Ned just looked at his daughter with wonder. When he first came to know about his daughter and son from the future, and seeing how they had grown up, as a parent, Ned took it hard. He was more disappointed that his children had to face such hardships while he, who went by the code, got the axe so early.
He was determined this time to do right by his children. Codes were something that would go out of the window once the White Walkers were here. He was silent for a bit and out of habit, he petted the head of Arya. It was an involuntary reaction and had to take away his hand because the face wasn't Arya's to begin with, and people would start questioning him if anyone saw it.
Thankfully, none of them had caught him in the act.
Arya felt a bit dreamy seeing her father so close to her again, and this time she was determined not to lose her family.
"When are they coming?" Arya asked.
"About 4 hours away. They have already tidied up their tent and are on their way here," Jon said. Ned was again surprised that Jon could even tell their location and movement. In the military, this information-seeking ability of his would be quite useful. Ned didn't idle anymore and went around spreading the fact that the King would be here in a few hours.
Winterfell was bustling upon hearing the news. Arya and Jon (future) came to the gates to look at their arrival while the Stark took the position of the hosts.
"The mud here gives me the ick," Arya (future) spoke as she waited for them to arrive.
"Ayame did really make your language change," Jon said. They had been speaking Japanese so nobody would understand what they were saying, and to blend in well, they also spoke in a very low volume.
"You should have seen my other variant. They are more wacky." Out of nowhere, Loki appeared near them, and unsurprisingly nobody noticed that someone just appeared out of thin air near them.
"Loki, can you not scare me."
"Hold on young madam, I am the teacher Loki, not just Loki," Loki replied.
"Yes.. yes.. we know, you are the God of Stories, the One who Remains.. Blah Blah.." Arya just rolled her eyes and said.
"Getting compliments from you makes me feel that I didn't achieve anything in life," Loki complained.
"Well, you did try to storm a huge city and bring a whole realm under you," Jon said.
"Touché," Loki replied. As they joked around, finally, they heard some commotions, and saw a young kid running and soon found himself among the Starks. This was young Bran who had climbed the tower to watch the arrival of the King.
Seeing from far and getting confirmation, he came down. Of course, he was berated by his mother, Catelyn. Arya and Jon just smiled, seeing their brother's behavior from far and didn't say a word. Soon, the King was here, and the duo got to see the same procession that had happened years ago.
At that time, they were very young and were excited to meet the King. But now, living the life in Konoha and learning the knowledge of the multiverse, they didn't have any emotions for a King that didn't even know how to operate a Kingdom.
Konoha has its darkness, but it was much better than this ridiculous 7 kingdoms and high names. She and Jon alone could raze these so-called Kings to the ground. They just bowed customarily, and even Loki bowed down a bit, which was a bit weird.
Because Loki never bows before anyone, so this was a first.
The King came down and greeted Ned, while the Queen and his child too came down later from the big wheelhouse. The Queen's wheelhouse stopped right near Jon, Arya, and Loki. So the moment, the Queen came out, the first she saw was Loki.
The Queen gave Loki a stare that lingered for a while, and then just walked away, followed by her son and the rest of her guards. Arya and Jon did notice the stare but didn't think much of it, but Loki felt a secret chill in his spine.
Not because he was afraid of her or something, but somehow he felt a bit cornered. It was very weird for Loki to feel like that but he had seen those looks before in Asgard and it wasn't a very good experience later.
The Queen went forward and met the Stark family while Ned and Robert went to the crypts.
"That asshole," Arya hissed when she laid her eyes on Joffrey. She wasn't present when he was killed but she would happily give away 10 years of her life just to kill him a thousand times. Both Jon and Arya had the same feelings. Though Jon was less animated about it, he was still very angry after what had gone down.
"We will get the last laugh," Jon said. The people around dispersed, and the castle was given the last touches before the banquet in the evening. Jon and Arya too readied themselves for the banquet as this was where they were going to present their goods to the King.
Evening.
Arya, Jon, and Loki got themselves in the local clean and beautiful clothes and were soon at the banquet hall of Winterfell. Jon and Arya had also brought a wooden crate with them, decorated and adorned with intricate carvings and designs; it even had a velvet lining inside. As the banquet started, Robert took the main chair, and on the right side sat the Queen. On the left was Ned, while the rest sat accordingly. Among the main seats, except for Arya, the rest of them took their seats. Of course, Jon wasn't one of them as he wasn't the 'legitimate' son.
Arya and Jon soon approached them and bowed down to him, bringing forward the box.
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