The wolves of Castle Black - Book 2 - GoT

To fight or to rule

Olly was quick to jump up to his feet when there was a knock on the door. Running up to it, he turned to look at Jon for a second and when the young man nodded his head, Olly pulled open the door, only to reveal Ylina Stark standing there.

"My lady..." Olly mumbled, stepping aside to allow her to enter.

With a gentle smile in his direction, Ylina smiled at him as he closed the door and thanked him before turning her head to face Jon instead. She smirked at how he seemed already comfortable sitting in the big chair behind a desk, with a new black cloak and Longclaw resting beside him as she usually was.

"Lord Commander." She said, bowing her head slightly in clear mockery as Jon rolled his eyes at his sister.

"Lady Stark." He responded in the same tone before the two of them laughed. "I suppose you remember Olly."

"Rather well." She nodded, turning her head back to send the young boy a smile, which he returned. "Your steward now?"

"Aye, he is."

"Did he complain as much as you did when you were appointed Lord Commander Mormont's steward?" She smirked.

"And how would you know that?"

"If you wish Edd to not tell stories about you to me, you need to be a bit clearer about it with your friend."

At that, they both laughed. As Ylina moved to sit down in front of Jon's desk, she noticed Olly scrambling to grab her a cup of wine. Before he could, however, Ylina lifted her hand and shook her head at the boy.

"I don't want anything, Olly, thank you." She smiled at him again, as he nodded shyly. "You can rest. I'm just here to talk to your Lord Commander."

Olly looked at Jon and when the man nodded, Olly allowed himself to sit down in a corner of the room and distract himself with a book or two for the time being. Both Ylina and Jon watched him and when the boy was finally focused on something else that wasn't them, they smiled.

"Olly will be a better steward than you ever were, I bet." She smirked at her brother as he chuckled at her.

"Hopefully that means he will be a better Lord Commander someday as well."

Ylina nodded, but bit her lip as she thought about her next words carefully.

"I never thought you would end up being Lord Commander." She said, as Jon looked at her, watching her talk in silence, wondering where that conversation was going to go. "I knew you would stand out. You always did, no matter where you were, but at the Night's Watch, where names and titles didn't matter, I knew you would grow to be one of the best brothers the Watch has ever had. Not that I ever enjoyed the idea of you coming here, but I guess it worked out in the end."

"I guess it did."

"Still, when Edd told me about you getting frustrated for being appointed the Lord Commander's steward, I couldn't say I was surprised."

"Edd wasn't here when it happened." Jon said, quickly trying to defend himself. "Maybe he was lying."

Ylina chuckled at her brother's weak attempt.

"Grenn told him, Sam confirmed it, Edd told me and I believed him. Besides, as I said before, it didn't surprise me at all."

"Why?"

"You were born to fight, Jon." Ylina smiled gently at him, as Jon sighed gently. "You are the best sword-fighter I have ever seen. No one can beat you in a battle field. But leading? And enduring all the political shit a ruler has to endure? That was never for you."