Ned Stark sat alone in his solar, the strange letter lying on the table beside him. He had read it three times already. No seal. No sigil. No threat. Only a promise:
"He will survive what is coming."
But how could a stranger know what was coming?
How could they know danger awaited Jon?
Ned summoned his most trusted guards — men who had ridden with him in the rebellion.
"Find who delivered this," he ordered quietly. "Ask the gatekeepers. The stable boys. Even the hunters. Someone must have seen a rider."
Hours passed.
Every report came back the same:
"No one saw him."
"No rider passed the gates."
"No stranger approached Winterfell."
As if the gift had materialized out of thin air.
Ned's concern deepened.
If someone could bypass his defenses…
If someone could enter Winterfell without being seen…
They were either a master spy — or something else entirely.
And such a person had chosen Jon.
CATELYN'S PARANOIA
Lady Catelyn Stark's hands trembled slightly as she read the same mysterious letter Ned had shown her.
"A gift for Jon Snow," she whispered bitterly. "A sword worth a kingdom."
She paced the solar.
"This is dangerous, Ned. Perhaps someone is manipulating him. Grooming him. Or worse — preparing him."
"Preparing him for what?" Ned asked, though fear already coiled in his chest.
Catelyn's eyes hardened.
"For a claim."
Ned nearly snapped his quill. "Jon has no claim."
"No claim now," she said sharply. "But someone clearly thinks he has value. Someone powerful enough to slip a weapon into Winterfell like it was nothing."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"What if they want him to rise? What if they mean to use him against our children?"
Ned frowned. "Jon is no threat to them."
"Every bastard is a threat," Catelyn said coldly. "Especially when someone else elevates him."
Her paranoia grew each hour. She watched Jon from afar, no longer with cold disapproval — but with fear.
Fear that the bastard she never wanted under her roof was gaining an invisible ally.
LEO — WATCHING FROM THE FOREST
High in the pine trees beyond the outer walls, Leo crouched silently, the Winter Soldier's body motionless, breath controlled, heart slow and steady.
He had watched every reaction from Winterfell.
Robb's jealousy.
Catelyn's suspicion.
Ned's quiet panic.
Jon's confusion.
Good.
All predictable.
All manageable.
But the gift — the adamantium sword — had worked better than he'd planned.
He needed Jon alive for the future.
Alive for the Night's Watch.
Alive for the White Walkers.
And now the whole castle understood:
Jon Snow was no longer alone.
He was protected.
Leo smirked.
The Winter Soldier's instincts hummed beneath his own consciousness.
He had two more months before Robert Baratheon arrived.
Two more months to prepare the North.
Two more months to position himself in the shadows.
But first:
He needed to meet Jon Snow — carefully.
Not as a friend.
Not as a savior.
But as a hidden force guiding the timeline.
JON SNOW — DREAMS OF THE UNKNOWN
That night, Jon dreamed.
A metal hand reaching toward him.
A figure in black armor, half hidden in winter fog.
Eyes cold, calculating — yet not unkind.
The sword glowed faintly at his side.
"Why?" Jon whispered in the dream.
"Why give me this?"
The figure didn't speak.
But Jon felt an answer anyway:
You must survive.
You are needed.
The world will depend on you.
Jon awoke sweating, his heart pounding.
For the first time, he felt a destiny — a purpose — bigger than Winterfell, bigger than his surname, bigger than the cruel word bastard.
Someone believed in him.
Someone powerful.
Someone watching.
TENSION AMONG THE STARK CHILDREN
Winterfell shifted subtly after the sword's arrival.
Robb
Jealous, confused, frustrated.
He loved Jon — but envy whispered to him at night:
Why wasn't I chosen? Why a bastard and not the heir?
Theon
Joked, but secretly feared Jon now had leverage.
Sansa
Was curious — overly so.
A mysterious patron was romantic, almost like a song.
Arya
Immediately asked Jon,
"Can I hold it?"
…and then tried to cut a practice dummy in half.
Bran
Stared with wide-eyed wonder.
"It feels… magical," he whispered.
Catelyn
Watched from a distance, unease growing by the day.
Ned
Searched maps, old stories, and raven records — trying desperately to identify Jon's mysterious benefactor.
And Jon?
Jon simply trained in the yard, the adamantium sword at his side, determined to prove he was worthy of the gift.
But in the north, in the shadows of the forest, the one who had chosen him watched, planned, prepared.
The timeline was moving.
The game was beginning.
And soon… Leo would make his next move.