Crossroad of Dreams

A/N: Hello everyone. This chapter could be seen as a bit of an introspective filler but it will have quite a bit of relevance later in terms of decision making. Hope you like it!

Read, enjoy, and review!

Jon Stark turned around in his bed yet again, his form restless. He had managed to fall asleep for a few hours, during which time he continued with his dream walking through other worlds for information like he has been doing every night since he set out to look for the North Grove.

This time around, he had returned to explore a reality that had a kingdom that was called Germany if the information he had gathered was about right. And by the gods, did he become impressed with that incredible printing press mechanism. The invention of a process that could easily enable his people to produce and transcribe no less than 3,600 pages per workday? That Johannes Gutenberg was certainly a brilliant man. And that seemed to be a device he could plausibly invent with the technology and resources his own kingdom had available, in which case the Maesters of the Citadel would rush to earn his favor in exchange for access to his own printing press. Yet, for all the possibilities that development could bring, it was something else that was making him lose sleep.

Things were not going the way Jon had planned when he first decided to place restraints upon his vast powers and play the game of thrones to help preserve the free will of people for the most part, as well as limit the chances of becoming too overly corrupt. At first, he had only planned to retake the North. He suspected the kingship might fall to him as a result if he made a spectacular job of his war against Ramsay while impressing his own bannermen, especially with Rickon so young but if that had happened, he the task as a duty to help prepare his homeland for the **** of the Army of the Dead.

Then it was revealed to him that his brother Robb had named him his heir, thereby including the Riverlands to his domains. And so he made war on the Lannister-Frey forces on dragonback so that he could deal with both internal and external threats to his southernmost territory and the people that were counting on him.

But things didn't end there. The Knights of the Vale were coming to their aid now and if he played things right, he suspected he could inspire the long time allies of his father to accept him as their king, especially after he had heard many of its Lords had wanted to support Robb during the War of the Five Kings. Without Sansa's paranoic aunt holding them back anymore, they might want to try to recover from what they saw as a loss of face and back him up. Besides, with everything that had happened recently, seeking out a potential alternative to the Iron Throne might make sense to certain Lords.

Furthermore, there was the fact the young king suspected that he was eventually going to have to pit his armies against the Iron Islands before long after that conversation he had with the intelligent Lord of Harlaw island. Euron Greyjoy, the new king of the Ironborn seemed to be interested in Conquest and the North is closest to his own territories. A clash between them seemed inevitable, in which case he had half a mind to officially conquer the Iron Islands so that he wouldn't annex that territory and kept a close eye on them. That way, he could keep the western coastline of his domains a lot more secure and that was without counting some major benefits for his realm, like access to their numerous iron mines, control of their remaining fleet when all was said and done, and the establishment of a much safer trade route through the Sunset Sea compared to recent years.

And as if such a long-term enterprise wasn't enough, he had just planted the seeds of a potentially powerful alliance with the biggest power block of the most fertile land in Westeros. He might have to take Margaery as one of the brides Sansa and he agreed to take into their polygamous marriage once he could manage to come up with a wish that would make it acceptable but from what she had to him, his sister actually liked her so it might be doable.

So, as he analyzed the situation, he realized that if he played his cards right, he could realistically hope to become the undisputed King of Five of the Seven kingdoms in a matter of a few short years. On paper, that would allow him to better unite the people of Westeros against the Army of the Dead like had planned, to say nothing of all the other good things he could accomplish with access to all that variety of resources and additional manpower.

In practice, however, the idea made him hesitate. Deep down, he had only wanted to retain Winterfell when he set out from Castle Black, maybe become King in the North. The plausible reality that was facing him was far off the reservation from what he had initially contemplated.

Sighing, Jon decided he wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. So, he dressed again, placed furs around his shoulders, and walked outside. He told the guards that Lord Manderly had placed outside his door that he was just going out on a short walk to get some fresh air and dismissed them when they offered to accompany him. Before long, he made his way to a balcony on the top floor of New Castle, overlooking the city. It was a beautiful sight, even as the city slept, especially with the tides moving in concert with the moon.

"Couldn't sleep either?" A familiar voice said behind him.

He turned around and saw Sarella Sand covered in her own cloak, her dark eyes glinting before the burning light of the whale oil. Jon shrugged. "Not for long," He said. "I was thinking a lot about recent events. And about big decisions, I might have to do in the future."

"I can imagine," She replied. "Anything I can help you with?"

"Maybe," The young king realized. "Tell me, what do you think your family members will do when they learn of my new kingdom? I know the princes had understandable reasons to be angered at House Stark ever since Rhaegar Targaryen, well, left his Martell wife for my aunt Lyanna Stark," He said awkwardly. "And I would like to help mend the relationships between our two Houses if possible."

The Great House bastard was quiet for a long moment before answering. "You hadn't heard, have you?" She asked with a voice barely above a whisper.

Jon didn't like the implications of her tone. "Hadn't heard what?"

Sarella sighed. "Months after my father, Prince Oberyn died while fighting against his sister's killer as the champion of Tyrion Lannister during his trial by combat, his last paramour chose to spit on his memory by going against his deeply held beliefs and killed a Lannister child that was bethroded to my cousin Trystane Martell. And as if that wasn't enough, 3 of my half-sisters and her killed my uncle Doran Martell and his son because she thought them too weak to get their short-sighted **** on the Lannisters."

Jon gasped. "Wait so, the ancient and noble House Martell, proud descendants of Princess Nymeria and the only ones that managed to successfully kill a dragon during the conquest while fending off the armies of the Conqueror, has gone extinct?!"

"Not necessarily," Sarella said slowly. "Doran's eldest child and heir, Arianne Martell was apparently sent on a secret voyage on orders of her Prince father about a month before their treachery but no one has seen her since, so Dorne has been plunged into chaos. Last I heard, about half the Houses ended up backing my fellow Sand Snakes and their quest for **** after she convinced them that she will gain the support of Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons. The other half, however, has remained openly neutral so far. I suspect they are waiting to see if Arianne will show up though, or perhaps even actively looking for her."

Jon frowned in distaste. Between getting betrayed and stabbed in the heart and the ramifications of the Red Wedding he has had to deal with, he had little patience for traitors, especially when they knowingly murdered their own flesh and blood. Then he focused on his new advisor and nodded his head in a respectful gesture.

"You have my condolences for the damage that has been done to your family," He told her in an empathetic tone. "There was a time not so long ago when I thought my sister Sansa was all the family I had left after my other siblings were presumed dead, so I know how that feels. And who knows, perhaps Arianne Martell will show up and restore her place as Princess. But regardless, I am sorry about the **** of your father," Jon said as he looked at her beautiful light-brown face. "I imagined he wouldn't have liked me much if we have met but having lost my own father, I can sympathize."

She sighed at that but smiled at him before long. "Thank you, my king. But to answer your question, if Arianne Martell is still alive and you back up her efforts to reclaim her homeland, I would imagine that she would react very, very favorably to your kingship. So, I would say it might be something to keep in mind, should you learn of her location from your bannermen. And that is my official counsel on the matter as your advisor."

Jon was silent for a long moment, interlocking his fingers as he pondered her words and their effect on him. Then he smiled back.

"Thank you, Sarella Sand," He said earnestly. "I believe you have helped me more than you know. And that I will be able to find sleep now, thanks to you."

She grinned "I am pleased to hear that."

They remained quiet for a while after that, staring into each other's eyes as if drinking each other's presence under the moonlight. But then Jon shook his head and wished her good night, at which point he turned around and went back from whence he came.

"She is certainly an intriguing addition to my new court," Jon told himself mentally. "I wonder what Sansa will make of her."

Then he clenched his fists tightly as determination shone across his visage. He couldn't become the decisive king his subjects will need him to be to prepare for the next Long Night and to lead them against the Army of the Dead if he second-guessed himself too much. True, he hadn't originally planned to expand his domains so much but the political circumstances were getting more promising with the cards he has been dealt. So, in the end, he vowed to himself and to every god that would listen that he would make it worth it. He would improve the lives of subjects a lot and he would lead them to victory against the Night King. And hopefully, that process would reforge the bonds of the people of his realm with the strength of Valyrian Steel."

"It seems I have a lot of work to do," Jon thought as he crossed the door to his bed chambers. "Let's make it count."

A/N: Well there you go. To clarify, that bit I added with Arianne Martell being MIA shortly after Doran was killed in this reality, like in the show's timeline, will be explained later. Suffice to say for now that in this parallel universe she is still around, just not in Dorne when shit went down in the similar events that occurred like the ones from the Season 6 premiere.

Anyway, I hope you liked this and if you did, please review. Until next time!