Game of Thrones: Winter's Fire

Danaerys

Her whole life has been subject to the whims of men, their lusts, their grasping for power. She was born two years before her father came to the throne, and she grew up with the knowledge that when she came of age that she would marry not the man she loved, but a man in a faraway place, a man from a place that had caused nothing but heartache and sorrow for her family, she would go to Dorne and marry Prince Maron Martell. That was the knowledge with which she had grown up with, a treaty signed by her uncle King Baelor the blessed, before she had even been born, signed and sealed by her brother Daeron's marriage to Myriah.

Growing up she had never truly paid too much attention to the fact that in a few years she would be herded off to Dorne, to marry a man she had never met before. It had never truly occurred to her that that might not be what she wanted, for she had seen how her mother had acted and lived during the time she had been alive, and mother had never truly been happy, and she had been married to her brother, whom she had grown up with. She had been like all over girls she now knew, dreaming idly about this stranger she would marry, how he would be as strong as the warrior, and as kind as her uncle Aemon. She had always pictured him looking somewhat like her too she realised. But whenever she asked her septa or her mother about her betrothed, they would always begin looking uncomfortable and would try and change the subject, and Danaerys never truly understood why.

Then she had met Daemon, and all of her childish dreams had gone away, and her world had changed. She had always known that she had a half brother, but of course being the perfect lady that she was, she never asked her mother or father about him. But she knew from speaking with Daeron that he lived in Winterfell with their aunt Daena and her husband Lord Willam Stark. Then she had been told that Daemon and his half brother Daeron were coming to live with them at court, and she had been so excited. They would be two new friends for her to play with, two new people to join her, Baelor, Brynden, Maekar and Aelinor's games.

When she had met Daemon, her breath had been taken away, she realised that now. He looked just like their father had when he had been younger; she knew that was what the court whispered. He was strong and beautiful, and he was kind and smart, he was her half brother and yet she found that she no longer wished to go to Dorne and marry Prince Maron, whom she had never met. She wanted to marry Daemon, and have his children and live the rest of her life with him. When she had said something like that to Daeron, once when she had asked him why she had to marry Prince Maron, Daeron had smiled that sad little smile he often smiled, ruffled her hair and told her that she couldn't marry Daemon because though he was their brother, he was also a bastard, and a bastard was not a good match for a princess of the Iron Throne. Danaerys had been so sad when she had heard Daeron say that, Daeron had always been like a father to her, she looked up to him, and she had thought that when he became king that he would let her and Daemon marry, that he would not let some treaty get in the way of the love and feelings between two people he cared about. She had been wrong.

She had tried to appeal to her father, but her father had always laughed and told her that what had been arranged all those years ago would have to stand, that it could not change, that he would not change it. But she still remembered how on his deathbed, her father had spoken to her, and had whispered to her that he had signed a document, his last as king, breaking the marriage pact between herself and Prince Maron Martell, and that he had given it to his hand, and that when the time was right, she should go and speak to his hand and ask him for the paper. She told Daemon about what their father had said, and he had looked so happy when she had told him, kissing her till they could not breathe properly. They had gone a few days after their father had breathed his last, and had gone to find their father's hand of the king Lord Massey for the paper. Lord Massey had looked at them like they had spouted an extra head and told them that their father had not given him two papers, but just the one paper, which declared his intention of legitimisation of all his bastards- Daemon had bristled at that- and his recognition of Daeron as the true king.

Dejected and broken hearted they had walked back to their rooms hand in hand, but before they could say their goodbyes they had found Daemon's half brother Daeron standing in front of Danaerys' room a strange look on his face. Danaerys had never truly gotten to know Daeron, he was always hanging around with Aegor and Myriah's lady in waiting Arianne, and never truly spent time with herself or Baelor or Aelinor. She knew though that Daemon loved him fiercely, and that Maekar and he were very, very close. So when Daemon asked his brother what he was doing in front of her room, and when she heard Daeron reply that he knew what had happened to the paper that Lord Massey claimed not to know about, she and Daemon had both felt their ears perk up in interest.

Daeron said that he and Aegor had seen Lord Massey tear the piece of paper bearing the three headed dragon seal, and throw it in the bin. When they had been sure that Lord Massey had gone, they entered the room and grabbed the pieces from the bin and pieced them back together and what the paper said had shocked them both. King Aegon had named Daemon his true heir and had disinherited Daeron, claiming that Daeron was a bastard, the product of a relationship between Queen Naerys and Prince Aemon. She and Daemon had been shocked into silence, unable to speak for several long moments, before Daemon had burst out laughing, not his normal confident laugh, no this laugh had been shaky and confused. Daemon had told his brother in a chastening tone, telling him not to believe what he had seen, that perhaps that paper had just been the same paper that Lord Massey had presented to Daeron stating that King Aegon had legitimised his bastards. When Stark, insisted that what he had seen was the truth, Daemon had gotten very, very angry and had told him not to be foolish or stupid, and to avoid spending so much time with Aegor.

Then news had come on dark wings from the north, news that Daemon's adoptive father Lord Willam Stark had been killed fighting the wildlings that had invaded. Daemon and his brother Daeron went into mourning then, the atmosphere in their group became much more somber and thoughtful after that, they all tried to be more considerate toward Daeron Stark; even Aerys took his head out of his books and spent some time with Daeron and Daemon. Queen Myriah, however, was not so gracious. Danaerys was there in the throne room when the raven was read out before court, and Myriah said that "The wildlings had done the realm a service and that now there was one less barbarian and butcher in the realm." There had been a shocked silence then, and then the whispering had started, a fierce and harsh whispering as the courtiers acted scandalised. Danaerys had looked up at the throne then, to see her brother the King simply staring at his wife, an unreadable expression on his face, Danaerys knew that he could not demand she apologies or retract her statement, as that would make the royal family look weak, but she had thought that he might have tried to curb the whispering that was going on around court instead of allowing it to become like the hornet's nest that it had been.

Daeron Stark was the one who silenced the whispering. Stand rigidly and fixed to the spot, his violet eyes dark with anger, he spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "No," he had said. "The wildlings did not kill a barbarian or a savage, Your Grace." He took a step toward the throne, moving past Daemon's restraining hand. Danaerys still remembers how his face had taken on a defiant look to it and how his eyes had hardened when he looked straight up at the throne, at her brother and her good sister. "They killed one of the greatest men to have ever lived in Westeros. They killed a man who did his duty, with honour and pride, which served his king loyally, and fought and bled with his countrymen. "She still got shivers remembering the next words that he had said. "They killed my father; they took the man who looked after Daemon when your own husband would not. No, when they killed my father they did not killed a barbarian or a savage, they killed a person who was worth fifty of every Dornishmen alive right now." Danaerys still remembered how Daemon's hands had tightened on Daeron Stark's arm then, and how Stark kept advancing toward the throne, how with each step he took he seemed to be getting more and angrier. "My father fought for his people in Dorne, he fought honourably and justly, and how did the Dornish fight? How did your people fight my queen? Wit cowardly methods, like cravens they hid at night and fought in ones and twos. No true man fights like that. So no Queen Myriah, they did not kill just anybody, they killed my father, and I would be grateful if you could show his memory the respect and honour it deserves."

The room which had been silent during Daeron Stark's speech, burst out into frenzied whispering, Daeron Stark bowed once before Danaerys' brother and then barged past Daemon and out of the throne room, leaving behind a stunned royal family. Later, in the privacy of Daemon and Daeron's rooms, Danaerys remembers Daemon fuming and shouting at Daeron Stark, calling him a fool and a brave idiot in equal measure. Aegor had been there as well she knows, sitting in the corner quietly as Daemon and Daeron argued and shouted at each other. Daeron Stark left for Winterfell the next day, and had not set foot in King's Landing since that day.

In the Red Keep and King's Landing thought, it was obvious that whilst life went on, something had changed. Daemon, she knew had not forgotten nor forgiven the insult done to his brother and his adoptive family. He became more restless, and was frequently away from court, and King's Landing, and he did not spent so much time with her or Baelor or the rest of their group, instead he spent a great deal with Aegor, and even set up his own keep in the lands that their brother had given him, then he married. It was not a marriage for love, he constantly assured her, Daemon-her Daemon- married some Strickland girl from the Reach, a match arranged by their brother, in an attempt to quash the rumours circulating around the capital and the kingdoms about Daemon. Each time a letter came to King's Landing announcing the birth of one of Daemon's children over the next eleven years, Danaerys felt something inside of her heart break, until she felt like there was nothing there left to break. Each time Daemon wrote to her, he constantly ended his letters with the words "I love you, and I swear by the old gods and the new that we shall be together." But as the day of her marriage drew nearer she found that she could not make herself keep replying to his letters knowing that there was increasingly very little chance that they would ever be able to be together, and so she resigned herself to her upcoming nuptials to Prince Maron Martell, and tried very hard to push the thoughts of Daemon from her mind.

Then came the raven that would change all of their worlds for years to come. Daemon had crowned himself king and was rebelling against their brother.

The Winter Dragon

Daeron Stark, son of Willam Stark and Daena Targaryen, brother to Daemon Blackfyre, Cregan, Velena, Theon, Bethany and Barbery Stark sat reading over the raven that had come written in his brother's hand and thought back to the years and the events that had led them to this point. His earliest memories are of playing in Winterfell with Daemon, and then later Cregan joined their play. He had learnt from an early age that Daemon was not his trueborn brother, but that did not bother him, nor did it seem to bother his father Lord Willam. Daemon was made to feel as much a part of the family, as any other of Daeron's siblings.

They did all the things that brothers did; they learnt their histories and how to manage the people who would be their bannermen through sitting in with Lord Willam when he held meetings. They learnt how to earn the people's loyalty and their respect and trust, Daeron and Daemon observed Lord Willam as he would bring a member of the household staff to talk with him at dinner for alternate nights, that was as Daeron's father would say "the only way to earn the respect and loyalty of the household staff, for how can you expect them to work and care for you when you do not even care to know them." That was a lesson that both the boys had taken to heart, and it was something they spent time doing when they would play with the household staff's children.

They learnt how to fight, first with wooden swords and then when in King's Landing with live steel. Daeron himself was a good swordsman, but Daemon was like the warrior reborn even when they were both boys, any weapon he had in his hand he immediately became skilled and talented at wielding it. On more than one occasion when they would spar in the yard, they would both end up battered and bruised, though when they were younger Daemon would always end up winning, so much so that Daeron began waking up in the early hours of the morning whilst the rest of Winterfell was asleep and would practice with a wooden sword till he felt confident enough to spar with Daemon once more. Now they were able to fight for long periods of time and neither man would give quarter, exchanging victories.

Daemon was always more skilled at talking to girls, his Valyrian looks and natural charms had all the girls swooning and weak-kneed, Daeron himself whilst not a bad looking man, was quite shy, and so struggled to really attract girls. Though when they both came to King's Landing that changed. He and Daemon stuck together initially, but then when Daemon met his other siblings Danaerys and Aegor, and his nephews and nieces he became friendly with them, leaving Daeron to sort of pick up by him. He became friends with one of Princess Aelinor's friends Arianne Yronwood, and began talking with her and moving around with her and her group of friends. It was with her that he had his first kiss, and soon he was falling for her and her for him, much to Daemon and Aegor's amusement.

Aegor was Daemon's half brother on his father's side, but was also Daeron's best friend along with Daemon. When Daemon became infatuated with Danaerys and spent more and more time with her, it was Aegor who took it upon himself to spar and talk and play with Daeron and for that Daeron would always respect and like Aegor. Even if there were times when Aegor infuriated Daeron sometimes with his constant feud with his brother Brynden, over their sister Shiera. Aegor's friendship, was the reason why Daeron always took his side whenever there was a dispute between him and Brynden Rivers, otherwise known as Bloodraven, it was why he never truly got friendly with his cousin King Daeron the good's children other than Maekar.

When his father died, Daeron had been distraught, both he and Daemon had been. They had been spending more time together before the news had come written in Daeron's uncle Artos' sharp and precise hand. And when the news was read out in front of the court, at Queen Myriah Martell's suggestion and then she called his father a savage and a barbarian, something inside Daeron snapped. He spoke back to the Queen, and told her exactly what he thought of her, and her Dornish filth, he paid back every single harsh word and foul look that she had given him during his short time in King's Landing, and when he left with the hall muttering and whispering behind him, he walked out of the throne room with his head held high and he used his anger as his motivation and drive to return to Winterfell.

He came back to Winterfell and found it like a ghost town. His mother looked haunted and sad, his uncle Artos looked haggard and his uncle Beron seemed angry. His siblings except for Cregan did not truly understand what happened to have made their mother, who had always been so strong and so brave, so sad and broken. Daeron did though and so he did his best to ease the burden on his mother, he spent time learning the duties that would be expected of him now as Lord of Winterfell from his uncle Artos, and from Maester Reyne, he dealt justice to the wildlings who had escaped his uncles pursual, and he grew up quickly after coming back. His uncle Artos moved his family into the newly rebuilt Moat Cailin, and Daeron named him and his descendants as defenders of the neck, Daeron gave the ancient Wolf's Den to his uncle Beron and instructed him to begin building a fleet. He did what he could to help his mother raise his younger siblings and all the while he kept in contact with Daemon, Aegor and Arianne.

To Daemon and Aegor he spoke of life in the south, what their brother Daeron the good was doing, and how there was increasing tension within King's Landing and some of the other southern kingdoms due to the increasing Dornish influence at court. Daemon wrote about his frustrations about not being able to marry Danaerys, and being forced to marry a Strickland girl, Daeron wrote his congratulations and apologised for not being able to attend the wedding, for the Queen would be attending the wedding, and after he had left King's Landing, he had sworn that he would never attend an event in the south if the Queen was to be there. To Arianne he wrote of his problems, and fears and his difficulties, and she wrote to him with advice and words of her own problems, and over time they grew closer and closer, so that by the time he was ready and willing to wed and his mother had recovered enough to truly help organise a wedding, he put in an offer for her hand, and when the offer was accepted they were married in the 194th year after Aegon's Landing. Their son Aegor was born nine months later with dark olive skin, dark brown hair and violet eyes.

Daeron also helped arrange the marriages of his other siblings, Cregan his younger brother who since Daemon's stay in the south had become Daeron's right hand man, was married to a Reyne of Castamere and given a keep a day's ride from Winterfell. Velena, he betrothed to their cousin Dagon Greyjoy, their aunt Jeyne's son. Theon and the twins he had decided would be betrothed once things in the kingdom had been settled.

For once the betrothal of Velena and Dagon had been confirmed, they had received a raven from Daemon informing them of his crowning as king and his rebellion against the Iron Throne, as well as a call to arms. Daeron the Good, the King on the Iron Throne had also sent a raven to Winterfell reminding Daeron Stark of the oath of fealty that he had given. Daeron looked at both letters and felt torn between his loyalty to the crown, and his love and loyalty to Daemon, his brother. His uncles Artos and Beron advised caution, they argued that it would be better to wait and see who made the first move, before making any rash decisions, but they of course had families of their own that they had to think of. Cregan argued that they owed it to Daemon to side with him and provide him with the strength of the north. Daeron's own mother urged and begged him to call his banners and fight for his brother. Aegor even sent a raven, reminding Daeron of the friendship that he, Daemon and Aegor shared, and the times that they had all stuck together through thick and thin in King's Landing.

As word came to Winterfell of the first skirmishes being fought in the Reach and the Westerlands, his uncles continued to urge caution, but his bannermen and the people of the north who had seen Daemon riding with Daeron and Lord Willam began crying out for the north to fight for Daemon. Daeron kept his cards close to his chest, and waited, and prayed. He too had a family to look out for and think about now as well, he could not, he would not put Arianne and Aegor's lives in danger simply to satisfy some stuffy southerners, but of course Daemon was not one of those puffy southerners, he was Daeron's brother, and so Daeron walked to the godswood, the place where he could hopefully find answers, find the truth that he was looking for.

He kneeled in front of the heart tree, and prayed. He prayed for guidance, to do the right thing, for how was he to know what to follow, his heart or his head? His honour or his family? As he prayed a light breeze rustled through the trees, the heart tree wept red,and memories he had thought long forgotten came back to him. Memories of running through the godswood with Daemon, laughing as they stole food from the kitchens to give to their younger siblings, learning how to sword fight, Daemon teaching him a new move with a sword in King's Landing. The look of pride and love on their mother's face when presented her with her nameday gift and the words Lord Willam spoke to them one day long ago. "Honour is important; it is what makes us different from the wildlings. But honour can never beat family, it is family that keeps us warm and safe, it is family that provides us with love and care when we feel beaten. It is family that raises us from the dust, and makes us the stuff of kings."

Daeron Stark opened his eyes, and found his wife looking at him from nearby, getting up he took her arm and walked with her back into the castle and as they went to the nursery he stood in the doorway and watched as she sang to their son and as he watched his son's eyes begin to droop shut from sleep, he knew that there was only one way in which he could make sure that his son and his family and the north remained free. He kissed his wife on the brow and made for his solar, on the way he asked one of the servants to call for Maester Reyne, his mother, his uncles and his brother Cregan. He then entered his solar and sat down in the chair that had been in Winterfell for hundreds of years, and waited for them to come.

When they did come, he bade them sit and spoke. "As you know, my brother Daemon has declared himself king and has rebelled against the Iron Throne. Now, Winterfell is sworn to the Iron Throne through oaths of fealty, but the Iron Throne has done nothing but insult us and degrade my family since the time Baelor the befuddled came to power. Daemon is my brother, and is my blood, and is the rightful king. Maester Reyne call the banners, we march, and the south will know that the North remembers, it is time the Iron Throne remembered as well."