Dance Away My Broken Heart / Podrick Payne (2.3)

37. We are Snow

"We ride together." Jon corrected locking his arms around rieka.

"Y'all are going to be so slow though." Rieka countered.

"Please Rie." Jon begged. "It would be good to be seen as a united front."

"Fine." She grumbled.

"Stop staring at the dragons you are going to hurt your neck." Podrick remarked.

"They are so beautiful. I wouldnt mind flying there. That would be cool. To fly. You think people will ever be able to fly without dragons?" Rieka questioned turning to podrick as they rode.

"It would be cool". Podrick agreed.

"So when did you and Rieka..." tyrion offered hesitantly when they stopped for the night.

"My lord-"

"Im not mad. Thats a lie." Tyrion corrected. "But... I understand. I was gone and you were not and... she looks happy."

"I hope I make her happy." Podrick agreed.

"Rieka would tell you if she was unhappy." Tyrion assured. " She has always been one to voice her opinions."

"True my lord." Podrick agreed.

"I will admit. I do want to punch you," tyrion said honestly and podrick tensed.

"My lord?"

"For stealing my girl." Tyrion answered.

"You can if you like." Podrick assured. "But im not letting rieka get away."

"Good man you are Pod. I wont hit you."

"Thank you my lord."

"If we have the Dothraki ride hard on the kingsroad, they'll arrive at Winterfell within the fortnight." Jon remarked.

"And the Unsullied? We can sail with them to White Harbor, meet the Dothraki here on the kingsroad, then ride together to Winterfell." Daenerys agreed

"Perhaps you should fly to Winterfell, Your Grace." Jorah corrected "You have many enemies in the North. Thousands fell fighting your father. All it takes is one angry man with a crossbow." Dany looked to Jon hesitantly. "He'll see your silver hair on the kingsroad and know that one well-placed bolt will make him a hero. The man who killed the conqueror." Rieka chuckled earning a glare from daenerys.

"Hes not wrong. Jon tell you about my bow and arrow skills?" Rieka mused.

"It's your decision, Your Grace. But if we're going to be allies in this war, it's important for the Northerners to see us as allies. If we sail to White Harbor together, I think it sends a better message." Jon remarked.

"I've not come to conquer the North. I'm coming to save the North. We sail together." Daenerys agreed but she kept a skeptical eye on rieka.

"Come in." Bran said as he sat by the fire. Sam entered peering in. "Samwell Tarly." Bran remarked.

"I wasn't sure if you'd remember me." Sam remarked

"I remember everything." Bran corrected as sam closed the door. " You helped us get beyond the Wall. You're a good man."

"Oh, well, thank you, but, um, I'm not sure that I am. What happened to you beyond the Wall?" Sam pondered.

"I became the Three-Eyed Raven."

"Oh!" Sams smile fell. "I don't know what that means." he admitted

"I can see things that happened in the past. I can see things happening now all over the world. Why did you come to Winterfell?"

"Um, Jon's the one to lead the fight against the dead. I know he is. But he can't do it alone, so I've come here to help him." Sam declared proudly.

"He's on his way back to Winterfell with Daenerys Targaryen." Bran informed him.

"You, you saw this in a vision?" Sam questioned as Bran held up a scroll. Sam read it over and his eyes went wide, not expecting a gift. "Oh."

"He needs to know the truth." Bran remarked.

"The truth about what?"

"About himself. No one knows. No one but me. Jon isn't really my father's son He's the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and my aunt, Lyanna Stark. He was born in a tower in Dorne. His last name isn't really Snow. It's Sand." Bran remarked.

"It's not." Sam corrected knowingly.

"Dornish bastards are named Sand." Bran corrected.

"At the Citadel, I transcribed a High Septon's diary. He annulled Rhaegar's marriage to Elia. He wed Rhaegar and Lyanna in a secret ceremony." Sam remarked.

"Are you certain?"

"It's what the High Septon wrote in his private diary. I don't know why he'd lie. Is this something you can see?" Sam questioned.

Bran had seen the wedding.

"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am hers and she is mine from this day until the end of my days." Rhaegar said as he held to Lyanna's hands.

"Father, Smith, Warrior, Mother, Maiden, Crone, Stranger. I am his and he is mine from this day until the end of my days." lyanna had echoed happily.

"Robert's Rebellion was built on a lie. Rhaegar didn't kidnap my aunt, or rape her." Bran declared. Rhaegar and Lyanna's loving kiss replayed in Bran's mind. "He loved her. And she loved him."

Lyanna had given birth to Jon, but she was dying. Ned knelt beside her, holding her hand.

"And Jon - Jon's real name." Bran rasped in memory.

"His name is Aegon Targaryen. You have to protect him. Promise me, Ned." Lyanna had rasped with her dying breath.

"He's never been a bastard-- he's the heir to the Iron Throne." Bran realized. "He needs to know. We need to tell him."

"You want to fuck her." Rieka realized. "Took one look at her thought yep thats why all these men are following her. And what? one woman..."

"Rieka-" jon begged.

"She conquered and vanquished. The didnt rule over places with grace and compassion. She did it with bloodshed," rieka reminded him. "I know you jon you are my good boy. You know better."

"She wants to make westeros great again. Like our father wanted to do!" Jon corrected.

"She wasnt going to help winterfell was she?"

"She is-"

"Before. When you told her. That was why you took so long." Rieka realized.

"No. She kept me hostage." Jon admitted.

"And now you want to shove cock into her." Rieka agreed.

"She is helping!"

"Because she gets something out of it." Rieka agreed. " we are snow we are called. We are ice we are frozen fuckers." Rieka declared. " we are not fire she didn't care about us. No one cared about the north for ages. The Northerners didn't care about the rest of the world because we were so far away from the rest of Westeros." she reminded him. " she's doing this because she lost a dragon out of vengeance. And don't get me wrong. I'm glad she's vengeful right now. Because her fire breathing dragons will give us an edge. And do you really think he's going to be a good queen?"

" better than cersei lannister."

" what if we had a third option? What if we had another choice? Someone who was good and knew good. Someone without skin in the game"