[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]
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Third Person POV
Winterfell, 298 AC.
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Jon calmly listened to the descriptions of the visions that Bran had, which made him quite thoughtful about what the boy was able to say.
According to the boy, there were many things he couldn't clearly remember, but the images meant something to him. Bran tried to pass that on to Jon as best as he could.
It was strange to hear about the future. Not even the green seers of Arctic could have such a long vision; they usually predicted storms happening in the region, some strange events, even related to Jon's dragons causing havoc and chaos in Arctic. Since many times, some of them fled the place to go to the city, where they caused some damage.
Half of the time this happened, Jon managed to stop them, while other times he had to fix the chaos. Sometimes, the young dragons, bored of staying only in the Dragon Mountain, fled not only to the city, but also destroyed some of the gardens of Arctic's great farm.
Going back, according to Bran, the boy in his older version would somehow be related to Jon's eldest son, Loki. They seemed to have a great friendship, to the point of accompanying him on a journey to the sea at some point in his son's youth.
Jon only hoped that, when he agreed to it, Loki would be strong enough and good at protecting himself, even on an adventure at sea. Bran indicated that he would be 16 years old in that vision — an older age than when Jon himself began making his own journeys.
Jon might sound a bit hypocritical when it came to his children. Deep in his heart, he didn't want them to face the same dangers he had encountered when he was younger. Jon did all that because he needed to strengthen Arctic as quickly as possible.
Regarding the green seers, Brynden lost his foresight of the future, and the other green seers did not have visions as long as Bran's... That's why this Stark was much more special than Jon could imagine.
He found it interesting that Bran could have better visions than anyone else, which meant he was more powerful, even without proper training, only with the first potion he had taken to better unlock his potential. Bran could become extraordinary and very powerful.
But, in any case, Jon finally put his cousin aside.
"Bran, I want you to go train your skills a little more. At least do that with your wolf. His name is Summer, isn't it? An interesting name for this time of year. A contrast with Father's Winter..." Jon said that and, when mentioning their 'father', he seemed to falter instead of saying "Lord Stark," since it was better to call him that. Seeing Bran, Jon had noticed a few times that, upon hearing the words "Lord Stark," he grew suspicious.
Jon couldn't say that he had a great relationship with his uncle, but he also couldn't claim that there was anything bad now either. Still, he avoided speaking of Robb and Sansa while he went back to hearing about Winterfell from Bran.
He didn't feel like talking about those two. Sansa seemed to never change, while Bran had stated that Robb was becoming kinder and more responsible, but Jon didn't delve deeper into anything he heard from the younger one.
Anyway, Jon put Bran aside and turned to his royal guards, who were waiting in front of him.
"Well, you are quite busy there. I didn't interfere and couldn't watch what happened, but I saw that things have been pretty hectic since you arrived." Jon said with an amused tone.
"We were just putting some southerners in their proper places, your majesty. We are already at war with them anyway, we wanted to punish those who tried to kill the princess," Trinsmy spoke with as much seriousness as respect for Jon.
"I won't say that you can go around threatening lords in their own homes down here beyond the Wall, as you did with Lord Stark, but you acted well this time. The queen was foolish enough to think she was immune to the wrath of Arctic. We made our position quite clear after the attack on Arya," Jon said with satisfaction to everyone at the end.
Arya said nothing beside her brother, while Jon turned his gaze to Bari and Jill.
"And you two... I can't say I'm happy that Arya went into that forest with the trap set, even at her insistence... but she didn't get hurt at any moment because of your protection. I give you the due credit. You left your families in Arctic to stay another year here in the south protecting her. I will never forget that, even if that is your duty," Jon spoke with a satisfied tone, while Bari and Jill nodded, also seeming proud of the king's praise.
"I want you to keep an eye on the queen as well when you return to Winterfell and keep your guards on the road at all times to try to stop any ambush. That woman must be desperate at this moment, and she seeks to hurt you more than anything. I have the impression that she won't be satisfied until she does... We can destroy any plan of hers," Jon said before turning back to Arya.
"Do you want to go by boat or would you like to ride on top of a dragon?" Jon said calmly.
Arya reacted surprised at the invitation, and she raised an eyebrow. But Bran's mouth dropped open, wondering if he had really heard what Jon had just asked his sister.
After hearing about Bran's visions, there was no reason to hide this fact from the boy. Jon knew that Bran wouldn't go around shouting to everyone that he had a dragon, so he thought it wouldn't hurt to give his cousin a bit of fun with something incredible to make up for so many years without seeing him.
"What is it?" Jon smiled. "Bran, have you never seen a dragon? Would you like to see one?" Jon asked in a calm tone, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Dragon...?" Bran managed to pronounce just one word, still shocked.
"Well, it seems you are at ease showing the dragon. I'd like to see it too. I want to see the dragon you risked your life to tame," Arya said with some enthusiasm beside him. However, she added: "But I still prefer to travel by boat with them. I would like my trip to Arctic not to be so rushed."
Jon nodded. "All right, I was joking, that dragon doesn't let anyone ride it besides me..." he said.
At that moment, Nymeria approached Jon, the direwolf pressing her head against his clothes to lick him. He patted her back.
"It's good to see you too, Nymeria. I know you've been protecting Arya all this time and keeping her company, haven't you? I hope she treated you well," Jon said, affectionately to the wolf. Nymeria just rubbed her head against him a little, until Jon gently pushed her aside and turned to Arya.
"Since you're so curious, let's go see him. And you need to get Bran out of that state... He won't be able to move like that," Jon joked as he mounted his horse.
"Only the royal guards come along, it wouldn't be wise to approach Vezofēdrur with a crowd," Jon said, dismissing the rest of the Arctic men, who nodded without any problem.
Arya tapped Bran on the shoulder, asking him to move his horse. The boy obeyed, coming out of his frozen state, but kept his eyes fixed on Jon, as if he were playing some trick.
They went back into the forest again and it took a few dozen minutes. Jon had made a path leading to where Vezofēdrur was.
It wasn't long before the great black mass began to appear through the foliage. Ahead, everything seemed dark, even with the sun, and something colossal could already be heard.
"My God, Jon... you faced that thing?" Arya murmured in a frightened tone, just looking from afar.
"It's no longer 'that thing'. Now he has a name. It's Vezofēdrur. He is my dragon now like any other besides Eragon," Jon replied.
"That's a dragon? Really a real dragon? But... weren't they extinct?" Bran stammered.
"Arya never told you, Bran, but in Arctic we have dragons. Quite a large collection, that would leave anyone jaw-dropped. But I'd like you not to tell anyone about it. Your father knows, but you can't tell other people. I'd like this to remain Arctic's secret. After all, it's a trump card I intend to use in the future," Jon said with some joy, moving forward with his horse and trying to calm the animal as he approached, for it was agitated.
After seeing that Jon could no longer continue mounted, so frightened the horse was, Jon stopped and dismounted. He did the same with Bran's horse, entering the animal's mind to control it so it wouldn't throw the boy. Arya also dismounted and followed Jon, who walked confidently ahead, and Bran came behind her while the royal guards stopped and didn't come any closer.
When they came out of the trees, they had a panoramic view of the dragon. He stretched out before them with more than 100 meters in length, his gaze fixed on Jon with that single emerald eye, ignoring the people who were with his rider.
"He's bigger than I imagined..." Arya stammered.
"I told you he was at least three times bigger than Eragon," Jon said calmly, as he advanced through the fallen trees that the dragon had knocked down when landing and he approached Vezofēdrur.
Arya looked at Bran, who was frozen, torn between fear and admiration before the colossal creature.
"Are you all right, brother?" Arya asked, a little worried.
"I... I am. But I can't believe my eyes. That's a dragon! Were they really this gigantic?" Bran stammered, looking at the creature, which was almost the same size as many castles he had seen while traveling through the North.
Jon walked up to Vezofēdrur, and the dragon moved its snout toward him. Jon raised the palm of his hand and touched its head. Before that colossal mass, Jon looked like an ant, but still there was understanding between the two — something that left Bran full of doubts about his own understanding of the world.
"His name is Vezofēdrur!" Jon spoke in a loud tone, enough to reach the ears of Arya and Bran, who were at least fifty meters away.
"I still can't believe you faced him! How did you manage to bring this dragon down?" Arya shouted, unwilling to come closer. Even she was afraid. That was nothing close to being as docile as Eragon usually was; that dragon was fierce, making her avoid getting too near.
"As I said, it wasn't easy. And I left some marks in the North, as I wrote in the letters," Jon said, while he kept scratching the dragon's snout, which seemed to like the touch.
Jon also didn't call Arya and Bran to touch Vezofēdrur, since the dragon hardly accepted strangers. It was different from his children, who had his blood. Even so, Vezofēdrur didn't seem to allow more than a touch. He accepted no one riding him besides Jon. And Jon had even tried once with Rhaenys, but the dragon didn't allow it, and he never tried again afterward.
Jon stayed there with the dragon for a while longer and then approached his cousins again.
"Jon... how do you have a dragon? Wait... Arya said you fought him or something like that. How is that possible?" Bran asked, with a fixed gaze on the colossal creature. Vezofēdrur's only eye seemed to gleam with malice and power.
"You see he doesn't have one of his eyes. That's... well, let's say it was because of this sword," Jon said, lifting his cloak and showing the hilt of Blackfyre, with its ruby at the pommel and well-worked details inlaid between the grip and the blade.
Bran stared at it, not knowing what to say, until Jon let out a laugh at his cousin's expression.
"Well, anyway... there's something I need to know about Winterfell," Jon asked Arya.
"Your shield," she replied. "Your shield is in my father's solar, and we must also call the Tyrell lords to go with us to White Harbor, where there is a ship waiting to deliver the money they owe you..."
"I understand... well, all right, let's accept the offer. I didn't swallow very well what they did to us years ago, but it's fine. At least they're trying to redeem themselves... unlike, well, you know. The Lannisters are destined to be that way anyway. I wonder what Tywin will think after hearing what happened in Winterfell," Jon mocked.
"Not all Lannisters. We had a Lannister, Tyrion Lannister, or rather, the dwarf... the one we met in Lannisport, and I must say he is much more reasonable than the other brothers. And then there's Joy's father in Yi-Ti. The princes too — at least the two younger ones. The eldest is quite skeptical and irritating. I think you mentioned something about him when you investigated King's Landing on our first trip," Arya said, thinking about some conversations from years ago.
"Yes... and it seems they gave up trying to marry me to Myrcella," Jon said, while Arya frowned, pressing her lips together.
"Jon, they terrorized the girl. At least her mother did, with horrible things, lies about Arctic and about you..." Arya said.
"What a surprise... seems that woman managed, in the end, even though I never showed any sign of being about to accept that offer of marrying the Lannister girl. Still, she acted like a monster... when she thought the best opportunity would be to hand the girl over to someone unknown, dishonoring her. All of this just to inflate that woman's ego and make me reject the girl..."
"But I'm satisfied that you gave her something worse than death, perhaps... since her entire vanity was destroyed the moment you scarred her face. At the same time, I would also be worried. You don't know what she might do now. She has nothing to lose, but on the other hand, she will lose much power without her beauty. I don't know what to expect from her now."
Jon had been updated by Arya about what was happening in Westeros, or rather, in Winterfell, as she sent letters. He didn't know all the details, not even the most recent ones, but he had an idea from the conversations.
"It was good that you warned your father about the bastardy of the children. Putting Sansa in such a situation... not even I wish that on her, even if she is too foolish to understand now. But in the future, she will understand," Jon said.
"It would also be horrible if I had to deal with her and her children in King's Landing. In the end, they would be thrown as bastards too," Jon added.
"She may be hating everyone at this moment, but she will end up crying on her knees, thanking us for what we did to her," Arya said with disdain, as if her sister were a fool, waiting in vain for her to ever improve.
Jon turned to Bran once again, who listened to the entire conversation, growing confused and stunned with each revelation. But one thing, at least, brought a smile to his face: what could be worse than announcing everywhere that Jon had a dragon so big it could eclipse the sun just with its presence in the sky? Flying above, spewing wildfire from its mouth, it could destroy anything. Even castles would be easily undone when those emerald flames struck their walls.
"Bran, I want you not to tell anyone about this conversation. Understood? Not even our father. I'm not asking you to lie, just not to bring up the subject, because it would put you all at risk. And I would have to kill many people, causing chaos in Westeros, and that is something I don't want to do now. I have a war to fight now. But I trust you. You've already become a grown man and I believe you are capable of understanding very well that certain things should not be spoken of out there, not even among your parents," Jon said, with firmness in every word, as he touched his cousin's shoulder.
"All right, Jon. I don't understand much... But I'll stay quiet!" Bran replied quickly, before Jon could say anything else. "Do you really believe in me?" Bran murmured a moment later, with some hope in his eyes, staring at Jon.
"If you want an answer, then yes, Bran... I trust you. We are family, we are of the same blood. I will always believe that you will do the right thing until the day you prove me otherwise," Jon said, touching his face again with the tenderness of a brother he had never managed to be.
"Thank you very much, Jon. That means a lot... I will never say anything about this conversation, I will never say anything about the dragon. And I hope one day to see Arctic." He spoke with emotion.
"And you will, brother. Soon, you will see it," said Jon, as he turned back to Arya and held her shoulders.
"Well, I think it's better for you to go back. I'll stay here until the moment you leave. Since things are tense, I prefer to keep watch myself while I'm in the South," he said, as Vezofēdrur came behind him as if in protest.
"Well... maybe I'll go out a bit with this dragon to hunt some whales. Since we're not in Arctic, I can't feed him the way he wants," Jon joked, before turning again to Arya.
"Now go to the solar, get my shield and your things, then begin your journey to the South. I'd like to see you leaving that castle as soon as possible. Just take the time you need to say goodbye to your family," Jon said in a more serious tone.
Arya was a little reluctant, but she already felt she should leave. With everything that had been happening, her presence would be a danger even to her family. "All right..." she said in the end.
Jon pulled her into a warm embrace.
"Stay well, Jon." She murmured into the hug.
"I will be fine... the one I worry about is you," he replied, holding the embrace for a few more seconds before letting her step away. Then, he approached his brother and hugged him too.
"Be a strong man. Keep the Starks in line while Arya is not in Winterfell. Soon, when everything is over, I will send a ship to fetch you. Or, if you want, we can even go to Arctic riding a dragon," Jon said, giving a playful tap under the boy's chin, smiling, while Bran nodded a little more cheerfully.
In the next moment, Arya and Bran turned to Jon, began walking back to where the royal guards and the horses were, along with Arya's direwolf.
Jon smiled and turned his attention back to Vezofēdrur, who stared at him for another moment before snorting, releasing green flames through his nostrils, which soon dissipated as they flew upward.
"What is it now?" Jon murmured, approaching Vezofēdrur once again. Now, he only had to wait for the last ship to return to Arctic... or perhaps the second to last, since... he needed to fetch Joy at Casterly Rock.
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