Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire.

Another dragon, another wolf, another stag

Chapter 35: Rhaenys

"Talking"

"Thinking"

(Location: King's Landing)

Rhaenys was irritated. It seemed that Jon (it was hard to call him Daemon) was doing his best to avoid her. Whenever she went to go look for him, to talk to him, she found that he was busy. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought it was coincidental. But she did know better. He was avoiding her.

So she had to rely on secondhand information: Mya. They sat in her chambers, embroidering. Mya put hers down and rubbed her hands. "I didn't know that this was so tiring for the hands," she said.

"Almost makes you wish to hold the wine pitcher again?" Rhaenys asked her, smiling teasingly at her.

"Almost, but that just mean my arms ached instead."

She couldn't refute that, having seen her hold a wine pitcher many times. Truth be told, it was hard not to see her as still being Mya Stone, bastard of Robert Baratheon. But that wasn't the truth anymore. Now, she was Mya Baratheon, adopted daughter of Stannis. With that, she couldn't just be a servant anymore. She had to be a lady proper, which meant she had to learn what it meant to be a lady.

Rhaenys was happy to show her what that meant. She liked to think that the two of them were friends even if she had never broached the question to Mya (she was still afraid of that possible answer). But more than that, she felt like she owed Mya this. After serving her for so many years, and dealing with all that had been heaped on her shoulders, this was the least Rhaenys could do for her.

And this way, she could also get information on her soon-to-be husband. "How was Daemon this morning?" she asked. Even though she thought of him as Jon, she knew that she had to say his Targaryen name.

Mya rubbed her hands for a moment, taking up the embroidery again. "He was as he was in every morning," she said.

"That's not informative."

"It is the truth, Princess. I brought him breakfast and we talked about who was in the Red Keep today."

"He didn't ask about Robb Stark or our uncle?" The threat of the Northern army at Riverrun loomed over at the Red Keep. She was certain that they would march any day now.

She shook her head. "No."

The princess could've sighed in irritation. "Has he left his rooms?"

"No," Mya told her.

"Not even to train those two boys?" It was one of the few things that could get him out of there, aside from preying in the godswood.

"Not yet, your Highness."

She frowned, but not about Jon. "Mya, you don't need to call me that anymore."

Mya paused in what she was doing. "Call you what, your Highness?" she asked.

"That," she said, gesturing, "The honorific. Between the two of us, you can call me Rhaenys."

The newly made Baratheon considered those words. "You've never said I could speak so informally before. Is this because of my new status?" she asked. There was nothing in her voice to show that she was searching or judging.

Even so, Rhaenys had a hard time looking directly into those eyes. Not for the first time she saw just how much of a Baratheon she really was. What was it about those eyes that she couldn't look at them? It seemed that whenever Mya was in a mood or wanted to know something, those blue eyes held an intensity inside them that never wavered. If her father had that same kind of intensity in his eyes, it was no wonder why men had feared to fight Robert Baratheon (or why it women couldn't resist him).

Mya didn't stop looking but didn't say anything. She just waited in silence. Rhaenys couldn't take the silence anymore and answered her. "Yes, it is," she admitted. "I always thought of you as a friend, Mya. But decorum insists that I had you address me properly. Now that you're legitimized, decorum can be relaxed a little bit." If it wasn't, that would be something she would fight for. Mya deserved that much.

"Very well…Rhaenys," her friend said. "You'll have to forgive me if it takes me some times to get used to being that informal."

She couldn't help but chuckle at that. "I won't hold it against you, Mya." They smiled at each other, taking pleasure in the humor of the moment. But the moment passed and Rhaenys focused back on the matter at hand. "Tell me, is there any way I could talk to Daemon?" The way she saw it, they couldn't stay away from each other. They needed to talk to each other.

Mya thought about the question. "Have you tried talking to him?"

"A few times with others around," she answered. "But only once alone."

"Only once?" her friend repeated, frowning. "Since we've come back from Riverrun?"

"Yes."

Mya looked at her with a surprised look. "Rhaenys, I would've thought you would've talked to him a lot more than that."

She looked back her drolly. "It's a bit hard to do when he's done his best to not come out of his rooms."

"When has that stopped you?"

It shouldn't have. But she couldn't help but feel there would be some…awkwardness between them. She wanted to talk to Jon, to let him lower the walls that came up after his arrival in the Red Keep. She just didn't know what to say to him. The last time she had done that, she had felt uncertain of what to talk about and left quickly.

"Do you know what to say, Mya?"

Mya paused in her work and considered the question. It didn't take her long to say, "Just talk to him honestly, Rhaenys. Your…brother is not used to King's Landing. He has no use for the usual plays and ploys of the court."

That was probably true but she also heard the hesitation. She looked at her. "You doubt?" She didn't need to ask the rest of the question.

She didn't answer immediately. She looked around the room, as if to find any possible person watching them. "Do I have your permission to speak honestly and plainly, your Highness?"

"Mya, we talked about the honorific?" She didn't say anything back to that. Rhaenys sighed slightly and said, "Yes, you have my permission."

"Without fear of reprisal from you or any of the royal family?" she asked.

The princess paused. The last time her friend had said those kinds of words, she had unleashed years of resentment upon her cousins and the Tyrells. Whatever she meant to say next must be treated seriously. She wanted to know what she had to say but there was the chance she wouldn't like what she heard. Still, Mya was concerned enough to ask for permission, twice. "You are safe, Mya."

She nodded in gratitude and said, "I doubt."

"…Why is that?"

She didn't answer right away, thinking about what she could say. "It almost seems too perfect."

"Too perfect?" repeated Rhaenys.

"Yes. No one truly knows who Jon Snow's mother is."

"My father claims he is Lyanna's." When she thought about it, the details made sense, almost. But there was that little doubt that made her stop from completely believing it.

"He's the king. He could claim anything and the highborn and smallfolk would believe him."

Rhaenys knew that wouldn't be completely true. They might publically believe him but they would say something else in private. "Perhaps, but you must agree that the facts of Daemon's birth do match to what the king has declared."

Mya was unconvinced. "The only one who I believe can say what happened and everyone will take it as truth is Lord Stark."

She believed the same. The thing was, Lord Stark had not left Winterfell in the longest time. Perhaps this was why he did not. If he had come to Riverrun, the matter would've certainly come up. "Do you think he would come to our wedding?" If he did, he could answer the question everyone wanted answered.

"I think it's more likely we're to see his son before him."

Again, her mind went to Robb Stark. She had met him a few times at Riverrun but didn't think much of him, focused more on Jon. Now, she wished that she had talked to him more. She was sure that Aegon was the same. If they had talked to him more, they could get into his mind better. But they hadn't done that and now, they were wondering what he would do next.

But there was one person she knew in King's Landing who did know Robb Stark. It was why after she was done with Mya, she went to her brother's chambers. Ser Oswell stood guard outside the door. "Princess," he greeted her.

"Ser Oswell," she replied. "Is he in?"

"Yes, but I believe he's about to go to the godswood."

She went through the door before Jon could come out. She found him coming out of the bed chamber. He saw her and was surprised. "Princess?" he asked.

Rhaenys had seen him plenty of times but each time she was stunned by how handsome he was. He might be a Targaryen but his looks were fully Stark and it made him more handsome. His grey eyes looked at her with a curiosity. His hair framed his face even as it was kept back from it. The ends looked like they were beginning to curl.

Her lust burned inside her. How she wanted to close that door and keep him inside these rooms. "Patience, Rhaenys," she told herself. It would happen soon enough. With each passing day, their wedding came closer. "Hello, Daemon."

He frowned at that name. "That's not my name," he told her.

She knew that but still, there were eyes and ears throughout the Red Keep, even in his rooms. Appearances had to be kept. "Come now, we both know it is."

"No, it is not." His eyes began to harden. He was about to become stubborn.

She stepped closer to him, close enough to touch him, to smell him. He smelled of trees. It probably came from all the time he spent in the godswood. She watched his eyes lose their hardness, replaced by surprise and desire. He wanted her, she could see it. "Let's not talk about it," she told him, her voice lowering to a near whisper.

He gulped in air. He must really be nervous. "What is it you want?" he asked, the words almost sounding like he was forcing them through his mouth.

She wanted a lot of things from him. She wanted to feel the entirety of him against her body, his lips on hers. Instead of pursuing those, she asked him, "Would you walk with me?"

"To where?" he asked.

She was tempted to say anywhere, just so she could spend actual time with him. But that would never do. As a princess, she must always have a purpose and a direction. "A walk around our gardens should do wonders for us both. Perhaps we should even attend the godswood?" She held out her hand to him.

He looked at the offered hand as if it was a poisonous snake. She felt a little insulted that he would look at her so but said nothing. He did take it eventually, something that made her smile brightly. They walked out of the room, getting the attention of Ser Oswell. "Well, this is new," he remarked, "The prince leaving his room with someone. Are we perhaps going somewhere new?"

"The gardens, ser," Rhaenys told him politely. "Would you like to join us?"

"No, I'll stay behind and watch." He grinned good-naturally and also suggestively. "I'm sure that whatever you two want to do should be kept between the two of you."

"Thank you, ser," she replied. She didn't say anything else to him. He would stand behind and watch silently, just as the Kingsguard were to do.

Even though it was the man who was supposed to lead, Rhaenys knew that Jon did not know his way around the Red Keep. So she led him. The garden smelt lovely as they entered. She always felt comforted whenever she came here. "What do you think?" she asked Jon.

"It's very beautiful," he told her, looking at her instead of the gardens.

She smiled, letting it fill her entire face. She saw how it affected him. He tore his gaze away and focused on the garden. She was a little hurt but she didn't let it stop her. "I'm glad."

"Princess—"

She frowned, squeezing his arm just enough to get his attention. "None of that," she said insistently. "You do not need to be so formal."

He looked at her, that same stubbornness starting to show again. "How would you have me address you?"

"Considering that we are married, I would have you call me by my name. If that is not enough for you, use the fact that we are family to call me so." His face held some horror but it was squashed beneath the confusion and the desire. He was still horrified at the idea of wedding but that horror was slowly dying. She leaned in closer. "Say my name, Daemon, please."

"…Rhaenys," he said. As he said the name, she saw that he enjoyed it.

She smiled at him. "Thank you."

As they continued through the garden, they heard the sounds of someone else walking through it too. "Who's that?" Jon asked, looking forward. The garden paths intersected up ahead.

The answer came when they both saw Aegon and Margaery walking together, Ser Barristan close behind. Rhaenys became intrigued and made Jon stop. She wanted to see what this would be. This wasn't the first time that Aegon had taken his betrothal on a stroll through the gardens but it would be the first time that both of them looked the same. Her brother didn't look uncomfortable being Margaery's presence and Margaery didn't look as if she had just claimed a great victory over everyone else.

In fact, both of them looked as if they were in serious discussion with each other. She couldn't hear what they were saying but she could tell that Aegon wasn't trying to be stiff in order to drive her away and Margaery wasn't trying to be witty in order to charm him. It made her all the more curious. "What do you think they're doing?" she asked Jon.

He looked that way too but only briefly. "I would say that they are getting to know each other. If they are to be married, they should have that much at least."

That rang true in her mind. And it was past time that Aegon and his betrothed actually talked to each other. When he and Margaery passed, they continued. She led him to her little spot in the gardens while Ser Oswell stood guard outside it. It was a simply a bench beneath the shade of trees. In front of the bench was a sea of flowers. It was a place where she had played for hours on end while her parents sat on the bench, watching her.

To her surprise, there was already someone there. "Balerion, there you are!" she exclaimed, swooping down on the snoozing cat. She picked him and held him against her chest. "I was wondering why you left the room."

She looked back at Jon, staring at her puzzled. "You know this cat?" he asked her.

"Of course I do. He's my cat."

"Oh, I see."

She brought the two of them closer together. Balerion looked up at Jon with curiosity and hostility. He was judging him as a threat. Rhaenys didn't pay any attention to it. Her cat did it with everyone who wasn't her, even her family. "Would you like to pet him?" she asked Jon. Balerion growled warningly at the suggestion, the sound rumbling up from his throat.

"…Perhaps it's best that I don't," Jon told her. "He seems has to have a clear opinion about me."

She laughed lightly at that. "He's always like that." She sat down on the bench. Jon remained standing. She gave him a pointed look and glanced down at the spot next to her. He did and she leaned in closet to him. Feeling his weight as a support, she liked the feeling. He didn't say it but she knew that Jon the same way. Sitting together with him, in this little haven, it felt right.

"Rhaenys," Jon said softly, almost as if he didn't want to break the silence they had, "What is it you want to talk about?"

She frowned slightly. He reminded her of why she had gone to talk to him. It was a feeling that she wished he hadn't brought up. But now that he had, they must talk about it. "Robb Stark," she said.

"What about him?"

"How well do you know him?"

She expected him to say well enough since they had thought each other as brothers. But that's not what he said. "Why do you ask?"

She was tempted to lie, call it idle curiosity, wanting to know about his life in Winterfell. But if he figured out the lie and called her on it, it would be worse. "I want to know about him."

"Why?"

"He's coming this way, with an army. You know him best."

He froze in his place, something she could feel but stiff he became. "You want me to tell you about what he might do."

"Yes."

That answer made him stand up away from her. The sudden loss of support almost made her fall on her face. It was only years learning of how to hold her posture that stopped her from falling completely. Jon looked as if he wanted to walk from her, from that place. But he stayed there. He still looked angry. "Do you think I would truly tell you?" he asked.

Rhaenys placed Balerion down on the bench and stood up. "I had a small hope," she told Jon honestly.

He looked even more anger. But it wasn't the burning anger she would see in any of her family. Rather, he seemed to become colder, almost ice-like. "Why?" he demanded. "Were you hoping that some supposed familial tie would compel me to answer?"

"He marches against us."

'No, he marches against you."

She was hurt. She knew that he distanced himself from her and the Targaryens because he thought that was happening to him was wrong, on both accounts. But she did not let that stop her. "He marches against the Iron Throne and the family that holds it. You are a part of that family, Daemon."

He could've become a statue in that moment. "My name is Jon Snow. My father is Lord Eddard Stark. I don't know who my mother is."

He had said that many times before, whenever someone tried to make him see that was what he was. The most insistent was not the king (although he had tried to convince him many times) but rather the queen. Rhaenys had seen her mother try to make Jon see that he was a Targaryen many times but all he said were that same phrase again and again.

She stepped closer to him and looked him in the eyes. "It doesn't matter what you claim to be," she told him, taking another step. "Our father, the king, has declared you to be his son. For history, you will be known as Prince Daemon Targaryen, son of King Rhaegar." She took another step and smiled. "And hopefully husband to Princess Rhaenys Targaryen." He opened his mouth to speak but she wasn't done. "I didn't want to ask you about Robb, but if it's the only to make sure that this war will end with as little bloodshed as possible, I will. What you could tell me and Father will possibly help us end the fighting before it ends."

"I won't."

She knew that, knew that it was a small hope that he would talk. "Then let us forget about Robb Stark," she told him. "Let's talk about us."

He looked at her questioningly. "What about us?"

She stepped so close to him, she could reach out and touch him. "Are you still so afraid of what will happen to us? That we are to be married?" She reached out and took his hand in hers. Before he could say anything in protest, she placed it over her heart. His face went bright red at the contact. She looked him in the eye and reached for his heart.

He flinched at her contact but he did not move. They stood there, hands on hearts. She felt the heartbeat beneath her hand. It thumped and thumped, making her hand vibrate with each pulse. She knew he could feel the same with her heart. He was the one who pulled his hand away and stepped back. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

She didn't know why. "It just seemed right," she said honestly. "I wanted to feel your heartbeat." She looked at him. "Did it feel so wrong to feel my heart?" she asked him.

"…No," he admitted. "It, it felt good." He sounded ashamed at admitting that.

"Daemon," she started only to stop. She started again, "Jon, why are you so afraid of marrying me?"

"I'm not afraid."

"Aren't you? You've not talked to me unless I've make you. You avoid me as if I have greyscale. I love you. You love me. What's wrong with that?"

He looked her with eyes of iron stubbornness. "We already discussed this."

"No, we didn't. You shut yourself off and refused to listen what it could mean for the both of us. You say that's it is wrong for us to be married. What's wrong with it? You love me and I love you. Do you deny it?"

She watched him struggle with himself. It was a battle that could be clearly seen on his face. "No," he finally said. "I don't deny it. I can't deny it."

"Well, here I am. I'm to be yours and you're to be mine. Why would you try to refuse it?"

"It would mean that the lie the king says is the truth. I…" He fell silent stopping himself from saying whatever it was he wanted to say.

She looked him in the eyes. The iron in them was trembling, weakening. "You what?" she asked him.

"…All I wanted was to be a Stark," he said in practically a whisper. "It has been my dream and hope my entire life. I wanted to be known as Jon Stark, no one else."

He meant all the words he said. There was only one thing she could do in reply. She held him tight and kissed him. It was brief but he responded in kind. "I don't care what your name could be," she told him, looking right in the eyes. "You could be a Snow, a Stark, or a Targaryen. Your name could be Daemon or Jon and I wouldn't care. All I care about is having you with me for the rest of my life. Tell me you want it otherwise. Tell me, and I'll go to our father. I'll tell him that this marriage shouldn't happen, but only if you tell me that you don't this."

Her love looked like he was in pain because of the indecision he faced. She wanted to help but it was his decision to face alone. "…I can't say it," he told her a hoarse whisper. "I can't say I want it differently."

Rhaenys knew what that meant. He loved her. In spite of everything that he felt was wrong about this, he loved her. It warmed her heart. She smiled and hugged him again. His hands pulled her in tight. Together they stood there. It felt like it was them against the world. "I won't ask you of Robb again," she told him, whispering it against his chest.

"Thank you," he whispered back. "I can't betray him, not like that."

And she wouldn't hurt him like that. But there was something that didn't set right with her. "Jon, if you have a chance, just the slightest chance, to go back north, would you take it? Or would you stay here, with me?"

For the longest second, he didn't say anything. "We both know the answer to that," he finally said.

It planted a seed of doubt in her. She knew her answer but she didn't know his. She squashed that seed before it could grow. "Don't think about it," she told herself. "He's here, in your arms, all but saying that he loves you. Just take it." And she did. What matter was he was there, with her. It was what she wanted.

End

Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.

You might consider this to be a filler piece and I'd be almost tempted to agree. This started out much different than what I had thought about. Some people think that this story is starting to bog down. I guess it's time to pick up the pace again.

Would anyone else find it interesting for Balerion the cat and Ghost to meet? I was almost tempted to make sure the wolf went to King's Landing just for that. The wolf has the height and power, the cat has the age, experience, and doesn't like anybody. That would've been fun.

I'll see you all next chapter!