DAENERYS

Pain shot once again though her foot and she had to fight not to show it on her face as the servant girl stood behind her sitting form and brushed her silver hair. Dany glanced at her injured foot that was now wrapped in bandages that were so thick that she couldn't adorn a slipper.

The very fact that her foot was wounded after the water made fear settle in her belly like a stone. Why had the water burned her? Was it the cost of having her memories returned to her?

No, it couldn't be, it had to be a fluke.

She clenched her fist, it just had to be a strange coincident that she had burned. Dany tried to fix her mind on the objective ahead of her and push the pain of her burnt foot out of it.

But the pain only served to remind her of her brother, who had reprimanded her for having gotten injured by the bathwater.

Dany had almost forgotten the relief it had brought her when Drogo had finally killed him.

She could remember the calm that had settled over her when she had stared at her brother grotesque form, when he had laid there in the tent with his crown of gold in the tent.

But now that calm was gone, and not even a half a day had gone by her getting her memories and already she longed for that serenity again.

Especially now when her brother had cruelly told her that she would just have to limp to the meeting with Drogo before he had insisted that she should get ready.

She fought a frown that was making its way to her face, as she looked down on the dress she was wearing for the meeting with her husband.

Dany had forgotten how much she had come to hate this dress and the ceremony that she was being forced to participate in.

She was of blood and seed of Aegon the Conqueror, not some broodmare that could be sold to the highest bidder.

But there was another part of her that was bursting with excitement to meet her husband once again.

However as soon as she thought about her beloved husband, his comely features morphed in the handsome form of the treacherous Jon Snow.

A grimace formed on her face thinking about him, but she shook her head of the thought of the man and his treasons. There would soon be a time when he would be forced to answer for his crimes, but that would have to wait until she hatched her dragons.

And if he groveled convincingly enough, she might be able to forgive him, but he would never come close to her dragons again.

Fear clawed at her when she thought of Jon Snow having access to a dragon once again.

Just thinking about how easily Jon Snow had controlled Rhaegal had filled her with unease, and it was terrifying now that she knew who his real father was.

She had been so sure that Rhaegal had only listened to Jon because he had known that his mother had been fond of the man, but now knowing that he had the blood of the dragon made her determined to never allow him near the green dragon again.

No, this time Rhaegal would go to her son, Rhaego.

The very thought of having her son ride a dragon when he became old enough brought a smile to her face.

She could see him now, a young boy with silver hair and violet eyes, riding in the sky on the dragon named for his uncle, while she rode the black dread come again.

But that brought the thought of Viserion to her mind.

Viserys couldn't be allowed to ride a dragon, her brother was undeserving of being a dragonrider and had proven himself untrustworthy repeatedly thought the course of his life.

It would be better for everyone if Viserys would never come close to her dragons, and she was sure that Drogo would make sure that while the dragons were small, her brother would never come near them.

But perhaps her husband could ride the smallest dragon.

Dany knew that Viserion would allow her husband to ride him if she commanded it.

She had more control over the three dragons than any other dragonrider in history before. She had never even heard of a dragonlord that had managed to command three dragons even though she had only ridden one of them.

Rhaegal and Viserion had followed her to Westeros and then into battle beyond the Wall, while Rhaenyra Targaryen had to ask the dragonseed of Dragonstone to try and tame the dragons of the island and to help her fight for her birthright in the dance of the dragons.

But Dany had no need for bastards, she would command the dragons herself and this time she would not spend any time listening to the mewling's of lords that thought that they knew better than her.

Dany should have heeded the words of Olenna Tyrell, the old woman had more wisdom in her pinky finger than the high lords of the world combined.

The lady of Highgarden had been right when she had told Dany to be a dragon.

"My lady." The servant girl spoke to her as she finished with her hair. "It is time to go."

Dany glanced at the dress she was wearing and was again filled with anger and contempt for both it, and the men who had given it to her.

She was no slave for them to sell when it was convenient, and they would soon both see it.

Dany looked at herself in the looking glass that was resting peacefully on the table nearby, before standing up and heading out of her chambers with the girl rushing after her.

But walking was proving to be a difficult task for her, as the pain in her foot from the hot water was agonizing.

Dany gritted her teeth and forced herself to lean into the pain. No one would ever see her limp or winch at feeling pain.

The last time when she had made this walk, she had felt like she was going to meet the executioner and it had taken all the strength she had not to vomit from fear.

But that was not who she was now.

Dany had been reborn in the Red waste along with her dragons, and again she had been reborn in this life, with all her memories to give her even more advantage over her enemies and she would not be cowed into being the simpering little girl she had been.

That girl was dead.

She had died on in the Red Waste along with Khal Drogo, and in her place was now Daenerys Stormborn of house Targaryen, the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Dany held her head higher as she made her way into the courtyard and she could feel the heat of the Pentoshi sun beat down on her.

The magister spotted her before her imbecilic brother did, and the obese man smiled widely at seeing her.

He was probably pleased to see Dany in the dress she was wearing, that left little to the imagination, as her nipples could even be seen through the fabric of the dress.

"Ah, there you are princess," The man placed his hands on his enormous stomach and gave a nod of approval. "you look breathtaking, I am sure that the Khal will be more than pleased."

Dany had no doubt that the Khal would think her beautiful, but as soon as Viserys spotted her she knew that her brother didn't share the same thoughts as the Khal no doubt would have.

An ugly frown dominated his features. "You are late." He barked at her, his lilac eyes flashing. "When will the Khal arrive." Even though he was still staring at her angerly, his words were clearly directed at their host, who finally tore his eyes of her body.

"The Dothraki do things in their own time, your grace." The magister gave her brother a smile, but Dany couldn't help but to think it false.

Viserys huffed angerly and turned to face the entrance where Dany knew that Drogo would soon arrive through.

Dany could feel the anger radiate of her brother as she took up her stance behind him, like she had done so many years ago.

It would be best to go along with their little plan for now, even though it enraged her to be placed behind her worthless brother.

She felt pain flare up in her foot once again, making her bite down on her tongue to keep from gasping from the torture of having to stand completely still on it.

The magister took up his place beside her brother and tried to draw the false King into a conversation, but Viserys didn't seemed to have much interest in the man´s words and seemed to prefer to stare at the entrance of the courtyard with his pale lilac eyes.

Soon after the magister gave up trying to converse with Viserys, her brother spoke up once again. "Where is he?"

Viserys sounded like a petulant child, demanding sweets as he frowned at the magister.

"The Dothraki are not known for their punctuality." The fat man seemed almost weary of Viserys´s behavior even though he hid it well, as he explained to her witless brother that the Dothraki didn't care about him or his childishness.

But almost as soon as the magister had finished speaking, the earth started to shake and she could hear the neighing of horses, as her husband and his bloodriders neared.

The excitement that filled her heart at knowing that the moment she and Drogo would finally be reunited could hardly be contained, and a small part of her wondered if he remembered her too.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she pushed it away. It was impossible for him to have remembered anything of their last lives.

Well, she would remind him of how much he loved her.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she watched Drogo and his bloodriders charge into the courtyard, and she almost didn't notice magister Illyrio walked up to them, greeting them in Dothraki.

"May I present my honored guests, Viserys of house Targaryen, the third of his name, the rightful King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the first men, and his sister Daenerys of house Targaryen." Anger filled her at the man´s introduction of Viserys as the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms, but she forced it down.

She took a few steps forward, staring at her husband, drinking in his handsome features with her violet eyes, as she felt a hand grab her arm in a painfully tight grip.

"Do you see how long his hair is? When the Doth-." Viserys tried to whisper his words of poison in her ears, but she would have none of it.

Before he had even finished speaking, she ripped her arm out of his grip and fixed him such a furious look that he actually took a step back in surprise.

His lilac eyes were wide as he stared at her, and his mouth was opening and closing without a sound coming out of it.

The look of fury she was sending him was only reserved for those who had committed the highest of treasons, like Varys, Tyrion Lannister, and the whore Sansa Stark who had turned Jon against her, and it was clearly more than enough to silence her cowardly brother.

"Princess?" Magister Illyrio called, clearly not certain what had happened.

Dany gave her brother a last glare before turning back to the Khal and his bloodriders.

When she had stepped forward in her last life, every step she had taken had been almost hesitant, but now she made her way to the Khal with as much confidence as her injured foot allowed her to, and kept her head held high.

Dany made her way to her husband´s horse and as she looked at him, she found herself a little surprised.

In her memories he had always seemed to have this towering presence and almost unreal good looks.

But now as she looked at him, she found him a bit severe looking, and his beard was not as tidy and close cut as she wanted it to be. Even his hair, though long as it should be, was too straight and his eyes were the wrong color.

Just as she realized what she had been thinking and the horror of it made itself known to her, Drogo turned his horse around and rode away, with his bloodriders after him, leaving her in the dust, horrified at her own thoughts.

Dany could hear her brother squeak at the magister, but she paid them little mind, as she was too deep in her own mind, cursing herself for even comparing Jon Snow with a man like Khal Drogo.

The traitor couldn´t compare with her husband.

She turned to look where her brother was speaking with the magister and slowly made her way to them, as she tried her best to push any thought of soft but traitorous dark grey eyes out of her mind.

The magister led them away from the courtyard to the gardens of his palace that overlook the Narrow Sea.

Dany remembered this so clearly that it was almost like it had happened yesterday.

It took all her restraint from pushing Viserys into the sea when she recalled his words about how he would have happily let all the Dothraki, and their horses rape her if that was what it took to get the throne.

But it wasn't his throne, it was her throne, and she would take it with fire and blood, and with Khal Drogo and her son at her side and her dragons at her back.

Just thinking about little Rhaego brought a smile back on her face, her son would have a better childhood than she had.

Rhaego wouldn't have to be forced to live life on the run with a mad brother abusing him. No, her son and heir would be raised in the Red Keep and waited on by servants and learn how to swing a sword for the lord commander of the Queensguard, Ser Barristan the Bold himself.

Dany smiled and she could see it so clearly in her mind, raising her son in the castle of her ancestors and teaching him how to rule.

As the two men started to walk on a head as they spoke about unimportant things, she followed them, but she stayed in the Red Keep, ruling Westeros, and punishing those who had wronged her with Khal Drogo at her side as her beloved dragons roamed the sky above them, roaring and reminding her enemies what happened to those who defied the true Queen of Westeros.

As they continued to walk, she could see someone walk towards them, that had not been here in her last life.

"Ah, there you are my lord." The magister smiled at the man and opened his arms wide in welcome.

Dany had never seen this person before in her life, for she was sure she would have remembered him.

He was rather short and slight of built, even shorter than Jon Snow, but he had none of the traitor's sturdiness about him that would compensate for that shortness.

This man was clearly not a warrior of any renown, but there was cunning in his grey-green eyes and his small, pointed beard made his face look even pointier than necessary.

The short man bowed deeply before her brother. "Your grace, it is good to see you again."

Viserys seemed almost smug when he spotted the short man. "And you, lord Baelish, any more news out of my Kingdom?"

A smirk settled on the face of the newcomer lord Baelish. "Yes, your grace, and most happy news for you."

Dany stared at the man in disbelief. Who was this and what news could he possibly have for them?

"It seems that the alliance between the Usurper and the Lannisters has now come to a close." This, lord Baelish said those words like he himself had been personally responsible for this, and as she glanced over at the magister, who was staring at the man before them with his eyes full of surprise.

"And how did this happen?"

The small man smiled at the magister. "I sent a letter to the Usurper by one of my agents to inform him where to find his wife and her brother, where they would meet in secret."

This didn't make any sense to her, there had been no breaking in the usurper's alliance with the Lannisters when he was alive, so why was there one now? And why was this Baelish helping her brother?

"What did that accomplice?" Viserys´s snide voice was getting on her nerves and all she wanted to do was to snarl at him to keep his mouth shut.

But this lord Baelish didn't seem bothered at all. If anything, he seemed more amused at her brother´s behavior. "Because Robert Baratheon didn't know that this was where his wife was fucking her brother the Kingslayer, and all three children that he thought were his heirs, are in fact the Kingslayer´s bastards."

Viserys stared at the small man before letting out a laugh that was like that of a mad man´s. "You shall be well awarded for this Baelish when I take back my throne, you shall have your pick of the lordships of my enemies."

Lord Baelish bowed and thanked him with a smirk on his face. Then his quick eyes turned to Dany, who had still not said a word.

Magister Illyrio seemed to have followed the man´s gaze to her, and hurriedly introduced them. "Lord Baelish, this is Daenerys Stormborn, the princess of Dragonstone. Princess Daenerys, this is lord Petyr Baelish, lord of Baelish Keep."

But this introduction did little to help Dany figure out who this man was. She had no idea where this Baelish keep was. Was it in Westeros? The man certainly sounded like he was a Westerosi nobleman, but his name sounded Braavosi.

But she refused to ask the man where this Baelish keep was. Dany had no interest in letting the man know how little she knew about him.

The man took her hand and gave her a kiss on the knuckles, and she could feel the hairs on his chin tickle her fingers. "It is an honor to meet you, princess Daenerys. You certainly have your mother´s beauty."

She found herself having to stop from smiling at his words. "Thank you, lord Baelish. It is good to see that not all the lords have forgotten their loyalties to house Targaryen."

"I look forward to see your house back in its rightful place, princess."

As always Viserys seemed to take it badly to have anyone´s attention stray from him, even for a moment. "Is there to be a war then?"

Lord Baelish smiled her brother. "Of course, Robert Baratheon is not the sort of man to allow this to go unpunished, and Tywin Lannister will of course not take this slight to his family well."

Viserys was now positively giddy at the prospect, but Dany wasn't as happy with this turn of events.

She wanted to be the one to bring justice to her enemies and make them pay for betraying her family. Dany had seen herself coming flying on Drogon´s back and laying waste to all of the usurper´s armies, with her husband commanding the Dothraki.

"Now is the time to invade, Illyrio." Viserys said happily with a crazed look in his eyes.

But the magister didn't seem as sure as her brother did. "There is still the question about what Eddard Stark will do."

Viserys scoffed. "The usurper´s dog will of course run to his aid."

Baelish smiled at her brother's words. "Aptly named, your grace." Viserys preened at the complement. "But I think that Stark will want to hide in the North for as long as he can, and I doubt that he will rush to the Usurper´s defense."

"And why is that?" She asked him coldly, feeling the righteous anger within her. Why did they care about the lord of that wasteland decided to do?

The men turned to her, as she stared down the small man, demanding answers.

"Stark and the Northerners asked for funds to rebuild the castles on the Walls, but the Usurper denied them, and now relations between them are rather cold."

She could only stare at the man, what was going on? Why was everything happing differently in Westeros now? Did someone else have memories of their last life?

Worry filled her as she wondered if anyone else had gotten their memories back, and she could vaguely hear her brother tell the other men that he would mount all the traitor´s head on pikes on the walls of the Red Keep when he took the throne once more.

JON ARRYN

He finished fastening the pin that signified his position as the hand of the King, and he felt the smile on his face that hadn´t left him since they had set off for the Vale.

Jon glanced at his wife that was sitting by the desk, reading the Seven-pointed star once again, and he found himself smiling even wider than before.

If someone had told him five years ago that Lysa and he would now be expecting their second child by now, he would have thought them mad.

He felt a pull on his trousers and looked down to see little Alys stare at him with wide blue eyes, holding her craved falcon in one hand. His little girl stretched her arms to him, silently asking to be picked up.

Jon smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. "Are you ready to see the Vale?"

Alys nodded eagerly. "Will we be seeing my castle?"

His daughter had seemingly taken up ownership of the Eyrie without having ever set eyes on it, and it was a great source of amusement for him and her nurses. "Soon, but we will be landing in Gulltown in a few moments, and meet with its lord, lord Grafton."

Alys pouted and tossed her blond curls in annoyance. "But uncle Robert says that lord Grafton is a traitor and…" She hesitated while looking thoughtful, as she tried to remember what the King had called the lord of Gulltown.

Jon felt himself grow pale at his daughter's words. "Sweetling, you must never call anyone a traitor, especially a lord under our service." He tried to explain to her as gently as he could while still sounding firm.

Alys stared at him, clearly surprised, not having understood what she was saying, only knowing that the King didn't like lord Grafton.

Not for the first time, the lord of the Eyrie felt anger and annoyance at Robert, he hated it when he started to spew out his opinions about everything and everyone near his daughter, especially when it was his opinions about the lords who had sided with house Targaryen in the Rebellion.

"Did I do something bad?" She clutched her toy falcon close to her chest and stared at him with tears in her eyes.

"No, you didn't do anything bad." He tried to assure her. "But you must not say something like this, even if King Robert says it."

"But why?"

He refrained from sighing with expiration, for the last year Alys had been questioning everything, and never seemed to grow tried with trying to get to the bottom of every mystery that crossed her path.

Instead of getting in a long downward spiral of answering questions that the four-year-old most likely wouldn't even understand the answer too, he chose to distract her by offering to take her outside the cabin to watch as the sailors docked the ship.

Before he had even finished offering her the option of going outside, all questions about why she shouldn't call lord Grafton a traitor disappeared.

Jon carried little Alys out of the cabin and gave his wife a nod and a smile before they headed out.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the seagulls were screaming loudly but Alys seemed to enjoy it all.

"Look at all the boats." Alys cried happily, making him chuckle at her enthusiasm.

"Ships sweetling, when they are this big, they are called ships." But she was right, the harbor was filled with ships of all sizes, making it seem like a floating forest made up of masts decorated with colorful sails instead of leaves.

"Look father, this one is blue." The four-year-old pointed at a galley, that was flying the colors of house Arryn proudly. "Is it mine?"

"No sweetling, Lady of the Sea belongs to the Gulltown Arryn´s."

"Don't I have any boats?" Alys asked him, clearly wanting to own a fleet of ships now.

"And what would you do with a ship?" He asked her, wanting to hear her answer.

Alys pouted, thinking of an answer before her attention was pulled away by something behind him. "Papa, look at the big ship."

Jon turned around to see a three-mast carrack further away, gracefully resting on the water while waiting to be allowed to dock with the other merchant vessels. And even though the sails had been dropped, Jon knew that this ship belonged to house Manderly because of the blue-green color of the sails.

"That ship is from the North, and it is from White Harbor belonging to house Manderly." Jon told her, knowing that his four-year-old daughter wouldn't know where White Harbor, but he wanted to talk to her like she was older.

"Where is that?" Alys asked, blue eyes wide with curiosity.

Jon turned and pointed north. "It is there, but you can't see it from here."

"Can we go there?" Alys asked looking hopeful.

"Not now," He smiled at his daughter. "We have to meet the lords of the Vale and you have to see our castle."

They watched as the sailors rushed around and Alys seemed so excited to see how they docked the ship, but Jon was more interested in seeing both lords Yohn Royce and Gerold Grafton on the docks, waiting for them.

As the ship was being guided to the dock, Jon sent a man to the cabin to fetch his wife so that she could greet the lords alongside him.

Lysa made her way to his side and the two septas that usually followed her around appeared like specters from bellow, and when the ship had finally docked, they made their way off the ship to greet the two men.

"It is good to see you lord Arryn." Lord Royce greeted them with a large smile and a bow, but while the lord of Runestone was clearly happy to see him, the lord of Gulltown wasn't as jubilant at his arrival, but he was none the less courteous and polite as he greeted them.

"It is good to see you again as well, my lords." The lord of Runestone kissed the back of Lysa´s hand to show her proper respect that her station as the lady of his liege lord demanded, but Jon could see that his old friend clearly didn't like it.

It had come as a no surprise to him that the lords of the Vale didn't agree with nor like his decision of not sending Lysa to the silent sisters, and not taking another wife, preferably one of the Vale.

Some lords had even cried for her head for her insult.

The lord of Gulltown beckoned for his guards to bring forth the horses. "I am sorry my lady, regrettably the carriage is indisposed as my wife has taken it to visit her mother."

"It is no problem at all, my lord." Lysa spoke demurely as was her way in these last five years.

As one of the guards came with a horse for him, Jon placed his little girl in the front of the saddle, before he pulled himself into the saddle behind her.

As Alys giggled happily at being on horseback, he smiled and ran his hand though her blond curls, but as he looked back up, he could see both lord Royce and lord Grafton stare at him with their eyebrows high on their forehead in bewilderment.

It was clearly strange for them to see a father spending time with their daughter, but Jon didn't care. Alys was his child and maybe one day she would rule the Vale in her own right, and Jon wanted to spend all the time he had with his only living child for as long as he could.

Just thinking about how little time he could have left to spend time with his family made him fearful.

And now Robert was calling his banners and heading into a war with Tywin Lannister, who was famous for his ruthlessness and cunning, and Jon couldn't be certain that he would live to see the end of the war.

He was already an old man, and his time in this world was ending and he wanted to spend it with his child, and hopefully the child Lysa was now carrying.

Jon kept one hand on the reins to steer his horse, and the other was kept around Alys to make sure that she was secure in the saddle in front of him.

"We have prepared a feast in your honor, if it please you, my lord." Lord Grafton rode up to him, as he glanced curiously at his daughter and then at him.

"Thank you very much lord Grafton, it will be an honor to dine in your hall." The lord of Gulltown nodded and gave a small, tight smile. "I had not thought to see you here lord Yohn, but I will say that it is a pleasant surprise. Have the either of you heard any news?"

Both lord Grafton and lord Royce looked at one another before fixing their eyes on him again. "I think that it is best to wait until we are alone." Bronze Yohn said in a low tone, making Jon worried.

Their words caused him to frown and all through their ride to lord Grafton´s castle and throughout the feast their words echoed around in his head, causing the worry to rise in his chest.

When the feast was at an end, the lord of the castle led him and his friend, the lord of Runestone to his solar where they could converse in privacy.

Lord Gerold offered them both a glass of Dragonwater as they sat down by the fire.

"I am sorry for not having told you this before, Jon." Yohn took the glass from lord Grafton, as the younger man sat down beside him while Jon nursed his own glass. "But I would not trust this with a bird or a rider."

"What is going on? Has something happened?"

Yohn took a drink before he spoke. "There has been talk around the Vale since your wife…" The looked uncomfortable as he took another sip of the amber liquid. "Ever since you decided pardon your lady wife´s indiscretion there has been talk among the lords that you are getting too old to lead them."

Jon scoffed at those words. He was not the oldest lord in the Seven Kingdoms, he was sure that old Walder Frey was at least twenty years his senior and he was still ruling the crossing, likely holding on to life only to spite his many, many descendants.

"Too old?" He asked the two men, indignant and offended. "Since when has age has anything to do with being a lord?"

"It is not just your age, my lord." Lord Gerold said hesitantly as he traced the sigil of his house on the glass with his finger. "Some of the lords, especially the younger ones are saying that you are growing soft in your…in the last few years."

"Soft? They think that I am soft?" He felt the anger rise in him and his hand clenched the glass in his hand, as his nostrils flared. "I have been ruling the Seven Kingdoms while the King drinks and whores and eats his way to an early grave, and they think that I am soft?"

Lord Gerold seemed extremely interested in the contents of his glass and seemed to shrink in on himself but Yohn would not be cowed. "Jon, you know that I would never think that you are weak, and lord Gerold doesn't think so either, but many of the lord´s pride have been wounded by lady Lysa."

Jon´s anger boiled in him. "I was the one who she was unfaithful to," He growled out in his rage. "I was the one that was being fooled by her and Baelish and being led to believe that their bastard was my trueborn son and heir."

A part of him could understand the lords injured pride, but right now he was too angry to care. The most important task that a lord had to accomplish was to secure the future of his house, but Lysa and Baelish had tried to make sure that he couldn't fulfill that duty.

As he thought of that, his anger seemed to melt away from him, Lysa had repented for her crimes against him, and she had done everything that he had asked of her and she had given him the most precious and beautiful little girl that he had come to love more than anything.

"Lysa has repented for her crimes against me, and the Vale." Jon said with a frown as he stared at his old friend.

"She has." Yohn agreed with him. "Lady Arryn has complied with all the wishes of the lords, she has been accompanied by the two septas that were chosen when she wasn't with you, and lady Alys is certainly your daughter."

Jon felt disarmed by the man´s calm and reasonable words and all he could do was to sit in silence as the other man continued to speak. "But the lord's pride was still injured, and you know as well as I do that men with wounded prides often do things that most would consider stupid."

He knew well how a man´s anger and pride could lead him down a road that often ended in death and destruction.

Lashing out in anger at the very lords he was supposed to protect would neither serve him nor his family, and it would only set the lords against him if they weren't already aiming for his downfall.

"What exactly is going on?" Jon asked the men before him, wanting to know the truth.

"The rumors have been around since you pardoned lady Arryn, but they have been becoming worse in the last two years, ever since lord Harry Hardyng reached majority." Yohn said calmly but with a frown on his face. "The boy has been traveling around the Vale and trying to charm the lords without seeming like he is trying to push his claim."

Jon felt the food that he had eaten at the feast tumble in his belly. "Who has he met with?"

"He has been meeting everyone, he has even come to Runestone to try and charm me and Nestor." Jon gripped the glass in his hand, and he felt fear continue to cling to him.

"He has also come here my lord." Lord Grafton spoke up hesitantly. Jon could understand the man´s hesitance in telling him about lord Hardyng´s visit, as the man´s father had sided with Aerys Targaryen in the rebellion, but Jon didn't hold it against the younger man.

It was a terrible choice to have to make, it had only been made easy for Jon because Aerys had demanded Ned´s and Robert´s heads despite them not having committed any crimes.

"If he has been traveling around the Vale for two years now, why am I learning about this first now?" Jon asked the men before him with hard eyes.

But once again, the lord of Runestone would not be intimidated by him and took another sip of the Dragonwater. "At first we didn't know that he was making his way around the Vale, but the boy wasn't doing anything wrong, even if what he was doing is presumptuous and in bad taste."

"He wasn't doing anything wrong?" He didn't like that wording from his old friend. "Has that changed now? Is he doing something wrong?" Harry Hardyng had to be doing something if the two men seemed so unsettled by it.

Lord Grafton took a sip of his Dragonwater before he spoke. "Lord Hardyng hasn't done anything against you, my lord. But he and his friends have been implying that you are too old and too soft to lead the knights of the Vale into the war we are facing, and they are using the fact that you pardoned lady Arryn for her crimes as a reason for their words, and there are many of the lords who are angry enough to listen."

"Who are listening?" Jon took a large sip of the alcohol in his glass and he felt it burn as it traveled down his throat. "Which of the lords are saying I am too old and weak to lead?"

"Corbray, Melcom and Waxley are among those who are traveling with Hardyng and helping him impress the lords with his youth and prowess. But I do not know who agrees with him or not, but as your sole living male heir and next in line to inherit, he has a lot of sway."

Jon opened his mouth to say that Hardyng would never inherit the Vale or the Eyrie, but he refrained from doing so.

Yohn had the right of it, as his closest living male relative, Harry Hardyng was the next in line to inherit, but only if Jon never had any living sons.

If Lysa was carrying a boy in her belly, and that boy managed to grow up healthy and strong, then Harry wouldn't become the lord of the Vale.

Harry Hardyng had spent the last five years believing that he would inherit the Vale, and if Lysa had a boy then only the gods knew what the young man would do.