A new destiny

Chapter 17 | Jon

Several days passed since our attack on the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. During this time, sevral things happened: Jamie Lannister was put in prison for having tried to protect his sister; Daenerys was busy at rebuilding King's Landing with the help of the Unsulliedn and the habitants of the city. The first thing Daenerys did after Cercei Lannister was defeated was to let her handmaiden Missandei return from Winterfell. As for me, I spent my days by helping the Unsullied in reconstructing King's Landing. Immediately after the battle I tried to recover the bodies of Davos and Tormundud in order to give them a proper funeral but unfortunately, I failed. Such was the anger I felt for the way they both died that I wanted to let Rhaegal eat Cercei Lannister's lifeless body in the same way I let him do it with the giant who had decapitated Tormundud but I was prevented to do so by Daenerys. "Cercei has already paid with her life for what she has done to your friends and family as well as the innocents who died because of her. It is pointless to further unleash anger after her death" Daenerys told me when I objected her decision to give her a quick funeral. Finally, after two weeks of efforts, Daenerys decided to summon all the rulers of the Seven Kingdoms at King's Landing in order to decide who was going to be Cercei's successor on the Iron Throne. This decision, along with the one of freeing both Tyrion Lannister and Varys astonished me because I thought Daenerys was going to let everyone know she was the new monarch of the Seven Kingdoms without letting anyone decide whether she could rule or not. "Why am I here?" I silently complained as I sat in one of the Red Keep's rooms, along with Sansa, Arya, Bran, Sam, Yara Greygoy, Tyrion and Varys. "I don't want to be king, not now, not ever". "Welcome" Daenerys said as she entered in the room, Missandei and Grey Worm at her side. She immediately took a sit and her gaze fell on each of us "The reason why I summoned you here today is to decide the future of this land. "What's the point of this?" Sansa immediately asked "You came here to get the Iron Throne and now that Cercei Lannister is dead, you are the new monarch of Westeros. What's the point of asking our opinions about the future of Westeros?". "For me your opinions are important Lady Stark" Daenerys answered in an icy voice "I'm not like Cercei so this is why I summoned you. I want to sit on the Iron Throne because you chose me, not because I killed Cercei Lannister". Everyone looked Daenerys in astonishment: clearly they all had expected Daenerys to simply proclaim herself the new monarch of Westeros and for this reason, Daenerys' words caught them by surprise. "Daenerys Targaryen has killed Cercei Lannister" Varys started, choosing his words carefully. "She has helped the habitants of King's Landing to reconstruct the city when she could simply keep it with the damages it suffered during the assault. These actions prove that Daenerys is not like Cercei who was known for her evilness. However, I think she hasn't the right to sit on the Iron Throne since the son of Rhaegar Targaryen is still alive and is seated among us right now". With these words, Varys, turned to me and pointed his finger towards me to add emphasize to his words. "Jon Snow is the true heir to the Iron Throne" he said "He is the next monarch of Westeros, not Daenerys Targaryen". "I agree" Sansa said "Daenerys Targaryen may have saved the North from the Dead Army but still, she can't be Cercei Lannister's successor. Jon must be the new monarch of the Seven King....". "ENOUGH!" I roared, standing up from my sit. I silenced for a few seconds in order to let the anger I was feeling in that moment towards Sansa evaporate. "I may be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen" I started again "thanks to my dear adoptive sister you already know this. However, I don't want to become king". "Lord Snow you must realize you are the only one in this room who can sit on the Iron Throne" Varys started again. "No, I am not the only one who can sit on that fucking chair" I retorted and turned towards Daenerys "Daenerys Targaryen has fought to sit on the Iron Throne; she agreed to help me saving the land in which I grew up because in return I would help her defeating Cercei Lannister. Now that Cercei has been defeated, I think Daenerys should be the next ruler of Westeros. She proved to me as well as others she is not like her father, nor like Cercei". I paused in order to select my next words. "I...I know many of you do not trust Daenerys because you fear she may reveal herself to be like her father. It is fine you express your opinion however, I think you are all making a grave mistake just like my adoptive sister has been doing since Daenerys has arrived in Winterfell". Having said these final words, I slowly left the room, unable to stay there any longer. "Jon...you are leaving?" Tyrion asked confused. "As I said, I don't want to rule Westeros" I said without turning "For me the one who should sit on the Iron Throne is Daenerys Targaryen. If you don't choose her, you should start looking for another one who is willing to become the new monarch of the Seven Kingdoms". With these words I left the room, aware of the fact everyone present was looking at me.

"Lord Snow?" a familiar voice called me a few hours later. After having left the meeting, I wondered around the streets of King's Landing without a specific destination. When the sky started darkening, I stopped in one of the many inns of the capital of the Seven Kingdoms to eat something before returning to the place where I had been sleeping in the past days. "Lord Snow?" the voice called again. I slowly rose my gaze from my glass only to find myself face to face with Missandei. "Missandei?" I asked surprised "Shouldn't you be with your queen?". "Daenerys has gone to sleep" Missandei answered "So I grabbed the chance to come looking for you". "Why?" I asked, my eyes wide in astonishment "Something wrong? I mean....". "I...I wanted to speak with you about several things. I can't wait any longer" she replied and when I gestured her to sit, she took a place in front of me. "So?" I asked, watching her curiously "What can I do for you?". Missandei took several breaths before starting, making me smile at her shyness. "Firstly" she finally started "I...I wanted to thank you for your efforts of keeping me, Rhaegal and Drogon in safe. I truly appreciated the effort". "I only did what I was supposed to do" I replied "You are dear to Daenerys so I couldn't let you die in these wars. Unfortunately I wasn't able to save Sir Jorah". "My lor....". Missandei started. "I am not a lord" I interrupted her "Call me Jon please". "Sir Jorah's death is not your fault" Missandei comforted me "He knew he was risking his life when he joined the battle". "I should have tried harder" I insisted, refusing to accept there was nothing I could do to save him "I mean....I could have prevented him from joining the battle". "Jon you would have failed, trust me" Missandei observed "I knew Sir Jorah and I knew he would have done anything in his power to protect Daenerys; as I said, he knew he was risking his life so stop blaming yourself for his death". Missandei's words astonished me such was the wisdom behind them. "Now I understand why Daenerys chose her as her handmaiden" I reflected "I'm happy I managed to save her". "Second..." Missandei's voice brought me back to reality "I....I wanted to speak with you about...Daenerys". "Daenerys?" I asked, wondering what was this about "What about her?". "She is sad" Missandei started without looking me "She is very sad because of you. I wondered what happened between the two of you". I sighed, not knowing how to tell to Daenery's handmaiden why I did what I did. "There is a reason why I fought for saving you, Daenerys' dragoons, Sir Jorah" I finally started "Before we left for King's Landing to meet Cercei Lannister, I had a vision". "Vision?" Missandei asked confused "What vision?". "A vision about the future" I answered "In this vision I saw Sir Jorah, Rhaegal and you dying in the wars against the Dead army and Cercei". I paused in order to collect my thoughts "Daenerys' was devasted for your deaths" I started again "and the sadness she felt made her...crazy". "WHATT??????" Missandei esclaimed, putting one hand to her mouth in a sigh of horror "WHAT HAPPENED???". "She....she destroyed King's Landing" I said, tears feeling my eyes "She burned down every one she encountered, even the women and children". "NO, NO, THIS IS NOT DAENERYS" Missandei yelled, tears rolling on her cheeks. "I know" I replied, my voice trembling with emotion "Tyrion after what she did, convinced me to stop her, telling me she was going to do the same in Winterfell and other towns in Westeros". "And...?" Missandei leaned forward "Please tell me you didn't hurt her". "I......I....I killed her" I said, unable to look Missandei in the eyes. "I killed her. That's why I kept her away from me; that is why I was obsessed with saving all of you. I....I couldn't let my vision come true". Silence fell after my confession, an heavy one. "There is no place for me here" I thought in anguish "Daenerys doesn't deserve someone like me. I have to leave before someone tries again to convince me to sit on the Iron Throne". "Daenerys...." Missandei finally said, unable to look at me "Does...does she know this? Did you tell her about the vision you had?". "I did" I answered "When we returned to Dragonstone, before we attacked King's Landing, Daenerys confronted me and I had no choice but to tell her everything". Unable to face Missandei any longer, I stood up "I....I know you hate me and you are right in doing so" I said "You do not have to worry, I will leave Daenerys as soon as possible. She won't have to deal with me any longer". "Running away doesn't give you the peace you are seeking" Missandei finally said "Running away doesn't give you the happiness you are seeking. You may not want to rule on Westeros but you can't escape from Daenerys. I know my queen and I know she has feelings for you; running away from her is like killing her". "Than what do you think I should do?" I asked, turning towards her. "Face her" Missandei immediately answered "I strongly believe you belong together so it is useless for you to run Jon Snow. Stop running and face my queen. She wants you in her life".