8

Chapter Text

The Dragon Reborn

He stared at his reflection in the water, utterly transfixed by the sight. As he stared, he could see that it was still his face, it was just his hair and eyes that had changed colour. Of course, that meant that he was not completely unrecognizable but it was a small comfort. Jon knew that something in the pool did this to him, he knew that it was some sort of magic and perhaps they could reverse the changes. 

"Jon?" he heard a voice quietly call out to him. He looked over at Daenerys and saw that she was very concerned "Are you all right?" she asked tentatively. 

He nodded. "Yes," he replied his voice was hoarse "Yes, I'm fine," he repeated.

"What happened to you? When I last saw you, Euron had thrown you into the pool, it turned black and swallowed you up. I thought I would never see you again," she croaked.

"I touched one of the rocks or gemstones and cut my hand on it. As my blood spilled onto it I felt a searing pain course through my body. I don't remember much after that, all I remember was the pain. Then suddenly, I felt weightless & the pain stopped," he explained to Dany.

"That must have been when he threw you into the pool," she said interrupting him, "Sorry, I'll let you finish," she said with an apologetic smile.

"Right, so as I was in the pool, I had visions. I saw so many things. I saw Daenys the Dreamer, I saw Aegon the Conqueror, I saw the Targaryen & Stark Kings of old, great historic battles & moments, my father, your father, I saw so many things that I can't list them all for you at the moment, perhaps we can discuss it later at length?" he asked and she quickly nodded her head.

"My final vision, was a vision of you. I saw that you were in danger and I knew I had to save you, so I pulled myself out of the pool and ran towards you,"

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I just knew, it was like I could sense you" he said with an uncommitted shrug of his shoulders. "When I saw the ship, I crouched behind that wall to observe the situation and I guessed what you were planning to do, it was brilliant. You didn't need me to save you after all,"

"I wouldn't say that, you were quite helpful," she said with a smile and he instinctively looked at her face, her beautiful face, her lips were calling him again. He had decided to not mention the vision of the little boy and girl, not yet. He did not want to presume things.

"Jon, when you were about to fight Euron, you recited a strange prayer, do you know what you said?"

"No, I read the words at the base of a statue in the temple, something in my gut told me that it was the right thing to say before a battle, so I said it," he looked at her and saw she had the same unsettled look on her face. "After I recited the prayer, I felt a strange gust of wind and then I heard everyone gasp, what exactly happened?"

She started to fiddle with her hands. "I don't know how to say this, but as the wind blew, a dragon appeared behind you. It was green with copper tinted scales. It was transparent almost like a ghost. Everyone saw it,"

Jon was stunned. How did he summon a dragon spirit?

"Maybe, when you fell into the pool, you gained the magical knowledge stored within it. It was the pool of knowledge after all. Remember it said that the worthy would be blessed with its power. It could also explain the change in your appearance," she said answering his unspoken question. When she mentioned his face he looked back into the water again, hoping that the effects would be wearing off. He knew that he was only humouring himself.

As he looked away from the water and back to her, he saw that she was watching him nervously.

"You're still the same Jon, and that's all that matters, it's all that matters to me," she said softly and this time Jon leaned in to kiss her. The heat from her lips passed into his body and warmed him all the way to his heart. As long as she was still with him, it would be all be ok he realised. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her waist and pulled her into his lap.

"Dany!" she broke apart as she heard Viserys yell again, they had forgotten him. He quickly looked up at her and saw that her eyes were dilated and her lips were parted.

"We will finish this later," she said and she gave him another quick kiss. They rose to their feet and walked over to Viserys. He was struggling to free himself from the ropes that held him in place, the friction caused the ropes to cut into his skin causing him to bleed even more. He kept calling for his sister, begging, pleading.

"What did they do to him?"

"Euron captured him after I left him. He tortured him and gave him something called shade of the evening to drink. We should untie him," and she moved forward to help her brother.

Jon's mind immediately flashed back to Maegor the Cruel, Aegon the Unworthy and then the Mad King. He remembered the vision of Viserys being cruel to her. He remembered the feeling of disapproval being exhumed by his dragon as he watched those visions play out. He suddenly understood that the visions were lessons for him.

Dany untied Viserys and he slumped forward on his knees, thanking her and kissing her feet, tears flowing down his face. Dany quickly shook him off her but he continued to crawl after her. Jon turned back towards the ship to find the warlocks. They were all still standing on the deck of the ship along with the crew, he motioned for one of the warlocks to come to him.

"Can he be saved?" he asked the warlock who quickly shook his head in response.

"No, Shade of the evening is used to give the drinker the ability to see prophetic visions. The drinker needs to be in a calm & focussed state of mind to be able to discern the meaning of the visions & the shade should only be used in a moderate dosage. If the drinker is not completely relaxed & focussed at the task or if the dosage is too great, then it can turn him into a simpleton. Euron had been impatient as he did not manage to learn much from his own experience of using the shade & he knew the dangers of overdose. When he captured Viserys, he decided to test a higher dosage on him to gain some insight as he did not care of what would happen to him. I'm afraid the physical torture coupled with the effects of the shade, have driven him insane."

When Viserys heard Euron's name he immediately began to howl and scream again, he quickly crawled forward and grabbed Daenerys around the ankles, begging her to save him and to protect him. She grabbed a hold of him and quickly tried to calm him down.

"Bring Euron's body and toss it onto the pile of wood. He will be burned. I also want you to ready the books that you stole from the library, I wish to read them later," The warlock nodded and quickly scurried away to complete this task.

Jon watched as Euron's body was thrown onto the pile of wood and the fire was started. They had stripped him off his armour and it only took a few moments for his body to become aflame. He stood next to Daenerys as this occurred, Viserys was still on the floor whimpering.

"Relax dear brother, Euron is burning, he will not hurt you any longer," she said to Viserys.

Viserys heard Euron's name and was launched into a frenzied panic again. Daenerys tried to calm him down but he would not listen. Viserys rose to his feet whipping his head back and forth and then he stared at the fire and Euron's body, this seemed to calm him. He watched as Euron's body burned slowly and then he suddenly ran forward into the fire.

"Viserys, No!" Dany screamed as they heard a loud crack. She started to run behind him but Jon reached out his hand and grabbed her to stop her from following Viserys into the fire.

"No, Dany you will get burned," She quickly turned to face him. 

"No Jon. I will not burn. We are the blood of Old Valyria, the blood and seed of Aegon the Conqureor, this is our home. I am Daenerys Targaryen, you are Aegon Targaryen and we are the blood of the dragons. Don't you see! The flames will never hurt us because THE FLAMES ARE OURS!" she shrieked and then she grabbed him by the neck and kissed him fiercely. She broke away and then quickly strode into the flames.

Jon was rooted to the spot on account of Daenerys's fierce and confident declaration. As she stepped into the flames he heard a second crack. He heard Viserys scream and yell but he heard nothing from Daenerys.

Slowly, he walked forward in an almost trance, his feet carrying him forward without him even noticing it. Surprisingly, he felt completely calm. He continued to walk forward until all he could see was the flames dancing in front of him. Calling to him. He remembered Daenerys words. She was right. They were the blood of Old Valyria. They were fire and the flames belonged to them.

As he stepped into the flames he heard third crack as loud and as sharp as the world breaking.

The flames encompassed his vision. He could not see Daenerys or anything else except for the flames. He could feel a massive surge of power around him, it felt as if the world was shifting. When the fires died down, he saw that he was naked, his clothes had been completely burnt, he was covered in sooth & ash but he was unharmed, not even a blister on his skin. He turned around & saw Daenerys in a similar state with 3 baby dragons crawling around her body. One was black with red scales, it was the largest among the trio and had climbed on top of her shoulder while a smaller white dragon with gold scales was nestled in her arms. The third dragon looked like the one in his dreams with green colouring & copper scales. It crawled towards him & curled up around his ankle. He then looked towards Dany & couldn't help but stare at her naked form.

"Jon," she said with a small smile, "You're staring,"

He quickly shook his head and looked the other way. He turned around to look at the ship, he saw that the entire crew were staring at them in awe. He remembered that they were both naked & he quickly ordered for clothes to be fetched for them. He then proceeded to stand in front of Dany to cover her & led her onto the ship, shielding her as they walked. They entered the cabin and sat down on the bed while the dragons began crawling about the room. They were facing one another

"How did you know that would work?" he asked her

"I had a dream once, around the same time that I met you, I was surrounded by fire but I did not burn & then I heard a voice repeatedly saying that 'fire cannot kill a dragon'. Why did you follow me? I didn't tell you to do that,"

"The conviction & confidence in your voice convinced me to follow you. Also, as soon as you disappeared in the flames, I felt being drawn towards them too. It was the same feeling that drew me to this island. I knew that I had to do this."

"Why didn't Viserys survive? He was a Targaryen, he had the same blood as us," she asked quietly

"In my visions, I saw the evil & unworthy Targaryen Kings. Maegor the Cruel, Aegon the Unworthy, the Mad King. After witnessing each vision of these kings, my dream dragon roared in contempt. It was teaching me a lesson Dany, those kings abused their power and unleashed pain & suffering upon the realm. We have to be different from them, it is our duty to rid the world of false dragons who would spread destruction and to build a better world. The dragons are a gift from the gods to realize the dream of a better world."

"Aegon the Conqueror brought fire and blood to Westeros, but he also brought unity to the continent. He put an end to the constant wars between the various old kings & laid the foundation for a peaceful and united realm. There is a need for destruction before you can create something new."

"Jon, your face," he looked at her quickly. Surely. his face couldn't change anymore. "Your hair and your eyes, they've gone back to normal,"

Jon's hands quickly flew to his face. He pulled a lock of hair and saw that it was raven black.

"How?" he asked. There was a knock at their door before she could answer. One of the warlocks had returned with clothes and the books.

"Here, are the clothes you asked for and the books we took from the library," he said as he entered the room.

"All of them?" Daenerys asked. The man meekly nodded. The black dragon hissed at him. "Yes, these are all the books, your grace,"

"Good, now leave us and wait for any further instructions. Do you have any food?" he nodded quickly. "Good, have meals prepared for us, it feels like I haven't eaten in days," she said and she dismissed him with a wave of her hands. Jon raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Ordering people around already are you, your grace?" He teased. She just rolled her eyes and got up to look through the books.

"The King was too busy staring at the Queen, so someone had to take charge," she pulled a book from the pile and sat back on the bed. She quickly flicked through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

"Here we are," she said as she found the page "I read earlier that there were potions that enabled Valyrians to change their appearance. However, in certain cases the potions also unlocked the dormant magic & power within one's blood & granted them incredible abilities."

"Perhaps, the pool contained some leftover remnant of that potion & it awakened my dormant magic. During my fight, I felt faster and stronger than I ever did before. Does it mention anything about how to access and control this power?" he asked

"Maybe, it also says that the powers were tied into the emotional state of the individual. So feelings like rage or fear could cause their powers to activate,"

Jon slowly nodded his head. He had been so consumed with rage when Daenerys was threatened, and when he was fighting with the Ironborn.

"That makes sense, maybe when I was in the pool, something within the liquid seeped into my body and gave me these powers, what else does it say on this matter?"

"Not much really, it's such a rare occurrence that people haven't written a lot about it. I have an idea though, think about things that make you angry or afraid, and let's see if your appearance changes. Try it,"

Jon closed his eyes. He thought about his visions of Viserys hurting Daenerys, or Daenerys with Euron. He slowly felt his anger build. He opened his eyes and looked at Daenerys who looked surprised.

"See it worked, you've changed again," she said bouncing on the bed with excitement. She was still naked 

"This is incredible. If I can learn to control this power, it will be an incredibly valuable skill,"

"We have plenty of time to practice, we have a long boat ride ahead of us," she said with a wicked smile. Jon started to lean forward but she put her finger to his lips.

"No, we have some stops to make first," he decided to pout at her which caused her to laugh.

"What stops? We have a ship, we have dragons, we should just leave now," he asked in annoyed tone.

"Plenty of stops. Think of it, like a shopping trip" she said excitedly. She went to her books and again flicked through the pages.

"How do you know what to look for, you couldn't have to read them all,"

"I am a fast reader and I have excellent memory, Jon," she replied "Here, this book tells us everything we need to know about dragons. All about how they grow, what to feed them. It says that there is even a special pool here in Valyria & If you bathe them in that pool, they will not only grow faster but also become more powerful than average dragons." she said as she pointed to a spot on the map, "It's along the eastern coast. Before that, there are several mines and armouries that we should stop at along the way,"

"Why?"

"Jon, we're in Valyria . The treasures here are worth a fortune. We could buy armies with what we find here. With our armies and our dragons, we could change the entire world,"

Jon nodded slowly "Ok, I'll tell the crew. We'll set a course,"

He quickly dressed himself in the clothes which the warlock had brought them, then he took the book and map and quickly went to speak with Euron's crew to set a course. Well, he tried to speak but they were mutes. so it was mostly him pointing at the map, and them nodding or shaking their heads. Eventually, he got the message across and they set sail.

Euron's crew were skilled sailors, he quickly realized. They navigated the smoking sea with ease and got them to the areas they required. Jon noted that the location marked as the armoury, was in fact an old destroyed palace. He surmised that whoever had owned this place must have been very rich and probably been among the most powerful families in Valyria. The palace itself had been badly destroyed in the doom, lava flowed freely down the staircases and the marble walls had crumbled. They had to be careful where they stepped, as several times the stone had crumbled beneath their feet. There were two purple sphinxes flanking the entrance to the palace, one was missing a head, the other a leg. Jon could tell that their used to be jewels in the eyes of the Sphinx but they had been lost over time 

As the roof had been largely destroyed, Jon and Dany were able to walk around freely, collecting valuables along the way. They found Valyrian steel daggers and bows made from dragonbone.

"Whoever lived here must have been have been unbelievably rich," she said as they found yet another piece of Dragonbone. "I know Illyrio trades in dragonbone, this stuff is incredibly valuable and they have it in abundance,"

"Not as valuable as the armour," Jon said as they found yet another piece. "No armourer in the world will be able to craft armour half as good as this,"

The warlocks had stripped Euron of his armour before they killed him, and they had found eventually found enough scattered pieces to finish another completed set. Jon had tried on Euron's armour and found that it fit well. He was also amazed by how little it seemed to weigh, he tried a few moves and he found that he was able to move freely, it was as if he was not wearing anything at all.

"I think Euron's suit of armour will fit me well, maybe I have a little growing to do for it to be a perfect fit. Hopefully, these pieces can be used to create a set that will fit you. I think you'll look good clad in armour,"

"Have you been imagining me clad in armour?" she teased. Noticing his serious face she quickly continued "I don't need armour, I'll be on a dragon," Jon had noticed the black and red dragon that had been following her around closely. It was perched protectively on her shoulder and hissed at him.

"See, he'll protect me, I'll name him Anogar," she said and her dragon roared in approval. Jon watched as the other two dragons followed behind them, he kept looking at the green dragon. He knew it was the same dragon from his visions. He closed his eyes and focused and when he opened them, his dragon had climbed upon a broken pillar and jumped onto his shoulder.

"Vedros," he said and he was greeted with a roar

"What should we name the third dragon?" he asked

"Caraxes," she said immediately. They watched as the dragons clawed and scraped at each other on the floor, they seemed to be playing some sort of game with each other.

"Come Dany, let's keep moving, we still need to head to that pool," he offered her his hand and they continued to look through the palace. They found more swords, weapons and jewels. Then, they left and continued to the pool that she had found on the map.

The location marked on the map described a hidden volcanic pool and to get to this pool, they would have to pass through a cave mouth whose entrance was located by the sea. When they reached this location, they found that the entrance to the cave had been completely obstructed by lava. He looked up to see that the lava was flowing all the way from the top of the cliff and down into the water. They decided to head back to the boat. As they were walking back, the dragons all suddenly screeched & took off in a different direction and then after a moment, Ghost followed.

"I guess they want us to follow," Jon said. They followed the mythical beasts and realized that the they had found another way to the pool. When they arrived, they saw the dragons splashing about in the pool, screeching and roaring as they did.

"Do you think, that this water will actually make them grow faster and stronger?" he asked

"I don't see why not, everything else mentioned in the book turned out to be true," she said with a shrug "Besides, they look like they're having fun,"

"Why do you think they had a special pool like this hidden away?" Jon asked after a while

"I'm not sure, but if I were to guess, this pool was only known by the most powerful dragonlord families. If they had bigger dragons than everyone else, then they would be able to increase their power and influence. That could be why they kept the location of this pool in the special library."

Eventually, they left the pool behind and headed back to the ship. Once they boarded, they both stood on the deck of the ship and looked out at Valyria before it was swallowed up by the mist. In the background, he could see the sun was setting behind the rocky islands.

"We have been so fortunate to see this place, no other man alive has been here, no one has been here for hundreds of years," Jon said to her.

"Will we ever comeback?" Dany asked hopefully.

"Maybe, it feels like we have so much left to explore. Maybe when the dragons are big enough to ride, we can comeback whenever we feel like it,"

"So, where do we go next Jon?" she asked as she turned to face him

"The closest city from here is Astapor, so what do you say, my Queen?" he asked as turned to face her

She smiled warmly at him and stepped closer to him.

"Astapor sounds perfect, my King,"

The She Wolf of Winterfell

Arya Stark was frustrated. Kings Landing was not what she expected or hoped for. The King was a disappointment, she had heard stories about how the great Robert Baratheon had fought and won three battles in the same day, or how he had crushed the Greyjoy rebellion or how he had beat Rhaegar Targaryen at the Ruby ford with his Warhammer. On her way south, she had even looked in the Ruby ford for the rubies from Rhaegar's armour but she couldn't find any.

Instead of a Warrior King, she found a fat man. She didn't see him much, it was only occasionally at meals. When she did see him, he was always either drunk, or telling loud bad jokes. According to her father, the King was busy during the day which could explain why she never saw him. Her father was also busy, he said that being Hand of the King meant that he would have to spend a lot of his time helping to run the realm. He had to listen to petitions and resolve disputes.

Sansa was completely infatuated with that idiot Joffrey. Arya would never forgive him, because of him Mycah had died and she had to chase away Nymeria. Worse still, her own sister had lied for him. She didn't even know him but she lied for him.

She also missed Jon. He hadn't said goodbye to her but still she missed him nevertheless. Her father hadn't explained to her why he left, but he had told her that Jon was heading to Essos. She wondered where he was, was he in Pentos or Myr? Volantis or Braavos? She wished that she could have gone with him to see all these great places. He must miss her because she missed him dearly. When she was older, she too would travel the free cities and find him.

However, things in Kings Landing weren't all bad for her. Her father had found her a sword instructor, Syrio Forel, the first sword of Braavos. He was teaching her water dancing which was a Braavosi style of swordplay. The lessons were hard, she admitted, she often came back covered in cuts and bruises, but she loved them. She knew that every lesson, every bruise, it all made her stronger and better.

Unfortunately, that day she could not have her water dancing lessons. She was stuck inside having tea and lemon cakes with Sansa and their Aunt Lysa. Well, she and Sansa had drunk tea, Aunt Lysa quickly switched to wine. Arya didn't want to miss a day of lessons but her father had insisted that she spend time with her aunt. Arya had never met her before, she had been born in the North and Aunt Lysa had never come to visit them, she said it would be too cold for her.

Despite being her mother's sister, Arya could barely see the resemblance. Aunt Lysa was younger, but she looked at least ten years older. To hide this, she wore a lot of powder on her face. She shared the same auburn hair as her mother and Sansa, but her hair was very thick and fell to her waist.

She had a son, Robin who was of similar age to her, only a few years younger. When she found out about this, she thought that they would be friends, maybe he would like sword fighting as much as she did but she was proven wrong. Robin was very sickly and was never far from his mothers skirts. Even now as they sat around the table, he was perched on her lap resting his head on her breast like a new born babe. Sansa and Aunt Lysa were chatting.

She realized that she had been day dreaming again and regretfully tuned back into the conversation. She picked up a lemon cake and bit into it, savouring the sweet taste.

"Aunt Lysa, do you like this dress?" Sansa asked as she stood up and twirled "I made it myself,"

"Very nice, my dear, you are very talented with a needle. Soon, all the southern women will be copying the style of the beautiful Sansa Stark. What about you Arya? Is your needlework any good?" Aunt Lysa asked.

Arya thought about Needle, the sword that Jon had made for her before he left, she was getting better with it.

"My needlework is getting better but I haven't made anything since I arrived in Kings Landing,"

"If you have not been making anything, then what have you been doing with your time?"

"Dancing," and she smiled sweetly.

"How is the prince?" she asked Sansa. Sansa practically fell out of her chair in her eagerness to talk about Joffrey, she talked about how gallant and how brave he was. On and on, she gushed about him. Arya nearly vomited in disgust.

"My dear, you are a very lucky girl. When I was a little girl, I wanted to marry a brave knight, he would be tall and have long flowing dark hair. As I got older around your age, I wanted to marry the man of my dreams. You my dear are very lucky, you get to marry the crown prince!"Lysa told Sansa.

Arya took another bite of her lemon cake. She wanted to leave. Aunt Lysa and Sansa got along fine, they wouldn't miss her if she left.

"Arya, are you promised to anyone?" Lysa inquired.

"No, Father said he would try and find a match for her in the south. She needs to work on being a lady though, she has dancing lessons but she's terrible at it, she always comes back with bruises," Sansa answered barely concealing a smile.

"I am not terrible, you're just too stupid to understand," Arya said defensively.

"Now, now, children, don't fight," Lysa interrupted. "You both remind me of my childhood with your mother as we were growing up in Riverrun"

"What was that like? Mother doesn't talk about it much," Sansa asked.

"Riverrun was lovely. It was just the three of us," she smiled happily.

"You, mother and Uncle Edmure?" Sansa asked

"No, no, not Edmure, Petyr," Lysa answered.

"Petyr,who is he? Mother never mentioned him," Arya asked.

"Really? Your mother never mentioned Petyr Baelish? Well, the three of us were best friends growing up. Once, Cat and I managed to convince him to eat mud pies, he was sick for a week!" she laughed loudly, waking up Robin.

"We would play in the gardens, we would dance," she paused and then leaned in closer to Sansa "We would even practicing kissing with him," she said in a loud whisper.

Sansa looked horrified "But Aunt Lysa, that isn't proper! Septa Mordane says you should not do those things unless you are wed. She said that such behaviour is for lowborn women,"

"Nonsense, my dear, I am sure your charming prince would love to have one of your kisses," she said as she took a sip of her wine.

"Growing up in Riverrun was perfect. Until the Starks got involved," she said darkly. Arya sat up and decided to pay closer attention.

"What did the Starks do Aunt Lysa?" Arya asked quickly.

"It all started with your mother's betrothal. Did you know your mother was not supposed to marry your father?"

They both shook their heads.

"Well, she was supposed to marry your father's elder brother Brandon. He was kind and sweet to her, but Petyr saw through him, he realized that Brandon was no good. Petyr's always been good at reading people you see, that's why he's so successful today," she said proudly which Arya found odd.

"He challenged Brandon to a duel for Catelyn's hand in marriage. They fought and Brandon butchered him like the animal he was," she spat "You should have seen the wound girls, it was horrible, but I saved him, I nursed him back to health. I was always there for him, Cat wasn't, she took Brandon's side, she didn't deserve Petyr,"

Arya was very curious. She would have to ask her father about this, Brandon was his brother. She noticed that Lysa took another drink of her wine.

"Thankfully, Brandon got what he deserved in Kings Landing," she said. Suddenly the door opened and a thin short man walked in. She looked at his grey green eyes which were flicking back and forth surveying the scene in front of him.

"Uncle Petyr!" Robin exclaimed happily. He was practically trying to jump out of Aunt Lysa's lap and into his arms. The strange man, Petyr, kissed Robin's forehead and began to soothe him.

Arya found it a bit strange that Robin seemed more comfortable with this stranger than his own mother.

"Ladies, what are we talking about?" he asked after Robin had calmed down.

"Petyr, my dear, I was just telling the children everything about our time growing up together in Riverrun!" she said happily.

"I hope you haven't told them everything. Somethings are best kept a secret, I find," and he smiled at Arya as he said this. Arya noticed that his smile never reached his eyes.

"Why not, Petyr? Why should we hide? Do you not care for me? These girls won't tell anyone, did you not mean it? Is that why you want to keep it secret?" she babbled quickly.

"No, no Lysa," he said quickly as he crossed over to her.

"Then what is it? I did everything for you? Even the tears. I gave him the tears just like you asked. I did everything you asked, you can't do this to me," she shrieked. Arya noticed that she had started to cry as she spoke.

"Come now Lysa, calm down. Have you been drinking Arbor Gold? You have, haven't you," he quickly picked up her cup and moved it away from her. "You should not drink so much, it's not good for you. You should head to bed and sleep it off, I will see you later," he smiled at her.

When he said that, Arya noticed the way her eyes lit up happily and she quickly nodded her head. She took her son and walked out of the room, leaving them alone with Petyr.

"You must forgive her, Arbor Gold tends to get to her head rather quickly," he gave them that same false smile that he had practiced so well.

"Of Course, Lord Baelish," Sansa said quickly.

"Just to be sure, I think that we should not tell anyone of today's conversation. We wouldn't want embarrassing stories of your aunt to spread around the court," Sansa quickly nodded. He turned to Arya.

"What do you say little girl, it will be our little secret, just the three of us,"

Arya then gave him a sweet smile "Of course, our little secret."

The Spider

Lord Varys was a careful man. He had spent decades planning and scheming, sprinkling a few truths here and a few lies there. Carefully working to achieve his goals, he could see the finish line up ahead but he had to be careful, so very careful. The closer he got to the end, the more dangerous the game became. The stakes were now at their highest, and he would not lose, not this close to the end.

He had realized that over the last few months, more and more things were happening & not all of these acts had not been orchestrated by him. The pieces were moving too fast and he was not able to control them.

Across the sea, events had unfolded in a much different way than he had planned, too many unexpected arrivals for one. Still, the situation was still salvageable, no one would miss a dead man.

The events on this side of the sea had been occurring in a much more predictable manner.

The wolf had arrived in Kings Landing and Lord Varys had been pleased with what he saw. The Wolf was honourable and good natured, the wolf thought himself to be above the politics and the games played in the south. This was good, as it meant that the wolf could be controlled, steered in the direction that he wanted. He had already started to get the wolf to dance to his tune although he didn't know it.

The stag was not an immediate concern of his. When faced with a choice between the Wolf and the Lion, the Stag would tear himself apart, creating a vacuum of power in his wake. That would leave only the Lion. After the incident at the joust, the animosity between the Lions had been clear to see. Lord Varys had been paying particular attention to the movements of the Lions. He knew the depths of their cruelty and this cruelty would help him achieve his goals.

He walked through the dark secret passageways in the Red Keep. King Maegor had built them in order to provide him with a quick escape route should his enemies ever surround him. When Varys first arrived in the city, he had made it his mission to learn every secret passage and every secret tunnel within the Red Keep, which ones had collapsed, which ones contained traps. Now, he knew them like the back of his hand. He knew which passages led to the King's chambers, which led to the dungeons, some even took him all the way out of the city. One particular passage led all the way out of the red keep to the cliffs overlooking the sea. Narrow handholds, impossible to see from the ground, had been cut into the rock, it allowed a person to climb down to a trail besides the Blackwater.

Varys took a different secret passageway this day. He turned left, then right then left again until he stopped at a particular part of the wall. He stopped and he waited and he listened. Eventually he heard the voices on the other side. The lions had come out to play.

"Father, you sent for me,"

"Hours ago, you are late, you know I do not like to be kept waiting,"

"Of course, my apologies father,".

"Save your apologies, we have business to discuss,"

"Will Jamie not be joining us?"

"You know Jaime, he would much rather put on his silly white cloak and prance around guarding that fat fool. In time, I will remind Jaime of his duty as a Lannister. Not to mention, he is blinded by his love for that deformity he calls a brother, he will be of no use today,"

"I thought that we were here to discuss that drunk dwarf,"

"We are. What he did at the tourney is irredeemable. He embarrassed our house in front of the entire realm. He embarrassed me."

"What do you propose we do father?"

"When he was born, I had half a mind to take him out to the ocean and let the waves carry him away. I should have done it, it would have saved me the trouble of doing it now,"

"Do you mean to?"

"Yes. Do you not agree?"

"I agree,"

"Good, because this plan would have occurred whether you agreed or not,"

"If you did not want my consent, then why am I here?"

"This needs to look like an accident and to achieve this goal I will need information. When does he eat, where he sleeps, where he spends his time, who he spends his time with etc. I need to know everything. I trust that you have spies within the Red Keep & city?"

"I do,"

"Good. Tell them to follow him. I want to know every detail of his routine. I am expecting the best from you,"

"Anything else, father?"

"No. Now go,"

"I won't let you down Father,"

"One more thing, do not tell Jaime,"

"Do you think I am stupid enough to tell Jaime?"

Silence.

"You underestimate me father, I am smarter than you think."

"I know that you are smart, but you are not as smart as you think you are."

Silence. Varys heard the faint click of a door opening and then he heard it close with a thud. He usually entrusted his little birds with this sort of work, but now he was happy he had done this himself. This information was useful, but only in the right hands. Give it to the wrong person and it would do nothing, no, he had to find the right person.

He then returned to his chambers and prepared to hire some commoners who would play the part of Cersei's spies. These men would then cross paths with Jamie Lannister at a tavern which Robert often visited to indulge his many vices. Jamie would then overhear a conversation about Tyrion's routine from these men.

Jamie's suspicion would be piqued. He would corner the men, then either with a bribe or fear, Jamie would learn of the interest that his father & sister were taking in Tyrion. Jamie Lannister was strong at arms but average at games of intrigue. Nonetheless, even he would be able to sense the threat to his brother's life. This would lead to a confrontation among the lions & help Varys's plan move along.

Oh yes, Varys was certain his plan would work perfectly.

The Mother of Dragons

Daenerys sat in her cabin waiting. Jon had gone up onto the deck to look at the dragons after they ate. They had all the valuable items stored away below decks, they would be very useful in their upcoming ventures. Either as incentives or to serve as payment. In total, they had found seven Valyrian steel swords, countless daggers, and three dragon bone bows. The warlocks had said that the bows themselves were incredibly valuable, even better than the bows wielded by summer islanders.

She knew that the next stage of their journey would be difficult. They would have to keep their treasure a secret, plenty of people would flock to them for their dragons alone and they barely had enough men to guard the dragons as it was. With the treasure, they had collected they would be able to purchase the Unsullied in Astapor, that would be relatively easy. After that, it would be more difficult, they would have to plan their moves carefully.

She was interrupted from her thoughts, when she heard the door open and close. Jon had returned. She looked up at him and she saw that he was looking at her intensely, as if he was drinking in every ounce of her body. She felt desirable, wanted. He quickly crossed over to her and kissed her.

His lips felt hot, sweet and soft and the kiss was all too short, as he pulled away she found herself leaning forward trying to find him again. He broke away abruptly and headed back to the door. 

"Jon, where are you going?" she asked desperately, worried she'd done something wrong.

"To lock the door," and then she understood, relaxing a little. He was ensuring there would be no interruptions. She moved to the middle of the bed and onto her knees so that she was eye level with him. The bed felt soft beneath her. His eyes were burning with desire as he slowly walked closer.

"Would you like me to take this dress off, Your Grace?" she asked in a sultry voice. He then climbed onto the bed and knelt opposite her, before slowly putting his hands around her waist and gently pulling her towards him. She quickly captured his lips and they kissed passionately, she opened her mouth and she felt his tongue brush softly against hers, exploring her taste.

He broke away from the kiss and quickly tried to remove her dress, fumbling for a moment before pulling it up over her head. She unbuttoned his shirt, taking time to run her fingers all over his body as she did so. He kicked off his trousers and then he gently pushed her back onto the soft fur bedding.

He started to kiss her softly on her neck and then slowly moved down her body, sending shivers down her spine. He gently kissed and nibbled her breasts before moving down her stomach. She watched him kneel up between her knees. His mouth was opened slightly, and his grey eyes were burning with desire as he looked at her. He gently touched her feeling her wetness as he slowly moved his finger around. Then he slowly slid one finger into her causing her to shudder and close her eyes. She felt his other hand move to her breasts and they gently pinched and pulled at her nipples causing her to moan and whimper as she felt them pucker into tight little pebbles. He was gentle and patient and she gradually found herself spreading her legs and she was rewarded with a second finger. She moaned and squirmed for a few moments before she felt him remove his fingers. She opened her eyes and looked at him, he was looking up at her hesitantly, almost asking if he could continue. She nodded her head and watched as he ducked his head

She felt his warm breath on her, as he gently started to kiss her, she relaxed further into the bed when she felt it. He paused for a moment and looked up at her, before slowly, tentatively, licking her. The feeling of his tongue on her slit caused her to close her eyes and arch her back up off the soft furs. She felt him stop and she quickly opened her eyes to look at him, he was waiting for her, making sure that she was ok. She quickly nodded, and he licked her again and gently kissed her. Even touch causing a pleasurable feeling to grow from inside her belly and out into her hips.

She realised that she was being selfish then and gently pulled at his hair, causing him to look up at her again.

"Together…our first time," she said breathlessly, and he understood. He slowly moved up her body and kissed her softly. She felt him manoeuvre his cock near her entrance. He moved slowly, almost uncertain and perhaps teasingly. After a few moments of tender kissing, she felt him gently ease his cock into her. The feeling of fullness was unusual. As he slowly started to pump, she pushed her tongue into his mouth

Her hands moved up and down his body, unsure of what part she wanted to hold onto. His chest, his firm biceps, his shoulders, his neck or his hair. She decided on his hair and ran her fingers through it before settling on the back of his head, trying to get him closer to her than they were already were.

Eventually, she felt his thrusts speed up and his breathing got heavier. As he moved faster she could feel that pressure and intensity in her stomach return. She felt his cock jerk and spasm as her own walls clenched and she scraped her fingers down his back as the feeling crashed over her like a tidal wave crashing onto a beach.

After a few moments, he gently rolled off her and lay on the bed next to her trying to catch his breath. She immediately missed feeling him, so she rolled over and cuddled into his side and Jon pulled her in even closer. His chest was sticky with sweat and she closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat return to normal.

"Jon…that thing with your tongue, who taught you how to do that?" she murmured

"No one, I just had an idea," he said softly

"Just an idea?" she laughed softly

"I've had a lot of time to think and I have many more ideas of things I want to do with you," he said huskily

"Not now, though," she said gently. She was a little sore. "But soon, we have a long journey ahead of us," she said as she leaned up to kiss him softly. She then closed her eyes as she lay on his chest. She realised how perfect this moment was. She lay in bed with the last of her race, with three dragons of their own, sailing away from the ruins of Valyria on the smoking sea. Ready to conquer the world.

Notes:

Well it's christmas and I didn't feel like making you guys wait much longer for the next chapter. So here is a present to you all.

Again, thanks to Sparkles for the help with the Dany POV...let's just say my initial version was different. This one is definetly better...

http://noordinarylines.tumblr.com/post/168290728305/jonerys-fanfiction-awards-2018 go vote for your favourite fics and stuff.

Thanks to GOT88 who helps with the plot.

Next chapter will be out next week sometime. Possibly tuesday, but most likely Wednesday. It's called "The Hand of the King" and things back in KL start to get interesting. In the meantime, I have a modern AU that I'm working on that I might get out. Depends if I can work out a plot I'm happy with.