Chapter 18

JON

As he watched over his beloved sister who still lay in bed unconscious, Jon wondered what she did that caused her to end up in an alleyway in one of the most dangerous parts in King's Landing. He knew Arya well enough to know that she had to have done it for a reason, the question was what.

His moment of reflecting ended when he heard Arya groan softly before opening her eyes slowly and looking at her surroundings until her eyes landed on him.

"Jon?" she murmurred.

"I'm right here, Arya," Jon said as he moved to her side, caressing her face. "Are you alright? You had us worried there"

Arya simply nodded before she froze and remembered a very important detail, which caused her eyes to widen so large they almost popped out and palmed her face. "Oh no," she groaned.

"Congratulations on your betrothal, dear sister," said Jon, who was now grinning widely. "Your mother will be very pleased to hear that news."

"Please don't remind me," said Arya, who shook her head. "Why did I even think about sneaking off to the dungeons?"

"Dungeons?" Jon's eyebrows furrowed. "Was that where you were before going outside the Red Keep? What were you even thinking, Arya?"

"I was thinking of you," Arya responded.

"Of me?"

Arya then looked directly into his eyes with a strange and... saddened look in hers.

"I know who your mother was," Arya said, which caused Jon's eyes to widen.

"Arya... how?"

"I heard some men whispering in the dungeons," said Arya.

Wait, what? At that moment, Jon's face turned serious as he grew even more confused and worried about this information. If one word of his true heritage went to King Robert's ears, not only would his life be demanded, but those of his uncle, and his cousins would be as well. Jon wondered who his sister came across that knew his identity, besides his uncle. Lord Jaime knew but was it possible he might have told the Hound and his men that still roamed in the Red Keep? Whoever it was, Jon needed to make sure they stood with him as an ally, and not one of Robert's.

It was for this reason Jon had decided very early on, when he found out who his mother was and finally coming across the Iron Throne, the seat on which many of his ancestors had sat on as they ruled Westeros before his grandfather ensured their House's fate the moment he murdered his other grandfather and his uncle Brandon in the throne room, that he wanted nothing to do with the game of thrones that so many ambitious lords and ladies played so often. He did not wish to share their fate or rule over them, not with the White Walkers' return threatening all of mankind. But if Robert was a threat to him or his family, he would have no other choice but to take it.

"What men?" Jon asked.

"I don't know," Arya said. "One of them had a foreign accent while the other was fat."

Well, at least Jon knew it wasn't Jaime or his men. Still that did not narrow it--

"Was Prince Oberyn one of the men you speak of?"

Arya thought for a moment, before shaking her head. "His voice seemed a bit more foreign than the Red Viper's, and the other one said that he swore fealty to you."

Prince Oberyn knew his identity and... sworn fealty to him? Jon had thought that the Red Viper would have killed him on the spot, for the way Rhaegar discarded Elia in favor of his mother. But it seems that Oberyn would never accept following Robert, who condoned his sister's death along with Jon's half-siblings'. The question was why would Oberyn swear fealty to him, unless...

"What did they say exactly?" Jon asked.

"They said that the dragon queen was set to give birth any moment and that she successfully hatched three dragons," Arya said.

Dragon queen? Aunt Daenerys? When Jon had found out his true parentage, he had been told he had three relatives still living. His great-grand uncle Aemon, who was serving as the Maester at Castle Black. Jon hoped the man was still alive after the attack on the Wall. It was one of the reasons why he wanted to join the Night's Watch.

His other two relatives were in Essos. His uncle Viserys, who was seven namedays when they fled Dragonstone, was declared one of the many casualties of the Great Disease that struck Westeros, and his aunt Daenerys, who Jon barely knew anything about, but who he had wanted to meet along with Aemon. This news however made him question whether she was just as bad as Aerys or... maybe even worse. Still though, Jon thought it would be nice to come close to a dragon.

Jon's thoughts were interrupted as Arya said, "They said that King Robert's reign was going to come to an end."

Jon may have despised Robert, for what he did to his father's family, and would have liked to kill the man, but still he was the king. Not only that, but Jon promised he would never harm him for his uncle Ned's sake. Now it seemed someone was hoping to kill him to place Jon as king and gain his favor, but Jon would never allow such a dishonorable thing occur. It was up to him to keep the peace.

"I'm going to tell Father," said Jon, who moved to the door.

Arya grabbed his hand quickly and cried, "Please don't leave me, Jon. You can't leave me. I don't want you to go to the Wall. Please don't go."

Jon sat down by the bed and hugged Arya.

"Shhh," Jon said. "It's alright. I'm not going anywhere. We're Starks. Starks are hard to kill."

"You're also a Targaryen," Arya reminded him. "King Robert wants you dead and that means you have to go. I don't want you to go, Jon. I hate stupid King Robert and I hate his stupid son who he's forced me to marry."

"Arya, I'm not leaving because of King Robert," said Jon. "I'm leaving because my honor and duty demands it. And as for Gendry, he seems like a good lad. I know that you don't want to marry, dear sister, but sometimes duty requires that we make sacrifices in life. However, I don't think he will discourage you from using a sword. He already knows you're a good fighter. You already fought alongside him. Surely he will allow you to continue."

"Maybe," Arya said.

Jon sighed, knowing that his sister would not consider such an idea.

"Why did you not go to Father after you heard this?"

"I was," Arya said. "But they locked the gates to the dungeon, so I had to sneak out of the Red Keep to find another way back."

Jon nodded in understanding. "Jory will be right outside the door if you need anything," he said before standing up and exiting the room.

As Jon stood outside the door, he ran his hand through his hair before turning to Jory, who nodded to him that he would watch over Arya.

As he strode to find his father, who was in the Small Council chambers with King Robert, a voice called out to him, "Jon?"

He turned around to see Gendry, who was mostly cleaned up and who limped slightly on his left leg.

"Your Grace," Jon said.

Gendry raised his hand. "Please don't call me that. I'm still getting used to the fact that the king is my father. Just call me Gendry."

"Well then, you can call me Jon," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, actually," said Gendry. "I was wondering how Lady Arya was doing."

"She's fine, thank you for asking," Jon said. "How's your leg?"

"It's fine, thank you," Gendry said. "Just a slight cut, however the maester here has told me not to move around as much."

"I would listen to him if I were you," said Jon. "It wouldn't do good if the king's son succumbed to his wounds, before his wedding day."

"Please don't remind me," Gendry said softly, rubbing his hand over his eyes, before realizing the implications of his words and looking up at him. "Not that I don't like your sister, but I just wanted you to know that I had no intentions of seeking your sister's hand in marriage. I know that King Robert announced our betrothal, but believe me, that's not why I came to the Red Keep. I came here to escort her back to her family, not to find out about my heritage and then scheme my way into his good graces. I admire Lady Arya's spirit, but marrying her? It's too soon, plus she still is recovering from what happened--"

"Gendry," Jon said. "I know you're telling the truth, but if there is one thing you should know about King Robert is that he is a very stubborn man who is very hard to convince, even by my father."

"That much I gathered when I told him that." said Gendry. "He told me that it was merely slight nerves that everyone gets when they find out they're betrothed." He then turned to Jon. "What about you, are you betrothed yet?

Jon shook his head. "No, I'm not. To be honest, I haven't thought of marrying anyone."

"Why?" Gendry said, genuinely confused. "Have you not found the right woman? Or is it because everyone will still think of you as a bastard?"

Jon turned and studied him, he seemed very blunt and honest. He may know now that he was the king's son, but that still did not change Gendry's sense of identity. Jon also was reminded of how he was when he found out his true parentage and how he had questions about his mother's identity, which was then unknown to him, and for this reason he could relate to Gendry, who had no idea who his father was. So he spoke honestly.

"I haven't thought of marrying anyone, because I worry what may happen to my family if I do so," Jon said.

"I understand that feeling," Gendry said. "The king told me that my new stepmother is coming today to marry him. I have no intentions of interfering with who is next of line to the crown. I don't know anything about ruling."

"Neither do I," Jon said.

It was at that moment that Jon and Gendry looked at each other and found that they were both very kindred souls. An idea suddenly occured to Jon that it might serve him well to befriend Gendry, considering his past encounters with King Robert. If Robert ever found out the truth and rose against him, it might be best to have Gendry as an ally... or in the worst case scenario, a hostage. Jon loved Arya, but if it meant for her safety along with the rest of their family, she would need to go through with the wedding. He needed to get to his father and inform him what Arya told him. "I have to inform my father that Arya's awake, but I was wondering if you would like to dine with us sometime soon so you can get to know her better, perhaps maybe a spar in the yard to seem less conspicuous? I mean I know my sister well enough to know she is not willing to accept a betrothal of any kind, but I believe with the right actions and the right words, we can get her to soften up towards you."

Gendry looked deep in thought for several moments before slowly nodding. "I would like that very much."

Jon said, "So it's on?" He then took out his hand out to shake.

"It's on," Gendry said, smiling. He shook hands with Jon, before he caught sight of Lord Jaime and walked over to him.

As he and Lord Jaime walked out of Gendry's earshot, Jaime spoke: "May I ask what was all about?"

"A potential alliance," Jon said.

"Another one?" Jaime said. "You're a very lucky man."

"Another?" Jon said. "So you know about Prince Oberyn?"

"Along with Varys and Jon Arryn," Jaime said. "I imagine your father told you."

"No," Jon said. "Arya did."

"Arya?!" said Jaime, who turned around and stared at him, wide-eyed. "How did she find out?"

Jon moved to answer, but then he remembered something. "Varys and Jon Arryn know?"

"Of course, Varys swore fealty while your namesake said he would keep your secret," Jaime said. "Now how did your sister find out?"

Jon thought about what Arya said. A foreign-accented man and a fat man. Fat man. Varys. It had to be him. It made perfect sense, after all he was the Master of Whisperers, he knew everything that was going on in Westeros and across the Narrow Sea through his little birds, and some trusted associates. The question was who was the trusted associate that Varys met with in the dungeons?

"She was in the dungeons, overhearing two men talking about it," Jon said.

"What two men?" Jaime asked.

"A fat one, who I believe to be Varys, and a foreign-accented man, who possibly came from Essos," Jon said.

"That bloody eunuch," Jaime hissed before shaking his head. "What else did they say?"

"Arya heard them talking about my aunt Daenerys," Jon said. "And that she had successfully hatched three dragons and that she was pregnant and is set to give birth any moment now."

"Well this is not good," said Jaime, who was now rubbing his temples.

"I'll say," Jon said. "It seems that the Spider also plans on removing Robert from the throne in my favor."

"What?!?" Jaime said. "We can't let that happen, not with the White Walkers returning."

"I know," Jon groaned. "We need to tell my father about what Varys plans to do and speak with him."

"Well let's not waste anytime," Jaime said and like that, he and Jon set off to find Father.

A/N: And another chapter is complete. Now originally I wanted Ned to be the one speaking with Arya and finding out about Varys in the dungeon before the Tyrells came, but then I realized that I hadn't yet given Jon a POV, so I decided to have Ned debate with Robert over Gendry and Arya's betrothal before finding out about Dany and how she managed to birth three dragons in the previous chapter. Plus I wanted to show Jon bonding with his future brother-in-law and how cunning he is, a skill that might serve him well in the game of thrones. So let me know what you guys think. Please review down below and follow if you haven't already. Until then, see you next time!