[Chapter Size: 3100 Words.]
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Thrid Person POV
Essos, 296 AC.
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The door to the room soon opened as Jon entered, Daenerys having asked him to come with Rhaenys finally calling for him.
"Rhaenys..." Jon approached as the girl looked at him.
"Jon..." She murmured. "Is that your real name?" She couldn't help but ask, watching him as he neared the bed.
"No... at least that's not how my mother named me, but if you want to know... she called me Aegon. That was after the sack of King's Landing..." Jon said.
"I see..." That was all she said as she watched Jon sit beside her, before looking at him intently.
"Did Daenerys come here? Was that your idea?" She asked.
"Yes... I thought it would be good for you to talk to another Targaryen..." Jon replied.
"Thank you for that." She was forced to thank him.
"That was nothing, how are you feeling?" He asked, glancing at her belly.
"I'm fine... and don't look at me like that, I don't want this child harmed. As strange as things are, he is my son..." She murmured, offended, as if Jon thought she might consider an abortion.
"I know... I know you wouldn't do that..." Jon said in a calm tone, though there were things beyond just wanting or not wanting the boy to live.
"I heard many things from Daenerys..." Rhaenys suddenly began to bring up a topic, practically trying to delay the inevitable.
"Well, I was lucky to find her in Pentos," Jon commented, settling beside the bed.
"Lucky? I heard here that you practically planned everything. I didn't know you were that manipulative..." She murmured with a slightly intense look, but breaking into a smile.
"Manipulative? No, I don't think that's it. I just organized the moment well enough to meet her and tell her the truth. Besides, she needed help..." Jon spoke with a small smile, admitting that his meeting with Daenerys wasn't purely by chance.
"It doesn't matter, it's really good that you found her. I'm happy, but also shocked by the way she described her brother. Is he as crazy as she said?" Rhaenys asked, curious.
"As crazy as I wanted to kill him. I only didn't because of Daenerys..." Jon admitted.
"It's not good to kill your own blood, Jon," Rhaenys murmured.
"You say that because you didn't know him. He's entirely his father's son. What he did to Daenerys is unforgivable to me." Jon commented.
"I see... in any case, what matters now is that Daenerys is here, and we are together now." She murmured, as she reached for Jon's hand, guiding it to her belly and pressing gently. Rhaenys began to think about her future and the child, wanting to have both Jon and the baby with her. "Soon, more of us will come..." She started, no longer wanting to delay the reason Jon was there.
"This baby is something I don't want to lose, Jon. Hey, maybe I feel strange about this, but I don't want to lose him either..." She declared, keeping her eyes fixed on him. "You know, I was upset... what my father did to your hand... it's not easy to think that my father abandoned us... and maybe I'll never forgive them, but you are someone I don't want to lose. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and this child. He is our son, our seed..." She murmured with a sad tone.
Jon placed his hand on her belly, then brought it up to her face as tears began to stream from her violet eyes, wiping them away with his fingers.
"I don't want anything to separate us either, Rhaenys... This child will not be a bastard. He will be the legitimate prince of Artica, and I can understand how you feel..." He said, after all, no one could ignore the feeling of betrayal knowing their father had abandoned their mother to marry another, but that was Jon's mother.
"The only thing I ask is that you do not speak ill of my mother. Even if you hate her, I will not allow you to do so in front of our son or anyone else, especially me... Knowing this, Rhaenys... do you still wish to be with me?" Jon declared firmly and asked with a more serious tone.
"Jon... Jon, it's fine. You are right. I won't say anything about her, and I'll keep my feelings to myself..." Rhaenys murmured reluctantly.
"That's fine, Rhaenys. I'm glad you're here with me, sister." Jon gave her a tender smile.
"Yes, now I have you, a brother I didn't even know existed..." She murmured, reaching out her hand and touching his in a gesture of affection between the two. "I have a concern... your wives... Won't it be bad for you to marry a third one?" She murmured after a brief silence.
"Not in the way you think. I am a man who made a commitment to them, letting them know I might take more wives..." Jon spoke with his usual confident tone, and now he would have Rhaenys, the woman he had felt the most attraction for. "Nothing will stop us from continuing our marriage. Besides, when you're ready, we will do just that." Jon concluded.
"Alright... another thing, I heard you have dragons. Do you really have them, Jon?" she murmured, looking at him intently, more curious than ever. After all, dragons were a dream for her, and Jon knew that very well from their conversations in Dorne.
"It's true... I was given an egg by Aemon when he served as the maester of the Wall many years ago. I knew the egg was alive, and I took it beyond the Wall with me." Jon said softly, as Rhaenys stared at him without blinking. Jon continued, "It took many moons for it to hatch. I had prepared it myself for the hatching... and when it did, a white quadruped dragon came into the world... He knew who I was the moment he laid eyes on me..." Jon smiled, remembering one of the most special days of his life— a boy who hatched a dragon. His joy that day could have surpassed any other he had in childhood.
"What's his name?" Rhaenys wanted to know.
"Eragon... my firstborn." Jon replied.
Rhaenys looked at him, even with a hint of envy. "Jon... will I also have a dragon one day?" She couldn't help but falter, not wanting to take advantage of Jon, but this was her lifelong dream, and she could imagine Jon's joy for her if she had the same experience.
"You might... but it's not my decision... it depends on the dragons. However, there will be many opportunities in the coming decades. After all, I want to have as many dragons as possible." He said.
"Incredible, will Artica be like Valyria, then?" Rhaenys seemed more and more enchanted, starting to open up with her incessant questions about dragons.
"I wouldn't say that, Artica will be something different from Valyria, something greater." Jon spoke.
"Can you tell me more about this place, where our child will live..." Rhaenys eagerly waited to hear more about Artica, since Daenerys couldn't share much, having only seen it in a dream.
Jon continued speaking about Artica to Rhaenys for the next few hours, and the girl, who had been lost just a day ago, now laughed and was excited as she listened to Jon's every word. Jon didn't leave the room as food was brought for both of them, and night fell while Jon explained many things, not just about dragons, but about the daily life in Artica and some of his plans.
"It's getting late... I might be selfish in asking you to stay... Won't your wife be angry?" Rhaenys murmured at the end, not wanting to be left alone like yesterday, while having rather dark thoughts.
"Yes." Jon finally said, not denying the mother of his child.
"Then share the bed with me. I want your embrace..." She said at last.
"Just give me a minute, I need to talk to Ygritte before staying with you." Jon stood up before starting to leave the room, with Rhaenys understanding.
Jon had a brief conversation with Ygritte, talking about his conversation with Rhaenys and her current state with the child.
"It seems like she's doing better..." Ygritte commented.
"Yes... she's more lively, although I know she's trying hard to adjust to many things... still, she seems much better than before..." Jon commented.
"Alright... I also think she needs your attention now. Just don't forget you have a wife also waiting to feel your warmth..." Ygritte said with a smile, kissing him lovingly.
Jon nodded and said his goodbyes, heading back to the room where Rhaenys was. He shared the bed with her, and she clung to him to stay in his arms. There was no sexual relationship between the two; she simply wanted to be there, holding onto Jon, deciding that this was the man with whom she would share her life.
The Arctic ships continued sailing through the sea between the southern tip of Dorne and Essos, heading further south. In the following days, Jon began to spend most of his time with Rhaenys, though he still had his duties as the commander of the entire fleet, as expected of the king of Artica, so he couldn't devote all his time to Rhaenys.
Daenerys frequently visited her, talking as much as she could and reading the books Jon kept in the room together, while Daenerys shared everything she learned from her private lessons.
When this happened with Jon present, the two Targaryen women listened to some of Jon's stories, some about Artica, the Wall, the northern cities, and even Winterfell. Occasionally, they asked about the time he won a tournament and named Arya the queen of beauty, leading to some laughs knowing that Arya wasn't the type to appreciate that very much.
Sometimes Jon would simply stay there, writing some things in his books while the two women talked to each other, even discussing the paintings Ygritte had made, scattered around the room, or even talking about Ghost, who stayed in the room all day so Jon could keep an eye on Rhaenys.
When Jon had his duties with the fleet, he would leave even Ygritte with Rhaenys, though Rhaenys felt uncomfortable with the redhead's suspicious and intense gaze at first. Eventually, they shared some of Ygritte's paintings while Rhaenys drew there, getting to know each other better.
Jon had told Rhaenys that Ygritte was quite stubborn and suspicious of many things but was a woman who just wanted to protect those she cared about. Once she got used to Rhaenys, she would become much more open. Rhaenys acted accordingly with the queen of Artica from that point.
Jon was pleased with Rhaenys' development in her interactions with others, and Arya came to visit her with Wind. Wind's presence was a big surprise for Rhaenys, who had never seen a child of the forest before and had a similar reaction to Daenerys, though she hid it well since Jon had warned her beforehand and described what she would see to avoid startling her.
Wind cautiously watched from behind Arya as Rhaenys analyzed this being, a member of a race she never imagined seeing. At the same time, she thought about how this being would be the one to conduct her marriage ceremony through the old gods.
Then, a week later, Rhaenys was feeling better and started going outside for some walks, cared for by the same healer who had helped Daenerys in the beginning, taking strolls while talking with everyone. Ygritte eventually couldn't stand sleeping alone in her bed and started staying with Jon and Rhaenys. There were no relations between them, but Jon found himself every night embraced by two women, one on each side.
As the journey continued, the day of the ceremony finally arrived, with Rhaenys being led by her aunt to where Jon was waiting, Wind in front of him with an unusually serious expression, replacing her usual one. She was about to conduct her first ceremony, and behind her stood a small Weirwood tree, one that Jon had grown himself from a sapling he brought from Artica, intending to plant it somewhere in Essos since he couldn't travel with it.
Rhaenys approached Jon as Wind began. She started reciting her words while wrapping a ribbon around Jon and Rhaenys' extended hands, continuing to speak.
"... Before the Old Gods, these two souls are being bound together, linking them as one, for eternity..."
She said, touching their joined hands. "Now look at each other and say the final words," Wind requested.
Jon and Rhaenys looked at each other, locking eyes for a few seconds as their different-colored eyes met before they began to speak simultaneously.
"I am hers, and she is mine."
"I am his, and he is mine."
"From this day, until the end of my days."
"From this day, until the end of my days."
And with that, they finished by moving closer to each other, sealing it with a kiss.
"From now on, you shall be known as Rhaenys Artica, the third queen of Artica." Wind declared at the end, while everyone who witnessed the wedding exclaimed.
"Long live our king and queens!" they all shouted.
With that, the wedding was brief, and they returned to their routine while heading south. Jon's marriage wasn't even consummated, waiting for the child to be born first, while Jon gave Rhaenys his attention whenever she came to him.
"Rhaenys Artica... it seems I never imagined calling myself that..." Rhaenys murmured in bed while Jon sat reading a book.
"Yes... I didn't expect to have a wife named Rhaenys either..." Jon gave a half-smile at his own comment.
"You never told me why you kept the name Jon... Weren't you named Aegon?" Rhaenys finally asked. She had doubts about it, after all, it was a sensitive point, with Jon being called by the name of his late brother.
"Because I became who I am today with the name Jon. I built Artica as Jon, so I will remain Jon in any book written about me in the future." Jon replied.
"I think I can understand that..." Rhaenys murmured before turning to Jon with another subject. "How do you imagine our child will be? Your other children have a Targaryen appearance, don't they?" She asked curiously.
"We don't know... he might be born like you and me, or even a Targaryen like Lyanna and Jon... But I would still like to have a child with my Stark appearance." Jon admitted, even though he knew the child was a part of him within the woman, the appearance was impossible to predict.
Jon continued talking with Rhaenys while Ygritte joined them a moment later. Meanwhile, in Lys... the atmosphere in the city was not good. All the guards and soldiers had been warned of a possible confrontation with the Articans, and though the chances were small, they still had to fight and try to survive.
However, the next few days of tension proved to be nothing, as everyone kept their eyes on the empty sea, with no sign of the Articans. Nor could they know about other ships, as no one wanted to sail with that fleet cutting through the waters.
Things were not going well for Zahlan Maerys. The other Magisters were clearly irritated by his son's actions and how he had put Lys in such a situation. Zahlan even did something that shocked everyone— to relieve the pressure on himself, he first killed all the guards and the counselor with Zafir. But what shocked them even more was how he disowned his own son, stripping him of his name and turning him practically into a slave, leaving the city in shame for tarnishing his name.
He would use this as proof to show that he held no enmity against the Articans, trying to calm the situation. And they waited for the trade ships to come to them.
Yet, no massive fleet was seen. The harbor remained empty until rumors began to circulate that the Artican fleet was no longer in the sea. The boldest captains started sailing again, and ships even began appearing on the horizon, without the flag of Artica, docking at the port while the Magisters themselves sought news.
"The Artican fleet... is not in the sea... we saw them heading south... that's why we came to the city..." was the response of a man who seemed to be a pirate bringing slave cargo.
"To the south?" repeated one of the Magisters, stunned, looking at his companions. "They don't plan on coming here?"
The magistrates were quite surprised, not understanding what was happening. This confusion lasted for days as maritime trade slowly returned to normal. Then, a ship from Dorne bearing the Martell flag arrived in the city. Oberyn disembarked from the ship along with his daughters and lover. He knew the powerful men of this place well since Dorne neighbored Lys, and he headed towards one of the mansions.
"This is bad... they decided to ignore Lys due to some misunderstanding..." Oberyn murmured, frustrated. He had come here intending to find his niece, whom he truly loved, like his late sister. He didn't mind appearing in front of the Articans and asking to bring Rhaenys back, but his best chance was in Lys. After all, the Artican ships were so fast that his could never catch up unless they stopped.
"Well, we have no time to waste, let's head back to the sea and go to the far south of Essos..." Oberyn didn't want to waste any more time and began leaving Lys, though he loved the city's prostitutes, he had something far more important.
Meanwhile, Jon remained calm, gazing out at the sea. He had decided not to trade with Lys after what had happened, and now they were heading to their next stop, Volantis.
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*Raccoon Here:* I did a wedding somewhat similar to those of the Seven, as I managed to find a description of a wedding by the Old Gods.
Anyway, we'll have one more city and some events before heading to Valyria.
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