JON

He felt the southern air of the Riverlands tug at the few loose curls that had escaped the leather tie that kept his unruly hair from being constantly in his eyes, and he felt a smile stretch across his face.

After spending so much time in the Twins, finding those guilty of betraying Robb, holding trials, and making sure that the lords were all on his side so that they could try and negotiate terms of surrender from the Lannisters holding Riverrun, he felt the urgent need to ride Rhaegal to clear his head.

In the last few months, he had only grown more convinced that there was nothing better to clear one´s head than flying on the back of a dragon. It was like all his troubles seemed smaller and more manageable than before and it became easier to think.

He closed his eyes for a moment and just listened to the beating of the gigantic, leathery wings of Rhaegal and Viserion, and as he felt the comforting heat of the emerald dragon he was riding, a wave of calm wash over him.

When he opened his eyes once again Jon could see the Green Fork stretch out to the horizon like a deep wound in the landscape, as little farms dotted the green earth below them.

But as Jon looked longer at the ground, he could feel a frown replace the smile that had made its way onto his face. He could see that many of the farmhouses were in ruins, and most of the farmlands were overgrown and seemed been abandoned for some time.

It would take a lot of time for the smallfolk of the Riverlands to rebuild their lives or even some resemblance of it after the horrors of the War of the Five Kings.

As he watched the ruins of the farms below them as they flew over the Riverlands, the realization of the destruction that war among the highborn brought upon the smallfolk hit him like it had never before.

He had known for a long time how the smallfolk could suffer when the lords and ladies of the realm fought their wars. Jon had known since he had bothered to get to know his brothers of the Nights Watch and stopped pretending that he was better than them because he was raised in a castle.

Just thinking about how naive he had been, made him want to cringe with embarrassment and hide his face in his hands.

Then suddenly, he felt Rhaegal swoop down making Jon´s stomach drop. They only dropped down a few meters before they climbed even higher into the sky than before.

Jon could feel Rhaegal´s happy and teasing mood as his own, and he couldn't help but to let out a small laugh as the dragon let out a short joyful shriek that Viserion echoed as he trailed a short distance behind them.

He shook his head as they continued their flight over the Riverlands, scouting a head of the army. He felt that it was a good excuse as any, so that he might enjoy a brief pause in entertaining the lords and make him feel a little more useful than he normally did on their march south.

Entertaining the lords and making sure that the men´s moral was high was extremely important and he knew that this was something that he needed to do and do well. But there were times that all he wanted to do was to sit in silence and think, and the moments he could do that were getting fewer and further in between.

A sharp nudge in his mind from Rhaegal pulled at him, making him look to the west. While Jon couldn't see anything with his own eyes, Rhaegal´s sense of smell indicated that a group of men, likely the size of a small army was coming their way.

Rhaegal´s sense of smell, while not as powerful and accurate as Ghost´s, was more than good enough to identify the men´s presence and locate them with such accuracy that the dragon would have no problem finding them within seconds of picking up their smell.

It only took Jon a moment to decide to fly over to them to see what kind of banner the gathered host flew, if only to see if the men were Lannister supporters.

Jon didn't think that it was likely as they were in the Riverlands, and the men of the West weren't well loved here, even though most of the Riverlords had surrendered after Robb´s murder.

He looked back down at the ground to give the destroyed farms one more glance. He felt a need to burn the image into his memory, so that he would never forget the horrors that the smallfolk had suffered when the Highborn fought amongst themselves.

As Jon and the dragons made their way West to meet the army marching towards them, he made sure that Rhaegal and Viserion where both flying high and out of range of any arrows just in case.

He doubted that the dragons would be amused if any archers started to let arrows loose on them and he wanted to be out of range in case that the men had managed to construct scorpions and were traveling with them.

Jon had no doubt in his mind that when more and more people started to learn that he had dragons, the lords and those in power that were fighting against him would start constructing scorpions to try and shot down the dragons.

The scorpions where the only things that they knew of that could actually kill a dragon when they were in the air that wasn't another dragon, and if they had good engineers and enough money and raw materials, they could make relatively reliable weapons, but even then, scorpions were heavy and not that accurate. That however would not mean that Jon wouldn't be cautious when it came to the dragon's health and welfare.

But the more Jon thought about it, the unlikelier he thought it was that the men making their way north to the Twins were working with the Lannisters.

The lord closest to the Twins and most likely marching towards them was lord Jason Mallister, the lord of Seagard.

Both lord Edmure and Ser Brynden had spoken well of the man and said that lord Jason´s son and heir, Patrek Mallister had been in Robb´s battle guard.

As they flew closer and closer to the source of the smell that Rhaegal had found, Jon´s suspicions of who had gathered men was proven right.

He watched as the purple banner and the silver eagle of the Mallister´s of Seagard appeared on the horizon, and he made sure that Rhaegal announced their arrival before they could spot them in the sky.

Rhaegal let out one of his shrieking roars that carried all around them and as he sat on the emerald dragon´s back, he could feel it vibrate all though his body and tug at his gut.

Almost as soon as Rhaegal´s roar died on the air, Viserion let out one of his own and together they climbed a little higher in the sky, while still being able to spot the army with ease.

Even though he was so high in the air, he could make out how the horses became frightened, and the men stopped their marching and looked at Rhaegal and Viserion in shock.

As they passed the men, he could see riders travel up and down the column of soldiers, trying to restore order among the ranks.

When Rhaegal turned around, Jon spotted a grassy hill that was far enough away from the men that they couldn't attack him, and close enough for him to meet with lord Mallister and for the men to see them, so that they would be assured of their lord´s safety.

Rhaegal landed on top of the hill with all the grace of a dancer and lowered his shoulder so Jon could easily make his way of his back and on to the ground safely, as Viserion continued to fly high in the air above them. It filled Jon with a strange sort of longing to join him, and not for the first time he was filled with awe that only moments ago he and Rhaegal had been soaring in the sky with him.

Jon laced his fingers behind his back and took a few steps forward, making it clear that he had dismounted and wanted to speak to the lord of Seagard.

As he watched a few men on horses, grouped together, most likely to have a rushed meeting about if it was safe for the lord to approach himself or if he should send a representative in his stead as Jon basked in the reassuring heat of Rhaegal that seeped into his bones as they waited.

Rhaegal, in true draconic impatience, let out sharp shriek as if trying to hurry the men up. Jon glanced back at the emerald dragon and offered him a small smile of amusement, before turning back to the men, who had clearly gotten the message.

He watched as a few of the men rode from the column of soldiers and headed towards where they had landed.

The man at the head of the riders was tall and carried himself as bravely as any man could when riding towards an enormous dragon.

The riders stopped at the foot of the hill, and the tall man dismounted and handed the reins to one of his men. Two guards hurriedly dismounted as well, and Jon watched them was they made their way up the hill.

The man leading them was tall indeed and he was clean shaven with blue grey eyes and high cheekbones that Jon noticed was prominent in the nobility of the Riverlands.

Jon watched the man´s eyes darted between Jon and Rhaegal in such astonishment that Jon almost thought that the man´s eyes would pop out of his skull in a few moments. "Are you lord Jason Mallister?" Jon asked taking in the silver eagle on the purple field that was sewn onto the man´s doublet.

"Indeed, I am, your grace." The man gave him a deep bow, which the two guards hurriedly copied while trying their best not to take their eyes of Rhaegal´s massive form.

Jon raised an eyebrow at the fact that the man had called him your grace. Lord Edmure´s raven to Seagard had most likely only just arrived, and Jon doubted that lord Mallister had read it as the man would have been on the march for days since he was now so close to the Twins.

"My apologies for Rhaegal´s impatience my lord; Dragons, I am afraid don´t like to wait. But if I may ask my lord, what are you doing moving north with an army?"

Jon made sure that there was no accusation in his tone, only curiosity. It wouldn't do to anger the man needlessly when he wanted the man´s support.

The man stared at him wide eyed before finding his voice. "When I heard that you were making your way south to avenge the Red Wedding, I knew that I had to come."

"You were on your way to the Twins?"

"Yes, indeed. I had plans to lay siege to the western tower while you and the Northern lords and the knights of the Vale moved in from the North, but I see now that I was too late."

"You had already heard that the knights of the Vale had joined us?" Jon asked curiously.

"Yes indeed, we have been hearing all sorts of rumors for weeks now, some more unbelievable than others I must say; but I knew that King Robb´s broth…cousin wouldn't let his murder go unanswered."

The older man´s eyes seemed to seek out the gigantic dragon behind Jon and he could see both fear and wonder in the Riverlord´s eyes. "Your grace, if I may ask; how did you hatch those dragons and how did you keep them a secret for so long?"

"I didn´t."

"I don't understand your grace…" The man said uncertainly.

Jon glanced at the pale and golden dragon that was flying high above them. "Rhaegal and Viserion were not hatched by me, they came to me from Essos, while the other four dragons are in Winterfell, guarding my family."

The man´s eyes widened in surprise at Jon´s words. "So, it is true that lord Rickon is alive and well? And that you saved him and ladies Shireen Baratheon and Sansa Stark from the Bastard of Bolton?"

"Lady Shireen was saved from her father by Ser Devan Seaworth, her sworn shield when lord Stannis intended to burn her alive, and Queen Sansa saved herself from Ramsay Snow with the help from Theon Greyjoy and Ser Brienne of Tarth." Jon said and watched the man stare at him in surprise at his words.

"Queen Sansa? So, it is true that you married your cousin and made her your Queen?" When Jon nodded to confirm the man´s question, lord Mallister looked hesitant before speaking once again.

"And Theon Turncloak helped save King Robb´s sister?"

"Aye, he did."

The man before him looked troubled. "So, he didn't murder lords Brandon and Rickon Stark and saved King Robb´s sister. We all thought that he was a monster in human disguise after his betrayal of King Robb."

"He didn't murder Bran and Rickon and he did help save Queen Sansa from a monster, and he himself was tortured by Ramsay Snow. But he still betrayed Robb and murdered two farmers boys and many of the people in Winterfell."

"What will you do with him when you find him?" The man asked Jon in a curious tone and Jon felt like the man´s blue gray eyes seemed to bore into him as he waited for Jon to answer.

"I don't know, but Theon Greyjoy is not my immediate concern right now. Rather taking back Riverrun and restoring lord Edmure Tully as the lord paramount of the Riverlands."

"Lord Edmure is alive and well?" As Jon confirmed that lord Edmure was alive, lord Mallister looked relived. "Thank the gods for that, we feared the worst when we heard that he was at the mercy of Walder Frey and his brood."

"Lord Walder and those who helped in the Red Wedding have been punished and we are moving toward Riverrun, lord Edmure has sent letters to all his vassal lords that they should rouse their men and march on Riverrun."

"Then lord Edmure has declared for you, your grace?" The man asked, with nervousness coloring his tone.

"Aye, he has, and he told me that he has instructed his lords to follow his lead."

The tall man looked even more nervous than before. "Your grace, I don't know if you know this, but I fought against house Targaryen in the rebellion and I slew three of your fathers bannermen myself."

"I am not my father, my lord, and I am certainly not my grandfather." Jon said in a calm but measured tone. "Aerys Targaryen needed to be dethroned and while I would have preferred it to be done bloodlessly, there is no point for us to endlessly wonder and wish it had been different as we cannot change the past. And on the fact that you killed three of my father's bannermen, you were in a battle and if given half the change they would have done the same to you."

The man blinked at him. "I must confess, that when I heard of your existence and that you were the true heir to the Iron throne, I didn't know what to expect but I can see now that your lord uncle raised a good man and true."

"I thank you my lord. I think it is time for us to stop living in the past and start concentrating on coming together and build a better future for us all." Jon gave the man a small smile which was heartily returned.

"Yes, I think that you have the right of it, my King."

JAIME

Glory nickered under him and tossed his chestnut mane as they rode through the unnaturally quiet encampment with Bronn and Ser Addam Marbrand at his sides, and even though the colorful banners of the houses of the Westerlands were flying proudly all around them, it reminded Jaime more of a funeral than a war camp.

He rubbed his eyes and tried to ignore the burn that flared in them as he fought to keep them open. He was so exhausted and all he wanted to do was to go back to his chambers and lie down on the soft bed and take a nap.

His dreams had been haunted with specters of white and shades with indigo eyes, asking him why he had failed Rhaenys, Aegon and Elia, as Jaime begged them to understand that he hadn´t known that his father had already send his men into the Red keep and that the children and their mother were being murdered while he sat on the Iron throne while staring at Eddard Stark´s judging eyes.

Since he had learned of how Eddard Stark had managed to hide the last son and heir to Rhaegar Targaryen, the dreams had come back to haunt him with vengeance, making sure that he didn't get a good night´s sleep.

Jaime felt irritation as a chilly gust of wind from the North rushed at his face as Ser Addam Marbrand sent him a concerned look, as they rode though the encampment of the Lannister army, and he knew that it would be hours before he could lie down into his feather bed in his quarters in Riverrun.

Jaime glanced to his side where the usually smug and confident sellsword was riding beside him and he felt himself growing unnerved by the man´s unusually silent and serious countenance.

Ever since he had heard about Rhaegar´s second son in the North, who was rumored to have hatched dragons, Bronn had grown quiet and serious like everyone else at Riverrun.

Jaime was nervous as well, but he made sure that he didn't let it show, for if he did all hell would break loose and the men would desert in droves.

The news of Jon Targaryen and his newly hatched dragons were already spreading throughout the encampment like wildfire, and some of the rumors even went so far as to say that the boy had been murdered and risen from the dead with the dragons from a great pyre.

Already they had to hang three dozen men for trying to run back to the Westerlands, who were now hanging at the edges of the encampment to dissuade others to try and run away in the dark of night.

His father had made sure that Jaime understood the importance of having proper discipline installed into the men fighting under his command.

But ever since the siege at Riverrun against the Blackfish, Jaime had started to have his doubts about the lessons that his father had imparted with him and his sister.

Jaime felt ashamed of himself for having threatened Edmure Tully to catapult his son at the Walls of the castle that he found it hard to look at himself in the looking glass.

He knew that it had allowed him to take the castle bloodlessly and he had never had any intentions of following through with the threats, and he had been confident that Edmure Tully would have believed Jaime capable of catapulting the infant at the Walls of Riverrun.

Three years ago, the man would most likely been right, but now every time he thought about the threats he had made, he was haunted by the image of little Tommen or sweet Myrcella being thrown at the walls of Casterly Rock.

He could see the terrified look in Tully blue eyes as a small boy fell to the ground, to be broken beyond repair. A small child with all his future ahead of him, doomed to spend the rest of his life without the use of his legs, until he was betrayed and murdered by a boy who had been raised alongside him as another brother.

His green eyes flickered to the cold metal hand that covered his stump, even though the hand that had thrown Brandon Stark out of that tower was gone, the sins of his actions still remined.

Jaime could almost hear his father snarl at him, the lion doesn't concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.

He fought an eye roll at his father's mantra that echoed in his head.

But does the dragon concern himself with the opinion of the lion? He asked his father´s echo.

What would Rhaegar´s son do when he came here to Riverrun, and found the man that had killed his grandfather and allowed the mountain and Amory Lorch to kill Elia Martel, and his siblings?

The atmosphere in the encampment around Riverrun was somber, as news had started to reach the men that Rhaegar´s trueborn son by Lyanna Stark was believed to be making his way south to the Riverlands to avenge the death of his cousin at the Red Wedding with four dragons at his side.

Jaime wasn´t really worried about the dragons yet, as they could only have been hatched recently and according to the maester at Riverrun and everything that Tyrion had ever told him when they spoke about his favorite subject, the Targaryen dragons had taken years to grow to the size that would allow even children to ride them.

If he remembered correctly then it had taken Morning, the last dragon who had taken a rider, eight or nine years to be large enough to allow even the small sized Rhaena Targaryen to ride him.

So, he wasn't that worried about the dragons for now.

"How many men can we house in the castle?" Jaime asked his childhood friend, Ser Addam, who was riding on his other side.

"Not enough should the boy really come south."

Bronn snorted. "Oh, he will, make no mistake."

"Have you heard anything new?" Addam asked, and Jaime would have to have been deaf not to hear that Addam didn't like the sellsword, from the man´s tone of voice alone.

Bronn shot the man an irritated look. "The Freys betrayed his brother or cousin, depending on who you ask, so he will want revenge for that and after that, there is a Frey right here as well that he might want to punish for the treachery of his family."

Jaime could see the truth of his words as plain as day. If a person had done something like what his own father had done with Walder Frey and Roose Bolton, he would have raged and charged at the Twins to avenge his family.

Addam said nothing to the sellsword, and Jaime could see that Bronn´s words made sense to him as well.

For a few hours they made their way through the encampments, making sure that everything was in order and for the soldiers to see them and to keep the moral from plummeting even further.

But when they were halfway through the camp, they could see Genna and her worthless husband ride towards them, and Jaime noticed that Emmon´s stunning grey stallion was not completely under the man´s control.

He could hear Bronn snigger as the horse tried to follow a mare in heat that was passing by, rather than to listen to Emmon, but the weasel like man managed to rein in his stallion.

Emmon Frey looked like an overly large vulture that was trying and failing to launch himself into the air as the man´s thick cloak flapped around his shoulders with every movement of the grey mount.

When they finally reached the three men, Jaime could see that his uncle was paler than he had ever seen him, while Genna looked very irritated.

"We need to talk." Emmon spat out, his eyes were wild with both fear and fury.

"Calm down Emmon, we didn't need to ride out here to talk to Jaime, we could have waited for them to return to the castle." Genna was still rightfully angry at her husband for having sent Edmure Tully to the Twins.

"What is going on?" Jaime looked between the two, as his aunt gave her husband the angriest stare that he had seen in a long time.

But he was ignored. "But he needs to know now, there is not a moment to lose."

"It is better to wait until we are inside." She hissed at Emmon in anger and Jaime thought for a moment that she would hit him.

"But-."

"Stop this foolishness Emmon, you made me ride out here after you, to stop you from doing something stupid once again, and you will listen to me."

Jaime kept looking between them. "What is going on?"

Genna around them discreetly before she answered. "I think that it is best to discuss it in private."

Emmon opened his mouth to protest, but he was silenced by an angry glare from his wife.

While Jaime didn't like having to go back to the castle without finishing his inspection of the camp, but there was a worried look on his aunt Genna´s face which made it clear that Jaime needed to hear what she had to say.

They hurriedly rode back to the castle and followed Genna and Emmon to the lord´s solar of Riverrun.

As they entered Emmon shot Bronn a ugly look. "This is a matter for lords, not common sellswords."

"Uncle Emmon, Ser Bronn is here at my behest." Emmon was not happy with Jaime´s words but he didn't say anything else and only sent Bronn a hateful look, which the sellsword only smirked at.

"Lady Genna, what is going on?"

Genna shooed her husband out of the lord´s chair and sat down in it herself, before answering Addam.

Jaime had to fight the smile which wanted to spread over his face at seeing his aunt practically throw her husband out of the chair and show them all who really ruled the castle.

"We have had word from my people in the Crownlands, Ser Davos Seaworth has taken Dragonstone in his new King´s name, and the Crownlords and the lords of the Narrow sea have all declared for Jon Targaryen."

Addam swore quietly. "Are you sure my lady? They have all going over to this Northern Targaryen?"

"Yes, I am sure, and they have started so block any access to the capital by sea, and now that the Tyrells have stopped suppling King´s Landing with food, there have been some riots in the city as food is getting harder to come by."

Jaime could feel the worry about little Tommen, who was still in the city. He should have insisted that Tommen be taken to Casterly Rock for his safety, but he knew that his sister would never have agreed to have her last living child taken away from her.

Just thinking about Cersei brought the burning fury back in his gut.

After his aunt had told him what Cersei had done, he felt horror and a sense of failure that his own sister had started down the path that Aerys had begun.

If she could burn down the Great Sept of Baelor when it was filled with people, she was capable of finishing Aerys´s work.

"So, the boy has three of the Seven Kingdoms without even reaching Riverrun." Addam was looking more worried than Jaime had even known that he was capable of.

"Indeed," Genna nodded stiffly. "he now has the North, the Vale and the Crownlands, and when the Riverlords learn that he is making his way south to avenge the Red Wedding, they will most likely rally to his side."

"Without a doubt." Addam rubbed his brow in expiration. "The boy will have control over more than half the continent before ever stepping a foot in the Riverlands to go to King´s Landing."

Bronn leaned back in his chair. "Well, we are fucked."

Emmon seemed to have had enough of being silent. "Tell them about the other thing, tell them."

Genna shot her husband another angry look before speaking. "I was getting to that." It was clear that Genna was getting tired of her husband now that he no longer lived-in fear of Tywin´s wrath. "There have been rumors that Jon Targaryen is already heading towards the Twins at this moment to avenge the Red Wedding."

"Have you heard where he is or when he is expected to arrive?" Jaime found himself asking.

"No, I have not. It is getting harder and harder to get information since everyone is preparing for another war." There was something in her eyes that made it like she was hiding something. "And it is harder to separate the rumors from the truth."

This piped Jaime´s interest. He had been hungry for any news about Rhaegar´s last surviving child and a part of him wanted to meet him again.

Jaime was going to ask, but Genna silenced him with a look. Making it clear that they were going to talk about it when they were alone.

He turned to Bronn and Addam. "Prepare the men for a siege but let's try and be ready for a march as soon as we can, in case we will need to."

Bronn and Addam looked like they wanted to say and hear more of Rhaegar´s son, but they relented and left the solar.

When they had left the solar, Jaime turned to face his aunt. "What rumors were you talking about?"

Genna turned to face her husband. "Emmon leave us, I have some things to discuss with my nephew."

"But I am the-."

"Now."

The man, seeing his wife was now serious, hurried out of the solar with a sullen look on his face.

"What I am about to tell you, should not go beyond these walls." Jaime had never seen his aunt look so frightened before in his life as he nodded.

"Of course, aunt Genna, you have my word."

His aunt fell silent for a moment and Jaime felt alarmed at seeing the woman before him so unsure and nervous. "There have been rumors coming from the North that are almost impossible for me to believe but given how many people are talking about this and how many of my people are swearing up and down that they are true, make it impossible for me to ignore these rumors."

"What do these rumors say?" Jaime felt himself inch closer to the edge of his seat in anticipation at hearing what she had to say.

"There is no good way for me to say this, so I´ll just come right out and say it. They say that Jon Targaryen doesn't have four dragons, but six."

"Six?" He gripped the armrest of his chair tighter and stared at his aunt in disbelieve.

"Yes, six and to make matters even worse, the two new dragons are rideable, and he has even claimed one of them as his own."

"That is not possible, aunt Genna." He found himself speaking, trying to get her to understand that this couldn't possibly be true. "He couldn't have hidden dragons long enough for them to grow up to a size for him to ride one of them. Where could he have hidden them? People would have found out, you can't keep a dragon hidden for years, that is impossible."

"My people say that he didn't keep them hidden, nor did he hatch the two larger dragons. But rather they were hatched by Daenerys Targaryen and abandoned her when she locked them in a dragonpit."

"It's impossible, I have never heard of any Targaryen dragons doing that." Jaime reasoned, hoping to the Seven gods that he had the right of it.

Genna was silent for a moment before speaking. "From everything that I know of the Targaryen dragons of old, and what the maester has been telling me, then I would be inclined to agree with you, but given how many people are swearing it is true-."

"Aunt Genna," Jaime interrupted. "don't you think that it is more likely that these are just exaggerated rumors that the smallfolk are telling over and over again that get more fantastical with each telling? It wouldn't be the first time."

Despite his reasoning, he felt worry settle in his stomach. It just sounded so impossible for the second son of Rhaegar to have summoned dragons to his side like this.

"My people also said that he used the bigger dragons to burn down the Bolton bastard´s army and saved his cousin Rickon Stark by flying with him on the back of the largest of the dragons, and then he took his cousin Sansa Stark as his Queen."

Jaime stared at his aunt. "But…but…" He tried to formulate words, but what his aunt was saying was just so unbelievable that it seemed to have rendered his tongue useless.

But Genna seemed to have no such issue. "Even if we assume that all this talk about dragons is just nonsense, the boy still has the best claim to the throne, and three Kingdoms on his side and the Riverlords will undoubtedly join his cause."

Her vivid green eyes stared at him intensely. "Jaime, we have to negotiate with him, our men are exhausted by the war with the Northmen, and we have no way to actually fight three of the Seven Kingdoms, especially now that Brynden Tully and Yohn Royce are advising him."

Jaime didn't know how to feel at this moment, it was like the world has just lost its mind. "We have nothing to negotiate with but this castle, thanks to Emmon."

Genna stood from her chair and walked over to the chair that Addam had vacated from what felt like hours ago. As she sat down, she placed her hand on the wrist of his stump and looked deeply into his eyes. "Yes, we do Jaime."