Winterfell 305 AC.
Lyanna Mormont.
She looked to the woman who sat across from her, a woman she'd not seen in almost seven years. Lyanna was just past her sixth nameday when her mother had marched to war. She'd spent almost five years mourning her and her sister's death supposedly at the Twins and had been forced to grow up and become the Lady of Bear Island long before her time. To find out now that she lived, that her mother had been alive all these years and had left her alone, Lyanna wasn't sure how to deal with that.
That her mother was happy to see her and upset at leaving her alone had been clear and since she'd come back Lyanna had just accepted she was back. She'd been happy with that, her mother lived, she wasn't alone other than her cousin and so she'd welcomed her, cried, hugged her, and together they'd seen a king crowned. But they'd not resolved their issues and each moment she spent with her, she felt the urge to scream, to rant and rave and call her out for leaving her alone, and that urge was growing.
"I'm sorry, Lyanna, I know it's not what you wish to hear nor that it'll ever be enough, but I truly am." her mother said bringing her from her thoughts.
"Why?" she asked simply.
"At first I was broken. Dacey's death, hearing what they had done to King Robb, all of it left me broken, so much so that I didn't know if I'd ever fix myself." her mother said her voice so unlike when she'd spoken in the hall, as she talked to men who'd not seen her for years.
"I don't understand." she said and she looked to see her mother's expression and never had she seen such pain on anyone's face before.
It took a few moments for Maege to speak, almost as if she was willing herself to do so. To Lyanna it looked as if she was forcing herself to bring thoughts she'd long since buried to the surface. So long did the silence go on that Lyanna almost reached out to touch her mother's hand, something she had found she longed to do ever since she'd returned from the dead. There were times when she felt the need to touch her, to see that she was real and she would need to catch herself lest she did so, something she did once again.
"Dacey was everything to me, she and you, were my future. Do you remember your sister?" Maege asked.
"Aye." Lyanna said a soft smile on her face as she did so, her sister was her hero, more so than even her mother it was Dacey she wished to be like. Though she knew she'd never have her beauty if she possessed one ounce of her ferocity than she'd feel proud.
"When I heard they'd killed her, that while I was far away my girl was dying alone without me, that she may have been scared in those last few moments. The thoughts that she may have needed her mother more than anything in this world and I was not there, to hold her hand, to protect her. It was something I couldn't deal with. For years it was something I couldn't deal with."
"I needed you mother, I was alone, I needed someone to hold my hand." she said angrily.
"Aye, I know little bear, gods I know, though it took me some time to realize it. I wanted revenge, justice for your sister. Jon Snow, Robb had named him king and when I was ready I intended to go to him, to you, once I was ready when Galbart was ready… I…..I…"
Lyanna had never seen her mother cry and even now it wasn't crying like she'd seen some women cry, it was something much different. Her mother sobbed, large heart-wrenching sobs and Lyanna knew not what to do or what to say. She wasn't used to being comforted and so she didn't know how to offer comfort, but still she tried. Getting up from her seat she walked to her mother and placed her arms around her. She let her cry against her as her mother sat in the chair and Lyanna stood and despite the anger she still felt, just feeling her in her arms almost brought her own tears forward.
After some time her mother stopped and seemed to calm down, Lyanna sending for and soon receiving some ale which her mother drank quickly. When she looked at her again it seemed as if she'd composed herself enough and then her mother began to speak once more.
"It took a long time to be right, Lyanna, a very long time and then Howland spoke to us, the Old Gods spoke to us and showed us what the world faced."
Lyanna gulped, she'd heard Jon Snow speak of them, Ser Davos and the Wildings too, and yet she'd despite believing them all had hoped they were wrong. To hear her mother mention them worried her greatly. There were only so many times you could attempt to reject what people were telling you and even though she gave her full faith to the king and believed him, a part of her she knew rejected the idea of dead men walking.
"You've seen them?" she asked nervously.
"Aye, I've seen them and I've seen them fall, but only if Jon Snow leads us and only if he and the Dragonqueen are as one." her mother said.
"If they're not?" she asked.
"Then we're all fucked, Lyanna." her mother said and despite herself, she smirked.
She walked over and reached out her hand, feeling her mother take it in her own and she stood close beside her.
"I'm glad you're here, mother." she said softly.
"Aye, so am I my little bear." Maege said back.
She and her mother spoke on Dacey, Lyanna on her memories of her sister, feeling her mother's regrets and her sadness at the loss of her heir. When she told her how proud she was of the job she had done as the Lady of Bear Island, Lyanna felt her chest swell, her mother's pride fuelling her own. Soon they were laughing, Lyanna telling her of the reply she'd sent to Stannis and of her first meeting with Jon Snow.
When it came to Jorah it was a difficult conversation, Lyanna having to explain to her mother about how valued he was by the queen and what the queen had said about him to her personally. That her mother then sent for him was a surprise not just to her but to him too, her cousin soon arriving at the room and entering nervously.
"I never thought to see you again, nephew." Maege said her expression one Lyanna couldn't quite make out.
"And I always hoped to see you, Aunt." Jorah said.
"Lyanna tells me the queen thinks highly of you, that you've helped free slaves and saved her life more than once. Do you think this absolves you of your sins?" Maege asked.
"Some wrongs can never be righted, Aunt. I know what I've done, I seek no absolution or forgiveness for it. I'm here for the North, for my queen, and for my king." Jorah said.
"And what of family?" Maege asked.
"If they'll have me." Jorah said softly.
"Sit cousin, we have much we need to discuss." Lyanna said and she saw her cousin's look of relief and her mother's small smile.
"Aye, we may need some more ale though." her mother said calling on of the guards to fetch them some.
She sat looking at them, her cousin telling her tales of her uncle, the old bear, and how highly the king thought of him. Her mother telling tales of life on Bear Island and of Lyanna's own first steps, the first time she'd held a mace and throwing away a doll to grab it instead, bringing laughter to all three of them. When her mother raised her mug, Jorah and she did likewise, the three of them looking to each other, three bears where until but recently there had been one.
"Here we Stand." Maege said and both she and Jorah repeated it, Lyanna feeling happy to be part of a family once more.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Howland Reed.
Seeing the boy was like being transported to the past. He had his father's eyes, his full lips and cheekbones, and his hair though a different color. At times he had Rhaegar's mannerisms from what Howland could remember, yet when he smiled his face lit up and he was his mother's son. Looking at the sheer size of the force that he'd managed to bring to bear for the North was a sign too of just how impressive he, and the woman that Howland had found out he was to marry, were.
His first glimpse of the Dragonqueen was of this tiny little woman who by the sheer force of her will had done the impossible. With nothing but her name and that not something that really carried as much weight as it once did, Daenerys had managed to go from being a girl running for her life to a queen in the blink of an eye. Even Aegon and his sister-wives had started off with more when he'd conquered Westeros. Howland knew the stories, sold to a Horselord, and left to die in the desert, she'd instead managed to free slaves, unite the Dothraki and birth dragons from stone.
Then after coming to regain her family's throne she'd put that all on hold to come to the North's aid, only to find herself unwelcome. It was a testament to the woman's resolve and character that despite that she was still here and to Jon Snow's that he had stood up and backed her completely. Seeing the boy be named King in the North, sitting back as he accepted the cheers and fealty of men who had already unnamed him and tried to shame his queen, Howland was surprised to see Jon sit so comfortably. But then he'd been lucky enough to speak to him before this and find out that both he and his queen were anything but.
Two days earlier.
"The king and queen will see you now." Jorah said after making sure he was unarmed.
He was led into a room where he found them being anything but kingly and queenly. Jon was sitting beside the dragon queen, her hand in his and he was whispering in her ear and making her laugh. They barely noticed Howland when he walked in, as Daenerys pushed Jon away from herself while Jon pretended to frown before the two laughed once more. Coughing he brought their attention to his entry and they turned to look at him, the smiles and joviality gone so quick he had to blink to be sure he'd seen it just moments earlier.
"Your grace." he said to Jon and then turned to Daenerys "Your grace." getting a small narrowing of the eyes from the queen in return.
"Lord Reed, Ser Jorah tells me you have news of great import to share." Daenerys said as Jon looked at him with a look he couldn't place.
"Indeed your grace, in relation to the King in the North." he said as she bid him sit.
"Lord Stark would speak highly of you Lord Reed, of how he wouldn't be alive if it were not you, of how you were his lealest man." Jon said though his words weren't spoken with any warmth.
"Your grace." he said with a nod.
"Yet when I marched from the Wall. When I faced the Bolton's with not enough men and with half the North refusing my call, not once did I hear from you Lord Reed, not once was your so-called lealness to the Starks's in evidence, why?" Jon asked.
"You are not a Stark, your grace." he said expecting a frown or an angered response from the boy only to get one instead from the queen.
"So you left your liege house to fend for themselves, was Lady Stark not a Stark, Was Lord Rickon not? Had you added your forces to my betrothed's then mayhap he'd not have had to watch as Rickon was taken down with an arrow. Is your fealty so depended on true blood my lord or is it like so very many of your countrymen's, fleeting and temporary?" Daenerys said her anger and disdain clear.
He sighed as this was not how he'd wished this meeting to go and being circumspect with his words as he had been was not helping things.
"Would you allow me a moment your graces." he said looking to see Jon look to Daenerys who nodded.
He got up and took a knee in front of them both, looking up at them as both sets of eyes stared at him, neither of them as friendly as he'd wished them to be.
"I pledge my sword, my life, my fealty to you both, here and now. To each of you, not as King or queen but as who you are, truly. I ask that you listen to my tale and whatever choice you make once you have I'll abide by. I promise that nothing that is said in this room will pass my lips but by your leave."
He saw the surprised look on Daenerys's face and the much more suspicious one on Jon's before they both nodded and he took his seat once more.
"Lord Stark lost my fealty many years ago, Jon. On the road back from Dorne I found out his true nature and for that reason, this is the first time I set foot in Winterfell in more than twenty years." he said seeing the brief moment of panic in Jon's eyes before a darker look promising danger if he said the wrong thing quickly replaced it.
"You knew my mother?" Jon said simply, his eyes focussed on him as he awaited his answer.
"And your father, aye, and I give you my word, Aegon, no one shall hear it from my lips lest you tell me to speak on it. I swear it on the Old Gods, I swear it on Bronze and Iron, on Blood and Ice." Howland said as Jon looked to Daenerys who seemed to nod before she turned to face him.
"Why have you come here now?" Daenerys asked.
"A number of years ago my men found a wounded Galbart Glover and a tired Maege Mormont making their way through the Neck and brought them to Greywater Watch. They'd been sent on a secret mission in the North by Robb Stark. They were to travel to the Wall and release his brother from his vows, then along with you, your grace." he said looking to Jon "They were to gather the rest of the might of the North and take back Winterfell, Moat Cailin. Deepwood Motte and Torrhen's Square from what he had thought were Iron Born."
"Yet no one ever came to me at Castle Black, no ravens were ever sent?" Jon said angrily.
"No, your grace. Lord Glover was badly wounded and Lady Mormont wished to have him recover before heading through dangerous lands and then the news came from the Twins."
"Making the need to release my king even more pressing I would have thought?" Daenerys said glaring at him.
"It did and did not your grace. Lady Mormont took the death of her heir, Dacey, very badly. The news of what happened at the Twins itself was devastating and combined with Lord Glover's injuries they were in no position to do anything. Time stretched on and the years passed, and then we received news from the Wall of what happened." he said sadly.
"And yet even after I marched you waited, why?" Jon said ignoring any talk of the mutiny and of his death and Howland wondered if he'd spoken of it to anyone.
"I had a vision, your grace." Howland said seeing the brief flicker of purple in the dark grey eyes that now glared at him.
"A vision?" Daenerys asked.
"I saw the North fall, your grace. My gods told me and showed me what would happen if I interfered in events before the time was right. I saw an army of dead men sweep everything before them and nothing or no one could stand in their way. Not until someone could." he said looking at them both
"And what, now you see the dead men fall?" Jon asked.
"My gods haven't shown me everything, what they have is that together you'll beat back the army and that now we have a chance. I've seen people fall in one vision who are alive in another, your grace. I've seen the North go from being a wasteland to thriving. I ask you not to believe as I do, only to tell you that I do believe and so I've come."
"So you'll declare Aegon, king? Even knowing he's not a Stark?" Daenerys asked and Jon looked to her.
"Stark blood runs in his veins as much as Targaryen does, he is his mother's son as much as anyone's but Aye, I've come to name him my king, and I've come to give him this." he reached into his pocket and took out the will, holding it in his hand.
"What's that?" Jon asked.
"Robb Stark's will." he said softly.
He watched as Jon took it gently and as he held it in his hands looking at it for sometime before opening it. Howland could see how his fingers trembled and then the glistening of his eyes as he read the words. A small smile on his face when he reached certain parts before he scowled when he looked at him.
"All these years, all these years you held this?" Jon said angrily.
"It was not the time, your grace."
"I could have, with this I could have united the damn North and you say it was not the time." Jon snarled.
"Where would you be today if you had, your grace? Do you think it would have truly made a difference in how things have gone?"
"Rickon, my br… he'd have lived." Jon said his voice cracking.
"And the North would have used him against you, Your grace. When you headed to treat on Dragonstone they'd have used him to replace you and though they may have unnamed a queen, it's harder to unname a king."
"He'd be alive still, who cares for more than that" Jon shouted.
"Mayhap, though I doubt it. Our paths are chosen your grace, the gods have decided our fate and we are but men, who are we to deny them?"
He was sent from the room by the queen as soon as he'd said that and he saw that it was perhaps for his own protection, Jon looking at him with a look that made him fear for his safety. It was a day later that he was called back to see the king and queen once more. Jon stood looking out the window when he entered and Daenerys facing him alone. As soon as he sat down though Jon walked over and sat beside the queen, nodding to her to speak and he could see the boy was angered still.
"This will names Aegon as Jon Stark, as his brother's heir and removes Lady Sansa from the line of succession. Yet Aegon is to be named king anyway, why should we use this will to perpetrate another lie?" Daenerys asked though he doubted she cared for his answer and felt she was asking out of nothing but curiosity.
"There is a reason his grace has not declared who he is publicly yet. He could, even now the Northern Lords would probably name him still, but he has not and if I were to hazard a guess then I'd say he worries how some may react to this news. Not for his sake but for your own, your grace."
Jon looked to him and Howland shivered, there was Ice and Fire both in that look, two sides fighting each other for dominance and he was glad when Ice seemed to win out for now at least.
"Even was what you say true, it changes nothing in relation to the will itself, Lord Reed. Aegon will be named king with or without it will he not?" Daenerys asked.
"Aye, he will, your grace. The will just ensures it, it removes any argument that can be brought up later in terms of Jon's legitimacy to be king"
"How? It names me brother which I'm not, it names me a Stark which I'm not. The only thing it does is tie me into a lie that I care not to be a part of." Jon said and though his voice was firm, there was no truth in his words.
"It removes the one person who seeks to challenge you, your grace. It takes away Lady Sansa's legal claim and politically it leaves her isolated. It adds legitimacy to the bannermen who'd stand for you, the last will of their former king. It gives them the legal right to name you so and even were the truth to out at some later date, the words are still from your brother. Aye not by blood but by choice, your grace, or do you think him any different?"
Howland caught the small little grin on Daenerys's face and wondered had they held the same discussion before he entered the room? Had they spent the night discussing what this would mean? given the small nod from Jon, he believed they had and the decision was made long before he was called back inside.
"Very well, Lord Reed, tonight you may present this will." Daenerys said and he stood up "One more thing Lord Reed, you've no doubt by now seen my dragons?"
"I have your grace." he said.
"Then let me make one thing clear, you know something about my love that he doesn't wish shared as of yet, something that we will share when the time is right. Should you speak of this to anyone, then it won't be me that you answer to, it'll be my children, do you understand?"
"I do your grace." he said nodding as Jon looked to him, the look in his eyes one of only fire now and as he left the room he found he'd rather face the dragons than whatever fate that look promised.
Now.
They had named him king and he'd accepted it and immediately preparations were made to hold a wedding in the Godswood, Jon wasting no time to see him and his queen were married in the eyes of the gods. Now though he and others had been called to the Great Hall and as he entered he saw Maege speak to her cousin and daughter. Jorah having been reluctantly welcomed back into the fold he assumed.
At the High Table, he saw Lord Wyman sitting along with Lord Tyrion. Soon enough they were joined by Lord Varys and Ser Davos and then Lady Arya and Lady Sansa. When Jon entered it was hand in hand with the Dragonqueen, his king leaving no doubt in anyone's mind, not that there was any more, that it was both of them or none of them. They were bid to sit and then he heard the sound of footsteps as almost a hundred of the Queen's unsullied entered the room and took up positions. Lords looked to each other nervously and he looked to see Galbart sitting there with a pained expression.
"My Lords My Ladies, I've called you here tonight to deal with a traitor." Jon said standing up.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Sansa.
She had made a mistake leaving after that mockery of a trial and had lost face in doing so, but then the trail itself was all about her losing face. Daenerys had basically shown her decisions to be petty and uninformed and not what was best for the North while allowing that man to just walk free. He was a large part of the reason why her family had fallen and more so why she had suffered. Brienne had told her about the oath he'd sworn to her mother and though she claimed the Kingslayer had done everything he could to see that oath true, Sansa knew that to be a lie.
He had not seen her released after his own, he'd not even seen her protected from the whims of his horror of a son. For all he appeared to be a golden knight he was anything but and it was in fact his ugly imp of a brother who'd done more to protect her than the man who'd sworn to her own to see her free. Had it blinded her to the politics of sentencing him to death? She didn't believe it had, he deserved it and her bannermen would appreciate it and she deserved that justice did she not? Yet that too had been stolen from her and then it had been rubbed in her face that she was acting out of pettiness.
It was only later that she realized she'd played straight into the Dragonqueen's hands. So later when she sat in the Great Hall, while she waited for her birthright to be given to her bastard half brother once more, she fumed in silence. She resolved to be stoic and to bite her tongue, to resist the urge to stand and shout out at the wrongness of it. Little did she know that she was soon to find herself unable to move, unable to breathe even as she listened to her brother's words.
" I, Robb Stark, King in the North and King of the Trident, do hereby legitimize my brother Jon Snow and name him a Stark. I name him my heir to all I hold, above any and all, and remove my sister Sansa Lannister from any and all lines of succession. The North must be held by someone of Stark blood and their claim must be true and good and I say my brother is the only one who carries our blood and is worthy of the crown."
The words were burned into her brain so much so, that when she had arrived back at her rooms, trying her best to ignore the sounds of feasting and revelry that was still going on after the naming of a new king, she'd been unable to think of anything else.
Stripped.
Named a Lannister.
Called untrue and bad.
Named as unworthy.
She'd paced the room before finally collapsing on the bed and then she had done something she'd sworn that no man would ever force her to do again, she had cried. Her brother had abandoned her as he had done so years earlier and now from the grave had done so again. Were that the only betrayal then she would have perhaps not taken it so much to heart, but her uncle, her mother, both of them had signed away her birthright as if it was theirs to give away.
"How could you, uncle."
"How could you, mother"
"I was the only one who followed you, mother, the only one who was true and you abandoned me for him, for the bastard you warned me about, how could you." she sobbed.
Her sobs rang around the room and through the night. They brought her back to the girl she had once been before she had taken control of her own life. She was back in the Red Keep, crying after being beaten and humiliated by Joffrey and his minions. Her name was Alayne and she was a bastard, she cried at her aunt's hateful looks and Petyr's lustful stares and touches. She was in her brother's room shaking as she heard the footsteps at the door, as the door opened and Ramsay stepped inside, that grin on his face, and her tears were no defense to the horrors that were soon to come.
It took her some time to compose herself, to gather her thoughts, and to still her tears, and once she did she cursed them all. Her brother who had lost his crown between a foreign whore's legs, her father who's stupidity had cost her a throne. Even her mother who had set events in motion that had denied her being the queen the realm needed. She cursed her bastard half brother and his own foreign whore for denying her what was rightfully hers. By the time she was done her resolve was true once more and she knew she needed to change how she played this particular game.
But how?
What could she do?
Being removed from the line of succession was no easy obstacle to overcome and she had so many in her way if she was to be safe and free once more. There was no one to rely on but herself, something she had realized many years earlier. Only she could keep herself safe and to do that she had to rise. She had to rise high enough so that no man, no woman, no one, would ever hold power over her but her and yet to be strong she knew that for now, she must act weak.
Making her way from her room she walked to Lord Royce's finding unsurprisingly the man to be awake and not to seem enamored with the events that had taken place earlier that night. Stepping inside when he opened the door, she turned to him and saw the look of concern he gave her. With Lord Yohn, she'd learned that unlike with Littlefinger and the promise of what was between her legs that defined his moves, the Lord saw her as a weak little girl who needed protection. She'd played upon his guilt over not coming to her father's aid and his guilt over not stopping Littlefinger from selling her to the Bolton's. That the man missed his own daughter helped her greatly too as he'd seemed to have almost adopted her in Ysilla's stead.
"My Lord, forgive me for the lateness of my visit." she said her voice as soft and vulnerable as she could make it.
"There is nothing to forgive, my lady."
"I find myself most perturbed by these current events my lord, most perturbed. I had not expected my brother to treat me so harshly."
"Nor had I." Yohn said sympathetically.
"Those words, to name me as a Lannister after I was forced into marriage with such a..such a.." she said crying fake tears, something else that Cersei had thought her well.
"Please my lady, don't cry." Yohn said his voice full of concern as he handed her his handkerchief.
"I..we… despite his nature my lord, I never….when I was taken by Ramsay Bolton… I… I was a maid." she said setting the seed in the man's mind.
"For true, my lady?" Yohn said after a few moments of silence almost as if he was embarrassed to ask her the question and Sansa hesitated dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief before she replied.
"For true, my lord, Maester Wolkan can attest to it, The Bolton's demanded it you see." she said and though it was true that she had been a maid and had been examined, it was Ramsay's wish and not his father's that had seen it done.
"Then your brother's will is invalid my lady." Yohn said excitedly.
"It is?" she asked confused, though she was anything but.
"It is, you're naming and removal is based on you being a Lannister by marriage, but without consummation, the marriage is not binding." Yohn said.
"For true?" she asked happily as if he'd given her the world.
"For true."
She stood silent for a few moments, allowing him to process the news and to make the suggestion rather than she.
"The Knights of the Vale rode for you my lady, the rest of the Vale would rise for you also."
"What of my cousin?" she asked and Yohn shook his head.
"Lord Robert may not make it through the winter, my lady, should he not then the Vale could be brought to bear, but perhaps there is another way to ensure it so before then."
She breathed deeply, wondering if he'd dare say what she knew he was thinking.
"My lord?" she prodded after a few moments of silence.
"Marriage my lady, should you wed Lord Robert than I'm sure the Vale would be entirely yours and with it mayhap the North in time too."
She strolled from her room early that morning ready to break her fast and found Lord Glover alone angrily attacking a straw dummy. Coughing gently to grab his attention, he turned to face her and gave a small bow, the angry look on his face one she'd come to recognize from her dealings with the man.
"My lord." she said and he did his best to reign in his anger.
"My lady." he said and she bristled at that, the title no longer enough or suited to her.
"I take it you are unhappy with the turn of events my lord?" she asked.
"Most unhappy. I came here to pledge my fealty to a Northern Queen, not a Dragon Whore and her bastard chained wolf."
"Nor did you expect to see your brother either I'd wager." she said and saw his scowl deepen.
"No I did not, but he is my liege and blood and despite my own feelings I must do as he commands." Robett said.
"Even kneel?" she asked.
"I've knelt once, I can do so again, for now." he said with a small smirk.
"For now." she said smiling as he nodded.
She found she enjoyed her meal, finishing it far more quickly than usual. Both because of her appetite and not wishing to be there when the Dragonqueen and Jon arrived. She spent the rest of the day looking over the maps and houses of the South. She was looking for alliances and options, marriage wasn't something she had wished for and yet now it was imperative. Littlefinger had almost wished to whore her out in terms of who she wed, each move bringing him closer to his goal. It now disgusted her, repulsed her but to do so for herself was her only course of action and so she looked and planned and tried to remember who and where the best options were.
"You're presence is required in the Great Hall." Arya said catching her by surprise.
"How did you get in here?" she asked seeing her sister's smile.
"You should stop it now Sansa."
"Stop what?" she asked worriedly.
"Your games, I'll warn you once but Jon won't even give you that, he's let it slide for now but if you think he doesn't see then your as big a fool as you were when we were children."
"How dare you." she said loudly.
"I dare because I can sister, once, that's all I'll warn you, once." Arya said as she turned and walked away.
Had she not already known it then this would make it clear, she was alone here. Jon had stolen it all from her, Winterfell, her crown, her family, everything. She straightened her shoulders and breathed deeply before leaving the room. As she walked she knew how she looked, every inch the proper lady, the perfect image of her mother, and though it made her proud that she was seen that way, the comparison to her mother was a poor one. Her mother had failed the great game, she had been stupid and it cost her everything, Sansa was not her mother.
She entered the Great Hall and took her seat, waiting for the others to take their places and bristling at been kept waiting by Jon and his queen. When they entered they were holding hands and speaking to each other, how they felt clear to all with eyes to see. It bothered her greatly, both that she had never known what it felt to have someone look at her that way and that Jon was so stupid to believe in the false smiles the dragon shot his. After they took their seats, she watched as the unsullied began to fill the room. The Lords of the North looking on nervously when Jon stood up and looked out at them all.
"My lords, I've called you here tonight to deal with a traitor." Jon said and she gulped and felt her breath hitch in her throat.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Aegon.
He was shocked at the reappearance of Maege Mormont and Galbart Glover. For the former, because he knew what it would mean to Lyanna finding out that her mother lived and though he felt a little envious, he was happy for the little bear too. For the latter, it was because it gave him someone to deal with other than his idiot of a brother, not that he'd be dealing with him for much longer. Howland Reed's appearance was more problematic and that the man knew the truth an even larger issue than the will he bore.
" What are we to do about this Aegon?" Dany asked.
" Do you believe him?" he asked.
" Do you?" she asked him back.
" I think the man has held this secret for more than twenty years, he's gone so far as to hide away rather than speak on it, I think he can be trusted to keep it a secret still."
" And if he's not?" Dany asked.
" Then we'll end him and his house." he said seeing her nod.
They had talked about the will itself and Dany had said that if he wished he could deny it, he could have it held back or just make it disappear. He was being crowned anyway and didn't need the will but there was more to it than that. Were it just for what it did to Sansa he'd have seen it read aloud. Just to see her face when she realized that Robb thought more of him than he did her, would have brought him some comfort. But it was the added layer of protection it afforded Dany that won the day for him. So he'd accepted it and had watched as Dany had threatened Howland Reed, feeling almost excited by the way she stood up for him.
" My fierce little dragon." he said kissing her when Howland left the room.
" You are mine Aegon, mine, anyone who dares put you at risk will feel my wrath." she said biting his neck.
" As they will mine should they threaten you, my love.".
After he'd been named king they'd celebrated with the Lords. The Mountain Clans seeming to get along with Dany's Dothraki, even more, once they'd seen Dany drinking the Mare's Milk. The Wull coughing and spluttering while Dany drank it down as if it was water, only furthering her in their estimation. He'd watched as Dany and Missandei had spoken in hushed whispers, both of them laughing at something the other had said, and he had felt something click inside of himself when Arya joined in. His little sister was full of mischief and good humor as she spoke to them both and the girl she had once been was now even more on display.
He'd spoken to Jorah who was nervous about his aunt and to Grey Worm who for once was off duty, or as off duty as the man ever was. That Tormund had managed to drag him to his table to drink with the Free Folk was not a surprise, that he'd managed to get him to drink some of the awful Sour Goat's Milk was.
" Come, King Crow, you can't allow your queen to be the only one willing to drink with her people."
" Aye, but they are her people, Tormund." he said with a soft smile as he looked to see Dany laugh with the Dothraki.
" As we are yours, King Crow." Harma said handing him the horn.
Now as he walked to the Great Hall he thought of all of that and felt her eyes on him as he did so. She was happy, joyful, and had been since he'd been crowned. Like him, it was clear she was counting down each day as it took them closer to their wedding. Missandei had begun to work on a dress for her and once it was ready they'd wed, Aegon finding himself eager for the work to be done. When he felt her take his hand his smile appeared in an instant and he wondered how he'd managed to deny himself this for so long.
"What are you thinking of so seriously?" she asked him as they walked.
"A wedding, my love." he said kissing her hand.
"Missandei says the dress will be ready on the morrow." she said and he stopped to look at her to see if she was jesting.
"For true?" he asked and she nodded, giggling when he grabbed her and lifted her off her feet.
"I take it this pleases you?" she said playfully.
"Very much so, the morrow?" he asked and she nodded as he kissed her.
He was still smiling as they entered the room, not even seeing Sansa sitting there with a sour look on her face was enough to remove his cheer from his own. It was only once the unsullied entered and he nodded to Grey Worm that it did. Standing up he looked around the room at the nervous faces and found he enjoyed the wary looks they gave him. Fear was good and they should fear him, they would before this night was done he knew or they'd respect him but either would do and could be useful for what's to come.
"My lords, I've called you here tonight to deal with a traitor." he said to gasps and worried looks, and he didn't need to look down the table to see that Sansa's was one of them.
He let the words sit for a few moments as he stared at each of the lords, he glanced at Tyrion who looked unperturbed and he wondered if the man really was so casual in his betrayals or was it that he just didn't consider his acts to be one. Jaime Lannister stared at him, the Kingslayer had done so more than once and he resolved to have him speak to Dany soon on her mother and to find out about his father as well.
"Lord Robett Glover, step forward and answer the charge." he said and the Lord glared at him, his brother looking to him and then to Robett when the man refused to move "I said step forward."
Nothing, no movement and it surprised him that the man had the balls to deny him so publicly. Not that it mattered as at a nod from Aegon, Grey Worm soon had the man in front of him. On his knees rather than his feet, a coward still he thought as he looked at the man who'd broken his oath more than once.
"Your grace." Galbart Glover began but he shook his head and the man stopped speaking.
"When I marched from the Wall to take back my family's home, we called on many lords, some answered the call." he said with a nod to Lyanna Mormont "Some did not." he said looking to Wyman Manderly who shifted uncomfortably in his seat "Which one were you, Lord Glover?"
"I stayed in my home, the home that I'd lost because of supporting the Starks." Robett spat.
"It was the Starks fault the squid's invaded, my lord? It was the Starks who took your home from you?" he said with a sneer
"Your brother.."
"Died for the North, my lord. As did many good men, leaving it left with men like you." he said curling his lip "A poor trade indeed."
He saw one or two men nod in agreement, Mormont men, Hornwood men, Mazin men who'd fought and bled for him, the Free Folk who'd lost the most in the battle itself. Looking he saw even Galbart nod, Maege more so, and Wyman Manderly though he'd not fought in the Battle of the Bastards nodded too, as he had lost more than most in the war in the South.
"Yet after that battle, you stood in this very hall and proclaimed me your king, and what was it you said again, please enlighten us Lord Glover?" he said glaring at the man.
There was silence until Tormund rose and moved forward, Aegon nodding as his friend began to speak.
"I did not fight beside you on the field and I will regret that until my dying day. A man can only admit when he was wrong and ask forgiveness. There will be more fights to come, House Glover will stand behind House Stark as we have for a thousand years and I will stand behind Jon Snow, The King In the North." Tormund said as he smiled at him and glared at Glover before he walked back to his seat.
"Aye, that were it." Aegon said to some chuckles.
"You gave up your crown for a foreign whore just like your brother did." Glover said and Aegon moved quickly.
Aegon lifted him up and slamming him down hard on the table was the only noise in the hall, no one else moved, no one saying anything, even his brother hung his head in shame.
"Say it again my lord, say it again and I'll tear your tongue out with my bare hands and feed it back to you. That goes for any of you, insult my queen once more and it's my blade you'll face and that right soon, is that understood?"
He saw some men seemed shocked and yet more were not, the Mountain Clans, the Free Folk, Manderly men, and even the Glovers themselves looking at him with respect.
"A man who breaks an oath once can be forgiven, as I did once already with Lord Glover in this very room. A man who breaks an oath twice cannot. The sentence for treason is death my lords, but I am a fair man, and so Lord Glover I offer you the right to Trial by Combat if you're man enough to accept it." he said loudly as he let go of the lord and let him rise to his feet.
It took a few moments for the lord to ready himself to speak and once he did the cockiness and assuredness that he possessed, but couldn't back up, was clear once more.
"And which of your savages am I to face?" Glover said looking at the Dothraki, the Free Folk, and the Unsullied.
"This one." he said pointing to himself and watching as the man paled "One hour my lord, I'd say your goodbyes now to those you love now if I were you."
He walked from the Great Hall with Dany beside him and he could see how furious she was, as soon as he entered their room he found himself face to face with that fury.
"What are you doing? This wasn't what we agreed. Aegon." she said her face almost red from holding her anger in.
"I wish to see him suffer, for his insult. I want them all to know what happens should they speak of you that way, should they think of you that way. Let them fear what I'll do to them if they even dare it." he said.
"Aegon you risk too much." she said her anger having dissipated some.
"Against Glover?" he said with a chuckle "If I do then we're all done for, Dany." he said reaching out to touch her face.
"I cannot lose you." she said softly as he took her in his arms.
"Nor I, you, I'd not risk it for either of us, besides I have a wedding to attend on the morow." he said getting a laugh from her.
"Promise me you'll take no risks." she said and he nodded as she kissed him.
He stood waiting in the yard and was actually surprised when the man came out to face him, he'd almost expected him to run but maybe he knew that it would do him no good. Glancing up her caught a glimpse of red hair and knew Sansa was watching and he wondered if his sister thought that Glover had a chance. Looking around the yard he saw Tormund wiggle his eyebrows and nod, Beric looked on with an eager look too. Dany stood with Ser Jorah, Ser Davos, and Arya, his little sister looking nervous and Dany determined.
"Let's do this." he said as he unsheathed Longclaw.
Glover came at him quickly and he parried easily, catching the man with his forehead and sending him stumbling back. He circled him as the man recovered and then allowed him to come again, this time sweeping his legs from under him before allowing him to rise back to his feet. The next attack he simply moved out of the way of, Glover's movements seeming almost one-paced to him as he dodged another attack easily. Then he began to attack the man himself, throwing feints that the man fell for easily, thrusts and swings that he could barely parry, and soon he heard the heavy breathing of the older man. The first cut he caught him with was on the shoulder, the second across the thigh. Glover's pained shouts ringing around the yard as Aegon moved in for the kill.
That he didn't push the sword in the full way was on purpose, he wanted him to feel the pain for longer than a few moments,s and hearing the sword fall to the ground and the man to his knees he knew it was done. He looked to see Glover holding his stomach where he'd caught him and opened him up, it would take a long time for the man to die and he saw the pleading look in both his and his brother's face.
"The gods have judged your fate, Lord Glover, they've found you guilty of breaking your oath, admit you guilt and I'll end it clean?" he asked.
"Aye, I admit it." Glover said and Aegon nodded before stepping behind him.
He stood behind him and raised the sword, placing the point between Glover's neck and shoulder, then pushing down diagonally he pushed it until it came out the man's side before he pulled it free, Glover dead before he'd done so.
"Burn the body." he said as he stepped away he saw Jaime Lannister look to him curiously as he nodded to Dany and walked to the Godswood.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Daenerys.
She had felt nervous when Aegon had fought, even though she had seen him beyond the wall and both Grey Worm and Qhono had told her that the fight was done before it had begun. Whether it was knowing that he was doing so for her, or that she was so close to being wed, she really couldn't be certain. After he had come back from praying in the Godswood she had practically ripped his clothes from him. So eager was she to make sure there wasn't another mark on his beautiful body and to quench the desire and need she had to have him inside her.
When he'd slept she'd stayed awake, looking at his chest as it rose and fell and reading the letters that he'd taken from Castle Black. She was nervous at the thought that something would go wrong, or would come along to stop them from being married. Even though she knew it was a foolish thought, it was one she couldn't shake and so she knew she'd not sleep, and in a way she welcomed it. The time it gave her to read what her granduncle had thought of her something she'd not had enough of up to now.
The letters were just mentions of her in Essos, yet her uncle had written little notes in them. Little thoughts and glimpses into how he felt about her, Dany finding herself teary-eyed as she brushed her fingers over the scribbles he'd made.
A Targaryen alone.
I should be with her.
Cursed be the gods for taking my eyes and my strength while my kin is alone in the world.
Daenerys is the future, the last of us, she must be protected.
Her uncle cared for her, even despite the distance between them, Aemon thought of her and wished her safe and well and though she thought she was alone, she was anything but. She wondered what he'd have done if he knew the truth about the man he thought was Jon Snow. Would he have sent him to her? Would Aegon have come? What would her life have been like if he had?
"Dany." she heard Aegon say as he rolled over, and she smiled as she looked down upon him before she placed the letters on the table and snuggled up beside him, feeling his arms wrap around her as she fell to sleep.
The little girl ran around the garden, her dark hair trailing behind her and her violet eyes sparkling as the boy chased her. His own hair a bright silver and his eyes grey and dark and yet it was clear they were siblings, the girl slightly older perhaps.
" Muña make him stop." the girl's voice called out.
" Aemon, leave your sister play." a woman's voice replied.
" Kepa." she heard the girl call out happily as she ran and Dany saw the man lift her up and spin her around, his own dark hair the same shade as the girl's.
" Rhaella, gods I've missed you." Aegon said as he swung her.
" Kepa, Muña missed you, too." the girl, no, Rhaella said.
" Did she now, let's see, Dany did you miss me?" Aegon said holding the girl in his arms and she watched as the woman, as she walked toward them, as the silver-haired boy, as Aemon ran toward her, and as his father picked him up and swung him too.
" I missed you, my love." Dany said as she moved to be wrapped in three pairs of arms.
Upon waking she jumped from the bed and ran to the privy, quickly she felt her stomach empty and then felt Aegon's hands holding her hair back and softly rubbing her back.
"Dany, Dany, what's wrong?" Aegon asked shakily.
"It's nothing, nerves, I'm well, Aegon, truly." she said as he grabbed her a mug of water which she drank down.
"You're sure, the Maester, one of the Dothraki?" he asked worriedly.
"I'm sure, the wedding, tonight, I'm just nervous." she said smiling when he kissed her forehead.
Thankfully Missandei and then Arya arrived, the girl had begun to spend more time with her since she'd arrived back with Missandei and the others. She laughed as Aegon was shooed from the room, apparently, he shouldn't even have been allowed to stay there the night before. His pout when he was told he'd not be allowed back in until after they had wed was adorable. After breaking her fast and finding that whether it was because she'd just emptied her stomach or that she was truly hungry, she'd emptied both hers and Missandei plates, they began to make ready for the wedding.
Missandei had her put on her dress and then began to make some alterations while Arya spoke of it being the first true wedding in Winterfell in years. That she didn't consider the abomination her sister had been forced into a wedding was not lost on her. When Dany brought up Sansa she was pleased to see the frown on Arya's face, a part of her still wary that should it come to it the girl would choose her over Aegon.
"My sister is a fool, your grace." Arya said.
"Dany."
"Dany." Arya said smiling.
Once Missandei had finished the alterations to her dress she tried it on once more, standing in front of the looking glass to see how she looked in it. It was beautiful, the white silk made her hair and eyes stand out and the designs were ever so subtlety woven in. Missandei had somehow managed to get everything she wished incorporated into the dress. Ghost, horses to signify the Dothraki, small spears and shields for the unsullied, and the dragons of course. That you needed to look closely to see the beads she'd used for each of them, all in white so they blended in rather than stood out, took her breath away.
After taking it off, they had lunch and she listened as Arya told tales of Aegon as a boy. The adventures they had got up to and how she'd always find him willing to listen or offer her advice when she asked. It was clear how much she loved him and that in turn only made Dany keener to get even closer to the girl. When she started speaking of Needle and how no matter where she was it made her think of her brother, Dany felt herself choke up a little. Viserys had been good to her once, the only blood she'd known and she still had never been as lucky as Arya was. That the girl knew it though was comforting and she was realizing now why Aegon wished to give her a chance.
"My queen, your hair, it's time." Missandei said and Dany nodded.
Arya left them alone and Missandei began to work on her hair, her friend looking as if she wished to ask her something and yet staying silent for some time before she finally did.
"You are happy, my queen, truly?" Missandei asked.
"I am, he makes me happy, Missy."
"As you do him, my queen." Missandei said.
Once she was done, they sat and waited, the moments stretching on and her nerves feeling frayed until she heard the knock on the door and Missandei opened it to let her bear inside.
"My queen, you look…" Jorah said smiling unable to finish the sentence for some time before he did "Beautiful".
"Thank you, Ser Jorah, you are ready?" she asked and he nodded.
The walk to the Hodswood was quiet even though the keep was full of people. She saw them look at her as she walked and felt the difference in how they did now and when she had first arrived here. Then it was with doubt, suspicion, reluctance, and even hatred in some, now it was while not love at least acceptance and she could work with that.
She gasped when she saw the Godswood, lanterns hung from the trees and some people held some in their hands. Her Dothraki looked on eagerly as she passed them and her Unsullied all turned to face her when she reached the small pathway that led to the great Weirwood. She looked to see the Lords of the North, the Mountain Clans, and the Free Folk, most looking more than happy to be there, and then she saw Aegon standing in front of the tree.
He wore his usual black and yet she noticed a small glimmer of red in the tie he wore in his hair, a tie that she'd soon pull out of it as she preferred his hair loose and flowing, but she welcomed the symbolism all the same. Ser Davos stood in front of him, waiting for her to give him the nod and when she did so his voice boomed around the Godswood.
"Who Comes before the Old Gods, this Night?" Davos said and she felt a shiver in her chest.
"Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen comes here to be wed. A woman grown, trueborn, and noble, she comes to beg the blessings of the gods. Who comes to claim her? " Ser Jorah said his voice firm and loud.
"Jon of House Stark, the King in the North. Who gives her?" Aegon said stepping forward.
"Ser Jorah of House Mormont who is her Queensguard and loyal friend." Jorah said and Dany squeezed his hand in thanks.
"Queen Daenerys, do you take this man?" Davos asked.
She stepped forward and saw Aegon's eyes as he looked to her, his own nerves not showing, and when she saw his smile her own soon appeared.
"I take this man." she said firmly as if she needed to dissuade any who dared to doubt it.
She felt Jon take her hand and then with him she turned facing the tree and took to her knees. Closing her eyes she prayed for what she wished for more than anything, a life, a future with the man she loved. After a moment she stood up and heard Davos speak and found herself covered in something warm as a cloak was wrapped around her. Looking down she was surprised to see the Three-Headed Dragon and the White Direwolf entwined.
"The gods have spoken and have given their blessing. My Lords, My Ladies, the King, and Queen." Davos said and she heard the lords cheer.
Before she knew what had happened though she was scooped up in Aegon's arms, and felt his lips on hers as he carried her from the Godswood.
"My wife." Aegon said softly as he looked at her and kissed her again.
"My husband." she said smiling as they walked past the gate, Ghost escorting them to the Great Hall for the feast to come.
She felt happy, her heart full, and looking at Aegon she could feel he felt the same. As they entered the hall she expected to be let down but he carried her to the High Table and only then did he let her out of his arms. Even once he did he took her hand in his and then moved closer to whisper in her ear as the room begin to fill.
"I am yours and you are mine, Always Dany."
"Always." she said back as she looked into his eyes and saw that the grey was no longer there, that deep purple she had become accustomed to seeing every so often, now was the only color she could see.