House of the Dragon Season 1 is over… and I absolutely loved it! The wait until 2024 will be tough but thankfully I have this story and plenty of rewatches to keep me occupied haha! When I came into this story and I was choosing a name for my OC the two from history that stuck out to me were Jacaerys and Lucerys. I didn't want the standard Aegon, Jaehaerys or Daeron because King Aerys already had children with that name despite them not living very long, and at the time of planning Luke stuck out to me more. I'm glad that I got to see his namesake on the TV though, albeit with an extremely gruesome death…

Despite the season being over I still aim to have one chapter per week! I'm excited to get to the end of this story, though that's still a long way off yet. I hope you all enjoy this latest installation!

I own nothing but the OC's. All recognisable characters and locations are the property of George R R Martin and HBO.

305 AC

Having his watch atop the Wall take place overnight, Jaime had no idea of anything being wrong until his shift was over, and though the former Kingsguard knight was looking forward to a lengthy sleep, as he reached the courtyard of Castle Black he was surprised to see it empty. Looking over to the man controlling the winch cage, Jaime asked. "What's going on?"

Todder, or Toad as he was known to the brothers, shrugged. "Thorne wanted most everyone in the hall, was givin' a speech or something."

A chill went down Jaime's spine. "Thorne?"

Toad nodded. "Aye."

"Not the Lord Commander?"

"I ain't seen him, Kingslayer." Toad rolled his eyes. "Now move off, I'm busy."

Jaime scowled, but he walked down the wooden steps into the desolate courtyard. It was morning, but it should have still been littered with recruits and men training at arms. He kept his hand on his sword pommel for comfort as he looked around properly, noticing that there was blood in the snow and a new sign in the corner nailed to the post above it, announcing a traitor.

Jaime found himself snarling as he put together what was going on. Jon Snow had been kind to him, despite their familial differences, and the Lord Commander had even put a level of trust into the Lannister that Jaime thought he would never feel again. Given what everybody knew to be coming, Jaime had truly believed that Jon Snow was the best option to lead them into the Long Night.

He knelt down before the blood, running his hand through the congealed snow. He thought back to King's Landing and crossing swords with Ned Stark and remembered hoping he would see Stark blood back then, though the actual sight of it 4 years later was a grim sight.

"Pssst. Ser Kingslayer." Jaime heard from beyond the Traitor sign. He saw Pyp hiding, a hood up to disguise him badly. Jaime looked around to see that nobody was following him before briskly joining the steward.

"Pyp, what are you doing?" Jaime asked in a harsh whisper.

Pyp was scowling. "Thorne killed Jon." He stated the obvious. "We took his body and hid it…"

Jaime's mind was racing at the thought of what was about to happen. "Thorne will come for it to burn it, to prove that he is gone and solidify his hold on the Watch." He thought aloud.

"He's in a meeting, spinning his bile all over the brothers." Pyp said through gritted teeth. "But there are a dozen of us already."

Jaime noticed that Pyp, the same Pyp that could barely hit the straw target with a sword, was gripping a blade tightly in his hands. Realising that this dozen were gearing themselves up for a fight, the Lannister placed a hand on the nervous man's shoulder. "Where are you?"

"You're with us? Not Thorne?" Pyp asked. It was a stupid question, everybody within the castle knew of the enmity between Jaime and Thorne, but Jaime respected Pyp for checking.

"I am with you, I swear it." Jaime insisted. That was enough for Pyp, who looked nervously both ways before grabbing Jaime by the black fur cloak and dragging him away, towards what was usually an empty store room.

An emergency Small Council Meeting wasn't exactly what Margaery had planned for her morning when she was awoken abruptly at dawn, but the Queen still got herself dressed appropriately and made her way down towards the Throne Room, passing through the door to the side to see that everybody had been gathered. She noticed the suspicious absence of her Husband, and the fact that Ser Barristan Selmy was stood up rather than sat in his seat.

The men all rose to their feet as she entered. "Please, sit. Apologies for my lateness."

"Nonsense, Your Grace." Her Father smiled widely, bowing his head. "We had barely started."

Margaery took her own seat before the men followed suit, and she turned to the Hand of the King who was eyeing her up inquisitively. "Lord Hand?"

"The King is missing." Jon Connington stated bluntly. "His bed was left unslept in, his solar is empty and Ser Barristan has not seen him since last night."

Margaery wanted to rage and shout knowingly, but she kept her composure and put a surprised face on. "Missing? Surely if His Grace is not within the Red Keep he has just gone to be with his dragon?"

"Ser Barristan, how did a man of your ilk lose the King?" Mace Tyrell asked.

Ser Barristan frowned at the Warden of the South. "I did not lose His Grace, Lord Tyrell. He left of his own accord." He turned to Jon. "As I was saying, Lord Hand. The King decided to depart late last night, after spending time with the Queen he returned to his chamber and informed me of his intention to depart." The way the Kingsguard Knight had switched to glare at her Father worried Margaery, but she didn't get a chance to speak about it.

"So he's left the city? Why?" Oberyn asked.

Margaery couldn't hold the scoff in, as all eyes turned to her. "Apologies, My Lords, but it's obvious where he went. He went to Dragonstone."

Mace Tyrell's eyes widened in horror, Oberyn had a smirk on his face and Monford Velaryon groaned, but Margaery simply kept her eyes on the Hand of the King who was staring back at her defiantly. "That is a dangerous accusation, My Queen." Jon stated bluntly.

"He loves her, Lord Connington. It's plain to see. He came to me last night complaining of plots and this city and left before I awoke. Please, if there is anywhere else you believe that he would have gone then please, share it with us all."

"Lys." Jon stated calmly. "Princess Visenya is also not within the Castle and Ser Caspor has informed me of her growing interest in her Mother's family. Luke may have travelled with her to visit her uncle, Magister Lotho."

Varys shook his head. "The Magister has made it abundantly clear that the King is unwelcome in Lys, though his royal niece is always welcome. The House Rogare still detest House Targaryen after the island was sacked and the Lady Valarra was taken."

Margaery bristled at the reminder of Luke's first wife. "Then it is obvious." She stated bluntly.

"The King would not just abandon the city without reason." Lord Monford argued.

"He would if he felt backed into an inescapable corner." Jon responded. "I have known him all his life, Luke would never do this unless he felt like he had no choice." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Very well, I will remain as Regent until the King returns. Ser Barristan, you will take men to retrieve the King. I shall provide you with a letter before you leave."

"I would wait a few days." Lord Monford interrupted. "I know this is urgent, but there are storms due that will cause wrecks."

Jon looked unhappy, but there was no man at the table that understood ships like the Lord of the Tides and so he nodded all the same. "Very well, we are dismissed. Varys, I would like to speak with you alone."

"My Lord Hand." The Eunuch bowed, and the chairs started to scrape across the stone as everybody left. Margaery fell into step with her Father as they entered the Throne Room, and the Queen stared up at the famous seat of power.

"To leave so suddenly…" Mace Tyrell stated calmly. "Something bad must have happened."

Margaery simply scoffed. "Things got too much and he wants the comfort of his whore, nothing more." She muttered darkly. "Excuse me Father, I must see to my son."

She briskly walked out of the room, anger at the idiocy of her husband threatening to cloud her judgement.

The calmness of the waves was a comfort to Lucerys Targaryen as he stood on his balcony after a week of storms. The heat emanating from the Dragonmont too was also a comfort to him, as despite the morning chills of the seaside the King found that his half naked state was unaffected, while the freshness of the sea air that hadn't been mixed with the stink of King's Landing was peaceful. He was in the same chambers that he had claimed the first time he had arrived on Dragonstone so long ago, in the midst of a slaughter. This time was different, he knew, but he still looked back on that time eagerly, before he thought on what had come afterwards and how it had led to needing to flee.

A roar distracted him from his thoughts as he spotted all three of the growing dragons flying around the volcano. Already there was a noticeable growth difference in the beasts having just been around the Dragonmont for a week, showing Luke that the old saying was certainly true, dragons fared better on the island.

He closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air loudly, contented at being back on Dragonstone when a woman's voice sounded behind him. "Not so loud, I'm sleeping."

Luke smirked and turned, laying his eyes on Daenerys looking comfortable in the bed. Her hair was sprawled out over the pillows and her nightgown barely left anything to the imagination. He knew it was wrong, but the betrayal of his wife and her family still stung so deeply that he didn't care. "Apologies." He said gently. "I was just taking in the morning air."

"Well go and do it elsewhere." Daenerys smiled in her half-awake state, her eyes still pressed shut. "And fetch Jaenera when you go so that I can change."

Nodding, Luke grabbed a loose black shirt and pulled it over his head before pulling on some boots too, leaving his bedchamber quickly to go and break his fast.

Roughly an hour afterwards the King and his sister were walking along the beach, watching as Visenya was running barefooted further along with a smile. It almost seemed like they were the perfect family, the three of them, and it was a thought that Dany clearly understood that he was having. "You need to go back."

"I don't want to go back." Luke stated stubbornly. "The Tyrell's want the Throne so much, let them have it. It's an ugly iron chair that's fucking uncomfortable to sit on."

"Luke." Dany warned, her hand slipping into his own. "You don't mean that."

Sighing, Luke nodded. "I fought for so long to get into a position to find you and Viserys, and then after I found you I fought to win our birth right back. Now I'm wondering what the point was. King's Landing is full of schemers and cunts that just wish to use me to further their own pitiful agendas. If I stay here the Dragons will grow larger and we can use them to win the coming war."

"It's a fantasy, Luke. Nothing more." Dany insisted. "The Iron Throne needs a Targaryen sat atop it, not a Tyrell, nor a Connington. I won't ever pretend that your visit here hasn't been lovely but we are the Blood of the Dragon. We cannot run from our problems, and I didn't leave King's Landing to give you an easy escape when you feel like you need one, I left so that you could rule without the distraction of me."

Luke let the sound of the waves rolling onto the beach fill the void of conversation for a moment, watching as Visenya played with Bloodwing a hundred yards away. "I prefer this life, Dany. Being here with you and Vis."

"But this isn't your life, this is but a dream." Dany said as she let go of his hand and turned away to face the sea. "I will always be here for you, brother, you know my feelings for you. But our reality is different and I am struggling to accept that as it is."

That felt like a gut punch. "You know my feelings also." Luke told her as he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

"And yet you have a wife and son in King's Landing." Dany sighed, settling into his arms. "In an ideal world perhaps you could abdicate and leave it all to Aegon, but this is not an ideal world and we need you on the Iron Throne." She turned around to look up at him, her beautiful violet eyes pouring emotion into his own. "You once told me that you believe I am this Prince that was Promised that Rhaegar wrote about, well I disagree. You are the one to unite the living behind our banner. You are the one that managed to turn Lannister's, Tully's, Arryn's and Stark's into allies despite everything that they did to destroy us twenty years ago. You are the one that I will follow wherever you go. You are the Prince that was Promised, the Protector of the Realm, the guardian of my heart…" She sighed. "I'm sorry, I got carried away."

"Don't push me away then, please." Luke whispered gently.

Dany chuckled. "Would that I could marry you as Aegon did his Rhaenys, would that you could have one wife for duty and another for love, but we have seen what rumour does to the Faithful. I won't do that, not when a need for the realm to be united is so close." She leant up on her tiptoes and kissed Luke's cheek. "You've had a break, but you need to return. You need to be a King, to whip these liars and snakes into submission to you, the dragon." She sighed then and looked down at their feet. "And you need to find me a husband."

"Nobody deserves you." Luke said stubbornly.

Dany smirked. "Perhaps not, but you must do it all the same. Bind another to our cause."

"And let them twist their way around us like the Tyrell's?" Luke scoffed.

"Enough." Dany said firmly, jabbing her finger into his chest. "This childish feeling of them won't help us, Luke. We are few enough as it is. Dragons or no, our power rests on the loyalty of our vassals. Don't push away our strongest."

Luke sighed as he looked over her head to the sea, where in the distance Westeros sat. "If it's not too late for that."

They had taken a detour to the kennel to fetch the Direwolf, but quickly enough Jaime and Pyp were inside the store room housing the body of Jon Snow, which thankfully had a small window looking out to the main courtyard, Jaime noticed, was basically everybody that Jon Snow could have called unwaveringly loyal. He noticed Edd and Grenn by the window talking quietly, while everybody else were sheathing their steel once the door was locked and bolted once more.

"Gentlemen." Jaime greeted dryly.

"Ser Jaime." Edd nodded. "Are you with us?"

Jaime nodded. "I am." He began walking over to a table in the middle of the room, where the body had been laid out. Jon's eyes were closed, but the wounds on his chest indicated a dozen stab wounds. "Seven hells…" He whispered.

"We want to storm the hall." Grenn growled. "Take out that fucking traitor…"

"No." Jaime shook his head. "Go in there and you'll never make it to the high table." He looked around the room again. "Thorne will know what it means when none of us appear for dinner tonight. He'll come looking for us, that's when we take him."

Grenn scoffed. "We wait?"

"Yes." Jaime said firmly. "We are good fighters here… well most of us." He nodded to Pyp. "But we are thirteen men. Thorne will have treble that at the very least even if half of the castle stay neutral. We need to draw him out instead. Challenge him to lead an attack against us and take him out."

There was a small silence then, until Pyp piped up. "What if…" He trailed off. "Nah, it's silly."

"Go on." Grenn encouraged.

Pyp gulped. "We ain't the only ones loyal to Jon, are we? Mance Rayder ain't even half a day's ride away."

The Kingslayer wanted to slap himself. "Of course… there are Wildlings that will happily march here to take out Thorne and the other traitors." He whispered, a plan formulating in his head. "Who's the best rider?" He asked, knowing that the answer was him, but that he needed to stay in order to goad Thorne into making a mistake.

Edd put his hand up. "I was a minor cousin, but I am still a Tollett of the Vale."

Jaime grinned. "Famed horsemen. Good." He moved over to Edd. "Take the wolf and grab a horse. Ride for Mance Rayder as fast as you can and explain it all to him."

"And Jon's woman." Grenn added. "The one we kept here for a while, the red head. She's prickly, but she'll fight with us."

The group nodded in agreement, but Edd gulped. "Right, fantastic." He grumbled, but he moved to the door before pausing as his hand was on the bolt. "Don't let anybody else in." He warned the room. "Come, Ghost."

Ghost growled not wanting to leave Jon's side, and so feeling mad, Jaime knelt down before the oversized wolf and spoke quietly. "They need to see you to believe. We'll protect him, I swear."

The Direwolf seemed to consider Jaime for a moment, before rising to its paws and plodding after Edd, who wasted no time opening the door and slamming it shut again, with Pyp locking and bolting it once more.

"Thorne will be along soon." Grenn stated. "We best get ready."

"Start by bolting that window shut." Jaime nodded. "I don't see a crossbow in this room and he will have plenty."

That was also done, and Jaime looked around at his companions, all staring expectantly at him. Taking a deep breath, Jaime walked over to Jon's body once again. "Chances are we die tonight. Thorne will stop at nothing to get Jon's body to burn it, tightening his grip on the Night's Watch. We must not let traitors and murderers bent on destroying everything that Jon built to strengthen us for the fight to come. We are all that stands in his way, and I for one am glad to be here, stood with you." He eyed Longclaw that was stood up leaning against the table, the Valyrian Steel tempting him. Nodding to himself, he reached over and picked up the blade. "Use anything you can to fortify the room. It will be a long day."

As the days rolled on the Queen's anger refused to dissipate, for the longer that Luke was away on Dragonstone the closer he would grow to Daenerys. Though she kept her façade up for the Council and everybody else around the castle, it was with her Grandmother that she knew she could truly let her guard down.

"I'll always be second best." She was ranting as they had their regular afternoon lunch in the gardens. "Third best, if you still consider the dead Lyseni bed slave."

"Men think with their cocks." Olenna rolled her eyes. "I had thought that Lucerys was smart enough to ignore the idiotic second brain dangling between their legs, but here we are. What we must do is ensure that our Aegon will not have a similar affliction."

Margaery just sighed. "I don't understand it Grandmother. I was good to him, we understood one another and we worked well as a partnership, but now? I barely understand what changed."

"His secrets were out in the open, dear." Olenna stated. "We knew he had fucked his sister before you married, but because it was kept quiet he could go about his business as he saw fit. Now though after this Sparrow nonsense his dirty linen is out there for all to see and he's looking at the world through paranoid eyes. It's a typical Targaryen trait, his Father was much the same."

Margaery scowled. "He is nothing like the Mad King, Grandmother."

Olenna simply had a look of perplexion on her face. "And what would you have known of the matter still being in your mother's belly when he died?" She raised an eyebrow. "I remember the Mad King. Before he was mad, he was erratic. Flitting from one idea to the next and one whore to the next as well."

"He's a good man." Margaery sighed, changing the subject away from the Mad King. "He treats me well in truth."

Olenna frowned at her. "He's in another woman's bed, child. Wake up and face the facts, while Daenerys Targaryen is around and able to whisper into his ear, he will never truly be yours."

"Can he ever be mine?" Margaery asked, doubt settling into her stomach. "After all this?"

"Of course he can. You know how to play the game better than most of us, but you are still young, dear, perhaps you grew comfortable with him in private, or perhaps this isn't on you at all." Olenna shrugged. "What is important now, is what we do about Daenerys. Clearly sending her to Dragonstone isn't enough."

Margaery looked at her Grandmother in alarm. "We can't push him, not now, not when he is seemingly so fragile."

"I've been playing this game a long time, Margaery." Olenna told her, placing her wrinkled hands over the Queen's. "Trust me, I would never do anything that would harm you. But believe me, child. If you want the King to be yours, truly yours, then Daenerys needs to be gone."

Most of Luke's days on Dragonstone involved overseeing the Dragonglass mining efforts. Crates and crates of the black rock were being carted away to the island port, ready for the next wave of ships to return from White Harbour.

After speaking with Daenerys though, the King decided instead to descend beneath the main Dragonstone keep to the crypts. Whilst Valyrian's were burned after death, Aenar the Exile, the first Targaryen Lord to rule from the volcanic island, had decided that each member of the family should have their ashes interred underneath the castle. It was said before the Dance that the ashes of House Targaryen added to the strength of the Dragons and the castle, but Luke knew that it was just a story.

Even after the Dance however the sons and daughters of House Targaryen had all been given their own space in the obsidian walls of the Crypts where their names and dates had been carved into it in ancient Valyrian with some kind of bleeding effect. Luke took his time over each and every one, starting with Aenar himself, his children Gaemon and Daenys, their children and so on. He paused for the longest at the Conqueror's site, noticing that the carving of the stone was different as it stated his full title as well. His sisters were either side of the Conqueror, followed by their sons, and so on. He shivered as he passed Maegor's tomb, he bowed his head after Jaehaerys the Conciliator's name appeared and then shed a tear as he passed the first Princess Daenerys, the poor child who died of the Shivers.

He passed every Targaryen, even the stillbirths had been given their own private memorial. Another tear was shed at the number of graves depicting the time of the Dance of the Dragons, with a dozen graves of those that fought on both sides showing their year of death during that conflict.

With so many Targaryen's it took Luke a while to get further into the crypts to those he actually remembered, though only barely. He passed Maester Aemon's niche which was the most recent to be dated after the sad passing of the longest living Targaryen in history, his ashes having been collected and sent to Dragonstone by Lord Commander Snow recently. Even his Mad Father had a space, though despite being surrounded by the ashes of his numerous siblings that died stillborn or in the cradle, it was his two adult brothers that caused him to feel anything. Viserys still angered him, and it was only at the insistence of Daenerys to keep with tradition that Luke had allowed for a memorial to be placed there, though Luke refused to acknowledge his brother as a King and his ashes had been dumped into the sea long ago.

As he stepped in front of Rhaegar's niche Luke finally found the urge to speak. "I know I must go back." He said softly. "You saved me for a reason, brother. I know you never expected me to be the one to lead us back from the brink of extinction but that is how it turned out. I just wish I knew what to do. I am a warrior, a leader of men on the battlefield. This politicking is beyond me and I just cannot keep up with it any longer." He sighed, noticing his fist had clenched. "All you fear is coming to pass, and I fear that I am not enough to lead us through it." The only other noise he heard was the soft wind passing through the chamber, though as the cold, damp air hit his skin, Luke smiled. "I have to be, though. I am the Father of Dragons, the redeemer of my House. I cannot be drawn into these Tyrell schemes, but I must be firm and rule with strength. The realm must be united to face the White Walkers, and I must be the one to force that unity." He kissed his hand and placed it on Rhaegar's tombstone. "Thank you, brother, for saving my life as a child. I can never repay the debt I owe to you, but in your memory I will win the wars to come, both in my own house and against the Winter storms."

And with one final bow, Luke left the crypt of his ancestors with a new sense of invigoration. He had needed to escape the Red Keep at the time, but when he returned it would be with a new sense of purpose. Instead of sleepwalking to the Second Long Night, the King of the Seven Kingdom's knew he had to take the reins and ride headfirst towards it, with the entirety of Westeros at his back.

I feel a bit like this outros are more like the Inside the Episode segments than I originally intended, but I like those bits so I don't mind too much. Sometimes the clarification about actions can't be stated in the actual story or it just takes you out of it too much, so I like to put my thoughts across here.

This was basically the start of a brand-new season so I wanted to have the three different locations in this chapter. King's Landing is pretty simple, everyone is reacting to Luke's disappearance and nobody is happy about it. Margaery is angry, but Olenna seems to think that a simple banishment isn't enough to get Luke under Tyrell influence…

Jaime at the Wall presents an interesting change, and I haven't killed off Pyp and Grenn yet so Jon has more recognisable protectors than he did in the show. He also takes charge of the small rabble, given his experience and his ability that seemed like an obvious choice there.

Dragonstone is the final location, and Luke has found comfort at being away from the politics and the schemes. Though Dany is right, it is a dream that can't be sustained no matter what the two feel for one another.

The Crypt scene was one inspired by History of Westeros' Dragonstone episode. It makes sense to me that House Targaryen despite burning their dead would have a space of remembrance, and I wanted that to be the place that Luke got his mojo back as he looked back through his ancestors. Rhaegar is a special one to him because it's through Rhaegar that Luke both lives, and has his purpose with the Long Night. A niche in this instance I believe is a small area where you can place something like a statue or an urn.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Next Time: Ser Barristan arrives and gives Luke a trip down memory lane, whilst Castle Black faces a stand-off…

Reviews:

Zhorvak: I remember a story where Jon found out early and told Thorne just before his hanging (I think he learned the truth in between dying and being revived) but I can't recall exactly what it was.

suppes1: Since House of the Dragon I felt like I had to have it in, but I doubt it will be used for too much because he doesn't know to read the prophecy on there so it's just a fancy knife to him. That may change though, I'll have to see how I feel when I need to fill in the scene outlines.

mohamadoulo23: Well thankfully you aren't forced to read it! Thank you for getting 2/3 of the way through at the very least.

jiubantai-taicho: His loyalty to House Targaryen got him sent to the Wall, so when Luke arrives as a conquering hero his old loyalty showed. Now though, he's a man of the Night's Watch that thinks the entire institution is threatened by Jon Snow. He may be ignoring who's wish it was (though it was born in a private meeting between Jon, Luke and Robb) but in his eyes Jon Snow is the aggressor and he has the power to save the Watch.

negronomicon: That's exactly how I saw it.

Guest (Margaery): Well sorry, Margaery is an important part of the story.

C.E.W: No they won't pin it on the Wildlings because there aren't any inside the castle and the guards would have spotted them. They will use it to try and rally the Watch into attacking the Wildlings though. I don't plan on them talking about the knife because he doesn't know the prophecy is written on it and I don't know many people who heat up blades to the extent Viserys did. I'm a bit intrigued about Ser Harrold. They kept the lore by not having him truly resign, he just wanted a King to follow (or Queen) so I'm excited for his arc in Season 2, though I'd really like him to go to Casterly Rock to meet his kinswoman…

RHatch89: Margaery wants Daenerys out of the way, that's the only thing she's truly been scheming about. How that's happened though is up to how you interpret Varys or not though…

fyrandika: That's the point.

Rune of Old: The Targaryen King isn't there and he still hates and blames Jon Snow.

Hail King Cerion: This chapter is mainly just resetting the stage for Luke. He needed the break, but when he does go back he won't be so passive any longer.

TehStorm: Luke knows who he can and can't/should and shouldn't banish from the Capital, don't worry about that…

Grzana: The Wall is a long way away and Thorne and his gang hope they can get rid of the Wildlings before royal intervention. As for England, we don't really learn too much about any King before William the Conqueror at school so I can't pretend I have any great feeling over Cnut.