Brynden was standing in the port of Gulltown when the ship carrying his grandnephew home arrived. For a short time, he felt anger towards the world for his niece´s death. Anger at Bealish, the worm who used Lysa´s feelings to manipulate him and rise in power. Anger at Tyrion Lannister, because only the crooked Imp of a Lion would cook a plan so complete like that to remove both a piece of the Master of Coin´s and a piece of the Old Lion´s game. And, even if he hadn´t had a part on that, at Yohn Royce, for sporting that stupid, arrogant smile when the King wrote to him declaring him the new Regent of the Vale and Warden of the East until Robin Arryn was of age. After that letter, King Robert… the Usurper was added too. It was that worm Baelish the one that should have died and be vilified in his anger, not Lysa, not his niece. Even if she was mad, she was… she should have ended better than that, the both times. The Lords of the Vale, who were now sucking up to Lord Royce… He felt enough anger to grab his sword and try to kill them all.

But that couldn´t be. He had to swallow up his rage and continue with his duty, if only to make sure little Robert and his future line would be safe… and that everything was going to be alright, that the Long Night wasn´t going to kill them all. He went to bed with that rage threatened them to unleash a killing spree in the Vale… until Daeron appeared in his dreams that night and helped him to gain control of his anger again. Those fools on the piers with him, ignoring him in favor of Lord Jon… they all owe their lives to a Targaryen already and they don´t know it. Well, it was better that they don´t know it, they would take him for a Targaryen loyalist and Targaryen loyalists were not well received in the Vale. A finger caressed his little blackfish pin, asking for patience and restrain so he could endure everything until the Long Night was over and he somehow managed to keep his family from becoming his brother. That Cat hadn´t answer to his letter only added to his troubles.

"Lord Robert! Welcome to the Vale!" the voice of Lord Royce returned him to the reality. His young grand nephew had gotten down of the ship while he was thinking about Cat and his letter to her. He nearly gapped at the sight of him.

"Thank you, Lord Royce" the boy mussed as he watched everyone around him. He looked different from the Sweetrobin he remembered at that age… maybe his septa had beaten some civility into his head during the trip. Lysa certainly didn´t seem to care about that enough to teach it to her son.

As Bronze Yohn escorted the boy to the Eyrie, Brynden watched his grandnephew carefully. He hadn´t noticed before, but the child had something that reminded him uncomfortably of… of Hoster. His brother had been the last person he had thought of lately, having died so long ago by the time he died… and because he actually didn´t want to hear of Hoster. He knew that he had said that he forgave his brother and reconcile with him when he visited Riverrun, but the truth was… was that the resentment he felt towards his brother never fade. It had been just words on his deathbed, so his brother might leave this world in peace, but… and now, Robin Arryn had brought those feelings to the forefront with his small similarities to Hoster.

"Axel, Trystane, Lysa…" he told to himself before following Lord Arryn like the good Knight of the Bloody gate he was.

Fortunately, similarities to Hoster ended when the child felt comfortable enough in his new home. Unfortunately, that meant his civility was thrown out of the window. Brynden sighed, he had completely forgot how much of an utter incompetent mother and madwoman Lysa was. Robin´s first fit over the milk he was served, because it didn´t come from his mother´s breast, shook Runestone practically to the core. As Lord Royce and his family tried to calm the child, the Blackfish moved away from his grandnephew and back to his duties at the Gate. He stopped for a second at the rookery to ask if a raven for him had arrived for him. Nothing. Apparently, Cat has taken offence to his attempt of getting her to be friendlier to Jon Snow. Or to his wish warn her about her children.

"Ahhhhh, Daeron, this would be so much easier if those children ever listened to me" the aged knight said, one finger on his pin. "But no, Hoster raised them to be as stubborn as he was… if not worse."

His mentioning of Hoster again brought a foul taste to his mouth. He didn´t want to think of his brother in this moment, he was beyond salvation by now. The Chosen of the Father needed to focus on those he could save. And for that, he needed to mend the relationship between Cat and Jon Snow. Or at least make sure he is not sent to the Wall, but to the East. To find the woman that will turn him into… a less than savory and bitter person, but at least someone that will be the key of the Enemy´s defeat. They were going to need him and his wife in the future to stop the advance of the White Walkers. And for that, he needed that girl to hear him. Edmure had done so, which is a win, as he would be ready if the Lannisters start raiding the Riverlands…

"Not that much chance of that now" muttered Brynden as he remembered Tyrion Lannister´s intervention in the poisoning of Jon Arryn. Not for the first time, he thought about the Seven and their chosen. He was the Father´s… "The Mother, The Crone, The Maiden, The Smith, the Warrior and the Stranger… which one did you chose?"

Tyrion Lannister… he must be one of the Chosen if he was able to piece everything so easily. He must have wanted to eliminate Baelish too, but the slippery snake was smart. The only thing the Imp could do so early in the game was to prevent him from gaining control of the Vale. He smirked, even if he didn´t like how he did it. Without Baelish intervening, there is a chance to prevent the War of the Five Kings… or at least the raiding in the Riverlands, as Lysa wasn´t there to try to throw the Imp out the Moon Door. And Tyrion was forewarned, so Cat wouldn´t be able to find him in the Crossroads Inn.

He frowned. The Littlest Lannister was as slippery a viper as Baelish, a kinslayer, a betrayer, a dishonorable piece of backstabbing shit… but he could be useful in his own way. Besides, this would be so much easier if he wasn´t doing all the work seemingly alone. Brynden should really think about working with him. But not for now. For now, he would write another letter to Cat. Perhaps like this, he could stir her in the right direction and avoid the Wrath of the Dragon. Because the Gods save them if Jon Snow remembered, because nothing would save Westeros if it was that way.

"Ser Brynden?" Ser Donnel Waynwood interrupted in the moment. He was one of the knights that served with him. And also… "We didn´t expect you back so soon. Weren´t you going to stay with your grandnephew more time?"

"No, Ser Donnel, I saw him well taken care of and returned here to continue with my duty" he answered, a perfectly practiced smile on his face. "I have done enough grieving for my dearly departed niece lately, so I decided it´s time to pay attention to duty fully again."

"I understand. And, while I also know that everyone does their grieving in different ways, it´s also true that children felt for the absence of departed parents more. Also to inherit such responsibility as being Lord of the Vale at such a young age!" he continued. "Are you sure you wouldn´t prefer to be with young Lord Arryn?"

"He is best being prepared by Lord Yohn, an honorable and capable man in all sense. What would this grieving old man do for him more than reminding him of his late mother and bore him with sad tales?"

"But to lose both his parents, one so soon after the other. And the circumstances!" Brynden clenched his fist, but didn´t let Donnel see that. The implication of his late niece being a kinslayer wasn´t lost to him either. "I heard that the poor boy screamed all the way here from King´s Landing for his mother. Shouldn´t it be better if he had a family member there with him to ease his grief?"

"Like I said, he is the hands of the people best qualified to take care of him. I would only get in the way… and I´m needed here, doing my duty." And the Bronze Lord won´t let you get close and sink your claws in my nephew, he wanted to add, but he refrain himself.

"I admire your dedication to duty, Ser Brynden. I hope in the future I´m as dutiful a knight as you are."

As the young man retreated, Brynden did his best not to throw the chair he was sitting in at the grasping fool. He had met a lot of dishonorable fools in his old life, his family without going so far, but the Waynwoods were on another league. He despised them as much as he despised Baelish. And it started long after he left for the Wall and received news from time to time. Like Morton Waynwood, the ambitious fool, practically whoring his niece Cynthea Frey, who for how she had been raised was a Waynwood in all but name, to little Robin. Of course, when the two finally wed, Morton became ruler of the Vale in all but name. Brynden even had suspicions that his grandnephew´s early death hadn´t been natural, but a result of Morton wanting to preserve his power over the Vale by taking Robin, who was starting to become unruly and a bit deranged, out and making Cynthea regent for the couple´s only daughter, young Lysa Arryn. And then they wanted to extend their power by trying to get Sansa and Brandon to name Lysa heir as their only relative that wasn´t a Targaryen… as if his grandniece or nephew would release even a bit of their power to anyone. Sansa didn´t even wanted to name an heir when she was old and grey and the Lords of the North were pushing or worse.

And that´s why it was foolish, the Lords of the North would only accept a Northerner to rule them after declaring independence. Or at least someone with Stark blood, as it was showed by how some of the Houses talked into crowning Jon Snow´s second son over even the Flints or the too southern Rogers. If the Dragon´s Wrath and then White Walkers hadn´t come first, his ambition would have been the end of his House and probably the Vale.

"I will need to warn Royce about the Waynwoods" he said to himself. "No, he probably already knows. And also has his own plans and plenty of granddaughters."

But nothing was stopping him from talking to Anya Waynwood. While she might have incurred in a few debts with Petyr Baelish over the years, the elderly Lady of Ironoaks still had the leashes of her sons held short. She knew they were ambitious, but she manages to curb that ambition into something that could be useful and not destroy their house. At least, she had done that after one of Morton´s plans nearly ruined them and she was forced to ask the Master of Coin for a loan to save her family. It also meant that his plans might go straight into Baelish, but the worm might not hear a single thing from Anya if he managed things carefully.

"Ser Brynden, there has been an attack from the savages again" a young squire said as he entered the room without knocking.

"Prepare a party, we head out at once"

He would write the letter to Lady Anya later, now he had to make sure that the roads were safe, just in case his niece needed them later to make a visit. It would make him feel so happy… seeing Cat alive and well after so many years of missing her. There wasn´t much he could do for Lysa, but Catelyn was another history. If he only were able to make her close to Jon Snow before the Wrath of the Dragon begins again…

-In Winterfell-

Lady Stark was still trying to make sense of the letter her uncle had sent her. At first, the letter only bring her anger. To tell her something bad about her children and that she needed to do something for Jon Snow…her temper flared and she nearly tossed the letter into the hearth. But then, she noticed that his predictions regarding Robb were painfully accurate in regard of what happened in the War of the Five Kings. And of her own actions regarding Tyrion Lannister… she started to think that he might also have returned from the future. Brynden was still alive when the Red Wedding occurred, so he might know something more. And if he said that she needed to get closer to the bastard…

But, at the same time, every time she looked at the bastard, she couldn´t help but feel anger at him for existing and at his mysterious mother for opening her legs to her husband. No, she told to herself, even if her uncle suggested that, she couldn´t behave like a mother with the bastard. More when he had recently showed his true colors and how much he despised her children. It would be like an invitation for him to usurp Robb or any of her other babies. Why was Sansa the only one that understand her?

"My Lady?" maester Luwin approached her in that moment. "My Lady, a letter arrived from King´s Landing. The King is going to come to Winterfell."

"Is he?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, he still hasn´t departed from King´s Landing because… because of the funerals and the sending off of Lord Robert" Catelyn was surprised by that. Didn´t Lysa fled to the Vale this time? "I have to offer my condolences to you, my Lady, and to Lord Stark. Lord and Lady Arryn are dead."

"What?!"

No, this was wrong. Jon Arryn died, exactly like the first time, but Lysa was supposed to be still alive by then. She should have fled to the Vale with her son, where they would wait for Petyr. Petyr, the one that her sister loved and that made her kill her husband according to Sansa. The one that wanted Catelyn, but never could get her, that would kill her beloved Ned to get her or Sansa in replacement… who had wanted the power of the Vale to become much more than he had now, even if he had already climbed so much… a power that he would not have now that her nephew was sent to Runestone as ward to Lord Royce. It made her happy, that the vermin that planned her husband´s dead and the war that took her firstborn´s life was denied what he wanted. It would make revenge all the sweeter when her family achieved it. But how…

Her expression hardened when she realized that a new player had entered the game. And not any player, but a player that was also sent to the beginning of the game from the future. Like her, her husband, her children, her uncle… but who could it be? Petyr? He was ruthless enough to plan the death of a woman he went to bed with. But no, Petyr still needed Lysa to gain control of the Vale, without that, the whole plan lacked a win for him. Tywin Lannister? No, the Old Lion would not only take care of Lysa, but of Petyr too. And he wouldn´t be too careful, but much more merciless. Cersei? No, the queen would be as clumsy as she was cruel. The person who planned her sister´s demise wasn´t clumsy at all, he or she was a schemer at the same level as Tywin Lannister or Petyr… Tyrion Lannister? From what Sansa and Bran had told her about him, he seemed like the obvious answer. Bran told her that he served as his Hands for many years and described many of his schemes. She would need to stay in guard around him.

"Thank you, maester, I will tell my husband myself"

Catelyn walked through the passages of Winterfell, knowing where to find Ned. He and the boys had just returned from the deserter´s beheading, bringing the direwolf pups with them. Lord Stark had a chat with the condemned man before taking his head, about what he saw beyond the Wall and the Others. What he heard scared him, it made their children´s tales about the Long Night even more real. As for the pups… they were still found near the corpse of their mother, who had an antler on her neck, not far from the stag who killed her´s carcass. It was even more foreboding now that they know what was soon to happen, like an omen given by the gods themselves. The children too, as they now refused to part with the pups even in the night. Rickon specially would throw a tantrum of epic proportions if someone dare to even touch Shaggydog.

She was of a better humor now that she was thinking about her children and their protectors… until she stumbled upon an unwanted sight. The bastard and his own protector. The boy had his white wolf in his lap, caressing him as he softly read a book he must have taken from maester Luwin´s turret. The animal seemed to be dosing off, the boy… the boy looked like the image of beauty itself. With his high cheekbones, his easy elegance and his perfect poise despite being in an informal setting, he seemed like someone born and raised nobility. Even the light contributed to that, by making those dark eyes shine purple. And bringing the name Ashara Dayne again to her mind.

"Who said you can bring precious books out of the library?" she spat. The bastard simply raised his head. "Those books are for my children to use. Give it back."

"Last time I saw, none of your children could read High Valyrian" he said. Catelyn went red at the insinuation that her children lacked in something. "But my apologies, Lady Stark, I will make sure to return it to it´s rightful place."

"Wait" she stopped him before he moved. "YOU read High Valyrian?"

"High and Bastard, also write it… I am Valyrian after all" he answered, enjoying the confused expression she put. "Well, half. The half that isn´t Stark" he smirked at her. "How does it feel, Lady Stark? To know that all this time, you have been cursing the wrong woman?"

"Why do you care?" Catelyn glared at him. "I couldn´t care less if the whore that opened her legs to Ned was Rhyonish or Valyrian, that doesn´t make you any less of a shame or a bastard. And put that book back in it´s place." She turned to leave, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Release…"

"There is something I have learned since I left and think I should tell you before you commit a mistake" the boy stated. "Don't wake the dragon, Lady Stark."

"Leave your counsel to someone who wants it, bastard"

She shook the boy off and went off towards the Godswood. As she walked, the image in her mind she had made herself of the boy´s mother started to shift. Ashara Dayne´s image, dark skinned and haired and purple eyed, changed into a woman of silver hair and purple eyes with high cheekbones, smiling smugly at her. She bit her lips as she imagined her, perhaps a Lyseni whore or camp follower. The Lady of Winterfell tried to use her son´s features to make her face… but ended up with nothing.

Catelyn frowned, how did a Valyrian woman look like? She hadn´t met many valyrian people in her life, most were of Andal or First Men heritage. The Lady then remembered the tourney of Harrenhal. She attended to meet Brandon, but ended up meeting more people than just her betrothed. Including some of the most pureblooded valyrian people in Westeros. And now that she thought about them, Jon Snow´s mother must have looked remarkably like Rhaella Targaryen. Her son also look a lot like the late Queen, but not as much as he looked like her equally late son, Rhaegar Targaryen. Yes, they were… if you take the long face of the Starks out of the equation, Jon Snow had the same high cheekbones, the same nose and throat, even the same dark eyes that shone purple when light fall on them. Yes, the boy was as pretty as the Prince… it irked at her and gladdened her at the same time. Gladdened because once you noticed it, the boy didn´t resemble Ned that much, he was too beautiful. And irked because…

"Did it arrived?" Ned asked. Catelyn stopped herself. Without noticing, she had arrived to the heart tree. "Robert´s message… is Jon Arryn dead?"

"Yes" the woman answered, sitting down next to him. "But there was a change. Lysa was caught this time, she… she didn´t have the time to flee" she looked down at the scroll. "You know what it means."

"Someone in the capital remembers" he sighed. "And Robert? The King is coming here?"

"Yes, he is. He is coming to ask you to be his Hand" she looked at him with hope. "Are you going to accept it? We need you here, in the North. The Long Night is coming and…"

"I know, Cat, I know, but being the Hand of the King makes it possible for me to gain the support of the southern Kingdoms for our fight. Or at least to get the funds to build more glass gardens in the North, which we are going to need" he didn´t seem amused by that. "And I won´t be committing the same mistakes as before."

"Ned…"

"I will return to you this time, Cat, I promise you that." He played a bit with her hair. He always seemed to like it… but he really did? "What´s the matter?"

"Do you… really like the color of my hair?" she asked, practically blurting it out. Her husband seemed confused. "I don´t know, I thought… you preferred it dark… or… or silver" he was even more confused. "Wasn´t the bastard´s mother silver haired?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Lyanna was dark haired AND HIS SISTER.

"The bastard, I saw him reading a book in high valyrian in the yard and I… I had a chat with him. And he said that he was half-valyrian. And I believe him… not that I have seen many valyrian people in my life, but he kind of reminds me of the Targaryens I saw in Harrenhal" Ned went stiff as a rod as soon as he heard that… "In fact, the only person he resembles more than the former Queen, it´s Rhaegar Targaryen" oh, Gods. "And I thought… Ned, are you alright? You look pale."

"I… no, it´s only… never compare Jon to a Targaryen again, it´s disturbing" and more than a little dangerous. He would also need to have a serious chat with that boy later, he told himself as he tried to reign in his panic. "Also never mention his mother ever again."

"Ned, I… I´m tired of all this, I need answers. Who she was? Did you love her? More than me?"

"Cat, I love YOU, it´s that not enough" he tried to deviate the conversation. "And, if you feel threatened by her in any way, the only thing you need to know is that she died birthing Jon and asked me with her last breath to raise him"

"Ned…"

"She is dead and buried, Cat, has been for a long time. Is it not enough?"

It wasn´t, but for now, she will let things lay. She had, after all, nothing to worry about now. She was Ned´s wife, Lady of Winterfell and of the North. The specter of a dead woman, be it Ashara Dayne or a Valyrian whore, didn´t need to haunt her anymore. Or at least that was what she said to herself to stay calm, even faced with the living reminder that Ned had loved another woman. Her anger stirred when her son looked at her with that smug smile of his. That bastard… needed to leave.

-In King´s Landing-

Jaime was watching over the Silent Sisters surrounding Jon Arryn´s body in the Sept. Normally, the grieving widow would be there watching over the procedure or some relative, perhaps someone close… but there was no one. Lysa Arryn´s body was burned and buried somewhere without a grave marker as all kinslayers were, Sweetrobin was already shipped off to the Vale, Robert didn´t have the patience to stay in the Sept and Cersei had stayed at the beginning, but then left to do better things. Preferably to enjoy herself with one, two or all the Kettleback brothers. Quite loudly too, specially when he was forced to be her guard. Her vengeance for leaving her, or so he thought. Sometimes he wondered what exactly did he see in his sister… certainly a madness of youth.

"Brother!" Tyrion then entered the Sept and called him, nearly making him roll his eyes. And talking about madness… "I thought I would find you here. As Cersei and Robert were not…"

"The King said someone of the Kingsguard have to stand vigil, so it´s my turn" Jaime said without moving. "Why are you here?"

"Something unplanned happened" the Imp explained. "Lord Lannister came to King´s Landing"

"What?!"

"As you heard, the Old Lion has left Casterly Rock and came here. The official version of the history is that he came to give his respect to the deceased Hand and Warden of the East, but there is something more. He also wants to talk to both of us, so once you finish here…"

Jaime continued standing vigil, but also lost in thought. His Father… the Old Lion… Tywin Lannister… it was going to be the first time he saw his father since coming back and he wasn´t sure he wanted to. The man was ruthless and dishonorable… and Jaime despised him for what he did to Elia and her children… but he also put his family and legacy over everything else. That sense was the one that didn´t allow him to kill Tyrion in his crib, or made him take Joy in despite her being a bastard. For that same reason, he felt that he could trust Tywin Lannister with Tommen, Myrcella or even Jocelyn more than he could Tyrion. It was a scary thought, to think that he could trust a cold murderer more than the brother he had loved, but… that brother was a malicious schemer too. And he wouldn´t put beside him to use his children for his own gain… Tywin too, but… now that he thought about it, he couldn´t trust any of them with his children, period. And Tyrion was practically Tywin come again, only that a few heads shorter.

When Ser Barristan finally relieved him, Jaime took his time to take off his Kingsguard armor before going to his Father´s chambers. There, he found a surprisingly sober Tyrion and his uncle Kevan wearing black. He almost teared up when he saw his uncle, but another image caught his attention before he could. Tywin Lannister, dressed in black but still as imponent as if he was dressed in crimson and gold, the same cold expression as before… and Jaime felt conflicted at seeing him.

"I was waiting for you, Jaime" Tywin said from besides his desk. "I want to hear what happened with Pycelle."

"I could have explained that to you…"

"Oh, I´m sure, but as you were the one to tell Robert about the Tears of Lys, I thought to hear about it from another source."

"There is nothing Jaime could tell…"

"Pycelle took a lot of risks to hide that he hired child prostitutes and Lysa Arryn used that to try and murder her husband, that´s everything that happened. He also accepted money… and the maester that worked for Jon Arryn would have told Renly Baratheon about his Tears theory… which he was already doing when we busted Lady Arryn´s attempt to flee. That Tyrion mentioned Queen Daenaera or Androw Farman wouldn´t have changed that."

"But why did he mention it?" their father pressed even more. He turned to his youngest son. "Tyrion…"

"There was something that was fishy in this situation. And once I had time to go through Lady Arryn´s possessions, I confirmed it" he put papers on his father´s desk. Some of the edges or parts were burned. "This are letters Lady Lysa was going to send to several people, including her sister. She tried to burn them after being found out. In it, she blames us for Jon Arryn´s murder. It would have put us at odds with the Starks, probably even start a war. I think the sacrifice was worth it."

"Indeed" Tywin conceded. Losing Pycelle wasn´t as bad as it could have been, he had at least five replacements lined up for him in case something happened to the Grandmaester. The Archmaesters in his pockets will make sure that happened. That the fool had taken gold from that wailing trout was also a sign of disloyalty, so he would need to get rid of Pycelle. But that was not the real problem. "From what I know of that madwoman, there is no way she could have planned this herself."

"No, someone was manipulating her" Tyrion continued. "Ser Hugh told me that she had a lover, that he heard them moaning in her bedroom when Jon Arryn was attending to Realm´s business. I still haven´t identified him, but he is the most likely suspect."

"I will take care of that from now on" Tywin announced. "When you go to Winterfell with Cersei, I want you to make it clear to the Starks that we didn´t have anything to do with Arryn´s death. Now Kevan, Tyrion, leave us alone." They didn´t seem happy to leave, but obeyed. "When you return from the North, I plan to ask Robert to free you from the Kingsguard again. The real question is if you are ready to be who you were born to be."

"And by that you mean Lord Lannister?" Jaime asked, crossing his arms. Anyway, he had taken a decision already. "Alright"

"What?" for once, Tywin looked surprised.

"But I want to put my own conditions on that" the other Lion continued. "I want to choose my own bride" this brought a frown to his father´s face. "Don´t be afraid, I´m not planning on marrying as low as Tyrion, but I already have someone in mind."

Tywin opened his mouth to ask, but then Tyrion opened the door again.

"Ah, Father… did Jaime already informed you of his infatuation with Lady Brienne of Tarth?"

"He said out, Tyrion"

Jaime closed the door on the dwarf´s face, even if both of them were enjoying Lord Tywin´s confusion more than they would admit. The Lannister Lord, for his part, was wondering how much he had lost while his sons were in King´s Landing. Jaime was willing to leave the Kingsguard for a Lady? Why had none of his agents told him about his heir having an affair with a Lady? Tarth was small and in the Stormlands, definitely not what he would chose as a political ally or for a marriage of his eldest, but if it was the only thing that would make Jaime leave the Kingsguard, then he was ready to send Lord Selwyn an offer. If he didn´t manage to convince Jaime to reconsider before, that´s it.

Hello! And here is the new chapter of this history. Don´t you like it? Review!