There was silence in the solar for what seemed to be hours. The Princes stared at Lord Stark, all of their shock visible on their faces, even for Doran who was usually much more reserved and adept at hiding his thoughts. A servant entered and replaced the wine pitcher and the fruit platter before leaving the trio in silence once more, and Ned observed how the two communicated silently through looks and facial expressions. He waited patiently for them to finish, for them to speak and show any sign of positive or negative reaction at what he had just said, hiding his anxiety at having exposed his plans. But this was necessary, he reminded himself. Even if he were to separate from the Iron Throne, he would need allies, and who better than the brothers of the murdered Princess?

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. He reminded himself.

Finally, Doran and Oberyn turned their attention back to their guest, all hints of shock disappearing from their faces as they took up once more the roles of leaders of the kingdom.

"You would rebel against Robert Baratheon?" Doran asked.

"Aye."

"And you would like an alliance with Dorne?" Oberyn continued.

"Aye."

The brothers sat back in their chairs as one and Oberyn sipped his wine as they sat in consideration of their guest.

"What of the Iron Throne?"

"What of it?" Ned responded with a slight shrug. "It is not the Iron Throne I wish to claim or ally myself with."

"If we were to assist you in claiming your own throne, would you aid us in disposing of the child killer?" Oberyn clarified, eyeing the Northerner carefully.

"As your ally, I would be honour bound to assist you in any wars to come, of course, but who would you ask me to help you put on the Iron Throne to replace Robert?"

"Viserys Targaryen." Doran stated. "We would see a Targaryen restoration. As the last male of the family, he is the heir and the rightful King."

It was ironic, Ned thought, that they were planning a restoration barely three months after the rebellion itself. Mirroring the brothers' actions from moments before, the Northern Lord sat back in his chair to ponder his options. Viserys was not the rightful King, he knew, but how could he tell them this? How could he trust them with this secret after he had promised his dear sister that he would protect his nephew with his life? But then again he had just trusted them with his plans to separate from the Iron Throne, which was treason and a death sentence for his family anyway. As he considered his choice, he observed the Princes as they watched him quietly, allowing him a moment to think. They were both sat close to the desk, on the edge of their seats and stared at him with steady consideration and hope. Hadn't they also trusted him with their own plans of treason?

"You would see a Targaryen restoration?" he asked finally, and the brothers nodded as one. "Then I cannot support Viserys' claim."

Hope turned to shock and rage, Oberyn once more rising from his chair in a sudden move that threw the seat backwards, toppling onto the floor as he stood over the desk, his hands trembling in fury.

"What?" he seethed, brushing off Doran's calming hand. "You come to us with thoughts of treason, you claim to be our ally, but you would support that murderer over the rightful King?"

"I will support the restoration." Ned stated, watching the younger Prince carefully. It was not for nothing that they called him the Red Viper. "But Viserys is not the heir."

This seemed to both calm and infuriate Oberyn at the same time, but at least he did not avoid his brother's restraining hand on his arm this time. Doran, however, looked sharply at their guest as he heard the meaning of his words.

"Explain." he demanded.

Lord Stark sighed. He could still turn back now, agree to support Viserys and keep Jon safe and innocent, keep him away from all of this. But with all the treason and secrets shared in the past hour, there was no harm in revealing another, and Lyanna's story protected the boy from the Martells at least.

"What people know about the beginning of the Rebellion is a lie." He began. "My sister Lyanna was not kidnapped, Rhaegar did not take her against her will. She ran away. Away from Winterfell, from her family, and most of all from a betrothal to a man that already had at least one bastard. She met Rhaegar and Elia at the tourney at Harrenhall, almost two years ago now, and they fell in love."

"I know this." Oberyn interrupted, picking up his chair and taking his seat once more, his face betraying his shock. Doran turned to his younger brother so quickly Ned was worried he might snap his neck in the process. "Elia wrote to me after the tourney." he continued softly, looking his brother in the eye. "She says Rhaegar brought Lyanna to meet her. They spoke many times over the following week, whenever Lyanna could escape from her family, and before long Rhaegar was not the only one in love with the she-wolf."

The Prince stopped and clasped a hand over his brother's who was staring at him in shock. They had believed that Rhaegar had scorned Elia when he had named Lyanna his Queen of Love and Beauty after the joust, but if Elia's letter to Oberyn was to be believed, the three of them were actually closer than anyone could have believed.

"Elia told me in her letter that Prince Rhaegar wished for a third child - something to do with a prophecy, but Elia was incapable after Aegon, and so they agreed that he would take a second wife, with Elia's approval. You're saying..." Oberyn turned back to Ned, his eyes glistening with tears at the memory. "You're saying they succeeded?"

"Aye." he answered softly. "Rhaegar and Lyanna married in front of a Heart Tree in the eyes of the Old Gods so that it would not invalidate his marriage to your sister in the eyes of the Faith. Lyanna died in childbed. She gave birth to a son - Jaehaerys Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne and my nephew."

"Our nephew." Oberyn responded fiercely, tears now threatening to fall. "He is just as much Elia's son than he is Lyanna's."

"Jaehaerys." Doran whispered reverently. "May we see him?"

Ned nodded and led them back through the same corridors he had travelled a few hours earlier, to the chambers next to the ones given to him where he found his nephew along with the wet nurse Wylla. With only a look, Wylla was dismissed, bowing slightly before scurrying out of the room and leaving the baby in the delicately carved cradle. The child was sleeping peacefully, less than a moon old and still fragile and helpless, but the Dornish Princes looked upon him with reverence of all hope restored, the shattered pieces of their heart slowly being melded back together with each tiny breath the child took. Not for the first time, Ned thanked the gods that the child did not have any obvious Targaryen features, instead having inherited the dark Stark hair and eyes.

"I call him Jon." Lord Stark said softly, and the brothers nodded even as they kept their eyes on the babe.

"Until the time is right." Doran agreed.

That night they feasted. The lords and ladies and important household members gathered in the great hall around various southern dishes that were completely novel to Lords Stark and Reed as they celebrated the new trade alliance between the North and Dorne, however tentative it was for now. The Princes and the Northern Lords, however, knew that in reality they were toasting to the future, to King Jaehaerys and to the revenge of Elia Martell and Rhaenys and Aegon Targaryen.

Further plans were made, Ned divulged his ideas for the North in more detail and gave his opinions when asked by the Princes as they reflected on how to strengthen their own kingdom, and letters were sent. Lord Stark instructed Lords Umber and Karstark to meet at the Bay of Seals to begin cutting the ice and requested that Lord Manderly send one of his trading cogs to join them a month later. Oberyn sent ravens to a multitude of his friends that resided all over the Known World, inviting them to the North with promises of work. Ned stayed for another three weeks at Sunspear, firstly to continue his discussions with House Martell and secondly to allow his nephew to grow a little more before demanding such a long trip of him. The North was on the other side of Westeros after all and it would take at least three months for them to get home, such a journey was not good for one so young.

There had been an argument regarding who would raise Jon, as the Martells offered to host him at Sunspear until the time for the Restoration came, raising him as one of their own but Ned vehemently objected to this. They may consider the child their nephew but he was Ned's by blood and by right, and Ned would not be giving up on him so soon. There had been another argument when the Martell Princes realised that Ned intended to claim the boy as his own bastard, bringing dishonour on both himself and their future King. Lord Stark explained that the North was very much like Dorne when it came to bastards: not eligible to inherit but not looked down upon, not sneered at and not treated any differently than trueborn children. He was adamant that this would be his dishonour only, not Jon's, until the Princes had pointed out that his wife was from the Riverlands and she would be bringing a household full of guards, servants and handmaidens to Winterfell with her, all of whom would treat the boy like dirt on their shoes.

Lord Stark agreed to claim the boy was his brother Brandon's after that. A bastard still he would be, but not a personal slight against Lady Catelyn and therefore she would be easily convinced that he was to be treated correctly. Especially if she wanted to live in the North, where the biased teachings of the Faith were not followed. Considering he was planning on breaking free of the south, Ned had no qualms about annulling his marriage if his new wife was unable to adhere to Northern customs.

The matter of Viserys and Daenerys, the two Targaryens across the Norrow Sea was also discussed. They were currently under the supervision of Willem Darry who had managed to smuggle them to Essos just before Stannis Baratheon's fleet had sailed to Dragonstone to take them to the new King, where no doubt they would have been killed just like Aegon and Rhaenys, and were living in a house rented from the Sealord of Braavos. It was agreed that they could not come back to Westeros until they were ready for the Restoration, as Baratheon was aware of the two and was actively pursuing them with guards and assassins. Instead, Oberyn would travel to meet them and he would bring more swords with him to ensure their safety. While there, he would find a place more inland for them to stay as Braavos was the foremost port in all of Essos and thousands of strangers passed through the city every day. Away from any trading hubs, they would be safer from unknown assassins.

Before Ned left, one last matter was proposed to him: a betrothal between Princess Arianne and Jon. The thought of his sister running away from a betrothal prevented Ned from outright agreeing to promise his nephew. In fact all of his children would have a say over who they married. Instead, he agreed to foster young Arianne when they were older, and present the idea of a betrothal to Jon once they had gotten to know each other.

"Take care of our nephew, Lord Stark." Prince Doran said, shaking the Northern Lord's hand while his other had a tight grip on his cane. Ned thought that before long, the Martell Prince would no longer be able to walk even with the aid of a cane and instead be confined to sitting all day due to his gout.

"I shall." Ned nodded once before releasing the Prince's hand and mounting the horse that the stable boy brought him.

When Ned Stark first came to Sunspear, he had arrived with only the clothes on his back, two companions, a child and a cart that held his dead sister's embalmed body. Now he left with those same companions, but Lyanna's corpse had been placed in a carriage befitting of her station in life, and they had an addition of a dozen guards, a desert guide and another two carts to hold the clothes, food and drink that had been gifted to them. The party made their way through the city, the people moving to the side of the road to let them pass as they threw flowers and silk handkerchiefs at the travellers, all of them having heard of the new friendship between their two kingdoms.

Following the river Greenblood, the party made their way west to get past the Sea of Dorne before they could join the Kingsroad at Yronwood. As they travelled, the guide told the baffled Northerners how, through the use of pipes, they carried the water from the river to the lands further away, so that they could expand their fertile land and farm further away from the river than they usually could. Intrigued, they asked more of the local farmers when they stopped at Godsgrace a week into their journey. It was explained to them that, like the North, most of the Dornish lands were barren and unable to be farmed, but this was fixed by simply carrying and diverting the water from the rivers to the farms through copper pipes, which allowed the usually dry and arid soil to become fertile enough to farm. That night, Ned sent another raven to the Mountain Clans of the North, asking them to begin mining as much copper as they could.

They travelled for months, stopping in any villages or towns when they needed to replenish their supplies but otherwise pressing on, camping on the side of the road when they had to and allowing Wylla and Jon the use of one of the carriages when there was enough room.

Two months into their journey, they passed Kings Landing. No matter how much they wanted to, on Ned's instruction the party did not stop, as this would mean they would have to see the King and not only would it be expected of him to say his vows of fealty to King Robert, but it was also bringing Jon a little too close to where his half siblings had died for his comfort. If he simply did not stop by the Red Keep, it would be attributed to his grief for his sister and Ned doubted that Robert would drag him back south to say his vows, so confident he was in their ever lasting friendship. Instead, they continued their path North towards Riverrun, where Ned's new wife and child awaited. It took another month to reach their destination.

The entire household was waiting for them in the main courtyard of the castle, with Hoster Tully in the centre, flanked by his two children, Edmure and Catelyn, who was holding a small bundle in her arms.

"Lord Stark!" Lord Tully greeted, his mouth widening into a grin as he clasped hands with his goodson.

"Lord Tully, thank you for your hospitality." Ned nodded, before moving to his wife.

"Welcome, Lord Stark." She said, a slight blush colouring her cheeks. "Please meet our son. I named him Robb, after your friend our King."

Ned struggled to hold back a frown at that. Robb was a good name that was broad enough in origin that it would be welcome in the North, however did she really have to name their heir after the man he had just spent the past four months plotting against? He peered over his wife's arms to catch a glimpse of his son. Robb would be the same age as Jon, though if anyone looked at them side by side they would never believe that this red haired little boy was the Stark. Still, he had a healthy son and that was all that mattered. A smile graced his lips as he placed a hand on his wife's shoulder and a kiss on his child's head.

"My Lord?"

Tearing his eyes from his son, he looked up to his wife who was staring out further into the courtyard. Ned turned, concerned at the worry, confusion and hurt in his new wife's voice, only to see that Wylla had stepped out of the carriage she had been riding in and was stood by the horses, holding little Jon in her arms. His smile widening, he reached out an arm towards her to beckon her forth.

"Catelyn," he said once Wylla and Jon were close enough. "this is my nephew, Jon."

It seemed everyone in the courtyard let out a breath at the same time, as all had been worried that this was some bastard Ned had sired while at war. Unlike Robb, there were no blankets covering little Jon and as such his Stark features were displayed for all to see.

"Nephew?" Lord Hoster asked, finally dragging his eyes away from the young newcomer to stare at Ned, who nodded once.

"Aye, my brother Brandon's son."

An understanding gleam shone in the Tully family and they all nodded, satisfied by the answer. There was no need to ask about the boy's status as it was known that Brandon had not married, in fact he had been set to marry Catelyn but had died before he could do so, leaving Ned to take her in his place. Any child of Brandon's would be a bastard.

They stayed at Riverrun for a week, and Hoster held a feast on their last night to celebrate Lord Stark and the heir that Catelyn had given him. Ned appreciated it, and he was happy to be in the comfort of a castle once more, but he couldn't help but feel less welcome with his goodfamily than he had staying in Sunspear. He was glad to be leaving. He had been away from home for far too long, allowing his younger brother Benjen to rule in his stead at only 15 years old, though Ned supposed he wouldn't be much better. As a second son he had never been trained to be a lord, and yet now he was making plans to improve the North like none had before, all with the goal of one day rising from a Lord to a King.

It was difficult to imagine, and yet the plans had been made, the events had been set in motion, and independence of the North was within his grasp.