Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Ice and Fire Novels, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon TV shows. However, I decided to have a little play around with the characters. I do not earn any money from writing these stories, it is for my entertainment and is something I like to share.
Sam I
When Grand Maester Samwell Tarly arrived at the small council chamber, the figure of King Bran was sat in his wheelchair on the veranda, looking out over Blackwater Bay, seemingly watching the setting sun throwing shadows over Kings Landing. To guard him, there had been two Kingsguard waiting outside the outer chamber door, which led to a corridor before reaching a second doorway where the Valyrian sphinxes with black marble faces stood. Despite the doors being open, Sam knocked on one of them to alert the King of his presence, although he was quite sure the King would probably already know he was there, not because the King was a powerful greenseer, which he was, but because he had requested an audience with Sam.
"No need for your ball Grand Maester Tarly, this is not a small council meeting." he said without turning.
"Of..of course Your Grace." Sam approached the King and bowed his head. "Has the Lord Hand left for Winterfell yet?" he asked looking out of the window with the King, trying to work out what his Grace was staring at.
The King nodded. "The annulment came through from the Citadel this morning. He has been tasked to take it directly to the Queen. There is no need to call me Your Grace here Sam, Bran will do fine."
"Yes Your Gra...I mean Bran." Sam nodded, even more subserviently. "Was the letter enough on its own to encourage Lord Tyrion to go north without question?" he asked.
"I retained some honesty. I told him about Drogon, and said I wish to know if there have been any sightings of him yet, which is absolutely true. He has been gone over two weeks, and I have seen nothing of him over land, although I cannot see everywhere at once, and my sight is somewhat limited." he looked at Sam and gave him a rare smile. "Although, I told Tyrion my sight was waning without the presence of Drogon."
"And he fell for that?" Sam was confused. "That doesn't sound like Tyrion."
The King nodded. "I agree Sam, Lord Tyrion seemed far too eager to leave. Maybe I have been too quick to judge him as loyal, or maybe he was sick and tired of the capital, I can't say I blame him. We will find out, especially if he thinks my greensight is waning." he smiled.
"Is it? Waning that is." Sam frowned, but the King shook his head and laughed
"I told him that to give him extra motivation to go north. I don't want his meddling right now, it would be too dangerous. Keeping Tyrion Lannister as far away from the capital is for the best." his monotone voice intended to remind Sam that the King was not who he appeared to be. "As for my sight, it has always been linked to the weirwoods, the first men and the children of the forest. I can see into the past through those who have the blood of the first men and the trees. I can see through the eyes of a raven and the creatures beyond the wall. But as I have told you before, I do have limitations. I cannot see through the eye of a dragon unless it either lets me or is unaware of my doing so. In his grief, I was able to see through the eyes of Drogon, but as his grief subsided, he knew something was wrong and was easily able to block me. Lord Bloodraven had these skill and gave them to me, along with his memories and knowledge. I cannot see Drogon, what he does or where he goes."
"Can't you look through the ravens or trees?" Sam asked.
"There are too many ravens to choose from, and I doubt there are any trees where he is right now. He has been spotted flying north over the narrow sea." Bran told him.
"I'd have thought he might've gone to old Valyria." Sam suggested.
Bran shook his head. "Drogon is looking for a dragonrider."
"How do you know?" Sam asked.
"Although I cannot understand what a dragon thinks, even when I enter its mind. I can feel the emotion it experiences. Drogon was feeling lonely." Bran cast his eyes down to his lap.
"He's feeling lonely?" Sam offered as Bran nodded. "I didn't know dragons could feel lonely." Sam's face dropped at the implication. "He's gone to look for Jon hasn't he?"
"He's gone to look for Prince Aegon." Bran corrected him.
"Is there a difference?" Sam asked.
The King turned to Sam and nodded his head. "The bond between the dragon and its rider is one that cannot be explained to those who have never experienced it. A dragon and its rider is like two lovers, they connect and change one another. The dragon bond is far stronger than any two people can ever imagine, I suppose love is the closest thing a human can experience to it."
"Did Bloodraven experience it my Lord?" Sam asked. "Did he give you any memories of the dragons?"
The King shook his head. "Dragons were long dead before Bloodraven was born as you well know, so even he had no true understanding of it." he raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Like Bloodraven, I believe it was a good thing they died out, the way they affected their riders produced unpredictable results. The meekest of boys could become the most vicious of men. The softest of women can become equally destructive."
"That would never happen to Jon." Sam shook his head in disbelief.
"What makes you so sure?" the King asked.
"Because Jon is good!" Sam said emphatically. "Yes he makes mistakes, but ultimately he is a good person."
The King nodded. "Like many before, myself included, Jon Snow will put his own needs aside for the greater good of the realm. But he is capable of sacrificing anyone, including those he loves the most if he thinks it is in the best interests of everyone. He always had dragonblood, it was just not clear to those who did not care to look. Prince Aegon will be capable of much more."
"Are you sure he will return as Prince Aegon and not Jon? Can they not both be the same? Are your visions that precise?" Sam asked.
"I have no visions regarding Jon Snow or Prince Aegon. He may have the blood of the first men flowing through his veins, but he has always been a dragon. Bloodraven had to resort to...alternative means to tame his fire instincts." Bran told him in such a way which unsettled Sam, he knew he wasn't going to like what he heard. "Ghost was Bloodravens way of tying Jon to the north. He allowed Jon to see through the eyes of Ghost in the form of dreams..."
Ghost has been Bloodraven spying on Jon all of this time?" Sam asked, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with this new information. Bran had never entirely opened up about his knowledge and its boundaries before, now he was, the truths were becoming disconcerting.
"And me." Bran admitted. "I've been watching him since he went north, giving him wolf dreams. A week ago I found his abilities blocked. Instead Jon would have dreams which would wake him with a fever. I suspect he was having dragon dreams. That was how I knew Drogon had finally left Dragonstone in search of Jon. At that time Jon was out on a hunt with five other wildlings. Then yesterday, his warg found all of the animals had disappeared and his eagle wanted to go back to camp in a state of terror. Jon must have been having dragon dreams as he commanded them to leave and take Ghost with them. He told them Drogon was going to kill him and didn't want anyone else getting hurt. Ghost was to return to camp so that he could be go to my sister as proof Jon was dead." Sam's jaw dropped. "I do not think Drogon went to kill him, he wants Jon to ride him."
"What will happen then?" Sam asked.
"I don't know Sam." Bran replied in a soft voice. "My visions of the future are clouded by the presence of a dragon and its rider in the process of bonding. I can only guess what will happen with existing knowledge of the intentions of those we know. Should Jon leave his exile, we may all be under threat." he sighed.
"Won't he stay away, so as not to provoke the Unsullied and the Dothraki?" Sam frowned.
Bran shook his head. "Daenerys instilled the belief into Drogon that the Iron Throne belonged to her. If Drogon seeks revenge, he will want Jon seated on the Iron Throne."
"But there is no Iron Throne. Drogon melted it. It can't exactly be rebuilt from the thousand foes of Aegon the Conqueror." Sam shrugged.
Bran laughed. "There wasn't a thousand swords in the throne which was melted, although the original chair did contain a thousand." Sam looked at Bran in surprise. "The original chair was much larger, but as the dragon skulls were placed in the Great Hall, there was little room for the swords, so they were gradually removed until only the throne which Drogon melted stood. The rest of the swords are kept in a vault underneath the Red Keep. The iron throne can be rebuilt."
"Jon doesn't want the iron throne, he didn't even want to be Lord Commander of the Night's Watch." Sam argued.
"Drogon was lonely, but he wanted revenge. Targaryens have a sense of entitlement, purpose and grandeurs of destiny, especially those with dragons." Bran said, which made Sam prick up his ears. It was true, when Jon first joined the Night's Watch, he had projected a sense of entitlement, simply because he was better than everyone else. Jon had joined with the romantic sense of purpose, and he suspected, a feeling of destiny.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Sam asked. "Having a sense of purpose?"
Bran shook his head. "Not if it threatens the realm Sam."
"The Unsullied and the Dothraki." Sam sighed.
"We need to protect ourselves from them. As of yet, we do not have an army to fight them, and we shouldn't have to either." Bran said sternly.
"But Jon is not in Westeros. They know we have no control over Drogon, can't we just tell them we don't know where he is?" Sam suddenly felt scared.
"Drogon has been living on Dragonstone since the Queen died. I am a known greenseer. Do you think either the Unsullied or the Dothraki will believe us?" Bran asked. "This is not our war, but we need men to defend ourselves. The Unsullied and the Dothraki are not our only enemies. Prince Aegon himself will become an enemy. He will want to remove me from power."
Sam shook his head. "He won't do that, he loves you. You are his brother."
"I am not his brother." Bran replied. "I may have been Jon Snow's half brother, but I am not the brother of Prince Aegon Targaryen. He is angry for his exile, not because he didn't want to go north, but because I separated him from his family."
"It wasn't your fault." Sam insisted. "He killed Dany, a woman he the Dothraki and Unsullied loved, of course they would revolt. How would anyone trust Jon again in the knowledge he was capable of killing the woman he loved?"
"Jon didn't truly love her." Bran shook his head. "He loved what she could do and believed she would be the one to save the world. Like many who came before him, driven by her beauty, he fell in love with idea of her and not the woman she truly was. She may have started out with good intentions, but instead of becoming Daenerys the Saviour, whom she wanted to be, she became Daenerys the Destroyer. Jon sacrificed everything for the realm, and as such must pay the price." he smiled. "He is angry he had to kill her for the sake of everyone else and be the one who is punished. Drogon is angry because his mother is dead and I became King. Dragon and rider feed from the emotions of one another. The dragon is awake and I can no longer temper Jon through the actions of Ghost. We have to resolve ourselves to the fact that my brother is dead. Prince Aegon may look like Jon, may sound like Jon, he may even act like Jon. But trust me, Prince Aegon is not Jon Snow. Let me ask you Sam, ff Jon had to sacrifice Gilly to save Winterfell and all of those in it, would you hold it against him if he did?" the King asked, as Sam went silent and looked at him.
"He wouldn't." Sam whispered, his face white with shock at the mere suggestion of it, yet the more Sam thought about it, he knew Jon would do it if he had to, which begged the question of what Prince Aegon would be capable of.
The King didn't initially respond, the sun had almost set and all that could be seen were the lights coming from the city and the light blue of the sky at what looked like the edge of the world. "Take me to the table and sit." he commanded Sam, who shuffled to the back of the wheelchair, turned it around and pushed it towards the table. the King nodded towards Sam who sat next to him in his usual spot opposite Tyrion's seat. "I have nothing to suggest Prince Aegon would need to do such a thing, so you have no need to worry for your family. But the fact you even considered it for a moment..." the King started.
"I know." Sam said sadly. "Why doesn't Drogon just kill everyone instead if he wants revenge?"
Grey eyes stared at Sam in a clear warning. "He still might, that is if Jon does not learn how to control him properly. Not that dragons can ever be controlled." he added, making Sam feel even more uncomfortable in the direction the conversation was going.
"Did you know it would take this long?" Sam asked. "You know, for Drogon to look for his rider." It had been almost two years since the long night.
The Kings face looked distant as he considered his answer. "Drogon needed to grieve his mother. Normally a dragon recovers fairly quickly after the death of its rider, but she was his mother. The circumstances in which Drogon hatched were unusual, even amongst Targaryens. His bond was that of a child and mother,instead of a normal dragon bond. Drogon had to let go before he could find his rider."
uncomfortable with the conversation, Sam decided to change the subject. "You wanted to see me about something."
"I want you to parley with Lord Baratheon at Storms End. I need his allegiance should war come to our shores. His men may be crucial to our battle."
"Did you see it in a vision?" Sam asked.
"I can't see into the future anymore." Bran reminded him. "I'm having to use common sense. I have knowledge passed down to me from Bloodraven, who once upon a time was Hand of the King to both Aerys I and Maekar I. I suppose that gives me some experience in handling these issues." he smirked.
"Is that why you sent Lord Tyrion north? To gain support from Winterfell should Jon turn up there?" Sam asked.
Bran nodded. "Lord Tyrion is one of the few people my sister trusts. I have explained to Lord Tyrion the effects of the dragonbond. I'm sure he will persuade Sansa to act accordingly. I cannot force her to ready her men, but I can warn her."
"Any word from Arya?" Sam asked. "Won't she be more inclined to side with Jon?"
"She is returning from Volantis, she has information regarding the dagger I gave her. She is to arrive at Storms End in the next week, you are to meet her there." Bran replied.
"And you want me to talk her into siding with you instead of Jon?" Sam frowned.
Bran nodded. "I'm hoping the dagger will help me engage with dragon dreams so I can find out what Prince Aegon is going to do. The blood of my mother was spilled on that dagger which awoke my greensight. I believe I may be able to stop the war if we can convince Arya it will save Jon. I am hoping it might break the dragon bond. She will need to return to Kings Landing with you and Lord Bronn."
"Why is he coming with me?" Sam asked.
"Not only is he Master of Coin, but he is an accomplished fighter." Bran pushed the small walnut wooden box with an ebony black circular inlay on top, over towards Sam. "Open it." he instructed, to which Sam complied. Inside there were the most beautiful red rubies Sam had ever seen. He looked at Bran up in confusion. "They were the rubies which were inlaid into the armour of Rhaegar Targaryen. His armour is currently displayed in the castle at Storms End, however the rubies are missing. They were scattered after Roberts warhammer struck Rhaegar's chest. Bloodraven had them collected and hidden. I have retrieved them for this is an occasion where a gift would be useful in negotiations. I want Lord Gendry to be reminded his father aligned with my father to fight against Jon's father. We need to keep the unity of Stark and Baratheon alive." he smiled. "I do have another option, but that would be more...complicated. But I believe this should be sufficient. He can have the stones set into the armour and display it properly as a reminder that his father was once King of Westeros."
Sam looked unconvinced. Gendry wasn't a materialistic man, but he wasn't going to voice his opinion. He knew Gendry was already loyal to the crown and didn't need to be bought. But Gendry was only one of the Kingdoms. "How are you going to convince the others to support you?"
"Lord Bronn is already accompanying you, he has pledged the allegiance of The Reach. Lord Tyrion is my hand and is concerned about Prince Aegon, so I have the support of the Westerlands. I only need to mention Aegon Targaryen and Dorne will side with me for the death brought to Princess Elia as a result of the tryst with my aunt which led to the birth of Prince Aegon. My Uncle Edmure is in charge of the Riverlands so I would expect him to side with me over a Targaryen usurper. Whoever way the north sides with, the Vale of Arryn will follow." Bran smiled. "Lord Baratheon's loyalty is the only one I have to give further attention to as he is close to my sister and she will be the hardest to win the support of. Which is why I am sending this gift to him."
Sam felt guilty, he was on the verge of sending his once best friend to his possible death. "Do you really hate Jon that much?" he asked in a small voice.
Bran shook his head. "I don't hate Jon, Sam. I hate dragons and what they can do. You've witnessed with your own eyes the devastation and destruction of an out of control dragon can cause. I cannot allow that to happen again. Drogon must be destroyed, and unless we can separate their bond, Jon will need to die too." his face dropped. "Now go Sam, say your goodbyes to Gilly and the babes for a while. And hurry back, I miss our conversations already." he smiled. He handed Sam the remaining scroll on the table in front of him. "These are Gendry's instructions, make sure he gets them."
Sam nodded. "Yes Your Grace." he bowed, turned towards the door and left. Once outside his face dropped, trying to prevent a tear rolling from his eyes. Sending Jon into exile was one thing, setting up a plot to kill him made him no different to Ser Alliser Thorne. Only this time, Sam would be just as complicit and there was nothing he could do about it.
Thank you for all of your wonderful comments. I am truly overwhelmed by them. As a result, it has encouraged me to write this chapter a little quicker than I expected. Which is why I'm posting it so soon after my earlier ones.
If you like this story, please like, follow and/or review. It helps motivate me to get the chapters written and published quicker.
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