Chapter 28: Morning Tea
Jon
"Later this afternoon Arya, Lord Umber's asked me, Ser Rodrik and Ser Jorah to get a bit of practice in this morning. And by asked, I mean demanded." He answered as his little sister pouted at him.
"Hopefully nobody will disturb us this time." She replied. He nodded as he shovelled the last of his breakfast into his mouth. She was right, hopefully they wouldn't be disturbed.
He had to admit to himself, it was all getting a little odd, first a kingsguard approaches him looking for a spar, then another and then to top it all off, the King's mother came to visit last him night.
Or was it grandmother?
It was a question he kept asking himself as he spoke to her.
Ethereal, that's the word he'd use to describe the woman, her beauty was not of this world. Porcelain skin, a mane of silver that framed her delicate facial features, and her eyes, it was hard to forget those eyes.
It had to be the blood that ran through her veins, it must slow down the ageing process or something because somebody in that stage of her life didn't have any right looking the way she did.
What was he doing? Was he perving over his own grandmother?
Get a grip Jon...
He grabbed the last sausage off the plate in the middle of the table and grinned at Bran as he was too slow to get to it first. He tore it in two and handed half of it to his brother before getting up from the spot he was sat at. He caught Lord Stark looking in his direction but didn't entertain a conversation with him, he didn't know where to start when it came to that mess.
He waved to everybody before heading off towards the practice yard, the alone time allowed him to think about the huge mess he had to deal with. He needed Lord Stark's confirmation, he needed to know where he stood. From there he would try to stop the man from losing his head, he was absolutely livid and confused with what he'd done but he didn't want him executed, he was still the father of his siblings.
Probably just cousins when all this was over, he doubted they would ever talk to him ever again when everything had blown over. He would, after all, be taking their father away from them.
He sighed, fuck Ned Stark for putting him in this situation.
He'd contemplated just ignoring it all, resigned to staying the bastard of Winterfell, son of Ned Stark and some unknown mother, forever a mystery. It would let his siblings stay his siblings, it would let them keep their father, everything would be fine.
But he couldn't, he just couldn't do that. Ned Stark had done something incredibly stupid. Treason, he'd committed treason, there was no beating around that bush. And Jon had received the shitty end of that stick for the majority of his childhood.
And why was that? Why had his uncle done that? He was determined to find that out very soon, he was very interested to see how he explained his actions.
Maybe I'll hit him again, who knows.
Brilliant, he was worked up now, that's all Lord Stark seemed to do whenever he thought of him. It's a good job he was about to get some of it out of his system. Maybe some idiot will get in his face.
He hopes some idiot gets in his face, he needed a scrap.
He let out a heavy sigh when he approached the yard, calling it busy was an understatement, with the size of the crowd that surrounded the ground, anyone would think the melee was already taking place.
He ran a hand through his curls and counted to ten in his head as he squeezed through the crowd and out towards the corner where the northerners were situated. The whispers he heard about him as he squeezed through were just something he'd have to live with, it was what happened when word got out that you slapped a couple of kingsguard around.
A lot of heads seemed to swivel in the direction of the northerners as Lord Umber spotted him approaching and essentially announced his presence to the world.
"JON! Get over here and show Ser Jorah that thing you did to Ser Wylis a few days a go!" He bellowed out as Jon inwardly cursed at the man's loud nature. He thought Greatjon was barrel of laughs but sometimes he didn't know when to tone it down.
Either that or Jon was taking his bad mood out on a friend, probably the latter when he really thought about it.
He huffed as he approached them, Ser Wylis looking at him with a bit of interest, probably wondering how he'd been beaten so easily. In reality, there wasn't a certain move that beat him, he was just in better shape than the White Harbour knight. Even Ser Wylis must see how portly he was.
And that's what he told them.
"Ser Wylis is fat, too top heavy. His legs instantly became the target and that's what I exploited with my superior movement." He explained, leaving Ser Wylis gobsmacked. He walked up to the makeshift table in the corner and grabbed a blunted training sword as he heard Lord Umber guffaw.
Ser Wylis sputtered and looked slapped before replying "I beg your bloody pardon? I'm not fat, most of this is pure muscle I'll have you know." He replied as people carried on chuckling, even the dour Ser Jorah had a small grin on his face as he looked on.
"Pure bullshit more like!" Lord Umber replied as he laughed at his own joke, people having no choice but to chuckle along with him. Ser Wylis clamped his mouth shut and huffed before walking over to the benches and taking a seat away from them.
He felt the bear paw of a hand clap him on the shoulder "It would seem Jon here has a bit of vinegar to get out of his system, what's troubling you lad?" Lord Umber asked as he closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. The last thing he wanted to be doing was talking about that colossal shit show of a situation with the biggest mouth piece in the north.
So he lied.
"Just a headache, don't mind me. I'm always shit to be around when I have one. I'll apologise to Ser Wylis when I can be arsed." He said., with zero intention of apologising to the knight for telling the truth.
"Ah, don't worry about him, he'll be fine. Somebody had to say it to him, no surprising it was you to tell him. You seem to have a knack for cutting people deep with that mouth of yours, probably that wolfs blood you Starks are known for. Your uncle Brandon and aunt Lyanna were the exact same, no beating around the bush with them two either." Lord Umber explained. His gut twisted at the mention of his mother, or who he was led to believe was his mother.
Before their practice even started, a bit of a situation cropped up across from them in one of the corners of the yard, everybody was doing a poor job at concealing their interest in what was happening.
"I don't why you even want to train wench, the team has been decided, you're not on it. Don't you have somewhere better to be?" A cruel looking scab of a man seemed to seethe at somebody.
When the person replied, he was surprised like everybody else to find out it was a woman. The tallest woman he'd ever seen with short slicked back blonde hair. He could've easily mistaken her for a Lannister.
"I'm just here to practice Ser, I don't want no trouble." She replied. It seemed all she wanted was a sparring partner.
"Nobody wants to practice with you." The man replied as he looked behind him at a few men. By the looks on their faces, they weren't comfortable with anything that was being said. "A show of hands, who wants to spar with this freak?" He asked as none of the men behind him moved.
Cowards.
Jon may have just found his source of venting.
The prick turned back around and looked at the woman with an ugly smirk "See, nobody wants you here. Now fuck off will ya." He finished.
His legs were moving on their own as he walked across to the group with purpose, he caught Lord Umber's weak plea to be careful but he wasn't listening.
"If you need a sparring partner then I'm up for it if you want?" He asked out as the woman turned around, glassy blue eyes looked at him in shock.
Brought to the brink of tears by this vile cunt 's cruelty . He thought. He'd be making sure this creature was crying for a different reason by the end of this.
The man sneered in his direction "And why the fuck would you want to do that? In fact, more importantly, who the fuck are you?" He asked.
He chuckled "I'm Jon and you must have me mistaken. I don't mind sparring with her but only after I've sparred with you." He said as he nodded at the woman and smiled. "Jon Snow." He said as he held his hand out to her.
She looked down at it grasped it with surprise still on her face before shaking "Brienne, of House Tarth." She replied.
"And what makes you think I want to spar with some northern bastard hmm?" The vile creature of a man replied with yet another sneer. Jon was convinced he was pulled from his mother already sneering at the world he'd been brought into.
"I didn't quiet catch your name, Ser..." He asked as he slowly stretched his legs in preparation.
"Ser Meryn Trent, that's my name boy. What's it to you?" He replied. Jon just shrugged in response.
"Not much. Not many people remember the names of small, hateful twats like you, lost to the history books. Human garbage if you will." He replied. There were a few chuckles heard from behind him.
That seemed to anger the prick "You dare speak to me li..."
He angered the man even more as he disrupted him "We having this spar or what?" He asked. Ser Meryn Twat let out a humourless chuckle.
"And why would I do that bastard? You're not worth the dirt on the bottom of my boot." He replied.
"Well if your gonna run that wastepipe of a mouth of yours, you better know how to back it up. Wouldn't want people thinking your nothing but a shit talking pussy now would we?" He answered. He was well up for hurting this man now, even if it was just to see a different expression on his face other than the seemingly permanent sneer he had.
The prick didn't even reply as he pushed Brienne out of the way and swung his tourney sword right at his head. Jon parried the strike with surprising ease.
Ser Meryn Twat swung his blade again, this time sideways in the hopes of cracking a rib or two. Jon saw the way he wheeled his swing and saw it coming a mile away, he sidestepped to his right and lifted his arms in the air to avoid those being struck as well. He actually heard the man growl when he whiffed a third strike.
"Stop running and fight you fucking bastard!" He bellowed out as he went for a fourth strike, this time it was aiming for his head again. Jon already had enough of this scrote and with the way he was genuinely trying to knock his head off, he saw red.
The prick tried swinging his sword with both hands above his head and down in the hopes of cutting him in half from head to balls, but he saw it coming with the way he grunted as he heaved his sword back. Just at the precise moment the sword began its descent, Jon took a sharp step backwards, just at the right time for Trent to think he could readjust the swing mid descent.
He was wrong.
The moment the man took a step forward to make up for Jon's backstep, it was the beginning of the end. As soon as Trent took his step forward, Jon did the same, only quicker, giving him the half second to turn his body sideways and narrowly avoid the strike. Trent was open for the taking now and the man knew it as he tried to shoulder Jon away. Jon sidestepped that as well as he shoved the man in the back to carry on his momentum, Jon hooking his foot with the fumbling knight's own was enough to send the man face first into the ground. Jon was on him like a flash with his blade laid at the back of the man's neck and a knee in the centre of his spine to prevent him from getting up.
"Yield prick." He said to the man. Trent still had his sword gripped in his right hand as he squirmed.
"Fuck off!" He growled as he tried to get to his knees. Jon pressed his knee harder into the man's spine.
"I said yield." He replied back in a cold tone.
"If you think I'm yielding to some bastard you can think again." Trent snapped back.
"Fine." He replied as he got off of his back and with as much force as he could, stamped on the man's right hand that was gripped around the sword.
He felt the crack of bone even through the sole of his boot and the howl that came from the man pretty much confirmed he'd fucked something up in his hand.
"YOU FUCKER! MY HAND, YOU'VE BROKE MY FUCKIN' HAND!" He yelled out as he attempted to get to his feet. Jon kicked the man in the back and sent him back down into the dirt before pressing his knee back into Trent's spine and his blade on his neck again.
"Do you yield now or do I have to break the other one as well?" He asked. He really wanted him to say no again, dismantling this cunt would be his pleasure.
Trent squirmed again before letting out a resigning sigh "Fine, I yield. Now get the fuck off me." He growled out, still delicately holding his right wrist.
He tutted as he pressed his knee harder into his back "What's the magic word?" He asked as he noticed Ser Jaime slowly walking over to them with a quirked eyebrow upon his face.
"Fuck you!" Trent replied. Jon grabbed the back of the man's head and pushed it into the dirt rather forcefully before pulling it back out using the small amount of hair on the back of the cunt's skull.
"Wrong answer. Give it another shot there's a good man." He replied as he nodded at Ser Jaime and smiled. The Lannister knight just grinned and shook his head in amusement.
"Just get off me." Trent replied. It sounded like the fight was completely gone from the man as he kept his right wrist clutched.
"And what's the magic word?" He asked again. He looked towards the group of men that were stood behind Trent before and saw looks of disappointment and disgust aimed at the poor excuse of a knight.
He felt Trent sigh through the knee pressed in his back "Please." He begrudgingly muttered.
"Please what?" He asked. He felt no remorse putting the man in his place.
Another sigh came from the man "Can you get off of me...please?" He finally asked.
He patted the man on the back of his head, well, more like smacked him before getting up off his back "There's a good boy." He said as Trent got to his feet and stared daggers at him.
He walked up to him and stared daggers back before bringing his mouth to the man's ear "I suggest you learn how to fuck off." He said before pulling his face back. The fight was gone out of the man when he saw Jon's glare, the permanent scowl was still there though.
Trent turned around and looked back at the men that were with him before turning back to Jon.
Jon didn't know what the man was waiting for "Go on," He said as he nodded towards the entrance to the yards "...fuck off." He finished as he grabbed Trent's tourney sword off the floor and handed it to a pleased looking Brienne.
Trent grumbled to himself before briskly making his way out of the yard, still clutching his wrist and without a single person from his group following him out.
"Shithouse." He muttered to himself.
He heard Ser Jaime chuckle as he finally approached him and Brienne "Trouble seems to follow you, eh Jon?" He japed as he looked over Jon's shoulder at Brienne. Jaime held his hand out to her "Jaime." He said as Brienne shook his hand and told him her name. There was a slight look of shock on the Lannister knight's face when Brienne replied but it was gone as soon as quick as it appeared.
"Thank you for that." He heard Brienne say from behind him. He turned around and, in the process, noticed the amount of attention the three of them were receiving from the people around the yard and the stands. He also noticed Greatjon smirk in his direction before turning back to Ser Jorah and Ser Rodrik.
He shook his head and gave her a small smile "Ah, none of that. The man was asking for it if you ask me, sooner or later somebody was gonna smack him. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time." He said as she smiled back at him.
"I wonder if he'll be alright, he's supposed to be representing the Stormlands in the grand melee." Brienne seemed to wonder to herself.
He huffed "I don't think the Stormlands need someone like that representing them. They should find someone more worthy." He replied as he looked at her with a small grin. She smiled back at him in response and he swore he saw a light blush bloom on her cheeks.
"You're too kind." She replied after a second.
He shook his head "I'm really not, isn't that right Ser Jaime?" He said. Jon looked at Ser Jaime and noticed that he'd not torn his eyes from Brienne since he'd introduced himself to her.
He cleared his throat and gave the man a small smirk when he eventually tore his eyes away. Ser Jaime's eyes narrowed slightly at Jon's subtle suggestion but eventually he rolled his eyes.
"Is there something I can help you with Ser Jaime? You want to be careful, this is the second time you've approached me, people will start to talk." He said as he smirked at him. He cleared his throat and made a poor attempt at a woman's voice "Oh I do wonder, is the gallant knight Ser Jaime a giver or a receiver in that relationshi...haha." He japed and laughed as he received a shove from the knight. Brienne just looked on with amusement, confused amusement.
"My uncle really did turn you into a gobby little shitbag didn't he?" Ser Jaime responded with. Before Jon could reply, Jaime was waving his hand in front of him to shush his reply.
"Be quiet for a minute and listen," Jaime said as Jon sighed and motioned for him to continue. "...get yourself tidied up, you've been invited to morning tea by her grace, Queen Rhaella." Jaime finished, even he looked a little confused by what he'd said.
But not as confused as Jon was feeling right now.
His brow furrowed as he replied "What? Why? What does she want with me? Am I in trouble or something?"
Jaime held his hand out to stop his questions "I don't know why, and trust me, I'm as baffled as you as to why she wants to see you. All I'm doing is following orders so don't be a pain in the arse and just go and make yourself presentable." He said.
Jon folded his arms and shrugged his shoulders. He had to admit, seeing his grandmother? again was very appealing. He'd barely got a chance to talk with her last night before she almost ran away from him.
It didn't mean he would come quietly though like some trained mutt "Why should I?" He asked rather petulantly. He already knew he'd be going, he was just being difficult to play with Jaime a little.
Jaime quirked an eyebrow at him "When a member of the Royal family requests your presence, you sure as shit better show your face." Jaime replied.
He sighed, so much for making it hard for Jaime "Fine. But I promised Brienne here a spar so you're gonna have to fill in for me instead." He said as he saw the smirk drop of the Lannister's face.
He clapped the man on the shoulder as he handed him the training sword "Who knows, you might learn a thing or two." He suggested with a shit eating grin plastered on his face.
"Fuck off." Jaime said as he shrugged Jon's hand off his shoulder "Now piss off and get yourself sorted out, you wouldn't want to keep the Queen mother waiting now would ya?" He said as he smirked at him.
Jon just hummed before nodding towards Brienne "It was nice meeting you Brienne, maybe we'll see each other in the melee." He said as Brienne gave him a small smile before slowly getting into a fighting stance. From what Jon could see, she had good form.
Jaime's gonna get his head knocked off and I'm not gonna get to see it.
He returned to the northern group and received a few complaints from Lord Umber when he told him he had to leave but eventually the giant lord relented. He also noticed Ghost had turned up from wherever he'd gone off to this morning and was currently laid out panting in the morning sun. He whistled at his boy as he approached him, he would have to drop him off with Bran or Arya whilst he was gone.
Probably Bran, Arya will ask too many questions. He mused.
"C'mon then Ghost, let's see what the Queen mother has in store for me." He said as the direwolf walked side by side with him out of the yard.
Rhaella
"Permission to speak freely your grace." Ser Barristan said to her as they walked the halls of Harrenhall, the morning sun catching her off guard momentarily. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the glare as she replied to the knight.
"Go ahead Ser Barristan, speak freely." She said as she smiled at a bowing servant.
He cleared his throat before speaking "Is it wise to be meeting with Lord Stark's son in secret? People will talk if they found out, they'd say it wasn't appropriate." He explained.
Ser Barristan had a point, she had to admit. But nothing would be stopping her from going through with this, she needed to find out if she was going mad or not. She'd lost too much sleep last night, not going through with this was not an option.
Down the corridor from them she could see a little commotion occurring between an individual and some guards. She recognised the individual straight away.
"Hold that thought Ser Barristan." She said as she picked up her skirts and upped her pace to get to the bottom of what was happening in front of them. She could hear Ser Barristan's armour rattle as he kept pace with her.
As she got closer, she could hear the argument that was taking place.
"Authorized personnel only, I've told you twice already." One of the guards said to the individual.
"And I've told you twice already that I was invited. Do I have to say it a third time moron?" The individual replied in his northern burr. She recognised the hair and stature all the way from the other end of the corridor but the voice all but confirmed it to be Jon.
She heard one of the guards chuckle "Do you really expect us to believe that? Why would the Queen mother be meeting with some baseborn tramp like you? You must think we were born yesterday." One of the guards said. The other one spoke up as well "I'll tell you what, you turn around and leave now and we won't take you to the King. I imagine he'd be very interested to know why you're trying to get to her grace. What do ya say?".
She had to intervene before anything unfortunate happened.
She finally made it to the door with Ser Barristan in tow "That won't be necessary, he is in fact a guest by my invitation." She said as both of the guards turned to her. She wished she could save the look on their faces into her memory forever.
"Your...your grace." They both stuttered out as they lowered their heads in some sort of rushed bow. She saw Jon lower his eyes to the ground as well but she could see the little smirk on his face as he did so.
Even the smirk is the same as her son's. She thought, momentarily affecting her before straightening her face back into her regal mask. She'd spent all night trying to prepare herself for seeing him again but she'd fallen at the first hurdle.
It only drove her more to find out what was happening.
"Now, unless you want your families to forget your mere existence, I suggest you step aside and allow my guest through, you know, since he was invited." She said in a cold tone as she glared at the two buffoons.
She'd never seen two men move so fast in her life as they stepped aside and allowed Jon through. They kept their eyes on the floor with their heads bowed as Jon glared at them as he passed. Now she was blatantly looking for any similarities to her son as she compared the way Jon glared at them to her son's.
There was more of an edge to Jon's than her son's she had to admit. Although, it did seem to have a little resemblance to her daughter's, which she used to her advantage to cut pompous lords down with.
The questions in her mind were multiplying by the second.
She cleared her throat as Jon finally approached them, before she could speak though, Ser Barristan was standing in front of her and holding a hand out in front of Jon.
"I'm gonna need you to hand over your weapons son." He said as he nodded at the two swords she could see over his shoulder.
Jon sighed as he took off the interesting looking harness or belt that held his swords on his back, he pushed the whole bundle into Ser Barristan's waiting arms. She caught the knight eyeing the two swords with a furrowed brow but said nothing more.
"I'm keeping the dagger though." Jon said as he broke Ser Barristan's interest in the blades he was holding.
"I think not, hand it over." He replied as he moved the swords under his arm and held them there before holding his other arm out to retrieve the dagger as well.
"Not a chance." Came Jon's stubborn reply.
"If you think you're walking around here with a blade then you are mistaken." Ser Barristan replied. She could tell the old knight was getting a little frustrated with the boldness of the young man.
The irony.
She herself felt a little guilty watching on without saying anything. She just wanted to quietly observe to see how this played out, see if she recognised any little mannerisms of Jon's that he shared with her family.
Jon replied back to the veteran Kingsguard "If you think I'm gonna come here without an ounce of protection, you are the one mistaken my good ser." He said with conviction.
Ser Barristan almost growled as he laid a hand on his sheathed sword, Jon looked almost ready to bolt.
She'd had her fun, now she needed to intervene before this got out of hand. And Jon was scared away.
She put her hand on Ser Barristan's arm that was placed on the hilt of his sword "It's fine Ser Barristan, he can keep the dagger. Jon is quite rightly defensive about the whole situation and entering the dragon's den unarmed isn't the most ideal for him." She tried to explain. She knew it wasn't protocol to allow anyone who wasn't one of the royal family or the Kingsguard to be in their presence with a weapon but she was allowing this one exception. She had a feeling, a sort of instinct that Jon wasn't the type to attack a member of the royal family, he seemed smarter than that.
Ser Barristan looked slapped "Your grace, you can't be serious?"
She nodded "I am." She replied.
"But..." He tried to say but after one look from her, he relented.
He sighed "Fine," He said before looking at Jon "...but I'm warning you, I'll be watching you like a hawk. One false move and I won't hesitate with my blade." He warned in a stern tone.
"You can try." Jon replied as he stared down the bold knight.
"What did you just sa..." He said before she interrupted them.
"Enough!" She said as she looked at Ser Barristan then at Jon. She looked back at Ser Barristan as he lowered his head in apology, she then turned to Jon and noticed him grinning. She raised an eyebrow at him to let him know she wasn't playing any games, the grin fell from his face as he lowered his head.
She took a steadying breath before speaking "Right, let us head to my solar, shall we?" She said as Jon nodded his head and stepped in line with her. She caught Ser Barristan burning a hole in the back of Jon's headful of curls as he fell behind them.
She took Jon's arm and looped her own around it as they walked towards her solar, all she could feel was a hard mass of muscle under the deep blue surcoat he donned. She had to admit the colour suited him.
They weren't walking for long before they entered the family wing of the castle, as soon as the doors to the corridor were opened, she instantly noticed four figures making their way down the corridor towards them. Ser Oswell and Ser Jonothor escorting their charges, her daughter and granddaughter.
Now this should be very interesting.
She noticed the way the two of them seemed to stiffen when they noticed her and Jon, Rhaenys subtly grabbing hold of Daenerys' wrist in some sort of supporting gesture. Inside of her head, Rhaella was finding it all very amusing.
"And where are you two off to?" She said to them. They both blinked a few times before flicking their eyes back and forth between her and Jon. Her daughter was the one to finally answer her as they both gave her their attention. It didn't stop them from sneaking looks at her guest though.
Daenerys cleared her throat "We're um...we're going to have a walk around the markets, see what the vendors have brought with them. We've heard that there's some Essosi traders that have just arrived and we wanted to get there before the good stuff is gone." Her daughter explained.
Ser Oswell looked a bit confused by what the princess had said "I thought we were going to the training yard your grace?" He said as her daughter turned and looked at him. Whatever face she'd given him must have been something jarring as she saw the knight's eyes widen before he looked down in reverence.
She looked at Rhaenys, who was still sneaking looks at Jon with zero shame on her face. She had to clear her throat to get her granddaughter's attention.
"What would you be going to the practice yard for Rhaenys?" She asked innocently. She didn't have to ask, she knew exactly why they were going, the reason stood right next to her. It would seem inviting Jon for morning tea had really made a mess of their plans.
Rhaenys looked like a child sneaking sweets, but before she could come up with some elaborate excuse, Daenerys was interrupting to try and save both of their hides.
"Mother, are you not going to introduce us to your guest?" She said as the two princesses looked towards Jon with undisguised interest.
Before she could answer, Jon, just like last night with her, delicately grabbed hold of her daughter's hand and kissed the back of it before introducing himself.
"Jon," He said as he dropped Dany's hand and went and kissed the back of Rhaenys' hand as well "...Jon Snow. Pleasure to meet the two of you." He finished as he let go of her granddaughter's hand.
Her daughter raised her chin as she put on her royal mask but the fight she was putting up was for naught as a faint change in the colour of her cheeks slowly made its appearance. Rhaenys on the other hand was just staring at Jon as she fiddled with one of the rings on her hand, a habit she'd inherited from her mother.
She'd never seen them like this with any of the men that vied for their hand, whether it be visiting lords at the Red Keep or cocky knights at tourneys.
It only made her more eager to find out who Jon Snow was.
"Well, me and Jon here will leave you to it. Oh, and if you see Viserys while you're out perusing the stalls, tell him his mother wants a word with him." She said to the pair of them. Her son was something else she needed to deal with as well, she couldn't have him being so distant with his wife so publicly, people will definitely start talking if it becomes a regular occurrence.
"Okay mother. Bye Jon, lovely to meet you." Daenerys said as she grabbed hold of Rhaenys arm and practically dragged her away from the two of them. Her, along with Jon, turned around and watched them walk down the corridor, she could hear her granddaughter harshly whispering to Daenerys as to why Jon was here before turning around and looking at them, her head snapped back forward when she saw her and Jon looking at them already.
She turned back forward but noticed Jon hadn't turned with her, he was still looking at the backs of the two retreating princesses.
The art of subtilty didn't seem to be his speciality. She thought as she cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow at him as he turned and looked at her. There was zero shame on his face.
"Shall we?" She said as she held an arm out for him to loop his through which he did before making their way to her solar which didn't take them long. She opened the door to her solar and noticed the servants had set up the little meal she'd requested, a couple of plates filled with small cakes, fruits and sweets along with a pot of tea, some tea cups and a pot of honey which she personally enjoyed in her beverage.
Jon followed her in, she noticed him scanning the entire room, probably as a precautionary procedure, or a habit. She'd noticed him doing it with every corridor they entered on the way here. Ser Barristan tried to follow in after Jon but she put her hand out in front of him.
"It's okay Ser Barristan, I wanted a private conversation with Jon here." She explained as she turned to look at Jon who was walking around the room observing his surroundings.
Ser Barristan lowered his voice and harshly whispered "But your grace, he's armed, he said so himself." He tried to plea as he readjusted the two swords under his arm.
"I'll be fine Ser Barristan. If it makes you feel any better, you can check in on us after ten minutes or so to make sure I'm fine, although I expect you'll be wasting your time, I'm positive Jon won't do anything stupid." She said to him.
"Plus," She said as she as she slightly lifted the side of her skirt to show him her leg "...It's not as if I'm unarmed." She informed with a grin as she nodded to the small dagger tied to her calf that she'd carried with her for years.
Ser Barristan let out a sigh and seemed resigned to the fact that he had to wait outside "Okay. But if he tries to do anything your grace, I want to hear some sort of signal or anything from you." He said.
She didn't like that he was in a way, demanding something from her but she relented and nodded. At this point, she just wanted to sit down and start her conversation with the young man in her solar.
The door closed with a click and she turned around just in time to catch Jon sneaking a grape off the table. He saw that he'd been caught smiled at her.
Another kick to the gut.
"Not one for simple etiquette I see." She said with a little grin as she made her way to the table and took a seat. Jon followed her lead and took his own seat. For a few seconds she just sat there and looked at his face, in the light of the morning sun that lit up her solar, the similarities were even more noticeable. The colouring and the beard on his face were decent for disguising his features but to someone who knew what they were looking for, it wasn't enough.
She saw Jon raise an eyebrow at her as she looked at him shamelessly, it was enough to break her out of her thoughts and reach for the pot of tea to pour each of them a cup.
"I've never had tea before." Jon said as she handed him his cup. He nodded to her in thanks as he took it from her.
She smiled at him as he took a sip from his cup, a small hum emitting from his chest as he tasted the contents.
"It's good." He said to her.
She nodded to herself as she poured a small amount of honey into her own drink "That's from my own personal stash, not many get to taste it. Personally, I like mine with a bit of honey." She said. She grabbed a small spoon and stirred the honey into her tea before taking a sip, the cup clinked atop its saucer when she'd taken her first taste.
There was a nervous silence in the room, Jon busying himself by taking sip after sip from his cup, she herself was too busy taking in her guest's appearance. Jon looked somewhat apprehensive as he looked around the room before locking eyes with her and smiling.
That bloody smile. She thought as she swallowed another mouthful of tea.
How was she going to go about this? She had to a have a decent reason for inviting him, the excuse "You look like my son when he was your age." Was not a good enough reason for her to be here with him, alone.
"Have you been enjoying the festivities Jon?" She asked in an attempt at small talk and to rid the room of the awkward silence. She wanted to talk to him, ask him some questions she really had no right to ask, but at the moment, she couldn't. She was scared of what she would find out.
But she really wanted to know, she needed to know to ease her running mind.
She caught him in mid sip as he nodded at her question before swallowing "I have, meeting Ser Jaime was probably the highlight so far." He said as he reached for another grape, his cup completely devoid of its contents.
She smirked as she took his empty cup and refilled it without giving him a chance to refuse "You didn't only just meet him I hear. He told me some very interesting tales about you." She said as she placed the cup back in front of him.
He chuckled "Aye, I bet he did." He said. He grabbed the small pot of honey in the middle of the table and added the same amount to his tea that she had.
"And are these tales true?" She asked as she grinned back at him. Slowly but surely he was loosening up, becoming more comfortable in her presence.
She ignored the warm feeling in her heart at such a thing. It meant nothing at the moment.
"It depends on what he told you." Jon replied with a smirk. A cheeky side to him that was evident from the first minute she met him.
Rhaegar was a bit like that when he was younger, that was until he got lost in his books full of pacts and prophecies.
She smiled as she placed her cup back on her saucer and reached for a small lemon cake "All manner of impossible things really, a tale of an impossible journey, the revelation of the survival of a long-lost uncle, the return of a lost family heirloom, you know, those kind of tales. Not to mention word of a certain northerner on his way to defeating the entire kingsguard in the practice yard." She said with a grin as she scoped his reaction, it would be a good measure of his character.
Jon didn't disappoint in that regard as he rolled his eyes and snorted "Ser Jaime loves to talk it would seem." He replied before taking a sip from his cup.
Not a single gloat of his accomplishments in sight.
That was another check on the imaginary list she had in her head. What that list was about even she wasn't sure.
She wanted to know more.
She cleared her throat before taking a sip from her own cup "If you don't mind me asking, what made you make the decision to cross the Sunset Sea? A choice like that can't have been made on a whim, you must have had a good reason to go through with such a dangerous journey." She said as she looked at Jon's face for any changes in mood.
It was almost instantaneous. A cloudy mood crossing over his face.
He took a breath before answering, almost like he was trying to calm himself "In all honesty, I'm not sure why I chose to go west when I could've easily gone east. I think the sheer lack of information of what lied beyond the Sunset Sea was what made me want to find out for myself I think." He said.
She hummed "The infinite possibilities of the unknown can be very appealing to some, others it instils fear. Surely a boy of your age had everything to live for, going beyond the Sunset Sea would be considered suicide to most." She said before filling her own cup up with more tea.
"All I saw was an escape." Jon replied almost instantly. From the look on his face, he'd not meant to say that.
She quirked an eyebrow at that as she looked at him, he was staring down at his lap looking like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The cheeky lad she'd met was gone and in his place was a drained looking boy.
She wanted to give him a hug.
She was still unaware as to why he would leave his home to go through with such a thing but for some reason, she had a feeling she'd be finding out why pretty soon.
"Do you want to tell me what it was you were escaping?" She poked softly.
C'mon Jon, open up for me. She thought as she looked at him. She hoped it would help her find out more about him but also relieve him from whatever burden he had inside that head of his.
He sighed once again "I fear if I go down this hole, there's no going back." He said as he fiddled with a spoon he'd picked up at some point. "To be honest, this was the kind of conversation I wanted to have with Lord Stark." He continued.
Lord Stark.
...not father or lord father.
A small bubbling of anxiousness became apparent in the pit of her stomach for some reason.
She sighed herself as she put her cup down "If you're not comfortable with this conversation then you don't have to talk about it right now." She said, a slither of disappointment felt at the idea of not finding out what it was bothering him. She gave him the out though, she didn't want to pile on the pressure and scare him away.
She was actually shocked to see him shaking his head resolutely. He sniffed before taking a calming breath in and out. The look he gave her when he looked up and locked eyes with her was intense.
"I'm ready." Was all he said as he closed his eyes.
Something was about to happen.
"Are you sure?" She said but it felt like a waste of time, the boy looked like he was on a mission, like he'd made a decision already.
There was no backing down now it would seem, she was unaware of the sheer magnitude of what she was about to be told.
He nodded "I'm sure. You need to know, all of you do. I've been holding it off for a bit now, unaware of how to do it or what would happen when I did. I think the best thing to do is to just get it over and done with, just rip the arrow out." He said, mainly to himself since he was looking out the window. A warm breeze from outside flowing around them.
She was scared, why was she scared?
She placed her hand over his that was laid on the table in the hopes of calming him of whatever it was that was troubling him so. She felt the shock in it as he turned away from the window and looked at her.
It was her turn to be shocked as she saw the glassy look in his eyes. Now she was really scared, what was happening?
He moved his hand from underneath and placed it on top of hers before giving it a small grip. He smiled as he looked at the two hands together "I left Winterfell because of my mother." He said.
His mother?
Nobody was aware of the identity of his mother if she had her information correct. There were rumours but that was about it, Lord Stark had done a very good job at keeping the woman's identity a secret.
Until now it would seem.
"Your mother?" She said softly. The door to her solar opened with a small click as Ser Barristan poked his head through to check on her. She mouthed 'Not now' when he looked at her, the look on his face was not missed as he noticed Jon holding her hand but he nodded his head and closed the door quietly.
Jon didn't notice any of it, he was in a world of his own as he looked at their hands.
He visibly swallowed before nodding "Aye, my mother. Or to put it another way, the identity of her and Lord Stark's refusal to speak on the matter. 14 years of silence and excuses whenever I asked about her had ran its course on my soul and I needed to leave." He said.
She just sat there and listen to everything he said, a few reassuring squeezes to his hand here and there.
"When I came back after 3 years away, I was determined to find out about her. Unfortunately, my temper got in the way and I ended up smacking Lord Stark when he decided to lie to my face one too many times." He explained. "I had to get out of Winterfell until everything cooled off so I ended up travelling up to the wall to visit my uncle Benjen, hoping that it would help clear my head. Boy was I wrong." He continued.
He was an open book at this point, he was telling her everything and she just sat there and absorbed it all.
"When I finally got there and we spoke, I knew something was off straight away, he kept looking at me funny, like he was seeing me for the first time all over again." He said.
"In what way?" She asked, asking him to let him know she was actually listening to everything he was saying.
He looked at her and smiled softly "The same way you looked at me when I smiled at you last night." He said.
He'd noticed.
"And what way would that be?" She asked, slightly abashed at being caught staring last night.
"Like you were looking for something. Chances are, you probably did, I know maester Aemon did when I met him." He said with a smile.
"Aemon? Aemon Targaryen?" She asked with a raised brow.
Jon nodded.
"I met him, and my uncle Benjen was adamant he felt my face when we greeted. I knew he was practically blind from what my uncle had told me beforehand but I still found it all a bit odd. Not as odd as his reaction after he'd roamed my face." He said as he smiled sadly.
"What was odd about it?" She asked. She felt like she was on the cusp of something, there was no going back now.
She felt him squeeze her hand again as he replied "He cried." Was all he said.
She looked at him in confusion "He cried? Did you find out why?" She asked.
He sniffed before visibly swallowing again "He recognised me, or my features that is," Jon explained "...the same features I think you recognise." he finished with another sad smile.
She was struggling, breathing, blinking, everything really as she looked at him with blurry eyes.
"Jon..."
"I found out on that day who my mother was, the pieces of the puzzle were put together by my uncles." Jon interrupted, not giving her a chance to react. She wasn't sure if she was capable of such a thing anyway.
"Jon, what are you sayi..."
"Lord Stark isn't my father, he never was. He's my uncle in fact." He interrupted again. Any other time she would have reprimanded whoever it was doing such a thing to her but right now she was finding it hard to even breath to care about such a thing.
His uncle, but that meant...
She felt the drip from her eye hit her lap as she looked at Jon, really looked at him in a different light. He was tearing up as well.
"My mother isn't some whore or tavern wench, she isn't Ashara Dayne as much as the rumours like to say. She's Lord Stark's sister, the person who I thought was my aunt." He said as he looked down at his own lap, a few drips landing on his own lap.
"My mother is Lyanna Stark, and..I think your son is my real father." He finally said the thing she was waiting for him to say. He closed his eyes and slipped his hand out of her grip before she could stop him.
She closed her own eyes to calm all the emotions that had just erupted from within her. Anger, a lot of anger was felt before remembering who was sat in front of her. That's all it took to let the love and joy and happiness take over.
I think your son is my real father. That one sentence was the missing link to all of her questions. It answered all of them, it explained why he looked and acted like her son, it explained why Aemon had recognised him and was brought to tears the same way she was right now.
She had another grandchild.
She opened her eyes and realised she hadn't said anything after he claimed to be her son's son. The defeated look on Jon's face as he looked down at the floor was enough for her to get to her feet and move around the table to his side.
She grabbed hold of the top of his arms and ushered him to stand, he did just that but still refused to open his eyes to her. Without giving him any warning, she wrapped both of her arms around his midsection and hugged the life out of him, trying to give him 17 years of affection in that singular embrace. Her right hand lifting up to the back of his head as she buried her hand in the soft curls that felt just like her son's before bringing it down so he could rest it on her shoulder.
After a few seconds of holding him, he finally relented as he slowly wrapped his much larger frame around her, squeezing her back before totally breaking down. His tears racked his whole body as he released his pain into the shoulder of her gown. She shushed him to calm him down, it had worked on Rhaegar when she'd consoled him over Lyanna's death 17 years ago, why wouldn't it work on his son as well.
They stood there in the middle of her solar crying on each other's shoulders for what felt like hours before they pulled back from each and stared at one another. Jon's face was an absolute mess, eyes red rimmed, dried tears across his cheeks and in his beard. She had a feeling she didn't look any better.
She looked at him with determination as she grabbed hold of his arms "We're gonna fix this, okay?" She said, "I don't know how long it will take but I promise this will be fixed." She said before giving him another hug, something she couldn't help but smile about.
I have another grandchild.
She felt him nod as she held him before pulling back from him again.
He cleared his throat "What now?" He said as he sniffed. Her heart clenched at the look on his face, she couldn't imagine what was going through his head right now.
"What now?" Now wasn't that the million-dragon question. She mused. She had no idea where to go from here, all she knew was that she'd get her family through this, all of her family she thought as she looked at the new addition to it.
It was time for mama Rhaella to get to work.
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