Jon and Dany share knowledge.

This is my favorite chapter yet. I'm quite proud of how everything fits together. Hope you like it too.

31. Two Hearts - Jon

In his empty bed, staring up at the ceiling of his cold room in the Stone Drum Tower of Dragonstone, Jon wondered why Yara had been acting so strangely. Ever since that meeting, she had avoided him like a plague, and he couldn't find the woman anywhere. Sometimes he would catch a glimpse of her, but as soon as she spotted him, she was gone.

When he had finally given up the chase, he sought Theon's advice. Everyone deals with loss in a different way, was all the man had said, leaving Jon dumbfounded.

Loss? What did she lose?

He just wanted to talk to her… To see her crooked grin when she said something funny… To laugh at her dirty jests… To hear her laughter… To feel her tongue on his mouth… To taste her on his tongue… To watch her lose control when they joined together… To lose himself inside her…

Feeling his hardness, he took a deep breath to calm down. This won't work. I need some fresh air. He left the bed and got dressed, looking out the window. From the darkness, he figured the sun wouldn't be up for a few hours. But I can't just stay awake in bed, he decided, opening the door and leaving the room.

The castle was mostly deserted, with only a few Unsullied guards patrolling the corridors. I really should learn their language, he thought, if they're going to risk their lives to save us against the dead, it's the least I could do. Jon had learned a bit of High Valyrian from maester Luwin when he was younger, though without practice, he could barely put five words together.

Passing through Aegon's Garden, he stopped to look at the colorful flowers growing around the tall dark trees. Jon briefly considered picking up a few to make a bouquet for Yara, before shaking his head. She's likely to punch me just for the suggestion, he mused, with a smile on his face. But what would she like? He wondered.

Sansa had told him once, when they were younger and he was alone during a feast in Winterfell, that women loved to hear compliments. But it must be honest, she said, showing a wisdom far beyond her age at the time, because we can always tell when a man is lying. She must have felt sorry for him, since he never danced with anyone, while Robb would have a different girl in his arms for each song. Arya would help in a different way. You can always dance with me, Jon, she would say, grabbing his hand and leading him to the dance floor. She wasn't very graceful, stepping on his toes all the time, but he couldn't stop smiling as he watched his little sister trying to please him.

His eyes watered a bit. I was lucky to be raised by my uncle. He paused. No, I was raised by my father.

Jon decided to write a letter to Sansa, so he walked over to the Sea Dragon Tower, where the rookery was located. The large structure was shaped like a dragon, like everything else in this castle, gazing serenely out to sea. On the way, he passed through the inner and middle walls, surveying the strange architecture of the place. Other than dragons, there were basilisks, manticores, griffins, wyverns, minotaurs, and all manner of wild creatures serving as gargoyles. Jon wondered what was the point of having them in the first place. A good, solid wall doesn't need any decoration to stop attackers.

Reaching the maester's chambers, he opened the door to find a fairly young man seated at a desk, writing in small script. He had a linked chain around his neck, but he can't have seen more than thirty namedays, Jon figured, looking at his dark hair and fair face, unmarred by wrinkles. Compared to ancient maester Aemon, this man was barely out of his swaddling clothes.

"Excuse me." He said quietly, trying not to startle the man. But he jumped in surprise anyway, his head snapping towards Jon, eyes wide. "Are you the maester here?" He's far too young.

The man stood up, bowing. "Yes, my Prince. I am called Pylos." He must have noticed Jon's face, for he said, "I may be young, but I assure you that I've completed my training. The Citadel wouldn't have sent me here otherwise." He must say that often.

Jon smiled, raising his hands in defense. "I believe you. I can see the chain. I just need to send a raven to Winterfell."

"Have you written the letter already, or do you wish me to write it for you?" The maester asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's best if I write it, but I'll require parchment, ink and quill." Jon replied, deciding which words he would use to explain the situation to his sister.

Sorry you named me your prince, but I'm someone else's prince now. That was probably not the best way to go about it. But can I really be the prince of two queens? And what happens when I marry Cersei? He dreaded to think of how Sansa would react to that news. I wonder if she'll go to King's Landing for the wedding…

Maester Pylos motioned to the desk, saying, "They're all here, my Prince, if you forgive the mess." He moved to pick up his written documents, clearing the area. "Please, make yourself comfortable while I go prepare a raven. Come find me up in the rookery when you're done."

"Thank you, maester Pylos." Jon said, moving to sit at the desk, while the man left the room.

He picked up a quill, dipped it in ink, and started writing, Dear sister…

After he sent the letter, he found himself climbing up the cliffs to the place where he had met Drogon for the first time. The view must be great from that place, he mused, looking up at the still dark sky. A nice way to see the sunrise. When he reached the grassy plateau, someone else was already there.

"Dany?" He said, grinning when she jumped in surprise, turning to look at him. She's the second person I've spooked today.

She put a hand over her chest, and her breathing quickened, before she asked, "Do you often go around scaring people in the early hours of the morning?" Her eyes were narrowed, but her lips curled into a smile.

"Not often, though you're not the first person I've spooked today. Sorry." He offered, trying to hide his amusement.

She waved a hand. "It's fine. I suppose I was too distracted looking for Drogon. He's usually here around this time." Her voice was light, but he could tell she was concerned for his safety. Once you've lost a child, the fear of losing another will always be there.

"I'm sure he's fine." Jon tried to sound more confident than he actually was. "If I could fly, I'd be in the air all the time. He must feel the same way."

She closed her eyes, saying, "I know he's fine." Opening her eyes again to look at him, she continued, "Dragons and their riders share a close bond. Our minds become one, so we can usually feel what they're feeling, even from a distance." That sounds like warging.

"Can you see the world from his eyes?" Jon asked, looking for confirmation.

Dany frowned. "An odd question, but no. That's not how it works." She paused for a moment, seeming to think harder, then said, "Perhaps I misspoke. It's not our minds that become one, but our hearts." She put a hand over her chest, right between her breasts. "The bond is more emotional than anything else. When I'm angry, or sad, or happy, I know Drogon can feel it too. And the same is true in reverse, for I can tell how he feels." She took a deep breath, then continued, "It can be… Overwhelming at times, when we're both feeling the same thing. It's hard to stay in control."

Jon considered her words for a long time, then he finally said, "That's probably why not everyone can be a dragonrider. One would require a great deal of emotional strength not to lose oneself." He turned to look into her violet eyes, gaining a greater respect for his aunt. "You must be quite strong." He almost felt silly for stating the obvious.

Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened, but no words came out. He noticed a red tinge creep up on her cheeks. She's embarrassed. I should change the subject.

"The reason I asked was because of my direwolf, Ghost." He said, avoiding her eyes.

"You…" Her voice sounded hoarse, but she coughed and asked, "You have a direwolf?"

He nodded. "Aye. And we also share a bond, but our minds really do become one."

She narrowed her eyes, and said, "Do you mean that… you can see the world from his eyes?" Her voice made it sound that she was more impressed than incredulous. She'll believe me.

"Aye." Jon replied, taking a deep breath. "Remember when I mentioned a dream yesterday?" She nodded, then he continued, "Well, it wasn't really a dream. It's called warging. When I send my mind into Ghost's body, I can move, and smell, and see the world as if I were a direwolf myself. I can also hear his thoughts, while he hears mine." He scratched his chin, recalling the experience. "Well, I suppose a better way to put it is that our minds share one body."

Dany stood there considering his words for a while, then she asked, "But what happens to your body when your mind is with Ghost?" She's clever, he thought, since that's the main weakness.

"It's rendered useless." He answered, feeling a bit ashamed that his power wasn't as strong as hers. "My eyes go white, and my limbs go weak, causing me to fall if I'm standing when I do it. I've only seen it happen once, when I warged into Ghost and he was looking right at me. As I slipped into his skin, I could see my own body falling in front of me." If not for Howland Reed, I'd probably have a few extra scars on my head.

She seemed worried. "Isn't that dangerous?" Dany asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "What if something happens to your body while you're away? Does that mean you're dead, or alive, or what? Could you jump into another body from Ghost, and live again? And what happens to that person? Could you take over their body against their will?" That's a lot of questions. More than I had when Lord Reed taught me.

He started laughing at the irony, and she pushed him, saying, "Don't laugh, this is serious! What if something happens to you? Aren't you worried?" She definitely seemed worried.

"Dany, I don't know the answer to even half of these questions, and I doubt anyone would know." Jon said, before remembering that Bran might. Or the Three-eyed Raven, as he had called himself. "I have enough control not to do it when I'm awake, but when I'm sleeping it's a bit different. I suppose my mind seeks Ghost for comfort." He frowned, thinking of how nice it felt to have his direwolf by his side. "When I'm with him, I don't feel so lonely anymore. He's always there, at the back of my mind, reminding me that I'm not alone. I guess I need that." He shrugged.

"Everybody needs that." She said, her voice distant. After a while, she frowned. "Wait, so how did Ghost know about the horn? Isn't he at Winterfell?"

Jon hesitated. I'm asking her to believe a lot already, maybe I should be careful here. "Well, that part is more confusing, because even I am not sure what happened." He started, trying to gather his thoughts. "Aye, Ghost is at Winterfell, but he wasn't the one who told me about the horn. Bran is also there."

"Bran, your cousin?" She interrupted, before shaking her head. "Brother, I mean. Sorry, go on."

He nodded, saying, "Brother, aye. And he seems… different now, than he was when I last saw him. He knows things he shouldn't, and he could tell what was happening as it happened." I probably could've made that clearer.

"What do you mean?" Dany asked, confused. Can't blame her.

Jon ran a hand through his hair, trying to come up with a way to explain. Maybe an example? "He knew you were talking to Tyrion at Aegon's Garden. That was the morning of my second day here, if I remember right, before we had breakfast together."

Her eyebrows shot up, impressed. "That's right, we were discussing what to do about you…" She passed her fingers over her lips, eyes unfocused, before she rounded them on him. "Aegon, if… I had proposed a… marriage between us… Would… Would you have accepted?" Her words came in pauses, like she wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask.

Would I marry my own aunt? Jon asked himself, trying to consider it. Before he could think, she said, "Nevermind, it doesn't matter now, I guess. Besides, I can't…" Her voice trailed.

"You can't… What?" He asked, curious.

Dany took a deep breath, then looked at him with a sad expression. "I can't have children." Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

"How… Why…" Jon started, before realising she wouldn't want to talk about that. Instead of asking stupid questions, he spread his arms to catch her in a hug, offering some comfort. She held on tightly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't ask." He whispered in her ear.

"It's fine, I can tell you." She said, breaking away from the hug to look at him. "During my first marriage, the witch who murdered my husband cursed me to become barren, right after delivering my stillborn baby." Her voice seemed a bit stronger now, but it was still filled with pain. Gods, what happened to her? It's no wonder she's so strong now, after all she's been through.

Jon considered her words for a moment, before asking, "What if she's lying?"

"What?" Dany blinked several times, staring at him in confusion.

It seems obvious, really. "Well, what if the woman who murdered your husband was lying to you, out of spite? I mean, if she's capable of murder, why would you believe her?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Her expression brightened into a smile, and she chuckled. "I guess I never thought of it in that way…" Dany shook her head, then raised her face. "How do you do it?" She asked, staring at him in wonder.

"Do what?" Now he was confused.

"Your words…" She said, smiling at him, amethyst eyes shining. "The way you speak, your manner… I don't know what it is, but it makes people want to believe in you." Her smile widened. "You give them hope. You give me hope."

Jon didn't know what to say. I just tell the truth. Thankfully, he was saved from responding by the blazing light of the sun, rising from the east. He turned to look, amazed by the sight. Hues of red, orange and yellow danced along the horizon, the brilliantly shining orb poking out from the sea, casting rays among the clouds, as darkness faded across the land.

He felt an arm slip around his waist, and Dany was by his side, looking out at the same view. He put an arm around her shoulders. "Have you ever seen anything like it?" He asked, turning his eyes back to the breathtaking sight.

Dany leaned into his shoulder, holding him tighter, and said, "Never. Nothing like this."

You know, with Jon and Yara being so fun to write, sometimes I forget that Dany and Jon can be pretty fun to write too. Chapters like this one make me remember that.

That emotional bond with the dragons was something I came up, to make certain future events more believable. I'm not sure if that's how it works in the books, but it makes sense if you think about it.

Alright, I think we should return to Winterfell now. It's been a while. I miss the Stark girls too.

Next chapter is coming on Sunday. I must say, this part of the story is really interesting to me, so I'm writing much faster. I have three other chapters already written, but I'll keep following the schedule, just to give me some wiggle room. At least until I reach a specific point I have planned. If I make it there early, I'll post all chapters at once.

27/06/2019