A very uneasy silence followed after Jon placed his rhetorical question. The oppression and the chill in the atmosphere increased. Every eye shifted towards Ned Stark with the same thought running through their minds. What will Ned's response would be?
Ned remained placid or he was trying to be but the discomfort on his face and in his demeanour was quite visible. The dilemma in his eyes was quite visible to the onlookers.
There were a lot of things going through his mind, but the thought occupying the biggest space was of Jon's impending reaction. At this moment, Jon was not aware of what had led the situation to deteriorate to this extent. Ned wondered what Jon's reaction would be when he learned the words Theon had used for his mother. A mother he did not even know.
Not that Ned was not seething at Theon's remarks. He was equally angry. But he was calm-headed, and he knew that he could not act rashly. Any situation involving Theon was a diplomatic matter. It had to be handled with sensitivity. Theon, with three broken bones, was already going to be a massive headache.
Meanwhile, down in the training yard, Jon looked toward one of his soldiers. The man rushed over to Jon and quickly summarized all that had transpired.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, who had braced for Jon to fly into a rage after learning what had happened, there was no change in his expression. He dismissed the soldier with a wave of his hand and continued looking up at Ned Stark. Jon was curious about Ned's response and reaction.
"Jon," Ned sighed, his voice sounding almost defeated. "The Iron Islands will not wage war against you. You are too far away for them to even think about it. They will threaten to wage war against the North and against the Iron Throne."
"Let him go," he added. "I cannot allow Theon to be killed under my nose."
"Jory," he continued. "Secure Theon. Get him patched up. Get his limbs fixed. He will be held in captivity in his own room. There will be a hearing for the crimes he has committed."
Jory and a few of his men proceeded toward Theon and Sylvia. She was still standing with her sword pointed in Greyjoy's direction. Even with Jory and other men approaching towards her, she had barely flinched.
She looked at Jon, waiting for his command. The hands of the rest of the Dothraki and the soldiers moved instinctively toward their weapons. They were waiting for the word of Lord Aeos.
"Let him go," Jon remarked, shocking almost everyone. "I want to see what punishment is meted out to Theon Greyjoy this time."
With those words, Jon turned and strode out of the training yard. Melisandre and Sylvia exchanged glances. They looked up at Ned and then down at the groaning Theon. Sylvia finally lowered her weapon, and both women turned to follow after Jon.
By the time Melisandre and Sylvia caught up to Jon, he had already reached his chambers. Jon still wore no expression of anger or fury on his face. He remained entirely calm and composed. He took his seat on one of the wooden chairs. Slyvia and Melisandre were standing in front of him as they closed the door of the chamber behind them.
"Lord Aeos," Sylvia said in a hesitant tone. "Are you well?"
"Why would I not be? Did something happen to me? I do not think so," Jon countered with a light shrug. "I am absolutely fine."
"It is my mistake," Sylvia remarked, her voice tight with regret. "I should not have paused. I should have killed that pimp immediately. If I had not stopped, no one could have saved him. He would have been dead. We could have dealt with the consequences."
"And if I had still ordered you to kill him right then and there, would they have been able to stop you?" He questioned. "Whatever you did, you did well."
"No, they would still not have been able to stop me," Sylvia whispered. "But…"
She was unable to complete her sentence before Melisandre cut her off.
"Exactly," the red priestess said. "If you truly wished Theon Greyjoy to be dead, he would be dead. The entirety of Winterfell lacks the capability to stop you."
Melisandre turned her gaze toward Jon.
"But you did not want him dead," she said. "Knowing what transpired before you arrived in the yard, I thought your reaction would be far more furious. I did not expect you to be this subdued, or to agree with Lord Stark so easily. I did not think that you would let Theon live."
"You have it all wrong," Jon responded with a shake of his head. "Who told you that I do not want Theon Greyjoy dead? It is simply that I am willing to exercise some patience before it happens."
"I had hoped, thought, perhaps even expected that Theon might earn some sort of redemption," he said, his voice turning cold. "But no. He is not only an idiot, but arrogant and foolish. He will have to die. I do not think he will earn his redemption."
Both Melisandre and Sylvia raised their eyebrows, a slight frown of confusion on their faces.
"Then what is the purpose of your patience?" Sylvia questioned.
"To see how Ned Stark will respond to this situation," Melisandre answered for him, realization dawning in her eyes. "To see what Ned Stark will do. To see the choice he will make."
Sylvia looked at Jon, and he nodded slowly in confirmation.
"Coming here, I had a lot of things on my mind," he said. "How he would react to me asking about my mother was one of them."
"For days, neither of us was able to broach the topic, but Theon Greyjoy has handed me an opportunity on a silver platter," he continued. "Now, I will also get to see what Lord Stark does. Will he be willing to rectify a mistake he committed years ago? Will he be willing to give me the justice I have always deserved?"
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