A/N
I want to thank everyone who read the story, Thanks a lot for bearing with me, I know it still needs some revision but I am on it, I hope you like the ending, it's a little peachy but isn't that what fanfiction for ;)
41. Tyrion II (Epilogue)
I was heading back to kings landing for the second time in less than three months, but for the last year I had a lot of go and forth trips to the city. It was a hell of work all the past five years. The task of the rebuilding of the red keep fell upon my shoulders while Ser Davos was charged with the renovation of the whole city. I was chosen as I was one of the few who spent many years in the red keep and now I was on my way to attend the huge celebration of opening it. It was the first celebration of such scale since the reign of king Jaehaerys III.
The ceremony will mark the restoration the throne back to the red keep after reigning temporarily from Winterfell for the last five years. Jon wanted to leave the castle as the main seat of the Starks with Bran Stark as its Lord. He confessed to me once that every day he spent as a king in Winterfell made him feel guilty!
He wanted to leave from the first day and he never set foot in its lord's solar and kept to the guest solars all those years despite all the pleas and wide eyes. He would rather keep to his old room but that was out of the question of course. He was so adamant to leave the place to its "rightful owner" but despite that, I knew he asked Bran to be buried beside his mother in the crypts of Winterfell. Surly, if Bran granted him his wish, he will be the first Targaryen to be buried there
As far as I know, Jon offered Bran the same post he had during Robb's reign but prince Bran- he didn't strip any of his cousins of the titles though no one really use them now – declined politely. But oddly enough, Bran kept his betrothal to Lady Amarylis Manderly and with amazement we saw how the marriage brought content for both of them
This whole burial request reminded me of the first days of Jon's reign when he locked himself in the small tower room and prevent everybody from calling him Targaryen or king but he submitted in the end and now to everyone in Westeros, the king was Jaehaerys Targaryen, third of his name. Though he kept his name Jon among his close circle.
When all of that started, I could swear that many didn't believe the Targaryen prince story but well, he was the strongest man in Westeros so they just had to bear it with courage!
Anyway in just a few months into his reign, if there was any one who still harbored any doubt, it all vanished when his first son was born. Aegon Targaryen was the living proof of his heritage with his purple eyes and pale golden hair. If Jon had married Dany he couldn't have a more Targaryen son!
But careful not to mention that to Jon, he never wants to be reminded of her. He couldn't make his peace with fucking his own aunt! Somehow it filled him with shame. I thought the act was very Targaryen in my humble opinion but obviously Jon didn't want to hear that.
Jon had Ser Davos as his hand and I acted as his Master of coin instead of late lord Baelish who was slain by Arya Stark in a dramatic trial that kept whole Westeros busy for quite some time!
Arya is now the lady of Storm's end with her husband Lord Gendry Baratheon. I never thought it could be that difficult to convince a lady to marry the man she loves. It took all Jon's patience, threats and finally begging to make Arya see reason. And now as the happy mother of "Eddard Baratheon", I thought she owed him an apology for his trouble. Who could have thought that the tough warrior that disarmed the mighty Ser Brienne in a few moments spar could have turned into a lady and a mother? Well not quite a lady but a very sweet mother indeed, or so I believe
"What is this field?" my lady wife asked me
It took her one year to know I was the lord of Casterly rock and another two to gather her courage to come to me. Teisha my real wife was nothing like the girl I saved once and witnessed the hateful soldiers raping her over and over. She never remarried of course but when I saw her again, I couldn't think of anything apart from our reconciliation and here we are married against all odds and somehow this was our long awaited apology
"It's the dragon pit, dear. That's where the past Targaryen kept their dragons"
"The dragon is there now?" She asked with little fear
"No, Jon vowed never to incarcerate Rhaegal, a dragon is not a slave"
"What?"
"Nothing dear, it's an old saying"
We passed the Dragon pit, I can see that Davos had cleared it nicely again but Rhaegal was not there. The king believed that the pit was the beginning of the downfall of his ancestors. Rhaegal was promised to be always out of the city and use the pit only for landing or hunting. It will be difficult for this city to forget what a dragon can do. The southern can't forget the invasion of Kings Landings just as the northern could not forget how the dragon brought them their king and ended the last known trial of seven
This fateful trial of seven, which changed everything. A small massacre, with two champions slain by sword, one died on his own and another burnt by dragon fire, four who kept battling death for quite some time; Davos, Larence Snow, Tormund and lord Edmure. The newly crowned king didn't take any vengeful acts against Lord Edmure Tully and Harlan. They succumbed to the shadows with the few left of Robb's sellsword. However, the new king strong grip didn't give them much space for their known line of work.
Jon rewarded all three of his struggling champions. Larence was granted Dread fort the former seat of the Boltons and Tormund Bear island. Jon thought it was such a waste to leave their island almost uninhibited. Given the resemblance of temper between the free folk and the Mormonts, it seemed a good choice. Tormund tried to persuade Ser Berienne to be his Lady but she refused over and over. I think he even tried to kidnap her once considering it some sort of flirt!
I still remember Jon's rage over it till this day, I thought he might imprison Tormund if it wasn't for Ser Berienne forgiveness. Anyway, she kept her oath to Lady Stark and moved to the south with Lady Sansa. I thought the lady was in no danger anymore and with two adorable baby girls Catelyn and Olenna, Brienne will have a lot of spare time till the Tyrells grace her with a boy or two to teach them sparring
It wasn't only the sparring champions who benefited from Jon's generosity. In fact, Jon returned Karhold, the karstak castle to Lady Alys. He didn't feel guilty to strip Bran of the aforementioned castles, he said they were unjustly acquired in the first place.
Even smallfolk, Jon was so focused on improving their lives, securing it and with the wars coming to an end, it was easier to achieve especially when the man on the iron throne was well trusted by all the people of Westeros. Even those southern lords who were less enthusiastic about him, they realized the extent of his power, his armies, his dragon and in the same time how he was tempered in using it.
Twice
Only twice in five years, did Jon rode his dragon to attack despite all the disputes he had with the Lords and in both times, there was a try on the dragon's life
I was knocked out of my musings by our arrival to the red keep, we were helped down by one of the kingsguard
Larence Snow wanted to serve Jon as one of his personal guard but Jon told him, he should rest and enjoy himself a little bit. He appointed a certain Edd to be Lord Commander of his kingsguard, I thought that was the guard who helped in my failed escapade. Strangely enough, he spent a lot of time training him himself. He then chose one guard from each of the rest six kingdom to be his kingsguards, seven kingdoms, seven kingsguards, seven Gods!
As far as I know, Jon kept his faith to old Gods but during my last visit to Winterfell, he finally promiced to attend the ceremonies in the new sept of Baelor, it's not as great as the old great one but it was grand enough and had its own Godswood with a unique heart tree brought from the north specially
Teisha refrained from accompanying me to the king and went directly to our solar, I knew that Jon and Lyanna will always welcome her there but I thought it was better to let her have her way. Meeting high born was always a cause for worry to her despite my continuous efforts to reassure her.
I was ushered to the kings private solar, Jon was sitting by the window carrying little Arya on his lap with Ghost sitting at his feet. I looked at the little princess, I didn't see her since she was quite a baby, she was a little shy of two years old now. The name fit her just perfectly with her curly black hair, she looked northern like her father. He looked at me as I entered and smiled widely "how are you Tyrion? This place is too grand for me, I am getting lost all the time!"
"I am glad to serve you your grace"
"Oh, stop it"
"What do you really think about it?"
"I never saw the old one from inside, I think this looks so much like it, bigger than it should"
Then we heard the familiar soft voice coming in "Nah, it lacked many quarters from the old one, you know nothing Jon Snow. How are you Uncle?"
Lyanna kissed me gently while Jon gave her a dirty look, she noticed it and smiled "What? You know nothing Jaehraeys Targaryen"
He seemed unable to keep being angry with her for more than a couple of minutes. He smiled fondly at her and was about to say something when he was interrupted by Little Arya
"Whoth Snow?"
She knew her father to be Jon or Jaehaerys, she knew the name even if she can't pronounce it just as she knew the fact that they were Tarkarias!
Lyanna answered her but was looking at Jon "There is no one called Snow, dear" and in a lower voice "Soon enough at least"
Jon said "You knew snow Ary, it's the white fluff you played with in Winterfell"
That was odd, they weren't in the habit of deceiving their children "What is this supposed to mean?"
Lyanna gave Jon a knowing look and scoped Arya in her arms. She stood to leave and gave Jon a soft kiss on his cheek while he caressed her arm
"I will leave you to it uncle, let me go to Lady Teisha now. But I will see you later"
She gave me another peck and left, I was confused by their actions but waited for the answer
Jon took a deep breath and said in a calm voice "I will abolish the bastard names"
I said in disbelief "What?" he wanted to start his reign in kings landings with this!
"In all Westeros, not only the north, they will have real names" he repeated in stronger voice with solid conviction
"Why…. why would you do that? You are no longer a bastard"
He seemed to get madder with every word "I lived like one all my life, you should know better Tyrion"
"The lords will never accept that"
Jon yelled in rage "fuck them!"
"Jon, please. Can't we discuss it at least?"
"No, Tyrion, not this, I submitted to all your demands. This isn't negotiable"
That confused me so I asked "What demands?"
He looked to me in astonishment and said as if explaining the obvious "I am a Targaryen living in the red keep and attending the service in the sept of Baelor!" he said stressing on every word
You are a Targaryen Jon, we didn't made you!
"But this is their lives, their legacy, you can't ask them to strip their trueborns from their right"
He said in rather contempt "Rest assured, nothing of that will happen, no one is stripping them of anything, the child will have the mother's name, if the father want to grant him a name, he can. That was always an option, I didn't invent it"
"What if the mother was a high born?"
"The same, that will grant the child a mere name, no inheritance whatsoever"
"But the house will be disgraced"
"Fuck the house, fuck the lords" he raged over me
"But Jon…" but I didn't finish, he stood angrily and said in a final tone "Rhaegal will persuade them don't worry" and that old fear rose back in me, he was a Targaryen after all. It's in his blood and He had this beast of a dragon. When will he succumb to madness like the rest of them? I felt a knot in my belly and didn't trust myself to speak again, I don't want to see it happen all over again
It must showed on my face, he looked slightly ashamed, lowered his eyes and said in an apologetic tone "I didn't….I mean…. I won't…I would never use him against the people, you must trust me" he spoke sincerely but the fear was implanted already
"I never forget my oath, Tyrion. I am the shield that guards the realm of men! Aye, I may try to intimidate them into submission but I will never hurt anyone"
"Of course, your grace"
"Tyrion!" he called in a blaming tone
And added almost pleading "You knew me better than this, I want you to help me" I didn't know what I should do with this, trust and fear struggled inside me and it seemed like an eternal battle. I thought for a minute then answered
"I will yo…. Jon" I changed the wording just to rectify his worried eyes
He said in an obvious relief "Thanks Tyrion, lord Tyrell also promised to help" and he grinned as he said it
That was news, and I asked in a lighter tone "Oh, you are close friends now!"
"Why not? I like him, he is the best of Sansa's husbands" and he winked at me
I put my hand on my heart "you hurt me your grace"
We laughed together for a while then he said in a more serious tone "Lya is increasing"
"Again? Gods, give her a break!" he nudged me gently but I almost fell, crazy Targaryens!
He made sure I am on sure feet before he added "If it's a boy, I will call him after my father" was it a threat or a promise?
"Eddard or Rhaegar?" I asked in real curiosity
He smiled mysteriously "Your bet"
And looking to him now, I made up my mind, trust just won the battle
Oh, Jon, I will bet all my life on you. Every time and all the time even if you were a crazy Targaryen. Whether you called yourself Jon or Jaehaerys, whether you were called a bastard or a king, the son of Eddard Stark or Rhaegar Targaryen, a Snow or highborn, I will always have faith in you my old friend. You will all always be our shield that's guards the realm of men
