Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones. Any similarities in dialogue or storyline originated the show or book.

The Silver Terror

Jon

Mance was awaiting Jon's response when they heard horns and trumpets sound in the distance along with the alerting cries from the wildling army. Mance was quick to react. He grabbed a knife sitting nearby and pressed it to Jon Snow's neck.

"You attacking us?" Mance demanded as he leaned over the Stark bastard.

"No," Jon replied hastily under the pressure from the knife, "it's like you said; we don't have the men."

More horns chorused in the background, causing both Jon and Mance to turn their eyes to the opening in the tent. They could hear the flurry of men and weapons outside. Mance heaved a gruff sigh as he released Jon and exited the tent without another word. Two large wildlings hooked their arms under Jon's and pulled him outside after their leader.

They emerged from the tent into pure chaos. Hundreds of wildling men and women were trying to find a way to their weapons while calling out warnings about the approaching army. Jon watched as several columns of horses carrying hundreds of mounted knights charged into the wilding camp carrying banners of a house he could not recognize. The sigil of a black dragon breathing fire and the large army led him to believe that he was about to meet a house with immense power. The crow quickly realized that Mance had only expected attacks from the Wall so he had left their eastern flank completely undefended, opening the door for this assault on both sides. Jon knew that even if the wildlings were prepared for an attack, they were still undisciplined and had no experience fighting heavily armored cavalries like the one heading right for them. All Jon and Mance could do was wait for the two halves of the same army to collide in the middle of the camp.

The wildling mass seemed to be torn apart in a matter of seconds by the armored knights on horseback. Seeing his men being massacred in the one-sided fight, Mance gave the order to stand down, officially ending the wildlings' assault on Castle Black.

"I said my people have bled enough and I meant it," Mance explained to the small group of wildlings surrounding him.

Jon was the first one to see the small pack of riders trotting through the smoke hovering close to the ground. Mance and his men took notice of them next, watching as the strangers slowed their horses to a stop. There was one woman in the entire company of men, all of them wearing formal fitting armor. It was plain to the eye that they were prepared for a war.

The men dismounted first and faced the wildlings with their hands on the hilts of their swords. They formed a loose barrier between what remained of Mance's army and the young woman behind them who slid off her large black steed gracefully. Jon sucked in an urgent breath when he saw that the girl's hair was as white as the snow beneath their feet. It was common knowledge that the only people who received that trait at birth were those born into a Valyrian bloodline. Jon pondered whether or not he was about to meet the last Targaryen heir, Daenerys. He had heard a few stories about the Mother of Dragons, but he dared to believe them.

The men who had ridden with the girl began to walk towards them once she took her place between them. The man to her left was taller than he was wide, but his features seemed callous with the long scar stretching down the side of his face. The man to her right was shorter, but his hair was fiery red and there was a vicious look in his eyes that would make anybody who faced him cringe. Her other knights could be described just as intimidating. The silver-haired girl seemed almost like a doll compared to her companions. Her facial features were soft and her eyes were the color of deep violet, seemingly endless pools streaked with intelligence and wisdom. The sight of a second rare trait on the girl only drew Jon's attention even more.

When a wildling charged at a group he was sliced open by a passing knight on horseback. The young woman continued towards them without a single glance at the dead man or his entrails lying sprawled across the floor. At that moment her features seemed to harden, aging her a few years, but Jon was still certain she was younger than him.

There was a soft clank when Mance dropped his two daggers on the ground, signaling a final surrender. The silver-haired girl looked straight at Jon as she came to a stop a few feet from Jon and the wildlings. He watched her, uncertain of who she was or what she was doing Beyond the Wall with an army large enough to fill the courtyard at Winterfell eight times over.

"Are you the King Beyond the Wall?" The girl asked suddenly as she turned her attention to Mance. Her voice was as soft as a kiss, but as demanding as a king. She waited patiently until Mance nodded weakly. Her violet eyes flickered to Jon before returning to the wildling king beside him. "Do you know who I am?"

"Never had the pleasure," Mance responded.

"This is Rowynn Lilyas Nyrs of the House Nyrs, the First of Her Name, the Seer of All, Queen of Bellaronia, Queen Beyond the Wall, Warden of the Haunted Forest, Heir to the Great Dragonlords, and the Keeper of the Dragon Fleet," one of the knights beside her responded, his voice full of pride and confidence. Jon's gaze dropped when the Nyrs name sparked a memory hidden deep in the recesses of his mind.

He had only been a boy of 10 when he heard the story of the Targaryen's most loyal house. He remembered the tale his father had told, and the excitement that had filled him and Robb as they listened tentatively. Being years later, Jon only remembered a vague amount about this forgotten house. He knew they had escaped the old ruined city of Valyria with a handful of dragons and their closely allied friends, the Targaryens. Afterwards they helped Aegon the Conqueror take control of the Seven Kingdoms on the back of five great dragons whose names Jon could not remember. Jon recalled that House Nyrs had remained by the Targaryen's side for the better part of 300 years, earning them some of the highest positions in the royal court and the prospect of any lands in the kingdom. For reasons unknown House Nyrs chose to claim the lands Beyond the Wall, despite the terrors that laid there. Jon's father had told them of the peace that was held between the royal family and the Free Folk of the Haunted Forest, mostly because of the wide fear of dragons. The story had come to an abrupt stop when Lord Eddard revealed that House Nyrs was nearly distinguished during Robert's Rebellion, his own sword ending a few of their lives. Jon and his brother were told that the survivors had scattered to different ends of the world, causing House Nyrs and their fire breathing beasts to vanish from the history books. He heard nothing more about them after that.

"All the dragons are dead, and you are not dressed for this weather," said Mance without a moment of hesitation. Jon looked at Queen Rowynn's outfit, and agreed. She was dressed in an intricate suit of black scales, as dark as the midnight skies, with deep purple chasings and clasps that reflected the light. The black caps on her slender shoulders added a respective width to her form, but offered her no protection from the morning air biting at her bare arms. Yet, he had not caught her react to the cold once.

Rowynn smiled. "If something remains unseen, does that mean it does not exist?"

"Physical evidence is unquestionable," Mance offered a half hearted shrug.

"If evidence is what you need, evidence is what you will get," the young queen promised with a soft smile. She shut her eyes and opened them again, but now they were clouded like the skies above. Jon was not confused. This girl was not only a queen but also a warg; someone with the ability to enter the mind of an animal. He wondered what animal this maiden queen was controlling.

Jon turned his eyes to the sky when the great beast appeared above them, its flapping wings causing large gusts of wind to move towards the ground. The men and horses below scrambled as it began to lower itself to land. Jon looked back at the girl whose eyes were still clouded. He fell back a few feet with the rest of the crowd as the animal landed. It crushed hundreds of tents in its attempt.

It was not until the wind ceased that Jon got to look at the magnificent creature. He stared at it, mouth agape as he realized the sheer size of it. Her winged forelimbs stretched wide enough to cover entire villages before digging her sword-length claws into the soft snow. It hissed quietly, giving the onlookers a glance of her teeth which were as sharp and strong as Valyrian steel. It was plain to see that the claws and teeth could lacerate even the sturdiest to mere ribbons of flesh and bones. Her long slick tail was as hard as rock and could go through a castle wall as if it were no more than a toy. He thought about his sword absently just for defense. Her silver scales, which were her protection, gleamed in the early morning light. Black attached itself to both sides of the silver. The animal's eyes suddenly turned from the clouded grey to a dark, soulless black. He wondered if dragons could truly smell a man's dread and taste their fear. Jon faced the silver-haired girl.

"Her name is Syndor," Queen Rowynn paused as she looked upon her dragon with pride, "the Silver Terror. She is the youngest in my fleet, but also the largest."

"Surely you have heard the tales from the Free Folk of the Haunted Forest, King Beyond the Wall," one of the knights beside Rowynn said mockingly.

"Mere tales I assumed," the king responded with his eyes still trained on the great dragon. He faced the maiden queen, his lips taught. "I was wrong."

She smiled lightly. "I saw your fire last night. The biggest fire the north has ever seen, they said. Do you wish to see a real fire, King Beyond the Wall?"

"No, young child," said Mance, certain of words. "Do you wish to actually do something or are we just going to stand around and chat all day?"

"Mind your words, wilding," someone warned angrily. "This is the Queen of Bellaronia you are speaking with."

"Pardon me, My Lady," Mance smiled.

Rowynn turned her head towards her dragon, meeting its eyes for only a second. She nodded, and the beast appeared to respond with the same motion. Violent gusts of wind rushed at the crowd as the dragon flapped its enormous wings three times before disappearing into the clouds. The young queen then addressed her men.

"Burn the dead and take the rest of the prisoners to Castle Black," she ordered confidently and without concern.

"Yes, Your Grace," the scarred knight bowed before walking off with a large group of knights on his heels.

"What do you wish to do with me?" Mance Rayder dared to ask. The queen shrugged.

"Your fate rests on you alone. Kneel and swear fealty to me and my house or die by fire," Rowynn announced for all to hear. "I will give you the day to decide, but mind you, the maddest thing a man can do in this life is let himself die." She nodded towards Mance. "Take him."

Two men bounded the King Beyond the Wall and escorted him away as their prisoner. Jon took a deep breath when he realized he was the only one who had yet to share words with Queen Rowynn. He met her violet eyes reluctantly.

"I believe introductions are in order," said the maiden queen. Just by the looks of her, he was inclined to believe she did not mean nor could she cause him any harm, but Jon had to take in the company of her dragon and battle-ready army.

"There is no need," Jon started politely, "I am sure I will never forget your name."

"I am flattered," Rowynn bowed ever so lightly, "but you have yet to tell me your name."

"Jon Snow," he replied.

"I thought so," the young queen smiled. "We have much to discuss, but first off there must be a reunion." Jon looked upon Rowynn with cautious eyes. She glanced over her shoulder as she extended her arm. "Bring the young Lady forward."

Jon watched as her remaining knights cleared a path. A smaller figure emerged through the thin layer of smoke and he did not need to be told the name that belonged to it.

"Arya," Jon allowed the name fall from his lips for the first time in months. His younger sister smiled when their gazes met. They closed the gap between them in a matter of steps. They stared at each other for a moment before she jumped to fling her arms around his neck just like she had when they were children. A rough chuckle erupted in his throat as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and set his chin on her small shoulder. Jon had been waiting years for a reunion with any one of his siblings, but this was far beyond his expectations.

Jon lifted his eyes to meet Queen Rowynn's. He knew there were no words to explain how much he appreciated her act of kindness. So, instead he smiled and began to think of this girl as a friend instead of a possible enemy.

Rowynn

The Wall. It was the largest structure ever built by the hands of man, Jon Snow had told her and Arya as they approached on their horses. Rowynn had lived Beyond the Wall her entire life, but she had only laid eyes on the magnificent creation once before, and she had been on the back of a dragon. Centuries of wind-blown dirt had pocketed and scoured it, covering it like a film, and it often seemed pale grey, the color of an overcast sky, but when the sun caught it fair on a bright day, it shone, alive with light; a colossal blue-white cliff that filled up half the sky. It could be seen from miles off, a pale blue line across the northern horizon, stretching away to the east and west and vanishing in the far distance, immense and unbroken. This is the end of the world, it seemed to say. Rowynn knew that many believed nothing important could lie beyond the wall, but what those same people had forgotten was that a great kingdom was hidden deep in the forest, protected for years by a fleet of dragons, and large devoted army. Finally, her house was ready to come out of hiding.

Eventually they caught sight of the large tunnel that acted as the course to the opposite side of the Wall. It didn't take long for Rowynn and her army to reach Castle Black, its timbered keeps and stoned towers looked like nothing more than a handful of toy blocks scattered on the floor, beneath the vast wall of ice. The ancient stronghold of the black brothers was no true castle at all. Lacking high walls, it could not be defended easily, not from the south, or east, or west; but it was only the north that concerned the Night's Watch, and to the north loomed the Wall. Somehow, Rowynn knew that if it fell, the world fell with it.

She was greeted by the first half of her army and the few men left of the Night's Watch. Most treated her like royalty, owing her their gratitude, while others took a more silent approach, sending her looks of caution and irritation. The men of the Night's Watch had been saved by a girl leading an army, and most were not prepared to accept that. They offered food and wine to the young queen and her army, but they declined politely, only asking to have a council with the commanders. Rowynn let Jon and Arya spend as much time together as she could allow, but eventually she sent to have a private word with him deep in the stone castle. She needed to be sure that the words spoken would not be repeated to anyone who they could not trust.

"How did you find her—Arya?" Jon asked once Rowynn had closed the door to the secure room.

She faced the northern bastard. "My family has placed spies far and wide throughout the Seven Kingdoms. It only took a few weeks for them to locate all of your siblings once I had sent word of my wishes to have them brought to Bellaronia."

"She told me that you and your family had been kind to them," Jon paused, "for that I am grateful."

"No thanks is needed, Jon Snow. I was just doing what was right, what was owed to your family after many years of suffering," Rowynn said.

"I had been trying to think of a reason behind your kindness. A reason as to why you would befriend the children of a house who once slaughtered your own, but I could not think of one," Jon admitted. He shifted his weight as the maiden queen drifted from her spot by the door. While he had come to believe she meant him and his family no harm, he could not say he trusted her. She was still a stranger to him.

"Weeks ago I took a journey across the narrow sea. I rode through the night on the back of one of my dragons, and reached the city of Meereen before daybreak. I had gone there to take council with the only person I could call my queen, Daenerys Targaryen. We spoke and she asked many things of me, one of them was to find all of the Stark children and to protect them as if they were my own family," Rowynn explained softly, her voice reaching every corner of the room, but not daring to go any farther. Jon took a deep breath as he tried to understand how everything was falling into place.

"Then you heard about the Battle at Castle Black," Jon concluded hesitantly. "So you came all this way to protect me?"

"You may not hold the name, but you are a Stark at heart, Jon," she paused. "That was not the only reason I came though. Daenerys had made a request that would need both of our approval and I knew eventually I would have to make the trek down to the Wall to ask you in person."

"Ask me what?" Jon narrowed his dark eyes.

"Over a year ago your brother, Robb, his wife, Talisa, their unborn child, the heir to Winterfell, and many loyalists to your family were massacred by House Frey and House Bolton. The North was then ravaged by the southerners—the Lannisters. They took what they believed belonged to them by treachery and blood," Rowynn said, pacing the length of the room, refusing to meet Jon's intense gaze. "Daenerys and I want to give you and your family the chance to take back what is rightfully yours, but, in order for that to happen, we must unite our causes. We must unite our houses."

"Unite our houses?" Jon questioned quietly. "By marriage, you mean."

"I do, Jon Snow. That is the truest reason I came here; to ask you to marry me."

Jon stepped towards the younger girl. Her violet eyes seemed to bore a hole through the darkness. "You cannot be serious."

"Does it look like I am taking part in a mockery, Jon Snow? This is my future on the line, your future! I do not talk about this in a light manner," Rowynn huffed as her anger began to fester.

"I am a man of the Night's Watch. I have taken a sacred vow to never take a wife, hold no lands, father no children, wear no crown, and win no glory. Even if I wished to marry you in order to restore my family's honor, I could not," Jon responded, his own voice laced with resentment.

"I would renounce you from your oath, Jon Snow," Rowynn said.

"No one would allow that."

"They would, because if they did not I would withdraw my forces and the wildling army would rise up once again, defeating you all before the sun could set," the maiden queen explained with utmost certainty. "But that would only happen if they tried to stop you from making your own choice. If you decide that you do not want to marry me or be legitimized or abandon your oath respectively all on your own, then it could end differently—better."

"Why? Why are you—a queen—willing to marry me—a bastard? You cannot just be driven by the Targaryen's wishes."

"You are right. You see long ago my family reigned beside the Targaryens. They were just as powerful as they were plentiful, but that ended with Robert's Rebellion. We were caught up in a time of weakness and many died because of it. Now, I have a chance to get back what once belonged to us and the Targaryens. But I also wish to bury all resentment between our families," Rowynn paused as she looked at Jon. "I know about everything that has happened to you and your siblings and your father. The Lannisters—they are wicked and cruel. They have tried to take everything from your family and I want to give you the chance to take it back. You can finally fight, Jon Snow. You can fight for your family."

"If I were to marry you, I would surpass all of my siblings in the line of succession. Have you talked to them about that?"

"I have, but they only want two things right now. One is to be reunited with their entire family, you included, but you cannot return with me to Bellaronia if you are a member of the Night's Watch. The second thing they asked is that it be you to lead your family in the fight to take back your home. You can ask Arya to make sure I am telling the truth, but they do not care that you were once a bastard for they know that it is the same blood that rushes through their hearts that also runs through yours. You are a seasoned warrior, Jon, and you are the best fit to become Lord of Winterfell, and they all know it." Rowynn held Jon's gaze as she straightened her armor and started towards the door. She paused as her hand lingered on the door knob. "I will give you two days to make your choice. After that I will return to my home, and begin planning this war without you. The weight of the North will have to land on one of your siblings, but I promise you that I will keep them as safe as I can."

"What if I choose to go with you?" Jon asked before the younger queen could take her leave.

"If it is your own choice then we will return to Bellaronia where you will be reunited with your family, and eventually we will marry, uniting our houses," Rowynn responded. "Think long and hard before making up your mind though, Jon Snow. Your choice could change the fate of many people," The silver-haired girl said as she slipped out the door. Jon sighed as it shut behind her, leaving him alone with the thoughts racing through his mind.

Sorry for any mistakes. Please let me know what you think. Reviews are appreciated. Thank you for reading!