4Betrayal in the Seven Kingdoms
I do not own Game of Thrones or A Song of Ice and Fire.
Additionally, the joke used to inspire this one shot is not of my own making. I can't remember who first told it, but if anyone knows then by all means let me know.
Premise: What would happen if Bran got to the Three Eyed Raven a little earlier and experimented in seeing possible futures? And what if, seeing what likely awaited Jon Snow, tried to warn him of what was coming before becoming the Three Eyed Professor X fried the humanity out of him?
Warning for some slight OOC behaviour.
Xxx
"Thank you for coming." Jon spoke with the same unfamiliar light tone he'd used since Sansa reached him at the Wall, stepping into the great hall from behind a line of scowling Freefolk and Mormont fighters. "I apologize for keeping you waiting, but I've found my schedule to be simply bursting at the seams. We'll make this quick."
None of those seated dared to speak as Jon walked up to the high table and took his seat upon the Winter Throne, setting Longclaw across his lap. Brienne of Tarth's hand instinctively grasped for Oathkeeper, which was no longer there after having been surrendered at the door. Podrick Payne, pale and wide eyed, sank into his chair. Petyr Baelish, for once without his trademark smirk and bereft of any Knights of the Vale who might be loyal to him, devoted every ounce of self control to maintaining a calm demeanour. Lords Glover, Cerwyn, Manderly and several more murmured amongst themselves in confusion and indignation at being treated little better than prisoners while Alys Karstark and Ned Umber joined the King alongside Lyanna Mormont and Lord Mazin.
And Sansa, who had found Jon entirely unrecognizable from the moment he'd greeted her coldly at the Wall, delved back into the lessons she'd taught herself over the course of her captivity.
"I've gathered you here because the time has come to remove the last threats to a free and prosperous North." Jon announced. "That threat being treachery."
"Jon-" Sansa caught herself, remembering how he'd insisted on them remaining formal in public. "Your Grace…we are all your loyal servants."
"Mhm." Jon nodded, more interested in the melodious ring emanating from Longclaw when he tapped one bare fingernail against it. "And yet, there are those in this room who will betray me as I do what is needed to save this kingdom from the coming storm. These traitors…are among those gathered today."
Next to her, Sansa heard Cley Cerwyn swallow. "W-will it be me, your Grace?"
Jon smiled and shook his head. "No, Lord Cerwyn, for any reluctance to serve on your part you are not an oath breaker." He said, causing the man to sigh of relief.
Next, Podrick, shivering in his chair, piped up. "Will it be me…your Grace?"
"No. In fact, you're here to receive alongside Lady Brienne some hard earned knighthoods." Jon assured him.
"What of me, your Grace?" Lord Glover asked, looking pale.
"We'll see after today, Lord Glover."
Sansa, fighting the urge to throw up, managed to utter the five words that would decide her fate. "Will it be me…Jon?"
Jon's smile fell, and then he replied mockingly. "Will it be me, Jon?!"
Xxx
A/N
So…basically what happened was this. Bran, still the same boy we knew before Season 7, decides that if he can't change the last then he'll change the present by peeking into possible futures (which some people believe possible for him) for critical information. He finds that he can only look so far ahead before events become too blurred for him to accurately predict, so he is left to looking ahead a few days or weeks at specific event and sifting through multiple possible outcomes, seeking the perfect one while keeping his departures discreet from his teacher. If he wished to he could push further, but doing so would put him at risk of shattering his mind without the influence of the Three Eyed Raven to contain so much history
So he projects himself to Jon and finds out about the conspiracy against him, but is too late to warn him before Jon is killed. When he comes back, Bran helps Jon by using his ability to look into the past and anywhere in the present.
This allows Jon to bring the Dustins and Ryswells to his side by revealing how Ramsay had murdered Domeric (nephew to Barbrey Dustin by her sister Bethany) and playing on several other details such as Ramsay's murder of Walda Bolton and her son to get them on her side.
He also is reminded about the Mountain Clans from the books, and Bran helps him to selectively seek out and recruit lords who wish to fight the Boltons in the same amount of time it took for him to get rejected by the Glovers and other major houses. The presence of several thousand Northmen encourages other lesser houses to join up, giving Jon upwards of ten thousand men- most of whom he keeps hidden so that Ramsay arrogantly believes he only has the Free Folk and a few hundred Northmen like in the show.
When Ramsay discusses his plan for Rickon with his allies, Bran relays this to Jon who shouts at Rickon (in the Old Tongue, which Rickon is more familiar with due to hunting and surviving in the wilderness with Osha for so long) to drop down (using a common warning phrase among the Freefolk between hunters using bows to void them shooting one another), saving the heir of House Stark at the last second.
Jon scoops him up and carries him back to safety while Ramsay furiously has his army charge…only for the other Stark aligned armies to move in and surround him on three sides. This leads to a slaughter where most of the Bolton army is wiped out along with Ramsay and his allies. The men still in Winterfell surrender by the time the Knights of the Vale, called for by Sansa who Jon deliberately kept uninformed of the Stark army's numbers, arrive with Petyr Baelish in tow.
Jon does what Bran did with a few twists after being elected King in the North, and chooses his allies more carefully. He is far colder to Sansa in this, as Bran has told him how she would have withheld the presence of the Vale army in a bid to steal the victory and make herself Queen in his stead- and let's face it, season eight showed us what she valued above all else. Sansa makes no moves to really betray Jon after that, but he still refuses to trust her fully.
And then when Daenerys comes to Dragonstone and Bran is about to become the Three Eyed Raven, he uses his last ounce of control to warn Jon of what will happen: the dreaded events of Season Eight. This drains away the last aspects of what was Brandon Stark and leaves only the hollow shell we know him as from the show.
So Jon, aware of who he is now and of what his so called family would do to him, decides that he will emerge as Aegon Targaryen on his own terms…starting by removing the knife at his back.
All of that aside, this was inspired by a joke I'd heard where Jesus addresses some close friends of his, informing them that one of them shall betray him.
One man asks if it will be him, and Jesus calmly denies this.
Another asks the same thing and is told they won't be the traitor.
Then Judas asks and Jesus' response is…
"Will it be me, Jesus?!"
Review Responses
Cei: Very brave of you to say so from behind an anonymous review that can't be directly replied to. I could type a wall of text here pointing out how inaccurate, biased or just straight up wrong many your points are, but I respect your right to have a differing opinion from my own. I just reserve the right to say 'you're wrong' and stick with my own view on the matter.
MidnightAce: Sansa may have been bad in season 8, but she still kept her motives and views hidden except for when she spoke privately with Jon, so having her behave petulantly in the open would have been even more OOC for her, especially considering that she's realized in this that Jon won't be taking her advice or heeding her counsel. So she's conducting herself as if she's treading on eggshells, so to speak.