6 Chapter 6: Knighthood

Jon found his performance extremely convincing. Whether it be his overdramatic crying or the exaggeration of his mother's hate for him. He had no doubt that his acting was perfect, now he only had to wait for the reaction he wanted.

Knowing that his son has suffered during his time at Winterfell, could Eddard Stark, a man known for his honor, force his bastard son to stay with him? No, no he could not, Jon was sure of this.

"Do you really want to leave Winterfell?" Edd's tone was very heavy, as if the entire world was collapsing on him all at once.

"Yes." Jon said. "Please let me leave. I can't stay here, not anymore. I know I'm too young but I can't stay here. I'd rather risk my life out in the North fighting bandits than stay in Winterfell with my mother."

Edd rose from the bed and called out to the men standing guard outside. "Go bring me Ser Rodrik. Tell him I want him to bring 20 of his best men with him."

The sound of the guard's footsteps echoed throughout the empty hallway as Edd turned his face to Jon, but now he had regained his normal brooding expression. "Listen Jon. I cannot have you travel Westeros without protection. But I also can't have you doing nothing, that would be a waste of your talent."

Jon nodded. "I understand. You want me to patrol through the various parts of the North?"

"No. That is not enough. You will become a knight."

Jon was a bit surprised. Although knighthood was technically an option, even one he himself had considered asking for, the North generally didn't have as many knights as other regions of Westeros.

"For knighthood to be considered I'd have to go to the Reach and gain a few wins under my belt. I'd also have to make myself involved with the faith of the seven. Wouldn't the small lords in the north be displeased if I did such a thing?"

"It would seem your lessons with maester Luwin aren't in vain. And you are correct. If I had sent you away to be a page or squire than this wouldn't be a problem. But since you're already 12 it's a bit difficult to make you serve someone at such an age. As for the opinion of the lord's..." Eddard sighed.

"They won't be able to complain much. Once I send you away they won't even know of your departure or what you'll be doing."

"It seems like you've planned this for a while Lord Stark?"

Eddard just chuckled. "You don't know how many nights I couldn't sleep thinking of a solution to convince Cat to let you take the Stark name. I've considered everything, from sending you to the Vale to making you cross the sea to Bravos."

Jon put on a touched but also suspicious expression. "I've always wondered this...why do you care so much about me Lord Stark? I'm not your heir, Robb is, nor am I of political importance like Theon. There is no reason to care about me so much Lord Stark."

Eddard's pained face was reflected in the light of the flickering candles. Never before had he seemed so weak, so unbelievably vulnerable that no one looking at him would believe that he was Eddard Stark, protector of the North.

"I'll...I'll tell you about your mother once you become a knight Jon. You have my word."

"Well then, the answer better be good. I'll be very disappointed if you tell me she was a noble lady of no significance who never achieved anything in her life."

Jon said this purely for his own amusement. It was funny to see his uncle squirm at the mention of his sister. Lyanna did nothing her entire life and her existence was detrimental to the well-being of the realm. This world would have been better of if Lyanna Stark didn't exist in the first place.

"I'm just kidding Lord Stark. No matter who my mother is, I won't care. I only have one mother in this life, even if she doesn't love me as a mother should."

Edd smiled for the first time since he entered the room. "I'm glad to hear that Jon. When I first you brought to Winterfell I was worried of what would happen when you grew up. Whether you would try and seize power from your brother or if you would try to get revenge on your mother. Now I realize I was worried for nothing."

Jon internally scoffed at Edd's assumption that he wouldn't seize power from his brother. Now that Jon knew Edd wanted him to become a knight, a plan was brewing in his head. Generally speaking, a knight was a lower rank than that of a lord. But some knights, called landed knights, sometimes owned more land and had more riches than some small lords.

Jon wanted to be more than a simple landed knight. He wanted a military force of his own and a castle that he could man and control. Winterfell wasn't his, at least, not for now. While Catelyn would object if Eddard Stark tried to give Jon land to own, she wouldn't be able to object if Jon earned it himself.

Jon was only 12. If he wanted to get a castle and land, he'd have to wait until he was of appropriate age and had sufficient money to buy what he wanted. Eddard wouldn't give him enough money to buy a castle, obviously not. But he would give him enough money to get decent armor, weapons and a good horse.

The only real way to make money at his age was to win tourneys. And if he wanted to win tourneys then he would have to be capable of taking on grown men, knights who'd trained since childhood to wield swords.

With that thought in mind, Jon knew he'd have to delve much further into the realm of magic. While he was good with a sword and was physically gifted, it wasn't to the extent that he could dominate the tourneys of the Reach at such a young age. But magic would be able to close the gap and make him one of the best fighters in the seven kingdoms.

It had only been a day since he completed the ritual but Jon could already feel a massive change in his body. He was growing stronger, even without relentlessly training his body. With this power, Jon hoped he'd be able to make a name for himself in Westeros.