Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good holiday period for those that celebrate, or a good couple of weeks if you don't. A happy New Year to you all as well and given how awful 2021 was for the majority of us, I really hope that 2022 is finally the time for a positive year for us all. This is the year of House of the Dragon after all, and with any luck, it will also be the year of the Winds of Winter!

I only have one New Year Resolution and that is to finish this story. If I manage a chapter a week then the last one will be posted on December 30th, so a lot of writing to do and a big challenge, but as of right now I'm determined.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I do not own any of the recognisable characters, those are the property of either George R R Martin or HBO.

In a strange way, the deaths of Renly Baratheon and Valarra Rogare had given Luke and Margaery Tyrell a solid foundation to build a friendship from. Whilst still feeling frustrated at staying in King's Landing while his subjects were marching off towards more conflict, the stillness of life at court had allowed him to get to know his bride to be more. She was exceptionally clever and witty like her infamous grandmother the Queen of Thorns, though unlike Lady Olenna she still had a view on the beauty of life. Together they had travelled into the city every two days since the Tyrell arrival in order to give charity to those in need and to listen to the peoples problems and complaints, and almost every evening meal had been taken together along with Jon Connington and the Tyrell's.

Around a month after she had first arrived in the city though, Luke could sense that she felt nervous. They had received word that a Dornish ship had been sighted off of the coast of Sharp Point early one morning, and so Luke had arranged for the entire court to walk down to the Red Keep's private docks to welcome Princess Visenya, Princess Daenerys and the Martell delegation to the Capital an hour before dusk was due to fall in. "Do not worry." Luke said quietly, so only Margaery and Ser Barristan behind them could hear. "You are to be family."

Margaery didn't respond, only bowing her head in response to his attempt to calm her. Thankfully at that moment however the orange sailed ship was coming into sight, and Luke felt a grin appearing on his face. The wait for it to anchor and for the newcomers to get onto a rowboat and arrive on shore was agonising however, and Luke was extremely glad when it was over, and barely a couple of feet in front of him stood his sister, holding his daughter. He could feel himself getting emotional as he stared at Visenya Targaryen, her silver hair slightly curled and beginning to fall below her ears. Daenerys as ever was a picture of radiance, choosing to wear a black gown with golden scales falling down her bodice.

"My King." Daenerys smirked up at him, though she still curtseyed with the other women in her party, whilst Prince Trystane quickly fell to one knee.

"House Martell stands with you, Your Grace." The heir to Dorne announced.

Luke heard the unmistakable tone of Oberyn snorting behind him, though he didn't react to the noise. "Welcome, Prince Trystane. "Please, if you and your party would follow Prince Oberyn and Ser Franklyn, rooms have been prepared for all of you. I would see my daughter and my sister."

Trystane bowed again and followed those requested to lead him away, and soon the majority of the gathering had departed, leaving for a more intimate greeting between Luke and his family. He stepped forwards and knelt before Daenerys, who had now placed Visenya down on the ground though was still holding the toddlers hand tightly. "My darling daughter." Luke whispered emotionally. It took a nudge from Daenerys, but Visenya eventually moved forwards and hugged Luke around the neck, allowing him to pick her up and get back to his feet once more. With one arm wrapped underneath his daughter to hold her up, his free arm found its way around Daenerys' neck pulling her into a hug as well. "Welcome home." He whispered.

"I told you the next time I saw you, you would be King." Daenerys replied happily. "You must tell me it all."

"And I shall." Luke nodded, releasing his sister. "But first, an introduction." He stepped to the side, allowing him to face both Daenerys and Margaery. "Sister, may I introduce Lady Margaery Tyrell. Margaery, Princess Daenerys Targaryen."

Margaery curtseyed quickly before rising with a big smile on her face. "It is a pleasure, I have heard so much about you from His Grace already, I look forward to becoming the best of friends."

"Likewise, My Lady." Daenerys also smiled.

Luke could feel Visenya starting to squirm to get back to Dany, and so he handed the toddler back to his sister. "Come, let us retire back to the castle for some supper and we can all share our stories."

He offered his arm out to Margaery, who quickly took it, and then began to lead the smaller group up towards the historical red bricked castle of his ancestors, grateful that his family were back with him at last.

Of the 20,000 men that had sailed with Stannis to Dragonstone, the rightful King of the Seven Kingdom's only had 8,000 remaining to him. Many had either died or deserted in between the battle and Braavos, but even after resupplying Stannis had noticed less ships had arrived at the Grey Cliffs of the North than had departed the Free City. Thankfully his numbers had been bolstered somewhat by the remainder of the men from Karhold, though one look at the Northerners and even Stannis could tell that they were unhappy at their new loyalty.

That was no matter though, as Stannis looked around his new War Council. To represent the Karstarks he had included Arnolf, the current Lord's Uncle and the current castellan of the castle, and Arnolf's son Cregan, yet the council was still filled with his own loyal men. Melisandre too was ever present, staring at the map.

"We are rested." Stannis explained. "I have wed and bed Alys, it is time for us to depart Karhold and push onwards."

Arnolf scoffed. "To where?" The Northerner asked.

"The true fight lies North of here, at the Wall." Melisandre explained. "The Great Other is amassing his forces and the men of the Night's Watch cannot begin to hope to contain them."

"Yet we shall go towards the South." Stannis explained. "I cannot bolster the Watch enough with the ten thousand men I have, to win this war we shall need far greater numbers, and so I shall win the North first, and then the other realms will follow suit." He pointed at Moat Cailin. "The Ironborn hold the Moat, and that is the key to holding the North. We got lucky that the vast majority of the traitor Robb Stark's forces are below the Moat when I invaded, and that shall be to our advantage again. We march South, take the Moat and then Robb Stark and the rest of the North shall bend the knee to me in return for being allowed back into the North."

"To do that we'll have to go past the Dreadfort." Cregan Karstark countered.

Justin Massey smirked. "We'll do more than go past it, we'll take it."

Stannis nodded. "House Bolton are a major power in the North, one greater than yourselves. We shall break them and House Karstark shall supplant them as the second most powerful House, and if Robb Stark's brothers refuse to bend the knee after I have him sent to the Wall, well then perhaps the white sun banner will look good adorning Winterfell."

Arnolf looked positively gleeful at the thought, and Stannis knew that he had him. The Northerner cleared his throat. "Well then, if we want to beat the green boy to the Moat let's fucking move."

It was cruder than Stannis would have put it, but he nodded his acceptance at the Northman's suggestion. "See to it that the march begins immediately." He ordered Ser Justin. "And have a horse prepared for my wife, she will be marching too."

"Your Grace?" Ser Justin asked, confused.

"I have little time in every sense, Ser Justin." Stannis explained. "I need my Kingdom, I need a son. I can achieve both on the march. See to it that her horse is prepped and ready to depart." The knight paused for a moment, but he bowed all the same and led the exodus out of the small chamber. Only Melisandre stayed, moving to stare into the fire as she often did. Stannis said nothing for a while, moving pieces around the Northern map and planning his movements, before finally breaking the silence by asking. "Do you see anything?"

Melisandre nodded. "Moving on the Dreadfort is the right choice." She told him cryptically. "I see a line of dead dogs, and you will be presented with a gift if you march there. A gift that can help you win the North."

The day after Daenerys had arrived in King's Landing Luke had left instructions for Jon to cover for him at the Small Council Meeting that day, instead choosing to take Daenerys, Visenya and the dragons to his own private gardens. He had picked this particular area to be private so that the dragons themselves had an area whilst they remained small to fly around and play with one another, and so that the members of House Targaryen and invited guests had a nice area for respite. As Visenya played on the grassy ground with Talisa, Luke took the time to sit on the bench with his sister looking up to the bright blue sky, where the dragons were flying around nearby.

"Valaxes has missed his siblings." Luke admitted. "And it seems the others have done well in his absence."

Dany nodded. "They have had the freedom to grow." She explained. "Though they too have missed Val, as we have missed you."

"Well, we shan't need to leave one another for a long time now." Luke explained. "Not until a while after my own wedding at any rate, depending on how the rebel factions react to the news of our conquest." He sighed. "I have no doubts that I will be forced to go and deal with the North one way or another." He shook his head. "Anyway, enough about the struggles of war, you barely said anything about Dorne last night, how did you like it? How do you like Trystane?"

"He is nice enough." She explained. "A little young, a little naïve, but he will grow to be kind I am sure. I will admit that most of my time there was spent admiring the Water Gardens."

Luke had only heard stories about the Water Gardens, but he had already seen the change in his daughter around fountains and water in the short time she had been back with him, and the glowing tan that Dany was showing off wasn't halted by any pale clothes marks, so his imagination was running wild. "They sound wonderful, I will have to visit them at some point."

"You will love them." Dany grinned. "When I live in Dorne, I can't see myself spending much time away from them if I am honest."

"Well you won't marry for a while." Luke said firmly, gripping her hand in his. "I've only just got you back and Trystane is still only 14, you have two years at the very least."

Almost immediately Dany leant over and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I appreciate that." She admitted. "I want to learn all about this place, it's strange to think that this is my home, but I've only ever spent one night inside the castle. I haven't even slept in Dragonstone."

"You will travel there too, sister." Luke nodded. "Being back in the Red Keep is wonderful of course, but there is something about Dragonstone… I can't put a word to it, but the air there just feels more natural."

Dany snorted. "That isn't hard, why Talisa was saying on the boat coming into the city how she could already smell the place. It is rather foul."

Luke nodded amusedly. "One day when things are settled and the treasury has been rebuilt I will have a look at improving that." He decided, filing the thought away for another time as he saw his Kingsguard parting in the doorway and allowing a silver haired Dornishman entrance to the gardens. "My squire has taken a liking to Talisa though." He noted, watching Ned Dayne walk towards them.

Dany looked over at Talisa gleefully. "Truly?" She asked, a look of plotting on her face. "Interesting…"

"Your Grace, pardon my intrusion." Ned stated, his eyes wandering to the side where Talisa and Visenya were playing. "But… Lord Varys sent me. He has urgent news that he must discuss with you in person."

Luke was scowling. "I'm busy, Ned."

"I told him that, Your Grace." Ned nodded urgently. "He still insisted and gave me this."

It was a rolled-up letter. Sighing, Luke snatched it and broke the plain seal, unfurling it and reading the short and precise message that was scribbled. The King's eyes widening, he looked up at Ned in shock. "Go and set up my solar for a meeting, Ned. I will be there at once."

Ned Dayne bowed his head and ran off, allowing Luke the chance to lean back and breathe heavily. "What is it?" Dany asked.

He almost ignored her, but not wanting to keep things from his sister he quoted the letter to her. "I have found Lord Arryn's killer. This will win you the Vale." He rose to his feet. "Forgive me, but duty calls. I shall see you this evening?"

Dany nodded. "Of course, go." She waved him away, and Luke didn't think twice as he rushed out of the gardens, eager to find out exactly what the eunuch meant.

The first thing Robb Stark had done after finding out about the new threat to the North had been to send the Blackfish down to King's Landing. The fight that he had set out of Winterfell at the head of a force 20,000 strong for was all but over with Tywin Lannister, Cersei Lannister and Joffrey Waters dead, and yet he still felt like he had lost. His Father was dead, his brothers were dead, his best friend had betrayed him and his sisters were either captured or missing. Even his Lords could see that there was nothing left for them in the South, and that the true fight now was inside their own borders.

Then the final few days at the Twins had mainly been filled with the logistics of moving back into the North. A large force led by the Greatjon would travel up the Kingsroad making noise in order to draw the attention of the Ironborn, whilst a separate force, this time led by Ser Wendel Manderly, would move down to Seagard to take the water route down the Saltspear to block the Ironborn in. Robb's men however would traverse the Neck. They had already sent envoys towards the edge of the swamps to try and find Lord Howland Reed, and Robb was hoping that they would hear some positive news from one of those so that he could lead a few thousand men through the bogs and hit Moat Cailin from the North, a luxury which other invading armies would never have.

With the plans all settled and his husbandly duties performed for the morning, the last thing on Robb's internal list was to travel into the camp and speak to his prisoner. He relieved his guards as he neared the pen, keeping Grey Wind at his side at all times as he unlocked the gate and entered the room.

The Lannister man stunk. He was caked in mud and his hair and beard had both grown unruly. It took Robb a second to get used to the aroma that the Lannister was producing, but eventually he got himself under control and noticed the annoyance of the prisoner.

"Am I too common for you, King Stark?" Jaime asked bitterly. "I would have bathed, but I wasn't expecting your visit."

"This isn't a visit for my benefit, Lannister." Robb insisted. For all he hated the man, right at this moment all he felt was pity. "I have news from King's Landing."

The look on his face must have said it all because Robb noticed the Lannister's features settle into one of anguish. "They lost." Was all he said.

Robb nodded. "Lucerys Targaryen sits the Iron Throne. Your Father, sister, and eldest son have all been executed. Tyrion is the Lord of Casterly Rock whilst Myrcella and Tommen have been legitimised as your children." He explained. "All I now of your fate is that you have been stripped of the White Cloak and that we shall discuss that in our own peace talks." Jaime said nothing, only lowering his head in a scowl. Robb stood there for a moment longer, before realising that the Lannister just needed to process it all. "For what it's worth, I truly am sorry." He said honestly, before taking a step backwards. "Grey Wind, come." He stated plainly as he left the cage, locking the door behind him as he went and leaving the Kingslayer to wallow in his grief.

King Robert Baratheon had used his sleeping chambers to conduct his more private meetings, whilst Joffrey had never really bothered with them. Luke meanwhile had repurposed the old solar of King Jaehaerys I, and though it was relatively bare at the moment, it had been scheduled in for a full decoration once the major decorations had been finished elsewhere in the castle. The King arrived inside the room promptly, to find that Ned Dayne and Varys were already there, the former pouring some lemon water whilst Varys was sat down in the visitors chair. The Eunuch rose to his feet quickly when he heard Luke enter the room, but the King quickly waved him to sit back down.

"Thank you, Ned." Luke noted his appreciation as he moved around his desk to sit in the comfy chair. "You may leave us." Ned bowed his head before setting down the jug and departing the room. "The last time this room was used, I believe my Grandfather was planning the final stages of the War on the Stepstones." He explained. "My Father was far too grand to conduct his meetings in a simple solar, yet this is the room that the Conciliator won over the majority of his subjects during the Golden Wedding."

"Many a famous meeting has been held here, Your Grace." Varys nodded. "And I fear this may be one such meeting."

Luke agreed. "You have news on Jon Arryn's murder." He stated.

"I do." Varys explained, pulling out a stack of letters. "With Lord Baelish… somewhat unable to return to King's Landing at the present, I've been able to uncover but a handful of his misdeeds. Not many that deserve the King's attention, merely bribery of certain guards mostly, but one receipt caught my eye." He handed it to Luke, who took the parchment carefully and studied it.

"Purchase of the Tears of Lys." Luke read. "I know this poison, it's famously hard to spot for those unaware of its properties."

"It was bought in the name of Lysa Arryn." Varys explained. "Yet I've followed the trail, and the only woman to appear during this trail of purchase was a woman that is under employment at a small brothel on the Street of Silk. An establishment owned by our former Master of Coin."

Luke was trying to digest the information. "So you are telling me that Lord Baelish arranged this murder and framed Lady Arryn?"

"There's more." Varys continued. "Lord Baelish and Lady Arryn were close, unlawfully close. I believe he kept the receipts in order to frame Lady Arryn if this was discovered, but the actual poisoning I suspect was a joint effort. Lord Arryn only ate meals inside the Tower of the Hand, and the only ones with access to the Tower were his Household and the King. King Robert would never have taken food or wine to him, so the culprit must remain inside Lord Arryn's household, all of whom were fanatically loyal to the man except..."

"Except Lady Arryn." Luke could see where Varys was going. "So Lady Arryn, a woman known for her fragile temperament, finally snapped and wanted her husband dead, a situation her lover was only too happy to oblige in."

"Lord Baelish provided the poison, Lady Arryn made sure her husband drank it." Varys summarised. "It's a theory, of course."

"But one we can look into with detail." Luke smirked. "Good work, Varys." He grabbed a wad of parchment and began scribbling. "Thankfully, Lord Baelish currently is enjoying the hospitality of Highgarden, so a request to Lord Tyrell to have him brought here won't be too difficult."

"Lady Arryn will be the issue. We won't take her without either war or her leaving the Eyrie willingly." Varys sighed.

Luke sighed, before he tried to rack his brain as he thought for a solution. "Unless we try and pit the Lords against her. They are loyal to House Arryn, not to Lysa Arryn. If we can find proof that Lysa Arryn was involved willingly, then perhaps we can persuade the Vale Lords to bring her here for us." He finished scribbling down his letter. "But first, we need to know the truth from Baelish."

"He won't talk easily, Your Grace." Varys explained.

"Perhaps not to you or I, Varys." Luke smirked. "But once he's here I will ask Prince Oberyn to become acquainted with our mutual friend. He will discover all of the secrets that the mockingbird holds..."

Luke and Dany have spent over half of the story apart now, so to bring them back together is lovely. They're a really nice pair of characters to write together and I cannot wait for their future stories…

I hope I've explained Stannis' plan a little bit. I had some comments on Ao3 specifically about how screwed he was, but there is a logic to it.

Jaime is simply grief stricken right now. He feels both useless and helpless having been captured whilst his entire family were left to face a threat that he also feels responsible for. Robb is genuinely honest here as well, he knows what it's like to lose family and feel helpless after all.

And finally, of course Varys wouldn't pass up the opportunity to kick Baelish down when he's away. With the full focus on reuniting the realm as well Varys figures it's the perfect time to resolve the matter of Jon Arryn's death.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Next Time: Stannis Baratheon arrives at the Dreadfort to a surprise, whilst a Lord Paramount takes his final breath…

Reviews:

DarylDixon'sLover: Spoilers!

guadamontiel18: Tendrá buenos y malos momentos

Xman123: Shoulder length silver hair, royal purple eyes, a tall, imposing build. I haven't really thought of an actor for him though.

Tony McNucklz: I did exaggerated dragon growth in United in Fury, but this story will fit more with the show timeline so the dragons won't be ridable for a few years yet. The Vale wouldn't leave, instead waiting until either Luke flew up to them as Visenya did in the Conquest or they pick a side. As for the Tyrell's, this is the show versions of them, so Loras is the heir.

Warden Commander of America: I'm not ignoring Maester Aemon and his familial relationships I promise, you'll just have to wait a bit for Castle Black to become involved…