Ned Stark's solar was warm in the way Winterfell rarely captured, carpeted floors, heavy tapestries. Jon stepped inside with Jory closing the door behind him, leaving only the crackle of the hearth and Lord Stark seated behind his desk, looking every inch the man burdened by a kingdom he never wanted.
Ned didn't speak at first. He regarded Jon with a quiet, level stare, one that had probably made grown men uneasy. Yet he held his gaze without flinching.
"So," voice low, "I hear you and Theon had an altercation."
"At his insistence, my lord," He pushed. And I responded in kind."
He exhaled through his nose, rubbing his brow. "Jory said you put him on his back hard enough the maester thought a rib might be cracked."
"That would require me to have hit him harder, my lord."
His eyes lifted, sharp. "Jon."
He didn't apologise. He simply stood there waiting.
Ned leaned back in his chair. "This is the second time in two days you've drawn attention. First Robb, now Theon. This isn't like you."
Of course it wasn't. Jon Snow's temperament was brooding submission wrapped in quiet longing. But the man standing here had burned through too many lifetimes to bother playing the part convincingly.
"I reacted to a provocation," "Nothing more."
"That is precisely the problem." Ned's voice hardened. "A man must know when to hold his temper, not just when to unleash it. You cannot rise to every shove, every insult."
"With respect, my lord," "if he didn't want to be humiliated, he shouldn't have thought shoving me was a wise idea."
Ned's jaw tightened. "That is not your decision to make."
"And yet here we are," he replied, tone flat.
Ned looked away for a moment, out the narrow window facing the courtyard. Snow drifted in lazy spirals, quiet and indifferent. "You are of my blood," he murmured. "Bastard or not, your actions reflect on this house, reflect on me."
He opened his mouth to answer, only for the door to slam open.
Catelyn swept into the room like a storm, cheeks flushed, eyes burning cold blue. "Eddard. This cannot continue."
Ned straightened. "Cat"
"He assaulted Theon Greyjoy," she snapped, emphasising the prick's last name. "Twice now he has embarrassed this family, and you sit here lecturing him as if that is enough?"
he mentally braced himself. Catelyn's hatred was predictable, dam near procedural at this point. Centuries of dealing with nobles of all kinds made her hostility easy to read. Not that she wasn't subtle, by any means. She was offended and felt humiliated and was grasping for control over the situation.
"Lady Stark," Jon said coolly, "Theon struck first. Twice."
Her gaze snapped to him, sharp enough to cut. "You speak out of turn."
"I speak because you accuse me without hearing the truth or at least bothering with it."
"The truth," she said, voice rising, "is that you've grown arrogant. First Robb, now Theon, what's next? Will you start challenging household guards? lords? Perhaps one day you'll even strike a member of this household."
"I struck no one without cause," Jon said. "And you know it."
"You presume too much," She hissed. "Your status is already tolerated beyond what is proper. Now you make a spectacle of yourself before our guests. What is it you"
"I made a spectacle?" Jon interrupted. "By defending myself? By being better with a sword than Robb?, or perhaps putting the squid down after being provoked for no reason "
She looked ready to explode. "You dare!"
"I dare," Jon said, voice steady, "because I'm tired of taking the blame for other people's insecurities or simply due to the fact that they feel like being in a pissy mood."
Silence hit the room like a dropped iron.
"A hard silence cascaded through the room."
Ned stared at him, stunned, not by the words themselves, but by the tone. Jon did not speak like this. Jon did not challenge. Jon certainly did not talk back, especially to Catelyn.
This soul had lived too many lives, bowed to too many lords, just as many as he ruled, to tolerate this nonsense.
She moved closer, stiff with fury. "He needs consequences, Ned. You coddle him. You permit this… insolence. If he is not punished, the other houses will think you favour him. They will think you blind."
Jon almost laughed. Instead, he tilted his head.
"Lady Stark, the other houses do not care. They saw a Greyjoy beaten in a scuffle; they expected him to lose. Ironborn are not liked. They respect strength, even from a bastard. The only one offended is you."
Her face whitened. "You… How dare you."
He took a step forward. "Do not pretend this is about honour. This is about bias. You have hated me since the day I arrived. You want me punished because it comforts you, not because it is just."
Ned stood abruptly. "Jon, that is enough."
He turned to him. "Is it? Because I am being asked to apologize for winning against my better. Or is it for beating another by simply defending myself, against one who wouldn't know discipline if it kicked them in the teeth."
"Jon," Ned warned again.
"And now Lady Stark demands I be punished not because I did wrong" His voice dropped, colder, sharper, "but because it would make her feel better."
She stepped back as if struck. "Ned, you cannot let him.."
Ned raised a hand. "Cat. Leave us."
Her eyes widened. "Ned"
"Now."
The command brooked no argument. She stood frozen for a heartbeat before turning and leaving with clipped steps, the door shutting behind her.
Ned exhaled long and slow, then turned his full attention on Jon. "I do not care if you speak the truth. I do not care if you think yourself justified. In my presence, you will show respect."
Jon's jaw clenched.
"I have been patient with you," Ned continued, "but I will not permit defiance within these walls. This is my land. My keep. My responsibility."
There it was, the medieval equivalent of my house, my rules. It seemed that regardless of the time and place, parents are all alike.
He met his eyes. "It is not fair."
"No," Ned agreed softly. "It isn't. But I am choosing the lesser evil. For you. For this family. For how the world will come to see you."
Jon felt the weight of it, the truth buried under duty. The man, in his own way, was trying to protect him, even from Catelyn to some extent, even though he did it in the worst way possible, as what was stopping him from perhaps claiming Jon as a son of a fallen men-at-arms and simply hosting him in the orphanage in Wintertown, or just fostering him with another house to serve like many other lords did with their bastards.
But regardless of that, the man had no idea how dangerous he truly could be.
The silence stretched, and then he slowly bowed his head. When he raised it, his expression had smoothed into something unreadable.
"Of course, my lord. I have overstepped. I do not know what took hold of me." His voice was steady, tone humble but edged with something Ned couldn't place. "I deeply apologize. May I take leave while I await your just punishment?"
Ned stared at him, uncertain if Jon was mocking him. This was not the boy he tried to raise. And Ned, for once, didn't know how to respond.
"…Very well," Ned said quietly. "Go."
He bowed again and left the solar without another word.
The corridor outside was cold and dim, torches guttering. Footsteps approached. It was Robb. They passed one another without speaking, but the look in his eyes was telling anger, yes, but also shame, guilt, and something akin to regret.
yet it didn't break his stride.
I'll be damned if I'm punished for something the squid started, he thought, and for being a better fighter than the pup.
He reached the small chamber he called a room, closed the door, and sat at the desk. He pulled parchment from a drawer, dipped a quill in ink, and began to write.
A letter for Lord Stark.
A courtesy, for the boy whose body he now occupied, for it seems Winterfell is no longer a place he could call home, not that it ever was for him and the boy before him. And with that being the case, a change of scenery is in order.
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Hope you enjoyed the bonus chapter its 4:50AM and i felt in the mood for some writing, as I couldn't sleep perks of Insomnia I guess. Still trying to get better at third person limited. P.S the paetron can wait for now, I wanna build a niche but known community, so instead I implore you to run up my Insta following for extra chapters(Within Comments).
Also if anyone is down for Clash/Rivals/Val let me know.