Chapter 4
Winterfell, the North
303 AC.
Podrick Payne, more commonly known as Pod by those close to him, made his way through the main gate of the Keep of Winterfell. Gods, he had never known a more colder place than the North. Pod should have taken up the king on his offer to accompany him to Dragonstone.
Podrick wondered what the Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryen was like. All he heard were merely stories, rumors, and hearsay. The Northerns didn't have much time for Southerns as they called them.
The Knights of the Vale, Lord Royce, and Lord Baelish were still here for some reason. Lord Baelish. Podrick felt something was off about the man. So did the King, it seemed. He had both Podrick and Lady Brienne to keep an eye on the Valemen and Lady Sansa.
The relationship between the King and Lady Sansa was not good. Podrick had no siblings. So he didn't know what it was like to have siblings. It was not a sibling relationship between the King and Lady Sanas.
The two of them were forever butting heads about anything and everything. The two of them argued quite angrily shortly before the King left for Dragonstone.
Podrick spent a fair bit of time in both the Keep itself and Wintertown. Speaking with the common folk, he learned quite a bit about House Stark and of the tunnels within the castle. Keeping an eye on Lady Sansa would be made easy by knowing this information.
Podrick found the tunnels in question. He'd scoped them out a few days before. Walking his way through the tunnels till he came to Lady Sansa's rooms.
The rooms were empty at the moment. Which meant he would have to wait.
It was half an hour before there was any movement. He could hear several voices coming closer. The voices he recognized as Lady Brienne, Lady Sansa, and who he thought was Lord Baelish.
"Brienne Lord Baleish and I wish to speak in private. May you move to the other end of the hallway."
"Yes, my lady," Brienne spoke. Podrick pressed his ear to the door to listen to what was being said in Lady Sansa's room.
"I should be Queen, not that Bastard." Sansa ranted.
"Patneint my love. I know your brother's will was a minor setback in the grand scheme of things.
"A minor setback. Due to Robb's Will. I am all but removed from the line of secession and my children as well. All for that bastard. He should be drowned at birth. Our plan should have worked. Both of them should have died that day.
Yet that bastard lives. Wearing the crown that should be mine," Sansa continued to rant.
"You will be Queen before long, my love. Your brother being named King it is a setback. Only a setback. Our plan to have your crowned queen in the North will work. The Northern Lords and the common folk love him.
We will need to discredit him. Turn them all against him. Turn them in our favor. He has gone South. To treat with a Targaryen Queen. The Targaryens have no love in the North due to what her father and brother did to your grandfather, uncle, and aunt.
We will play on that. And find whatever dirt we can to discredit him, My Love. You will be Queen." Podrick felt sick, but he had just heard, and he heard after. The sound of smacking lips.
Pod really didn't need to see what was going on in that room. Hearing as much as he did was more than enough. The king had to know this. Sending word by Raven was too risky. A rider would take too long. How in God's name was he going to get word to the King?
Podrick made his way back the way he had come. Formulating a plan to tell the King what he had learned. He had expected to overhear Sansa plotting with Lord Baelish to Usurpe the King.
Pod wrote down all he had heard. There must be a way to get word to the King; he needed to know this and fast. For now, he would gather more evidence against them for their plotting to overthrow the King.
Dragonstone, 303 AC
Jae rose earlier that morning. It was hard to believe it had been a whole week since they arrived on Dragonstone. Nearly everyone else knew about who he really was saved for, Tormund and Val.
Jae hadn't meant not to tell them. He just got sidetracked with Dany and everything else that was going on. Planning the attack on King's Landing. An attack without unnecessary bloodshed. They had half a plan but were still ironing out the details.
Ghost barely stirred from where he lay near the foot of the bed. Jae dressed as quietly as possible so as not to wake Daenerys, who was fast asleep still. Jaehaerys kissed her forehead as he strapped his sword belt into place.
"Is the Queen awake?" Missandei appeared in the outer chamber as Jae came out of the bedchamber.
"She's still asleep." Missandei merely smiled as Jae left. She was happy her friend had found happiness. Since her long-lost Great Uncle and Nephew had come to Dragonstone, Missandei had never seen Daenerys so happy.
She deserved to be happy.
Tormund was easy enough to find. He was breaking his fast with Val and some Dotharki he'd befriended. Not they understood a word the other said. Tormund was like that, making friends with the most unlikely of people.
"Here he is, King Crow. The Dragon Queen finally had enough of your small pecker, has she?" Tormund laughed heartily.
"The opposite in fact. She seems to love it quite a lot, actually."
"So we hear, and most of the island does every day." Val smiled at Jae over the rim of her mug.
"Come sit. King Crow, these are my new friends; ah, I don't actually know their names ha, ha. Might steal me a few of them to take as my Spear wives. What about you, King Crow? Are you going to steal the Dragon Queen? Make her your woman."
"Something like that. Aye, we're going to get married." Jae took a seat.
"So how is the Dragon Queen? As good as she looks."
"Aye and then some. Tormund, Val, there's something I need to tell you. My name isn't Jon Snow nor Jon Stark. Eddard Stark is not my father. He was my Uncle. My real name is Jaehaerys Targaryen.
My father was Rhaegar Targaryen, and my mother was Lyanna Stark." Jae explained.
"So what does that mean in the grand scheme of things?"
"Daenerys is my aunt." Tormund started to choke on his mug of whatever it was he was drinking.
"You mean you"
"Fucked my aunt, then yes. And I will marry her to solidify both our claims for the Iron Throne. We need to take King's Landing to unite the whole Seven Kingdoms if we are to stand a chance of defeating the Night King," Jae answered.
"Does she know about the whole you coming back from the dead and the Night King? Val asked.
"Aye, she does. We have yet to tell our allies. First, we need to secure King's Landing first. Then we'll look to the north."
"Can we meet her?" Tormund butted in
"You met her a week ago."
"But we've never formally introduced, Tormund smirked.
"Oh for fuck sake, Tormund, Jae shook his head. The annoying fucker was like an annoying older brother to him.
"Someone has to warn her about that tiny cock of yours."
"She happens to quite like my cock, thanks Tormund." Jae shook his head.
After spending some time with Tormund and Val, Jaehaerys headed to the clifftops where the dragons were nesting. Drogon and Viserion were the only two there. Rhaegal must have gone to hunt or something or other.
The other two dragons paid him no mind as he took a seat near the clifftop. Looking over the map that Aemon had given him. It was a map of the tunnels, chambers, and vaults hidden in Dragonstone.
Jae wasn't sure how long he sat there studying the map. He looked up at the sound of a roar as Rhaegal came back to land on the clifftops. Viserion and Drogon roared a greeting to their brother.
The ground shook as Rhaegal landed. Spying Jae made his way over to his rider. Though the pair were yet to take to the skies just yet.
"Hey, boy. What have you been up to today?" Jae scratched Rhaegal under his chin.
The dragon purred if dragons purred whisks of green and bronze smoke billowed from his massive nostrils.
He nearly knocked Jae over as he lay well, trying to lay his massive head on Jae's lap. The ground shook again as Rhaegal moved to get comfortable. Practically curling himself around Jae. Jae rested back against Rhegal's boy.
The warmth was practically radiating off him. Dragon and Rider stayed there for a time. Putting the maps of Dragonstone to one side. Jae turned his attention to the maps of King's Landing and the Red Keep.
Trying to come up with a plan to capture the Red Keep and Kings Landing without unnecessary bloodshed. They couldn't simply turn the dragons loose. It was possible Cersei had Wildfyre crated up on under the Streets of King's Landing and the Red Keep.
The Dragons, with their fire, could accidentally light the Wildfyre and raise King's Landing to the Ground along with the Red Keep.
"I thought I'd find you here." Jae looked at the sound of Dany's voice. Ghost trailed closed behind ever the protector.
"I came up here for some peace and quiet to think of a plan to take King's Landing without unnecessary bloodshed."
"What have come up with so far."Dany took a seat while Ghost trotted off to greet his brothers Drogon and Viserion.
"The best course of action I can think of is to send a small group of men through the tunnels into the Red Keep to secure it. If we can do that by taking them by surprise, catching them unaware of us.
We could create a diversion to draw the Lannister Army of King's Landing. Have the Dornish march from the South. The Reach from the West. Have them think the Unsullied and Dothraki will land and come from the North.
The main concern is the Royal Fleet. We don't know how many ships Cersei has. Or if she's joined forces with Euron Greyjoy. He controls the majority of the Greyjoy Fleet now. Destroying him and the Royal Fleet is paramount if we stand a chance of landing our troops.
We need them to think we'll land here at Rosby or Duskendale. They are the closest ports for us to land at.
To protect Highgarden. We'd be better sending the Unsullied by ship to Old Town and then marching north to Highgarden rather than across land.
My main idea is if we can draw out the Lannister Army and destroy it. Cersei will be finshed. Without an army, she has no hope of holding King's Landing. As the Treasury has no money and food is scarce. She would have to surrender, but this is Cersei Lannister, a woman who blew up the Sept of Beoler to avoid punishment." Jae explained the plan he was working on.
"We could land the Unsullied and Dothraki here." Dany pointed to Rook's Rest on the Map.
"Aye, we could do that that. Make them think we're going to land at Duskendale. Send men to land at both Rosby and Rook's Rest. Trap the Lannister Army here at Duskendale. That still leaves the Royal Fleet and Euron Greyjoy possible to worry about.
Even with the ships we have, that may not be enough as we have to ferry the Unsullied to Oldtown. And ferry men to Rosby and Rook's Rest."
"Jae, do you see that?"
"See What?" Jaehaerys looked up from the map.
"Ships. Bearing the colors of what house I don't know" Jae squinted and looked at the colors flying on the ships.
"That's House Velaryon colors if I'm not mistaken."
"Perhaps they are our answers to the prayers of needing more ships." Dany stood up.
"Aye, perhaps."
Aurane Waters stepped out of the Longboat as they made it to the beach of Dragonstone. Stealing 100 ships from Cersei Lannister hadn't been easy. Those ships would be better in the hands of Daenerys Targaryen rather than the Mad Queen the people had started to call Cersei Lannister.
"Uncle Aurane will see the Queen's dragons," the Bastard of Driftmark's nephew, Monterys Velaryon, asked.
"I suppose we will, Monterys." Aurane ruffled his nephew's hair. Monterys was six name days when his father Aurane's brother Monford died during the Battle of Blackwater Bay. Aurane began ruling in his young nephew's stead till he came of age.
"My lord, we have company." One of his men nodded to several horses approaching them.
"That must be Daenerys Targaryen on the white horse, not sure about the others."
"Uncle look," Aurane swung his head around to see a Great White Wolf the size of a war horse running alongside the man on the black stallion.
"Lord Velaryon, this is an unexpected surprise." The Targaryen Queen was a breathtaking woman.
"My Queen I am no Lord. My nephew is Lord of Driftmark. I am a humble sailor. For many years House Velaryon and House Targaryen fought side by side. We shall once again. I come bearing a gift.
A hundred ships from Cersei Lannister, along with a few other things that will help you take back the Iron Throne." The Bastard of Driftmark placed his hands on his shoulders.
"A hundred ships. That is an extravagant gift, but a gift that is welcomed all the same. Lord Waters, this is my betrothed and nephew Prince Jaehaerys of House Targaryen and King in the North."
"Your Grace" That was interesting.
"Lord Waters, Lord Velaryon" The King in the North and possibly the rightful King of the Seven Kingdoms nodded to both Aurane and Monterey.
"Is he a wolf?" Monterey asked.
"He's a Direwolf." The King in the North answered, shifting in the saddle as he did so.
"Does he have a name?"
"Ghost is his name, Lord Velaryon." He told Monterys the name of his wolf.
The Direwolf Ghost was twice the size of Monterys. Aurane kept his hand on Seafoam's hilt as the Wolf licked Montery's face. Causing his nephew to laugh and throw his arms around the giant albino wolf.
"I will have rooms made for you and your men. Once you are settled, you are welcome to join us in the War Room."
"Thank you, my Queen. Aurane, along with his nephew and men, were escorted to the Keep.
Several hours later. They gathered in the war room. Gathered around the Painted Table.
"Your Graces, you said you've come up with a plan to take King's Landing; what is it?" Jae's Lord Hand asked.
"First order of business. Grey Worm and Four Thousand Unsuilled will sail for Oldtown and march north to Highgarden to protect it in case Cersei tries to attack it. As for taking King's Landing.
We need to destroy the Lannister Army and the Royal Fleet. Thanks to Aurane Waters, we have a hundred additional ships. Aurane will ferry the Unsuilled to Oldtown.
As for taking King's Landing. We'll create a diversion. The Dornish will march from the south and the Reach will march from the west. We will allow Cersei to think the Dothraki and Unsullied will land at Duskendale.
Drawing out the Lannister Army. We land troops here at Rosby and Rook's Rest. Pinning them here at Duskendale. While that is happening. About 1,000 men will sail to King's Landing.
Sneaking in through the tunnels to secure both the Red Keep and King's Landing. Using the Dragons is not an option. Lord Tyrion has told us of the Wildfyre packed beneath the city.
One lone spark and King's Landing, along with the Red Keep, and all those who live there will be nothing but ash. We know what happened to the Sept of the Baelor and those inside. This plan would eliminate the need for unnecessary bloodshed." Jae laid out the plan to take the Red Keep.
"Any questions."
"I am not a Miliatry Startigiest, but it sounds like a sound plan. What of the Royal Fleet? What are you going to do about them? Or the possibility that Cersei will side with Euron Greyjoy. As he does control the majority of the Greyjoy Fleet, does he not?" Olenna questioned.
"He does. I may have something to counter that." Aueran spoke up.
"And what would that be, Lord Waters?" Asha asked.
"Something the people of Yeng call Blackpower. I have traveled the East extensively. They place the power in balls like this one with shrapnel for greater effect. A possible plan to deal with Euron Greyjoy would be to lure him into a trap.
Blow his ships apart with these metal balls." Aeuran placed the balls on the painted table.
"How much damage can they do?" Willas Tyrell asked
"I can demonstrate if you like Lord Tyrell."
"Aye, I think a demonstration would be best, Lord Waters," Jae cut in.
"Very well, then I can arrange a demonstration tomorrow or in a few days if that would suit you all."
They all agreed they would have a demonstration as to how deadly this Black Powder was it would be held in a few days. Allowing Aeuran time to organize everything
Jae and Dany took advantage of the time between the next meeting to do flying lessons with Jae and Rhaegal.
"It's not like riding a horse, my love. You don't throw yourself onto his back. Watch like this:" Drogon lowered his wing for Dany to climb up. Jae watched more distracted by her ass than watching her.
"Jae, stop checking my ass out." Busted. "And get on Rhaegal like I showed you."
Rhaegal lowered his wing for Jae to climb onto. He got onto Rhegals back without too much trouble.
"Now what?" Jae questioned.
"Sit about here and hold onto his spines. I don't want you falling to your death." Jae copied what Dany did.
"I think saddles would be very useful to minimize falling to one's death after takeoff. How do I get him to fly?"
"Repeat after me."
"Sōvegon rhaegal" (Fly Rhaegal)
"Sōvegon rhaegal," Jae repeated in Valyrian. Rhaegal must have understood him. He let out a thunderous roar as he flapped his wings and took to the sky. Jae held on for dear life.
Drogon shot off the cliff after his brother. Viserion, not wanting to be left out, took to the skies with his brothers.
The ship Arya and Gendry had bartered a passage onto Dragonstone and sailed steadily towards the Ancestral Home of House Targaryen. The price of passage for the two of them had been all of the money they had on them.
The closer they got, the more anxious Arya became. She wondered what Jon was like now. They had been apart for almost six years. She was not the same girl she was the day he gave Needle to her.
Just as they were about to drop anchor. Three dragons shot overhead. Gods that must be Daenerys Targaryen dragons. Arya had always wanted to see a dragon in real life. Now she would get the chance. Viseyna Targaryen had always been a hero of hers growing up.
Now she got to see dragons in the flesh rather than the illustrations in books. She swore she saw two riders rather than one. She shook her head at the possibility of it being Jon. Then again, it would be interesting if it was.
Her father had never said who Jon's mother was. If he was flying on the back of a dragon, it was possible his mother had been of Valyrian descent.
The anchor was dropped and a long boat lowered. "We'll take you as far as the beach. You're on your own from there." The Grim-faced captain drawled.
"That will be fine."
They were rowed to shore. Nymeria, who had found them on the road to Maidenpool, jumped out first, shaking the water from her coat. They had no sooner stepped onto the beach when the long boat was pushed back out to sea and rowed back to the ship.
"Guess we're on our own now, huh?" Gendry picked up his bag and War Hammer he carried with him for personal protection.
Nymiera was beside them one moment and took off running the next. A blur of white came barreling towards them.
"What's that?" Gendry asked Arya.
"I think that's Ghost."
"Ghost" Gendry questioned.
"Jon's Direwolf. If Ghost is here. Then Jon will have to be close by."
Ghost having once been the runt of his litter, was the largest of those of his litter that remained. The two direwolfs crashed tackled each other in the sands of the Dragonstone beach.
Rhaegal, without Jae giving any commands, began to ascend to land on the beach. Arya held on to Gendry as the ground shook behind them. Looking over their shoulders. A green and bronze dragon landed on the beach.
It lowered its wing. Something, or rather someone, got off the back of the Green and Bronze Dragon. Arya looked twice before recognizing the person instantly; it may have been over a half-decade since they had seen one another. But they had never forgotten the other.
"Ayra"
"Jon" Arya ran towards her long-lost older brother, who she didn't know was really her cousin.
Arya jumped into her brother's arms. Feeling for the first time since her father's execution safe and loved.
"You got shorter."
"Aye, and you're still a short ass, only a little taller," Jae chuckled as he set his cousin back on her feet.
"You still have it. Have you used it?" Jae asked, noticing she still had Needle the Sword he had made for her before they left Winterfell, he to Castle Black and she to King's Landing.
"A few times. Was that really you on that dragon before?"
"Aye, it was. There's something I've got to tell you. Arya, I'm not your brother." Jae looked over his shoulder as the ground shook as Drogon landed beside Rhaegal on the beach. Viserion landed up on the clifftops above.
"Don't be stupid; of course, you're my brother."
"No Arya I'm not. I'm your cousin. Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen are my real parents. Your father, my uncle, took me in as his bastard to protect me, as he promised my mother as she lay dying of a birthing fever.
My real name is Jaehaerys Targaryen." Jae told Arya the truth about who he really was.
"Cousin or not, I will still call you my brother."
"Aye, and I will still call you my little sister." Jae hugged Arya tight to him as Dany approached them.
"Arya This is my betrothed and aunt. Daenerys Targaryen. Dany, this is my cousin, who's like a sister to me. Arya" Jaehaerys made the introductions.
"Is that Blackfyre? Where did you get it?" Arya interrupted, noticing that Jae had Blackfyre.
"It was in my mother's tomb at Winterfell. I have Darksister as well. I'll show it to you sometimes.
"You have Darksister as well," Dany asked in surprise.
"Yes, my love. Uncle Aemon has it. Bryden Rivers left with him when he went beyond the Wall. It will be yours, and I'll teach you how to use it as well."
"Hmm, and what will these sword lessons entail?" Dany smiled at him before kissing him passionately.
"AHEM," Arya cleared her throat. "While I am happy for you, Jon or Jaehaerys. I don't need to see you with your tongue down Daenerys's throat all the time."
"Oh, just wait till it happens to you, little sister. Though it looks like it already has," Jae nodded to Gendry.
"Oh fuck off," Arya hit him in the shoulder.
