[Chapter Size: 2300 Words.]
Third Person POV
North, 94 AC.
A year had passed. Jon was now four name days old.
While everything seemed calm, winter was approaching. According to the merchants who passed through the village, the maesters had received a message from the Citadel in the castles, saying that in a few months winter would begin, after two years of summer.
That was why Garren was working like a madman to gather the grains from the fields they cultivated, while his family watched from the other side of the fence.
Jon, four years old, was on the fence of the planting area, made of long branches, watching his father.
"I can help, father!" Jon said, tired of seeing Garren working alone.
His father stopped cutting the seedlings and looked at him. "No. You will hinder more than help. When you are older, you can help me with something else... But later.", Garren replied.
Jon looked a little upset, but said nothing more. Until he felt that Ghost was approaching from behind. A baby's cry came along, since Ghost was near his younger brother, Sam, only one name day old.
Jon looked back and saw Ghost approaching. Sam was there, trying to stretch out his hand toward the wolf as he moved away, since he was keeping the baby company in their mother's lap, who was sitting at one of the house's entrances, watching her son and husband while Rowena kept little Sam in her arms.
Jon touched the direwolf, who was already bigger than him, and felt satisfied. The last year had passed, and things had been quite calm during that summer. There were no major problems among them, food was plentiful and they lived peacefully.
Now, with the arrival of winter, not only Jon's family was restless, but all the villages.
His father finished with a large amount of branches from the garden with grains that he would have to separate later. He placed them in a sack made of linen to put on his back before taking it to the barn, where he would begin to separate everything.
"Jon, if you want to help me, help me with this, I need to separate the grains.", Garren said, holding the sack and signaling to the son who was watching attentively.
Jon wanted to help his father. He went to his mother to let her know that he would help him, but saw that his brother was about to cry without Ghost nearby.
"Wof! Wof!", the baby shouted, while Ghost approached.
His mother let out a small laugh.
"It seems your brother will say 'wolf' as his first word, instead of 'father' and 'mother'", she said.
"It could be 'brother'. I wouldn't be sad at all about that", Jon said excitedly, squeezing his brother's nose and showing a mischievous smile.
"Oh, you little clever thing", she replied, touching his belly while trying to tickle him.
"Stop!" Jon shouted and moved away, his weak point was the tickling his mother did to him. "Mother!", he said, laughing.
Before they could continue, the sound of horses began to interrupt the family's moment.
Soon everyone — even Garren, who quickly stepped out of the small space they used as storage — looked on, wary, as they saw horses coming in the distance toward them. Jon seemed cautious beside his mother and brother.
"What is that?", Rowena asked Garren, worried.
"I don't know, but stay behind me. You too, Jon", Garren said as he stepped in front of his family.
The horses began to appear on the trail leading to their house, and soon it was clear that it was a group of six men on horseback approaching their home.
The sigil was quite clear: House Tallhart, lords of the territory. That made Garren frown.
"They are the Tallharts", Jon said, recognizing them and also a little worried, while looking at his mother. Rowena looked at her husband, then at the riders, before facing him again, feeling equally concerned. What would the soldiers of the lord of those lands be doing there?
The riders approached, beginning to stop at the entrance where Garren stood. The six men looked at him curiously, then at his family, not noticing the wolf at first, and finally turned their attention back to Jon's father.
"Are you the man known as Garren in this village?", one of them asked. He was an older man and clearly the leader of the group.
"Yes, my lord. That is me. Though you will have to forgive me, I do not know who you are", Garren said carefully. Common folk needed to be cautious with the nobility, and that man was clearly a noble.
"I am Alaric Tallhart, lord of Torrhen's Square and these lands", he declared.
Garren's eyes widened and he immediately bowed. Rowena, at the door, did the same, pulling Jon down, imitating her husband as well. Only the wolf remained standing, while Jon watched those men with his bright green eyes full of curiosity.
There was at least one other noble among them. Beside the lord, a young man somewhat younger than Garren — perhaps around twenty years old — who seemed to be Lord Tallhart's son or grandson.
"There is no need to kneel, lad", said Lord Tallhart.
Garren nodded and stood up. His wife also rose, since Jon had not knelt like they had.
"How may I help you, my lord?", Garren asked, concerned about the sudden arrival of the lord of those lands.
"First, this is Edric Tallhart, my heir. We are here because we wish to hunt in the coming moons. So it is very simple. I have heard for at least two years about a very skilled hunter in this village. I wish to have a hunt before winter, in the coming moons, and I would like you to accompany me in this region. They say game is plentiful here", he said.
"My lord, I..." Garren did not know what to say about the proposal.
"Do not worry, lad. I see you are working in your field, but the Tallharts are fair to their people. We will pay coin for your services, worth more than the meat itself. We are here to enjoy a good hunt", he said.
Garren, though surprised, looked at his wife behind him before nodding.
"We can do that, yes", he replied, cautiously.
"Father", Edric Tallhart, beside the lord, suddenly called out, pointing toward the entrance of the house where the rest of the family stood. "Look at the size of that wolf", he said, as the whole group turned their attention to the enormous white wolf with red eyes, standing beside the child who was already on his feet.
"By the gods, is that wolf not much larger than normal?", Lord Tallhart murmured, unable to hide his surprise. He was certainly not yet in the full adult stage of a direwolf, but he was already very large.
"Do you raise this wolf, man?", Lord Tallhart asked, turning back to Garren.
Garren was somewhat worried, but answered anyway: "In truth, my lord, that wolf belongs to my eldest son."
That caught the lord's attention, and he turned his eyes to the green-eyed child.
"Jon, come here", Garren called when he saw that.
Jon stepped forward after looking at his mother, who nodded for him to go. He approached carefully, watching the men.
"This is my eldest son, Jon", Garren said to Lord Tallhart. "Say hello to the lord of these lands."
Jon nodded, bowing, while Ghost moved closer right behind him.
The men seemed tense as the wolf approached. Even the horses appeared nervous.
"Lord Tallhart, it is an honor to meet you", said the four-year-old boy.
That made the lord raise his eyebrows.
"Polite", he commented, observing the child with interest. "You have a fine son there. His eyes are very beautiful as well."
"He takes after his mother", Garren said with a playful smile.
"By the gods, look at this wolf", the guards murmured, now seeing Ghost up close. They could tell he seemed even larger than from a distance.
"You have a fine wolf there, hunter's son. Tell me, do you hunt with him?", he asked the boy beside his father, still looking at him with interest.
Alaric had to admit that Jon was more handsome than most nobles he had ever seen; he looked like a Targaryen prince if one were to wager, and it was not because of delicate features, but because of a face far too perfect for someone of the common folk.
"I wish I could, my lord, but my father does not yet allow me. Not until I am ready. I hope to do so in a few years. I even thought of asking him to take me along, but I do not think he will do that", Jon said, surprisingly clearly, rolling out the words in a firm and polite tone.
"Have you received formal education?", Edric asked beside his father, also genuinely impressed. Not even his own younger brothers spoke that way at that age.
"Rowena knows how to read and write, she teaches the boys", Garren explained.
Even so, Jon had already been born with a very good ability to speak and learn. It was not only because of his mother's lessons. Perhaps Sam would follow the same path as his brother, but it was still too early to say whether he would be as clever or not. His birth had not been as special as Jon's. He certainly fell ill more often compared to Jon, who had never been sick since birth.
"I am impressed, hunter. It is rare to find a good wife who knows how to teach her children properly, you know..." He did not finish, but the message was clear among the common folk. "...This child seems quite capable", Lord Tallhart praised.
"I already know how to write and read some words!", Jon added.
The man did not seem to fully believe it, but merely nodded with a small smile.
"In any case, our agreement is settled?", Lord Tallhart asked, finally taking his attention from the child and turning back to the father.
"Yes, my lord", Garren replied.
There was no way he could refuse. Even if the lord did not offer gold, he could not deny a request coming directly from the lord of those lands. They were fortunate to be in the North; Lord Tallhart was not known for mistreating the common folk, much less their families.
"We will go to the town and return in an hour. Prepare yourself", the lord said, as he and the other five men turned their horses around and departed.
"Are you going to hunt with them, father?", Jon asked, curious.
"It seems so", Garren replied.
He returned to stand beside his son and the direwolf, while Rowena remained holding Sam in her arms. The look in her eyes showed she was worried.
"Will everything be alright?", she asked.
Garren nodded. "I hope so. He only asked me to help with the hunt. I am the best hunter in the village, clearly, but I did not expect my reputation to reach the ears of our lord. Now that he has heard of it, there is nothing to be done. He does not seem to be a bad man either, even if this is the first time I have met him...", Garren said.
"Just be careful", Rowena replied.
He nodded and began to prepare himself.
Jon watched his father take up the bow and arrows, and also prepare the horse. Then he ran toward him.
"Father! Father! Here!", Jon called, handing him a book.
Garren raised an eyebrow. "You want me to take your book, Jon?", he asked, kneeling beside his son and touching his shoulder.
"Yes, father. That way you can show me which animals from the forest you find", Jon said innocently.
Garren smiled and ruffled his son's hair before standing up. "Very well. Since you wish to impress the lord, I see no reason why not."
With those words, he quickly opened the book. It had cost dearly to buy a blank book, for books were rare and valuable items, even empty ones, but Garren had ordered it some time ago for his son.
It was a peculiar hobby for a child since the age of three.
And since Garren was skilled in hunting, he had managed to gather enough money to buy a somewhat old notebook, but with blank pages, along with a quill and a small inkwell from merchants who passed through the village.
Since then, Jon had begun to draw every kind of animal he saw in the forest. He also named them with rather strange names, born from his imagination, but the drawings were perfect — far too talented for a four-year-old child using only black to draw them.
He knew how to draw extremely well using just one color, to the point that his drawings seemed alive, with lighting and every detail of the animals' faces perfectly portrayed.
"Now I will go", he said, before turning to his wife, who was approaching with Sam in her arms. He kissed each of them.
"Take care, alright?" she repeated.
"Yes. Do not wait for me even for lunch tomorrow. I will finish harvesting all the grains from the rest of the fields. Do not wait for me, I do not know how long it will take."
"Very well. But I will leave some of the meat broth I am preparing", Rowena said.
Garren nodded before mounting his horse and riding toward the village, where Lord Tallhart was waiting.