The Griffin Lord

He had finally made it to the castle of Harrenhal.

Since he had left Winterfell, Jon had rode seemingly day and night for King's Landing, and now he had made it to Harrenhal, where so many bitter memories remained for him.

This is Alayne's home, yet she isn't here to see it. Jon wasn't truly sure if she would rather see it or not, since they had rarely discussed home with one another. They shared little interest in each other truly, the only thing that kept them from separating over the years being their marriage vows and their love for their children.

The prince had facilitated the match after the Tourney of Harrenhal for him. He had little interest in marrying, but he had done as his prince had asked all the same.

He wondered why he had chosen to ride so hard as he went south, if he were truly so eager to be killed. Most of his waking moments were spent wondering who was the greater fool, him or the princess. The girl for trusting in his word, or him for abandoning his prince..

Jon had sent letters to Tyrosh, for Alayne, telling her he might be restored to Griffin's Roost soon. It was the children he was doing this for he had tried to tell himself. That they could return to Westeros and hold lands, rather than die a bitter death in exile.

For years he had dreamt of showing Harrion and Elanda the castle that had once been his father's and his own, but for all he did they had gotten no closer to returning to Westeros.

They had both grown up in exile, with Harrion being a handsome and capable lad with a sword, while Elanda had grown into a fair maid just as her mother was.

He prayed that they would not have to sink to the levels he and their mother had while in exile, him becoming a sellsword and serving with some of the worst of men in disputed lands for several companies, and Alayne having become a courtesan in Lys for a powerful man in the city, who had showered Alayne and their children in wealth and splendor, until he had gotten her with child, and he sent her away. The babe had not been robust, and had died before her second name day too when they were in Tyrosh.

But there was something deeper though that he sensed. Aegon had given his blessing for Jon to go south, and he wondered if it was for him that he went south. Royce and Greyjoy would rise for him surely, and if Jon were restored to his lands he hoped others would join if he rose for the Prince's sons.

All he had to do was put his trust in the words of the Usurper's daughter.

The gates of the castle were open, as the roads had been quite busy. It was mostly people headed for the Tourney of the Hand, who had filled most inns each night, but tonight he supposed he might be able to get proper chambers as Lady Shella's good-son.

He rode through the gates, and into the enormity of the castle. The garrison was much lighter now than it had been when he had last been here, and the servants even fewer. Eventually he found a serving man who began to lead him to see Lady Shella.

"My lady, Lord Jon Connington is here," the servant said, before he bowed his head and left Jon alone in the room with his good-mother.

"Is Alayne coming home?" The woman asked, a tear flowing from her bright blue eyes.

He had last seen her on the day of his marriage, a proud woman just past her fortieth name day, her hair still fiery red with only some grey beginning to show. Now she was close to her sixtieth, her hair bone white, with an old look to her face.

"Soon my lady," he tried to promise her, hoping his words might soothe her.

"My sons… They're all dead and gone… She is all that remains to me," she said.

Jon wasn't quite sure what to say to that. He remembered her eldest son had been slain by Lord Arryn in battle as he led Vale forces to cross the Trident, so he could get west to join with the Usurper, but that battle oft was forgotten when compared to the Trident, and two more had been slain on the Trident itself along with her husband, but he had not known that her younger two sons had died as well. The youngest had been but a boy of ten then, he recalled, and Alayne had often spoken of how much she missed her brothers and mother. Never Harrenhal or Griffin's Roost, just her family.

"I'm sure she will be glad to come," Jon managed to say, though he was not so certain now if she had learned that her younger brothers were dead too.

She nodded back. "Please do stay and be welcome here then."

"I will need to press south on the morrow," he told her. "But I can rest here tonight."

"Good…" She said, her voice seeming quite feeble and weak. Once the woman before Jon had been the maid of Harrenhal, set to inherit one of the greatest castles in all the realm, whose hand had been sought by many after her brother, Ser Oswell had joined the Kingsguard, leaving her to be the heir. But she had been married to her cousin, Ser Walter, a cousin that as a Whent would ensure their house would keep control of the castle. Now she was an older and frail woman, the last of her line, whose sisters, sons, husband and kin were all dead.

A serving woman entered, offering bread, salt and ale to him, that Jon took. He hadn't quite realized how hungry he was until now, but when he was finished he turned to leave.

The sun was beginning to set in the west, which meant that night would be upon them soon. Someone else showed him to some chambers before Jon began to wander the castle.

This was the biggest castle Jon had ever seen before, greater than Griffin's Roost or Storm's End, or even Winterfell. At one point he caught a glimpse of a dwarf that he could only guess to be the Imp, the infamous uncle to the Princess.

Eventually, he found himself in the yard where the jousts had taken place. He could picture the crowds still as they had been that day, everyone watching as the Prince defeated all his foes, before he had crowned the Lady Lyanna as his queen of love and beauty.

He had chosen her, and he had died for her, Jon thought to himself.

His thoughts were interrupted though by two men who approached him. The first wore a black dragon on his surcoat and had a wine stain birthmark that on the left side of his face, while the other was a little taller and wore a green dragon. Neither one of them he knew, but he recognized both must have been of House Vance.

"My lord…" The Vance of Atranta called out. "We had heard it that you were Jon Connington, returned at last from exile."

"Aye," Jon answered. He was uncertain about the two men, but he felt the need to listen. "Who are you?"

"I have the honor to be Ser Karyl Vance, heir to Wayfarer's Rest," the other man said.

"I am Ser Roland Vance, heir to Atranta," said the other.

"Well met sers," Jon said.

"Last we heard you were at Winterfell, having sworn your sword to Prince Rhaegar's son…. And now you're here… Why?" Ser Karyl asked.

Jon considered his words carefully. He was uncertain whether he ought to tell them of the Princess and the words they had shared or not… "I had hoped to petition King Robert, to be restored to my lordship," he finally told them.

"You're trying to win the favor of the usurper?" Ser Roland wondered, with just a tinge of anger in his voice. They were true to the Targaryen cause, Jon realized at once. They wondered if he had betrayed it, and he had just confirmed it.

"To put Prince Aegon on the throne, aye," he responded. He loved Rhaegar better than they did he was certain.

"How would you do that?" Ser Karyl asked curiously. They didn't trust him, he knew.

"Princess Rhaenys wed the heir to Pyke… Prince Daemon is to marry a Royce of Runestone soon… House Martell will surely rise for Elia's children, and other true knights and lords in the realm will do the same. If I should have my seat back, then I could say for certain Griffin's Roost would for him when the time comes," Jon said.

They both nodded, and Jon wondered if perhaps he had won their trust.

"You do not have the Princes though. How would you ever hope to place a crown on Aegon's head if you do not have him?" Jon asked. In truth he did not know what to do himself, but he wondered if they who seemed so sure did.

"Aye… Pit the lion against the wolf, and a dragon shall rise," said Ser Roland.

Jon could see the sense in the plan. The Princes were still Lord Stark's wards at Winterfell, and before they could be crowned they would need to be beyond Stark's control. "How though, sers?"

"You need a way to prove yourself to be true to the Usurper… The Imp is here, and vulnerable… Kill him, and Lord Tywin will be sure to react. You shall bring word to the Usurper in King's Landing, and tell him upon the throne he stole, of our crimes," Ser Karyl explained.

"Surely Lord Tywin would descend upon you with steel and flames then, turn your houses into a song as he did the Reynes and Tarbecks," Jon said, unsure of how they seemed so certain their plan would work. The Reynes of Castamere was not a song he had heard in many years, but he still remembered the words all the same.

"He's more than welcome too then. I am wed to Lord Hoster's own daughter, and his eldest daughter is wed to Lord Hoster's younger son. The Blackfish who holds the Bloody Gate of the Vale is wed to our aunt. Lady Shella's sister was Lord Hoster's wife, and Lord Stark is wed to Lord Hoster's daughter too. If Lord Tywin attacks us, he will be attacking Stark as well. And the rumors from the capital as well…" Ser Roland said.

Jon nodded. He would gladly give his life to see Rhaegar's son atop the throne that was by rights his, but he was not so certain he would do so at the cost of his children. "What rumors do you speak of Ser?" He asked though, out of curiosity.

"The usurpers queen… Oh she gave him horns and each of her children was not of the Usurper's seed, but the Kingslayer's," Ser Roland explained.

"Could the woman have ever been so mad?" Jon wondered aloud, shocked to learn of it. He remembered the Princess at Winterfell, who had looked ever bit like a Lannister, and bore no signs of being a Baratheon. It was true for a certainty he realized. He wondered if that might ruin the Princesses plan, but he realized it opened the perfect opportunity when the King should discover the truth.

Stark would not be pleased to learn the Usurper had paid him in false coin. Nor was the Usurper like to be pleased with his queen. This was just what they would need he realized.

"When will the war begin then?" He asked.

"It already has begun… From what we've heard in the south, Lord Tywin's good-brother, Lord Peake, tried to kill the false Prince's betrothed, Lady Sansa," Ser Karyl said back.

"Good…" Jon said. "When will you strike then Sers?"

"We've waited long enough. We strike tonight," Ser Karyl answered.

Author Notes:

Okay, so there's a few other members of House Tully mentioned here. In this fic, Minisa and Hoster had two more daughters, as well as the stillborn son Minisa died birthing having survived (Minisa still died giving birth though).

Here they are, with their birth year and spouses listed, as well as what year they wed.

Catelyn (264) m. Eddard Stark (283)

Lysa (266) m. Jon Arryn (283)

Wylla (267) m. Tytos Brax (285)

Marissa (270) m. Karyl Vance (287)

Edmure (272) m. Walda Frey (298)

Elmar (275) m. Lianne Vance (296)

For the Vance/Tully marriages, here they are so you can keep track of them:

Wayfarer's Rest- Ella Tully (sister of Celia Tully, uncle to Brynden and Hoster) married Lord Lucas Vance (Karyl Vance's father)

Atranta- Ser Brynden Tully marries Lady Falia Vance

Atranta- Marissa Tully (daughter of Hoster and Minisa) marries Ser Roland Vance

Wayfarer's Rest- Ser Elmar Tully (son of Hoster and Minisa) is married to Liane Vance (Karyl Vance's eldest daughter)

Got that? Cool…

Brynden is still the Blackfish despite marrying because in this case he married a woman that was not among the offers Hoster Tully was considering. He married Falia who was of a junior line to House Vance of Atranta, rather than say, a Redwyne, Frey or Bracken.

You'll notice that if you go back and reread Jeyne's two chapters that have been published so far at Riverrun, that she does note Elmar, while Wylla and Marissa don't live at Riverrun, which is why they aren't there. Catelyn hasn't particularly thought about them either yet, but will eventually.

Anyways, thank you guys for reading as always. Your feedback is much appreciated, and thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites that you give.

I do not own ASOIAF.