91Ned I
Eddard Stark, the Lord of Winterfell and Lord Paramount of the North stood in the sidelines of the castle halls as he looked at the yard. He watched his natural born son, who in truth was his nephew, spar with boys several name days his senior.
Nephew the boy may be, but Ned thought of him as his own son- No, He was his son. He may not be the boy's sire, but he raised the boy, held him as a babe, taught him, and gave him affection. He may not bear the name Stark but he was of his blood. Admittedly, the Lord Paramount felt guilty he could not give Jon his birthright. He was no bastard, for his sister and the late silver prince wed. Documentation of said marriage left in Oldtown, which was hidden deeply within the many other documents. Hopefully where no one else would find it.
By right, the boy was supposed to be next in line for the throne as the surviving son of the previous crown prince. But Jon was no longer heir of the Iron Throne, as the throne no longer belonged to the Targaryen dynasty. Now, Dragons no longer ruled, the Stags were now crowned ruler of the realm.
No matter what some say about his friend Robert, he did the exact same thing Aegon did, win by conquest. He was no Usurper, for he only followed in the footsteps of Aegon the conqueror and in the end, Robert won and Rheagar lost.
He also couldn't reveal his son's true heritage, as while Robert may be his friend and one he considers as close as a brother, Ned didn't trust the man not to kill Jon. This was the same man, who even after nearly seven years had past, still became furious at the slight mention of the Targaryens. Robert smiled and laughed gleefully at the sight of the dead bodies of Princess Elia Martell and her children. The man even rewarded the people responsible for such a crime and Robert's only regret then was the fact that he was not the one to kill them.
He may love Robert and consider him family, but he would never tell him Jon's real heritage.
Ned watched as Jon danced around an older boy, dodging the older boy's sword narrowly with grace a boy of seven name days old should not possess. He couldn't be any prouder than when he looked at Jon. He was martially gifted, for the boy took to learning weapons as easily as a fish swam in water. Sword, bow, pike, spear- you name it, the boy could use it. Not only that, Jon was also gifted with wisdom and smarts, as the Maester told him that he was far ahead in his studies than his trueborn siblings.
The boy was not arrogant, but instead kind and thoughtful, putting others before himself. And while that was good, the Lord of Winterfell couldn't help but worry that Jon might be taken advantage of. Other than that, he had no problems with it.
He was approachable and won the hearts of those that interact with him, he was friendly and had a sort of effect that drew others to him. He didn't look down on the staff or workers of the keep and often times might even help, Ned couldn't begin to explain how proud the boy made him.
But this also had it's downsides, his lady wife hated the boy greatly. Even more so since the boy began to show his brilliance, for she felt that Jon overshadowed Robb too greatly. She feared that Jon would be despicable enough to steal his brother's birthright. Oh how angered him greatly was when she told him that. Jon steal from Robb? The same Jon that puts everyone else before himself? The one that never cries or argues when punished and in fact is always the first to admit his wrongs and the first to stand up for his siblings?
No, Jon wouldn't do that. He showed remarkable intelligence for all the childishness and naivety that Jon showed. The boy outright telling him that as a bastard and as someone who did not have any inheritance, he would become one of the best knights the realm would ever know. Eddard smiled as he thought of that. His son wanted to be one of those Knights in fantasies and stories, touring the world and helping every person in need.
Though the thought of such a thing might sour some Northern Lords, as despite Jon being a bastard, he was of the North. Moreso considering Jon was his son, the son of the Lord Paramount of the North. Even so, Ned couldn't help but support him. The North follow the Old Gods, but because of his Lady Wife, he had gotten a small Sept built for her. Along with allowing his dear Catelyn to bring some septa's along as well.
Due to that fact, his trueborn children: Robb, Sansa, Arya, and the recently born Bran would follow both the Old Gods and the New. And in turn, because Jon was close to all his siblings, he too was roped into joining them. Since Jon followed the Faith of the Seven as well, Ned was not going to prevent him from Knighthood if the boy really wanted such aspirations. His only fear was Jon setting out to travel, as wolves don't do well in the South.
"Hah!"
Snapping his thoughts out his head, Ned refocused his attention to the spar in the yard. Jon had weaved and parried every move the other boy had thrown at him. Ned watched as the other boy grew frustrated and attacked with a downward horizontal slash. The boy put all his weight down it and because Jon was so close in proximity to his opponent, he could not dodge in time. Ned watched as Jon- instead of dodging, blocked with his sword. Catching his opponent's word with his own, though Jon had done it with the flat of the blade instead of the edge and supported it by putting one of his hands in the middle of the sparring blade, before he tilted it and let the other boy's sword slide off.
The change in momentum caught the other boy off guard, as he was now slipping forward. The blades' point burying down on the yard's ground before Jon's boot was on top of it. And as soon as the other boy regained his footing to stop himself from falling face first and was about to try yanking his sword, Jon's blade was already pointed at his throat.
"Tch, I yield!" The boy surrendered.
"Winner, Jon Snow!" His master-at-arms, Rodrik, announced as the yard became filled with cheers and hubbub.
"Haha! Ya really wanted to win eh' Brent?!" One of the other boys addressed to Jon's opponent.
"Aye! I really wanted to beat Lord Jon!" The boy said.
"It was a good bout" Jon said with a smile as he collected the other boy's sparring sword and returned it to him. With a nod, Jon looked to the boy before replying in earnest "You've really improved the past moon, Brent. And also, I'm no Lord, Brent. Just call me Jon"
"Agh! Ya' always say that and even if yer not a lord, yer Lord Stark's son, therefore are Lord Jon" He stated as the others nodded before Ned saw his heir walk towards Jon.
"He's got you there Snow, no matter what, you are as much as my father's son as I" Robb stated.
Ned watched as the other boys in the yard surround Jon as they jest and japed together. A small smile forming on his lips as he looked onto the scene. 'Yes. This will be fine, Lyanna. Jon has grown strong, responsible, and kind. I don't doubt that he would be a fine Knight, like those stories you've always like to listen to as a child. One that might even be compared to the likes of the Dragon Knight or Ser Duncan the Tall'
Now in his solar, the Lord Paramount of the North sorted through the stacks of parchments that detailed the North's income, as well as the supply of food and grain. And while Winter, as well as the False Spring had passed- It was never to early to start stocking up on food. The seasons were as unpredictable as the Targaryens and that much like with Spring, Summer might not even last a year before Winter would once again be upon them.
The trade of wood and lumber had increased from the previous year, racking a significant increase in coin than the past 5 years. But in return their export of wool had recently taken a hit, a fair bit of cattle had perished during Iron born raids during the rebellion a year prior.
Reading through all the parchments had gave the quiet wolf a headache, as he put them aside for now. As he had another headache inducing matter to think of. The fostering of his natural 'son.' Jon was very adamant on exploring the world and becoming a Knight, but to do so, he would need to squire under someone before attaining knighthood.
And to do so, he would need to send Jon South, which was quite worrying.
He could not send them to the Westerlands, as that was the Lannisters' territory. And he could not trust a family led by Tywin Lannister, moreso because he was the one that titled Jaime Lannister as Kingslayer, a permanent stain on House Lannister's honor.
Neither could he have Jon fostered in the Vale of Arryn. And while he may have come to treat it as a second home as well as see Jon Arryn as a good friend, mentor, and second father, his dear Lady Wife's sister currently reign as Lady Regent. With how close Cat was with Lysa Arryn, he had no doubt that his Lady Wife would send letters to make Jon's life at the Vale harder. And while he loved his dear Cat, he knew how she hated Jon as to her, he was a symbol of breaking his vows he made to her as well as a living stain on her honor.
It was the same reason that he could not have Jon fostered in the Riverlands. For he enraged the Lord Paramount of the Trident and Lord of Riverrun once Jon was made known to the realm. To the old trout, because Jon was a stain on Cat's honor, he was as much a stain on House Tully's honor.
The Reach and Dorne were also out, as the Tyrells and Martells sided with the Targaryens during Robert's rebellion, and both had similarly not helped and aided during the Greyjoy Rebellion.
It looked as though Jon could only be fostered in either the Stormlands or Dragonstone. Though the problem that lied on those two choices were the fact that both were under the influence of his dear friend, Robert's brothers. And as far as he knew, Robert did not particularly have a good relationship with his brothers, even if both were in his court and small council.
Neither was Ned particularly close with the two. He had spoken to Stannis Baratheon a few times, but no friendships were made during such encounters. And Renly had been too young and was but a boy the last time he had seen him. A thought passed by his mind, of having Jon squire under Robert or Jon in Kingslanding. But the capitol was the cesspit of lies and treachery. Though, surely Robert or Jon can keep him safe?
Decisions, Decisions. With a sigh, Ned took a blank pieces of Parchment as he began writing letters. Four letters, three for each of the Baratheon brothers and one for the Hand of the King. All going to the same destination, as all currently resided in Kingslanding being a part of Roberts court.
Yeah... so I'm so dumb lmao. Yes, the Industrial Revolution happened in the European countries, starting in Great Britain and NOT the Americas. I'll have to go back and edit the past chapter to fix that. Man am I dumb, no wonder I failed World History. Anyway here's another chapter. Life's been keeping me busy, so while I wanted to write something I didn't find the time.
Anyway, I just wanted to ask for input on where Jon should be fostered in. Squired under who? As stated in this chapter, there's not much places for him to foster in because of past and current grudges. Kingslanding, Storm's End, or Dragonstone are the current choices I'm juggling between.