And now, another drabble you will surely love!
"So, Lord Stark refused to come to King´s Landing to swear his fealty to his King" said Aegon from the Iron Throne. Daenerys, by his side, also made a scold. She didn´t like the Starks, even after hearing the true history of the Rebellion. They were one of the best connected noble houses in Westeros, with the Tullys and the Arryn´s as their kin, but also rebels. And, while in the past they might have an excuse for Rebelling against their king, but right now only stubbornness could explain their decision not to attend Aegon´s and Daenerys´ coronations. "What an unfortunate circumstance."
"It is, your Grace" answered Connington as he eyes Septa Lemore, who was deep in thinking. He knew who she was before and grieved for her just as much as he knew Aegon would when he learned just who would he be fighting.
"Tell me, my lord" Daenerys intervened, putting her hands in her lap. "What do you know about the current Lord Stark? I know that the Young Wolf fought the Lannister bastard and was killed, but his younger brother…"
"His bastard brother, your Grace" the stormlord answered. "According to the information Lord Tyrion provided us, Jon Snow was a sworn brother of the Night´s Watch who reached the post of Commander, but then left the Wall to fight against House Bolton. Fight which he won" none of that really bothered him or the king, they could have let this pass, but not swearing himself to Aegon… "Too much confidence after that, if you ask me…"
"So he is not the real heir to the North. It would be Lady Sansa…"
"You won´t have much luck with that, it reached my ears that Brandon and Rickon Stark are still alive" Lord Tyrion, the master of laws, spoke that moment. He had a goblet of wine in his hand, as usual, but looked more inquisitive. "Besides, before his death and in case hearing of my marriage with his sister, Robb Stark disowned my then wife, to prevent Winterfell from failing into Lannister arms. With his last known heir disowned, his brothers apparently dead and his sister missing, he legitimized his bastard brother and made him his heir."
"A legitimation by a pretender doesn´t have any legal weight" Daenerys said, annoyed. She worked hard to be queen, even harder than Aegon, and she wasn´t going to let anyone but a Targaryen to be called king.
"And, unfortunately for him, his brothers being alive takes the inheritance away from him" the king said, crossing his arms. "Or did he do away with them to keep his position?"
"I can´t be sure, but… I think that they are still alive" the Imp said, looking at Varys, who nodded. "See? Jon St… Snow was a sweet child when I met him. His father practically put into his head that he must join the Night´s Watch and send him on his way to please his wife. Years passed since then, but I believe he must remain that same honourable…"
"An honourable man would not refuse to swear to his rightful king!"
"Her Grace speaks true, Lord Lannister"
"From what I saw, he hasn´t exactly refused. In his letter, he says that if we were to help the Night´s Watch and Lords of his Lands against the enemy in the North, whatever it really is."
"Grumpkins and snarks" snorted Connington.
"Well, they sound like the ramblings of a madman, yes, but he is giving you an opportunity to show that you support your kingdoms!" the dwarf continued. "You only have to fly in your dragons and make an appearance in the North, nothing more!"
"One would think they want to impose their will on their king" Aegon continued, making sure the dwarf knew he had overstepped. "Anyway, it´s an interesting solution the one you are proposing, my lord. To remind the North why Torrhen Stark kneeled… I will need to ponder on this alone, please leave me" the people around him lifted themselves, even his queen. "Not you, Lemore"
"Your Grace?" the septa stopped. He could be her adoptive son, but he was also her king, so she didn´t know exactly if she could chastise him still or if she was going to get punished for that. Sort of.
"Don´t worry, you are not in trouble, it´s just that… I thought you might want to have some tea with me in my solar. Just the two of us" he guided him. The solar was the same one Robert Baratheon used in his days, but it was now decorated in a very different style. Targaryen banners hang from the ceiling and the table was changed to one of dragon decorations. And there, in the middle, the king served his adoptive mother some tea. "I wish this could be easier… or another way. So if you want to go by Lord Tyrion´s idea…"
"Why would I do that?" she asked, receiving the cup.
"You don´t have to act with me. I can imagine it was not easy to abandon your own son for me" she still looked confused. "Griff told me about your past, Lady Ashara Dayne, and that the Stark bastard is your son, so if you want to try and convince him…"
"What? Connington, that fool" the woman shook her head, surprising Aegon. "He shouldn´t talk about things he doesn´t understand."
"I am the one not understanding."
"Jon Snow is not my son" Ashara said, plain and clear. "My little girl, Lyarra, died soon after birth. She was a sickly child, the master himself told me she wasn´t going to live for long. I felt prey of desperation, then heard about my dearest friend´s death and wanted to kill myself… but I told myself that she wouldn´t want that, so I decided to honour Elia´s memory by raising you as soon as she departed from this world."
"And… Jon Snow…"
"Oh, his birth and my girl´s are so close that people confused them for the same child, but they are actually cousins" the woman explained, sipping her tea. "That Eddard Stark visited me soon after Lyarra´s death only intensified the rumours" she stared at him. "He was carrying the babe in his arms when he arrived and I had just buried mine…"
"Must have been painful" said Aegon, secretly relieved that the boy and Ashara´s baby were actually not the same. Now he could eliminate the threat in the North without fear of harming the woman he considered a mother. "And it was inconsiderate of him to parade his child with another woman while the other one with you…"
"Brandon´s child"
"His niece, then" he rubbed his head, looking apologetic. "His niece was laid to rest"
"Oh, he didn´t have much option, the mother of the child was dead and he had no wetnurse at his side, so he took him to Starfall. I let him use the wetnurse that have been feeding Lyarra, Wylla" she suddenly looked serious. "Aegon… there is something I must tell you… something that not even Connington knew… about Jon Snow."
"Lemore…"
"Please, hear me out" the woman grabbed his hands. "Jon Snow is…"
"INTRUDERS!" the king jumped and rushed towards his balcony, from where he could see the yard they were using to house the dragons until the dragonmount was ready. There… in the middle of the yard, a trio of people was running. One was a woman with a long flowing blond hair. The other a tall redhead with the strength of a bull, pushing soldiers to the side. And the third… the third was a young man with a long mane of dark curls. Wearing the heraldry of House Stark.
"Jon Snow… for the love of the Seven, he looks exactly like his father" Lemore said, a hand to her chest. Aegon couldn´t say anything to agree or deny the statement, just seeing the man running towards the dragons. He almost felt pity for the fool, he would have a death worse than he could imagine. He watched Jon dodge both Rhaegal and Drogon in his pathway to Viserion, the only rudderless dragon.
"Crow! If you are going to do something, do it now! We can´t keep them contained for too long!" the boisterous redhead announced as his lord approached the white dragon. This one opened his mouth, but closed it again, staring at the Lord of Winterfell. Finally the animal lowered his head and Jon Snow advanced to him, climbing on his back easily. Aegon´s eyes went big when the boy called for his friends, making them run towards the dragon.
"Tormund! Val!" he screamed, helping the other two climb on the animal. Viserion took off with his cargo a few seconds later, getting lost in the sky while the others could only watch.
When Aegon and Daenerys finally were able to recover their speech, they ranted and raved about Jon Snow being able to steal one of the dragons. Lemore just stay by the side, contemplating what she knew and never told. Connington counted the months and the Imp only drank, not knowing what else to do. Even Varys seemed a bit lost, having encountered no information about the bastard.
"… AND HOW IN THE BLOODY HELLS DID HE MANAGE TO MOUNT A DRAGON?!"
"HE IS YOUR BROTHER" Ashara finally said, managing to catch the attention of all the people in the room. "Well, half-brother if we are being specific. The only son of Rhaegar Targaryan and Lyanna Stark."
"How…"
"You better sit down, Aegon, this will be a difficult chat. You two, Daenerys" she sighed, making everybody take a seat. "I have already explained you that your mother and father had a relationship of mutual understanding and respect if no love" that was a great disappointment for Aegon, who always envisioned his parents as deep in love, but there was nothing he could do about it. "It was not actually their fault, the Mad King prevented them to find love in one another with their attitude."
"And?"
"Well, Rhaegar… he met Lyanna in the Toruney of Harrenhal. The connection was slow at first, but… the two of them felt madly in love. Elia didn´t give it much of a thought, she had always had a lover or two at hand… with the precautions of the case, of course" she sent an apologetic look to the king. "She made sure the children were from her husband."
"To the point"
"Anyway, Rhaegar and Lyanna met in Harrenhal and felt in love. Aerys, for some reason, sent men in secret for Lyanna and the prince rode off to protect her. They reunited, something happened between them… Elia and me were some of the few persons that were informed of Lyanna´s pregnancy, that she was hidden in the Tower of Joy, in Dorne, and that the babe will be born soon. I wanted to stay with Elia, to comfort her, but the Rebellion started because of two fools in love and I was sent away"
"Then you had your weak babe, she died and… and Eddard Stark appeared with his sister´s babe"
"Yes, he turned up in Starfall a few days after the babe was born. He wanted to see his niece… he was too late for that. Then he asked for the wetnurse and showed me the boy" she smiled. "The little thing was adorable, so tiny and alike my own child, that I begged for Eddard to leave him with me. I was going to raise you two together… but Lord Stark crushed that dream. He said his nephew was a Stark and he was to be raised in Winterfell."
"So he invented the identity of Jon Snow and departed to his frozen Wasteland, taking a Blackfyre with him" Aegon finished the history. "He planned to crown the boy? No, he wouldn´t have sent him to the Night´s Watch if it was that" the king bit his lips, then laughed. "He was that loyal to Robert Baratheon?!" he laughed even harder. "Was he in the Stag´s bed or what?!"
"Aegon, this is not funny."
"No, it´s hilarious! That fool Stark played all the Realm for fools… all in the name of his beloved Stag! And that boy out there, my bastard brother... wonder if he felt as betrayed as my mother when my father had a child with another woman" he continued laughing like a madman. "His own blood! And he choose another over him!"
"Aegon…"
"Anyway, we still can´t let him loose" Daenerys finally talked. "He is your younger brother and a bastard to boot. He can only be an heir if we are both dead" the queen approached her husband. "He decided to refuse to bow to us and we can´t tolerate that. There has already been a bastard that rose against his trueborn relatives in our family."
"Daemon Blackfyre…" Aegon said. "Did Stark told you his real name?"
"Aelor" Asahra answered. "It´s an unusual name with an unusual history behind it, but… Rhaegar probably told her the history of the Aelor that lived when your family hasn´t yet left Valyria."
"What kind of histories?"
"The Aelor Targaryen that lived here was murdered by his wife and twin, Aelora Targaryen, but the Aelor that lived in Valyria was said to be the best dragonridder that ever lived. But he took his dragon one day and flew west… to never be seen again. Swallowed by the sea, apparently."
"Not an inspiring history"
"Rhaegar knew much more about it… Aelor obsessed him. That´s why I believe maester Aemon told him another version of the history of Aelor, one we haven´t heard before and that we should. The only thing I know about that version is that it´s related somehow to the history of Joramun."
"Joramun?"
"The northerners know more than I"
"Then we will ask them… after we show them their king might be a dragonridder, but he can´t defeat the both of us. Not with our dragons" he turned to Connington. "Get the men ready, we are leaving for the Wall. All the Lords in the Realm will kneel and my brother is not the exception. He will kneel or fall."
"Aegon…"
"Don´t worry, my lady, I´m not about to become a kinslayer" he turned. "Get my armour ready, we are departing for Winterfell this very afternoon."
-Days later, at the Wall-
"We are here" Jon said, letting himself down from the dragon. Brynden Tully was there, waiting for him, having stayed to help Tollet maintain everything in order and help with the strategy. The man was, at the beginning, a little bit reluctant to work with the bastard that had made his niece so unhappy, but, after finding out about the enemy beyond the wall, he was more than compromised with the enterprise. But that didn´t mean he was happy with his king´s habits.
"You look as if you haven´t slept the whole journey, boy" the Blackfish said, frowning. The two wildlings behind the boy sighed, knowing what was going to come next. Well, it was going to be better than the lecture they would get from Lady Sansa. "You probably also had nothing to eat."
"I will eat, drink and sleep after this is all over" the boy answered, putting his armour in place. "Have there been any attacks while I was away?"
"Yes, nothing like the one just before you left" the Tully answered, sighing. This boy was not going to hear reasons, no? So why bother? Not that he blamed him, the last attack on the Wall has nearly been the end. A traitor, a man without hope, had opened a gate for the White Walkers to pass while most of the troupes were asleep. When they finally awoken, the icy fuckers have managed to pass at least a thousand wights. It was a very chaotic battle with many deaths and even more injuries, but miraculously they managed to throw them back. And survive. "Are you sure you can use that dragon?"
"I… got the basics observing the king and his queen" informed Jon, feeling a little bit dizzy. Perhaps it was a good idea to take an hour or two to nap… no. He finally had the power of a dragon, he must use it now, before Aegon comes to take it away. "I think we can finish this once and for all… with Viserion´s help."
"Me too, lad, but you shouldn´t be overconfident. That hardly helps during a battle"
"I know" he put a hand on the pommel of his sword. He knew Brynden was just trying to get him home in one piece for Sansa´s sake, but sometimes he wished the old man would just stop trying to make him rest. He knew he needed his strength, but the soldiers also needed to see their king risking his life among them. It gave them courage. "Where are the wights right now?"
"According to the wargs" dammit, the Blackfish still couldn´t believe those creatures were real. "there is a large concentration of them in the ruins of Hardhome. There is also a Walker with them, alone."
"Sounds like a trap to me"
"Me too, but we couldn´t ignore them. It´s a big enough number to make us great damage if they managed to pass the Wall" the Tully then lowered his voice. "And I don´t want to be fatalistic, but there is a good amount of people who are losing faith."
"Well, we will have to give it back to them" Jon answered, clenching his teeth. "You, Val and Tormund will accompany me to a mission Beyond the Wall. We will destroy the wights at Hardhome with Viserion tomorrow" he announced, hoping that it was enough to keep his men on line. "We need to prepare for the attack of tonight. Tell me, are there enough dragonglass arrows and oil to…"
"We still have some in our storages, but they are getting more and more scares with every night´s attack" Brynden suddenly sounded worried. "Your Grace, don´t you think your brother…"
"If he was in the mood to listen to me, I wouldn´t have restored to theft of a dragon" he bit his lips. "When we arrived to the capital, there were talks around in the Red Keep about the punishment he would inflict on me for being a rebel, despite having stated in the letter that if they were to come to our aid, I would gladly bend the knee…"
"Not all people has seen what we had, your Grace."
"Neither I wish for that, but I was counting in his help. Now I don´t have it, my own half-brother probably wants me dead and there is an army of dead men waiting to invade the North."
"Had you approached him directly…"
"He would have just named me a madman or think it a trap and order our execution immediately" Jon mentally looked for Ghost, who was hunting his meal in the nearby forest. He wished him luck, they needed him ready again for the night to come. "It´s the problem with the grumpkins and snarks."
"Something I have been half expecting to find in battle someday" the man walked away. "Use what remains of the day to grab some sleep, your Grace, you need it."
"Hours wasted" Jon said, as he climbed on the dragon to practice flying. If he was going to take passengers tomorrow, he needed to practice his aerial manoeuvres. He spent the rest of the afternoon flying on the dragon, getting bonded with him, so the animal knew what his rider intended without the need of words. It was much more complex and deeper than with a horse and more alike to what had happened between him a Ghost, but… so different at the same time… strange…
"For fuck´s sake, boy, sleep a bit. You are going to collapse if you don´t" Jon bit his lips, feeling his stomach churn despite the piece of bread he already ate. But he couldn´t dare to spend more rations. They were already short of food, he couldn´t take more.
"I can keep going without it" he answered Tormund, continuing with his practice. Sleeping can wait, drinking can wait, eating can wait. Everything can wait but the Long Night. "I have to continue."
-The next day-
"Hardhome…" Val opened her mouth when she saw, from the back of the Dragon, how her former home has become a den for the enemy. Thousands of dead wildlings were waiting there with a Walker to attack their men…
"They won´t do anything, rest assured" Jon flew with Viserion towards the place. A good bonfire and witnesses to his triumph over that host, all he needed to raise the moral. And after this, he will defeat the Night´s King. "Dracarys!" a shower of fire rained over the wights, destroying the foul creatures by lots. The Walker screeched, raising his sword, but could do nothing but to flee from the fire. "We are doing it" another flame suddenly crossed them, making Jon nearly fell. "What the…"
"Tell me, did you only stole a dragon to rain destruction over wildlings, bastard?" Aegon appeared in the worst possible time, with Jon Connington behind him in the animal´s back. Daenerys and Drogon appeared next, Missandei and Grey Worm with her. "When I heard that you have let some of them get south, I thought your were making a personal army, but this… did you just kill them all?"
"It was a necessity"
"Or a tyrant trying to keep his power" Danerys accused him, icily. "Bend the knee, bastard, and we might let you live."
"If you help stop the Long Night…"
"Away with your imaginary wars!"
"Then we have nothing else to talk about!" Jon was worried for his men, worried for his lands, worried for the fates of all the Realms, but couldn´t do anything. He fleed, hoping to lose the two other dragonridders before heading to the Wall again, but unfortunately, fate was not on his side. Viserion was ambushed by Rhaegal and Drogon near the grove of weirwood Bloodraven used to live in and brought to the ground. "You don´t know what you are doing"
"Oh, we know, there have been many before you that tried the same" Aegon prepared to face Jon with a sword, the same with the others. The younger one was bleeding for the fall, but raised his sword and… a boom shook the ground under them. The men looked around in fear, but were sucked into something too early to comprehend what was happening… along with a pissed White Walker.
-Minutes later-
"Swear I´m going to kill someone" Jon said, opening his eyes despite his body demanding more rest. "Where in the Seven Hells are we?"
"This can´t be" Brynden opened his eyes wide, recognizing the place, decorated for a tourney that will never be forgotten. "Harrenhal!"
Jon raised an eyebrow, but yes, he recognized it from his travel too. They have reached Harrenhall somehow and he couldn´t tell how. And worse, it was having a tourney, something no castle in the Riverlands could afford after so many wars. He mentally cursed Bloodraven and his sorcery, blaming them for this. Just what in the Seven Hells happened?
I think you have already guessed what happened, no? Let´s see if they can catch it before seeing someone that they shouldn´t. Or before Jon has to face the parents he didn´t want to face or the brother who wants to kill him. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Review!