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***
A storm was raging over Dragonstone. Incredibly strong and fierce, it came from the north and rained down on the island, destroying everything in its path. It swept through the Riverlands, breaking trees and tearing roofs off houses, then it swept through the King's Lands and hit the capital, flooding the streets, breaking buildings and smashing the ships in the harbour to rubble. Then, against all the laws of nature, the storm changed direction and headed for Dragonstone, causing panic among the Dothraki.
Already squinting unkindly at the salt water, the nomads watched in horror as the raging sea swept up the ships and smashed them against the coastal rocks. Daenerys Stormborn was glad that most of the Iron Fleet was heading for the mainland, ferrying the Dothraki and the Unsullied ashore. There they were to join up with the Tyrell armies to march on the capital.
But now, looking out at the raging nature, Daenerys wondered if the galleys had managed to reach land before the weather went crazy. If not, she was guaranteed to be in trouble, for without ships she would find herself naturally trapped on the island, and she had no others. The Tyrells didn't have the right number of ships, and Dorne was lost - there was a power struggle in the kingdom, and the lords didn't care about Daenerys and her problems. Moreover, the Dornish themselves believed that the Targaryens had offended them the moment Crown Prince Rhaegar presented a wreath of blue roses to Lyanna Stark instead of his wife, and then kidnapped the Norse woman. The Dornish did not care about the kidnapping itself, but the fact that Elia Martell and her children died because of it infuriated the descendants of the Rhoynars beyond belief. They did not blame Baratheon, Stark, or the Lannisters, but Rhaegar.
- What has happened to you, brother? - Daenerys whispered softly. - What has really happened? Did you really fall in love, as Viserys told me, or were you possessed by evil lust, as others say?
- Thinking aloud, Your Grace? - Varys's luscious voice behind her made the queen turn round. - I apologise for overhearing you.
- Do the habits of a spy take their toll? - Daenerys asked, to which the eunuch smiled embarrassedly.
- They are not easy to get rid of, even when you don't need them,' Varys admitted. - But I must say, they have saved my life more than once, and now I hope they will help you too.
- How? - Targaryen asked, pointing to the storm. - We're trapped here on the island, cut off from everyone.
- I wasn't talking about the immediate moment,' the eunuch said. - I'm talking about the future. Yours and the future of Westeros.
- A Westeros that won't bow to its queen,' Daenerys said in a disgruntled tone. - I want to help the common people, to protect them, and they prefer to bow to the Lannisters and the Starks. Why?
Varys smiled as he listened to the queen. Strong, powerful, used to being worshipped in Essos, it was as if she refused to realise that she was being praised by the slaves she had freed. They were people who had suddenly gained their freedom, and they were ready to carry the Stormborn in their arms. But were the common people of the Free Cities happy about it? Of course not. They had to face the rage of former slaves, suffer insults and fear for their lives, so it's no wonder that the Sons of the Harpy were popular with the people of Meereen.
Here in Westeros, however, things were even more complicated, and if Daenerys Targaryen really wants to rule these lands wisely, justly and, most importantly, for a long time, there were some things she needed to understand.
- Your Grace, you may find my words offensive or even insulting,' Varys warned the queen, 'but I must speak them to you.
- Speak boldly, Lord Varys,' Daenerys replied.
- Thank you,' the eunuch nodded. - You must realise that in the eyes of the natives, you are what your great ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror, was. An outsider. Face it, all you know of the Seven Kingdoms is based only on the stories of your late brother, Jorah Mormont.
The Stormborn frowned but remained silent, so Varis continued:
- 'The lords of houses great and small, as well as the common people, accepted the Targaryen rule not because of any great love for your ancestors, but solely because of their power. The Targaryens were newcomers, while the Starks and Lannisters had always been here. Respect for them was ingrained in your mother's milk and passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years. Now, after all these kings and queens, people don't care at all who sits on the throne. Starks, Lannisters, Greyjoys! People don't care. They want a hearty meal and a good night's sleep, and all you've done is bring them another war on the wings of your dragons.
- What's your point? - Daenerys asked bluntly.
- Most likely you will have to accept the fact that the people will never accept you as you would like them to,' the Spider answered. - That in their eyes you will always be just another invader who wants to sit on the throne. And that they will tolerate you only for fear of dragon fire. If you really want to rule wisely and justly, then you will have to accept this truth, accept it, and then perhaps our descendants will say that you were a truly great queen.
- And if I don't want to accept your truth? - the queen asked.
- Then, Your Grace, you have two choices,' Varys replied sadly. - One, you gather your troops and return to Meereen, forgetting your claim to the Iron Throne forever. Or you rule by force, brutally punishing any show of disrespect and killing for the slightest hint of conspiracy. Because for the rest of your days, you will have to fear either poison in your glass or a knife in your back.
- You're suggesting I become like my father,' Daenerys realised.
- That would be the worst-case scenario,' Varys shook his head. - But I believe you will never choose it. If only because you don't want to disappoint your advisors and friends.
Targaryen turned away, and Varys waited patiently. He knew firsthand how fiery her kind were, how much they hated to hear the truth they didn't like. They could wreck things around them, scare people to their knees, but then calm down, sometimes regretting their actions and thinking things through. Daenerys was no exception to this rule, unlike Rhaegar, except that she did not smash everything in a rage.
- I am not my father, Lord Varys,' the queen finally answered. - I don't want to burn people for little or no reason, but it's like everyone expects me to. That I will suddenly become like my father.
- The memory of the Mad King is still too fresh in people's minds,' replied the eunuch, 'and it will not soon fade. You will have to accept that as well.
- But Rhaegar was not like that, was he? - Daenerys asked. - Selmy told me about my brother, and he was different.
- Yes, your brother was different,' Varys nodded, somewhat surprised at the change in the conversation. - He was calm and sensible. Not like your father, and that was one of the many reasons they did not get along.
- But if Rhaegar was as you describe him to me, and as Viserys and Selmy described him, then why... Why... Why... Why?
- Why did he kidnap Lyanna Stark? - Varys finished. - That question, Your Grace, I have not been able to find an answer to for over twenty years. I don't know if it was love or something else, but your brother's decision threw Westeros into chaos, and everything that is happening now is an echo of those events. But I must confess there is one thing that troubles me more than Prince Rhaegar's motives.
- What is it? - Targaryen asked.
- Why was Lyanna Stark guarded by knights of the Kingsguard, led by Erthur Dane himself? - Varys asked as if into the void. - Why were they protecting a girl who had nothing to do with the royal family? And why did they die for her?
- What do you mean by that, Lord Varys? - Daenerys frowned.
The spider chewed his lips thoughtfully, wondering if he should share his assumptions with the queen, for he had no proof but his own inferences. But now that he had had the indiscretion to open his mouth, it was foolish to remain silent.
- Your Grace, I want to warn you at once: everything I am about to say is only my speculation without a single proof. I am likely to mislead myself, and I am afraid to deceive you.
- Don't be too long,' the Stormborn said hurriedly.
- All right,' the eunuch gathered his wits and spirit and spoke. - I believe Lyanna Stark was pregnant by your brother, which explains the presence of the Kingsguard. They may have been guarding the crown prince's child.
Daenerys collapsed in her chair in surprise, she looked at Varys as if he was from beyond the grave.
- I have no idea if this is true,' the Spider continued, 'but I have no other explanation. The only person who knew the truth was Eddard Stark, but he took his secrets to his grave without telling anyone. At least, that is my guess.
The Queen looked around, as if trying to realise where she was. The whole universe turned over in the girl's mind when she asked the eunuch:
- Is it coming out that there could be another Targaryen? My brother's child?
- I don't think you can call him a Targaryen,' Varys admitted, 'because we are talking about a bastard. But yes, it is possible that this child is alive, most likely he or she does not even know his or her true parentage.
- Because of Robert Baratheon? - suggested Daenerys, who was well aware of the usurper's fierce hatred for her family. She herself had been tried on his orders, to say the least.
- Exactly,' agreed Spider. - If the child does exist, Lord Stark must have done his best to protect it. For example-' Varys stammered, his brow creased as if he'd been struck by an unexpected and frankly insane thought.
- Like what? - The queen leaned forward, listening to the eunuch's every word.
- For example, he could have passed him off as his own bastard.
***
- Three rabid dogs,' John said tiredly, looking at the men the guards had brought before him. - Where did you come from?
The three warriors stood in front of him, all dressed in their finery. The one-eyed man wore a worn-out chain mail that was missing links, and the ones that were missing were badly damaged. The second, in red robes that reminded Jon of Melisandre's, reeked of liquor a mile away, his long, grey hair in a bun. At the sight of the third man, Stark thought he was hallucinating from fatigue. Sandor Clegane, nicknamed The Hound. A face disfigured by burns Jon wouldn't mistake for anyone else.
- We are here by the will of the Lord of Light, who has blazed our path,' the one-eyed man replied. - In his great wisdom, he has shown us the way.....
- Shut your mouth, Beric, before I do,' Clegane said harshly. - We came to fight, that's all. Personally, I don't give a shit what this god says or to whom. I'm here of my own free will.
- What brings you to the Wall, Dog? - John asked. - For all I know, you deserted during the Battle of the Blackwater, and you've been wandering around, and for a while you were even sort of presumed dead. And here you are.
- What the hell difference does it make why I'm here? - Clegane wheezed. - I'm ready to fight, and that's all that matters.
- New warriors are always welcome,' Stark admitted, 'but one thing worries me. If you ran away from the living, how are you going to fight the dead? How are you all going to fight them?
- It's the Lord's will,' the man in red grinned. - If he has brought us here, he will give us strength. Let me introduce myself at last, Thoros of Myr. I am a priest of Rglor. My one-eyed friend is Beric Dondarrion, and I see you know Clegane.
Jon looked at the strange trio, realising in his heart that each warrior was worth his weight in gold. But the presence of the priest bothered him, for he had enough of Melisandre, who was travelling somewhere on the southern outskirts of the kingdom. The only thing he needed was a second preacher of Rglor.
- Only a fool would refuse help in times of need,' John announced, feeling his throat finally stop hurting, which meant it was time to return to the Wall. - You are welcome to join us in our fight.
- We're happy to help you,' Beric Dondarrion assured him, and the Hound muttered something. A swear word, most likely.
- But I warn you right away,' John looked at their faces, paying particular attention to Thoros. - If I hear you're trying to impose your faith here, I'll throw you off the Wall upside down. And I'll set you on fire to make sure you don't rise from the dead. Do you understand?
- More than clear,' Thoros answered.
- Well, the foreplay is over,' said the Hound. - Can we go to kill now?
- Can't wait to fight? - John grinned. - All right. We'll give you another weapon first. The dead are not afraid of ordinary steel. All they fear is fire and dragon glass.
- Fire? - Dondarrion asked, and the priest grinned oddly. - Then Thoros and I have swords that will do the trick.
- Are you sure? - Stark asked incredulously.
- Yeah, you'll see,' the Hound said with a grin.
- Good,' Jon shrugged, then turned to the weapons master standing next to him. - Give Clegane the glass axe, then send all three of them to the Wall, to Lord Forrester's party. You will tell Lord Rodrik that these are my orders.
The trio departed, after which John ran his palm over his face tiredly. He had spent the last twelve hours on the Wall, wielding his sword and using the Scream. More and more dead were coming, and Stark couldn't find a way out. Every day they lost men, every day more and more deadly fatigue set in.
The White Walkers never showed up, preferring to control their dead troops from a distance. John had no idea what they were waiting for, but there was no doubt they had more patience than all the defenders of the Wall put together. But it couldn't go on like this.
There were two trump cards that Stark had not yet played in this game, but the problem was that he was sure of only one of them, but the other was in doubt. And the first trump was not safe, and Jon swore to himself that he would use it only as a last resort, when there was nothing left to lose.
Jon stood up, checked his sword as it came out of its sheath, and was about to go to the lift when a brother of the Watch ran up to him:
- Lord Commander, an urgent message from the Eastern Watch!
- What is it? - Stark froze, not knowing exactly what he would hear.
- The Manderly ships have entered the harbour, bringing glass,' replied the sentinel, whose eyes glittered feverishly.
- Thank the gods,' John exhaled, feeling the weight of the tonne fall from his shoulders.
- But that's not all! The Eastern Watch reports that reinforcements have arrived on the ships! That wildling Tormund has brought the islanders here!