Chapter 12: Jon Connington

Jon glanced at the King, the man had been silent since they'd started their journey earlier today. He'd barely said anything at dinner the night before either. Given that the King was usually full of jokes and light-hearted quips, it was fair to say that Jon was worried, deeply so. He suspected he knew what had caused the King's silence, and he wanted to discuss it. But until the King brought the matter up himself, he was not going to. Etiquette dictated as much.

Instead, they rode in silence, the only sounds being the horses' hooves on the solid ground and the wheels of the wagons. They were roughly half a day's ride from Ghoyan Drohe, from where they'd board a ship toward Dagger Lake. And in that time, Jon hoped a whole host of things would happen.

A whole host of things needed to happen.

"Even though I understand the reasoning for why we could not stay for the wedding, I still think it was foolish." The King said then, his voice deep.

The King sounded so much like his father at times that Jon had to blink and thoroughly remind himself that the King was not Rhaegar. For one thing, he was far more muscular than Rhaegar had been.

"We do not want to raise attention to Your Grace, Sire." Jon said, reciting the words he had long since memorised, even if he no longer believed them.

The King snorted. "You mean Illyrio does not want all his eggs in one basket."

Jon was about to deny that, and say that the cheesemonger was loyal, but he stopped himself. He had had his own occasion through the years to doubt the cheesemonger's loyalty. Especially when it had been the cheesemonger rather than the Spider who had insisted he serve with the Golden Company for a time before joining the King.

Of course, the King was far too perceptive to allow the silence not to go unanswered. "Do you agree with my statement, Lord Connington?"

The use of his title told Jon that it was the King who was speaking to him, not the boy Aegon, and as such, Jon had to reply honestly-one could not lie to one's King after all, especially not the Dragon- "I agree with you, Sire." He replied.

"Go on." The King said, not even looking at him.

"Illyrio Mopatis is a man who is cautious and careful. He will know that keeping Your Grace separate from Their Highnesses reduces the risk of the Usurper's knives from finding you all in one place and removing you in one stroke. He also knows that you are by far more valuable, Your Grace, as Prince Rhaegar's son, and therefore, he will wish to keep you separate from Prince Viserys so as not taint you by association." Jon said. That was the reasoning he had been given by the cheesemonger when he'd first come to Pentos, all those years ago. It was a reasoning that he had thought through in the years since.

"Even though having Viserys and Daenerys with me would help prove who I am to those who do not yet know." The King said.

"Yes, Sire." Jon replied. "It is not a sensible plot from the cheesemonger, but it is one that has kept you safe for some time."

The King snorted again and derisively said. "And it has left my uncle and aunt as beggars, and if Ser Arthur is to be believed, my uncle has become quite mad. Some great work there."

Jon exhaled and looked around the King to where Ser Arthur was. The man did not wear the white of the Kingsguard, but as Lord Commander, he rode at the King's left hand-side. He looked straight ahead, no doubt scouting for any trouble, but Jon knew from experience that the man would be listening and observing as well.

That Prince Viserys was mad, was perhaps not all that surprising. Jon remembered what the Prince had been like as a boy, and he had been the mirror image of Aerys. Demanding, arrogant and full of himself. And there had been that incident with a cat, Princess Rhaenys cat. Jon pushed that thought out of his mind and instead focused on what he had planned on telling the King once they'd left Pentos.

"I have a solution to that issue, Your Grace."

The King looked at him then, his eyebrows raised.

"We know that the Dothraki will be arriving into Pentos soon, I propose we send some of the Companions back to Pentos to scour for locations where they can reside." Jon said. "When the opportune moment comes, the Companions will make themselves known to the Prince and assist him in taking his sister and himself out of Pentos and to us."

The King looked at him and asked. "How sure are you that this will work? After all, how do we know Viserys will even believe that the Companions are who they say they are?"

"Ser Aerys Rivers, one of the men who accompanied Prince Viserys to Braavos is amongst the Companions. He is a man known to Prince Viserys and someone who has helped him in times of need. As is another member of the companions, Bronn." Jon answered.

The King looked at Jon and asked. "You are sure that this will work?"

"I am. The Companions are loyal to Your Grace, they are men that Your Grace, myself and Ser Arthur have all selected. None of them will report anything to the Cheesemonger. And they all carry the mark of the Dragon, something Prince Viserys will know from his childhood." Jon said.

For a moment, he thought that the King might reject the plan, say it was too dangerous, too risky, Jon knew that that was what Prince Rhaegar would have done. But instead, the King nodded and said. "Get the men ready, I want to meet them when we get to Ghoyan Drohe, and I want them to know where to meet us."

"Yes, Your Grace." Jon replied, bowing his head.

The King faced forward again, prompting Jon to do the same, and they rode on in silence for a time. But just when Jon was getting used to the silence, the King said. "I want word sent to your man in Braavos, Ser Arthur. Let him inform Ser Oswell that he is to come with my brother to Volantis, without delay."

Jon opened his mouth to protest, Rhaegar's son by Lyanna Stark was an issue that they needed to address properly. Especially with everything else going on, they couldn't just bring the boy into the fray like that. If Prince Viserys was there when the boy showed up, who knew what would happen. Especially as the boy apparently looked more like his mother than his father.

But at a look from the King, he closed his mouth and said nothing. Evidently the King had made his mind up, and one did not argue with the Dragon.