Jon took a couple of steps and arrived in front of Sansa. Unlike the rest of the Stark children, who had shown obvious excitement and expectant looks on their faces for the gifts they were about to receive, Sansa Stark was wearing a neutral look with a polite smile.
She was neither overly excited nor downcast. It was proper ladylike behaviour. At least, as per the training she had received and what she thought was right. She had received all the training required to behave like a proper lady, and she was emulating those lessons perfectly.
Even so, it was not difficult for Jon to spot the small flicker of hope and excitement hidden behind her composed mask. She was a young lady, after all. And considering the gifts he had given to her siblings, it was natural to be expectant, even if she did not care for or was not as attached to Jon as the others.
"Sansa," Jon sighed softly. "You are as beautiful as I had heard and expected you to be. Perhaps even more so."
"Thank you, Jon," she replied, nodding graciously, her voice barely a whisper.
Meanwhile, one of Jon's men was already in motion. He bent down and pulled out Sansa's gift. Another wave of gasps of amazement echoed through the hall as the object emerged. These gasps came mostly from the ladies in the hall, and a smile of pride appeared on Jon's face as he basked in their marvel. Even Sansa's eyes widened slightly as she took in the gift, her composure cracking just a bit.
The man was holding a mannequin of a neck bust. Obviously, the mannequin itself was not the gift. Wrapped around the bust was a heavy, ornate necklace crafted out of pure gold, its yellow hue glinting in the dim light. The carvings on the gold were incredibly intricate, indicating a high level of workmanship and the countless hours of labor poured into the piece. At the center of the necklace, a large, beautiful red stone had been set, radiating a deep reddish glow.
But that was not all. Strapped to either side of the display were two matching earrings, featuring the same level of detailed carvings and fitted with identical stones.
"The towns of Myr and Lys are famous for their ornaments and their craftsmen," Jon said, his voice echoing in the hall. "I had this piece of jewelry crafted by one such master. The stone in the necklace is a very rare gem found in the deep sea close to the Smoking Sea."
"It is said that these stones were once adorned by the ladies of the Valyrian Dragonlords," he said, as the bust was placed on the table in front of Sansa. "For the most beautiful lady in the entire North."
"I hope you like it," Jon added.
Sansa's hands instinctively rose, her fingers delicately brushing against the red stone. The expression on her face was enough to reveal how amazed and happy she was with the gift.
And why not? Despite being the eldest daughter of Ned Stark, Warden of the North, she did not have a single piece of jewelry that could compare to it. The stone alone was likely more costly than all her other jewelry combined. Probably even her mother, who was the Lady of Winterfell, did not have such a piece of jewellery.
"Thank you, Jon," she said, after a couple of moments of admiring the necklace. "It is truly beautiful and wonderful."
Meanwhile, Catelyn exchanged a glance with Ned. She was getting uncomfortable. Not that she did not like Jon giving gifts to her children, but because of the value of the gifts. Every gift was immensely valuable. She doubted that House Stark could afford such luxuries on their own. And even Ned, though not as worried as her, was also thinking in a similar direction.
Jon finally turned towards the high table. Towards Robb. Now that they had had their conversation in the Godswood some time ago, the air of unease and awkwardness had eased between them.
"Robb," Jon said, approaching him.
Robb nodded in response. He was calm, but the anticipation in his eyes was quite visible. On the other hand, Jon's men had already pulled another object from the boxes. It was a sword wrapped in leather.
Jon unwrapped the leather, revealing the hilt and the sheath of the sword. The hilt was completely similar to the sword that Jon had given to Bran. The same direwolf pommel. The sheath, too, was only slightly different. While Bran's sheath had been plain, there were some intricate markings on this one.
Jon placed the sword on the table in front of Robb. He picked it up but did not unsheathe it immediately. Everyone else was assuming that the sword was made of the same Dragonsteel Jon had given to Bran.
"Thank you, Jon," Robb said.
"Unsheathe the weapon first," Jon remarked calmly.
Robb narrowed his eyes but did as he was told. He took hold of the hilt and pulled the sword in one smooth motion out of the sheath. And the moment the sword came out, a few gasps echoed through the hall.
Unlike the previous gasps of amazement, these were gasps of shock. And they had come out of the mouths of people like Ned Stark, Rodrik Cassel, Jory Cassel, and even Robb himself. Their eyes were bulging in shock. They had lost all their composure.
The blade of the sword was grey in colour, but it was different from Bran's grey blade. The blade was a dark, smoky grey colour that almost looked black. And it had swirling patterns all over it. This was a very famous pattern. It was the pattern of Valyrian steel. And the wave of shock that echoed in the hall was because of the Valyrian steel.
"This is Valyrian steel," Ned remarked in absolute shock.
He knew how hard it was for anyone to buy a Valyrian steel sword. It was almost impossible. House Lannister had been looking for a Valyrian steel sword for centuries but had been unable to find one, yet Jon had just gifted one to Robb. This was beyond shocking.
"Jon!" Robb stammered in shock. "This is far too valuable. I cannot accept it."
"Robb," Jon responded calmly. "The sword is for you. You will accept it. And you will achieve a great deal with it."
Robb opened his mouth to counter once again, but Jon moved away from him. Though Robb ultimately remained silent, his resolve did not weaken. He decided to return the sword to Jon later. Refusing Jon's gift constantly in front of a crowd was not a good thing. Meanwhile, Jon had finally arrived in front of Catelyn.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter