章 2210: 5
Chapter 5: The Storm
Summary:
"I am the storm, my lord. The first storm, and the last" - The Reaver AFFC
Notes:
Jon and Dany are on a boat and this is the longest chapter so far...
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Lost Prince
Jon paced back and forth in his cabin. He knew that he needed to do this but he was incredibly nervous. Ghost lay at the foot of his bed, not caring of Jon's troubles. Jon made up his mind and left his cabin. As he walked through the ship he heard a clap of thunder in the distance. He noticed Viserys in the hallway, talking to a member of the crew. The man had green hair and ugly twisting scar down on side of his face, he was one of the new members of crew that had come aboard in Volantis. Jon looked at him curiously, he looked familiar, but he could not place him. They saw Jon walking towards them and quickly finished their conversation. The sailor quickly walked away in the opposite direction, leaving Jon alone with Viserys.
"What were you two talking about?"
"None of your business bastard," Viserys answered and he pushed his way past him. Jon had half a mind to follow him, but he had another cabin to visit that night. He continued to walk slowly through the boat until he reached the cabin he was looking for. He knocked three times and waited. The door opened, and his nervousness took over again. He shook his head and said,
"Rhaegar, I think its time we had a much overdue conversation.,"
Silently, Rhaegar pushed open the door and let him enter. Jon paced around the room nervously ringing his hands.
"Tell me about my mother, please," he asked. Rhaegar pointed to his bed and gestured for Jon to take a seat.
"I met your mother at the great tourney of Harrenhall. It was the biggest tourney of our lifetime. All the houses and lords of any importance in Westeros came to attend and take part in it. This tourney also garnered attention for the fact, that my father who hadn't left the Red Keep in years since the Defiance at Duskendale incident, decided to attend as well. We were there for ten days, the competition lasted seven days. There were contests of archery, melee, singing, jousting and even a horse racing competition," he smiled at the memory.
"Did Lord Stark ever tell you the story of the Knight of the Laughing tree?" he asked and Jon shook his head
"No?" Rhaegar looked very surprised, "Well, this is where we will start, It's very important. During the joust, a mystery knight entered the list, this wasn't uncommon, often these tourneys are filled with unknown knights looking to make a name for themselves. This knight, wore mismatched armour and had a shield which had a white weirwood tree with a laughing red face painted on it. The knight challenged three knights and unhorsed all of them. Winning custody over their horses and armour. As ransom for their horses and armour, the mystery knight demanded that the knights teach their squires to behave honourably," Rhaegar got up to pour himself a drink before sitting back down
"The knights and their squires were shamed by the mystery knight's demand. My father due to his paranoid nature saw the mystery knight's actions as acts of treason and defiance, he demanded to know the identity of the mystery knight. The old fool thought the knight was mocking him," Rhaegar spat bitterly, "He commanded the knight to take off his helm and reveal his identity but the mystery knight just turned his horse around and swiftly rode off the field. My father's anger soared at this blatant act of disobedience and he demanded the mystery knight's head. He then commanded me to find the knight and bring his head back. I complied and left in pursuit of the mystery knight. I found his trail and followed. Soon, I found the knight's horse in a clearing along with discarded pieces of the knight's armour. I continued along the path and saw the knight struggling to remove his helm and remaining pieces of armour. As I was about to step out and announce my presence, the helm came off and I was stunned. The knight was your mother, Lyanna Stark," he said with a smile
"What? Why would she be dressed as a mystery knight?" Jon asked in disbelief
"Howland Reed, Lord of Greywater Watch who was a Stark bannerman, had been attacked by those squires when he arrived to attend the tourney because of his appearance, your mother heard his cries for help and saved him by beating away the attackers with only a tourney sword. When she saw those squires later that night at the feast, she knew which knights they served and she knew who to challenge in the lists,"
"But why would she challenge them, she was a Stark, her word alone would have been enough,"
Rhaegar laughed
"Your mother was free spirited and not one to abide the rules of society. She was a great rider and realised that by beating the knights the squires in front of the entire realm, she would teach them a lesson. Actions speak louder than words after all. She was a fantastic rider, almost part horse herself," he said with a smile and Jon was reminded of Arya.
"Are you any good at jousting, Jon?"
"I've never tried it, we don't usually have tourneys in the North and Robb has always been better with a lance,"
"Oh," Rhaegar said
"I'm a better swordsman than Robb though, I'm the best among all of us at Winterfell," he added quickly. For some reason, he wanted Rhaegar to be proud of him
"I wasn't upset Jon, I'm proud of you and I know Lya would be too,"
Jon had a small smile, "You haven't finished your story,"
"Ah, of course, where was I?" he paused for a moment before continuing. "Right, I appeared before her and demanded to know the reason behind her actions, she explained and I agreed with her views. I, then asked her for her shield to give to my father as proof that the knight had vanished and promised that I would keep her secret for life. We continued to meet over the course of tourney in secret to speak over various topics."
"We spoke about our families, our homes etc.., one of the most interesting parts of our discussions was her comment on how all the maidens and even some of the married women at the tourney were fawning over me, trying to gain my attention and that they were not even deterred by the presence of my wife. I, simply laughed and agreed with her by saying it was one of the perks/drawbacks of being royalty. I even made a jape of how it was the magic of my dragon lord blood that drew women to me. She just smirked and said that the Starks too have magical lineage in the blood by talking about tales of greenseers and wargs. She said that at times she felt like a warg because of how easily she was able to control and ride her horse."
"Wait, 'Wargs', I've heard about them in Old Nan's stories." Jon said. Rhaegar, then proceeded to explain the myth of wargs or skinchangers and their power of entering the minds of animals and birds to control them, based upon what he had learned from Lyanna and his own reading in various books. He explained that the first men learned this ability from the Children of the forest according to Lyanna's stories.
"The Children of the forest, they're not real. They're just another myth like the white walkers, giants etc.., they're not real." Jon replied, not being able to wrap his mind around all this talk of magic.
"Perhaps, they did not learn the ability from the children, but I think it existed. If Targaryens are able to ride dragons and have dragon dreams, why can't Starks have the ability to warg or skinchange?" Rhaegar answered.
"Dragon dreams, Dany has dragon dreams. I have them as well," Jon added.
"Oh," Rhaegar looked very surprised. "I have never had them. I'm not sure Viserys has had them either, I guess it would just be you and Daenerys. When did you start to have them?"
"I had my first one the night I was told the truth. I dreamt I was on a dragon flying over Winterfell. I also dreamt of Robert Baratheon being presented with the bodies of your children," he said quietly, not wanting to upset him
"That is very interesting. Perhaps your dreams are prophetic. Our ancestors had prophetic dreams, this is how they knew to leave Valyria and head to Dragonstone,"
Jon nodded and sat quietly
Jon then started to think back on his dreams. He was starting to consider the possibility that he may have warged into Ghost and then he thought about the familiar looking sailor from earlier but he lost his train of thought as Rhaegar continued his story.
"She was unlike any woman I had ever met. She did not care for my princely status and was refreshingly honest in her opinions. Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with her. She was brave, strong and willing to stand up for those who couldn't fight for themselves. At the feast I played a song for her on my harp, I heard it made her cry," he smiled happily at the memory. Later, I found her after the feast and professed my feelings, she smiled at first but then her expression changed and she told me that she would not be my mistress or secret lover. She and my wife deserved better. I tried to explain that my love was true and not just mere lust or infatuation but she had left before I could finish my explanation." I decided to not only prove my love to her but also to proclaim it in front of the entire realm. I proceeded to win the joust, after defeating four knights of the kingsguard in the following days,"
"I'm sure they tried very hard to beat the crown prince," Jon said with a laugh
"They did actually. I broke my lance three times during the final joust," Rhaegar replied laughing in return. "Anyway, as champion, I could name anyone the Queen of love and beauty and I named Lyanna. I placed a crown of blue winter roses in her lap," Jon noticed that his smile turned into a grimace. "I probably should not have done that as my wife was in the crowd and everyone expected me to crown her. Also, Lyanna was betrothed to my cousin Robert at the time. To say that there were a few unhappy faces would be an understatement,"
"Robert Baratheon is your cousin?"
Yes, he had a Targaryen grandmother or something, it's not that important,"
"Why did you do it then?" Jon asked
"Do what?"
"Why did you crown her when you knew it wasn't proper?"
Rhaegar let out a loud drawn out sigh
"A wise man once told me that love is the bane of honour and the death of duty. We are only human and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our greatest glory and our greatest tragedy. My marriage with Elia was a political one, as I didn't have a sister to wed at the time and the Martells were a good match considering their princely status and they possessed targaryen blood in their lineage. Whilst Elia and I got along fine, neither of us would say that there was any great love between us. I chose love over duty when I crowned Lyanna. I regret that my actions caused the downfall of my house, I regret that thousands of people died because we ran off together, but I do not regret loving her, I do not regret the fact that because of that love, you are here now. Jon, I know you may not think very highly of me, but I do love you, and I always will,"
Jon's eyes teared up and he felt his heart swell so much he was sure it would burst.
"What happened next?" he croaked
"Well Jon, tourneys are like holidays, and after a holiday, you have to go back home. Back to your normal life. I returned to Dragonstone and she returned to the north, unsure of whether we would see the other again. I wrote to her trying to apologize for the scandal that my actions caused and also to assure her my intentions were honourable and my feelings were genuine. When I received no reply, I accepted it as her refusal and decided to put this entire matter behind me for the sake of her reputation. Fate on the other hand, had other ideas," Rhaegar sat up his face grew darker. "I heard rumours from Kings Landing that my father had learned that she was the 'Knight of the Laughing Tree' and that he was sending men to arrest her when she arrived in the Riverlands for her brother's wedding. I couldn't let that happen, so I rode hard for the Riverlands with my kingsguard knights and friends, Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Oswell Whent. I met with her in secret while she was riding out in the fields near Riverrun as I did not want to add fuel to the fires surrounding my actions at Harrenhall and I told her of the danger that was headed her way. She believed me and told me that her father had hid my letters from her and when she discovered this, she asked him to end her betrothal as she did not care for Robert and his lecherous nature. She too had feelings for me. Her father not only refused her pleas but scolded her by saying that I was taking advantage of her feelings. Robert was a good match that would strengthen their house while with me the best she could hope for was to end up as a Royal Mistress shunned by the realm. She even appealed to her brothers though she did not tell them about me at the time, but, it did no good. Brandon laughed off her concerns about Robert as a maiden's pre-wedding fears while Ned made excuses for Robert because he considered Robert, a brother and thought that he would change his ways after their marriage. Her brother Benjen was the only one who understood her and he later helped her escape from Riverrun with me after she explained the situation to him. We then, rode back towards Harrenhall and we spoke about our feelings during the journey. She told me that she did not care about titles and her image, all she wanted from me was my love and loyalty. Her declaration strengthened my resolve. I annulled my marriage with Elia and then I asked her to marry me and she said yes. We had a wedding in front of the old gods on the Isle of faces in the middle of the Gods eye, with my Kingsguard as witnesses." Rhaegar smiled from cheek to cheek at this memory
"I was so happy that day, we rode all the way south. I took her to Summerhall and we layed together under the broken ceiling staring out at the stars. I would sing her songs on my harp and then under the stars we would make-"
"Too much information," he said quickly, his ears turning slightly red. Rhaegar smiled at his embarrassment
"We stayed at Summerhall for a while before I took her to the Tower of Joy, in Dorne,"
"That's where I was born,"
"Yes, Jon it was"
"While we were there caught up in our love story and future plans, we were unaware of what was transpiring in the rest of Westeros. We knew Lyanna's disappearance would cause problems so Lyanna sent a letter to her father explaining her decision to leave with me but apparently that letter either did not reach Lord Rickard or he chose to conceal it as a means to save face. I don't know what exactly happened. But then soon after, the Lord Commander of my father's Kingsguard Ser Gerold Hightower found me in Dorne and informed us of all that had happened after our disappearance"
"I, then returned to the capital to rally the Royal army against the rebels and left your pregnant mother with the kingsguard for her protection. I tried to contact Lord Eddard repeatedly to explain the truth of what had happened. I even attempted to organise a parley the night before Battle of the Trident would happen but he refused. Lord Stark was too angry and Robert was too bloodthirsty. They saw my attempts at communication as fear and weakness since they were high on their success in earlier battles."
Jon was appalled, he had always thought Lord Stark was a reasonable man, always willing to hear both sides of the argument before making a decision, but evidently he was wrong. He sat in silence for a few moments, processing this new information before he remembered something. "Wait, I'll be back" and he bolted out of the room to the surprise of Rhaegar. He returned a few minutes later with the package
"Here, this is yours," he handed Rhaegar his harp. Rhaegar took it and ran his fingers over the edges
"I used this and played to your mother every night as we travelled. It helped her sleep, especially when she was pregnant with you. Where did you get this?"
"He gave it to me when he told me the truth. He collected everything in the tower to give to me one day. He also gave me this," Jon took off the necklace that was hidden under his clothes.
"I made this for your mother, it's from a weirwood tree at the Isle of faces," he said as he looked at the necklace.
"Here, you should keep them," he handed the items back "Can you play the harp? Or sing?"
"No, I never really had the chance to learn. Bastards aren't meant to be educated in the higher arts. I considered myself fortunate as Lord Stark had made sure that I received the same education as his trueborn sons. Besides, Northerners value swords and arms more than music."
"No, I suppose that's true…you should learn, It might help you impress a pretty lady one day, it worked for me," Jon blushed and Rhaegar gave him a knowing smile.
"She cares for you, I've seen the way she looks at you, and the way you look at her," he spoke softly.
"She's my aunt," Jon said flatly
"She is, but this is one of the benefits of being born in our house,"
"I wasn't raised a Targaryen. It's weird for me,"
"Even if you are not comfortable with idea of being a Targaryen, Jon, you should also remember that in Westeros and even the North, marriages between cousins, uncles and nieces isn't unheard of, thus an aunt-nephew relationship is not a great stretch,"
Jon paused and considered this, could this be true? He had never paid attention in these parts of his lessons.
"Ok, if you had met her, and you weren't aware of who your parents were and your relation to her, what would you do?"
Jon pondered this scenario, would he care for her in this way if he was still Jon Snow? He thought of the way she smiled when he told her stories of home, the way she laughed when he told her the trouble he and Arya used to get up to, the way her platinum hair shone in the sunlight and he thought of those beautiful violet eyes. Yes I would
He looked up at Rhaegar and saw him smiling
"Jon, the rebellion is not your fault, it is mine alone. My father was an evil man and I should have done more to stop him. My love for your mother was the spark that started the rebellion, but the wood had already been piling up, even if I did not set off the rebellion, sooner or later one would have occurred. In fact, I was the one who had organized the tourney using Lord Whent as my cover, as I had intended to call a council of the lords with the goal of deposing my father, it would have been what's best for the realm,"
"Why didn't you?"
"Politics and Bad luck or good luck depending on your point of view. My father's presence at the tourney foiled any plan to gather a council. His paranoia caused numerous problems but in this case, it served his interests unknowingly. Also, during my conversations with your mother, I learned of the alliances that were being crafted thru marriages by the Lords of the North, Riverlands, Vale and Stormlands. The realm had been growing restless during my father's reign on account of his madness and ambitious lords saw this as an opportunity to gain more power. Robert Baratheon represented not just a chance to get rid of the mad king but also the opportunity to gain more power. He was the ideal candidate to become king."
"How would they have installed Robert Baratheon? I thought only those with Targaryen blood could inherit the throne?"
"Well Jon, you remember I said that Robert was my cousin due to his grandmother being a targaryen." Jon nods. "He was also the closest kinsman to House Targaryen at the time. If the targaryen line were to go extinct, then by law, Robert had the strongest claim to the throne. Also, they stood more to gain by Robert becoming King than they would with me on the throne. Your Stark grandfather, Lord Rickard was a very ambitious man. He arranged the marriage of his daughter to Robert so that she would become his queen when he gained the throne, their children would be rulers who had both Stark and Baratheon blood. His son, Brandon would marry Catelyn Tully, this would give the North the support of the Riverlands while Hoster's grandchildren would become the Lords of the North. Hoster's second daughter Lysa could be used to secure an alliance with the Westerlands through a marriage with Jamie Lannister. Lord Rickard had his second son Eddard fostered with Lord Jon Arryn where he could befriend Robert Baratheon, thus Jon Arryn would become a foster father to them and would likely become Robert's Hand of the King when Robert gained the throne."
"Do you see all the connections and alliances being formed within these kingdoms and none of them included House Targaryen? "
Jon sat in silence for a few moments, taking it all in. All his life, he had lived believing that the Starks were good, honourable people, but what if he was wrong? His grandfather had been content to marry his only daughter off like chattel to increase his power. Lord Stark had ignored his sister's pleas because he was blinded by his love for his friend. He looked towards Rhaegar who was watching him carefully.
"Yes, I'm starting to see clearly for the first time in my life. Thank you father,"
The Hand of the King
The Tournament was a grand and lavish affair, the capital was packed, every inn, tavern and brothel was filled to capacity. Nearly all the houses in the realm were here at the invitation of the King, the Tyrells, Hightowers, Tullys, etc.. and many more. There were even some houses he had never heard of in his life. Before long, all of them seemed to have sent someone to the capital for this tourney. There were however some notable exceptions, Lysa Arryn had forbidden all knights of the Vale from participating and House Martell had, perhaps unsurprisingly, declined to attend. This was no surprise to him, after the atrocious crimes committed to Princess Elia and her children, Dorne had become distant, and was part of the seven kingdoms in name only. He was not surprised that they did not want to break bread with the Lannisters and the Baratheon's. Lysa Arryn's absence was perhaps more worrying, he had learned that she had fled the capital after her husband's death. Combined with the cryptic letter she had sent to Cat, he was even more eager to start his private investigation into Jon Arryn's death. Still, with the absence of Dorne and the Vale, there were slightly less people here to indulge in this nonsense.
"Cheer up Lord Stark," he turned towards Jory, "They say that this is the finest Tournament Kings Landing has ever hosted. They say that people from all over the realm have come to see the Hand's tourney,"
"Do they also say that this is the last thing I would have wanted?" he asked bitterly. The tourney was expensive and troublesome enough as it was, and the salt in the wound was calling it "the Hand's tourney". Did Robert think this would honour him? Please him? Ned was once again struck by how much his old friend had changed over the years, he is no longer the man he once knew.
They continued their walk to the Tourney grounds in silence. Ahead, he saw Sansa and her friend Jeyne, gossiping and pointing out various things as they passed. He was happy that Sansa was enjoying herself. They had not been in Kings Landing for long, but every time he saw her she had a radiant smile on her face. Still he was concerned, he had noticed Queen Cersei taking a keen interest in the girl, inviting her to breakfasts and walks through the castle gardens. Then, there was Prince Joffery, he had not seen much of the boy but from the small amount he had seen, he realized that he was nothing like Robert as a child. Hells, he wondered if Robert had even raised the child, Joffrey stuck to his mother like a baby duck. Still, the boy was young, he could still grow to be a good husband for his daughter. Arya was being marshalled by Septa Mordane, no doubt the Septa was lecturing her to stay close by and not to run off and get into her usual mischief.
They were nearing the Tourney grounds and the sound of the crowd was starting to get louder. Grandstands had been erected and surrounded the jousting area. This was the final day of the joust and then thankfully, this nonsense would be over and he could get some real work done. He entered the back of the royal grandstand and made his way to the top. As Hand of the King, he had a seat to the right of the King, who looked thoroughly hungover. He and Ser Barristan had to persuade him not to participate in the melee, where he had gotten that idea was beyond him, the melee was no place for the King. He walked up the stands and took his place next to the King
"Your grace," he greeted and he gave a small bow.
"Ned, what did I say about your blasted formalities," he croaked, he was definitely hungover. Sansa sat in front of him next to Septa Mordane and Arya, they weren't bickering which was good to see. To the left of the King sat the Queen, wearing a green dress to match her green eyes. To her left, sat the great Tywin Lannister, his face impassive. He looked down towards the jousting area to find that they were lazily setting up for the first set of lists. Slowly the King rose to his feet
"I've been sitting here for days! Start the damn joust before I piss myself!" he shouted and then he slowly sat down again, grasping his horn of ale. He looks bloody miserable, Ned thought.
The crowd loudly cheered as the joust was about to begin. Up first, was Ser Jaime Lannister, his opponent seemed to be a hedge knight with an unknown emblem on his shield. The joust started and it was quickly over, the hedge knight no match for the Kingslayer. Ned leaned forward slightly and noticed the proud smirks on the faces of Lord Tywin and the Queen. The joust continued for much of the afternoon. The knights of the Kingsguard rode well and easily progressed onto the latter stages of the competition. There were however, a few surprises. The young Tyrell boy, Ser Loras, had defeated both Ser Balon Swann and Ser Meryn Trant, two knights of the Kingsguard. Gregor Clegane defeated another knight of the Kingsguard before brutally killing Ser Hugh. Deaths were rare but not unheard-of occurrence in the joust and no further action was taken. He was unhorsed by Ser Loras, the young lad was smart, he knew his horse was in heat and he used that to beat the Mountain. The mountain was not impressed by this trick and it was only thanks to the intervention of Gregor's brother Sandor Clegane that the lad was saved. The lad may have been smart, but the Mountain would have demolished him with ease.
The final joust was about to begin and then this tourney nonsense could be put behind them. Ser Barristan was up against Ser Jaime and as he leaned forward, he could see Tywin and Cersei watching intently. He watched as Ser Barristan was handed his lance and shield whilst on the other side of the field Ser Jaime sat astride his horse, ready and waiting, the golden Lion on his shield shining brightly in the afternoon light. In unison, they both rode forward and the final joust began. The first ride ended with both knights breaking their lances on the others shield. They went back and forth, breaking lances and shields for over ten tilts. The joust was finally ended when Jaime unhorsed Barristan and the crowd erupted cheering. Ned stood to give his polite round of applause and stole a glance and saw the very smug expressions of Tywin and Cersei. He rode forward and stopped before the King
"Congratulations to the Kingslayer!" Robert shouted, and Ned saw Tywin's smile tighten slightly
"Herald! See he gets his reward, fifty thousand golden dragons!" The King staggered to his feet, clearly drunk. Ser Jaime stepped onto the podium to accept his reward and the plaudits, Tywin was beaming with pride at his golden lion. Suddenly, a small stunted figure stepped onto the podium, and he saw Lord Tywin's smile turn into a fierce scowl. It was the dwarf, Tyrion Lannister and he was clearly well into his cups. He waddled onto the stage and stood beside his older brother. He walked towards the edge of the podium as if to address the crowd, but he was unsteady, rocking back and forth he opened his mouth to speak, but instead a hurl of vomit flew out of his mouth and onto the onlooking crowd. The dwarf's hands went to his knees as he doubled over. A Lannister guard quickly came over to try and drag him off the podium, instead he pushed off the guard and stumbled off the stage, landing face first in his own vomit. Ned looked towards Tywin to see that his once proud face was now seething with rage.
King Robert's drunken booming laugh echoed out across the Tourney Grounds, as Tywin Lannister angrily stalked away.
The Silent Shadow
The wolf raised his head from the floor and looked around his master's room. It was empty. He slowly got up and made his way out of the cabin, he lifted his nose high into the air and sniffed. His master was to his right, but the wolf went to his left.
He moved silently through the ship, sticking to the shadows. The wolf crossed the deck and jumped onto a stack of crates. The wolf slowly crawled forward until he could see over the edge of the boxes.
Below him, two men stood huddled closely together, having an intense conversation. The winds from the storm had blown the hood off the head of one man, exposing his long silver hair to the world. The other man did not have this problem, his green hair was cut short and was unaffected. Silently, the wolf got up and moved closer to the men, the wolf wanted to hear details of the conversation. His master was asleep, his master needed to hear this.
"….tonight. We do it tonight,"
"It is not wise, the storm is here, it would be best to wait for better conditions,"
"No, you stupid man. These conditions are perfect. Do it now and I will say they were lost at sea. They are in the same cabin. Gather your men and go now. I have business to take care off,"
The silver haired man turned on his heel and walked away quickly. The green haired man huffed in frustration and walked away. The wolf knew he needed to act now. Quickly. Silently, he hurried through the ship, searching for his master.
The wolf heard a loud clap of thunder and hurried below deck.
The Hidden King
Rhaegar was bursting with happiness. Jon finally seemed to have forgiven him and he was finally able to bond with his son, his lost son. As they spoke, he could see the traits that he got from his mother. Judging from the stories he told him about growing up in Winterfell, he could tell that he had inherited some of the rebellious traits of his mother. Jon told him about a boy named Hodor who appeared to be simple minded, he told him about how some of the cruel stable boys would make fun of him, he was happy that Jon always defended him when he could, he was like his mother in that regard.
As Jon slept he again noticed how much he looked like his mother. He had her eyes and her lips, but not the nose. His nose was Targaryen, virtually the same as Daenerys. He also seemed to have inherited his own melancholic nature, he frequently saw him walking around on the deck of the ships with his wolf as his companion. 'Brooding' was what it was called in the north, he remembered. That all changed when Daenerys was around he noticed, it was like he transformed into a different person. He was happy and full of life, just like his mother was. A part of him wondered what it would have been like if had he won at the trident. Maybe he would have gotten back to the Tower in time and Lyanna would have lived. Jon would have grown up alongside his older brother and sister, alongside Daenerys and Viserys, he would have had a family, his true family.
He told him stories of what it was like growing up at Winterfell and he felt conflicted. On one hand, he was immensely grateful to Lord Stark for taking his son in and being a father to him when he could not, but on the other hand, he was horrified by Lady Catelyn's treatment. Calling him a bastard was bad enough, Jon was a prince, a Targaryen prince with the blood of old Valyria in his veins, he did not deserve to be treated as a bastard born of a drunken night encounter. Still he could stomach this, he understood that it was necessary for his protection.
What he could not understand, was Lady Catelyn's treatment of him. Jon had been reluctant to talk about her, and Rhaegar quickly realized it was because he had no good stories to tell. The woman barely treated him as if he was human, he was given smaller portions to eat and he had to pretend to lose to Robb in order to not upset her. On top of that, it appeared that she had instructed the servants to take part in this poor treatment of Jon. Rhaegar was angry at this, was Lady Catelyn so cruel that she could not find it within her to love a motherless child? He realized that she was Hoster Tully's daughter, Hoster Tully was an ambitious man, no doubt, he had schemed to use his children for political marriages to increase his influence in the realm and to protect his borders. Perhaps that attitude had rubbed off on his daughter.
This didn't sit right with Rhaegar however, from the way Jon spoke about the marriage between Lord Stark and Lady Catelyn, it appeared that Lady Catelyn was a loving woman, they had five children together and they even shared the same chambers, something that he did not do with Elia. So if she was capable of love, why was it that she treated Jon so poorly? Was it possible that Ned Stark had not told her the truth about his parentage? Surely not. If they loved each other, which he believed was the case, he would trust his wife with the secret. He kept no secrets from Lyanna. No, the fault must lie with Lady Catelyn, Ned would have told his wife the truth.
Still, it was not all bleak in Winterfell for Jon it seemed. He got along well with the boys, Robb and Bran. Apparently, there was an older Greyjoy boy who as a ward. Rhaegar laughed at that, he knew a hostage when he saw one. Rhaegar also noticed the way his eyes lit up when he spoke about Arya, the little girl appeared to be his favourite. He listened eagerly as Jon told him stories about all the mischief they'd get up to. She loved the Targaryen's and they used to re-enact stories of Targaryen's of old. He heard a knock on the door. It was the captain. One of Illyrio's men.
"The storm is getting worse, we may have to head for calmer waters, or back to Volantis,"
Rhaegar gave a sigh of frustration.
"Very well, just make sure we get there safely," he said and the captain left. A few days after they left Volantis, they had noticed a storm on the horizon. Initially the captain had been unfazed and had adamantly maintained they would not be affected, but lately the storm had crept closer. Even now he could hear the sound of the rain thundering down on the deck of the ship.
He turned back towards the bed and saw that Jon had woken up. His son looked confused as he sat up
"Are you okay Jon?"
"Yes, I just had a strange dream, that's all,"
They heard a soft scratching at the door, Jon got up to open it and Ghost bounded in, almost knocking him to the floor in the process.
"Is he always this happy to see you?"
"Not usually," he said as he pushed his wolf away. The wolf growled in frustration and then sat facing the door.
"Interesting wolf. How much do you think he'll grow to?"
"I don't know, direwolves haven't been seen south of the wall in centuries, he'll grow as much as I feed him I suppose,"
"How old is he? Where did you find him?"
"He's a few months old. We found him on the way back from an execution,"
"An execution?"
"Yes, there was a deserter from the Night's watch and we travelled out to watch the execution. He said It was an important lesson for us to learn, 'the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword' he said,"
Rhaegar nodded his head, this sounded like a very Northern thing to do, they had their own traditions and customs up there. In the south they just used a headsmen. In the distance he heard another loud clap of thunder. It was getting closer, the storm was definitely getting closer.
"As we travelled back from the execution we found a dead direwolf by the side of the road, off in the bushes somewhere, Bran and I found her puppies. Theon wanted to kill them, saying they wouldn't survive without their mother but I noticed there were five of them, one for each of the Stark children, it was a sign from the Old Gods,"
"So how did you get yours?" he asked quickly
"You are just like Dany, she never lets me finish my stories, she always has a million questions", he said with a laugh
"Oh it's Dany?" Rhaegar teased and Jon started to go red
"Well, as we were about to ride away, I found him, he was further away than the rest of his litter mates, he was an albino, an outsider, just like me," he finished quietly. Rhaegar felt sad, his own son did not feel welcome in the place he called home. Suddenly Ghost stood up, his hackles raised and he stared at the door intensely.
"What's the matter with him?" he asked quickly
"I don't know, Ghost, come here, now Ghost," he said firmly but the wolf did not move. Instead he remained silent and all he could hear was the thundering of the rain. Instinctively, his hand reached towards Blackfyre, silently pulling it towards him. They both stared at the door, slowly but surely, they watched as the handle turned. As the door knob moved slowly downwards, Rhaegar moved Blackfyre out of its scabbard, he saw Jon also draw his sword. He silently motioned for him to take a position behind the door, so whoever entered did not see him.
The door knob stopped moving and the door opened with a loud echoing click. All the person on the other side had to do was push, and they would be in the room. Rhaegar had crossed to stand opposite the door, his sword up and ready. The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes as he waited. And he waited. And he waited.
Then, the door was kicked open and three men entered, brandishing swords and axes. Rhaegar scanned them for a second, the man at the front looked up at him, his eyes wide open with shock. He had not expected them to be ready for him. He opened his mouth to shout something to his comrades but the words never came out. Blackfyre was buried in his skull.
Rhaegar yanked it out and turned to his left to see that Ghost had knocked one man across the room and pinned him down, he saw that Jon had stepped out from behind the door and was duelling the third man. Rhaegar roughly yanked his sword out of the man's head and kicked him to the floor, by the time he fell, Jon had killed the man he had been duelling.
Rhaegar looked at the men on the floor, they were the sailors on the ship. The man who he had killed had green hair. On his finger, he noticed a ring. It looked familiar and he bent down to take a closer look.
"I know that man, the one with the green hair. I saw him earlier and I dreamt of him, many times. First back in Pentos and then just now. I saw him talking to Viserys," Jon said quickly.
As Jon spoke, Rhaegar had finally taken the ring off the sellsword's finger. It was his mother's ring. The one given to Daenerys. Then, it all clicked into place, he and Jon realized that Viserys was behind this attack and he had used Dany's ring as payment for the sellswords.
He noticed that Jon's eyes closed as he tried to recall what he had seen in his dream. When Jon finished talking, Rhaegar had a thought that made his blood run cold.
"Jon, they're going to go after Daenerys," and when he said her name, his eyes flew opened and he saw a burning fire grow behind them. He quickly shoved his way past and entered the hallway.
In the hallway there was another man, unarmed. Jon quickly cut his way through him before pushing his way onto the deck. When they reached the deck they were nearly blinded by the rain, it was so heavy and cold that it cut through him like daggers. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and realised that his dye was washing out. He saw a flash of lightening in the distance and then another clap of thunder, nearly deafening him. The storm was well and truly upon them.
He quickly scanned the deck to try and find Jon but he realised he could barely see a few feet in front of him. He turned and looked for Daenerys's cabin. That's where Jon would be headed. He took a few steps forward before he heard a loud grunting noise. Instinctively, he ducked and raised his sword to parry the blow. He then rolled and sliced the man through his stomach, he looked down to see the blood quickly mixing with the rainwater.
He walked forward and ducked behind cover, as a wave rose over the side of the boat and onto the deck. He grasped unto the rigging tightly as the saltwater rushed over him, soaking him to the bone.. He quickly made his way over to the hallways leading to Daenerys cabin and popped below deck, where it was mercifully dry. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and then his eyes opened wide in horror. To get to Daenerys cabin, they had to pass through the mess hall. To get through the mess hall, they would have to get through the five men standing in their way. He watched horrified as Jon and Ghost ran towards the men, completely unfazed.
Jon moved with impossible speed and power. The first man in his path stepped forward and swung down with in a savage arc. Jon quickly shifted to his left and picked up a stool in his left hand to block the strike. With his right he drove his sword through his assailant's throat. The remaining four men took opposite routes around the table. Jon moved to the right and Ghost moved to protect his back. Jon quickly cut down the first man around the table before picking up and using the dead body as a shield to block the second man's attack. Rhaegar watched transfixed as his son then barrelled into the second man, knocking him across the room.
'What incredible strength and speed' he thought, it must be Lyanna's wolfsblood within him.
He heard a grunt and realized he had been standing still like a fool, people had gone around the other side of the table and they were now moving towards him. His attackers were smarter, attacking from opposite sides. One man moved behind him whilst the other moved in front of him. Rhaegar threw a feint baiting the man in front of him into overextending, now that he was out of position, it was easy for him to spin behind him and drive his sword through his back.
"Duck!" he heard a deep animalistic voice command. Rhaegar didn't know who it was but he was completely compelled to obey. He ducked and he saw Ghost fly over him and land on the final man. Ripping his throat out in the process.
He looked back for the sound of the voice and realized it had to be Jon. He looked at his son and saw that his hair was loose, and he had blood on his face and his hands and his sword was dripping with blood. His eyes were flicking quickly from left to right, he looked feral.
He quickly crossed the room and entered the accompanying hallway, Rhaegar quickly followed him, his feet slipping on the floor. Jon was sprinting ahead and reached Daenerys's cabin first.
"No!" he yelled and Rhaegar feared the worst. He entered the room behind him and found that it was empty.
"No!" he yelled again. He paced the room like a wild animal, looking under the bed, in the wardrobe, under the table, throwing things out of the way in his quest to find her.
"Jon! Jon calm down! She's still on this ship! She has to be, there's no where else for her to go!" he shouted. Jon spun around and looked at him. He really looked feral.
"Ghost. Ghost find her," he commanded his wolf. Ghost quickly sniffed the air and then bounced out the room. Jon shoved Rhaegar out of the way as he went to follow him. They went back the way they came, across the destroyed mess hall and back above the deck. Rhaegar stuck close to Jon, if he lost him now he would not find him again through the rain. The ship rocked, swayed and it was even starting to creak. He looked up at the mast and saw it teetering wildly.
He watched as Jon ran straight through a wave that had landed on the ship, not caring about the water. They ran towards the back of the boats where the lifeboats were. Suddenly, he heard a cry
"Jon!" it was Daenerys,
"Dany!" he roared and he heard Ghost howl as well.
"Jon!" she screamed and Rhaegar finally saw her. Viserys had a knife to her throat as he bundled her into a small row boat. No, she had to stay here, she would die if she went on that little boat in this storm.
Just as he was about to take a step forward a bolt of lightning hit the ship right in front of him. Rhaegar instinctively flung himself backwards. He watched horrified as a fire broke out on the deck of the ship, the blue sails of the ship were quickly consumed by the flames. He stood up and watched as the flames spread, causing crates to catch fire. He heard Dany scream Jon's name again. He quickly looked from left to right, trying to find away through the flames to his family on the other side.
He realised that he needed to jump over the flames to reach the other side. He quickly climbed up a stack of crates and looked out over the fire. He pushed his wet hair out of his eyes, he crouched and then jumped. Only his feet slipped in the rain and his jump was nowhere near as far as it needed to be. His eyes opened in horror as he saw the blackness rushing up to greet him.
Notes:
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