章節 2218: 13
Summary:
Jon and Dany learn about an enemy to the west
Tyrion continues his journey
Ned learns more about the Vale
Notes:
A lot of you said that you preferred longer chapters instead of two shorter ones, so that's what I'll do.
Rhaegar will show up eventually...don't worry
Thank you all for the love and kind comments shown on the last chapter. I really did not expect it to be as liked as much as it was...I got like double the comments these chapters usually do so thank you again.
I appreciate each and everyone of you who reads and takes time to comment on this story...thank you
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Imp of Casterly Rock
After they had left the house in Norvos, they had gotten on a boat that they had hired to take them down the Noyne river. The Noyne river would then join up with the Rhoyne river which would take them south, all the way to Volantis. A galley from Norvos escorted them until they reached the Rhoyne, but after that, it was just them alone on their little boat.
Their boat, was an ugly old ramshackled single mast pole boat with a single sail called the shy maid. It was a small boat that had been painted a disgusting mix of brown and grey. According to the ship's captain, a man named Yandry, this ship was perfect for sailing through the narrow waters of the river's vassal streams.
Worse still, he didn't even have a cabin on the ship. The ship only had four cabins. Haldon had taken the largest to store all his books, scrolls, herbs and potions. Septa Lemore took another one. Griff and his son slept together in the third cabin while Yandry and his wife Ysilla took up the final cabin. He believed that Duck slept somewhere else on the ship, possibly in the belly. He offered to share with Septa Lemore, but for some reason no one thought that would be a good idea. This meant that Tyrion had to make do with whatever spare space he could find. He slept on the roof of a cabin, using an old piece of frayed rope as a pillow. Tyrion didn't mind, the nights were pleasantly warm and once he got over the constant buzzing of the insects that lived along the river, he was usually able to sleep peacefully.
A few days prior, they had passed the abandoned and ruined city of Ny Sar. It was where the Noyne met up with the Royne, it was the confluence of the two rivers. Tyrion had read about this place in a book by Maester Yandel. Princess Nymeria was afraid of the expanding Valyrian freehold. She was afraid that the dragonlords would come for her and her people and enslave them just like they had done to the people further up the river. She allegedly filled all her people in 10,000 ships and fled south, down the Rhoyne and into the summer sea. The princess would then eventually land in Dorne, she would marry into House Martell and the rest is history.
The city itself was a ruin. Most of the old buildings had long since been destroyed by the elements and this was the case for the palace itself. From the ruins, Tyrion surmised that the palace itself would have been huge, perhaps bigger than the Red Keep. Now, all that was left were crumbling green and pink marble walls. The collapsed domes and spires loomed tall and high in the skyline. The old elevated stone walkways that connected parts of the city had largely collapsed into the river. He managed to get a closer look at some of the rocks. He could see that some were blackened and still carried soot from dragonflame.
The highlight of that day was the turtles that they saw. Huge bonesnapper turtles just lying lazily in the sun. Their shells were a dark green and the elaborate patterns were a luminous yellow. Yandry had gotten especially excited when they saw a gigantic turtle with brown horns sticking out of its dark green shell. The turtle was so big that it had nearly caused the boat to capsize as it rose out of the water. Yandry claimed it was some sort of river god. Tyrion didn't really believe him or care for the gods, but at least it was something interesting.
This happened nearly a week ago.
Since then, they have been on the river, drifting along slowly and aimlessly. They had heard one final report as they left Norvos. The Targaryens and their dragons were heading towards Meereen. There were even rumours that they had sailed the smoking sea of Valyria. They had styled themselves as King Aegon and Queen Daenerys, which caused him to laugh. Viserys had decided to call himself Aegon, perhaps he had inherited his father's madness. Maybe sailing the smoking sea had addled his brain. Then again, Tyrion realised that he was no in position to judge, they had dragons and as the people of the Rhoyne learned, you don't argue with dragons.
Apart from that last piece of information there was nothing. No contact with the outside world. It was just them drifting along the Rhoyne in that little boat. What made matters worse was the plot he had overheard. Joffrey was a vicious idiot, the world would be better off without him but Tommen and Myrcella were innocent children. They were good children, they did not deserve to die for their family's mistakes. The thought of them being murdered made him sick to his stomach. He had thought about voicing his protest against this plan but then he quickly remembered that he couldn't do that.
He was not supposed to have heard the conversation in the first place and if these people even had the slightest suspicion that he would try to interfere with their plan, they would simply kill him. Right now, all he could do is wait and bide his time. Hopefully, an opportunity to save the children would present itself. If no other path presented itself, he would send an anonymous message to Cersei. Perhaps, that was his best option.
He tried to distract himself from these worries by reading. Halfmaester Haldon's room had plenty of books. He was currently on the deck of the ship flicking through the latest book he had decided to read. This book was all about the Rhoynish wars with Valyria and he was nearing its final pages. The book told him about how the Rhoynish had called upon their water wizards to defend them from the might of Valyria. The book also told him of how their final commander, Prince Garin had led a force of 250,000 against the might of Valyria, he and his water wizards had even managed to kill three dragons. He led this host to Volantis, the first daughter of Valyria. Rather than face him in the field, the Volantenes hid behind their famous Black Walls and appealed to the Valyrian freehold for help. Unfortunately for Prince Garin, the freehold responded by sending 300 more dragons and he and his forces stood no chance. The cities of Sar Mell and Chroyane were destroyed.
It was an interesting tale, but it had only entertained him for a few days. If there was one thing it taught him, it was that you don't fight against dragons. This brought Tyrion back to the mystery that had he had been wrestling with for the past few weeks. What plans did Varys and his friends have with the Targaryen children?
He had learned that Viserys is going to be marrying Arianne Martell. This made plenty of sense. By marrying princess Elia to Rhaegar, Dorne and the Martell's would have ensured that the future King of Westeros would have Dornish blood in their veins. When the rebellion ended and the Targaryens were deposed, Dorne got pushed to the side. Instead, the Baratheons and Lannisters joined their houses and formed the new royal family. Marrying Viserys to Arianne would be another attempt to introduce Dornish blood in the royal line.
What he still did not understand, was why Princess Arianne had expressed interest in marrying the boy since he was merely the son of a sellsword. It still didn't make sense to him. On top of that, who was the boy supposed to marry? Illyrio had said that he was sorry that he would not be at his wedding, but who would want to marry a sellsword's son? Or Illyrio's son in disguise? The more Tyrion thought about it, the more he believed that the boy was actually Illyrio's, but that still didn't make sense. If Illyrio had a son, why not claim him as his own? He would be able to provide him with a better life than Griff, that was for certain. No, he had to be Griff's son.
There was something about that boy and Tyrion was determined to figure it out.
He closed the book and got up with a sigh. The sun was directly overhead and its heat was bearing down on him. He stretched his legs and looked out over the side of the ship into the murky waters of the Rhoyne. The river was getting wider and they had been able to catch fish from it.
Tyrion decided to head below deck to seek out the Halfmaester. It didn't take Tyrion long to realise that he needed to be wary of the man. He was a smart man, but not as smart as he thought he was. Tyrion quickly walked through the corridors and knocked on the man's door before quickly entering.
He entered and saw that he was sitting behind his desk with Young Griff on the other side. Tyrion smirked to himself, he had caught them in the middle of a lesson. They both immediately looked up at him when he entered.
"Am I interrupting?" Tyrion asked as he cocked his head to the side innocently which caused the Halfmaester to scowl
"What do you think?" he asked in an irritated voice. Tyrion looked at the boy who looked thankful for his appearance. Tyrion slowly moved across the room towards their desk,
"I think that I am interrupting a history lesson. Although why you're teaching the boy about the history of Westeros, I do not know," he said as he finally reached the desk. "Ah, the war of the Ninepenny Kings. An interesting topic," he remarked casually, watching Haldon as he spoke. The man had black hair tied back in a knot behind his head and he had a chiseled jaw. His grey eyes stared at him and Tyrion did his best to hide a smirk.
"A very interesting topic," Haldon said through gritted teeth. "And not a topic that should concern you,"
"Actually it does concern me," Tyrion said brightly. "Did you know that it was during this war that my father and the Mad King became friends?"
"King Aerys, second of his name. The man, despite his flaws, was still a King, you should address him as such," Haldon said quickly and to Tyrion's surprise the boy quickly nodded in agreement.
"My apologies. The war of the Ninepenny kings is where my father, Lord Tywin of Casterly Rock, met King Aerys, Second of his name, King of the Andals, the first men and all his other titles though at the time he was the Crown Prince," he said with a mock bow which only incensed Haldon further.
"Tell me Young Griff, what do you know about the Blackfyre rebellions?" he asked. He wanted to see what the boy knew, perhaps he was smart. Perhaps, that was his big secret.
"The seed for the Blackfyre rebellions was planted when King Aegon IV or the Unworthy as he is remembered as, legitimized all his bastards on his deathbed. House Blackfyre was founded by Daemon Blackfyre, one of his Great bastards. In 196 AC, Daemon rose against his half-brother King Daeron II in rebellion laying claim to the throne and that war came to be known as the 1st Blackfyre rebellion. There would be four more Blackfyre rebellions in the coming years until the final rebellion known as the War of the Ninepenny Kings put an end to entire Blackfyre line with the death Maelys Blackfyre, the last Blackfyre descendant at the hands of Ser Barristan Selmy," he recited flawlessly.
"Impressive," Tyrion said. Although this wasn't anything special any child with a slight inclination to learn would be able to recite this knowledge. What was more interesting was the fact that he was being thought this. What business did a sellsword's son have learning the history of Westeros?
"The male line of House Blackfyre has died out. It is certainly possible that the female branch still exists," Haldon reminded him. "But very good nevertheless. You may go," he said dismissing the boy.
Tyrion watched as he quickly left the room, he was probably off to find Duck to practice his sword fighting. He turned to the Halfmaester and gave him another false smile.
"What do you want dwarf?"
"I came to return your book," Tyrion said holding up the old heavy tome. Haldon quickly crossed over to him and took the book from him and moved to place it back on the shelf. Tyrion took the time to slowly look and see what book he wanted to take out next.
He spotted the history and lineages of the Great Houses of Westeros and the Castles and Towns that make up the Seven kingdoms and plenty of others. One thing that he did notice, was that nearly every book on the shelf told something different about Westeros. Tyrion found this odd, but he was interrupted by Haldon loudly clearing his throat.
Tyrion turned to face him and saw that he was scowling again. He then looked past the Halfmaester and saw a Cyvasse board sitting on the table. Then Tyrion was struck with an idea.
"Would you like to play a game of Cyvasse?" Tyrion asked innocently and this caught Haldon off guard.
"Cyvasse?" he asked "I would beat you with ease," he finished cocky and Tyrion bit the inside of his mouth to hide his smile.
"I only need half my wits to beat you, but since you are so confident, how about a wager?" Tyrion asked
"How much?"
"Oh, I have no coin but we will play for something more interesting," he said as he took a seat at the table.
"What then?"
"Secrets," and Tyrion gave a wicked smile.
"No. Griff would have my tongue out if he found out," he said quickly,
"Oh, afraid are you? I would be if I were you," Tyrion replied cockily which caused Haldon to scowl. Just like he knew it would.
"The day you defeat me is the day that turtles crawl out of my arse. You have your wager little man," he said as he angrily moved his pieces into position. Tyrion gave out a small quiet chuckle. This would certainly be fun.
They played for over three hours before Tyrion left the Halfmaester's room happily. He was whistling a tune as he moved back above the deck. The Halfmaester hadn't told him everything he wanted to know, but he had told him enough. The pieces were starting to come together in Tyrion's mind.
It was mid-afternoon and the sun was not nearly as hot but Tyrion felt as if something was off. He turned and saw Griff, Duck and the boy standing together at the prow of the boat, talking quickly to Yandry and pointing at something. Tyrion quickly walked towards them and saw what they were pointing at. Coming towards them on the river was another boat, a much bigger boat.
"Griff, what is going on?" he asked as soon as he arrived.
"That other ship coming towards us. Best case scenario, it just passes us by. It could be another boat out of Volantis that is coming North. Yandry says they usually stop off in the Dagger lake and then load their cargo onto smaller boats to head up the narrower shallow waters. They contain goods that are traded to Qohor or Norvos,"
"What's the worst case scenario?" Tyrion asked immediately.
"Pirates," he replied grimly. Tyrion tensed. "Son, I want you to go below deck. Duck take him to where you sleep in the belly of the ship. Then come back up here with my sword as well,"
"I can fight, I've been training plenty with Duck!" he protested immediately.
"No, go below deck," Griff said firmly.
"But father, what is the point of practicing if I don't get to test my skills?" he pleaded. Griff turned and glared at him, trying to convey a message with his eyes and not his lips. Tyrion watched this exchange closely. It confirmed what he thought earlier. The boy was everything to Griff and his company.
"You know why you can't fight. Now, go below deck. I will hear no more of this," and then he turned back to stare at the oncoming vessel. The boy looked like he was about to argue some more, but he quickly decided against it and stormed below deck. Duck reluctantly followed him.
"Why can't he fight Griff? Is it an injury that he sustained during his childhood?" Tyrion asked innocently.
"No. I promised his mother he would not get hurt. He is not ready to fight," he replied through gritted teeth.
"Ah, his mother. Fascinating woman. I take it he doesn't know her?"
"No, she died when he was only a babe,"
"Where was she from? Lys?"
"No. Tyrosh. We color our hair blue in honor of her,"
"I thought she was from Lys. I overheard him asking you about a woman with silver hair from his youth, he asked if that was his mother," Tyrion said lightly and Griff gave him a confused look. He had not expected this question
"His wet nurse had silver hair, I believe" he said quietly.
"You believe? I thought you were his father? Surely you would know who his wet nurse was?" he said quickly, pouncing on Griff's mistake. Griff gave him a dark look.
"Careful dwarf. I would have no regrets about pushing you into this water and leaving you to drown,"
Tyrion held his hands up in apology and backed off. Duck quickly returned and handed Griff his sword and together, they waited.
The ship was nearly upon them now and Yandry was steering them to the left and out of the way. The ship had two black and purple striped sails and Tyrion could see the faces on the crew as it passed them by. A few even waved at their little boat and Tyrion waved back in return, much to the annoyance of Griff.
He watched as the ship sailed by and continued its way upstream. Once it was far enough away, he heard Griff give a loud audible sigh of relief.
"I need a drink," he said as he walked below deck and Tyrion followed him. They entered the one communal space where they ate, the small and cramped mess hall. There was one table here that seated four. Several candles were on the table and on the walls and they provided the room with light. He saw Septa Lemore sitting at the table drinking a steaming cup of tea. Tyrion smiled sweetly at her and she gave him a reluctant one in return.
A few moments later, Young Griff entered followed by Duck. He looked angry and ready to resume his argument with his father. Tyrion quickly ducked into the shadows, he wanted to see what they would say if they forgot he was there.
"You should have let me fight, I am not a child," the boy said fiercely. The candles caused the light to flicker and dance on his face, causing his blue eyes to appear almost purple.
"No," Griff replied equally as firmly.
"Why not? Why bother to train me if I'm not going to fight?"
"You will fight, but not here. It is not worth it," Griff said as he knocked back his drink.
"Why is it not worth it?"
"Because you are everything ," Tyrion said as he stepped forward from the shadows.
Both Griff and his son turned to him in shock. Both looked as surprised as the other. Tyrion wondered who would speak first. It was the boy.
"What do you mean I am everything?" he asked nervously,
"I knew from the very start that there was something different about you. For years, I knew that Varys had his own agenda, and he sent me to you to further his plan. But I did not know what his plan was. He claimed that he was serving the realm, but I could never figure out his meaning. Then I met you," he began slowly. His excitement was bubbling below the surface.
"As soon as I met you I knew there was something different about you. You were different,"
"I'm," the boy began but Tyrion quickly cut him off
"You're what? You're not special?" Tyrion gave a snort of laughter. "You are taught the histories of Westeros by a master who was not smart enough to complete his training, You are taught the Faith of the seven by a Septa from Westeros. Why would a sellsword's son need to know the history of Westeros? Why would he need to know the ways of the faith? The faith isn't followed in Essos, so why do you need to learn it?" he looked at both Griff and Young Griff and both were watching him warily.
"Perhaps, you are not who you say you are?" Tyrion said excitedly. His eyes quickly looked at Griff, who had a grave look on his face.
"I'm his son," he said quickly and Tyrion laughed again.
"You are not his son. You are everything. You are his entire plot, this entire conspiracy. It all rests on you," he said as he crossed over to the boy. He could see him start to breathe quickly. He was nervous.
"What do you mean I am everything?. You have no idea what you are talking about," he said nervously trying to dismiss him.
"Today your so called Father nearly gave it all away. He said he could push me in the river and not think twice. He told Duck to come back with weapons in case they were pirates but he told you to hide below deck in the belly of the ship. He was insistent that you will not fight. He couldn't lose you. Lose Duck or the Septa, or myself even and you would grieve for a few days, but you would move on. No doubt, Illyrio would send replacements for us, but lose you and all those years of planning by the Eunuch and the Cheesemonger would be for nothing...isn't that so Griff?" and Tyrion looked at Griff who stared back at him stony faced.
"He knows who I am," the boy said quietly.
"You? You are the son of Griff the sellsword! Or maybe you're someone else. Here, let me take a closer look," and he quickly stood up on a chair and held a lantern to his face.
"The blue of your hair makes your eyes seem blue, not purple. The story of your mother being a dead woman from Tyrosh was so touching that it almost made me cry. Almost. Then I took one look at the septa and then it all made sense. I finally understood why you would need a maester and a septa to teach you the ways of Westeros. I knew that they were training you, and now I know why," he slowly pulled the lantern away from his face.
"I do say, you have remarkable features for a dead boy,"
"I am not dead," he said firmly.
"I beg to differ. My father wrapped you in one of our crimson cloak and lay your body before King Robert. Those brave enough to look say half your skull was gone,"
"Your father," he began,
"Is a cunt, forgive me your grace, but I do know that I was born Tyrion of House Lannister, trueborn son of Tywin and Joanna. My father would say that I am spiteful, evil and that I am a liar…that is all true, but then again, we are in a company of liars aren't we? Take your father, Griff over here," Tyrion gave a snort of laughter "It's a good thing Varys is part of your plans because Griff did not fool me for a second. The only question was who were you really were. But now it makes sense. Who better to raise Prince Rhaegar's son that his dear friend, Jon Connington?"
"Very smart Tyrion. I was waiting to see if you would provide anything to our team other than shitty jokes and sarcastic comments,"
"I can still provide plenty of those," Tyrion replied smugly. The boy looked nervous. "Your grace, would you like to join me for some fresh air?" and the boy looked towards Connington who merely gave him a shrug of the shoulders. He quickly nodded at Tyrion who led them above deck.
"Did you know my true father?" he asked nervously as they leaned over the side of the boat.
"Rhaegar? No. I was only a young boy when Robert killed him. Connington would know him better,"
"They were squires together back in Kings Landing. That's how they met each other," he said as he pushed a lock of his blue hair out of his eyes. Tyrion got a good luck at his face, he certainly had the classic Valyrian features.
"He's a true friend. He must be to remain loyal to the grandson of a King who took all of his lands and sent him into exile. It's a pity he did that, otherwise he might have been on hand in Kings Landing to stop his Prince Rhaegar's precious little son from having his royal brains smashed against a wall,"
"That was not me. That was just some boy from Flea Bottom that Lord Varys found. He bought the boy for a few pieces of gold and handed him over to my lady mother and then carried me away," he said quickly
"Why would any mother hand away their new born child?"
"My mother knew we were going to lose the war, so she entrusted me to Lord Varys to keep me safe," he said confidently. Tyrion rolled his eyes, it was clearly a rehearsed answer.
"Good answer. Then when that little boy was dead, Varys smuggled you across the narrow sea to his fat friend the Cheesemonger. He hid you away until he found himself an exile lord willing to call himself your father. It's a wonderful story, a story that the singers will sing all the way from the wall to Dorne once you take the Iron Throne, that is of course assuming that Daenerys takes you as her consort," he said tentatively. Seeing if he would rise to the bait.
"She will, she must," and Tyrion laughed.
"Must? My prince, I know Daenerys Targaryen no better than you, but she does not strike me as the woman who must do anything. If the tales are to be believed, she has sailed the smoking sea of Valyria, she commands dragons. Why must she marry you?" he looked at him and saw the uncertainty spread on his face. Tyrion continued onwards,
"They say that she and her brother have sacked cities. She may not be as willing to jump into bed with you as you think,"
"She will be willing," he said nervously. He looked shocked, he had never considered the possibility that Daenerys would refuse him.
"They call themselves King Aegon and Queen Daenerys, it seems she already has a lover. Why would she need you?" Tyrion continued his needling.
"I can give her the Golden Company. 20,000 of the best fighters in Essos," he said confidently. Tyrion was surprised by this information. The Golden Company had fought for the Blackfyres against the Targaryens. How Illyrio and Varys had managed to pull this off would be quite the tale.
"An army of sellswords. Impressive, but how can you ensure their loyalty? She has dragons and you...do not,"
"We paid for them. They will be loyal" and Tyrion gave a snort of laughter.
"My sweet prince. A loyal sellsword is as rare as a virgin whore," and the boy scrunched up his face at the reference.
"I still have a better claim than Viserys," he said unconvincingly and Tyrion gave out a loud laugh that came from deep within his belly
"A better claim?" he giggled. "A claim on a piece of paper? Do you think your claim will protect you from a dragon?" he continued to laugh at the boy. That was until the boy struck him hard across the face and knocked him to the floor.
"Do not laugh at your King. I am Aegon Targaryen. Sixth of my name. I will marry Daenerys and I will take back our family's throne. You know nothing. Lord Connington assures me as such and I trust him as if he was my own father,"
Tyrion rolled over and tasted blood in his mouth. Perhaps the boy had knocked out a tooth. Tyrion smiled to himself, it was just as easy as provoking Joffrey. He looked up at him and his eyes were so dark blue they almost looked purple and his fist was clenched, ready to strike him again. Perhaps he was not Illyrio's bastard. Perhaps he had a bit of the Targaryen madness in him after all.
"Trust no one, my sweet prince. Not your chainless maester or your septa and much less your false father," he whispered. "They will bring you nothing but disappointment. If you want the throne, you have to do it yourself. Make your own plans and do not listen to the words of others,"
"I trust Jon with my life," he said fiercely
"But does he trust you? Does he tell you everything? Does he let you add your opinion to the plans? You're his King yet he makes all the decisions and you follow like a loyal squire." Tyrion dangled the words in front of him. He knew the boy had been sent away from the meeting.
The boy's anger slowly faded and he looked at him nervously before quickly walking away and heading back below deck. Before he disappeared out of sight he turned to look at Tyrion.
"She will marry me," he said firmly, perhaps to reassure himself. Tyrion had to fight hard not to laugh at the state he had gotten the boy into.
When we get to Volantis we will see what our sweet Queen has planned for you.
The Hand of the King
Ned Stark woke up early in his small tent. The royal forces had spent several weeks travelling along the High Road and into the Vale of Arryn. They were heading along the High Road towards the Giant's lance which was the largest mountain in the Vale. It was located in the northern range and its peak was so high that it was lost in the clouds. This was where the Eyrie was located.
Ned had noticed that as they travelled, the soft mud of the Riverlands had slowly been replaced by the small pebbles that made up the High Road. The road was wide enough in some places for two men to ride on their horses side by side, in other places you had to get off and lead your horse along by hand. This meant that the progress was slow, and this frustrated Robert to the ends of the earth.
Still, being back in the Vale held good memories for him and he spent plenty of those days travelling, talking to either Robert or his son. He particularly enjoyed talking to Robert and reminiscing about their time together in the Vale, it had seemed like the man he knew growing up was still there after all. When they were younger, they had spent many months together, riding through the vast valleys and forests that made up the Vale. It was a simpler time for him. He was the second son with no real obligations. He was to grow up and be a bannerman to Brandon and help him control the North. Perhaps, he and Benjen would have taken trips to Storms End to visit Lyanna.
Lyanna.
Would she have been happy with Robert Baratheon? Ned had his doubts, in fact he had always had his doubts. She had come to him with her concerns but he had stoutly defended Robert. He had insisted that Robert would change for her but she never believed him. She even knew that he had a bastard in the Vale. Perhaps they would see her. Perhaps they had already seen her and Robert had not noticed.
All this thinking of bastards and of Lyanna naturally got him thinking about Jon. His thoughts followed the same pattern as they usually did. It was the Targaryens that had caused his death, not him. Ned also realised that he had not told Robb. They had been interrupted that day and ever since then he had not gotten around to telling him. He realised that this was the same thing he did with Jon and he quickly decided to get up to go tell him.
He quickly dressed in his usual riding leathers and stark tunic and then he left his tent. As they travelled further into the Vale and further up the mountain, the wind became colder and colder. This cold wind was the first thing he felt as he stepped foot outside of his tent. A cold gust whipped across his face and cut through his clothes and to his bone. He shivered and then headed back inside for a cloak.
Once he returned outside in warmer clothing, he found Lancel Lannister waiting for him. The boy was bleary eyed and he groaned in frustration. The boy opened his mouth to speak but Ned cut him off,
"The King wants to meet with me, I surmise," he said and he allowed Lancel to lead him through the camp until they reached the King's tent. Ned could have found it on his own on account of the huge banner of the royal stag blowing proudly in the wind but he decided to let Lancel feel useful for once.
He entered the tent and found the King pacing back and forth looking restless. Ser Barristan was clearly on guard duty this morning. He didn't look especially tired, perhaps his shift had only just started.
"Your grace," he said announcing his presence. Robert stopped his pacing and looked at him. Whilst he had lost some of his weight, his beard had grown long and wild.
"Ned, good, you're here. I've had a change of plan," and Ned knew this wasn't going to be good news.
"Why are we changing the plan?" he asked tentatively. He had a suspicion that whatever new plan Robert had would not be a good one and he did not want to sound immediately opposed to the idea.
"Progress is slow Ned," he began. Ned could hardly deny him. Despite leaving nearly all the cavalry behind, the Highroad was simply not meant for such a large host to travel along quickly. It was much to narrow and it was difficult to pass instructions along the long line of men.
"We should ditch the main host and take a smaller force. 50 men and head quickly up to the Bloody Gate," he said quickly. Barristan had a concerned look on his face and Ned shared it.
"Robert, this is madness. You only want to take 50 men?" he said in disbelief and Robert gave a quick nod.
"Robert, what if we get attacked by a mountain clan? You know as well as I that they live high in these mountains,"
"I know about the mountain clansmen. We killed a few in our time didn't we?" he asked. "50 men should be plenty," he said dismissively.
"Robert," Ned began but he was cut off.
"Fine, we will take 100, is that better?" Robert said impatiently. Ned knew that it was no better. Instead, he changed his approach.
"Time is on our side. Stannis is blockading the bay of crabs and Gulltown. Baelish is trapped in the Vale and the only way out is down the road that we are coming up. The longer we take, the less food the people will have left and they will be more likely to support us,"
"I agree with the Hand your grace, patience is the wisest course of action," Barristan chimed in much to the annoyance of Robert.
"Fine, you win. We will march with the army," he grumbled and Ned breathed a sigh of relief. The first crisis of the day had been averted.
"Ned, what do you think is happening to the letters we send?" he asked before he left. Ned immediately knew what he was talking about. They had sent numerous letters to the Eyrie and to other houses in the Vale. They had received favourable responses from notable houses such as Royce, Egen and Corbray but several houses had still not responded to their letters.
"I suspect that Baelish has influenced some of the Lords with his lies. Perhaps, the younger lords who are looking to increase their influence in the Vale have sided with him," Ned told his King. Robert gave a grunt of frustration. They had hoped that the Lords of the Vale would turn over Baelish for killing their liege, but it seemed that now that wasn't going to be the case.
"We should reach the Bloody gate today. Whichever Knight is there will be able to provide us with good information about what is actually happening up in the Eyrie," Ned said finally. Robert nodded and Ned took this as his cue to leave.
When he left his tent he saw that the sun was up and had finally managed to break through the clouds. He decided to look for Robb, it was time they had an overdue conversation. Several overdue conversations.
He made his way through the camp until he found Robb's tent. Or more accurately, Robb's direwolf found him and then led him to Robb's tent. It was almost as if the wolf was looking for him. He wasn't too surprised at this, direwolves were said to be smart creatures. If anything, this encounter made him feel guilty over killing Lady again. Robb's wolf was huge now and easily bigger than most of the horses present.
He entered his tent to find him breaking his fast with the Umbers. Jon "Greatjon" Umber was a huge man, with a huge greatsword to boot. His son Jon "Smalljon" Umber was just as tall as him. They were both huge men, and true northerners.
"Greatjon, Smalljon," he said in greeting. They were all eating pieces of bacon and bread. They both nodded in greeting before taking a drink.
"Robb, finish your meal and saddle up. You're riding with me at the front of the march today" he said and then he left the tent to find some breakfast of his own.
After he had broken his fast and a few pieces of burnt bacon and some eggs. He saddled his horse and waited for Robb. He didn't have to wait long until Robb arrived and soon they were marching further east towards the bloody gate.
"So father, what did you want to talk to me about?" Robb asked once they were on their way.
Ned paused before continuing. He decided to start with the better news.
"Robb, we need to start thinking about matches for yourself," he began and Robb nodded. "I was thinking of a Northern lass, either Alys Karstark of Manderly's Granddaughters, Wylla or Wynafryd,"
"I have met Alys, I danced with her at a feast once, she seemed like a nice girl. I have not met either of the Manderly girls," he said after a moment. "Why not a southern girl?"
"Are the northern girls not to your liking?" he asked cheekily and Robb blushed,
"No, it's not that," he said quickly and Ned laughed at his embarrassment. "It's just mother was from the south and I thought that perhaps I might also marry a southern girl, you just caught me off guard that's all,"
"That is true, I did marry a southern girl. Although truthfully, I was never supposed to marry your mother," he said after he finished laughing.
"Really? What happened?"
"She was supposed to marry my older brother, your uncle Brandon but he died before the rebellion," he said sadly. "He died and I had to step in his place. I had never met your mother until they day we married believe it or not,"
"Really?"
"Yes. Marriages aren't about just about love in our world. I grew to love your mother, but not all marriages are like that. Most are used as tools to form alliances between houses," he said wisely.
"And you want to secure an alliance with a northern house?"
"Not so much form an alliance as much as I want to ensure the Northern Lords don't give you the same trouble they gave me. When I married your mother, I made several changes to Winterfell. I even built a Sept for her," and Ned smiled wistfully at the memory.
"The northern Lords weren't too happy initially. They claimed that she was too southern for the North and she didn't even follow the old gods," Ned informed him. Robb nodded slowly.
"The Manderleys follow the faith of the seven, don't they?" he asked and Ned nodded.
"Alys Karstark is really pretty if I remember correctly," and Ned nodded again, glad his son was able to read between the lines. They rode in silence for a few moments and Ned took in the scenery. They were currently heading through the hills towards the Bloody Gate, the first of the Eyrie's defenses. Then they would head to the gates of moon and then up the narrow goat trail that led to the Eyrie itself. This part of the journey would be the most dangerous. The path was narrow and they would be exposed to the castle's defenders.
Ned sighed in frustration. They needed the people of the Eyrie to help them.
"Father, if you don't mind me asking. What brought this conversation on?" Robb asked, breaking him from his thoughts.
"You will be Lord of Winterfell one day and we are currently heading off to war. Bran is hurt and Rickon is still very young. Winterfell needs heirs. It is something that I have been neglecting," he said honestly and Robb nodded. Ned gripped the reigns of his horse and took a deep breath. It was time to tell him about Jon.
"There is also something else I need to tell you, something about Jon,"
Robb immediately looked across at him. Concern etched on his face.
"Is he okay? Have you heard from him?"
"No Jon, he's not okay. He's dead," he said sadly and the color drained from Robb's face.
"How do you know?" he asked once he collected himself.
"There was a report delivered to the small council several weeks ago. The report said that the Targaryen children had perished at sea, along with several of their personal guards. One guard was described as a northern lad with a large white dog as a companion," he said slowly and Robb nodded again sadly.
"Does Arya know?" he asked after a moment
"Aye, I told her in Kings landing before I sent them back North,"
"She didn't take it well, did she?"
"No she did not," he said sadly. Ned still remembered that day. She had cried for hours and he couldn't even comfort her on the way back. He hadn't even seen her since. It wasn't his fault, the Targaryens were to blame.
"Jon didn't deserve to die like that," was all he said and Ned didn't have an answer for him.
They rode together in silence for a while until Ned could see the bloody gate up ahead.
"Robb, I need to be with the King now. That's the bloody gate and we need to know what type of resistance the Lords of the Vale will offer," Robb nodded and then he left to get to the front of the column. Navigating past the line of men was difficult but he eventually managed to the front.
The bloody gate itself had two watchtowers built into the stone of the mountain with a long battlement made of grey stone stretching between them. The battlement arches above the road and there was a huge wooden gate beneath the archway. If they needed to, Ned believed they could take the bloody gate by force. It would cost a lot of men, but it would not be impossible.
This would all depend on who the Knight of the gate was, and whether he was one of the men that Littlefinger had put in charge.
They slowly approached the gate and then they saw the knight. He was clad completely in his armor and he stood over the center of the archway.
"Who would pass the bloody gate?" he boomed and his voice carried down the Highroad.
"King Robert Baratheon. First of his name." Robert answered in an equally as loud voice. "Now open the gate in the name of your King,"
They all waited with baited breath. Robert gripped the reigns of his horse tightly. They needed this man to let them through.
"I am under instructions from Lady Arryn not to do that," the Knight replied. Robert swore in frustration.
"Open the bloody gate before I come up there and smash your head in!" he shouted. Ned knew that this would get them nowhere. Instead, he tried a different approach.
"Knight of the gate!" he called. "I am Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, Hand to King Robert Baratheon. What is your name Knight?"
"I am Ser Lyn Grafton of Gulltown," the knight shouted and this time Ned swore. When Jon Arryn had called his banners at the start of the rebellion, House Grafton had stayed loyal to the Mad King. This was a big blow because they needed Gulltown in order for Robert to be able to safely sail back to the Stormlands to rally his troops. Jon Arryn and Robert had come down from the Eyrie and they had taken Gulltown. Robert had even killed the old lord of House Grafton, Marq.
It was no surprise that Littlefinger had chosen this specific knight to guard the bloody gate.
"Ser Lyn, we have come to arrest Lord Petyr Baelish for the murder of your former liege lord, Jon Arryn. I ask you to let us pass so we can seek justice," Ned tried. They waited to see what he would say.
"Lady Lysa has told us all that this is a lie designed to cover up the truth. Lord Baelish is not in the Eyrie and Jon Arryn's was murdered by the Lannisters. I will not open the bloody gate for you," and then the Knight turned and headed back to his watchtower. Robert cursed loudly.
Ned was disappointed but not surprised. This man and his family had no love for either Jon Arryn or Robert. Littlefinger probably could not believe his luck when he found him.
Robert turned away and then began to ride back towards the rest of their troops. He was probably going to call a war council and figure out a strategy to take the Bloody Gate by force. Suddenly, they heard the gate open and a lone rider quickly rode through. He had his hood down so no one could see his face as he approached. Ser Barristan and Ser Jaime quickly drew their swords in case this man was a potential threat to the King.
As the man approached he slowly drew down his hood and Ned's face turned into a smile.
"Lord Royce," he greeted. "I hope you come bearing good news,"
"I have news. Not all of it is good. A raven came for his grace. If you would like to start with that," and he reached beneath his cloak and pulled out a sealed scroll. Probably another from the capital. Robert took the scroll and quickly opened it. Ned quickly realised that this was not good news. Robert quickly folded the paper and tucked it away.
"More news about the bloody dragonspawn. It says that King Aegon and Queen Daenerys are moving towards Meereen, wherever that is," he said
"King Aegon? Aegon is dead," Barristan said quietly.
"It must be Viserys. The fool must have inherited his father's madness," Tywin said quickly and Robert vigorously nodded in agreement.
"It even says here they claim to have sailed the smoking sea of Valyria. Lies all of it. Now, we will deal with this later," he said in a tone that finished the conversation.
Ned thought on the information for a moment before conceding that Robert was most likely correct. Viserys must be claiming to be an Aegon, possibly styling himself after the original Aegon who was the Conqueror. It could not be Jon, the reports described two Targaryens with traditional Valyrian features. There was no mention of his white direwolf. Ned thought back to the original report from Lord Varys, he had secretly done his own research. There was indeed a heavy storm in the area at that time, many sailors had confirmed this. As much as he had wanted to, he could not doubt the validity of Varys's initial report. If Varys was wrong, at least one report would have mentioned their protector who had a white direwolf.
"Lord Royce. I have not seen you in years. Not since you helped me with my crown," Robert greeted with a smile. He had always been good at making friends on the battlefield. "Tell me, what goes on in the Eyrie?"
"Nothing good I am afraid your grace," he said grimly. "Lord Baelish is in the castle but he does not show his face. Instead, he has Lysa come out to issue orders and spew his nonsense. That is why several of the Lords, including this idiot at the gate, are siding with him,"
"Which houses does he have on his side?" Ned asked quickly
"A few of the minor houses such as Grafton. House Corbray appears to be undecided. Lyonel Corbray was good friends with Jon and he wants nothing to do with Littlefinger. His brother Lyn says the same but I don't trust him. Lyn is a dangerous man, one of the best knights in the Vale. I would not be alone in a room with that man,"
Robert gave a snort. "Which houses are loyal to me?" he asked.
"House Royce and House Egen are the largest. Several of the older Lords who had known Jon the longest are loyal to the crown. It is only some of the younger lords who have sided with Baelish,"
Robert gave a curt nod.
"What about the gate? Can you get us through that?" Ned asked as he gestured towards the now shut bloody gate. Yohn Royce gave a sly smile.
"I thought you would never ask. I realised that the knight of the gate would never let you through. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. I rode down ahead and alone, so that the Knight and his men would focus on me. My son, Andar, should be leading a small force down through the mountains now. The bloody gate is a formidable fortress, but only really from this side. It was not designed to stop people from going down the mountain, it was designed to stop people from going up,"
Ned nodded, he felt hopeful. "Perhaps we should organize a distraction of our own? Would that help?" and Yohn Royce quickly nodded,
"You don't need to do much, just create enough noise and make it seem like you're actually trying to do something,"
Ned nodded and quickly got into action. He ordered around fifty or so men to begin cutting down nearby trees. They did this quickly and they quickly formed 10 rams. He then ordered all the men to line up in preparation to charge at the bloody gate. To complete the distraction, he ordered the archers to get into position and he called for a loud war drum to be played.
When everything was in set. Ned gave a signal and the war drum began to play. The loud monotonous beat echoed loudly throughout the hills and the valleys in the Vale and soon the Knight and the other defenders of the bloody gate scrambled to the archway to see what was all the noise was about. When they saw the line of men with rams, they all shouted instructions at each other and this was when Andar Royce and his forces struck.
They were quick and effective and within a matter of minutes, the bloody gate had fallen. Ned and Robert rode through the gate and looked at the road beyond them. Soon the Highroad would take them to the base of the Giant's lance.
At the foot of the mountain was the Gates of Moon, a castle held by House Royce. Marching to the Gates of Moon would only take them a week or so.
Then, the most challenging part of their journey would start. From there, they would need to travel up the narrow goat trail that led to the Eyrie. They even had three way castles along that path called Stone, Snow and Sky. The terrain around these castles was treacherous, and it would be even more so if they were under attack from defenders of the Eyrie itself.
Worse still, there was no other path up to the Eyrie available to them. The mountain clansmen knew these mountains better than anyone, but they had no allegiance to any lord or the crown.
Ned gave a sigh of frustration. They had achieved a small victory today, but bringing Littlefinger to justice was still going to be very difficult.
The Dragon Reborn
Jon and Daenerys had spent the last few weeks travelling back towards Meereen with the Dothraki that they had won in battle. Although his arm and shoulder were still a little sore from the force of Drogo's attack, he was mostly all right. With the help of Daenerys and their bloodriders, he was now slowly beginning to pick up the language. He had slowly grown more comfortable with the Dothraki customs. The first few days he would mostly fly over the horde on Vedros but after a while Daenerys had persuaded him to ride on a horse amongst the people. To show that they were not just dragonlords and that they were capable of respecting and understanding the Dothraki customs.
Daenerys had been quick to make friends and gain popularity amongst the Dothraki. She spent some evenings playing games with the little children in camp and talking to the Dothraki people. They always greeted her with a warm smile and they seemed to be comfortable enough to approach her. It was something that he had noticed in Meereen and he had it confirmed again here, Daenerys was loved by the common people.
She would be a great Queen for Westeros.
Jon had thought about marrying her and he desperately wanted to, but he was a man of the north and he followed the old gods. He did not want to get married in front of gods that weren't his. It wouldn't be right. The books from Valyria spoke of ancient Valyrian customs in which dragonlords performed a public ceremony to recognize a child born out of wedlock as their legitimate heir in some cases.
He could do the same ceremony here in Essos for their child, since the child would be born before they reached Westeros. Dany did not follow any gods and he was sure that she would consent to the ceremony and agree to be married before the Old Gods in Westeros.
Yes, this is would be the best course to follow.
Daenerys had also taken on three handmaidens. Irri, Jhiqui and Doreah. Irri and Jhiqui were Dothraki women, and Doreah was from Lys. Jon had not been surprised that she had chosen these girls for they were all of similar age to her. She frequently spent her days riding with these three girls and they usually accompanied her during her evening walks.
Jon's days were usually spent riding at the head of the Khalasaar. As the new Khal, he had to lead the way for them all to follow. He usually rode with their bloodriders. Jhoqo was young, thin and quick to laugh. He was the quickest to learn the common tongue so Jon spoke to him often. He had a long black whip that he kept close by his side. He had been the first of the three bloodriders to kneel in the scorched earth and join them.
Aggo was another of their bloodriders. He was of an average height and build and truthfully Jon didn't see what was special about him. That was until he saw him hit an incredible shot from a bow whilst his horse was galloping at full speed. He had hit the lion directly between the eyes before the animal was even aware of the danger. They had collected several dragonbone bows from Valyria and Jon was sure that that his bloodriders would put them to great use.
Rakharo was the biggest of the three. He was about a head taller than Jon and he was well built. He did not speak a word of the common tongue so they usually had to converse in Jon's limited Dothraki.
Despite the language barrier, they were more than capable of communicating through battle. Jon may have defeated Drogo, but he was not foolish enough to think that he was unbeatable. Drogo had nearly landed a serious blow and he would have to keep up his training to make sure that it never happened again. As a result, Rakharo had turned into his usual sparring partner. They would work tirelessly in the evenings and Jon would often retire to their tent tired and sweaty.
This meant that he had not been able to make love to Daenerys ever since they started their slow march back to Meereen. Whilst he was not nearly as demanding and needy as she was, he still missed her flesh. Just thinking about the feel of her soft smooth skin under his fingers was enough to cause his breeches to tighten slightly. To make matters worse. The Dothraki people mated like animals in the open for everyone to see, they believed in doing everything in the open under the sky and the stars. He had half a mind to wake up the middle of the night and take her out in the open right under the stars.
He gave a grunt of frustration and focused on the riding. He knew that they were only a few days ride from Meereen now, and soon he would have his Queen in their chambers all to himself.
He turned in his saddle to look for her. She was not too far, talking to Doreah. He didn't really pay attention to whatever they were talking about. Daenerys rode a white horse which she had affectionately named 'Silver'. She was also starting to show now, certainly more obviously than before. Her handmaidens had helped to adjust some of the Dothraki clothes so that they would fit her.
After the battle, the first thing that he had done was to insist that some of the Dothraki woman check on her and the baby. They said that the baby was fine and that she was around 4 months along. The Dothraki woman rode horses all the way up until their childbirth and they had repeatedly reassured him that their baby would not be hurt by any bedroom activities.
Daenerys looked forward and saw him looking at her. He waved and she waved back. Doreah leaned over to her and whispered something in her ear which caused her to giggle behind her hand. She then whispered something back before quickly riding up alongside him. Flashing that devious grin that caused his breeches to tighten again.
"Jon," she said in a playful voice. "How are you this morning?" and she reached out to rub his arm.
"I'm fine Dany," he replied. "What were you two whispering about?"
"Nothing," she lied as she looked over her shoulder back towards Doreah. He saw her wink at the girl before turning back to face him. Smiling that smile again.
"It's not nothing, tell me what you talk about,"
"Jon it's nothing ," she said in a light tone that did little to cure his curiosity. He raised an eyebrow in question at her and she gave a loud drawn out sigh.
"Well, Doreah is from Lys as you know, a city famous for their pillow houses," she said lightly. "Whilst I despise the practice of slavery, I do not despise the people who have been victims of it. So. I talk to Doreah about her past and her childhood,"
"Oh," was all Jon could say and she smirked at him. She rode closer to him, so close that they were almost touching
"That is not all we talk about though," she said innocently as she reached out to touch him. This time her fingers rubbed against the inside of his upper leg. Jon gently tried to brush her hand away.
"She worked in a pillow house for a time. We talk about it, and we also talk about what goes on in our bedroom," and her hand had started to slowly move upwards and Jon didn't stop her.
"She told me about the things that I can do to make you happier," she said seductively into his ear."There are certain things I can do with my tongue that I haven't tried. Certain things we can do with our bodies that we haven't tried," and her hand had reached his groin. Jon moved his hand to try and ease the tightness in his breeches.
"We can't, the baby," he said weakly, not looking at her. She gently cupped his chin and turned him to face her.
"We can, the baby will be fine. The Dothraki woman say so," she leaned across and softly pressed her warm lips against his for a brief moment. It was all it took and Jon's resolve broke. He leaned into her and captured her lips between his. He reached out and cupped her breast with one hand whilst holding onto the reins of his horse with the other.
"Does the Khal finally want to take his Khaleesi?" she asked in a sultry voice and Jon scowled. She was not a Khaleesi of the Dothraki Sea, she was a Queen. His Queen and the future Queen of Westeros. She leaned in to kiss him but this time Jon leaned away. He pushed his finger to her lips and told her to wait.
"Rakharo, Aggo, Jhoqo," he shouted and their bloodriders quickly appeared. "We are only a few days from Meereen. Meet us there outside the city. We will take the dragons," he quickly said in the common tongue and then again in his limited Dothraki. Daenerys looked at him with a confused face before she quickly understood. Anogar gave a screech as he landed loudly next to her. She carefully got off her horse and onto his back.
He closed his eyes and called out for Vedros. She landed much more gracefully than her brother and Jon quickly scrambled onto her back. He was barely set in place before she took off and headed off back towards Meereen.
The dragons seemed to be playing their own little game as they were racing back towards Meereen. Anogar flew high and he cast a huge shadow along the ground. Jon and Vedros flew much lower and as a result it seemed like they were going faster. It seemed like they were only flying for a short while before the Great Pyramid of Meereen became visible on the horizon.
He urged Vedros on and she gave a loud roar and picked up speed. Within minutes, they landed on top of their Pyramid. Dany and Anogar landed first and Jon watched as the Bronze Harpy swayed back and forth. He saw her quickly get off and hurry inside, kicking off her sandals as she went. Once Anogar was gone, there was space for Vedros to land. Jon also scurried off her back and headed inside, walking around the pieces of discarded clothing that she had thrown on the floor in her haste.
When he entered their room, he saw her naked on her back in the middle of the bed. One hand was slowly massaging her breast, playing with her nipple as she waited for him. Even from this distance, he could see the wetness that was coating the inside of her thighs.
Jon resisted the urge to immediately jump into bed. Instead, he went to the door that led to the corridor outside. He opened it and found Daario and two members of the Unsullied guarding their door.
"No one enters. No disturbances," he said quickly and the unsullied nodded in understanding. Daario however, gave him a surprised look, before it was quickly replaced by a scowl before he too stiffly nodded.
"Daario. I may have decided to keep you around, but the Queen wants you gone. If you don't start treating me with respect, you will be having a conversation with Vedros, or with Ghost" he warned.
The sellsword looked him up and down for a few moments and Jon held his gaze. He saw Daario look behind him and Jon felt something push past him, he looked down to see Ghost had arrived and he was baring his teeth at Daario. Ghost slowly moved forward and then stood up on his hind legs, he was easily as tall as Daario. To complete the effect, Vedros gave a loud screech.
"In fact, Daario, you will no longer guard our chambers. That job will now solely belong to the Unsullied. Go," he said, dismissing the sulking sellsword.
He then went back into their chamber and quickly got out of his armor and clothes. Once he was naked, he knelt on the bed in between her knees. Her head was on a pillow and her silver hair was splayed out.
"Your skin is practically glowing," he whispered and she blushed slightly,
"I know, it's the baby. The baby we made together," she said softly as she ran a hand over the bump in her belly. He reached out and gently pressed his hand on hers and together they ran their hands over her stomach. Suddenly she stopped,
"Did you feel that?" she said happily and she pushed herself up using her elbows. Jon shook his head. "I felt the baby, right here," and she moved her hand to a different spot. Jon quickly followed her but he didn't feel anything.
"Don't worry little princess, mommy knows you're there," she said lovingly as she rubbed her stomach. Jon smiled to himself. The amazing woman loved him and would have his child. He could not be happier.
He leaned forward and placed gentle kisses on her stomach. He moved lower and lower before she roughly grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up. Her lovely lilac eyes were dilated as she stared at him
"No. You've kept me waiting for days. I'm ready for my King," she said in a sultry voice. Jon slowly moved forward and pushed her knees apart. He grabbed his cock with one hand whilst he used the other to gently open her legs. He decided to tease her and he rubbed his cock along her wet folds
"You are soaked," he said softly and all she could do was murmur.
"Jon please," she said softly. Her eyes were closed and she was squirming on the bed, desperately moving her hips to try and find his cock. Jon smiled to himself, she was a demanding lover. Daenerys did not usually say please
"Please what?" he asked innocently as he continued to rub his cock up and down her slit coating himself in her wetness. She opened her eyes and looked at him pleadingly
"Please fuck me," she said desperately and he watched as her eyes rolled back as he filled her with his cock. She moaned loudly and reached out to grab onto his arms, raking her fingers down his biceps. He continued to thrust into her, cherishing her warmth and wetness.
He continued to thrust and he bent his head to bite and play with her nipples. Her breasts were much bigger now and he heard her whimper and squirm beneath him.
"Jon, oh gods Jon," she loudly moaned as she started to move her hips to meet him. Her hands went up to play with her nipples and her eyes fluttered closed. Jon knew that she was close, she had been weeks without any sort of release.
"Your grace," he heard a voice say. It was Missandei.
He immediately scowled as he looked towards her. How did she get in? Then, he remembered that she had her own chambers attached to theirs.
"What is it?" he growled as he quickly rolled off Dany and tried to cover them with the sheets.
"There is a man here to see you," Missandei said quickly. So what if a man had come to meet with them, he could wait.
"Tell him to wait," he said quickly as he awkwardly shifted the sheets, he had just managed to cover his lower body with the soft sheets. He heard Dany laugh softly next to him, clearly not as embarrassed as he was.
"He said it was urgent," Jon didn't care. Who could it possibly be that could interrupt a King and a Queen?
"He said his name is Donequor Naerys," and then he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her in shock.
It couldn't be true
But he had to be sure.
Without thinking about it, he got off the bed and quickly crossed over to the room towards the door.
"Jon!" Dany called out as his hand reached the handle. He turned to look at her. Her beautiful silver hair was disheveled and she was breathing heavily. She gestured to him and he realised that he was about to run out into the Great Pyramid completely naked.
"Go find him and bring him to the audience chamber," he told Missandei and the scribe dutifully went off to carry out the task. He quickly dressed in some loose clothing and then he strapped Darkfyre to his side. Dany had quickly pulled on a loose fitting dress and she was attempting to quickly brush out her hair. After a few moments, she gave up and then they both headed out of their room.
They practically ran down the stairs and they entered the audience chamber through their secret back entrance behind their throne. He felt her slip her hand in his and together they walked forward onto the throne and looked down into their audience chamber and there he was.
His face was slightly tanned from the hot sun and he had tied his silver hair up in a bun behind his head but he was still clearly his father. Jon felt a rush of happiness flood through his body as he rushed across the room and hugged his father.
He felt his father's strong arms wrap around him and then he felt Daenerys join their embrace. He couldn't have been happier in that moment.
His family was whole again.
After what felt like an eternity, Rhaegar released them both from his embrace and held them at arm's length. He was beaming.
"I am so happy to see you, to see both of you," he said warmly and Jon smiled from ear to ear.
"What happened to you? How did you know we were here?" Jon asked and Rhaegar opened his mouth to speak.
"Not here, come eat with us on the terrace," Dany quickly said. She looked at Missandei and instructed her to have food sent to their private terrace upstairs.
"Wait, let me introduce you to someone," Rhaegar said as he stepped back. "This is Archmaester Marwyn, I met him in Volantis and he is an old friend of mine," he said as he gestured towards the other man in their audience chamber.
Marwyn was a short man with a thick chest and a large ale belly. Jon could see that his nose had been broken numerous times and he had white hair growing out of his nose and ears. Jon studied the man curiously. He also carried a ring rod and mask. From the way the metal reflected the light, Jon knew that it was Valyrian steel.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both, your graces," he said with a smile as he bowed.
"Archmaester Marwyn is an old friend. We exchanged numerous letters over the years discussing various topics, but the one we loved the most was magic," Rhaegar said
"My ring rod and mask are made out of Valyrian steel, signifying my knowledge of the higher mysteries as they call it. It is a rare link to forge, many maesters don't forge this link," he said
"Why not?" Daenerys asked.
"The maesters of the citadel don't believe in magic. They believed that the Valyrian freehold is the last ember of magic in the world. The studying of magic is all but forbidden in the citadel, and maester's like myself who study it are often overruled and shunned," he said. "But I did not let their stupid opinions deter me. I have spent the last 10 years travelling the world studying magic. I have travelled as far as Asshai where I studied magic with their shadowbinders. I have been to Qarth where I met and spoke to the warlocks in the House of the Undying," he said confidently.
Jon looked at the man. He seemed knowledgeable and if his father trusted him then he would give him a chance.
"So why are you here with him?" Jon asked but before he could answer Rhaegar stopped him,
"It's a long conversation Jon, perhaps we could eat first?" Jon nodded and then he led them upstairs through their private apartments and then out onto their terrace garden.
A meal had quickly been set out for them. Jon spotted pork and boar, he felt his mouth salivate. It was better than the horsemeat that the Dothraki loved to eat. Before they sat down to eat they heard a loud flutter of wings and Caraxes slowly rose up and flew over the pyramid. His gold and cream scales shone brightly in the sunlight. His eyes were two pools of molten gold and they were focused solely on Rhaegar.
"Brother, meet Caraxes," Dany said happily. Rhaegar and Marwyn were both rooted to the spot, amazed by what they saw. The dragons had grown even bigger than they were when they left Meereen and they were a truly a sight to behold.
Rhaegar took a few cautious steps forward and held out his hand. To Jon's surprise, Caraxes actually let him touch his snout. Caraxes gave a snort and quickly flew away, causing Rhaegar to look upset. Jon smiled and Dany laughed.
"It's not that easy brother," she said in between bouts of laughter. "Caraxes is the gentlest of the three dragons but he's not going to let you ride him that easily,"
"Ride him?"
"Yes, you are a Targaryen, it is in our blood. Caraxes needs a rider," she said immediately. Surprisingly, Rhaegar did not seem overjoyed by that.
"Let's eat," and they all sat around the table and ate. They feasted on the collection of meats and fruits that had been prepared for them. Jon finished eating first and he lay back in his chair content. The rest of his companions soon finished and then the conversation began,
"So, where should we start?" Rhaegar asked.
"You go first," Jon said immediately.
"Well, after that night on the boat. I woke up a few days later on another ship. The rest of our ship was destroyed and Ser Jorah and I had apparently been picked up by another ship. He told me that there were no survivors from our original ship and I was distraught. That ship took us back to Volantis and I stayed at the Red Temple for a while. Then a few weeks ago, I heard stories of dragons in Slaver's bay and stories of your conquest. I had to see it to believe it. So, I quickly found the next ship I could that was heading towards Meereen and now here I am,"
"What did you do in the temple?" Jon asked
"I spent every day there for weeks. I was not officially an acolyte, so I worked in order to earn my stay. I spoke with the High Priest, a man named Benerro. He knew who I was and he helped me to recover after I thought I had lost you both forever. He helped me to see things in the flames. I saw a glimpse of you two, you were outside a red bricked city. I saw other things, but I did not understand them. He said that in time I would get better,"
Jon was intrigued by this, it seemed everyone in their family was receiving visions of some form.
"What about you, Marwyn?" Daenerys asked after a moment.
"I was sitting in the room of an inn in Volantis reading through a book I had brought with me from Asshai. Suddenly, my glass candle started to burn and I knew that magic had finally returned to the world,"
"What is a glass candle?" Jon asked.
"Glass candles are made from obsidian and they originally came from Valyria,"
"Jon, I think we saw some in the temple," Dany said quickly.
"What temple?" Rhaegar asked
"We will explain later, continue Marwyn," Jon said
"It is said that sorcerers can use the glass candles to see across deserts and mountains. To see high in the sky or deep below the sea. The glass candles are said to be able to give men visions and dreams and it allows people to communicate even though they are halfway across the world from each other,"
"Do you really believe it could give people dreams?" Jon asked curiously.
"Yes," he replied confidently. "I have even been able to see my room in the citadel with my glass candle. Forgive me your grace, but you two seem to have brought dragons back into the world, why should the glass candles not be able to give people dreams?" and Jon nodded his head conceding his point.
The topic of dreams reminded him of the vivid dreams he had been repeatedly having. He kept dreaming of Aegon the Conqueror and the burning of Harrenhall. It reminded Jon of his dragon dreams and his visions in the pool, yet he still could not figure out why he had these vivid dreams.
"That's enough about us. Tell us about yourselves, I'm sure it's a more interesting tale," Rhaegar said as he leaned forward eagerly
Jon took a deep breath and reached out to hold Daenerys hand and together they told them their story. They took turns and Jon couldn't help but laugh at the shocked expressions on both of their faces. When they finished, they both sat there with their mouths gaping open
"You went to Valyria...and you lived?" Marwyn whispered.
"We heard rumors but we were not sure," Rhaegar said also in disbelief. "You can change your appearance?"
Jon looked at him and closed his eyes. He had mastered the ability and within a few moments he had changed his hair and his eyes.
"Incredible. Absolutely incredible," Marwyn muttered. "Can I take a look at the books you brought back? I am sure they contain a wealth of knowledge,"
"Wait here, I will show you what we have brought," and Jon quickly went inside to their chambers. He returned with a huge chest containing just some of the riches they took from Valyria. He opened the chest and they both stared at the contents transfixed. He looked at Dany and saw that she had a proud smirk on her face. He then went back inside and brought out a few books for Marwyn to look at.
"As you can see, we have plenty of Valyrian steel. Swords, daggers, cups and plates. We even have a few arrowheads that must have fallen to the bottom of the chest. The books contain lost information from Valyria. It details their gods, their festivals and traditions. There is a lot of information about dragons. Some books even contain lost secrets such as how to forge Valyrian Steel." Marwyn eagerly opened the first book and Jon watched as Rhaegar pulled out a longsword and held it up to inspect it in the light.
"What happened to Blackfyre? I noticed you don't have it," Jon asked.
"I threw it into the ocean," he said after a moment. "I was so consumed with grief. I thought that you two were dead and it was all my fault. I had decided to take you to Astapor to purchase the Unsullied. I wanted to restore our house and I nearly caused its destruction for the second time, and this time it would have been permanent. I didn't want to be a fighter anymore. I was going to live out my life at the temple,"
Jon nodded slowly.
"We still need you brother, Caraxes needs a rider," Dany said and Rhaegar just shrugged.
"I will fight, if my King and Queen asks me to," he said and Jon looked at him in shock.
"You will be King, you're my father, the eldest member and head of our house," Jon said immediately but Rhaegar just shook his head.
"No, I am not meant to be King, I know that now. When I was in the temple, I saw visions in the flames. I saw both of you, both of you are the leaders that this world needs. You two have brought back the magic of dragons into the world, you have sailed the smoking sea of Valyria. Don't you see how special you both are? I would be a fool if I tried to be King over you,"
He reached into the chest and pulled out two beautiful Valyrian steel crowns. They both were adorned with precious gemstones. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamond all sparkled brightly in the sunlight as Rhaegar lifted the crowns to inspect them. In between each gemstone there was an engraved image of a dragon in a different stage of flight. The patterns were so intricately designed that they all knew it could have only been forged using magic.
"Why are you keeping these beautiful crowns locked away?" he asked.
"We wanted to save our coronation for somewhere closer to Westeros, perhaps Dragonstone," Jon muttered and Rhaegar nodded in understanding.
"There is something else we need to tell you," he said after a moment. "Volantis is one of the first colonies of Valyria, it is often referred to as the first daughter. The Old Blood of Volantis are the nobility and to this very day they are able to trace their lineage all the way back to the Valyrian freehold. They live in heart of Old Volantis, it's like a city inside a city. Ancient palaces, temples, towers, courtyards, bridges and cellars, all contained within the great oval that are their black walls. It was raised by the freehold and the fused black dragonstone walls stand tall, nearly 200 foot high. It is said that this black dragonstone is harder than steel or diamond and it serves as a testament to strength and power of Valyria. As it was a colony, it practiced many of the same things as Valyria, including slavery,"
Jon nodded his head, he had a feeling that this wasn't going to be good news
"Recently in Volantis, the elections for the new triarchs of the city are taking place. Now three triarchs get elected and they belong to one of two political parties. The Tigers or the Elephants. Now I won't bore you with the specifics, but no matter which party wins the election, they will likely declare war on you both,"
"Why?" Dany asked immediately.
"The Valyrian freehold heavily practiced slavery and as a result, the nobility of Volantis depend on it to stay wealthy. You have smashed the slave trade in Slaver's Bay which is the largest provider of slaves in the world. You are a threat to their lifestyle, money and wealth. Tales of your deeds have spread throughout the city like wildfire. Everywhere you go, be it inns or brothels, everyone is whispering about King Aegon and Queen Daenerys and how they have freed slaves in the East. The Triarchs don't like that, they want to eliminate you all before you can bring your dragons and armies west to Volantis and start a slave revolt,"
"A slave revolt? Don't they have soldiers and guards to stop this?" Jon asked.
"Yes they do, but in Volantis, the slaves outnumber the freedmen by 5 to 1," and Jon quickly understood. The city was poised for a slave revolt and their presence would surely ignite it.
"How long do we have until they finish their election?" Dany asked with her hand over her stomach.
"Not enough time, I'm afraid. When we left, there were ships already in the harbor being readied to transport their slave soldiers. There are talks that they have even hired the Golden Company," Rhaegar said and he looked at her with a confused look. Then his eyes opened wide in understanding.
"I can't believe I didn't notice earlier, you're practically glowing," he said with a smile. "How far along are you?"
"They say around four months or so," she said with a soft smile.
"I'm so happy for both of you,"
"If you don't want to fight you anymore, then you could stay here and help care for Dany and the baby," Jon said quickly.
"No thank you, I'll take my chances with a sword again," his father replied with a sparkle in his eye.
"I am not that far long and I'm perfectly well enough to join you both in the fight." Dany added making it clear that she would not stay behind during the battle.
"Right, we need a plan," Jon said and he turned serious again.
"I think the best course of action would be to stay here and wait for them to come to you, you have the Meereenese defenses and your dragons would be even bigger by then," Rhaegar said immediately. He was right of course.
"I disagree. Whilst it may be safer for us to wait here for the Volantene fleet to arrive, the longer we wait, the longer those slaves are oppressed. I will not have that," Daenerys said fiercely. Jon took one look at her and knew that she would not back down on this.
"I agree with my Queen. We need to free the slaves in Volantis. They may be raising a fleet against us, but there is no guarantee when they will set sail. It could be in a month, it could be in a year. We can't afford to wait," he spoke firmly. "We have 80,000 Dothraki riders which should arrive outside our gates any day now. We have 10,000 Unsullied and around 8,000 in sellswords and freedmen,"
"And three dragons," Daenerys added.
"The fleets of the slaver cities that are in the harbor should be enough to transport our troops. It will take us a while to get everything ready, it will be a long voyage and we have a lot to do before we leave," Jon said in a commanding voice.
"We will not be returning to the bay afterwards," Daenerys said and Jon nodded in agreement. "We will leave a council in place to rule over the bay in our name. Qavo will be our representative to oversee the transitioning government. We will also leave a portion of the freed slaves who have been trained as soldiers by the Unsullied to help maintain order."
"I agree, every freedman or woman in this city will be able to vote. We will call it the council of 7. Each council member will serve for two years before the people hold new elections. In order for any law to be passed, there needs to be a majority vote from the council. In case, there is any major dispute or problem, the council can send word to us and we will resolve the situation."
"The Bay of Dragons will be first part of the new Targaryen Empire where the leaders chosen by the people will rule the land in the name of House Targaryen." Dany chimed in.
Jon nodded in agreement. "Right, excuse me. The sooner we get everything in order, the sooner we can leave," Jon said as he stood up and left the terrace
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of activity. After they had banned the training of slaves, Jon and Dany realised that they needed to find a replacement source of income for the city. Qavo informed them that the hills surrounding the east of Meereen were filled with copper mines. They decided to reopen the mines. Copper was still a valuable material in some parts of the world and Meereen had an abundance they could export. They also increased the amount of agriculture in the region, so people could work in the fields planting olive trees or wheat. Neither of them were pretending that this would solve all of Meereen's problems, but it was a start. It was better than nothing.
Whilst Dany was largely overseeing the political changes, Jon had been focusing on the military side of things. They turned the slave ships into passenger ships and had Targaryen sails painted and added to each ship. Convincing the Dothraki to cross the poisoned water was difficult, but Vedros proved to be persuasive enough in the end. They had debated about leaving a small portion of their forces behind to guard the city but they decided against it. The Unsullied were their most disciplined infantry force and they did not trust the sellswords to keep order in the city. Brown Ben Plum and Daario had both shown dubious loyalty in the past. Instead, they had decided to leave the freed slaves who had been training with the Unsullied since the start of their campaign in Slaver's Bay to serve as the forces to maintain order in the bay under Qavo's leadership. It made sense they were not Unsullied but at least understood and possessed the basic skills of warfare and military functions
Jon had noticed a change in Daario's behaviour, ever since he had threatened him with Ghost and Vedros, he had been more respectful towards him. That was good. Whilst he had no issue with killing him, replacing him would be a hassle.
It was their final day in Meereen and they were in their private apartments for the final time. All their chests and possessions had been loaded onto a ship and they were just taking one last walk around the place.
"There is one thing we need to do before we leave, my King," she said to him as they stood out on their terrace. Looking out over the Bay of Dragons.
"What is it, my Queen?" She didn't answer, she only pointed behind him at the bronze harpy that still stood on top of the pyramid. Jon looked at it and waited and then he saw Anogar descend from above and sink his claws into the harpy. Anogar flapped his wings and roared and he ripped the harpy out from the top of the Pyramid. He took it out over the bay of dragons before dropping it into the blue water.
He looked at her and smiled.
"Now, onto Volantis my Queen?" he said as he offered her his arm.
"Volantis it is, my King," and together they walked out of the great pyramid and headed off towards Volantis.
Notes:
Thanks to GOT88 for the help provided with this story
Chapter 14 is the Dragon's Mercy and it should be out Monday 15th.
As always, let me know what you think of this chapter. Comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading
Sleepy
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票