Dany's heart in conflict with itself.

25. Headache - Daenerys

Dany tossed and turned in bed, but sleep wouldn't come. After some time staring at the ceiling, she decided to get up and walk. There had been many sleepless nights after Rhaegal was taken from her. She had grown accustomed to wandering the halls of Dragonstone on her own.

This time, it wasn't her child that troubled her mind. His name is Aegon. My nephew. Dany's first reaction was disbelief. That man didn't look very much like her brother Viserys, who was the only other Targaryen she had ever seen. And yet…

She recalled their first meeting. As she looked at his features up close, Dany couldn't help feeling… something. His dark curly hair and piercing grey eyes were clearly gifts from his mother, but the shape of his jaw and the curve of his nose did seem familiar... No, she shook her head, he's a pretender and nothing else.

If he truly were Rhaegar's son, he would be the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Not her. She was only the youngest daughter of King Aerys II, while her oldest brother had been the heir apparent. The Prince of Dragonstone. Any issue of his body would have a better claim than hers. However, he had no means to prove his claim other than the word of a northern lord.

How many would believe him, though? When faced with a choice between her, daughter of the Mad King at the head of an invading army who speaks a foreign tongue, or him, son of the Silver Prince and a daughter of Winterfell, someone who has spent his whole life in Westeros, with family and friends in the North, who would they choose? She knew the answer.

Dany couldn't accept that. She was the last Targaryen. But you don't have to be, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered. You've always longed for a family, and now that you've found it, your first instinct is to ignore it? The voice grew louder. Is a throne more important than family?

"Aaah, enough!" She said out loud, bringing a hand to her temple. A headache. I have too much on my mind.

"Your Grace?" She heard Tyrion's voice. She had been walking for so long without paying attention, that only now she could see they were in the garden. He was sitting on a bench near a tall dark tree. "Did Lady Greyjoy wake you up too?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep." Dany was confused by his question. "But why would she wake you up?"

He hesitated, looking uncomfortable. "Well, it seems that Lady Yara is very fond of our most recent guest." He grinned. "If her screams are any indication, I'd say she's enjoying his stay at Dragonstone."

She works fast. "An interesting development." She considered it for a moment. "Could we use that to our advantage?"

"Possibly." He scratched his beard. "A marriage could be useful, but first we'd need to settle the matter of his identity." He looked up at her, tentatively. "As Jon Snow, marrying him to Lady Yara would bind him as an ally. However, as Aegon Targaryen, we'd need to find a better match since he'd be a direct heir to the throne."

She sighed and walked over to him, taking a seat. "You said you knew him before. Do you believe his claim?"

He frowned. "When I first met him at Winterfell, he was a sullen boy, angry at the world for being a bastard. Later at Castle Black, he realized his life hadn't been as terrible as he had imagined." He smiled at the memory. "Even as a bastard, he had siblings who loved him and a father who provided for him. He had been trained in combat by a knight, and had received a lord's education from a maester, while most around him could barely hold a sword or read two words."

"You didn't answer my question." Dany enjoyed learning more about her supposed nephew, but none of that mattered if he was lying.

Tyrion raised his hands in defense. "I was just painting a picture, Your Grace. You have to know a man before you can judge him." He took a deep breath, then continued, "And, yes. I do believe him."

"I was afraid of that." She looked away from him, her eyes finding a strange blue flower in the middle of a circle of daffodils. That flower won't last long. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"That his claim is better than yours." She heard his voice reply. There was a sound of shuffling feet, then he was standing in front of her. "I know It can be tempting to disbelieve something simply because you want it to be false, but sometimes the bravest thing we can do is face the truth and deal with the consequences."

"You know very well what the consequences will be." She narrowed her eyes. Her headache was coming back. "I will have yet another contender for the Iron Throne, one that invalidates my own claim." She shook her head, making it hurt worse. "To recognize him is to abandon my birthright."

"Not necessarily." He quickly replied. "There are many ways to remove him from contention." She raised her eyebrows, surprised that he would suggest such a thing. "While keeping him alive, just to be clear."

"How, exactly?" She was curious.

"The first and most obvious option is marriage." He raised a finger. "You would wed him, providing a united Targaryen front."

"Would he agree to that?" She had no problem marrying her own nephew. Her family would often marry brother to sister, so a union between aunt and nephew wouldn't trouble her. And he is handsome, she had to admit.

"Possibly." He frowned, as if considering the possibilities. "He might resist. We could also force him to marry you, if it came to that." He shrugged.

She didn't like the sound of that. "Wait, no. That won't work." She shook her head, remembering a harsh truth. "If he truly is a Targaryen, it's imperative that he marries someone who can give him heirs." And I can't have children.

"Oh." He faltered for a moment, before continuing, "Well, the first Aegon had two wives…"

"No." She won't diminish herself in such a way. I won't be anyone's second wife. "What's the other option?"

He coughed, then raised two fingers. "We could agree to a compromise with the Queen in the North. They would remain independent, as long as Jon stays there and promises to relinquish his claim to the Iron Throne. In writing, to be certain."

"What about his children?" If she couldn't have heirs, he would be responsible for furthering the Targaryen dynasty.

"We can work out the details later, but the firstborn would become your heir. Perhaps even have him fostered at King's Landing and learn how to rule."

She liked that, though it wouldn't be easy to convince him to give up his child. "And who would marry him?"

He paused to consider. "There's no rush to decide right now, Your Grace. It would be wise to use this to gain a new ally, if at all possible."

"Interesting." She nodded. "Though, as long as he lives there will always be the possibility that my enemies could use him against me." Dany didn't plan to keep many enemies alive, but it was naive to imagine that everyone would love her forever. "Do you have another suggestion?"

He raised three fingers. "The third and final option is to simply talk to him." She frowned, and he elaborated, "By which I mean, you can befriend him. Keep him close to you. Maybe even charm him enough to make him fall in love with you. That way, he would never consider betraying you. On the contrary, he might become your fiercest supporter." He smiled, clearly pleased with himself.

Dany had to admit this would be the best solution. They wouldn't marry, so nobody could question her authority. And keeping him close would make sure she controlled how people viewed him.

"He would become my heir, then?" She asked, feeling much better now. My headache is gone.

He nodded. "Yes. Like his father before him, he'd be the Prince of Dragonstone."

How convenient that Jon would hold two princely titles. I wonder what that means.

At the end of the day, I really wanted to show just how conflicted Dany was. She felt threatened, yet at the same time she was happy to have found another Targaryen. Which is something I think season eight failed to portray accurately.

The date is 09/06/2019