章 2209: 3
Chapter 3: Sires
Summary:
"I used to start fires in the bowels of Casterly Rock and stare at the flames for hours, pretending they were dragonfire. Sometimes I'd imagine my father burning" - Tyrion II AGOT
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The Princess of Dragonstone
"You're back," she said again. Daenerys remembered that she did not know this person, she made a mistake calling him her brother, their secret could be exposed and then they would have to leave.
"I am, please take a seat. This is someone I want you to meet, someone I never thought I'd meet in my life,"
"Oh," she said sitting down cautiously and glancing at him. "Who is he?"
"Jon," he began "My mother named me Aegon, but I prefer Jon," he paused, "My name is Jon," he said firmly
Rhaegar frowned and then smiled proudly
"I didn't choose your name, your mother did, but I'm happy she chose Aegon, what better name for a King. Daenerys, this is my son, my son with Lyanna. I thought he had died when I heard Lyanna had died, but he's here. Thanks to R'hllor I have found my son again," Rhaegar finished with a smile.
"Oh" was all she could say again, "So you are my nephew?" she asked and Rhaegar nodded. "It's nice to meet you Prince Jon," she said with a small smile. He took her hand in his and his grip was firm but gentle. Jon removed his hand and turned to Rhaegar.
"I don't want to be a King and I still have more questions for you. Even if the hammer didn't kill you, you still should not have survived. You should have drowned and if you survived that, you would have been too weak to fend for yourself," Jon repeated growing frustrated
"Of course," Rhaegar sighed. "After Robert hit me and I fell into the river, I blacked out. When I awoke, I was washed up somewhere downstream. A strange man found me, I later found out that he was a red priest, he muttered spells, fed me vile potions and chanted into his fires and slowly the pain stopped, and I lived"
"A red priest? Not even a healer? How could he have saved you?"
"He said the Lord of Light guided him. He only said the words, it was the power of the Lord that did the work,"
"Did he know who you were?"
"Maybe he did. I remember waking up in his tent and the first thing I asked was 'why? Why save me?' and he said that 'he saw glory for me in the flames and he knew that the Lord wanted him to save me,'"
She noticed Rhaegar had started to stare off into the distance again, as he always does when he talks about gods and prophecies. She lightly tapped on the desk to get him to focus again
"He cut my hair and told everyone that I was a Lyseni sailor who fought in the war. He smuggled me out of Westeros and took me to Volantis where I continued my recovery at the red temple. I spent several months there, slowly recovering. Soon, I was strong enough to travel on my own. I heard that Viserys and Daenerys had travelled to Essos and it became my mission to find them, it took me years. To support myself I worked as a trader…or a thief, whatever you want to call it. The gold I earned was used to pay for passage on ships, food, places to stay, eventually I had earned enough to stop trading for gold, so I began to trade for information,"
"Information?" Jon asked
"Yes, I wanted to know where they were, or where they were going. Of course, this was difficult, you never knew who to trust. I didn't know whether people had lied, or whether I had arrived at their safeplace too late. Eventually I found them here around half a year or so ago, this is where we have stayed since, Viserys was stunned to see me. He was always…unusual as a boy but he was never like this, I fear the stress of living in exile has taken it's toll on him...he's different now..."
Dany knew what he wanted to say. Viserys was a bully. After the death of Williem Darry, they were forced to leave his home, the house with the red door and the lemon trees They had spent the next few years travelling from place to place never staying long because he feared the usurpers assassins were close behind. Those years running, and hiding had taken their toll on him and he had slowly turned bitter and cruel. When Rhaegar had arrived, Viserys seemed happy to have the brother back that he had idolized. For a time, Dany thought that the kind brother she had once known had returned, but she was quickly proven wrong. As soon as Rhaegar left to go conduct his business the cruel, evil Viserys returned. Dany realised that he had become obsessed with the idea of becoming King and Rhaegar's arrival meant that dream would never come to pass.
Jon nodded. "The person who owns this place, does he know who you are?" Jon asked cautiously.
"Yes, Magister Illyrio knows who I am,"
"and you trust him?"
Rhaegar paused before answering. Dany had noticed that since his arrival a few months ago, Illyrio had seemed different. He was still generous with his gifts, but he had seemed distant whenever Rhaegar was around
"Not particularly," he said after considering the question "but I don't have a lot of choices. I do not have enough gold to buy a place of my own, and I don't have enough friends to ensure our protection. For now we stay here, where we are safe," Jon nodded slowly.
"That means you as well Jon, if you want to stay here with me, with us, you can," he offered. Jon looked hesitant and didn't respond
"At least stay the night," Rhaegar said pleadingly after noticing Jon's hesitation, "Your friend is hurt and we have warm food and a bed for you,"
"Some food and rest would be nice," he conceded
"Dany, please take Jon to a room, the one opposite yours would be ideal," Daenerys stood and headed for the door.
"Oh, and make sure Viserys doesn't see him. I'd rather save that conversation for another time,"
She guided him through the manse in an awkward silence. Should I say something to him? What do I say? He probably doesn't want to talk to me anyway
"Um this is your room," she said quietly "and this is mine" she gestured to the room opposite
"of course, you probably already guessed that because that's what Rhaegar said," Daenerys continued awkwardly fumbling over her words. She twisted her mother's ring nervously
He nodded his thanks and turned to enter his room, his hand was on the handle before he turned back and cautiously asked
"Would you like to eat with me Princess Daenerys?" he asked
"I would like that Prince Jon," she said, a small smile beginning to form on her face. She made eye contact with one of the servants and requested that food be sent to his room.
"What's his name?" she asked. Jon's eyebrows were raised in surprise, he didn't understand the question. She gestured towards the wolf who had started to explore the room.
"Oh, his name is Ghost," he said with a smile. He has a nice smile she thought to herself. "He's a direwolf, the sigil of house Stark. Ghost to me," he commanded, and the wolf dutifully trotted over. "Ghost this is Princess Daenerys, she is my, urm, Aunt,"
She looked into the ruby red eyes and held her hand out cautiously. The wolf sniffed her hand and then slowly gave it a lick. A warm smile broke out on her face and she slowly ran her hand through his fur
"Wow, he doesn't usually let other people touch him," Jon said amazed.
"Well I must be very lucky, he's lovely," she said playfully. "He came to me earlier, he's very sneaky, is that why you call him Ghost?"
"Something like that," he said smiling. They heard a knock on the door, the servants had arrived with their meal. They had brought ribs roasted in a crust of garlic and herbs. They took seats on the balcony and ate together. As they ate she pointed out some of the key buildings in the city. She pointed out the temple and they looked and saw the night fires that had been lit by the red priests.
"What's Winterfell like? I've never seen a castle," she asked in a quiet moment
"Winterfell is an old castle, thousands of years old, some say it was built by the legendary Brandon the Builder with giants to help him,"
"Oh I know him!" she started excitedly "he built the wall and he built Storms end,"
"Huh, I only thought he built Winterfell," he looked confused "Who told you this?"
"I read it in one of my books, I like to read, but my books didn't say anything about Giants, are there any Giants in the north?"
He chuckled
"Maybe, Old nan used to tell us stories of Giants and mammoths that live beyond the wall and no," she had opened her mouth to ask another question "I have not been beyond the wall,"
"Now back to Winterfell, like I said, Winterfell is an old castle. It is built around a natural godswood and over natural hot springs, so we always get hot water for our baths. We have a glasshouse that is used to grow fruit, vegetables and flowers, Sansa loved spending time in the glasshouses. The courtyards were where we trained. Bran and Arya would always have silly little competitions, she was better than him at archery and swordsmanship and it always annoyed him, so he would come up with silly competitions to try and prove that he was better. The castle is protected by two massive stone walls with a moat in-between them, there are more than thirty guard towers on the inner walls. When I was younger, I used to race my brother around the inner walls, we used to head in opposite directions to see who would get back first,"
She noticed that he started to stare off into the distance as he told her the story, he had a wistful look on his face. She realised that she was a little jealous of him, he had grown up in a castle surrounded by brothers and sisters who loved him, he had a home and a family. The only home she had known was the house with the red door and the lemon tree by her window. She closed her eyes to try and remember it but she had been too young to remember anything else. She wished she could find that house again, her life had been so much simpler then, she was just a little girl with no knowledge of who she was or why she would be constantly looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life.
She noticed that he had gone quiet and had started to fall asleep
"You must be tired, please don't let me keep you up," she said standing.
"Aye, it's been a long day. It's a lot to think about, I should probably sleep," Jon said yawning
"Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked cautiously
"Of course, princess," he said with a wide smile. Dany was certain, she liked it when he smiled.
She gave him a smile in return as she left towards her room. She took one glance back and she noticed him looking at her, he quickly averted his eyes and made to get ready for bed.
Daenerys entered her room and smiled happily. Jon seemed nice, she hoped that they would become friends, she would love a friend
She crossed the room and unpacked her dragon eggs. She liked to hold them before bed. Feeling every single detail on the eggs, It helped to calm her mind. Tonight, she took out the black egg and locked the others away. She fell asleep clutching the egg to her stomach and fell into a peaceful sleep.
She dreamt that she was flying high above the ground. She flew over land and sea and land again. She saw a castle on an island and she felt compelled to land. She glanced up at the castle and strangely it felt familiar. The doors to the castle were flanked by two giant stone dragons. She raised her hand to knock but heard a growl behind her. She saw her dragon, it was black and red and was moving towards her menacingly, tendrils of smoke coming out the sides of it's mouth. Its mouth opened and she saw molten fire churning down it's throat. She watched as the fire grew bigger and bigger until it spilled out of the dragon's mouth and all over her. Dany screamed loudly
Dany awoke with a start, breathing heavily "Fire cannot kill a dragon," she said to herself as she looked at her egg, surprisingly it felt warm under her fingers. She heard a soft scratching at her door and she went to open it. "Ghost," she said with a small smile. The wolf pushed his way into her room and lay down on the bed.
"Oh, you think you can just jump into my bed?" she said with her hands on her hips. Ghost raised his head to look at her before laying back down.
"Fine you win," and she slowly climbed in next to him and gently stroked his fur. It felt soft under her fingers and it helped her fall back to sleep
The Lost Prince
Jon awoke and he felt like he was floating. The soft, thin sheets that covered his bed were much different from the thicker furs he was used to. The bed was huge and surprisingly, Jon slept comfortably, perhaps this was because of how tired he had been. He hadn't slept well since the night in Winterfell where he learned the truth.
He thought of Winterfell and he thought of his family there. What would they say if they could see him now? Not only was he in Essos, he had found his family. Rhaegar was alive and he was with them. He had so many questions for him, yesterday he had been too stunned to ask them all. His mind recalled the events of the day before and he bolted up with a start. Wendel.
He hadn't even thought of his injured friend. He didn't know if he was dead or alive or if he had healed, he had been too consumed with himself.
He quickly got dressed and exited the room. He turned left and headed down the corridor before he realised he had no idea where to go. He didn't know the manse, and the servants didn't know him. His eyes settled on the door to Daenerys's room.
Is she awake? Is it selfish of me to wake her up?
Jon decided to knock anyway. It's for Wendel
He knocked and to his surprise the door was unlocked.
He entered and was surprised at what he saw. Daenerys lay on her stomach with her arm covering Ghost.
Jon was unsure on how to proceed, he wanted to wake her but he didn't want to disturb the peaceful sight in front of him. Unfortunately for him, Ghost decided to move and she woke up. As she moved the sheets slipped down of her body exposing her, she wore a sheer nightgown that left little to his imagination.
"Jon?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes and stretched, exposing more of her. The sound of her voice quickly broke him from his daze
"Um I wasn't staring, I just came here because I needed your help and um why is Ghost here?" he stammered as he started to turn red. He quickly turned away and quickly readjusted his pants.
"Well, I don't know why Ghost is here, he is your direwolf after all. I thought you sent him," she said in a tired voice.
"and why would I send him?" he asked turning back to face her "and please put some clothes on!" he turned away again in embarrassment
"I am wearing clothes, this is called a nightgown, do they not have them in Westeros?"
Jon had never seen a woman in her nightgown, so he couldn't say for certain. He started to feel embarrassed again.
"Please just put on some proper clothes,"
She laughed and got out of bed to get dressed, he heard drawers opening and closing as she walked around her room. "Well, if you didn't send him I guess he came by himself. I had a dream and when I woke up, he was scratching at my door,"
Ghost padded back over to him slowly, he gently scratched him behind his ears
"What did you need help with?" she asked when she was finally dressed
"Yesterday, when I came here, I came with my friend, Wendel. He was hurt pretty badly, and I haven't seen him since. Rhaegar sent healers for him but I don't know where he is, I need to check on him,"
Daenerys nodded slowly. "I think I know where he is, he would probably be on the other side of the manse, far from the living quarters. I'll take you there now,"
Jon nodded and together they walked through the manse. Jon had conceded and had started to wear less layers, but despite that, he could still feel the heat beginning to affect him. He wiped the sweat off his brow and continued to follow her. They arrived outside a door guarded by a servant who quickly moved aside when he saw the princess approach.
They entered the room and Jon's heart sunk. Wendel lay on the bed unmoving, his skin pale and sickly.
"Wendel?" he asked but he didn't hear him. Jon moved his eyes lower and looked at his stomach. It was caked in dried blood and the white linen bandages had soaked through. He looked to the floor and saw that it was covered with other discarded bandages
"It's terrible what happened to him," they both turned and at the door stood a man who Jon guessed was the owner of the home. "A man like him had so much of his life left to live. Did you know him well? Did he have a wife? Any children?"
Jon was ashamed to realise that he did not know, "Not as well as I should have. We had only been travelling together for a short while,"
"It's a shame, my healers tried everything they could, but the knife had cut too deep. All they could do was try and reduce the pain for him. It seemed he passed during the night," Jon remembered their times sparring together on the ship, Wendel was as strong as any man he had seen.
"Aye, he was a strong man, he wouldn't have gone out without a fight," Jon sighed.
"Come, there is nothing more we can do for him now, I will have my servants prepare the body and he will be burned in a few days,"
"Burned? We bury our dead in the north," Jon said firmly.
"I respect your traditions but in this city, we burn our dead. I would offer to send the body back to Westeros, but the journey is long and the body would not last,"
Jon knew he was right and accepted his reasoning
"Very well, thanks for your help,"
"Of course, we haven't been introduced. My name is Illyrio Mopatis, and this is my home," he offered Jon his hand. Jon took it and shook it cautiously, his hand was soft, smooth and smelled of fruits. "Thank you Illyrio, you are most kind. My name is Jon. Jon Snow,"
"Come Jon snow, I see you have met the princess. Come let's break our fast," he said with a smile and he walked through the door.
Jon walked behind him, side by side with Daenerys with Ghost further behind. He led them into a garden with a statue of a boy holding a sword ready to duel. It was made of painted marble, so Jon could see that the boy had blond hair and dark blue almost purple eyes. Was this his son?
Illyrio sat at a table and motioned for some servants to bring their food. Jon sat opposite Illyrio and Daenerys sat next to Jon on the bench.
They broke their fast with a meal of freshly cooked bread with raisins in it along with a plate of bacon and fresh fruit. He pit into a peach and he was amazed by it's sweetness. He put some bacon on a plate and set it on the floor for ghost and his wolf happily accepted. Illyrio spoke to Jon about the beautiful city of Pentos, he spoke of the city's history and about how he became one of the richest men in the city.
"Is that a statue of your son?" Jon asked. Illyrio opened his mouth to answer but he was interruped
"Illyrio!" He felt Daenerys tense next to him. She looked uncomfortable, he instinctively reached out to touch her hand to reassure her and she gripped his hand tightly. The source of the voice quickly walked into the garden, Jon watched him as he entered. At first he thought that it was Rhaegar but as the man got closer, he could see the differences. He was skinnier, shorter and his nose was longer and narrower. Viserys
"There you are Illyrio, and you sweet sister," he said with a smile that never reached his eyes.
"and who are you?" he asked with a sneer
"My name is Jon Snow," Jon replied his voice level
"Snow. A bastard. A northern bastard. Stay away from him sweet sister, those northmen are a bunch of savages," he warned
Jon rolled his eyes. This was something he didn't want to deal with. He stood to leave and to his surprise Daenerys stood with him. Viserys looked shocked and then walked closer to the pair.
"Where do you think you're going sister?" he demanded "We did not finish our conversation,"
He quickly reached out and pulled Daenerys by her hair. Jon stepped in and shoved him in his chest, Viserys was weak so the force knocked him to the dirt
"You dare touch me bastard!" he shrieked. He stood up quickly and drew for his sword and slowly walked towards him. Jon cursed himself for leaving his sword in his room. He eyed Viserys warily, he didn't come all the way to Essos to get killed by Viserys fucking Targaryen. Ghost chose this moment to appear from under the table and he snarled at Viserys. Viserys immediately stopped his advance and looked fearful.
"A savage beast for a northern savage. It's no surprise," Ghost bared his teeth and growled
"Viserys! Jon! Enough!" they both turned to see Rhaegar striding towards them. "Viserys why do you have your sword drawn?" he demanded
"The northern bastard dared to lay his hands on me. In Westeros, it is a crime to touch the prince without his permission. He should lose his hand!" he hissed
Rhaegar sighed. Jon had begun to understand why Rhaegar was keen to avoid this conversation last night. "Come with me, all of you, we have much to discuss," Viserys looked perplexed at the turn of events. He gave Jon a final look of disgust before marching off after Rhaegar. Jon turned to Daenerys
"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded. "Does he always treat you like that?"
She gave a small slight nod of her head. "Why would he do that, you're his sister,"
"He blames me for being born too late. He told me that if I had been born earlier, Rhaegar wouldn't have fallen in love with your mother. We would have been wed brother to sister, like our parents,"
Jon was disgusted. He would never treat Sansa like this despite all their differences, "That's not your fault, that's not fair," he protested
"I know that, but Rhaegar is waiting for us, we can talk more later,"
She slipped her hand in his and led him towards the solar.
The Princess of Dragonstone
Daenerys was nervous. She knew Viserys would not like the news that he was about to receive. She clutched Jon's hand even tighter and he grimaced slightly
"Sorry" she whispered and relaxed her grip. "Thank you by the way,"
"What for?" he asked confused
"For standing up for me, you didn't have to do that,"
"You're my family. I would never let someone hurt my family," he said, and Dany gave him a smile. He blushed slightly and turned ahead. They had arrived outside the solar, Jon quickly pushed open the door and they headed inside.
Dany noticed Rhaegar giving them a funny look. She realised they were still holding hands, quickly she let go of Jon and started to fiddle with her fingers, she immediately missed his touch
Viserys stood leaning up against the wall, leaving the seats in front of the desk free. She took the seat on the right, Jon the seat on the left. Rhaegar sat opposite them and paused as if unsure on how to start this conversation.
"Viserys, this is my son, Jon,"
Viserys laughed cruelly "Is this a joke? Your son is dead. He died in Kingslanding,"
"He is not my son by Elia, he is my son with Lyanna, I only met him yesterday,"
Viserys's face turned red with anger
"Lyanna Stark? Your stupid affair is the reason the war started, she is the reason we can't go home. Your affair is the reason we live in exile like peasants!" Viserys shrieked as he walked towards Rhaegar.
Dany noticed Jon too had started to look angry, his grey eyes staring into Viserys. She placed her hand on his forearm and he looked at her, she looked into his grey eyes and she watched as his anger slowly receded.
Rhaegar had stood up from behind his desk and started to close the distance to Viserys.
"Guard your tongue Viserys, you are in no position to judge my actions," he said his voice low and dangerous
"Oh I am in no position?" Viserys asked mocking him, "Oh I am in the perfect position to judge you brother," he spat. "You ran off with the Northern slut, you fathered this bastard on her and you started this rebellion brother, it's all your fault," he finished with a sneer
Daenerys was shocked, she had never heard Viserys speak to someone else this way. He usually reserved his outbursts only for her
"I hope you're happy, now you're reunited with your slut's child. I hope seeing your bastard makes it all seem worth it,"
Rhaegar paused and then punched him square in the jaw, knocking him across the room
"Enough!" he bellowed, "Lyanna Stark was no whore, I loved her and she loved me, Jon is no bastard. His name is Aegon Targaryen, he is my trueborn son and he is my heir. Not you, him," Viserys eyes opened in shock at these words, "That's right, he is my heir, not you. Now for the love of the mother who gave birth to us both, get out of my sight before you say something else and I have to hit you again!"
Viserys quickly pulled himself to his feet and scrambled out of the room. Rhaegar stared at the door after he had left and then slowly sat down. He ran his hands through his hair and let out a long drawn out sigh.
"He's right," Jon said quietly and Dany turned to look at him
"About what?" Rhaegar asked, lifting his head up and meeting his eyes.
"The war started because of you and my mother. Thousands of people died because you loved each other and had me,"
"Jon please, don't blame yourself for this. I loved your mother, and I love you, you are my son,"
"No don't call me that," Jon stood up abruptly, his chair scraping across the floor.
"We may share the same blood, but you don't know me and I don't know you, you are not my father," he said quietly and then left the room.
Dany watched as he left, she wanted to go after him but then she saw Rhaegar slump back in his chair defeated. He held his head in his hands. Dany realised that Jon had Ghost, she needed to be here for her brother.
"Brother I'm sorry, he didn't mean it," she began
"No, he's right, I haven't earned the right to call him my son. All these years, I should have done something, I should have looked for him, I should have done more, what kind of father am I if I couldn't find my own son?" Dany stared at him silently searching for an answer
"You were busy trying to find us," she said, "It took years to find us in Essos, you wouldn't have been able to find him in Westeros, don't be hard on yourself,"
"He was in Winterfell this whole time. Winterfell Dany. Over seventeen years and my own son did not know who I was. I could have gone to him, I could have found him,"
"and then what brother? What would have been your plan? Tell him the truth? He didn't even know you were alive, he would not have believed a dead man was his father," she said. Daenerys didn't know where this confidence came from, but she knew she needed to continue
"Even if he believed you, what could you have done? Snuck him out of Winterfell in the dead of night? Took him with you across Essos in the hopes of finding us? You would have put him in more danger!" without realising it, she had stood up and started to yell
Rhaegar looked at her stunned. She took a few moments to calm herself and sat back down
"I'm sorry for shouting but you mustn't be too hard on yourself. Jon is here now and for that we can only be thankful. Yesterday I gained a nephew, a friend, I don't want to lose him today,"
"What should I do sister? I can't have my son hating me," he said softly.
"You should be honest with him, I think he would appreciate that," Dany said firmly. "Tell him everything about you and his mother, tell him your plans. If you want him to accept you, you can't have any secrets. He has dealt with enough secrets for his life,"
"Of course," Rhaegar stood up from behind his desk
"No, not yet. Let me talk to him first," Dany stood and cut him off. Viserys would be of no help and she was sure Jon did not want to speak to her brother right now. She was the only person that he might want to speak to.
Rhaegar gave her that same funny look and then went to pour himself a drink. Daenerys left the solar and began to search the house for Jon
The Lost Prince
Jon ran quickly through the manse, through corridor after corridor, up then down stairs until he found his room. He entered and shut the door behind him, he crossed to his bed and collapsed onto it.
He ran his hands through his hair. Viserys was right, thousands of people died because his parents loved each other. His grandfather burned his other grandfather alive because of his parents and their actions. Jon felt ashamed. Ghost moved silently around the room and climbed onto his bed. Jon opened his eyes and Ghost had the parcel in his mouth, he dropped the parcel into his lap and lay next to him.
He finally opened the parcel and emptied the contents onto his bed. Inside was a small silver harp with silver strings and a necklace made from weirwood. Things to remember his parents by he had said. He realised that this was his fathers harp, and he had made her a necklace. He truly loved her. Jon's fingers absentmindedly played with the harp
"You can play the harp?" he heard a voice ask. He was so distracted he hadn't noticed Daenerys enter his room.
"No, I can't, it's not mine, it's um" he faltered
"Oh,"
"Lord Stark said he found these things in the tower where I was born. They belonged to my parents…"
"Do you mind if I sit?" Jon nodded and she sat on the bed opposite him
"How are you Jon, truly?" she asked.
"I'm fine, I'll be fine thank you," he lied. Jon was desperate to avoid eye contact. His eyes moved everywhere around the room before finally settling on the chair over her shoulder.
"Jon," she sighed, and she touched his cheek, seemingly causing a bolt of energy to flow through him. This startled him and caused his eyes to finally meet hers, violet eyes stared into grey and his resolve broke. Everything he had been holding in since that night in the crypts finally came to the surface again.
"No I'm not fine," he croaked. "A month ago, I was Ned Stark's bastard, I only wanted to know who my mother was. Whether she was highborn or lowborn, whether she was dead or alive, whether she would be proud of me. I find out who she is and everything changes. I'm not even his son, everything was all a lie," Jon held his head in his hands, "My real parents had loved each other so much that they forgot all their commitments and their duty and thousands died for it." he sobbed.
Daenerys paused and then quickly pulled him into an embrace. He rested his head on her shoulder and she ran her hands through his hair comforting him.
"Jon you shouldn't blame yourself for these things," she whispered into his ear, "You can't change those things, the past is already written, the ink is dry. We can only hope to change the future, we can leave the world a better place than how we found it,"
They stayed like that for a few minutes until Dany pulled apart.
"Jon, I know this is hard for you and this is a terrible way for you to find out the truth, but please don't turn your back on Rhaegar. For all his faults, for all he did, he is still your father. I never had a chance to know my parents, and from the stories my brother told me. They didn't love each other,"
Daenerys paused and shuddered.
"Jon, you don't have to love him, but you at least have the opportunity to get to know him. If you want to judge him that's fine, but get to know him first,"
He slowly nodded.
"I will talk to him soon, but I need some time. Thank you, Daenerys,"
"Please, you can call me Dany, my friends call me Dany" She said with a small nervous smile, Jon smiled back warmly.
She told him stories about what it was like for her growing up in Essos. A small part of him was jealous of all the places she had seen, Volantis, Braavos, Lys, he had only seen Winterfell and a few other castles in the north. Then he realised that the only reason she got to see these places was because she was living in exile, running from assassins.
"What was growing up in Winterfell like?" she asked
"What do you mean?"
"What were the people like, tell me more about your brothers and sisters,"
Jon looked at her and then off into the distance, he took a moment before responding.
"Growing up in Winterfell was tough at times. I grew up with 5 siblings, or half siblings as Lady Catelyn always pointed out to me. Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon, I got along with Robb, Bran and Arya. Rickon was only little when I left. They didn't care if I was only their half sibling. Sansa was more difficult. She aspired to be like her mother, to be a perfect lady. Sansa and I never got along much. She was always quick to remind the little ones that I was only their half brother," Jon finished bitterly. "If it were up to Lady Catelyn, I would have been sent away years ago. Off to some lord to be their squire. She couldn't stand the sight of me. She hated me because I was a reminder of her husband's unfaithfulness,"
"You and I are similar in that regard," she said quietly, "for we both grew up without a mother," and he nodded slowly
Jon quickly realised how easy it was to talk to Dany, and how similar they were. Their conversation flowed naturally and he told her anything and everything. He told her embarrassing stories, or adventures he went on with Robb or Arya, at some point they both ended up lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as they talked. After a quiet few moments when he thought that she was thinking of a story to tell him, he noticed that she had actually fallen asleep.
"Get up Dany," Jon said, gently poking her in the ribs "You can't sleep in my bed,"
"Why not?" she mumbled in a tired voice
"Because people will talk,"
"Which people? the servants won't talk," she mumbled into the pillow, she then curled up on the bed and pretended to sleep
"Fine I'll carry you," he said as he picked her up with ease and threw her over his shoulder. This made her giddy with laughter and Jon ran into her room. Before putting her down he decided to spin round in a circle, making them both dizzy.
"Jon put me down!" she said laughing
"As you wish Dany," and he threw her onto her bed. Jon was also dizzy and landed next to her. It took them a few moments to catch their breath and they both started to feel tired again. He propped himself up onto one elbow and rolled onto his side. Her hair was dishevelled after he had thrown her on the bed and she slowly brushed away few strands that were covering her eyes. Her violet eyes shone brightly like amethysts and her lips were slightly parted as she caught her breath.
"Now what was the point in that?" she asked softly and playfully, "now instead of me being tired in your bed, you're tired in my bed,"
Jon chuckled and sat up, reluctantly looking away from her "Unlike you, I am actually planning on sleeping in my own bed," he said as he stood up.
"Goodnight Dany," he said with a smile, Jon retired to his room exhausted. As he lay down to sleep his mind recalled the day's events. He remembered walking into Daenerys's room in the morning, the way the sheets slid off her body, No she was his Aunt. Besides, she called him her friend, that's all they were, friends.
Frustrated, he rolled over and waited for sleep to take him
Jon dreamt of a castle overlooking the sea. He had never been to this castle but if felt familiar. He walked slowly through the halls and noticed the castle was empty. He passed through hallway after hallway and went down stair after stair until he arrived at a wooden door. He pushed open the door and he entered onto a balcony overlooking the great hall of the castle. The hall was filled with soldiers. To his left, he saw an ugly throne. It was gruesome in size and shape and blackened by dragonflame. Sat upon a throne was a large man with black hair and bright blue eyes. He was sitting uncomfortably on the throne and his crown looked awkward on his head. Another man walked forward clad in red and gold armour. He knelt before the throne and laid out two small bundles wrapped in a red cloak. From his position Jon could not see what was in the bundles but the faces of the crowd looked shocked. Jon looked into the Kings bright blue eyes and he saw no hint of sadness, only hate. The man's bright blue eyes locked onto Jon and Jon ran from the room.
He awoke with a start and sat up. Ghost looked up at him and in the darkness his eyes shone brightly. It was just a dream but in his heart, he knew that it meant something more.
The Lion under the Rock
Tyrion signed the last document and sat back and released a loud sigh. He was tired, but happy. It was another successful day for him at Casterly Rock. Under his watchful eyes, trade had increased to and from Casterly Rock by a substantial amount. The harbour at Lannisport now received three times as many ships from the free cities, ships from Braavos, Volantis, Pentos and beyond all came to Lannisport to trade. As a result of this, house Lannister was doing quite well. They were the richest house in the entire realm and they were not afraid to show it, the tournament in Kingslanding? Backed by Lannister gold of course. Tyrion was proud of himself, he knew his father had given him this job to demean him, but he had risen to the task and exceeded expectations.
He got off his chair and walked and around the room stretching his tired legs. He took a drink of Arbor Gold before setting off through the castle to find his father, nothing like a bit of courage before this conversation. The castle was quiet, and he had no trouble finding his father in his solar. He knocked twice and paused before he heard a gruff voice telling him to enter and he did. His father sat behind his desk writing away and he didn't even lift his eyes up to see who had entered his solar
Tyrion slowly walked forward before taking a seat across from him.
"Father,"
"Tyrion," he said without pausing from his work. Tyrion decided to wait before answering, to see how long his father would tolerate his presence
"What do you want?" he asked, he still hadn't look at Tyrion
"I would like to speak with you,"
"We are speaking now," Tyrion didn't respond, content to wait. After a moment Tywin put down the paper and sat back in his chair
"Fine, you have my attention,"
"As you know, ever since you put me in charge of trade, things have been going very well. Our incomes have tripled, we are by far the richest house in the realm, and even people as far away as the free cities of Essos have come to know the wealth and power of house Lannister,"
"Yes you have done well. Although I would have expected nothing less from you, you are a Lannister of course," Tyrion ignored the attempt to diminish his accomplishments. "I presume you want a reward for merely doing your job?"
Tyrion gave a small nod. "Very well, we will discuss your reward at a later date. Now get out,"
Tywin leaned forward and went back to work dismissing him. Tyrion stood and started to take a step towards the door. Later, he would realise that he probably should have taken a second step, followed by a third and left the room. Instead he turned, took a deep breath and said to his father.
"I want what is mine by rights. I want Casterly Rock,"
Tywin stopped writing and looked at him intensely, his mouth grew hard.
"You mean to steal your brother's birth, right?" his voice dangerously quiet, Tyrion had to take a few steps forward to hear him
"No, not steal. You know as well as I know that knights of the Kingsguard are forbidden to marry, father children and hold lands, ever since Jaime put on that white cloak he gave up his claim to Casterly Rock but you have never acknowledged it. It is time now, I want you to stand up and announce me as your son and heir for all the realm to see,"
Tywin's eyes were a pale green and they shone mercilessly
"Casterly Rock?" he asked in a flat cold dead voice. "Never,"
The word hung in the air between them, poisoning the atmosphere. Deep down Tyrion knew this would be his answer, he didn't know why he even asked. It's been over fifteen years since Jaime joined the Kingsguard and he's never asked, he's always known his father would say no. Always.
Summoning up the last of his courage he asked one final question, a question he knew he would surely regret.
"Why?"
His father paused, staring at him dangerously
"You ask me why? You dare to ask me why? You who killed his mother on his way into the world? You are a disobedient, disfigured, spiteful little creature full of envy and lust. Since I can not prove you are not mine, the laws of gods and men have given you the right to wear my colours and my sigil. But neither Gods nor men shall ever compel me to allow you to make Casterly Rock your whorehouse,"
"My whorehouse?"
"Do not lie to me, you can bribe as many servants as you want, I am still Lord of this household and they will all answer to me. You are done with whores. You already married the one and the next whore I find you with, I will hang,"
Tywin stood to tower over his son. Tyrion did not doubt his words, he still remembered what he did to her, he still remembered her screams…
"Go back to your rooms Tyrion we depart for the capital tomorrow. I suggest you use this time to think long and hard about what it is you want, you will never bring up your right to Casterly Rock again, You will never have Casterly Rock as long as I draw breath now go,"
The words stung. Tyrion quickly left his solar and made his way back to his rooms. He went to his flagon of wine and poured himself drink after drink. He drunk to drown out the pain of his father's rejection and he drunk to drown out the painful memory of what happened her.
Notes:
Thanks for the kind comments on the last chapter. Hopefully this chapter provides more answers. If they don't I'll try answer any questions in the comments without revealing too much...some of you were wondering about a certain horselord...check the character tags...I've tried to keep them as accurate as possible for this stage of the story.
In case anyone was wondering, there won't be any White Walkers in this fic, I might do it in a sequel type story, but definitely not in this story. I don't find the WW to be particularily interesting to write about.
Next chapter should be up sometime this weekend, so either Saturday or Sunday. Let me know what you think of this one
Thanks
Sleepy
Also, send me dragon names. I'm writing chapter 12 and I still don't have names I like....for reasons...they have to have different names in the story
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