have killed Jon Snow as soon as he left the Wall. Not only has he deserted without being punished, but he's also brought the fucking wildlings with him, and now he's bringing the dragon bitch back to the North." Glover retorted while struggling to keep a tight rein on his horse.

"And her dragons." Cley said fearfully.

"And he made us welcome her… As if she wasn't the Mad King's daughter who had the means to burn us… As her father did… with Rickard and Brandon Stark… These kids… they don't understand the ways of the North. I swear… This fucking horse may be a demon or something…" Robett said as beneath him Unicorn feeling Rickon's anger at the words began to shift and move, almost unhorsing the man more than once.

"I think…"

"I know you're on their side, Cerwyn. You've made that clear already. You've turned into a Stark lover, but we'll see if you'll still be one when the Dragon Bitch forces us to bend the knee before burning Westeros to the ground." Glover grumbled, his hold on the now even more rebellious horse less and less sure.

"As long as I'm alive by the end of the ordeal, I don't care who I'll have to follow," Cerwyn claimed.

"That's the difference between you and meI. I will not follow a dragon. Not now, not ever. And if the Starks are willing to sell us out to the Dragon Bitch, they'll find that I'm not the only one that thinks that way and that the North Remembers. Will you fucking calm down?" Glover ordered the horse who didn't seem to be listening to him anymore.

"You're speaking of treason, Robett."

"I'm speaking about doing what's best for the North. And what's best for the North is to stay independent. If the Starks have to be replaced for it to happen, then so be… Oh! Fucking hell!" Glover yelled as he flew from his saddle, the horse's rearing to get rid of its rider finally successful.

Rickon had had enough of hearing the man speak ill of his family and himself. Seeing Lord Glover's panicked face when he turned to him, and feeling ready to trample him to death was satisfying, but something, rather someone prevented him from doing so.

" They will kill us if we do that, Little Master. Please! Let us leave them behind before one of them does so!" Unicorn's worried voice rang through his mind.

All exhaustion was forgotten in Unicorn's mind as they ran for their lives, Rickon's encouraging voice pushing the horse to his limits. When they realized that they weren't being followed, they slowed down and tried to get some respite.

I'm sorry, Unicorn. I shouldn't have reacted this way. I risked your life because I was angry.

" Think nothing of it, Little Master. These men were saying bad things about your family, how could you not react?"

But you would have been safe in Moat Cailin. In a warm stable, with more to eat than a patch of grass here or there.

" And I would have missed that horrible man falling on his rear and soiling himself in fright? Trust me, sometimes being a little hungry is worth the outcome."

So you don't like him either?

" I ended up with him when I fled from Winterfell. When those horrible humans killed my family. He never mistreated me but he was not very nice with any of us either."

I'm sorry you had to get through this, Unicorn. Rickon sympathized, he himself remembering the feeling and loss he experienced while being away from his family. I need to get to my brother, Jon. I believe he is in danger.

" Then I will bring you to him if you know the way."

Thank you, truly. I have to go to Dragonstone. Where did they say we were?

" Near the Moat. I do not know where it is."

And we cannot go there either. Well, let us run and see if we can reach a keep.

" I feel like we have to go this way" Unicorn said and Rickon trusted his instinct, as he did with Ghost.

This connection with the horse felt different from the one he had with the Direwolf. Whether it was because he was closer to Ghost or Unicorn's senses were not as developed, he knew not. Somehow though, running with the latter was less enjoyable, as they had to look at their surroundings more and be more cautious because of the snow. Should they step on a patch of ice and break a leg, then they were done for as Unicorn pointed out. His worry for Jon and lasting anger at Glover might also be playing a role in the way he felt, at least according to the horse.

Still, he missed Ghost and he missed Winterfell. Rickon wouldn't have thought that was possible only a few days earlier. Being away from the keep made him feel not safe, it made him realize that he had managed to get over the horrible things that had happened there and so had made Winterfell his home once again. But he also reminded himself that he was away for a good reason. Jon was in danger and he needed to reach his brother.

The landscapes around them had changed a lot since they had gotten away from Glover's party. The trees around them obscured the rays of the sun and they were surrounded by puddles of water and mud. Nothing he'd seen in his short life compared to what he was seeing at that moment, and he realized he knew that place. He had been told about it years ago, when he was traveling with Meera, Jojen, and the rest of their group. Meera had told them about the swamps, the black bogs, and the flowers that were so different from what he'd seen in the glass gardens, and Osha hadn't believed something like this existed for true.

It's real, Osha. The Neck, the swamps… It's all real… Rickon thought tearfully, wishing she was there with him to see it with her own eyes.

" I do not like this place, Little Master," Unicorn said. "I feel a lot of eyes on us. We're being watched."

He felt it too, the unsettling sensation prompting him to walk deeper into the bog. He remembered Meera saying that travelers should not walk away from the causeway and he shared with his companion all that he knew about the place.

Their anxiety grew as the road narrowed, and soon the horse refused to walk more despite Rickon's reassurances. They were wasting time and Jon's life was on the line. While part of Rickon wanted to take over, to control the beast so that they could resume their journey, the other side of him refused to do so. Osha and Tormund had told him about skinchangers who forced themselves on poor beasts and how it was seen as an abomination, hence why those who did so were ostracized from their villages.

If you do not respect the animal's will and force yours onto it, what's stopping you from doing the same to a man? We may need to feed on the beasts, but we are taught not to hunt them when not necessary because they too have feelings, family, and as much the right to live as any being on these lands.

Osha's words had never rung so true than at that moment. He'd experienced Ghost's memories, had seen Unicorn's ones, and felt their pain and their worries as his own. He could feel the horse's relief and growing respect for him, as well as his sadness for not being brave enough to help Rickon achieve his journey.

" You'll need another, Little Master, for I fear I will hinder you with my emotions."

You are hungry, thirsty, and scared. With some rest and a little food on your belly, maybe you'll find the strength to continue? Rickon said with hope in his mind.

" You may be right. I do not think it is safe to eat any of these leaves, but the water seems good enough." Unicorn said, leaving the road to quench his thirst.

"I would not do that if I were you. There are lizard lions waiting for you to make a mistake in these waters."

The voice made them jump and they looked to its origin. A man of short stature stood in front of them, and his smile tugged at Rickon's heart as it felt familiar.

"King Rickon Stark," the man said to the boy's surprise. "I have been waiting for you for a long time. I am Howland Reed. You and your companion are safe with me."

Dragonstone 303 AC.

Dany.

Melisandre had joined them even before they'd had a chance to remove Jon's clothing from him. The red priestess had quickly pushed past the Maester and the healer that had joined them and Dany looked on a little enviously as she reached down and placed her hand on Jon's forehead. She did however welcome the look of relief that appeared on Melisandre's face and even the accusation in her words when she spoke.

"What happened to my prince?" Melisandre asked angrily.

"We know not. I left Jon speaking with his friend, Samwell Tarly while Ser Jorah and I made our way to the keep. When next we saw him, he was as you see him and being held in Rhaegar's talons." she said as she looked to the window to see the Green Dragon was still flying outside.

"And Samwell?" Melisandre asked as Jon's clothing was being removed.

"Is… Oh By the Gods, his chest, what happened to his chest?" she cried out as she moved hurriedly to the bed.

Jon's chest was covered in stab wounds, and one, in particular, seemed to be over his heart. Dany just by looking at it knew it was a fatal one. Her eyes went from Jon's chest to Melisandre, to the Maester, and back to his chest, and then she was kneeling on the bed, her hand touching his face and when she heard him moan, she let out the breath she was holding in. She moved her hand to his chest and to the wounds and found to her shock that they didn't bleed, which made no sense.

"Maester….the wounds… I."

"The wounds are no issue." Melisandre said and Dany almost broke her neck with how quickly her head spun to look at the red priestess.

"No issue, no issue, can you not see them?" she asked angrily.

"They are old wounds, your grace and long recovered from." Melisandre said, and only that the Maester somewhat agreed or she'd have argued more.

"The wounds are old, your grace. Though how anyone could recover from such…"

"So what's ailing him now?" she asked after she composed herself a little.

"I believe it's the water, your grace. Lord Snow has, it seems at least, somehow nearly drowned."

"He will recover." she said firmly and the Maester nodded, though whether that was because of fear of her or that he believed it, she couldn't be certain.

Reluctantly Dany moved from the bed and walked to Missandei, bidding Melisandre join them. Once all three of them were together, she turned to the Red Priestess and asked her about the wounds.

"Those wounds, Who gave him them?" she asked angrily.

"His former brothers in the Night's Watch." Melisandre made her contempt for the men clear.

"Why?"

"My prince wished to bring the Free Folk past the Wall, he wished to save them from the Army of the Dead. There were those in amongst the Night's Watch who felt this a betrayal and so they performed one of their own. They led my prince from his rooms with tales of his uncle Benjen who'd been lost Beyond the Wall and once they'd done so, one by one they drove a knife into his body, the last one piercing his heart."

"How did he survive?" Missandei asked as Dany looked to the bed.

"He did not."

"But…."

"My prince lay dead in his rooms when I was sent for. Ser Davos, Tormund, and his true brothers of the Watch were standing guard and had taken the men who'd killed him, prisoner. I gave him the Last Kiss and my god did the rest, bringing him back to lead us in the fight to come, as only his chosen can." Melisandre said and Dany finally felt able to breathe again as she saw Jon move on the bed, though he did not wake.

"And the men who betrayed him?" She asked, hoping they lived still so she could go to them and unleash the fury that was building within her over what they'd done.

"My prince ended them himself." Melisandre said proudly.

"Good." Missandei said her eyes locked on Dany's and Dany nodded her agreement.

It took some time for the Maester and the healer to be finished, Melisandre going to the bed herself to check over Jon too. When they were done she was told that while he'd suffered no injuries that the Maester could find, he had certainly been in the water and some of it had gotten into his lungs. They'd removed as much as they could and she was told that when he woke there was a chance he'd cough up some more. Though all she listened to really was the Maester saying that he would wake.

After he'd left, she took a seat by the bedside and was joined by Missandei and Melisandre, all three of them sitting there quietly for some time and it was only Jorah's return that broke the silence.

"We found scorch marks and ash on the cliffs where Samwell and I greeted you, my queen. There is no sign of Samwell Tarly and were I to wager then I'd say the ashes are all that remains of him." Jorah said confusingly and sadly.

"Samwell was friendly with Lord Snow was he not?" Missandei asked and Jorah nodded

"Then why would the dragons attack him so?" she added.

"Not dragons, dragon." Melisandre said.

"Rhaegal did this. He must have sensed that Samwell posed a danger to Jon, he protected him as he did in the Dragonpit." Dany said looking at all three of them.

She told them what had happened when she got to King's Landing, of the plans they'd made and that had been carried out. How she'd flown with the dragons to the gates only for Rhaegal to turn back and to kill a man she'd since found out had been Ser Gregor Clegane. Dany barely heard Ser Jorah say that her niece and nephew had finally been avenged and instead looked to Melisandre who herself was staring at Jon.

"Would Lord Snow need Rhaegal to protect him from a man like Samwell?" Jorah asked and it was Melisandre who answered.

"Were that man truly Samwell then no. So there is more to this than it seems. Regardless, we all owe the Green Dragon greatly as I shudder to think what may have occurred had he not done so."

"As do I." Dany said so softly that only Missandei heard her speak.

They sent word to King's Landing of what happened and why she'd been and would be delayed from returning. A raven soon arrived back from Lady Olenna asking for more details and pressing for assurances that Jon was to recover. At first, she believed the lady was looking at the politics of the situation. That she was concerned with what would happen should Jon truly fall. For were that to happen then they'd only take the North by force and not by any words or offer they could make. The more she considered it though the more she was sure it was because Olenna was worried not about the North, but about Jon himself.

As the days passed without him waking up she considered sending a raven North to let his brother and family know what had happened only for Missandei to talk her out of it. Not only would Jon recover, her friend said, but his brother was in a similar state according to the ravens that Jon had received. Dany, understood that to tell his sisters and the Lords of the North would only cause even more issues between them and since she wouldn't be able to tell the brother he was closest to, it was for now best that she told no one in the North at all, for now at least.

She took her meals by his bedside and slept in the chair that was nearest to it. Only moving from it to go to the privy and change her clothing. Though it was merely days since Rhaegal had brought him to them, it felt far longer and each morning she woke and he did not, she feared he never would. Rhaegal flew close to the keep and she would hear his sad lament as he sang while he did so. Her words, when spoken, she hoped would carry to him, and yet she feared they would not. When she heard the song change to one more joyful she turned to the bed and felt her heart begin to race. The small movements looked so much like someone awakening that she could only hope they were what she wished. Then she heard his voice and felt herself be taken in his arms. Her own wrapping tightly around him and she almost swore to herself she'd never let him go.

"Dany, I… Dany." he said as she whispered in his ear that all was well, that he was well, that she was so relieved that he was well.

The kiss was like nothing she'd ever experienced before and yet it felt too short, too fleeting, and so when he kissed her again and she felt his tongue as it sought entrance into her mouth, she welcomed it eagerly. This time it went on for some time and they were both breathless when they moved from each other, Dany laughing at something he said and then disappointed when he apologized for being so forward.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Jon. Your advance was received most keenly." she said and he smiled at her as he leaned forward to kiss her softly once more.

"Then I shall need to take note of that for the next time." he said as he looked deeply into her eyes.

"You are well, you feel well?" she asked and he nodded "The others, I should go tell them…"

She went to rise but he grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the bed, her hand going to his chest and feeling the scars there and whether it was the feel of her hand or that he realized his chest was uncovered, she felt him stiffen slightly.

"I had not wished you to see these." he said softly and then he chuckled "Though given some of the thoughts I've had of you, perhaps that's very much not true."

"And what thoughts are these?" she asked playfully.

"Most lascivious ones." he said and she felt the lump in her throat. She'd had many such thoughts for him after all and it was pleasing to know she was not alone in thinking that way.

"Melisandre explained what happened. The traitors at the Wall. Her words as she introduced you when we first met make more sense now." she said and felt him look away from her, her hands going to his face to make him look back her way "Were you truly dead?"

"I believe so. I was told I could not have lived with this." he said moving her hand to the scar over his heart "But my time was not to come for I had more to do."

"Win the war against the Army of the dead."

"I was going to say to meet a beautiful queen, but aye, I supposed there's that too." his chuckle made her laugh a little.

"What happened with Samwell? How did you end up in Rhaegal's talons?"

"That was how I got here?" he asked and she nodded. "Then I owe him even more, wait is that…"

"He's not flown away, not even to feed." she said almost proudly and then she gasped as Jon got up from the bed and his nakedness was revealed.

That he didn't stop in his movement gave her a chance to take in the full sight of him and it was one she found most pleasing. Even as he stood at the window and spoke to Rhaegal who was flying even closer now, Dany found herself taking in just how he looked and it was only when he turned back and seemed to notice he was unclothed did she avert her eyes.

She did however risk small glances at him as he dressed and then before she knew it he was back by her side and sitting beside her on the bed.

"That wasn't Sam. I believe it was a Faceless Men, my sister believes they see me as an abomination and while that may be true, I believe there is more to it than that. He tried to kill me and when I went to draw my knife and fight back, he pushed me over the cliff and I fell into the water below. The last thing I saw before it went dark was Rhaegal unleashing his flames on the cliff above."

"We found some marks, some ashes. We believe them to be the remains of whoever that was." she said and he nodded his agreement.

"I must go back North, Dany. I must do so as soon as I'm able. My brother needs me and he is like me too, he too has been brought back. When the battle for Winterfell began, Ramsay held him by a rope and sent him running across the field. All my plans were forgotten as I rode as fast as I could to get to him. He died in my arms with an arrow in his heart." Jon said and she brushed away the tear that fell from his eye as he spoke.

"Oh Jon, I'm so… you should not have to bear such things."

"I refused to let him go, to give up on him. He'd been given up for dead for most of his life and I'd been as guilty of it as most, but I couldn't… I couldn't. I asked Melisandre to bring him back as she did me and her god granted me favor once more. She names me as his chosen and I care not whether that's true or not, only that I owe him for Rickon and for myself. I…."

"We'll set sail from here, I'll give orders…."

His fingers touched her lips and stopped her from speaking and she looked at him as he shook his head.

"You need to be crowned as Queen. To put the city to rights and then and only then can you leave to come North. I wish you could come with me and I've no true desire to part from you, not for some time were it possible."

"You wish my permission to leave?" she asked surprised.

"I know I've done what I said, that our agreement has been honored. I could just go and hope you'd follow…."

"I will follow." she said determinedly.

"I wish we had more time. There are things I want to say that I cannot, for they are not things that should be said in leaving."

"Then it seems we shall have much to talk about when I arrive in the North, Jon Snow." she said playfully though she felt anything but.

"Many things." he said and she actually felt the blush as it appeared on her face and then she felt his kiss once more.

When they moved apart she asked him when he wished to leave and was shocked it was to be on the morrow or the day after. Though even more so by what he suggested to her as they walked from the room to go and let Melisandre, Missandei and Jorah know that he'd awakened. She wondered if it could indeed be done, given how Rhaegal behaved around Jon she was sure that no one else could come close, but still, she had her doubts. Yet as they walked through the keep and he held her hand in his own, she prayed to the gods that he could. As the thoughts of someone to share even that with her were ones she very much wished to be true.

Greywater Watch 303 AC

Rickon.

Meera's father had led them to his keep and gave them everything they needed to eat, drink and rest, Howland explaining as they tended to their needs that he had dreamt about a frightened wolf hidden inside a horse that needed his help. Since Meera's return to Greywater Watch and her telling about her journey, he had understood the meaning of his dreams and figured out who the scared wolf was. He could not understand Rickon in his form but would try to figure out how to communicate with him after they rested.

That Jojen's father could have prophetic dreams didn't surprise Rickon. He had, after all, sent his children to help them flee from Winterfell because Jojen told him about his dream. No one in their right mind would have done so if they hadn't experienced it themselves, or trusted their children completely and unreservedly.

He was glad to see Meera come to see them with her father the next day. His friend seemed fearful, but not for her and not of him, which was the most important for Rickon.

Greywater Watch itself looked nothing like Rickon had imagined. Even after being told of the floating crannog by people who lived there, it was a whole different thing to see it in the flesh.

"Never in my life would I have imagined I would be able to see a skinchanger. Only one in a thousand is born this way, and the Gods have blessed your family with more than one." Howland said warmly while Meera winced, probably thinking about Bran. "May I ask you some questions, Your Grace?"

Rickon made Unicorn nod, hoping Howland would understand, and the smile he got in response showed he did.

"Is it the first time you've done so? Share the mind of an animal?" Howland asked and they shook their head slowly from left to right. "Your Direwolf?" again they shook their head.

"The white one? Your brother's?" Meera enquired and Rickon nodded.

"Did you do it consciously? Do you know how to control your power?" Once again they shook their head.

"Bran didn't show you how Your Grace?" Meera asked and they snorted, making her chuckle. "That is Rickon alright, father."

"I believe there is more to the story but we won't know since he can't talk to us. The only thing clear is that the Gods brought him here for us to help him."

"How can we help him? We are not wargs!" Meera said hopelessly.

"No, but you've met one. You've been with Bran for years, sweet child. There must be something you remember from the time he learned to master his powers that could be helpful to his brother."

"I… I was not the one who helped him. Jojen did. And the Children after he…" she couldn't finish and Rickon understood why.

He wished she didn't have to relive her brother's death and those moments when she lost almost everything, but he needed her. he needed to control his powers so he could get to Jon, and later, help his people with his gift if he could. He walked closer to her and looked her straight in the eyes.

Please, Meera, you're my only hope here… he thought, hoping to show her all his despair.

She sighed loudly and shook her head as she softly stroked Unicorn's neck and then she began to speak.

"When Jojen was teaching Bran, he told him to focus on the familiar that he wanted to warg into. He told him about awakening his third eye, which would help him do as he wished."

"And how does one awaken his third eye?" Howland insisted.

"Jojen made him train every day with Summer. When he… the Children gave Bran the Weirwood paste. Something happened with the sap of the tree and its roots, I think. There was more to it I believe, but that's all I managed to see them do."

Rickon reacted as Meera talked about the sap, remembering the urge he had to drink from the heart tree's red tears. The voice he had heard ordered him to fly to Jon after he drank the few drops of sap he had on his hands. He tried to explain to Howland and Meera what had happened, but quickly gave up when he realized they couldn't understand him.

"It seems our friend had a similar experience as the one you've recounted, Meera," Howland managed to deduce, much to Rickon's relief. "Did you warg after opening your third eye?" he was asked and again he felt unable to answer.

"Maybe it's not truly open," Meera suggested. "Maybe he needs more paste?"

"It will not hurt to try, at least not us. Are you willing to do it, Rickon?"

I will try anything if it can make me stronger! Rickon said, nodding energetically.

Meera excused herself and he felt the crannog begin to move in the opposite way it was until then. Howland explained that there was only one Weirwood Tree in the Neck and they were going to bring him to it so that he could try to open his third eye.

When they arrived he could soon see the giant tree from where he stood. Were he in his human body, he would have been rendered speechless. He could see the little crannogs next to it and he could then understand why people in the Neck could be reached only if they wanted to.

"The roots of the Heart Tree are buried so deep inside the earth that we cannot see them," Meera explained. "When the Children tried to flood the Neck to stop the First Men's progression during the war, this Heart Tree remained. People have since tried to dive to touch them and earn the blessing of the Old Gods, to no avail."

He could feel the Reeds' pride as they stood in front of the giant face that was surrounded by black water. Rickon was as much in awe of it as Unicorn was terrified, and time seemed to stand still while the atmosphere grew solemn. They watched as Howland and Meera knelt to pray, soon joined by other crannogmen, and they gasped when they saw red sap coming out from the tree's giant mouth.

Drink. Drink and fulfill your purpose. a voice said in their mind.

He advanced toward the tree, feeling the same attraction he did when he was at Winterfell. The bowl of red sap looked unappetizing but they knew what they had to do. The first gulp tasted bitter, then better, then almost as sweet as the lemon cakes that Sansa was so fond of. It was as comforting as the feeling of Arya's and Jon's embrace whenever he felt down, yet the warmth he felt was different. He felt his mind detach itself from Unicorn yet, contrary to the time it happened with Ghost, this time he was not afraid.

He was back once again surrounded by doors, but this time he could feel what was on the other side. Unicorn's door was the closest to him, the door painted in a different color than before.

" Because he's one of your familiars. You've shared his body and he accepted you without reservation." the voice he heard previously boomed.

" How many familiars can I have?"

" It depends on you and on your worth, young man. You can travel and force yourself into any being you want, but only them will allow you to bond with them."

" Ghost?"

" Is bonded with your kin, as your Direwolf was bonded to you. "

" What happens when a familiar dies?"

" Then your bond is severed. If your mind is with them when they pass, you do too. If you stay too long in their mind, you become them."

" That's what Bran said, that I would lose myself if I stayed away from my body… but Jon… I need to go to him…"

" And you will. But before you can fly, you have to walk. Try out your powers, but do so carefully. Trust your instincts and follow them. Think of an animal, and then choose a door."

Rickon obeyed and thought of a lizard lion. Most of the other doors disappeared around him, including Unicorn's, and only a few remained. One was close to him and he knocked on it, asking for permission to enter. When the permission was given he found himself staring at the white bark of the heart tree from under the water. He dove deeper and stopped when the lizard lion asked him to, feeling the beast's uneasiness at the idea of reaching the tree's roots. He thanked him and tried thinking about another animal when Unicorn's panicked cries reached him and his door came into view. The horse had felt him leave his body and worried about him fading away, so Rickon had to reassure him that he didn't and that he would come back to him. He felt him calm down and realized that they were being held by several men.

"Rickon? Are you there?" Meera asked fearfully, breathing a relieved sigh when Unicorn nodded. "Oh, thank the Gods. I thought we've lost you."

"You're ready. I can feel it." Howland said solemnly and they nodded once more. "Do not worry about the horse, we will care for it until you return. Who knows, maybe you'll see each other sooner than you expect."

"Be careful out there, Rickon." Meera said, staring at him with something akin to worry.

"One more thing, Your Grace. Whatever you do, whatever the reason, and even if they are the only animals close to you or if you're in need… Do not warg into ravens."

Howland's stern warning resonated in his mind, especially after what had happened in Winterfell. After saying his farewells by pushing their muzzle onto Meera's face, Rickon concentrated on a bird so he could fly to Dragonstone.

The doors were different depending on their species, but he could feel all of them. After multiple trials and refusals from some of them, he was granted permission to enter the mind of a hawk.

I thank you for welcoming me. I need help to go to Dragonstone.

" What's Dragonstone?" the hawk asked, confused.

Dragonstone is a place. A place where the castle looks like a dragon.

"What's a dragon?" the hawk asked, and squeaked when Rickon shared images of the giant beast he had met at Winterfell. "Isn't that dangerous?"

We will not get close to them. I swear. I just need to see Jon.

" What's a Jon?"

After explaining everything to the hawk, he finally agreed to help him. They quickly flew south and Rickon watched with wonder as they flew over the sea. He had never seen it, only heard of it, and being in the skies made him feel free, freer than even when he had been one with Ghost.

He felt him long before seeing the outskirts of Dragonstone and he directed the hawk to his brother, having no time to marvel at the impressive fortress when they got there. Finding Jon was the only thing that counted for him, and he was relieved to see him alive and well. He was holding the dragon queen in his arms and Rickon felt a pang of anger as he knew that Davos had sent word to Jon about his state, but he was glad to see his brother was in good health.

Jon! Jon, it's me! he yelled through the sky, hoping to get his attention. And when his brother's eyes found his own, Rickon finally felt he was home.

Dragonstone 303 AC.

Jon.

The dreams, visions, or whatever they had been, had been most strange and while a part of him wanted to close his eyes and see if he could do what he had in them, a larger part of him wanted to do nothing more than what he had been doing, to kiss Dany. What had given him the courage to do so was beyond him and he cared not. The thoughts of having her in his arms and of feeling her lips on his own overriding all other thoughts, for now at least.

Eventually, though he had needed to stop, they had needed to stop and so they had, and then they had spoken. Jon told her that he'd need to go back to Winterfell and that he had to do so now had been hard. as was telling her that she couldn't come back with him, not yet. The idea of being parted from her hurt him deeply and yet he knew that he, they, had no true choice in the matter. Rickon needed him, the preparations for the war to come needed him, Dany needed him, a voice in his mind said and he knew he couldn't listen to that voice for now.

Not to mention it was not the only voice he was hearing in his mind. A voice he now knew was Ghost's or he now believed was Ghost's was there and he was now certain it had always been so. Jon was now sure that he'd someone ignored it or not heard it truly before and now he could. It was joined by another voice, one that was louder but the same and this other voice said but one word over and over.

Fly.

Perhaps that was why he told her what he did and why she'd been stunned to hear him say so. Whether that was true or not, he'd find out soon enough as despite feeling hungry and wishing to speak to Melisandre to let her know he was well, it was to the cliffs he walked and Dany walked alongside him. He held her hand in his and it felt right to him, as if this is what he should always be doing, that they were meant to be connected be it by touch or more.

"How would you be able to ride him, Jon?" she asked, the first words she'd said since they left the keep and he stopped to look at her, fighting the impulse to kiss her once more.

"I don't know other than to say I believe it so." he said and he hoped she understood.

"Perhaps your mother…"

"I never knew her. My father would never name her and I believe now he never intended for me to know, despite the words he said when last we spoke." his voice was angered and he took a breath to calm himself.

"Could she have been someone of Valyrian blood? Someone tied to my family?" Dany asked almost eagerly, the thoughts of an unknown member of her family still living, were ones he knew she'd welcome.

"I don't….I mean it could be I suppose. But where they'd have met and how no one knew of them, I know not." he said, shaking his head.

"Do you wish me to speak to Lord Varys?" she asked as he looked at her confusedly.

"Why?"

"He was Master of Whisperers for my father, for the Usurper, and now is so for me, If anyone would know of such surely it would be him."

"Mayhaps we should see if I can actually do this first." he said with a chuckle which she joined in with.

By the time they reached the cliffs, they'd been joined by Ser Jorah, Missandei, and Melisandre. Jon moved to the red priestess while Dany spoke to the knight and to her closest friend.

"You are well, my prince?" Melisandre asked concernedly.

"I am, my lady. The fall didn't do any lasting damage and I know now what it is we face."

"My prince?"

"It wasn't Sam who attacked me, my lady. It was a Faceless Man wearing his face and now a man I named as a true friend has lost his life so that they could get to me. When this war is won, when we've defeated the Night King and his army, I swear the Faceless Men will pay for that, they'll pay dearly." he said firmly.

"Should you be up and about, do you not need to rest?" she asked and again her concern was clear, Jon moving even closer to her to place a hand on her shoulder to offer her what reassurance he could.

"I am well, truly." he said seeing her nod "Though I thank you for your concern."

Once he was sure she believed him, he moved over to Dany and spoke to her only briefly before he heard it in his mind once more. The voice sounded excited to him as it repeated the words over and over.

Fly.

Fly.

There was no need to turn to see the Green Dragon as it landed, nor to look into its bronze eyes which stared keenly at him. Yet Jon did so anyway and then with a look to Dany he moved closer to the Green Dragon and brushed his hand against Rhaegal's head, hearing him trill as he did so.

"You saved me again, thank you, my friend, thank you," he said and Rhaegal closed his eyes and once again Jon heard him say the same word, though this time he swore there was another whisper as well.

Fly.

Rider.

What it looked like to those who were with him, he couldn't tell. To him, it was the most amazing thing he'd ever seen as Rhaegal laid his wing on the ground and looked to him to climb up onto his back. That he did so without hesitation or nervousness was something he'd reflect on later, as was how he found the exact place he was to sit. In front of him, there was a horn rising out of Rhaegal's back and without thought he grabbed it.

"Sōvegon." he said and he felt the small jolt and then he was in the air.

Dany had told him that the dragons answered only to Valyrian commands and he had laughed at the prospect of speaking the language. Yet the words came to him almost unbidden and though Rhaegal flew slowly so Jon could get used to being on a dragon's back, he could feel his need to go faster and so he bid him do so.

"Jikagon adere." (Go fast).

"Eglikta." (Higher).

"Pālegon geptot." (Turn left) "Pālegon paktot." (Turn right).

"Dracarys."

Each word he spoke was listened to and responded to by Rhaegal, he flew faster when he bid him to, higher, he turned the directions that Jon bid him and then he let loose his flames as soon as Jon said the word he'd heard Daenerys speak. The other words he knew not where they came from and how he knew them, only that he did and as they flew, he began to feel more and more as if this was where he was supposed to be.

Beneath him, he could see the Dragonmont and the keep itself, and the stories he'd read as a boy were now shown to him to be true. The keep was built to resemble a dragon in repose and it was, he was now sure, always meant to be seen from upon a dragon's back. They flew out to sea and the ships beneath them looked as small as rowing boats and Rhaegal it seemed wished to play. The Green Dragon dropped low to the water and then soared up high in the sky without Jon telling him to do either.

When he felt it he wasn't sure, but at some point, during the flight, he knew it had happened. The feeling he'd had when he had first held Ghost in his hands and looked into his red eyes he now felt again and he didn't need the dragon in his head to tell him what had just occurred.

"We are bonded, Rhaegal. Where I go, you go." he said and he heard Rhaegal's roar of agreement and Jon swore that so would anyone else for miles around.

Flying back to the island was almost something he wished not to do and yet he knew that Dany would worry about him, as would Melisandre, and so reluctantly they did so. When he told Rhaegal what he wished to do, the dragon was only too keen to take him back home and so he planned to leave on the morrow.

"Tegun." he said and Rhaegal landed a few feet from where Dany and the others waited and as he did so, Jon saw the scorched earth where the thing that had worn Sam's face met his end and he thanked Rhaegal once more.

Climbing down off Rhaegal's back, he told him how grateful he was for the ride and the protection he'd given him, and then he bid him be ready on the morrow. Once he was done, Jon then moved to Dany who was looking at him in a way that stirred more than his heart.

"I knew you could, I knew it." she said happily and then he was holding her in his arms and lifting her from the ground.

"I believe your son has ruined horses for me." he said to a loud laugh.

That night they ate together and when he left her back to her room, he knew that she and he both wished for him to join her inside, and yet he could not.

"I want to, more than anything I want to." he said and saw her disappointed look.

"But you won't?"

"Not tonight. I don't wish to not be with you after we would…" he said and he blushed which brought a smile to her face "I believe were we to lay together then I'd not be able to go another day without wishing to do so again, and then again, and then…"

"Again." she said with a small laugh.

"I must leave on the morrow and I fear I'd not be able to. I want to, more than anything I want to…"

"Then that shall have to be enough for both of us for now."

"For now." he said softly as he kissed her goodnight.

Sleep was hard to come by and in his dreams he found himself looking to a bed where his brother lay and feeling Ghost in his head or him in Ghost's head.

"You must learn to control it brother, as our other brother is doing now."

"Rickon?"

"He seeks to know that you're well, as did I."

"I'm coming home."

"Good!"

He broke his fast early the next morning and spoke to Melisandre about her own return, telling her to offer what counsel to Dany that she could and giving her the request he had for Varys regarding Gilly and Little Sam. Then he made his way to the cliffs to find that the dragons weren't there yet. Dany walked with him and once again he held her hand in his, though neither of them spoke as they walked and he wondered how he would be able to bid her farewell.

"I'll do what I must in King's Landing and then we shall head south. White Harbor?"

"I'll meet you there." he said softly.

"You're sure about Lady Olenna?"

"I believe it's for the best, aye."

"And Varys?"

"If he can help, then aye, I'd like to know." he said and then they moved together, his arms around her pulling her tightly to him.

The kiss was soft and he felt Rhaegal's arrival just as it was ending, then he felt something else and turned from Dany so abruptly that she looked at him a little hurtfully. Rhaegal's roar rang out and Jon found his eyes on the hawk as it flew in the sky. The bird seemed to call out to him, its cries ringing to Jon's ears as did Rhaegal's relieved ones and he felt a warmth in his heart he couldn't understand. He saw it too late, Viserion as it chased after the hawk Then he watched in horror as the Golden Dragon bathed it in flames and looking to Dany he shook his head and went to move away from her.

"Jon?"

"Rickon, I need to get to Rickon. I…."

"Go to him, go to your brother." she said and with a last kiss to her cheek, he climbed up on Rhaegal's back and headed North.