Hello dear readers!
I have a big announcement to make, I have finished writting this story. So, this is chapter 31 and there will be 38 total plus a short epilogue.
Therefore, until the end, I will publish two chapters a week. This way I can move on to other exciting stories quicker.
Anyway, thank you for the support and let's discover this week's chapter.
I hope you enjoy it.
Myrcella
Myrcella was drown outside by the shouts. The green dragon, Rhaegal was flying over Winterfell. Nothing worth noticing, he had done so ever since they arrived. Yet, the smallfolks, nobles and servants alike were pointing at the beast and either shouting excitedly or crying with fear. It was not the simple sight of the dragon that disturbed them, she realised. It was the man on the dragon's back.
Jon Snow, King in the North, former Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, bastard of Winterfell, was riding Rhaegal. And just like any other common girl, Myrcella was in awe. She looked at the man who did not seem at ease at all on his mount. Yet, he conserved some sort of grace. He made circles above the huge castle ever so growing. It was majestic. A true King, no doubt that was what everyone in the yard thought. Myrcella caught herself thinking that as well. And if she was honest with herself, she would admit that Jon Snow would certainly be a better monarch than Daenerys Targaryen.
Sure, he was as lost on the ways of the capital as the dragon queen, but at least he was born and raised in Westeros. At least he had won real battles. At least he was honest and true. At least there was no doubt that he had the best interest of his people at heart. Myrcella was not sure she could tell the same about Daenerys. The only battles she had won were thanks to her dragons, not to mention, they were Essosi battles. Fought with slaves, sellswords and slave master, a very different lot to free Westerosi men. Daenerys was a secretive woman, she did not trust many people, not even her advisors and she sometimes took decisions on her own. As for the people… The Queen claimed with great speeches that she had come to save the people of Westeros. But save them from what? Myrcella had asked herself this question for a long time. Robert Baratheon had 'saved' the Realm from Targaryens. They had had harsh wars in the past but most of them had stopped by the time Myrcella came back to the capital. What was Daenerys trying to achieve?
The King in the North disappeared behind the trees, no doubt landing where the dragons rested. From the corner of her eyes, Myrcella saw Daenerys looking furious near the door of the Great Hall. The Queen shouted a few things, inintelligible from where Myrcella stood, and stormed back into the keep. She had to be mad. Rightly so, Myrcella thought. Dragons were not horses, you could not just mount them and ride along. When they bonded with a rider, they did for as long as the man lived. Not to mention the blood connection that was often deemed necessary. This simple ride by the King in the North was certain to cause a few brow raises at the very least.
Myrcella smiled to herself. She had not realised it before, but deep down she wished that Daenerys would fail. Not that they would lose the war they had come to fight but that the Queen would be proven wrong. That the North would not accept her. And that, contrary to what her uncle wished, it did not win her the support of the South either. She was on a good path for that.
Sansa
Sansa walked up to the outter walls. She easily spotted the golden head of Myrcella Baratheon dressed in a soft grey velvet gown lined with white fur and an emerald green woolen shal that, no doubt, complimented her eyes. Sansa went to stand beside her old friend.
"Quite a show my brother has given us." She commented as an introduction.
"Indeed, my Lady. The Queen looked furious." Myrcella chuckled lightly. Sansa was baffled by how the young princess reacted to her Queen. She seemed to delight in her shortcomings. The young Lady of Winterfell could not help but compare Queen Daenerys to Queen Cersei. They were the two Queens she had ever really known. From what she could see, none were particularly loved by their people. But Cersei had at least been respected and feared by all. Daenerys was feared only because of her dragons and she attracted no respect.
"It amuses you?" She carefully asked Myrcella.
"It does… It is all I have left in this world, amusement. I trust if you could have laughed at my mother in the middle of your torments it would have brought you some comfort." Myrcella smiled sadly. True enough, Sansa thought. She still had so many questions about what happened at Court after she left, but she knew better than to press the matter. Instead, she directed the conversation back to the wonder of the time.
"I'm afraid this will not make things easier for us now though. The Queen will wish to know how this is possible and we don't have an answer." Sansa lamented.
"I'm afraid the reason died with your Father." Myrcella told her. They had come to the same conclusion. Targaryens had married brothers to sisters for centuries for a reason. It was believed that a purer Targaryen bloodline made it easier to control dragons. And only Targaryens, or their seeds, rode dragons successfully. They were closer to know who Jon's mother was than ever… But still, they had no clue, there had been no Targaryen lady of a suitable age at the time of the end of the Rebellion. Jon's mother was probably a descendant of a Targaryen bastard.
"What do you think will happen now?" Sansa asked innocently.
"Either we find out about your brother's parentage by some miracle… or she will want to return every rock in Winterfell to find some explanation. I would not be surprised if she ordered executions or imprisonement." Myrcella sighed. This confirmed Sansa's worries.
"She does not have the authority for that in the North." Sansa commented.
"I know." The princess simply replied. They both knew Daenerys could be stupid enough to start a war against the North. In that case, Sansa and Myrcella would once again be on different sides of the war.
"Princess Myrcella!" A guard of the dragon queen shouted from the stairs. "The Queen needs you in the Hall!" Sansa saw her friend sigh again. She squeezed her arm in her hand and gave her an encouraging smile to which the girl replied with a sad one.
From above, she looked as the blond girl crossed the yard. Soon after, Jon came followed by Ser Barristan. Ser Jaime immediately came to meet him and, to Sansa's surprise, Bran and Jon's fat friend, the one from the Citadel, soon joined them. The conversation which she could not hear seemed heated. In the end, Jon followed Bran and the fat man towards the crypts of Winterfell. An odd choice.
Jon
Riding a dragon had ruined horses for him. And at first, he was in such a high that the low hit him even harder. All those people had fallen on him like an eagle on its prey. It was not the worse though, he still felt uncomfortable being the center of attention, but he had grown used to it at the Wall. No, it was after, with Sam and Bran in the crypts. He had wanted to know his whole life, and now he was teared appart by the information. He had so many questions, so many doubts, and yet all those who had the answers were dead.
Ned Stark, the man he had always known as his father, had lied to him. He had never been a bastard. His parents' story, the one everyone knew throughout the Realm, was a lie. At least he guessed that it would be easy now to explain why he had managed to ride the green dragon.
He had asked Bran and Sam to leave him alone. At the moment, he was standing in front of statue of his mother. You were here all along. I wish I would have known, he wanted to tell her but could not.
He started to hear small steps behind him. He turned to see the grey gown and golden hair of Princess Myrcella. The girl looked grave. She stopped in front of the statue and detailed it.
"She must have been pretty." The princess commented after a while.
"She was Lyanna Stark, my mother…" Why did he say that? Myrcella was the heir of Daenerys, he had no reason to tell her. One day he should cut his own tongue to prevent him from being so honest, it would be the death of him one day. It did not miss her ears. She widened her eyes looking at him. He could see her mind working. He had not known the young girl long, but he knew she was a smart girl.
"You are… This is why… the dragon…" Yes, she had understood, she knew the truth now.
"Yes, I am a Targaryen." Again, she frowned. Of course, she was supposedly Robert Baratheon's daughter. She had to be believing the same tale as the rest of the Realm. "It is not as you've heard. They were married…" He looked at her, she looked shocked. "I'm sorry." He felt the need to say this.
"For Robert? Your mother would not have been happy with him I'm afraid." She told him with such honesty that he believed her. Ned Stark had wished, dreamed even that his sister would change his friend Robert, but he would surely have been proven wrong. "How long have you known?" The princess wanted to know.
"An hour…"
"So you mounted Rhaegal not knowing?" He nodded. "Are you mad?" She bursted out. "Dragons have been known to kill those who are not their riders, non-Targaryens!" She insisted.
"I did not think… I was just pulled." Jon tried to explain.
The woman looked at him incredulously and sighed. "Who knows? Why did you tell me?"
"Bran and Sam… I did not think before telling you, I did not mean to." He admitted.
She snorted and he did not know if she was making fun of him. "I have been sent to find you by Daenerys, she demands to talk to you immediately." She revealed.
"What do you think I should tell her?" Now that they were there he could at least ask for her opinion. His parentage was not a piece of news the dragon queen, his aunt he realised, would take kindly.
"Ask to speak to her alone and reveal the truth… Otherwise she will question you relentlessly anyway." Myrcella suggested. "You are the rightful King you know?"
"I don't want it." Jon replied. He had never wanted it, not even the North.
"Well, at the very least you are her heir." Myrcella pointed out.
"You will like that." He remembered what Myrcella told him. The woman hated being stuck here with Daenerys. She wanted nothing more than to be with her daughter in Dorne. At least with a new heir, she would probably be allowed to do that. "Can you stay with me when I talk to her?" He asked. Myrcella did not seem hostile so maybe she could calm her Queen down. Maybe.
Myrcella
Having to part with her advisors did not agree with Daenerys. She had been upset before, because of Rhaegal, now she was downright mad. And it was nothing compared to how she reacted when the northern king told her his secret. She raged, called it lies, pointed out that Jon's brother and best friend were not reliable sources. And on and on she went. She could not accept the truth, she did not even manage to accept that Jon did not want the Iron Throne. So, at some point, Myrcella decided to intervene.
"Your Grace," she called in her soft calm voice, "King Jon does not wish to claim your Throne. But even though, he would be your natural heir… Not to mention, naming him so would bring the North and the South closer. One day, his son might rule over all of the Seven Kingdoms again." Daenerys seemed to pause in her ranting and turned at her current heir.
"You believe him?" Myrcella nodded. What more proof did they need? He rode a dragon. She did not care if he was legitimate or not, he was a Targaryen there was no doubt possible. "And why did he tell you?"
"I think he did not plan it, your Grace." Myrcella replied carefully and the King confirmed.
"So you trusted the princess?" Daenerys asked in a surprisingly calm and calculating manner. Again, the King nodded. "I can believe that you are my brother's son… I don't know yet if I trust you on the marriage, I would have to speak to Brandon Stark and Samwell Tarly. But Myrcella is right, you should be my natural heir. Though I made a vow in front of the Great Sept… Myrcella was to be my heir until a child was born to me." Myrcella's heart dropped.
"Your Grace," she tried, "the circumpstances have changed."
"Do not worry, I know." The Queen then turned to the northerner. "If you were to become known as my nephew, Jon Targaryen, King in the North, would that satisfy you?"
"My parents gave me another name but I feel Jon is the one I prefer." The man answered. "Yes, that would satisfy me. Bran could testify and the tension between my men and yours would probably recede."
"They would, but other tensions would rise in the South, you would be seen as the rightful King by some, others would point out the unjustice towards Myrcella…" She took a small pause. "Which is why you two will be married!" She announced.
Myrcella reacted instantly. "Excuse me?" She gasped.
Jon Snow… Targaryen… had a calmer answer. "I will not take a wife who does not wish to be wed." He told Daenerys.
"You are my brother's son. You will be my heir. But I made a vow, if you don't take my offer, I am afraid the princess will have to suffer a small accident." The Queen ruled.
She choked and the King in the North's mouth dropped. "You wouldn't…" Myrcella said pitifully, but she knew the Queen would. She had proven before that she would not shy away from cruelty if it suited her plans. Myrcella looked at the man she was to marry. He seemed to have as many question as she had. Then she turned back to Daenerys. "Yes, I will marry Jon Targaryen."
Tyrion
The announcement was once again made before he had been informed, much to his anger, especially when it concerned his niece.
"Following today's events," the Queen spoke regally, "it has come to our knowledge that the King in the North and I are closer than we would have initially thought."
The bastard boy who had changed so much since Tyrion had met him spoke next. "My lords, my ladies, those of you who knew Lyanna Stark could never believe that she was kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar. I tell you the truth now, my mother went willingly." Gasps accompanied the end of his declaration. "My uncle hid me as his bastard to protect me from my families enemies. My brother Brandon, who has been gifted with the ability to see the past can confirm it."
The cripple boy nodded. "Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen were married in front of the Old Gods on the Isle of Faces and under the Seven shortly after, by the High Septon. The same High Septon annuled Elia's wedding, he wrote of it in his private diary. Jon was born at the end of the Rebellion in Dorne. On her death bed, Lyanna made her brother Eddard promise to protect the boy." More gasps. But to Tyrion, it made perfect sense. How could he not have seen this before? So much for his supposed smartness.
Daenerys spoke again. "To bring the North and the South together, my current heir, Myrcella Baratheon, has agreed to marry my nephew, Jon Targaryen." Judging by Myrcella's face, this was not her wish. Knowing how much she had loved her first husband, Tyrion could understand why. Though other than her, lords and ladies seemed pleased. They had all loved Lyanna Stark in the North. Surely, what they had also heard was that as long as Daenerys was alive, the North would remain independent. And a Northern prince would one day rule Westeros. They had nothing against Myrcella, they did not know her.
But Tyrion himself was furious and sad for his niece. Being Queen in the North was not compatible with many trips to Dorne. In the corner of his mind, he had just enough grey matter to notice that his former wife did not seem very pleased.
They were dismissed. Tyrion tried to walk to the dais but it seemed like every man and woman in the North wanted to talk to the Queen, the King or the princess. He resolved to wait for later. He walked to Myrcella's room in the evening. She opened the door and he noticed immediately that she had cried.
She sat next to him in front of the hearth and offered him wine, courteously. "I am sorry, Niece." He told her.
"Whatever for? For once you had nothing to do with it." That stung but he deserved it and she was understandably upset.
"With what did she threaten you?" He knew Myrcella did not really want the marriage.
She did not answer his question. "So you knew?" She directed her anger at him. "You know what she's like? How can you serve her?"
He sighed. "Queen Daenerys and I disagree on the methods, but she means well… You would not understand."
"Wouldn't I?" She ironized, then stood and snatched Tyrion's glass from his hand. "Good night Uncle." She said, signaling that their conversation was over. For the first time ever, she reminded him of Cersei in something other than looks.
So, any thoughts? I hope you liked it.
Next chapter: the wedding (again, but what can I say, I like weddings x))
