Riding a horse for long periods of time had never been Ser Connington's favorite activity, but adding blistering heat and an annoying Northerner made the venture practically torture. Mormont had followed his every step since the wedding night and Jon knew what he was up to. Oh, he could act all innocent playing the kind face, but he could see how he gazed at Daenerys.
"Riding bothering you, Jon?" He rolled his eyes at Mormont's attempt of conversation.
"No, Mormont," He shot the other knight a sharp look. "And you may call me Connington or Ser, not my given name." He then reared his horse and shot forward to catch up with the princess. The woman in question brightened when she noticed the familiar face riding towards her.
"Jon, how wonderful to see you this morning," She beamed at the ginger man. "How are you faring?"
"Quite well, Khaleesi. How are you today?"
The silver haired woman shrugged her shoulders, "Most of my blisters have gone, thanks to Irri and Doreah," She shifted in her saddle. "The heat is slightly bothersome."
"Khaleesi," Seven Hells that man was determined. "You should drink some water, we wouldn't want you to fall off your horse from dehydration," Dany gifted the older man with a small smile before grasping the water skin he held out for her, partaking a large portion of the cool liquid. She handed the container back to Jorah and smiled when her husband's form entered her vision. Jorah followed her eyes and grimaced at the Dothraki male. "It will get easier, I promise."
The Valyrian girl gave the bear a strange look, "It's quite easy already." She then kicked the sides of her mare and rode off to catch up with Khal Drogo, who laughed when he saw his small wife riding towards himself and his bloodriders. Jon shook his head while chuckling at the man.
"They are quite happy together, don't you think?" Jorah's face darkened slightly, but he nodded his head in agreement.
The knights sat in silence while the Khalasar continued onward for the next hour or so. When the large procession of people finally stopped for the night Jon tied up his horse, nodded to Viserys, and wandered over to Daenerys' personal bloodrider, Rakharo.
"How is the Khaleesi faring?"
The young Dothraki man shrugged his shoulders, "She seems fine, though tired," The tan man watched the Andal's face relax slightly as he nodded his head. "You care for her very much."
"Her mother asked me to protect her before she passed, I think of her as my daughter."
The young man snorted at his words. "The Khal believes you are her father."
The two continued their banter for a few minutes, but stopped when a mysterious rider approached the pair. Rakharo pulled his arakh from its sheath and Jon laid his hand on his sword's hilt as they watched the stranger hop off his horse. The man had tanned skin and jet black hair, but it was his dress that raised the knight's worry. Finely made fabrics, although neutral colors did little to disguise him in the horde, and a small pendant hanging from his neck baring a small shooting star sitting over a sword. A large shoulder bag weighed down with its objects was nestled onto his hip as he tied his stallion to a random post.
The man slowly walked towards the pair and Jon tensed at the amethyst pools watching his movement. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook anyone."
Jon quirked his brow, "Quite strange to see a Dayne this far from Starfall. Last time I saw you Edric, you were tripping over your own feet trying to putter after your uncle."
"Ah, Ser Connington," He smirked. "Seems like the years have changed the both of us. Last I saw of you was with my uncle and Prince Rhaegar." The Dornish man relaxed at the knight, but re-tensed his shoulders when he noticed the Dothraki male had not lowered his weapon yet. Jon quickly explained to Rakharo who the mysterious man was and the bloodrider scowled, but slipped his arakh back into its sheath.
The knight walked up to the Dayne and pulled him into a tight hug, "Well this is surprising," Edric laughed. "But not unwelcome."
"What in the Seven Hells are you doing here?" The men separated from each other and the Lord shrugged his shoulders.
"Needed to speak with you," He glanced around the crude camp. "Didn't expect to have to go to the ends of the Earth. Last I heard you were in Pentos."
Before Jon could answer the man the tent flap behind him opened and Dany stepped out towards the men, "What's with all the commotion Ser Connington?" Her eyes caught similar purple ones and at first she thought is was Viserys stirring up trouble, but her brother was not the one the eyes belonged to. A tall man with tan skin like her husband and a roguish smile on his face.
"My princess, may I present Lord Edric Dayne of Starfall," She raised her brows at the introduction before quickly inviting both Westerosi men into her tent. The three quickly slipped past the tent flaps, Daenerys walked over to her handmaidens, and escorted them out of the small space. She then sat down on the rug in the middle of the room and gestured for the men to sit as well.
"Sorry for the rush, Lord Dayne," The man shrugged. "But I must ask why a Dornish Lord has been trying to catch up to a Dothraki horde?"
Edric sighed, "I needed to speak to Jon. I have some urgent information from Westeros."
Dany straightened her back, "And you couldn't have sent a raven?"
He shifted in his spot on top of the rug, glancing between the old knight and the young girl. "I wished to have this conversation privately with Ser Connington."
"Well I am the Khaleesi of this Khalasar and I wish to hear this information as well," Jon smiled at the confidence in his Princess' tone.
"No disrespect, my lady. But you are not my ruler. And your brother, who by Westerosi law is your ruler, already allowed me privacy for my conversation." Daenerys scoffed at the man's words.
"We are not in Westeros, and he is not my king," She rose from her seat and gestured to the opening of the tent. "If you have nothing to say to myself, then you have nothing to say to my sworn sword." Edric nodded his head in agreement, rose from his own seat, and made his way to the exit. The pair watched the lord step out of the tent before Jon turned to Dany.
"I have to go after him Daenerys, you should not have insulted him like that."
The Khaleesi raised her eyebrows, "I insulted him? He treated me like I had no power over him. I am Khaleesi and he should treat me properly."
The older man shook his head, "Dany he did treat you properly. He does not need your permission to speak to myself, and since he is not part of the horde he does not need to treat you like is queen or princess," He gently grasped the young girl's hand, "Viserys is his king by law and he went through the proper movements to speak to me, a knight to the king."
The girl nodded her head and quickly left the tent to catch the Dornish man before he absconded from the area, calling out for the man while he was saddling his horse, "Lord Dayne!" The man turned around to see the small Valyrian woman coming up to him with the old griffin following after her. "I am sorry if I offended you, I am new to the responsibilities of being a Khaleesi. You may speak with Ser Connington if you wish."
The tan man smiled at the young woman, "I'm not offended, and I know a new marriage can be a hard adjustment," He lightly chuckled at the Targaryen's confused face. "My cousin just got married, I left Westeros right after the wedding." Dany nodded her head absently at the information while Jon tensed at Edric's words.
"The Usurper allowed Arthur's daughter to marry?"
Edric shrugged his shoulders, "Don't know what was going through his mind, but hopefully now she's safer away from King's Landing." Edric bowed to the princess before striding back into the tent as Jon followed after him. Both men entered the empty tent once again and Edric placed himself back onto his original spot on the rug. The knight gave the other man a hard look before sitting down. "Now to business," Edric swung his shoulder bag into his lap and pulled out a small black box, about a foot long and half a foot tall. "This," he handed the wooden object to the man. "Is for your lovely princess. A gift from our friend in King's Landing as a sign of good faith."
Jon grasped the box, "Why not give it to Viserys? Is he not the King?"
Edric scoffed, "Varys wanted me to give to the 'Targaryen'. He never specified which one I was to give it to." He leaned back onto a pillow behind him. "Besides that boy is not your king, and I'm guessing he hasn't been for awhile."
"Ever since he decided to sell his sister for a blasted army that will never follow him," He twisted the box around as he spoke, "Nothing dangerous in here?"
"Depends who's using it."
Connington quirked his brows, "Alright," He put the box to the side and stared at the younger man. "Now what's so important you had to cross the Narrow Sea and track down this blasted horde?"
The Dornish man scratched his neck, "Myria married a Stark."
The man laughed, "You crossed an ocean to tell me your cousin married a bloody Stark? Why is that such a fuss?"
"Let me rephrase my words," He sat up and his purple eyes gazed seriously at the knight. "The new Sword of the Morning got married to a man last month who for some reason greatly resembles our prince Rhaegar." His words caught the knight's ear and his laughter silenced.
"What son of Eddard Stark could resemble Rhaegar?" He shook his head, "Your eyes must have been playing tricks on you."
"No," Edric pressed. "He's the bastard the Quiet Wolf brought back from the war. The one nobody knew of until he came back from Dorne, from the Tower of Joy."
His statement barely intrigued Jon, "So he had a bastard with a Dornish woman? What of it?"
"Did you never know what was going on at the Tower of Joy?"
Jon stood from his seat and walked to a table to pour himself a goblet of water. "I was King Aerys' hand. I was stuck in King's Landing for most of the rebellion. I knew Rhaegar had gone to Dragonstone, but he foolishly left and lost his life at the Trident."
Edric chuckled and jumped up from his place on the rug, "You had no idea did you?" The man pulled a raven's scroll from his bag and handed it to the knight. "Rhaegar was never in Dragonstone, he lied."
Ser Connington scoffed at the thought of his close friend lying to him, but the as he read through the worn letter he could feel the blood draining from his face.
Edric,
I may not see you for quite some time and I wanted to tell you all this in person when you visited King's Landing to see my newborn daughter, but it was not safe. However, Dorne is safe so there is no worry for yourself or my dear older brother. I myself am riding south soon with Clara and the baby to protect the crown prince and his new wife. They were recently married and wanted to retreat from the spread of war. She's a lovely lady, but you must keep this fact to yourself. I know this is a lot to ask dear nephew, but you deserve the truth.
Arthur
"I was 6 when I read those words, when I realized my dear uncle may never come home again," He sighed. "Well he did come home, but not alive."
The red headed man gazed at Edric, "He married Lyanna Stark?" He watched as the Dornish man nodded his head. "What about Elia Martell?"
"Not uncommon for a Targaryen king to take multiple wives, and her health was not what it once was. Her being unable to have children after Aegon."
Jon took in the information gulping down his water, "So you're saying Rhaegar and Lyanna had a son, Ned Stark took that son and claimed him as his bastard, and Robert Baratheon just married that man to your cousin, Myria Dayne, who also happens to be the new Sword of the Morning?" He watched Edric nod his head solemnly before stumbling back to his seat on the rug, slowly breathing. "Then Viserys is not the last Targaryen male. This boy-"
"Jon."
Ser Connington gave the lord a wide eyed stare, "Jon, a Stark lad, is the rightful King."
Edric walked around to pat the shocked knight on the back, "Basically. But we won't have concrete proof from a letter written to a child," He said while gesturing to the letter still clutched in the older man's hands. "But I am sure Lord Stark has something to prove the truth. Otherwise he would never let everyone believe for years he had a bastard, suddenly have King Robert legitimize the lad, and marry him to a high lady like Myria."
The old griffin reread the words Ser Arthur had written all those years ago. While very little was stated, the note itself would've had the previous Sword of the Morning killed by any of the men fighting on either side of the war. He knew in his bones the honorable man would not risk his own family over a false truth. He handed the letter back to Edric while breathing a sigh of relief knowing some part of Rhaegar had survived.
He stood to inform the other Targaryens of their secret surviving family member when Edric stopped him with his hand upon the knight's shoulder, "You can't tell them."
He glanced at the man, "And why not Edric. They deserve to know."
"Viserys is already unhinged, I know you've seen it. He's becoming too much like his father." He gripped Jon's shoulder tighter. "I can't risk Myria's life. The moment he knows he will want them both dead." Jon sighed and nodded his head in agreement. Edric squeezed his shoulder before letting go of the man and gesturing for him to leave the tent first. Both stepped out to be greeted with a full flung Dothraki feast, complete with a vast bonfire and drunken merriment.
Edric bowed to the old knight and headed towards his horse, mounted the stallion, and took off into the night. Jon watched the man go with a heavy heart, but an open mind. Daenerys caught the moment from her seat by the fire, kissed her husband, and wandered over to her knight.
"Is everything alright Jon?"
The man turned and smiled at his lady, "Of course Khaleesi. Edric informed me more on his cousin's marriage and brought a gift for you."
She seemed confused, "A gift?" The ginger nodded and guided the silver haired girl back into the tent towards the small wooden box he had left by the fire.
"He said it was from a friend in King's Landing. Most likely a late wedding gift." Daenerys nodded while observing the ornate box and slowly lifted the lid. She gasped at the sight of a small scaled purple rock and lifted the object closer to her face.
"A dragon egg?"
The man smiled at the surprised look on the girl's face. "Fitting for a dragon princess, but I believe it's long dead. Turned to stone by the ages."
She beamed up at her protector, "It's a beautiful gift nonetheless. Oh, I must thank Lord Dayne."
"He's already left," He patted the girl's back lightly. "Said something about heading home to Starfall, he must have many things left unattended back in Dorne." Dany tilted her head at the small egg as she listened to Jon's words. She stroked the scaled surface with a contemplative gaze. "I'll let you be for the night, my lady."
As Jon stepped out of the large tent for the final time that night he glanced back at the princess and could almost imagine a dark haired little boy in her place, gazing longingly at a legacy he may never have a chance to reclaim for his own.