After three days of his arrival, they headed for Harrenhal after some of the lords joined them, they were excited to meet the hidden Targaryen prince they already loved for his honorable character and noble actions, they were terrified when they saw the dragons, even the GreatJon Umber stood silently after seeing them which shocked everyone for they knew him to be a loud lord with his booming voice and his love for drinking and fighting, word already spread about his dragons, some said that they were as big a Balerion the Black Dread especially Syrax who was the biggest of the three, he agreed of course, his dragons were ridiculously big he was brought out of his thoughts when his mother called his name
"Are you afraid of what might happen?" she asked worried about him.
"No, I'm not, are you?" he asked his mother.
"No, I'm fine," she lied to him, he always caught her lies, she was like Arya, terrible at lying.
"Come on mother, I know you're lying," he told her, she turned to him and feinted hurt
"Are you calling your poor mother a liar Jon?" she asked him with amusement in her voice, Gods he loved his mother, she was his mother and best friend at the same time, he could talk to her about anything and they would always laugh together.
"I would never do such thing mother, but I could always tell when you're lying, you're much like Arya, your cheek flicks when you lie," he told her.
"Speaking of Arya, did you give her a ride on Syrax?" she asked trying to change the subject and he answered her not wanting to press her,
"Aye, and I regret doing so, I thought she would be afraid when we flew high into the sky but she kept laughing and when we descended she asked me when can I take her again on a ride," he told his mother which made her laugh, he always liked making his mother laugh,
"You're right you know? Arya's like me, she's fearless," she told him with a smile on her lovely face, she darted her gaze from him to his side where Ghost came in silently after hunting and started walking next to him,
"Gods I didn't even hear him, he's like you, you know? when you were a child," she told him still looking at Ghost, and he never heard that one before
"What do you mean?"
"You were always silent, you hardly cried or made a noise, compared to Catelyn with Robb who's screams woke the whole castle, I was the luckiest mother in the world," she answered with a proud smile on her face, he leaned in the kissed her forehead
"Mother, I know that you're afraid of might happen after the citadel announced my existence, but you have to understand that I'm here and I'll burn Harrenhal to the ground again just to make you happy, all I need is you by my side as always and I'm complete, that until you find me a girl which you might think worthy of me," he told his mother which made her cry and laugh at the end.
"I don't think that there's a girl out there that I think might be worthy of you, I'm so proud of you Jon," she told him with tears in her eyes.
"Well if that's the case, I'll stay celibate then," he joked which got him a playful slap on the shoulder from his mother
"Don't even think about it boy, I want to play with my grandchildren so you'll have to endure with your wife until you give them to me," she told him with a mischievous smile which made him blush.
He was on top of Syrax flying in the air when he spotted Harrenhal in the distance, it was a big castle, slightly bigger than Winterfell which was considered the biggest in the realm, he understood why his ancestor Aegon the Dragon chose it to display the might of a dragon, and he thought of what people might think of another black and red dragon flying toward a newly built Harrenhal, he saw a lot of tents in the ground with people that looked like ants from the height he was in, he flew down and across Harrenhal which made the people down in the ground look up when they saw three giants shadows that blocked the sun, he circled the Castle which made more people come out and look at him and he can clearly hear shouts, he stayed circling the castle until he saw that the Stark party arrived, which made him land, he flew down on Syrax leaving Snowfyre and Goldyre in the air flying in circles, when he landed Syrax shook the ground itself, Syrax screeched warningly to those nearby, he got down, looked around and saw mutltiple people with their eyes widening when they saw him with his silver-white hair and deep violet eyes wearing the armor of Aegon the conqueror dismounting a big black and red dragon, he laughed internly at their reactions, he saw silver haired man wearing a crown looking at him with wide eyes, this must be the king he thought, the same man that threw him and his mother, he saw near him a young man with blonde and silver hair that looked like the king, this must be Aegon he thought, your own brother he thought, he ignored everyone's staring at him and turned and stroked Syrax's scales and told him to join his sisters and go hunting, he moved through the crowd who made way for him, he reached his mother who was still atop her horse, he handed her his hand to help her dismount, she took it with a proud smile on her beautiful visage, he saw his uncle, and cousin Robb dismount, Arya and Sansa getting out of the carriage, his aunt Catelyn stayed in Winterfell with Rickon and their grandfather, he put his hand around his mother and lead them behind his Uncle Ned who was greeted by lord Whent
"My lord of Stark, it's a pleasure to have you here my lord," Lord Whent greeted them, his grandfather retired a few years back and let his uncle Ned become the lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
"We thank you for your hospitality, my lord," his uncle replied, lord Whent seemed to hesitate a moment before he turned to him and smiled.
"It's pleasure to meet you, my prince," he said with a little smile on his face,
"it's an honor to be here lord Whent," he replied.
"Come, my lords and ladies let me show you your chambers," he told them, they started walking when he noticed that most of the people were still staring at him, they kept staring until he walked into the castle.
Lord Whent showed them their rooms, Harrenhall was the biggest castle in the realm and lord Whent's family consisted of only four members and Ser Oswell Whent is on the Kingsguard, so they were plenty of rooms for the guests of the great houses and some important lords and their families
He ordered Ghost, who was the only Direwolf that came with them, the rest stayed in Winterfell for some reason, but Ghost never left his side since the day he found him, and Ghost after returning from beyond the Wall was the biggest of the direwolves, he nearly as big as a horse, he ordered him to watch over his mother despite her protests. He walked into the room that lord Whent showed him and he jumped into the bed from exhaustion, he was lying on the bed when he heard a knock on his door he told whoever knocked to come in and in walked in a knight with white armor and and white cloak and he recognized him to be none other than a Kingsguard.
"My prince, the king requests your presence," the knight told him.
"May I ask your name good Ser?" he asked the man in front of him.
"Ser Arthur Dayne of the Kingsguard my prince, it's a pleasure seeing you again," apparently Ser Arthur Dayne, the sword of the morning told him.
"Have we met before Ser Arthur?" he asked him after standing up.
"Yes my prince, I was there when you were born, and I visited Winterfell once under disguise when I was giving leave to visit my family in Starfall on time," Ser Arthur told him, he was surprised, of course, he never saw him or noticed him in Winterfell before.
"so you visited me in Winterfell instead of visiting your family? may I ask why?" he asked as he walked out of his room and followed Ser Arthur to see the king who was also his father, for the first time in his life.
"Lady Lya and I grew to be close friends in the short time we spent, I never approved of what happened but I swore a vow nonetheless to protect and observe not give my opinion," Ser Arthur told him with his head down probably in shame, he knew the reputation of ser Arthur, he was known for his honor much like his Uncle Ned and no honorable man would've approved of what happened.
They walked silently until they reached the king's solar, he waited outside as Ser Arthur went in and introduced him, he got out and opened the door for him, he felt anxious and a little bit afraid, he walked in and saw the king sitting behind his desk looking at him with an unreadable face, to his right was sitting a beautiful women with slightly dark skin and brown eyes and black hair with a small smile on her face, this must be Queen Elia he thought, to the King's right was sitting the young man he saw earlier with blonde-silver hair and violet eyes with a smile on his face, this must be my brother Aegon he thought, to his left was sitting a perfect copy of Queen Elia except for the deep violet eyes much like him who had an awkward smile on her face and to the Queen's right was sitting a silver haired and beautiful young girl who's expression didn't give much for interpertation, this must be Daenaerys my aunt he thought, behind the queen stood a man with the same tanned skin and brown eyes that glared at him and his face was clear as the sun, this must be prince Oberyn he thought, he hates me and deems me a living slight against his sister, and behind the king stood a young man with silver hair and with disdain on his face, this must be my Uncle Viserys he thought
"Your graces," he bowed to them after all his mother raised him to be honorable and respectable even though he hated the man he's bowing to. The king motioned for him to sit down, so he sat down in the middle of the room like he was on trial.
"How did you hatch your dragons?" the king, his father asks him after seeing him for the first time in sixteen years, the queen looked at her husband with confused look like she must've read his thoughts and the same for Aegon and Rhaenys but the others were still looking at him
"And here I thought we were going to talk about the weather," he japes, which makes Aegon and Rhaenys smile and struggle to hold their laugh, Prince Oberyn smirked at his audacity queen Elia also smiled at his jape, but the King and Prince Viserys and Daenerys didn't look amused
"Why did you send the Citadel those letters and had them announce to the world that you're actually my son?" the king asks, he decided to answer him this time
"Well, 'father' I wasn't the one who sent those letters, I was beyond the Wall at the time," he said, the queen and his brother and sister were looking at him like he has gone mad, but the others didn't care about him
"Jon, what made you go beyond the wall?" the queen asked with worry in her voice.
"the sheer curiosity and the love of an adventure much to the displeasure of my dear mother, your grace," he replied with a smile but respectfully to the queen who seemed worried about him even if he wasn't her own son.
"The King asked you a question boy, how did you hatch your dragons?" Prince Viserys said angrily
"The King must be a fool if he thought that'll tell him anything about my dragons," he said which made everyone in the room freeze, Prince Oberyn smirked, Viserys and Daenerys and the king looked outraged and the queen and his brother and sister looked like he has lost his mind and the Kingsguard went to their swords
"How dare insult your king boy?" Viserys yelled at him
"How dare you, you savage? we are the blood of the dragon, the blood of Old Valyria we rode and fought with dragons or did those savages you call family didn't teach you properly?" Daenerys yelled at him too
He was angry that she called his family savages but he wouldn't show it in front of her, he turned to the door and saw Ser Arthur looking at him with worried eyes
"Ser Arthur would mind opened the door?" he told the knight who looked at the king until he nodded at him then opened the solar's door, and in came Ghost running which made the others tense at the horse sized wolf standing next to him, the kingsguard unsheathed their swords and the other had a terrified look on their face
"this over here is Ghost, my Direwolf," he said as he petted the giant Direwolf
"Unlike you Princess I was taught my lessons, House Stark ruled half this continent and still rules it for thousands of year before the Rhoynar came and the Andals with their faith and when House Targaryen was a minor house of the forty in the freehold," he educated his young aunt which looked like she wanted to rip out his throat
he turned to his Uncle and said:" I can say whatever I want, Ghost will rip out the throat of anyone who dares to touch me and by some miracle, if you managed to hurt him, history will repeat itself and a black and red dragon will destroy this castle after being newly restored, and I would be fine, I'm compeletly immune to fire not just degree of it if you're worried about me," That made their eyes widen in horror imagining what would actually happen if his dragon actually did the deed
"And you would be burning the rest of your family with us," Daenerys said smugly like she just conquered Essos
"Unlike you dear Aunt, dragons are smart and they would no harm those I care about," he replied casually which made her turned red from anger at his insult, he saw Aegon and Rhaenys put their hands on their mouths probably to hide their smiles
He stood up and looked straight into his father's eyes and said: "I would never forget nor forgive what you did to my mother, the north remembers," and walked out of the solar leaving them there.
He returned to his room and laid on his bed for a while until he heard another knock on the door, he sighted getting annoyed, he stood up and opened the door himself, he was surprised when he saw Queen Elia, Prince Aegon, and Princess Rhaenys standing in front of him with small smiles on their faces, he bowed and opened the door and invited them in and to sit, he brought the pitcher of wine and poured them cups, each one of them sipped their wine and sat in an uncomfortable silence until he broke it
"I'm confused your grace, I thought you would hate me being the son of the women your husband dishonored you with yet I see you all smiling,"
she chuckled at that and said:" Jon, Rhaegar asked me for my blessings and I gave it to him, I couldn't bear any more children and he wanted a Visenya for Aegon and Rhaenys, after he told me what he actually did, I was horrified of him using a young and innocent girl like that, I begged him to allow you and your mother live with us in the Red Keep so you could be with you brother and sister, instead he refused and married Cersei Lannister and she gave him a girl which he named Visenya and a boy she named Joffrey, they are sadistic little brats who care for none other than themselves and he wants now Aegon to marry both Rhaenys and Visenya 'the dragon must have three heads' he says and he's obsessed with that prophecy of the prince that was promised,"
"brother we didn't know about you until those letters arrived, he made mother to not tell anyone, because if we knew we would've got in contact with you instead of being stuck with Joffrey and Visenya," Rhaenys said smiling at him
"Rhae is right, brother, I swear we didn't know about you, ser Arthur told us that he went to Winterfell once to see you, when we questioned him after those letters arrived, he told us you have black curly hair and grey eyes and you were funny and incredibly good with the sword and fine young man who was kind and honorable," Aegon added smiling
He was surprised but still suspicious, they could be just playing him to further their gains and from behind his he heard Leaf who accompanied them her under disguise as she said with her sweet voice "you can trust them young one, what they say is true and there's to your father more than any of you know,"
He didn't notice her getting into his room, she was covering herself with a cloak which made her look like any normal child, they others looked at him questioningly and confused
"this one here is Leaf, she's a friend and a mentor and advisor if you could say so," he told them which got them probably wondering how can a child be a mentor to him
"Leaf this is..." he began introducing until she interrupted him and said:" I know who's who young one no need to introduce them,"
she took off her cloak and revealed herself with made Queen Elia, Aegon, and Rhaenys gape and jump back in surprise, after he calmed them down and bid them to sit down so he can explain, he turned over to Leaf
"You must remember Leaf that people haven't seen your kind in thousands of years and most people think of you as children's tales," he told the children of the forest
he turned to the Queen who was still staring at Leaf not believing what she's seeing "Your grace, you asked me what I was doing beyond the wall, I went there to search for something and I found Leaf and some of her friends," she told the Queen and brother and sister who didn't seem to hear him as they all kept staring at Leaf, he told Leaf to leave them alone so they can move past their shock
After a few moments of silence, Aegon broke it and asked "Is that a...?" he asked but didn't quite know how to complete it.
"A children of the forest, though Leaf says that men are the children, for they have existed and lived in the world for thousands of years before the coming of men," he answered his brother's vague answer.
He let them deal with the shock of seeing three big dragons and a giant Direwolf than a child of the forest for some time until Queen Elia broke the silence and asked him "Can you tell me where I can find your mother? I would like to go and talk to her and leave you three get to know each other,"
"You'll find Ghost sitting in front of her room your grace," he said, "don't worry your grace, Ghost won't touch you or harm you" he added when he saw a worried look of her face.
She left them there and they stayed sitting in his room, two brothers and a sister, they talked for hours about their lives, about his life in Winterfell and his journey beyond the wall but he didn't mention anything about lord Bloodraven or his duty, they talked to him about the Red Keep and life with 'The Lannister Bitch' as Rhaenys referred to her, He felt a connection to them that he never felt with Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran or Rickon, these were his real brother and sister,
"What's Joffrey and Visenya like?" he asked them, which got them looking at each other until Rhaenys answered: "When you see a golden-haired arrogant and cruel boy and a girl, those are Joffrey and Visenya,"
"Jon, Arthur told us you had black hair and grey eyes, how did that change to pure silver-white hair and deep violet eyes?" Aegon asked looking at him with narrowed eyes
"Yes, Jon how did you become such a handsome man?" Rhaenys asked teasingly which made him blush which made them laugh at him.
"Syrax, Snowfyre, and Goldfyre did this to me, I think they knew I wouldn't burn so they shot they fire onto me and so my features changed as did my hair and eyes," he told them
"What did you look like before?" asked Aegon
"Well I looked exactly like Lord Stark, my uncle, I looked more like him than all of his children,"
"Is that what you called your dragons? Syrax, Snowfyre, and Goldfyre?" Rhaenys asked with shining eyes, interested in dragons as well as Aegon
"Aye, Syrax in honor of Queen Rhaenyra, Snowfyre because she's as white as snow, Goldfyre because of her golden scales," he explained to them.
They kept talking, they asked him if he could show them his dragons and he agreed, they kept jesting and laughing together until Aegon and Rhaenys left him so they can prepare for the opening feast, he ordered a servant to prepare a bath for him, he cleaned himself and wore his fine clothes and went out of his room to look for his mother so he can escort her to the hall.