The Winter King and the Queen of Summer

by Alperez16

A Jonerys set at the beginning. A Raven flaps it's wings and instead of swearing his oath Jon Snow learns the truth of who he is. How is the game changed when Jon instead of wearing black, dresses in black and red and seeks his crown.

15. Flames are not a Dragon's only Weapon

Lannisport 299 AC.

Dany.

With the city taken she readied for the second part of the plan. The news would have spread by now and so she made her way to the dragons and once there, she climbed up onto Drogon's back a flew over the city with Rhaegal and Viserion following her and their older brother. Below her, she didn't need to look to see the worried faces of those who lived in Lannisport. Even though she'd used the dragons sparingly and had done far less damage than mayhap even a ground attack would have, people rightfully feared what her children could do. It was time to instill that fear somewhere else and in someone new.

It took her no time at all to reach Casterly Rock and she'd be a liar if she said she was not impressed. When the arrows flew she had to tell her children not to react, Drogon almost ignoring her but he did as she bid. They flew over the entirety of the Rock, Dany looking at each and every part of it as they did so. Once or twice she had all three dragons let loose their flames and roar, but never did they aim them at the Rock or its inhabitants. Fear was her goal today, not conquest or the taking of the Rock itself.

When she, Rhaegar, and Aemon had spoken of the Rock and later when Barristan and Jorah spoke with her about it, all said the same thing. The Rock had been taken only once and even with dragons it would be far harder to take than most keeps. They could destroy it, maybe, and could certainly damage it extensively. To take it though would require more thought, mayhaps more men, and even a dual assault. Dany hadn't truly understood that until Rhaegar had told her about it himself once they were alone.

"Because of its position and how it's cut into the mountain it rests on, you'd need to attack it by land and sea. You'd have to overwhelm those inside and it would cost many lives to take it and for what benefit?" Rhaegar asked as they lay on their bed.

"For the gold?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Gold is helpful, but men are more important. In time you could bring the keep to its knees, starve them out, or simply by taking all around them and leaving them with no choice, thus making them kneel. But it's a costly endeavor and it's the threat we seek more than its gold or the keep itself." he said brushing her hair from where it had fallen over her face.

"The threat?" she asked curiously.

"That Tywin Lannister's home is to be destroyed or taken." Rhaegar said and she smiled at the thoughts of either.

Grey Worm though and Belwas both had different ideas about the keep and though she'd listened to her husband and their advisers, it was those ideas as well as Rhaegar's plans that had brought her here today. So as she flew she looked to the large gates and pondered on whether or not they could be melted. She paid attention to how the men formed up on the walls and to the murder holes and took note of their positions.

The walkway that led to the Lion's Mouth was wide enough for the entire Unsullied to march up and not need to slow down. Along its route watchtowers and places cut into the Rock itself would allow for arrows to be fired down upon them, but they were easily taken care of and other than the defenses of the Rock itself, it would be those who came behind her men who would be the main threat to them. She could see why Rhaegar thought it would take both a large force and a dual attack to take the Rock. Yet dragons did offer up advantages that ships and men did not and if she cleared the way, they could then perhaps take the keep with a lesser loss of life than Rhaegar feared.

If anything it was inside the keep itself that would be the problem. While she could see enough of the outside to form a plan and she knew that a flight with Grey Worm, Barristan, or Ser Jorah would allow them to do so, she couldn't see what was inside the keep itself and so they had no idea of the layout. With one last flight over the Rock, she bid Drogon take her back to the city and all three dragons turned to fly to Lannisport. After they'd landed and she'd thanked all three of her children and bid them go hunt and rest. Dany was then escorted back to the manse that they'd taken for their own.

"Lady Sansa?" she asked seeing no sign of Sansa or the wolves when she entered the gardens of the manse.

"Has asked to see the sea, your grace. Lord Dayne and some guards have escorted her to a nearby cove and the wolves are with them, as has Strong Belwas." Barristan said and she smiled, both at the amount of time that Sansa and Ned Dayne were spending together and that Belwas had decided to act her guard in this.

"The Rock is just as you said it was, Ser Barristan. It's formidable but not unbreachable." she said and the older knight nodded.

"Are we to breach it, your grace/" Barristan asked as she saw Missandei up ahead of her, the young girl smiling to see her back and unhurt.

"Only as a last resort. For now, it's a mummery we're to perform. The ravens sent from Casterly Rock to King's Landing, they'll have arrived by now?" she asked as they neared where Missandei waited for her.

"They would have, as would the ones sent to other keeps to rally men, your grace." Barristan replied.

"Good." she said with a smile.

She spent the rest of the day with Missandei, the two of them going over the spoils of war and deciding what or how much they would take from this city when they left. While the main vaults of gold were housed deep within the Rock itself, Lannisport housed some too and the city itself was not poor. If she wished she could take it all, a part of her coming very close to making that her order only to decide it wouldn't be prudent. One day, hopefully soon, this city would be part of the kingdom that she and Rhaegar ruled over. Her taking of it would already engender some hard feelings, what they intended to do to House Lannister even more. Were she to strip the city of all its wealth as well, then they'd never find friends here during their or their children's reign. So it would be some and not all, besides when they took the Rock itself they'd gain all the gold that they needed.

"How was your day, Sansa?" she asked her goodsister as they sat down to eat that night, the blush on the girl's face answer enough though she did answer with words too.

"It was most fun, Dany." Sansa said and she caught the little glance she shot Ned Dayne as he spoke to Barristan and Jorah near the door.

"I'm most pleased to hear so." she said smiling which Sansa returned most eagerly.

Their dinner was pleasant and after Missandei took down her hair she went to her bed early. Sighing as she looked to the empty space on the other side. Ghost lay near the fire in her room to act as an extra protector though she felt in no danger surrounded by her Unsullied and with Ser Jorah at her door. Sleep she expected to be hard to come by as thoughts of Rhaegar and both when she'd see him again and whether or not he was in any true danger filled her head. Yet no more than a few moments after her head hit the pillow and she was fast asleep.

"Rhaegar?" she asked happily as she ran to the shadow ahead of her, his arms catching her as she practically jumped into them.

"You are well, unhurt?" he asked worriedly as he looked her over, Dany nodding that she was and then in mid nod feeling his lips on her own, his arms holding her even more tightly to him as his tongue explored her mouth and wrestled hers for control.

"Gods I've missed this." she said when he finally broke the kiss, his hand taking hers and leading her to a pillar that they sat against.

"Aye, me too." he said and though she didn't see his face as she leaned her back against his chest, she didn't need to in order to know he wore a smile as he spoke.

"I had not dared to hope." she said, not needing to say anymore.

"I had." he said making her laugh "We're bonded you and I, my love. I believe it's just taken a little time for the bond to be reformed from after you left Essos." Rhaegar said and she felt his hands brush against her own as she snuggled even more tightly against him.

"Shiera said it was broken when we left, that it would…I hadn't dared hope." she said and felt him kiss her neck and lost her words and thoughts for more than a moment.

She told him of Lannisport and of her plans for Casterly Rock, Rhaegar asking her not to fully attack even though he believed her when she said it could be taken. When he said that if it really needed to fall that he and Ōñosmaghare would join them in seeing that it did she felt some excitement in that. As she did when he told her that he would be joining her soon regardless. Dany held his hand tightly and kissed him when he spoke of what had happened with his brother and the North. His hurt was still plain for her to see and she felt her chest almost burst with pride when he praised her for taking Lannisport so easily.

"Could we, here do you think we could?" she asked and felt so wanton in doing so and though Rhaegar said they probably could, she then agreed with him. Reluctantly though it was when he said that he'd far prefer they kept their lovemaking to when they were truly together.

"A kiss, a touch, aye here I enjoy them as much as if I were holding you in my arms for true. When we lay together, I wish it to be real and I still don't know how real this is." he said, and then she felt his kiss once more.

She woke up having fallen asleep in her husband's arms and feeling far more rested and content than she had from the moment she'd left Dragonstone. They had much to do and over the next few days, she readied to play the part of a mummer invader. It was one she intended to play to aplomb and she wished she could read the ravens that she'd allow to leave the Rock when they reached the Old Lion's desk and his face when he read them.

Dragonstone 299 AC.

Catelyn.

If things were different then it would have been Maidenpool and not Seagard that they set sail from and the journey wouldn't have taken them past so many potential dangers or taken so long. They'd sailed far too close to the Iron Islands for her liking and even closer to Lannisport and Casterly Rock. Cat not enjoying seeing either of the latter two so closely. At one point they'd passed what seemed to be a fleet that they'd kept well away from as the last thing she needed was to be captured by the Lannisters or their allies from the Reach. It was also why when they reached Oldtown and The Arbor that they'd sailed through the night rather than risk dropping anchor.

By the time they reached the Dornish coastline, they were away from most dangers and Cat could breathe easily, or as easily as she could given what she was setting out to do. She tried to keep her head filled with thoughts of seeing her daughters again, praying that both were as well as she hoped and believed they would be. It felt like an age since she'd seen either of the girls. Sansa would almost be a woman grown by now and was sure to have flowered already while Arya may finally be ready to become the lady that she must. Yet try as she might it was not her girls that filled her thoughts but their brother. The boy who'd been at the forefront of her thoughts for most of her life, Jon Snow as he had once been, and Rhaegar Targaryen as he was now.

She wondered how he'd felt when he'd found out the truth and had it been as confusing and hard for him to deal with as it had been for her. Did he blame Ned as she did for keeping the secret to himself? Or did he feel grateful to his uncle for protecting him for all these years? Mayhaps just like her it was a little of both that he felt and his feelings were mixed, as her own had been and still were to some extent. He'd clearly embraced his heritage and what the truth meant and she'd tried in vain to explain to Robb that made him something completely different. He was a king and not a bastard and she owed him greatly for what he'd done for his sisters and for her. Even if it was not for her that he'd done so.

"Cat, Cat.." Brynden said shaking her from her thoughts and she turned to look at her uncle who was staring at her worriedly.

"I'm sorry, uncle, just thinking…" she said her voice trailing off as she couldn't think what to name him as and how to express who it was she was thinking about.

"We'll be there on the morrow, Cat. Given all you've said about the boy I fear not for our safety." her uncle said and she nodded her agreement, the last thing she feared from this meeting was for her safety, physically that was.

Emotionally she felt herself to be in great peril, not just at the thoughts of seeing Jon Snow as a king or at seeing her girls once more and holding them in her arms again, but at the inevitable conflict that she and the new king would need to resolve. Not just the one involving Robb, The North, and The Riverlands but the one involving her and Jon Snow that had been years in the making. There were no words she could think of to make up for all that had passed between them and for how she had felt about him or how she had shown those feelings. She felt shamed by them and yet she didn't feel completely at fault. Her pride she feared wouldn't allow her to apologize as truly as she perhaps ought to.

Despite having resolved somewhat how she thought of him, a part of her still thought him the same. It was quieter than it had once been, hidden and deep within her, but a part of her still thought him a bastard who would usurp her children. No matter how much she shouted that voice down, it would still name him as such and say that he was no true king and she and they should not kneel. Yet she knew she and they must and she was trying with all she had to listen to the other louder voices that told her that he was good and true. That he had saved her girls when no one else would even try and that just like her, he too had been lied to by someone he had trusted completely.

"Cat?" her uncle said and she looked at him and shook her head.

"Forgive me, I…Rhaegar Targaryen, uncle, we cannot, we must not speak ill of him and we must treat him as the king that he is." she said a little worriedly, as her uncle had been one of the loudest voices that named him as something else.

"I.."

"We must, uncle. Like it or not, he is a king and we're here to negotiate with him and so we treat him as such. Think on the girls and what he did for them if you cannot accept it any other way." she said determinedly and her uncle quickly agreed with her.

With her thoughts jumbled and her emotions becoming strained she rose to go to her cabin and was accompanied there by Brienne who acted her guard. They had passed by Tarth a day or so earlier and she'd stood with the woman on deck as she looked to the island. Cat had offered to stop there and allow her to remain if she wished but Brienne had rejected the offer. Her father had been off fighting for Renly Baratheon which meant that now he fought for Stannis or the Lannisters and either way was on the opposite side to them in this war. Yet Brienne was no hostage and was free to leave should she wish. The lady though did not, an oath sworn to a stranger was more important to her than anything else, and Catelyn much respected and was very grateful to her because of it.

"Go to your bed, Brienne, we'll all need to be alert on the morrow." she said and Brienne looked at her unmoving until Cat spoke again "Don't make me command you." she said chidingly, though with a smile on her face.

"Sleep well, my lady." Brienne said and Cat entered the room wondering what dreams the night may bring.

She woke early the next morning in a cold sweat and almost stumbled from the bed before grabbing the jug of water and pouring herself a mug full which she then drank greedily. Her dreams had been terrible ones indeed. Ned losing his head and her girls suffering while each of her boys fell. Cat sitting and praying by a crib as a babe fought for his life and making a deal with the gods that she had never lived up to. For the briefest moment, she was sure that all she'd seen was true and that it was her breaking of the promise she made to the gods which had led to her family's doom. Then as she finished the water she remembered. Her girls and boys were safe and she had a chance to right whatever wrongs she had committed in regards to Jon Snow or at least to apologize for them.

By the time she'd dressed and broken her fast, they'd reached the bay at Dragonstone and she stood on the deck as they made their way to the docks. There were more than a dozen ships docked that all bore the Targaryen Three Headed Dragon and soldiers and guards wearing colors of the Lords of the Narrow Sea, House Targaryen, and some men in brown leather armor who bore spears, all seemed to be awaiting their arrival. Cat looked to her uncle and Brienne both of whom seemed just as surprised by this as she.

"Those are Unsullied, Cat, slave soldiers from Essos." her uncle said almost disbelievingly.

"Princess Daenerys was based in Essos was she not?" she asked and her uncle nodded.

When they reached the docks themselves it was to be welcomed by a group of guards one of them bearing the seven-pointed stars of House Sunglass and she was relieved to be in the presence of a man of faith.

"Ser Brynden, Lady Stark, my lady." the man who seemed to be in charge said, Cat looking to see that he was a fierce-looking man of well over six feet. Dark of hair and complexion and yet his blue eyes seemed friendly enough.

"Ser Triston, a surprise to see you here." her uncle said and Ser Triston chuckled as he brushed the strand of long dark hair that had fallen over his face back over his head.

"Is it? House Targaryen called and my lord and his men answered, Ser Brynden. That should be no surprise to any who knows where our loyalty lies." Ser Triston said almost proudly.

"My niece, Lady Catelyn Stark, and her sworn shield Brienne of Tarth. Cat, this is Ser Triston of Tally Hill who is in service to Lord Sunglass."

"Ser Triston." she said as she curtsied.

"Lady Stark, my sympathies for your loss. Lord Stark was a good man and deserved far better than he got." Ser Triston said and he sounded true to her ears.

"I thank you, Ser. Could you escort us to their graces?" she asked and he looked at her a little oddly before nodding.

She thought nothing of it and it was only when they reached the keep itself that she was informed that the king and queen were not in residence and that the prince and princess would see them momentarily. They were given bread and salt much to her uncle and their guard's relief, as it had quickly become clear to Brynden and Brienne that should they be things turn bad here then they'd not be able to fight themselves out from it. Dragonstone was far more protected and garrisoned than it had been in many a year, and not even Stannis Baratheon had been able to call upon this many men while he ruled the keep.

It was something that she had expected and had tried to explain to Robb, Edmure, and her uncle. The Dragons still had friends in Westeros and once they had a reason to rally, then rally they would. They were offered refreshments and declined, for now, Cat was more than eager to see her girls and wondered where they were as Ser Triston hadn't mentioned them. Instead, they were left in the Great Hall and under guard and after a few moments they were joined by who she assumed were the prince and princess.

The prince was old, older than her father had been and yet he looked as healthy as a man half or even a quarter of his age. He was sprightly and alert, his eyes taking her, Brienne, and her uncle in and giving her a look that she liked not. As for the Princess, had Ser Triston not told her that the king and queen were elsewhere then she'd have named the woman in front of her as Daenerys Targaryen. She possessed all the beauty the dragons were known for. Her silver hair, delicate features, and striking mismatched eyes all made her perhaps the most beautiful woman that she'd ever seen and even Brynden who cared not for such things seemed taken aback by her beauty.

"My Prince, my Princess, may I present Lady Catelyn Stark, Ser Brynden Tully, and Brienne of Tarth. Lady Catelyn, Ser Brynden, Lady Brienne, may I present Prince Aemon Targaryen and Princess Shiera Seastar." Ser Triston said and Cat didn't know who gasped loudest, her, Brienne, or her uncle.

"Lady Catelyn, we welcome you to Dragonstone as we do your companions. I'm afraid my niece and nephew have business elsewhere and so we'll give you leave to get settled and be at comfort before we speak further on your reasons for coming here." Prince Aemon said his voice almost booming and sounding far younger than she had expected.

"My prince, my girls, could I see my daughters?" she asked as the prince and princess turned to walk from the Great Hall.

"I'm afraid it will be some time until you do so, my lady. Lady Sansa travels with the queen and Arya is his grace's squire and like all good squires travels by his side." Princess Shiera said and with that, they were gone from the hall and Cat felt herself almost curl up.

Her uncle looked angered and Brienne worried and yet both wore the same confused looks that they had since Princess Shiera and Prince Aemon had been announced. None of them had heard of the latter and the woman they named as the former had to be a mummery of some sort. Cat though could think only of the fact that Arya was with her brother somewhere and Sansa with Daenerys Targaryen somewhere else. Her worries about what was going on and whether they were safe only adding to her worries that she'd not be able to resolve things with Jon Snow. Not for her and not for Robb and for some reason she felt that time was running out for them all.

The Stormlands 299 AC.

Oberyn Martell.

Each keep they'd marched to they'd found poorly garrisoned and eager to surrender without a fight. Not even the natural antagonism that Dorne and the Stormlands had already had, nor the added anger they felt over Elia and the children and that it was House Baratheon who played a large part in their deaths was enough to provoke a fight. He could have if he wished, they could have refused the surrenders and sacked keeps and yet he felt no desire to do so as it was the Baratheon's keep that he wished for most of all.

So they'd marched and marched and now weeks later they set up camp outside Storm's End. Oberyn was more than keen to drive his spear into Stannis Baratheon's fiery heart. He had nothing truly against the man, no personal animus other than the House that he came from and the brother he had named his king. Robert though was dead and Stannis would have to do until he got his chance to face off against the Lannisters. Something he would do once they'd taken this keep and brought the Stormlands under the new king's control.

Marching and not facing any opposition while boring was beneficial though. He'd lost no men, his army was intact, and to take the keep in front of them, it would need to be. Storm's End wouldn't fall lightly and his best chance was still to bring Stannis out to face him, to hope that his experiences in the rebellion would be enough to make the man fear being besieged once again. It was why they'd set up camp further away from the keep than he normally would. Oberyn giving Stannis the room to ride out and praying that he would. As he sat down to eat with his girl's that night it was with thoughts of the morrow's parley that his head was filled with. So much so that he was distracted when Obara called out his name more than once.

"Father." Nym said, touching his arm and finally getting him to turn to look to his girls.

"Nym?" he asked confused for a moment.

"The battle father, do you truly believe there is to be one?" Obara asked now that she finally had his attention.

"Stannis Baratheon is not a man who will shy from battle, not given what happened the last time he did so." Oberyn said confidently.

"But surely only a fool would leave their keep, my prince. Especially one as strong as Storm's End." Ser Daemon said and Oberyn nodded his agreement to his former squire before then speaking his mind.

"During the rebellion that cost me my sister, niece, and nephew." he spat "Mace Tyrell and the Lords of the Reach besieged that keep rather than march to aid the Targaryens." he found it hard to say Rhaegar and so did not, bad enough it was a name he'd need to get used to once again "For moons, they besieged Storm's End and Stannis Baratheon was a shell of a man when Eddard Stark finally broke the siege. A man like that remembers such things and he'll not wish to be caught the same way once more."

"Would he not just ensure that the keep is even better provisioned, papa?" Tyene asked and Oberyn smiled at his daughter and reached out to touch her hand to remove the worried look from her face.

"Mayhaps, but this was not his keep, Dragonstone was where Stannis named his home. I doubt that Renly was as diligent in his preparations." Oberyn said and he believed himself to be right. It had been something he'd pondered on all along the march here, worrying what it would mean if he was wrong and yet knowing he was not.

After they finished eating, Oberyn then made his way to speak to the other commanders and once he was sure all was set for the morrow, he took to his bed. To say he didn't enjoy his sleep was an understatement, thoughts of battle to come were not enough to cover for the fact he slept alone and it would be many moons until he saw Ellaria again. Were his youngest children not so young, or had he known the truth and was now marching with the king and his dragon, then he'd have wished her by his side. He still wished her so, but he was glad she was not as well. Bad enough his girls were with him, he'd not wish his love anywhere near where lions would tread, and soon enough it would be the lions that he faced.

He woke early, sparred to loosen himself up, and then broke his fast with his girls and the other commanders before sending word to Storm's End to parley. What answer he expected from Stannis Baratheon he knew not but the answer he got was one that left him perplexed. It wasn't Stannis or even one of his most important lords who rode out to parley, but the keeps Castellan. As he spoke, Oberyn was at first sure he was jesting and then he was unsure about everything.

"What do you mean Stannis is not in the keep?" Harmen Uller asked the younger knight.

"King Stannis and his men departed some time ago, my lord. They and their army set sail for where I know not." Ser Cortnay Penrose replied his annoyance at that fact clear.

"Is this a jape? A mummery that you're trying to perform here?" Anders Yronwood asked angrily.

"For what benefit, my lord? It suits me better to make you believe I've got the men to meet you in the field. By even saying what I am it's a huge risk I'm taking." Ser Cortnay said exasperatedly.

"Then why take it?" Oberyn asked curiously and he saw the knight rub his face and sigh.

"I survived the last time this keep was besieged, my prince. Many good men did not and while we have the men and the provisions to keep you from taking it, good men will die in the process. Both mine own and yours." he said and Anders snorted, no doubt more certain than Ser Cortnay that the keep would be taken.

"You wish to save us both?" Oberyn said his eyes narrowing as he looked at the other man.

"I wish to stop us from committing a folly, my prince. The man who named himself king was never mine own. I barely knew Stannis Baratheon and I liked him not. He abandoned his family home, the people who live there, and the Stormlands and so why should I fight for him? Why should my men die for him?" Ser Cortnay said and Oberyn smirked.

"Then surrender the keep and pledge yourself to King Rhaegar Targaryen and we'll be on our way by week's end." he said looking to the knight who shook his head.

"I may not like the man, but I have a duty, my prince. I'll kneel, name your king mine own, but I'll not surrender Storm's End to any but he himself." Ser Cortnay said and Oberyn saw the angered looks on the faces of the lords that rode with him.

They had wished to take the keep and earn the glory of being the first to see it fall. If he so wished he could see it done, but he'd not come here to besiege or storm the keep, he'd come for a fight, and the man he wished that fight to be against was gone. The choice he now faced was a simple one, fight and lose men and win some glory or turn and march and bring the fight to the man he truly wished to fight against. Were that man anyone other than Tywin Lannister then glory may have won out this day, it did not.

"We'll take half your provisions, Ser Cortnay, and accept your fealty for our king. My men and I will march from the Stormlands once the supplies have been gathered." he said and Ser Cortnay nodded before turning his horse and then he and his men rode back to the keep.

Surprisingly the lords held their tongues and it was only once Ser Cortnay was far enough away so that they'd not be heard, that the complaints came.

"My prince, surely…"

"I came to kill Stormlanders and earn glory."

"We're not fighting, then why the fuck did we march?"

The voices talked over each other, Oberyn allowing them to let loose their anger before he held his hand up and they all quietened.

"I didn't come here to kill Stormlanders nor do I give a fuck about glory. I came for my sister and for her children, I came for justice and vengeance and while I'd have bathed in Stannis Baratheon's blood, it wasn't his blood I marched from Dorne to spill. We all know who the true enemy is, we march for King's Landing, and there my friends, there you'll get to spill all the blood you wish. Lion's Blood and the blood of Reachmen. For Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon." he said and his words had the desired effect.

Two days later the Dornish army marched once more, this time in even better spirits, and Oberyn swore he'd never felt as excited as he did riding up front and leading them forward to King's Landing.

King's Landing 299 AC.

Cersei.

Kettleback was a good enough fuck and he'd brought her release though he'd not left her sated. At first, she'd thought it was simply because he was not the man she wished in her bed. Her fingers then brushing against her wet sex as she thought of that man, but it wasn't just that he was not Jaime. Truth be told it was because her mind was more troubled than it had been in some time. The loss of Joffrey had taken a toll on her heart. Her golden prince who would have been the greatest king that Westeros had ever known and who because of the Imp was no more.

It was the loss of said Imp that had angered her too. Cersei had been unsure how he'd managed to escape from the cells and it was only that Varys had disappeared at the same time, or she'd have perhaps remained that way. She had thought that it was that. Her grief and her anger that the person responsible for the deaths of two of the three people she'd loved with all her heart had somehow avoided justice once again. Yet it was not. It was the harlot, the slut, the whore that named herself queen and strolled around her keep as if it she had any right to.

Younger and more Beautiful.

She was not. She could not be. She would not be. It was Cersei who was meant to be queen, she who was the one that bards should sing about and people cheer when they saw her. It was meant to be her and her silver prince that sat the throne and were beloved and worshipped by the great and good and even by the wretches of the realm. Just like her mother, just like Joffrey, her silver prince too had been stolen from her by lesser men.

"Rhaegar." she moaned as her finger pushed inside her sex, her wetness coating it as another joined it and she began to move them in and out.

A son, he had a son that lived. A son that she found herself trying to picture while her fingers moved even more frantically. He should have been her son, their son, another silver prince to carry on her and his father's legacy.

"Joff."

"Rhaegar."

Her breathing grew more frantic and then all of a sudden the silver hair was replaced by hair much darker, the indigo eyes by dark grey ones, and the sad-looking face of a boy sitting at the edge of a feast was all that she could see. Winterfell, she was in Winterfell and the insipid woman was speaking to her while her oaf of a husband was groping serving girls and gorging down on food and wine like the beast that he was. She saw him, his face so comely that she was drawn to it and she had found something so appealing by it that it filled her thoughts now.

"Jon Snow." she said her breath coming in gasps, "Rhaegar Targaryen." he said as she grabbed his dark hair and pulled him to her "My king." she cried out as she came harder than she had in many moons.

She cleaned herself and was disgusted that it was a bastard that she had just climaxed thinking of. Though she smiled a moment later when she remembered that he wasn't a bastard at all. He was a prince, a king, the son of the dragon, and the thoughts of him being hers and of finally getting the king that she deserved filled her head for the rest of the morning and for most of the day. Her mood was so good that she had thought it would last until she was back in her bed that night. Something she looked even more forward to at the thoughts of what her fingers would do and the pleasures that she would bring to herself. Then she saw her, heard her laugh, and saw her smile, and the good mood she'd been in was gone in the blink of an eye.

Younger and more Beautiful.

Margaery was with her ladies in waiting, pathetic whining silly girls from the Reach and each of them deferring to the golden whore as if she was deserving of it. Just listening to them speak, hearing them say her son's name, it was too much for her to take and so Cersei moved towards them. The hush that came over them was instant and despite her anger, she enjoyed it greatly. They should quieten when they saw her, they should run and cower lest they earn her displease and incur her wrath. As should this whore who had named herself queen.

"Lady Cersei." Margaery said and had Cersei's emerald green eyes not been so focussed on Margaery's golden brown ones, then she'd have seen smirks on some of the girls' faces.

"Your grace." she said as contemptuously as she could.

"I had not thought to see you here today, my lady. My husband tells me you've been unwell and not yourself since King Joffrey's passing." Margaery said and something about the way she said it just set her off.

"You really are a whore aren't you?" she said to shocked gasps from the ladies behind Margaery.

"No, I'm a queen, my lady and perhaps one such as yourself would do well to keep that in mind." Margaery said venomously.

"A queen, you?" she snorted, her claws fully extended now "How long one remains a queen when she can't birth heirs is questionable, as is your virtue." she said smirking.

"Coming from such a virtuous lady such as yourself, Lady Cersei, I find myself shocked that you even know what the word means. It is Osney, Osmund, or Osfyrd, my lady. Which Kettleblack has earned your favor or is it all three?" Margaery said with a smirk and Cersei saw red, only the guard stepping in between them stopping her from striking the queen and all that may entail.

"Roses should be careful lest they get trampled on, your grace. For lions are who truly rule here." she said smugly as she was helped away by her guard.

She didn't hear what Margaery said back but she did hear the laugher and she bristled at the audacity of them to dare laugh at her. They would pay, all of them, the silly little girls and the whore who wore her crown.

Younger and more beautiful.

No one was more beautiful than she and the dragon king would surely see that when he came to take his throne. The thought brought a smile to her face and as she looked back to the golden whore she felt a plan began to form in her head. It was time to play a holy man a visit and to see a whore brought to her knees.

The Riverlands 299 AC.

Roose Bolton.

What had made him ride out he knew not, only that he had gotten the feeling that he needed to do so and so he had. It had always been part of his plans, to ride back to Riverrun and release the Kingslayer and yet it had meant to be after the wedding feast and not before. For some reason, his heckles had been raised and he knew then that he could take no part in it. The old fool had argued with him, told him that he and his men were needed and Roose had simply replied that if Walder Frey and his brood couldn't kill drunk men, then Tywin Lannister would soon find men who could.

For him, the Kingslayer was just as important as dead Northmen and a dead king and besides this would work out better for him. His presence and his men's presence at what was to happen in the Twins would always be problematic. Especially considering that the North wasn't in the chaos he had planned for it to be. His bastard having failed in his tasks as all bastards usually did. Were it not for the fact that Walda was with child, he didn't know what he would do. The gods favoring him in this regard if in nothing else. Would that Domeric had lived and been by his side and he'd not needed to rely on a rabid dog that was no true son of his.

Coin, coin, and position, with one he could buy the other and the price that Tywin offered, was simply too high for him to turn down. He'd considered it, had pondered it, and at one point had almost rejected the offer that was made. The lands he had in the North, the power he had, and had Ramsay done what he was supposed to then it would be Warden of the North and all that came with it that would have been his to take. Alas, it was not to be and the Dreadfort or a million gold dragons as well as Tywin's full support was too sweet a deal to turn down.

"Riders my lord." one of his guards called out and Roose turned to see a group of men some distance away, there were no more than ten or twenty and so he breathed relievedly.

"Find out who they are and if they're from the North bring them to me." he said his voice little more than a whisper in the night.

It turned out they weren't from the North and Roose couldn't believe his luck when he saw who it was. As easy as it would have been to get the Kingslayer, this would only make it easier and so he nodded and politely welcomed Edmure Tully and the others to ride alongside him.

"Lord Bolton, I had not expected to find you on the road to Riverrun." Edmure said suspiciously.

"His grace gave me orders to ride, my lord. He wishes the Kingslayer moved to the North and to Winterfell." he said handing Edmure a forged note and nodding to his men to make ready should the need arise.

Whether it was the night's sky, Edmure not seeing much of King Robb's writing, or the fact the man was a fool, he cared not. The mummer's note did its job and Edmure handed it back to him without question.

"I had expected you to say for the Wedding, Lord Edmure." he said and he saw how Edmure looked nervously to the other men.

"The wedding was an ambush, Lord Bolton." Ser Marq Piper said and Roose feigned shock.

"King Robb, the Lords of the North?" he asked worriedly, or as best he could make his voice sound so.

"Rescued by the Dragon." Lymond Goodbrook said and Roose looked at him curiously.

"His grace's brother brought his army to bear?" he asked to a shake of the head.

"No, my lord, he brought a fucking dragon." Edmure said and Roose though it was not his nature almost wished to laugh loudly.

"Lord Edmure speaks truly, my lord. A black dragon larger than any ship I've ever sailed upon and its flames were a terror to see." Lymond said and Roose felt his heart begin to pound in his chest.

It stopped him in his tracks and they marched through the night and set up camp only the next morning. Roose was still trying to come to terms with what Edmure had said and what it now would mean for the war. A dragon meant that Tywin would lose, that was certain. Ser Marq and Lord Lymond had said they intended to kneel as King Robb and the North already had while Edmure said he would not. The man was both prideful and stupid in equal measures. As for Roose himself, he was left in a quandary and he still had no idea what move he should make.

In some ways, he'd already made his bed, his departure would lead to repercussions, and while he could perhaps talk his way out of them. What gained him by doing so? He could go back to the North and be what he always had been and in time perhaps it would be to him rather than the crippled boy that the new king would look to. Though he'd need to see the other son killed. Even then would he ever be looked at with such favor by a boy raised a Stark? He doubted that he would. Land and title meant much, coin alone meant little, but a million gold dragons and the Old Lion's favor, perhaps just perhaps. There was also Ramsay to think of, the things his bastard may speak on could damn him and he had no faith that he'd keep his mouth shut.

By the time he reached Riverrun the decision had been made and he was unsurprised when Edmure Tully didn't ask to see the letter once more. The fool was happy enough to take him at his word and it was only that Roose knew he'd do so that had saved the man's head. Were he to give him any difficulty then it would be he and those with him that would have suffered and then been exchanged for the Kingslayer. As it was he rode away from Riverrun not needing to spill a drop of blood and they were a few hours into their ride when he set up a temporary camp and he had Jaime Lannister brought to him.

"You look terrible, Ser Jaime." he said to a nod from the knight.

"The Tully's are terrible hosts, Lord Bolton. Though I've no doubt that you could if you so wish make things much worse for me." the Kingslayer said and Roose just nodded.

"Then it's a good thing that I don't' intend to do so is it not." he said his words catching the Kingslayer by surprise though not as much as his next ones did "We march to King's Landing, Ser Jaime, your father sends his regards."

They didn't camp for long, the Kingslayer was given clean clothes, food, and water and then allowed to ride free by his side. The six archers he rode with were enough to stop him from getting any idea that he'd ride alone. It was his only play, the only move that he could make in the Great Game and it was one that would bring him all he wished. It was time to play a mummer once again and to place his sword at the Old Lion's neck. Surely that would be enough to name him Warden of the North and he'd get his coin too before he was done.

The Gold Road 299 AC.

Randyll Tarly.

They were as duplicitous as ever, their grasping knew no bounds and they'd hidden it from him. To say he was furious was an understatement of epic proportions and he doubted he was the only one. It brought back up all the resentment and anger he'd had for the Tyrells from the rebellion. The thoughts that once again they were so willing to abandon the family that had raised them so high filled his head and cost him his clarity.

When he'd heard Olenna say that it was all a mummery, a part of him had actually believed the old witch. All the hope and promise that a son of Rhaegar living had made him feel, just gone from him in an instant. While he'd not have believed it of Stannis Baratheon. He'd have put nothing past the heathen witch that he had at his side and so he'd believed Olenna Tyrell of all people and he now felt a fool for doing so. So he'd put aside everything else and had readied to march to bring this godforsaken war to an end and that he had thought was that. The gods though had other plans and he could remember the arrival of the letter as if it was yesterday and not days before. Randyll could speak the words aloud as if he was reading it now, so often had he read it and in doing so he'd burned those words into his brain.

Not only was there a son of Rhaegar calling him to his side, but he'd wed Daenerys Targaryen too and in the process had joined both their claims. That proved him even truer in Randyll's mind and more so than even that, it showed he understood the game. True he could have sought to wed another or wed Daenerys to another, but he had not and something about that sat right with him. It also explained to him just why Olenna Tyrell and her dolt of a son were so keen to lie to them and to abandon House Targaryen once more. There was to be no crown for their golden rose and for Randyll the thoughts of that were something that he enjoyed greatly.

Now he rode to his men as he'd told Tywin Lannister he would. Ostensibly to bring them to him and to see the Riverlands righted and in that he'd not lied, or at least not at the time. Seeing Tumbleton in the distance he actually smiled. Something he was not known for and rarely did and yet something he was doing more and more these past few days. His men were camped no more than five miles from the keep and yet it was to the keep that he wished to go first. He had a letter that he needed to send to Dragonstone and Alon Footly he knew would allow him to see it sent far more quickly and assuredly than anyone else for miles around.

"Ser Hyle." he called out to Ser Hyle Hunt who rode up so that he was beside him.

"My lord?" the knight asked.

"The men, Ser Hyle, take some men and ride to the camp and to my son and make them ready to march. We should get a reply within a day or two and I'll see us ready by then." Randyll said looking to the knight and to the other men that rode with him, seeing the question on their lips before it was asked "Our destination is, for now, unknown, Ser Hyle, it shall be made clear when we march." he added and the knight just nodded and then was riding off a moment later.

He and the rest of his men rode into Tumbleton and he instructed Ser Arren to find accommodations for them. Then he and five of his best men rode to the keep and were welcomed inside once his sigil and he himself was recognized. Alon Footly was not the bravest of souls and didn't have a large household, but Tumbleton was not only a prosperous town but an important one so he was unsurprised to see the keep fully garrisoned. If anything he welcomed it as he was sure once news spread of him and others abandoning the lions and roses, retribution would soon follow.

"Randyll it's good to see you old friend, though it's a surprise as well. I had thought you'd be marching through the Riverlands or somewhere else by now?" Alon said welcoming him happily when Randyll entered the Great Hall.

"And soon I will be, Alon. For now, I needs must make ready my men and impose on your hospitality." he said and Alon smiled only too happy to have him there it seemed. The reason for that was soon made clear when he followed the lord to his solar and took a seat across from him.

"You've received the ravens too?" Alon asked as some wine and cheese was laid out in front of him, Randyll enjoying a little of both.

"I have. The fucking old witch lied to our faces, Alon. Named the king a lie and told us he was already passed. While the old lion changed my orders and has sent Lord Brax to take Dragonstone. When at first he wished for it be me." Randyll said as Alon looked at him in shock.

"It's true then. I had hoped…but…"

"It's true, a son of Rhaegar lives and has called us to his side and the fucking Tyrells wish to lay down with lions." he spat.

"But not you?" Alon asked though Randyll was sure he knew what his answer would be and was simply confirming it before he spoke his own.

"I held to my liege lord when Prince Rhaegar needed us by his side and I've lived with the guilt of that ever since. Had we marched, had we been given leave to march then it would have been the Dragons who sat the throne as was their right and not Stags and Lions who befouled that chair. I do what I do for my house and my heir, yet I'll not sit by again and I'll never raise a blade against a son of Rhaegar Targaryen." he said firmly and determinedly and the smile on Alon's face grew as he poured him more wine.

"Nor I, old friend. To the return of dragons." Alon said holding up his glass.

"To fire and blood." he said and Alon repeated.

The raven was sent within the hour and he was then given rooms where he bathed and changed before eating his meal that night with Alon and his family. He'd sent word to Horn Hill to put them on alert just in case and he knew that Melessa would see it done. His son arrived the next morning along with his guards, Randyll was more than happy to see him again and even though it had been less than a moon since he had, he noticed how much he'd grown. Dickon was turning into a fine man and when he'd been tasked with taking Dragonstone, Randyll had sent him to march the men to King's Landing. It had been he who'd seen the second raven had been placed into his hands and he was most proud of him for that and for marching the men rather than waste his time amongst the fools in King's Landing.

"Father, it's good to see you." his son said as he greeted him in the courtyard.

"You too son. The men are ready?" he asked eagerly.

"They just await our destination, father."

"And you?"

"I am more than ready for whatever we must face." Dickon said showing no nerves or doubts.

"Even going against House Tyrell?" he asked curiously knowing his son had thought of the roses as friends.

"They have betrayed our king, father, and so they must be held to account." his son said and Randyll had rarely if ever felt prouder of his heir.

It took three days rather than the two for the raven to come back with its reply, Randyll almost ripping it as he broke the seal such was his eagerness to see the words for himself. When he did he felt his heart began to race and he could barely believe them.

Lord Tarly,

On behalf of their graces, King Rhaegar and Queen Daenerys I welcome your oath of fealty and the fealty of House Tarly. We are pleased to see the true men of the Reach come to our side and to know that the bonds forged between our house and so many of the Reach's own still hold as true as we'd believed them to be. Alas, not all feel that way and so we'd advise you be wary of your fellow lords as some are not as Leal as you.

Given where this raven has originated from and the words you spoke, I would advise that the Crossroads and its Inn would be where you march. His grace and Ser Arthur Dayne the Lord Commander of his Kingsguard will contact you long before you reach it and be not alarmed by what you see for we have other allies and weapons at our disposal. Trust only in those you feel worthy of it Lord Tarly and know that House Targaryen and their graces are most pleased by the loyalty that you've shown and that it will not be forgotten when this war is won.

Prince Aemon Targaryen,

Hand to King Rhaegar and Queen Daenerys Targaryen.

He read and then reread the words Prince Aemon he knew not and the only man of that name he remembered was the one who'd taken the black many years ago, but surely this wasn't the same man, was it? Ser Arthur Dayne lived. By the gods that was something he'd never dared to believe and something that proved the king even more true. He'd known Arthur somewhat, had met the man more than once and so to see him breathe still would be something he most welcomed. To know the king had such a man beside him made him chuckle somewhat at the idiocy of what would no doubt be Tywin's and Olenna's plans.

"Good luck getting past the Sword of the Morning." he whispered under his breath.

"Is this, can this be true. Ser Arthur lives?" Alon said as he read the note that Randyll had just handed him.

"We'll find out soon enough but there is no reason to name it so were it untrue. For who would have expected to find him by the king's side?" Dickon said when he too read the note a moment later and Randyll nodded in approval at the cleverness of his son's reply.

"We set off early on the morrow, we march and march hard and soon enough we'll be by our king's side." he said and both Dickon and Alon looked more than pleased by that.

The rider arrived that night and when he set off early the next morning it was with an extra spring in his step. He wasn't the only one who'd answered the king's call and soon enough his own men would be joined by even more. It would be good to ride with Mathis once more, to ride for a true cause and to see the realm righted.

"Roses and Lions beware for the Dragons and the Huntsman now look your way." he said as Tumbleton faded in the distance and the Gold Road loomed ahead.

The Twins 299 AC.

The Greatjon.

He should be dead, or at best a prisoner in a keep that now no longer stood. The anger he felt knowing that was to be his fate was something that made the melted stone he stood by even more appreciated. As it did knowing what was to come next. House Frey had brought this upon themselves and the Greatjon was only too happy to play his part in the North's wrath that was to come. More than that he was happy to be in a position to be able to do so, rather than to be in a cell wondering if the day was ever to come.

That he was not alone in this was no great surprise. His fellow Northmen and women were not the most forgiving of people, and yet forgiveness had been on his mind ever since the dragon had left them alone. The scars of the rebellion still ran deep and to know it was all for naught and based on lies had been hard to take. As had the words spoken about Ned Stark and not even the fact that they ran far truer than he had ever imagined they would, was enough to not make him doubt them still.

He wished Howland was still here and not in the North so that he could speak to the man and think more clearly on the words he'd spoken. For he was sure now that he'd told him this and he'd not been willing to listen. His own wishes for an independent North and a king to name their own had blinded him to what Howland was saying. Hatred for the dragons over what they'd done to Rickard and Brandon Stark and what he'd thought they'd done to Lyanna was more than enough for him to ignore the truths that Howland spoke. Even to the point of forgetting all he'd felt and said about the boy he'd thought was Jon Snow, his words shaming him somewhat now.

"A true wolf that one."

"A fucking proper Northman."

"Right into the fucking lion's dean he strolled."

They'd been words spoken with mugs of ale in hand and had been spoken warmly and fondly. He'd even compared him favorably with his own son and what the Smalljon had done in the North. Though even there he'd given the credit for what had been done to the Ironborn to the wrong man. It had been the white wolf that had called the grey one out for leaving the North vulnerable and while it was Robb Stark who'd sent his son, Maege's girl, and Ser Wendell to see it righted, had it not been for Rhaegar Targaryen then he would not have.

He didn't want to contemplate what that would mean, though just like his fate at the Twins, contemplate and think on it he did. The Greatjon coming to the conclusion that just like with the Twins, it would not have ended well for the North without the white wolf playing his part. Looking to the weasels and feeling his anger begin to rise once more, he tried again to concentrate on what was to come. Only for Maege to make her way to her and to speak to him on what came next.

"Ready to swing that Greatsword of yours, Jon?" Maege said as she carried her own, something that was rare and showed what her intent was.

"Aye, though I hate to stain it with such poor fare." he said looking to the trembling weasels who could hear their words clearly.

"A word, Jon." Maege said and he moved with her a little distance away.

"Aye, I'm supporting him. Knelt didn't I." he said before she could begin.

"Not as willingly as some did, Jon." she said far more softly than she'd normally speak.

"I have questions, Maege. Some that need answers and those who can aren't here to do so." he sighed.

"Speak them, Jon. I may not be the one who can answer them but mayhap I can offer some comfort or assuage some doubts."

He stood silently for a moment, seeing Robb Stark speaking to some of the other lords and wondering what was going through the former king's mind.

"King Robb." he said softly.

"Is no longer a king and we should not have named him such." Maege said shaking her head and The Greatjon looked at her curiously "We marched to free Ned and his family, Jon, we lost our fucking way and aimed for something thatwe should not have."

"A king of our own, Maege." he began only to be interrupted.

"Is what we have now, or is he not of the North, Jon? Is he not a fucking proper Northman?" she asked and the Greatjon closed his eyes, his own words being used against him just as Howland had when he'd spoken of truths that he'd not wished to hear.

"He's a dragon." he said almost petulantly though with no true feeling.

"No, he has a dragon. Large fucker it were too." Maege japed and despite himself, he laughed loudly "He's her son, Jon. Nothing matters more than that. He's her son and a Stark in all but name just as he always was. Had I known….ah...but those are thoughts for another day. He's my king from this day until my last day and I'm proud to bend my knee, though unable to as they don't bend the way they once did." Maege said and the Greatjon laughed again this one truer.

"Aye, you have the right of it." he said once he'd stopped laughing.

"Good now let's fucking kill some weasels." Maege said and he laughed again as they moved over to Robb Stark and the others.

There were almost two hundred Freys at the Twins and had he his way then he'd have killed every single man amongst them. Yet some had played no part and to leave the women and children with no protection was not something that Robb Stark would countenance, not even after they'd done. Instead, he had his wife and her brothers make out lists and he removed some names and added some others to the one that they finally decided upon.

Fifty men were to die here today and few of Walder's sons would live to see another sunrise. Robb Stark's goodbrothers would live because of that fact and the fact they'd not actually been involved, but others were not so lucky and it wasn't only the Frey's themselves who'd lose their heads. Their guards, their bannermen, those who'd been involved be it for coin or favor, all would find their way to the seven hells before this night was done. Or to the Wall after it.

"You've been found guilty and what we do here today is just and good." Robb Stark began only for Walder Frey to interrupt.

"You have ended my house and wish to kill my sons and grandsons and name this as good. What of my daughters and their children, will you leave them destitute?" Walder Frey spat.

"Mayhaps you should have thought of that when you decided to betray the North, Lord Frey." Robb Stark said angrily as he looked at his goodfather.

"The Old Lion will see you in the ground boy, he'll see the North cleared of all of you." Walder spat back and Robb Stark and Ser Wylis, Galbart, and Maege and he himself laughed loudly.

"I think the Old Lion is fucked, just as you Freys are fucked. Or did you not see the dragon that burned your keep to ash?" Ser Wylis said to more laughs.

"Lions burn just as well as keeps and not even Casterly fucking Rock is enough to stand against that fucker's flames." he said as he moved his sword in front of him.

"Lord Walder Frey you and your family have been found guilty of crimes against the North and the Riverlands it's time for you to face justice." Robb Stark said and Ser Wylis stepped forward along with two guards who moved the first man to the block.

"Please, please." the weasel cried out, and yet his cries were for nothing, for he'd get no sympathy here today.

"In the Name of his Grace King Rhaegar Targaryen, the First of his Name, King of the Andals, Rhoynar and First Men. Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. I Ser Wylis Manderly do hereby sentence you to die." Wylis said and then the sword fell and the cries began for true.

Six men Ser Wylis executed before Robett and then Galbart stepped forward and killed another six. Maege, Donnel Locke, Robin Flint, and then he himself all taking six more while Lucas Blackwood and Patrek Mallister both took six more in their father's places and as payment for the Riverlanders who had lost their lives. Maege had killed Black Walder who bawled like a baby while he had killed Ser Ryman and some others who may have been the same man so alike did they look.

Finally Robb Stark stood in front of Walder Frey, around him the ground was covered in blood, and women and children cried. Behind the former king his wife and goodbrothers looked shaken and pale and yet they'd not once flinched or cried out and they did not do so now either. Walder shook like a scared girl and Robb dragged him to the block himself with no help from the guards. The Greatjon heard what sounded like pleading but the reply that came was far louder and sounded like a wolf's snarl.

"Be thankful that I promised your daughter this would be clean for had I my way then it would Grey Wind that ended you." Robb Stark said and the wolf moved forward at the mention of his name.

He smelt it then, the stench as Walder Frey soiled himself, he had not been the only one to do so but this seemed worse than the others to the Greatjon's nose.

"I'd stay still if I were you, or this blow won't be as clean as it should be." Robb Stark said and then he and the rest of those watching all held their breath as the sword came down and Walder Frey's head rolled across the ground.

The Greatjon knew or cared not what was to happen to the rest of the Freys. They were not his problem and so why should he? As for the woman who was to be his queen and her brothers, if this was some sort of test that Robb Stark had given them then he assumed they'd passed. What that meant though again he cared not. Robb Stark was his king or had been at least, now he was not even his liege lord for true and he found it bothered him less than it perhaps should have. Maege was right, he was her son and it was that he concentrated on. The rest didn't really matter after all as he'd knelt and swore, and he always lived up to his oaths.

Runestone 299 AC.

Rhaegar Targaryen.

He welcomed the privacy of the tent, for the brief amount of time it was private that was. Arya coming inside to speak to him before he had time to speak to his men and they readied for the fight or not that was to come. His little sister was still having a hard time dealing with all that had happened at the Twins. The divide between him and Robb was pressing down on her and causing her concern and though she was with him, she was upset and so he tried to make her feel better.

"Once done here we'll go and see your mother." he said as she looked at him curiously.

"Why?" she asked warily.

"Arya, I'm not leaving you behind." he said seeing her relax a little "Someone has made it very clear to me that she'll not accept that and besides I need my squire by my side." he said with a warm smile that she returned with a cheeky one of her own.

"Of course you're not leaving me behind, you fucker." she said and then jumped out of his reach when he went to grab her, the small laugh she made was one he very much enjoyed the sound of.

"I think you'd like to see her though would you not?" he asked and she nodded "And we can be there and back before anyone has reached the Crossroads."

"What about Dany and Sansa?" she asked worriedly.

"They've taken Lannisport and are both well. Ghost and Nymeria will see them safe." he said and she looked at him confusedly.

"How do you know?" she asked "That they've already taken the city?" she added quickly.

"Can you not feel Nymeria?" he asked and she shook her head.

"I'll try and show you how I feel Ghost from this far, but later for we've work to do." he said and she moved to his side, her hand on Needle's hilt as he called for Arthur and then sent for the Magner, Thoros and Ser Richard.

It didn't take too long for Ser Richard to arrive first, Thoros and the Magner arriving a few moments later.

"Your grace." Ser Richard said with a small bow of his head.

"My king." Thoros said taking a seat.

"White Wolf." the Magner said smiling, the man happy to see him here with his men.

"I've seen the men behind the walls mounted and ready, I believe they were ready to ride out but seeing Ōñosmaghare in the sky may have changed their minds." he said and saw Thoros smirk.

"Do you think they'll still fight, your grace?" Ser Richard asked and Rhaegar shook his head.

"It's hard to say, Ser Richard. Thoros you perhaps know Lord Royce better than most." he said looking to the red priest who nodded "He's a proud man is he not?" he asked to another nod "But is he a stupid one?"

"I'd not have thought him so, my king." Thoros replied.

"Very well. Ser Richard organize some men for a parley and make sure you bring some of the Grafton men with you." he said and Ser Richard rose to his feet "We'll see if we can stop this fight before it begins."

"Men wish to fight, White Wolf." the Magner said and Rhaegar looked at him to see the eagerness in his eyes.

"There will be fights ahead, The Magner. Be they today or days from now, I've no doubt there will be fights ahead and your men will play their role in them." he said to an almost excited nod from the large Skagosi.

They then talked about the makeup of their forces. He had almost five thousand here, almost one thousand who he'd describe as mounted though compared to the Knights of the Vale they were very much not. Lord Royce could call upon maybe four or five thousand men himself and only a few of them would be foot soldiers. Though from the air he'd have wagered there were less than a thousand men in Runestone. Against his army alone they'd probably be a decent match, with Ōñosmaghare they very much would not be.

After eating some food, or to be more precise picking at his own while Arya ate hungrily, Ser Richard arrived back to tell him that Lord Royce had agreed to the parley. Rhaegar readied himself and then went to the black dragon to tell him to land when he called for him, Ōñosmaghare was more than keen to show off and emphasize the point that Rhaegar wanted to make. Once he'd finished speaking to the dragon, he then mounted up on the horse with Arya riding with him and Arthur riding his own beside him. Then together with Thoros, Ser Richard, and all three of the Skagosi leaders rode to the ground that had been chosen for the parley. They were the first to arrive and so they could see Lord Royce and his men from some distance away.

"This is safe, White Wolf?" the Magner asked, doubtful that the Southerners kept to their oaths and traditions as well as the men from the True North did.

"They'll not break parley, the Magner." he said confidently, Lord Royce was someone that he knew enough about to know that.

When they arrived he saw the looks of disgust on Lord Royce's and one or two of the other's faces. Be it the fact he was a Targaryen, that he rode with a red priest and savage Northmen or that he'd come to take his keep, Rhaegar couldn't be sure which was the reason for it. Though were he to wager he'd say it was about the colors he wore as his grandfather had killed kin to the Royce's at the same time that he'd killed Rhaegar's own uncle and grandfather.

"Lord Royce." he said respectfully.

"Targaryen." Lord Royce spat very much not and Rhaegar had to shake his head at Arya and try not to smirk at the annoyance on Arthur's and the Magner's face.

"I've come for your surrender and your fealty, my lord. Both of which are owed to me by right." he said to angered looks and one of the men with the lord almost reached to his sword.

"You ask me to swear to you after what your family did to mine own?" Lord Royce asked annoyedly.

"What my grandfather did cannot be forgiven, Lord Royce, and I'd not even dare to ask you to do so. But you were not the only one harmed by the things Aerys did. I lost family to him too and so in this we're very much alike." he said only for the Lord to almost fall from his horse as he rose angrily from the saddle "I ask you to swear to me, not because of my family, other than it's by the right of blood that I name myself the true king. I ask you to swear to me because should you not then your house ends this day, my lord. You, your wife and children, those sworn to you and each and every person that serves you, they all will mee their end here today." he said firmly.

He had to give it to the man, he held his nerve well, those with him gulped and looked panicked and even more so when Rhaegar called for Ōñosmaghare and the black dragon responded with a large roar and then flew low over their heads and towards the keep.

"You would break Parley?" Lord Royce asked aghast.

"My dragon is not heading to your keep, my lord. Not for the now at least." he said leaving the lord in no doubt that he may do so later.

There was silence for a few moments, Lord Yohn looking to him, to Arthur, and to Arya who Rhaegar swore wore a smirk though thankfully kept quiet.

"My brother has sworn the North to me, Lord Royce. Prince Oberyn has sworn Dorne to me." he said looking at the worried look that now appeared on Yohn's face." My wife travels with her own men and her own dragons and has seen Lannisport fall, with minimal loss of life I may add. The Lords of the Narrow Sea and the men of Skagos that you see here today, they've all sworn to me. Your position is as untenable as the Old Lion's is. My ancestor conquered these lands with fewer men than are in my army and fewer dragons. The men of the Twins who betrayed those they swore to and broke guest rights have learned what my dragon can do. Do not make the same mistake as they have and do what's best for you and your people." he said looking directly at the lord.

There was silence for some time, Ōñosmaghare had flown back and landed some distance from them, the black dragon now clearly seen from where Lord Royce sat.

"Remember Harrenhal, my lord." Rhaegar added to a gulp this time from the Lord himself.

"I damn you to the seven hells for making me do this." Lord Royce said as he climbed down off his horse and took a knee in front of him.

"I'm from the North, my lord, I care not for what befalls followers of the Seven." he said as he and Arya and then Arthur dismounted and moved close to Lord of Runestone.

"I Lord Yohn Royce, do hereby swear fealty to His Grace King Rhaegar Targaryen. From this day until my last day, I swear my house to his own and my men to his cause." Lord Royce said, his words not spoken with any great feeling, but spoken all the same and that was enough for Rhaegar, for now.

"And I accept your oath, Lord Royce. I vow that you shall always have a place by my hearth and meat and mead at my table, and pledge to ask no service of you that might bring you into dishonor. I swear it by the old gods and the new. Arise and be welcomed as a friend of the crown." he said and Yohn looked at him with annoyance as he rose to his feet.

"What is it you wish of me and my men, your grace?" Lord Royce asked once he was standing again.

"That you call the rest of your men to arms and march with mine own to the Crossroads to join with my brother and the men of the North. From there you march with them and me and together we'll see to the end of this war and to the usurper who sits my throne. Before then I ask you to send ravens out to the other Lords of the Vale. Lord Grafton and now you yourself have seen the benefits of kneeling, I'd ask you to do your utmost to convince your fellow lords to do the same."

"Lady Lysa has forbidden them and me from getting involved in this war, your grace." Lord Yohn said and finally, Rhaegar saw the lord's annoyance addressed at someone else.

"Lady Lysa abandoned her kin and made each of you seem craven in the process, my lord. You men fought with the men of the North and bonds of blood joined you and yet when her own sister came to call for aid, she rejected her. Not for the North and not for her own family home did she rise and so when this war is done there will be a reckoning for her to face because of it." he said almost angrily.

"She's still our Liege Lady, your grace." Lord Yohn said as a way of expressing his doubts about the other lords or that's what Rhaegar took his meaning as.

"But a king's word overrules even a Liege Lady's does it not? Send your ravens, my lord. Make clear what they face should they not rise and that by doing so without delay they may gain my favor. Let them know that change is coming to the Vale and that Lady Lysa will no longer be liege or in a position of power when I take my throne." he said and Yohn nodded almost gleefully, the first true smile he'd worn since the parley had begun was now on his face.

"As you command, your grace." Lord Yohn said moving from him, Arthur, and the others to his horse and almost skipping as he did so.

Rhaegar didn't ride back to the camp. Instead, he spoke to Ser Richard, Thoros, and the Magners of Skagos and laid out what it was he wished for them to do. After asking Ser Richard to judge the mood of the other Lords of the Vale when they joined him, he, Arthur, and Arya moved to Ōñosmaghare and he thanked the black dragon for all that he'd done.

"You won me this day, Ōñosmaghare. He knelt to me because of you." he said as he looked into the dragon's green eyes and felt his joy and pride at his words.

Moving away from the dragon he walked to Arya and asked her if she was excited about seeing her mother again.

"I…what if she wishes me to stay." Arya asked nervously.

"Well she can't have you, your mine." he said grabbing her and pulling her close to him as she tried to hit out at him laughing all the while "Mine, Mine, Mine." he said over and over to more laughs.

"Gerroofff me you fool." she said when he began to kiss her cheek and forehead, he moved from her to speak to her more seriously once she'd stopped laughing.

"You stay by my side for as long as you wish, Arya. Not me, not your mother, no one but you decides when or if you leave it." he said and he was surprised by the hug that he was enveloped in.

"To Dragonstone, your grace?" Arthur asked and Rhaegar nodded as they climbed up onto the dragon's back and he prepared for a conversation that was six and ten years in the coming.

The Vale 299 AC.

Ōñosmaghare.

His rider had wished him to show his power but not to direct it at the keep of the men and so he had. Then he'd wished for him to do the same once more while he spoke to lesser men than he. Once again Ōñosmaghare had done what had been asked of him and after he'd done so, his rider had praised him yet again. He'd shared the victory they'd won with him, credited him for seeing it won without the need to fight and while Ōñosmaghare was proud of his part, his rider had played just as big a part as he.

His words had been like Ōñosmaghare's flames, fierce and true and enough to cower the man he faced. The strength of them and of the man who spoke them was different and yet the same as his own strength. They were more together than either could ever be apart. He fuelled the fire within his rider's heart while his rider did the same with his own. Off far from here, he could feel his rider's other do the same with her own dragon and to a lesser extent with the two that would be ridden by the offspring of her rider and his own. Her strength was different than his rider's was and yet just as fierce in its own way.

He had shared with his brothers what he'd done just as they had shared with him what they were doing, the bond between them as strong as the one between his rider and his brother's own. His brother's rider too was to use words to bring men to their knees, she too ready to bring the flames of her dragon to them should they not. Just as his own rider was more than ready to let those flames loose when they needed to be and yet willing to hold them back when they were not. Restraint was not a thing he'd known much of in his life, it was not something he'd thought he'd learn at this late stage of it either and yet his rider had thought him such. It was not the first thing his rider had taught him, nor would it be the last, and Ōñosmaghare felt excited by that. As he did by the things he was teaching his rider too.

A/N: Thanks to all who've read and reviewed. This story will be going weekly from next week and I've answered the Chapter 13 reviews here, will double up on answering them next with Chapter 14/15. Up Next Stannis meets with some bankers, Tyrion and Varys arrive in Pentos, and Robb and Roslin speak and come to a decision about their future. In the West, Dany meets with the Lion's of the Rock and in King's Landing Tywin sends out armies to deal with threats only to receive word from the West that shakes him to his core. While on Dragonstone Cat finds herself to be a not so respected guest and the keep and island falls under threat as Lord Brax arrives to do Tywin's bidding.

Chapter 13 Reviews:

Daryl Dixon: So glad you liked it.

Hunstman: We'll see the Tyrells scramble next.

Rhatch: So happy you enjoyed it.

Suppes: Thanks so much.

Callmeautho: I did think of that but Tywin would use it against them, try to turn the people against them. Lannister and Tyrells are screwed here, Lannisters more than anyone.

Pontoac: Everything that Rhaegar has done has be to bring the truth out about who he can trust, he knows now and so there will be retribution because of it. With the IB, it's not so much that they may side with someone, though given that they gave Cersei coin despite her going against Dany, it's questionable. More they have their own angles and end games.

Moonlight echoes: Hope you liked it when it came.

Tfranco: We'll be getting our first proper look at Bloodraven very soon, things at the Wall are about to kick off.

PFC: Thanks so much for saying so.

Celexys: Thank you, my friend.

Jaime Rey: El caso es que él sabe que Lysa prácticamente ha abandonado el Norte / Rl y, por lo tanto, prácticamente la va a aislar y apartar de las cosas. Tratar con ella más tarde.

Dunk and Egg: I know I didn't want to rush the Dany part so yep it kind of teased. The only thing is that Rhaegar knew where they were, he knew they were with the Tyrells in KL and so it's more forgivable. Oh, the Tyrell's will pay for sure. So with Robb, that's it exactly, who follows him after this? I do wonder how he kept the North in line after the IB attack and the fall of WF, which is literally his fault, sometimes I think GRRM has people act illogically on purpose.

Lady Octarina: Very much so, The Twins is even worst than Harrenhal because of how much more powerful Ōñosmaghare is. Robb would be humiliated, yes, if Rhaegar wished him to be then even more so. Arthur will, funnily enough, speak to Rhaegar about that in an upcoming chapter. I like the parallel with the Greatjon thinking it as a giant it works so well I think. Rowan and Tarly are so Targ supporters.

This is the one thing with the Reach, against the Targs Olenna is screwed because her bannermen don't respect them as it is and are Targ supporters. It's also why it's so fucking annoying what they did with Tarly in the show and why I'm more than certain they force some endpoints for characters that don't work in the context because of the changes they make.

So Tarly would kneel to Dany, in a fucking heartbeat, which means for him not to there has to be another reason. Here's the reason. FAegon. I think Tarly's end will be the same as the show, he'll refuse to kneel and refuse to accept Dany as his queen, only it'll be because he's already knelt to fAegon and so he'll see Dany as a usurper. Since the show didn't put fAegon in it, we get the same outcome but it makes no sense. No fucking way Tarly kneels to Cersei, especially not after she blew up the Sept, and even if he did without knowing of Dany, he'd not do so once he did, he's a Targ supporter true and true.

Anja: Thanks so much.

Guest: The very best reactions are going to come from Varys later lol.

Svenion: I think I get what you mean, I thought it moved just enough, but maybe you're more right than me.

Keb: Funny enough I have this weird displacement idea where Ned is the one who dies in the Red Keep in Brandon's place. That it's Ned who races off to save Lyanna while in Brandon is busy somewhere in the north. Then Rickard dies as per canon but with Ned and Brandon is left in charge of the North and placed in Ned's position, he made it to the TOJ and dealing with Robert through a very different lens and without Ned's rose-tinted glasses. So yes, it's something I'm working on, I'm just trying to plot it out so the changes make sense.

Trispacturn: I'm building to Cat/Jon and it will be an interesting encounter, Arya, too. We'll see the Tyrells face reality soon enough.

Xan Merrick: Thank you, my friend. I always thought she appealed to his worst nature. There was lust and also he felt aggrieved by what he had been given in life, Dragonstone instead of Storm's End and so upon seeing himself get screwed over again, her words hit home. Hope you enjoyed the Dragon part and the fallout. We'll see Dany at the Rock next and more of Mathis and Randyll.

Anarra: Thanks so much.

Tenault: Really glad you liked it.

Oonight eyes: So happy you enjoyed it.

Jon Snow: This will be going weekly from I think next week.

Guest; Very much so.

Myfirstpointo: Thanks my friend and don't worry it will be completed. TDC had more than 2 million words and was completed, so I won't leave any story hanging.

Cantthinkofone: Thanks so much, glad you liked it.