Oathkeeper

Chapter 43: Stark Family Reunion

Although the Stark family ate dinner together every night, every six days they'd gather in a more private dining setting. The cooks would spend the entire week preparing whatever the Queens' requested for the evening, and the servants would wait on them hand and foot. This evening's supper was no different, only another member of the Stark family would be joining them.

Jon had only been in Winterfell for a day before the older members of the town recognized him. Eventually the talk of his return had spread as rapidly as the poison of a snake venom. He was sure to greet his former fighting companions and those who backed him in being King in the North for a short lived period of time.

Although this was his home, his upbringing caused his relationship with the people to be a strange one, but Jon didn't care these weren't his people anymore, his people lied beyond the North. The time he spent with the freefolk treated him much better than the years he spent here, even in starvation and exhaustion.

The praise he received in returning back home brought Jon back to the horrors of his final moments south of the wall. Of course he was more than grateful to be a part of the reason why everyone stood where they are today, but he wanted to move past that part of his life. Especially being that a new journey didn't lie too far ahead.

Jon finally managed to pry himself away from the claws of northern praise and join the rest of his family for supper. The gold rusted door knob all the way to the left before pulling it towards him. All eyes fell upon him as entered the room, shutting the door behind him. A quick head count left that man at three, not including him. He wondered where Ilizabeth was, seeing as she was the more obedient twin, he was surprised by her lateness.

The crackling of burning wood not only filled the silence in the room, but provided them with warm backlight on yet another cold dark Winter evening. It wasn't too large, some small and cozy enough for the royal family. Jon admired the square tapestry plastered onto this wall. It was a family portrait. Brienne, Sansa, Rickon, and Ilizabeth, stood tall and expressionless, radiating a very intimidating energy. Given the size of the kids in the photo, it couldn't have been more than two years old. The detailing was marvelous. It perfectly captures the right hues and features needed to make it truly look like them.

He peeled his eyes from the image and moved to the table now joining the family by sitting down in the chair between Rickon and the empty one. Brienne gave Jon an intensely long blank stare, before rolling her eyes and looking elsewhere. Tension tightened in the room, leaving very little room for air to breathe. The two hadn't had a chance to talk since their last encounter.

Brienne's pride prevented her from apologizing for tossing him into the bookshelves, and Jon's pride prevented him from apologizing to a woman that threw him around. Still, they both wore heated faces of embarrassment at their behavior and didn't know how to go about letting it go. So here they sat, all four of them, in complete and utter silence.

"Where's your sister?" Brienne grew tired of waiting.

"I don't know," Rickon shrugged.

He turned his attention to his Uncle Jon. Rickon felt close to the man simply because they had similar appearances. Both Northern men, dressed in thick coating, with pale complexions and a set of the infamous Stark curls.

Jon's exhaustion from life's battles settled in on his face, his skin was slightly looser than before, and his scars had practically blended in with his cheeks. The way the man always sat so still and silent both intrigued and scared Rickon.

"So Uncle Jon, what's it like up North?"

"Well, it's a lot colder than it is here. Which I didn't even think was possible at first. The people there don't wear fancy clothes like these" Jon laughed tugging at the boy's tunic. "There aren't any Queens or Kings either"