Note: Now that I set up the story and got the ball rolling, the timeline of this story is going to slow down a little bit.
Flashback
He smiled as she nursed the babe in her arms.
"Aegon" he said aloud, "what better name for a king, than Aegon."
"Will you make a song for him," his loving wife asked.
He plucked his weirwood harp with silver strings, "He already has a song, for he is the Prince who was promised."
He paused, he was fond of his wife, but she was not healthy enough to bear another child, and he needed one more for the prophecy, that was his destiny.
He already felt the pain of his next words even as they left his mouth, still the dragon did not regret. "but, there must be one more, the dragon has three heads."
Jon
The King's banner was hoisted over the keep that was once the seat of Walder Frey.
As he looked down at the river, Jon actually found himself wishing that he could see them all again, Uncle Eddard, Robb, Bran, Sansa, and Arya. Especially Arya, she may be his cousin, but she would always be little sister to him. Right now, he would have given anything for a chance to muss her unkempt hair. He even missed Lady Catelyn; he would have loved to see the shock of her learning his true parentage.
It turned out that Walder Frey had died only hours earlier of supposedly natural causes. Edwyn Frey had become the new lord of the Twins. Although alive and captured, the newly made lord of the crossing had been severly wounded in the battle for the main keep. He had tried to fight to the death, but a Manderly knight had successfully taken him alive. Jon was not sure if he would survive a fortnight. If he died now, his half brother, another Walder Frey, known as Black Walder, would become the lord of the remaining Twin, which had yet to be assaulted.
King Stannis had been severly wounded upon entering this very keep where Robb was murdered. Until Stannis completed his recovery, Prince Jon Targaryen, was officially the Lord Protector of the realm. The title had a strange ring to it, for someone who had been called bastard all his life.
He would hold the title, for some time he knew. It would take a while for Stannis to heal, and there was a chance that his wounds would fester. The bolt that wounded him had been smeared in nightsoil. Honorless to the end, Jon reflected.
"You look deep in thought lad," Tomund came up beside him. Even if Stannis died and Jon became king, he was still "lad" to Tormund. Honestly, Jon felt it refreshing.
"It's just that I lost kin here, their corpses were thrown into that river after their murders."
"But you brought justice to their murderers."
"Aye, but it didn't bring them back."
Tormund had nothing to say about that. The free folk lived for revenge, and like Northmen, they took blood feuds seriously.
"But you made your family proud," Asha Greyjoy announced her presence as usual, without ceremony.
Asha's personality reminded Jon very much of Arya, so much that it hurt. It was strange to think that she was seven namedays older than he was. Fiercely independent, beautiful and a skilled warrior, Arya would have idolized her.
In some ways, however she reminded him of Theon. Whenever she smirked, he could almost see her older brother, which still made his blood run cold. Even though Theon was innocent of killing Bran and Rickon, he still felt that he deserved his execution. Still, he was not going to say this to Asha. She had also lost most of her family, and Jon could understand that.
Despite the bad blood between the wolf and the Kracken, Asha was aggressively trying to court his favor. He had much respect for her, but he was not entirely sure what she wanted.
Freedom was something she wanted for sure, she had spent much of her time in captivity, wearing irons before the battle of Winterfell.
A better marriage perhaps, ever since becoming the heir to Stannis Baratheon, he had received half a dozen marriage offers that would have once been out of reach for someone born on the wrong side of the blanket. Small chance of that however, Asha had already been promised to Ser Justin Massey, the knight of Stonedance.
Stannis had told him before the siege that he would marry once the Twins fell. The irony was nothing short of tragic. They had not yet agreed on who Jon should wed. If he could choose Jon decided, it would have to be Val. Val had followed his army and had always been there for him, in his darkest times since Stannis arrived at the wall. Stannis had originally wanted Jon to marry Val but was hesitant about the reaction of his northern bannerman.
Jon would cross that bridge however, when he came to it.
Daenerys
She was expected to see off lord Tyrion. His small army would depart for Riverrun today, where he would marshall her loyalists in the Riverlands before pressing his claim on the west.
He would leave with some 1,500 men. Tyrion had demanded more men, due to the presence of the usurper's brother, who had some 15,000 men. His sister would soon have 25,000 men, at her command, but Tyrion did not believe that. The dwarf had faced tough odds, and was the only person she knew that had a chance against such numbers without the benefit of dragons.
Dany needed as many men as she could muster, for her own march to Bitterbridge. She would leave in a fortnight with an estimated 30,000 troops that would have to contend with at least 40,000 from her so-called nephew.
Truthfully, she could not trust him with a large army either, but he could raise his own massive armies, which might be able to match her enemies in the Riverlands. The lords of the Riverlands and the West were greatly dissatisfied with the rule of the Usurper's queen, and would be easily convinced to follow her instead. Lord Tyrion would certainly need to coerce them somewhat, which was something she did not want to think about. She made sure, that he would be leaving the city with his own monsters.
His own personal bodyguard had such a reputation, that they threatened to overshadow that of Ser Barristan's knights. Few if any of them had knighthoods, but they were no less dangerous. They were however, about as morally flexible as Daario was.
She recalled the battle on the Stepstones, where she saw "The lord of the waters" defeated. Although her fleet outmatched his, the Kracken infested waters terrified many. During the battle, commanders who allowed their cowardice to get the best of them were executed on the spot, regardless of birth, before she could even intervene. Afterwards Tyrion told her that they refused direct orders from him, and had to be punished. The bulk of her forces were undisciplined, and she could not restrain him for fear of her armies faltering in the heat of battle.
In the Reach, there were three factions. There were her loyalists, who could be found between Tumbleton and Bitterbridge. Aegon's loyalists, held the southern half of the Reach. Finally there were the Tyrells, and a hand of bannermen, who still stood by their liege lords.
The Tyrells who owed their status as lord paramounts of the Reach to Aegon the Conqueror were so far sitting out the conflict. Their refusal to take a side had resulted in the loss of most of their bannermen. The rose had allowed itself to grow too large and now had to be pruned. Loras Tyrell was still a hostage, for their good behavior, but Margaery Tyrell, the only daugther of Mace Tyrell and a so-called queen, was a hostage of the Lannister queen.
Grandmaester Gormon, who had been born a Tyrell, had been recalled to the citadel shortly before Oldtown declared for Aegon. Following their treason, she had declared Archmaester Marwyn her Grandmaester in defiance. She knew that Marwyn was a dangerous man in his own right, and she was certain that he was the maester who had taught Mirri Maz Dur her dark magic. She trusted him not, but his knowledge was quite useful.
In the courtyard before the gate, Tyrion approached her, his short body swaying with every step. "We ride for the Riverlands, your grace. Do you have any more men to give?"
Dany contemplated that for a moment, but she had already thought about it as his army formed up. "Could you escort two-hundred men to garrison Stoney Sept?" She decided that she wanted to hold the sight of one of the usurper's victories.
"Of course, your grace." Tyrion replied. She knew he wanted more, but he was still greatful for every man she had to give and would prefer a local base of operations that he would not have to maintain.
"Ser Barristan, write an order for Ser Larraq to take two hundred men and follow Lord Tyrion." They would be ready within a few hours, and would have to trail Tyrion's army to the Stoney Sept. These men were not Tyrion's, but he would appreciate them all the same.
When the time was right, she would award the town to one of her loyal, but landless bannermen. She had not given many rewards yet in terms of land. Tyrion believed that once Cersei reached Harrenhal, that many would forsake her and pledge their swords to her, the one true queen.
Dany was wary of Tyrion's certainty, especially when he seemed to understand something that she did not.
As Moqorro had told her, it was time for the dragons to dance, red and black, true and false, young and old.
The Griffin
The Wind was harsh today, cold enough that one might forget the warm evening sun over Oldtown and its Hightower.
Tomorrow they would leave Oldtown with the rising sun and take the Rose road. The road would lead to King's Landing, but first, it would pass through Highgarden.
The Tyrells were forced to stay neutral, with a son held hostage by Queen Daenerys, and a daughter by the Usurper's queen. Had this not been the case, they would have joined Aegon's cause in the same way a weathervane changes direction. They were opportunists who wanted power, but they lacked the audacity that fortune either smiles on or laughs at. When Robert fled for the relative safety of the Riverlands, the Tyrells laid a half-hearted siege to Storm's End.
Needless to say, it was time for a new Lord Paramount of the Reach. Mace Tyrell could not be Aegon's Warden of the South. His sons, Willas and Garlan on the other hand, were well respected in the Reach. Yes, he thought to himself, the Tyrells could keep their status as Lords Paramount of the Reach, If Mace Tyrell agreed to relinquish his titles and take the black.
The Night's Watch was in particularly serious need of men, if Lord Tarly's son was to be believed. Jon did not believe the tales about the return of the Others, but the fear of them was real enough. Had Stannis Baratheon not gone to the wall, the North would have been overrun with wildlings.
Samwell Tarly, the maester in training, had told him that Stannis had decided to save the realm. The acolyte as craven as he considered himself to be, actually had the nerve to say that he was very much like Stannis. By Gods, the thought pissed still pissed him off.
Even if he did not want to believe it, the young man had nerve. He was surprised to learn that Samwell Tarly would accompany them to the North. Forging his chain would take a few more years, and the wall could not wait at the present, though he promised to someday return. In the meantime, he would be leading a party to the wall that would double the strengh of the Night's Watch whatever it currently was, maybe even triple it. Most of the men were Ironborn captives were to be given to the noose, which was the good and proper fate of an ironborn pirate. Instead, Samwell Tarly had pleaded for men to man the wall. Much to everyone's surprise, his father, Lord Randyll Tarly had strongly supported the idea.
Clearly news had reached his ear about Jon Snow, Aegon's supposed half-brother and the former Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Damn it Rhaegar, what in seven hells were you thinking. He still felt the shock from the raven which brought the news from Goldengrove.
Ned Stark had raised Rhaegar's bastard as his own. A son named Jon, as angry as the revelation had made him; he felt a strange sense of pride. He also felt a grudging respect towards Ned Stark for raising the kid as his own with no one, not the Usurper, not his wife, not even the damned Spider the wiser.
As if the thought of the Spider was enough to summon him, he suddenly became conscious of the smell of perfume. He turned, and sure enough it was Varys.
"My lord hand," the eunuch contemplated him for a second. "You were so deep in thought, that I feared you had turned to stone." He tittered.
Griff felt his greyscale infected fingers curl up into a fist at the remark. His right hand was still gloved thankfully, even in private. Before he actually became a stone man, he would personally strangle the eunuch with his infected hand. First however, he had a war to win.
"Why are you here, Varys?"
"I wanted to see the new king of Westeros."
"No Varys, why are you in my chambers?"
"I wanted to see his hand." The innocent tone gave no indication of Griff's greyscale.
Damn you and your double tongue, you simpering spider. Out with it already.
"My little birds have been singing some interesting songs as of late."
"Such as?" Jon Connigton lacked the patience for Lord Varys and his mummer's show.
"Let's see, in the Reach, Euron Crow's Eye is about three days from Highgarden."
"Why should I care about the Tyrells?"
"Because the Tyrells are still the wealthiest house in the Reach, and soon lady Margaery will be free of Cersei Lannister's insanity." Varys spoke as if he were talking to a small child. "It will be even easier, rescuing Loras Tyrell, who is being moved to King's Landing, but enough of the Tyrells and the Reach. The best songs came from the Riverlands." Varys continued, "Lord Baelish is coming to Harrenhal with his queen, for the pretense of a wedding, his natural daughter's perhaps, or maybe someone else. I would rather not see a wedding in that part of Westeros, especially after what happened in Riverrun."
He paused, clearly building up to the best part. "And of course, it would seem that Aegon has a younger half-brother."
"Old news Varys, where is he?"
"Besieging the Twins, did you hear that he is the heir to Stannis Baratheon?"
He had heard that rumor, still could not believe it. The idea of the Stag and the Dragon making common cause seemed absurd, almost as absurd as the heir of house Baratheon being Rhaegar's bastard.
Tell me Varys, "Did you know about that one?"
Jon Connington felt a thrill of exitement as the eunuch's smile tried not to wither.
Next Up: Samwell, Arya,and Melisandre
BTW: thanks for all the helpful reviews