The Wall 305 AC.
Dany.
She was a little reluctant to leave the Mountain Clans, their welcome had been a boon to her spirit and she, even after asking Aegon, wondered why the North had not felt the same way about her. While he had said that these men were truer and more honest, Dany wasn't sure that was the only reason. Thinking back now to how Sansa had welcomed her and what Aegon had said about his cousin, she began to be more certain that the well had been poisoned too, and had it not then her welcome may have been different.
Sansa had set her up to be made to feel unwelcome, to be distrusted, and possibly even hated. Oh, she had no doubt that some may have felt that way without any encouragement, and others may have been wary, such was the nature of men after all. However, she was more and more certain that Sansa had whispered words and let it be known that Dany sought more than she said, that her motives weren't as pure as they seemed to be.
As she flew she wondered how things would have gone had Aegon not stood up. What it would have been like if he'd leaned more to his cousins than her? He was the reason she had come, yes she'd come to save people too but without her feelings for him then she'd perhaps not have or certainly not until events in the south had been resolved. Would she have flown across the wall to save another? Given up her path to the throne, even if it was just temporarily? She found herself doubting she would, had he then not shown he was completely on her side she'd have found herself alone in a place where people hated her.
"Dany, there." Aegon shouted and she shook her head, gods she'd been thinking of this since they left the mountains and now the Wall was in front of them.
She looked down and could see no signs of life, Aegon had told her they'd fly to the Shadow Tower and on to Castle Black itself. Feeling a chill she wrapped herself up a little more tightly and on they flew, soon finding ever more signs of abandonment. When Aegon went to land she tried to shout to tell him, no, and when he didn't hear her or perhaps ad and landed anyway, she stayed in the air.
Looking up at her he nodded that she was doing the right thing and then moved into the abandoned castle. Though to call it a castle was a jape of some sort. That Aegon had been allowed to come to this place, his uncle allowing a prince, a king, to sign his rights away and be doomed to a life in a place such as this, well Ned Stark was lucky he was dead. It also made her sad to think that she had more kin here too, that her great uncle many times removed had spent his life here growing old in such a cold foreboding place.
Dany breathed a little easier when Aegon came out of the castle, he had something wrapped in his hands which he stuck inside his gambeson. He didn't stay long on the ground either and soon enough he was on Rhaegal's back and they were flying along the Wall, heading east to Eastwach she imagined. They were some distance away when they saw the first group of them, the army of the dead had truly breached and she looked as Aegon seemed to stare at something in particular.
"Dany, fly high, when I call give them the fire." Aegon shouted, Dany barely hearing is words.
"Be careful." she shouted back as she did what he asked and watched him fly far too low.
She saw them then, three pale white men on horses and she looked on in horror as Aegon flew closer. The image of her son being impaled with a spear of ice forcing her almost to scream and tell her son to fly higher. But the spear never came and Aegon instead unleashed Rhaegal's fire upon the horsemen. Dany looked on eagerly as the flames cleared, the men stood, their mounts having burned away and she watched as Rhaegal set more dead men ablaze below her.
"Ilagon Drōgon dohaeragon aōha lēkia." (Down Drogon help your brother.) she said and the dragon did as she asked.
The two dragons laid down wave upon wave of flames on the army that marched below. Dany flew high when Aegon did, watching as he pointed forward, Drogon quickly joining his brother as they flew further east. Seeing Eastwatch she was awestruck, had she not been here before she'd have been stunned. But she had and looking at the large gap where a wall had once been left her speechless.
Again Aegon flew low and she was thankful when he didn't land, more so when he flew high once more and pointed back south. It was over the Gift that she saw it in the distance, a storm that couldn't be natural. She watched as Aegon flew close and pointed away from the storm and felt relieved for some reason that they were not flying into it.
When they were sure there was no danger for miles around they landed close to a stream. Even though the dragons could keep flying for longer if needed, Dany herself could do with stretching her weary limbs and rest couldn't do them any harm. She found herself giggling when she saw Aegon stab his sword into the water, once then twice before she looked on amazed when he pulled up a large fish. Watching on eagerly when he did so again a few moments later. After he filled his water skin he then walked to where she sat.
"We're having fish then?" she asked smiling.
"Beats dried meat and don't you wish for something warm in your belly, my love?" he said and she shook her head at the expression on his face and how his voice sounded.
"You're getting better at that, I don't know yet if it pleases me or not, however."
"Well, my duty is to please my queen is it not? Perhaps I'll refrain from such talk until she's decided?" Aegon said sparking the flint and setting the fire.
"For now perhaps your queen needs more talk to decide." she said with a smirk.
"As my queen commands." he said leaning forward to kiss her softly.
She smelt the fish cook and her belly rumbled, Aegon was right, warm food was certainly preferable to the cold dried meat and hard bread, especially here in the cold of the North. When it was cooked she practically devoured it, Aegon sitting laughing as he delicately ate his own.
"And just what is so funny?" she asked with a smirk as she licked her fingers.
"I'm supposed to be the Northern Savage and you the Well Mannered Queen, it seems our roles have been reversed my love." he said handing her the half of his fish he'd not eaten.
"No, you should eat it Aegon."
"I'm obviously less hungry, eat it please." he said and she nodded reluctantly and then ate it anything but.
When she was done she took a large swallow of the cool water finding it surprisingly more refreshing than if it had it been wine. Then she sat back and enjoyed the warmth of the fire before turning to ask Aegon if what he had hoped to be proved had been.
"Aye, it has. There was three of them on that hill Dany and more than one spear, why didn't the others throw some?" he asked.
"I don't know." she said shaking her head.
"Because they couldn't, after he… after he killed Viserion when I was looking at him, one of them carried the spear to him, why? Why not use it themselves? Because only he could have thrown it and he's not on the ground anymore Dany, he's in the air." Aegon said.
While it hurt her to think of her son's death, she remembered seeing that herself. He had thrown the first and then was going to throw the second, the others just stood there watching. Had she not just seen it with her own eyes perhaps she'd have thought that it was the Night King who personally wished to do it, now though Aegon was right and that changed things.
They had nothing to fear from the ground, her children couldn't be hurt from there anymore and she could feel the thoughts of what she would do to them now threatenening to raceway from her. The smile on Aegon's face though was one she welcomed when she saw it as she could clearly see her was thinking the same as she. The thoughts she was having of burning them all weren't wrong, they were good, just, as Aegon's had always been.
"We'll make them pay." she said determinedly.
"We'll burn them all, Dany, all of them." he said and she smiled.
They took to the air a little bit later, Dany feeling rested and as if a weight had been lifted off her chest. The idea that the danger came now from the sky was a worrying one but in the sky, she could protect her children more. If the threat was there then she'd be ready for it and with Aegon beside her, Rhaegal and Drogon would see their brother at peace once more.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Tyrion.
The ride back to Winterfell had been annoying and arriving back without the queen with them even more so. Ser Jorah had insisted they move quickly and so he'd been forced to ride with the main force of the Dothraki, and the Dothraki rode fast and hard. Behind them, Ser Davos, Missandei, and Grey Worm moved much more slowly and he'd have preferred to ride with them, but he couldn't risk the queen and Jon Snow having arrived and agreeing to things without him. He took comfort also in the fact that Varys looked just as uncomfortable as he, the eunuch much more used to carriages, and yet he'd insisted on riding back also.
Now though as they rode in the gates, he was angry to see they'd not even come here themselves. Instead, they were off somewhere in the North on yet another fool's errand. Tyrion glared at the Northern Lords who awaited them, Sansa Stark standing with them and looking anything like a queen and he knew then that what Lyanna Mormont had said was true. After being helped to dismount, he watched as Lord Manderly and Lady Mormont spoke, the fat lord's smile telling him that he'd heard what he'd hoped for.
"Lord Hand, Lord Varys, Ser Jorah, welcome back to Winterfell. I'll see that arrangements are made to have you and you men housed." Sansa said her tone and expression very different than it had been though her eyes remained the same.
"Lord Tyrion, Lady Mormont tells me their graces have flown North, to see to the Umbers and Karstarks?" Lord Manderly said, a question but not a question Tyrion felt.
"They have my lord, I had hoped they'd have arrived back by now." he said and saw the brief bit of worry on the fat lord's face, something he had no intention of removing.
"The rest of our forces are behind us Lord Manderly, we should begin to see about making spaces ready for them." Jorah said though Manderly kept his eyes on him rather than the knight for a few moments longer.
"Of course Ser Jorah, come, my own men will help settle the Dothraki in and find room for the unsullied."
He watched as the fat lord, Lyanna Mormont and Ser Jorah, walked away with Varys surprisingly joining them. He then felt her eyes on him and turned to see Sansa Stark staring intently at him.
"Lord Tyrion, I never got the chance to thank you for what you did for me in King's Landing." she said smiling.
"Nor I, you, for leaving me to take the full extent of the blame for Joffrey's death, my lady." he said the annoyance in his voice not enough to make her frown or change her expression, not even her smile dropping as it seemed that Sansa had learned to play the game somewhat at least.
"You could have thanked Lord Baelish for that personally my lord, though you'd have had to arrive sooner." Sansa said, her smile truer now.
"I heard your sister killed him." he said and saw the briefest crack.
"We all killed him. Speaking of my sister, did she not ride back with you?"
"Lady Arya is riding with the unsullied and the others the queen rescued, my lady."
"Perhaps we can speak later, my lord." Sansa said with a curt nod.
"I'd like that my lady." he smiled, as he was led towards the keep.
There was a time he was incredibly attracted to Sansa Stark, Shae had been right about that. The girl had been and was still a beauty, true her red hair wasn't silver and her blue eyes didn't come close to violet. Yet that alone wouldn't have been enough to dissuade him, it was that there was something lacking in her. Something was different now in her than there had been when she was a younger girl.
That innocence, naivety, and hopefulness was gone, the childlike wonder of knights and songs, of maidens and tourneys, was no longer there. Though he hated to admit it even to himself, it was that more than her physical looks which had attracted him so. He'd been with whores and paid for their company, he'd even taken a maidenhead once or twice, but never had it not been offered, never had he been able to persuade with anything other than coin.
Jaime could have, Jon Snow too he'd have no doubt, but him the imp, the demon monkey. No maiden would sleep with him of their own free will, none that he'd not have to cajole in some way. Coin, privilege, rank, or simply being a Lannister was all he had to offer. With Sansa, it would have no doubt been the same, what she may have been willing to do to be free would still have been coercion of some sort. Yet he'd hoped and dreamt and at one point thought it possible and now that girl was long gone. He sighed as he turned and found Lady Brienne standing there as if she'd been waiting for him.
"Lord Tyrion." the tall lady said and Tyrion once again cursed his stature, the image of her talking to him enough to allow sneers and laughter around the yard no doubt.
"My lady?"
"Ser Jaime, my lord, he arrived alone and was placed in a dungeon. I offered to fight for him after…"
"After what?" he asked annoyed.
"After Lady Sansa, after Queen Sansa as she was then sentenced him to death."
He felt his heart stop, Jaime sentenced to death, his brother was… no wait she said he was in a dungeon, didn't she?.
"Is my brother alive?" he asked worriedly.
"He is my lord, but I've not been allowed to speak to him, no one has. Lord Manderly ordered that no one could until her grace arrived back." she said her voice showing her concern.
"I thank you, my lady, I'll speak to Lord Manderly and see that you can visit my brother." he said and she looked at him relieved.
"Thank you, my lord.".
He walked off in the direction that Lord Manderly and the others had, wondering why Sansa hadn't immediately mentioned Jaime to him and just exactly what game she was playing now. That she wasn't cowed and beaten was clear, she may have lost her crown but he doubted it had changed how she felt. If anything it had probably reinforced her animosity towards the queen.
He saw Lord Manderly standing with his guard, Ser Jorah and Varys were nowhere nearby and the fat lord was looking out as the Dothraki raised their tents. Tyrion had to admit it was an impressive sight, all around him they were going up and though it had been less than an hour since he'd spoken to the lord, some were already fully erected. Making his way over to the lord he saw one of the guards move and Lord Manderly turned his way.
"Ah Lord Tyrion, gods these Horselords, I've never seen the like of it before." Lord Manderly said with a smile on his face.
"They and the unsullied Lord Manderly, when it comes to things like this they leave even the most highly trained Westerosi knights far behind. Lady Brienne informed me that my brother is a prisoner here, may I ask why my lord?." he asked.
"Ser Jaime was found guilty and sentenced to death by the queen." Lord Manderly said.
"A queen you've since seen fit to replace." he replied pointedly.
"A queen none the less my lord. It'll be up to their graces to decide your brother's fate, for now, he stays where he is."
"I am my queen's Hand my lord, I'd ask you to release him to my custody."
"No."
"No?" he asked annoyed.
"Your queen is not my queen yet, not until she and my king have returned. Once they have I'll be more than glad to defer to their wishes but not until then." Lord Manderly said looking at him.
"May I see him?" he asked defeated.
"You may but under guard Lord Tyrion." Lord Manderly said nodding to one of his guards and sending him off he presumed to arrange it.
Walking through the keep heading to the dungeons he felt his annoyance rise, he had disliked the North the first time he came here, the cold, the disdainful looks he'd received from the Northmen. Yet as a Lannister he seemed to get more respect than he had since his return as the Hand of the Queen. What was the use of power and position if no one respected one and in reality, you didn't have the other he thought bitterly. Soon enough he walked past the cells before finally reaching his brother's.
"Tyrion?" Jaime said with a small smile on his face.
"It's good to see you brother." he replied his own smile more muted.
The Gift 305 AC.
Tormund.
For two days and nights, they'd run, what was left of them anyway. If he'd had time to think or to make any sort of plan it would be south to Winterfell and to his friend they'd have headed. The dead didn't give you time to think though nor the time to breathe and the dead were coming. Tired, hungry, cold, he looked at the others with him, other than those left at Winterfell these were the last of the Free Folk, less than ten men all that remained of those he'd brought with him to Eastwatch.
Tormund knew what a defeated man looked like, he had seen it in their eyes after the southern king had broken the greatest army the north had ever seen. In Mance's when the red witch burned him, though he had seen peace in his old friend's eyes too when the arrow from Jon Snow hit. Now he saw it again and if he had one of those things the southern ladies spent their time prettying themselves in front of, he had no doubt he'd see it in his own.
Despite the direness of the situation though he found himself smiling, his thoughts filled with blond hair and blue eyes, these the right kind of blue thank the gods. He sighed, they could have had babies together, great big monsters who'd have conquered the world. Hearing the sounds all around him brought him back to earth, someone else it seemed would conquer it long before then.
"RUN" he shouted.
He heard the screams as he lost more men he'd bled beside, some running beside him while others ran with Beric and his flaming sword. The woods they'd taken refuge in was perhaps not such a good idea after all, as around them the dead came from behind trees, and in the dark of the night, everything looked the same. So much so that one of his men attacked a branch thinking it a dead man's arm, Tormund dragging the man away for it by the scruff of the neck.
Then there was fire and it was glorious, Tormund looking up to see the black shape of the Dragonqueen's mighty beast as it laid down the flames and burned countless of the dead. Small but mighty the Dragonqueen was and though he could barely make out the dark shape of the dragon, she with her silver hair and white clothes was clearly visible on it's back against the night sky. He saw the other one then, it's green color easier to make out in the darkness and then he shook his head, it couldn't be, could it?
"Jon, down here." he shouted waving his axe as the dragon flew over him and laid down flames once more.
A few moments later he found himself fighting for his life. Though the dragons had taken care of most of the dead they'd not been able to deal with those closest to him. Had they then he may have been kissed by fire just like the mean dog was. His axe moved and a head came off, Beric's flaming sword taking care of another. Tormund felt himself being pushed to the ground and moved back to get out of the way of the club that was aimed at his head, only to see the dead man's head taken from his shoulders.
"Get up you lazy fucker." he heard a voice call down to him and he laughed as he grabbed the hand that was offered and he was firmly pulled to his feet.
"My little crow." Tormund said as he embraced Jon Snow, the smile on his face covering up the relief he felt.
"The others?" Jon asked as he looked at him, Tormund shaking his head sadly "Come this is not the place to talk, looks like you're going for a flight on a dragon once more Tormund."
He walked with him to the dragon, the queen sitting on the black one as Beric and some of their men climbed nervously behind her, Jon, him and the others walking to the green one. That they'd lost two more men was both not surprising and far better than it could have been and Jon was right this wasn't the place to talk. If it had been then he'd be asking how he'd managed to tame one of the queen's beasts.
"Sōvegon Rhaīgal" (Fly Rhaegal) he heard Jon say, Tormund not recognizing it as the old tongue and wondering what words it was he was speaking, though the dragon taking to the air soon stopped him thinking about that.
They were flying, he was flying, and this time on a dragon being ridden as if it was a horse by a man who had already conquered death once before. It wasn't long until he was laughing like a fool and were Jon not so concentrated on keeping the beast in the air then he knew he'd have to answer questions. These he'd be happy to do as he thought of his beauty and the babies they'd have one day.
He was confused when they flew east and not south, though as dawn broke he was perhaps as happy to see it as he had ever been. Then he heard Jon say something to the dragon once more and they were landing on the ground, Tormund almost falling to the ground as he climbed down the wing.
"Dragonqueen." he said with a large smile, one which got bigger when he saw Jon's frown as it looked like he was going to lift her from the ground.
"Tormund, I'm sorry we couldn't get there sooner." the queen said and he shook his head.
"You and the little crow saved us, I owe you for that." he said seriously the queen nodding.
"You have my thanks too your grace, and you also Jon." Beric said.
"What happened?" Jon asked looking at them both "All of it, the dragon especially."
He let Beric tell the story, for once it was a tale he wasn't willing to tell, not yet at least. It didn't take him long to notice a few things, the queen was sad each time the dragon was mentioned and Jon Snow was doing his best to comfort her. Tormund smirked, she'd stolen him after all and thanks be to the gods he'd not tripped over himself to act otherwise.
"Your armies?" he asked hopefully looking at the queen, Jon sitting beside her and holding her hand.
"Are heading to Winterfell." the queen said.
"The Crows?" he asked knowing that despite his own feelings, to Jon there were men there he still thought of as brothers.
"Castle Black was deserted, the stables empty, there were no bodies so…"
"Then they probably rode and are heading to Winterfell." Beric said Jon nodding to him.
"Eat, rest, we'll fly in a few hours." Jon said as he sent men to fetch wood and see if there was any food nearby.
A little while later he found himself knee-deep in water, the fish slipping from his hands and the laughter thankfully the queen's and not Jon Snow's. Though he soon heard that too, his friend joining him in the water and using his sword to spear the fish he'd almost caught.
"That was mine you fucker." he said looking at Jon, the smile on his face and the way he stood different than the normal straight face and hunched shoulders he wore most days.
"It still is." Jon said throwing it to the ground as he looked down and speared another.
After eating, he found Jon standing by the dragon just looking into its eyes and speaking to it softly as if it was that great big wolf of his. Tormund looked on fascinated as he did so, when he realized he was there Jon motioned him over, and nervously he walked towards him, the large eyes of the dragon on him all the way.
"I'm sorry about the Free Folk, had I known or if I could change it." Jon said his voice low and the sadness and regret clear.
"Are you a god, Jon Snow?"
"What?"
"Are you a god?" he asked once again.
"No."
"Then you could not change it. You asked we went, you didn't order us to do so. My people follow who they chose and we chose you, those who are still alive chose you still." he said before quickly adding "I'm still not fucking kneeling though."
The laughter was true and loud and he doubted he'd ever seen him do so before. True he'd laugh at something funny and he'd seen him smile more than once. This was different though and he was sure he knew why.
"You and the Dragonqueen, you are together?" he asked.
"We're to be married." Jon said.
"Good, I like weddings." he said wiggling his eyebrows, Jon laughing once more.
"It's good to see you old friend, truly, I'm glad you're with me."
"Always, king crow."
How long they'd been in the air when he saw them below he couldn't tell, though he could see Jon's relief when they landed. His own feelings on the black brothers he could put aside for now though he was happy enough for his friend. After watching Jon hug one of the men and speak to him and some others, they were soon back in the air and finally heading south. Winterfell and his beauty he thought with a smile as he looked and caught Jon once again staring at the queen and her dragon ahead of them, laughing when the green dragon began to fly faster.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Sansa.
She had not expected them to arrive so quickly, though given they were an army of horse riding savages perhaps she should have. Seeing Lord Manderly's smile she had wanted to see him gutted like the fat pig he was, the same with the little girl from Bear Island. Scowls and glares were all Lyanna Mormont ever shot her way and to see her smirking as she spoke to Wyman and to her cousin was enough to leave her furious.
Were it not for Tyrion's presence she may have lost her composure, her former or was it, current husband, another thing she'd need to resolve going forward, would be key in what she planned to do. As Hand to the Queen, he was part of her inner circle and Sansa was certainly bound to be anything but. She wondered how much Jon would shame her with it when he returned, for shame her he surely would and her mother's words once again began to make more sense.
" Bastards are lustful creatures, my love, they want what isn't theirs and will do whatever they can to get it. Never trust them or keep them too close and never allow them to have power over you. For a bastard with power is the most dangerous thing of all."
As a child Jon had confused her, she knew quite clearly how her mother felt about him and her father though he'd look at him often, never treated him as he did Robb, Bran, or Rickon. The smiles he did shoot Jon's way were more private, hidden things. Septa Mordane would echo her mother's words and Jeyne and she would keep well away from him. They'd go so far as to cross the yard rather than risk crossing paths and when they did neither would speak to him nor even acknowledge his presence.
She'd always referred to him as her half brother and created an invisible wall between him and her true brothers, even Arya who she often fought with and who was the bane of her life was to her someone she cared for more than Jon. Yet he apart from being a bit sullen, he had never done anything to make her fear him as her mother said she should, he'd never even complained about her apathy or avoidance.
" That's what they do Sansa sweetling, they lull you into thinking you can trust them and then they take everything you hold dead for their own." her mother said as she brushed her hair.
" But surely growing up with us, he'd come to love us, to think of us as his kin. Bran or Rickon wouldn't try to steal Winterfell from Robb, why would Jon?" she asked feeling the sting as the brush got caught in a knot in her hair.
" Daemon Blackfyre was raised amongst his trueborn brothers, Sansa. Raised in the Red Keep itself and knighted by his father's own hand and you know what came after?"
" The Blackfyre rebellions." she said, while she'd not learned much of history, the Targaryen's had always fascinated her.
" Indeed, they're never happy with their lot Sansa, that boy has been given a good home and raised well above his station and would still demand far more than his due."
Her mother's words had proved prophetic and now what should have been hers by right had been stolen from her not once but twice. That it left her in a terrible position only the least of her worries, the marriage that was being suggested could end any hope she had of holding a grip on the North. Should they have children, more than one, than he'd have an heir to sit in Winterfell as well as one in King's Landing when the queen took the Iron Throne.
She left her room and walked to the Godswood, though it was her brother and not gods she'd come to see. Bran was as usual sitting in his chair alone and looking at the white tree and its scowling face, Sansa glad at least one of her brothers knew his place.
"I can offer you no help." Bran's voice said, as usual he was devoid of emotion and sounding very much as if he wasn't even a man at all.
"I need to know what to do brother, about Jon, about the Targaryen." she said the last word sounding bitter to even her ears.
"Kneel." Bran said and Sansa for a moment thought he was telling her to pray, so confused and without a plan, she was about to, and then she realized it wasn't the gods he was telling her to kneel to.
"I'll not kneel to her, to him, not to them." she said angrily.
"Kneel or be brought to your knees, those are the only choices you have."
She stormed from the godswood, her brother was no help once again and she cursed the family that had been left to her. Robb would have known how to handle Jon, he was better than him in every way and there'd have been no question of him getting the better of her true brother. Though it would have left her no closer to her throne she'd have welcomed his advice, welcomed family that cared for her wishes.
Bran was, she didn't know what he was, and Arya was even stranger than before and if anything a bigger threat than ever. That her sister may be on Jon's side now wasn't lost on her and she once again found herself cursing her decisions. She should have waited until she knew he had fallen at the Battle of the Bastards and then maybe she should have allowed for Littlefinger's plans to take more shape.
Though that would have cost her a sister and she had felt it was right to do as she had done, at the time at least. She'd picked Arya over Littlefinger and once more she found herself wondering if she'd made the right choice. Had she chosen too soon? Should she have kept Littlefinger around to deal with Jon before she made her move? The second-guessing that she'd been doing ever since Jon had returned with the Dragonqueen was almost paralyzing her into inaction.
As she walked across the courtyard she looked to see the lords now all looking on, the Dothraki tents surrounded the keep and she felt the walls closing in. She hurried to her room and called for a servant, she needed to act, to do something, to take back control of her future and fate. The longer she did nothing the closer she'd be to spending a life on her knees and she had promised herself that she'd never be placed in such a powerless position ever again. She began to write and called for a servant to deliver her message, after all, she knew this game and it was time to play.
"You sent for me, my lady." the young girl asked and Sansa ground her teeth, only days before she'd have been called your grace.
"I did, take this to Lord Tyrion." she said handing her the sealed note, the girl scurrying off to do as she bid.
She sat there smiling as she began to work out what to do, the plans taking shape in her head, and then she felt a chill run down her spine when she heard a voice in her head.
" When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die, there is no middle ground" the voice in her head said, the woman who spoke now a queen now herself.
Greywater Watch 305 AC.
Howland Reed.
Life was a strange mysterious thing, something that in all his years he'd never truly gotten to grips with. It's intricacies, contradictions, and the notion of his place in the great tapestry that the gods had woven. He was a Lord and Servant, a Father and Husband, and sitting in front of the Heart Tree each day as had become his custom, he felt he'd failed in every regard.
He'd kept his promise to his liege lord and broken one to the woman who'd stood up for him. He'd done what his gods had told him and it had cost him a son and the love of his wife. Howland had sat and waited and in doing so had lost the respect of a man and a woman that he greatly respected. Why? Because they'd told him too, they had shown him what would happen had he done what he wished, and yet most of it had happened anyway.
"Here and now Howland, in front of this Heart Tree I'll have your oath, you'll not tell him the truth, that you leave up to me." Ned Stark said, the infant boy in his arms as he spoke.
" He needs to know the truth, Ned, about her at the very least."
" And he will, when I deem it so and not before, he's my nephew Howland, my blood and it's my choice when Jon learns who he is."
" That's not his name." he said shaking his head.
" It is now, your word Howland lest I be forced to do what I do not wish, your oath before the gods."
" I swear I'll not speak of her to him before you do." Howland said and Ned glared at his choice of words but accepted them all the same.
He had thought it would have happened by now, that once he knew Aegon was safe he'd have told him the truth, and yet he had been proved wrong and had each day since cursed a man he'd thought his friend. He had saved Ned's life that day and the more he heard about Aegon's life, the more he wondered if he had been wrong to do so. Had Ser Arthur lived would Aegon have had a better life? Howland quickly began to think he might and each time he heard about Jon Snow's own at Winterfell, the more sure he was of it.
When he heard Ned had let the boy go swear his life away at the wall was when he realized that far from honorable, Ned was in truth a liar, a traitor to his blood, and a man who picked his friend over his nephew. The depression he had felt knowing he had failed wasn't allowed to last too long as his god's called out to him. Howland doing just as they asked and sending his son and daughter to once again serve a Stark. All the while believing it was the wrong one he'd sent them too.
"Why? What was the point of it all?" he almost shouted in front of the tree, not surprised at all when they refused to answer.
The war had come and he'd sat and watched, events not for him to take part in, and yet through it all he had wondered about the what-ifs. What if Aegon had left the tower that day in Arthur's arms? What if he'd gone to Winterfell and broken his oath? What if Aegon had marched to war with his brother by his side? Would the Targaryen's old allies come to bear when they found out a son of Rhaegar's lived and if they had? What if? What if? What If?.
When Galbart and Maege arrived battered, bruised, and in Galbart's case lucky to be alive, Howland had thought he was being given a second chance. That his gods had a plan after all and though events had gone awry, things would soon be righted and when his time came he'd go to them happy.
" King Robb named Jon Snow his heir, he legitimized him and we're to head to the Wall and see him released from his vows. The men with us will take their oaths to replace him. "Galbart said.
" We've to organize an attack from the South, Howland, take back the Moat so the king can cross through the Neck and march to Winterfell, once this damn wedding has taken place." Maege said.
" You didn't want to attend, Maege?" he asked with a smirk.
" Sup with Freys, were I a man I'd rather cut my cock off." Maege said her disgust clear.
And then once again while men plotted and planned, Gods laughed he thought bitterly. The news soon reached them of the Red Wedding and Maege Mormont a woman who'd stand and face an army alone with her mace stood and broke right there in front of him. Dacey was her heir, her pride and joy, everything she had hoped for poured into a living being and she had fallen. The Greatjon too and so many others all lost and with them their King and his mother.
Howland had not shared the news he'd received about what they'd done with Robb's body, of how they'd desecrated it with the head of his wolf. They were broken enough without thinking of that, Maege in sprit and Galbart in body. Both would recover he knew but he wondered if either of them would ever be the same again. As for him he'd wept, shouted, and argued with his gods, forsaken them, beseeched them, and finally asked them to let the dead rest.
He hadn't known Robb Stark and yet he'd mourned him, what little he knew of Catelyn had only made him mourn the thoughts of the mother the children had lost, and not the woman herself. She like Ned he had spared no second thought to. Howland having accepted Ned's death as proof of what happens to those who break promises and who forsake their honor.
"Father?" he heard a voice and turned to see Meera, his daughter now the last of his line.
"Come child, sit." he said and she walked over to sit beside him, her face no longer that of the happy sweet girl she had once been.
"Have they given you an answer?" she asked bitterly.
"The Gods work in their own time Meera, they've shown me many things since we lost Jojen. Terrible things and great things, things which make me dread each morning and things which give me hope for the future." he said.
"Lately?" she asked and he shook his head.
"No, nothing since we were told to stay." he said.
"I don't understand."
He found himself laughing before he answered, it was one of the few things he had himself come to understand. It was not their place to, the whims and wishes of gods belong to them alone. Their place was to accept their part and play their role or ignore it. Either was a hard road to travel but whatever choice they made, the great game continued with or without them.
"One day, maybe we will. Galbart and Maege are still arguing?" he asked.
"Aye, I don't think they'll wait father, word has come that the army marches back South." she said confusing him.
"What?"
"I don't understand it either, they marched to Winterfell. I saw them myself father, the largest army the world has ever seen." Meera said.
Howland felt some pride in the boy for that, her boy had brought their saviors to them and despite it all the gods had come through, even though he had doubted them almost every step of the way.
"And now they march South?" he asked.
"Aye and Galbart and Maege wish to march to join them."
"Go speak to them Meera, ask them to wait the night, if the gods don't speak by then I'll not stop them." he watched as she walked away and sighed, she had been happy once, before he'd sent her on a fool's errand.
Howland had known when Jojen fell, he'd felt it deep within his heart and his gods had spoken to him even more clearly. Galbart had been getting slowly better and was almost fit enough to march and though Maege was still hurt and damaged she was eager to seek revenge. But his gods had shown him strange and terrible things and shared them with them both.
They'd seen their houses fall and the North itself be overwhelmed. Maege had cried openly for the first time anyone could remember as they'd seen a girl crushed by a giant, the only sound the woman had made was to speak a name he knew all too well.
" Lyanna." Maege said as her tears fell freely.
He'd seen the last of the Starks die alone beyond the wall, broken and grey as he'd walked off and gathered what strength that he had remaining to go hunting. That this was the end of a boy who should have been king was a travesty and an affront to the gods themselves. Her son deserved better than to sacrifice himself so others could eat, to willingly walk to his death so his share could feed someone else.
The North itself was a wasteland, famine, hunger, wars, and bad decisions hastening its end and the South didn't fare much better under a king who didn't care. Howland had seen images that horrified him, men, women, and children on fire, a woman looking into the eyes of the man she loved as she was stabbed in the heart. He'd seen a family turn on itself and a lone wolf dying as the snows fell and the white winds blew.
"Why?" he shouted just like he had then and just as they had once before they answered.
"The future is unwritten and to control it takes time." the voice in his head called back and Howland looked defeated as he looked to the face on the Weirwood, it's smile bringing back memories of a day long ago.
"How long must we wait?" he asked as he had done the last time, though this time he was far less willing to do as they willed.
"No More, the waiting is done." the voice came back surprising him so much he jumped to his feet.
"Truly?" he asked.
"The king awaits." the voice said.
When he told Galbart and Maege it was like he'd given a boon to their bodies and souls, Galbart looking fitter and healthier than ever and Maege's eyes sparkling like they'd not done in may a year. Even Jyana seemed happier though that could have been down to his own expression, while Meera seemed eager to see Winterfell once more.
"Where?" Maege asked simply as they rode from the Neck.
"Winterfell Maege, it's time to crown a king." he said smiling.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Aegon.
Seeing Tormund had been a welcome thing, Edd just as much. Aegon's worry for them both something that had increased the closer he'd gotten to the wall itself. Were it not for their duties and obligations to the rest of the North then he'd have flown to Eastwatch and Castle Black before Last Heart and the Mountains. But instead, he had just hoped that they had survived and it had been sums and not personal feelings which had won the day.
They needed to save all they could, to remove the potential soldiers from the Night King's army before he got to them before they could worry about the ones he'd already taken. So he had prayed and his gods had answered him once again and though he'd lost men, former brothers, Free Folk who'd bled for him in battle and men he'd considered friends. Tormund had lived, Edd too, even Beric he was glad to see as his flaming sword could help greatly in the fight to come.
They flew over the caravan of people that had left Last Hearth, the army of the dead at least a week behind them, and Edd and the Night's Watch racing their way. They'd reach them in a day or two and as he motioned for Dany to stay in the air, he landed to tell them to expect them and that he'd be back to see them soon. He told them to keep on in their direction and when next he came back he'd let them know more.
"I'll keep them away from you, but march and don't dally, I'll let Ned know the same and you'll have more wagons and horses soon." he said.
"How many black brothers?" Artos asked.
"Almost fifty." he said and Artos looked worried "They carry their own supplies." he added seeing the man relax.
"Thank you, your grace. I look forward to your return, give her grace my best." Mara the woman he'd found out was acting as the lady of Last Hearth said glaring at Artos and Aegon wondered if they were more than friends.
"I will my lady, be safe." he said as he climbed back up on Rhaegal and took to the air.
Alys was perhaps a week ahead of them and Ned Umber another week ahead of her, Aegon doing the sums in his head and thinking he had eight or nine days until Ned was back with his people. He repeated his words to Alys and told her that there was no danger near but that she should remain vigilant and that the queen would return to speak to her in a few days.
After speaking to Ned and reassuring the boy he'd be back. He let him and his men know that they could sleep easy at night but to march fast and then they flew to the Mountain Clans and Aegon had to smile. If only the rest of the North was as hardy and true, the mountains were empty, the march to Winterfell well underway, and that night they rested and ate with the Mountain Clansmen themselves.
"You wish us to travel with Wildings, The Jon?" Big Bucket asked.
"These men fought with me beyond the wall, The Wull. At Hardhome and then they marched with me to take down the Bolton scum. They've bled with me. The Ned used to say that we find our true friends on the battlefield." he said looking around and seeing the nods "These men are my true friends."
"Then they are ours too, The Jon." Big Bucket said before smiling when Dany walked over "Sit, drink, you, get The Nerys a drink" he shouted to some boy who did as he asked.
"I thank you." she said smiling back at him when the boy handed her a horn of ale, Aegon looking at her as eagerly as the others when she drank it down in one go. Loud cheers going round from the other Mountain Clansmen.
"The Nerys." the cheers rose again when she slammed down the horn and welcomed another.
He was soon laughing loudly as she told of drinking mare's milk with the Dothraki and of riding on a silver mare across the Great Grass Sea. The Wull, The Liddle, and the Norrey all listening eagerly when she told them of eating a stallion's heart raw.
"All of it, The Nerys?" Brandon Norrey asked impressed.
"All of it, in one sitting." she said proudly to more cheers.
As the night began to get chilly she leaned in against him, Aegon's arm going around her as she fell asleep on his shoulder. He looked to see Big Bucket and the Middle Liddle staring at him both men looking with what he thought was approval on their faces. The Nerys, he thought and smiled, it was his fault, after all. He'd said her name and in his northern accent, they'd thought that's how it sounded. That Dany didn't wish to correct and found it endearing warmed his heart, she had found a kinship with these gruff men that she'd not yet found with the other lords of the north.
"She's a good woman, The Jon." Big Bucket said.
"She is, The Wull, we're to be married in Winterfell in front of the Old Gods." he said to smiles.
"Aye, a good woman." The Middle Liddle said as he bid them goodnight.
They said farewell to them the next morning, the men they were leaving behind seeming to have been accepted too. It in turn left more room on the dragons and even though he still had Tormund and now Beric with him, Rhaegal seemed happier with their passengers than he had been. Flying to the Dreadfort was taking them out of their way but he needed to bring them south too, further south than most would think they were going if he had his way.
Though they argued, it was clear more that they were scared that upon leaving they'd find no room for them once they got to Winterfell. Sansa's raven when he saw it almost filling him with rage. Able-bodied men, did she not care about the old, the sick, or the women and children was she so desperate to keep their stocks that she was willing to let people die? Was she so foolish that she thought men would abandon their families to uphold such a request?
"You have mine and her grace's word, places will be found for you, food and warmth provided. Grab what you can carry and head South."
"His grace and I will be back to see you're safe, the dragons will fly and cover your back, I give you my word on that. "Dany said and Aegon saw the relief on their faces, a queen, a true queen he thought as they once more took to the air.
Seeing Winterfell below him didn't feel him with the excitement it once had, it didn't feel like home to him and he wondered if he'd always felt this way. As Rhaegal landed beside his brother, as he spoke to the dragon and he and Drogon then took to the air to go and hunt, he was sure he had. He'd buried it deep down though hiding it beneath his feelings of shame and unworthiness, but it had never truly been home he knew that now.
Around them the Dothraki had already set up camp, Dany smiling when Qhono came walking their way and soon Tyrion, Varys, and Ser Jorah did likewise. Tyrion glaring at him and Aegon couldn't resist smirking back at the dwarf, laughing when Tormund whispered in his ear.
"The half-man looks like he wants to cut off your cock Jon Snow." Tormund said.
"Should he try then he'd soon be a quarter man, or whatever a dwarf would be without a head." he replied and Tormund laughed loudly, looking at Tyrion as he did so.
He looked to see Jorah almost checking Dany over to make sure she was unharmed and even seeing wasn't enough for him.
"Your grace, all is well?" Ser Jorah asked.
"It is, we've seen to the evacuations and found a few friends on the way." Dany said and though he knew they'd think she meant the men behind her, he hoped she was speaking of the Mountain Clans.
"And here all is well?"
"It is, perhaps we can speak privately your grace." Tyrion said trying his best not to look to him.
"Aye, that's perhaps for the best, I'm sure I'll be… and here they come now." he said drawing Dany's attention to the Northern lords that were walking his way.
Dany looked to him and he nodded and then turning to Tyrion and the others she let them know they'd speak in a moment. Lord Manderly, Lord Cerywn, and Lady Lyanna all walking towards them.
"Your grace, it's a pleasure to see you've returned." Wyman said to Dany, his smile looking genuine and Aegon not seeing any reason to doubt it.
"I thank you, my lord, if you'll forgive me, my counsel seeks my attention, perhaps we can speak later Jon?" she asked looking to him.
"Of course your grace." he said and when he saw the briefest flicker of a frown on her face at his reply he moved to her and took her in his arms, the kiss he gave her leaving her in no doubt of his meaning "Forgive me, my lords, I find myself most affectionate towards my betrothed."
"Then you're a lucky man, your grace." Wyman said and he caught the surprised look on Dany's face.
"Incredibly so my lord." he said and knew that he and Dany would need to speak later.
He watched as the two lords bowed and Lyanna did likewise, and then he turned to the lords when Dany and the others had walked away, noticing how Varys held back a little, watching him eagerly before he joined the rest.
"All went well your grace?" Lord Wyman asked.
"Am I? is there not some ceremony needed?" he asked.
"Aye there is, and we'll have one but you're our king Jon Snow, now and always." Lyanna said and he looked at her and smiled.
"All went well, Last Hearth has been evacuated, Karhold and the Dreadfort too. We also flew to the Mountains, the Mountain Clans have set off and are on their way." he said and Wyman smiled.
"Excellent work, your grace, though I'd have expected the Mountain Clans to have come already, the Dreadfort too."
"As had I, my lord." he said not willing to discuss the raven here, no that he'd save for a far more public reveal.
"I wish to apologize, your grace, for the welcome I offered the queen." Lord Wyman said.
"I'm not who you should apologize to, Lord Manderly."
"No, but I'd ask you to accept it also, I'll apologize to her grace when next we speak."
"Then I accept my lord, as no doubt will the queen."
As they walked he was told about their meeting with Sansa, how she had taken it and how Lord Manderly had given her the option to do so on her terms, something he disagreed with but he could let pass for now. The North would know the truth of his cousin when it suited him and not before. When he heard about Jaime Lannister he was torn, the man had kept to his oath but he wondered how Dany would see it. The betrayal by Cersei though was something they really should have planned for.
He wished he could turn back time, go back to Dragonstone and change her plans, speak to her, and convince her to attack King's Landing, and secure the crown before they turned North. Had he done so then they'd be in a much better position and more people would be alive to face the coming threat. As it was they still had two wars to win before they were done.
"Ser Jaime is in the dungeon?" he asked.
"Aye, he is your grace, Lady Sansa ordered him executed but Lady Brienne stood as his champion. With the changes in things I thought it best to await you and her grace's return." Lord Manderly said.
"An excellent idea my lord, has he been kept isolated?" he asked and Wyman shook his head.
"Lord Tyrion requested to see him."
"I thank you, my lord, if you'll forgive me I must speak with her grace, perhaps later we can speak?"
"Of course your grace." Lord Wyman said.
"Lord Cerwyn." he said and the lord mumbled a quick, your grace, Aegon knowing he'd need to keep an eye on him "Lady Lyanna a moment please." he said and the girl stopped.
He waited until the others had gone and then stood there quietly for a moment looking at the girl.
"I wanted to apologize, my lady, I didn't think how my actions would look and how they may be interpreted, Twice now you've sought to give me a crown, I already owe your family a debt I can never repay and now even more so. I give you my oath there won't be any need for a third time and just like the North my lady, I remember. Should House Mormont require any boon of me now or in the future, should it's lady have any request of me, I am and shall always be at your service."
"Just bloody keep the damn thing on your head this time." Lyanna said walking away "Your grace."
Aegon was still laughing when he reached Dany's room and still hadn't seen Sansa since he'd returned. Looking at Dany's face when he entered the room he could see she'd been told about Jaime and so he asked for the room to be cleared and took a seat beside her.
"You heard?" he asked.
"I should have known, what a fool I've been." she said sadly.
"That makes two of us Dany, three if you count your Hand, four if you count Varys, five if…."
"Aegon." she said annoyedly though he was glad to see her smile was threatening to appear on her face
"Six." he began and she burst out laughing.
He waited until she'd stopped before he began speaking again.
"We'll beat her Dany, we'll beat the dead, the Night King and then Cersei bloody Lannister."
"She has the Golden Company." Dany said and Aegon remembered he'd seen men in gold in flames though he had thought them Lannisters.
"Then we'll beat them how our ancestors did, how Daeron beat Daemon and how your grandfather, my great grandfather, beat Melys in the War of the Ninepenny Kings. The Golden Company has fought against our family before Dany, each time they've found only one thing." he said looking to her, her eyes sparkling at the mention of their family.
"Fire and Blood." she said.
"Fire and Blood."
"What of Jaime Lannister?" she asked
"What do you want to do with him?"
"He should be killed, his head sent back to his sister as a warning" she said looking to him and seeing his face "You don't agree?"
"I agree though I also don't wish to because it's what Sansa wants. More than that though I think we should speak to him first, he knows things Dany, things neither of us do."
"About his sister's plans?" she asked and he shook his head.
"About my father, your mother, he knew them Dany, who else can we say that about?"
She looked at him for a moment and then nodded and he leaned in and kissed her, feeling her tongue touching his own and then looking annoyed to the door when someone knocked.
"Who is it?" he called and heard Ser Jorah's voice call back.
"I should speak to him," she said.
"Aye, I'll go to the Godswood, maybe picture a wedding of some sort." he said and she slapped him lightly a soft smile on her face.
"When?"
"When What?" he said and the slap he got was a little heavier.
"I am a queen Aegon, you tread dangerous ground." she said her smile full now.
"Would my queen punish me for doing so?" he asked seeing the sparkle in her eyes as she pretended to contemplate something.
"Hmmm, perhaps she'd deny you her company."
"By the gods, that's not punishment that's torture." he said as Jorah knocked again "When Missandei and the others return and my queen feels ready, Now does this gain me my queen's company?"
"It does, go Aegon, I want you to speak to me of pretty pictures when we lay in our bed this night."
"As my queen commands" he said kissing her and walking from the room letting in Ser Jorah as he did so.
He was standing alone in the Godswood when he smelt the perfume, Varys's footsteps far too quiet for a man of his girth. All that time slinking in the shadows no doubt. He turned to look at the man and saw the smile on his face and knew then he had figured out the truth, some of it at least.
"I had never suspected before, though I know not why and now it seems so clear I find I'm incredibly annoyed with myself." Varys said.
"Imagine how I felt." he said staring at the man.
"He hid it well, kept you in plain sight, and maybe that was enough though questions will soon be asked."
"Not if people don't speak, not if they can't." he said and though it was a threat he kept his voice calm and soft.
"You ride a dragon now, your grace." Varys said and Aegon felt his anger rise, the man already picking sides.
"Dany is the queen." he said moving towards the man.
"And you are her king, trust me your grace I want what you do." Varys said and Aegon stopped for a moment, anger giving way to doubt and he wondered had they managed to win him over so soon.
"How can I trust you?"
"I'm not the one you need to worry about your grace. With you and her grace on the throne, the realm will be more secure than it has ever been before, dragons, dragon riders, a just woman and an honorable man. It's the beginning of a dynasty and one that I seek to see restored."
"I'm not as honorable as you think." he said bitingly.
"True, but just as honorable as the realm needs."
"Who should I worry about?" he asked.
"Lord Tyrion and Lady Sansa, your grace, some of the northern lords are still wavering, but Lord Manderly and Lady Mormont are true."
"And you?"
"I am your grace's servant, both of you."
He stared at the ground for a moment, the spider's words seemed true enough but the man had gone against her once thinking him a better choice, and threats to his person hadn't stopped him doing so. It was time to make a threat that would.
"What know you of the Dragon's Wroth, Lord Varys?" he asked.
"After Queen Rhaenys's fall Aegon and Visenya burned Dorne almost to the ground in their grief." Varys said.
"They did, Aegon made a mistake though my lord, do you wish to know what that was?" he asked his voice sounding different even to him, something the spider picked up on.
"What mistake your grace?" Varys asked nervously.
"He stopped."
He looked at the Master of Whisperers, the man who held countless secrets and had missed the biggest one of them all. That he had been the one to put it together wasn't a surprise, but to keep him on Dany's side was all Aegon cared about even if it turned him from his own.
"My mother named me Aegon my lord, so let me make one thing clear. Unlike my namesake, I'll not make the same mistake. If any harm comes to my queen because of you, if she should fall because of you, if you don't do everything in your considerable power to see that she sits the throne and nothing or no one get in her way. Then I'll bring a wroth to Westeros that'll make the one Aegon brought seem like a boon."
"Your grace?" Varys said.
"I see it burn my lord, all of it, every last inch of it. When I'm done the realm will be smoke and ash and the Doom of Valyria will be spoken of second in the great tragedies of the world. I reign with Daenerys or she reigns alone, there is no third option do I make myself clear?"
"You do your grace." Varys said shakily.
"Good, then let's pray we never need to speak of this again, my lord. It's time to ensure that the future you wish for the realm is the one that comes to pass, is it not?"
"It is, your grace." Varys said with a smile and Aegon knew he had him then, an ally that his queen could count on even against himself.