New King
Hari was going to have some real fun with this next part. A boy tyrant held Hari’s Targaryen’s father captive, which was just not acceptable. It bothered Jon, so Hari was going to fix it. And King’s Landing was south, and therefore should be even warmer. Hari was looking forward to that.
She wrapped invisibility and sound shields around herself when approaching King’s Landing. Jon clutched tighter when she descended. She used a spell to detach a wall from the throne room so she could peer in. It was empty. Lollygagging pretend kings couldn’t even be bothered to sit on their own thrones? Use it or lose it, assholes.
She leaned over so Jon slid off her back. Hari pushed her nose into Jon’s back until he stumbled before the Iron Throne.
Jon looked at Hari. “What?”
She huffed, unimpressed.
“You want me to…?”
She nudged him again, in the direction of the throne.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” he muttered.
She huffed, but made herself invisible again. Jon startled, but she sent a feeling of calm through their link. He sat on the throne. It didn’t look comfortable. Stupid people made thrones with sharp edges. Honestly, what were the idiots thinking? She cast cushioning charms on the throne around Jon so he wouldn’t get nicked.
A girl carrying a tray of food walked through the adjacent hall. She stopped, looked at Jon on the throne, and then hurried away.
Well, that ought to do it.
Four men in armor rushed into the throne room. They yelled when they saw Jon, drew their swords, and ran toward the throne. Their cursing was pretty impressive actually, although Hari was more impressed they didn’t trip and fall on their swords. Didn’t their mothers teach them not to run with sharp objects?
The men bounced off of an invisible shield in front of Jon. They fell; three of them immediately jumped to their feet, and ran into the shield again. Idiots.
The fourth man shook his head like a dog shedding water, then retreated out of the throne room.
Fifteen more men with swords ran into the room with a slim teenager.
“I’ll have your head on a spike for this,” yelled the teenager, bouncing on his feet in excitement. He had a crown.
Hari summoned the boy tyrant, trapped him under her paw, extended her claws so he was truly trapped, and then dropped her invisibility.
He screamed.
Hari roared.
Many of the men fled the room, but several in white capes stayed.
A woman rushed into the room and then froze. “Get my son. Guards. Joffrey!”
Hari summoned her and trapped her with the claws on her other paw. She screeched, but stopped moving when Hari’s claws bit into her. That’s right, my claws are sharper than any sword. Hari really loved being a dragon.
The room was quiet besides Joffrey’s whimpers.
Jon spoke quietly. “Bring me Lord Stark, alive and unharmed.”
“Do it!” yelled Cersei.
Two men in white capes bowed and backed toward the exit.
Thirty minutes later, a bloody, dirty, worn man was helped into the throne room, partly carried by the two men in white. His jaw hung open when he saw the dragon. The men gently sat him down near the shield in front of the Iron Throne and backed away.
“Jon?” whispered Lord Stark.
“I’m glad you’re alive,” said Jon.
“You have a dragon,” said Ned.
“More than one,” said Jon, nodding. “I think we should have that conversation about my mother.”
Ned coughed.
Hari leaned forward until she breathed on Ned’s leg. It was gross. Infected. Definitely in bad shape.
“Jon?” whispered Ned.
“She won’t hurt you,” said Jon, hoping it was true.
Hari sent more calming feelings down their link. She cast a few healing charms, and Ned breathed in sharply then relaxed.
“It’s…my leg. It’s better.”
“Thank you, Haraxes,” said Jon.
She made a happy grumble. Jon’s family member was safe.
The older man in a white cape who helped Ned walk asked, “He’s Rhaegar’s boy?”
“Aye, Ser Barristan. And Lyanna’s,” said Ned.
Hari felt Jon’s emotions slam into her. Anger. Betrayal. Sadness. Loss. Rejection. Images of Catelyn’s cruelty, always treating Jon as less, everyone treating Jon as worthless, and Ned never stopping it… Hari funneled all of her feelings toward Jon – this was her human, her Targaryen, and no one was allowed to hurt him. He was kind and broody, but he was hers, and he wasn’t alone. She’d stomp all the stupid humans who hurt her person.
Jon took a deep breath, and gave Hari a wobbly smile.
“And is he honorable, Lord Stark?” asked Ser Barristan.
“Aye. One of the finest men I’ve known.”
Ser Barristan Selmy knelt and swore fealty to King Jon.
Jon looked like he wanted to run far away. Hari pushed her amusement toward him.
Varys entered the throne room with Sansa.
“Father!” Sansa’s smile dropped when she saw the dragon. She fell to the ground and scooted backward.
“Sansa. Come to me. It will be fine, child,” said Ned.
Sansa was frozen.
“She won’t hurt you,” said Jon.
Hari sent a flare of annoyance toward Jon. Hari caught a few flashes of memory about Sansa treating Jon poorly, and wasn’t going to let that continue. Nope, Hari didn’t like Sansa and didn’t feel like playing nice. Alright, she wouldn’t burn the brat to a crisp, but that was the extent of her lenience.
Sansa scuttled to Ned and cowered behind him.
“Where’s Arya?” asked Ned.
Varys said, “She escaped when you were arrested. No one has seen her since.”
Jon panicked, so Hari growled. Everyone stopped moving. Hari sent an impression of her flying around King’s Landing to Jon, landing in front of little girls.
Jon barked out a hysterical laugh and rubbed his forehead.
“Haraxes said she’ll look for Arya. But maybe she’ll come when she hears that Lord Stark is free and Joffrey isn’t king anymore.”
“I am the KING!” screamed Joffrey.
Hari hissed and pressed a little harder with her claws. He stopped moving.
“Don’t kill him, Haraxes,” said Jon.
She huffed. She didn’t just go around killing people. But scaring a little pissant like this tyrant king who dared hurt one of Jon’s people…that was fair game.
Varys bowed and said, “It would be an honor to serve you, Your Grace.”
“Uh…” Jon looked lost. “I’m not a – “
Hari leaned forward, and Varys became very still. She snuffled Varys and reached out to his mind with light Legilimency. He was very driven and worked tirelessly to ensure the rulers didn’t harm everyday people too much. Hari leaned back and sent a burst of acceptance to Jon.
“She likes you, Lord…?” Jon trailed off.
“Varys. Just Varys, Your Grace.”
Jon said, “I’m really not – “
This time, Ned cut him off. “Your Grace. Thank you for the rescue. We must act quickly to end the war and secure your reign.”
Jon shifted. “The war…it’s…paused.”
“Your Grace?” asked Varys.
“Daemion and Rhaegal are between the Stark and Lannister armies, so no one will fight today.”
“Who are Daemion and Rhaegal?” asked Ned.
Jon looked away from Ned. “Dragons.”
That silence only lasted a few seconds.
“Dragons as a deterrent to war?” Varys mused.
Jon shrugged. “I stopped by Robb’s camp on my way here. He agreed to no fighting until hearing from me.”
Cersei let out a shriek.
“What should we do with them?” asked Jon.
“I would suggest two guarded cells, but we’re short on manpower,” said Varys.
Jon looked at Hari. “Can you do it now?”
Hari gave what she thought was a pleasant hiss, but most people in the room flinched.
A great thing about being one being in three bodies was something she’d never tried before. Since she flew to King’s Landing, Hari now had enough knowledge to make a portkey from Robb’s camp to here. She focused her attention on Rhaegal’s body, and created ten portkeys out of ropes that Robb’s men laid out. Rhaegal roared and moved away. Ten men touched each portkey and disappeared from the encampment.
Ser Barristan drew his sword at the sound from the courtyard beyond the Iron Throne. One hundred armed, armored, and nearly-puking Northern soldiers appeared in the courtyard. Hari roared and several of the soldiers jogged into the throne room.
“Lord Stark!” yelled a soldier, but he stopped approaching when he saw Hari.
“Lord Umber?” Ned’s jaw was hanging open.
Hari wanted to laugh. She did, and most people hugged the ground. Apparently dragon laughs were misinterpreted by humans as ‘run for your life, the winged beast is about to eat me.’ It’s not that Hari enjoyed people being afraid of her. It was just kind of funny.
“Never knew from my stories that dragons were so magical,” said Umber.
“How did you – “
“The dragon did something to rope and got us here quicker than I could imagine. Don’t know how. And I don’t particularly want to do it again.”
Lord Umber knelt before Jon. “Your Grace, what are your commands?”
Jon opened his mouth to protest, but Ned spoke first. “How many men do you have?”
“One hundred.”
“Secure the throne room. Find two rooms nearby where we can secure two prisoners, under a heavy guard.
“Might I suggest using two of the rooms off of the western hallway?” asked Varys.
There was a bustle of activity, but after a few minutes Lord Umber returned and said, “We’re ready to secure the Lannister prisoners, Your Grace.”
Everyone looked at Hari. Keep lookin’, pals. These blonde assholes have yet to feel the fear of Hari.
Jon stood. “Haraxes. Friend. May you please release one of the prisoners?”
Hari huffed, sending irritation down their link.
“We won’t let them go free,” said Jon.
Joffrey was back to screeching. “I AM THE KING!”
Hari leaned forward and stared into his eyes, her gigantic dragon head blocking the rest of the world from his view. She growled so lowly that Joffrey’s bones rattled. He stopped moving. Stopped talking. Stopped everything. Finally.
She lifted her paw, and Joffrey scuttled into the arms of the northern soldiers. Then she did the same with Cersei. Her screeching became faint after a minute.
“What is the status of the northern contingent?” asked Ned.
“Robb and Lady Stark were there and in fine health. It was a great host of northernmen. I didn’t stay long enough to hear a complete status,” said Jon.
Varys broke the silence. “Your Grace, might I suggest a ride on Haraxes now that the throne room and surrounding area is secure? The people in King’s Landing, as well as many of those in the Red Keep, are unaware that a change of leadership has occurred. It may cause those who are loyal to the Lannisters to flee.”
Hari liked that idea. She liked that idea a lot.
“Where are the others of the Small Council who might give the City Watch or others orders?” asked Ned.
“Hiding, I presume.”
“Arrest Peter Baelish if you see him,” growled Ned.
Hari sent an impression of flying to Jon. See, won’t it be more fun than sitting here?
“Lord Stark,” said Jon. “Do you think I should…” He waved toward Haraxes. Apparently the phrase fly on my dragon was too new to his vocabulary to be uttered.
Ned looked pained. “She flew you from the Wall?”
“Aye.”
Grimacing, Ned nodded. “We’ll keep this room secure.”
“Come on, Hari, let’s put on a show.”
Hari let out a whoop, which contained far more fireballs than it would have in human form. The soldiers dove for the ground and Ned Stark put his head in his hands.
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After landing, Varys and Ned handed Jon a parchment.
I, Aegon Targaryen, King of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, order Lord Tywin Lannister to journey to King’s Landing to swear fealty. His armies must return to the Westerlands. Any further action against the Northern armies will be met with dragonfire…
Jon opened his mouth then closed it. The silence stretched. “Aegon?”
“Your mother lived long enough to name you,” said Ned.
“Wasn’t…wasn’t my older…brother named Aegon?”
“Yes,” said Ned, placing a hand on Jon’s shoulder. “He was already gone when you were born.”
It hadn’t really set in before, and it didn’t feel real yet. But he’d had a brother. And someone had killed his brother.
“You want me to be King.”
Ned stared at Jon and slowly nodded. “Aye. You’ll be a good king. And it’s the only way to protect your family.”
Family that exiled me to the Wall without a second thought. Except Arya. I could be king long enough to find Arya.
Finally, Jon nodded. “We need to get our men on the gates so they can let Arya through.”
_______________________________________________________
Tywin looked at the scout in disgust. “A dragon?”
“Yes, Milord. Nothin’ else it could be. Too large for a bird.”
“You saw dragons in the Stark camps?”
“Yes, Milord. I saw it. I swear.”
Tywin motioned the scout to be taken away.
Tyrion grabbed a pitcher of wine and refilled his glass. Tywin wanted to smack it away from his drunkard son.
“Perhaps someone tampered with his drink,” said Tyrion.
“We need to send another – “
A roar rattled the tent poles. Men and horses screamed. In two great strides, Tywin was at the tent’s opening. He saw chaos, but not a cause. The light dimmed, and Tywin looked up. He expected to see a cloud blocking the sun, but saw a dragon. A dragon was in Westeros.
He’d been informed of the Targaryen girl’s dragons in Essos, but surely they were smaller and not in Westeros. A dragon could destroy his armies quickly. The dragon hovered over a nearby tent, knocking the tent and people to the ground.
Something glinted, falling from the dragon to the ground. And then the dragon flew away.
One of Tywin’s lieutenants brought the item to Tywin. It was a tube with a scroll inside.
Tywin read the letter. Aegon? Aegon Targaryen died as a baby. Who was this person, claiming the throne? Whoever they were, they had his daughter and grandchildren.
Tywin Lannister was going to King’s Landing to see who dared to threaten his legacy.
_______________________________________________________
Hari had some fun dropping off a few more messages. She peeked into a few peoples’ minds to see what the main seats of Highgarden, Dragonstone, and Dorne looked like.
Dragonstone was so awesome. She was taking Jon there soon.
Some woman dressed in red ran screaming as Hari dropped off a scroll.
Highgarden was her next stop. It was absolutely beautiful. True, everyone panicked, but Hari figured they’d get over that eventually.
And then she went to Dorne. It was fantastic. The sand was hot, and the ocean was warm and clear. Alarms and screams of ‘dragon’ sounded from every direction. Hari took the opportunity to sunbathe and scratch her scales against the sand. Eventually, she made her way to the area with a bunch of pools and dropped off the scroll with a group of people who held many spears. As if spears could harm her. She definitely needed to bring Jon here. He needed to thaw after time in that frozen land up north. And warm sand was her newest favorite thing.
With a sigh, she made a portkey back to King’s Landing. If Jon didn’t fix the smell, she’d cart him off to Dorne.