The Game of Thrones

TYRION II

About an hour passed and Tyrion was still sitting alone in his cold office. He was reviewing the various ravens they have received from the houses across Westeros about the Army of the Dead and the fall of Winterfell. Tyrion held his head in his hands as he stared at the parchment in front of him. Gods when will this ever end?

As much as he loved being the Queen's hand, it became exhausting after a while. And it sure didn't help Daenerys' mental state with all this Jon Snow drama.

Speaking of Jon Snow, where is he? Did Varys simply forget? However, his own question was answered as Tyrion heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," Tyrion said not looking up from what he had been writing.

"Lord Tyrion — Lord Varys said you requested to see me," a rough voice said as the figure entered the room.

"Jon Snow! Or should I say Aegon Targaryen?" Tyrion said while grinning. He put down his quill and looked at the boy — no man — in front of him.

Jon frowned. "Don't call me that."

Tyrion smiled. "Very well."

He cleared his throat. "What can I do for you, my Lord?" Jon asked with curious eyes.

He doesn't know what I want to ask.

"Well, for one," Tyrion said as he motioned for Jon to sit down. "You can bend the knee to our queen."

Jon made a face. "I already bent the knee to our Queen," he replied, obviously confused.

"Ah, yes. In more ways than one I hear," Tyrion chuckled as Jon shot him a dark glare. "But you did that as Jon Snow, not Aegon Targaryen. When the northmen find out about your — true — lineage, they will want you on the throne as you have the stronger claim. A northerner on the Iron Throne — that would be remarkable!"

Jon shook his head. "It doesn't matter what they want. She is my queen. She is our queen."

"Ah yes," he said as he stood up to grab the bottle of wine nearby. "She is our queen. But that doesn't mean you can't be king," Tyrion countered while pouring himself another glass. He offered Jon some by raising it, but Jon shook his head.

"I gave up my crown for Dany," Jon replied flatly.

Tyrion smiled as he shook his head. The boy doesn't understand. "I'm not talking about that crown. I'm talking about that of the 7 kingdoms," he said frankly as he took a sip of his full glass. He looked into the eyes of the once-bastard. "Marriage can be a strategic alliance you must—"

"She's my aunt," Jon exclaimed through his teeth.

Maybe he is a true dragon after all.

Tyrion nodded as he took another sip. "And yet you still love her."

The weight of the fact laid in the air for a few moments as Tyrion looked upon the boy. He could see he was clearly torn — it was a rather unfortunate situation.

Jon ran his fingers through his curly black hair as he looked up at Tyrion again with glassy eyes. "It doesn't matter how I feel. It's wrong."

"Wrong in whose mind? Yours?" Tyrion challenged. "Whether you'd like to admit it or not, you are a Targaryen. No one would bat an eye."

"I am not a Targaryen. I was raised a Stark — a bastard Stark — but still a Stark. And I will always be a Stark. Marrying my aunt —" Jon started, but swallowed the lump forming in his throat. Tyrion watched as the boy struggled to get himself together. "It would be a disgrace to my father's memory."

Tyrion pondered the thought. "There is a difference between my brother and sister and you and the queen," he explained. "The North also had intermarriage. Your grandfather, Richard Stark, married his cousin Lyarra Stark. They went on to have four children, including your adoptive father."

A moment passed as the boy pondered the thought. He must have not known this.

However, Jon shook his head again as he fought back the tears welling in his eyes. "I just can't," Jon croaked.

"But why?"

"Because it's just—wrong," he said painfully.

Tyrion grabbed Jon's hand across the table in support. "But that's only in your mind," Tyrion emphasized. He bent his head down in order to look in Jon's eyes. "We don't choose whom we love. And what about your friends conspiring against our Queen? Is that right?"

Jon made a face. "No one is conspiring against Dany."

He's missing the point. "But when the northern lord find out you're the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen, and not Ned Stark? Do you think they will stay loyal then?" Tyrion challenged.

Jon sat back in his chair in defeat.

I'm getting through to him. "I think you should talk to Sansa. If anything, she disgraced your father by marrying me and another enemy of her house."

Jon looked up at him with red eyes. Tyrion's heart broke for the kid.

"If you don't do it for yourself, do it for our Queen. She needs you. She needs you now more than ever," Tyrion continued.

A look of confusion washed across Jon's face. "She has you to advise her."

"That — is not in the way I mean."

"Then how?"

"That is not my place to say," Tyrion started uncomfortably. I will not reveal the best of our Queen's emotions. Her feelings for him are for her to share. Jon rolled his eyes as Tyrion continued, "But I do know she needs you. And if not for Dany, as you call her, do it for the realm. There aren't two better people to break the wheel and lead Westeros. Consider it please?"

Jon stood up to leave as he nodded his head. "Yes."

And with that, the boy exited as quickly as he came. I hope the words will sink in through his thick skull.

However, as Tyrion knew, sometimes you need to sacrifice your pride in order to do what's best for the realm. He closed his eyes as he looked back down at the scroll he was originally writing.

Gods help us all.