Chapter Text
Chapter 3 - Returning Home
The journey to Riverrun was a long one. They had to travel up the Kings Road until they reached the River Road. From there they could travel straight to Riverrun, but Ned decided to lead them through the ruins of Harrenhal. From there they could ride to Last Heart and reach Riverrun faster.
Then once they reached Riverrun they could then follow the River Road back to the Kings Road and from there they could make there way home to Winterfell. But they would have to get to Riverrun first before they start the journey home.
As they passed by the castle of Harrenhal Jon felt chills all over his tiny body. Even from within the wheelhouse Jon could see the melted towers of Harrenhal. As a child, he learned of what happened here when Aegon arrived on Westeros. How Harren the black and all of his sons were burned alive by fire so hot that it melted the walls of his great castle.
People have said for centuries that the castle is cursed, and Jon had to agree with them. Every family that has ever been given Harrenhal no longer exists. Even the current house that lives in the castle, house Whent, were on their last legs. 'Aegon should have finished the job and destroyed this cursed place.' Jon thought to himself as they rode past the massive castle.
The journey to Riverrun from Harrenhal took a week and a half. They stopped briefly at High Heart to get resupply before they made the final stretch to Riverrun. Upon their arrival, they were met by the lord of the castle and his two children.
"It is good to see you well, husband." Catelyn said as she watched Ned dismount his horse before they walked towards one another. Ned pulled into a hug before he kissed her forehead. Catelyn then held out the small bundle of cloth she held in her arms before saying, "Your son, my lord."
'Robb.' Jon thought as Ayla exited the wheelhouse with him.
Ned looked down at the babe she held in her arms as he took his son into his arms and a smile formed on his face. Jon could hear Robb giggle and laugh in their father's arms and watched as a smile spread across Catelyns face.
Well, until she saw him.
Catelyns eyes went wide at the sight of him and then immediately looked to her husband. "Husband.....is the child....?"
"Yes, Catelyn, he is mine." Ned said as he continued to look down at Robb. Catelyn said nothing else as she turned from them all and walked back into her father's castle. Ned lets out a heavy sigh as he turns to Ayla and says, "Take the boy's inside, I need to speak with Lord Hoster.
Ayla nods her head as she Ned hands Robb to Wylla as they both head into the castle. They placed the babes in cribs directly next to one another. The entire time Jon kept his eyes on his brother. The last time he had seen Robb was when he left Winterfell for the wall and the two of them bid one another farewell.
And then Robb went to war against the Lannisters and sealed his own doom.
The thought of what the Lannisters, the Boltons, and the Freys did to his brother angered him greatly. How they had betrayed him and his men during Edmure Tully's wedding, how Roose Bolton stabbed Robb in the heart before Walder Frey cut off his head and sowed Greywinds head in its place. The news of what they did spread like wildfire throughout the seven kingdoms, making Jon regret not joining his brother even more than he already did.
But none of that mattered now.
It no longer mattered how or why he was here, all that did matter was that he was here.
He is alive.
His father is alive.
His brother is alive.
And he will do whatever he has to, to make sure they stay that way this time.
They stayed in Riverrun for three days before they finally set out to go home. Wylla had been sent back to Starfall on their second day in Riverrun, for what reason Jon had no idea but he assumed his father had told her she can return home.
Whenever lady Stark came into the nursery where he and Robb were being kept she glared at him like she always use to. Like she wanted him to just die right then and there, despite the fact that he was currently an infant.
He had always hated the way she looked at him. He understood, of course, he was her husbands bastard son that he brought home to raise with their trueborn children. His very existence was the physical embodiment of her husband's betrayal. She made sure that Jon always knew that he was not welcome in Winterfell, despite her husband's protests. She would forbid him from sitting by her children during feasts, refused to allow him to live in the same wing as her and her children, and would always make sure he knew that he was worth less than dirt in Winterfell.
But knowing what he knew now he couldn't help but feel angry when she glared at him. She would treat him as though he had been born on purpose just to shame her. She had no right to look at him the way she did, even her gods claimed so that no child should be blamed for the sins of their parents. So as she glared down at him he did the only thing he could.
He stuck his tongue out at her.
Catelyn seemed shocked by this and went wide-eyed as Jon kept his gaze trained on her. She soon left the nursery with Robb, leaving him alone with Ayla. Ayla then began to laugh as she took him into her arms and began to play with him.
Catelyn seemed to be keeping her distance from Ned, most likely because of Jon. She kept Robb with her in her wheelhouse that she rode in with her septa. Septa Mordane seemed to only add fuel to Catelyns dislike of him. He once overheard her say that bastards were untrustworthy for they are born out of lust instead of being born out of love as Robb and the others were.
But he was no more a bastard then they were.
Thankfully Ayla did not feel the same as they did. Being a bastard herself she understood how a bastard is treated in most of Westeros, save her birthplace of Dorne. She cared for him as though he was her own son, and at times Jon wished that he was. She was far kinder then any other woman he's met from the south, which wasn't that many, and more of a mother then Lady Stark could ever be.
It took them two more weeks to finally return home.
After being in the south of Westeros for so long Jon didn't know how much he would miss the north. Everything from the chill in the air to the smell of the north was something Jon didn't know he would miss. When he finally saw the walls of Winterfell from inside the wheelhouse he could not help himself but bounce up and down in Ayla's lap in excitement.
As they passed through the south gate Jon could people cheer his father's name. The lords of the north had gathered to celebrate not only the wars end but their lord's return as well. As the lords greeted Ned Ayla quickly took Jon to the nursery so that he could rest. She lay him in a crib beside Robb's.
Once again Jon stared at his brothers sleeping form and thanked whatever force allowed him to travel back. He then closed his eyes and let sleep claim him as he fell asleep in his home once more.
It had been five months since they had returned to Winterfell. Jon was currently in the room Ayla was provided when they arrived in Winterfell. Ayla slept while he was trying to learn how to walk again, which proved to be rather difficult.
'Seven hells!' Jon yelled as he fell back onto his but. Out of all the things Jon thought would be difficult as an infant he never thought walking would be the most difficult. 'Why is this so difficult?! Learning to fight is easier than this!'
As Jon pondered on how to get back up he then remembers watching Rickon when he took his first steps. Rickon had crawled over to their father's bed and used it to hold himself up before he started to walk. Jon crawled over to Ayla's bed and carefully pulled himself up onto his feet, trying not to awaken Ayla. He then took his first step.
'Yes!' Jon said as he took another step and then another. The door to the room then opened and Jon fell back onto his but. 'Damnit!'
Jon then looked to the door to see who opened it and saw the shocked face of his father. "Jon....you were..!" Ned said as he tried to recoil from the shock. Jon then got an idea and crawled back to Ayla's bed and pulled himself back up to his feet. He then slowly turned around and started to walk towards Ned.
"Jon..." Ned said as Jon made his way over to him. Taking it one step at a time, and being careful to keep his balance, Jon eventually stood in front of his father. The warden of the north stared wide-eyed at the child who stood before him. Ned slowly knelt down before Jon and opened his arms for him. Jon walked towards him and Ned closed his arms around Jon and held him close.
As Ned held him close Jon attempted to do something else he has been trying to do.
"Dada."
Ned's eyes went wide again as he pulled back from Jon to make sure he heard right. "Jon, did you just..." Ned began to say as Jon smiled up at him. "Say it again, my boy. Say it again."Ned pleaded.
Hearing Ned call him his boy made Jon happier than he ever thought it would. He had only said him say that he had his blood, or tell him that he was a Stark whenever someone, mainly Catelyn, said that he was just a bastard. "Dada." Jon said again as he watched Ned smile down at him. Ned then pulled him into another embrace as Ayla began to stir from her nap.
"Lord Stark? Is everything alright?" Ayla asked as she rose from her bed.
"Everything is fine, Ayla. Better than fine. Jon took his first steps.." Ned said as he released his grip on Jon and turned him around to look at her.
"What?! My lord this is...this is amazing! He's only seven months old!" Ayla said as she rose from her bed.
Jon watched Ayla kneel down in front of him she kept her eyes trained on him. Jon then wiggled out of his fathers grasp and began to walk towards Ayla.
Ayla put her hands over her mouth in shock before she held her arms out to him as Jon continued to walk towards her. "Come on, little one! Come on!" Ayla said urging him forward.
As he reached her he fell forward into her arms and she pulled him into an embrace as she placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm so proud of you, my little prince" she whispered to him. "Your mother would be so proud of you."