Chapter 30: United

It had been a little over a week since Will returned from Dorne, and things were going pretty good for the most part.

Will had finally finished the construction of the arena, which was styled after the roman colosseum, and it was a huge popularity.

Will was going to hold monthly tournaments to be away for people to kill time or test their skills, and much bigger tournaments that would be held every six months, the prizes being good enough that people from all over the north would probably come to participate, though he doubted people would come from any of the other kingdoms.

Mostly it was gold, a cool weapon, a suit of armor, food, rare wine, a ship, stuff like that. The main rush to get the tournament done however, was Oberyn itching to fight some Northerners.

Will had actually sent a raven to the Last Hearth, inviting The GreatJon to come and kick the crap out of a southern twat who thought he was hot stuff. He accepted.

With the arena completed, the guards sparred quite a bit more often, and the people around the town could even come watch and even bet on it if they wanted to.

It was a good way for people to blow off some steam after spending a day in the fields or fishing out on the sea. There was no television in this world, and people would do most anything for good entertainment.

Oberyn and his two eldest children made it their goal to make sure everyone had all the entertainment they needed, while at the same time whipping the guards into shape. Quite literally in many situations.

Something of dread for Will, which he had unknowingly caused, was that Dacey had taken his words to heart and gotten a job.

As a city guard. And not just any guard, she had beaten her way through the ranks, and was now guard Captain, which meant she reported directly to him and Jenkins, and she could order his guards into action if she deemed fit.

Her being part of a different house wasn't too big of a deal, as no one here would do anything to go against the city, and Maege Mormont was Will's closest ally here in the north, which was apparently known all throughout Asteria.

Speaking of Dacey, her and Rhaenys spent an awful lot of time together, which confused Will to some degree. Their personalities were a bit different, and he wasn't sure they had anything in common, but he couldn't argue with how much time they spent together.

He didn't realize they had one very big and important thing in common, but he couldn't really be faulted for not knowing.

Rhaenys had a little crush on him when they were younger, sure, but that was it. He figured after years apart and never spending too much time with her it had passed. Plus he was busy for most of the time, so he couldn't keep his attention on her for very long.

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Will was sitting in his Solar, writing out a message, then after he handed it to Elia to read over.

"Ned already knows that you are coming to take Jon. Once he gets this, he should arrive within a fortnight. Are you sure you're ready for this?" Will asked, knowing this wasn't something someone could make on a whim, but then again, Elia had been sure of this decision for years now.

"I am. He's their half-brother, and it's not his fault this happened to him. He is innocent in all this." Elia said, her resolve unwavering.

Will had no doubt she would come to love Jon as she had him. All the boy wanted was someone to love him, and he didn't know of anyone better than Elia in that regard.

Aegon would like being a big brother, though Will did worry if they would subject Jon to Dornish customs. Will couldn't see Jon Snow sleeping around with fuck-mad Dornish women, but it was quite the thought.

"Then I'll send it off." Will said, taking the letter back from her and rolling it up before stamping it with his seal, then taking it out to a waiting rider.

"See that Lord Stark gets this personally." Will said, getting an 'Aye, M'Lord!' before the rider mounted his horse and took off.

Will would have just sent it by raven, but he didn't trust the Maesters. Their whole purpose was to gather knowledge, and who knows if they would break the seal to gauge its importance for the realm.

The note didn't give away anything important, but it would still raise questions if someone read it.

As for the rider, he was a trusted guard of Asteria, and even if he opened the letter, he wouldn't be able to glean anything from it, whereas someone like Maester Lewin, who had served Ned and raised Jon for many years probably could.

With the letter sent, Will went to start his day's work. The sun would be up in less than an hour, and he had many projects on the go. His current one was the Infirmary, or Healing House as it was called by most of the people in the city.

It wasn't overly huge, but it was big enough to fit at least 100 people comfortably, and that was just counting patients, not staff or any of the equipment that went into it.

There were a few dozen large glass green houses that took up one side of the healing house, all of them connected to the makeshift boiler that would keep them warm.

It was a similar boiler to what the bath-houses had, and it could increase or decrease the humidity in the room depending on what was growing inside.

(A.N. Greenhouses were already a thing in the north, I just added the humidity controlling device.)

To create the Healing house, Will used strips of metal that he used similar to rebar, giving the walls and floors even more structural integrity.

For a finish, Will coated the walls and floors with a white creamy colored marble, then installed glass windows for natural lighting, but there were still large wooden shudders on the outside of the windows incase there was a storm or anything like that.

The dreary atmosphere that most places had just wouldn't do for here in Asteria, or at least not for Will. That depressing shit in the Red Keep back in Kings Landing could fucking stay there!! God was it depressing!

That evening they were putting the finishing touches on the Healing House, making sure it was stocked with blankets, bandages, beds, salves, jars, books, and anything else one might need.

The only thing that was missing was someone smart enough to run the place. There were 2 old women who had some experience in taking care of sick people, and one of them at least knew how to read, so they would be in charge of the place until Will could get someone more capable.

'Note, I have to hire some Maesters to teach healing!' Will thought, then wrote it down in his little book.

With the Healing House completed, the people who helped with it's construction all celebrated at the Jade Phoenix! Of course everyone who didn't help on it were still invited to celebrate, only they didn't get their drinks paid for by Will.

It was a good old fashioned party, people dancing and singing, everyone getting drunk out of their minds.

People were so happy they had a place to go for healing, they hurt themselves so they could put it through the testing phase, though whether or not any of the injuries were self-inflicted was another story.

Despite the few dozen or so people that insisted on hurting themselves in brawls or just being reckless in general, everyone was having a damn good time.

Will was currently having a drinking contest with Dacey, which now that he thought about it wasn't the smartest idea.

He had seen Maege drink almost half a barrel of ale spiked with Vodka, and Dacey was showing him that she was in fact her mother's child.

Will wasn't sure how much they had drunk at this point, or what the prize for the contest was even about, but he was just finishing he mug of apple cider Vodka, when everything went black.

When Will woke up in the morning, he was in his own bed, naked, and his head hurt immensely. It was too bad his magic couldn't cure hangovers, he could sell that little ability anywhere he went.

He pulled some water from his inventory, swallowing a few gulps before he took a breath of air. Once he fixed his dried out throat, he tried to think back to the events that happened last night.

He remembered the drinking contest, which of course he lost to Dacey, at which point she led him out of the tavern.

It was right then a hand began rubbing up his leg that led Will to realize Dacey must have led him here.

However as he was thinking back to the events of last night, he remembered Dacey leaving the room when they got here, and someone else coming back, but he couldn't make out the details in the darkness.

Lifting up the blankets, Will saw a naked ass. A very nice ass, and one he knew only too well.

'God damn it...' He thought, realizing right away who this ass belonged to, and remembering all too clearly what he did to it last night.

'The things I did to her!!' Will shouted in his mind, rubbing his temples in frustration, only to stop after a moment. 'The things she did to me!!!' Will shouted as memories of her riding his face and his cock came back to him.

Will was still going over what the fuck happened last night when the door quietly creaked open and a head poked itself inside the room.

When the face noticed him awake and staring at it, the door opened all of the way before the body the head belonged to let itself in before closing the door behind it.

"Good morning!" Dacey said, far more cheerfully and louder than she needed to, which sparked a bout of pain that made Will clutch his pounding head.

"Why?" Will asked, looking from her and then down at the sleeping Rhaenys. Understanding the question, Dacey's smile only grew as she began to strip her clothes off while answering, "Because she was too scared to admit it otherwise. So I came up with the plan to get you drunk."

She finished her words by climbing into bed, but rather than go towards him, she went to Rhaenys.

"Time to get up!" Dacey said, flipping Rhaenys over, who was actually already awake, though she looked redder than a tomato, and she couldn't meet Will's eyes.

"You set this up?" Will asked, unsure what Dacey would get out of this. If anything, he thought she would try and keep other women out of his bed, not put them in it.

"Aye! The little lady promised she would show me a whole new world of pleasure if I did! And I'm collecting!" Dacey said, pinning Rhaenys down by her arms.

Looking down at Rhaenys, who had yet to look at him, Will said, "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

It took a minute, but eventually Rhaenys looked over at him, looking like a frightened little kitten surrounded by demons.

"Are you mad?" She asked, almost in a whisper. Looking down at her, Will could see a fear he hadn't ever seen in her eyes before, and his next words could probably break her depending on his response.

He was a bit mad that they had thought they needed to do this to let him know that she liked him, but thinking about it, it was probably more than just liking him at this point for Rhaenys.

She had known him since they were children, and he wasn't actually sure how she saw him. To him, she was like a little sister figure, but that image was right out the door now.

He had always thought she saw him as an older brother figure, despite the little crush from years prior, but that was extremely unlikely now, unless she was into that sort of fantasy.

Realizing that he hadn't said anything for over a minute already, and that she was probably in a state where she might be crushed, Will could only sigh.

Thinking about it, he did care for her, though he wasn't sure if he loved her in a romantic way, or platonically, but he could always figure that out later.

Leaning down, Will kissed her deeply for a few seconds, then pulled away a little so he was staring down into her eyes.

"Yes." He answered, then kissed her again. He wasn't sure what consequences there was for doing this, but he didn't really care at the moment.

His head hurt, there were two naked, very attractive women in his bed, and his cock was hard enough to break a diamond, and right now he just wanted to forget about everything for a bit.

And that's just what he did.

A little over an hour later, Will went to clean himself up before leaving to get something to eat. Rhaenys and Dacey were still going at it in his bed when he left, and he wasn't really sure how this was going to work from now on.

Was he courting Rhaenys?

Was she courting Dacey?

Was he courting Rhaenys and was she courting Dacey?

Was he courting both of them?

Was it even courting?

Were they just fuck buddies?

He didn't have the slightest clue! Right now his romantic lifestyle could wait until he got some food!

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(Ned Stark POV)

Ned had gotten the letter from Will last night before the evening meal, and it had left him tired and confused. He thought he would have more time to figure this out, but it seemed his time was up.

Sooner or later he would need to tell Jon about this, but a part of him dreaded it.

Sighing deeply, he stood from his chair and burned the letter, then left his solar, heading for the great hall.

A few minutes later, he found his wife and his five children all eating together with little Theon sitting happily next to Robb.

At a different table in the corner, Jon was seated by himself as he ate his own meal. Seeing this, Ned knew he would be better off away from here, no matter how much it hurt him to see him go.

"Jon!" Ned said, getting everyone's attention, including the attention of the few knights eating in the room as well.

"Aye, Lord Stark?" Jon asked, getting to his feet as he addressed his lord, after all it was only proper for a bastard.

"Pack your clothes and any belongings of importance... You're going home." Ned said, much to the confusion of everyone present, save for the boy in question, whose eyes had gone wider than the dinner plate in front of him.

"They- They actually came for me?" Jon asked, sounding as though he didn't believe anyone would ever come for him.

"Aye!" Ned said shakily, looking as though this was hard for him. Jon didn't wait for another second, running off towards his room to get his things.

Ned meanwhile leaned against the wall, wondering if he could let the only child of his sister leave.

Everyone else in the room was looking at him, unsure what their Lord was talking about.

He was sending his son home? Wasn't Winterfell his home?

As for Catelyn and his children, he could see their questioning glances, and he knew they would need to know what was going on.

"Jon's... mother... has come to take him home. It was his decision to leave, and he'll be leaving in three days, so if you have anything you want to say to him, say it now." Ned said, surprising everyone in the room.

The knights like Ser Rodrick and Ser Jory believed that the mother of Ned's bastard was dead, or at least they would never see or hear about her, but that didn't seem to be the case.

As for his wife and children, Ned could see the surprise on their faces as well, save for little Rickon, who looked confused more than ever.

Catelyn didn't seem to take the news too well, and before long she left the table after giving him an angry look.

Ned wanted so badly to tell her the truth, but even after being married to her all these years, he couldn't say with certainty that she would keep his secret.

She was from the south, had great ties in the south, and liked to write about her family often. All it would take was one letter to her sister Lysa Aryn or her father, Hoster Tully, and it would spark a war.

Hoster had only risen to power by betraying the dragons, and he might see Jon as a future threat, whereas Lysa would no doubt tell her husband, Jon Aryn, who was Hand of the King, who would in turn tell Robert, who would stop at nothing to see Jon dead.

No, Ned couldn't risk it. Jon's life was too important to him, and regardless of how much he trusted anyone, a secret wouldn't spread if no one else knew it.

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That night, as everyone was turning in for the night, Ned found himself outside Jon's room. This was something he was hoping to never do, and he hadn't ever given it some thought about how he would say it.

After what seemed like an eternity of just standing there, Ned knocked quietly on the door, and after only a few seconds the door swung open.

"Put on some boots, and come with me. I need to show you something." Ned said, not saying anything more as he waited outside the room.

Less than a minute later he was leading Jon through the halls, not saying a word. A few minutes later both of them were standing before a statue in the crypts.

The statue depicted a beautiful young woman with her left hand outstretched, like she was taking someone's hand. There was a square stone slab behind the statue, which had the name of the person, when they were born and died, and how they died.

Ned didn't say anything as he stared at the statue, memories popping into his mind, and for a moment he could swear the statue was wearing a crown of pale blue flowers, causing a moment of panic in his heart.

However he calmed down when he heard a whisper in his ear. 'Promise me, Ned!'

He wasn't sure, but he felt his sister was urging him on, almost as if she knew he couldn't do this and came back to give him the final push he needed.

"This woman is my younger sister, Layanna Stark." Ned said, almost choking on his words as he continued, "She died giving birth on the same day you were born, Jon."

At first Jon wasn't sure what his father was trying to tell him by bringing him here, and he was even more confused when he thought about why his father would talk about the day he was born, and how his aunt died.

Then something clicked inside his mind, and his eyes widened as he snapped his gaze between the statue and his father.

"I-I don't understand...! You said she was coming to get me!! She is, isn't she?" Jon asked, tears falling down his face as he connected a few things that just never made sense.

His father was the most honorable man he had ever known, and yet he was born of lust, a bastard.

It didn't make sense to him, but he thought maybe his mother just meant something more, that maybe he loved her, but he wouldn't give up what needed to be done for his home... but now it made more sense.

Seeing Jon understand what he was trying to get at, Ned's tears he had been holding back slid down his cheeks.

Ned told him about Rhaegar and Layanna, and how Robert's Rebellion was based on a lie. He told him all about what happened at the Tower of Joy, and how his mother had made him promise on her deathbed.

"As for the woman coming for you, she's the mother of your half-brother and sister." Ned said, explaining the little bit he knew about Elia Martell.

"Why would she want me?" Jon asked, thinking he would be going to the same situation that he was in right now, just with a different woman.

"From what I could understand, she loved your father, just as I loved your mother. She might not be your real mother, but she'll be the closest thing you'll find. Just like me..." Ned said, whispering the last part, but Jon heard it in the quiet of the crypt.

"You're my uncle, but you're my father too..." Jon said, looking up to the man who had raised and protected him since the day he was born with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

Looking down at Jon, Ned could somewhat understand what was going on. He had always known Jon was his nephew, but he raised him like a son. Jon now knew that he was Ned's nephew, but at the same time he was still Ned's son, and nothing would change that.

It wasn't often that Ned embraced Jon, but at that moment he grabbed hold of him, and for the life of him he couldn't let go.

It felt like a small part of him was dying, but at the same time he knew it was the right thing to do.

Both Father and son, Uncle and Nephew, however you wanted to look at, talked well into the night, Ned telling all of the stories about Layanna that he could remember.

There was the story about the tourney at Harrenhal, which involved Rhaegar too, but Ned kept any talk about Rhaegar brief, though he did make sure to stress the importance of not mentioning his last name, while also telling him his real name that Layanna had given him.

"Your half-brother and sister have kept quiet all these years, so just follow their lead when it comes to giving your name." Ned said, unsure how the Targaryens had been addressing each other over the years.

But if worse came to worse, Jon could always just explain that he was Ned's bastard son, which the whole world believed at this point, so it wasn't wrong in the eyes of the people.

When Ned finally took Jon back to his room, despite having cried himself dry, the boy seemed much happier now that he learned the truth.

It also didn't matter that his mother and father were gone, because he still had people who would step in to fill their places, and he also learned that he had two new half siblings and an aunt.

It was a lot to take for the young boy, and scarcely had his head hit the pillows, then he was fast asleep.

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(General POV)

The next few days for Will had been awkward to say the least. When everyone found out about him and Rhaenys, there had been a mixed reaction.

Elia had almost wept tears of joy, Aegon shrugged his shoulders, mumbling how it was bound to happen, Oberyn cared more about the details than their actual relationship, and Daenerys congratulated Rhaenys for finally getting the courage to act on her feelings.

She had apparently picked up more than anyone expected, and had in fact known full well Rhaenys had fallen for Will.

It was still awkward for him to look her in the eye after she hooked up with Dacey, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about that.

It was even more weird when she came back to his bed that night, stripping out of her clothes, then proceeded to try and give him a massage, which eventually turned into sex.

It seemed that neither she, nor Dacey were very skilled with their hands, but thankfully both excelled in other areas. Rhaenys was particularly good with her mouth, and her sexual prowess was quite a bit more advanced thanks to all the weird shit she learned in Dorne.

Will didn't even want to know who taught her what, fearing he might not be able to look at certain people the same again.

Days passed rather slowly with nothing super interesting happening up until a few minutes ago, where a guard informed Will about Ned Stark's arrival at the Eastern gate.

'And let the fun begin...' Will thought, sending the messenger to call Aegon and Rhaenys back to his mansion. Elia was most likely at the Jade Phoenix, so he began to make his way there.

A few minutes later, Will was walking through the tavern doors, his eyes immediately going to the woman he was searching for, who was sitting at the counter talking with Jade.

Elia noticed him right away, smiling as she gestured for him to come sit with her. "He's here." Will said, choosing to stay standing as he told her the news of Ned and Jon's arrival.

Just like he was expecting, Elia immediately got to her feet before walking quickly towards the door, but Will stopped her before she could leave.

"You can't just run out to see him! You know why." Will said, calming Elia down. Despite being able to take on most of the world at this point, Will wasn't about to let them reveal themselves to the world just yet.

Robert Baratheon was still a petty fat cunt who would do anything to get rid of the Targaryens, and Elia didn't really want to be the cause for sparking another war, though not for Oberyn's lack of trying.

Robert was still hunting Viserys and Daenerys, not knowing that one was dead already, while the other was right under his nose in the North, despite all information saying she was in Essos.

Will had requested the Iron Bank spread sightings of Daenerys and Viserys all across Essos, leading Varys' spies and Robert's assassins on a wild goose chase.

Elia reluctantly nodded, knowing full well that she would need to keep a bit more of a low profile on this. Varys had spies all over the world, and she didn't think Asteria was any different.

Will's mansion was quite a bit different in that regard. There were no servants, and no one was permitted entry except the people he allowed in without him being present, and that number of people could be counted on one hand.

No one had dared break in there, fearing what Will would do to the culprit, which was smart considering Will's history.

Together, Will and Elia walked back to the mansion where Rhaenys and Aegon were already waiting at the gate. Daenerys was inside the mansion with Ellaria, so everyone that needed to be was here.

"Alright, you all go and wait in the great hall. I'll be there in a few minutes with him." Will said, shooing them through the gates.

It wasn't long before he could see a small contingent of soldiers riding towards his mansion, Ned Stark being at the head of them, with the familiar figure of Jon riding beside him.

Of course Ser Rodrick and Ser Jory Cassel were present, neither of them ever being too far from their liege lord.

"Welcome, Lord Stark." Will greeted respectfully, then looked at the boy. "Jon... You've gotten bigger." Will added, getting a smile from the boy, who had in fact remembered him from when he delivered the satchel.

Everyone got down from their horses, then a few kids came and took them to the stables.

"There's a tavern just down the street. Your men can wait there for a bit while we get this sorted out." Will said to Ned, who nodded in understanding.

They would be discussing information that no one else should be aware of, Ned's own guards as well, and they understood it. It was very common for Lords to go behind closed doors to discuss matters that their guards wouldn't be allowed to know.

Once the guards were gone, Will led Ned and Jon through the gates then into the mansion, no one really saying anything while they walked.

Before long they entered a big room with a large table, and at the head of the table sat Elia, with the three Targaryens at her back.

When Jon saw them, he seemed to freeze mid-step, his gaze going from the three people standing behind the woman who was seated, then to the woman herself.

"You look just like her..." Elia said quietly, then stood from her chair. Jon remained rooted where he was as Elia walked over until she was only a foot away from him.

"Your mother's blood runs strong in you... You have her eyes, her nose, and her face." Elia said, pausing as she reached out and brushed her fingers along his cheek.

It was about that moment when Rhaenys and Aegon came to step beside them, the moment killed when Rhaenys clapped Jon on the back.

"I always wanted a brother who didn't look like our father!!" Rhaenys said, smiling happily as she hugged Jon tight.

"It's not my fault I look like him!" Aegon said in mock outrage, then hugged both Jon and Rhaenys. The three of them had a little moment before the two older siblings pulled away to look at him.

"We both might be named Aegon, but we'll just keep calling you Jon." Aegon said, chuckling at the confused expression on Jon's face.

Daenerys came over and introduced herself to Jon as well, and for the next few minutes they all introduced themselves and talked about a few small things, while Will and Ned watched on from the side.

Jon was a bit awkward around his new family for a bit, but after 20 minutes he was beginning to open up a bit. Things were going great, but then they got all emotional when Elia called Jon her son, and that she loved him.

It was weird for Will to watch it all happen, and he was wondering if it was that weird when he did it, but simply brushed it off.

The mood picked back up later when Aegon dragged Jon outside so they could have a sparring match, much to the amusement of everyone else in the room.

They all walked out so they could watch the fight unfold, but it wasn't quite so grand. Aegon was over a year and a half older, and had been trained by some of the best swordsmen Dorne could find.

Not to mention he had Will kick his ass for years, teaching him footwork and hand-to-hand combat, and a bit of knifework, some of which he was able to incorporate into the sword, much like Will had done.

Still, despite the overwhelming defeat, everyone was impressed at how Jon handled himself given his age and the difference in stature compared to Aegon, but there was definitely room for improvement.

Training would come later, for now Jon would stick around Ned until he went back to Winterfell.

Neither had any idea when they would see each other again, but they knew it probably wouldn't be for many years.

Ned stayed the night in Asteria, but come morning, he and his guards departed, though not before telling Jon that he always had a home to come back too, though it didn't really mean too much to Jon considering the place was never a home before, but he wouldn't say that to his father/uncle.

Before he left, Ned had talked with Elia about what she would do once she left the North, and Elia said she would begin teaching her children a bit more about the facts of life.

That could mean a lot of things, but Elia left the answer open like that so she wouldn't have to lie to Ned about what they were going to do, or where they were going to go.

That would be an adventure all by itself, but it wouldn't come until later.