Jon was quite proud of the fact that his first reaction to hearing that his uncle was a target for an assassination attempt was not to panic. The pieces of how all of this hell were starting to come into place but there were a few things that still didn't make sense to him. However, now wasn't the time because if they didn't save Edmure, then these people would have nearly won. If Daenerys ended up breaking the treaty with the Iron Isles and even declared war, then these people would have won entirely, and Jon refused to have that happen. He was quite sick of this little power grab of a game that these Lesser Houses were doing. They broke Arya's heart, and now she was trying to hold herself together. Jon couldn't forgive any of them for that alone.

"We need to send a raven immediately," Meera said, but Sansa shook her head.

"A raven could be intercepted or shot down. If they know that we do know, they could rally and say that it's time to declare war on us," she said.

"We need to warn him in person," Arya said. "We need to ride as fast as we can to get to Riverrun before they hurt Edmure, Roslin, or Medgar." If Edmure were killed, the next in line would be Medgar, and the little boy would have to be murdered as well. "I'm the fastest rider."

"You can't go south," Jon said, and they needed people who could ride hard and not stop for hours. They needed people who could handle sleeping in the dirt for three hours before getting up and riding hard all day again. Val reached over and placed her hand on top of his. She nodded and smiled at him. "Val and I will go."

"Jon, you're our king; you can't take your queen and just run to the south," Sansa said.

"We're the only ones who can ride hard and fast enough to get there to save him," Val said. "We're both warriors, we can both fight, and we have both survived in terrain harder than the Riverlands. We're the only ones who can go to warn him and fight if we need to." No one in the room could argue with that logic, and Jon jogged over to the guards waiting outside the door. He told them to prepare the fastest horses and set aside some food that was lightweight and could travel easily. He turned back to the room, and everyone was staring at him.

"If anyone has a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Jon said, and he was met with silence. "As I thought. Sansa, you will rule in my place until I return. We need to go pack immediately." Jon walked out of his solar, and Val quickly joined him in their rooms. They both began to pack quickly, but Jon found himself hesitating.

"Jon, if you're thinking of asking me to stay, I'm going to put a knife through your eye," Val threatened. He probably shouldn't have found that as arousing as it did, but apparently, his wife threatening him with bodily harm was attractive to him. He was learning new things about himself even now. Jon made sure that he had Longclaw and several other daggers on his person if need be. He couldn't see where Val was hiding her daggers, which meant that she had at least four on her person. They were both in more comfortable clothing now and layered enough that if it got too warm in the south, they could just leave the extra layers behind. There was nothing more important than getting to Edmure before House Bracken killed him.

They both raced down the stairs of Winterfell and found everyone outside waiting for them with two of the best horses already saddled and ready to go. It wasn't even an hour later, and everyone managed to get the things they needed ready.

"Thank you all for your help, and we're going to save him," Jon said as he climbed on the horse. Everyone wished them luck, and they were off. Jon couldn't remember the last time he rode hard like this, and he wished the circumstances were better, but it felt nice to get out and run like this. He glanced over at Val and saw a smile on her that he hadn't ever seen before. She smirked, and they continued to ride until it was too dark to see.

They didn't bring a tent or even a blanket since the weather was warm enough for two people who spent time North of the Wall. Jon laid out his cloak on the ground, and Val used hers to cover both of them up. They slept curled around each other in a way they didn't often do back at home. They only slept for a couple of hours before they woke up, ate some food, and set off again.

On the third day, Jon felt like he was about to fall over. This was a lot, and Val didn't look much better. It was getting into the evening when he rode up to her, and they both slowed down their horses to a trot.

"We should stop earlier today. We're both exhausted, and we need some real rest, or we're not going to make it," Jon said.

"You're right," Val replied, and they turned off the road and found a decent clearing to set up their small camp in. Jon prepared a fire as Val went out to catch them some dinner. They couldn't rely on the provisions they took from Winterfell alone, and Jon thought some meat might help them both feel a little better. It was just getting dark when Val returned with two rabbits. They each skinned their own rabbit and set them up to cook over the fire. They were sitting close but not close enough to touch, and Jon watched the flames for what felt like a long time.

"This whole thing is too much," Jon said. "I thought things would be easier once Westeros was at peace, but it always feels like we're going to have another war every day."

"It's the nature of men," Val said with a shrug. "The North is stable, and you have loyal bannermen at your back. We could defend ourselves if it came to that, but I really hope it doesn't. I've had quite enough of war." Jon hummed his agreement, and they made small talk as the rabbits finished cooking. There was a shift in his relationship with Val at Daenerys' wedding. They had kissed each other just for the sake of kissing, and Jon stopped them from laying together a second time while drunk. Since they got back to Winterfell, things have been very busy, and they hadn't done more than a few stolen kisses and Val letting Jon sleep at her back every night. They were both exhausted and on edge tonight, there was a fire crackling in front of them, and aside from the horses, they were very alone.

They both wrapped what was left of the meat to eat in the morning and laid out the cloak to sleep on and the cloak to keep them warm. Once again, they curled toward each other, but neither of them tried to sleep despite how exhausted they both were. A piece of Val's hair had fallen out of her braid and into her eyes, and Jon couldn't stop himself from tucking it behind her ear. He let his fingers linger on her cheek, and Val smiled softly.

"You're being a romantic again, Jon Snow," she said, and Val was the only person who still called him Jon Snow, and she was the only one who didn't make it sound like an insult.

"A romantic would make sure you were in a soft bed with all of the comforts fitting a queen," Jon replied as he moved a little closer to her.

"This Queen doesn't need a featherbed, and something tells me that you know that," Val replied. They smiled at each other and finally closed the distance between them. It was so different to kiss her while sober and even more different from the times they kissed on their wedding night. Now, they actually liked each other as people, which felt like it made all of the difference in the world. Val deepened the kiss and moved, so Jon was on his back, and she was straddling his thighs. They began to slowly grind against each other, and it was too much and not nearly enough. Val broke away from their kiss and sat up. Jon moved with her, so he was sitting up, and Val was firmly in his lap. They smiled at each other again, and Jon began to kiss along Val's neck and jawline. She felt incredible in his arms, and he wanted to put his mouth all over her but now wasn't really the time.

"I want you," he whispered into her skin, and Val gasped again as he bit her the junction of her neck and shoulder.

"Yes," Val whispered. They pulled away to look into each other's eyes and began to strip any unnecessary layers. They both lost their leather armor and all of their weapons until they were down to just the soft clothing underneath. Jon got the string holding Val's pants open and slipped a hand into her smallclothes. Val gasped against his mouth as she worked on getting him out of his own breeches. Jon moaned when she got her hand around him, and he couldn't remember the last time he wanted a woman this badly. They both struggled to push Val's breeches far enough down, but everything ended up getting tangled, and Jon found them both laughing at how ridiculous it was. They were both working on kicking off her boots and getting rid of their breeches without stopping kissing or touching each other. "I never thought I would see the benefit of wearing a dress; this would be so much easier."

"That is one positive that's for sure," Jon replied as they kicked the last of her clothes away. She was bare from the waist down, and Jon couldn't look away from the pale skin in front of him. He thought about bandits and how they should probably not be naked in the middle of the woods, but Jon also didn't really care at that moment. "Fuck it," Jon muttered and began to work on getting himself out of his clothes.

"Oh, we're doing this, I see," Val said as she pulled his shirt and tossed it aside. Jon was about to have a smart remark when Val ran her hands up his chest and swiped her thumb across his nipple. That distracted him for a moment as Jon worked on getting out of all of his clothes. Val pulled her own shirt off and began to unwrap her breasts. No sooner had she tossed the wrap aside, and Jon lost his smallclothes they were on each other. Val moved into Jon's lap again as they kissed each other so hard he thought it was going to bruise. He slipped a hand between her legs and pushed a finger into her. Val got up on her knees to give him more access, but it also forced Jon to look up to kiss her. He got a second finger into her, and Val bit down on his bottom lip. "I'm ready," she whispered as she tried to soothe the bite with her tongue.

"I don't want to hurt you," Jon said back as he looked into her eyes. Val smiled softly and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

"I want you, Jon, so don't make your queen wait any longer," she said. That was all the encouragement that Jon needed as he pulled her into his lap and felt her slide down on him. She was hot and slick, and it took a fair amount of his self-control not to lose it right then. They both moaned until she was fully seated, and they just stared at each other for a moment. This was different from their wedding night; that was duty; this was the first time they had laid together because they wanted to. Val rolled her hips, and the moment broke as they kissed again. Jon wanted to pull her hair out of the braid so he could run his fingers through it, but now wasn't the time. She felt so good around him, but the angle wasn't right, and he wanted more. He wanted to feel more of her. Mindful of the hard found they were on, Jon rolled them, so Val was on her back, and he could push even deeper into her. It must have felt amazing because she cried out and dug her nail into his shoulders.

"When we get into a bed, I want to put my mouth all over you," Jon said because it all felt too good, and his filter was gone.

"Yes, I've thought about what you'd look like between my legs," Val replied, and they both laughed again. Her skinned shined the moonlight as the fire burned down to jump the embers and they were both chasing release. Jon reached down and pressed two fingers to that spot, and Val immediately peaked, crying out loud enough to let anyone know what was happening. Jon only had to pump his hips a handful of times before he peaked. The exhaustion hit Jon harder than ever before, and it felt like a great effort to pull away from her and roll onto his back. He gathered Val into his arms as they kissed slowly, and he felt his heart skip a beat when their fingers interlock on his chest. Jon wanted to sleep like this, naked and close, but that wasn't practical, and eventually, they needed to get dressed. They didn't pull on their leathers and kept their boots off as they just pulled on their tunics and breeches.

Jon wondered they would move apart to sleep again, but Val came back into his arms, so they were nearly nose to nose again. They tangled their legs together under the warmth of the cloak and watched each other. Jon leaned forward and kissed her again but made sure to put what he felt into this kiss. He knew he was falling for her, and Jon never thought he would get so lucky as to start to love his queen. They weren't there yet, but it felt inevitable, and if the way she was kissing him back was anything to go by, Val felt the same way.

"My queen," he whispered against her lips.

"My king," she replied. The exhaustion was pulling him under, and Jon pressed one last kiss to Val's forehead as he fell asleep warm and content.

The next morning they both woke up a little later than they had the last couple of days, and they were still wrapped up in each other. Jon leaned forward and pressed his forehead to Val's, and they stayed close like that for a moment. They needed to keep moving, so they did. For the next seven days, they rode as hard and as fast as they could down to Riverrun. Instead of curling in toward each other at night now, they slept wrapped around each other and would sometimes spend a little time kissing. On one night, two days from Riverrun, they took the time to untie their breeches and slip their hands inside. Val twisted her wrist in a way that made Jon see stars, and Val arched against him when his fingers made her peak. It was the most he had done with a woman in a short amount of time since he met Ygritte. Val knew about her, and they sometimes spoke about her, which was nice. It was nice to know that someone else was going to remember her.

By the time they got to Riverrun, Jon was half out of his mind with exhaustion, and Val looked like she was about to fall over. The Tully guards stared at him like they didn't know what the hell he was doing here, but there wasn't time for that. The guards were talking about how House Bracken was spotted nearby and making their way toward Riverrun. That meant they thought the deed was either done or close to being done. Jon turned to Val because right now, she was the only one he could trust.

"Find Roslin and Medgar and keep them safe," he said. "I'll find Edmure." She nodded, and they both took off into the castle. The servants and guards kept asking him what he was doing and what was wrong, but Jon didn't have time to answer that. Jon tried to open the door to Edmure's solar, but the door was locked. There wasn't time for this, and a locked door made him panic. Jon took a step back and kicked the door in as hard as he could. There was a body on the floor with their throat slit, but it wasn't Edmure. He was a guard wearing Tully colors, which probably explained how he got in the room. Edmure was nearby with a hand over a stab wound on his stomach, and the sword that Gendry made him was bloodstained and lying on the floor. Jon rushed over and knelt down next to him.

"Jon? What the hell are you doing here?" Edmure asked.

"It's a long story, but let's just say that I knew your life was in danger, and Val and I spent the last ten days riding as fast as we could to save your life," Jon replied as quietly as he could. Edmure blinked and then nodded slowly. "We need a maester in here!" Jon called out. More guards filed into the room, and a young maester pushed his way in. The young man looked at the wound on Edmure's stomach and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's a deep wound, but it appears to have missed anything vital. You're going to bleed a lot, my Lord, and you're going to be in a lot of pain, but you're going to live," the maester said. He wrapped the wound, and the guards worked on getting Edmure out of the room and into safety. Jon looked down at the assassin as the castellan of Riverrun starred as well.

"An assassination attempt?" he asked, but Jon said nothing. He looked up when he heard someone approaching the room, and he saw Val with Roslin and Medgar, both of whom looked unharmed. For the first time in ten days, he breathed a sigh of relief. Roslin made a small sound when she saw the body on the floor.

"Please take me to my husband," she said softly. Jon walked with Val and Roslin down to the infirmary where Edmure was being treated. He was pale, but he looked all right. Edmure spoke to her silently and assured Medgar that he was going to be alright. Edmure glanced at Jon and Val and seemed to know that something was wrong.

"Everyone but King Jon, Queen Val, and my wife are to leave this room immediately," Edmure said in a voice that brokered no argument. Everyone scrambled to get out of the room, and Edmure turned to look at them. "So, care to tell me how you knew someone was going to kill me?"

It took several hours for Jon and Val to explain everything that was going on. They left out the details about the Baratheon's being alive, they didn't want anyone to know, and it was safer that way, but aside from that, Edmure and Roslin learned everything that they knew. Edmure frowned more and more as he learned more of the story while Roslin paled considerably.

"My will states that Medgar will inherit Riverrun when I die; you're telling me that they would plant a fake will that says, for some reason, that I'm not giving my son his castle and instead giving it to a Lesser House?" he asked.

"No, that would make even less sense than what happened to Edric and Robin," Val said, and she hesitated for a moment. "I would say that the fake will could set House Bracken as the regent until Medgar is of age, or your son could be a target for assassination as well." Roslin choked out a sob as she held the little boy to her chest. Edmure reached out and put a hand on her shoulder as they both tried to come to terms with what they just heard.

"We have no proof," Edmure said softly. "We have no proof of what they've done, and House Bracken is on their way. I heard from my guards. They are coming into my home thinking I'm already dead so they can claim it, and I have no proof to show their terrible intentions." Jon frowned as he thought about it, and it dawned on him.

"The fake will. They are probably coming here to switch it out in the chaos that would follow your death. If they still have it on them, then that would be proof that they meant to do you harm," Jon said. "But even then, you couldn't. Multiple houses are doing this, and they are working together, at least on some level. If we expose one, who knows what the others could do."

"I'll lock the castle down once you leave, and they leave. I'll make sure that we're safe," Edmure said, but Roslin looked a little confused.

"How are they doing this?" she asked, and everyone looked at her. "I was a member of a Lesser House; I know the types of funds they pull in, and what they are capable of doing, and these Houses do not have the funds to do this."

"You think someone is funding the entire operation?" Val asked, and Jon closed his eyes. That meant there was someone else out there that they needed to connect to this.

"All of the people involved in this need to be taken care of at the same time, or there could be consequences," Jon said. "Let's try to get ahold of that will and any other evidence that could help us."

Jon and Val lingered in the shadows as House Bracken appeared. Roslin went out and greeted them because Edmure was injured, and she wanted Medgar safe. Jon watched as she asked House Bracken what they were doing here, and they said they wanted to come and talk to Edmure about the gold issue in person at Riverrun instead of waiting. Val glanced at Jon and rolled her eyes; it couldn't be more obvious that House Bracken was lying.

"I'm afraid my husband is injured at the moment," Roslin said, and Lord Bracken paled a bit when Roslin said injured and not dead. "He will make a full recovery, but right now, he cannot meet you, my lord. Please, stay and have some food, and then you can be on your way. My husband will contact you when he's ready to discuss your gold problem. Follow me." Roslin didn't wait for a response as she turned around and walked into Riverrun. The saddlebag of the house that Lord Bracken was riding on was the most obvious place for documents to be stored. Jon didn't think he was smart enough to keep them on him.

The guards got lazy as they spoke with the Tully guards around Riverrun, and someone guided Lord Bracken's horse off to the stables. Jon watched as the stableboy walked away to go get more of the horses, and that was his chance. He raced into the stable and began to dig through the saddlebags. He found a large pile of papers, including what looked like some scrolls. Jon didn't have time to look them over as he snuck back out of the stable to Val. They stayed in their dark corner and began to look through the documents. Jon held up the will, and it did name House Bracken as regent until Medgar came of age. Jon could only guess that Medgar was not going to come of age under the rule of House Bracken.

"Jon," Val whispered as she looked over some scrolls. "These scrolls have a seal on them that I wasn't expecting to see. It's House Lannister."

"Why would the Lannister's need to speak to a Lesser Riverland house?" Jon asked.

"Roslin did say that they would need funding, and if there were anyone who has the gold to back a coup against our allies, it would be House Lannister," Val replied. "It's not proof, but it is a coincidence.

They snuck back into the castle and watched from the windows as House Bracken turned and left in quite a huff. Lord Bracken climbed onto his horse and didn't bother to check the saddlebag where the documents were hidden. They finally left, and Jon showed Edmure the will and the documents they found.

"We need proof against all the Houses, and Edric and Robin's wills are the best bet we have of implicating all of the Houses at once," Jon said. "I'd like to take this with me. They didn't know I was here, so they won't know where it's gone. If you had, you would say something. Without the will, they can't attack you again, and this is perfectly made. It will take some significant time to make another one. Until then, only keep trusted guards nearby and stay together as much as possible."

"What are you going to do?" Edmure asked.

"We need to gather the other fake wills," Jon replied. He left Riverrun with the precious documents in his saddlebag, Val next to him, as they started to ride back to the North.

The days went by, and Gendry watched as they would take a step forward in getting better and then two steps back. Yara was endlessly patient with them, which kind of surprised him. Gendry didn't expect her to be the type to look after people like this, but she did. Yara did everything she could to try and help them, but there were just some things none of them seemed to get over. Bella still rarely talked to anyone, but she allowed Yara to hug her exactly once. Mya managed to spend one night away from them, but she hovered even worse than ever the next day. Edric gained more of his strength back but got angrier and angrier every day that they didn't do anything. He wanted revenge, Gendry could see it in his eyes, but revenge wasn't going to save any of them.

"We can protect ourselves," Edric said one night as they all got ready to sleep. "We're stronger than when we left, and people will underestimate us because of how we look now. We can play into that and then catch whoever tried to hurt us and make them pay."

"Westeros isn't safe for us right now," Mya said for at least the third time in as many days. "I'm not willing to risk any of your lives just so we can take back Storm's End a little sooner. We'll go home eventually, just not right now."

"They stole our homes, they sent us off to be sold into slavery, and they are the reasons we're mutilated. Why am I the only one who wants revenge for that? Why aren't any of you angry?" Edric snapped.

"Do you think I'm not angry?" Bella said, and her voice was a little hoarse from the fact that she so rarely used it. All of them froze and stared at her. "Do you think I'm not furious when I think about having that man's hands on me? I am, I'm furious, but I'm not an idiot. If we go back too soon, we could be on the next ship back to Lyse or Meereen or anywhere else as slaves. We were lucky we got away once; why would we risk it happening again?" It was the most Bella had said since they got back to Westeros and Edric looked a little surprised.

"We'll get our home back, and we'll see justice for what happened to us," Gendry said. "But we have to be patient." Edric frowned but didn't say anything else. They all went to sleep that night a little tense, and Gendry was worried about his little brother.

Three days later, there was some sort of commotion around Pyke Castle as everyone started to yell about something. Yara came running out to them, and she looked a little pale.

"There's a dragon on the horizon," Yara said. "That's all we can see, but if Daenerys is coming to declare war, then she wouldn't need much more than Drogon to take all of us out. I want all of you in the castle, and I want you to lock yourselves in your room. If you see anyone coming or see fire, I want you to get to the first boat you can and try to get off the island. I have to try and convince Daenerys not to burn us all alive."

"She's not coming to burn you," Edric said, and everyone stopped what they were doing to look at him.

"And how do you know that?" Yara asked carefully.

"Because I told her we're alive, and we're here. She's coming for us," Edric said as he looked at his siblings. "We might not be Targaryen, but the blood of dragons flows through our veins. I can't think of a better way to get what we want and make our enemies pay than with fire and blood."

"You had no right to do that," Mya said, and she was furious, which was rare. Of all of them, Mya was the one who didn't get angry, but right now, she looked like she was about to throttle Edric. "You had no right to make that decision for all of us. That is something we should have all had a say in."

"Gendry appointed me as the Lord of Storm's End, so I'm pretty sure I am the one who gets to make that decision," Edric snapped. "Daenerys is family, and if we tell her that we need to be kept safe, she'll keep us safe, but we can't keep hiding here." There was a beat of silence as Yara sighed heavily.

"Well, there's no stopping it. Let's go meet her," she said. They all got on horses as they rode slowly to the open area on the island where Daenerys was landing Drogon. She jumped off of the dragon and ran up to them. Her purple eyes were wide and red with unshed tears, her hair was in a messy braid, and Gendry wasn't even sure if she was wearing all of the pieces of her dress. They climbed off of their horses, and Yara stayed close behind as Gendry walked toward his cousin with his siblings. Daenerys made a sound like she was dying and threw her arms around all of them the best she could.

"I thought you were dead," she said, and Gendry could feel her tears soaking his shirt. "I thought I lost my family again, and I mourned you. What happened? Why are you here? And what are these terrible injuries?"

"It's a very long story, but I know that Queen Yara has been taking very good care of us, and the reason we didn't reach out earlier was because we feared for our safety," Mya said. Gendry was glad that she didn't mention that Edric went over all of their heads and that they didn't want to be found right now.

"No one can know we're alive," Edric said. "Not yet; that's why we stayed here instead of going home or to you."

"No one will know you're alive until you're ready to tell them, but I must insist you come back to King's Landing with me," Daenerys said, and Gendry glanced at all of his siblings. Daenerys wasn't the one behind all of this, and she hadn't shown any deceit in the past save for the trial, but that was a manipulation. Edric set his jaw and looked at them, which meant that he was going to be stubborn about this.

"We'll come," Gendry said, and Daenerys smiled brightly. She looked over their shoulders at Yara and her smile faded. Daenerys stood up a little taller and walked forward to Yara as they stared each other down.

"Queen Yara, thank you for taking care of my kin," Daenerys said.

"They are yours by blood and mine my marriage, and Greyjoys look after their own," Yara replied, and then she paused. "The Ironborn are not behind those attacks, Daenerys."

"Queen Daenerys," she replied, "and we'll discuss whether or not that is true at another date." Daenerys looked over her shoulder at them and smiled softly. "We need to look after them first." It was so quiet that Gendry wasn't sure he was supposed to hear it.

"Yeah," Yara said, and she looked a little worried, "we do."