(Somewhere in The Haunted Forest, Beyond The Wall).
A pale-skinned man with short, curly black hair stood on a cliff, staring down. Below him was a small village with several wooden houses and a considerable number of people roaming around. Smoke could be seen soaring in mid-air as the women prepared meals for their families.
It had been quite challenging to start a new life here after being exiled from safe lands, but Jon had managed to bring things together to survive with the Free Folk.
Yes, this is Jon Snow… Aegon Targaryen, who was persuaded by Tyrion Lannister to kill Daenerys Stormborn, and then was the only one punished while Tyrion became Hand of the King.
It was crazy how all of this happened in a blur, but at this point, he had decided to move on with his life.
Now that the Night King and his army were gone, he would strive to create a strong city beyond the Wall and establish a robust trade between the Land Beyond and Winterfell, or even Braavos, which was located northeast of the Haunted Forest.
"Father," a little girl of about five called from below after spotting her father on the cliff.
"Lord Tormund said I should come fetch you," the little girl added.
Jon nodded with a smile upon receiving her message and stepped down the cliff. He approached his daughter, held her hands, and kissed her on the forehead.
"Thanks for informing me, Ygritte. Now go help your mother with some chores," Jon said.
The little girl nodded with a smile and rushed to their cottage—the King's cottage—and Jon made his way to the Meeting Hall.
Upon reaching the hall, Tormund Giantsbane stood up and approached him.
"How did it go?" Jon Snow asked.
"Confusing, I must say. The people living in the mountains in the Land of Always Winter are all gone. We didn't know where they went, but I believe something is wrong," Tormund said.
"What about the people on the coast?" Jon asked, blinking in confusion.
"Gone too, but we were told that a group of soldiers came to take all of them two weeks before we arrived. The man who told us believed that these soldiers weren't from Westeros, so I suspect it's an Essos army… Perhaps Braavos."
"No, that can't be right. Braavosi are not troublemakers. It might be another group from a faraway land looking for slaves to trade," Jon disagreed.
"So, what do we do?" Tormund asked.
"Let the walls be secured. Have the men keep watch at night. They might be targeting us too," Jon Snow stated.
Tormund nodded at his orders, and Jon walked out of the meeting, heading straight to his cottage.
He had sent some men to trade ale with the people of the mountains in the Land of Always Winter, and receiving this as feedback was the least he had expected.
After eight years of living in peace, he really didn't want problems—not after what had happened to him in the past.
Although he was now married to one of the most beautiful wildling women, the past would always come haunting him at certain times.
After all he had done…
Taking back Winterfell and uniting many forces to fight the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead, all he received was banishment.
While he slightly regretted killing the Mother of Dragons, his heart swelled with anger.
But he could only grit his teeth and shrug.
All that could make him happy at this point was that…
The Starks were the rulers of Westeros...
And yet, all that troubled his mind was the nightmare he had had for a considerable amount of days...
Ice and Fire again...
It was fascinating, but he saw it... Clear...
He saw the woman he killed coming back to take his head...
But he wished it was just an illusion.