32

The Mother of Dragons

Daenerys woke up alone in their tent outside of Kings Landing. It was Jon's turn to spend the night with Daeron on Dragonstone and he still had not returned, it must be early in the morning.

They had been sieging the city for the past month or so. Apart from the small force that remained on Dragonstone guarding Daeron, all of their troops were here. All of their, Dothraki, Unsullied, Vale Knights, River lords and Reachlords were here. Ser Barristan wasn't sure, but he believed that this was one of the largest hosts ever assembled in Westerosi history.

They did not have much to do apart from speculate on the conditions inside of the city. They were still relying on Ser Davos's information that the food stores in the city were low. If that information was true, then it would only be a matter of time before they surrendered.

However, a part of Daenerys doubted that a surrender would come. She remembered her encounter with Illyrio's boy, and he seemed proud and desperate to cling onto the fact that he was a true Targaryen. She only hoped that someone in the city would come to their senses and stop him before it came to that.

Arianne Martell seemed to be a sensible enough women, although it appeared she lacked the authority to truly separate from this false King. Daenerys wondered what had happened to her for speaking out of turn, she hoped that she hadn't been treated too harshly.

She pushed the fur covers off her body and padded naked across the room to her dressing table. She sat down on the chair in front of the mirror and started to brush out her sleep tangled hair to get ready for the day ahead.

They had received a raven from Tyrion. The siege of Casterly Rock had been lifted without their help and he was now making his way towards Kings Landing, however his brother would not be accompanying him. She would have to ask why when he arrived.

Asha Greyjoy would be sailing back to Dragonstone with their fleet. It seemed unlikely that the Iron fleet would engage in battle against them and so she was not needed in Lannisport. After the war in Kings Landing was won, they would fly out to meet with Balon Greyjoy on the Iron Islands personally, but as they had no idea how long they would be sieging the city for, they decided to have her sail back. Her services might be needed here.

The dragons were nowhere near the city. They preferred to stay on Dragonstone in their lairs rather than try and find a new temporary home outside the city. Dany didn't mind this, it was only a short trip and they always flew by at least twice a day.

Anogar was restless and Dany shared this feeling. Sieging the city was boring and she couldn't shake the feeling that it was not the most effective use of their resources. They should be making more of an effort to take the city, instead of sitting out here feasting every night whilst their people in the city starved.

Dany was so caught up with her thoughts that she did not hear the tent flap open and so she was surprised when she felt Jon press a kiss to the back of her head

"You're back," she said softly as she turned to look up at him. He placed a tray on the table before giving her a gentle kiss. "I missed you,"

"I missed you too," he said softly. "Why are you naked?"

"I just got out of bed to start getting ready for the day before you walked in," she replied. "Do you have a problem with me being naked?"

"Well," he began as he scratched his head. "You are incredibly beautiful...and very distracting,"

"Distracting?" Daenerys asked innocently as she stood up and ran her hands slowly over her body. She cupped her breasts and did a little twirl for him and she watched with a smile as he bit his lip in frustration.

"Are you distracted right now, Jon?" she asked seductively as she reached out to feel his length beneath his clothes, as she expected. He was hard.

"We don't have time Dany," he whispered without any real conviction in his voice.

"They can wait for us," she said as she started to undo his trousers. She pushed them down to his ankles and then sunk to her knees. She lazily kissed the sides of his cock before slowly taking him into her warm wet mouth.

She swirled her tongue around the tip before taking him deep so he touched the back of her throat. Her nose nestled in his hair and she held herself there for as long as she could and she heard him groan

Dany slowly lifted her head up and placed kisses along the side of his cock before taking him back inside of her mouth again. She bobbed hungrily and looked up at him, his grey eyes were dark with lust. His fingers found their way into her hair and he began to slowly guide her.

Dany smiled and let him guide her, they continued like this for a few moments before he pulled her off and to her feet.

"Why do you have so many clothes on?" she whispered as her hands went to work shedding his outer layers, soon he was just as naked as she was. Her eyes raked over his naked form, his hard toned muscles and his hard impressive length.

She raised one finger to him and beckoned for him to follow her towards the bed. She gently lay down on her back and Jon moved between her legs. He reached out to stroke her wet folds and she let out a whimper.

"You're soaked for me," he murmured in his Northern accent that she loved. "Did you miss me that much?"

"Yes, I did Jon. I thought about you all night," she murmured as she began to pinch and play with her surprisingly sensitive nipples. "Please Jon,"

"I just want a taste first," he murmured as he bent down. His tongue snaked out to lick her slit and Daenerys gasped loudly and sunk lower into the bed. She ran her fingers through his curls and pulled him up.

"Only a taste," she reminded him.

She saw him smirk before he lined himself up and entered her in one smooth stroke. Daenerys let out a content sigh as he filled her. Jon fell forward and captured her lips in his. The kiss was warm and gentle and it matched the pace and timing of his strokes. She ran her fingers through his soft raven curls and down his back. She was unsure of what part of his body she wanted to touch and cherish, his arms, his back or his biceps.

As her hands settled on his arms, she opened her mouth and accepted his tongue. Her tongue battled his for a few moments before he slowly broke the kiss to look down on her. She looked into his grey eyes and couldn't stop a smile forming on her face.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you," she whispered in return as he kissed her again. She felt that familiar feeling building low in her stomach. As her own orgasm approached, she could feel Jon's thrusts increase in speed.

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.

He rolled off her and she immediately missed feeling him so she cuddled into his side, resting her head on his chest. She felt happy and content and she rubbed a hand over her stomach.

"I don't want to leave this bed today," Jon said after a few moments and Dany chuckled.

"I don't think we have a choice, we aren't home on Dragonstone, I'm sure we have to go out there today," she replied. "How is Daeron?"

Jon laughed before answering. "He is fine, he's living up to his title,"

"Living up to his title?" Dany asked in confusion

"Aye. He's the P rince of Dragonstone and according to Shireen and Margaery, he's been taking them all around his castle. He gets up and walks to the door and they have no choice but to follow him on his little adventures. They keep him away from the stairs but he takes them everywhere that he can,"

Dany started to laugh. "They should tell him no. He's only a baby,"

"He's not a baby anymore Dany, he's over a year old, probably closer to a year and a half. He's a toddler,"

"He will always be my little baby," Dany said defensively and Jon chuckled. "You don't understand, if we had a little girl I bet you'd be the same,"

"Aye I probably would, but we don't have a little girl, only a little Daeron," Jon said quietly and Dany's hand immediately went to her stomach. She couldn't help but wondering.

"Remember when we were in Valyria," she said lightly. "You said you had a vision of our children, a boy and a girl right?"

"Aye," Jon said slowly

"So don't you think we'll have to start thinking about a little girl?" Dany asked

"I suppose you're right, but I'm not sure now is the time,"

"I know but we could at least consider names," Dany said and she felt Jon laugh.

"Go on, what names have you been thinking of?"

"Well, when we were in Meereen and I was pregnant with Daeron, we agreed that we could name them after our mothers, depending on the color of their hair,"

"I remember," Jon said as he began to play with her hair.

"What about Alysanne? I like that name," Dany asked hopefully.

"Aye. Like the Good Queen . I like it, it's a pretty name. You've clearly given this some thought,"

"Not a lot, just a little," she said quickly and she could tell Jon didn't believe her. "Well, we've had a lot of free time lately, sitting here outside of this city,"

"You hate this, don't you?" Jon asked

"Yes. I think we should be doing something to help the people in the city. If Ser Davos is right, and we have no reason to believe he's wrong, then the city is on the verge of starvation,"

"Aye, I know that. That's why we should continue to be patient. If the city starves, then they will have no choice but to surrender,"

She raised her head off his chest to look him in the eyes.

"Jon you saw him. He did not want to take our offer to surrender before , and that offer included very generous terms. Why should the people in the city suffer for his stubbornness?"

Jon was silent in response to that and Dany knew that he was coming around to her line of thinking

"Jon, we have the advantage in terms of men. We have been making siege weapons in case it came down to it. I think we should do it. Give the order to storm all seven gates simultaneously,"

"That could work. Their forces would be spread very thin trying to protect all seven gates. At least one of them will fall,"

"Good. Then once the gates have fallen our soldiers will enter and head straight for the Red Keep. I want some to start handing out food and other supplies to those without,"

"That's good. I like that," Jon said. "You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you ? "

"I have," Dany said as she got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Jon asked,

"To get ready," she said as she turned to him. "Let's call a war council and tell the Lords our plans. Today is the day,"

"Aye. As my Queen commands," he said with a smile as he climbed out of bed to join her.

"Thank you for joining us my Lords," Jon said as he began the meeting. All of their lords and commanders were here. Ser Barristan, Grey Worm, Lord Tyrell, Rakharo, Aggo and Ser Loras were in the tent with them. On the table was a detailed map of Kings Landing that they had brought with them from Dragonstone. They were not sure how up to date it was, but the city walls and gates were all clearly marked and in the same place.

"Now as you know, we have been camped outside the city sieging it for the past few weeks," Jon continued and Dany watched all of the assembled men as he spoke, they were all listening attentively.

"Jon and I have had a discussion. We believe that it is time to be more assertive," Daenerys said.

"Assertive?" Ser Barristan asked cautiously. "What do you mean, my Queen?"

"We believe it is time to storm the city gates," Daenerys told them and she watched as they slowly nodded.

"My Queen, this is a siege, we can wait them out. We have more food," Ser Barristan said

"I agree with Ser Barristan," Mace Tyrell said quickly. "With the food from the Reach, we can siege the city for a year, longer if necessary,"

"My Lords, we have no desire to sit outside this city for over a year. Not whilst the people in the city starve," Daenerys told them and then she looked to Jon who continued.

"We have the advantage in terms of men. We will be able to devote at least 20,000 men to each of the ciy's seven gates. Along with our rams and catapults, we should be able to easily overwhelm the gates and enter the city,"

"I agree with the Queen," said Ser Loras

"I agree with Khaleesi," said Aggo and Rakharo nodded. Slowly everyone else in the room nodded in agreement.

"Once we take the city. There will be no looting or raiding at all," Daenerys said firmly, she stared at every Lord in the room to make sure how important this was. "Our soldiers will kill the remaining members of the Golden Company and C ity W atch who raise up arms against us, but you will not hurt civilians and damage to homes and buildings should be kept to a minimum. We want to take the city, not sack it,"

"Ser Loras and I will lead a party of men towards the Red Keep," Jon said and Daenerys looked at him quickly. She had expected he would want to do this and she knew she couldn't stop him, she only hoped he would be careful. "We will take as many men as we can. Ser Barristan you will accompany us seeing as you have extensive knowledge of the castle,"

The old knight nodded and Daenerys felt reassured, with Ser Loras and Ser Barristan, Jon would be safe.

"Your graces. Maegor's holdfast is a castle within the Red Keep itself. The walls are thick and filled with murder holes and portcullis, taking it will be difficult,"

"During Robert's rebellion, I heard that several men scaled the walls of the Red Keep to take Maegor's holdfast. We can do the same," Jon said.

"I think we should save that option. I think the priority should be securing the rest of the city. We can take Maegor's holdfast last. Using our rams again if necessary," Daenerys said and Jon nodded then he turned to the room.

"Are there any questions?" he asked and no one answered. "Good. Ready your men and get ready to attack,"

"Your grace. How will we know when to begin the attack?" Lord Tyrell asked and Dany answered

"We will give you a sign. Don't worry, you won't be able to miss it,"

The Rose of Highgarden

Margaery Tyrell walked through the hallways of Dragonstone with a watchful eye on the little boy in front of her. Daeron was walking slowly in front of her, seemingly with no particular destination in mind.

"Come on Daeron, it's time for your nap," she said lightly as she followed him. She had carried him up to the part of the castle where the royal family slept, but she put him down once they were on the floor. Shireen was with her and neither of them had been having much success in telling Daeron what to do.

"Can he open the doors?" Shireen asked as Daeron walked through the hallway. Thankfully, he seemed to be heading towards his nursery where he usually slept.

"No. Although he can reach the handle," Margaery answered and as if to prove her point, Daeron reached up to try and open a door.

"Not that one little prince," Margaery said quickly, that was the door to P rince Rhaegar's chamber and she was not sure if they wanted Daeron to go in there. Daeron tried to turn the circular door knob but he was too short and not strong enough.

So, instead he turned around to face them both and babbled something to them in his own language.

"I think he wants to go inside," Shireen said as she went to open the door for him .

"I know but I'm not sure we should let him," Margaery said quickly. "His mother would not let him have free reign of the castle, I'm sure,"

"Well, neither one of us is his mother, we're allowed to spoil him a little," Shireen said with a smile as she opened the door. Daeron quickly walked inside and Margaery followed him.

Prince Rhaegar was lying in the middle of the double bed. His chest rising and falling slowly. It truly was like he was asleep.

Daeron stood near the edge of the bed staring up at his grandfather before he slowly started to walk over to try and pull himself up. As Rhaegar's bed was low to the ground, Daeron was able to pull himself up. Margaery watched as the little prince slowly crawled over to Rhaegar and settled down next to his arm.

"I think he wants to sleep here," Margaery said as Daeron put his head down. "I'll stay and watch him for a while. He might not stay here, so I'll take him up to the nursery if he leaves,"

"I'll come back in a few hours," Shireen said as she gently brushed his hair before leaving the room.

Margaery took a seat by the desk on the other side of the room and picked up a book on the table. It was a book about the conquest of Westeros by Aegon the Conqueror, it would certainly help to pass the time until Daeron fell asleep.

The Mummer's Dragon

Being under siege was hard.

For over a month, his enemies had been camped outside of his walls. Preparing their weapons and waiting. He saw their dragons every day now, flying far enough to be out of the range of his scorpions but close enough to annoy him.

Every night they would fly over the Blackwater and release their flame. Bright green and pale gold, every night, for the past month.

Aegon knew what they were doing, they were mocking him. Showing off their power and their dragons. Aegon hated to be mocked. He would show them exactly who he was.

Lines upon lines of tents had been constructed in the fields surrounding his city. Their host was huge, out numbering them at least 4 to 1.

The situation in the city was worse, much worse. Varys had persuaded him to share what little food they had with the citizens, he said that if the citizens weren't behind them then they could turn against him and start riots in the city. However, that meant that between feeding his people, his armies and the castle, they had been going through their food supplies at an alarming rate.

"We have around two weeks of food left," Haldon said in their meeting. "We have enough grain and fodder to feed our horses for another three,"

"We could stretch it to another month if we stopped taking food from our kitchens to feed the peasants," Connington muttered.

"If we don't feed the common people, they could rise up against us," Varys tittered.

"This is war , Spider!" Connington shouted in frustration. "The people should know that our soldiers get priority, they need to be patient and make do with what they've got,"

"Make do? My Lord, ever since the end of Robert Baratheon's reign, the city has been in a dire state. We can't afford to neglect our people," Varys countered.

"Then appease the people some other way. Speak to the High Septon, get him to preach to the people," Connington said and Varys smiled.

"You would ask the High Septon for help? You didn't strike me as a particularly pious man," Varys replied.

"We need to keep the people on our side. The faith will help us," Connington answered through gritted teeth.

"This is true," Varys conceded. "What about the soldiers? How is there morale?"

"The conditions in the camps and barracks are tough, but my Dornishmen are even tougher, they will persevere," Oberyn said but Aegon wondered about that. He wondered how long their patience would last

"What about the Golden Company?"

"Harry Strickland says that his men are fine. They have battled in the deserts in the disputed lands, they have been through worse,"

"Prince Oberyn, where are the rest of the Dornish spears?" Aegon asked.

"They are on their way your grace. They should be here in a few weeks, no more than a month,"

A month. Aegon shook his head and sighed. They did not have that much time.

"We don't have that much time," Connington said. "We need to review our options and do something in the short term,"

"Review our options? Nothing has changed. Our plan should remain the same, sit and wait for the reinforcements," Oberyn said.

"My Lords," Aegon said. "When the Dornish reinforcements arrive, what is the plan? How do you propose to get them into the city seeing as we are completely surrounded?"

They both looked at him with blank expressions before Connington came up with an answer.

"Perhaps, we can use the secret tunnels that Varys knows about," he suggested but the Spider shook his head.

"Wouldn't work I'm afraid. The entrances to the tunnels are too close to the city, the army will be spotted far before they reach the tunnels,"

The room fell silent after those words, no one seemed to have any other ideas.

"So it seems, the Dornish reinforcements, won't be able to help us," Aegon said quietly and no one in the room had anything to say to that.

"May I make a suggestion?" Varys said after a few quiet moments. "I think you should visit the soldiers. It could provide them with a boost of morale seeing their King walking amongst them,"

Aegon paused, he didn't see the harm in this.

"That sounds like a good idea Lord Varys. I will see my men," he said as he stood up, happy for something to do. It would be good to leave Maegor's holdfast and the Red keep for a change. "Lord Connington, Prince Oberyn, you will be accompanying me,"

The two men stood up and left the room after him and Aegon headed back to his chambers to dress. He dressed alone. He chose to wear his armour, it would show the soldiers that he too, was willing to fight with them. The steel was polished and it shone brightly, in the center was the sigil of his house, the three headed Dragon of house Targaryen. At the last moment, he decided to leave his crown behind.

After he finished dressing, he headed down to the courtyard of Maegor's holdfast. He looked up at the sky, it was a mostly clear day, with only a few clouds spotted here and there. It was getting a bit colder however.

He mounted his horse, looked behind him at his entourage and then left the city gates. He decided to head towards the barracks and men stationed near the Dragonpit.

As soon as he left the gates of the red keep, the first thing he noticed was the silence in the streets, there were no people, no children playing. It was empty. The sound of the hooves along the cobbled ground was deafeningly loud. On his way down the hill, he peered into the shop windows of the richer merchant class and he saw that all the stores were empty.

Aegon started to feel nervous. Where were all of his people? Was the situation on the streets really that bad?

They quickly reached the bottom of Aegon's hill and made the right hand turn towards the Dragonpit.

"Careful your grace, we're heading through F lea B ottom," Connington said in a warning tone as he appeared by his elbow

"Why do I need to be careful?" Aegon asked as he quickly pulled his hand away.

"Fleabottom is….different, your grace," Connington said quietly. Aegon raised a questioning eyebrow but Connington offered no further comment. So Aegon turned and continued forward and he soon understood what Jon had meant.

The mood in Flea Bottom was different, much different. It was like he had left Kings Landing behind and entered a completely new world.

People of all ages lined the streets. Men women and children in disheveled clothing that only clung to their bodies by thin pieces of thread. Aegon's stomach fell as he watched them, most of them were hunched in doorways and by the side of shacks, sheltering themselves. They did not acknowledge them, most of them had their eyes closed. They were starving Aegon quickly realised.

Then, there was the smell.

It smelt of shit and of piss and of rotting fruit and vegetables. He saw rotten apples tossed away by the side of the street, with flies hovering over them. It smelt rank and Aegon quickly raised his sleeve to his nose to try and cover the smell.

They passed through the mess quickly, and most people didn't notice him. They were too busy huddled in corners, starving. Aegon felt terrible, what kind of King was he if he could not feed his own people?

He saw a little girl on the side of the street looking up at him with wide brown eyes. She was sitting next to a woman with her eyes closed with a babe at her breast, it must have been her mother. Aegon immediately jumped off his horse and reached for his water skin, he passed it to the little girl and he saw her eyes light up in happiness.

She drunk eagerly from the skin and then passed it to her mother.

"Mama," the girl said as she nudged her mother in the arm. Aegon watched as slowly her mother 's eyes opened and she too drank from the skin.

"Keep it," Aegon said warmly as he stood up. He looked along the street and he saw that a few people had noticed this action and they were telling their neighbors. Some of them pointed towards him and Aegon slowly raised a hand and waved. Then he turned to Connington

"Quickly. Give me all of your water skins and all of the food you have brought,"

"We have no food, only water," Connington replied

"That will do, now hurry," Aegon urged, they passed out their small supply of water. It wasn't a lot, but it felt good to help.

"Is that the King?" he heard a loud voice ask. Aegon turned and saw that it came from a large drunk man who was lumbering down the street towards him.

"Yes, I am your King. I am Aegon Targaryen, son of Elia," he replied confidently as he drew himself up to his full height.

"Finally our King has come down from his castle to grace us with his presence," the man said scornfully, Aegon looked behind him and he saw several more men appear and they all looked angry.

"Look at him, shiny new armor . He has been living comfortably whilst the rest of us starve here like dogs!" the man shouted.

"Your grace, we should leave, back the way we came. We'll find another way," Connington said in his ear.

"We've had nothing but rotten food and the scraps sent down from the castle. Fuck the King!"

"Aye. Fuck the King!" a ginger man shouted and several others joined in.

"Fuck the King!" was the cry from the men and Aegon started to walk backwards to his horse. He heard a loud whistling in the air and he instinctively ducked, someone had thrown a rotten apple at him.

"Step away from the King!" Oberyn shouted in a booming voice as he rode forward and lowered his spear. Aegon reached behind him and felt for his horse. He quickly climbed on and ducked more rotten food that had been thrown at him.

From a top his horse, he saw a swarm of angry men coming down the street towards him. Rotten food was flying through the air towards him and Aegon could not dodge it all.

"Goldcloaks!" Connington shouted "Where are the fucking goldcloaks!"

"Forwards! We need to go forwards!" one of his guards shouted and that's what they did. The goldcloaks had appeared and they helped to keep the mob at bay so they could pass through fleabottom. Aegon could do nothing but watch as his people were roughly shoved aside by the Goldcloaks. He could do nothing but raise his hands over his head to shield himself from the rotten fruit they threw, but there was nothing that could shield his ears from the abuse that was hurled at him. It made him sick. All he could do was close his eyes and wait for it to be over.

"Your grace," he heard a voice say quietly and he opened his eyes and saw Connington was on the ground next to his horse, concern etched all over his face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Aegon asked and Connington looked ashamed. "You should have told me how bad it was. My people are starving Jon and you kept it from me. How could you do that?"

Jon looked taken aback.

"I am your King. Don't you ever hide these things from me," Aegon said firmly as he glared at him and Connington had the decency to look away. He felt so angry and betrayed, Jon had been with him the longest and he had kept this from him.

"Why did you do it? Why did you hide it?"

"We felt like it could affect your judgment ," he said quietly.

"Affect if how?" Aegon angrily asked but Connington didn't answer and Aegon grew even angrier. "What did you think I would do? Surrender? Is that it?" and again Connington failed to answer him.

Aegon threw his hands up in frustration and turned around to look around him. They were in the stables of the barracks and across the small courtyard, he could see the main hall.

"Are the men in there?" Aegon asked as he pointed towards the building.

"They should be,"

"Come on then," Aegon said as he strode confidently towards the wooden door.

He was halfway across the courtyard when Aegon heard the loudest noise he had heard in his life. It shook him to his bones. He quickly looked up at the sky fearing the worst, that the dragon was on top of him but he didn't see it. It was further away, still over the fields.

Then he heard the bells.

Dong

Dong

Dong

Dong

Aegon knew what the tolling of the bells meant. His city was coming under attack.

The barracks had been set up near the city walls and that meant that there was a staircase nearby that led to the top of the battlements. He quickly ran up the stairs to the top of the battlements, in-between the Dragon gate and the Iron Gate and when he reached the top his stomach fell.

Their armies were marching.

They were in a perfectly organized fashion, Aegon guessed that they moved in groups of 50, 10 along and 5 deep. What made matters worse was that they stretched as far as his eyes could see. He looked all the way from right to left and all he saw was enemy soldiers. He saw rams and ladders and catapults being carried forward

"They mean to hit all the gates at once," he said to no one in particular.

"We can defend the gates from their men," he heard Oberyn say as he stood on the battlements next to him. "We have boiling oil, rocks and archers. We can hold the walls,"

Aegon heard another loud roar from the dragons. They were closer now, much closer. He could see all three of them. Daenerys rode the black one, Aegon the dark green, which left the cream and gold. Aegon licked his lips eagerly, that dragon should be his. That was the only difference between them. The D ragons.

The black dragon roared loudly in the sky and released its jet black flame.

"And we have our scorpions," Oberyn added.

The Dragon King

Jon and Daenerys were waiting on a hill overlooking Kings Landing. From this vantage point, they could oversee the Northern part of the city. They could see that their soldiers had already made contact with the walls surrounding the city. He could not see much else though, he was too far.

"This doesn't feel right," Dany said.

"What doesn't?" Jon asked.

"This. Standing here in safety whilst others are out there risking their lives for us,"

Jon bit his lip, he agreed with her. "They have scorpions on the city walls," he pointed out

"Yes but we don't need to get too close, even if we fly high above, we'll distract and intimidate their men. It will help," she said as she turned towards him. Jon looked at her and slowly nodded. He too was eager to join the action and help in any way that he could.

"We'll only be flying high," Jon said and Dany nodded.

"Yes. Only to provide a distraction. We won't fly too low,"

"What about Caraxes? We can't control him, not without Rhaegar,"

"He will follow us," Dany said quickly and Jon nodded. He hoped that she was right. Their dragons were difficult to control even with a rider, all they could do was hope that Caraxes would follow.

"Be safe," Dany said as she gave him a quick kiss and then Jon turned and looked up at the sky. Vedros landed gracefully in front of him and he quickly scaled her wing and settled himself in the saddle. He looked across at Dany and saw that she too was nearly in position. Caraxes remained high in the air circling above.

Once Dany was ready, Anogar took off with a thunderous clap of his wings and Vedros quickly followed her brother. They climbed up, high into the sky and flew over their troops and over the city proper. Jon could see the tops of the towers of the Red Keep which looked like Daeron's toys from this height.

As they flew over the city, he heard Anogar release a loud roar which was quickly answered by Caraxes and Vedros. Anogar started to slowly fly low in a gentle descending spiral and Jon followed. The dragons continued to roar and release their flame above the city and Jon wondered if their attempts were effective.

He soon received his answer when he heard a faint whistling noise fly past his right hand side. He quickly turned around and saw that it was a scorpion bolt. He heard a loud roar from Anogar and Dany guided her dragon to the east over the Blackwater bay and away from the city. Their distraction had worked and they were now looking up at them.

Then, Jon heard a loud screech and he turned and saw Caraxes dive angrily towards the city. Vedros roared in anger and it took all of Jon's mental strength to reign her in.

Jon watched helplessly as Caraxes released a blast of pale golden flame onto the city wall before quickly taking off into the sky again, roaring victoriously. Caraxes flew up to their height again and Anogar angrily blew a puff of smoke in his direction.

Another scorpion bolt flew harmlessly passed it and again Caraxes dived down in anger and this time, Anogar followed him. Jon groaned in frustration and nudged Vedros into a dive, there was no use staying up here on his own.

The wind rushed through his hair as the ground rushed up beneath him. Jon heard a bolt coming and Vedros rolled so quickly to her right, Jon was nearly thrown from his saddle. The scorpion bolt flew base his shoulder and then Vedros was on it. She flew low and fast over towards the reloading scorpion and then melted it completely in one blast of bright green flame.

Vedros quickly climbed back into the air and Jon looked around him. To his left, he saw that Dany had done the same to another scorpion on another segment of wall and she too was quickly climbing into the sky and out of range. He glanced behind him and then he understood what the dragons were doing. Not only were they burning the scorpions, they were scattering the men on top of the battlements, meaning their troops on the ground would have much better success at breaching the city walls.

Vedros levelled off at the same height as Anogar and he peered over her side to look for their next target. It seemed that the scorpions were placed at regular intervals along the city walls, in between the gates. As there were seven gates, they would have six scorpions in total. They had already destroyed three, so only three would remain.

He peered over the side of Vedros and saw his target, a scorpion on the southern side of the city walls. He reached for her in her mind and she gave a happy roar in approval. She tucked in her long scaly wings and then dove quickly towards her target.

He saw the men scrambling into position trying to reload the scorpion but Jon knew they would not make it in time. Some men dropped their weapons and tried to run for safety, others just stood their paralyzed in fear as they were engulfed by Vedros's green flame.

They quickly took off in the air again and then Jon heard an anguished cry.

He immediately turned to look for Anogar and Dany, fearing the worst, fearing that he had put her in danger unnecessarily. He was relieved to see that Anogar was flying above him, safe and out of harm's way.

Jon looked in the opposite direction and he saw that it was Caraxes who was in trouble. The cream and gold dragon had a scorpion bolt sticking out of his midriff. Caraxes shrieked again in pain before floundering low across the city to land just outside the walls. 

Anogar gave a loud angry road and took off to destroy the one remaining scorpion. Jon however fought Vedros and turned her in the direction of her fallen brother. Caraxes had landed to the North-west of the city, close to the city walls.

Caraxes released another anguished screech and Vedros answered, however before she could reach him, she turned back towards the city walls, Jon was confused for a few moments, but then he understood.

The Mummer's Dragon

The assault from the dragons was brutal. They black dragon had passed over their section of the wall once and the heat from its flame was blisteringly hot. Their scorpions were ruined, but one of them had managed to find their mark.

"They're falling back!" he heard one voice shout and Aegon quickly saw that the man was right. His enemies were indeed retreating from the gate, they were retreating towards the fallen dragon, his dragon.

"Ready the men," Aegon ordered.

"Ready the men?" Connington asked in surprise "What for?"

"We need to ride out to get the dragon," Aegon said immediately as he began to hurry down the battlements.

"Why would we do that?" Connington asked in disbelief. "We have the city. We have the advantage if we stay behind these walls,"

"How much longer do you think we will have the city for?" Aegon asked as he turned to glare at him. "They're at our gates. They have more men. How much longer do you think our walls will hold for? Hours? Minutes?"

"Today is the day, Jon. Today is the day. If we do nothing, we lose,"

"What you're proposing is suicide !" Jon protested,

"Doing nothing is suicide, Jon. My people have no food, my enemies are breaking down my gates. If I do nothing, I may as well have surrendered months ago. Going out there and getting that dragon is the only way we will win this war. It is the only way to secure my throne,"

"But your grace...the poison," Jon said but Aegon would not have it.

"Oberyn!" he shouted. "Find me P rince Oberyn!"

He stood and waited and soon enough the Dornish man arrived. "Your grace, you sent for me?"

"Yes I did. How effective is the poison?" Aegon asked and Oberyn shrugged.

"I am not sure, it has not been made in centuries,"

"Do you have an estimate? Any idea of how it works?" Aegon asked and Oberyn shook his head

"Your grace, I could go and find Qyburn and ask,"

"No, there is no time. Ready your men. I will be taking that dragon," he said confidently. Unlike Connington, Oberyn had no objections to this plan, he just nodded and bowed and followed his instructions.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could see that the men of the Golden Company had already left the barracks. They were looking up at him, looking for something.

"Men of the Golden Company. I am King Aegon. I know the situation over the past month has been tough, but today it will come to an end. I promised to give you all Westeros and I will keep that promise. Our enemies are outside our gates, and yes they do have the numbers but they are not invincible. We have already grounded one of their dragons!" Aegon said proudly.

"They were born in Westeros, you weren't. Your families were stripped off their homes centuries ago and you were forced to live in exile. These men don't know what that feels like to have your homes ripped from you. They don't know what it's like to suffer, to struggle. They've had it easy. I want you to go out there to prove them wrong,"

"I don't want you to fight for me. I want you to fight for your families who lost their homes all those years ago. Fight for the man standing next to you, but above all. Fight for yourselves. This is your chance, this is your moment. This is your chance to make history, your chance to go down as the men that beat the dragons. Westeros is right there in your grasp, all you have to do is reach out and take it," Aegon said as he opened his arms out wide. He saw several of the men nodding at him

Now, who is with me!" he shouted as he raised his sword high in the air.

"Aye!" was the responding cry. Several of the younger men had jumped upon the tables and were now beating their chests, ready for battle. Aegon took this for a good sign. He turned and headed towards the gate and got onto his warhorse.

"Open the gate!" he roared and after a loud creak, the battered gate slowly swung open. Aegon led his men out of the gate and into the field. He knew the cream and gold dragon had fallen to his right and he quickly headed in that direction.

The wind rushed through his hair as he raced towards his dragon, his destiny. He would be a dragonrider, it was within his grasp. The poison could be solved later, he just needed the dragon today.

He heard a loud roar from above and he saw the dark green dragon taking off again. Aegon didn't even hesitate, he just continued to ride hard towards his target. He knew that they had pulled back some of their men to protect the downed dragon, and he knew that if he could get close enough, the other dragons would no longer be a factor. They were too 'good' to risk their own men.

His assumption was quickly proven right as the dragon roared angrily before flying off somewhere else. Aegon did not time to look where, because he saw his enemy in front of him. Their knights were lined up on top of a hill looking down on him, and Aegon guessed that the Dragon would be on the other side.

He stared his enemy down and then he nudged his horse forward, begging for more speed. His men were behind him, ready to break the line with him.

Then Aegon heard a loud blood curdling scream and he was thrown off his horse and face first into the cool mud. He brushed the mud off his face and looked around, his horse was writhing on the floor in pain with an arrow in its side and his sword had fallen a few feet away. He quickly crawled to his sword and pulled himself to his feet

The thunderous sound of hooves quickly filled his ears and he turned towards his enemy and his mouth fell open in shock.

The knights were charging towards him in a perfectly uniformed line. As they drew closer, Aegon realized that he was mistaken. These were not knights, far from it.

These were the Dothraki. And he had made the foolish mistake of engaging in the Dothraki in the open.

Their screams filled the air, somehow drowning out the sound of their horses. More arrows whistled past him and Aegon knew that this mistake could be fatal. He looked down at his Valyrian steel sword and shook his head.

No, this was not the end. It would not end like this. He was Aegon Targaryen, son of Elia and Rhaegar, descendent of Aegon the Conqueror and the blood of Valyria ran through his veins. No, he would not die to some horse Lord S cum.

He raised his sword high and got into his stance. Time seemed to slow down as he stared at them all and awaited the impact .

The impact came, but it was not what he expected. His men had answered his cry and they had rode head first into the Dothraki. The two lines met in a loud clash of bodies and weapons.

Aegon quickly looked to his left and saw a Dothraki man with a long braid savagely slice through one of the men from the Golden Company. Aegon took a step towards him but he quickly threw himself out of the way before he was run over by a horse. By the time the horse passed, the Dothraki man had disappeared.

He spun in the opposite direction and looked for another target. He saw a Dothraki man with his back turned. Aegon quickly drove his sword through his back and out his front. He didn't stop to listen to the man's cries, he quickly looked for another target

"Protect the King!" he heard Connington shout and Aegon swore, the last thing he needed was for these savages to know he was the King.

Connington stood to his left and another man, Duck stood to his right, forming his protection.

They stepped forward into the fray in unison. Another Dothraki warrior stood in their way and together they defeated him. Connington distracted him with a feint to his left and then Aegon drove his Valyrian steel blade up into his stomach. The man's brown eyes widened in pain before his hand went to his stomach, to try and hold in his intestines .

Duck gave a victorious roar and he raised his sword to slice off the man's head but he was quickly knocked to the floor by a white blur. Aegon looked on helplessly as his friend had his throat ripped out by a large white animal. Aegon saw his bright red eyes and then he understood.

"He's here!" Aegon shouted as he whipped around to find him. "He's fucking here!"

He watched as his half - brother sliced through two men with ease before standing before him. The jewels in his chest plate still gleamed brightly in the light. His Valyrian steel blade was dripping with blood.

Aegon gritted his teeth and charged at him, closing the gap quickly. His brother just waited there with his sword held limply by his side. Aegon gripped his sword tightly, stepped forward and swung hard for his ribs.

He was sure the strike would hit but at the last moment, his brother pivoted out of the way with impossible speed. Aegon only hit the air.

He spun his head around quickly and saw that his brother was now behind him and he had he was stepping towards Connington. Connington stepped forward through the mud and aimed a high blow at his head. His half - brother raised his sword to block it, which he did, easily.

Aegon watched helplessly as Connington was out powered and out maneuvered. His half-brother moved blindingly quickly and in a matter of moments, Connington gave an anguished scream as he fell to the floor, his steel plate armor was in pieces.

Aegon surveyed the scene in front of him

Connington laid dying to the left, Duck laid dead on the right and in-between them, his half-brother started to advance towards them. Aegon could not believe it, they were his friends, two of his closest friends in the world.

"You killed them!" he screamed. "They were my friends and you fucking killed them ."

"No. You brought this on yourself . All of this death and destruction is because you did not surrender. You put your people in danger," his brother replied and then Aegon screamed.

He charged at him recklessly, and then he swung with all his might. The muscles in his shoulders burned in pain as he swung towards his brother's head.

Aegon missed.

He hit the nothing but the air, again.

Then he felt a sharp blinding pain shoot up from his ribs and up through his arm. He looked down and saw that his armor had been sliced open by the blade and the strength of the strike. He gritted his teeth and ignored the pain and spun around to look for him. He was standing a few feet behind him, looking at him curiously, as if he had not expected him to remain standing.

Aegon stepped forward and raised his sword but his shoulder was burning with pain and he lacked strength. His half-brother easily slapped his sword away and this left Aegon weaponless.

"Kneel," was all he said as he looked at him, his sword dripping red with blood. Duck's blood. Connington's blood. The blood of his men.

Aegon just shook his head and spat on the floor in front of him . He was a dragon, and a dragon does not kneel.

Then, he heard a loud roar coming from his left. Through all this fighting they had ended up close to the grounded dragon. Aegon could see the tips of his cream and gold wings peaking over the crest of this small hill.

Aegon felt a small beacon of hope grow within him, if he could get to the dragon, he could turn this fight, and he could still win.

He looked at his brother, who was staring at him angrily. Aegon just smirked and quickly moved to his left.

"Where are you going ? You fool!" was all he heard as he stumbled down the hill.

The slope was steeper than he thought and he landed in a heap right in front of the gold dragon. Aegon could see the offending scorpion bolt protruding from his chest. Aegon could see eyes which were like two pools of molten gold. He could see his gold colored horns Aegon could see his teeth, row upon row of razor sharp black teeth.

The dragon noticed his presence and stared at him menacingly, with wisps of smoke spiraling up from the dragon's nostrils. The dragon hissed.

Aegon slowly made his way to his feet, he could do this. He was Aegon Targaryen, son of Rhaegar and Elia. Descendent of Aegon the Conqueror, son of old Valyria and blood of the dragon. He could do this, he would not be afraid.

He took a confident step forward towards the dragon and the dragon hissed again.

"My name is Aegon Targaryen. Son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell of Dorne. I am here to help you," he said to the dragon. Aegon waited with bated breath as the dragon listened to his words.

Then, he felt the ground began to shake as the dragon rose up and moved its wings. Aegon turned and threw his left arm across his face to shield himself from the fierce heat

When he raised his arm, he saw that his sleeve was burning.

His hand as well.

All of him, all of him was burning.

Then he began to scream.

The Silver Prince

Rhaegar Targaryen was dreaming. He was dreaming of days past. Days spent on Dragonstone with his wife and children. He dreamt of his mother, the brave Queen Rhaella, the woman who brought him into this world. He dreamt of his father, the man whose actions had nearly caused the downfall of his family.

He dreamt of his old friends, Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Barristan Selmy. Ser Oswell Whent and Ser Gerold Hightower.

He dreamt of days with them all, days in the R ed K eep, days in the streets of Kings Landing or days spent hunting in the Kingswood.

He dreamt of Lyanna and the days they spent travelling south together. It was almost as if he was reliving those blissful days. He remember how beautiful she looked as she became more and more pregnant, he remembered the songs he used to sing to her.

And he remembered leaving her, and never seeing her again.

He flew above the T ower of J oy as he watched that day play out. If only he had known, he would have said so many things, if only he had known.

He could see her now, flying above him. Close enough that he could see her face, but not quite close enough for him to touch. She was out of arms reach and the more he tried to chase her, the further away she got.

"No," was what she kept saying. "Not now,"

"Then when?" Rhaegar would reply.

"Soon," she would say, "It's not yet your time,"

Then he a woke.

The first thing he noticed, was that he was back in his room on Dragonstone, but that did not make sense, he had left Dragonstone days ago.

The second thing that he noticed was that there was something pressed into his side. He looked down and then his heart melted. Daeron was sleeping peacefully on his side. Rhaegar was shocked by how much he had grown, he had a full head of silver hair and he was much bigger now.

He pushed himself up off the pillows and groaned loudly in pain. He looked down and noticed he had a bandage on his stomach and then he remembered what had happened. Someone had tried to kill him, one of the Stark men, but that did not make sense. Ned and he had talked things out and they had agreed to move past their differences.

No, someone else was making a move in the dark.

"You're awake!" he heard a voice shout and he turned his head to see Lady Margaery was sitting at his desk reading a book. "I'll get the Maester !" she said quickly as she rose to her feet.

"Wait," Rhaegar croaked. "Water. Food,"

Margaery nodded and went to fill a cup. Rhaegar raised it to his lips and drank, it was ice cold and deeply refreshing and he finished it quickly. Margaery quickly filled another

"I think you should drink this one slowly, you've been asleep for a long time,"

"How long?"

"Over a month, probably closer to two," she said quietly. "I'll get the Maester, they'll want to see you. I was in here because I was watching the little one sleep, he's grown into quite the handful,"

As if on cue, Rhaegar saw Daeron raise his head from the bed to look at him and he immediately broke into a smile. "I can see that," he said as he gently tickled his grandson.

Margaery quickly left the room and Daeron sat up on the bed. "Hello little one, did you miss me?"

To Rhaegar's surprise, Daeron smiled and started to laugh, as if he said yes.

The Dragon King

Jon looked on as Caraxes burned Aegon with his pale golden flame. The boy released a loud shrill scream as fell to the floor. Caraxes stopped burning and shrieked loudly before turning away from Aegon.

Jon quickly went down the slope of the hill to stand on the scorched earth. He heard the ground shake and he looked up to see that Anogar had landed nearby and then he saw Daenerys quickly make her way towards him

"What happened? Who is that?" she asked as she stood down on him to look down on the body. His silver hair had been completely burned off as well as all the skin on his face. His skin was turned to dark red and black and it contrasted sharply with the whites of his teeth. His armor had started to melt, but not before he had been cooked inside of it.

"That's Aegon," Jon said quietly. "Aegon the Dragontamer,"

Jon tore his eyes away from him as he heard Caraxes shriek again.

"Come on Jon, we need to help him,"

They quickly crossed over to Caraxes and cautiously approached him. Caraxes recognized them and allowed them to approach. Together, they put their gloved hands on the scorpion bolt and slowly started to pull it out. Their dragons were large, and Jon had read that fully grown dragons had scales that were virtually impenetrable. Jon realised that this meant that Caraxes at the least had not stopped growing.

However, his scales were still very strong and as a result, the bolt was not embedded deeply into him

Caraxes shrieked and screamed but together they pulled it out and then Jon noticed the smell. The wound stunk. It smelled off old rotting flesh and Caraxes bled thick pungent black blood.

"Dany, what is that smell ? " Jon asked as he quickly stepped away. Caraxes opened his mouth to roar and breath his flame but only a weak feeble orange fire came out. He tried again but this time he fell to the floor. Anogar and Vedros gave anguished shrieks and this worried Jon further. Caraxes moved forward, almost as if he was trying to fly, but he couldn't.

"I don't know Jon, it doesn't smell right. I think something is wrong with him. Perhaps, they coated the bolt with something?"

Jon considered this for a moment before he remembered something. "Follow me, quickly," he said as he turned and headed back up the hill. As he climbed over the crest of the hill, he saw that the battle was over. The Dothraki had smashed the Golden Company with ease.

He quickly started to retrace his steps and then he found him, dying in the mud from the wound Jon left in his side.

"Him. He was Aegon's advisor, we met him outside the city," Jon said as he rolled the man over on his back. "He's not dead, not yet,"

The man groaned and before he opened his pale blue eyes.

"What did you do to our dragon?" Jon demanded as he shook him quickly "Answer me!"

The man just smiled weakly. He opened his lips to say something but he was so weak, Jon did not hear him. He quickly lowered his ear to his lips.

"Fuck you," was all he heard and Jon sat back in disgust.

"Leave him, he'll bleed out slowly," Jon said coldly as he stood up.

"Jon I think they poisoned their scorpion bolts," Dany said to him as they made their away from the dying man. "The Dornish are allied with them and the Dornish are famed for their poison,"

"I fear that you're right, but what can we do? We need the antidote. Where will find someone who knows how to make antidotes for Dragon poison?" Jon asked and she didn't have an answer.

He heard a wolf howl loudly, it sounded close, very close.

"Our books from Valyria, Jon," Dany said quickly and Jon gave a confused look. "They'll have an answer,"

"You're right," he replied "Let's go. We will leave Ser Barristan in charge here. He will oversee the end of this battle and the taking of the city, we need to save Caraxes,"

Dany nodded in agreement and she went to move towards Anogar but then the wolf howled again. Then, he saw a pack of wolves approaching.

"Dany wait!" he called as he drew his sword and stood in front of her protectively. He watched as the pack of wolves approached, Anogar growled and hissed in their direction but surprisingly, the black dragon did not attack them.

Then he saw the leader of the pack, a wolf even bigger than Ghost.

Bigger than Ghost? That wasn't possible unless...

"That's a direwolf," Jon said as he stepped forward. That could be why Anogar was not as aggressive towards them, he was accustomed to Ghost.

"Jon, I thought direwolves were rare creatures,"

"They are, only the Stark children have wolves," he said quietly and then he saw that the wolf had a rider. "No, it can't be true," he said quietly as he broke into a smile.

The girl hopped off her the wolf and jumped into his arms.

"I've missed you little sister," he said into her hair as he hugged her tightly.

"I've missed you too,"

Jon did not know how long they stood there, but he knew that he was not the one to let go of her first

"Arya. How did you get here?" he asked as he looked her up and down. She looked like she had been travelling for days, her hair was cut a little differently, but she was still unquestionably Arya.

"I snuck out of Winterfell when my father came South,"

"You snuck out?" Jon asked with a hint of a smile. "You always liked to get into trouble. You kept the sword, " Jon said as he spied needle by her waist

"Of course, I would never lose it," she said and Jon's heart swelled in happiness.

"Jon, there's something important I need to tell you. I know the truth about what happened between our fathers. My father didn't order those men to kill him, it was Roose Bolton. They were his men and he stole Stark uniforms to disguise them. You have to believe me. You know he wouldn't do this Jon, please," she said desperately.

Jon froze, it made sense. It really did.

"Arya. I know someone betrayed your father, I just didn't know who," he said reassuringly.

"Jon, go North, I will handle things here," Dany said and Jon quickly turned around and felt ashamed.

"Sorry, I forgot my manners, Arya this is Daenerys, she's my wife. Dany, Arya," Dany gave her a smile

"We'll have time for more formal introductions later Jon, just go, take care of your family. I'll head back to Dragonstone and deal with things there. I can handle it don't worry,"

He looked at her and nodded.

"Just be careful Jon," she said

"I will," Jon said as he gave her a kiss

"Come on Arya let's go," he said to his sister as he walked forward into the field. He looked up into the sky and closed his eyes. He reached for Vedros and his dragon landed gently in front of him

He looked back at Arya and saw that she was looking at the dragon with wide eyes.

"Arya, this is Vedros, she is my dragon. Vedros, this is Arya," Jon said. Vedros looked at her with her bright bronze eyes, she hissed and tendrils of smoke curled out the corner of her mouth before she turned away and lowered her wing.

"Doesn't she like me?" Arya asked and Jon could hear the disappointment in her voice. He laughed lightly as he climbed up her wing.

"She'll get used to you in the future," he said as he held out his hand for her. She climbed up on her wing and settled in behind him.

"You should hold onto me," Jon said and her arms settled around his waist

"Gently Vedros, we have a first time flyer on board," Jon warned his dragon. Vedros haughtily released a huff of smoke before gently taking off, climbing in slow gentle circles. Vedros settled at a safe height before turning North and starting to beat her wings quicker to accelerate

He heard Arya laugh happily as they settled in for the ride.

The Lord of Winterfell

Eddard Stark was nearly home at Winterfell, however there had been a complication on the way back.

Another wave of Iron Born attackers had been waiting for them and they ambushed them during the night. They had defeated them, but not at the cost at nearly half of his men. To make matters worse, the attack was led by Theon.

Robb captured Theon himself and Ned had to restrain him in order to keep the Greyjoy boy alive. Theon was their prisoner now, and he would be locked in Winterfell's dungeons.

He could see the castle in front of him now and there were even a few flurries of snow in the air. He also noticed smoke, as if there had been a fire. Ned urged his horse forward and they entered the castle courtyard. Ned made sure that the castle gate swung shut behind him.

His first concern was his family, he needed to make sure that they were safe. He jumped off his horse and immediately made his way to the Great keep where his family stayed. His first thought was to go to Catelyn. He raced up the stairs until he reached the top floor.

As he put a hand on the door, he felt an ice cold blade at his throat.

"Don't move," was all the Lord of the Dreadfort said to him and Ned was forced to comply.

Notes:

Chapter 33 is called Home and it will be out in around 10 days. I've finished a first draft, but I'm going to rewrite parts of it.

As always, let me know what you think of this chapter. Thank you for all the support you've given this story, comments are always apprerciated