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ATP
Making a deal with Renly himself is quite hopeless.
But there will be a chapter where we'll see Stannis negotiating with his opponents. He wouldn't like it if the Tyrells won too much with any kind of deal. They chose their own king without any real claim to the throne (the Riverlands, at least, supported someone who people there believed was a rightful ruler).
Queen in the North
Bran sits on the top of the Wall – where else? It is one of the highest points in Winterfell.
Jon has to lean out of the nearest tower's window to his waist to be able to speak with him.
"The whole morning has almost already passed."
Bran smiles widely at him. "And I'm ready to miss lunch too."
"Wouldn't you like to… I don't know… climb down instead?"
Bran shakes his head, stubbornly.
"The Dragon Queen will arrive in daytime. Most likely. I want to be the very first one, even before Arya, who sees the…" He inhales sharply. "Dragons," he sighs.
Jon follows his gaze.
Two dark patches are coming in the pale sky. They are still far away but there is something in their shapes, in their scales, in their movements… something that shows above all doubt that they are not birds.
"It's… huge," Dany says with awe, staring at the walls and towers of Winterfell.
"The second largest castle in Westeros, after Harrenhal. Even the Red Keep is outdone by it." Theon's voice sounds as if he repeats a lesson. He might think the same, because he then says, frowning, "Maester Luwin told me."
The gate is open as they approach it, and a small party of guards and servants is waiting for them.
They bow deeply before Dany.
"Lord Stark welcomes you in Winterfell, Your Grace," the captain of the guards says.
Glancing at Theon, surprise appears in his eyes.
"My Lord," he adds a bit uncertainly.
"Jory," Theon replies in the same tone.
Then, the servants offer bread and salt to them. The protection of the guest right. The Starks want to ascertain her that she will be safe when she enters the castle.
In the first moment Catelyn is surprised how young the Dragon Queen is. Well… of course, she is young, she was born only months after Robb and Jon. Still, it feels impossible that all of the tales – or any of them – about her are true.
Behind the queen, a handsome young man arrives, whom Catelyn has never believed would see again in this life. Ten years have passed since he left Winterfell, but one cannot change so much that she would not recognize him.
How could he…?
Theon Greyjoy's gaze is searching for the familiar details and clearly the familiar faces. He looks at Robb and Jon… and finally her.
How…?
"May we also meet the dragons later, may we not?" Arya whispers pulling back Catelyn from her musing.
"Sssh," Sansa hisses. "I hope so," she admits then. Her voice is lower than her sister's.
Catelyn does not hear Bran's answer but, no doubt, he agrees.
So this is her. His aunt. While Jon does not look like a Targaryen, at all, she can never deny her origin, she is the blood of the Old Valyria every bit.
He does not even notice how hard he squeezes Jeyne's hand until she returns it.
There are a lot of people in the courtyard so Dany presumes that even without her dragons she is some kind of spectacle here. She does not mind it.
Dany looks around the faces of all men and women, old and young. She studies especially the members of House Stark. It is easy to see which of them are related by blood. Four have auburn hair, two have very dark brown.
The one, who must be Lord Stark steps forward and bows.
"Your Grace."
Dany, however, barely hears his words. Because as soon as he moves, a frightening creature rises to its feet behind him and follows. It is a wolf but with the measure of a horse.
"Grey Wind, my direwolf," Lord Stark explains. And he is smiling not because of Dany's dread but at his beast. Something which she could sympathize with very much. "I'm glad you came."
"I'm willing to listen to your request and help if you can convince me it's needed."Dany hopes her voice sounds majestic.
"And I'm willing to pay the price for it."
Dany nods. They understand each other, it seems.
By dinner, it is revealed that not only one direwolf lives in Winterfell but there is a whole pack of them.
After all dishes have been served, Dany finds herself sitting by the table with a Stark girl and a direwolf on both of her sides. The girls' names are Sansa and Arya, the direwolves' Lady and Nymeria, if she remembers correctly.
"Robb didn't want you to regard their presence as a threat," Arya Stark explains. "Of course, you have dragons." Her eyes are sparkling. "So you can hardly find a direwolf scary…"
Dany was scared enough for a moment but she does not intend to confess it.
"I would never change Nymeria for anything else, of course, even for a dragon." Her fingers are lost in the wolf's thick grey fur.
"She is amazing." Dany means it. She would like to touch the wolf but she feels like she should ask for permission. Which would be unfitting for a queen, would not it? "I have never seen a direwolf."
"No one has, even in the North, before them," Sansa replies."South from the Wall they died out centuries ago."
Lady Sansa's wolf seems especially dangerous with her missing ear, meanwhile she has a tamed behavior. It is quite embarrassing.
Lady Arya speaks again.
"Then, Robb and Jon found and brought them home. They said their mother was killed by the stag she hunted down."
It seems a work of fate.
"The eggs my dragons were born from had been fossilized," Dany tells them, with a sudden idea. That story is good as much as theirs, after all. If not better.
Entering their chamber Theon finds Dany patting the walls.
"It's warmer here than I expected."
"Winterfell was built on hot springs."
"Let me guess, Maester Luwin told you." Dany smiles at him teasingly and Theon smiles back.
She sits down on the bed then, and she does not start speaking again. The silence deepens while she is lost in her thoughts. When Theon glances at her again, her expression is worried what makes him worried too.
"What's wrong?"
"I feel…" Sighing, she shakes her head. "It's rather unexpected, much more than it was for the first time. I have never imagined…"
Dany does not look at him so Theon kneels before her to see her face.
"While there were so many people around us I couldn't have paid attention to it but now I am sure… and I don't understand. It has no sense. Unless…"
At her knock, Lady Jeyne opens the door in a nightgown, with unbraided hair.
"Your Grace," she courtesies.
She does not say this is an odd time and way for a visit, but she definitely thinks it.
"I must speak to your husband," Dany declares.
Jon Stark appears behind his wife. Luckily, he is still dressed. Mostly.
"Your Grace," he greets her, but his voice is wary.
Dany takes a deep breath.
"I want to ask you only one question. Who are you? Who are you really?"
Author's note:
She didn't find out the truth. She thinks Jon's mother (anyone she is) can be the explanation for her questions.
Theon and the Starks, Jon and the dragons will be coming in the following chapters.
