Chapter Text
Day 1
The first thing Jon saw after he woke up was the snow outside his window. It must have started to snow during the night, there was so much that the grounds of Winterfell were covered already. After a moment he realized that it was also very warm inside his chamber, his eyes moved to the fireplace and he noticed that someone must have put another log or two on the fire.
Then he noticed his door. It was a heavy old oaken door he and his father had recently recolored to a dark grey. The memory brought a smile to his lips as he got up and looked at the black leather strap hanging down from the door.
“That wasn’t there when I got to bed,” he mumbled and reached for the end of the leather. Letters were attached to it and he gently took them from it. A ‘1’ was scribbled on the first, and the way the number was written Jon already knew it was from his father, so he opened the letter.
“Dear Jon,
Last night a raven arrived with an urgent message for me. I had to leave during the night, but before I left I made an important decision.
I can imagine how confused you must be right now…”
Jon really had been confused, but the sentence made him shake his head with a laugh, his father knew him too well. After a moment he continued to read.
“My decision was that I would leave you a letter for every day I’m gone. Each letter has a number; tomorrow you open letter two, the next day three, and so on. Maester Luwin will check that you’re not cheating.”
Again Jon laughed before he continued to read.
“I attached these letters to a gift; open your door, but keep hold of the leather strip while opening it.
I love you my son.
Father”
The last words of the letter brought a real smile to Jon’s lips, and he put the letter in a special place while putting the others in a secret drawer of his desk to keep them safe.
Then he approached the leather strap again, gripping it before slowly opening the door. As soon as he had opened the door far enough he noticed that a scabbard was on the other side, and it was not empty. His eyes went wide as he took hold of the scabbard and let go of the strap.
First he looked at the handle. It was simple and nothing too exciting, just grey wood. Yet the pommel of the sword actually made up for that. On one side of the steel pommel was a wolf engraved that ran after a shooting star; on the other side the wolf was resting right underneath this star. It was such a detailed work that Jon was speechless.
After a moment he shook his head and gently pulled the sword out of the scabbard, eyes going wide as he realized it was made of Valyrian steel.
How his father had managed to get his hands on Valyrian steel Jon didn’t know. Valyrian steel was probably the rarest material to acquire in Westeros, but somehow his father had managed to get enough to have a sword made for him.
His eyes moved to the secret drawer and Jon was already looking forward to the next day, but now it was time to practice with his new sword.