The Moving Fortress

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The Neck: Outskirts of Greywater Watch

Three days later, Jon Stark was flying above the swamps of the Neck looking for the seat of House Reed. The young King had figured the search would be harder than it seemed, even from the sky. After all, Greywater Watch was the only keep in all of Westeros that was built upon a crannog, one of the man-made floating islands of the swamps, and as a result, it did not stay in the same place, making it impossible for messenger ravens to find through the usual methods.

As he stared at the canopy of trees in search of a sign of the castle, Jon remembered that he could have just found a way to word the wish to locate the keep faster but he decided not to. He had been enjoying flying astride his mighty she-dragon more and more every day, the feeling of freedom and power as the soared across the skies being like nothing he had ever experienced. Besides, it gave him more time to think about recent events.

By the time he had returned to Riverrun from his campaign against the Lannister-Frey forces, he had stopped by every town and holdfast in the Riverlands except for two: Harrenhal and the Twins. The former because he was aware that Littlefinger's men held the castle at the time and, while Blackfish had told him the former Master of Coin had gained the seat with the blessing of King Joffrey, he was willing to give him a chance to prove himself to Sansa with the aid of the Knights of the Vale. So, it seemed counter-productive to attack his current, if unsavory, ally at the time.

The Twins, on the other hand, he spared because he wanted to make a big spectacle out of those guilty of staining their hands with blood during the Red Wedding and a clear sign that he wouldn't just extinguish the entire House in vengeance down to the last woman and child even if some of his bannermen wouldn't mind. And since he wasn't ready for that public display of justice, it was easier to just let most of the remaining Freys that survived his breaking of the Siege of Riverrun to flee back to their dual keep and take shelter there. Plus, at the end of the day, the castle was an excellent fortification when it comes to chokepoints. It would be more beneficial to deal with the Freys without destroying one of the most formidable strongholds of the Riverlands.

At least, that was the explanation he had given to the Riverlords the day before. Most accepted his decision without complaint after he assured them that one way or another, Walder Frey's days were numbered, although, of those that wanted to take immediate action against the Freys now that they had regrouped at Riverrun, with more banners arriving every day, Ser Jason Mallister, Lord of Seagard was by far the most vocal due to his seat's proximity to the murderous oathbreakers. In the end, however, he calmed down when Jon told him he had his leave to besiege the Twins with his own forces for however long he liked if he wanted, so long as he didn't execute anyone that may surrender without first letting him analyze their case. Between that and being grateful to the young king for using frost-flame to wipe out the Lannister-Frey military garrison, that was keeping him a prisoner inside his own castle, Lord Mallister agreed to follow his command, shortly before officially bending the knee.

When he had finished accepting oaths of fealty from the Lords that had been present on Riverrun at the time, and they proclaimed him King of the North and the Trident, he couldn't help but feel more than a little triumphant. He never expected to be in this position, even if he knew that Robb had valued him as a brother but he had to admit their cheers and expressions of renewed hope made him feel good inside. He had never seen people to happy to celebrate him, even when he was proclaimed Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. True, he knew much of it was because they knew that having a dragon on their side, for the first time since they joined the Blacks under Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen during the Dance of Dragons, could be seen as a powerful sign. Nonetheless, he was happy for helping rid much of his new territory from its Iron Throne-backed oppressors and for reigniting the sparks of hope in the hearts of the Riverlords after the disaster that was the Red Wedding.

The next morning, however, he had told the Riverlords that were strategizing that time was of the essence and he needed to return North so he could finish his preparations to liberate Winterfell from House Bolton. They vowed to defend the Riverlands in the meantime, a task made much easier by his campaign of ice and frost, and to make sure that no Frey escaped the Twins to freedom. He placed Blackfish in charge of their combined military forces, after reinstating him to the position that Robb had created for the seasoned veteran before the Red Wedding: the Warden of the Southern Marches. He had shaken his hand vigorously at the promotion and swore not to let him down. Then, he had bid the Lords farewell and headed towards the Neck astride his Ice Dragon.

Jon was snapped out of his reminiscing thoughts, however, when he spotted something that looked like a wooden tower from a small opening in the canopy across the swamp. Urging his dragon to slow down, he looked more closely at it and then decided he needed to cross the mass of leaves and trees at the top. So, his large companion squeezed through, slashing her way through the thickest part of the humid vegetation.

And then, he finally saw the moving fortress.

The young king descended into the water right at the entrance of the wooden castle since the wooden courtyard would be a tight fit for her dragon. A group of short Crannogmen guards sounded the alarm when he landed but Jon yelled at them that he came in peace and wanted to speak to Howland Reed as a representative of House Stark of Winterfell, figuring that would make them less wary than claiming he was King in the North.

His announcement did give them pause and after getting over their shock while noticing the dragon wasn't attacking, one of them ended up going inside to look for Howland Reed. In the meantime, his she-dragon splashed about the place, seemingly amusing herself with the new terrain. Her hide was strong enough to turn the water around her to ice as she moved but only for mere moments before the fragile frost shattered around the waterways of the swamp. Jon caressed her neck as she enjoyed the swim. She didn't drink any of the water though, which he had expected. So far, he has only seen her drink water if it was in the shape of snow, after all.

After a few minutes, he saw one of his father's oldest friends staring back at him atop the behemoth.

For a long moment, the man said nothing although Jon noticed that his eyes widened only briefly as if seeing an Ice Dragon descend upon his castle was only mildly interesting. He found that strange but then shrugged, deciding to introduce himself.

"I am Jon, Lord Reed. Eddard Stark's son and Robb's brother. I am told you may have information that would legitimize my family name. Is that true?" He asked.

The Lord gave him a warm smile. "More than you may think. It's good to finally see you. Come on in, it's clear we have much to discuss."

A/N: And we have finally met one of the very few people that know Jon is the son of Lyanna and Rhaegar, even though he was sworn to secrecy by Ned. What do you think will happen next, I wonder? XD

Until next time!