The water Gardens, Dorne.
Ashara Dayne
The journey was horrible, but she missed Dorn too much to be angry for that, Oberyn smuggled her out of the city after Joffrey's wedding, Tywin Lannister sent him back to Dorne looking for support and good faith between Dorne and King's Landing, he didn't had any choice either, his granddaughter was practically a hostage, even with her sworn shields there to protect her.
The water gardens only made her feel nostalgic, she once played and swam right where she was standing, a different time of course, she was a young girl, friend of Elia Martell and a member of the Dornish court, she met prince Doran and Prince Oberyn and they received her as a member of their family.
She accompanied Elia for her wedding in King's Landing, with the last dragon, she saw the Dornish spears march North with Prince Lewyn Martell and then she cried when her baby died and then she cried some more when Elia and her children died, but in those dark times her brother came like a torch in the darkness with a little baby, he wasn't her blood, he didn't even look like her, but she accepted to be his mother and so she left her home to raise the boy.
The boy grew up stronger each year, she held no love for the boy's parents, they were responsible for her old friend's death after all, but the buy was different, he was kind and sweet, honourable like her brother taught him, he faced his enemies with bravery, he even avenged Elia thrusting a spear through the Mountain's throat, she saw him loose his lover and raise again stronger than ever, a wolf and a dragon on his back, and then he disappeared, betrayed by those who had sworn fealty, she prayed to see him one more time, to see her little boy.
"Why do I always find you brooding, my Lady?" a manly voice asked, she didn't have to look to recognise him, Oberyn had a charming voice, after all.
"This place makes me remember the old days when I used to play here, with you and Ellia." She said, the sadness was very noticeable in her voice.
"I remember those days too, every day I see these trees and this pools, I try to remember every detail of my sister, and every time a I try to do so, I end up crying bitterly knowing how her life ended." Oberyn said as he clenched his fists tightly. "Now my daughters and niece play here, they sing and laugh, just like we used to do."
"Better times for sure, now the world is full of death and misery." She said bitterly as she remembered Lord Walder Frey smirking at them that night.
"Do you think about the boy?", Oberyn asked curious.
"Every day" she said.
"The boy killed Gregor Clegane with a spear" Oberyn smiled at that "Now I find myself in a situation where I have to make a choice, it will be easy for my brother, he has his reasons, but I can't be sure."
"And the choice is?" she asked.
"Should I support the boy who claims being my nephew? Even when I know that the spider is the one who told me?" he asked "Even if I disagree, I can't refuse Doran's orders, he's our leader it doesn't matter for him if the boy is saying the truth, he just want revenge, revenge and power, his daughter would be the Queen after all."
If Aegon was alive after all, he needed the support of Dorne, he would have the support of a Kingdom untouched by war, ready to fight for him. "Do you believe it? That he's your sister's son?" she asked.
"I want to believe that, but why would Elia save her son only? She loved both, Aegon and Rhaenys, and yet she let Lord Tywin's men butcher her daughter? That's something that bothers me." He said with a note of frustration.
"I'll do what my brother will command, but my obedience isn't blind, if the boy shows any sign of being an impostor, I will hang him immediately, without questions or second thoughts." He spat the words like venom. "The boy is in Essos, if my brother wants Arianne to be his wife, he must be careful, Arianne isn't a foolish girl, she will find her way to get power one way or another."
"And then you have a problem, three problems, Queen Rhaella and her daughter, she has proofs of being a Targaryen." Ashara said.
"That's what bothers me too, Doran sent his son to marry Daenerys Targaryen, he will force his children to fight against each other if the Dragon queen still wants the throne." He sounded troubled. "I signed a pact once... Long time ago." He looked into the horizon.
"What kind of pact?" she asked curious.
"A pact to marry Arianne with Viserys Targaryen, my brother sent me and Willem Darry signed it at Rhaella's back." He sighed "Now Viserys Targaryen disappeared, just like your boy, Jon Snow."
"His name was Aemon... Aemon Targaryen." She said bitterly.
"Pardon me, my lady, but that boy is as trueborn as all my daughters for me and for Dorne." He said serious, she had to understand Oberyn, Rhaegar betrayed his sister and Jon was the product of that betrayal.
"You didn't see the things I saw in that boy, the things he did for his family's sake." She said, her eyes shone with the sunset light.
"And now, he's gone, not even Varys knows where he is, some people say that the Freys baked him into a pie and made Robb Stark eat it every night, others say that he turned into his dragon and escaped flying, but one thing I know for sure, my lady, we have the opportunity to help my sister's son when the time comes, if he truly is Elia's son, then we must honour her memory and help him." He said with his characteristic passion.
"That sounds good" she said. 'But it's too good to be true.' She thought, The Spider was behind all of that, she knew for sure.
"Father? Uncle Doran wants to see you." A sweet voice said.
Ashara turned to see Tyene Sand, Oberyn's bastard daughter, her blonde mane and shiny blue eyes made her look like a princes, so beautiful, so delicate, she had a thin neck and her skin was pale like milk, the daughter of a Septa, one of the many women that Oberyn had charmed, no one was safe from him, not even men.
"I must leave you now, my dear friend, the last time people saw your brother in the wall, at least that was what Lord Varys said, now, Tyene will keep you company." Oberyn said as he raised from the bench and leaving her with one of the sand snakes.
Tyene sat next to her, her eyes were filled with curiosity, she had a strong presence like her father. "What do you need to know?" she asked.
"Did you saw it? The bastard's dragon." Tyene asked.
"Yes I did, it was beautiful red and white it breathed fire and grew larger every passing day." She replied angrily, she didn't like to hear that Jon was a bastard, for her he was a king, he used to be a king.
"And it burned people? I heard that it burned Tywin Lannister's riders in the battle of the Green Fork." Tyene asked excited like a little child.
"That was the only time that Jon used him, at least the only time I can remember now." She said with sadness in her voice.
"How was he?" Tyene asked again.
"Red and white, with red ey—" Ashara replied annoyed, but Tyene cut her off.
"No, my lady, not the dragon, I was talking about the boy, Jon Snow." The young girl said.
"Oh... Well, he had dark grey eyes, so dark that almost looked black, his hair was dark brown, almost black too, his face was long but his features looked soft, at the beginning, then he earned his first scars, one across his left eye and another in his right temple, he was a good swordsman, but he had many things to learn, my brother trained him well, he was kind and righteous and honourable like his Uncle Eddard Stark and his cousin Robb." She said excited with the memory of her lost son.
"He sounds like quite a man, even prettier than my sisters, and deadly enough to kill the mountain in the battlefield, quite a man." She replied trying to sound gentle.
"He was" she said. "He was" repeated sadly looking at the sun set, wondering where he was and what was he doing, hoping that they could meet one more time.
Meereen
Jon Snow
He thought that the heat was playing tricks with his sight first, the young man with soft traced face wore a black and red armour, his hair was silver in its roots and as it became longer turned into a blue just like the man beside him, Jon Connington he presented himself, he wore a golden armour just like the rest of the knights behind them, they carried a Targaryen banner and a bunch of golden skulls.
Daario told him about those skulls one, Arthur did the same when he was a boy, those skulls were the company's previous captains, he tried to identify Aegor Rivers' skull but they all looked similar for him, he returned his focus lf attention to the young man in front of them he looked younger than him, so shiny, beautiful even for men, he had valyrian blood, but something in him looked different, different from Dany and Rhaella.
"You should kneel in front of your king, Ser..." Jon Connington didn't know who he was.
"Careful Connington you're speaking to one of Prince Rhaegar's sons too." Arthur replied angrily.
"Arthur Dayne... Oswell Whent... Barristan Selmy... Then it's true what they say about you, cowards, two men that left their prince alone and another one that betrayed him." Connington spat the words like poison.
"You must be brave to say those words, I remember clearly that by the time your 'Silver Prince' died you were drowning yourself in wine here in Essos." Ser Arthur walked forward and so did Jon Connington both were face to face now, Jon Connington's hand rested on his sword's hilt, Arthur on the other hand was gripping Dawn's hilt in his back another word and they would start a duel.
"I thought you better than that, Dayne, protecting a bastard isn't the King's Guard job" Connington said. "You should be serving your true king."
"And how do I know that this boy is Prince Aegon? Just because of your words?" Arthur replied.
"King Aegon, I raised this boy to be the best king in this world, I did it for Rhaegar, that would be enough for a man like you." Connington was provoking Arthur with his poison.
"Careful now, Connington, I don't want to leave a stain in your pretty armour." Arthur warned him, Jon was ready to separate both men, but the man they called Aegon remained there, like a mute, just watching the confrontation.
"Arthur, enough!" he commanded pushing his friend and protector back with his arm. "You're bold enough to face the sword of the morning, I'll give you that, Lord Connington."
After that the young man walked forward and whispered in Lord Connington's ear making the man step back with a bow. "I most apologize for this confrontation, my dearest advisor is short tempered in matters like this." he said with a delicate voice and a smug expression that made Jon feel disgusted. "Ser Arthur said that you're my father's son."
Jon knew exactly where Aegon was going with those words. "I'm Rhaegar's son, Ser Aemon Targaryen." He wasn't used to say that name loud, he extended his hand to greet the man who called himself Aegon, his half brother. Aegon grabbed his hand tightly and shook it firmly looking directly into Jon's eyes, they looked like dark blue, nothing similar to Dany's or Rhaella's eyes.
Aegon smirked before start talking. "It's a little curious, isn't?"
Jon gave him a confused look that just made Aegon chuckle.
"My bastard half brother is a knight." He said. "But don't worry, once that I had married our aunt I will legitimise you and name you my heir." He added with a treacherous tone.
Jon tightened his fist behind his back, the anger he felt was the same he felt years ago when he saved Lyra in the woods, the idea of loosing Dany was something that he wouldn't accept nor being called bastard by a man he barely knew, he was clenching his teeth now, his jaw was tense and his blood was boiling. He felt the bile traveling from his stomach to his throat with the thoughts of being replaced.
And Aegon remained there giving him that cynical smile. "Everything alright, brother? You look pale."
"I'll Escort you to meet our aunt, come with me." He said and turned to head back to the great Pyramid.
They walked through the streets, the people was staring amazed at Aegon, he looked like their Mhysa after all and confused them, at least that was what Jon thought.
"The situation is bad, the scouts I sent told me that there are seventy thousand men marching on Meereen." Aegon said at Jon Connington.
"The Queen will need all the help that she can get if she wants to keep this city." Lord Connington replied. "Maybe our gift will make her see reason, maybe it will help to join your claims." He added.
''a gift?' Jon thought, what were they planning to show as a present? A crate full of jewels? They didn't need jewels, they needed men that could fight and keep the city in order, the Dothraki didn't show too much patience controlling the city, but they truly changed many of their costumes because of Dany, their Khaleesi.
The great Pyramid was in front of them now, Jon walked side by side with Aegon, they looked like the day and night standing next to each other. They walked upstairs to the throne room where Daenerys held court, there she was sitting in the ebony bench decorated with flowers and some golden details, she was wearing her crown, it was wrought in the shape of a three-headed dragon, the coils were yellow gold, the wings were silver and the heads were carved from Jade, Ivory and Onyx, a beautiful crown, for sure.
Dany looked beautiful, the crown made her look more regal and imposing than ever, Jon remembered Aegon's words and felt the anger take control of his thoughts, but there was no time for that now, he looked at Dany and noticed her surprise, she opened her eyes widely and tried to keep her regal expression.
Missandei said all the titles that Dany had and then asked. "Who comes to speak with our Queen?"
"His nephew, true nephew, has come to meet her." Aegon replied confident of himself.
"How do I know that you're my nephew? The last thing I heard of him was that The Mountain smashed his head against the wall and presented his dead body to the Usurper in his court." Dany replied.
"It's a long story, your grace, but Lord Varys changed me with a peasant boy before they breached into the Red Keep, he took me away and I grew up here in Essos, with the help of Magister Illyrio Mopatis and this man, Lord Jon Connington." He said pointing at the old man. "one of my father's best friends."
"Did Magister Illyrio mentioned that he and my brother sold me like a brood mare to Khal Drogo? Where were you then?" she asked bitterly.
"Pardon me, my dear aunt, but I went to find an army and I found it with the Golden Company, thanks to Lord Connington and Ser Harry Strickland." Aegon replied defiantly. "By the time I came back you were already gone."
"Very unfortunate, isn't it?" she asked "speak truly, why have you come here?"
"We have an opportunity here, right now, my dearest aunt, as prince Rhaegar's firstborn son we can marry, join our claims and take back what was ours, you have your armies and dragons, and I have the best Sellsword company in the known world, knights who had sworn serve me to get back what others took from them back in Westeros." Aegon replied confident.
"Sounds like a good proposal, nephew, but what if I refuse it? Will you raise arms against your own blood?" she asked again.
"I know that it's hard for you to believe me, but please, let me show you that my intentions are sincere, first I would like to give you a present." He said and made a signal jerkin his head.
Two men carried a big wooden box and opened it, what came out of it left Jon speechless.
"A dwarf? That's your present for me?" Dany asked annoyed.
"Aunt, this is not a normal dwarf this is—" Aegon replied but Jon cut him off immediately.
"Tyrion Lannister" he said proud of his knowledge. "The dwarf of Casterly Rock." The once noble dwarf looked like shit, his beard grew longer and his clothes were tattered and the smell just confirmed how he looked for Jon, nothing similar to the dwarf he saw at wall years ago.
"You know him?" Dany asked him intrigued.
"I know him but I don't know if he remembers me." He replied.
"You're insulting my intelligence saying that, boy, I could recognize Lord Stark's kin without problems." The dwarf replied stumbling. "How has life treated you, Jon Snow?"
"Better than you, I guess..." Jon replied chuckling.
"That't all you have to offer, nephew?" Dany asked annoyed he recognised how insulted she felt with Aegon's 'present'. "Excuse me, but I have a war to fight." She said making a gesture of leaving.
"If you wish to fight, I can grant you part of my forces to help you." Aegon offered desperately, Jon Connington widened his eyes after hearing that.
"Your grace, you can't mean it seriously..." Connington said in disbelief.
"Tell me... Aegon... my nephew" Dany spoke with a suspicious tone. "Do you have any combat experience?" she asked.
Jon noticed that Dany's questions fell harder than Robert's hammer over Aegon's pride. "Uhm... Well... Not exactly, but I have been trained by some of the finest swordsmen in these lands." He replied hesitantly.
"So you're telling me that you haven't lead men into battle." She replied. "It seems like you rely on a man who let the Usurper escape when he was cornered." A deathly glare appeared then.
"I will not be judged by a girl that pretends to be a woman!" Jon Connington barked, the Queensguards unsheathed their swords then ready to face the angry lord.
"I will forgive this act of insolence and I will let you stay under my roof, but be careful Lord Connington, I may be a girl, but I have already claimed more lifes than 'Your king'" she warned the furious man in front of her.
The mere thought of Dany fighting Jon Connington made Jon chuckle, a presentation worthy of the fighting pits. After that a combined group of Unsullied and Dothraki escorted the golden knights to their rooms. They were alone then, with Tyrion Lannister in the middle of the throne room looking confused at Jon.
"What should I do with him?" she asked him.
"He's your prisoner now, you can kill him" he said and saw the dwarf's expression change from confusion to fear. "Or you can keep him alive, he's smart enough to be helpful or... At least he's an important hostage."
Rhaella Targaryen
She was growing older, she knew it, she felt it inside her, but her spirit was getting older much faster than her body, the memories of Aerys tormented her at night. During the day she used to spend most of it with Lady Sansa, a girl that had a spirit full of scars, just like her's, just like Jon's body.
She noticed that Jon and Dany were spending more time together these days, they looked like children hiding from her, hiding from the world, but why hide your feelings when there's nothing to stop you? They never met each other until they were almost adults, she was fire and heat, impulsive and passionate. Jon, on the other side, was like the North, colder and quiet, but the cold burns just like flames when you bury your hands in the snow.
She used to think about Viserys too, worried about where he was, what was he doing, she was weak when it cames to their children, a mother always loved her children, no matter what, she had a new child too, Vhagar, the dragon was smaller than his brothers, but he had a special gift, love, the dragon wasn't aggressive without reason, he spent time with her, Sansa and Brown Ben Plumm, the Sellsword enjoyed their company and always convinced them to take a walk through the streets, to see people and colors, all the colours that a market can offer.
That day she was sitting in the balcony of her solar with Sansa, they were stitching together, a dragon and a wolf, the girl had a real talent for stitching, Lady, the dire wolf, was sleeping at Sansa's feet, always protective.
Dany invited her to meet the Golden Company, they carried the Targaryen banner, but she wanted to slap Myles Toyne and Harry Strickland so hard, that she decided to stay in her solar, she didn't need to see a pair of brutes swearing fealty just to get back to their homes in Westeros.
Everything changed suddenly when she heard many steps in the corridor, she went out to see what was happening when she found him, right in front of her escorted by Dothraki and Unsullied, a boy of Jon's age with silver blonde hair, he was handsome and had soft features, like Rhaegar, but then she noticed his eyes, dark blue eyes.
"My grandmother!" the boy said and hugged her tightly, one of the guards pulled him back immediately and pushed him away from her. She felt confused, but her confusion disappeared when she saw Jon Connington standing next to the boy.
"Queen Rhaella." The Lord said and made the gesture of kneeling only to be stopped by her. "I have protected your blood as my own." He said respectfully.
"My blood?" she asked giving him a puzzled look.
"This is King Aegon of House Targaryen, sixth of his name and your Grandson, Your Grace." The Lord answered.
Destiny was a cruel thing, the last thing she heard about Aegon was that Gregor Clegane smashed his head against the wall, but now he was standing there, right in front of her with an armour that looked like Rhaegar's armour, black plate with rubies, but the eyes, the eyes didn't match, and yet she wanted to believe it was true, that her grandson somehow survived, she wanted to know him, see how similar he was to his father, like Jon, who inherited his melancholic aspects.
"Aegon?" she asked pale as the sheets where she slept, the boy was about to speak when she closed the door violently, the fear was bigger, the uncertainty of facing someone that she practically never met, she could be just a Lysenne boy pretending to be Aegon, but why would Jon Connington support him? He wouldn't dare to soil Rhaegar's memory with something like that, he loved her son after all, but her son loved someone else.
She leaned her back on the door and slowly sat on the floor, her hands where shaking and tears started to fall from her eyes, she covered her face with her hands and started sobbing, cruel world, cruel destiny.
Daenerys Targaryen
Two possible threats under her roof were something that made her feel uncomfortable, Aegon and Tyrion Lannister, a man who claimed to be the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, supported by The Golden Company. And the Imp of Casterly Rock, but despite of her doubts, Tyrion Lannister managed himself to behave properly, he spent most of his time with Jon, she saw them talk many times, the dwarf even made Jon laugh once or twice, his only interest besides wine and vengeance were her children and Caraxes.
"Your Grace, we need to talk about this situation." Ser Barristan, new Hand of the queen, said concerned.
"of course, we must speak." She said calmly.
"The slaver's army is almost upon us, we are probably outnumbered, and this Aegon... I feel that we are surrounded by enemies." Ser Barristan said.
"So... You don't believe it?" she asked curious.
"And neither do I" her mother's voice said behind her.
"Pardon me, Your Grace, but Princess Ellia loved her children more than anything in this world, why would she save just her son and not Rhaenys, the little girl, she was so sweet and goo and kind, it doesn't make sense to me." Ser Barristan confesed.
"I thought the same after I saw him, his eyes, those dark blue eyes, a peasant could confuse him with Rhaegar's eyes, but not me, I can't trust someone who's been raised by the spider and its comrades." Rhaella said.
"How long until the battle begins, Ser Barristan?" Dany asked.
"Two days, maybe three if the disease has spread through their lines, the pale mare could slow them down." Ser Barristan replied.
'Two days...' she thought, Daario Naharis was far away negotiating, the Lhazareen weren't an option, she only had her Khalasar, the Unsullied, the freedmen and her children, the battle would be decided by them, her only option.
That night, she had dreams of fire, a field covered in fire, charred bones and men screaming in pain, she walked through the pyramid's halls and she felt cold, she saw Jon in the Throne Room, alone, surrounded by knifes, leaning on one of the giant columns, everything was cold, so cold that she could see her own breathing coming out of her nose and mouth, she looked like a dragon, and ice dragon.
"Remember my words, Khaleesi, the sun's son, the mummer's dragon, a Griffin, the lonely wolf and the lonely dragon, keep them close and discover their true intentions, for what you love the most is in danger and that you must know." Quaithe said calmly as always and disappeared in the darkness.
She woke up confused with the feeling of something that was coming for her, for those who she loved the most, she wanted to be a dragon, protect them all with fire, but fire was a dangerous weapon too. She walked toward the chamber's door, she felt cold in the heat of Meereen, the cold embrace of loneliness, when she opened the door and saw him, the coldness disappeared and something started burning inside her.
It was Jon, the spark she needed to feel warm again, his embrace made her feel comfortable and secure, so strong and yet so delicate, she felt his strong breathing as they walked in, their lips clashing against each other, a battle between them to see who would domain who, each kiss was deeper and longer as they took of their clothes, the time stopped for her then, when they were laying on her bed, naked and full of desire, Jon handled her delicately he knew how to do it, when she didn't know what to do, always kind and delicate he covered her entire body with kisses, but when he stopped between her legs, her moans of pleasure filled her chambers with lust and passion, but the moment when they became one, that moment when their eyes were looking directly at each other, then she understood that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Jon, bastard or not, king or soldier, nothing mattered anymore, many times Irri told her that love came in the eyes, she recognized it immediately in those dark grey eyes that night.
Note: I'm sorry for disappearing for a moth, I have been thinking about this Covid situation during the quarantine, all the people suffering, just stay home, friends.
And I must add to that that someone played with my feelings and now I'm afraid of everything, I feel frustrated and I feel alone, I feel like a useless piece of shit and I'm afraid of disappoint you. Sorry.
