Jon is to consider accelerating his plans

Nearly two hours later, Jon had finished cleaning himself up a bit from his travel to Winterfell. The same could be said for his followers, although since the King was arriving the next day, his Lord father only had enough room within the keep for a handful of the most important servants that accompanied him on this journey; among them Lyra Mormont and Sarella Sand. The rest would end up resting in quarters outside the keep, or the inn of the nearby Wintertown.

The Bastard of Winterfell took a moment to look around his room. He had been honestly surprised to learn that they hadn't given away his old chambers to anyone else in 6 years. True, he had taken every possession of his that he could bring when he left for White Harbor so that meant his room was very plain at the moment aside from the bed, wardrobe, desk, mirror, and nearby privy but he had to admit he felt touched that they hadn't given it away. It was like his father was waiting for Lady Catelyn to cool down and wanted him to feel welcomed when he finally returned home.

Jon sighed. How things have changed...

A knock on his door snapped him out of his melancholy and so he turned to open it. There he saw his sister looking up at his face, with a letter in her hands.

He smiled at her. "Hello, Arya. What can I do for you?"

"Hopefully? To take me with you," She answered, her form growing tense.

Jon raised an eyebrow at that and looked at the letter in her hands, wondering what had gotten such a reaction from her. Then, he looked to the sides to make sure there was no one else looking before turning back to her.

"Come on in," He said, waving at her to get inside. "Seems like you have something important to say."

She entered the room immediately and Jon told her to take a seat on the chair of the desk while he sat down on the nearby bed. Once she was settled in, he motioned at her to begin. Her face changed into a consternated frown.

"Father just shared a letter with me that confirmed my worst fears," She admitted, her voice worried. "Theon Greyjoy just returned to Castle Cerwyn after his visit to Deepwood Motte, on the western coast of the North. He will be back tomorrow, arriving with the King. And I am afraid because his mission was a success."

Jon tilted his head, frowning. "I was wondering where Theon was since I hadn't seen him yet. What was he doing so far from Winterfell? Father had never let him go that far before without any of us close by."

Arya winced. "I don't know if you are aware, but Balon Greyjoy fell gravely ill a few moons ago. In fact, he has barely wakened from his bed in this last fortnight, according to the reports from the Maester of Whispers. So, with the King arriving soon and the high likelihood that Pyke will need a new Lord soon, father sent Theon with an escort to Deepwood Motte along with a letter marked with the seals of the Iron throne and the Warden of the North to be delivered to Theon's only surviving sibling with an offer and an invitation to Winterfell for his sister Yara," She explained.

Now it was Jon's turn to wince, starting to see what her concern was all about. "Go on."

His dear sister took a deep breath. "Long story short, since I am turning 18 soon and have to be a "proper lady"," She added with immense distaste. "Robert Baratheon and our father decided to take advantage of our good relations with Theon and marry me off to him soon so that when he needs to succeed his rebellious father we can try to keep the peace in the Iron Islands as Lord and Lady."

The Bastard of Winterfell narrowed his eyes, disliking the prospect as well. "Come on! You and Theon? He doesn't even like you! What were they thinking?"

"I don't know," She growled, before inhaling sharply. "And I don't care. Please, brother, don't let this happen," She begged. "Take me with you when you get back to Essos. On the back of that Wyvern, no one would be able to stop us. And then we can have all sorts of adventures across the world, like we always talked and dreamed about."

Jon was silent for a long moment, contemplating her request and the complications therein. As much as he wanted to help his sister, bringing her with him while fleeing from such a crucial betrothal arranged and approved by the King himself would cause an uproar of the kind that would follow him across the Narrow Sea. Especially given the peaceful aspirations of the deal, which was meant to help bind the wounds lingering from the Greyjoy Rebellion. And if he just ran away with Arya, he would never be welcomed at Winterfell again. He bit his bottom lip, thinking.

Then he looked at the godly quill that was laying on the desk and it hit him. Which made him sigh.

"Seems like I am going to have to accelerate my plans to avoid the worst dangers of this idea," He realized, as his mind made some quick calculations to weigh in the pros and cons. "But my sister is worth it. And there is no way I am just letting her marry Theon Fucking Greyjoy, especially if she doesn't want to."

So, with that in mind, he took a deep breath and thought it might be better to go through with it.

"There...may be something I can do to formally break your betrothal to Theon without needing to leave on bad terms with the rest of our family," Jon admitted.

Arya's stared at him with increasing interest in her gaze. "I am listening."

"I hadn't had the chance to tell you yet but I actually learned several spells from different kinds of sorcerers in my time in Essos, especially from those I hired for my growing trading empire," He said, admitting the truth while keeping certain details to himself. "I am not just limited to warging anymore. And, well, there is a spell I know off that would allow you to come with me but on better terms, since the magic would essentially convince the others to break the betrothal."

"Seriously?!" She asked, her eyes wide. "Then that is even better than I could have hoped for! Please, brother, do that spell for me and save me from having to give birth to krakens!"

The Bastard of Winterfell inhaled deeply and stared at the quill that was given to him by the Valyrian God, Meraxes, which granted him the powers of Written Ownership he had come to enjoy so much. Then he looked at his dear sister's relieved expression one more time and, for a moment, wrestled with the idea of claiming her fully in mind, body, and soul.

A/N: Well, do you think he will? :P

Anyway, I wanted to take a moment to say thanks for all the comments so far. You guys rock and I especially like the detailed thoughts and suggestions you express in the reviews. And yeah, I know most of you wanted Jon to claim Catelyn first to have his **** and get that obstacle out of the way early but I already have a plan for the payback and it will require a bit of patience. **** best served cold and all of that. But don't worry, I plan for that part of the plotline to be quite...spectacular XD

Well, until next time everyone and as always, please leave a comment if you liked it.