Chapter 3

Five years later…..

Luna had always loved the rain.

She loved watching it fall against the grass and slash against the windows. She loved all the smells that would come out because of it and the way that a gentle shower would soften the clouds to the same color of a dove's wings. For hours she would sit and watch it, content to place herself in the tallest tower that she could get to, listening to it fall and feeling the cool breezes on her face.

She was glad to see that some parts of her hadn't been lost in the changeover.

He had promised that while some things would be different, in many ways, Luna herself would remain the same. Phil had always been cryptic with her, telling her truths in two different voices, making Luna to discern which truth was more important.

But this time he had been serious….very serious.

Death was serious after all.

She had often thought back to their last conversation, remembering it very vividly. It would be hard not to remember receiving a second chance from the reaper of souls.

The little blonde still recalled what he had looked like and the place she had met him in. Even sitting here in the rain soaked field of the valley, beneath a large majestic spreading oak….she still remembered.

The conversation had been oddly comforting to Luna, especially when Death, or Mestophiles as he asked her to call him. had told her that when it finally came time for her to die permanently, that he would come and take her away.
"Hello Phil," she had said somewhat sadly when she had seen him the first time. "Have you come to take me away then?"

"Not quite yet child," he had said.

And then he had pressed two of his long, pale bony fingers to her head, chanting in his hissing voice, a voice that Luna did not understand and she had lost all feeling and memory completely.

Vague sensations had followed, a woman's soft voice, the whinny of horses and the deep rasping grating of metal plates. There was the thundering of hooves and the sounds of soft weeping….though she couldn't hear those in an audible voice. They drifted out somewhere from the back of her mind.

That was nothing new though, Luna was used to hearing voices in her head.

"My lady!"

The familiar voice caused the child to look up and catch a glimpse of a maid she knew rather well, making her way across the field, holding a sheet above her head and squinting into the slanting rain.

In the distance, Luna could see the castle.

It was much smaller than Hogwarts but she had a feeling that it was just as old. Four thick spires rose from its top, smaller towers that she had sat in on many a rainy day when her new father wasn't around.

The castle she now lived in was cool and damp, echoing with the sounds of the past and the voices of ghosts. Tapestries hung from the walls of people that she did not know but sensed that they were important.

When her new father wasn't busy, he would often show her around the halls and answer all of her questions about the people whose visages were hanging from the stone. He was a prolific storyteller, her new father, and in some ways he reminded her of her first daddy. They looked entirely different from one another but the twinkle in their eyes remained the same, along with their eagerness to laugh.

His name was Corbyn, a tall man with dark colored hair and a weathered face, lines around his eyes that spoke of his desire for laughter and large calloused hands that were a testament to his years spent at sea.

Every night he had a new story for her and Luna would sit and listen with wide eyes as she sat in her bed and he before the freshly stoked fire, taking in the tales of dragons and magic and far off exotic places.

She loved being around him because when he was quiet, Luna felt as if she understood him the most. He would silently take her out into the fields of their home and have her watch him plant seeds in the soil, carefully tending to them while they waited for the crop to come.

Corbyn was a very hands on man, and even though he had been gifted this little keep from the Lord of the Vale himself, he was not a man simply content to sit and have his needs tended to by servants.

Luna liked that about him.

Sometimes though, she just liked to sit in the fields and get wet. Rainfall was good for the Salt Marsh cutworms and there were many here. They were a different color than the ones that she knew back in England, but they still loved to play in the water just as she did. And this part of the world knew just as much water as the English countryside did.

It made life here somewhat easier to adjust to.

"Hello Tria!" Luna called in her childish voice, a voice that she loved hearing because though it was younger, it was still dreamy and slow. It reminded her that no matter what had happened to suck her from her old life….she would always be Luna Lovegood.

"My lady, your lord father sent me to fetch you from the fields. He says you'll catch your death out here."

"Oh don't worry Tria," the little blonde said cheerfully and then reached out a small head from beneath the tree's branches and giggling when a few drops of rain landed in her palm. "I've already been dead before and it's not so bad."

The maid's expression paled and then her grey eyes narrowed. "You should not say things my lady, you have yet to join the realm of the dead. The gods do not come for anyone before their time and you truly have yet to live."

Luna smiled, well used to the woman's fussing. Tria was the maid who had come to the Vale when Luna was a newborn. She was decidedly loyal and very trustworthy but at the same time, she was staunchly religious and frowned on anything outside of the Seven.

It was a shame because Luna had always had a fascination for magical things. Coming from a world where centaurs, unicorns, dragons and other fantastical creatures had been somewhat commonplace, Luna had no end to the outlets for her curiosity. The fact that nothing like that seemed to exist here, in this very strange, medieval world called Westeros….frankly made things a bit dull.

But even if the oddities hampered her idea of fun, Luna had never lacked for creativity and so if excitement eluded her…well then she would just have to find her own.

The tall mountains in the distance seemed the best place to start. Just because there were no unicorns or centaurs here in this valley didn't meant that there weren't any there. People couldn't look for what they didn't think existed.

She supposed it would be rather simple to get there. She could see the summit after all and one of the chief rules of apparition was to know where you were going before you went there. She would just have to wait for a quiet moment before putting her plans into action and skipping right to the summit.

At the very least, the Blibbering Humdinger might be present in this world. It might have died off in her own, but at the very least, this world wasn't polluted enough yet for the creatures to have died.

She certainly hoped she found it here.

"My lady?"

Luna blinked and turned back to the maid that was still standing there with a look of concern on her face. "Yes Tria?"

The look the woman gave her was dubious but she proceeded with her primary recitation. "Your father wishes your presence. There is a guest in his study who wishes to meet you."

Luna blinked and then smiled dreamily up at one of her many caretakers.

A guest? How exciting, no one had come to see her in a very long time! For so long it had been just her and her father and the servants along with Ser Malyn. But Luna just preferred to think of him as Ser Tall.

He was an utterly giant man who worked in their gardens and vineyards. Some of the other servants were afraid to even go near him, but Luna knew better. He was decidedly gentle and would often times lift her onto his shoulders so that she might select the choicest fruit from their orchards.

His eyes were sad though, but Luna had learned that by keeping herself close to him, some of the grief abated. Sometimes she would catch him watching her with a look in his eyes not unlike that of a still pool, deep and unreadable. There always seemed to be so many things that he wanted to say and Luna knew he did not lack the courage to voice them.

So it must have been that he held himself back for a much more specific reason. Luna often shrugged when she thought of this. Perhaps the Nargles had placed a curse upon his tongue. They were sometimes known for doing that. She would need to look into possible ways that she could break it later.

Realizing that the maid was still looking at her and her expression beginning to border on impatient, both for the rain and for her charge's lack of movement, Luna got to her feet and offered the woman another bright dreamy smile. "Well, let's go then. I can tell Papa about the new bug I found."

Ignoring the temporarily shocked look on Tria's face, Luna once more skipped past her and back out from under the shelter of the spreading oak. She had gone farther from the keep than she had realized and the whole field of freshly tilled vegetables spread out before her with wide green arms.

Luna had lost count of how many shrubs she had planted here with her father over the last year. She remembered however that the field was divided into three sections, one for fruits, one for vegetables and one for herbs and medicinal spices. The climate in the Vale didn't allow for the growth of many of the herbs that her new father had become used to in Essos but Luna had quietly begun to experiment with different types of soil and was wondering if there was a way she could add nutrients to the ground in order to make the herbs grow more robustly.

She was so lost in thought about her recent experiments that she almost didn't notice the presence of the horses standing just inside the gate of Brightstone keep.

Luna liked her last name. Her old one Lovegood, had been perfectly suitable, but in some ways she felt that this new one suited her personality better. She had always liked bright shiny things and now truly had a title that fitted her personality and her first name; though she did find it odd that she had been allowed to keep that?

Wasn't the first rule of reincarnation that someone had to take on a completely different persona?

And yet she looked almost exactly the same, save for the large violet eyes that now decorated her face. They were big and shiny like jewels and there were times when her new papa often teased her about gods in Essos plucking amethysts from the sea and placing them in the eyes of mortals.

Luna thought that was a bit silly. What god would pick amethysts to put in people's eyes? Gold and silver were far more enduring and beautiful commodities.

But the colors of gold and silver did not wait for her on the other side of those gates as she walked through them into the small courtyard that sat just before the main doors of the keep.

Rather, the color blue was the most prominent shade.

Standing in the courtyard were two horses, both of them white and both covered in saddles and bridles of bright blue with a blue sash underneath the saddle for the comfort of the horse.

And on that sash was emblazed a startlingly white bird.

Lord Arryn was here!

Her new papa had mentioned him a few times before, what a kind man he was and how Lord Arryn had given him this beautiful castle and these fields to raise and grow even if he didn't have noble blood and was just a wealthy merchant enjoying the success of his labor.

Luna had asked if they might see Lord Arryn one day and her papa had given her a sneaky smile that only suggested at an affirmation.

Lord Arryn was a busy man, he had said. It took a lot of time to run a territory as large as the Vale. But maybe one day he would come over those mountains from his home to see them. And then perhaps Luna would be able to see if the man was as great a storyteller as her papa.

Eagerly she hurried forward towards the doors of the keep.

Finally, he was here and she had better not keep him waiting. Nargles or no, she was going to meet this man that her papa spoke so highly about.

Ω

Jon was nervous.

He had been nervous ever since he had set his mind on these plans to come to Brightstone Keep. He knew he had been avoiding that place or anything to do with it for these past few years save for the letters that he and Corbyn would frequently exchange. The daughter of Rhaella Targaryen was frequently mentioned in those letters, but only by the name that had been chosen for her.

Corbyn proudly stated that she was growing like a weed, curious about everything, a great lover of stories and songs and had an imagination that was nearly thrice as big as she was.

Jon began to covet information about the little girl who he could tell that his friend had loved on sight. But there were only so many questions he could ask in those letters without it appearing suspicious.

And even though he had been responsible for sending Laena Targaryen to Corbyn in the first place, he couldn't help but wish to know how she was faring.

And so finally, when an errand had sent him in that direction, he decided it would be a small matter to take a little detour and drop by to see his friend and how Brightstone Keep was faring.

Needless to say he had been quite pleased with the fertile valley, the long rolling green fields filled with wheat and produce and fresh flowers, the budding trees already beginning to sprout fruit coupled with the spicy scents of herbs growing in neat rows.

A smile had slowly curved the plains of his face as he took it all in, noting silently what a good choice it had been to give Corbyn this land. Perhaps it had been the paranoia of his father, but it had been a secondhand desire of the new Lord of the Vale to build up the east, giving vast swatches of uninhabited land to trustworthy lords and merchants who would welcome the challenge of settling and creating life where there had previously been none.

The importance of a prosperous east was a great one, and it was a task he would wholeheartedly welcome in the coming years.

And so it seemed had others.

As he had been led into Brightstone's main hall, Jon silently took in the tapestries of fields and palaces that had been hung on the walls on either side of him and noted that many of them were from particular locations in Essos. No doubt Corbyn was very proud of the literal fruits of labour that had come about in the last few years.

But if he were being honest, his eyes darted around bit more often then they likely had to as if he were searching for something elusive.

His search however was interrupted by a booming voice coming from the foot of the small dais across the hall from the large main doors. The high walls and ceilings and beige tiled floors brought the echo of the voice to wash over Jon like a wave and he looked towards the front where a man was waiting for him.

He was dressed in the Brightstone colors of white, black and silver, wearing a dark tunic with a silver color and edged sleeves and his hair was neatly combed and curled. His face was tan from long hours working under the sun but the lines around his eyes gave away his personality as being one who smiled a lot.

"Lord Arryn!" he called once more in greeting and strode towards the warden with a smile on his face, "Did I miss a raven? I did not know you would be visiting Brightstone this day."

Despite himself and his apprehension, Jon smiled. "No you did not Lord Brightstone, I have an errand to run in this area and thought to look in on you whilst I completed it. I can see you have truly done right by this land. Well done my friend."

The two men met in the middle of the hall and clasped forearms soundly. Corbyn's grin never faded. "Thank you my lord. This is not much different from the work I was tasked with in Essos. I find I prefer it more because I do not have to move around as much."

"I find that I would not mind a tour of the land if that is agreeable to you?" Jon asked and if it were possible Corby's grin widened. "Of course my lord. Nothing would make me happier."

"Good, good."

And then Jon leaned in slightly, prompting the new Lord Brightstone to step in so that he might hear him better. "Is there a place where we might speak privately? There are things I would discuss with you."

Corbyn's eyes darted to the trunk that was held securely in the hands of Jon's steward and his smile dimmed a bit. "Is all well?"

"Of course," Jon said easily. "But I would rather a closed in space for this conversation rather than an open one. There are some truths I need to share."

Corbyn's smile finally disappeared and a light of understanding shone in his dark eyes. "Very well then, shall we retire to my study?"

"Thank you," Jon said feeling a small measure of tension leave him. "That would be appreciated."

Ω

As soon as Tria and Luna made it back to the keep from the fields, the small blonde hurried to her chambers ahead of her lady's maid. She had passed the doors to the great hall on her way and noted the fact that it was open and empty. That meant that wherever her new papa was, it was likely where Lord Arryn was too.

And that place was plausibly the study.

So Luna quickly washed her face and took the handful of flowers she had brought in with her to show to her papa about how quickly the patch was growing.

They were a collection of beautiful red and purple crocuses that she was convinced would have healing properties when they reached a certain age. All one would have to do was simply melt the petals in hot water with a hint of goat's milk.

"Mila!" she called as soon as she had exited her room. "Where is my Papa?"

"He's in the study my lady!" her other maid called back from her place dusting one of the paintings down the hall.

"Thank you!" Luna called and skipped off in that direction.

"He's with Lord Arryn though my lady, I don't think that –"

"Oh he won't mind," Luna called back to her cheerily. "He told me to let him know when these flowers were ready because he said they could be used for medicine for stomach aches. He won't mind. And Tria said that he had asked for me anyway."

A sigh followed her as she danced down the hall but Luna smiled, knowing Tria wouldn't stop her. The personality that others had viewed as strange or insane in her first life had now earned her only fond exasperation here. It helped that she was a lord's daughter and Luna had decided that she wasn't going to keep her magic to herself now that her brain was much older than her body was.

Whatever Phil had done when he had sent her here had ensured that she wouldn't have to use a wand again. Magic jumped to her fingertips with barely a thought and it had caused her father no end of delight when she had sunk her fingers into one of their flower pots and caused the bloom to go from wilted to fresh.

He told her that it was because magic wasn't feared in Essos. In the remains of the Yi Ti empire, where he had spent much of his time, magic was greatly revered and those who possessed it were seen as wise beings, fit to rule and often called upon for their knowledge.

If anything Papa had seemed elated when she had displayed her first bout of magic. But he had also strongly charged her to not show it to anyone else because people in Westeros were backwards about magic. It might draw too much attention to Luna and he didn't want that, especially since her looks already drew enough.

Even though she spent her days surrounded by servants and other help, Luna knew that the physical differences between herself and her father were very plain for anyone to see.

He had dark hair, brown eyes and very tan skin from a lifetime in a hot country, while she had a very pale complexion, silvery blonde hair, and, wonder of wonders, violet eyes.

Everything about her complexion was the same as her old life except for the eyes. And Luna knew that these stark differences might cause people to talk if too many of them saw her. Not that she cared about what they thought, but it was one of the reasons that her father didn't allow her to go with him to town whenever business had taken him there.

Ah well, it was no matter. Life beyond this valley couldn't be as interesting as her life within it. No one was more interesting than her father and the servants.

Except perhaps this mysterious Lord Arryn.

With a spring in her step, Luna arrived at the door to her father's study and noted that the door was closed. That didn't bother her however, Papa had said that none of the rooms in the keep were closed to her.

But just to be polite, Luna tapped on the door and folded her hands behind her back. There was the muttering of voices from just beyond it and Luna heard footsteps approaching.

When the door was pulled open, she caught sight of her father's face and smiled dreamily up at him. "Hello Papa! I have a surprise for you!"

The man blinked in surprise at the unexpected interruption. But then his face shifted into a fond smile and Luna was once more reminded why she loved her new Papa. He was never angry with her or frustrated or impatient, no matter who he was seeing.

And when he smiled, his eyes did too, folding up into happy crescent moons that danced with sparkling stars.

Slowly he knelt down in front of her so that they were eye to eye. "Did you now? Well why don't you come in and show me and then I can introduce you to our guest?"

"Oh that sounds lovely," Luna smiled and danced into the room just ahead of her Papa.

And that was when she saw him.

He was a tall man, folded neatly into one of the chairs opposite her father's desk. He had a pale windswept face and curly blonde hair that reminded Luna of spun gold. He was dressed in a sky blue tunic and trousers tucked into tall boots with a pale blue cloak attacked to his shoulders with a silver cord. His eyes were as blue as his clothes and decorating the breast of his tunic was a sky blue bird soaring against a white moon.

Luna knew instantly that this was Lord Arryn.

Interestingly enough, he seemed to be as fascinated with her as she was with him because his eyes on her had grown wide as saucers. A second later, he appeared to catch himself and composed his features into a somewhat calm mask.

But his eyes never strayed from her as she walked into the room.

Luna wasn't sure what it was about him, but she decided that he had a nice face and liked him instantly. This was proven even more when she walked straight over to him and offered him her prettiest curtsy. "Hello! You must be Lord Arryn! My name is Luna."

The blonde man appeared stunned for a second before a slow smile crept across his face and he reached out his hand to offer it to her. "It's wonderful to meet you Lady Brightstone, your father often tells me of you in his letters."

Luna clasped her hands together in delight. "Papa talks about me?"

Lord Arryn glanced back at her father who was watching the two of them from his seat behind the desk with a half smile.

"All the time," the newcomer said in a soft voice.

"He's told me stories about you too Lord Arryn," Luna said and pulled herself into the chair next to him, placing the flowers next to her.

"Has he?" the blonde asked looking faintly amused.

"Oh yes," Luna said cheerily. "You gave us this wonderful castle to live in and I know he's ever so grateful and I am too."

Corbyn chuckled as he moved back to his seat. "You'll have to forgive me daughter my lord. She's an inquisitive soul and it's something I've tried to encourage as much as I can."

"And so you should," Lord Arryn said finally drawing his eyes away from Luna and smiling at her father. "Curiosity in a child is a wonderful thing. Learning about the world should always be encouraged."

"Now then," Corbyn said sitting back down in the chair across from Lord Arryn. "Shall we talk business?"

Ω

Jon wasn't sure whether he wanted to laugh or weep.

The moment the door had opened to reveal her, he had been struck with the image of Rhaella had been shocked into silence. He had wished that he had been able to embrace the little girl without it appearing strange. He knew that he shouldn't feel like that given the secrets that he was carrying, but he couldn't help it.

The responsibility that he felt towards that small child with too much hair for her head, was overwhelming. Not only because of his feelings toward her mother but due to the fact that even at the tender age of five there was such pressure upon her and her situation.

If anyone were to discover who she was and why she was here, not only would Rhaella's life be forfeit but the Vale would be razed.

Laena's life had been entrusted to Jon and he would be damned if she was not protected and sheltered for the rest of her life.

He was under no illusions that she would never find out the truth however and he would rather her hear it from her father or himself before she grew too old. Better to have complete understanding over her origins then to be ignorant.
"I sense that your shock over seeing Luna is connected to your unplanned visit today," Corbyn said shrewdly as he refilled Jon's goblet.

The warden sipped it gratefully before answering. "Aye, you have the right of it, though I was curious to see how you are faring since I have not come out this way for five years."

"Well then let us dispense with the pleasantries," Corbyn said, suddenly serious. "I assume that you wish to share her origins since my only knowledge was your request that I care for her."

"A task that you have gone above and beyond in," Jon complimented. "Truly I could not have placed her with someone better."

Corbyn inclined his head in response to the praise. "Thank you my lord, but come now, we are friends. Tell me what you have come to share."

Jon swallowed some more wine and then decided to just get right to it, there was no sense in delaying any longer. He had known Corbyn long enough to discern the man's constancy and had determined it to be sound. Though he would be shocked, it would be best for someone else to know should something happen to him.

Before I begin," he said, leaning forward onto the desk. "What I have to impart is of the utmost importance and must be kept secret between the two of us. No one can know….ever."

Corbyn's eyebrows rose to his hairline but he nodded without a word. "You have my word my lord. Not a word of what you are about to share shall pass my lips."

Jon nodded and steadied himself for what he was about to say next. "She is the secret daughter of Aerys and Rhaella Targaryen."

A heavy silence followed his words and Jon looked up to see Corbyn's face pale, but he was nodding slowly. "To be honest my lord that is not so great a secret as I was expecting. Though I hadn't been in Westeros for long before you sent your letter, the presence of a tall man in battered armor, bearing a haunted look in his eyes with a child in his arms bearing the look of the ancient Targaryens was not something I would have been able to overlook. He is Ser Duncan of the Kingsguard is he not?"

"He is," Jon said. "I was certain you had drawn your own conclusions about who she was when you had seen her, so her origins are no great secret to share. However, this will be."

He gestured to the trunk that had been placed in the room by his steward before the man had departed. "I wasn't certain how much you would have been able to learn for yourself but I knew I would not be able to keep this in the Eyrie for long, lest someone else find it. And it is the princess's birthright after all, her mother would want her to have it."

Corbyn leaned forward slightly, his eyes wary, when Jon withdrew the heavy key from it's leather strand around his neck and brought it forth. "What is it?"

"See for yourself," the other man asked. "But I warn you. It is dangerous."
"As dangerous as harboring a secret Targaryen?" Corbyn joked weakly as he took the key from Jon's head and got to his feet.

"Yes," the Warden of the East said gravely. "Just as, if not more."

At this Corbyn's face went white, but to Jon's impressed surprise, he didn't back down. Instead, he walked around his desk and past the neatly placed bookshelves and over to the trunk.

Jon turned back around, not needing to see the man's face when he opened the trunk. Likely it would be some variation of his own.

He sipped his wine, listening absently to the sound of the key in the lock and a soft grunt as Corbyn wrestled with the device.

A moment later there came the noise of the lock giving way, the sliding of the key as it was withdrawn and then finally….a deep inhaled breath as Corbyn gathered himself.

And then the lid of the trunk was thrown back and stunned silence followed that lasted nearly a minute.

Finally Jon turned around to address the man and found his friend's face completely bloodless as he took in the contents of the package.

"Jon?" Corbyn said and it was a true testament to his shock that he had dropped all formalities even though the warden had asked the man to call him by his give name years ago. "Are….Are these what I think they are?"

Jon Arryn took another sip of the wine. "They are. And they were brought to me under the utmost secrecy. A green man from the Isle of Faces appeared early one morning in the Eyrie, requesting to speak with me. He brought this trunk with him, there is a note in it, claiming it had been entrusted to them since Addam Velaryon arrived during the Dance of Dragons. And he knew about the princess."

Corbyn looked like he was having difficulty remaining on his feet. "Seven Hells Jon! How is that possible?"

The Warden of the East snorted mirthlessly. "We are living in an age of legends it seems. The green man claimed that these dragon eggs belonged to the princess and should be given to her when she comes of age. Far be it for me to deny him."

With a shaking hand, Corbyn reached into the trunk and picked up the centermost egg. It was the biggest, a large white thing with a beveled, scaled surface but each scaled edge was flecked with silver.

Looking at the other two, green and blue as they were, Corbyn hadn't realized that he had begun shaking. He had heard rumors of dragon eggs for sale in Essos, but every lead he had ever looked into had turned out to be false, carefully decorated rocks.

But that didn't stop him from wondering about the sheer worth of one had he ever been able to get his hands on it.

And now here were three in his possession that a green man had claimed were the birthright of his daughter.

A breathless laugh escaped him. "You certainly don't do anything by half measures do you Jon. I am assuming you want me to keep them safe until Luna is older and when I can explain everything?"

"Please," the blonde said softly. "I cannot keep them in the Eyrie as the risk would be too great. But she needs to know when she is older."
"But why Jon?" Corbyn asked spreading his hands. "Surely this would only add a burden to the secret of her. Should Luna be told anything at all?"

Jon's smile was a grim one. "You misunderstand me my friend. I did not bring you this to add to your burden as I know that you love the princess like your own. I brought them to you because it would seem that she is not meant to stay a secret forever."

He gestured to the open case where the eggs looked up at them, completely exposed. "And you need to be ready for when that time comes."

And from her place outside the door, under the safety of careful disillusionment and hearing charms…..Luna gasped.

Ω

Well, there we are. The secret has been shared to one more. In the next chapter, we deal with the aftermath of the discovery from Luna's perspective and then there will be a significant time jump where Ned comes into the picture! Yay! I can't wait for them to meet! Hope you liked the chapter and don't forget to review!