Winterfell 305 AC.
Jaime.
He turned and saw her dragged down beneath a large group of wights, Podrick nowhere to be seen and he the closest one to her. Despite giving everything he had, it was clear he'd not reach her and more so now that his own time was also close to an end. Widow's Wail was buried in a wight's head and the dragonglass dagger was his only weapon but there were simply too many of them. As he felt the rotting hand's claw at him and thrust out with his dagger he prepared to be judged by his gods.
Then there was nothing, no pressure, no wights, Jaime looking on as one by one they all simply fell to the ground. Had he been thinking straight he'd have understood what had just occurred but his mind was focussed on his survival and now on finding Brienne. He pushed through the dead bodies to the pile where he'd seen her fall and began pulling them off what he hoped would be a still-living Brienne.
The smack he got to his face normally wouldn't have been something that made him laugh like a fool but on this occasion that's what he did. Jaime reaching down and grabbing the hand that had just struck him and helping Brienne to her feet. She was dazed, confused, and bore more than one scratch on her face but she was alive and that was all that in the end truly mattered. There were two sides, the living and the dead and it was far better to be on the side of one than the other.
"Podrick? "Brienne asked and Jaime shook his head "What happened?" she asked as she looked around
"The King happened." Jaime said his smile though tinged with a bit of sadness for the lost squire was far happier that they had won.
Together they began to move their way from the parapets and down the stairs, Jaime taking in the sights that were in front of him. People were looking around both in relief at the knowledge the fight was over and Jaime thought, in hope that those they cared about survived also. Soon enough he was doing likewise, looking around for familiar faces and trying to see who had and who had not made it through. The queen's men seemed more or less intact from what he could see, Grey Worm, Qhono the leader of the Dothraki, and one or two faces that he'd seen guard her and the king's chambers were all amongst the living.
Brienne was looking over at the small group that was walking through the courtyard, Jaime seeing Arya Stark, The Hound and the smith who'd he'd found out was Robert Baratheon's bastard son. Not that anyone would have needed to tell him that as just looking at the boy it was clear enough. He saw Brienne both sigh and smile at the same time when she looked and saw that the Mormont's and the crazy wilding had made it through. Jaime knowing now that the man was someone his king considered one of his truest and most leal friends, as he did the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch who was presently walking down the stairs behind them.
"Ser Jaime." a voice called and Jaime looked to see Ned Dayne move through the yard, Dawn on his back and his cousin walking not too far behind him.
"Lord Dayne." he said with a nod in the man's direction.
"What happened? How?" Ned asked.
"The Night King is dead, truly fucking dead, like the rest of these fuckers. I fucking told you all, only a fool or a madman would mess with King Crow." Tormund shouted loudly as he reached them and smiled at Brienne.
"You truly think he won?" Ser Gerold said almost mockingly and Jaime found he didn't like his tone one bit.
"He won, had he not then we'd all be meat just like these fucks here." Tormund said kicking one of the dead men that lay on the ground.
Their group was soon joined by another that included some of the Dothraki. The queen's men including Ser Jorah all glad to see each other while the rest of them looked to try and see those who'd not made it. One of the Dothraki handed him Widow's Wail and Jaime stood almost in shock as people seemed to look at him for guidance about what to do next. Quickly gathering his wits and telling people to gather their own dead and to build pyres to burn those that needed to be burned.
"What of the other dead?" Ser Jorah asked.
"Gather them up in as many piles as needed, they'll burn once the king and queen and the dragons come back." Jaime said.
"Should we not send someone to find them? What if they're hurt?" Ned Dayne asked his voice far more concerned than Jaime was expecting it to be.
"My brother is not hurt, he'll be back, he and my goodsister." Arya Stark said leaving no room for doubt.
Without dismissing them people soon just went about the work that needed to be done, and Jaime soon found himself alone again in the middle of the yard. A part of him had thought he'd come here to die, to fight for the living, and to go meet the gods after finally doing the right thing. He'd come here with no real expectation that he'd live if he was being truthful with himself. Finding that the further he traveled there really wasn't much he had to live for.
Cersei was lost to him, her mind no longer her own, and what she had become was something that scared and horrified him. He'd seen the green flames that still burned where the Great Sept had once stood and her smile as she was being crowned while their son lay dead because of her actions. Jaime had heard her care more about a throne and a crown than the people and been disgusted by her for the first time ever. Jaime had served a mad king and he had no intent of serving an equally mad queen. But she was his sister, his love and so he'd tried one last time only to fail just as he had so often on so many things. So he'd left to come to the most dangerous place in Westeros, all the while understanding that the chances of returning were slim and none.
Life was most strange he thought as he began to move around the courtyard, men coming to him to ask what duties they needed to perform and Jaime wondering when he'd risen up to be the man they asked. No, that was a lie, he didn't wonder that, on that alone he was certain of the why and when. He'd come here to face an inevitable death and had instead found a reason to live. A king and queen to serve along with a promise to keep that he'd given up all hope of ever seeing true. He'd been given a second chance to be what he always wished to be and only a fool would turn it down. For Jaime, his days of being a fool and of being the stupidest Lannister were finally done.
"Have you seen, Ser Brienne?" he asked one of the Northmen.
"I think she's up on the parapets, Ser Jaime." the man said, his voice respectful where once it would have been only mocking.
He turned and walked towards the stairs, looking on as the bodies of the dead army were dragged unceremoniously across the ground and out of the keep while their own dead were treated with far more care and deference. When he reached the top of the stairs and looked around he saw her kneeling and he knew what it was she was looking at. Jaime moving quickly but quietly to where she was and then kneeling down beside her.
Podrick looked as if he was sleeping, his eyes closed and his face unmarked, Jaime needing to look closer to see the gash in his side that had ended him. He said nothing as he knelt with her, just offered her the comfort of his presence for all the good it would do. Brienne's hand softly moving the boy's hair from his face and her thumb brushing over the boy's now not so chubby cheeks.
"He believed in me far more than I ever did myself. I treated him terribly you know, at first, he was so damn frustrating and annoying." Brienne said softly almost to herself "But over time I came to rely on him, to care for him. When I had doubts he'd assuage them simply and without preamble, he'd just speak and tell me I was on the right track, that I was doing the right thing and those doubts would go away."
Jaime looked as she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the boy's forehead before she reached underneath the body and lifted him into her arms. She stood up and carried him down the stairs and did so in such a gentle way that had you not seen her fight then you'd think she would not be able to. No one this soft and gentle could wield a sword with the ferocity she did your mind would tell you. Jaime followed her to the Godswood much to his surprise as he knew that Winterfell had a Sept or it had one at least the last time he'd been here.
As they walked through the gates he saw that others had done as she had and brought those they cared for to the sacred place the Northerners said their prayers in. She laid him down close to the Weirwood tree, Jaime looking to see Maege Mornont and another northern lord, the Glover he believed were kneeling in front of it with the body of the crannogman close by. When Brienne knelt so did he and what her prayers were for he couldn't tell, his own though were soon answered as he heard the dragons roar and looked to the sky.
The North 305 AC.
Dany.
Drogon had flown faster than he had ever done before to bring her to Aegon and Rhaegal and when she'd gotten there she'd felt she'd arrived just in time. Seeing them being chased by the monster on her son's back fueled her anger and worry and Drogon picked up on both. She'd not even needed to tell her son to let loose his flames, Drogon knew that Viserion was no longer his brother and did so without a moment's hesitation.
Then it had seemed as if time had simply stopped, the world around her almost seeming to come to a crawl and Dany not hearing a sound as events played out in front of her. She saw Aegon jump from Rhaegals's back, his sword in his hand, and then it seemed to be in Viseron's back and the dragon, the monster, and Aegon were all falling to the ground. Dany didn't know what to do, what to think, or how to save the man she loved and she felt the panic begin to rise in her chest. Her eyes searched the ground for any sign of Aegon and she soon feared the worst when she didn't see him.
Where the light came from she couldn't tell but it gave her something to focus on and she breathed out a huge sigh of relief when she saw Aegon holding the sword in his hand. Drogon flew closer without her bidding, her son eager to help Aegon and to see that Rhaegal was unhurt. Dany smiling when she saw her other son turn in the distance to fly back this way. When she saw the explosion of ice she told Drogon to land and as she did so, she looked to see Rhaegal had also decided that the fight was done. She quickly climbed down of Drogon's back and ran to her husband, her arms pulling him to her and holding him tightly as she swore to never let him go.
"Don't you ever, ever do that to me again, Aegon Targaryen." she said as she kissed him while checking to make sure he was unharmed.
"It's done Dany, he's gone." Aegon said and she looked over his shoulder trying to see if there were any remains of the Night King anywhere.
"Viserion?" she asked.
"At peace." Aegon said taking her hand and leading her to a large scorched area where he told her Viserion had simply burned away.
"How?" she asked not understanding.
"The sword, it lit up, Lightbringer, Melisandre called it. When I was at Castle Black, Stannis had a sword that he and she claimed to be the one but it was a mummery, the flames untrue. Mine were not." Aegon said.
"Did you know?" she asked.
"I… I saw, as we flew I saw the Battle over the God's Eye, Daemon on Caraxaes fighting Aemond on Vhagar." Aegon said.
"You jumped from Rhaegal's back because you had a vision?" Dany said annoyedly.
"We're here because I had a vision, Dany." Aegon replied "I heard them, before I fought him, I heard them." Aegon said looking at her, his hands holding her face so she could see the truth in his eyes.
"Who?"
"My father, my mother, Uncle Aemon, and Uncle Benjen. I heard them telling me what to do, who I was, and why I was here." Aegon said.
"You're here because of me, Aegon, because of our babe." she said as he nodded.
"Aye, I am." he said and then he kissed her before they turned to walk back towards the dragons.
"Is it done, Aegon, truly, the Night King he's gone and won't return?" she asked as they walked.
"It's done, it's over. We should go back to the others, they'll be worried." Aegon said and she found herself keen to make sure the rest of the people that she cared about had survived also.
When they reached the two dragons she noticed how Bran was positioned and so she looked to see if Aegon was worried that his brother was unmoving. She found he was not, almost as if he expected it or perhaps it was that he just didn't care. When he moved from her she felt his absence almost immediately and she looked on as he moved close to Rhaegal and spoke some words to her son before he climbed up the wing and checked on Bran.
"Is he?" she asked concerned.
"He's dead. Dany. Quote the Raven, nevermore." Aegon said with a chuckle as he took up his position behind the body of what had once been his brother.
Dany herself felt nothing for the boy, Aegon had told her that he was no friend of theirs and didn't wish for what they wished for. In truth he'd gone much further and said that he believed that Bran would actively work against them should the chance arise. So she was happy he was gone and wouldn't get that chance and yet she felt a bit uncomfortable with how casual Aegon was acting about it. Her husband was not an uncaring man, he'd proved that to her and she'd seen it with how he was with Arya and with others. However it seemed there was a line to him, there were those with them and those against them and woe betide any who found themselves on the wrong side of that line.
So despite her discomfort over how he was reacting to Bran's death, she also felt a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing that yet another obstacle, another enemy that wished her ill was no more. That there were more to deal with should have given her pause and yet it did not. She was not solitary in this, she was no longer the last of her kind who would need to face the whole world alone. Dany had a husband and would soon enough have a child, her other children were alive and well and their family would prevail. She found she needed no more truth than that.
"Sōvegon Drōgon." she said after she had settled on her son's back and almost at once they were in the air.
They flew south towards Winterfell and the closer they got to the keep itself the more of the battlefield below she could see. Dany found herself looking down nervously at the mass of dead that was beneath them. When she saw the sheer number of her people on horseback she smiled, the knowledge that so many had survived filling her with the hope that they'd been far luckier than she'd feared. She almost begged Drogon to fly faster to the keep when she began to picture the faces of those closest to her and her wish to see them all in the flesh began to overwhelm her.
Rhaegal landed first and then Drogon did so beside him, Dany watching as Aegon removed Bran's body from her son's back and laid it surprisingly gently on the ground. Her eyes were soon drawn to the horses that rode their way and she began to wonder if Aegon saw them too and if so was he performing a mummery. Given what happened when they reached them it soon became clear he was. Dany saw some of the northern lords and Arya stark to be amongst them and her husband's intent was now clear to her.
"Jon." Arya said jumping from her horse and running to him.
"I know you'd make it little sister, you of all people." Aegon said hugging Arya tightly.
"Is that, Oh gods, Bran." Arya said and Dany's heart went out to the young girl as she began to cry out even despite her own feelings for the boy, his sister deserved a better brother to mourn.
"He helped, Arya, he helped but in the end…" Aegon said and Dany wondered if any of the others could tell how insincere he was being over the death of his brother or did his true sympathy for his little sister cover it up.
"My queen." Ser Jorah said and Dany smiled as she embraced her bear, smiling even more when she saw Qhono and Grey Worm both behind him.
"Your grace." she heard Ser Jaime Lannister say and she turned to see him speaking to Aegon.
"We should ride for the keep, I'll take my brother." Aegon said and Dany looked to him and saw him nod as Qhono handed her the reins of her horse.
Entering Winterfell she welcomed the cheers that rang out, her Dothraki loudest of all though the Northmen weren't too far behind. The unsullied welcome was more stoic, a simple tapping of their spears to the ground when they saw her and when people began to chant loudly for the king and queen she finally felt what was a true welcome in this place. Almost all the Northern Lords gave her warm smiles and the soldiers own were even warmer, Dany dismounting her horse and walking over to stand by her husband's side. She looked at Aegon who gave her the nod and allowed her to be the one to speak, something she was most grateful for.
"The Night King has fallen, his evil ended at my husband's hands. The King of the North and South proving himself to be the true king." Dany said to loud cheers.
"The King of the North."
"The King of the North."
"King Jon."
She found that she enjoyed the praise her husband received, it was well deserved and she could see in the eyes of those assembled that their praise was not for him alone. The words that were shouted out not more than a moment later showing just how true that was.
"The Dragonqueen." Tormund shouted out loudly and Dany noticed he carried a horn filled with something in his hand.
"Hail Queen Daenerys."
"Hail to the Dragonqueen."
Dany waited until the chants and cheers began to subside and then nodded to Aegon, bidding him say the rest. They were a partnership, a queen and a king untied as one and the realm should know that she felt.
"Today we mourn those who lost, we say our goodbyes to friends, family and to loved ones, to hero's one and all." Aegon said loudly "Tonight though we drink and feast to our victory, not just mine nor my queen's, but our victory. Each of us here fought against an army that we had no right to beat, we fought and we won, all of us. Tonight we drink and feast and know that your king and queen do so in your name and that it will be our greatest honor to do so with each of you. You, the hero's who brought the dawn." Aegon said to even louder cheers.
She watched him pick his brother up and carry him to the crypts, Arya walking beside him and Ser Jaime a little way behind. Ser Jorah bid her follow and as they walked he told her of the losses they'd suffered, Dany almost in disbelief they'd been so low.
"Your grace staying with us kept it so, having you and Drogon fight never allowed them to overrun us." Ser Jorah said.
"Aegon killed the Night King, Ser Jorah." she said feeling that he wasn't giving her husband his due and finding that was not his intent.
"Aye he did, you did so together, my queen. A king and queen who both fought for their people and without you both we'd have not seen the morn." Ser Jorah said.
"Then we shall celebrate that fact tonight, we'll drink and break bread and mayhap even share a dance or two. We'll forget everything else, for tonight at least." she said with a smile.
"And on the morrow?" Ser Jorah asked.
"We make plans for the last war, Ser Jorah." she said determinedly as they walked to her room.
Riverlands 303 AC to 305 AC.
Edmure Tully.
Almost three years he'd rotted alone in a cell inside the Twins, only allowed out of it when Jaime Lannister had used him to give up his uncle and his family home. The threats of what he would do to his child enough to have him betray his kin and his men. He'd thought he'd die from the shame of it or that once they'd squeezed the last bit of use from him then Walder Frey would finally make good on his promise.
The Lord of the Crossing had come to see him and mock him more than once while he was a prisoner, bringing him news of his son in order to show him just how unneeded he was. Edmure forced to watch him take pleasure in telling him that his time was almost done. His uncle's resistance stalled his fate temporarily at least or so he had thought. After he'd been brought back to the Twins, Jaime Lannister of all people had granted him a kindness and allowed him to see his son, Edmure smiling as he looked into the deep blue eyes of young Brynden.
They'd placed him back in his cell and he'd waited for the end to come, only for his wife to come to him instead. Roslin told him what had happened and Edmure soon found himself looking around the Twins at the bodies of the men who'd tormented and belittled him for years. He'd wished for nothing more than to ride and take back his home but he was in no condition to do anything of the sort. His lack of food and being able to move freely left him far too weak to leave for some time. So he'd helped his wife take control of the Twins themselves, had built his strength back up, and found that he wasn't the only prisoner that the Frey's still had in their dungeons.
"Marq." he said opening the door to the cell.
"Begone spirit, begone and leave me to my doom." a tried and almost broken voice called out.
"Marq, it's me, It's Edmure, truly." he said reaching out and touching the shoulders of his closest friend and finding him shrinking away from him.
"Edmure?" Marq said after a few moments.
"Aye, come, let's get you washed and fed."
He had found both Lymond Goodbrook and Karl Vance to be alive too, both men were almost too thin and emaciated to move and he knew it would take time for them to recover if they ever truly would. To his horror, he found that not one of the Northmen had survived and been kept as prisoners. The Freys or perhaps the Bolton's who'd played their own role in things had seen to that. As the weeks turned into moons he spent as much time training and building his strength back up in the yard as he did with his wife and son. Edmure finding that it took time for the three of them to get to know each other and to be comfortable being close.
Roslin it turned out was made of far sterner stuff than first impressions had led him to assume, though truth be told it was her looks and not her strength of will that he'd cared about then. Over time though it had become the latter and soon enough they were making plans to take back his home and the Riverlands themselves. Ser Marq and Ser Lymond had both grown strong enough to fight and though Ser Karl had not, it was only a matter of time.
"We need to send word to Seagard. Lymond can you ride and speak to the Mallisters?" he asked and Lymond nodded
"What about the ravens?" Marq asked
"I don't know who we can trust, but word will spread soon enough of our survival, so it's for the best that we make ready" he said and Marq nodded
It took him almost a year and a half to retake the Riverlands and Riverrun and there were still pockets of resistance that were loyal to the crown When he heard of events in the North he'd taken a moment to think of calling for their aid but they'd not come to rescue him when he'd needed them. Despite Roslin's words that it was a wolf who'd come to the Twins and the words the young girl had apparently spoken, Edmure bristled that they'd left him and the others to rot in the cells if it was truly the Starks who'd done so. Later when he heard that Jon Snow had been named king he'd considered it even more. He had though in the end, decided he needed to set his own lands straight and to prove himself worthy to any who may ever grow doubts and seek to challenge his rule.
When he heard of the Dragonqueen it caused its own issues. His father had fought against her own and yet she fought or would soon fight against the Lannisters and Edmure wondered if an alliance was possible. Some of his lords even suggesting that he travel to Dragonstone to see her but for now, he ignored their advice and suggestions. His wife was carrying their second babe and the time was drawing close for the birth. Edmure having no wish to miss this one as he had Brynden's.
"Should we send someone else, my lord?" his steward asked as they sat in the Great Hall in Riverrun.
"No, we wait, no doubt they'll come to us before too long." he said and Utherydes nodded his agreement.
"As you command, my lord." Utherydes said as a servant came running into the Great Hall.
"The babe milord, the Maester says the babe is coming." the servant shouted out.
He ran from the room and to his wife's chambers almost bursting inside when he heard the pained screams, the guards quickly moving out of his way to let him enter. Vyman, however, did not and soon enough he was sitting in the outer chambers as the sounds tailed off and he finally heard the soft cry of a babe. Edmure looked to the door and saw it open before Vyman stepped out to look him in the eye.
"You have a daughter, my lord." Vyman said and Edmure smiled before taking on a worried look.
"My wife?" he asked.
"Is well, you may see them both if you wish, congratulations my lord." Vyman said and Edmure nodded and then walked into the room.
His wife lay in the bed, her face most pale but she looked healthy and happy and in her arms she held a small bundle. Edmure moved over and carefully sat down on the bed beside her, his fingers brushing her hair from her face as his eyes focussed on the babe in her arms. The telltale signs of red hair were already clear on her head and her sparkling blue eyes were open and wide.
"Cat." he said softly as he placed his hand on the babe's face and looked to his wife "You are well?"
"Most well, my love." Roslin said.
Over the next few days, Roslin recovered her strength and her color and news began to arrive about the Dragonqueen over the next few moons. How she'd set the Lannister army and the Tarly's alight on the road back from Highgarden. Edmure feeling they deserved it for sacking the Tyrell's home and expressing that never again would he have sympathy for the lions or those who did their bidding, his lords surprisingly agreeing with him on that. When word came of events in the Dragonpit and of the Dragonqueen's army traveling North with Jon Snow, Edmure didn't know what to make of it. The story itself was unbelievable and yet the actions taken after made it seem as if it was true.
Though it was the raven that came which really had he and his lords scrambling over what to do, his niece's words speaking of things that could lose all of them their heads. Although the more he thought on it the more he was sure it would be flames or a dragon's teeth they'd face should they go along with what Sansa was suggesting. Yet there were some who wished it so, others who wanted him to name himself their king and for them to rule their lands themselves. They'd taken it back without anyone's help after all, so why should they kneel to a dragon, a wolf, crazed lioness, or their preferred king's niece. Edmure quickly called the meeting to hear them all out before the calls became too loud and the choice was made for him.
"You took our lands back, Lord Edmure. It was you who brought my son back to me, why should I kneel to another?" Lord Norbert Vance said.
"We fought against the dragons in the rebellion, why join them now? As for the Lion's I'd rather cut my cock off than kneel to Cersei and though I mean no disrespect to you or your family my lord, I know not your niece other than she married the imp and the Bastard of Bolton." Lymond said to some nods.
"Against her will, Lord Lymond." he said reproachfully.
"True, but she married them both all the same." Lymond said.
"All of this is moot lest you wish it, we'd name you our king, Edmure, just give us the word." Ser Marq said and he looked to his friend and then to his wife. Roslin he could see was thinking over what it would be like to be a queen.
"Were this but a few years ago then I'd snap your hands off so eager would I be to wear a crown. But that man was a fool and has long since passed. The man in front of you is older and I'd hope wiser." he said to some laughs "We cannot hold our lands, not against the Lions as we all know to our cost but most certainly not against the dragons should they come. Mark my words my lords, it'll be dragons who rule these lands yet again."
He could see nods of agreement around the hall and he reached down to his glass before drinking it down quickly and readying to speak once more.
"And yet that's not why I'll deny myself a crown or won't support my niece. We swore our oaths to a king, a king who gave his blood for us all, mine nephew were he living today would be our king still, would he not?"
"Aye."
"Aye."
The voices called out and he looked to see that some in the room knew where he was about to go and he wondered what they and the others may say.
"Our king named his brother his heir, I signed my name to his will and did so freely and while I had no joy in doing so, I did it because my king willed it so. I know not this Jon Snow other than what my sister would speak of him and though Cat bore the boy no love she signed the will the same as I."
"You would ask us to kneel to a bastard?"
"To a Northern savage?" another voice called out.
"Was my nephew a Northern Savage? Were the men who bled for us at the Whispering Woods or outside these very walls? Were the men who died at the Twins, Northern Savages?" he said angrily.
The heads dropping around the room in shame at the words spoken by one of their number soon showed the truth of their feelings.
"We shall bow but to our king. To Jon Snow, the King of the North and the Trident, long may he reign." he said standing to his feet.
"Jon Snow."
"Long May he Reign."
He called for a quill and some parchment and wrote the note before fixing his seal to it and handing it to Vyman.
"Send this to Winterfell." he said as he handed him the scroll and the Maester nodded as he hurried to do his bidding, Edmure turning to see his wife looking at him with a small and proud smile on her face.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Varys.
He'd ridden hard to White Harbor and then taken one of the fastest of the Queen's ships to Duskendale, Varys glad to see the Kraken sails had been fitted as per his request. Where the Iron Fleet itself was he didn't know but he couldn't take the risk that he'd fall into Euron Greyjoy's hands and to sail in a single ship alone bearing the Queen's colors was foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst. They made good time though and when he arrived in Duskendale he considered reaching out to House Rykker before deciding, in the end, it was best not to for now.
The ride to King's Landing was just as hard and by the time he arrived he was tired and his bones were stiff. Yet his heart was pumping as fast as it ever did with the knowledge that he was about to make a move in the great game. Entering the city was easy enough, Varys mixing with the other refugees who foolishly came here seeking aid. It did pain him seeing the tire and the hungry children and knowing they'd not find any respite behind these walls. Once inside the gates he disappeared into the shadows, his little birds no longer his and his alone, and the risks to his life rising substantially because of it.
Varys scurried through the back streets, down alleys and paths he knew far better than most, and soon enough came to his destination. The brothel the last place a man with no cock would ever be expected to visit and yet Chataya and his relationship had always been very mutually rewarding. He'd given her the coin to get started and had reaped the benefits of her help over the years. That he'd also kept her safe from Littlefinger's machinations had only increased the woman's loyalty and debt to him, a debt he now wished her to repay.
"A spider comes to call." the voice said as he moved to knock at the back door, Varys turning to see Alayaya walking his way while carrying a basket of fruit.
"And will he find a safe web to call his home?" he asked and received a warm smile from the girl.
"Always, my lord." she said as she knocked on the door and bid him join her inside when it was opened.
He was shown to a room where a bath was quickly prepared for him and though he wished to douse himself in his favorite perfume and wear the clothes he had stored here, he knew he could not. Varys instead dressing simply though he left his disguise to one side for now. Alayaya brought him some food and some wine and he was surprised by the quality of both though the girl explained that with the Golden Company in the city all of them ate well enough.
"The men spend coin as if it were they who shit gold and not the Lannisters." Alayaya said making him titter.
"They visit often?" he asked as he took a bite of the peach.
"They are so many, my lord, they visit and they wait." Alayaya said her voice concerned.
"They wait?"
"For the Dragons." the girl said her concern even more clear now.
"You have nothing to fear from the dragons, Alayaya, I serve their queen and I've always seen you right have I not?"
"Yes you have." an older woman's voice said and Varys turned to see Chataya enter the room.
"It's good to see you well, old friend." he said with a smile.
"You too, my lord." she said back.
Varys listened eagerly as Chataya told him the ins and outs of all that had occurred since the Golden Company had arrived. How there was tension between them and the queen's men and with the Iron Born most of all. She told him how some of the men had taken to guard her doors and how a fight had occurred where the men of gold had killed a half dozen of Euron's men who'd tried to cause her trouble. Varys relieved that none of those inside had been hurt and pleased just as much by the news of rising tensions.
"They most dislike the Iron Born king, the Greyjoy, I've heard many men speak of wishing to cut his throat." Alayaya added.
"What say they about the Dragonqueen?" he asked as he took a sip of the wine.
"That they're fools to be going up against her and that if she beats the Army of the Dead then what hope have they." Chataya said.
He listened some more as they spoke about how the queen and the pirate seemed to enraptured by each other, Euron now spending more time in the Red Keep than on his ship and Varys getting an idea how that could be useful. When Varys asked about Jon Connington he found the man though known to them had never set foot in here or in any other brothel, preferring to do his drinking elsewhere.
"Where do they stay, the leaders of the Golden Company?" he asked as he finished his wine and stood up.
"By the docks, you'll find most of their men, they took the old Tyrell Warehouse and the leaders split their time between there and the Tyrell Manse."
"I'll be back on the morrow." he said and put on the beard.
He made his way down the side streets and first went to the Manse, soon hearing that Jon Connington had argued with Harry Strickland and was staying in the docks. After quickly making his way there he found that the man was inside and that he rarely left. It then took him three days to finally see Jon Connington in a position where he could reach him. Varys having spent his nights watching over the warehouse and only returning to Chataya's when he needed to change or to eat. During that time a ship had arrived carrying a very interesting passenger and Varys made plans to reach out to speak to him as soon as he could. For now, it was the man he followed that he needed to speak to and once he was sure they were alone, Varys made his presence known.
"I wondered when I'd see you, Spider though I had thought I'd smell you first." Jon Connington said when he stepped out in front of him.
"Alas I find myself unable to be who I truly am." he said with a smirk.
"Do you even remember who that man was, Spider?" Jon Connington said and Varys made no reply to that at least instead speaking on why he was here.
"I come to bring you an offer, do I have your ear?" he asked looking at the man in front of him, Jon Connington staring back at him before nodding." Is there somewhere we can speak freely?"
"Ha, you truly are no longer a part of things here if you must ask me that, come, I know a place." Jon said and he followed the man down the street.
In truth, there were many places he could bring the man but none he'd risk him knowing about until he judged him true. The building he was brought to was small and the men in front of it were clearly Golden Company though they wore no markers to identify them so. Varys followed Jon Connington inside and up some stairs and into a small room. Inside there was a table, some chairs, and a bed and he looked on as Jon produced a bottle and some glasses and bid him take a seat.
"I find myself to be in need of solitude from time to time and here in this city I've found little." Jon said pouring out the wine and offering him a glass.
"I hear your men and the Iron Born aren't on the best of terms." he said to begin, seeing Jon smile as he looked at him.
"Why am I not be surprised about what you hear or that your little birds still sing." Jon said shaking his head.
"Is it just the Krakens who vex you, Jon? Or mayhap it's the Lions too, or do you still at night dream of dragons?" he asked and saw the scowl appear on Jon Connington's face.
"Careful Spider, it's taken all I've got in me to not to end you already." Jon said angrily.
"Understandable though most lamentable if it should come to pass. You hate the Lannisters, Jon, the Iron Born too, your heart belongs as it always has, to the Targaryen's." he said looking to the man though he had no need to do so to see that he was right.
"The Dragon's are gone." Jon said swallowing his wine and refilling the glass.
"Not all." he said.
"A girl, a sister, no Varys, the dragons are dead." Jon said his voice far sadder in its tone.
"Had he lived, Aegon, had he lived Jon. If somehow Rhaegar's son had survived, who would your sword be raised for?" he asked curious for the reply.
"He died, they all died and only lesser men like you and I got to live." Jon said bitterly.
"Close your eyes, Jon, imagine a son of Rhaegar lived still, Now, whose side would you be on?"
"I've no need to close my fucking eyes, Spider. For fuck's sake why would I, you know where my heart lay, just like you knew the truth of all of us back then. Had Aegon lived then I'd have given my life in service of him, just as I'd have done for his father. I'd have crossed the world and seen it burn to put him on the Iron Throne. I'd have named him my king and knelt without being asked to, but it's torture to think of such things and I've tortured myself enough as it is."
"You'd not have taken issue with his mother?" he asked and saw Jon grip his glass and glare at him.
"I was jealous of his mother, disliked her, and thought her to be unworthy of him, but dammit she was my princess too. She would have been my queen and mine own feelings matter not compared to that. Now enough with such thoughts, you're here for a reason, get to it or get the fuck out." Jon said his anger telling Varys all that he needed to know.
Varys nodded to the bottle and Jon filled his glass once more. He looked at the Griffin and drank his wine down slowly before he readied to tell him a secret that few in the realm knew.
"You know a strange thing happened when I joined the queen and went North, a revelation that came upon me all of a sudden. Even though I'd known the man, spoken to him and truth be told found him honorable if a bit dull, a realization came upon me when I went North and thought about Ned Stark." Varys said.
"What the fuck has Ned Stark got to do with now?" Jon said a little too loudly, Varys raising his hand.
"The man played the game better than any of us could have imagined, oh his reasons may not have been how they seemed and I find myself questioning them almost as much as he does each and every day." he said.
"He?"
"Jon Snow."
"His bastard?" Jon said looking at him curiously.
"Is he?" he said with a smile.
He began to tell him the tale, of how Ned Stark had arrived at the Tower of Joy and found it to be guarded by three Kingsguard. The names of whom only confirming the truth and he saw how Jon Connington's breathing grew ever more shallow as he continued. The boy being named a bastard, being brought back to the North, and then many years later being sent to the Wall. Varys telling the tale then of what Jon Snow had done when there and seeing the smile that appeared unbidden on Jon Connington's face. When he got to the part about Jon Snow flying on a dragon and the way he'd spoken up for Daenerys when she arrived in the North, it was clear the man now knew the truth.
"He's true?" Jon Connington said his voice barely a whisper.
"He's true, you knew Rhaegar better than I, would he have lain with her were it not so?" he asked and Jon shook his head.
"And Daenerys she'll step aside?" he asked.
"No, nor would he wish it so or even allow any to suggest it, besides there is no need, they've already wed." he said and saw the smile grow large on the man's face.
"What would you ask of me?" Jon asked his voice far more hopeful than it had been just a few moments earlier.
"Who do you serve, Jon?"
"His name, Varys, what is his name?" Jon asked his voice rushed now such was his eagerness to know.
"Aegon Targaryen, the Sixth of his Name."
"My king and my queen, I serve the dragons, Varys, to the death." Jon said and Varys nodded.
They spoke and Varys soon learned that a large number of the captains wished to be elsewhere, Strickland, Euron, Cersei, each of them receiving less and less loyalty from the Golden Company. To get them to fully turn though prices would need to be paid, lands to be offered and given but after the wars the realm had suffered there were lands available. So Varys made some offers contingent on them coming through and the king and queen agreeing to them and Jon swore that he'd not offer more than could be accepted.
"They will come?" Jon Connington asked hopefully.
"They will come." he said rising to his feet "Be ready, Jon, the king, and queen will have need of you then and after."
He left the building and made his way back to Chataya's finding that Ser Baelor had made his way there already. Varys wondered if he knew he was here and when Chataya told him that the man hadn't partaken in any service she'd offered and had in fact paid extra coin just so she'd allow him to sup and eat in peace, he knew that he did. So he sent Alayaya with the note and removed his disguise and soon enough the heir to the Hightower was brought into the room.
"Ser Baelor I believe you've been expecting me?" he said as the man took his seat.
"I have, Lord Varys, I bring you word from my father." Baelor said handing him the letter.
He rode out of the city that night, the horse riding harder and faster than it had to even get here. The news he needed to bring to the king and the queen even better than he had dared to hope. His heart was beating as fast as it ever had as once again he'd played the game and once again he was on the winning side. Varys laughing as he thought of the foolish amateur moves that Tyrion and Sansa Stark were about to make. Moves that were pointless as the game was already over. The only thing they'd find was the one truth that any who played already knew, you play the game of thrones and you win or you die and this game was already won.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Aegon.
He had carried Bran himself to the crypts, Arya walking beside him and while he felt nothing for the thing in his arms, he did for his sister. Aegon did his very best to try and portray Bran's last moments as a heroic sacrifice and not as a failed attempt to save himself. After sending for some cloth and some water, both he and Arya washed down the body themselves, his little sister looking for marks or injuries and finding none. Looking at the confused look on her face made him try to explain that it was likely that Bran's heart just gave in. That the pressure of warging and fighting against the Night King became too much for him and not that the three-eyed raven had burned in dragon's flames leaving the shell that had been their brother behind.
They placed Bran in an unsealed box next to his father, Arya offering prayers for her brother while Aegon offered his own which were certainly not. Instead, he thanked his mother for her help and told her how much he loved her before taking his sister's hand and leading her from the crypts. Though he wished to go to Dany, he knew they needed to make the preparations for the other funerals and so he kissed Arya on the forehead, and together with Jaime Lannister, he set off to do just that. Finding out along the way more about who exactly they had lost and finding some deaths hit him harder than others.
The Norrey had fallen as had Beric and Podrick, there was also some of the Free Folk he knew that had lost their lives too but far fewer than he'd feared. Lord Yohn and almost two-thirds of the Knights of the Vale had fallen as well, Jaime explaining that they'd not ridden through as ordered and had stopped to fight the dead. Learning that Howland Reed was dead brought up strange emotions in him, Aegon still not truly sure how he had felt about the man. That he had come when he had made things easier in a way but he wasn't sure that he could ever forgive the man for waiting so long. Not just from when Robb died either but even before then. Howland had known and yet had left him in ignorance and Aegon couldn't help but wonder what his life would have been like had the man come earlier to tell him who he was.
Even thinking about what he'd done at the Tower of Joy brought up some conflicted feelings for him. That he'd traveled under the assumption he was going to rescue his mother made him respect the man a little, that once he'd gotten there he'd killed Ser Arthur Dayne made him hate him a little more. Had he not, had Ser Arthur lived, Aegon was sure that he'd have met Dany earlier and that they'd have taken their throne back much sooner. But when he thought about that he wondered what would have happened beyond the wall. What would have happened to the Free Folk and even to the Starks had he not lived the life he lived, it was a thread he felt best not pulled at for now.
"When everyone is organised we'll send for the queen." he said to Jaime who nodded, the knight looking at him oddly "Is everything well, Ser Jaime?"
"It is your grace. I take it we shall march South soon?"
"We shall, Ser, once we've made our plans and rested a little. You're having second thoughts about what needs to be done?"
"No, your grace, I would only ask if at all possible that you may consider a different fate for my sister." the knight said as he looked off into the distance.
"I'll discuss it with her grace. I won't ask you to fight against your family Ser Jaime, if you wish you can sit this one out and just do your duties as a Kingsguard." he said offering Jaime the closest to a way out that he could.
"Fighting is part of my duties, you have my sword, your grace, truly." Jaime said and he nodded hoping that the man spoke the truth.
It took them some time to organize everything, there were some bodies were to be burned and others that would be sent back to their families. Lord Yohn and Howland would both be among the latter while Beric who believed truly in the Lord Of Light and Melisandre who they'd found collapsed in the snow and who seemed older than any woman any had ever seen would both be given to the fires. Dany stood beside him and though there were fewer pyres than he'd seen in his vision and some who'd fallen then stood now, he still felt the loss. Though when he glanced at Ser Jorah, Lady Maege, and Lyanna Mormont and saw Edd standing off to his left he thanked the gods for their lives too.
"To the brave fallen, we who survived salute you." Aegon said as he stepped forward with the torch in his hands" Your loss, your sacrifice will never be forgotten. Your heroism will be spoken about often and your names sang loudly in the years to come. The North Remembers." Aegon said as he dipped the torch onto the Beric's pyre.
"The North Remembers." the voices as one shouted loudly behind him.
It took some time for the flames to burn out and Aegon, Dany, and the others all stood and waited until they had before they turned back and walked to the keep. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Arya walk closely with Gendry and he gave her a small smile and nod before he turned to the woman beside him. Reaching his hand out he took Dany's in his own and led her back in through the gates and the keep. The two of them heading to their room to ready for the night's festivities. Later as they stood there getting dressed Aegon found himself trying his best not to laugh at Dany's annoyance about the night to come.
"Do we have to go?" Dany said putting on her dress while he tried not to look at her, knowing if he did they'd not leave the room.
"We must, they need this, my love, as do we." he said moving over to her and nibbling on her neck "And I promise to make it up to you once the night is done." he said his voice low as she now leaned into him.
"You had better." she said almost with a pout which did make him laugh.
"Missandei and Davos should be heading back, they'll be here in a few days." he said as she finished dressing, Dany smiling broadly at the idea of seeing her friend again.
"They know?" she asked.
"As much as listening to a wolf would tell them, Ghost has made it clear it's done and they're to return." he said as he finished buttoning up his jacket "Shall we?"
"If we must." Dany said rolling her eyes and making him laugh more fully.
He was still doing so when they reached the Great Hall, Aegon had realized that he'd laughed far more since he'd been shown the truth of things than he had perhaps in his entire life up to then. It was a thought that had struck him more than once since he'd told Dany the truth of who he was. There was a difference between finding things amusing and being happy and if you were the latter then life seemed to offer you so much more of the former.
Taking their seats, he looked around the room and was surprised to see Tormund sitting with the Mormonts though not at all to see Jaime Lannister sitting with Brienne. The woman was still mourning the loss of her squire it seemed and Jaime was doing his best to offer her what comfort he could. Arya was sitting with Gendry and a few others that he didn't recognize and when Qhono saw him he raised his mug. Aegon doing the same in return and taking a big swallow much to the man's approval. As the night went on, he was joined by Ned Dayne and unfortunately by his cousin too, Ser Gerold taking the opportunity to speak to Dany while he was engaged in talking to Ned.
"I would never have believed it your grace, the dead, had I not seen them for myself." Ned said holding his mug in his hand.
"Aye, I know. Years maybe even weeks or moons from now people will name us liars or call us mad. They'll say it was wildings, savages, or something else we fought and that we built it up as an Army of Deadmen." He said trying not to look too obviously at the man behind him who was now sitting far too close to his wife.
"It bothers you, your grace? That you'll not be believed?" Ned asked as Aegon took a drink from his mug.
"Lord Stark never spoke of the war, did you know that?" he asked and Ned shook his head "He never told tales of what he did or what he'd seen, never corrected a statement or called anyone a liar for what they said of it, or him."
As he spoke the words he tried not to let the bitterness he felt about his uncle come through. He'd always thought it yet another example of his uncle's honor but he knew better now. His uncle didn't speak about the war because it shamed him, what he did during and after at the Tower of Joy, and with him, he was shamed by it and rightly so. So rather than speak of it or correct anyone when they did, he instead took credit for killing Ser Arthur Dayne rather than speak the truth. His uncle had also allowed people to name his father a rapist and kidnapper rather than correct them for their lies, honor only a word to the honorable Ned Stark, Aegon thought bitterly.
"Your grace?" Ned asked and Aegon realized that he'd drifted off into his head.
"I'm sorry Lord Dayne. To answer your question no it doesn't bother me, I know what I did, what all these men here did, you included, and like the North, I remember. Let others forget and let them claim what they wish, they had just better not do so within my hearing. Brave men lost their lives here, men who fought with honor, men with families, and loved ones. So let men who weren't here name them liars but they had best do so quietly and far from me." he said and Ned nodded.
"I don't know of Dorne, Your grace, they know not of you and her grace's marriage and I was sent to offer our fealty only to her grace." Ned said.
"As is owed to her." he said looking to his wife who was now laughing at something Ser Gerold said.
"As it is, it's owed to you too and while Dorne may need more time to see that, I do not. I'd kneel should you ask it of me." Ned said looking at him, though Aegon was paying far more attention to his wife behind him.
"Not today." he said reaching out and placing a hand on the man's shoulder "Today is a day for heroes Ned and heroes have no need to kneel." he said as he rose to his feet and turned to his wife.
He held his hand out and almost glared at Ser Gerold, the man's face schooled but his eyes blazing and Aegon knew that at some point they'd be having words at least. Dany smiled at him and took his hand and they moved out onto the floor. The dancing hadn't truly begun but as soon as they moved the music began to play and people looked their way. Taking his wife in his arms he began to dance, Aegon thanking the gods he'd received lessons even though Lady Catelyn had not wished it so.
"Ser Gerold is amusing?" he asked as they moved and Dany chuckled as she leant in closer to him.
"Is my husband jealous?" she asked smirking all the time.
"Madly, fiercely, always." he said as he bit her neck softly.
"And if I said that he had nothing to be jealous about?" Dany said her smile still on her face though he could see her eyes were a little worried.
"It would make no difference, when it comes to you I find myself jealous of everything." he said as she looked at him.
"Such as." she asked and Aegon saw they'd finally been joined by others, his eyes catching his sister shaking her head as Gendry obviously asked her if she wished to dance.
"The sun that beams down upon her when she wakes in the morning before me. The clothes she wears that get to cover her all through the day. The water in her bath that gets to flow over her as she bathes and the sheets at night that she wraps herself in." he said and watched as her smile grew ever larger.
"I did not know you could speak such words, Jon Snow." she said her voice soft and light.
"Nor I, not until you, my love." he said as they began to kiss.
There were things that needed to be said, toasts that needed to be made, and soon plans that needed to be put into action. They needed to speak on Tyrion who would probably return and on Sansa who would not. They had to decide if they were to wait on Varys and how much time they needed to give the dragons and the men to rest before they marched and yet all of that was for another day, another time. Aegon held his wife in his arms and was lost in the kiss he shared with her, the feelings he felt for her, and then visions which came to him as they stood in the middle of the Great Hall. Visions he'd had once before and were now even clearer to him.
"Aegon?" she asked when he broke the kiss and he smiled to show her that all was well.
He led her back to the table, glad to see that Ser Gerold was nowhere to be seen and that Ned Dayne had kept his seat. Leaning in close to her, he kissed her once more before he spoke softly in her ear and told her that he had a need to use the privy. The embarrassed look he tried to put on his face seeming to work as she giggled when she took her seat. Aegon passed by Ser Jaime and Arya with two unsullied following at his back as he walked to the nearest privy and once inside he felt the contents of his stomach empty when he leaned over the hole.
"It was real."
"It was real."
"I killed the woman I loved." he said as his body heaved once more.