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JON
From atop of the Wall everything seemed so pristine and peaceful, the world down below shrouded in mist. Jon lifted his head up to the sky, where red rays of sunshine touched the night sky chasing it away. The wind blew wild and cold, but the sun shone warm and gentle. A rather odd weather for the North at this season. Jon had always liked the cold, yet through his years at the Wall or beyond he had learned to hate it, fear it even. Quite often now he found himself longing for the Godswood at Winterfell, where everything once greened so splendidly. Where Arya and Bran and Rickon played, where Sansa twined herself a crown of flowers as Myriah read to her.
His thoughts drifted off to his siblings: One was dead, murdered by traitors. Two lost somewhere in the Seven Kingdoms, most certainly dead. Another one lost beyond the Wall and most certainly dead, too. The Fifth a captive in King's Landing, in the hands of the Lannisters.
What happened to Myriah Jon did not know either. He had not heard of her since the letter came bearing the word of her wedding. That was over three years ago. When Sam had delivered him the message of his brother's death he never mentioned her. That was almost a year ago. All he could do was to pray for her safe return to Sunspear, the home she had been yearning for so long.
Lord Eddard's ward had been one of the few people at Winterfell that were truly kind to Jon. And the fact that she was not his sister, but a Dornish princess that would comfort him could make him forget about the circumstances of his birth for the moment. All the sweet words a young lady learned to use, Myriah had spared towards others and saved for him whenever she snuck into his chamber at night, well aware of the trouble her actions might cause. If he wouldn't have known better, Jon would have called her his friend. But Princesses and Bastards were not supposed to be friends, according to nearly everyone in his father's castle, especially Lady Catelyn. Yet, Myriah's nightly visits and daily games and talks with him were no crimes in Eddard Stark's eyes and that way, easily forgiven. They were children back then and soon they had grown out of it. Though growing up almost like siblings, they had their quarrels, but the gentleness between the two of them never truly went away.
No doubt that if Jon was a trueborn Stark, Myriah would have insisted on marrying him instead of his brother. Robb hadn't liked the thought of Myriah as his wife at first, he had complained to Jon about it several times, to be honest, but as the years passed and his sense for duty grew, the heir to Winterfell became accustomed to that same thought. In fact, he began to treat Myriah with more courtesy and got suspicious of her affection for Jon, which had never bothered him before. With that, Robb had unknowingly put his brother into his place.
Myriah was just another reason why Jon had envied Robb. A reason why Jon chose to leave his old life behind, for he couldn't stand the thought of him desiring his beloved brother's future wife.
