Jon
They'd made good time after Kireina had dropped the pair of them off and it'd only taken them just under an hour to reach the gates to the city. Jaime had told him that he'd do all the talking when the city watch inevitably asked questions as to why a Kingsguard wasn't with the royal family.
That and he knew that if he left him to do the talking, there was a high chance they'd be denied access to the city, or even imprisoned for questioning.
The huge gates were wide open for anyone to see straight into the city, one would think they were poorly guarded if it wasn't for the large group of guards lining each side of the gate.
"Just play it cool. We still don't know if they're expecting us or not." Jaime whispered to him as the group of guards started to form a blockade to prevent them from just wandering in. He counted ten men, five at each side of the gate, decked out in light plate and gold mail...and they were looking right in their direction.
"Halt!" One of the guards shouted as he held the palm of his hand out. It didn't take long for him to spot recognition on the guards face.
"Ser Jaime Lannister, as I live and breathe. What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with his grace and his family?" The guard said with what he hoped was a friendly grin. Hopefully Jaime knew this man, it would make it easier for this to be over with quickly.
He noticed the guard eye him up and down before turning back to the Lannister knight.
"His grace has sent me to complete a task of great importance. I'm sure if you were to be tasked the same, you would make sure it's completed swift efficiency, wouldn't you agree Ser Janos?"
The man now known to him as Ser Janos seemed to mull over Jaime's words, that was until he looked in his direction again.
"Who's this?" He asked as he nodded towards him.
Jaime turned around and looked at him from where he was stood before turning back "This is my squire." He eventually answered.
The guard looked him up and down like he was cattle at auction. It prickled his pride but he kept his mouth shut so this could be over with.
"Bit old to be a squire isn't he?" Ser Janos asked as a few of the other guards chuckled.
It would seem that this man was determined to get a rise out of him.
He narrowed his eyes, something the knight noticed, his own widening as a small grin appeared on his face.
He's goading you Jon, don't fall for it.
"Dim as well by the looks of it, he should wipe that look off his face before I do it for him. A night in the black cells has humbled many a man…orboyin this case."
If he tensed his jaw any harder his teeth would start to crack.
No wonder Aemon left this place, he's not even stepped a single foot into the city yet and he's annoyed.
He had to remember his uncle's teachings though, he had to keep his head or the city would eat away at him.
It doesn't mean he'll forget this little encounter though, Ser Janos was officially the first name on his shit list.
"Yes, well, if you'd just let us pass we can be on our way. Remember, time is of the essence when his grace is concerned." Jaime said to the idiot in front of him. He appreciated that he was trying to steer the conversation somewhere else, listening to this moron belittle him was hurting his teeth.
Ser Janos sniffed and chuffed "The thing is Ser Jaime, we've heard nothing from the keep about you arriving. If it was official crown business then we would've been told to allow you access to the city, hassle free. You can understand that something here doesn't add up can't you Ser Jaime? Remember, the safety of the citizens of King's Landing is paramount to The City Watch."
Based on the man's attitude, why did he find that hard to believe?
It was Jaime's turn to huff "Fine. Where's the Lord Commander? Where's Thorne?"
Oh, so this Janos wasn't the one in charge.
Bet that's a sore point for the prideful man stood in front of him.
And his beliefs were confirmed when he saw the man roll his eyes at the mention of his superior.
"He was called up to the keep nearly an hour ago, left me in charge while he's gone. He should be back soon so you can stand there and wait for him if you so choose."
His eyes were distracted by what was happening behind Janos, a small group of men on horseback trotting down a cobbled street towards them with haste. Clearly they were The City Watch since they were in the same attire the men stood in front of him were.
Wonder if this is their Lord Commander returning?
By the looks of it, it was. Well, that's if the way the man was staring at him as he dismounted his horse and took his helmet off was anything to go by.
The man in question was an older looking fellow but didn't look anywhere near as incompetent as the guard they'd been dealing with. The man, who he presumed was the Lord Commander of the City Watch, strode towards them, his posture strong and his gaze bouncing back and forth between him and Jaime.
He knows.
"Ser Jaime," The Lord Commander spoke as he slowly made his way to Janos' side. His eyes then made his way to him with a look on his face that could only be described as trepidation.
"...your grace?" He said, more like a question than a greeting. He half bowed as he kept his eyes locked with him, almost as if he didn't want to get caught fully bowing to somebody who he didn't know was royalty yet.
He decided to give the man a small nod and a little smile, as Ser Janos went pale and sputtered with his speech.
"We've been ordered by the hand to escort you and Ser Jaime up to the Red Keep the moment you arrived. I hope there hasn't been too much trouble between you and my men." He said as he eyed Ser Janos and the rest of the guards who were now trying their very best not to make eye contact with him.
Ser Janos looked resigned to the fact that he was about to hung for treason or some other ridiculous punishment. The man was a dick but he wouldn't be punishing him, not when he could be useful at some point in the future.
Play the game, or the game will play you uncle's words whispered in his head.
He answered before Jaime could open his mouth to answer for him "Everything is fine thank you, your men were very helpful, I'm sure they'll be helpful in the future too." He said, hiding the cringe he felt as he did so.
Was...was that how you did it? His answer sounded alright, he thinks.
He didn't miss the way Ser Janos sighed in relief, looking his way with gratitude evident on his face.
I didn't do it for your sake, I did it for mine.
He also didn't miss the smirk on Jaime's face as they mounted the horses that were handed to them.
"Let the games begin." Jaime said to him as they both settled into their saddles. He just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
He wondered how long it would take before his patience ran out playing said game.
The city was pretty quiet as they made their way through it, the ride up to what he assumed was the Red Keep was quiet itself regarding conversation. He didn't miss the little looks he received from the guards that were escorting them, like they were getting the measure of him.
The Lord Commander was the most guilty of that as he rode to the left of him, Jaime flanking his right side in a protective formation.
"Something to say Lord Commander?" He asked as they trotted through a square, past a running water fountain.
The head of the City Watch straightened up in his saddle in response before replying "My apologies your grace, it's not everyday a long lost member of the royal family turns up at our gates."
"It's not a problem for you is it Ser Alliser?" Jaime asked.
Ser Alliser look offended by the question "Absolutely not! Like my mother used to say gods rest her soul, the more the merrier." He said with a smile on his face before turning to look in front of them.
"What has Connington exactly said to you Thorne?" Jaime shouted across to him as they began to edge closer to the keep. He wasn't sure why he was somewhat surprised when he realised that the Red Keep was actually red.
What colour would it be Jon?
Idiot.
"Not much I'm afraid, he was in a bit of a mood when I entered his office,miserable sod. All I was told was that you were escorting the King's son back to the capital and that it wasn't Aegon he was speaking of." He said before continuing "...which reminds me," He said as he turned and looked to him "...I'm not sure how to approach you...your grace?"
"Just call me Jon." He answered back almost instinctively. He knew he was asking a lot since it seemed to be a massive crime not to refer to him as'your grace'.
"Jon…" Ser Alliser seemed to whisper to himself before a look of realisation came across his face "A strong northern name. My apologies but I don't want to make a mistake...Lady Lyanna?" He said, the rest going unsaid. He just nodded to the man in confirmation before a hush took hold of the group.
That'll be the hot gossip between him and his men when they part ways.
They rode across the drawbridge over the moat to the castle and into what looked like a courtyard, which happened to be full of guards wearing the Targaryen sigil on their armour.
Stood out in front of them were three men, one ginger, one bald and one with short dark hair with streaks of grey.
Fuck is he smirking at?He thought as he dismounted his horse before readjusting the swords on his back.
And a quick check to see if his dagger was concealed in its spot properly.
"Kneel for his grace!" Jaime shouted with a bit of an edge to everyone who was stood in front of them. The guards were the first ones to their knee, then the bald one and the dark haired one were next. Last was the red head who seemed to kneel with a little resistance as he looked their way.
Not even met the man and he seems annoyed by his mere presence.
"Rise!" He shouted, him starting to feel uncomfortable at seeing people kneeling on the dusty floor for him. The grumpy ginger was first to his feet as he shot up a lot faster than he went down.
He looked around the courtyard, everybody eyeing him with interest, clearly trying to work him out. He turned and looked at the three men who were stood separately to everybody else.
...and he just stared at them.
...because he wasn't sure what to say next.
The seven hells was he supposed to say?He thought, so he just said the first thing that came to mind.
"Hello everyone, I'm Jon." He said as he waved to everybody, only a couple of the guards around the courtyard tentatively waved back at him, seemingly confused by what he'd just said.
He turned back towards the grumpy ginger and his two friends and noticed the bald one looking down with a small smile on his face, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his robe.
At least one of them wasn't miserable.
He nodded and gave the three of them a reluctant smile before holding his hand out to shake. The dark haired man was the first to thrust his hand forward, gripping his hand and shaking with the same smirk on his face that he did the moment he saw him.
"Petyr Baelish, Master of Coin, It's a pleasure to finally meet you your grace." He announced, something he had a hard time in believing for some reason.
The bald one was the next to shake his hand.
"Varys, his grace's Master of Whispers." He said. He instantly noticed the strong smell of perfume from the man, strong enough that it started to burn the back of his throat.
The fuck?
"Varys? Not Lord Varys?" He asked as the man slid his hand back into the sleeve of his robe.
The man quietly chuckled "Just Varys your grace, my last name was lost to me long ago, although some people like to call me the spider."
Odd name, he looks nothing like one.
Last but not least was the grumpy red head, who hadn't cracked a smile since he'd turned up.
"Your grace, welcome to King's Landing. We've much to discuss." The man said straight to the point.
"Your name?" He asked since he'd not said.
"Jon Connington, Lord of Griffin's Roost, Hand of the King." He said proudly.
"Let me show you to your room so you can get settled, we have much to discuss." He said as he eyed Jaime up and down before turning around and walking towards the keep. He turned and looked at Jaime, his friend shaking his head and smiling at him before nodding towards Lord Connington's back.
"He's always like that," He said as they followed the three men through the keep, keeping distance so that they could talk without them hearing "...only perks up whenever he's around his King. I have my theories but I keep them to myself because I like my Job." He added with a little chuckle.
He was half listening as they wandered through the hallways, drinking in his surroundings.
"Do you think he wants to…" He said as he wiggled his eyebrows.
Jaime just shrugged "Suppose we'll never know without asking him."
He hummed "I suppose." He said as he looked forward.
"Lord Connington!?" He half shouted as he looked at Jaime from the corner of his eye. The way he stiffened up suggested that he'd worried him with what he was about to say.
"Yes?" The older man said as he stopped and turned to look at him, the other two men stopping as well.
"Don't…"He heard Jaime whisper to him but he wasn't really listening.
"Did the King send you a raven? Is that how you know about us arriving?" He asked, Lord Connington walked beside him as they advanced further into the castle. Jaime did well to disguise his sigh of relief behind them.
"That is correct. In fact, we received the raven less than an hour ago. It would seem the news of your apparent existence had somehow slipped his mind." He answered with a little chuckle.
Why did that not feel friendly?
"Are we going to have a problem with each other Jon? You don't mind if I call you Jon do you? I'm used to hearing it myself all the time." He said with his own chuckle.
Connington frowned as he looked at him "You can call me Jon if you like, though its not exactly in line with protocol. And I'm not sure what you mean, why would we have a problem? We've only just met." He said, ending with another chuckle.
Was he being sincere?
He shrugged "I'm not sure, maybe I'm just tired and I'm seeing things that aren't there." He said, ending with one last chuckle. Connington just smiled and nodded his head as if in agreement.
"I'm sure a nights sleep will be beneficial for all parties." The Hand of the King said as they went through a set of double doors that were opened by two guards.
His eyes automatically widened because of where they'd been led to.
So this is the throne room.
...and that's the infamous Iron Throne. The throne where countless Targaryens have sat and ran this country. Top of the food chain.
His the afterthought.
Still hadn't sank in.
"Imposing isn't it?" Lord Baelish said to him as he slithered next to him "The swords of Aegon the Conqueror's enemies, melted down and forged into the greatest symbol of power known to man."
He turned back towards the throne and just looked at it. To him, it was ugly and obnoxious. It didn't even look like a viable seat.
And in his opinion, it wasn't the greatest symbol of power.
...not even close.
He wouldn't swap being able to call that thing his throne with the ability to see the world from the back of a dragon.
Never.
The thought of Kireina made him wonder…
"Lord Connington?" He said as the man hummed.
"What exactly did the raven you received say?"
The man frowned as they began making their way past the throne and back into the hallways behind it.
"Just that his son would be arriving in the capital in advance along with Ser Jaime and that it wasn't Aegon he was speaking of. He said he would fill in the details when he arrived back in the capital himself."
He's not told them.
He was quiet as they crossed another moat that was situated inside the walls of the castle, a moat that was heavily guarded. The guards bowed as they walked passed and he could see the interest in their eyes as they looked at him.
That's all he's going to get for the first few weeks he's here.
...and it'll be even worse when they find out the worst kept secret in westeros.
The interior of the, what could only be described as the castle within a castle, was more lavish than the rest of the keep, somehow.
"Maegor's Holdfast, home of the royal apartments, and your new home your grace." The Lord of Whispers unsurprisingly whispered to him.
He was escorted up a long spiral staircase and down a wide hallway littered with double doors on either side, eventually reaching a set of oak doors near the end.
Lord Connington opened one of the doors and motioned for him to enter, into a room that was like something out of one of Sansa's old fairytale books.
The stone beneath their feet was the same as the rest of the castle, yet parts of it were coloured red and black in areas. There was a huge four poster bed with too many pillows on it at the far end of the large room, a lit fireplace on one wall and a set of glass doors with tapestry curtained around it on the other. In one of the corners of the room was a vanity with a looking glass attached to it and in the other was a wooden privacy screen with what he guessed was a pisspot or a tub behind it.
At thiscurrent moment,the only thing he cared about was the bed.
"I will send some maids to come and fill a copper tub with hot water for you so you can bathe before we talk." Connington said to him as he placed his bag and his swords at the foot of the bed.
"I'll take the bath but can the talk wait until tomorrow? As you can imagine, it's been a long day, for both me and Ser Jaime, isn't that right Ser Jaime?." He said as he stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Jaime just nodded in response.
He could tell that what he'd said wasn't what the Hand of the King wanted to hear, the man sighing before nodding.
"As you wish your grace, tomorrow it is." Connington said, behind him he noticed Jaime smiling at him, probably appreciative that he would get a break himself.
The maids shuffled in as he was sniffing around the room, they were quick to fill the copper tub, and even quicker to leave the room when he started stripping. They even asked if he needed any help bathing.
"Would you like me to help with yourbathing your grace?"One of the maids had asked him.
Pfft…
He was big enough to know how to bathe himself.
He actually managed to fall asleep in the tub after scrubbing himself clean and if it wasn't for one of the maids knocking on the door, he would've spent the rest of the night sleeping in a soup of his own filth.
He dried himself off, after refusing help from one of the maids again and looked down at the sleeping attire he'd been left. It was fancy like some of the dresses that Sansa used to like wearing and was instantly thrown onto a side table as he lifted the covers of the bed and crawled inside.
The bed was the softest thing he'd ever laid down on and the combination of that with the fact that he was freshly bathed and pretty tired made sure that his brain gave him no time at all to get lost in his thoughts as he fell into a quick and deep slumber.
Rhaenys
"Lord Connington managed to get a raven to us overnight, Jon and Ser Jaime arrived in the city late last night." Her father announced to the table as they all ate breakfast. He did a poor job at hiding his pleasure during that announcement.
She hid her sigh of relief well, a small part of her worrying that Jon would change his mind about the whole situation and just disappear, leaving Ser Jaime to announce the bad news to them when he arrived back in the capital.
"Did the raven say anything else?" Her grandmother asked as she took a sip from her goblet.
Her father shrugged "Not really, Jon was tired when they arrived and went straight to bed before Connington could chew his ear off." He replied as he handed the note to his mother.
"The main thing is that he's there. I can't be the only one who feared we'd seen the last of him when he left with Ser Jaime and Lord Stark." Her mother said to nobody in particular, a few people nodding in agreement.
"I have to disagree." Dany said in reply.
"What makes you say that Daenerys?" Her grandmother asked as she finished the last piece of fruit off of her plate.
The only thing that Dany did was nod her head towards the corner of the tent, everybody noticing Ghost quietly gnawing on a bone given to him earlier, in a world of his own.
"Jon wouldn't leave him behind. He always planned on returning, leaving Ghost with us was his way of insuring he did." She explained as Ghost's ears perked up at the mention of his name.
She makes a good point, unsure of how she'd not realised that herself?
Probably because her mind had been on different things, like trying to get over the fact that the boy she had a thing for shared blood with her.
Easier said than done.
Aegon was one of the most handsome boys she'd ever met but she felt absolutely nothing for him other than sibling love, the thought of other types of love repulsed her.
Which made the fact that she couldn't shake the indecent thoughts she had about Jon that more confusing and frustrating.
"Oh it's because you didn't grow up with him, you haven't known him as a brother yet."Her mind answered.
She hoped that was the told herself.
This was definitely how her ancestors began their descent into madness, having conversations with themselves.
"Rhaenys!?" Her brother seemed to shout as she blinked out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?" She said as she reached for her cup, disappointment nowhere to be seen when she found at least a mouthful of dornish red still left in it. She took a sip from it feigning disinterest in whatever she'd missed him saying in the hopes nobody saw her daydreaming like a simpleton.
"Well?" He asked, his eyebrows almost reaching the top of his forehead. She just shrugged and dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin. By now, she had all eyes on her like they were waiting for an answer she didn't have.
She loved her brother but she didn't half want to hit him right now.
"What do you mean?" He said as he ended with a shrug, copying what she'd just done.
"I'm sure Rhaenys can ask Jon herself when we get back." Her mother intervened. She just nodded and played along, unaware of what was even being spoken about.
There's many things she'd like to ask Jon about.
"I think Jon will be too busy learning the ins and outs of court life to entertain dragon rides to everyone who asks him, even if the idea of such a thing is rather attractive concept. Could you ever be considered a true Targaryen if you haven't dreamt at least once of being in the sky on the back of the symbol of our house." Her father said, an almost childlike smile on his face at the idea.
So that was the question.
...and yes, yes she would very much like to see what it's like to ride a dragon.
She inwardly smiled at the double meaning of that thought, quickly sobering when she realised how...inappropriate it was to think such things.
All of a sudden there was shouting heard outside of the tent, everybody at the table looked towards the entrance. The moment they heard someone shout the word"dragon"the majority of her family rose to their feet and exited the tent.
High in the sky was Jon's dragon, flying in lazy circles above them. She couldn't help the small smile from appearing on her face as she looked at it, she also couldn't help but look towards its back to see if she could see if anybody was on it.
Unfortunately there wasn't.
She looked around at everybody else's reaction to such a sight, most people looked in awe at what they were seeing, but she didn't miss the looks of fear that some of them portrayed.
She couldn't blame them really. They'd not seen much of the dragon's temper but the little of what they did was enough to completely destroy the tourney grounds back at Harrenhal.
Nobody knew what it was capable of.
Well, not nobody, maybe Jon knew.
A question for another time she mused.
"Right." She heard her father say as he clapped his hands together "We won't get anything done daydreaming. A brisk pace with no delays will get us back in the capital by sundown. I'm sure I'm not the only one who misses their own bed." He said with a smile before heading back into the tent. She noticed Ghost sneaking his way out of it before coming and sitting down next to her. He too was looking up into the sky, his ruby red eyes following the dragons flight patterns.
She instinctively placed her hand on top of the wolf's head and combed her fingers through his thick white fur.
"You'll see him soon." She said as she let out a sigh. Ghost licked the inside of her hand in response.
Either that or he could smell the remnants of her breakfast.
She chose to believe the former.
Jon
He opened his eyes slowly as he woke from one of the best nights sleep he'd had in ages, the distant ringing of a bell just audible from the room he was currently in and it was an instant reminder that he was in the capital.
He stretched his back and limbs, sighing with relief at the couple of cracks it produced. Afterwords, he just laid there quietly, head buried in the mountain of pillows, one leg under the covers, one leg out due to the warmer weather down here.
And that was with him being naked as well.
It wasn't even summer yet.
His eyes immediately went to the side of the room where one of the two double glass doors in the room was situated, slowly pulling himself out of the soft bedding and planting his feet down onto the tiled floor.
The coolness from the tiles had him sighing in pleasure.
He stretched his arms above his head as he made his way to the glass doors, moving the breezy red drapes out of the way and opening them with relative ease.
All of his senses were hit with a flurry of scents and sounds, the breeze from the sea feeling wonderful on his face and other particular areas.
The city was busy, he could hear it from where he was and he could see it from the little bit of the harbour that was visible from the balcony. Merchant ships docking and embarking on their journeys out into the narrow sea gave him fond memories of when he worked on the docks, making sure he had money to pay Gerion for letting him live with him.
Wonder if Gerry and Master M missed him?
He definitely missed them that's for sure.
He looked up and frowned as he noticed the position of the sun.
How long had he slept?
Nobody had knocked on the door, or he'd at least not heard anybody knocking.
From what he could tell, based on the position of the sun, he'd definitely missed his chance to break his fast and it was probably close to luncheon.
His stomach growled as soon as that thought came to mind, his eyes going straight back to the harbour and bringing back memories of fresh shrimp and crab he had for lunch countless times while on the job.
They might have the shrimp and crab, but it won't be the same without the acidic tasting condiment that was always poured on top.
He remembers the first time he encountered the strong liquid, the men he worked with handing it to him before he mistakenly drank from the bottle instead of pouring on his food.
They all laughed about it in the end.
There was a knock on his door before a voice was heard through it.
"Your grace, it's almost luncheon and the council are waiting to speak with you, are you okay?" He heard a familiar voice ask before Ser Jaime opened the door. He walked back in from the balcony and smiled at the only familiar face he knew in this city.
"Seven hells..." He heard Ser Jaime mutter as he turned away from him and looked in the corner of the room at nothing in particular.
"Good morning Ser Jaime." He said as he began to search for his clothes.
"Barely, didn't you hear me say it was nearly luncheon." He said as he carried on staring at the wall.
"Yeah yeah." He replied as he put his hands on his hips and frowned.
Where the bloody hell were his clothes?
"Here." Ser Jaime said as he walked towards the bed and dropped a pile of folded clothes on it, a pair of clean boots left on the floor next to them.
These werehisclothes.
"Where did you get these?" He asked as he started unfolding his breaches and undershirt.
"The maids took them last night while you were bathing, they've been cleaned and dried overnight." Jaime answered.
He nodded as he stepped into his breaches and sat down on the bed, pulling his feet into his now clean boots.
"You can look now." He said, fully aware that Ser Jaime was trying to give him at least a bit of privacy as he put his arse away.
"I'll wait for you outside." Was his reply before Jaime turned and exited the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.
He sighed when he was finally fully dressed, he wasn't looking forward to this.
He missed Ghost.
He eyed his belongings in the corner of the room, a bag medium sized bag, his swords and his sword belt. Without a second thought, he grabbed the sword belt and attached his swords to it before attaching it to himself. The bag was swiftly slid underneath the bed out of view, carefully leaving one of the straps laid across the top of it and remembering how it was laid.
If someone goes rummaging, he'll know about it.
The city is full of snakes, he hadn't forgot what uncle Aemon had told him.
"Why have you got those?" Jaime asked as he escorted him to what he assumed was where the council were waiting for him.
"My swords?" He asked to which Jaime nodded. He shrugged "You never know, doesn't hurt to be safe."
"Well you don't need them, this is the most guarded castle in the entire realm, you're safe." Jaime replied, almost puffing out his chest in pride.
He arched an eyebrow "If it's safe, why are you carrying a blade?"
"I carry it so you don't have to."
He nodded "Defending me from all the evil people Ser Jaime?" He asked with a small grin as they turned a corner before descending down a spiral staircase.
"More of a deterrent really. People aren't stupid enough to attack a member of the royal family when there's a Kingsguard waiting to separate their head from their shoulders if they even try."
"A lot of idiots in the world Ser Jaime, don't underestimate the stupidity of some of individuals, the maids here don't that's for sure. I mean, they must think I'm some dribbling simpleton to ask if I needed help bathing." He said as he scoffed and shook his head.
Ser Jaime didn't say anything and just looked at him with a blank stare before looking back forward.
It didn't take them long to reach what he found out on the way to be the small council chambers. A guard on either side of the double oak doors bowed as they opened them for him, he just nodded politely to them, very uncomfortable and out of his depth with the idea of people bowing and kneeling and all that shit.
How can somebody not feel like shit when somebody kneels in front of them like you're some sort of god.
At the end of the day, we're all skin, meat and blood, destined to die one way or another.
"Good morning your grace." One of the men inside of the room said to him as they stood. He chuckled at the change of subject from his own thoughts.
He cleared his throat and nodded back at nobody in particular. He turned and looked behind him at the sound of the door behind him shutting, noticing that Ser Jaime had left the room.
Looks like it's just him then.
What could possibly go wrong?
He frowned as he noticed the men in the room were stood still, looking at him like they were waiting for him to say something "Are we going somewhere?" He asked to Lord Connington who was stood at the opposite end of the table he was stood at. In the room he recognised the two other men who had introduced themselves to him last night, the one other person in the room an elderly man in maester's robes.
Probably a maester...or he wants him to believe that he is when in fact he's an assassin waiting to slit his throat.
His uncle Aemon's warning about this city had him think all types of things.
"We will be later, a tour if you will. For now we would like to speak to you about what is involved with being a prince of the realm and the duties that it brings." Lord Connington said to him like he was speaking to a child. "First of all, the council has to wait for highest ranking member of the royal family in the room to tell them to sit, in this case that's you."
He frowned and huffed "You need me to tell you when to sit? Are you a dog?" He said as he took a seat of his own before rolling his eyes and motioning with his hand for them to sit when they just stood their and looked at him.
He let out a sigh.
He already hated it.
The meeting didn't last too long thankfully. He learnt that the old man who he thought was very committed to his role as an assassin in disguise was actually just the grandmaester. That both Lord Baelish and Lord Varys acted like they always knew something you didn't know, smirks and patronising chuckles for added effect. And last but not least, Lord Connington had already decided that he didn't like him. He'd seen a few people who didn't like him look at him the same way the Lord of Griffin's Roost looked at him.
Not much was really said to him really, other than duties that he was expected to complete that he was absolutely not doing. He was told that he'd find out more when the King arrived back in the city, which happened to be later in the day if the scouts were to be believed. A personal guard was being prepared for him so that they could tour the city this afternoon but he told them not to bother, the assumption that he wasn't actually interested in a tour.
He was, he'd just rather see the city on his own with his own eyes and not with the ones of a guarded prince.
Nobody acted authentically in front of a prince never mind one with a small army surrounding him.
And that's what the city was. Yes the buildings were nice to look at, but it was the citizens who inhabit it that were the heart of it.
Lord Connington announced that the meeting was over shortly after that, and to his surprise, not one of them had mentioned anything about a dragon.
It was clear that the raven that the King had sent them had said nothing about Kireina but surely one of them knew about her? She was pretty hard to miss and the way that she'd announced herself was anything but subtle.
Had the games already started?
He sighed as he walked back to his chamber, Ser Jaime walking along with him.
"I think games are already being played Jaime." He said as they passed a couple of finely dressed men who bowed when they noticed him.
Wonder who they are?
Ser Jaime chuckled "Games are always being played your grace."
He shook his head. He believed what Aemon had said to him but he didn't expect it to be like this.
"I'm going to have a wander about in the city, see the sights. Just need to grab my cloak from my room." He said. Getting out of this castle was top priority until his stomach rumbled, reminding him that he'd still not eaten.
He might just get something while he's out, he knew one or two bakeries existed in the city somewhere given the size of it, he just had to follow his nose.
"Does the Hand know?" Jaime asked.
"No." He replied almost immediately.
He heard Ser Jaime sigh "Have you been assigned a personal guard?"
He looked at the Lannister knight "Well given that you're the only kingsguard in the city, you've been temporarily given that job. But don't worry, you can stay here until I'm back. I'd like to experience the city on my own."
He got the reaction he expected, Jaime was adamant that he couldn't go alone.
"If someone sees you with me Jaime, the game is up. The city as a whole don't know what I look like yet, chances are they may have heard the news of me but right now all they've got is a name and no face. Like I said, one glance at you and they'll know exactly who I am." He explained as they entered the corridor where his room was.
"Well I'm shadowing you at least then. I'll wear my own cloak and follow you from a close distance. I can't let you leave the castle without a guard, the city is full of thieves, some of which will do plenty of unpleasant things to somebody for a quick coin."
"Fine, you can shadow me, but if you manage to lose me then that's your problem." He said as they approached his chamber.
Jaime smirked "Lose you? Don't make me laugh. My brother could tell you a few stories back from when we were kids. We used to take turns hiding all around the rock for the other to find them and he rarely won. He used to claim I was cheating, asking the maids if they'd seen him run by," Jaime said as he looked on with a smile. He couldn't help but smile as well.
"And did you cheat?" He asked as he folded his arms and leaned against the wall next to his chamber door.
"Yes but that's besides the point. I knew how to use my resources efficiently to seek him out and I can do the same with you if it came to it." Jaime further explained.
"Challenge accepted." He said before entering his room and closing the door.
He smirked as Jaime banged on his door.
"I didn't mean it like that! Jon!" He heard through the door.
"Who is it?" He asked as he pulled his bag from underneath his bed and pulled a small pouch of coin from it. He noticed that it'd had been left untouched.
"Can I open the door?" Jaime asked. He could almost hear the sigh in his voice.
He put the small pouch in his pocket and opened the door to an unimpressed looking knight "Yes?" He asked, struggling to keep the grin off his face.
"Play nice please your grace." He said.
"I'll play nice if you stop calling me that when nobody else is around." He answered back as he grabbed his cloak from the chair in the corner of the room.
"Deal." He heard Jaime say "Does this mean you won't give me a hard time while we're out there?" He asked with a smirk of his own.
He sniffed "I suppose so." He said as he exited his chambers and closed the door "It's a good job I enjoy your company isn't it Ser Jaime." He added as he began to make his way down the corridor and out into the city.
He missed the genuine smile that grew on the Lannister's face.
Rhaegar
It was just before sunset when they entered the city, Ser Alliser and his gold cloaks escorting them up to the Red Keep in an orderly fashion. By now, everybody just wanted a nice hearty meal, a long soak and their own bed.
Him included.
As they'd travelled closer to the city, the group they were travelling with shrank, families branching off to head home after all the excitement of the tourney. Houses were offered accommodation within the walls of the Red Keep before they headed even further south. The Dornish, the Reach, the Westerlands and the Stormlands Lords and Ladies would all be needed to be housed for the duration of their stay, something he'd let Jon know about in advance.
Lord Tywin and Lady Olenna had also requested an audience with him later tonight but he'd denied their separate requests and told them that tomorrow would be more suitable. He knew what Tywin wanted to talk about but Olenna was a curious subject, her face when she'd requested an audience with him earlier today was one of seriousness, something he'd not seen from her ever since her granddaughter had married his son.
Wonder what that will be about?
He was at the head of the group along with his son as they made their way through the streets of King's Landing, both of them mounted on a black stallion each and flanked by Arthur and Gerold. His eyes couldn't help but glance towards the sky for another glimpse of Jon's dragon. They were visited by it earlier in the day before disappearing towards the coast to presumably hunt for it's dinner. It was like an addiction, just seeing it gave him a sense of victory and security, like some sort of trigger in his blood.
Is this what his ancestors felt? Is this why some of them thought themselves to be on the cusp of godhood?
Dangerous thought.
"Haven't seen it in hours." He heard his brother remark from behind him. He turned and eyed him. Viserys had been awfully quite when the news about Jon came out, and a quiet Viserys was not something you just ignored.
His silence was more deafening than his whining.
"Taken a liking to it uncle?" Aegon said to his right with a smile on his face. He looked back towards the road as the inched nearer to the keep.
The pair of them had always enjoyed getting on each other's nerves, something he assumed was jealousy fuelled by his brother. Ever since Aegon was born, he's always disliked him, only willing to tolerate him.
"It's a dragon, only a simpleton would show no explains a few things really." His brother answered back, the last bit muttered. Aegon frowned and glanced towards him but he just subtly shook his head.
Not worth mouthed. Aegon sighed and looked back forwards, but he didn't look pleased with the little jab.
Just a playful little comment to normal people, or banter as Gerold would call it. But years of back and forth between them had ground them down to the point that the smallest remark about the other would cause a snide little argument.
How would this pan out with Jon in the mix? From what he's seen up to now, Jon has a mouth on him, one that he seems to shoot off first, think later.
I bet Connington's already sick of thought as a fond grin grew on his face.
Their large retinue trotted over the drawbridge and into the courtyard of the keep. Plenty of lords and ladies waiting for them as they came to a stop, he could see his council, Jon, Varys, Baelish and Pycelle, Tarly and Aurane were the only ones to join them on their trip to Harrenhal. He was already frowning as dismounted his horse and pulled his gloves off.
Where is he? Where's Jon?
"Rise." He shouted to the kneeling crowd, almost a harsh tone as he felt his anxiety rise.
"Your grace." Came the first voice, Jon looking at him like he already knew what was running through his head.
"I think you know what I'm about to ask." He said as servants busied themselves moving people and luggage out of carriages and into rooms in the keep.
Before Jon could say anything, Aegon was pulling his own gloves off and looking around.
"Where's Jon?" He asked, taking the words right out of his mouth.
"Him and Ser Jaime took a trip into the city, Jon wanted to see the sites and Ser Jaime accompanied him." His hand said to him.
"Let's set things straight Jon, he's a prince, afford him his titles." He reprimanded. His hand at least had the decency to look sorry.
"Apologies." Was his reply. He just nodded.
"I assume panic was kept to a minimum when he arrived?" He asked as they began to walk into the keep. He turned as he saw Elia and the rest of the girls exiting their carriage, giving her a small wave and a nod in the hopes that it was enough to quell her questioning stare.
I don't envy them welcoming the Lords and Ladies into the castle.
Jon looked at him, his brow furrowed "Should've there been?" He said with out an ounce of humour.
Oh no.
How had he…
How had he forgot to mention the dragon in the ravens they shared?
His mind had been that worked up and worried that Jon would never arrive in the city that the small detail of a living dragon roaming the skies had slipped his mind.
How do you kinda forget such an important thing?
He noticed at his side that Aegon had somehow come to the same conclusion as he had, a playful smirk growing on his face.
"You don't know do you?" Aegon asked.
Jon frowned "I'm not following your grace." He said as they walked down the corridor where the small council room was. Varys and Baelish were being quiet so far, the rest of his small council members who were following them already knowing what he was talking about.
"There's a dragon roaming the skies of Westeros once again old friend." Was all he said to his hand, the man stopped walking and blinked at him.
He shook his head and narrowed his eyes at him. Jon had always had this habit whenever he was trying to work out if somebody was lying to him. He kept his face stone still as the rest of the council stood around them. Baelish's eyes bouncing back and forth between him and Jon.
He saw the moment of realisation on his friends face.
"How? We never received word. We would've seen it wouldn't we?" He said as his gaze bounced between him, Lord Varys and Lord Baelish, looking for an answer from his associates.
He began walking towards the small council room, his son and the rest of the small council following suit "As you can imagine, my focus was divided between many things, with the discovery of my second son, with handling the fallout of such an...incident."
"It's a shame about Lord Stark, your grace. But I believe the right decision was made." He heard Lord Baelish say to him as they entered the council room. Everybody rounded the table and stood in front of a chair each, Ser Arthur and Ser Gerold taking point as they closed the door.
"I'm sure you do Lord Baelish, but please refrain from interrupting me in the future." He answered back as he took a seat and waved for everyone to follow suit.
You're not fooling anyone Lord Baelish, you're dislike of the Stark brothers is one of King's Landing's worst kept secrets.
His master of coin nodded his head in reverence as he looked towards Jon and continued his explanation.
"I'll put it simply to you Jon, my head was a mess and I forgot to mention it in my correspondences to you. I apologize for that and hope that the situation wasn't stressful for you or the small council members that were assisting you." He said as he brushed a hand across the table to wipe off any dust that may be present.
Jon shook his head with what looked like disbelief "So it's real your grace? Dragons have returned?"
He looked at the rest of his council, the ones who already knew about the dragon looked relaxed, almost humoured by his hand's reaction. Lord Varys was stone faced as he looked at him for confirmation, Lord Baelish looked deep in thought as he looked towards the window of the room, and Pycelle...well...he'd never seen the man look so awake in the many decades he'd known him.
"Yes it's true, dragons are back...and my son is it's rider." Was all that he said, Jon's eyes immediately darting towards Aegon.
"My other son, who's current location is currently unknown. How?" He asked as he linked his hands and placed them on top of the table, eyes baring down on his hand.
"The Prince seemed nervous, hesitant almost to listen to advice we gave him earlier today. He looked like he couldn't wait to leave and we were concerned but not surprised when we received word that his grace had left the keep to explore the city, Ser Jaime as his escort of course." Lord Varys intervened to which Jon seemed grateful.
"Do you want me to gather some guards to go and look for him your…" Ser Gerold began to say before they heard two quick knocks on the door and Ser Jaime popping his head into the room.
"Your grace. Apologies, we lost track of…" The Lannister knight began to say before he waved his explanation away.
"Yes yes you're forgiven and you won't do it again." He said as he raised an eyebrow at him. "Where is he?"
Ser Jaime sighed as he widened the door.
Stood there in the doorway was his son, slightly drunk and holding in his hands…
A loaf of bread.
A few of his council members turned away from the scene and looked at him like they were waiting for his response to whatever this was.
"What happened?" He asked as he did his best to not raise his voice.
"His grace had a liquid luncheon. He was helping out down the docks and was offered a drink as a thanks. It wasn't long before the ale was flowing and it all became a game." Ser Jaime explained as Jon stood their in the doorway without an ounce of shame on his face.
Clutching a loaf of bread.
"And you didn't try to stop him?" He asked, his eyes looking at the bread and trying to work out why it was present.
Jaime just made a face a subtly lifted his shoulder. As if to say "How?"
To his right, he could see Aegon was trying his best not to laugh, not even trying to remove the smile from his face.
Mother told me to watch out for his drinking, believing that he was using alcohol as an escape from everything that was happening right now.
He nodded towards Jon's hand "And the loaf?"
Jon stepped forward, steady for someone who was under the influence "A peace offering, an apology for being late." He said before leaning over Pycelle's shoulder and sliding the loaf down the table towards him.
First loaf of bread to be slid across the table of the small council?He thought rather amusingly as it came to a stop in front of him.
The people around the table just looked between him and the bread. Lord Tarly looked very annoyed with the whole situation.
"Why bread?" Aegon asked with a chuckle.
"In the North, it's given to guests as a sign of good faith. It's symbolic." Jon answered.
"There's a bakery on the way back to the keep and it was one of the only shops that was still open. It was the first thing he saw." Jaime added, receiving a dirty look from Jon when he did so.
He just shook his head before turning to Aegon.
"Escort your brother back to the family wing please. Make sure to pay your grandmother a visit, I'm sure she would love to see Jon, especially in his current state." He said. His son nodded and got to his feet, chuckling as he approached his brother.
I hope they get along.
"Oh and Jaime?" He said as the knight and his sons began to leave the room. The Kingsguard turned and looked at him.
"Yes your grace?"
"If I have two drunk sons by the end of the night, I'll ship you back to your father." He said with a slight smile. Jaime smiled back but at least looked regretful that he'd let his son get into the state that he had.
The door closed behind them and he let out a long sigh before chuckling when his eyes noticed the loaf of bread sat in front of him.
"As you can see, I've got my work cut out." He said with a chuckle, one that was matched by his council.
He's here though, and that's the main thing.
His children are safe and all in one place.
He had no idea what the future held.
Daenerys
"Daenerys." Her mother said as she looked between her and Jon, who had just been dropped off by a laughing Aegon.
"Yes?" She answered as she watched her nephew rub the belly of an overexcited direwolf.
"Be a dear and escort your nephew back to his room. I think he's had enough fun for today." She said. She knew her mother was happy to see her grandson again but not pleased with the state that he was in.
"I'll send the maids up to fill a bath for you. You stink of ale and fish." Her mother added as she followed Jon and Ghost out of her mother's personal solar and into the corridor where a smirking Ser Jaime was waiting for them.
It wasn't long before they made it up to his room, only a few doors down from her own.
Ghost immediately began sniffing around, first heading to Jon's belongings before checking out the rest of the room.
"Thanks again for taking care of him, I hope he wasn't too much trouble." She heard Jon say as she eyed his back that was turned towards her.
"He's been fine, actually going to miss him being around all the time." She said as she took a seat on the bed and stroked the white wolf where he laid. Ghost had seemed to already make himself at home.
"I'm sure you won't be saying that when he's slobbering all over your gowns." He said with a chuckle as he untied his sword belt and placed it on the bed, right in arms reach of her.
She always had an inquisitive mind, so it was no surprise to her when she reached forward and grabbed one of the swords.
"These are beautiful swords Jon, where did you find them? And why are they curved like they are?" She asked as she slowly unsheathed one of them. It felt surprisingly light compared to only sword that she'd ever lifted, that being Aegon's training sword when she'd accidentally knocked it over where it was leant against a fence.
Her breath hitched when she saw the colour of the blade, a dark steel almost the same shade as the night sky.
"The colour of them are a lot darker than swords I normally see." She said as she turned the blade towards the light from the candles on the wall. Ghost gave the sword a small sniff before realising it wasn't food and laying back down.
"My teacher told me that the blacksmith who made them for me made the swords to begin with but then bathes the blades in a mixture of powders and liquids, leaving the type of finish that you can see on that." He said as he nodded to the sword laid across her lap.
My teacher?
"Is that where you went for all those years? To learn how to fight?" She asked as she carefully placed the sword back in it's scabbard, which was curved like the blade and made from a dark polished wood.
It was safe to say that wherever he got them from, their culture was very different to theirs.
"Do you want to know the full story of where I went?" He asked as he threw his cloak on a chair in the corner of the room and untied the band that was holding his hair back from his face.
Wow.
Black inky curls escaped from it's confines and sprang down the sides of his head, combing a hand through them to combat the ones that were covering his face. She wasn't aware that his hair was that curly, only seeing him with his hair tied up.
It looks better down.
"Daenerys?" He said to her, a concerned look on his face.
"Hmm...pardon?" She said as she blinked and looked at him.
Silly girl.
He chuckled "You sure you're not a little drunk too? I asked if you would like to know where I've really been?" He said again, right before their was a couple of knocks on the door.
Ghost's head popped up at the noise but immediately rested it back down on the bed when he noticed it was just a couple of maids entering with jugs of water. They looked shocked to see her sat on the bed as they entered, one of them nearly dropping her jug as she bowed.
"Your grace. Apologies. We didn't mean to intrude." The girl said to her as she eyed her and Jon. She knew what kind of scenarios the young girl was conjuring up in her mind so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
"I'll let you tell me about your travels another time," She said as she placed his sword back on the bed and stood from it, brushing off any rogue hairs that Ghost may have left on her. "I'll let these helpful ladies get on with their duties."
She wasn't sure if her ears were deceiving her but she was sure there was a sound of slight disappointment to his reply "Oh, okay. Another time then." He said as he looked down and began to unbutton his gambeson. Her eyes began to widen, so too did the two maids pouring jugs of water into the copper tub. They had been quiet as they watched her and her nephew speak.
She looked down at Ghost who looked totally unbothered by the whole situation and gave him a light stroke over his head and down his neck "I'll see you later friend." She said to the direwolf, giving her a perfect distraction from what was happening in the room.
"Would you like help bathing your grace?" One of the maids said to Jon as she made her way to the door. He looked at her and then back to the maid as he pulled off his boots.
"That's the second time in the last day that I've been asked that question. Do I really look that simple?" He asked her, but not in a nasty way.
"I didn't mean to offend your grace, apologies." The maid squeaked out. She waved her hands at the maids for them to follow her out of the room, right at the same moment that Jon pulled his tunic over his head.
Get me out of this room.
"It's protocol Jon, the maids are told to ask and assist any of us if we so wish it." She explained as she opened the door and ushered the two girls out.
"Oh...sorry. I'm still learning." He said with a little chuckle as he started to untie his breeches. "Guess I'll talk with you tomorrow then Daenerys, good night." He said to her with a small smile as she walked through the door, the last thing she saw as she closed it was him pulling the rest of his clothes off and his bare arse sinking into the copper tub.
She sighed as the door closed.
Learning…
One could say she was learning too.
"Rough day your grace?" Ser Jaime asked her from where he stood guarding the corridor where all of their rooms were.
She gently snorted "A long day more like." She replied as she walked towards her room that was only a few doors down.
"I find a long sleep in your own bed helps with that particular problem your grace." He japed, that well known smirk on his face that they'd all gotten used to.
"Nothing gets past you does it ser?" She japed back as she smiled at him before entering her room and closing the door behind herself.
He was right though, her bed seemed to be calling for her, though she wasn't sure if it was because she was tired, or if it was for some other reason.