Jon moved and arrived in front of Bran, who was already sporting a very big smile on his face. He was all too eager to receive his gift.
"Bran," Jon called out.
"Jon," Bran responded with excitement.
At his gesture, his men pulled out another object from the box. The shape of the object made it clear that it was a sword. The blade along with the hilt was wrapped entirely in leather.
Jon took the gift and unwrapped the leather. The sword was sheathed inside a plain metallic sheath, while its hilt was now visible. The hilt was darkish grey in colour. At the top of the pommel was carved a direwolf, the sigil of the House Stark. A beautiful blue stone was embedded at the base of the hilt where it merged in the sword. It looked beautiful and mesmerizing.
But a lot of the spectators were more interested in the blade that was still inside the sheath. And Jon did not keep them waiting for too long.
He took hold of the hilt and pulled out the blade. It was a little grayish in colour and was almost shining, reflecting the light off its surface. Even in the dim light of candles and flame torches, the spectators could see that the blade was extremely sharp.
"In Essos," Jon remarked. "A new type of steel has been making a name for itself. They call it Dragonsteel. And while it might be widely available in the future, to acquire it at the current time is a cumbersome process."
"Bran," he said. "Your dream is to be a knight. And I hope that you become a great knight."
"Thank you, Jon," Bran replied excitedly and rushed towards the sword.
But Jon pulled it back.
"I am not sure if you are allowed to wield a sword as sharp as this," he said.
Everyone's eyes turned simultaneously towards the man who would make this decision. Ned Stark.
"In the morning lad," Ned said to his son. "Under my or Jory's supervision."
Jon grinned a little in amusement while Bran's face fell and he tried to protest.
"Father," he trailed off.
Knowing that any argument with Ned was going to be futile, he did not say anything and accepted his situation.
Jon sheathed the sword and placed it in front of Bran on the table. Bran forgot his earlier disappointment and indulged himself in the sheathed sword. Especially its hilt. It was too beautiful to be ignored.
Meanwhile, Ned's smile had turned strained. Although Jon had not explained the origin of Dragonsteel, he knew about it.
It was connected to Rhaenys Targaryen and forged in the city which she ruled. It was not that Ned hated or abhorred her. In fact, he felt pity for her.
He knew that after what happened to her mother and brother, a permanent scar would have been left on her mind. He did not wish for anything like that happening with anyone else. Probably, she would never recover from it. And neither did he have any problem with Bran wielding the Dragonsteel.
But for whatever reason, this had made him uncomfortable. Maybe it was the thought of Jon getting closer to Rhaenys that was making him uncomfortable.
It was obvious that he would not have acquired the sword directly from her. It would most likely be through a merchant. But whatever it was, this had made him uneasy, and even if he wished, he could not remove that discomfort from his gut.
Jon took a step forward and arrived in front of Arya. She was grinning widely, looking as if she would burst out giggling at any moment. She was very pleased and very happy.
"Arya," Jon smiled.
"Jon," she replied, a small giggle escaping her lips.
At his gesture, his men pulled out another gift from one of the boxes. As the gift came into the view of the spectators, a small wave of gasps rippled through the hall. The smile on Arya's face widened even further.
It was a large figurine of a crouching direwolf, over three feet in length and almost two feet in height. The figurine was made of a purely transparent glass crystal. It absorbed and reflected all the light that fell upon it, giving it an almost magical effect.
The direwolf was depicted in an aggressive posture. The muscles in its legs were tense, as if it were ready to pounce upon its prey. It was baring its sharp fangs, and even its claws were rendered with lethal precision. They appeared very sharp and deadly.
"Though you are little," Jon said, his voice snapping the hall's attention back to him, "I know you are the 'She-Wolf of the North.'"
Arya giggled in response, her eyes shining brightly. Meanwhile, even though Jon could not see Catelyn's face with his back turned, he was certain she was not as pleased as her younger daughter.
"I assumed that things like dresses, jewelry, and perfumes would not have impressed you," Jon continued. "So, I present this direwolf to the She-Wolf of the North. It has been crafted by the finest glass craftsmen that the city of Myr has to offer."
He placed the figurine on the table in front of Arya, who almost immediately pounced upon it. Arya was genuinely happy.
Had Jon not been cautious and thoughtful, he might have gifted her something else, perhaps a sword. Not that he would not give one to her eventually.
It would have made Arya even happier and suited her character better. However, giving a gift like the direwolf, which was already deemed unfit for a 'proper lady', had likely earned Catelyn's displeasure.
A sword would have drawn her full ire. While Jon did not particularly care about Catelyn's reaction, he did not want to jeopardize his relationship with the family any further.
Meanwhile, as Arya basked in the pleasure of her gift, Ned was wearing a frown on his face. It was not because the gift was unladylike. Personally, he would have cared little even if Jon had handed her a blade. He was troubled by what the gift represented.
The direwolf was the sigil of House Stark, and such representations were generally reserved for the Lord of the House. Yet, Jon had given their sigil to his second daughter and third child, rather than to him or his heir, Robb.
Furthermore, the aggressive posture of the wolf made Ned uncomfortable. He hoped that Jon had no deeper meaning behind the selection and that it had been based purely on a whim.
He did not say anything as he saw Jon turning towards his eldest daughter, Sansa Stark.
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