Loki: Storm of Swords

Chapter 56 - A Targaryen Trilema

Loki led both Daenerys and Jon away before anybody could say anything to stop him. Sansa tried to call after them, but Loki blocked her out. He took them a private room, slammed the door closed, and spun around to face Daenerys and Jon. "What's going on, Loki? You are honestly scaring me," Daenerys admitted, and Jon's hand slowly rested on Longclaw. Loki saw the gesture and frowned deeply at the young Stark.

"Do you really you could stop me with that sword if I wanted to kill you? Both of you," Loki said and Daenerys stiffened.

"No riddles, Loki! What's the matter and what the hell was that in the courtyard?" Jon snapped, and Loki waved his hand and conjured up a letter.

"This... is the letter from the former Maester Aemon. He gave it to you before he died and told you to read it in the presence of myself and Daenerys. Well? We're all here. Read it!" Loki threatened, throwing the letter at the former member of the Night's Watch. Jon caught the letter, but his hands trembled as he tore it open. He cleared his throat before he started to read.

"To Jon Stark, Ward of Eddard Stark and former Lord Commander, greetings,

As I lie dying, I have realized that there are things you must know ere I go. I have lived longer than normal and I have seen many things in my time. These things, I must tell you now. You are not as you seem. You are special, and I must tell you why. Ever since you were born, you were claimed by Eddard Stark as his bastard son; but that is not the case. The former Warden of the North was a man of honor and integrity. He never broke his vows of fidelity to his wife, the Lady Catelyn Stark. You are not his son." Daenerys gasped and Jon almost dropped the letter. Loki was the only one who gave no emotions away. He was slowly nibbling on one of his cuticles and he glared at Jon when he stopped reading. Quickly, Jon went back to it."You were taken in by him because it was his familial obligation to provide you with safety and a home. For, if Robert Baratheon had found you and known who you were, you would have been slain. Attached to this letter, is a document that legalizes the annulment of the marriage between Rhaegar Targaryen to Ellia Martell. And validates his secret wedding to Lyanna Stark."

"Lyanna Stark? It was for her that Robert's Rebellion was started," Daenerys stated and Loki nodded.

"Continue, Jon. There's a reason he wanted Daenrys and me to hear this," Loki said.

"Your mother was soon pregnant with you when the rebellion began. I was attending on her until she was removed from Kings Landing and hidden. The location of your birth is still unknown to me; I only know that you were born in Dorne. And, you know that Daenerys was born on Dragonstone right before the war ended. You were born around the same time, but she is your aunt and you, her nephew." The Queen of Westeros looked at the young man and both their eyes widened. Loki glanced between them before snapping his fingers to get them back on point. Discussions would happen after the letter was completed. "However, there is something else I must tell you that has been weighing on me since I met him during the War of Five Kings. I speak, of course, of Ser Loki Frostborn. Do you recall how I told him that both fire and ice existed within him? I said that because I sensed within him my own blood. The blood of the line of House Targaryen. Remember the story Rhaella Targaryen put down of her being kidnapped by giants of ice and taken to a realm called Jotunheim?"

"No! It's not possible! Where would the Frost Giants have gotten the magic to bypass the separation Bor put on Westeros?! It's not possible!" Loki insisted in a loud voice as he backed up against the wall. Daenerys was raising an eyebrow at this point and slowly advancing on Loki as Jon continued reading.

"She had me examine her upon her return and she confided everything in me. She told me that the giant king who had claimed her as a concubine, Laufey, wanted a child with human attributes. She described the infant she bore to me perfectly: pale skin, ebony hair, and emerald-green eyes. That is Ser Loki Frostborn in every way; and also, I saw some of my great-niece's delicate features in his face. I became even more of a believer in this when I learned that he had taken one of the queen's dragons as his aerial mount. Only a Targaryen can claim and ride a dragon; but everyone believed he did it because he is a sorcerer. That is possibly a part of it, but not the main reason." Jon stopped reading and looked to where Daenerys was kneeling on the ground before Loki and had taken one of his hands in hers. He was borderline hyperventilating. "Loki is Rhaella's firstborn son, and also, your uncle. However, I know this knowledge will throw all the Seven Kingdoms into chaos. As a male and the eldest, Loki has a claim to the Iron Throne, that overshadows yours as Rhaegar's son, and Daenerys' as a full-blooded Targaryen because she came after him. He was born first. I have heard how you have all become friends, drawn together by the previous war. This is a test sent by the Seven: withstand the desire for power, the whispers of evil, and do not let the information that you are relatives cloud your judgment or destroy your trust in one another. If anything, let it make you stronger." Jon looked to where Daenerys and Loki were just staring at each other as they sat on the floor. He took Longclaw off and joined them, sitting on the stone. He held the letter up and let it fall to the ground. Loki's green eyes followed it before he looked up at them.

"I never wanted the throne," he whispered. Daenerys squeezed his hand and glanced back at Jon quickly.

"I know, Loki. If you ever wanted the throne, you could have just killed me, ended the war with a snap of your finger, and claimed the Iron Throne for yourself. What I'm more concerned about is... how do we tell everyone else?" Daenerys said.

"I'm not a Stark?" Jon suddenly asked and that caught their attention. "I'm not Ned Stark's son?"

"You're not his son. No. But, you're Lyanna Stark's son. You still have Stark blood in your veins, just not as you originally thought it was," Daenerys answered. Loki sighed and his hands went out, clasping the both of them by the backs of their necks. They turned to look at him: Daenerys beheld her elder brother, and Jon his uncle. Loki drew them in close till their foreheads were touching.

"We are not going to let this tear us apart. It will have it make us stronger. We... cannot tell the kingdom, not yet. Not in the midst of this war. With the terror of losing Sunspear, the fear of the Dornish refugees, and... everything else, this is information that we cannot afford to get out. If you must tell somebody, only tell those you can trust with your life. Tyrion needs to know, Sansa needs to know, and... Ygritte can know," Loki said, and Jon frowned a little at this.

"Your children possess royal blood. Both your children," Daenerys stated, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. "They must be recognized according to their rank when this is all over. I will not have it otherwise."

"Will you still make that law canon?" Loki queried and Daenerys' eyebrow went up. "The part where you want the position of the Hand to be hereditary?" She nodded immediately.

"There has never been a Hand like you in all the History of Westeros. Your intelligence and cunning will be passed to your children; I can see it already, strongly in Ragna. My son, Draegon, will be king after me. And since you are family now, it makes more sense to have the line of House Frostborn be the future Hands to the line of House Targaryen," Daenerys said and Loki smiled. She turned to Jon and said, "I will find a worthy position that you and your descendants can claim as your own. I don't want to forget you, nephew." The word seemed strange when she used it to describe him, but she figured she would get used to it. Jon nodded.

"I would be honored with whatever position you give me, aunt," he responded, a hint of a smile on his face as he addressed her. Daenerys laughed lightly and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She did the same with Loki and they embraced.

"Our family. It keeps growing," she whispered. Loki rubbed her back and gave Jon's a squeeze.

Please! Nothing goes more wrong than it already has, he begged.

A shadow stood outside the walls of a rich pleasure house in Kings Landing. The shadow was really a man, wrapped in a black cloak, and with glowing red eyes. This pleasure house used to be his. He used to have titles, and lands, and riches, and a body and a soul. All of that was gone now. And he only had one person to blame for that. He approached the wall and hung a proclamation up to be read by passersby come the dawn. He grinned and left that house, going to taverns and inns all over the city, putting the notices up. Finally, he stood before the gates of the Red Keep. The guards were all on high alert,but with his magic to conceal him, they did not see him. The last piece of parchment went up on the front gate, and he grinned. "Soon enough, Loki Targaryen, called Frostborn, I will have my revenge." With that, Petyr Baelish vanished in a cloud of Sulphur.