章 2235: 29
The Mother of Dragons
Daenerys Targaryen was sitting inside the nursery as she loosened her hair and undid the braids. There was a fire blazing in the brazier which provided the room with a pleasant warmth. After they had defeated Robert Baratheon, they had quickly flown to meet up with the Tyrell army to give them the good news and their next instructions. They were to begin their march towards Kings Landing along with their Dothraki and Unsullied whilst she and Jon spent a few days with their son back at Dragonstone before joining them . It would be a respite only for a few days but she would cherish these days with her family nonetheless.
Whilst she sorted her hair, she watched Jon and Daeron playing together on the floor. Jon had raced back to Dragonstone to see him and Dany's heart melted as he ran into the nursery and scooped up their son into his arms. The laughs and giggles that Daeron had made at the sight of his father again had been priceless.
She watched them playing together now. Daeron sat in the middle of the floor playing with his blocks whilst Jon sat opposite him holding his rattle. Every few moments, Jon would shake it to gain Daeron's attention but to her amusement, Daeron did not seem to be interested. His little face was scrunched with concentration as he picked up one block and tried to stack it on top of the other.
"Are you building a Tower?" Jon asked softly as he watched him but Daeron didn't even acknowledge him, he was busy staring at the block in his hand.
"Be quiet Jon, he's focusing," Dany said lightly as she held back a laugh. Daeron picked up the block and tried to place it on top of the others but he knocked them over in the process.
"Here, let me help," Jon said as he moved over to him. Jon sat behind him and together they managed to build a tower, only five blocks high. Daeron smiled and laughed at the sight. He reached down for another block to try and stack on top but he ended up knocking the whole thing over which surprisingly, didn't dampen his spirits. He laughed at the mess he made and then he turned around and buried his face in Jon's shoulder.
Seeing the two of them brought a smile to her face, all they needed to complete this joyful family picture was Rhaegar's expected arrival. She undid the last braid and shook her long hair out before she reached for the comb and started to brush her hair. She had given her handmaidens, Doreah and Jhiqui the evening off, as thanks for looking after Daeron whilst they were away.
She looked at him and saw that Jon had him on his back and was now making loud noises on his stomach. She smiled at the pair of them before looking out of the window. They had arrived early in the afternoon and now it was late in the evening and the sun had nearly set.
"Come on boys, it's time to eat," she said as she put her brush down on the table. A few servants had brought up their meal from the kitchen and set it down on the table next to her.
"I don't think that he's hungry," Jon answered as he tickled Daeron some more. Dany rolled her eyes and decided to join in the fun.
"Daeron, come to mama," she said as she walked over towards them and crouched down. "Come for some dinner,"
Daeron heard her voice and then he rolled over onto his front and began to crawl towards her. Jon helped him to his feet and he slowly made the last few steps over to her.
"Mama," he said loudly as he got closer to her. He expectantly held up his arms towards her.
"Good boy," she said as she picked him up and gave him a kiss.
"Shouldn't we wait for father to arrive ?" Jon asked as he too stood up.
"We will, but I want to feed him first before it gets too late," Dany said as she sat down on the table and balanced Daeron in her lap.
"I'll feed him something solid first. It'll help now that he's teething," she said as she selected a piece of carrot from the plate. She tried it herself first, it was not too hot and not too soft. She cut off a small piece and gently put it near his lips for him to chew. "He'll chew on this for a while before he eats it,"
"How are you feeling?" she asked as they ate their meals. It was difficult to cut her venison with Daeron in her lap, so Jon cut her meat for her before handing back the plate.
"My ribs are a little sore but they didn't affect me too much during the fight," Jon said as he ate and then he pointed to Daeron who was trying to reach for her plate. Dany smiled and cut another piece of carrot for him to eat.
"I can't believe we were up all night in that rain," she said as she shuddered at the memory. "I have never been that cold and miserable in my entire life,"
"Aye. I understand why he did it though, it was his best chance to defeat us. He overplayed his hand though, the rain was too heavy and his heavy horse was useless. I think that spending all night in the rain destroyed his men's morale because the next morning, they did not put up much of a fight as we charged down the hill,"
"Or it was the sight of two huge dragons flying towards them," Dany replied with a smile. Daeron was quiet in her lap as he slowly chewed his piece of carrot and Dany pressed a kiss to his head.
"On to Kings Landing next," Jon said as he took a sip of his drink. "We will march our armies to the gates and then we will take back the city,"
"We should also bring plenty of food for the common folk. Ser Davos informed us that the city was starving and that situation is unlikely to have gotten better," Daenerys said and Jon nodded.
"We will call back our ships and use a few to ferry food into the city. Although, it would probably be better if we take the food into the city by land,"
"We control the Blackwater Bay and no one in the city will fight against us. Why can't we just sail them down the Blackwater?" Dany asked curiously
"That's a good point. Although, I think it would look better if we entered united. If the people of King's Landing see an armada sailing down the Blackwater, it could look bad," Jon replied.
"As opposed to seeing three dragons flying above their city?" Dany said with a small smile which Jon returned.
"How about we worry about that tomorrow?" he said and Dany nodded in agreement.
"I agree," Dany said and then she looked down at Daeron who had started to squirm in her lap as he reached for the plate. "Would you like some more carrot, S weetling? I think you do,"
She cut him another small piece of carrot for him to chew on as she took another bite of her meal. The food was warm and flavored well. The onions and peas gave it a rich taste that she savored.
"Our work is still not over after we take the city," Dany said and Jon nodded.
"Aye. We still need to deal with the Dornish. We have received no word from them at all ever since we arrived on Dragonstone. I think that father is right and they are hiding Illyrio's son," Jon proposed.
"I agree. We will have to send a raven and request that they come to Kings Landing to treat with us. Hopefully, they accept our request. I also think we should fly North to see the Northern Lords and to speak with them again in person," Dany said.
"I agree. Although, I'd like to take Daeron with us as well , he hasn't met his Northern family yet and I want to change that,"
Dany frowned slightly. "That might be difficult. He's not old enough to fly on a dragon. We'd have to ride all the way North with him and I don't want to do that in these cold and harsh weather conditions ," she said and she saw Jon also frown so she quickly continued.
"How about, we fly North first to speak with the Northern Lords and then after, on our way South we can bring them with us. I'm sure Arya would love a ride on Vedros," and Jon smiled.
"Aye, she'll probably hit me for not coming to get her sooner,"
"You've told me a lot about her and I can't wait to meet her," Dany said with a smile. She looked down at Daeron who was starting to nod off in her lap. "I think it's time for bed for this one,"
"I think I tired him out," Jon said with a smile as he stood up and opened his arms "Here, I'll get him settled for bed and then I'll come back for you,"
"For me?" Dany asked curiously as she handed over their son
"Yes, you. I mean to tire you out tonight. I've been without my Queen for far too long," he said in a deep voice which caused blood to rush to her loins.
"You have. We have a lot of catching up to do," she said as she rose to her feet to press a gentle kiss to his lips. She let the kiss linger before leaving the nursery, making sure to exaggerate the sway of her hips as she left.
She began to make the short walk to their rooms when she saw the Maester arrive.
"Your grace," Maester Pylos said. "Another raven has arrived ,"
"Another one, what happened to the first?" Dany asked.
"His grace told me to keep it until the morning, he said that he did not wish for you to be disturbed this evening," he said and Dany nodded. She was thankful for this, it was good to have a small evening together as a family.
"Show me the messages," she said. She saw no harm in reading them now. If it was something important, then the sooner they knew the better and if it wasn't important then they could deal with them tomorrow.
He reached into his robes and handed her three scrolls and she quickly opened the first one.
It was from Tyrion. He had successfully taken Casterly Rock but they had not defeated the remaining parts of the Lannister army stationed in Lannisport. As a result they were trapped in the castle, effectively under siege. Dany sighed but she was not too concerned. They had defeated Tywin Lannister in battle and those Lannister men had nothing to fight for.
If what Tyrion said was true about Casterly Rock's defenses , then they would be able to withstand a siege, certainly until the morning. She read the message again and she realised that if they were in imminent danger, Tyrion would have made that clear. He would definitely survive until the morning.
Then, she turned to the second scroll and broke the seal and read, and then she felt her stomach drop and the room begin to spin. She did not open the third scroll, instead she turned around and sprinted back into the Nursery to find Jon.
He was sitting down near the crib singing softly to Daeron but he quickly looked up as he saw her panicked entry into the room.
"Dany what's wrong?"
"Rhaegar. He's in trouble. Something happened to him at the Twins," she blurted out breathlessly.
"Dany, what happened? Is he well ?" he said as he crossed over to her and Dany felt tears coming to her eyes.
"No Jon, it was from Ser Barristan. He's dying," she sobbed.
The Princess of Dorne
Arianne Martell was seated in the small council chambers of the Red Keep. Her husband, and now King, sat at the head of the table with his fool, Connington next to him. The Spider and her Uncle, Prince Oberyn made up the rest of the occupants within the room.
They had taken the capital, and this had been much more than she ever expected from them . She had expected them to fail at Storms End and then again outside of Kings Landing but Connington had surpassed expectations, which would surely disappoint her father.
She was following his orders after all.
When news first came from Essos that Viserys was dead and they would not be getting the support of the dragons, her father 's careful years of planning had completely fallen apart. There would be no revenge against the Lannisters or the Baratheons for what they did to Princess Elia and her children, none at all.
That was until this boy had arrived with his sellsword army claiming to be her son. Arianne had been skeptical of it at first, she still was in fact. It was too good to be true. This boy was pretending to be her aunt's son and the key to their revenge. A boy that the whole world thought of as dead.
Arianne studied him now as he was seated opposite her. He wore his shiny crown upon his head and he wore a rich expensive robe that he had found somewhere in the castle. She looked at the lines on his face, the shape of his jaw, the shade of his eyes. His eyes were so dark blue that they looked purple. He was a handsome boy, but not the son of Elia.
Although she supposed her father already knew that. He was never one to explain his entire plan but she had been smart enough to work out what he wanted. He was to use this boy to win back the throne and he had sent her to seduce him. That part had been easy enough. During that first time it was as if the poor boy had never seen a pair of breasts before.
After that, she had to control him, wrap him around her finger to make Dorne the true power behind the Iron Throne. That part had been going well, until they took Storms End. Ever since then, her husband had gained more confidence and she couldn't control him like she used to.
To make matters worse, her uncle had given him a crown.
Arianne had hated it when he did that, it had made him even bolder and he listened less and this worried her. This whole thing would be for nothing if she could not control him properly. In fact, Arianne had half a mind to speak to her Uncle about heading back to Dorne and cutting ties with these pair of fools.
Her marriage could easily be annulled, she had been careful and remembered to take moon tea and as a result, she was not pregnant with his child. The only witnesses to the union were her family in Dorne. No one would take the word of the disgraced Jon Connington over Prince Doran Martell.
They would take the Dornish armies with them as well . Due to her careful planning, the Dornish army was still at full strength, whilst the Golden Company had been weakened when they took Storms End. She would have to speak to her Uncle privately after the meeting, and somewhere far away from the Spider and his spies .
She did not trust Lord Varys. He knew more about her than she did about him and that meant that he was dangerous. She eyed him across the table and he gave her a smile in return.
"Let's start this meeting, shall we? I fail to see what's so important" her husband said from his position at the head of the table. He was laid back in his seat and he raised his feet and put them on the table. He had a wide smile on his face, like all his hard work had finally paid off.
"Your grace. The U surper has been defeated . Slain by your half-brother in the Riverlands," Lord Varys said solemnly and Arianne's eyes widened. That was not what she wanted to hear. That meant that the real Targaryens had won, and they and their dragons would be coming for them. She looked at her Uncle who did not look surprised by the information. He continued to sit there and inspect the dirt under his fingernails.
Connington however had allowed a brief wave of terror to pass over his face but it returned to that hard mask that he frequently wore. Arianne could see through him though, she knew that he had hoped that Baratheon would win and spare him the trouble of dealing with the dragons.
"As expected," her husband said with a lazy wave of his arm. "We have sent word to Dragonstone already. My little brother should send a response any day now,"
"I think we should prepare for their dragons," Arianne said to the table but her husband just scoffed.
"He is my brother. Why would he fight me?" he asked humorously and Arianne bit the inside of her cheek and took a deep breath before answering.
"You have taken the throne, he might be jealous," she said evenly and Connington nodded in agreement.
"I agree, jealousy can cause a man to do heinous things. We should prepare," Connington said.
"Fine," he said as he sighed and leaned forward and rubbed his temples . "I take it you have something in mind,"
"Modifications to the Scorpions," Connington said eagerly
"Why do they need to be modified?
"They don't, but these changes will make them more effective," Oberyn said as he finally joined the conversation. Arianne frowned at him, was he really trying to fight them?
"What changes do you have in mind?" Aegon asked.
"Poison," Oberyn replied with a smile. "My daughter, Sarella who was studying at the Citadel, stole an item for us. The blackened and bloody tome called ' Blood and Fire," it details several techniques that we can use to kill the dragons,"
"Do you know how to make the necessary poison?" Varys asked and Oberyn shrugged.
"No, but I'm sure we'll find someone who can. It looks fairly complex but I'm sure someone can do it. The city has Alchemists right?" Oberyn asked.
"Yes, although I fear that they may have fled the city. During the end of Robert's reign, he locked the city gates and kept most of the people in the city but once he marched away, the gold cloaks did not bother trying to stop them," Varys said.
"And how would you know that?" Arianne asked.
"I was disguised as one of the common folk for months. It's amazing what you can learn when you are one with the people," Varys said.
"We will need men to man the Scorpions anyway," Oberyn announced
"Black Balaq will do that job well ," Connington said.
"Who is that?" Oberyn asked
"The commander of the Golden Company's archers. He is the best archer that we have , he and his men will man the scorpions,"
"You are worried for nothing," her husband said from his position at the head of the table.
"This is nothing but a dispute between brothers, it will all be resolved peacefully,"
What if it wasn't? What if he did not back down and instead chose to unleash their dragons on them? Arianne wanted to ask but she bit her tongue. She would voice her concerns to her Uncle privately afterwards . This was not the place. Instead, she put her arms into her lap and waited.
"Do we have anything else to discuss today?" he asked.
"Your grace, we should do something about the common folk," Lord Varys said and her husband gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean?"
"Your grace, they're starving and unhappy, we should do something to win them to your side," the Spider said and her husband pondered this for a moment. He scratched his chin as he searched for an answer.
"Prince Oberyn, how much food can the Dornish spare?"
"Not enough to feed Kings Landing," Arianne replied quickly and she saw her Uncle give her a quick glance.
"I am sure you have some to share," Connington countered as he leant forward on the table.
"We have to feed our armies and our own people. We will have very little left over to transport to Kings L anding"
"Your armies? I had nearly forgotten about your armies, they have been absent from the battlefield," Connington said as he glared at her and she held his gaze. She was not afraid of him.
"You are the one who made the battle plans, Lord Connington," she said. "If you wanted the support of the Dornish, all you had to do was ask,"
"Where are your soldiers now? Wherever they are, I want them here, helping to reinforce the city" he demanded and Arianne frowned.
"Lord Connington, you forget yourself. I am your Queen. You do not get to make demands of me," she said firmly as she glared at him and then she turned to her husband. His purple eyes were flicking between the pair of them nervously.
"That's enough," he said quietly. "If the Dornish can't support us, then we will have to find another way to feed my people,"
Arianne and everyone else looked at him after he said that and she quickly realised that he had no ideas of his own. Arianne sighed and then Connington spoke,
"We could buy food from Essos," he suggested.
"Unlikely," the Spider quickly replied. "Your brother and Queen Daenerys have alliances with the free cities of Volantis, Braavos and Pentos as well as the former slaver cities. Any food from Essos will likely come from them and they may not be willing to support us,"
"We could lie," Connington suggested. "Tell them that the Targaryens in Kings Landing are requesting aid. They would not know which one,"
Arianne gave a small shake of her head. Lies and deception seemed to be Connington's method of solving any problem that he was faced with.
"Your lie would be pointless," her Uncle replied . "It would take months for ships to travel from Essos to Westeros and to get here they would have to pass Dragonstone and the Blackwater where they will be stopped and turned around. Essos can't help us,"
"Then, what can we do?" Aegon asked and she heard a slight hint of desperation creep into his voice
"Nothing," Lord Varys said. "We can do nothing until you meet with your brother and join his strength to ours,"
Arianne looked at him curiously. She could not believe that the Spider, honestly believed that this would end peacefully. His face was an unreadable mask so she turned to her husband, who looked unsettled.
"These are my people. I am their King. I can't leave them to starve," he said angrily and then he quickly stood up and knocked the chair back.
"I have had enough of this small council meeting, you are all dismissed," and with that, he quickly stomped out of the room. Arianne remained at the table for a few more moments, not wanting to speak to anyone other than her Uncle.
"Uncle, a word please," she said as she stood up to leave. Oberyn looked at her curiously before he followed. They walked together through the Red Keep with no particular destination in mind. She had to be careful here, the Spider had his spies everywhere and she did not want to be overheard.
She eventually decided to head outside and into the gardens. It was another grey day and the wind was loud in her ears and this was perfect, they would not be overheard.
Once, she had lost them sufficiently enough in the gardens she turned to her Uncle.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Why did you crown him?"
"He is the King of the S even Kingdoms, he should have a crown," her Uncle answered plainly.
"Really Uncle? Which Kingdom is he the King of? The Kingdom of Kings Landing?" she snapped and she saw him frown.
"Arianne, what is the matter with you?"
"Father's plan has failed and we need to leave," she whispered .
"There is no reason to leave. Rhaegar and his son will join us peacefully, and if they don't, we can defeat the dragons," he said confidently.
"Uncle. Don't be so silly. They have dragons, more men and more food. I know little about the ways of war, but even I know that our situation looks bleak,"
"We have survived worse. I trust that you remember our words," he said and Arianne sighed. Of course she remembered their words, but they were not relevant here, dragons changed the rules.
"We will stand and fight with Elia's son," he added passionately.
"Elia's son?" she said with a laugh. "Do you really believe that?"
Oberyn just looked back at her with a serious face and Arianne was stunned.
"Uncle. That boy is not your sister 's son, it's too good to be true," she said firmly and Oberyn shook his head vigorously.
"No. He is Elia's son," he repeated and Arianne could tell from his tone that he truly believed that.
"Uncle," she said softly. "I know that you loved your sister dearly and I know you want vengeance for what happened to her, but this is not the answer. Staying with this imposter will get us all killed. We need to take our armies and march back to Dorne before the dragons get here,"
Oberyn looked at her as if she had just admitted to treason, which she supposed was right.
"No," he said quietly. "No. You will not take our armies anywhere. I failed to protect Elia, I will protect her son. That is the last I will hear of this," and with that, her Uncle turned on his heels and left her alone in the gardens.
Arianne looked at him as he walked away and she shook her head. She knew that her Uncle loved his sister, but Elia had been dead for over 20 years. His love for his sister was clouding his judgment and that was a problem.
She had spoken to her father about this and this was something that he had feared as well. Oberyn's love for Elia would cloud his judgment and cause him to act rashly. It was also her job to control the situation. However, she did not have the authority to march their armies south again, Oberyn still had the final say. Arianne had argued with her father for her to get full control but he had said no, saying that it would raise too much suspicion. Now, that decision could turn into a big mistake.
She would have to do something about it, before the Targaryens came for Kings Landing with their dragons. They would not be able to defend Kings Landing, but if it came down to it, then they would be able to defend Dorne, just like her ancestors had.
Arianne sighed in frustration and began to walk back into the castle. She would have to find a way to convince her Uncle, to return their troops to Dorne. Could she convince him that this boy was an imposter? She was not sure that she could.
She would have to get her father to withdraw his support, but sending a raven back to Dorne would take too long and there was no guarantee that her words would convince him. For all she knew, her father also believed that he was truly Elia's son.
She ran her hand through her long black hair, she needed to come up with a plan, and soon.
The Dragon King
Vedros was racing through the cold evening air towards the Twins. They had left Dragonstone as soon as they received the message. As they flew, Jon could not help but think of the worst, what if his father was already dead?
No, he could not be dead. It could not happen.
Vedros roared and then she started to descend. Quick tight spirals that brought them to the ground quickly. Jon could see the castle sprawled out below him on the banks of the Green Fork. He could see the neat orderly lines of tents constructed by their Unsullied sitting outside of the castle walls. Vedros's claws had barely touched the ground before Jon was already on his way off her side and onto the ground. Ghost leaped out of his place in the saddle and came to his side
He felt the ground shake as Anogar landed next to him and Dany quickly joined him. Together, they quickly made their way from the camp to the main gates of the castle. He saw several Frey guards manning the walls but he ignored them and kept walking forward, they saw the dragon, they would know who he was.
As they got closer, the gates to the castle swung open and they saw Ser Barristan waiting for them on the other side. He wore a grave expression on his pale face and Jon's heart sunk.
"Please tell me that he's fine, Ser Barristan," Jon asked desperately but the old knight just gave him a small shake of his head.
"Follow me, your grace," he said and he turned on his heels to lead them through the castle. Jon followed closely as he led them up a flight of stairs and to a guarded room at the end of a long warm hallway. There were Unsullied guards on duty at the door and they quickly stepped out of the way when they saw him.
Jon burst into the room and saw his father lying on the bed with his eyes closed. His chest was rising and falling slowly and there was a large bloody bandage along his side near his stomach . He looked to the floor and saw several bloody and ruined bandages scattered along the floor. The room was hot and smelled of sweat and blood.
"Father," Jon called quietly as he crossed over to him. He crouched down by his side but his father did not respond. He reached out to gently hold his hand.
"Father, can you hear me?" he asked again but again his father did not respond. A feeling of sadness and despair washed over him completely. It built from low in his chest before rushing out into his entire body. Dany came over to his other side and she too tried to speak to his father but he did not answer. Jon did not know what to do. He felt dizzy and lightheaded. How could this be happening? Was it his fault? He was the one who signed off on the plan, he had to take responsibility.
"Your graces," he heard a gravelly voice say. He quickly turned his head and turned towards the man that entered the room. He was a short man with a large double chin and a mop of brown hair on his head. "I am Maester Brennet,"
"What happened to him ? " Jon interrupted. "Explain his injuries,"
"Of course, your grace. He was shot with a bow in the back of the lower leg. I have managed to bind and clean that wound. He was also shot with a bolt in the lower part of his stomach, I have managed to stop the bleeding,"
"Will he live?" Dany asked quickly and Jon looked desperately at the Maester, pleading for some good news.
"I am not sure, your grace. He has lost a lot of blood and it seems that his body has shut down. There is no telling when he will wake," he said solemnly. Jon's head fell.
"There has to be more you can do," he heard Dany question and he could hear the desperation in her voice.
"I am sorry, your grace. There is no more that I can do. All we can do is to continue to change his bandages and dress his wounds, but I can't force his body to heal faster. It is up to him now whether he will overcome this,"
"He will overcome this," Jon said quietly. "My father will live. I know it,"
If his father could survive Robert Baratheon's warhammer, then he could survive a few arrow shots. He would live. He had to.
"Maester Brennet, if there is no more than you can do, I would like some privacy please," Jon said quietly and he saw the Maester bow before he left.
"Ser Barristan, what happened? Why are you at the Twins and not where we told you to be?"
"Your grace. We heard that there was a Northern army moving south towards the Riverlands and so I took the royal forces to the Twins to intercept them. I knew that the Twins were the only place to cross into the Riverlands and so it was important to fortify them. Prince Rhaegar found us here this morning and later he went to meet Lord Stark," Ser Barristan told them and Jon nodded.
"Were you with them when they met?" Dany asked
"I was not part of their conversation, but they were only a short distance away, your grace,"
"So you don't know what they spoke about?" Jon asked and he shook his head.
"No, your grace. After they spoke they came back towards us. More of Lord Stark 's men had arrived from their camp by that point and that is when the attack happened. One of his men shot P rince Rhaegar and this first strike dropped them to his knees and then a second man shot him in his side whilst he was down,"
Jon shook his head and he tried hard to keep calm. Stark men had tried to kill his father.
"Are you sure they were Stark men?" Dany asked and Ser Barristan nodded. "They wore Stark cloaks and one of the attackers shouted 'For Winterfell' after the deed was done. There is no doubt in my mind,"
Jon took a long deep breath before he turned to Ser Barristan.
"I don't understand, S er Barristan. They had sent us a raven asking for mercy and then they go and do this. Why?" he asked and the old knight shook his head.
"I don't know, your grace. Maybe they did not like the terms you offered. I do not understand why Lord Stark would bring his entire army south if he had agreed to your peaceful terms ,"
"What happened after my father fell? What did Lord Stark do?"
"He came over to the body but I threw him back before he could finish the job. Then, he was swiftly carried away by his men,"
"He fled?" Jon asked quietly and Ser Barristan nodded. Jon shook his head, this was all too much for him. Just earlier, that day they had defeated Robert Baratheon and it looked like the war was finally won, but now it looked like they were entering a new one.
He contemplated going North to confront Lord Stark. He needed to see him again, especially since it looked like he was behind the attack. However, he did not want to leave his father, not here when he was fighting for his life .
"Dany, I want to take him home, back to Dragonstone," Jon said after a few moments.
"I had a similar thought," she said quietly. " Someone tried to kill him. He might send assassins to finish the job. We can protect him better on Dragonstone."
"It might not be wise to move him. We should speak to the Maester first," Jon said and she nodded in agreement. "Ser Barristan if you could and find Maester Brennet please,"
The knight nodded and then left the room, leaving them alone. They were quiet for a few moments before he heard Dany release a small sob. He immediately crossed over to the other side of the bed and gave her a hug.
"Dany, he will be fine, I know it," Jon said with all the confidence that he could muster.
"I knew something bad would happen. I felt it and I was right," she said quietly into his chest.
"I know, but he will live Dany, he is a tough man. He survived Robert Baratheon's warhammer. He spent years searching Essos to find you. He is tough and he is resilient. He will overcome this. I know it," he said firmly.
"You're right," she said quietly. "He is strong, he will make it through this,"
Jon smiled and held her tighter. He had to hold onto hope that his father would live, he could not think of the alternative.
"What do we do about the North?" she asked as she broke away to take a seat next to the bed.
"Nothing for now. They tried to kill my father and if we fly there alone they'll try and kill us as well. Winter is here and that makes it more difficult to march our armies N orth,"
"I agree that we should stay in the South and take care of Rhaegar , but we have to do something Jon,"
"I know," he said quietly as he looked at him. "I think that he would want me to find more information first and to speak to Lord Stark in person before I involve our armies,"
"That is wise Jon. Although, doing nothing could make us look weak,"
"I know, but we need to make sure he gets better first, and the first step is trying to get him back to Dragonstone. When he wakes then he can tell us the truth," Jon said.
"Ser Barristan described it as if he was shot in the back, I'm not sure what he could tell us when he wakes,"
"He could tell us what they talked about. If they argued then we know that Lord Stark has a motive,"
"You don't think Lord Stark did it?" Dany asked quietly.
"Dany, to be honest, I don't know what to think. It doesn't make sense. They send a raven to Dragonstone asking for more lenient terms with the Tullys because they don't want to fight us. Then they march south anyway with most of their men and they try to kill my father. I don't understand it,"
"You're right. It doesn't make sense,"
"That's why I want to hold off until I have more information. I don't want to rush us into a decision that we will regret," Jon said and Dany nodded. Then the door to the room opened and Ser Barristan entered with the Maester following close behind.
"Your graces," he said with a bow.
"We would like to take him back to Dragonstone so that he can continue his recovery back at home . Is it safe for him to travel?" Dany asked and Jon saw the Maester shift uncomfortably from foot to foot
"Ideally, I would like him to remain in the same place whilst he heals. If he is travelling it's possible that the constant temperature changes could cause him to get a cold and that could impact his recovery,"
"We will be able to keep him warm, Maester," Dany said quickly. "We will also change his bandages and so on,"
"Then it will be safe to move him, although I would not recommend it. In this state, he is only able to consume honey and water, please continue to make sure he is given it. May I ask why?"
"We have our reasons," Dany said firmly and the Maester nodded and bowed in acceptance .
"Of course your grace, but I do recommend that you wait at least a day to see if his condition changes. In the morning, I will conduct another assessment and then you will be able to take him if you still wish to,"
"Thank you Maester Brennet," Dany said and the Maester bowed before once again taking his leave. Jon then turned to look at his father. He still had not moved. He just continued to breathe deeply and slowly at the same pace that he did at before.
"I guess we're staying the night," Jon said quietly.
"We'll sleep in those chairs by the fire," Dany said and Jon nodded in agreement. They both wanted to be here through the night in case he woke.
"Ser Barristan. Start making preparations for us to leave with him tomorrow. We will take him in a carriage south back towards Castle Darry and Maidenpool where a ship will take us back to Dragonstone," Jon said.
"Of course, your grace,"
"It's been a long and challenging day Ser Barristan and I am sure that the next few will be just as tough, get plenty of rest if you can," Dany said kindly and the knight nodded before he left the room.
After he left, they both settled into the chairs by the fire, Jon found a few blankets in a wardrobe and used that to cover them.
"It's not the most comfortable but I think we'll manage," he said once they settled down.
"We've slept in worse places, such as that night we spent sleeping next to Caraxes," Dany said and Jon smiled at the memory.
"Aye," They were quiet for a few moments and Jon stared at the fire and let out a deep breath. The day had started off so well after they had defeated Robert Baratheon but now he had nearly lost his father. Worse still, he did not understand why Lord Stark had tried to kill him.
He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. Hopefully, he would find some answers in the morning.
The She Wolf of Winterfell
Following her reunion with Nymeria, Arya Stark had spent the next few days in the clearing of the forest. Her knee was in more pain than she had previously thought and as a result she had been unable to travel much. Thankfully, Nymeria had been of great help to her. Her wolf had brought her food and Arya had been able to gather enough wood to cook it and keep herself warm.
She had used the time spent in the clearing to think about what she saw but she could not work it out. Lord Bolton had buried a cloak in the ground but she had no idea why he would need an old cloak, it was useless.
To make matters worse, because of her injury, she had been unable to get back to their camp to speak to her father and brother about this. They would be able to make sense of this mystery.
After a few days in that clearing, Arya had enough and decided to hobble her way back to camp. She was a few meters into the woods when Nymeria had appeared again. Her wolf kept nudging her until eventually Arya climbed on her back and let her carry her.
They had spent most of the day travelling and Arya felt as if they made good progress. They had left the forests behind and they were now in more open fields. Arya was concerned, she hadn't seen any signs of her father's army yet, although perhaps that meant they had made much more progress south than she had thought.
Still, she would not let that deter her. She knew that if she kept moving south she would eventually find her father's army again.
Arya leaned back and looked up into the clear blue sky. Thankfully it had been dry for the last few days. If it had rained, she likely would have caught a cold after sleeping out in the open. As she rode south, her thoughts turned to Jon. She had not seen him in years and she missed him dearly. She wondered how much he had changed, he was a King now.
It felt weird to think of Jon as a King but that was the truth of the matter. He was a King, with his own armies and his dragons. Arya remembered what her father told her, his dragon was the large green dragon and the color of dark moss. Hopefully, Jon would let her ride on his dragon, it would be amazing.
He was also a King with a Queen and a wife. Arya wondered what Daenerys would be like, she had to be good if Jon had married her, she knew that for sure. Would she be like Visenya, the Warrior Queen? Or more like Queen Rhaenys? Either way, Arya eager to meet her.
Arya wondered where Jon was at that moment. She knew that he was in Westeros fighting his war. He was probably around Kings Landing taking the city from Robert Baratheon.
They crested a hill and Arya saw a castle ahead of her. She closed her eyes and remembered her lessons with Maester Luwin and she realised that it must be the Twins, it was the only castle this close to the Green Fork. Arya was confused, surely she should have seen her father's army by now.
Nymeria started to make her way towards the castle and Arya knew she would have to stop by the castle to learn about her father and Jon's current whereabouts . She left Nymeria far away from the castle gates and made the rest of the way on foot. She hobbled her way to the gates of the castle before she was stopped by a pair of guards.
"Soldiers go that way," one of them said in a bored voice. Arya was confused, so she stood there without moving.
"Are you simple? I said Soldiers go that way," the guard said again.
"Why?" she asked.
"Cus we're marching South you idiot," the guard said as he finally looked at her. "Marching south to help King Aegon take Kings Landing,"
"Where is he? The King?" Arya asked quickly but the guard just shrugged.
"Gone hasn't he. He was here then he left a few days ago,"
"He was here?" Arya asked excitedly. She couldn't believe that Jon was here of all places, they had been so close. "Why?"
"You really are simple," the guard said with a shake of his head. "Stark tried to kill his father, Prince Rhaegar. I heard they hurt him pretty bad and the King and Queen came here to see him. I heard they're taking him back to Dragonstone,"
Arya froze as a nauseous feeling passed over her. That couldn't be true, her father would never do something like this. Never.
"You're lying," she said to the guard.
"Me? Why would I lie?" he asked in an outraged voice and Arya bit her lip to hold off her reply.
"Get out of here, you've distracted me for long enough," he s napped and Arya reluctantly turned and walked away from the guard post. She walked aimlessly in the direction of the Frey camp as she thought over what she had learned.
She could not believe it. Her father would not try and kill Rhaegar, that was just a stupid idea. However, Arya realised that the guard had no reason to lie, there must have been some truth in there. As Arya walked, she realised that Lord Bolton must have had something to do with it. Perhaps, that's what he wanted the cloak for, to disguise one of his men as a Stark man to get her father blamed for his crimes.
Arya froze as understanding washed over her. Suddenly, it all made sense. Lord Bolton had to be behind this and Arya was the only one who knew. She saw a saddled horse tied up outside of a tent. Without thinking, she walked over to it, untied it and climbed onto its back and headed away. She heard a howl coming from the tree line and she hoped that Nymeria would be following her.
The guard had told her that Jon was going south to take Kings Landing. That was good, it meant that he was not going North to punish her father for a crime that he didn't commit.
It also gave her time. Time to get south to find Jon and to tell him of this conspiracy. She had to hurry. Sooner or later Jon would have to deal with her father, and Arya needed to tell him the truth before it was too late.
Notes:
Let me know what you think of this chapter
The next chapter is called 'The Lion's Den' and I should give it to you in the next 9-10 days.
Let me know what you think of this one, comments are always appreciated
Thanks for reading
Sleepy
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