AN: Thanks to RoyalsWeeknd and XOxoBeautiful NightmareXOxo for your reviews.

Chapter 6: Who Is Family?

Flashback

Braavos, Free city

House of Black and White

Braavos is the northern most city of Essos. It is also furthest away from Volantis. When Alais and Hope reached Braavos they immediately decided to settled down in the city. They had been on the run since they fled from Volantis couple of months ago. Braavos was a new beginning for Hope. Unfortunately, not for Alais. She started selling her body again in order to earn money. Because without money they couldn't afford a place to stay or have food to eat.

Hope no longer hated her mother for being a whore. She knew better now. Besides, all the traveling and experiences made her very mature and understanding. But now it pained Hope that her mother was sacrificing so much for her. Even though Alais said it many a times that she was worth it all but it didn't make Hope feel any better. She wanted to help her mother but how? Hope was only a little girl. What could she possibly do? Fortunately one day that question was answered.

Alais had gone to the local brothel. She would be pleasing many men that night, as she did every night. Hope on the other hand was sitting by the river and watching the house of black and white. The cottage, Hope and Alais were staying in was nearby the riverbank. Since Hope no longer had a baby sitter, she was free to roam around while Alais satisfied the perversion of men. Hope was smart enough not to get into any trouble. Still Alais would ask her not to stay out for long or go very far. She was a mother after all, and worrying is what mothers do.

Speaking of the house of black and white, Hope was very curious about that place. Ever since she saw the house for the first time, she wondered what was inside. There were many rumors about that place. It only made the house with a black and white door more interesting to her. Hope would often come by the river to see it. That day was no different. She was sitting quietly and watching the mysterious house. She was feeling very sad though. Hope felt sad and worried every time Alais left for work. After all, the girl was exposed to the horrors of men at quite an early age. Absentmindedly little Hope started humming to herself. It soothed her troubled mind. Before she realized it, she was singing a song of feeling helpless. In her song, she questioned the gods why they made her so weak?

Hope wasn't singing very loudly but she was loud enough that the people walking nearby stopped to hear her singing. Hope didn't pay them any attention though and sang out her worries and sorrows. However, when a single copper coin fell on her lap, she snapped out of her trance and finally noticed that a crowd was gathering around her. It scared Hope for a moment. She immediately stood up on her feet and thought about running back to the house as fast as she could. But then another man threw a copper coin at her. It fell near her feet. That action prevented Hope from running away. She became curious instead. Hesitantly, she started singing again. A different song that she learned from Alais.

Soon more coins of copper and silver started to gather at her feet. Hope was earning money. It felt like a miracle to her. In that moment, she knew in her heart that her mother's life was going to change for good now. That their lives would truly have a fresh beginning finally. Hope stopped singing after two more songs. People slowly started to leave and she began to gather all the coins in her cloak. Suddenly a man approached Hope. She looked up with nervousness. Did he come to rob the money? The man did look poor. He was wearing old ragged clothes. But to Hope's surprise, the man held a coin in front of her. Feeling confused, she took the coin but when she looked at it carefully, she realized it wasn't a coin she could buy anything with. Hope had seen many coins in her short life, not to mention of all kinds but not the one she was currently holding.

"What is it?" Hope asked curiously.

"It is a gift little girl" replied the man. She didn't understand why the man was giving her a gift but she accepted it anyway.

"Thank you-" The man interrupted her immediately.

"The gift is not from me" said the man. Hope furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Who then?" She asked curiously.

"From the many faced god. Your singing has pleased the god. Your voice is a gift." The man then leaned closer to Hope and spoke into her ear.

"If you ever need any help give this coin to a man of Braavos and say to him 'Valar Morghulis' and you shall find someone there to help you." Hope could only stare as the man stood straight again. He was obviously much taller than her.

"Use this coin carefully though. You can summon for help only once." Saying that the man turned around to leave but Hope stopped him.

"Wait!" The man turned to look back at her again.

"Who are you?" She asked. The man smiled and said-

"A man is no one little Hope."

Her eyes widened with shock as the man said her name. Not only her name but what her mother called her. The man walked away quietly leaving a confused Hope behind. Her mind told her not to believe a word that stranger man just said however her heart told her otherwise. After a moment, Hope ran back to the house and started waiting for her mother to return. When Alais came back, Hope ran to her and hugged her tightly. Alais embraced her back and kissed the top of her head.

"I have a surprise for you mother." She dragged Alais over to her bed. Alais was shocked to see the pile of coins on the bed.

"Oh gods, Hope where did you get this?" She asked with worry in her voice. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"I earned them mother" said Hope beaming happily. Then she explained everything to her mother. Hope even told her about the strange man who was no one.

"Mother you no longer need to work in the brothel. I will sing everyday. We can finally live a life where you no longer need to suffer." Hope was very happy about it but Alais wasn't. She rejected the idea immediately.

"Oh my sweet child. My heart rejoices to see how much you love me and I love you too, with all my heart. That's why I must keep working. I'm used to of selling my body now but I won't be able to endure you selling your voice for me. Your voice is a gift from the gods indeed. And you shall only sing to make yourself happy. Not to earn money."

"But mother I want to see you happy too" said Hope with emotional tone of voice. Alais breathed out a laugh.

"Who said I am not happy? I have you in my life. You are enough happiness for me." She said really meaning it. Hope remained quiet for a moment then said-

"No mother, that's not enough. I've seen what men do to women in a brothel. Until today I didn't know how to help you. Now I know how. You have sacrificed enough for me mother. Now it is my turn. Besides, I love singing. I won't be making any sacrifice." Alais panicked seeing the determination in Hope's eyes. The thing was, even though Alais raised Hope as her own daughter, she never forgot that Hope was actually her princess. The thought of Hope working to take care of her was simply unthinkable for Alais.

"Hope I said no. It is my duty to take care of you." She said with strong tone of voice. She never spoke so sternly to Hope before.

"But I'm not only your duty mother, I am your daughter. And as your daughter I can take care of you if I want to." Hope spoke very maturely. When Alais couldn't argue anymore, she said something she wasn't ready to say so soon.

"But you are not my daughter Hope, I didn't give birth to you."

Both Alais and Hope were shocked. Alais was shocked because of what she let slip and Hope was shocked because of what her mother just said. Silence consumed them both. The sound of a pin dropping on the floor could be heard inside the cottage. Hope was the first one to speak up.

"Mother, you are lying, aren't you? You- you said that because I am making you angry, didn't you?" Alais couldn't keep standing anymore. Her knees gave out and she collapsed on the floor. She started crying as well. Hope rushed to her and wrapped her little arms around her as if trying to comfort her.

"Please don't cry mother, I will forget what you said. I know I am your daughter."

Alais cried harder hearing that because even though she didn't want to reveal the truth to Hope when she was still so young but Alais realized that it was no longer an option. Besides, Hope was growing more curious everyday about why fire didn't burn her like it burns other people. She maybe being patient for the time being but soon she might start looking for answers elsewhere and it could prove to be a dangerous thing. Alais inhaled a deep breath to stop her sobs. It would be an understatement to say that she was worried about Hope's reaction after learning the truth. What would she do? Hate her? Leave her? Wish to never see her face again? With fear in her heart, Alais started talking.

"It is true my love. I didn't give birth to you. I am not your mother. You are not my daughter. You are my princess."

"A princess?" Hope asked, she never sounded more confused.

"Yes, you are a princess. Not just any princess. You are the princess of a great dynasty. Your full name is Hope Targaryen." Hope's eyes widened with shock and disbelieve. She knew all about house Targaryen and all the other houses of Westros. Alais told her stories about them ever since Hope could remember. What she didn't know was that Alais was actually educating her.

"Is that why fire doesn't burn me? I have dragon blood in me." Hope said that more to herself than to Alais when she could speak again.

"Yes Hope, you are a dragon. You are the daughter of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark."

Step by step Alais revealed all the secrets to Hope. How Rhaegar Targaryen fell in love with Lyanna Stark which ended up starting a war. Why she ran away with infant Hope. House Targaryen fell but Alais knew in her heart that one day it would rise and rule once again.

"Till this day people say that Rhaegar Targaryen had abducted Lyanna Stark and did unspeakable things with her. All lies. You mother fell in love too. She ran away with your father because she was promised to another. Your mother couldn't bare the thought of being with another man. Your father also left his first wife for her. I had never seen such fierce love before." Alais inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. Venturing into the past wasn't easy.

"Your father and mother secretly got married before the old gods with a few witnesses; me being one of them. And soon your mother was blessed with twins."

"Twins?" Just when Hope began to think that she wouldn't receive any more shocks that day, she got another one.

"Yes, your mother was pregnant with two babies. You and your twin" said Alais. So far Hope was calmly listening to everything. Her adopted mother was quite relieved about it.

"Where is my twin?" She asked. Alais lowered her gaze before answering the question.

"I don't think your twin survived sweetheart." She felt sad about it till this day. Hope frowned to herself in confusion.

"There is a boy I dream about sometimes. He seems to be the same age as me. I can never remember his face after I wake up and I never understood why I dream of a stranger boy." She looked up at Alais for an explanation.

"Perhaps your twin was a boy. He may have died but it seems his spirit is still with you." However Hope felt otherwise. She felt that her twin was alive. But it was merely a feeling so she didn't trust it.

"Hope, I don't know if your uncle Prince Viserys and your grandmother Queen Rhaella are still alive. They had escaped the rebellion. But no one has heard of them again. It is quite possible that they are no more. It means you are the last living Targaryen. You ARE the Hope of House Targaryen. That's why no one must know who you really are. The usurper sitting on the Iron throne is still thirsty for dragon blood. He will hunt you down if he ever finds out about you. Promise me, you will never speak of your true identity to anyone and put yourself in danger. Promise me." Alais sounded very anxious, worried and protective.

"I promise mother. I won't tell anyone." Alais's eyes widened a little with surprise as Hope made that promise.

"You called me mother." There was disbelieve in her voice. She thought Hope would stop calling her mother now that she knew everything. Hope however only smiled at her.

"You will always be my mother." It was a very mature thing to say for a seven year old. But Hope wasn't old enough to comprehend how happy it made Alais. She pulled her into a tight embrace and showered her face with kisses. Hope slowly pulled away from the embrace and looked at Alais. She didn't begin to see her in a different light as Alais had feared. She was still the same to Hope. She was her mother. Her family.

"Mother, I may be the last Targaryen but what of my mother's family? The Starks." Hope asked curiously.

"The Starks live in the North of Westros. Your mother spoke very fondly of her siblings. Lord Eddard Stark, I heard is a very honorable man. He is the warden of the North now." Alais told Hope.

"If my mother is Lord Stark's sister then he's my uncle. He's my family then, isn't he?" She asked and Alais nodded her head.

"Yes he is but he is also friends with Robert Baratheon. The man who killed your father. That's why he must not know about you either. Because if he learns about you and comes for you, there's no way to tell whether you will find a family in him or an enemy." Alais remained quiet for a moment before saying-

"But if Lord Stark is really how your mother described him as, then he's the only other person you can share your secrets with."

End Of Flashback

Nessysa was carefully reading a letter. And Hope was sitting by the fireplace very quietly. "Why does Lord Baritone want you to stay inside the castle? Not to mention in a cottage of your own."

Nessysa sounded confused. But Hope wasn't. She inhaled a deep breath and said-

"He knows."

Hope looked up at Nessysa who was staring back at her curiously. "The other night in the crypt, Lord Stark saw me in front of Lyanna Stark's grave. And the way he was looking at my face... He knows who I am."

"Well he wouldn't try to harm you, that we know for certain. After all he raised your brother as his own son" said Nessysa heaving out a sigh. The silence consumed them again for a moment before she spoke up again.

"Speaking of your brother, you've been avoiding him for last three days. How long do you plan on doing that?" Nessysa knew her friend wasn't really happy about avoiding Jon. Hope missed him. So she decided to talk to her about it.

"As long as I can. After what happened the last time we spoke with each other, Jon is bound to ask me dozens of questions. Questions that I can't answer him. I barely understand what happened myself." Hope ran a hand through her hair as she talked. It was a sign that she was feeling extremely frustrated. She maybe avoiding Jon for the time being but she knew that sooner or later she'd have to face him again. And when Jon would ask her questions, she must answer them without lying or giving away the truth. It'd be one difficult conversation for Hope. No wonder she was trying to avoid it. Nessysa looked at her with sympathetic gaze.

"Anyway, did you find anything else about the White walkers?" Hope asked and her friend shook her head in reply.

"These books are useless" said Nessysa. There was a pile of half a dozen books on the table. Hope had borrowed them from the library for reading. And here borrowing was a nicer word for stealing. Though she has every intention of returning them.

"I didn't find anything new. I don't think there's any book in Winterfell that might tell us how to kill a white walker without using a dragon glass" said Nessysa sounding a bit worried about it. Ever since that vision, Hope became obsessed with White walkers. She and Nessysa both. White walkers were no longer creatures of the past or myths. They existed. That deserter of the Night's watch saw them. If they are coming and they are, humans must know how to kill them. Hope was determined to find the answer sooner rather than later. After all her brother would be facing them one day.

"But there has to be another way to kill them. I don't think we'd find even a shard of dragon glass in Westros." Hope paused a little before saying-

"We mustn't stop searching Nessy. If books can't help then we must turn to other sources." Nessysa only nodded her head as she agreed with Hope.

"I'll ride to South as soon as the king returns to the Capital. I don't want to leave you alone here when he's around." She said with concern in her voice. Hope smiled at her dear friend, appreciating her concern.

"The king will arrive here anytime now. Finally I'll get to see the stag who killed a dragon" said Hope with an edge in her voice. She inhaled a deep breath and looked around the cottage.

"Looks like we don't need this place anymore. I hope our new place will be just as cozy as this one." Hope wasn't sure about staying inside the castle though. Specially during the time the King would be here. She had no wish to witness Robert Baratheon cursing the Targaryens and calling her father a raper. Hope suspected that the King knew deep down in his heart that Lyanna Stark had left him willingly for Rhaegar but he wasn't ready to accept it or admit it for that matter. Not even to himself. After all he needed to be blind to the obvious otherwise he couldn't have started the rebellion.

Hope and Nessysa packed their belongings and moved to the cottage assigned to Hope. It was close to Glass Garden since she worked there. As Nessysa unpacked, Hope went to work. The kingdom looked busier than ever. Hope went straight to Lord Baritone's office. She knocked on the door.

"Come in." Lord Baritone's voice came from inside. She opened the door and walked in.

"Good morning my lord." She bowed her head a little.

"Ah Hope, I was about to send someone for you. Have you settled in your new home?" Lord Baritone asked.

"Yes my lord. Thank you for being so kind and thoughtful. I never had a better place to stay." A big fat lie but Lord Baritone wouldn't know that, would he?

"I appreciate you thanking me but it is Lord Stark you must thank" said Lord Baritone. Hope pretended to be confused about it.

"Lord Stark came to me to inquire about the workers of the glass garden. When I told him about you, that you are an excellent gardener, also you can read and write as well; Lord Stark ordered me to put you to better use. So from now on you'll be my assistant and help me with all the paperwork." Hope immediately bowed and thanked the lord.

"I am honored my lord. Today is the happiest day of my life." Hope looked so genuinely happy that there was no way to tell that she was completely faking it.

"If I may, I'd like to personally thank Lord Stark for his generosity." Lord Baritone agreed with her right away.

"Of course you should. I believe you'll find him in the Godswood right now." Hope took her leave and headed towards Godswood. Lord Stark was indeed there. He was praying to the old gods. Hope waited for him to finish. Without looking up, Lord Stark spoke up-

"Do you pray to the old gods or new?" The question didn't surprise Hope. She answered calmly and truthfully.

"I respect all the gods old and new and all others but I pray to none." Ned expected that kind of answer. Old Targaryens used to think themselves mightier than gods. They weren't all that keen on praying or depending on gods for that matter. Ned stood up from his prayer and finally turned to look at Hope. He was expecting a visit from her.

"Do you wish to say something to me Hope?" He asked.

"No, I came here to ask you a question actually." She said. Hope didn't bother being all formal and got to the point. Lord Stark nodded his head. Permitting Hope to ask her question. She inhaled a deep breath first.

"What was her last words?" She asked. Hope didn't need to say who she was talking about. Lord Stark understood her question all the same. He sighed out heavily and took a step closer to Hope.

"Your mother knew that one day you will come back home. She asked me to tell you how much she loved you. You and your brother meant everything to her." Lord Stark said. Hope stood quietly. There was an unreadable expression on her face.

"Didn't she ask you to search for me?" She asked with quiet tone of voice. Ned looked at her face more carefully this time before answering that question.

"No. You were meant to walk on a different path than your brother." He said and paused for a moment before saying- "She loved both of you equally."

"I don't doubt my mother's love for me my lord. As you said I was meant to live a different life." Hope understood that better than anyone.

"Was your life very difficult?" Lord Stark asked very curiously.

"Life is meant to be difficult and complicated. Even Jon's life is complicated, wouldn't you agree? He grew up a bastard not having any clue about who he really is." Ned visibly grew a little tensed.

"Would you tell him everything?" He asked. However Hope shook her head.

"He is not ready for the truth yet." She replied. Ned couldn't agree more.

"The day Jon is ready and he learns the truth, I shall tell you both your real names. The ones that your father and mother chose for you." Hope simply nodded her head even though she very much wanted to know the name her parents gave her. But she would always be Hope though. Suddenly Bran came there running, followed by his dire wolf. He was panting heavily.

"Father, the King is close. There are so many people coming with him." Bran spoke excitedly. Ned's eyes flickered to Hope for a moment. He prayed that the girl would be careful around Robert. Though something in his heart told him that she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

"We must get ready to receive the King then. Go on, I'll be right behind you" said Lord Stark to his young son. Bran smiled at his father and ran away. Ned looked back at Hope. Surprising her a little, he cupped her face with one hand and kissed her forehead rather affectionately.

"My niece. I may never be able to call you that in front of anyone but know in your heart that I am your family. All these years I didn't know where you were but you were always in my prayers."

"Welcome home."

"Thank you uncle. For accepting me. For taking care of my brother. Thank you for everything." Hope said really meaning everything she just said. Ned gave her a smile laced with both sadness and happiness. Then he left to welcome the King. Hope however stayed behind. As much as she wanted to see the king, she wasn't keen on welcoming him or kneeling before him for that matter. But that didn't mean she wouldn't be watching him from behind the shadows. As Hope started leaving the Godswood, she came across Ghost.

"Hey boy, did you miss me?" She picked up Ghost in her arms. He was growing up fast like his siblings. The pup started licking her face. Hope giggled as it tickled a little.

"Guess you aren't that excited about the king's arrival as well."

"But I need to see him." She said with a very serious tone of voice. Ghost stopped licking her face and looked at her in a way as if he understood what she was saying. Hope put down Ghost on the ground again.

"Go play with your brothers and sisters. Days of happiness are coming to an end. Enjoy as much as you can now. These days won't come back."