The Green Dragon - XXV (Patreon)

Chapter XXV: A Dragon’s Dream Jonothor spent an hour sitting in his bed while Maester Mellos was checking on his health. It felt like it wou

Chapter XXV: A Dragon’s Dream

Jonothor spent an hour sitting in his bed while Maester Mellos was checking on his health. It felt like it would never end, Mellos lit a candle and made it dance in front of Jon’s purple eyes to make sure they were back to normal and properly working. He tested his breath, his reflexes, listened to his heartbeat and made him do some physical efforts to make sure his body was functional. All those tests annoyed the Prince, for he knew he was fine and what his mother had taken for a foreign illness had simply been him warging. But he could not explain such a thing, so he feigned ignorance, pretended that he did not know what Mellos and his mother were talking about, and went on with the tests no matter what he thought.

Once Mellos was done examining Jonothor, he announced: 

"Your Grace, I believe the Prince seems to be in perfect health, save perhaps for apparent exhaustion. The best he could do would be to rest for the next few days and to drink herbal tea to calm his nerves."

Jon could not help but scoff, his mother’s severe gaze made him lower his head in apology.

"Grand Maester…" Alicent inhaled to ease her own nerves. "Surely you must have missed something… My son was not asleep, despite the fact that I’ve screamed loudly, he had not woken up. Even after I shook him, he remained motionless… And those eyes… Why were his eyes rolled back?"

"It is difficult to say, your Grace. It’s entirely possible the Prince was simply so deeply asleep that it took some time for him to wake up. As for his eyes, I cannot say for sure, that he is perfectly conscious now and lucid indicates that it was not as bad as it looked. I believe that the Prince is simply suffering from exhaustion, bad humors of the mind sometimes affect physical health. What Prince Jonothor needs is to rest and ease up his mind."

"Easier said than done." Jon had wanted to say, but held his tongue. His mother did not need to worry more than she already did.

When a cup of herbal tea was brought to him, Jon drank it. It actually helped him relax despite the many eyes that were gazing at him and the fact that his own room was overcrowded to his taste.

Alicent had commanded Ser Criston to stand guard inside the room, but Jon firmly opposed it. He would not find any sleep with his Kingsguard’s eyes constantly on him and fortunately, Grand Maester Mellos agreed with him. 

Hearing this, the Queen’s frustration and worry became so apparent, Jon feared she’d get wrinkles.

"Then I’ll stay." She declared, sitting on the side of his bed to emphasize on her decision.
Jon tried to protest:

"Mother, it really is not necessary."

Alicent tried to give him another severe gaze but this one failed, she could not be severe when she was acting out of love. Jon sighed.

"Leave us." He commanded.

Some obeyed after a bow, others like Ser Criston quietly questioned their Queen with a look before complying after she had nodded.

Jon’s burnt sheet was quickly replaced by a few servants, and in less than a minute, he was alone with his mother.

He sighed once more, he was exhausted, but he could not let her worry over something he knew was over. Even if he also knew he had made a mistake, and had his mother not been here to pull him out of his dragon’s mind, he would have lost himself in it forever.

"Mother…"

Alicent did not let him finish, for she pulled him into another hug and held him close as she exhaled to free herself from all the pressure she had put on her own shoulders.

She gently rubbed his head through his hair as she kissed his forehead, Jon, as usual, was disarmed by her motherly love.

"Jonothor." She whispered, struggling to keep her tears from falling. "Please listen to the maester and rest. You don’t have to attend your lessons, you don’t have to train, you don’t have to deal with any of us and any sort of conflicts that we might have between us. We’re not going to fall apart because you take a few days for yourself… Jonothor, you matter, you matter more than you could ever imagine. You’re my perfect little boy, a son any mother would be proud of. And I need you to take care of yourself, I need you to smile, I need you to be happy. I need to see you happy. So please… Please… Take care of yourself."

In both his lives Jon had faced wildings, turncoats, wights, Others, the Cannibal, Daemon Targaryen, his twin Aegon. Yet no one had ever managed to move him as much as his mother, the only mother he had ever known, the one he cared about more than anything in the World. He knew for sure, that he would never love someone as much as he loved Alicent Hightower. He melted in her embrace as he felt tears of joy and relief flow down his cheeks and hugged her tightly.

"I’m sorry." He whispered.

"No, no, my sweet, it’s not your fault. It’s all right, just rest, Jonothor, just rest."

Jon was tired, so tired, his mother was right, he needed to rest. So he closed his eyes, and as Alicent started to sing for him, he forgot about everything, about Harwin Strong, about Lara and her bastard, about Aegon, about the Dance and the Others, about everything.

Yet, as he drifted to sleep, he dreamt of Rhaenyra’s loving smile and the taste of her lips on his.

(-)(-)(-)

Doing nothing was kind of a new experience for Jon, now that he thought about it.
As the Bastard of Winterfell, he had spent his childhood training, playing, studying and doing chores. As a member of the Night’s Watch, he had spent his time ranging, fighting, managing the Wall, spying on the enemy, climbing the Wall, negotiating with foreigners, executing traitors and doing even more chores. As a Prince of House Targaryen, he had spent his time training, playing with his siblings and nephews, acting as a mediator between the Greens and the Blacks, working as a Dragon Keeper, ‘educating’ his twin, flying his dragon, studying more than he had ever studied, and playing the Game of Thrones. He never had to do chores in this life, even though he would not have minded doing some, they were easier than his daily routine.

Only today did Jon realize how truly exhausted he was. He woke up by midday, later than he ever had in both his lives, yet he did not feel as rested as he thought he would have been. He ate a good meal even though he kept wondering what was happening outside his chambers. Then he took a relaxing bath and tried not to think too much. 

His body ached, from what, he could not say, he quickly had a headache and blamed it on anxiety linked to his usual worries. He did not know if his siblings and nephews were fine, he did not know if his mother had rested, he felt the need to do something but instantly felt tired. He spent his afternoon on his bed, allowing his body to relax despite his restless mind. He read, got bored and went to his balcony to enjoy the warmth of the sun and to take a look at the city. Despite the fact that he had been reborn in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, he actually never got used to the horrible smell that emanated from this place. He could not even begin to imagine how people could live in those conditions, and often regretted the smell of northern pines and the refreshing feeling of a cold wind on his face.

Once he had smelled enough shit, he retreated to his room and laid back on his bed. He took a nap, a nap that lasted far too long for when he woke up, it was already late afternoon and Jon chastised himself, for he did not know if he would fall asleep tonight given that he had slept almost all day.

He ate his dinner alone with a cup of herbal tea, trying to focus on himself instead of wondering on what was happening outside. Did he feel better? Yes, his head wasn’t hurting him anymore, his heartbeat wasn’t as fast as he was used to, his body wasn’t as tensed as what he was used to. He regretted doing nothing, however, and decided that if he were to ever take another day for himself, he would not do so by doing nothing, he’d hunt, he’d fly, he’d ride a horse or train on his own. Yet, he could not deny how good it had felt to ease his mind from all the worries that had gnawed at his skull. As he looked at the moon outside his window, Jon poured himself a horn of ale and relaxed in a velvet chair. 

"Doing nothing… I was not made for that." 

Jon had rarely been sick, but when he had, he had hated every second he had had to spend in his bed, waiting for the maester’s medicine to work or for the fever to pass. But sleeping this much while doing nothing except eating and drinking… it was a behavior that Jon usually despised, for it was the behavior of lazy lords that took everything for granted. Yet, he chuckled as he reviewed his day, he had hated to rest as much as he had enjoyed it. Jon would never fully appreciate a day of rest, especially given all the things that he had to think about and do.

What he needed now was to find a way to tire himself out, spending a day eating and sleeping had left him with far too much energy. However, a problem soon appeared: It was far too late to train, to ride Ghost or a horse or even to take a walk in the gardens. 

"What I need is to get out of here." He sighed.

And all of a sudden, as if the Gods had heard him and answered him with a plot of their own to torment him further or to mock his carelessness, he heard a mechanism resonate behind him, and widened his eyes as he saw a door materialize itself in his very wall and open from the inside.
The first thing he saw was the flame of a torch shining in the dark, however, when his purple eyes crossed with Rhaenyra’s he could not help but chuckle.

"How long have you known about the secret passage in my chambers?" He asked quietly as he rolled his eyes in amusement before his sister’s boldness.

"Can’t you even say hello to your favorite big sister?" She mischievously replied with a voice as low as Jon’s, not wanting to draw Ser Criston’s attention from the door. "I was worried about you, where have you been all day?"

"Resting, Mother’s plea." He explained vaguely. "I was exhausted, and I must admit, it felt as good as it felt strange to spend my day doing nothing."

"I’m sure it was agonizing for you." She teased as she eyed him from head to toes to make sure he was fine. "The last time you spent your day doing nothing must have been when you were but a babe in your cradle, as soon as you figured out how your arms and legs worked, you were a terror that spent his time trying to escape his cradle and driving his nursemaids insane."

Jon could not help but scoff at that, being a man stuck in a babe’s body had been sheer torture, it had been a triumph for him when he had managed to escape for the first time. But the nursemaids had been horrified when they had discovered the prince crawling on all four in the corridors of Maegor’s holdfast. Those horrible days of powerlessness had actually turned into good memories, Rhaenyra had often taken him in her arms, as had his mother, those were simpler times. As frustrating as they were for Jon.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, looking at the secret passage above her shoulder. "I’m pretty sure Mother will make a scandal if she hears about you entering my room without letting Ser Criston know."

Rhaenyra rolled her eyes.

"Ser Criston is a bad guard anyway, one night, I used my chambers’ secret passage to go outside the Keep with our Uncle Daemon and came back hours later through my front door, he gaped like a fish."

Jon was not sure if he should feel amused or sorry for his friend. 

"Is that why you came? To drag me into the streets in the middle of the night?" 

He tried not to sound worried, fortunately, Rhaenyra simply smiled at him.

"Don’t tempt me." She teased him once more. "But not tonight, no, tonight I wanted to… show you something."

Jon frowned.

"What’s so important that it could not have waited until morning?"

"You’ll see if you follow me." Rhaenyra said, flashing one of her most beautiful smiles, spinning on her heels and leaving, knowing fully well Jon would follow her.
The latter shook his head with a small smile, and acted as she had expected him to. 

As they walked through the secret corridors, Jon absentmindedly noticed how dirty and full of rats they were. It was no wonder the rat catchers were always roaming the Red Keep, the problem would not be solved unless they were allowed access to Maegor’s Keep within the Keep, which would never happen.

"Perhaps I could warg inside a dog, find an entry and kill the rats." He thought, trying not to think about the last time he had warg in a dog. "Mother has been worried about those rodents since Helaena was born. If I get rid of them, she’ll have one less thing to worry about and perhaps, killing those things will help me blow off some steam. I must be careful though, no one can see me warg and I must get out of the dog’s mind the moment I feel like I’m slipping away."

Rhaenyra climbed a small stair with her brother behind her, then she activated a mechanism and pulled open a door, revealing a room that Jon knew, for it was her room. His sister hanged her torch in the secret passage and walked in, her room was lit by many candles, the tapestries and paintings that decorated the walls reflected the power of their family, Jon smiled as he imagined a tapestry representing Rhaenyra on Syrax.

He wanted to close the door behind him but realized quickly that force alone would not made it budge. Rhaenyra chuckled and walked past him to press the eye of a dragon sculpted on the very wall, a clicking sound was heard and she pulled the door closed. Giving her brother a mocking that made him roll his eyes in amusement.

Rhaenyra walked towards her table and poured two cups of wine, she handed one to Jon.

"I will never understand why you prefer drinking ale in that horn of yours rather than delicate Arbor Gold in a refined cup." She teased as he took said cup.

"I have my preferences, as does everyone." He simply answered as he drank a sip of wine. Arbor Gold had always been a bit too rich to his taste, but this one, however, tasted differently and Jon actually enjoyed it. Perhaps a bit of the ale he had drunken earlier was still on his tongue, and the mix of the two liquors made it easier for him to appreciate the wine. 

Rhaenyra drank as well, half her cup disappeared between her tender lips, her smile was hypnotizing.

Jon tried to ignore it, he opened his mouth to ask her what it was that she wanted to show him, but she cut the grass under his feet.

"Jonothor, I need something from you." She confessed, her smile disappearing behind a grave face. "You remember what we’ve said the other day, that I need more children."

"Did Laenor refused to fill up a vial with his seed?"

Rhaenyra grimaced in disgust, Jon cursed his lack of tact.

"I’m sorry." He said as she finished her cup in one go.

She smiled a reassured smile.

"Don’t let me drink alone." She gently asked him.
Jon drank, he knew he should be careful, he had taken a day doing nothing, he could not afford to  spend another in his bed because he drank too much wine with his sister.

She bent forward to fill their cups again, Jon accepted but swore to himself that this one would be the last. 

"Maybe I’ve found exactly what I needed to sleep tonight." He joked to himself.
"No." Rhaenyra said, bringing him back to reality. "Laenor did fill the vial. But I threw it in the fire."

Jon rose an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because I can’t do it anymore, Jonothor." She confessed in all her shame. "I am the heir to the Iron Throne, the Future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, the Realm’s Delight, yet, I have to act like a broodmare to sire my children because I married a fleet instead of a man."

Jon felt his heart break at seeing his sister’s distress, what she had to do was unfair, but it needed to be done. But Jon was not cruel enough to say it out loud, instead, he quickly drank his wine and went to take his sister in his arms. He was as tall as she was now, Rhaenyra had enough space to find a refuge in his neck.

He opened his mouth, but closed it when he felt his sister’s tears against his skin.

"Conceiving Luke had been one of the worst moments in my life." She sobbed. "I was laying on my bed, feeling colder than I ever have before, and poured Laenor’s seed inside of me. Gods… I love my son, Jon. I love him, but this moment… It haunted me during my whole pregnancy. I even thought about it when I held him in my arms for the first time. I can’t do it again… I can’t… I… Need more…"

Jon felt horrible, he hated himself, having Laenor spill his seed in a vial had been his idea. And he had manipulated Rhaenyra into believing that it had been Rhaenys’ because he had feared her words. He had feared that one day, Rhaenyra would have been disowned because of the nature of Jace’s birth. Had that happened, the Iron Throne would have been his, and Jon would have never forgiven himself for taking away her birthright.

However, Jon wasn’t sure if he could forgive himself for what he had done to her, for making her feel like a broodmare, for taking away her lover and orphaning her son. 

Jon had done what he had thought was right, but if he were to be a bit more honest with himself, he could not deny that his decisions, despite being born out of genuine care and pragmatism, had been selfish. He had not considered Rhaenyra’s reactions to his decisions, how could he even pretend to love her after that?

He needed to atone, he needed to fix everything, whatever she needed…

"Nyra." He whispered lovingly as he rubbed her back with love. "I’m sorry. Please tell me, what is it that you need."

It took Rhaenyra almost half a minute to dry her tears, when she did, she rose her head from his neck and dived into his eyes.
Rhaenyra found him incredibly handsome, she could not help but imagine how perfect he would look once in his prime. 

"And he is mine." She could not help but think as she remembered everything he did to support her. "He is mine…"

As the tip of their noses was less than an inch away from one another, as Rhaenyra had her hands on his chest without him realizing it, as she was drowning in his beautiful eyes, she pushed her silk gown off of her shoulders, allowing it to pool by her feet.

Jon’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, he tried to free himself from her grasp but couldn’t as she quickly ensnared him with her arms behind his neck. She would not let him go, she refused to let him go, and as her naked body pressed against his, Jon felt a warmth he had not felt in a lifetime consume him.

"Jon." She whispered as he looked like he was about to crumble. "I need you, I need you whole, not as my brother or a supporter, but as a man. I need you to love me more than you’ve ever done before, I need you to be with me like you’ve never been before, I need more than just seed, I need you."

"I… can’t…" He tried to protest, but failed as a desire he did not know existed suddenly rose within himself, it felt like his breeches would tear off and his skin melt in her embrace. Jon felt far too hot, something was wrong, yet he failed to resist.

Rhaenyra, in all her nakedness gently rubbed his cheek as her eyes, almost dark with desire, incinerated him. 

"I want your love." She whispered. "I want your warmth, I’ll birth your babes, I’ll feed them myself and love them as a mother should, just like you’ve loved my sons as if they were yours. We were always meant to burn together, Jon, so burn with me."

Jon was disarmed by her words, disarmed by her promises and disarmed by her beauty and his desire. 

He had sworn that he would never sire a bastard, even before he had vowed never to take a wife or father children of any sort. In that moment, as he looked down into the deep purple eyes of this sister he loved so much, he feared that he would never be strong enough to keep to that vow. She was just… too much. His own arousal was like anything he had ever felt, Ygritte, in all her beauty and wildness, had never managed to make him feel like this. 

Rhaenyra gently grabbed his wrist and put it on her own breast, Jon took a step back but his hand remained glued to his sister’s skin.

Jon saw her, he saw everything, her skin was like silk, and it seemed like she didn’t have a single blemish on her body, not a scar, not a mole, not even a freckle. He gazed at her from head to toes, and as he saw the silent plea in her eyes, came back to her. His right arm slid around her waist, his hand caressed her hip, Rhaenyra gasped softly when she realized that her little brother was not running away anymore. Her fingers rose and found his shirt’s laces, she gently undid them and her hand disappeared under his shirt, he shivered at the contact but did not break their eye contact, he felt like he was falling for her a little bit more every time she blinked.

She took his doublet off, meeting no resistance as it fell to his heels, then she grabbed his shirt and gently pulled it off, then, the Heir to the Iron Throne, kneeled and pulled down her brother’s breeches to pleasure him with her mouth.

Jonothor Targaryen could not tell how long it lasted, all he could think off was how difficult it was to keep himself from spilling his seed in his sister’s mouth and how good said mouth felt. He stopped her before she managed to disintegrate him, gently took her hand to make her stand back up, then, in a surge of primal in instinct, he grabbed her by her thighs, lifted her from the ground as she squeaked in surprise and locked her legs around him out of fear of falling, and carried her to her bed where he took her in every possible way a man could take a woman. He tasted her womanhood until she splashed his face with her juice, he tasted her breasts and nipples as if he were the babe that they were about to make, he kissed her as if he were her husband, and every time he spilled his seed inside of her, he drowned in those magnificent eyes of hers.

AN: Well that happened. I hope the reasons why Rhaenyra and Jon slept together are clear enough and make sense to you. Moreover, I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter :D.

Here’s a little something, had Alicent managed to warn Jon like she had planned to do in the previous chapter, Jon would have had an anchor to refuse Rhaenyra, but he had nothing, nothing but his regrets and the need to make things better. Do you guys believe he did? Or will things get worse? Feel free to share your reactions and predictions in the comments ;).