Aspirations of Peace

About an hour later, Jon Stark had finished catching Yara and Theon Greyjoy up with recent events in the North, about Euron's intended **** attempt on him which could not go unanswered, a few details about the immense backing the Iron Bank will now provide him and some of his propositions to them directly. The two of them added a few comments here and there or expressed surprise at various points during the tale but, for the most part, they remained quiet, analyzing his words and probably trying to draw conclusions from his more deliberately vague explanations about certain topics. Eventually, the secret god was mostly finished and the two Ironborn siblings glanced at each other for a long moment before they turned back to him.

"Well, a lot has certainly happened to you this past month, hasn't it?" Yara commented. "And here I thought we were busy trying to do all we could to sail from the Iron Islands to Slaver's Bay as fast as possible."

Then she took a deep breath before staring at him firmly. "You want to make my uncle pay for what he tried to do and because you cannot afford to broker such an insult in the eyes of your people now that you are king. I can certainly understand all of that," She said in agreement. "After all, he murdered my father and would have done the same to me if I had stayed since he knew I was his main rival for the Salt Throne. So, I won't pretend that your offer to join forces against that thrice-damned kinslayer is not tempting."

"However," Yara went on, "You are not just talking about invading the Iron Islands in retribution but of actually conquering them and add them to your growing kingdom. And that would make things...a lot more complicated."

"I am well aware," The King of the North and the Trident confirmed with a nod. "Why do you think I am trying to sweeten the deal by negotiating with you so that we can sustain our alliance?"

"And some of your offers are quite generous," The Greyjoy Captain admitted in a begrudged tone as she stared at both him and the banking representatives besides him. "A full pardon, a considerable amount of gold, backed by the Iron Bank, to help rebuild and improve the Iron Islands in unprecedented ways, wood for the construction of more ships, food, and other valuable supplies for the winter, acknowledging me as the ruler of the Iron Islands and Admiral of the Sunset Sea...good thinking on the idea of creating Admiral positions for each separate sea that your domains will cover by the way; that Master of Ships position in King's Landing was too broad and centralized to coordinate the fleets well on short notice," She added, with a look that seemed like respect. "But some of your conditions for all that aid will be...hard for many of my people to swallow."

"Then let's address your concerns," Jon said as he crossed his arms. "After all, our treaty has not been signed yet."

"Very well," Yara continued. "To begin with, the fact you expect us to fight for you when you summon the banners, for one. I can see many Ironborn disliking that idea, well, not the fighting as much as the fact it will be the North that will be making those decisions. We did rose in rebellion against the Iron Throne because of disagreements like that, after all."

"I remember," The King in the North and the Trident replied with a nod. "But believe me, the Army of the Dead is everybody's problem. If we do not rally together at least when it comes to fighting their inevitable invasion, our separate forces will continue to add meat to their army until we can't beat them in the field anymore. So, yes, at least when it comes to joining us in the Great War to come, that is an ultimately mutually beneficial point I do want to stress. Besides, you were trying to gain the support of Daenerys Targaryen before I brought you here," He reminded her. "If she had agreed, do you really think she wouldn't have expected you to come to her aid if asked as restitution for helping you kill Euron?"

"Not really," She admitted with an outward sigh. "You are still going to have to show me proof of the return of the White Walkers before I agree to sign that treaty later on," The captain pointed out. "But alright, let's leave that aside for now. More importantly, you want us to start shifting our economy from raiding and plundering to trading and mining and that will cause friction with the men I would be supposed to keep in line for you."

"I can imagine," Jon acknowledged. "Which is one of the reasons I would be backing you and your society with gold, silver, and lucrative incentives when possible: I want the Ironborn to see the value in those possibilities and realize that they have the opportunity to gain more with legitimate business than by risking injury or **** while trying to steal something from someone."

"That said...." He continued in a more hesitant tone. "I can understand that such a period of change would be hard to adapt for some, especially bat first. So, with that in mind, I would be open to the possibility of allowing some piracy but only against officially declared enemies of my kingdoms, like ships from the Lannister fleet, for example. Information from my spies and informants would be sent to registered Ironborn sellsails in that case, in case they want to try their look taking the enemy's loot but I would be expecting some very important rules to follow in that case, no **** or taking captured thralls included," He stressed. "We can put those terms in the treaty when we actually begin to set it in writing."

"Hmph," Yara hummed, considering, "You are right, that would make it easier for my men to swallow your victory terms on that front as they start adjusting. But tell me, do you have any particular interest in making the Ironborn grow weak over time by banning reaving for the most part?"

Jon took a moment to consider her question, Then he tilted his head in her direction.

"Not quite," The young king replied with a sincere tone. "As I said, with the Army of the Dead coming, I could use your people's skill and ferocity. However, as King of the North and the Trident, I cannot afford your men to be raiding my coastlines with impunity. Down that path, only retaliation lies and I think we can agree on the fact that you would not be interested in having to deal with another invasion from my realm to the Iron Islands after you are already all set on Pyke."

"You do have a point there," The Greyjoy Captain acknowledged. "Still..."

The secret god decided to take that moment to interrupt her. "I am not going to insult you and ask if the first time your father rebelled against the Iron Throne was worth it," He declared. "But since we are on the topic, tell me, what exactly was it that your people really gained from raiding the North while my brother Robb was fighting south?"

Yara narrowed her eyes at that, sensing the challenge in her tone but struggling to come up with an immediate response. So, he went on. "I mean, you did capture a few keeps in the North, like Deepwood Motte in the Wolfswood and Moat Cailin in the Neck. Hell, you even managed to take over Winterfell, for a time. But was it worth the cost?" The King of the North and the Trident pressed. "What exactly do you have to show for all the effort and lives spent while sacking parts of the North?"

He noticed that Theon flinched at the line of questioning and Yara glaring at him...before her gaze softened soon enough and letting out a heavy sigh. "I asked myself that question a lot when my father ordered us to raid not-so-wealthy North and again after he died shortly after all our mainland strongholds were lost. And while I never said it publicly, especially because was concerned those words would be seen as soft when I needed to show confidence in the Kingsmoot ceremony...my honest answer is that we mostly gained cobblestones, pinecones, and turnips," She confessed. "This is what we had won so far by fighting the North, losing fathers and sons for these "treasures".

Jon nodded slowly, glad to see that she had contemplated that line of thought before. Then, he remembered something he had heard while exploring one of the other worlds during his dream-walking expeditions, after wishing to be drawn to the intelligent man of that parallel universe at the time period he was going to land. Feeling inspired, he prepared himself to stretch the truth.

"You know," The young king began. "I once saw a wise man trying to teach younger people important lessons. He wasn't a Maester but he certainly was a knight of the mind in his own right. And what I remember the most about what he said that night were these intriguing words: doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results is madness," He cited.

Then he paused when he saw the Greyjoy captain stiffen, probably contemplating those words after her last admission. He allowed her to think for a long moment in silence, before taking a deeper breath. "So, tell me, do you want to move forward, or backward?"

Yara interlocked her fingers, her expression ponderous. Then she turned back to Theon.

"Will you support me, little brother?" She asked him in a vague tone

The former ward glanced at Jon for a moment before meeting his sister's eyes again. "I gave you my word," He reminded. "So yes. I will stand by you, come what may."

The two of them remained quiet for a while but then, Jon could see the Ironborn leader begin to smile. Before long, she tilted her head back at him.

"Well, this is probably a better deal than I would have gotten from the Dragon Queen anyway," She said with a shrug. "So, very well, I will accept your initial terms of the alliance. I will still need to read all the points of the treaty when its ready before I can agree to sign it but...now I am convinced that we can help each other."

And with that, she extended her hand to him. Jon took a moment to digest what she said and the symbolism behind her actions, especially since from her perspective, he was the son of the man that was instrumental in winning the war that killed most of her brothers while taking his last one as a hostage. It was definitely a gesture that he could not take for granted.

And so, he shook on it, nodding at her with respect.

"Thank you," The king said, hoping his gratitude was transparent in his tone.

On the side, Theon looked relieved, actually grinning. After all the pain he had suffered these past few years, he had to admit it was a comforting sight.

"So, what next, King Jon?" Asked Yara.

"Now," Jon started, "I begin my last discussions the Iron Bank while chaining bags to the saddle of my Ice Dragon. Then I will be heading back to Westeros. I have a murderous sadist to punish and a home to retake. But I will stop on White Harbor on the way so that I can make it abundantly clear that when your fleet arrives at the Northern city, it will be as allies, not as enemies. Just remember to hoist your White Kraken Flag to signal your approach. Then, once I have retaken Winterfell from the Boltons, we can start to plan the downfall of your kinslaying uncle. Sounds good?"

"Very," Yara responded.

Theon nodded at that, his expression suddenly determined. "Make sure Ramsay pays for what he has done."

"Oh, I assure you that he will," Jon replied as he hardened his gaze. "And you know what? Perhaps, before he loses his head, I could take inspiration from his father's words at the Red Wedding and tell him that the Greyjoys send their regards. What do you think?"

The Ironborn man actually smirked a bit, probably imaging the scene with his mind. "I would like that. Thank you, Jon. For everything. It's good to be on the same side again. And once more...I am sorry."

Jon approached him so that he could get a closer look at his eyes.

"It is not my place to forgive you for all you have done," The King stressed. "But...for what I can forgive, I do," He added in a firm, yet soft tone. "Let's work hard to make the future a better place."

And with that, he offered him his own hand, which Theon took soon after, his expression grateful in ways he had seldom seen.

"Safe travels," He added and then turned around, to say the rest of his goodbyes to his new friends from Braavos.

A/N: Well, there it is for now. Hope you enjoyed it. I will try to update the next chapter at some point on Sunday on my time zone. Depending on how much or little I get interrupted that could go well. Until then, feel free to leave your thoughts down below. As you know, that is usually a good method to keep me motivated when it comes to writing.

Later!