authorsnote: sorry this took me a minute, but here you go
chapter 30! yeah obvi this is gunna be a long one but I'm planning to do it all
do review
songrecs: When The Sun Rises in The West - GOT Season 1
'What is honor compared to a womans love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn in your arms... or the memory of a brother's smile? Winds and words. Winds and words. We are only human and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory and our great tragedy'
- Maester Aemon to Jon Snow
-x-
Jon thought he would be able to flee the tourney before being accosted about what perhaps had been poor decision making (though he would only realise that when in bed that night, eyes wide, Ghost even giving him a look), but no, he didn't even make it past the stands before someone grabbed him.
And it was who he least expected.
"Thank you for what you did" Was what he got from Loras Tyrell, his expression actually neutral, he even held out an arm to him, and Jon knew, duty bound clasped it with his own, "You saved my life"
"Many would have done the same" Jon said, he didn't believe it, but it felt like the right thing to say.
"But they didn't" Loras followed up, Jon noted Margaery in the background, but she was distinctly not looking at him before she turned and walked away, of that he could hardly blame her.
"And I thank you for it" Loras said again, and then…
Player!
Ser Loras Tyrell
Lord of the Reach.
Level: 13
Relationship: 0/100.
Ally: 5/100
Interesting, he'd gained 20 relationship for his rescuing Ser Loras from being butchered by the Mountain, and 5 allyship which was useful, he'd hoped for more, but the Lords next words made it clear as to why he hadn't made him more of an ally.
"But stay away from my sister" Then a glare shifted across his face, and then he walked away, to which Jon raised an eyebrow, but didn't respond, as the pain in his side lanced from his early bout, and Robb glanced at the Tyrell, hurrying to his side.
Jon was moderately annoyed for not developing more of an allyship, yes Ser Loras was a spoiled Southerner, but he was a great fighter, though Jon just shrugged, he would be as equally as protective towards Sansa and Arya.
"What was that all about?" Robb asked as Jon sighed, what had it been about? He had a suspicion, that Lady Margaery was not accustomed to being overlooked, but Jon only had one lady's favour on his arm and had wanted to honour it. Wanted.
He thought he might know, or might not, either way he felt like he had more questions than answers as each day went on in this godforsaken City.
"Lets just get back to our rooms" Jon grumbled, and Robb did grin then, patted him on the shoulder.
"Think about it brother, there are worse things than winning the melee, and crowning the Princess your Queen of Love and Beauty" His smile was devious as he sped up, evidently to get a head start, "Though I need to write to Father and he might not agree…"
And at that Jon dove for his brother who he just missed and went tearing away, and they ran after one another to the shock of the Kings Landing citizens they'd ask so unruly, but the laugh they both got as Jon cornered and tackled Robb to the ground was worth it.
Come morning Jon was desperate to get away.
He didn't want to run into an angry Queen, an annoyed Margaery, or anyone simpering over his achievements (he'd rather face the Queen than that), he just wanted to be alone, even Robbs teasing was annoying him (only a little), but when his brother had to hunt with the King, Jon was not eager, even to his pleas to make up the party.
And so, as Robb left grumbling, Jon sorted himself for the day, dressed in his usual wear, he left behind his armour but ensured his sword was secured, a dagger on the other side. He loaded up a pack full of provisions, his book was tucked into the pocket next to his chest, and with Ghost trotting alongside him, Jon made his way to the hidden entrance to the tunnels.
It was the perfect place to get away to, the perfect place to not be bothered, to complete some quests maybe and explore further. He could certainly use a day alone, and this seemed perfect.
He found the entrance without trouble, pulled out his map of the tunnels, a pencil behind his ear, he held a lit torch too, but as he went, he lit the torches on the walls, illuminating his path as he went.
Ghost he knew could see without needing the light, and trotted along next to him, Jon walked cautiously, but with conviction, the first stretch of the tunnels were empty, as he'd put on the map, an hour in he found the first room he'd uncovered that had held the initial map to the tunnels, it was a hidden door but he'd placed a torch in front of it last time, where it remained no longer lit but it marked the spot.
And then unlike last time he moved past it, and into the unknown.
He'd copied out Haerons map onto the larger paper where he added his own annotations, the original now was tucked under his bedding back in his room, hidden from wandering eyes, for he only needed the larger copy now.
And he followed it, down the winding corridor, on the left he saw Haeron had annotated a trap door room, and he glanced, saw the drop before a room that as he held the torch up and looked through the windowed front held nothing, he marked that on the map, perhaps another time he'd come back and try to circumnavigate the trap, for now he left the empty room, and moved on.
It took him a little while to find the next room, it took longer as he brushed his hands over any scuffed walls, triple checked any bends for hidden doors, he found one tiny slit in the wall, that looked out onto a room on the outside of the tunnels, it looked like a solar, but he wasn't sure whos, and so he marked it down, next to the existing slash Haeron had used to depict listening spots, and added: solar? For he had no further information, a place he'd need to revisit.
And so, he moved on.
He did pause for a minute to drain one water skin and eat a heel of bread, before he continued.
He had known it would be tiresome, long, and yet he revelled in the silence, in being alone, picked up his pace as he went past areas where he could hear crowds. He didn't find the monotony, he was used to it from patrols at the Wall and was glad to be away from unwanted attention.
Especially as an hour later he turned down to find a forked path, checked the map and with a smile he added the forked area, as he saw, he turned down the right, to find the room with the sun depicted over it.
His first treasure of five.
He was unsurprised as he reached the area that there was no obvious door. He bracketed his torch in the first he could see, and with Ghost keeping guard at the forked entrance, he slid his hands over the walls, and within five minutes, found the lip of the door, and pushed inward, with a scraping sound, of stone against stone, the door opened.
He held the torch back up, checking for any traps, couldn't see any, and stepped inside, lighting the inside torch bracket, placing his back outside, and stepping in.
The room was larger than the one Haeron had been entombed in, more opulent, no windows of course, the stone was well cut, golden candle sticks bracketed the door, there was a large object in the middle, covered with golden cloth, it wasn't moth eaten, the sealing of the room had ensured its preservation, and as Jon pulled it off, a golden trunk was underneath, of wonderful craftmanship, but Jon only took a moment to admire that, before he was pulling it open.
It took some work, several grunts, and sweat on his brow before he managed to pry it open, when he did, he touched it down to the floor, before looking into the contents.
And when he looked, he gasped.
There, sitting inside a chest that had been created, stored and packed centuries ago, sat a dragon's egg.
Jon could barely even move for looking at it.
When he'd first learned he was half Targaryen, he'd been horrified, worried he'd succumb to the madness in the bloodline, insecure he wasn't a Stark, not truly, worried that he was a product of rape.
But then bit by bit those myths had been debunked. He was still a Stark, if not in name, Robb had called him brother, Lord Stark still considered him a son …
'Let them say Lord Stark had sired four sons'
And then, the truth, he was no bastard, a product of love not rape. He was wanted. Targaryen and all.
So, each moment had made it easier, the book had showed him how important it was to embrace both sides, but something had always been holding him back, something had always kept him away from truly embracing, or even beginning to embrace the Targaryen side of him.
Until now.
Because looking at the dragon egg, that was the darkest glittering shade of black, fossilised, and yet something inside of Jon hummed as he looked at it, the shiver racing up his spine tingled with magic, as he looked on the dragon egg, that he knew was his.
His as a Targaryen.
What were the words?
Fire and Blood.
And he could feel it, in his blood, the urge to reach for it, the urge to cradle it in his arms. He felt near akin to it as he did Ghost.
As he lifted it, it felt right to be holding it, right that it was his, this dragon's egg, blacker than the night, was his.
He felt something surge through him, something powerful, like a fire waking in his blood, he gasped as he touched it, even through his gloves it was something truly powerful, something he knew only a Targaryen, a descendent of Old Valyria could feel.
And that was him. He was a Targaryen, one of the last Targaryens.
A note sat underneath the egg, which he cradled in one arm, to lift and read, holding it under the light of the torch.
'Placed here by King Maegor Targaryen, is the dragon egg of his mount Balerion, no others are worthy to hatch this barring King Maegors Heir'
And Jon knew from his history, King Maegor had borne no Heir, and so the egg had been sealed away and lost to time, now Jons.
You have acquired a dragon egg, there are many in the world, some will hatch, some won't. If you wish to hatch your egg you must be careful, learn the ways of old and you will have a dragon of your own…
Quest Alert!
Dragon Rider
Hatch A Dragon Egg
Reward: +1 INT, +2 LUC, +2 MAG, +10 Dragon Riding, +500XP.
Failure: -5 MAG, -5 LUC, Death or you escape and need to find another egg…
This is an active quest; active quests are ongoing and do not have to be selected, thus they are hard to fail. Failure will only be determined if the quest becomes impossible to achieve.
You will fail this quest if you die trying to hatch a dragon egg, or there are none left to hatch.
His eyes widened at the quest, he knew hatching a dragon egg was dangerous, he knew of the story of Summerhall after all, as he thought that;
Quest Alert!
Targaryen Tragedy
Research the Story of Summerhall
Reward: +10 History Knowledge, +200 XP, A hidden memory
Failure: -20 History Knowledge
He would have to do that tonight, not just for the XP, but the hidden memory…
How much more of history would see?
And as he looked at the egg, he wondered … how much would he make?
And the feeling of fire, of the rushing in his blood it did not abate, and the dragon egg twinkled, united with a potential rider for the first time in centuries.
It took him a while to back track through the tunnels to the spot he wanted to come out to, he batted away cobwebs, let Ghost lead him past some of the darker areas, and shovelled down the lunch he'd packed in his bag, drained a water skin, and made his way out …
First, he stopped by Haerons room. He realised he needed a hidden spot to store things, he could hardly take a dragon egg to his rooms. And so, he entered the room, found a chest of iron at the back, and placed the egg inside, using his cloak to cradle it. He also placed inside the map of the tunnels, he knew his way to this room like clockwork now and he didn't want anyone else getting ahold of the map.
He realised this would be a useful spot in the future to hide anything he needed, and as he did so the book glowed:
Inventory spot!
Certain places in the world are secure to store your inventory. These are few and far between so don't forget about them!
This has been designated a spot to store some of your inventory you'd rather keep hidden, this now includes:
The Egg of Baelrion the Great
The Map of Maegors Tunnels
There, now he felt better for it, turned back up the corridor, sealed the door and extinguished the torch outside of it with a blow, and whistled for Ghost, he wasn't leaving the way he came.
No, instead he walked for another half an hour, and exited, into the Tyrell guest corridor.
He'd glanced at his quests this morning, and with something akin to excitement mixed with dread, had seen that he had very little time left for:
Quest Alert!
Flower of Highgarden
Seek out Margaery Tyrell again and have some fun.
Reward: +10 Relationship with Lady Margaery, +5 Love with Lady Margaery,+1 CHA, +1 PER
Failure: -20 Relationship with Lady Margaery
Time Remaining: ½ Day.
And as much as he had wished he could do it literally any other day, he couldn't fail this, and so knowing he might get a frosty reception, he made his way down the hall, to the door he'd seen Lady Margaery retire to, last time he'd seen her.
He knocked, once then twice and realised with a sigh she wasn't here.
As he glanced down Ghost gave him a look he was sure was one of pity before settling down, head on his paws and with a sigh, Jon sat next to him, leaning against Margaerys wall. It was probably foolish, if anyone else came down he'd have to make something up, but he was hoping luck was on his side.
He did like Margaery, she was of course incredibly beautiful, clever, and funny, he'd seen flashes of the real her he was sure, but he didn't know how much else was completely false. Her blanking him after he'd beaten Loras, and surely now she'd be furious he hadn't given her the crown … or maybe he was thinking far far too much of himself…
Though as he heard footsteps, to find said Lady Margaery prancing down the corridor, but to Jons horror as he scrambled to his feet, not alone but surrounded by friends, a flock of Tyrells, his eyes widened, his cheeks were surely pink, and he was almost thankful one or two of them shrieked at the sight of Ghost to distract from his blushing.
Lady Margaery's expression he could see was guarded, but he could see some intrigue in her gaze, and he quickly bowed his head. "My Lady"
"Lord Jon" Margaery said and he resisted the urge to correct her, though she confirmed one of his suspicions … was she embarrassed by his status? He expected it from her, though it did rankle him he was hardly surprised.
Player!
Margaery Tyrell
Lady of the Reach
Level: 4
Relationship: 5/100
Love: 10/100
Ouch, their relationship had gone down significantly, and yet somehow the love aspect had gone up, Jon was sure the book must be mistaken, for it had rarely thrown him something so confusing.
But before he had time to digest that…
"Are you Jon Snow?" One of her friends said giggling.
"Aye" He said with a nod and more giggles followed.
"You won the melee" More giggles, his head began to hurt.
"And defeated the Mountain!"
"Well, I didn't defeat…" He began, his cheeks were surely flaming.
"It was amazing! And you beat Ser Thoros and his flaming sword!"
"And Lord Mallister! You were very strong"
"It was very dashing"
"So dashing!"
Jon was sure he looked horrified.
He glanced at Margaery then who was smirking, revelling in his mortification, perhaps he deserved it for not naming her Queen of Love and Beauty. Though part of him felt mainly annoyed she wasn't stepping in.
But he stood by naming Mycrella, it was she who'd bestowed her favour, not Lady Margaery.
In truth, thinking about how to keep a Southern Lady happy was not ever something he'd though he would have to do.
But part of him wanted to, he liked Lady Margaery, and as her friends continued to ask him questions, they gave him no time to answer, he almost looked at her pleadingly.
"It was so honourable!"
"Theres no honour in playing war" Jon shot back, a touch irritated by this, he wondered how honourable they'd find the men he'd killed to protect people like them, he imagined they wouldn't giggle when it was real.
"Alright girls" Lady Margaery stepped in, perhaps as the Ladies now looked worried, one offended, and two more just kept up the incessant giggling, Jon was thankful he was kind of used to it thanks to Sansa and her friends. "Leave us" She said, and they swept away without a word then, though he heard them gossiping as they left.
"Making me suffer?" Jon quipped, and he saw something dance in Lady Margaerys eyes as she approached him, but she was still guarded, annoyingly Jon wanted to make her not, he wanted her to giggle and chat to him, no matter how much he told himself he didn't.
What spell had the Southern girls cast over him? He was acting like a green boy!
"Why would I do that?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, she walked to her room then but first stooped down to pet Ghost on the head who clearly was untainted by her annoyance with Jon, "Have you wronged me somehow?"
Ahh so she was going to play this game.
Jon again wondered how he'd been entangled with two Southern beauties, though entangled might be pushing it, and cursed his attempts for more Charisma and relationships, and his complete lack of experience in this area, he was a fool.
As she opened her bedroom door, and swept inside, Jon didn't even think before following her, and she hadn't closed it shut.
"Jon Snow!" Lady Margaery said, whirling around on him, and something wicked danced in her but something else simmered, "You shouldn't be alone with a Lady in her rooms"
"I will gladly leave when you talk to me properly" Jon said with a raised eyebrow, he felt he was going to have to be plain here, which suited him, "Have I upset you?"
For a second Jon reflected he really shouldn't be in here, and yet he didn't leave.
"You think you have the power to?" Lady Margaery threw back fiercely, and Jon realised, with some satisfaction that was the true Lady Margaery, she was no simpering flower, and he liked her all the more for it.
He'd always liked his women touched by fire, perhaps Lady Margaery was no redhead, but she certainly had fire in her heart.
"I think you're offended I didn't name you my Queen of Love and Beauty" Jon said bluntly, he was not the type to dance around the issue. He worried he was flattering himself, but the flicker in Margaerys gaze told him otherwise.
He hadn't realised how much, knowing Margaery might feel for him that would warm him. Fire indeed.
"Why would I be?" She said, glaring at him then, "You are entitled to name whoever you like"
Jon could hardly believe this, one of the most eligible Ladies in the realm was annoyed with him over romantic matters, he was glad Robb wasn't present for surely, he'd be laughing his arse off, his Father Lord Stark would be horrified, Lady Catelyn might kill him. Jon knew he looked a bit like a fish out of water himself, even as he squared his shoulders and answered.
He might not be the most charming man in Westeros but his honesty, his clearness certainly spoke for him, "I named the Lady who gave me her favour"
"And you punish me for not giving you mine?" She said scornfully, and Jon actually smiled, this was far better than the Lady Margaery that simpered and danced around, never quite herself, this he liked. "Don't you dare laugh at me!"
"I'm not laughing" Jon said, but he continued to smile, he was truly hopeless at this, "I just feel I'm seeing the real you for the first time"
"The real me?" Lady Margaery scoffed, "You don't know me"
"I'm starting to" Jon said with a shrug, and smiled then, oddly this was the most he'd liked Lady Margaery, which was saying something, perhaps he just liked his women fiery, or he liked seeing the real her behind the beauty, and the giggling. "And I do think you were offended"
"Of course, I was offended" She swung around on him then, seething, "I was talking to you all day, and there's more to it than that"
"What?" Jon now looked like a fish out of water again, this really wasn't his area, but he didn't want Margaery to be upset.
"You refused to dance with me but asked Lady Mycrella" She hissed at him, glared, her hands were shaking.
"I…" He had no excuse for that, "What does it matter?" Jon asked then, a tad defensive, "I'd like us to be friends, but I doubt you can be"
"Friends?" Lady Margaery laughed then, "No man has ever wanted that of me"
At that Jon stepped forward, took Lady Margaerys hands in his to stop them shaking, and even as she tried to step away, he stepped with her, unpried her fingers and laced his through hers. He was acting almost entirely on instinct to comfort her, for he found her wanted to, he didn't like seeing her upset, he didn't like it at all.
Perhaps that was the moment he realised he really should have left. Really.
He could not get taken in by a Southern girl, but perhaps it was too late.
His gaze met hers then, his Stark grey, her Tyrell chocolate brown, and found himself just getting a touch lost.
"We can never be more, can we?" He said, and he couldn't believe this was him, they barely knew one another, and yet he was sure his cheeks were as pink as hers, he was sure they were both taken in.
Maybe it was a moment of madness, maybe he'd been fooled by her pretty smile and she by his kindness, or maybe it was more than that. Could it be more than that?
"Why not?" She asked, and Jon knew then, as her voice turned vulnerable, as she spoke quietly, and stroked her thumbs over his hands, this was the real Lady Margaery, and he liked that very much.
"You know why" Jon said, and then again on instinct perhaps, he leaned down and rested his forehead to hers, and she let out a gentle sigh and leaned into him. They were being fools, Jon knew it, she knew it, but neither moved.
Until a bang at the door had them jumping apart, hands still clutched, caught, along, unchaperoned, and far closer than any Lady of the Reach and Bastard of Winterfell should be.
JON BOI YOU IN TROUBLE
who found them? we will see
also I hope I didn't over shadow the dragons egg lol, this gunna be huge
do review
