Chapter 99

Jon knew that he couldn't stay on the top of the Wall forever, like a petulant child. He was a man of the Night's Watch. And staying at the top of the Wall would not change the truth of his parentage. I'll have to face the Queen eventually. I'll have to look at Bran and Rickon and know they aren't my brothers. He read Arya's note again before putting it in his pocket. Perhaps the boys will feel the same as Arya. Perhaps they will still feel that we're brothers. Jon forced himself to take the lift down to Castle Black and walked into the dining hall with Ghost by his side.

Queen Daenerys was sitting at the table closest to the fire with Bran and Rickon. They were engaged in a lively conversation – both boys' eyes were lit with excitement. What could the boys and the queen be discussing? Lady Catelyn was speaking quietly with Howland Reed across the room, though she was also closely watching her children speak to the Dragon Queen. Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan stood behind Daenerys and both nodded to Jon when he approached. He tried to ignore the sympathy in Ser Barristan's eyes.

As Jon got closer, he could hear that Daenerys was talking to the boys about her dragons. He could tell that she was genuinely enjoying their company. One thing Jon had noticed about her during their travels south was her affection for children. It had struck him when he first met her that, as much as she hated Stannis Baratheon, she showed kindness toward his young daughter. So much so that she had taken Shireen on as her ward, and Jon expected that she would gift Storm's End to the girl when she came of age, as her rightful inheritance. Her affection for Shireen Baratheon was why Jon had been shocked when she had acceded to Littlefinger's advice and ordered little King Tommen executed.

"Jon, may I…may we speak privately?" she asked, when she noticed his approach. "We'll finish our conversation later?" she asked the boys. "You can even meet the dragons, if you like. And watch them fly?" They nodded happily at her offer. "Is there somewhere…?" she asked Jon, clearly wishing to speak with him alone.

Jon gestured toward the Lord Commander's private dining room. Bran grabbed Jon's hand as he passed. He met the boy's blue eyes and knew that he felt the same as Arya. We are brothers. No matter who may have fathered me. Jon squeezed Bran's hand and patted Rickon on the head as he followed the Queen.

"I'm surprised that you don't at least have Ser Jorah stand by while we spoke. Isn't he your personal guard? He didn't seem very pleased to have the doors shut in his face."

"He's far too protective." She smiled warmly. "And we're family. I didn't…I didn't think that I had any family left. I've believed for so long that I was the last dragon."

Jon felt decidedly uncomfortable in the face of her desire to welcome him as a Targaryen. He didn't want to be one. He liked Daenerys well enough – she had earned his respect and he knew that he had earned hers. But he saw that she wanted more than that. She wants a family. Jon had always thought of the Targaryens as enemies of the Starks. He'd grown up being taught the story of Robert's Rebellion. The Mad King killed Lord Rickard Stark and Brandon Stark. My uncle and my grandfather. I suppose the Mad King was my grandfather as well.

"I'm not a Targaryen," Jon said gently. "I'm a bastard. The truth…it doesn't change that."

"I can legitimize you. I'm queen."

"No. My name is Jon Snow. Not Jon…Targaryen."

She wasn't angry, but she persisted. "You're my brother Rhaeger's only living son. I can't have you living at the Wall as the bastard son of Ned Stark. You belong in King's Landing with me. We're family. You could help me rule."

He wanted to scream at her and tell her to leave, but she was queen, and she'd been kind to him in all their dealings. He grasped her wrist and guided her to sit down beside him. He saw the hope in her eyes and immediately regretted touching her. He didn't want to disappoint her – to make her think that he would rule with her when he had no intention of doing so.

"Your grace – "

"You needn't be so formal," she said, smiling. "You may call me Daenerys."

Jon couldn't bring himself to address the queen by her first name. "Even if I wished to go to King's Landing, which I don't…I took vows. I swore to spend my life as a man of the Night's Watch. And I'm Lord Commander. These men chose me as their leader. I can't break my vows now that…now that I'm Prince Rhaeger's bastard."

"I am the queen, Jon. I can set your vows aside – dismiss you from the Night's Watch."

"No. It would be wrong. I'll not have the entire realm believe that I have no honor. I'm no oathbreaker. My fa- Ned Stark raised me to keep my promises." Jon felt a stabbing in his heart at the realization that he could not call Ned Stark his father anymore. He could sense her frustration. She's a queen. She's used to getting her own way. She thinks coming with her to the capitol is best for me. "Your grace…I know that you have struggled mightily for your place on the Iron Throne. But it's not something I have ever aspired to. I don't…I don't want power. I don't want to rule. I'm no prince. I'm a man of the Night's Watch. And that is all I will ever be."

"That is not all you will ever be. You have the blood of the dragon. You have the blood of Rhaeger Targaryen in your veins."

"I know."

"I'm not finished. Rhaeger risked everything – his family, his life – to bring you into the world. Did you not read the journals Tyrion brought? You came to him in a dream. And your mother and father – and so many others – died to fulfill Rhaeger's prophecy. Would you have their deaths be for nothing?"

"Rhaeger and Lyanna ruined lives to be together. People died, because they wanted to be together. And my existence ruined lives, as well."

He could see those words affected her. "Do you really believe that, Jon? That your birth was a mistake?"

Jon had never spoken the words aloud, but he'd felt that way more often than he could count. Now that he knew the truth of his parentage, he felt it even more strongly. "I've done well here at the Wall. Being part of the Night's Watch, it's what I was meant to do. I belong here. It's the only place I've ever felt that I belong. We made a difference – we protected the realm from the White Walkers. There's honor in that, even if I don't sit on a throne."

"Targaryens do not belong at the Wall!"

Jon smiled. "Our maester was at the Shadow Tower when you were last at the Wall. I felt he would be safer there, than here at Castle Black. He has served as Maester here since before either of us were born. He took vows, and he kept those vows. Even when Jaime Lannister killed his brother, the king." She looked up in surprise at that. "He remained here, even when his nephew was killed on the Trident. As much as he wished, in his heart, to leave here and fight for his family, Aemon Targaryen remained at the Wall, as he swore. Your grace…I nearly broke my vows and left here to fight beside Robb…to avenge my…to avenge Ned Stark. But my brothers here – Maester Aemon among them - reminded me of my vows. My oath. I'll not leave here, your grace. I'm a man of the Night's Watch and honor demands that I remain."

He saw the moment the hope died in her eyes. The moment she knew that there would be no changing his mind. He did not want to disappoint her. He knew that she must have been overjoyed to know that she wasn't the last of her line. But Jon was no prince. He was no Targaryen, no matter who sired him. Ned Stark may not have been his father, but he raised him and Jon wouldn't disgrace him by breaking his oath.

The queen was quiet for a long time before she finally spoke. "I…I promised to show…your little brothers the dragons. You'll come outside with us?" Jon nodded, relieved that she seemed to accept his decision to stay at the Wall. For now, at least. He knew her well enough to know that she would not give up so easily. But she seemed prepared to leave him be for a time. He noticed that she called Bran and Rickon his brothers. She wants me to accept her as family. Even if it means acknowledging that the Starks are my family as well.

They returned to the dining room and collected the boys. The Reed children came along to see the dragons, as did Hodor who helped push Bran down the ramps that Jon had ordered installed throughout Castle Black during their stay. Jon followed behind the lot of them, though Rickon ran back and grasped Jon's hand tightly, a happy smile on his face as he trotted along beside him. He is my brother. No matter who fathered me.

When Jon and Rickon walked outside Castle Black, Jon saw the Queen's three dragons sitting before her, their wings flapping in excitement as they awaited her commands. They were massive beasts, though Bran didn't seem to be afraid. Hodor however, had retreated to the gates leading into Castle black.

"Hodor," he said fearfully to Jon as he stared at the dragons.

Rickon ran to join his brother, though the younger boy was more cautious as he neared the queen's dragons. Jon stood back and watched as Daenerys commanded the dragons to fly overhead and black, green and gold wings filled the sky. Rickon was clearly delighted by the sight, though Bran seemed deep in thought as he watched them. Jon thought about how the dragons had followed his commands when they were hunting the White Walkers. Daenerys had only taught Jon a few commands, and he knew that the dragons would defer to the queen over him, but it had still been exciting to watch the dragons obey him. The queen would say it is proof that I have blood of the dragon in my veins.

Jon looked down at Ghost beside him and rested his hand on the direwolf's head. The silent wolf at his side was the only animal Jon had felt a true connection with. There is still Stark blood in me. He thought about the few stories he'd heard of Lyanna Stark and wished he had known her. His mother. Jon was distracted from his thoughts by the sound of the dragons screeching overhead.

"Hodor. Hodor," the large man said in fear, retreating further inside the tunnel leading back to Castle Black.

"What are they doing?" Jon called to Daenerys as the dragons continued screeching and snarling at one another as they circled Castle Black.

She shook her head. "They're growing older and more stubborn…they're difficult to control. I don't know." She began shouting commands at them in High Valyrian. The green and gold dragons continued snapping at one another, though they obeyed and landed before the queen. However, the black dragon – Drogon, if Jon recalled correctly – continued screeching with rage and circling Castle Black.

"Why won't he listen to you?"

Daenerys sighed. She glanced at the children and lowered her voice. "Several of the smallfolk in King's Landing have said that the dragons have burned houses and…killed people. I fear I won't be able to control them at all, soon. Tyrion wants me to lock them in the dragon cages beside the Red Keep."

Jon thought that didn't seem like such a bad idea. As they watched, Drogon began breathing fire, as if he were attacking the Wall and rivers of water began flowing down the icy walls. "You need to stop him," Jon said, urgently. "The Wall is made of ice. He'll melt it and the whole thing will come down on us." Jon grabbed Daenerys by the arm. "Do something!"

The Reed children began yelling at Bran as Daenerys continued to shout commands at the massive beast. "Do it, Bran! You have to."

"I can't. It's a dragon," Bran protested as the continued to urge him to do something. What can Bran do about a wild dragon? Jon didn't understand what the children were arguing about. All he knew was that the queen needed to get control of Drogon before people were hurt or killed. Not to mention the danger to the entire Realm if the Wall were damaged and could no longer keep the dangers beyond the Wall at bay.

The Reed boy whispered something to Bran, who took a deep breath and nodded. Jon watched in shock as Bran's eyes rolled up into his head and he began almost convulsing from the effort. Jon looked up into the sky. The dragon immediately stopped breathing fire and flew even higher into the air, circling and circling. As the Queen continued to desperately shout commands at the dragon, Jon rested his hand on her arm to stop her. "Bran's taken control of the dragon's mind," he said quietly, watching as Bran continued to shake from the exertion of controlling the massive dragon.

"How?"

Jon thought back to his time with the wildlings. "He's a warg," Jon whispered. "He can use his mind to become one with the beast…to see through its eyes and control its body. I've seen it before. There was a wildling man who could merge with an eagle…to watch for enemies and scout the terrain ahead. When he did it…he looked as Bran does now."

Daenerys stared at Bran in astonishment as Drogon continued to soar high above them. Jon knew that Bran would remain one with the dragon for some time. He's finally climbing as high as he wants.

…

Sansa gently covered Julianna with her blanket and leaned over to kiss her forehead. She smiled as the babe wrapped her tiny arms around Sansa's neck and hugged her tightly.

"G'night, mama."

"Good night, sweet baby girl." Sansa sat beside Julianna, stroking her hair, until she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out. As she sat there, Sansa thought how her babe looked so like her. With her eyes closed, Julianna was the picture of a Tully. She looks like Bran and Rickon as well. She could pass for their sister. Sansa had been so relieved to know that her little brothers were alive. So relieved to know that she and Arya weren't the only ones left.

A big part of her longed to return to Winterfell so that she could see them again. But she also feared how they would react to Jaime. Specifically, how Bran would react to Jaime. I wonder if Bran remembers how he was hurt. I wonder if he remembers that it was Jaime who pushed him. She thought perhaps it was best that she and Jaime were in the Free Cities, so she didn't have to face the possibility of her brother hating her husband. I wonder if he will hate me for loving the man who left him a cripple.

On her way back to her chamber, Sansa opened the door to Tommen's chamber to check on him. As she stood beside his bed, watching him sleep, she felt the urge to take the sweet little boy into her arms and protect him from the world. She thought about Jon and how devastated he must have been to learn that Rhaeger Targaryen was his father – that his whole life had been a lie. Jon admired Father so much. Anyone could see that. She didn't want Tommen to feel that kind of pain. She didn't want him to feel betrayed by her or by Jaime. Though, I don't believe Tommen loved King Robert as Jon loved Father. Sansa leaned over and gently kissed his forehead before leaving the room.

"Good night, Sansa," he whispered sleepily.

She turned and smiled. "Good night, sweet boy. Have sweet dreams."

As Sansa walked back to her own bedchamber, she wondered what she could say to Jaime to convince him to be brave and tell Tommen the truth. It's best for both of them that Tommen know Jaime is his father. She felt for Jaime as well, knowing what a difficult conversation it would be for him. He'd come to care for Tommen and Sansa knew it would hurt him if the boy rejected him as Myrcella had.

She stopped walking and leaned against the wall, resting her hand on her stomach as a sharp pain stabbed at her. She had been feeling dull pains for most of the day. It's too early for labor pains. It must be something else. She took a few deep breaths until the pains went away and continued to her chamber. Not yet, she thought, willing the babe inside her to stay put for a few weeks longer. Sansa rubbed her belly as she entered her chamber, closing the door behind her.

Jaime walked out of the bathing room, clad in nothing but loose fitting linen pants. "Are the children asleep? You know, I could have put them to bed."

"It's all right," she said, lowering herself into a chair. "I like watching them fall asleep. And when the babe comes, I may not have time to do it for a while."

Jaime kissed her and knelt beside her, rubbing his hand over her swollen belly. "Knowing you…you'll find the time. I see how you hate to miss a moment with either of them. You're a wonderful mother, Sansa."

She covered his hand with her own. "And you're a good father to them…whatever you think, Jaime. You make them feel loved and safe…it comes easily to you, now that you've lowered your guard."

"It's only because I have you." Jaime leaned forward and kissed her, threading his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck. "I love you." He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him.

Sansa rested her hands on his shoulders as she returned his kisses. "I love you," she whispered between kisses. She gasped as another sharp pain struck her low in her stomach.

"What's the matter? Is it the babe?"

"It's nothing," she lied, breathing deeply to keep from crying out in pain. What is happening? It wasn't at all like this with Julianna. "If I lie down and try not to move…it'll stop." She was terrified of the babe coming too early.

She saw the suspicion and disbelief in his eyes as he tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. "How long have you been having these pains? Sansa? Tell me the truth."

She felt her eyes fill with tears, knowing that she wouldn't be able to will the pain away. "Most of the day. But…it's been worse since dinner."

"You're in labor," he murmured quietly, rising to his feet. She knew he was about to send his men to fetch the healer. It's too soon. "It's all right," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I won't leave you. I'll be with you the whole time, just like with Julianna." He hesitated briefly before continuing. "Myrcella was born a few weeks early and she was healthy. It's not so early." Sansa nodded and tried to reassure herself that the babe would be well, but she couldn't ignore the worry in Jaime's eyes.

…

Next chapter (Chapter 100!): Jaime and Sansa's family grows