Chapter 50 - The Grand Banquet 02. 

[Chapter Size: 2600 Words.] 

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Third Person POV 

Harrenhal, 101 AC. 

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Amid the silence of the hall, the king broke the silence. 

"So... You would be the boy from the North who has the direwolf, correct?" His voice echoed effortlessly throughout the hall. 

Jon was surprised by that, and his shoulders immediately slumped slightly under the attention he was receiving. He had not expected something like this. He could even see the uncomfortable looks from Lady Stark, Lord Stark, and the others. 

"Yes, Your Majesty," Jon finally said, trying to remain as respectful as possible while the king continued watching him the entire time. Jon could tell, from the expressions of all the lords accompanying him, that this had not been planned, and they all looked surprised. 

The king nodded at him. "Well, I'm interested in your direwolf. I want you to come to the castle tomorrow. Bring it with you," he said, while people whispered throughout the silent hall, all watching the exchange of words with the king. 

Many were already wondering what that boy was doing there. Lord Stark would not be so bold as to bring him to a banquet before the king without reason, not someone without any lineage. But now it was clear why he was there. 

Jon could see that it wasn't just the table; he could see around the king, his Kingsguard, and the members of the Small Council who followed him. They too were exchanging worried glances. 

"Now, let us continue," the king said before looking at Jon one more time and moving on. He continued walking with his cane, ignoring everyone, until he approached his chair at the central dais and sat down. 

Things returned to normal. People began talking to one another again, but every conversation turned toward Jon. Or at least most of them did. He could feel all those eyes on him. 

"What was that?" little Lyra asked in a worried voice. She certainly already understood that something was very wrong. At the same time, Rickon looked at Jon with a certain amount of concern. 

"That was strange..." Jon muttered, looking back at him, completely lost. 

Lord Stark exchanged a glance with his mother, who merely sighed, while Lady Stark seemed somewhat concerned. 

"We'll talk about this another time. This isn't the moment to discuss it here," Lyarra said, placing a hand on Jon's shoulder, and he nodded at her. 

"My lords," the king spoke again from his table. He then gave a brief speech about the future of Westeros, about how everyone would be important in the coming weeks in choosing who would become the next king, while also praising the candidates, even though most saw it as nothing more than political maneuvering. 

Jon noticed many things as well. 

The man also told everyone to enjoy the tournament, and at that moment, the banquet began as food started arriving at every table along with the wine. 

Jon ate in silence. He already knew that many eyes were still on him, especially those of people trying to understand him... or figure out how they could use him, since that night he had become someone of interest to the king, and many saw that as a political opportunity... Especially with the future of the Seven Kingdoms set to be decided in the coming weeks... 

It was uncomfortable and, in a way, it even made him furious inside. But what else could he do? All that remained was to accept it while continuing his meal. 

Just as everything seemed to be returning to normal, Jon was startled by Rickon, who nudged his arm with his elbow while discreetly gesturing with his eyes toward the high table. Jon followed the indicated direction. It was precisely the place he had been avoiding ever since the king had called him out before the entire hall. Even before the king's arrival, when he had noticed Princess Rhaenys's daughter, he had been careful not to draw attention to himself. 

Then he realized that the king was still watching him. 

Not constantly, but every now and then his eyes would turn toward the North's table. 

"Why is he looking at me like that?" Jon asked quietly to the wisest woman he could turn to there, letting out a sigh. 

"I don't know. I didn't expect His Majesty to become so interested in you either," Lyarra murmured. 

Jon merely became somewhat cautious after that. He avoided looking back at the king. He did not want to draw even more attention to himself. The banquet continued without any further surprises, although from time to time his green eyes would inevitably drift toward the high table. Not because of the king, but because of the young princess. There was still something about her that had caught his attention. 

Lord Stark left the banquet earlier than expected. Even he could feel the constant attention of the two candidates for the Iron Throne falling upon his family, and he believed it would not be wise to remain there any longer. 

In the end, the entire Stark family left the hall. The other Northern lords also took the opportunity to depart with them, although they could not stop quietly commenting on everything that had happened, occasionally casting glances toward Jon. 

In any case, they returned to the camp. Jon tried to ask Lord Stark what was going on, but he merely replied that they would talk the following day. Jon was a little disappointed, but he nodded and headed for his tent. 

He expected to see Ghost at the entrance... But... What he did not expect was to find Rickon standing right at the entrance. "Hey! Look what I brought," he said, showing off a bottle of Dornish wine. 

"Why are you doing this?" Jon asked immediately. 

Rickon simply grinned. "Oh, come on. Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud. Weren't you talking about the challenge of finding out who could drink the most without getting sick? I'm sure you'd love to make the most of tonight." 

Jon heard that and grimaced. "That wouldn't be a very smart idea," he muttered. 

Rickon simply kept smiling. "Come on, Jon. Don't be such a stick-in-the-mud. I know you're worried about what happened. If our father didn't say anything and that left you frustrated... Then let's drink and forget about those problems for a while," Rickon said. 

"You talk like you're experienced with drinking, which you're not..." Jon mocked. 

"Of course I am!" Rickon exclaimed, though he did not convince Jon in the slightest. 

Jon wanted to refuse, but honestly, he felt like he needed a little alcohol after that day. Without saying another word, he grabbed the bottle by the neck from Rickon's hands and took a long swig. 

Rickon immediately started laughing at his friend's initiative. 

Jon managed to drink for only a few moments before making a huge grimace. The taste was far too bitter and strong. He started coughing as he nearly choked and handed the bottle back to Rickon. 

Rickon couldn't stop laughing. 

Jon spent a while coughing before glaring at him with some irritation and pointing at the bottle. Now it was Rickon's turn. 

Rickon simply nodded. He raised the bottle to his lips and took a drink. The very next moment, he ended up in exactly the same state as Jon, coughing nonstop. 

Now it was Jon who laughed at him. Ghost finally came out of the tent to find the two of them laughing like that. 

"Drink that now, White Wolf of the North!" Rickon teased between coughs. 

Jon looked at him, convinced he could not cough anymore, and took another drink. Once again, he grimaced at the bitter, acidic taste. 

Rickon drank right after him. Before long, the two had turned it into a competition. 

Jon did not know how much time had passed. At some point, the two of them were already sitting in front of the tents, sharing the bottle. Then everything began to grow more and more confusing. His vision became blurred, his head spun, and he no longer had control over his own body. 

His memories came only in small fragments. 

He remembered himself and Rickon running out of the camp, taking the bottle with them. Somehow, they got past the guards and made their way to the small forest behind the tents, where Jon had found the stream the previous day with Lord Tarly. 

Ghost was with them the entire time, since Jon remembered the wolf very clearly. 

After that... The memories changed. 

Jon only saw flashes of being in a place filled with people. Giant bonfires lit up the night. Men breathed fire, others danced around the flames, while some competed in tug-of-war and others sang alongside the bards. 

Jon remembered himself and Rickon laughing nonstop as they kept drinking. 

The voices continued echoing in his head. He remembered talking to someone... 

After laughing... 

Then a crowd was shouting something at him or Rickon. 

He found himself speaking to a crowd while people applauded him... And the place was huge and packed. 

But none of it made any sense. 

When it was all over, Jon opened his eyes. A violent headache tore through his mind. It felt as though an entire wagon had run him over. 

He let out a low groan and turned his head to the side. Rickon was also waking up at that moment, letting out a pained groan. 

Jon looked around. The bottle was lying in a corner, completely empty. They were not in his tent, nor even in the Stark camp. 

The tent where they had awakened was much larger and more luxurious than any belonging to the North. That immediately worried him. 

"Jon... My head hurts so much..." Rickon murmured, pressing one hand against his forehead. "What happened?" 

"I... don't know," Jon replied, looking around with concern. 

Someone had put them in that bed while they were unconscious. 

But who? And why? 

Jon slowly got to his feet. Their clothes were still on, and apparently nothing had been stolen. Even so, that only increased his concern. 

"We'd better find out what happened," Jon said, and Rickon silently nodded before climbing out of the bed as well. 

Before either of them could say anything else, the entrance to the tent opened. 

The two boys immediately turned their attention to a man who appeared to be at least twice their age. As soon as he saw them awake, he smiled. 

"Ah, you're finally awake." 

Jon tried to recognize him for a moment, and then he remembered. 

It was the same man he had met by the stream two days earlier. Kaio Tarly. 

"You..." he murmured. 

The man nodded with a smile. "Hello, boy. It looks like you two had quite a night. I was rather surprised when I found you wandering around the Reach camp while drinking..." He paused and started laughing. 

"When they told me there were two children walking around drinking and no one could take the bottle away because there was a white monster preventing anyone from getting close... I didn't believe it." 

Jon immediately looked at Rickon. The two exchanged utterly horrified glances. Rickon looked just as worried as he was. And the man simply began laughing at the two boys' reaction. 

"Well... you certainly didn't attract as much attention as your enormous giant wolf. He did everything he could to stop anyone from getting close to you." 

"Tell me..." Jon looked at him again. "We... didn't do anything we'll regret, did we?" 

His tone was clearly worried. He could already imagine what Lord Stark would do when he found out where they had spent the night. In fact... he probably already knew. 

"Oh, nothing too serious." The man shrugged, though he was clearly being sarcastic. "I found you after the banquet. I recognized the boy who caught the king's attention yesterday." He pointed at Jon. "And I also recognized you from the stream that morning, so I invited you to come with me." 

He flashed an amused smile, which was not a good sign. "The camp was quite lively last night, you know...? There was plenty of fun to be had. Personally, I enjoyed it when you decided to challenge old Lord Redwyne to a drinking contest. And when you, boy with the white wolf, started singing in the Florent tent..." He laughed even louder. "It was hilarious. But everyone had to admit that you have a beautiful voice, boy." 

"This can't have happened... I mean, I...? Drinking?" Rickon murmured as the horror on his face only grew. He looked at Jon in desperation. 

"Where's Ghost?" Jon asked quickly, trying to change the subject. 

"He's outside. My fiancée and her friends are absolutely enchanted with that giant wolf." The young Tarly stopped laughing and smiled. "Honestly, boy, you're going to be a real menace among the maidens when you grow up. If you keep walking around with that wolf, you'll catch the attention of half the young noblewomen in Westeros." 

"Jon's already betrothed," Rickon suddenly commented. 

Jon turned his head toward him in complete shock. "I am not!" 

"You are." 

"If you're talking about that Ryswell girl..." Jon took a deep breath before pointing a finger at his friend. "...go to the Seven Hells, Rickon." 

The older man burst into laughter as he watched the two start arguing again. "At least you two still treat each other very well." 

"Well, it's not every day that I get to host the future Lord of Winterfell and the Wolf Boy who caught the king's attention. I have to admit... yesterday was quite entertaining... We'll have to do it more often," he said as he led them out of the tent. 

It was a fairly enclosed camp, surrounded by the banners of House Darry. 

Ghost was lying a little farther ahead, surrounded by several young ladies and a few women wearing elegant dresses. They all circled the enormous white wolf, watching him with curiosity and admiration. 

Jon could not help but grimace. In fact, they had practically pinned the horse-sized wolf to the ground, since there was even a little girl sitting on top of him, laughing. 

Ghost looked very uncomfortable and turned those red eyes toward Jon with a pleading expression... At least he had not attacked anyone, but it still worried him. After all, a direwolf was still a wild animal. 

"Damn... Jon, I hope I find a direwolf for myself someday too," Rickon murmured, staring at Ghost in admiration. Even he was shocked by the sight, never imagining that a direwolf could attract so many women to one place. 

Jon shot his friend an annoyed look. "How did this happen?" Jon asked Tarly. He could not imagine how his wolf had been overwhelmed by so many women in dresses. 

"Well, it's not really that surprising..." the young Tarly commented. "The news spread very quickly. A wolf nearly two meters tall wandering freely among the tents alongside two children would have attracted attention on its own. Now imagine after the king invited the owner of that wolf to come to the castle. Today, practically everyone wants to meet you." 

"Of course, none of the lords were happy to learn that their daughters were climbing all over a direwolf, but by the time they found out, it was already too late, you understand?" he concluded. 

Jon merely sighed. He certainly had not expected things to escalate like that. 

Rickon, on the other hand, simply burst into laughter after a moment of silence. 

"I'll never drink like that again in my life," Jon muttered. 

The worst part was that he could not even remember half the things he had done the night before. 

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