Chapter Text
It started off as a normal morning. Jon Arryn, Lord Paramount of the Vale, Warden of the East, had always been an early riser. He woke up as the sun began its journey above the mountains. After being dressed and breaking his fast, the old lord went to his solar, ready to start his day with some paperwork as he always did.
The first indication that something out of the ordinary was going on came in the form of Eddard Stark. His young ward was also an early riser, so that wasn't the surprise. No, instead, it was the fact that Ned looked close to tears as he rushed to embrace his foster father.
"It is good to see you," he breathed, a strange edge to his voice.
"You saw me last night," Jon reminded him, bemused. The Northman broke away, swallowing thickly. He was acting like a skittish horse about to bolt. "Ned, is everything all right? Has something happened?"
"Not yet," Ned muttered under his breath. Then he cleared his throat. "I need to go back to Winterfell. It is urgent. It is too complicated to explain. I have to go now."
Jon's brow furrowed in concern. He wanted to press Ned more, find out what was the cause of this strange behavior, but he could tell from a glance, Ned was not in the right state of mind to tell him anything. He also had a feeling if he refused to let Ned go, the usually obedient boy would try to leave anyway.
"All right, you may go. Just send me a raven so I can know you are safe," Jon implored him.
With another hug, Ned left to pack his things, running out as if the Stranger was pursuing him.
Not even an hour had passed before Robert came bursting into the room, embracing Jon fiercely, saying how good it was to see him.
"Did I go somewhere? The way you and Ned are acting, you'd think I'd died or something," Jon attempted to jape, a puzzled chuckle slipping past his lips.
Robert's expression changed from joy to sadness, and then delight in a matter of seconds. "Ned is here!" he exclaimed, as though he had not been expecting to see the boy he had been fostered with. "Where is he?"
Jon briefly wondered if his wards had gone mad. "He was preparing to leave. He said that he needed to return to Winterfell."
"Not without me, he won't!" Robert declared, running off without so much as a goodbye.
The Lord of the Vale stared after him, wondering what in the Seven Hells was happening. Why were the boys acting so odd?
Less than thirty minutes later, the steward came racing in to tell him that Robert and Ned were fighting in Ned's chambers.
Feeling a headache coming on, Jon marched to Ned's rooms, grabbed his wards by their ears, and proceeded to drag them to his solar.
I am getting too old for this shite, Jon grumbled to himself before he turned to face them. "What is going on?" he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest, giving them his best stern glare.
"You won't believe us," Ned informed him, averting his eyes.
"Try me," Jon prompted.
A few moments of silence passed before they began to speak.
"It all started when that silver prick---" Robert began, through gritted teeth.
"Well you see, my sister---" Ned started to say at the same time.
"Really, you are going to blame your sister?" snapped Robert, throwing his friend a disgusted look.
"I didn't say that, and stop acting as though you know her better than I do," Ned snarled, surprising Jon with the harshness of his tone, and the dark scowl on his face.
The old lord rubbed his temples. "One at a time," he commanded, stopping them from continuing their argument. "Robert, you go first."
Robert told Jon of Lyanna's kidnapping, the murder of Brandon, his companions and Rickard Stark. Of Robert's Rebellion. Of the Lannisters. Of the downfall of the Targaryens. Of Jon's own death. He ended the story with how he had been killed by a boar, and he had woken up here.
Then Ned told his version, and while his story was more or less the same as Robert's, there were a few key differences. Lyanna had gone willingly at first, only to wish to go home when she learned of her father and brother's death. She had been refused, and had died giving birth to a son, who Ned raised as his bastard son. Jon Snow. Then he talked about the events between Jon and Robert's death, how the Lannister Queen had cuckolded Robert with her twin brother, and how he was beheaded by the new King Joffrey.
Both tales were harrowing, and Jon felt an urge to drown the contents of the wine pitcher. Instead, he sighed. "All right, either three things are happening here. Perhaps you both have a shared madness or maybe you had a shared nightmare," he began. "Or you both have chosen to play a jape on me by making up the outlandish story, but neither of you are that good at lying---"
"Apparently, Ned is quite good at lying," Robert interrupted, shooting daggers at a boy he had once professed to being his brother.
"You would have killed him. He was a dragonspawn to you, worse a child of a woman you were obsessed with, and the man you hated," Ned boomed.
Jon slammed his fist on his desk, startling both of them into silence. "That is enough! You are not children, with or without time travel," he reminded them, shaking his head at the bizarreness of that sentence. "As farfetched as your story is, I am not going to take any chances. Ned, I want you to stop at Harrenhal, and tell Elbert that he is to come back to the Vale at once, and then you are to go straight to Winterfell to tell your father what you have told me."
"I'll go with him," Robert decided.
"I don't need help from a lecherous drunk," Ned spat, his tone sharp with bitterness.
Robert gaped at him, unable to believe his ears. Jon didn't blame him; Ned had never sounded so hateful before. Then Robert's face went red, and Jon feared he would have to break up another fight. "Fine, why don't you go ask your favorite rapist for help then? Or better yet, I'm sure that fire loving maniac will gladly assist you."
With that, the young lord stormed out of the solar.
"Ned," Jon began, swallowing as he struggled to think of the right words. "I understand that you are angry, but the gods have given you and Robert a second chance. You must work together if we have any hope of stopping this madness."
Eddard just gave him a sorrowful look but said nothing more on the subject.