Treason, and Lies

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The Following EIGHT Chapters are avaliable for Patrons.

Chapter 24 (Wildling Warrior), Chapter 25 (A Lone Wolf), Chapter 26 (Passion Under The Stars), Chapter 27 (The Truth), Chapter 28 (The Winter Dragon), Chapter 29 (Return to Winterfell), Chapter 30 (Dragon Dreams), and Chapter 31 (Reunion with The Starks) are already available for Patrons.

Rhaella Targaryen

Her name was known throughout the whole Seven Kingdoms; some only knew her as the wife of the Mad King, and many tended to pity her for having such a sick horrible husband, but to the lords around Westeros, she was known for an entirely different thing.

"Any news from the Tyrell convoy?" She asked sharply towards Ser Barristan, who bowed his head respectfully.

"No, your grace, the Nameless murmurs nothing of it; the last information he sent was that Olenna Tyrell is coming as well, along with Lady Margaery Tyrell," Ser Barristan replied; he knew the ones he needed to mention, the old knight didn't see himself as a man of politics, but he hadn't been a commander for so many years and learned nothing about politics, the hidden meanings behind words and their little games, their informer had sent them information that House Tyrell was coming towards King's Landing, but the informer had told him that they were bringing a massive convoy of, food, water, and all kinds of supplies, it was enough food to feed an army for a month.

Rhaella didn't react to the information; she simply grabbed a small dragon figure; it was a simple but beautiful decoration made out of wood and silver; the carving was on point at every part, and the little details such as small scales across the head, small but sharp, she ran her finger across the wooden surface bathed in red color, not facing the old knight before speaking.

"Are they bringing Lord Willas as well?" She asked with a blank tone.

"No, your grace,"

A ghost of a smile formed on her face; it seemed Olenna had learned from her last visit.

"Lord Hightower has a good son as well, Lady Olenna, and if I'm not mistaken, it has been only a few years since Lord Hightower openly spoke against your son, he has a beautiful daughter too," Rhaella spoke, her voice void of emotions, and so were her eyes, but that wasn't the same for Olenna, whose face turned slightly red. Rhaella noticed her index finger twitching a bit before grabbing the cup filled with wine a bit too tightly.

"Indeed, perhaps; how about Margaery? She's of age after all," Olenna spoke, her voice softer and calmer.

"She can come to the capital, get to know Aegon and Rhaenys," Rhaella replied, taking a sip from her cup, hiding a smile forming on her lips.

"Good," she murmured softly, returning back the wooden dragon figure, turning to fully face the old knight.

"Anything else interesting has happened in Westeros?" She questioned, still standing on her feet; her loyal knight was standing due to rules, so neither did she.

"Nameless speaks of Joffrey Tully, apparently he ordered the mountain to kill a boy of seven name days after one of the boy's goats shat on one of his boots," Barristan replied grimly, his face that usually was calm now with anger behind his eyes.

Rhaella's smile disappeared, and her face turned stoic; she had decided to accept Tywin's wishes to marry his daughter to Hoster Tully's son solely because even she knew that her husband had wronged him, therefore perhaps a small gesture of good faith could no longer make him an enemy, and not to mention Ser Jaime Lannister now was the official Lord of Westerlands.

But Everyone still knew that Tywin was the one in charge; after his son was freed, he had been delighted, as much as a person like him could be after all, but nonetheless, the tension that usually was around whenever Tywin showed himself had eased up a bit.

Rhaella had accepted for Cersei to marry the sloppy fish solely because House Tully wasn't in the best position since the rebellion; it wasn't really a secret that the majority of houses in Riverrun favored House Darry now instead of House Tully, especially since the first son of Lord Darry, Akrian Darry was a square of Brynden Tully, The Blackfish, perhaps the only Tully that was worth anything. The words had spread of him being a good lad and intelligent; the rumors spread of him being a much better Future Lord than Edmure Tully.

After the War, Jon Arryn, with the help of Rhaella, canceled his marriage with The Tully girl, Lysa Tully, since their marriage wasn't consumed. The girl was still untouched; later, Jon Arryn married a woman from Vale named Myranda, and together they had one boy; due to their marriage, Rhaella had, with one move, removed a potential future enemy and gained an ally. Jon Arryn had made it known that he was quite pleased that The Royal Family had helped with his marriage and having a future heir for The Vale; therefore, Rhaegar and Rhaella didn't doubt where his loyalty lies.

Stannis Baratheon was loyal to the crown despite losing his brother in War; he still followed the rules; Rhaella really wished there were more people like him in the world; House Velaryon was also a big supporter of House Targaryen and the one in charge of the Crowlands.

That left only House Tully after Lord Hoster Tully was sent to the Wall; Rhaella knew without a doubt they were still bitter about it; thankfully, the majority of the Houses liked House Darry, and in a way marrying Cersei to Lord Edmure Tully was a blessing in disguise since the rumors of the way she acts towards the lords of her husband had reached even King's Landing.

That left only House Lannister as the only possible Dangerous Enemy. Rhaella knew or at least hoped that Jaime wouldn't betray them, but sadly Tywin was still walking and breathing; if only his old age could catch up to him sooner.

But Rhaella wasn't sure whose side Jaime would choose if it came to choosing between his sister or the Royal Family; the former Queen liked to believe he would choose them but knew the possibility of him choosing his sister and father.

Rhaella escaped her grimy thoughts; for now, it did her no good to think of bad possibilities, the people were happy with Rhaegar, and Westeros was in peace; perhaps she was just overthinking, maybe.

They might want to have more power, but no one starts a War, especially someone like Tywin unless he knows for sure that victory is all but guaranteed, and right now, he can only rely on his own House and House Tully; she thought deciding to stop thinking about stressful things for now and focus on more relaxing things.

"Well, we can't do anything about Joffrey Tully, but any news from the North?" She questioned with a pointed look; from all the kingdoms, the North was the quietest, but she believed Lord Stark wasn't someone to conspire behind their backs.

"Not really, your grace; everything is the same except for the sudden disappearance of Lord Stark's bastard," Ser Barristan said.

"Lord Stark's Bastard!" She murmured the words under her breath, filling her cup with wine; she pondered on it. Even after so many years, she was baffled that Eddard Stark, of all people, had a bastard, but that wasn't what made her suspicious; it was the knowledge that it wasn't with Ashara Dayne.

After giving birth to Daenerys, it had taken almost half a year for Rhaella to return back to the Capital with Dany and Viserys; therefore, she hadn't been around when Lord Stark had declared for her son and left King's Landing along with his bastard.

She found the situation suspicious, especially since it happened right after he returned from the Tower of Joy; Rhaegar had explained to her that he hadn't been in the best mood and condition to ask anything about the Bastard, not to mention that Lord Stark had lost most of his family because of that monster, for those two reasons, Rhaegar and Elia had barely paid any attention to the bastard.

Now hearing that his bastard had disappeared was odd. "How is he handling that?" She asked with a low and calm tone.

"Lord Stark has offered one thousand gold dragons for anyone who finds him," He replied, a bit surprised.

One thousand gold dragons was a fine reward; that amount of money could easily secure someone for the rest of their life unless they liked to live in luxury.

"I see; well, the small council should start soon; I'm sure Jon Connington is missing my presence," She said, standing up and leaving the room, earning a chuckle from the old knight; it was known that the Maester of Law and Queen Rhaella were like Night and Day.

Reaching the room, Rhaella was pleased to see Aegon sitting in the council meeting as well, dressed in fine red clothes; he sat near his father, keeping a serious face at all times, his silver hair reaching his shoulder blades, a golden coin between his fingers, moving it around his fingers, playing with it until the meeting started.

Rhaella quickly noticed that her favorite Lord wasn't around, instead was her grandson, her son, Jon Arryn, and Stannis Baratheon; Ser Barristan promptly took his seat as the Commander of the Kingsguard.

Lord Varys had yet to arrive; despite not being necessary, she always took part in all council meetings, and sometimes Elia would join as well, but that wasn't that often.

"Mother,"

"Grandmother,"

His son and grandson greeted her with love and respect by standing up a bit from their chairs; she kissed both of their cheeks before sitting at Rhaegar's left; Aegon was sitting on his father's right, the coin now spinning wildly at the tip of his index finger, it still baffled some people how many tricks Aegon knew how to do with his fingers and a coin, he moved his finger up a bit, the coin flew to the tip of the other finger, still spinning.

Soon Lord Varys and Lord Jon Connington arrived, Rhaella briefly noticed a tiny smirk on Varys's face as he took his seat, but it disappeared as soon as it appeared; Lord Stannis was wearing his usual cold, heartless face, so nothing new about him. Lord Jon Connington had an unusual smug face, that kind of face that made her want to slap him across the face; the moment the meeting started, Aegon grabbed his coin before throwing it in his pocket, his focus being entirely on the meeting, especially his father and grandmother.

"How is the trade going with Pentos, Lord Baratheon?" Her son started, now that everyone had arrived.

"Very well, your grace, the new ships are sailing faster, making the job easier, and the population of pirates across the Stepstones is almost nonexistent due to the Greyjoy Rebellion. One thing that worries me is a merchant in Pentos is bringing us problems with selling our new fabric, salt, and pepper, due to his new deals being much cheaper, but I'm sure we will be able to find a deal soon," Stannis explained with a blank voice, his face as emotionless as a rock.

Rhaegar simply nodded before turning to his old friend. "How is the situation in King's Landing? I hope the crime rate has dumped down," Rhaegar asked with a slight edge in his voice towards Jon Connington.

"Of course, your grace, the gold cloaks are doing a fine job defending the City," Jon replied with a cocky tone, the smugness not leaving his face as he eyed the King's face.

"Well, Aegon and Ser Barristan will walk around the city today, so I want no problems," Rhaegar ordered; Jon's smug face went away way too quickly, his face paling slightly before nodding in understanding.

Hearing that, Rhaegar turned his attention to Aegon, who straightened himself.

"How is the plan for the city sewers going?" Rhaegar questioned; despite talking to his son, his voice was still serious and authoritative.

"Very good your grace, we have started working just outside the City walls, and around the flea bottom, the citizens around the working area have been evacuated for their safety, their losses compensated," he explained before pulling out a map of the city, spreading it across the table, his fingers pointing at the Rhaenys Hill, a finger sliding across the map, stopping a few miles outside the walls. "It will take a few years, but I'm sure we will have a new and better sewer system," Aegon explained passionately, earning a proud look from his father, which brought him great happiness.

"Well done, my son," Rhaegar said proudly before turning his attention to Lord Varys; his perfume's scent had already engulfed the whole room, making Ser Barristan a bit uncomfortable, closing his nose several times with his fingers.

"Anything worth informing us, Lord Varys?" Rhaegar questioned, keeping his voice emotionless, his face blank, he never trusted the spider, but he had his own uses.

Varys nodded, his face not showing anything. "Not much to talk about, Lord Joffrey Tully killed a farmer's child after one of his goats shit on his boots, Lady Cersei wanted the head of the father as well, but Lord Brynden stopped it before the situation could escalate any further," Varys informed them, earning a grimace from almost everyone in the room. Jon Connington didn't care much; he was expecting something big, not the death of a farmer's boy that no one cares about.

Rhaegar frowned hearing about it, especially since Lord Edmure had the gull to ask for a betrothal between his useless son and Rhaenys or Daenerys; he would never marry neither his daughter nor sister to someone like him.

"And my little spies had informed me that Lord Eddard Stark's bastard has disappeared from Winterfell for almost three months now; Lord Stark had offered a thousand gold dragons for anyone who brings him home," Varys informed them; Rhaella yet again noticed the barely noticed smirk on Varys's face, something she didn't like at all.

The master of Whispers was known to barely react, and for him to get any satisfaction from this information was suspicious to Rhaella. What are you planning, Spider? She asked herself, half convinced to have his head on a spike for everyone to see.

Odd, Rhaegar thought, he didn't know Lord Stark that well, but he doubted the man had done anything to make his own son leave Winterfell; after all, the majority of the bastards were raised in the streets, only on rare occasions like Aurane Waters and all the bastards of Oberyn Martell.

"Why should we care what a bastard does?" Jon Connington barked with annoyance; he thought this council meeting would be important but so far had been pointless.

Jon Arryn glared at him while himself thinking if anything had happened to Ned that he didn't know about.

"Usually that would be the case but hearing that Jon Snow possesses two creatures like Direwolves and an Eagle of the North, my birds sing songs, my lords," Varys replied emotionlessly.

This piece of information caught everyone by surprise, even Rhaella, who didn't think anything could take her by surprise. The mention of creatures like Direwolf and Eagle of The North immediately grabbed the attention of Aegon, who leaned forward in interest.

"Direwolves! There are Direwolves South of the Wall?!" Aegon questioned with excitement, almost sounding like a little kid who just got their favorite toy for their birthday.

Usually, either Rhaegar or Rhaella would tell Aegon to act like a prince and keep himself calm, but they were also curious.

Varys nodded his head in confirmation. "My birds sing songs, your grace; apparently the young snow has a Direwolf named Ghost and a Blue Eagle he calls Kessa; my birds sing that he can even fly on top of The Northern Eagle," Varys told them, the last part making even Rhaegar envy the kid.

He wondered what it was like to fly; he always dreamed of flying a Dragon; he knew an Eagle wasn't as majestic but still beautiful to look from up there, to feel as if the whole world was in your grasp.

That's amazing, Aegon thought with a childlike dreamy face, he wondered if he could meet Jon Snow and his companions one day, to draw them, and perhaps fly Kessa, but he doubted the latter; the Eagle would most likely have him for dinner.

"Why would Ned's son leave Winterfell, Lord Varys?" Jon Arryn asked, worried; despite being so many years, Ned was still like a son to him, and to hear Ned's son had left the castle willingly brought alarm bells to his head.

"My birds don't really know why, but apparently, the boy had some dispute with his father about the identity of his mother that Lord Stark is keeping secret," Lord Varys explained, paying extra emphasis to the reason why he left.

Rhaella narrowed her eyes slightly; this didn't add up, not even a little. Ashara is not his mother, that's for sure, so why is Lord Stark keeping it secret? There's no reason for it, she thought, the tip of her finger tapping the table's wooden surface slightly.

"Lord Varys, did Lord Stark give a general description of how his son looks like in case he shows himself around King's Landing?" Lord Arryn questioned, his voice old but firm.

"Yes, but only to the northern houses, my Lord; from what I gathered, he has long curly hair, what could be described as a handsome face, dark brown eyes with a slight shade of purple on them, and of course, an amazing singing voice," Varys explained with a blank face.

Rhaella narrowed her eyes in suspicion; even Rhaegar was caught off guard by the description for a moment remembering Lyanna's curly hair; the many times he had caressed her hair, they always smelled good.

"No one here cares for a Bastard, Lord Varys. Is there anything else of importance?" Rhaella asked abruptly, her voice cold like ice. The master of Whisperers slowly shook his head in denial.

Her question made everyone change the subject to something more substantial.

The rest of the meeting went uneventfully; Aegon was more busy dreaming of a way to meet the beautiful creatures, especially the Eagle of The North; Rhaegar spoke mainly with Stannis and Jon Arryn.

After the meeting ended, Rhaella was one of the first to leave but still not showing any signs that she was in a hurry; reaching her bedchamber, she quickly called for Ser Barristan.

"My Queen," the old knight called her when he walked inside; she wrote something on a piece of paper before handing it to Barristan.

"To the Nameless," she whispered to the old knight, who quickly nodded without hesitation; when the door closed, Rhaella had only one thought on her head.

What are you doing, Varys? Why does that bastard matters to you? If you show the slightest sign of treason, I will cut your throat in your sleep, she promised herself, drinking iced water with lemons.

Her thoughts unintentionally went to Lord Stark's bastard; something didn't add up; she quickly decided to have a conversation with Ashara Dayne and Soon.

Jon Snow

The bastard woke up when Ghost returned to his tent carrying a dead rabbit in his mouth; the sun had just started to rise on the horizon. Opening the tent, he was greeted by his friend, who dropped the rabbit in front of him and gave him a look that said, 'What are you looking at? Skin it for me', Jon laughed in amusement; grabbing a knife, he removed the skin slowly from his ears to his tail.

One day Tormund had shown him a way to remove the skin of any small animal with his bare hands by simply grabbing the part around their tail and forcing the hands downwards; the skin would be pulled out quickly, Tormund had demonstrated it to him, but Jon wasn't strong enough to do it yet.

Now, three months had passed since he joined the Free Folk because it was needed, and Jon didn't really want to lazy around; he would always go hunting with the hunter group.

Ygritte usually was part of his group unless two groups were sent at the same time; in those cases, the red-haired free folk would go with the other group. She had proven herself to be quite good at not missing a single shot with her arrow, once she demonstrated to him personally by launching an arrow that hit just inches above his head from a hundred meters away, that was fascinating, but Ghost had almost torn her apart a minute later if it wasn't for Jon telling him to stop.

Val occasionally would come with him, but her job was mainly in the main camp, but that didn't stop Jon and Val from spending time together; they would often eat together and walk around together, something Tormund brought up more than once with a teasing voice.

As the bastard boy was thinking of perhaps going a bit further away North this time when they went out to hunt, a loud voice suddenly reached his ears. "Jon, Jon, JON," Val shouted from outside, her footsteps getting closer, but before she could reach his tent, Jon walked outside, throwing the rabbit at Ghost, who caught it and ran away with it.

"What is it, Val?" Jon asked, concerned, seeing the wildling woman breathing heavily.

"The hunting group last night has not come back; Mance is forming a group to search for them; he wants you in it," Val informed him; Jon frowned slightly before nodding, quickly grabbing his sword from inside the tent; Jon followed the blonde woman from behind, who was walking faster than usual.

"White Walkers?"

"We don't know, but we doubted it; they don't usually attack in that area," Val replied, but Jon could feel a 'But' somewhere.

"But?"

"But the Thenn tribe does," she responded, her voice grim and a hint of anger as she basically spat the name of the tribe.

"Thenn Tribe?"

"They're one of the best tribes in the North, one of the few that still hasn't joined Mance; their warriors are the best, they have the best hunters and good wargs, and have excellent equipment, but they are the most despicable people you can know," she informed him, now inside the large camp, making their way over to Mance's tent.

"Do you hate them?" Jon asked; from the way she spoke, it sounded like she had some personal vendetta against them.

Val stopped dead in her tracks before turning to Jon with a grim look on her face.

"They eat their enemies Jon, and Tormund was in that hunting group,"

Tormund

"You think you can keep me here forever, ugly head? Let's fight and finish this," Tormund shouted, his face red, his lower lip bleeding, clenching his teeth tightly; each one of them was in a separate cage made of bones; the bearded man could still smell the bones; they were made recently.

A bald man with a large scar over his shaved head, the scar going from the top of his head, into his face, through his nose to his jawline, his left hand missing, covered in clothes, deep blue eyes, with a broken nose, approached Tormund with a grin on his face.

"You think of me a fool; even our tribe knows of your strength Tormund Giantsbane; some even say you're as strong as a Giant," he spoke with interest seeping into his voice; he turned around to walk away when Tormund called him.

"Why are we alive? You don't usually keep prisoners?"

Grinning more, he turned around to face the giant man, "We are curious about the army your little king is making; we have heard it is much warmer south of the Wall; why not join in this fight together? We are Wildlings, but we are not foolish to stand here when the Others come for us," He spoke, spreading his arms carelessly before walking away.

"That if Mance can defeat Qringaomnon first," he declared, laughing as he walked away.