Stark Men and Women

A/N: Well, for all of you that expressed your interest in Sarella Sand's inclusion to the story, I have a feeling you are really going to like this chapter. Read on!

"Ahhhhh!!! I can't believe I am actually doing this!" Sarella Sand screamed in downright amazement as the dragon took off.

Jon chuckled as she hugged him tightly from behind so that she could feel safer. "I know what you mean. I have traveled from beyond the Wall to Riverrun and back to the North by now but flying astride the she-dragon I have bonded with still feels surreal. I doubt soaring majestically through the air will ever get old for me.

"I can imagine!" She said, giggling merrily as she turned her head to look to the city below. "And oh, so your dragon is female? Good to know!" She added, and Jon didn't have to look back to figure out she was smirking.

Samwell's reaction was a lot more subdued, given that he was just turning his head around to check everything around him, after a loud, initial yelp that is. Marwyn on the other hand couldn't stop himself from laughing, triumph on his tone.

"Thank you, my king!" He said reverently. "This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember."

"You're welcome," Jon replied, his mood improving.

Then they remained silent so that they could enjoy the rest of the sights, given that they knew their trip would be a short one. They merely needed a couple of minutes in the air to cross the bay and reach the seat of House Manderly, starting by flying over the outer seawalls.

Once they left it behind, he deliberately urged his dragon to fly more slowly so that his companions could enjoy the trip for a bit longer. And so, in silent awe, they appreciated the airborne view of the city, historically reserved for the rare few. To directly below, Jon spotted several ships in the harbor and to his right, there was a fortress which no served as a prison that was called Wolf's Den, if he recalled his family history correctly.

Which he did, but it still made the young king smile to see that the loyal bannermen his Stark ancestors took in had turned the land they were granted into a booming city over the centuries. The North has benefited greatly from White Harbor and the family that rules it.

"Oh, so those are the famous merman statues of White Harbor," Sarella said as she pointed with one finger.

Jon looked in that direction and indeed saw the first in a row of marble mermaids across the wide cobblestoned street, with bowls of whale oil currently unlit at the base.

"So it seems," The secret god responded. "I imagine House Manderly wanted the people from other kingdoms that reached their city by ship to learn early on that the merman is in their sigil."

Sarella hummed in agreement and gripped him more tightly a strong blast of wind hit them form a moment. Jon chuckled.

"Don't worry, I give you my word as a king that I won't let you fall to your ****," He assured her, even if he kept quiet about the exact measures he could take to guarantee her survival if she did fall.

"Well, even in Dorne I have heard much about Ned Stark's legendary honor," The Great House bastard revealed. "If you have taken his lessons to heart, then that promise certainly makes me feel much, much better."

Jon chuckled. "I like you," He responded simply, a bit surprised at the ease he was getting along with her.

The Dornish woman relaxed her grip. "I am really pleased to hear that, your Grace."

Right at that moment, they reached New Castle, the seat of Lord Manderly, from above.

A few seconds later they landed, with an honor guard of two dozen soldiers facing each other at opposite sides of the road that lead to the entrance serving as their welcoming committee. They did look at his dragon with wonder but they also quickly composed their features and greeted him before they could even start climbing down.

"Hail to the King!" They roared. "Hail to the King!"

Jon smiled lightly. Emotionally speaking, he still has to get used to all that cheering but right now it was better not to show his mild discomfort in public. He had bannermen to inspire, after all. So, he waved at them, and the men wasted no time in clanging their shields with their tridents as their morale was raised.

"Seems like they like the new King in the North and the Trident, your Grace," Sarella said in amusement from behind him. "As do I." She added as a whisper.

Jon Stark and his companions entered the Merman's Court, just in time for Wyman Manderly to order his guards to take a prisoner that was brought before him to their dungeons at the Wolf's Den.

Then, everyone at the table saw noticed his arrival and they stood up from their seats to bow. After that, the ruler of White Harbor crossed the distance from his Merman-carved chair and gave him a wide grin when they were facing each other.

"I must admit, when I received word from sailors coming from the northern Riverlands that an Ice Dragon had started waging war on the Lannister forces and those thrice-damned Freys, I was skeptical. But when the Blackfish sent me a raven confirming those suspicions while delivering his own copy of Robb Stark's will, I felt more renewed than I had in years. Welcome to White Harbor, my King."

Jon nodded in respect and shook his hand. "I am pleased to be here. These are my friends," He added while tilting his head to the side. "Samwell Tarly, Archmaester Marwyn, and Sarella Sand. I was reunited with them when I reached the city and told them they could accompany me so that we could catch up later. I trust it's no trouble?"

"None at all," Wyman replied with a curt nod in their direction. "I am sure they will enjoy their stay at Merman's Court."

They smiled politely in return but otherwise remained silent. So, the young king took that as his cue to continue.

"I was informed that you have spent the day hunting down Bolton loyalists within the city," He said. "How did that go?"

"There were some unfortunate losses among my city guard," The Lord admitted. "But the operation was a complete success. All the soldiers, captains, and envoys with known ties to the Boltons or the Freys have been killed in action or taken to the cells. It's the unknown ones we will have to worry about until you have retaken Winterfell but overall, we are in a much better position right now."

"In all honesty," Wyman went on. "I was still hesitant for a bit to take action after reading the letter, remembering the **** of my son at the Red Wedding, but my courageous and youngest granddaughter reminded me of my oaths. Wylla, why don't you tell our king what you told me to bring me back to my senses?"

Jon turned to a blonde girl that looked about 13 years old, smirking at being given the opportunity to address him.

"I merely reminded my Lord grandsire of a very important promise we made, crucial to our family history and our honor," She said. "For you see, my King, a thousand years before the Conquest, a promise was made, and oaths were sworn in the Wolf's Den before the old gods and the new. When we were sore beset and friendless, hounded from our homes, and in peril of our lives, the wolves took us in and nourished us and protected us against our enemies. The city is built upon the land they gave us. In return, we swore that we should always be their men. Stark men!"

There were cheers around the court that echoed her final words and Jon smiled at the loyal little girl. "I am pleased to hear you hadn't forgotten that, just as I hadn't forgotten all the good that House Manderly has brought to the North. Now, we can hammer out the details of strategy later but know that between my growing army at the Wolfswood and the reinforcements we will get from the Knights of the Vale now that they have entered the fray, we will have at least 7 thousand men ready to attack House Bolton within the fortnight, and that's without counting the forces from the Riverlands guarding our rear flank. So, will you join me in our fight to reclaim the North?"

As a reply, Lord Manderly unsheathed his ancestral sword and bent the knee without hesitation, the sound of the blade hitting the floor echoing across the court as men and women watched in rapt attention.

"House Manderly will stand behind House Stark as we have for 13 centuries," He proclaimed. "And I will stand behind Jon Stark. The King in the North!"

"THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH! THE KING IN THE NORTH!" Chanted everyone else in the hall.

Jon took a deep breath at that, feeling elated at being regarded as worthy of their fealty. He exchanged a glance with his old brother of the Night's Watch and Sam gave him a warm smile. Even Sarella was screaming her support, adding her voice to the cheers despite the fact she was from Dorne.

And then he closed his eyes momentarily, feeling nostalgic. "Thank you, Robb. I vow to reclaim our home from the traitors that conspired against you."

A couple of hours later, Jon was taken to one of the finest bed chambers of New Castle so that he could clean himself up from his journey. Lord Manderly had told him that there were two important guests at his holdfast that wanted to discuss matters of great importance with him. But while he had told them it could wait until tomorrow, Jon assured his host that he still had the energy to meet with one of them before turning in for the night.

So, once he had freshened up, he excited his door and raised an eyebrow when he saw Sarella Sand waiting for him. She blushed slightly at his expression.

"Apologies if I have been acting...too casually since we have met, your Grace." She said. "It's just...natural children get a bad reputation for their origins which is no fault of their own, so when I heard that a fellow bastard was raised as a king by many mighty Lords, I became, well, hopeful that things can get better for us. And I am pleased to say that, as far as first impressions go, I am not disappointed."

Jon smiled warmly at her. "I am honored to hear that. And between you and me, I have been thinking of some...government services I would like to make at some point after retaking Winterfell that would improve the educational and economic opportunities of the less fortunate bastards of my kingdom."

Her eyes widened at that. "That would be wonderful and mean so much to so many. You would have my undying gratitude if you try your best to do that now that you are king, just on principle."

Jon titled his head, as sudden ideas rushed through his mind. "Good to know. But I am curious, Archmaester Marwyn said you managed to complete links of an unfinished chain while undercover at the Citadel. What topics did you master?"

Sarella grinned at the question before pointing at her short silver necklace hanging around her throat that he had seen earlier. "Well, one of them is actually this one, hiding its significance in plain sight. That said, only the frontal part is an actual link, the rest is a thin metallic chain to bind it around my neck," She explained. "The silver links symbolizes that I have studied medicine, healing, and the functions of the body. I actually managed to stop the spread of greyscale on a child on the first day she showed symptoms since the window of opportunity was still open. Her mother was so grateful she constantly delivered cherry pies to me every month. Gonna miss them now that I had to flee Oldtown," She added as she remembered her situation suddenly.

Then she shrugged and grabbed a pouch that was hanging from her waist and retrieved a copper link. "This one signifies that I have read enough tomes and scrolls about the history of the known world to earn a copper chain. In fact, I even produced a short, but praised, written treatise to the archives of the Citadel based on some investigations I once made when visiting the ruins of Shandystone, a holdfast in Southeastern Dorne. You see, long ago, Shandystone used to have many colorful mosaics with artwork based on the style of the Ancient Rhoynar, the paintings produced by men and women that had accompanied Princess Nymeria on her 10,000 ships. So, I used my expanded knowledge of the history of the Rhoynar to give a fresh, analytic take on the several mosaic pieces I brought with me to the Citadel. I imagine the librarians will move my scroll for future reference to the restricted section after what I pulled, though."

"Still impressive," Jon complimented her, his tone sincere. "And the last link?"

Sarella brought out a yellow gold link. "This one signifies mathematics and economics. I actually excelled so much that, before earning my chain, I was selected as one of the few acolytes from that area of study that gets picked by the Bank of Oldtown to get some practical experience with banking and other related business. When you get chosen for that select group, getting a yellow gold link is practically guaranteed unless you somehow managed to ruin someone's bank account, which I was fortunately smart enough to avoid." She added with a smirk.

Then she sighed. "I know I had to pretend to be someone I wasn't to get accepted but I am still going to miss the Citadel. So much knowledge to explore, and so little time."

Jon remained silent for a long moment once she was done. Then, some of his plans for the future started taking a more solidified shape in his mind. Before he could stop himself to consider it further, he opened his mouth.

"Would you like to become a member of my court?" He asked her. "I could certainly use the counsel of a brilliant woman like you, especially given some of the projects I would like to develop for the benefit of our fellow bastards."

The Dornish woman's jaw almost dropped to the floor at that, her eyes wide. Eventually, she shook her head and then nodded vigorously. "Of course! I would be beyond honored! Thank you so much, your Grace, I swear I will strive to be a worthy advisor."

Jon chuckled. "I believe you. Now, how about you accompany me to the Merman's Court? Apparently, I have an important guest to meet. Think of it as your first official opportunity to advise me after I have heard them out."

Sarella Sand smiled radiantly and curtseyed before him. And then, they walked down the hall, side by side.

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed this one! Now, any theories as to who is the guest Jon is gonna meet next? Oh and remember he is meeting another highborn visitor tomorrow, as he said he wanted to sleep before long.

Regardless, I had fun with this chapter, so I hope you did too. Until next time!