King's Landing 298 AC.
Benjen.
Trying to settle into his new life was hard for a variety of reasons, the place itself, his new role, his worry for his nephew, and that he believed he was starting to have feelings for Val. At first, he had thought it was because they were both outsiders here in a way, neither of them used to life in a city or setting like King's Landing or the Red Keep. Then he was starting to be more sure that it was the woman herself, she was irreverent, funny, fierce and despite looking nothing like her, in spirit and personality, she reminded him of Lyanna a little. Especially when he saw her fight. True Lyanna had only done so in jest but there was something about how Val moved that brought up memories of his sister in him.
Other than Val, there were other things his mind had been having trouble with while he was here. Seeing and speaking to Aemon Targaryen almost had him running from the room, so shocked was he by the man's appearance. Aemon looking younger than even he did. It had shocked him so much that he'd ended up going to speak to Ser Alliser and Ser Jaremy to see if they had seen the former Maester, just so he could know that he wasn't losing his mind. Both men telling him that they had and they too didn't know what to make of it.
The biggest shock to his system though wasn't his growing feelings for Val, how Aemon now looked, or even what was to happen with Cat. It was finding out that Brandon had married and had a son. More the first part if he was being truthful to himself as he'd always suspected that his brother may have had a bastard or two out there. That Cregan was Brandon's son was clear to see, that Brandon had married his mother and the boy was true was a huge shock and he'd argued with Ned about it when he'd told him.
"You never told me, Ned. I have another nephew and you never even thought to tell me." he said loudly as he paced his room.
"At the time it wasn't my secret to tell and you were at the Wall, Benjen. There was no way I was sending it in a damn raven." Ned replied.
"You could have sent for me." he said his voice high.
"After how many times I did? No, on this I'll not be told I was wrong, Benjen. I've made enough mistakes to know when I didn't make one. What use would it have been had you known earlier? Cregan and Ashara were in the West and you were at the Wall, what use would the knowledge have done you?"
"I'd have known, Ned." he said almost defeated.
"Aye, you would have but you'd have still been all the way down there and Cregan all the way up here. I didn't tell you to keep it from you, Ben, at first it wasn't my secret to tell, and by the time it was we were already here." Ned said.
In the end, he'd accepted his brother's words, he'd not been best pleased about it, and though his anger had faded it had not completely gone away. Benjen asked to meet Cregan and Ashara as soon as he could and was surprised just how quickly the invite came. He'd strolled nervously to their rooms and knocked on the door. Finding it opened not by Cregan or Ashara but by Gerion Lannister who along with his daughter, a girl his nephew was most fond of, let him into the room and made their way from it, giving him privacy with his nephew and his goodsister.
"Benjen, please sit." Ashara said, Benjen looking to the woman, her son, and the black wolf that lay on the floor, smiling when he saw that his nephew too had a wolf as his other cousins did.
"Lady Ashara." he said with a nod as he did as she bid.
"Ashara, Benjen." the woman said with a smile "This is my son, your nephew, Cregan."
"Uncle." Cregan said his own smile beaming as he looked to him.
"It's good to meet you nephew, you too Ashara, I'm sorry it's had to wait so long." he said nervously.
"As am I." Ashara said with a soft nod.
"I would have come to you uncle, at the Wall, I would have come when I traveled North." Cregan said and Benjen found himself staring at his face, the boy looking a bit confused and maybe a bit upset when he didn't answer.
"Forgive me nephew, you look so much like him, your father." he said and saw Ashara nod her agreement "I hear you're to be Lord of Sea Dragon Point?"
"I am, uncle Ned made the offer and I accepted." Cregan said as he relaxed.
"You don't want Winterfell?" he asked and the boy shook his head.
"Winterfell is Robb's, uncle and I'd not take it from my cousin." Cregan said before adding "I didn't even want to be a lord, truly, I only wished to be a knight."
"I too wanted to be a knight once." he said getting another smile from the boy that made him think of his brother.
He'd since had dinner with Ashara and Cregan once and with them, Gerion, and his daughter Joy another time. The girl was actually more of a sister to Jae than someone he was fond of, he'd since learned. His nephew and he had sparred in the yard, the boy far better with a blade than he was and he, Robb, and Arya had spent some time together. Benjen laughing with his niece and nephews as their wolves played in front of them.
The queen had invited him to sup with her one night and he'd shared stories of Jae with her, the girl appreciating hearing of what had happened when he'd come to the Wall for the first time. Benjen could see how much she was missing her husband and how worried she was about him and did his utmost to put her at ease. Ned had also thrown him a family dinner, all the Starks other than Bran and Jae sitting at the same table for the first time in years. It was a meal he enjoyed immensely as he did when he looked at the children getting along so well together. For once their upset over what was to happen to their mother looked to have been put aside for now at least.
He'd met his newest nephew, young Rickon and it had been like looking at Jae reborn. Benjen playing with the young curious babe for far too long and caring not about the fact he was supposed to be elsewhere. As Northern Envoy he had duties to attend to and while he was dutiful, he was also not averse to putting those duties off if he could find something better to do. Something he was doing right now as he was knocked to his arse once more.
"Gods if all the crows fought like you then we'd run the Wall." Val said reaching down to help him up from the ground.
"Mayhap I'm letting you win." he said as he dusted himself down, her laugh ringing around the yard.
"That's it, of course, why didn't I think of that, the crow is letting me win, it's not that I'm better than he, it's that he's letting me win." Val said still laughing.
"I'm not a crow." he said taking up his stance.
"You dress like a crow." she said as she came at him.
"Black was always my color." he said with a chuckle as he deflected her ax.
The two of them moved together, his sword and her ax colliding, Benjen ducking out of the way of one of the more powerful swings. Trying something he saw Jae do, he moved back and then jumped forward quickly, going from almost six feet away from her to the inside of her guard. As she brought her ax up to defend herself, he swept her legs from under her and Val tumbled to the ground, Benjen quickly placing his sword at her neck.
"How the fuck?" she exclaimed loudly, Benjen though could see the look in her eye belied her anger as he reached down to help her up.
Within the blink of an eye, he was on top of her, Val having pulled him down instead of allowing him to help her up. He could feel her underneath him and she wasn't trying to get away, Benjen looking into her eyes which looked blue today. Benjen had noticed that they sometimes looked grey and he had wondered if it was her mood that made them appear that way. Looking down on her face he found himself almost lost in those eyes before his own eyes moved further down her face to her full lips. His head then moving of its own accord until a loud cough made him turn to see his youngest niece standing there looking at them.
"Uncle Benjen?" Arya asked raising an eyebrow and smirking at him.
"Arya." he said rising to his feet to look at his niece, Val rising a moment later frowning as she did so.
As he told Arya how he'd beaten Val and what had happened, he glanced to see the woman herself looking at him, an odd look in her eye and one that he felt showed a little disappointment. It preyed on his mind for most of the rest of the day. Not even sparring with his niece, Lyanna Mormont, or with Val herself allowing him to forget that look. Benjen instead finding himself wondering what would have happened had Arya not shown up, and what it would have been like to actually kiss those lips.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Jaime Lannister.
He held Joanna in his arms as Gormon examined Dacey, Jaime making a little game out of things with his daughter while his attention was far more focussed on his wife. The birth of Ned Stark's son had brought the impending nature of their own babe's birth more into focus. Jaime wondering when the babe was to come and wishing to make certain that all was well with both the babe and his wife. Dacey felt he was worrying unnecessarily, as did her mother, his aunt, and every other single woman in his life. Jaime even being called a fool by the Queen of Thorns who told him that if his wife worried not then he had no need to.
Still, Dacey had agreed to let Gormon examine her and make certain she was well and Jaime looked on when the man finished doing just that. Hearing that his wife was as healthy as she could be and that the man could find nothing to worry about concerning the babe was a huge relief. Dacey having been right with her timing and Gormon confirming the babe would be here within the moon. After thanking the man and seeing him out, he walked back into the room and let Joanna down from his arms, his daughter climbing into the bed beside her mother.
"Are you well, mama, do you need soup?" Joanna asked her mother as he looked on with a confused look on his face.
"I'm well, little cub, we were just checking on this little cub here." Dacey said taking their daughter's hand and putting it on her belly.
"Cub is coming, mama?" Joanna asked excitedly.
"Soon little cub." Dacey said kissing Joanna, as his daughter lay back on the pillow.
"Soup papa, mama need soup." Joanna said almost as if she was ordering him to see it done.
He saw his wife shake her head and so he walked to the bed, Jaime laying down beside them both with Joanna in the middle between them.
"Soup?" he asked Dacey quietly as he tickled Joanna to distract her.
"When Joanna wasn't feeling well the other day, my mother made her some soup, she now thinks it's the cure for each and every ill." Dacey said smiling as Joanna tried to get away from his fingers.
He was perhaps being overprotective when it came to his wife and though the birth of Ned Stark's son was what maybe sent him to Gormon, it was the absence of his own that had probably been the true reason for his concern. Jaime was worried about Jae and there was not a damn thing he could do about him and so it was on Dacey and Joanna that he concentrated his worries on instead. It was something he knew that Dacey had already figured out and that she allowed him to continue to do so only showed just how well she knew him.
"Papa, swing." Joanna said when she finally got bored with his tickles.
"Not right now little cub, your father is tired." Dacey said as Joanna got up on her hands and knees and climbed up onto his chest, her fingers reaching out to move his eyelids as he pretended to be asleep.
"Papa sleep?" Joanna said as she moved closer, Jaime waiting until she was right at his face before he grabbed her and kissed her face repeatedly, Joanna giggling and telling him to stop.
"No papa, no kisses, no." Joanna said each time she caught her breath from laughing so hard.
The knock that came to the door, unfortunately, signaled the end to all his fun, Jaime taking the note and reading it and knowing his day was now set to begin.
"Bye-bye papa." Joanna said as he kissed her cheek.
"Bye-bye little cub."
"I'll try to get back for lunch." he said as he kissed Dacey and then he listened to his daughter and wife plan their day as he walked from the room.
The guards were already ready and Loras and Jors soon joined him, the walk to Throne Room one that had him thinking of his missing king. That Margaery was to do this alone was something he knew that she didn't wish for, but politically it would maybe turn out for the best. The realm seeing a queen act a queen could only be a good thing he felt. As he walked he began to think of Cersei and try as he might he couldn't get the thoughts of his sister out of his mind. This had been what she had wished for, to be a queen that mattered, a ruling queen who sat as the equal of the king. He supposed in her own way she did almost get that, as she never got the chance to rule and Robert never cared to.
"They're all there?" he asked.
"They are, Hardyng arrived late last night." Loras said.
"Why wasn't I told?" he asked as they walked into the Throne Room.
"Her grace felt there was no need to disturb you my lord, that you and your family didn't need to know of this until now." Loras said and he nodded.
He walked to the front and took up his position by the throne, looking around to see that the court was already filling up despite the early hour. That Margaery wished to do this so early was a surprise as he'd have expected it to be done much later in the day. Jaime wondering if it was nerves that made her decide to do it this way or was there another reason. It was something he resolved to ask her about later but for now, he stood like the others in the Throne Room and waited for the queen's appearance.
Looking out he could see the blond-haired Ser Harrold, the white falcon of House Arryn worn far too proudly especially after all Jon Arryn had done. Beside him stood an old grey-haired woman and around them were the various lords of the Vale. Jaime seeing Lord's Corbray, Hunter, Melcolm, Belmore, Hersy, and Egen all standing near the new Lord of the Vale Yohn Royce who himself was speaking to the Lord's Redfort and Grafton. Those who'd fought against them and those who'd not. While they were not on opposite sides of a conflict now, he noticed they were still some showing a bit of a divide.
"Her Grace Queen Margaery Targaryen, The Queen of the Seven Kingdoms." the herald said and Margaery walked in with Arthur, Ghost, and Barristan by her side, Jaime seeing Olenna and Willas and Sansa Stark walk in a little behind them.
She nodded to him and then took a seat, Jaime stepping forward when she bid him to. The timing of the meeting with the Vale lords and Ser Harrold may have caught him by surprise, the events and how they would be managed would not.
"My lords of the Vale, you are here today to officially learn the cost of rising against the crown, to swear your fealty to their graces and to your new liege lord, and to be formally welcomed as good and true members of this court. Is there any among you who have something they'd like to say before we begin?" he asked and was surprised to hear a voice raised.
"Is his grace not joining us?" Ser Harrold asked and Jaime saw the way his fellow lords rolled their eyes.
"Her grace, Queen Margaery sits in judgment of you all today, Ser Harrold, do you question her right or suitability to do so?" he asked annoyed.
"Of course not Lord Hand, I'd most welcome be judged by her grace." Ser Harrold said and Jaime saw how Ghost rose to his feet and smirked as he wondered if the king was present after all.
"Your grace." Jaime said with a bow as he turned to Margaery.
"Lord Melcolm, Lord Hunter, Lord Corbray, Lord Hersy, Lord Egen, Lord Belmore, Lady Waynwood, and Ser Symond, step forward and be recognized." Margaery said as the lords and ladies did as she bid, Jaime, watching them intently to see if any dared showed any unwillingness, which none did.
"Your grace." Lady Waynwood said stepping forward a little ahead of the others, the woman acting as the representative of the rest of the Lord of the Vale.
"All of you rose against my husband and me in support of Jon Arryn and Robert Baratheon's continued attempt to usurp my husband's true and legal right to the throne. That in doing so you followed your liege lord has been taken into consideration in relation to the punishments you are to be subjected to.
Do any of you have anything to add before we get to those punishments?" Margaery asked.
"No, your grace." Lady Waynwood said.
"Very well. You are hereby ordered to pay increased taxes of 15 percent per year for five years. If during this time even the merest hint of disloyalty is found, be it to the crown or to your new liege lord then you will be brought back here to face a further and more severe punishment. I warn you, my lords, my lady, do not misinterpret our generosity for weakness. My husband and I seek to bring the Realm together and not tear it apart and that and only that is the reason why your punishments are not far more punitive." Margaery said and he saw the lords nod.
"I thank you on behalf of the Lords of the Vale, your grace." Lady Waynwood said with a curtsy before she and the others moved back.
"Lord Redfort, Lord Grafton, please step forward." Margaery said as both men did as she bid.
"Your grace." Lord Grafton said with a very respectful bow, Jaime looking to see Lord Redfort matching it.
"Both your houses refused to rise against my husband and me and while neither rose with us, we understand your reasons for not doing so. Lord Grafton, it is the will of his grace and I that your own taxes are to be reduced by 15 percent for the next five years and that once our business here is done, that you are to take a meeting with our Master of Trade Lord Manderly in order to discuss future areas of mutual benefit." Margaery said to a smiling Lord Grafton.
"I thank you your grace." the man said to a nod from the queen.
"Lord Redfort, we offer the same terms to you in relation to taxes and we make this further offer. Your son Ser Mychel and Mya Stone have strong feelings for each other, you are aware of this?" Margaery asked.
"I am, your grace." Lord Redfort said.
"They are here?" Margaery asked and Jaime looked on as the lord bid a young man and girl forward, Jaime recognizing the man as the one Jae had fought in King's Landing and Highgarden and the girl could only be Robert's daughter.
"His grace and I are most keen for this match, my lord, most keen. To ensure it comes to pass we have decided to legitimize Mya Stone as Mya Durrandon and to name Ser Mychel as Lord of a newly created seat in the lands outside of Harrenhal, a lord sworn directly to House Targaryen. The crown itself will cover the costs of the keep to be built there as a wedding dowry." Margaery said.
The lord and his son both looked different levels of pleased by the news, the lord happy his son was getting a seat of his own no doubt but perhaps a little annoyed still at the match, the boy anything but regarding either. As for Mya, she had tears in her eyes as she looked from Margaery to the boy and then to Margaery again.
"I thank you, your grace." Lord Redfort said.
"I…your grace, thank you, truly." Mya said wiping her eyes as Lord Redfort stepped back.
"You have the best wishes of myself and my husband for your future happiness, Lady Mya." Margaery said her smile true as the newly named Lord Mychel took his betrothed's hand.
After telling both men that she'd accept their oaths of fealty with the others, Ser Harrold was asked to step forward, the boy staring almost lustily at Margaery, and Jaime saw that Ghost's haunches were now raised.
"Ser Harrold, as per the offer my husband offered you, you are aware that the terms are non-negotiable. You have but one thing to say here today, choose your words wisely." Margaery said as the man smiled and bowed as he looked at her.
"I thank you, your grace. I am here to accept your grace's most kind offer and to do so without prejudice or regret. I find her judgment to be most fair and true and am warmed by her compassion and by her beauty." Ser Harrold said and Jaime wondered if he even saw the bared teeth of the white wolf so intently was he looking at the queen.
"Then the crown and Lord Royce will accept your oath of fealty and leave you with this warning, Ser Harrold. You are from this moment forward Lord Arryn of the Eyrie but you should take note of what happened to the last Lord Arryn. My husband took his head himself, with his own sword, my lord, be sure to not suffer the same fate. Loyalty is not just expected from you, it is required and the crown will be watching." Margaery said.
"I take comfort in knowing I'm being watched through your eyes, your grace." Harrold said smiling as he bowed.
After the oaths of fealty were sworn first to the crown and then to Lord Royce, Jaime saw one of the northern squires approach Lord Corbray and the man follow him from the room. Margaery nodded to him and he followed her joining her as they walked down the corridors and he could sense she was annoyed. The reason for that annoyance made clear as soon as they entered her rooms.
"Damn him for making me face that alone, did you see that fool, to flirt so openly, damn my husband for not being there." Margaery said as she took her seat.
"Ghost did not look best pleased, your grace." Jaime said smirking which at least had the effect of making Margaery laugh.
"No, he did not, I swear I thought if the fool just crossed the line a little more fully the Ghost would have been eating on falcon's wings today." Margaery said rubbing Ghost's head and laughing.
"You did sterling work in there your grace, sterling work. His grace couldn't have handled it any better." he said and she nodded as he turned to leave.
"Lady Dacey?" Margaery asked making him turn back.
"Within the moon, your grace." he said receiving a warm smile in return.
"With any luck, Jae will have returned by then." she said a little subdued.
"I have no doubt he will have, your grace." he said as he walked from the room.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Shiera.
She sat in the large room and waited to be invited into the solar. That the girl had kept her waiting not something she was too perturbed about, as it gave her time to get lost in her thoughts once more. It had taken her time to both arrange the meeting with the young girl and to feel up to actually going to the meeting itself. Shiera still finding herself subjected to looks from servants and others alike that made her uncomfortable. That her nephew not only didn't blame her for her actions but actually explained that they were always destined to happen, both comforted and worried her in equal measure. Knowing Jae felt that way was a boon to her spirit, knowing that her actions along with so many more had been foretold, was very much not.
Even with all she knew and all she'd seen, it was discomfiting to find out that someone else had seen it all and planned for it accordingly. Shiera now certain that rather than predict her actions, Brynden had simply seen the vision of them, as had apparently Daenys as well. She had felt used by him at first and now she felt used by someone else. Daenys, the Gods, someone, she knew not who or why and it irked her terribly.
She and Aemon had spent days reading over texts trying to find answers. Jae had spoken to her in generalities and not specifics, only telling her that there were things even he didn't know and things that she wasn't supposed to. It made her feel as if she was a piece in someone's game, her will and actions not her own and if so then what was the point of anything she did. If her actions were part of some grand plan and she herself wasn't in control of them, was she actually living or was she just alive? It made her head ache, caused her to almost forget herself when she spoke to Dany, Tyrion, or Aemon. Were it not for the note inviting her to sup with the queen and the gift she had in her dress then Shiera may have just spent most of the day in the air. At least on Rhaegal's back, she cared not if she wasn't in control, the illusion of it while flying was enough to make her forget almost all her worries.
"Lady Shireen will see you now." the guard said as she got up from the seat and walked into the solar.
Inside she saw the young girl sitting behind a desk with an older man with a beard sitting to the left of her. Two guards stood either side of the desk and it was clear that she was doing her best to create an impression. Shiera smiled and the girl returned it, surprising her with just how true the smile was if she was being honest. Taking her seat when she was bid, she saw the girl look nervously to the man with the beard who nodded.
"Princess Shiera, it's good to see you." Shireen said.
"You too lady Shireen, I'm most pleased to meet more of my kin." Shiera said receiving yet another true smile in return.
"As am I, princess." Shireen said.
"Please call me Shiera, I'm afraid I'm not yet used to being a princess." she said moving close as if she was telling the girl a secret, one that was much appreciated given the giggle Shireen let out.
"Nor me a Lady, Shiera, call me Shireen, please."
"Shireen." she said and saw the older man relax "I've come with a gift for you, cousin."
"A gift?" Shireen said her eyes growing wide and an excited look on her face.
"A gift." she said reaching into her dress and taking out the necklace, the small ruby glistening in the light of the room.
"It's so pretty." Shireen said looking at it.
"It's more than that." she said as she pointed to the one on her own neck "Do you know who I am, Shireen or when I was born?"
"You're Shiera Seastar, your mother was Sereni of Lys and your father Aegon the unworthy, you were born over one hundred years ago." Shireen said and this time it was Shiera's turn to smile.
"I was, very good Shireen, your maesters must be so proud of you, there are not many who would know such things." she said as the girl smiled beamingly now.
"I like reading, books are so very interesting I find." Shireen said.
"I too like to read. Especially when it comes to magic." she said and saw the bearded man move forward in his seat.
"Magic, princess?" the man said.
"Magic, my lord?"
"Ser Davos, princess."
"Ser Davos, magic is a real and true thing. You've seen the dragons, the Direwolves, I and my nephew Aemon are proof enough of it, as is this." she said raising the necklace in the air.
"What does it do?" Shireen asked as Shiera moved towards her, Ser Davos and the guards moving to stop her and the girl waving them off.
"I assure you Ser, my cousin has nothing to fear from me or from this." she said placing it around the girl's neck.
The look on Ser Davos's face, then on the guards made Shireen look worriedly at her and them for a moment before Shiera reached into her dress and took out the small looking glass and handed it to the girl. Shireen's fingers soon going to her cheek and touching where the greyscale scars had been just a few moments earlier.
"How? I can't, is it gone?" Shireen asked as Davos looked at her and the girl.
"In a way, yes. Just like with mine own making me look this way, the ruby allows for you to look how you would look, how you should look. It doesn't cure it and when you take it off it'll be as it was before, but as long as you wear that necklace the scars won't appear and the greyscale can never return." Shiera said.
"Never return?" Davos asked.
"While the disease was stopped Ser Davos, it was never truly cured. In time it would have returned, maybe ten or twenty years from now, maybe longer but eventually it would return." she said.
"And now it will not?" he asked hopefully.
"Now it will not." she said.
The hug she was then enveloped in was firm and unyielding, Shiera welcoming it and the words the girl spoke softly into her ear. Her expression of gratitude heartfelt and true and Shiera just told her that they were kin and it was the least she could do. She was asked to dinner that night which she declined, her plans already made but she did agree to join them another, something that Shireen was most pleased by. Shiera bidding her cousin farewell and making her way back to her room.
Time seemed to almost race by as she sat in her room, Shiera feeling better than she had in days after speaking to her cousin and before she knew it there was a knock at her door. She opened it to find the queen's brother there, Ser Loras ready to escort her to her meeting with the queen herself and she nodded and followed the man down the short walk to the queen's chambers. After knocking on the door she was led inside and Shiera was surprised to see the queen sitting at a small table with a place set for her in front of her own seat.
"I thought we'd eat before we spoke." Margaery said and Shiera nodded as she took her seat.
She looked on as the queen fed the white wolf some of the meat from a side plate and she poured herself some wine as they began to eat. Shiera's appetite was not as full as the queen's who ate the meal most hungrily.
"A long day." Margaery said when she noticed her looking.
"A good one, your grace?" she asked as she picked at her dish.
"A better one today than yesterday, Shiera." Margaery said.
That was pretty much it for the small talk it seemed, the queen not really in the mood she guessed, and yet she felt it would have been the same with whoever she ate with this night and that it was not just because it was with her. Once done, a servant was called for and the table cleared, Margaery bidding her sit with her near the fire and Shiera following her into the other room. Ghost lay down between them both, Shiera looking on as Margaery ran her hands over the wolf's belly and he then began to drift off to sleep.
"For such a large and dangerous wolf, he really is quite the big softy you know." Margaery said with a smile.
"My nephew has said the same of him often, your grace."
"Margaery." the queen said and she nodded "I was most wroth with you Shiera, most wroth, I must admit that I've not yet come close to forgiving you." Margaery said raising her hand when she went to speak "Oh I know what Jae wishes, what the journal says and I know deep down that the last thing you wished was to harm me or my husband."
"But I did." she said.
"You did." Margaery agreed.
"I am truly sorry for my part, Margaery, truly."
"I know, and in time I'll be able to look past this and see it for what it is, but that time is not now I'm sorry to say and so for the foreseeable future you'll just have to bear my anger and annoyance."
"Of course." she said looking to the girl who was looking into the fire.
"You heard what Jae did no doubt, he however left this before he and Rhaenix took to the skies." Margaery said taking a note from her pocket and handing it to her.
She read through the letter that her nephew had written and sighed, Jae may well have had the right idea but this was not how to go about it. Her expression was soon picked up on by Margaery and Shiera could see the worried look on her face.
"Jae is right and wrong. I think he does need to deal with Brynden before he gets another chance to do anything else, but he should not go alone." Shiera said.
"You think he's in danger?" Margaery asked worriedly.
"I think it is as it always was with Brynden, everything he does is dangerous, I don't truly understand what he is now, but the Brynden I knew was a very dangerous man. Jae should have brought someone with him, I should be with him." she said.
"You?"
"Brynden and I, we're connected, he may not feel how he once did and I certainly do not but we loved each other deeply once and Jae should have used that against him." Shiera said.
"I don't understand?"
"Magic is powerful, Margaery and Jae has more of it than I, Brynden, or anyone I've ever seen, but love, love is true power. It fuels us, makes us strong and sometimes weak, it defines us, makes us who we wish to be, and shows us who we truly are. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy." she said as Margaery looked at her confused and worriedly.
Beyond the Wall 298 AC.
Bloodraven.
He couldn't find him, the boy had simply dropped out of his sight, and everywhere he looked for him or thought he may be, proved to be only false leads. That he wasn't in King's Landing or on Dragonstone, or that he hadn't headed towards the Reach to intercept the one-eyed pirate vexed him. As did the idea that he was in fact coming to him and would arrive before Brynden had a chance to do what he must. It had forced him to hurry up plans, to send the pirate more and more visions and he now looked eagerly to see how events played out.
Lannisport.
The ships sailed into the harbor, almost thirty of them and he watched as the four larger ships headed their way. Behind them, smaller ships split off and soon the flaming arrows flew. Looking at the large steel spikes that were fired from the larger ships and seeing the incredible damage that they did to the smaller ones, even he was impressed. More so when one was fired that was aflame and the ship it hit soon joined it.
Two of the Iron Born ships did manage to make it to the docks and he watched as they found the resistance they faced to be more than enough to repel them. The men running down gangplanks to the docks themselves only to be ridden down once they reached it by men on horses. That the attack was expected and the docks had been cleared was a surprise to him, Bloodraven had thought that Euron's warlocks had blocked the king's sight.
It worried him in a way as it suggested that there wasn't any magic that could do so, not even his own which could cause many problems later on. The fight on the docks was over almost as soon as it began, the men on foot no match for the Knights on horseback, and even he was impressed at the tactic. The wideness of the dockside not just to allow more room for merchants to sell their wares and for ships to be unloaded but it had obviously been designed with this in mind.
He turned his eye back out to the harbor itself and what he witnessed was a rout, the four large ships making easy work of the Iron Born's smaller ones, and less than five ships had seen sense and turned to sail away. Not that they were allowed to do so as two of the large ones were soon in pursuit and the chase was over quickly.
Bloodraven turned his eye from that fight and onto the next one.
Bear Island. Deepwood Motte.
The ships seemed to face no obstacle to their landing, twenty five of them soon lined up on shore, the men readying to move on to the wooden keep. That these men were not veterans of their last sojourn to the North and were made up more of sell sails than reavers was perhaps the reason for their laxity. Bloodraven watching as the cost of that laxity readied to play out. Just like in Lannisport it was to be horses they faced and just like in Lannisport the men were not equipped to do so.
The only true difference was the scale of the slaughter and that half the ships did actually manage to escape. He looked on as the Northmen rode down men, the swords, axes, morningstars, and maces all hitting home while the men on foot stood no chance. That they had no archers showed just how ill-prepared they were for this attempted invasion and he wondered had Euron so filled them with tales of its ease or was it their own ineptitude that made them so ill-suited. He bemoaned the fact that with his Raven's Teeth alone he could have held the Northmen off long enough to either take the invasion further or to at least ensure they suffered more losses than the sell sails did.
As it was, the rout didn't take long and he doubted the ships that did manage to sail from the coastline were sailing to join back up with the Iron Fleet. Instead, it would be back to Esssos and the Stepstones these men went and Deepwood Motte wouldn't even see an attack today, let alone need to face a siege. His eye soon turned across the Bay of Ice and the sight that awaited him made the one he'd left, seem a glorious victory.
Ten ships they'd sent to take Bear island and two of the larger ships they'd found ready and waiting for them. One sailing out from the dock to meet them face on and the other coming in from behind. Again he bemoaned the fact that they had been so ready for the attack and he wondered how that was possible. Ready though they were and the large ships were soon cutting through the smaller ones as if they were nothing. The steel spikes crippling ships as the large ships just kept on moving. The flaming arrows and balls of pitch that the Iron Born fired back with simply bouncing harmlessly either off the large ships themselves or landing where the ship had been but moments before. Bloodraven noticing for the first time that despite their size, the larger ships were much faster than the smaller ones.
He didn't stay looking here for long, three of the Iron Born ships had already been sunk, four were crippled and the last three were now caught between the two larger ships. Bear Island lay less than a mile from where the battle was taking place and yet the only Iron Born who'd land on the island today would be a body that washed onto its shore. Bloodraven knew Euron's mind, he'd spent more than enough time in it after all and he'd sent these men here to die, but it was one thing to make a gambit, another to simple waste men. This was simply a waste, he'd drawn no one here, nor would he and so his eye began to move once more.
The Shield Islands.
The sea was covered in ships, the Kraken flying high as they sailed toward their destination. He could see The Silence out in front of the fleet, Euron standing on its bow while his brother was tied to its figurehead. Moving his eye to the islands themselves, he saw that while they were ready and prepared, the force they had at their disposal wouldn't be enough. The attack was sure to be successful and the dragon's tail was soon to be stepped on.
Something felt wrong to him though and so his eye looked beyond the Island's and further down to the south. Over Brightwater Keep, he traveled and it was just past Bandallon that he saw them. Bloodraven wondering how they'd managed to get there so fast and was it just luck that had them sailing in the direction they were going. He doubted it was and it vexed him that he knew not how that could be.
Almost as much as it vexed him to see the makeup of the fleet that now sailed North towards the Shield Islands. Were it just the number of ships alone then the Iron Fleet would be outnumbered but having seen the damage that the larger ships could do and seeing that there was half a dozen among the fleet, the Iron Fleet was doomed. He began to panic, the thoughts of yet another plan failing and of what and who would come his way because of it, filling his mind and leaving him paralyzed.
What am I to do?
How do help?
When will he come?.
His eye turned back to the Shields and he searched for the man below, forcing his way in as much as he could and knowing it was not enough. His power didn't allow him the control he wished for and so it had been whispers and dreams he'd used to see his will was done. The time for whispers was over, and so as the Iron Fleet sailed closer to the Shields, Bloodraven began to shout.
"They are coming, Blow the Horn."
"Blow the Horn or lose him forever."
"Blow the Horn or you will die."
"Even a god can fall."
As he watched Euron rise to his feet and give the order, he began to smile and readied himself for what was about to happen.
Beyond the Wall.
He felt the child standing there looking at him and while she usually left him alone when he swam beneath the sea, for some reason she wasn't doing so now. Despite it not being what he wished for and despite here being not where his eyes should be. Bloodraven opened them and looked to Leaf who stood with the plate of paste in her hands.
"You bleed." she said reaching out and he felt the touch of her fingers on his withered skin for the first time that he could remember "You bleed."
He looked on as she held her fingers in the air, the blood on the tips that had not been there before and he looked at it in confusion. He'd not bled in over fifty years, among the very many things he'd not done since he became less a man and more a tree. As he looked at the fingers she held in the air, he believed he heard it though even if he couldn't be sure.
"I need to see." he said and she nodded as he closed his eyes and he swore he heard the horn being blown.
King's Landing 298 AC.
Margaery.
Her meeting with Shiera disturbed her and Margaery spent the rest of the night unable to sleep, not even Ghost's presence in her bed helping her to relax. It was because of this lack of sleep that as she broke her fast the next morning she was so irritable. Elinor, Mira, and even Sansa suffering because of that irritability, and even her grandmother finding that she was not immune to a tongue lashing when she suggested postponing Lady Catelyn's execution until after Jae's return. Had it not been for her lunchtime visitor then there was a great risk that before the day was ended, Margaery may have alienated every single person close to her.
"Lady Joy is here to see you, your grace." Megga said her voice almost a whisper and had she still not being so annoyed then she'd have realized that her cousin was fearful of her reaction.
"Send her in." she said dismissively barely looking up from the papers on her desk.
She heard rather than saw Joy come in, the girl taking a seat and just waiting for her to speak, while Margaery looked through papers that she barely read and huffed air from her chest constantly. That the girl never spoke and just sat watching her eventually caused Margaery to put down the papers and glare at her. Only for her to find that Joy was more than ready for her mood and she herself seemed in the mood to do her best to make her laugh.
"Margy mad, Ballon."
"I know, it's Jon's fault."
"He is silly, your right."
"No, we can't he's king now Ballon."
"Really, you think we should?"
Sitting and watching the girl have a conversation with the black cat, Margaery didn't know what to make of it. However the more she listened the more she got intrigued by it and by the time the girl had stopped speaking, she found that she was sitting forward on her seat eager to hear what it was that Joy had to say.
"Ballon thinks Jon was bad, Margy, he says we have to make him pay." Joy said looking to the cat who seemed to actually be staring back at her.
"Pay how?" she asked intrigued.
"I don't know, how you think we make him pay, Ballon?" Joy asked moving her ear close to the black cat and Margaery had she not been so tired would have noticed how she did likewise and how Joy smirked when she caught her doing so.
"What did Ballon say?" she asked after a moment.
"Ballon says, we should move his clothes and send him to another room so when he comes back so that he knows he was bad." Joy said giggling as she rubbed the cat.
"We can't he's the king, Joy." she said with a smirk.
"I know, I know, Margy, I told Ballon, he no care, he says you're the queen and you can do it if you wish." Joy said as she held up her hands as if she was confused.
"We could pretend." Margaery said as Joy looked at her.
"Pretend Margy?"
"We could move his clothes as if we were so very mad and then when he comes back, you and I, we could pretend could we not?" she asked and Joy leaned in close to Ballon and then started to nod her head.
"Ballon says pretending is fun, Margy." Joy said with a giggle.
It took them almost an hour to move Jae's things, then another hour for lunch where Joy told her about her lessons and how she didn't mind the ones where she danced as she and Jon had danced before. Margaery listening as the girl told her that she'd watched her and Jon dance and saw how much that she liked it and that was how she knew she'd like it just as much. After lunch was finished she almost burst out laughing when Joy yawned over elaborately.
"So tired, so seepy, Ballon seepy too, you seepy Margy?" Joy asked, the girl's eyes completely alert as she looked at her curiously.
"I'm tired too." Margaery said and Joy nodded before she looked to Ballon and spoke and then turned to her.
"Ballon says you should rest, Margy, I tell everyone you seepy." Joy said and Margery nodded.
That the girl didn't leave until she was actually in her bed and that she had played her little game to get her to do it. That she had also defended and yet ran down Jae at the same time and had made her see her anger and annoyance for what it was. Margaery found herself wondering just how anyone would be able to keep up with her when she was older.
"Ni Ni, Margy." Joy said waving as she walked from the room.
"Ni Ni, Joy." she sleepily replied, her eyes closed before Joy had closed the door behind her and Ghost soon laying at the end of her bed and watching her as she slept.
She slept almost all through to the very next morning, Margaery waking up to see that it was still dark outside and thinking it had just been a few hours. When she found out it was more she was both annoyed a little with herself and grateful that Joy had made her relax enough to sleep. She washed, dressed, and broke her fast before spending the next few hours going through papers and readying for the day ahead, after all, it was to be a busy one.
Her grandmother arrived almost as soon as morning truly hit, Margaery seeing how worried about her she was and so she did her best to put her at ease. Once she had, talk quickly turned to what they were soon to witness. Her grandmother once again asking her if she was sure this was what she should do and Margaery telling her that it was. That she wasn't doing this in a far more public setting was a concession she was making only to the Starks and on their behalf and not something that she was doing for the woman herself.
"We should go." her grandmother said when Ser Arthur arrived for his shift at the door.
"We should." she said getting up from her seat and walking with her grandmother from the room.
The walk to the small courtyard wasn't a long one and Ghost seemed almost eager to be there already. The white wolf for the first time in more than a day leaving her side and running on ahead of her. She found that she was the last to arrive and that the courtyard seemed incredibly full. Margaery soon taking note of who was and who was not here. Prince Oberyn, Ellaria, and his children, all of them, Princess Arianne, Lady Genna, and her own along with Martyn and Willem Lannister. Lady Maege, Dacey, and Lyanna Mormont. Willas and Loras along and her grandmother. Tyrion, Daenerys, Shiera and Aemon and Gerion, Ashara and Joy, Margaery giving the girl and the black cat a smile.
The members of the small council still in King's Landing and the Kingsguard, all of whom were present, Lord Manderly and Ser Richard standing side by side. The only people missing were the Starks and Jaime, though his own absence was soon remedied when Margaery saw him arrive leading Lady Catelyn herself. The woman looked around at each of them, at her with hate-filled eyes and at the block nervously. Margaery wondering if the woman would rant and rave and say horrible things about her husband once more. She was very soon to find out as Lady Catelyn was moved to the block by Ser Walder and Ser Jors and Jaime then stepped forward.
"By order of Her Grace Queen Margaery Tyrell, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, for the crimes of conspiracy to murder and attempted murder and for the murder of Ser Alyrs. You, Lady Catelyn Baelish have been sentenced to die, do you have any last words." Jaime said and Margaery found her eyes drawn to Alyrs widow and children rather than the pathetic sight of the woman who was now about to lose her head.
"I am innocent, innocent. Please, please…" Catelyn said struggling as Walder and Jors pushed her down onto the block.
Margaery nodded to Jaime and watched as he reached behind his back and drew the sword. Blackfyre shining in the light as he held it out and raised it up. He spoke no words which surprised her and almost quicker than she was ready for it, the sword fell true and clean. Margaery's eyes not leaving the sight until the head rolled away. She felt no regret for the woman's death other than it would hurt her family. Even knowing that Jae would be angry with her over it wasn't something that she felt regret over. The woman had been given a just sentence for her crimes and her punishment was warranted. That it was Jae's father by choice who swung the sword had been at Jaime's own suggestion and wishes and she could understand his reasons.
"See that her body is treated respectfully and is sent to Riverrun." she said as she turned and walked back into the Red Keep, she'd spent far too much time on a woman who deserved none of hers or any of theirs.
Valyria 298 AC.
Jaehaerys Targaryen.
He slept beside his sister, Rhaenix making a space beside herself and Jae leaning up close against her scales. The dreams he expected to come did not and his sleep was one that left him well-rested. When he woke the next morning he was surprised to see his sister was still asleep and then he was surprised even more by the voice that called his name.
"Jae, Jae, where are you?" the girl's voice called out and he turned to seek it out.
When he found it he almost dropped to his knees, the girl now walking towards him with a smile on her face. Her long dark hair was untied and free and her deep purple eyes were alight with mirth as she looked at him.
"You slept out here, again, Don't you know we have warm beds inside, oh brother of mine."
"Rhae?" he asked confused.
"Of course silly, who else would I be, Jae, are you well?" Rhae, asked.
"Rhae? It can't, how? Rhae is it truly you?" he asked and whether it was his voice or the look on his face, her smile faded and she moved to him and he felt her arms go around him and pull him in tight against her.
"Jae, it's me, I'm here little brother." she said and he began to cry as she held him in her arms, his sister rocking him gently against her as his hands touched her back, her shoulders, and her hair, as moved from her and his fingers then passed over her face and then he pulled her tight against him once more.
"How?" he asked and she looked at him confused.
"How what?"
"How are..how are you here? How are you, you?"
"Here I'm always me, Jae." she said looking at him, and then she offered him her hand and began to lead him from the wide-open space.
He looked behind to see no sign of Rhaenix and though it worried him that she was not there, the fingers that held his hand soon took all of his attention. Jae squeezing them softly and feeling them entwined with his own as they began to walk down the black stone road. That the buildings were as damaged as he expected was perhaps the only thing that made him question the thought in his head that he was dreaming. Jae sure that if he was then the images he'd have seen would have been of what had come before and not what it was now.
"You're not dreaming, little brother." Rhaenys said as they walked hand in hand.
"I'm not?" he questioned.
"Not truly." she said as she led him up some steps and to a large gate, Jae looking to see the three-headed dragon faded but still recognizable.
"I've been here before." he said as Rhaenys pushed the gate open and he looked at the overgrown grass and scorched marks where gardens once were plush.
"Have you?" his sister asked as she led him through the gate and into the garden itself.
As they walked he could still see where he'd seen them, Aegon and his sister-wives, Viserys and Rhaenyra. Jae looking eagerly for where he'd seen Rhae and his family and finding that he couldn't quite make it out.
"You, our family, I saw you all." he said as she led him up some stairs and to a large door "There, it was there." he said pointing to a section of the garden near the front of the house.
"Was it?" she asked as she pushed open the door.
Entering the house itself was like stepping into another world, the sounds of a harp playing and of children laughing soon filling his ears. Rhaenys looking at him and then pulling him forward as they began to walk down the large open corridors. His eyes moved where his ears led, the sounds coming from all around him and drawing his attention to the open doors they drifted out from. Jae soon looking into the rooms and seeing what was inside.
A dark-haired girl and a silver-haired boy hid under the bed and under the table as a dark-haired boy walked inside. The boy looking before giggling when he saw the pair of feet sticking out from under the bed. Moving to them he reached down and grabbed them, quickly dragging the laughing girl from underneath.
"Found you Rhae." the boy said as from under the table the silver-haired boy began to laugh too.
"No fair, Jae, you peeked." Rhaenys said as Aegon came out from under the table.
"I win." his brother said loudly and proudly.
A silver-haired man played a song on his harp as a dark-haired grey-eyed woman sat listening, the song soon ending and the man moving to the woman and kissing her deeply before a dark-haired boy of about ten namedays old walked into the room.
"Is something wrong Jaehaerys?" the man asked.
"No father, I…"
"Jae?" the woman asked.
"Highgarden mother, why can't I go to Dorne with Rhae or to the North with Egg?" the dark-haired boy asked.
"Your father knows best, Jae, believe me, Highgarden is where you're supposed to be my little wolf." his mother said kissing his cheek as he nodded and left the room.
Each room he passed showed some variation on the theme, the dark-haired boy he knew now was him spending time in his sister's room as they laughed about something or other. Sitting in his brother's room as they spoke of the upcoming tourney and ball, both boys speaking of the ladies who were attending and of which of them they hoped to dance with. Jae laying in bed clearly sick while his mother sat beside him and read him tales from a book.
He saw his father, his grandmother, his uncle and his aunt. Tyrion growing up at the Red Keep and Dany, he, Egg, and Rae running through Aegon's garden on Dragonstone while his father, mother, grandmother, and Elia looked on. He saw himself dressing and placing Dark Sister on his hip and Aegon doing likewise with Blackfyre. Saw his mother with greying hair hold a babe that she named her grandchild while his father looked proudly at him as he readied to compose a song.
"Rhae, what is this place?" he asked as they entered a large open room.
"The Land's Eternal, Jae." she said as they stood in the large hall and he looked around.
"Rhae?, Rhae?" he cried out as he turned and she was gone from his sight.
He stood alone in the room, calling out her name and finding no reply. Turning to walk from it he found there were no doors and no way out. Jae ready to call out for someone, anyone to take him from this place only to see him in front of him. His silver hair was long and he was of a height with him, Aegon though seemed younger, or slightly younger anyway.
"Egg?" he called out softly.
"It's me brother, long have I wished to see you for true." Egg said, his hand reaching out and Jae almost jumping back when he felt his touch.
"Egg." he said happily moving to him, his brother embracing him as Jae held him tightly unwilling to let him go.
They stayed there for some time, Jae with his eyes closed as he just enjoyed his brother's embrace. Who broke from who he couldn't tell but after a few moments they were standing looking at each other, almost as if they were taking each other in.
"It should be you, Egg, you were to be king, not I." he said.
"No brother, it could only ever be you." Egg said.
"Why? Why couldn't it be you, it should be you. You, Rhae, I….they took you from me." he said his voice pained as he dropped to his knees "They took you all from me…" he said as he cried out.
He felt his brother's embrace once more and was helped to his feet, Egg looking at him with a sad look on his face.
"It was as it had to be, but it had to be you, Jae, only you,"
"Why?" he asked "Why Egg?"
"Because only you can right this wrong, only you can make this place what it truly was and what it's always been meant to be." Egg said looking at him.
"The Lands Eternal, I don't understand Egg, what does that even mean?"
"Valyria is magic Jae, pure and true but like all magic, it can be used for good or ill. It can lift you high and make you soar or drag you down low and make you crawl. Magic lives and breathes and those who wield it can be inspired by it or corrupted by it. The Valyrian's believed that the only true way to control it was to not allow someone to become too powerful. The only way to not risk someone becoming corrupted was to share that magic, to even it out amongst more than one person." Egg said.
"The forty?" he asked and Egg nodded.
"But they were mistaken, Jae, there was another, like light and dark and night and day. For love to exist there must be hate and so while Valyria shared its magic amongst forty families, the Lands of Always Winter's was soon in the hands of only one man."
"The Great Other?" he asked.
"The Great Other." Egg said.
"I've to fight him, I know this, Daenys's journal said so, my destiny is to fight him." he said.
"No brother, your destiny is to beat him. There can be only one, Jae and that one is you. Only you can defeat him and only you can restore the Lands Eternal and only you can decide what shape those lands take."
"Egg?" Egg?" he said as his brother began to fade away.
"Father is coming Jae, mother too, it was good to see you brother, truly." Egg said as he faded away.
He heard the footsteps behind him and turned expecting to see his father as Egg had said only for Rhaenys to walk his way, Jae looking at her and smiling and seeing her smile back.
"Father is coming." he said happily and she nodded as she took his hand.
"You can bring them back Jae, you and I can bring them all back." she said looking into his eyes.
"We will bring them back Rhae, we will." he said as he took her in his arms.
A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed, I've finally been given a week off work and so all reviews will be answered in the next two chapters, until then thank you all for your patience. Up Next Jae meets more of his family and learns shocking truths that change his view of history. In King's Landing Harrold Hardyng almost crosses a line and we take a look into why Littlefinger did as he did before we spend some time with a Prince and Princess of House Martell. Euron, the Iron Born, and the Royal Fleet collide and a horn is blown.
