Jon Snow
He didn't feel the biting snow as he fell into it. Only the cold bite of the knife, and the hot rush of his blood spilling out into the white. The flakes landed on his face, melting against his skin, but even that faded.
"Ghost," he murmured faintly, the word barely more than breath.
Then his thoughts turned to his sister. To the sister in the hands of the Boltons.
Arya.
I failed you.
The world dimmed. The cold faded. The pain dulled into nothing. And then everything turned to black, a black he expected to be endless.
But it was not empty.
Faint lights flickered in the darkness. At first, he thought they were stars. Or perhaps reflections of the moon upon ice. Or those strange mushrooms that glowed in the dark caves of the Wolfswood, the ones he and Robb had found as boys, laughing and pretending they were explorers the Wolveswood.
Robb.
His heart twisted painfully at the thought of his brother, murdered beneath sacred guest right. Betrayed. Slaughtered.
The lights shimmered against something. It looked like dragonglass, like what Sam had found at the Fist of the First Men. All the glass was now gone, lost together with all those they couldn't save. He had been able to save plenty of the Free Folk, but still, seeing the Bastard raise all those men, women, and children…
It had only hardened his resolve, and so had Ser Alliser. He had his doubts about taking him, yet he knew he needed that man on his side. Even if they hated each other, the Watch could not be divided. After Hardhome, Ser Alliser had seen the greater threat, and with the influx of Free Folk near Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Jon had given Alliser command to organize them as he returned to Castle Black and the rising chaos.
He had arranged the marriage of Alys and Sigorn, and not much later came the damned letter that caused his fall.
None of it mattered now. He was dead, or somewhere that did not matter. "I'm sorry, Father. Sorry, I couldn't save her," he muttered into the darkness.
As he looked around, he felt heavy, like a cloak soaked with water.
To his surprise, he heard a soft young voice say, "Well, you finally have come to join us, Valonqar. He looks guilty and unhappy, doesn't he, Mother?"
As he looked toward the sound, he saw a young, pretty girl with copper skin, black hair, a silver streak, and purple eyes. Something felt odd as he looked at her, a strange familiarity. She was holding hands with a beautiful woman with copper skin, black hair, and black eyes. The woman gave him a sad smile.
"He does, sweetling. Aemon does look sad. He left his Rhaenys in the North, in danger of a Red Witch. His Visenya is in the southeast, lost without him," the woman said as she kissed the young girl on the cheek.
"But he's a dragon's head, and a dragon must remain united," another young man's voice said.
He saw a young man, roughly his age, with the same skin color as the woman, but his hair was silver and his eyes purple. Looking at him, he felt the same familiarity. Yet in his face, he saw himself.
Why did the woman call him Aemon? What did Valonqar mean, and what did she mean by his Visenya and Rhaenys? He didn't know anyone by those names, except for the histories, of course. He thought, confused.
"Son, they are right. You left them both. I never thought it was meant to wake stone dragons from stone."
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. A man spoke in a voice he did not remember hearing before. What surprised him was that he said "son," as the voice was not Eddard Stark's. Yet Eddard Stark was his father. He was his bastard. He thought as he turned around.
He was looking at a man with eyes he recognized as his own. Indigo eyes, not the dark-purple like his own, but still his eyes.
"Hello. I have longed to meet you, my son. A sadness that it could not happen before, and not like this," the man said as he embraced him. He felt the familiarity, something instinctive about the embrace he had never felt with Eddard Stark, even if the man had been his father.
He blurted out, "But it can't be."
"It's true, my boy. He's your father."
Another feminine voice, soft and gentle, like he remembered Lady Stark speaking to his siblings. As he looked more at the man's appearance, his pale skin and silver-blond hair, he was a Targaryen. But as he looked closer, he saw himself again. His chin, his cheekbones, everything was him, except the coloring. This man was his father, but the how of it was still unknown. A headache began to form.
"Son, turn around. I want to see my handsome boy again. I only hoped it would not be this soon."
The woman behind him spoke. As he turned, he recognized the face but could not place where he had seen it before.
"Mother?"
He spoke the word, something he had always wished to say to someone. As he embraced her, it felt the same as with the man with indigo eyes.
"Hi, my beautiful boy," she said as she kissed his forehead.
"You did well. I'm proud of you. You've made us all proud. A true king, a protector of the realm of men. You have done your duty well so far, better than many who have sat the throne or anyone trying to claim it," the man behind him said.
Then he looked back at the woman. Then he recognized her face, the face Arya wore. The sister he couldn't save.
"Lyanna."
There was awe in his voice. His mother was Lyanna Stark, which meant only one thing about the man to whom he had been speaking: he was Rhaegar Targaryen.
The woman smiled and took his face in her hands. It felt warm, a wonderful warmth of love.
"Hmm, you're my little pup." She smiled.
"All this time, you were this close, " he sighed, knowing now all those thoughts he had of who she was had been untrue, except that he had hoped she was highborn.
Then he turned to the man behind him as his mother held his arm.
"Indeed, your father." His mother noted.
Then he looked toward his mother. "But the stories…"
"Horseshit," his mother spat. Yes, definitely like Arya, he thought with a grin.
"Yes, Aemon, that is true. I am your father, Rhaegar Targaryen," Rhaegar said as he embraced him once more. Rhaegar Targaryen was his fucking father. That thought still dazzled him.
"Son, come. Let me introduce you to some people I always hoped you would meet," Rhaegar said with a sad smile.
"Aemon, meet your siblings, Aegon and Rhaenys, and their mother, Elia," Rhaegar said with pride.
Elia, to his surprise, embraced him. "Our third babe, all grown up," she noted as she looked him over.
"I'm sorry for what happened. None of you deserved it," he muttered.
"Thank you, and I know you will avenge us," she replied, holding his cheek.
"Valonqar," Rhaenys noted as she embraced him. "I wish I could have held you when you were a babe, like little Egg."
His heart swelled with warmth at her words. "The same as I," he muttered as he kissed her forehead. Then he let her go and looked at his brother.
"Little brother," his brother noted, and he was embraced by him. It felt similar to Robb's embrace, yet there was an odd connection unlike what he had felt with Robb.
"Little brother, make sure to bring peace to the realm. I cannot be king, neither can Father. Now that burden falls to you," his brother said, clasping him on the shoulder, looking at him with affection in those purple eyes. Now he truly saw his own there. His own eyes were not black, but almost a blackened purple.
"King?" he croaked, and his brother smiled and nodded.
Then the cave rumbled, and he looked around. His father smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, Aemon, that is true. You are the king the realm needs, and you are the promised prince, even if you were never a prince. You will come forth as a king, and you will lead the realm of men. The one who wakes dragons from stone, amidst salt and smoke."
The heaviness began to loosen.
"Come. It's time," his father said.
"Wait. Will I see you all again?" he asked.
"Perhaps one day," his father said with a small smile.
"Farewell, son. Make us proud, something you already have done," his mother said as she kissed his cheek.
"I love you both. I'll make you proud. You too, Aegon and Rhaenys, and you, Elia."
They all smiled at him.
His mother embraced him once more, and Jon savored the moment. "I love you, and I'm proud of you. Go to my statue. You will find something waiting for you there."
"What will I find?" he asked.
His mother smiled and kissed his forehead. "That is for you to find."
"I love you," he muttered as a small tear rolled down his cheek.
His father took his arm and led him toward two mounds of dragonglass in the cave. But they were different from the rest. They looked melted. One mound was black as pitch. The other had a silver and pale blue sheen. He felt something odd, a connection similar to what he felt with Ghost.
"Touch them and wake dragons from stone. Be the prince you were meant to be and the king the people need. Save our kin, surrounded by spiders and skulls of gold. It is time the dragons become one again. A dragon of black is still a dragon," his father said, sadness in his eyes.
What does that mean? He wondered. "What shall happen when I touch them?"
"You will wake them from stone, and you will leave us," his father said somberly. "But I have no doubt we will meet again."
He embraced his father once more.
"Goodbye," he said, and he turned, stepping toward the mounds, a searing warmth coursing through his veins.
The mounds cracked. One emitted green and black flames with flecks of purple. The other silver and pale blue flames. Then a loud explosion, and he opened his eyes to the bright light of flames and the wailing of a girl.
Hello everyone!
If you've enjoyed my stories and would like to support my work, consider joining my community. Your support means the world to me and helps me continue creating the content you and I love.
By becoming a Patreon, you'll get access to exclusive benefits like:
- Early access to new chapters (Up to Four months ahead)
- Writing and story updates.
- Access to concept art for the stories.
- And, of course, you will support me.
- And much more!
Join now and be part of a community that loves and supports creativity. Your contribution makes a huge difference and allows me to keep bringing you exciting new stories.
If you want to join, go to Patreon. Copy this link : www.patreon.com/HeroDut1998
Thank you for all your support!