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.

Jon VIII

Arya took charge of Winterfell with Ser Davos as her right hand man while Jon and Sansa spent the next two days flying around the remaining houses. Their first stop had been at Barrowtown and House Dustin. Lady Barbrey had survived the Long Night, and knew all about what had happened although they hadn't sent men to help them. Nor had they helped during the Battle of the Bastards. Jon and Sansa knew it was unlikely the old woman would help, but they needed to know why she was so cold to the family and if they could rectify the matter. Just to make matters worse, they arrived on dragonback, something which appeared to be a rather sore point with the matriarch. Such was her annoyance, Sansa was not received like the Queen she was, instead the old woman was defiant, which meant she had good reason.

They entered the gloomy great hall, where Lady Dustin was bedecked in a black woollen dress, with hints of gold jewellery, and sat on a huge chair, looking down on them with a cynical look. Her cheeks were pulled in so tight, Jon thought she looked like she was sucking on sour lemons.

"My Lady." Sansa said. "I am Que..." Sansa started.

"I know who you are." Lady Barbrey looked Sansa up and down. "You look like your mother." she turned to Jon. "You were once the bastard of Winterfell, and I still believed you were Ned's bastard, Jon Snow isn't it, even though I'd heard rumours you were a Targaryen. Then I saw that dragon land on my property. But more importantly I saw your face. No doubting who your father was." she spat. Jon looked at Sansa in surprise. Nobody had ever mentioned that he looked like anything other than a Stark. "All you are missing is the silver hair." she looked him up and down. "And you're shorter than him. He was quite tall."

"You met my father?" Jon frowned.

"Aye I did, saw him once, not long before he kidnapped your mother. Couldn't miss him. Handsome fella he was. I would've been smitten myself if I hadn't have been wed. then my husband was killed going on a mission with your father." she glared at Sansa. "He never had the decency to return Willam's bones to me." Jon knew that was the crux of the matter, she'd never been able to lay her husband to rest. To get her on their side, he knew he needed to make a bargain.

"They are in Dorne." Jon told her. "I might be able to find them for you." he offered.

"How? Do you know exactly where they are in Dorne? It is a big place." she snapped.

"I might be able to get that information from House Dayne." Jon told her, Sansa frowned at him.

"What does House Dayne have to do with it other than Ser Arthur being one of those involved in the melee which killed him?" the old woman asked, Jon picked up her voice was softening somewhat.

"Ser Arthur Dayne served my father to the bitter end. It was his job to protect my mother and I after my father died. Nobody knew she was carrying me. My uncle, Lord Eddard returned their house sword Dawn to House Dayne. I believe they would know where he is buried, along with your husband." Jon explained. "Your house was once loyal to House Targaryen and then to House Stark."

"What's your name boy? Your real name." Lady Barbrey asked.

"Aegon Targaryen." Jon almost whispered, he hated using that name, the comfort and anonymity of Jon Snow was beginning to appeal to him more and more, every time he uttered his birth name.

"Ha!" Lady Barbrey laughed. "Now that's more like it. Your father may have been a handsome bastard, but he was as arrogant as they came. He knew how to charm women, and bed them I suppose. You are not like your father, even though you have more reason for arrogance than he ever did. You have many tales told about you, either they are very tall or you are someone special. Which brings me to ask, if you are special, why have you come to see a crotchety old woman like me?"

"We need men." Jon said.

"The Unsullied are marching on Winterfell, they are planning a siege." Sansa explained.

"Do you not have a great fire-breathing winged beast outside, capable of burning cities to the ground?" Lady Dustin asked.

"Aye." Jon nodded. "But I am not the my grandfather, nor am I my aunt. I don't burn people, Drogon is bonded to me and I ride him like I would ride a steed. He is not a weapon."

"And your brother is the King of the Six Kingdoms. Can't he help?" she turned to Sansa.

"I suspect he was the one that sent them, although I can't entirely be certain. " Sansa explained. "I think he wants the north, all of the north including the Lands of Always Winter." Sansa replied. Jon had to hold his tongue, it had never occurred to him that Bran might want to rule the Freefolk as well. "This is your war because it will affect you in time."

"The Starks against the Targaryens, sound oh so familiar." Lady Barbrey sighed. "How many men will it take to make you remove that beast from my land?" she asked.

"Two hundred." Jon said. "Five hundred for the return of your husband." he added.

"Four hundred is all I can manage for the body of my husband. Take it or leave it." Lady Barbrey snapped.

Jon and Sansa looked at each other, they were desperate and every extra man would count. "Four hundred and we will return the body of your husband Lady Barbrey." Sansa smiled.

"Good, now leave." Lady Barbrey snapped as Jon pulled out a scroll. "This is where the men need to march to. The siege will start in a few days, and Winterfell is equipped to wait it out until all of our men arrive from various houses." he told her, turning to leave.

"Bring my husband back and I will forgive the sins of Lord Eddard." Lady Dustin called out.

"Thank you." Jon said.

"Thank you Lady Dustin." Sansa smiled, although Jon could tell it was false and Sansa was trying her hardest to hide her anger.

"You won't be able to hide it from Drogon." Jon warned her. "We don't want him burning House Dustin down before we get those four hundred men."

"She won't send four hundred, you'll be lucky to get the two hundred." she rolled her eyes. "Indignant, rude woman she is!"

Jon laughed. "She's old and I suspect her bed has been lonely for many a night. Enforced celibacy has turned her into a grumpy old crone."

"How do you know she never took a lover?" Sansa frowned.

"She wouldn't be so grumpy if she had." he laughed as Drogon soared into the air, heading to their next destination of Flints Finger.

The Flints were less disagreeable than Lady Dustin but no more hospitable. Clearly Drogon was making matters uncomfortable as Lord Flint agreed to six hundred men within moments of their arrival as long as they left immediately, which they did. This left Jon and Sansa with the tricky decision on where to go next. Their plan had been to visit Greywater Watch of House Reed, but the place was almost impossible to find unless you knew where to look because it moved and he suspected it blended into the background. Jon had hoped the aerial perspective might have allowed for a search, but it would require plenty of daylight, which would soon disappear, leaving them nowhere to spend the night. It didn't bother him for himself, but Sansa was a Queen and sleeping out on the forest floor was not befitting of a woman if such high status. He decided to circle the area once and if he couldn't see anything which remotely resembled a castle, then he would find an inn on the nearby Kingsroad.

With that knowledge in mind, Jon was surprised when they spotted something in the tree canopy, a shape which was large and out of place. On the ground it would have been impossible to spot, yet from above it was clearly a castle of some sorts, clearly not built in a traditional fashion, but Jon had seen enough castles from the air to know when to spot one. The only problem was how to land there and if they would even be welcome. As they flew in closer Jon saw a spot which was looked to be suitable, although he was concerned for Drogon's safety. Crannogmen were already on the ground, but there were no spears in their hands. Instead they were directing him where to land, and even more strangely, Drogon understood their commands and followed them as if he knew they were helping them.

They eventually landed on that looked like a giant lilly pad except it felt like it was made of steel and painted to look like one. Drogon shook his head, he clearly didn't like his surroundings, however when he saw the fresh meat the crannogmen had brought him, he soon settled down. Jon petted him, which seemed to soothe him.

"Easy there. You'll be alright." Jon smiled as the dragon curled up and pushed him away. Jon took Sansa by the hand and they followed the crannogmen to the castle itself, hopefully to meet the legendary Howland Reed, the man who had killed Ser Arthur Dayne.

The men led them inside the keep and into a large room, which was light and airy, very unlike most of the great halls. Instead of being built of stone, wood seemed to be the main construction material, with large windows and vines running through as rafters. The place was unusual, but there was a beauty to it which Jon couldn't pinpoint. On a dais at the far end of the room was an older man sat on a chair.

"Come here boy, let me look at you. My eyes aren't what they used to be." the man called out as Jon looked to Sansa before walking over to the man.

"Lord Reed." Jon said.

"Hmm, colouring of your mother but you look like your father. Last time I saw you, you were a babe in arms. Helped Ned carry you from Dorne." he smiled warmly. "Welcome Your Grace." he bowed his head to Jon who looked taken aback. "I believe this must be your beautiful wife Queen Sansa." he bowed his head over to her.

"Lord Reed." Sansa nodded back.

"Forgive me Your Grace, but I have waited over twenty years to see this boy." suddenly tears sprung from Lord Reed's eyes. "I will let you both rest tonight and we will discuss matters tomorrow. It suspect you have had a long day." he said.

"How did you know we were coming?" Jon asked.

"My seer had a block in his vision. Bonded dragons do that, block the visions of a greenseer. We were able to work out where to be before the vision disappeared, and then we simply waited for you." Howland explained. "I will have one of my men show you to your chambers for the night."

"Lord Reed, is Meera here?" Sansa asked.

Howland dropped his eyes and shook his head. "I will explain everything on the morrow Your Grace. I believe you have a long journey ahead of you tomorrow and I have much to discuss. I will send up food and wine to allow you to have a good night's rest." he offered. "As I am also in need of one." he added as two small men escorted Jon and Sansa to their chambers.

The next morning Jon felt well rested. The bed had been wonderfully comfortable and the food as delicious as anyone would expect from a great house. However Jon had a feeling they were about to be told they couldn't have men, which meant their stay was for nothing. They broke their fast in their chambers and were invited to join Lord Reed in his solar straight afterwards. Jon knew, whatever Lord Reed wanted to say, it needed to be said in private, otherwise the conversation would have taken place with witnesses.

They sat in the solar opposite Lord Reed, sipping on a delicious hot tea which Jon had never tried before. If this had been anyone else, he wouldn't have trusted the drink, but Howland Reed had been the only man outside of Ned and possibly uncle Benjen, who knew of Jon since his birth and had never said a word. Despite never having had any interaction with the man before today, this man had guarded Jon's life since his birth, thus Jon knew he was his most trusted ally. On the table was a large set of scrolls and a small chest as well as a wooden box.

"I hope you don't mind." Howland started off. "But I would prefer it if we all used our given names instead of formalities. It is our custom here." Jon and Sansa nodded in agreement. "And how do you prefer to be addressed, do you prefer to use the name Jon or Aegon?" he asked.

"Jon." he replied.

Howland nodded. "As you know, I am aware of your plight with the Unsullied. However I cannot pledge my men to your cause because the King has Meera held in Kings Landing." he told them sadly. "If I go against their wishes, I..." he started, but Sansa put her hand on his arm.

"Do not worry, I fully understand." she said. "You would have pledged the men when she came to visit."

Howland nodded. "It won't matter. But there will be a great war and House Reed will not be able to help while Bran has Meera. However, should you need a place to stay, Greywater Watch will always be visible to you and Drogon will be cared for.

"Thank you Howland." Jon said, his heart sinking at the lack of men, but he fully understood the man's reasoning. He was about to get up when the crannogman stopped him.

"Do not leave yet. I have something for you." Howland. "Something you may find of interest to you." he pushed one of the larger scrolls over to Jon and Sansa. There was no seal on it, instead just a piece of ribbon tied around it. "I waited for your visit to give these to you."

Jon opened the first one and he saw a drawing of a woman, one who looked almost like Arya, except she wore a dress, her hair was longer and her face showed a joyous smile. Jon frowned. "I don't understand."

"Lyanna." Howland explained. "Your mother. I believe you have never seen an image of her face before. "I've always been one to draw and paint, it comes in useful when you have a moving castle, you need to remember your surroundings. But I always had a soft spot for drawing people. When I was young, I spent a lot of time with your mother, we were very good friends. I would have loved it to be more, but her heart belonged to another."

"You knew Lyanna and Rhaegar were in love?" Sansa frowned.

"As did many." Howland nodded. "Although most believed it was an infatuation on his part and an excuse to escape her marriage to Robert on hers. Nobody dared utter the words which Robert did not want to hear, nor your grandfather and certainly not your uncle Brandon."

"Why not?" Jon was confused.

"To think a girl as young as your mother would run away with a married man and end a powerful alliance between two families of power was unthinkable. A girl could not make that sort of decision, it was not hers to make. Or so Lord Stark and your uncle Brandon believed. For them her running away with the crown prince would be humiliating. Breaking a betrothal like that comes with a heavy price. Robert was convinced she was besotted with him, so he would never have believed she ran away with a Prince who was more fond of songs and poems than he the great warrior." Howland smiled.

"Why?" Sansa asked.

"Because she was a fierce fighter herself. Robert expected her to want to talk of war and fighting. Instead Rhaegar offered her roses and songs." Howland laughed.

"Could you imagine us believing Arya would voluntarily run off with someone like that?" Jon asked Sansa, as they both chuckled. "Our sister is very much like Lyanna, I doubt anyone would believe she would voluntarily leave with someone like that."

"I think Ned knew the truth, as did Benjen, but they would never have been able to talk Lord Stark or Brandon into the truth, and certainly not Robert. Benjen was thought to be too young to understand such matters and Ned was too close to Robert to believe his sister would betray him like that. It made no matter. Rickard and Brandon were burned by the mad King and that started the war." Howland shrugged. "The truth of Lyanna's betrayal disappeared into the depths of what suited the narrative for war. People wanted rid of Aerys, and this was a good enough excuse. A man hears what he wants to hear when he is minded for war." Howland pushed another scroll, much like the other towards Jon, who unrolled it. There he saw a face, much like his own staring back at him.

"Rhaegar." Sansa whispered.

Howland nodded. "Is this the first image you have seen of him?" he asked.

They both nodded. Sansa looked at Jon in shock. "How did King Robert not see who you were when he came to Winterfell?" she asked.

"He saw what he wanted to see, Ned Stark's bastard, someone who made him feel better about himself considering how many he had fathered." Jon shook his head, staring at the image as Howland pushed another one towards them.

This time it was an image of both Lyanna and Rhaegar together under a tree. Rhaegar was holding a harp, there were teardrops in Lyanna's eyes and a crown of roses on her lap.

"You drew these at the tourney of Harrenhal?" Sansa asked as Howland nodded. Jon noticed tears in Sansa's eyes. "They are beautiful."

"They belong to you." he told Jon. "And your children, when the time comes. I believe these may be the only images of either of them in the Kingdom. Robert destroyed every trace of Targaryen imagery in Kings Landing and your father made sure nobody would know the face of your mother. I suspect Robert's wine addled memory helped serve the purpose of forgetting what the woman he obsessed about looked like."

"Thank you." Jon smiled. "I couldn't think of a greater gift."

"Should you ever wish to hear the truth, I suggest you travel to House Dayne. Their libraries will contain everything which is needed to be heard. They said they would keep the secret." Howland told them.

"We will have to visit House Dayne if we beat the Unsullied." Sansa sighed. "Jon promised to give Lady Dustin the remains of Lord Dustin in exchange for four hundred men, if he could find them."

"Well, now that I can be of more help with." Howland smiled, standing up and rummaging through some scrolls on shelves behind him. "Ah, here we are." he pulled a small one out and opened it. The parchment contained a detailed map of Dorne, specifically an area close to the Princes Pass. On it a circle was drawn around a place called the Tower of Joy. "That is where you were born." Howland told him. "Ned and I pulled it down, but the cairns are there containing the bodies of the the men who died. His sword contained an amber pommel." he added. "One more thing before you leave." he pushed the box over towards them and Jon opened it. Inside was a blue and silver dragon egg looking back at him. "I believe it was supposed to be yours, but fate intervened and you already have a dragon. This was found by Prince Rhaegar himself at the Red Lake. Believed to have been laid by Silverwing herself. We also found this chest in the tower, it contains diaries and letters. I think they are meant for you." Howland explained. "I have kept them hidden, waiting for this day. Now this is all yours. Maybe you can read some of them while waiting for your men to help with the siege." he smiled.

Jon was stunned. He was overwhelmed by what he had just been given. Howland wasn't giving him just pictures and words, this was his identity, as it would be for his descendants. "I...I cannot thank you enough." he whispered.

"End the wars Aegon Targaryen. That name was given to you for a reason." Howland smiled and stood up, to which Jon and Sansa followed suit. He shook Jon's hand and kissed Sansa's before bowing to them both. "I wish you good fortune in the wars to come, Your Grace's."

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