Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Vision of Dragons
5th Month of 298 A.C. Winterfell
Robb Stark
Arya was dead, she was dead and she was never coming back. That thought was like a slap in the face to him, his little sister was dead, gone, and never to wake. He had not really felt like this when he had seen her being hit by the arrows, he had screamed and raged, but he had not felt like this. It had not seemed real then, it had seemed as if there was something else happening, as if there was someone else being killed. He could not relate what he was seeing to what he felt. His sister had died right before him, and he had done nothing to stop it. At least that was what it felt like, apparently he had done something to try and stop it, he had killed people, so many people, as had Greywind, but it had done nothing in the end, Arya was still dead. It hurt like hell, if he was being honest, knowing his sister was gone, that she would never wake up and look at him again, that she would never smile or talk or laugh, ever again. Nothing would be the same, nothing whatsoever, and it hurt like hell. It made him angry as well, his sister had gone on that ride with them because the prince had said she could, that it would be safe for her to go. They had trusted the prince, he was there cousin and he would not do anything to harm them, he was not his rapist of a father, he was their cousin, and so Arya had come with them, and now she was dead. Her body was on a pyre, and he was looking at it, not really sure what to do or say. Sorry, he knew what he needed to do and say, he had already done one of those things, but he was not sure whether or not it was enough. He looks at his mother and sees her fighting to keep the tears from falling, Rickon is staring uncomprehendingly at the pyre, he had asked several times where Arya was, and he was too young to understand. Wynafryd stands by his side, his rock, his anchor, and he is grateful for her, grateful that she has stood by him, has not asked him to say anything he does not feel like saying. His sister is dead, and it feels as though the world is going to end, by the gods it feels as if the world is about to end. His grief is consuming him, he does not know how to behave, how to act, how to speak, there is so much that he wants to say and do, but he has no idea of how to do it. He lights the pyre, it is an automatic thing, he does it without really even thinking about it, and he stares at the flames, then Wynafryd is there pulling him back, her hand in his, his other hand on her belly, he looks at her and she squeezes his hand. He has not cried, not once.
Then the prince is walking forward, and Robb feels anger flow through him at the sight. The prince, not Jon, Jon would not act as the prince had acted, he does not know whether or not that is a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes he feels as though he barely knows his cousin anymore, he feels as if they have become strangers, and that, that hurts him, it angers him and it makes him want to scream. His cousin is walking forward, Ser Arthur calling to him, Robb's own mother calling to him, and Robb wonders why, and then he realises why, the man is walking toward the pyre. Briefly, he thinks of calling out to him and asking him just what the hell he thinks he is doing, but he thinks better of it. The prince does not think with sense that much Robb has come to learn about this new face of his cousin, the prince thinks with impulse and with a glib tongue. His cousin, the cousin he grew up with, was smart but knew when to shut up, Robb fears that this prince does not. He does not know whether or not the prince is sane or mad, but whatever it is he is doing now, all Robb can think of is, allowing him to do it. He does not care anymore, let the prince do what he needs to do, if it makes sense to him, then who is Robb to try and stop him. He watches the prince sit down in the pyre, and he sees the flames engulf him. Robb watches with something akin to mixed horror and fascination as the flames grow around the prince, something is happening within the fire, he is not sure what, but he can feel it. He sees Ghost stand in front of the pyre, as if guarding it, preventing anyone from going near the prince, and Robb wonders at that. And then a song starts, he does not know where this song is coming from but it is there, and it is loud, a soft song, a melodic song and yet it is loud, by the gods is it loud. Robb knows his mother hears it, knows that Rickon hears it as well, knows that the others gathered here know it as well, from the way they cover their ears or close their eyes, some are even weeping. And yet, Robb does not weep, he remains there, watching this thing happen, completely unsure of what to do, and how to act. He does not cry, not now, and he is not sure he will ever cry again. The song keeps going and going, getting more and more frantic, and Robb swears he sees something floating there before him, a woman is it? Or is it a man, he is not sure, but it seems that they are trying to say something, that much is clear. And then the song stops, and the fire dies, and his cousin is sat on the pyre with three dragons on his shoulders, and his clothes burned.
Robb stares at his cousin, not sure of what he is seeing, his cousin by rights should be dead, he should not be sat before him with three dragons, of ice, of white and of blue around him. The people of Winterfell share in Robb's shock it appears for they stare at his cousin and then begin whispering amongst themselves. Robb stares at his cousin, and then feels himself get on bended knee, and hears himself say. "We have spoken of this moment for many years now, but lo, people of Winterfell, look before you and see the true Prince of Fire and Ice before you. See Prince Aegon Targaryen as he emerges from the flames." He does not know why he says those words, something is warring within him, the urge to keep kneeling and the urge to step up and spit.
The prince does not speak, but Robb hears his mother say. "Welcome oh prince, long have we waited for you. Now you are here, what would you command of us?"
He looks at his mother and sees that she is bowed low as well, as are the whole courtyard, he does not know what is causing this, but he is curious to see how this progresses. The prince remains seated for a moment, and then stands, surprisingly his trousers were not burnt off in the pyre. "People of Winterfell, I am grateful for your hospitality, I am grateful for the help and shelter you have provided me for all these years. The time is coming for when that protection shall be repaid over a thousand fold. I ask merely one thing. Who amongst you is ready to fight for what is right?"
Robb hears himself speak then. "I am my prince, I am ready to fight for what is right and what is true."
The prince comes to stand before him then, and Robb can feel something strange radiating from his cousin, a mixture of heat and cold, the prince speaks then his voice deep. "Robb Stark, you are my cousin, my first friend, my strong right hand. Will you fight by myside and ensure that justice is brought to the realm?"
Robb stares at his cousin then, the emotions he is feeling raging against one another. Eventually, he finds himself saying. "I will my prince, I will ride at your side and make sure that none stand before you."
The prince seems to change before Robb's eyes, he sees something then that he is not quite sure how to explain. He sees darkness and light, blue and red before him, his cousin shifting in and out of focus he is not sure how to describe it, the dragons are purring now. "Do you believe in honour, in right and wrong, Robb?"
Robb looks at his cousin then, and says. "I do my prince."
The prince looks at him and nods. "And what of the rest of you? Will you fight by my side when the war comes?"
There is a long silence and then a chorus of voices goes up. "We will our prince, we will. We will gladly fight for you."
The prince nods and then looks at Robb and whispers. "Walk with me Robb, we have things to discuss." The prince walks past him then, and slowly but surely Robb stands and kisses his wife's forehead and then walks on following the prince. The prince is waiting for him near the first keep. He looks different now, something else is changing around him. "I thought we might speak about somethings that we both said to one another before." Robb says nothing merely looking at his cousin, eventually the prince continues. "Do you hate me Robb?"
Robb is surprised by the question, he is not sure how to respond. "I… why do you think I would hate you my prince?"
"Because of that. Because you call me, my prince, instead of by my name." the prince responds.
"I… I do not know what to call you my prince. You have two names now, and sometimes it becomes hard to tell which of you I am speaking to." Robb says.
A dark look crosses the prince's face then. "I am not mad Robb, I am not my grandsire that I would speak in riddles and talk as if I am two people in one person's body. I am me, I have always been me."
Robb looks at his cousin then and merely nods. "As you wish my prince. But then what do you want me to call you if not by your title?"
The prince turns and stares at him then. "I want you to call me by whatever name makes you feel the most comfortable. I do not want any discomfort between us. We are kin, you are my brother Robb, and I want you at my side."
Robb looks at his cousin then, really looks at him, there is something different about him, it's almost as if his face has changed, or if it is his hair, which has become darker and lighter at the same time. The dragons are moving about him now, looking at Robb intently, Robb is not sure what to make of them. "Look," he begins. "What I said earlier, about you, I… I did not mean it, I was angry and upset, I was not thinking straight."
His cousin waves that off. "I am not offended, you had every right to be angry with me. I was being too selfish when I spoke. It was a mistake of mine."
Robb looks at his cousin and then asks. "Where do we go from here?"
His cousin snorts. "I do not know, after what happened with Arya, I do not know whether to trust my visions anymore."
"I meant about us. Do we keep fighting, or do we try and understand one another." Robb says.
His cousin grins then. "Ach, what is there to understand, we said things that we did not mean. We are young, let us not dwell on it cousin. There is so much more that we need to focus on."
Robb shakes his head. "No, I think we need to discuss it my prince. We have to make sure that this does not come up again. We cannot be fighting one another, when the war comes, we shall have to be united."
A look of impatience crosses his cousin's face then, and Robb feels his anger grow. Still, the man does answer. "Alright then, what do you want to say? Go first, seeing as you are the one who wants to do this."
Robb takes a deep breath then and says. "I do not like this my prince, I do not like how dismissive you are becoming of certain things. Not everything is about you, not every little thing revolves around you. You might be a prince, but the whole fucking world is not about you. We have things we need to do here, and as such, I want to know who you are. Are you my cousin Jon, or are you some shit of a prince?"
A torrent of emotions cross his cousin's face then. "You would dare?" his cousin snarls, before he stops. He takes a breath and then says. "There are times when I do not know who I am Robb. I feel as if there is a battle raging inside me. Pulling me in one direction or another, I do not know when it will happen, and I do not know why it happens. But I know it is happening, and it is difficult."
"Then why not speak about this?" Robb asks. "Surely if you spoke with me or mother, we might be able to help you."
His cousin snorts. "I do not think you would Robb. You do not know what it is like, to have your whole life ripped from underneath you. I was one thing one day and then the next I was something else. It is hard trying to make the two connect and make sense of it all. And it's not as if Lord Stark is here to help either, even then I do not think he could help."
Robb looks at his cousin then and whispers. "I do not what it feels like to have the world torn from underneath my feet cousin. I was there, when it happened. When it went wrong, I was there. We both were remember."
"This is different." his cousin responds.
"How is it different?" Robb snarls his anger growing. "How is it any bloody different? They are coming back whether we like it or not, and it has to do with you. It always has to do with you, we didn't know it then, but we know it now. And now you have the dragons what's there to say they don't come crawling back?"
"They wouldn't dare!" his cousin responds. "They would be destroyed the moment they came anywhere close by. You know what Lord Stark said, what Old Nan said. They cannot come here without being hurt badly."
"So how do you think Arya died then?" Robb asks. "Do you think it was the wildlings? Cause I sure do not. I think they are back, and now we need to make a move on them before they make a move on us."
"They already have, your sister is dead. Remember?" the prince responds.
Robb feels anger cloud his vision and before he knows what he is doing he is launching himself at his cousin swinging a fist, it connects with his cousin's jaw, and sends his head rolling back, and then his cousin hits him in the face, and then they are fighting properly. Their direwolves it seems are fighting as well, the dragons, strangely enough are not doing anything, merely watching this whole thing happen. Robb hits his cousin's nose and then falls back, his eyes watering, and he looks through to see his cousin crying then. He stands up on shaky legs, and walks to his cousin. "I am sorry Jon."
His cousin shakes his head. "I am sorry, I did not mean to say that. I….I… I am scared."
Robb extends his hand and helps his cousin up. "I am scared as well, perhaps we can be scared together instead of fighting one another."
His cousin laughs. "Aye, that might be for the best." His cousin takes a deep breath then. "I think I know where Daenerys Targaryen is."
Robb looks at his cousin shocked. "How?"
"The fire, when I was in the pyre, I saw things, some things that I do not understand, and I don't think I will ever understand them. But I heard a voice in my head when I was in there, and it was telling me things, and I saw a place, a hot desert. I think Daenerys Targaryen is in Essos and she is in danger." his cousin responds.
"Why? Why do you think she is in danger?" Robb asks.
"Because she has hatched dragons as well, and there are people coming for her, people who will not want her to live so long as those dragons are alive." his cousin responds.
"Wait, how do you know she hatched dragons as well?" Robb asks confused.
"I saw them hatch, or I heard them. I do not know how to explain, all I do know is that she has dragons now and we are going to have to do something about her. And her brother. We cannot let him get back to her." his cousin says.
"Why would her brother not be with her?" Robb asks.
"Not Viserys, another one. There is another one who is coming for her, and we cannot allow that." his cousin says.
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AlexanderBlackfyre If you’re ready for a story that dives deep into the struggles between family, loyalty, and the harsh reality of Westeros, Winter’s Promise is your kind of ride. And if you want to see what happens before anyone else, check out early chapters on https://alexanderblackfyre-shop.fourthwall.com
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