Hi Guys, first of all thank you for usck kind reviews and follows! This story is something that is quite important to me. This next chapter is a long one sorry, but I didn't want to split it in two! Also I am not sure this is exactly canon but it's the only way I can really imagine everything that happened with R+L=J to fit together. I hope you like it!
Daenerys
The crown glimmered dimly against the light of the setting sun, the dragons engraved into the steel danced under the rays of orange light and Daenerys could not help but to stare, her hands frozen on her hair as she prepared it before they were to sup with the Princess and her guest who allegedly served her brother. Jon sat on the edge of the bed elbows braced on his knees, his brow furrowed, his dark eyes fixated on the crown that sat between them.
"You should have it" He muttered quietly.
"Why?" She asked meeting her husbands gaze.
"You've fought for this you're whole life and I…I haven't, I've been given this on a plate, I've been given the throne, I've been given crown, I've been given loyalties because of my name, because of who my father was and especially who my mother was."
Daenerys smiled, she knew that this would be his reaction, her husband was ever selfless, ever brooding, ever melancholy. Dany did not reply instantly, she was not jealous when Arianne Martell had handed Aegon's crown to her husband, that was not her crown, she did not need a crown, she had her armies and her dragons and her blood, and she already had her crown, her dragon crown, it was heavy it was uncomfortable, but it was hers. That was the crown she wanted to wear on the throne, that was the crown she wanted to pass down to whomever succeeded them. Aegon's crown represented so much of her family. The victories and the defeats. The loyalty and the betrayal. The sanity and madness. They were two sides of the same coin and the ringlet of rubies embodied it all.
Dany swallowed trying to come up with an answer. "A man, once said to me, shortly before I came to Westeros, that I was a conqueror. From an outsider's perspective maybe I was, I had my brother killed, I had my husband killed, I ransacked Quarth of all the gold and jewels I could lay my hands on and turned my sights not to my birthplace but to the free cities. I destroyed many noble houses and conquered slavery. I was taken by the Dothraki once again, I was humiliated, I was beaten, I was told I was nothing, my name was nothing, I meant nothing to this world and then I came back leading them. SO yes I suppose I conquered the east but when you arrived on Dragonstone you showed me that there were better ways to win the throne. It was a harder way, and more dangerous way but by doing it your way I have won the loyalties of some of the greatest houses in this country. Before you arrived no one ever taught me how to be a Queen, but you did Jon, you have shown me how to rule. The north men, the river men, the wildlings, the knights of the vale they have given you loyalty because they know you deserve it." She reached for the crown and lifted it into her lap. "This crown belonged to the greatest conqueror this country has ever seen, it doesn't mean he was a good King. He brought this country to heal. But he was King of the Ashes. He burned five kingdoms to the ground, reduced them to ashes and yet the high Septon of the time anointed him as King, Visenya placed this crown upon his head and that was that. Since then there have been five Aegon's and before you only one of them has worn this crown. Aegon the second of his name who helped bring about the worst civil war this country has seen. The third Aegon King saw the death of the last dragons. The fourth legitimised all his bastards upon his death bed which later led to the Blackfyre rebellions. The fifth Aegon was my great grandfather, and your great great grandfather. Brother to Maester Aemon of the night's watch with whom you have received great council in the past. He did not expect to be King, so much so that his father Maekar allowed to him serve as a squire to a hedge knight, who later became-"
"Ser Duncan the tall" Jon whispered smiling to himself.
Daenerys nodded and continued " I am told he was a great King that was until, in his old age he decided that he would try and hatch a dragon's egg, well seven. Seven eggs for the seven gods and for that Summerhall went up in flames killing most of our family. Rhaegar was born on a riverside amidst smoke and fire and King Aegon the fifth of his name died." She sighed and stood before Jon who sat up straight his eyes never wavering from hers. "So now a sixth Aegon stands on the side-lines waiting to climb those awful steps to sit upon the blades of his forefather's enemies. What will they say about Aegon the sixth? Born in war, crowned in blood, raised in peace. Aegon the sixth, the 998th Lord Commander of the night's watch, the man who united the wildlings with north men to protect the lives of all human beings no matter what side of the wall they grew up on. Aegon the sixth, who was betrayed by his own men but rose again to demand justice. Aegon the sixth who came south to ask for his families aid to defeat the coming storm. Aegon the sixth who after discovering who he was did not demand for his wife to renounce her titles but demanded that she ruled as counterpart. Aegon the sixth who rose again amidst the flames. Aegon the sixth who is brought down fire and ice down upon his enemies. You are the strongest man I have ever met Jon, truly. You protect people from monsters. We protect people from monsters. We are the last Targaryens Jon, it is time to restore our families honour. It is time to learn from the past and strive to be better than they were, better than your father, better than my father, better than Aegon the conqueror. We must restore our family name yes, but we must make a new dynasty, a dynasty that will last a thousand years. And so" She raised the crown aloft and spoke the words she had once spoken as a child. Viserys had made her practise when they had played with their mother's crown. He would kneel, and she would say the words. "Aegon Bloodborne of the House Targaryen and Stark, the unifier of men, the commander of flames, the reborn I name you King Aegon, sixth of your name, King of the Andals and the First Men and the Roynar, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the realm." Daenerys saw the tears pool in Jon's eyes as she brought the crown to rest upon his head. It fit him perfectly, the red rubies made brighter by his dark curls. "Wear this crown with pride, rule justly and love our people and maybe one day this crown will mean more than just Fire and Blood."
Daenerys let her hands fall to her sides but Jon grasped them in his and stood, the tears that had formed in his eyes dripped onto their skin, they were warm almost comforting.
"I hope I deserve it" He whispered and met her lips with his in a ferocious kiss. , Daenerys could taste the desperation of the Kiss, Jon pleading for her approval, Daenerys pleading for peace, they were two sides of the same coin, Husband and Wife, King and Queen, Fire and Ice.
Jon broke away and held Daenerys in his arms, his breath heavy in her ear. "I will love you every day Daenerys, even after I leave this earth for good."
Daenerys giggled. "who said you are leaving this earth. We will live forever you and I, just like our dragons."
"And ghost" Jon muttered. "If we live and the dragons live then so does Ghost."
Dany smiled. "Of course my love, come it is time for us to go to dinner."
Jon frowned at her holding her out at arms length. "Do you not need to dress?"
Daenerys threw her head back and laughed. "No my love I am dressed."
"Where's the rest of it?"
"It is a mereenese dress my love, it is warm here, do you not like it?"
He shook his head in disbelief. "I love it, but there may run a risk of me tearing it off you halfway through the night." Jon was right of course there wasn't much to this dress, but Daenerys had chosen it on purpose, in hope to cheer her husband up a bit. It was a silver silk gown which left her back bare and plunged down to just above her navel. She had placed two sapphire pins into her hair which hung loose to pay homage to House Stark and around her neck was her silver dragon necklace. Daenerys smiled and brought Jon's hand to her breast which was hidden by one simple layer of silk. Jon groaned as her nipple hardened in his fingers. "Dany I-"
Dany smirked and stepped away. "Not now my love, later. First we must be King and Queen, and then we can be man and wife later." She turned and left the room leaving her husband to gather himself before stepping out behind her. Jon proffered his arm and Daenerys accepted glancing down at what her husband was wearing in turn. A black surcoat inlayed with scarlet thread and lined with velvet, dark red breeches and a cloak slung over his shoulder with a silver wolf to pin it in place. "You speak of tearing me from my clothes and yet you dress so handsomely Jon. It is the first time I have seen you dress in less than six layers of fur."
"You Jest my Queen." He laughed as they walked through the marble corridors towards their entourage.
"NO I am very serious, I think if I look hard enough I can see your waist."
Daenerys was sure Jon would have come back with a witty response but they were interrupted by Arianne Martell who swept towards them in a purple and gold gown, her dark hair swept up again into her golden circlet.
"My King, My Queen please let me accompany you to dinner, I hope your chambers are comfortable and that you have been provided with every desire."
Daenerys smiled and took her hand. "Thankyou, we are very comfortable here, it is so nice to be able to be comfortable once again."
"I agree, you have both had a hard journey from birth and I am told that the winter in the north was the harshest in a century."
"It still is Princess" Jon replied. "It is nice to be in a warm place for once, whilst Daenerys grew in Essos, I have spent my last few years north of the wall, you could say that I have had five years of winter."
The princess smiled brightly. "Well now, you are in Dorne and soon you shall be in King's Landing, it is not as warm but comfortable enough."
"You are a similar age as us Princess?" Dany asked.
"Almost I am seven and twenty. I was born a year before your sister Rhaenys your grace."
Jon raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You knew her?"
"Of course we were cousins we played together all the time, we also used to play tricks on your brother Viserys."
Daenerys was taken aback. "You knew my brother?"
"Of course, I hate him, he always used to whine and tell us that he was a Prince and that we should treat him with respect."
"And what did you do?"
She laughed "I filled his shoes with horse dung and Rhaenys set Balarion on him."
"Who is Balerion?" Dany asked a warmth filling her chest.
Arianne smiled fondly. "Her cat, they would always be together, the only time they weren't was when…." She faltered her dark eyes flooding with tears. "When she was murdered, I remember my father coming to tell me what had happened. I had screamed at him four hours telling him that he had to kill them all. That they had to kill the bad men who had killed Aunty Elia and Rhaenys and Aegon. The only person who screamed louder than I was my Uncle Oberyn. Dorne was screaming for blood and my father sat in his chair and told Oberyn to wait. They would have their justice."
"What happened to their bodies?" Jon asked quietly, Dany could see his distress plain on his scarred face, she squeezed closer to him.
"They are buried here in our water gardens, you are welcome to visit them at any time, they are of course your brother and sister."
"You are Kind Princess thank you." Jon muttered.
They entered a large ornately decorated room which opened out onto a balcony overlooking the ocean. It reminded Daenerys of Illyrio Mopatis palace in Pentos. Tyrion, Davos were already seated deep in conversation with an unfamiliar man who had grisly grey orange hair. He must have been around fifty, with a lined leathered face and pale blue eyes. He wore a red wolf's pelt around his shoulder's despite the warmth of the room, when they walked over the threshold he stood at once his eyes wide with shock and something else…was it pride?"
"My King, my Queen, may I introduce my honoured guest Lord Jon Connington."
"A pleasure to meet you my Lord" Dany smiled and held out her hand. Connington stepped forward and bowed to kiss her hand. "My Queen, you look so much like your mother."
Another surprise. "You knew my mother?"
He nodded "Yes, and I served your brother Rhaegar, he was like a brother to me your grace. I was with him at the end, I…." He paused looking down. "I was the one who burned his body." He turned to Jon. "He fought valiantly your grace, I am told that you inherited his talent for combat, he would be proud to see you today."
Jon bit his lip, something Dany noticed he did when he was conflicted.
"But I see your mother also when I look upon you your grace, she was a gracious beauty your grace with iron underneath."
"You knew them both then."
He nodded solemnly "I accompanied them both to Dorne."
"Let us sit, Arianne tells us you know a little more about the circumstance of the King's birth."
Dany moved Jon over to a seat and he sat down automatically reaching for the glass of wine which had just been filled by Tyrion. They shared a glance as if to say 'we're going to need more wine'. When no one spoke Daenerys cleared her throat. "Arianne told us that Elia played a part in all of this."
"She did, Princess Elia knew her duty and she knew what would happen if Aerys lived much longer." He paused and gulped down some wine.
"You have to understand your grace that finding a wife for Rhaegar caused a lot of bitterness amongst the real. He did not have a sister and as much as Aerys wanted to keep bloodlines pure he was force to look elsewhere. Rhaegar and Elia did not love each other romantically though they were good friends. Elia was a funny woman, she joked easily and seemed to for a while make Rhaegar happy. They loved their children but Elia's health was poor and she knew her husband wanted more children and she simply could not provide them. They discussed frequently Rhaegar taking another wife, but the realm was in a poor state and Rhaegar having two wives would not end well. Elia simply told Rhaegar that once he found a woman suitable they would get an annulment and that would be that. Then the tourney happened, I remember Elia was the first one to notice your mother, she was fifteen at the time and due to be married to Robert in only a few months. Elia pointed her out to me and said that she had never seen a girl look more desperately sad. Lyanna had been forced to accompany Robert to the feast by her eldest brother and everyone could here him raving how he was going to bed the she wolf and bed her good. He was drunk and he kept groping her, unfortunately Brandon and Eddard were far too distracted by Ashara Dayne to notice Lyanna's discomfort. When Rhaegar saw what was happening he tasked me with distracted Robert, I did as I was bid and Lyanna managed to slip onto a bench next to her youngest brother Benjen. The next day Lyanna stole armour and won in the lists defending the crannogman, but Aerys was paranoid, thinking that the mystery knight was there to assassinate him, so Rhaegar and I were tasked in finding the knight and bringing him to justice. We found her berating her younger brother over her armour" He smiled fondly "When we appeared Benjen Stark fell to his knees but Lyanna Stark did not, she stood with her head high, her painted shield on her arm half dressed in armour the rest of her in small clothes. 'Are you here to bring me to justice, or has the king ordered for only my head to be brought to him.' She had said boldly but Rhaegar had just smiled, he complemented her on her jousting style. He even offered to help her remove her armour but she refused 'Your grace, as terrible as my brother is at being my squire, he is still my brother and I do not want to offend him by allowing the Prince of Dragonstone to remove my armour.' She had however consented to give up her shield. When we had told Elia who the mystery knight was she was ecstatic, she was determined to ensure that Lyanna was kept safe and not allowed to marry Robert for she had sent Ashara Dayne to find out why the maiden was so unhappy. The answer was reasonable enough, he was a drunkard violent man who had already fathered several bastards, she did not want to be his wife. So Elia had demanded Rhaegar to win the tourney and name Lyanna Queen of Love and Beauty and once the Tourney was over to meet her in the Godswood. It worked and Elia sat and spoke to your mother for hours. Elia promised her that Rhaegar would come and get her from white harbour and that she could come to Dorne, she could instead marry her younger brother Quentin, she would enjoy Dorne there were horses that she could ride, she could practise swordplay, she could be herself and Lyanna Stark agreed. She wrote a letter to her Father and asked her brother Benjen to pass it on. Only Benjen Stark truly knew his sister's intentions. Lyanna stole away in the middle of the night and made for White Harbour, I met her at the docks and we sailed to Dorne. Rhaegar and Lyanna would talk for hours and hours, they found common interests, common loves, common hates. It was a two month journey and in two months they fell in love, so deeply madly in love, we stopped at Dragonstone and Rhaegar took Lyanna ashore and told Elia that he had found her, he had found the right woman and so Elia made the preparations. We sailed once again for Dorne and once ashore Rhaegar and Elia stood in the Sept and High Septon Maynard annulled their marriage. Once it was done Rhaegar turned and took Lyanna in his arms. Prince Doran granted them a tower in which to live for a while for Brandon Stark had been arrested by Aerys and there was talk of rebellion. Elia told me to ensure that the marriage happened soon, for she feared the end of her ex husbands house. She knew that if it came to rebellion and the rebels won, her children would die. 'The dragon must have three heads' ,were the last words that I ever heard her say. Elia died knowing that Lyanna Stark, the brave, strong, scared girl would be Queen Regent and her child would be the next monarch, she died knowing that her friend, the father of her children was happy in the last year of his life. It is why Prince Doran never made a move on Robert, never demanded justice, he knew that he had sent a dragon and a wolf to safety and that a babe was taken north, he knew that the dragon would rise again and he knew that when that day came Dorne would stand with House Targaryen."
Jon Connington sighed moved to kneel before Jon and Daenerys. "I failed Rhaegar, he died on the trident and I failed him, but I won't fail you, I promise you this, please let me serve you as I served the last dragon. Forgive me please your majesties"
Daenerys looked to her husband as he looked stonily into the old mans face. "There is nothing to forgive" They whispered in unison.
