The Proposal

Part 2 : New Beginnings

Life continued . It was true Jon thought, time and tide wait for no man . He had returned to Kings Landing and time marched on. He was determined to do his best for the people and to do his best for his child and also for Daenerys . It seemed unnatural for him to be in Kings Landing and also unnatural for him to part of the ruling elite . He was the calm and rational one behind Dany's fire and passion . They were in a sense a balance for one another . Fifteen years had passed since he had last visited Winterfell . Their life together had been good . He loved Dany and she had loved him . They had made a family together and he had honored his commitments . After 5 years the North became fully independent and Bran had become King in the North . He never went back but his heart had never left either . That was the crux of all the issues that had arisen with Dany during the course of their marriage . He had never fully assimilated to King's Landing or his Targaryen heritage . They were happy but like any marriage they had a lot of ups and downs .

Rhaella was the glue that had bound them together during their tough times .She was the light of both their lives and Sansa had been right , she had brought them closer . He was grateful he could be a part of Rae's life everyday . She had been a good child but quite rambunctious . She had platinum hair like her mother but dark eyes like her father . She was fiercely loyal to her mother and her mother doted on her .She loved Jon too but his wife and daughter were two peas in a pod . She was the only child that he and Dany had , they had tried to have more but sadly the following pregnancies had all resulted in miscarriages . It had put a strain on the marriage as Dany had understandably withdrawn into herself after every failed pregnancy and she sought comfort from her closest friends notably Jorah and Missandei .

Even in terms of decisions regarding governance the people whose counsel she relied on the most were Jorah , Greyworm and Missandei in that order . She did trust Jon of course but there was always that sense that she viewed him as somewhat of an outsider . That was also his fault because he had also viewed himself as somewhat of an outsider looking in . She loved him that was clear but she loved him with conditions . He couldn't blame her , she grew up thinking that she was the rightful heir and that being a ruler was her destiny . She had also raised Rhaella to think that ruling was her destiny not that she had to earn it . This had resulted in some tension between the two parents regarding Rhaella 's upbringing . Jon was constantly trying to teach Rhaella she had to earn things and Dany was of the mind that Rhaella simply deserved things because of who she was . Rhaella by nature was a good hearted child but because she was an only child and a princess she was naturally a bit spoiled and Jon was hoping that she would grow out of it . Rhaella was approaching her 16th birthday and Jon was worried that he did not want these characteristics permanently embedded in his only child before she grew old enough to be Queen herself. These days those thoughts occupied his mind frequently he wanted to ensure that Rhaella had the proper temperament to be Queen and leader of the 6 Kingdoms before that duty fell upon her .

Dany had for the most part done a good job in bringing stability to the realm . Of course mistakes had been made , but she was kind hearted with the exception of anyone who went against her rule . She had mercilessly crushed rebellions that had arisen taking no prisoners . That is where Jon and her had had their fiercest arguments as Jon had wanted more carrot and stick diplomacy and Dany had wanted scorched earth diplomacy . There had been collateral damage over the years and he had been the one to try to smother the ambers of discontent that had arisen as a result of some of her policies . It had not helped that Jorah and Greyworm has backed her in her policies . Jorah and Dany were of the same mindset on everything and Greyworm had very rarely disagreed with them but on occasion had sided with Jon. He constantly felt as it was 3 against one regarding any military matters that he disagreed with Dany on . He wanted Rae to have a little more of a soft heart towards the people who did not agree with her . He was trying to foster that quality in her before it was too late .

As far as domestic policies Dany had left everything to Tyrion and to a lesser extent Jon . She had no interest in those things and Tyrion had done remarkably well .Shae  his wife , had tempered his bad behavior over the years .He was happy in his personal life and it carried over to his work .. He and Dany had a strange relationship . They were more like frenemies because he openly disagreed on things with Dany , but she respected him and she knew that ultimately he managed things well for her on the domestic front . Tyrion did not have any children of his own but he loved Rae and his neice Joanna . Joanna had come a few times to King's Landing with her father Ser Jaime to visit her uncle . Tyrion tried to visit Casterly Rock frequently as well and he was good friends with his sister in law Brienne .Rae and Joanna has become quite friendly during her stay even though Joanna was a few years younger than Rae .

Joanna was a beauty and the light of her parents eyes as well as Tyrion's . Jaime had become somewhat of a regular fixture at Winterfell because of Brienne . Brienne and Sansa remained close and Jon found out tidbits about Sansa through Tyrion . Nobody questioned why Jon never returned to Winterfell . Dany joked that she wouldn't allow him to return and people seemed to accept that at face value . But the true reason was that Jon also felt that he would not be able to leave once again if he ever returned .
He had been tempted many many times over the years but his promise to Sansa and Dany's reaction if he did stopped him . He had to admit that the older that Rae was getting the more he felt the need to acquaint her with her Stark side of the family .