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“Knock it off Lyanna! I’m going to tell!”
“I’m not doing anything to you Lyarra!”
The two girls made a fuss in the crowded airport. It was the holiday season which meant the airport was filled to the brim with travelers flying near and far for Christmas. The Stark family had chosen to fly to Dorne this year after Catelyn Stark, the matriarch of the family, finally decided to cash in her ‘Mom’s One Wish’ coupon she had been given last Mother’s Day. They had all been reluctant to agree, but when she sternly reminded everyone that they gave the coupon to her with no restrictions they relented.
“Hey, what’s the problem over here?” Talisa asked
“Mom, Lyanna won’t stop kicking me!” Lyarra responded pointing a finger at the little girl who sat behind her.
“I’m not kicking you!” Lyanna yelled
“Yes you are! And if you don’t stop I’ll kick you back!”
“Hey, hey. Enough you two. Lyarra turn around and sit how you are supposed to, and Lyanna stop kicking her chair or I will tell your dad and he’ll make you sit with nana and papa” Robb said sternly
“Why would I make her sit with mom and pop?” Jon asked
“She keeps kicking Lyarra chair” Talisa replied
“Stop. You know your feet are to stay on the ground when you sit. Do it again and you’ll be sitting on the floor away from everyone” Jon said sternly before turning back to his brother and sister in-law “I saw some neck pillows in one of the stores. I’m going to go get one for mom and pop. If she kicks again move her”
“Alright. Hurry though, the desk attendant said that boarding will start soon” said Robb
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“Lyanna stop!” cried Lyarra
“Alright up little lady” Robb said getting up from his seat to stand by Lyanna
“I didn’t mean to Uncle Robb! I was just playing on my tablet and it happened!” Lyanna tried to explain
“You heard what your dad said. Come on go find somewhere on the ground to sit” he replied earning a frustrated huff from the girl
She sat in a corner not far from her family. Her uncle told her that she had to sit there until it was time for them to board the plane. That made her angry because she hated being isolated and they knew it. Not once in all of her 10 years of life had she been ok with being separated from her family.
Her Nana Cat had said that when she was a baby she would cry whenever she was given to anyone who was not a Stark, and when she started kindergarten she didn’t stop crying until the teachers moved her cousins Lyarra and Rodrik into her class.
She was even more upset because she really did not mean to kick Lyarra’s chair. The first time she did it she had not realized that it bothered Lyarra until the girl turned around and started yelling at her. The second time she had been coloring on her tablet and her leg moved without her telling it to, and now she was being punished for an accident.
She had been getting yelled at by her family all day, and it wasn’t even noon yet. Her daddy yelled at her for falling asleep in the bathroom with the bathtub water running and the door locked. It took him over an hour to get everything dry. Rodrik accidently knocked over a cup of orange juice which spilled onto her white shirt, and Aunt Sansa yelled at her because she thought Lyanna had spilt it. Aunt Arya yelled when she walked in the kitchen and saw her holding a knife, but refused to listen when Lyanna tried to explain that she picked it up off the floor to put it on the counter after it fell when Ghost bumped into the table. Everybody seemed to yell when she ran back in the house to find her stuffed dragon that her father forgot to put in her backpack. They claimed they were going to be late, but it wasn’t her fault! Her daddy should have packed her backpack right last night.
She huffed, growing tired of her tablet. She put it back in her bag and glanced around at the many people surrounding her. Most were looking at their phones with their headphones on, but a few were talking with their families. She saw girl her age with the same hot pink and black jacket that she was wearing. Warm and also not wanting to be seen matching with anyone else, Lyanna took her jacket off and put it in her bag.
She didn’t know how much time had passed since her uncle sat her here, but she was growing bored and restless. She never could stay still for too long especially not in large spaces, so after sparing her family another look, she grabbed her bag and decided to go find her dad.
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“Now boarding flight 445 to Sunspear” announced the desk attendant
“Up, up. That’s us, let’s go Starks” Ned called gathering his and his wife’s carry-on bags
“Wait where’s Lyanna?” Robb asked as he looked towards the area he made Lyanna sit in
“In line already” Talisa said as she gestured to the hot pink and black jacket “Rodrik, Lyarra put your stuff away and make sure you don’t forget anything”
“Where’s Jon?” Arya asked
“He went to get mom and pop some neck pillows. They don’t close the gate for another 20 minutes he’ll make it” Robb said as he moved forward in the line
“Hello” an attendant greeted as she took his ticket and added it to the stack she had in her hand “Enjoy the flight”
A short while later the Stark family entered the plane and headed towards their seats. They were all scattered throughout the flight , and while Robb and his wife were sat towards the middle of the plane Sansa, Rodrik, Lyanna and Lyarra were closer to the back and Arya, Bran, Rickon, and his parents were closer to the front.
“Welcome to flight 445 to Sunspear, this is Captain Bolton speaking. We’re waiting on a few more people to board and then we’ll get you guys up in the air and towards the hottest Christmas Westeros can offer”
“How long does it take to buy two neck pillows?” Robb questioned
“It’s Christmas season honey, everyone is in the airport . He was probably in line the whole time waiting to pay” Talisa replied as she took out her sudoku book “Ah there he is!” Robb looked up to see his brother rushing into the plane, hair askew and out of breath. He walked to their parents and handed them the pillows with a laugh before walking further down the aisle.
“About time brother” Robb playfully jabbed
“The line took forever” Jon said with a roll of his eyes “Lyanna?”
“In the back with Sansa and the kids. You back there too?”
“No, I’m right behind you. Do you think I should ask if I could switch seats?” he asked as he looked back to see his daughter and smiled when he saw her laying against the window with her hood over her face
“Sansa’s back there. If any of the children need anything she is more than capable of taking care of it, or scolding when necessary” Robb said
“Yeah you’re right” Jon replied as a flight attendant gestured for him to take a seat “Sometimes I feel like she’s a better parent than I am and she doesn’t even have a kid yet”
“This is your captain again, doors are closed and we are ready for take-off. Please follow the seat belt signs and pay attention to the flight attendant demonstration as we taxi to the runway”
“Think of this as an 8 hour child free vacation. Listen to music, play sudoku, or just sleep like me” Robb laughed “But whatever you do, let Sansa be the parent today because once we land we’re going to have our hands full with cranky, hungry, and tired yet energetic children”
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Lyanna had been walking for over ten minutes trying to find her father. She walked past store after store and had yet to see her father. Her stomach grumbled so she decided to stop at a pizza stand and buy a slice with some of the money she had saved up to buy presents.
This pizza will be a present to my stomach
She ate while she walked and when she finally finished, she saw a dark curly haired man in a grey trench coat running through the airport
“Daddy? Daddy wait!” she called as she took off running after him “Wait dad! Wait for me!” They ran down the terminal towards their gate.
The plane must be leaving she thought in horror. She noticed that her father wasn’t carrying any neck pillows, but instead a bottle of Simply Pink Lemonade Yay! My favorite!
Her father made it to the gate first and rushed to hand the attendant his ticket before jogging towards the plane entrance. Lyanna wasn’t far away, but she could see the attendant beginning to close the door to the gate, so she ran faster.
“Wait!” she yelled as she ran to the gate accidently bumping into the attendant and causing the tickets to fly out of her hands “I’m sorry!” Lyanna said as she moved to help the woman pick up the tickets
“Are you on this flight?” the woman asked once she had all of the tickets in her hand again
“Yes, my father ran in right before I came”
“And your boarding pass?” Lyanna looked at the stack of tickets that had just been picked up from the ground and then back at the woman
“Jeyne we have to close the door the pilot is ready to taxi” a man said
“This girl says she’s on the flight, but her ticket got mixed into all of these before I could see it”
“My whole family is on the plane, my dad ran in right before I came he had on a grey jacket” Lyanna said
“Alright, let her go but make sure she finds her family” the man replied. Jeyne nodded and escorted Lyanna onto the plane.
“Do you see them?” she asked as both she and Lyanna looked inside of the plane cabin
“Right there! That’s my dad!” Lyanna said pointing to the man putting his carry-on in the overhead compartment
“Alright go and get in your seat” Jeyne said as she gently pushed Lyanna in the direction of her father before walking off the plane
“Hey you left me” Lyanna said as she tugged on her father’s jacket causing him to turn and look down at her “uh oh” she said realizing that the man was not at all her father
“Excuse me but you two have to take your seats so that the plane can move. We don’t want to be off schedule” said a upbeat flight attendant. With a nod from the man and a ‘sorry’ from Lyanna both moved to take their seats.
“This is the flight to Sunspear right?” she asked the man
“!Ay me encanta Sunspear! Voy con mi esposa cada dos año. Me odio el frio aquí en Winterfell es por eso que usulamente yo trato de irme durante el invierno-“
Lyanna slowly took out her tablet and put on her headphones. I’d rather listen to whatever Kidz Bop album daddy put on here than this guy
“This is your captain speaking. We are now ready for takeoff, so buckle up and relax. We should have you in the ‘slightly less cold’ island of Dragonstone in about 4 hours”
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Lyanna woke with a jump as the plane landed. I slept the whole plane ride?
As the plane slowed to a stop a few people began to clap. Lyanna could barely stop her eyes from rolling at their actions. She heard her aunt Arya tell her aunt Sansa that it was stupid to clap when a plane landed ‘You don’t clap when a taxi driver arrives at your destination or a ferry drops you back off on land. It’s basically praising the pilot for literally doing his job correctly; what he gets paid to do’.
“Thank you for flying with Westeros United we hope you all enjoyed your time with us. The temperature is 32F or 0C with high winds. The local time is 5:15pm. We thank you again for choosing us to bring you to the beautiful island of Dragonstone, and we wish you all a merry Christmas”
Dragonstone?
Dragonstone!
When people began to rise and make their way off, Lyanna shot out of her seat, grabbed her bag and rushed off of the plane. Once off she went to the nearest desk to speak with the attendant.
“Excuse me ma’am. Am I on Dragonstone?” The attendant smiled down at her and answered cheerfully
“You sure are, and what a beautiful place to spend your Christmas!”
I’m supposed to be in Sunspear! she panicked
She turned away from the desk and back towards the line of people leaving the plane. Please please please please she silently begged for her family to walk off the plane and run over to her
“We’re the last ones” a flight attendant said to the gate attendant before walking away to continue her phone conversation. The man at the gate shut the door before he too walked away.
“My family isn’t here. I got on the wrong plane” she muttered as she flopped down on to a chair “They’re in Sunspear and I’m in Dragonstone”
They’re in Sunspear…and I’m in Dragonstone!
Truth be told Lyanna had always wanted to go to Dragonstone because she loved dragons. What better place is there in the world than one with the word ‘dragon’ in its name. she had begged her father to take her here last year to visit the dragon museum, but he told her that they couldn’t so instead he bought her a stuffed white dragon.
“I can go to the dragon museum now and daddy can’t tell me no!”
Filled with a new found vigor, Lyanna hopped up from her chair and made her way out of the airport. Once outside she found a line of awaiting taxis and got into the first one she came upon. Pushing her backpack to the floor, she slid on the torn leather and positioned herself in the middle of the seat, buckled up her seat belt, and looked straight ahead meeting the taxi drivers eyes as he looked back in shock before looking outside and then back at her again.
“Where are your parents?” he questioned
“It’s just me” she responded causing him to once again looking outside to see if anyone else was coming
“Uh and you got money for this?”
“Yup” she said popping the p
“Alright then kid where to?”
“The Dragon museum please!”
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“Alright that’ll be $21.65 lil’ lady” Lyanna handed off the money before stepping out of the taxi
“Thank you” she said
“No prob, you enjoy the museum” the driver replied before pulling off and driving down the road. As she looked at the outside of the museum she was in awe. It was made out of a black stone that Lyanna had never seen before, and there were dragons everywhere; small figures that curled around the pillars and seemed to lounge lazily on the roof, and two large dragons were perched on either side of the building. There was even a dragon fountain in front of the building that had water flowing out of the mouths of red and black intertwined dragons.
“It’s even better than the pictures!” she squealed and ran up the stairs to the entrance. She stopped at the door and looked at the paper attached to it.
Museum closed to the public from 12/18 - 12/28
No! she thought sadly as she tried to open the front doors by force. The doors wouldn’t budge, and she banged her head hard against them in frustration.
“Please don’t do that” a woman’s voice said startling Lyanna “You’ll either dent the steel or hurt your head…or both”
“Sorry” Lyanna said as she moved away from the door
“The museum is closed until the 28th. So you’ll have to come back another time to get inside, preferably during the day…and with an adult”
Nodding her head Lyanna mutter an ‘okay’ and left the museum
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She had been walking for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably only 30 minutes. She didn’t know where she was or where she was going, but she kept walking. She was hungry, having not ate since the airport in Winterfell, and she was cold since her daddy had exchanged her winter coat for a light jacket once they got in the heated airport. It was getting dark too, she could only guess that it was about 7pm now since she had been walking for a while and the taxi ride from the airport had also taken a while.
After a few more minutes a walking Lyanna finally decided to sit down on the curb. Her feet were hurting and she was freezing. The streets were getting darker and scarier, and she felt like she was walking further away from any place open that sold food. She started to cry then.
I should have never left to look for daddy. I should have stayed with my family. Now I’ll probably never see them again she thought as she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them closer to her. The light of a passing car shinned on her but never moved away. She glanced up, now afraid but too cold and tired to move.
“Missy I have to go. I’ll see you at home” she heard a voice say but she couldn’t see who it belonged too because of the blinding lights. When she put her hand up to shield her eyes, she saw that a woman was walking up to her. It was the same woman from the museum she realized when the woman came closer into view. “Are you alright?”
Lyanna tried to nod her head ‘yes,’ but she was shaking so much that it could have appeared as a ‘no’. She decided she didn’t care if it did, because the truth was she wasn’t alright.
“You’re freezing” the woman said taking off her thick coat and wrapping it around Lyanna’s small balled up body “Why are you out here without a proper coat? And at night of all times, where are your parents?!”
“Sun-sunspear” she said through her chattering teeth
“Sunspear?!” the woman said surprised “And your other family? Are they there too?” she asked receiving only a nod in confirmation “Who is here with you? Who is your guardian?”
Lyanna shook her head “N-no o-one”
“Y-you have no where t-to go?” the woman asked now shivering herself since she no longer had a coat. Lyanna shook her head again as fresh tears began to run down her face “R-right well come on. You’re coming with me” she said standing up and trying to pull Lyanna off the ground
“Str -strange-er” Lyanna began as she dropped her weight in order to not be picked up “D-danger”
The woman sighed “yes, stranger danger. It’s good th-that you know that, but right n-now it’s more dangerous for y-you to be out here than to go with me. It’s 29 degrees out here and it w-will get lower. Even if I let you k-keep my coat you will still f-freeze to death and I won’t let that happen s-so come on sweetling. I’m going to take you to m-my house where you’ll be warm and fed” she said trying again to lift the girl to her feet, but once again Lyanna dropped her weight and shook her head. “My name is Daenerys what’s y-your name?”
“L-lyanna”
“Well Lyanna now that you know my n-name and I know yours we are no longer stra-angers, so how about we get you out of the cold and get some food inside you” Too tired to continue fighting Lyanna nodded and allowed Daenerys to lift her to her feet and walk her to the car.
Once in the car Lyanna felt as if she was a cat in the sun. She huddled as close as she could to the vents in front of her to absorb the warmth coming from them. Daenerys reached into her back seat and brought forth a white fuzzy hat and a set of leather gloves. Without warning she put the hat over Lyanna’s head, put the gloves on each of her hands, and then pressed the buttons for the seat warmers to turn on.
“Better?” Daenerys asked
“Yes, thank you Miss Daenerys” Lyanna replied
“Call me Dany sweetling. Now let’s get you somewhere safe and get some food in you”
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They drove for about thirty minutes before reaching a large iron gate. Daenerys pressed a button on her phone and the gate opened. The driveway seemed to be endless, and Lyanna couldn’t help but think that it must have been a pain to salt and sand. Her thoughts were interrupted though when she caught a glimpse at the house at the end of the driveway.
“It’s huge” she said in awe at what she concluded was easily the largest house she had ever seen. Dany laughed softly at Lyanna’s wide eyed appearance.
“It is pretty big” she said “Think you’ll have a problem staying here until we get a hold of your family?” Without taking her attention off of the house Lyanna shook her head.
I have no problem with staying in a house like this…I bet it even has a movie theater inside!
The car came to a stop and Dany walked Lyanna inside. They took off their shoes and Dany removed the hat, gloves, and coat from Lyanna. She sat them on the table near the door and then placed her arm around Lyanna’s shoulder and guided her through the house. They could hear laughter, and it got louder as they continued to walk.
They arrived in the kitchen and she knew that if she was nana Cat she would be going on about how this was the largest and most beautiful kitchen she had ever seen, but she wasn’t nana Cat, she was 10 year old Lyanna who hadn’t eaten since 11:30. All Lyanna could think about as she saw the kitchen was food. Her mind was so preoccupied with the thought of filling her stomach that she hadn’t even registered that she no longer heard laughter, and that she was now in a room with three other women.
“Daenerys sweetie who is this?” asked an older woman with the same blue eyes and silver hair as Dany
“This is Lyanna, Lyanna this is my mother Rhaella, and my sisters Missandei and Elia. Lyanna will be staying with us for the night” Just then Lyanna’s stomach decided to grumble loud enough to be heard across the narrow sea. Letting the world know that it was empty and very unhappy.
“Oh dear, well don’t just stand there sit, sit, sit. You both need some warm food. Missandei call for Selyse. Dinner was venison stew with roasted potatoes is that alright Lyanna? If not we can have something else made”
“It’s fine ma’am, thank you” Lyanna said
“No need to thank me sweetling no child will ever go hungry in this house. Now do we need to find you some pajamas?” Rhaella asked
“Um yes please”
“I’ll go find some. I’m sure Rhaenys has a million unworn pajamas that she could fit, and if not Visenya might” Elia said as she walked out of the room
Soon after she left Missandei was coming back in with Selyse who quickly began to reheat the stew and potatoes. A few minutes later, the warm and hearty food was placed in front of them and Lyanna muttered a quick ‘thank you’ before diving in. Once finished she glanced up from her bowl and looked over at Dany, unlike her own, Dany’s bowl was still half full. When she looked towards Rhaella, Lyanna realized that everyone stared her with shocked expressions on their faces.
I ate like a pig in front of people who live in the biggest house in the world…Nana Cat and Aunt Sansa would be so embarrassed
“Sorry” she said wiping her face with the sleeve of her jacket
“No need to be sorry sweetling. Would you like more?” Rhaella asked softly. Noticing Lyanna’s hesitation she added “Selyse always makes more than enough because the boys like to come down in the middle of the night and sneak some”
“Yes please, I’d like more. It was really good”
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“I found some pajamas and had Cersei make up one of the rooms near the children. It should be ready whenever Lyanna is. The bathroom is stocked with everything she should need” Elia said
“I’ll take you up to the room if you want. I’m retiring for the night anyway” said Rhaella
“Okay” Lyanna replied as she stood from the table and walked towards the older woman
“Oh Lyanna! Do you know how I can contact your family?” Daenerys asked “I want to call and let them know where you are” Lyanna nodded and gave Daenerys her father’s cell phone number
“His name is Jon, Jon Stark”
“Alright, I’ll call him tonight. Goodnight Lyanna”
“Goodnight Lyanna” Elia and Missandei repeated
“Goodnight” Lyanna replied as she was led out the room by Rhaella
Pulling her phone out from her pocket Daenerys typed in the numbers Lyanna had given her and called Jon Stark.
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
Ring
This is Jon Stark’s phone. I’m sorry you could not reach me. Please leave your name and number and I’ll be sure to get back to you
“Hi Jon, my name is Daenerys. I’m calling because I have your daughter Lyanna here with me. She is safe, she has a bed to sleep in, and food to eat. I’m not sure how she ended up where she did, but I am sure that she will be well taken care of while with my family and I. Please call me back when you get this message. Bye.”
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Jon woke with a start as the plane landed on the runway. Gods did I sleep the entire flight?
“This is Captain Bolton, on behalf of myself and my crew I would like to thank you all for choosing to fly with Westeros United and welcome you all to Sunspear. The temperature outside is around 80F with a slight breeze. We hope you enjoyed the flight, and we wish you a Merry Christmas”
“Ugh thank gods that’s over. My body is in need of a very long walk and fresh air” said Talisa
“Same. You alright back there brother?” Robb asked as he turned in his seat to look at Jon “You were asleep for quite some time. I checked your pulse once to make sure you were still here with us”
“I didn’t know I was that tired” he laughed “I feel bad for sleeping the whole time. Did Sansa have any problems with Lyanna?”
“Nope. We didn’t hear her scold any of the kids. I guess they were as tired as you and just went to sleep”
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Just means they won’t be tired around their bedtime. It’s going to take a few days to get them back on their schedules” Talisa replied
“We’ll worry about that later. Right now, I want to get off this plane and find something good to eat” Robb said. A few minutes later and Jon, Robb, and Talisa were grabbing their bags from the overhead bins. Jon glanced back to look for Lyanna, but with so many people standing he couldn’t spot her small frame.
He walked off the plane and stood with his family as they waited for Sansa and the children to come out. Robb was asking what everyone had a taste for when Jon finally saw the telltale red hair of Sansa. In front of her walked two groggy children who quickly went over to Talisa once they saw her. Jon looked behind Sansa once she made her way to the family, but Lyanna was not walking with her.
“Where’s Lyanna?” he asked
“Huh?” Sansa asked confused as she looked towards their gathered family to find the girl “She wasn’t with you?”
“No, she sat in the back with you and the kids”
“What’s happening?” Catelyn asked
“We’re missing Lyanna” Sansa informed “I thought she sat in front with you guys”
“No, I saw her in the back near you” Robb said
“Well then she’s probably still on the flight. Everyone’s not off yet” Catelyn said
They waited to the side as the plane cleared out. The last to come out was a girl with a hot pink and black jacket. Her hood was over her head and she walked with one of the airports escorts.
“Lyanna! Lyanna!” Jon called as he jogged over to the girl and placed his arm on her shoulder. Alarmed, the escort pulled the girl away from his grasp. The movement jerked the hood from over the girl’s head to show her face. Her eyes were blue instead of brown, and her hair straight instead of curly. “I’m sorry I thought she was my daughter. Same jacket, sorry”
With a slight nod of her head the escort continued walking the girl down the terminal and away from Jon. Now more worried than before, Jon went back over to the gate and tried to walk back through the door to get to the plane.
“Sorry sir, but you can’t walk back in there. If you left something I can have someone retrieve it for you” A man in a red and gold Westeros United uniform said as he blocked Jon from going through the entrance.
“My daughter is still on the plane”
“Everyone who flew with you has already disembarked. Only crew members are on the plane right now”
All of the Starks stood behind Jon now, worry etched on each face. Shame and guilt were also present on the faces of Robb and Talisa. They were the ones who assumed that the other little girl was Lyanna because of the matching jackets. They were so preoccupied with getting their kids on the plane that they didn’t check to make sure that the girl was really Lyanna.
“No, my daughter she’s still in there. The restroom-“
“All restrooms were checked when the last person left the plane, sir. The plane is empty of passengers” the man said “Is it possible that she made it off before you?”
“No, my wife and I were seated in the front of the plane. We would have seen her if she got off with us or after us” Ned replied
“What is her name?”
“Lyanna” all the adults said. The man moved around his desk and began to type on the computer
“I have a Lyanna Stark assigned to seat 30E, give me one moment” he said as he reached for the desk phone and punched in a number “Hey it’s Petyr, was seat 30E accounted for? Okay, thank you”
“Was that a flight attendant? What did they say?” Jon asked frantically
“Seat 30E was the only empty seat on the flight…I’m sorry sir, but it seems your daughter did not fly with you to Sunspear”
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“She has um dark curly hair that stops at her shoulders, dark brown eyes, and is about 4’10” ” Jon said to one of the two police he was speaking with “She has a hot pink and black jacket, a tablet, and a white stuffed dragon. She also answers to the name Lya”
“Alright I’m going to give all of this information to Winterfell PD and the Winterfell airport security. With the two of them working together the airport will be looked through thoroughly within a few hours. If she is still there she will be found” Detective Tarth said
“If she is not found in the airport then patrols will occur around the addresses you all gave us” Detective Lannister added before both detectives got up and left to begin the search.
“They will find her son” Ned said placing his hand on Jon’s shoulder
“I’m so so sorry Jon. This is all my fault, I should have-“
“You didn’t do it on purpose Robb, I just-“ he sighed and leaned his head down into his hands “I know you’re sorry” He didn’t want to hear his brother apologies again. He didn’t want to hear anything really, unless it was the detectives saying that they found his daughter.
Robb kept repeating that it was his fault, but Jon disagreed. It’s my fault she’s not here. I was too focused on buying fucking neck pillows! I should not have left her! She’s my daughter and it was my responsibility to look after her, not anyone else’s
“You all should go on to the hotel” Jon said
“What! No!” Arya exclaimed
“We’re not leaving you here alone” Robb added
“There is nothing left to do here but wait. You’re all hungry, and the kids don’t need to be stuck in the airport for hours. Got to the hotel and rest a bit I’ll be fine”
“I’m not leaving” Arya said “And I doubt Robb is either”
“Jon is right about the kids. Cat why don’t you, Sansa, and Talisa take the kids and Rick to the hotel. Bran can go with them to find food and then bring some back here so that we can all eat?” Ned suggested
“We’ll do that. Sansa go and tell Talisa please” Catelyn said as she kissed Jon on his hairline and then moved to kiss her husband “Keep us informed”
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“I’m sorry Mr. Stark, but they have not found your daughter in the airport. Winterfell PD is now in the process of sending cars to the house addresses you have given. They will call you if they find her, and they ask that you inform them if she finds a way to call you so that they can pick her up from where she is and keep her safe until you make your way back” said Detective Tarth
“I’m going back on the first flight out of here to Winterfell” Jon said
“We figured you’d say that so we checked to see when that would be, and unfortunately the next flight from Sunspear to Winterfell is in a week. All connecting flights to Winterfell have been canceled due to a blizzard passing over the area” Detective Lannister replied
“We advise you to go with your family to your hotel and wait there for any news. The phone service in the airport is terrible, and you’d be more likely to miss a call here. If she is trying to reach you, you need your phone to work” Detective Tarth said
“Yeah, alright” Jon replied as he and the remaining Stark family stood to leave “Thank you for your help”
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They made it to the hotel and met back up with his sisters and mother. Ned and Robb informed them of what the detectives had said, and what the WPD was in the process of doing. Jon didn’t feel like talking, so he left that to everyone else. His phone had died over an hour ago when he was at the airport, so the first thing he did was find a charger, Sansa’s he thinks, and plugged his phone up. About ten minutes later the phone was charged enough to power on, and he saw that he had a missed call and voicemail from and unknown number. He clicked on it and let it play on speaker.
“Hi Jon, my name is Daenerys. I’m calling because I have your daughter Lyanna here with me. She is safe, she has a bed to sleep in, and food to eat. I’m not sure how she ended up where she did, but I am sure that she will be well taken care of while with my family and I. Please call me back when you get this message. Bye.”
“What!” Arya said running to sit by him on the bed “We found her?”
“We found Lyanna?” Everybody asked as they all gathered closer to Jon
“Some woman says she has her. Hold on let me call her back”
Ring
Ring
Ring
“Hello?”
“Hi, um is this Daenerys? I’m Jon, Jon Stark”
“Oh, hi! Yes, this is Daenerys!”
“My daughter, you said you have her?”
“Yes. I found her outside with only a thin jacket on. Took her a while to agree to come with me, but when I explained her options were heat and a warm meal or freezing to death she quickly realized the better choice”
“Oh thank the gods! Um I can’t come get her because I’m not in the city, but WPD is aware of what has happened so I’ll call them and they will come and pick her up. Thank you so much for taking her in”
“No problem, but what exactly is WPD?”
“The police department…”
“Oh you mean DPD, yeah I can call-“
“DPD? No WPD, Winterfell Police Department”
“Winterfell? I’m not sure the Winterfell Police Department can do anything in Dragonstone”
“Dragonstone?! You mean to tell me my daughter is in Dragonstone?!”
“Oh my gods…Bran help me search for flights to Dragonstone” Arya said as she rushed towards the laptop on the desk
“Yes. She is in Dragonstone. She’s sleeping right now, but I can wake her so that you can speak with her. You know make sure I have the right child and what not” Daenerys chuckled softly
“Yes, yes please I would like to speak with my daughter. Does your phone allow for video calls?” Jon asked
“Yes, I’ll switch it over now” Daenerys replied as she changed the call over to FaceTime “Okay, oh wow. She’s definitely your daughter you two are twins”
“Wow she’s gorgeous” Sansa whispered
“Lyanna sweetie wake up. Wake up honey, your father is on the phone”
“Daddy?” Lyanna asked sleepily as Daenerys handed her the phone “Hi daddy”
“Hi princess” Jon said as tears began to fall from his eyes
“I’ll give you all a moment. I’ll be right next door” Daenerys said as she got off the bed and walked out of the room
“Are you alright princess? Are you hurt?” Jon asked
Lyanna shook her head “I was scared at first, but I’m okay now. Dany took me to her house, and I had venininson stew, and they gave me comfy jamies and a really big bed”
“I’m glad you’re okay sweetie. Now can you tell me how you got in Dragonstone?”
“Well I got mad because Uncle Robb made me sit on the floor by myself for kicking Lyarra’s chair, but it was an accident daddy I swear! I didn’t want to be by myself, so I went to find you but then I got hungry so I got some pizza. I saw you running so I ran after you onto the plane, but it wasn’t you. Then the lady on the plane told me to sit down so I did, but when I woke up I was in Dragonstone not Sunspear…You’re not mad at me are you daddy?”
“No, no princess I’m not mad at you. I was just worried. I was scared that something bad had happened to you”
“The only flight from here to Dragonstone is in 3 days, but it can fit all of us.” Bran said
“Book it. Here” Ned said as he handed over his credit card
“You hear that sweetie? I’ll be there in 3 days to come and get you ok? Some police officers are going to come get you and put you in a safe place until I get there alright?” Jon said
“Police? No daddy I don’t want to go with the police. I want to stay here with Dany. You can come get me from here” Lyanna said as she moved off of the bed and ran outside of the room and into the next one “I can stay with you right Dany? Until my dad comes in 3 days?”
“Um sure if you dad is ok with that” Dany replied and took the phone from Lyanna to look at Jon “Are you ok with her staying with me or did you still want me to inform DPD?”
“Um I’m sorry It’s not like I think you’re a bad person or anything it’s just, I don’t feel comfortable leaving my kid with someone I’ve never met. I don’t even know your last name”
“No offense taken, but you do realize your only other option is to leave your child with police who are also complete strangers to you right… Oh, and the last name’s Targaryen by the way, Daenerys Targaryen”
“Targaryen?!” Bran asked from across the room “Like Balerion Corp Targaryen?!”
“Yes, to whoever asked that” Daenerys said
“No wonder Lyanna wants to stay there, their house is huge! I saw pictures of it online” Bran whispered loudly
“Look Jon I take no offense if you want me to give her over to the police, but I can assure you that she would be perfectly safe with me. We have four other children here that she can play with, and I’m positive my mother is already giddy with excitement at the thought of adding another child to all of the Christmas activities she has planned”
“Um, yeah ok sure. If you don’t mind, then I can pick her up from your place 3 days from now” Jon said
“Alright. Well you have my number now and I’ll text you my address and the number to the house phone that way if you can’t reach me, you can reach someone here”
“Ok. Thank you, Daenerys, for taking care of my daughter”
“It’s not a problem. I would give the phone back to Lyanna so she could say bye, but she’s fallen asleep on the couch. So, I’ll just have her call you in the morning if that’s alright”
“Yes. That’ll be fine. Thank you again. Goodnight”
“Goodnight Jon”
_________________
Two days had passed, and Lyanna seemed to blend in perfectly with the Targaryen family. She got along well with the children, and completely charmed the adults. After the first day she was already calling Rhaella and Aerys grandma and grandpa Targ and referring to Daenerys’ siblings as aunt and uncle.
Rhaella, just as Daenerys had said, was overly excited to add Lyanna to all of the activities she had planned for her grandchildren. They baked and iced cookies, rode sleds down the hills, took pictures with Santa, make ornaments to hang up all over the house, went ice skating, had a Christmas movie night, and made at least 30 snowmen in the backyard.
For someone over a thousand miles away from her family, Lyanna was having a damn good time. That didn’t stop her from asking to call her dad multiple times a day to tell him what she was doing and that she missed him though. Lyanna was over the moon when Dany had reminded her during breakfast that her family would becoming later in the day.
So now here they were, Lyanna fussing about with her hair to make sure her braids were ‘just perfect’ as they awaited the Stark clan. She had asked Dany to redo them whenever she noticed any loose strands falling upon her face, which was twice now. Dany humored the girl knowing that she was anxious to see her family, because if Dany had learned anything about Lyanna in the past two days it was that the girl could care less about the way her hair looked.
“Lyanna sweetie your hair looks fine. Your family won’t be here for at least another 45 minutes, and we both know you can’t sit still that long. Why don’t you go on and play with the others I’ll make sure to get you when they arrive” Daenerys said
“You promise?” Lyanna asked
“I promise, plus it’s not like you’re going to miss them when they are all going to stay here until you guys can fly back to Winterfell. So, go on and stop fretting” Daenerys replied as she guided the girl out of the room and down the hall.
“Is she still fretting over her hair?” Missandei asked amused
“Gods yes” Daenerys laughed
“You two were the same whenever your father would come home from a business trip. It got so bad that I would only tell you he was coming back when I spotted the car in the driveway” Rhaella laughed “That way you didn’t have the time to fret”
“I’m surprised Dany isn’t just as nervous. If the googly eyes, soft voice, and girlish giggles she has when on the phone with Jon say anything it’s that she has a crush, and I reckon it’s a big one!” Missandei grinned
“Do not!” Daenerys yelled
“Do too!”
“What are you two going on about in here?” Elia asked as she walked into the kitchen
“Dany’s crush on Jon” replied Missandei
“She finally admitted it?”
“Wha- Elia! You too?!” Daenerys cried
“Dany the way you light up when he calls, I mean come on even Uncle Aemon can see you’ve got a crush on him. The fact that he spends more time on the phone with you than Lyanna shows me that he has one on you too”
“Mhmm” Missandei hummed
“Mom, please, back me up here” Daenerys begged
“Daenerys, honey all I can say is” Rhaella paused taking a sip of her tea “I would very much like for Lyanna to be my granddaughter, and right now I think that is a strong possibility”
“MOM!”
_________________
The Starks were a lively bunch, so something had to be truly exquisite to make any one of them speechless and even more so to make them all speechless. The Targaryen estate was all that and more. Jon didn’t think he had ever seen a house so beautiful or large, and Catelyn confirmed his thoughts when she made the same comment knowing that if she hadn’t seen anything like it he definitely hadn’t.
“It’s even better than the pictures” Bran said in awe. Jon would take him aside later and tell him not to mention the fact that he looked their house up online.
“If you’d all follow me, they’re expecting you” A servant, who no one saw come over, said as he indicated for them to follow his lead inside the house. Jon didn’t think it possible for the inside of the house to be more gorgeous than what he saw outside, but he was easily proven wrong. The grey and white marbled floor, the crystal chandelier, and the extravagant staircase could have easily belonged in a grand hotel or the Red Keep.
Seven Hells Lyanna’s been living better here these past three days than we were in Dorne
“Hello! I’m Rhaella, Daenerys’ mother” Rhaella said as she entered the foyer and moved to embrace everyone “Sorry, I’m a hugger” she laughed
“Thank you for helping watch after my little girl and allowing us to stay for a bit” Jon said. He would be eternally grateful to the Targaryen family for not only taking care of his daughter, but also offering their home to he and his family when they realized that all of the hotels (and motels) on Dragonstone were booked for the holidays.
“Don’t even mention it. We absolutely adore Lyanna, and there is plenty of space to go around here” she replied sincerely “Daenerys just went to go get Lyanna, but in the meantime lunch should be ready and I’m sure you could all eat.
________________
“DADDY!” Lyanna screamed as she launched herself at Jon. He dropped down to her level as he embraced her
“Princess! Oh I missed you so much!”
“I missed you too daddy!”
“Oh, let me see you” Jon sniffed as he held her away from him to get a good look “Oh wow! Look at those braids! Beautiful!” he grinned
“Thanks daddy” Lyanna said fiddling with the end of one braid “Dany did them for me, they’re like hers”
“They’re beautiful” he kissed her forehead “Just like my princess”
“Alright, alright stop hogging her we missed her too” Arya said shoving her brother out of the way and hugging her niece. As Lyanna made her rounds to greet her family Jon took the time to speak to Daenerys who was smiling softly at the gathering.
“Hi” he said
“Hi” she replied, smile widening
“I know I’ve said ‘thank you’ many times over the past three days, but you really don’t understand how thankful I am. I really appreciate you taking my daughter in and caring for her when I couldn’t”
“I don’t think I mentioned it but one of the children Lyanna has been playing with over the past three days is my son. So trust me Jon I do understand, and like I have also said many times it was no problem. We love Lyanna, and I’m sure we’ll all agree that we will miss her very much”
“We surely will, now let us eat shall we” Rhaella said moving past the two and to the intercom box on the wall “All Targaryens downstairs, I repeat all Targaryens downstairs. That’s T-A-R-G-A-R-Y-E-N. Lunch is served and if you’re not down in 5 I’m cutting the Wi-Fi off!”
At that threat the four Targaryen children quickly ran down the stairs and took position along the breakfast bar where they awaited their food. Following shortly behind, the rest of the Targaryens strolled into the kitchen.
“Right well, let me introduce my family and then we can all sit” Daenerys said “This is my dad Aerys, my sisters Missandei and Elia, and my brothers Viserys, Rhaegar, and Greyson but we call him Grey” she said as she went down the line
“Yes, and those Tasmanian devils that just flew by are my grandchildren Rhaenys, Aegon, Jaehaerys, and Visenya” Rhaella added
“Lunch is ready Mrs. Targaryen. We have prepared grilled salmon with a side of sweet potatoe pesto gnocchi” their chef Selyse said
“Gnocchi, my favorite!” Lyanna exclaimed as she jogged into the kitchen
“Since when?” Jon asked. He had never seen her eat gnocchi, and especially not enough of it to be considered a favorite dish. Hell he’s only had the dish once at some Italian restaurant Sansa had dragged everyone to.
“Since forever!” Lyanna giggled “Lyarra, Rodrik, Rickon, come sit at the bar with us” she demanded as she dragged the young Starks to sit with her and the other children.
“Since yesterday” Dany clarified once the kids left “She said she had never had it before, so dad paid her $50 to try it. She’s been raving about gnocchi ever since”
$50 just to try a new dish! Gods Lyanna really has been living better than us these past three days!
_______________
Lunch was chaotic, but in a good way. Daenerys was no stranger to noise since she was one of four children, and now with the addition of four grandkids they were a family of thirteen. But not even twelve family members could prepare for the noise created by mixing the Starks with the Targaryens. With all the laughter and cheer, she was sure everyone left the dining room hearing a little less than when they had arrived for lunch.
“Sooo…Jon” Missandei said as they were lying in Daenerys’ bed taking a break from their mother’s Christmas activities.
“Missy not again” Dany groaned moving the blanket over her head
“And why not? You know you like him Dany, and what’s not to like? He’s very attractive, he comes from a good family, and he has a daughter so he understands the life of a single parent. He’s perfect for you!”
“Missy!, Just- ughhh!”
“Come on Dany you know he’s perfect for you. It’s obvious you like each other, so just get on with it!”
“You don’t know that Jon likes me”
“Everyone knows that Jon likes you. The guys have been giving him the warning eyes all day. Dad has made it a point to talk about his gun and sword collection and you know he hasn’t even looked at that collection since I first introduced Grey to the family, 8 years ago. And I swear mom is foaming at the mouth at the prospect of more grandkids, she’s probably already got a baby blanket knitted”
“Oh gods!” Dany groaned then turned to her side to look at Missandei “What do I do?”
“You go be a dragon” Missandei grinned
___________________________
“Did you look at all of the flight options?” Sansa asked
“Yup. No flights are going to or leaving Winterfell until after Christmas. The blizzard is still moving slowly across the city, so we’ll be here for another three day at least” Bran replied
“Not that that’s a bad thing, I mean look at this place who wouldn’t want to spend Christmas here. And the Targaryens might be the nicest people I have ever met, which is mind blowing because people who are stupid rich are usually assholes” Arya said
“Arya you don’t know anyone else that is ‘stupid rich’” Jon rolled his eyes
“She is right though they are nice and seem to love Christmas. I thought mom was bad with her Christmas cheer, but Rhaella is on a whole other level. I feel like every time I turn around she’s holding a new tray of cookies” Bran laughed
“Every time I turn around Jon and Dany are giving each other looks” Arya said wiggling her eyebrows suggestively
“We are not!” Jon exclaimed
“Are too”
“Everyone knows Jon and Dany have a thing for each other, but that’s not important what’s important is the fact that we’ll be here throughout Christmas and do not have any gifts to give Rick, Rod, Lyarra, or Lyanna. We sent them all back to Winterfell” Sansa said sadly
“We’ll just have to go get some small things in town and remind them that they have tons of stuff to open when we get home. I’m sure we can find something” Jon replied
“Did I hear something about going into town?” Daenerys asked from the doorway. Jon went red in embarrassment as he knew that she had probably heard what his sisters had said about him liking her. His siblings’ heads all turned to him with knowing smiles causing Dany to look as well since no one had answered her question.
“Yeah um” Jon cleared his throat “We um, well we sent all of the kid’s gifts back to Winterfell so we wanted to go into town and see if we could pick up a few things for them. So they won’t feel left out ya’ know”
“Oh yeah, well I was just about to drive into town you guys are welcome to come with”
“Ok” Jon said
“We’re going to wait for Talisa” Bran, Sansa, and Arya said in unison
“Oh” Jon frowned looking from his siblings to Dany “Sorry I guess we’re waiting”
“No, no, no. We’re waiting” Sansa said gesturing to Bran, Arya, and herself “So Talisa can help us with gifts for Rodrik and Lyarra, but you go ahead Jon you don’t need us” she smirked
“Uh yeah ok” he said rubbing his palms on his jeans, a nervous tick he’s had since he was a boy
“Ok well just let me tell my mother. Meet me in the foyer, yeah?” Dany said
“Yeah”
_____________
“So, why were you going into town?” Jon asked as Daenerys drove through the town
“I have to pick up my last gifts for Jaeherys and Aegon. Their favorite football team is the Dornish Vipers so I had Jerseys made for them. Their numbers were put on them, since they also play for a children’s league, and then of course the back says Targaryen”
“Ugh the Dornish Vipers! No it’s all about the Winterfell Wolves” Jon exclaimed pulling out his phone to show her the grey and white Winterfell Wolves phone case
“You have to take that up with the boys” she laughed “Football was never my sport of choice. Too uncoordinated to run while kicking a ball”
“Oh and what was yours? Cheer?” Jon teased
“I’m glad you accept the fact that cheer is an actual sport. I’m sure Rhaenys would appreciate that, but no. If you must know I was a competitive gymnast until I turned 18” she looked over him and smiled “It’s why I’m so small…and bendy”
His gaze fell to her thighs before he quickly moved his eyes to look out of his window. The thought of her flexibility jolted something inside of him, and he squirmed in his seat.
“Are you alright over there?” Daenerys asked knowingly
“Yeah” his voice came out a pitch higher than normal. He cleared his throat deciding to try again “Yeah, just reminded of the time my brother tried gymnastics” he faked a grimace “Let’s just say neither of us ever attempted a split again” Daenerys laughed
“Rhaegar did the same. He swore it rendered him sterile but look at him now, the sibling with the most kids” she said as she pulled into a parking spot “Alright first stop ‘Melisandre’s Tantalizing Treats and Toys’. Soooo, it’s a bit weird BUT you can find some good stuff so just give it a try alright” she warned
“Aye, I’ll give it a try” Jon laughed
____________________
Three stores in and neither Daenerys nor Jon had made any real moves. We’re terrible at this Daenerys said internally as she browsed around the toy store. She thought she was making headway during the car ride, but once they left their private bubble Jon seemed too shy to properly respond to her flirtatious quips. ‘Be a dragon’ Missandei had said to her, but what does that even mean. Dragons take what they want. Am I supposed to just shove my tongue down his throat in the middle of a toy store?!
“You alright over there?” Jon asked “Am I tiring you out with the shopping?”
“I grew up with Rhaella Targaryen as a mother” she chuckled “I don’t think you could tire me out”
“Oh I have my ways” he said, and it must have come out unintentionally she realized because he blushed immediately after. “I-I mean-“
“I look forward to learning those ways Jon Stark” she smiled enticingly. Unsure of how to proceed Jon picked up the first thing he saw to move to a safer area of conversation.
“Monopoly or Candy Land?” he asked holding both boxes up for her to choose
“Candy Land” she answered easily
“Candy Land?” he exclaimed genuinely surprised at her choice “I thought for sure you’d choose Monopoly given that you literally run a company”
“And that’s why I don’t like the game. Father always took it so seriously when we would play. Like his own personal business 101 class so that his kids wouldn’t bankrupt him or his business” Dany rolled her eyes “I had much more fun playing Candy Land with Missy and mother”
“Monopoly was a staple in the Stark household growing up. We’ve always been super competitive and there’s nothing like taking all of your siblings fake money and making them go broke” Jon grinned tossing both games into the shopping cart and continuing to move down the aisle of toys
“I see where Lyanna gets her competitiveness from” Daenerys noted with a smile
___________________________
Finished shopping but not satisfied with the amount of time she spent with Jon, Daenerys suggested grabbing a coffee and taking a small stroll to show him some of Dragonstone’s tourist attractions.
As expected the cities most popular coffee house was filled to the brim as people took a break from their last minute Christmas shopping. Jon and Dany managed to find two empty bar stools and squeezed in before ordering their coffees.
The tight space caused them to be physically closer to each other than they had ever been before, and every time Jon’s thigh grazed against her own Dany felt goosebumps form.
“So what was it like growing up on Dragonstone?” Jon asked oblivious to her struggle. Daenerys shrugged her shoulders
“Can’t really say. We traveled a lot. Mostly to Essos. Braavos, Pentos, Mereen, those sort of places. I don’t remember much of Dragonstone as a child, just the old castle we used to live in before father had the house built. How was it growing up in Winterfell?”
“Cold” he joked “No it was fun. There’s so much a kid can do with snow, and during a few weeks in the summer its warm enough to play in the lakes and go camping. We make a trip of it every summer; getting all the kids together and camping near the lakes for a few days”
The joy in his eyes as he talked about camping in the summer drew her in. Leaning closer as he talked she breathed in his cologne. The rich sandalwood and musk blend combined with his deep northern burr made her deliciously dizzy
“Sounds like fun” she breathed
“Aye, maybe you can join the next trip” he said lowly, eyeing flitting between her own and her lips
“Maybe” she replied and he leaned in closer, her body warming in anticipation
“One black coffee and one peppermint mocha” the cheery barista said interrupting their moment and taking them out of their bubble once more
“Thank you” Jon said clearing his throat
“Thanks” Daenerys repeated straightening up in her seat
After drinking their coffee and having light conversations Daenerys and Jon took a walk downtown to look at the other attractions Dragonstone offered. She took him around to the pier showing him the local market which on any given summer or spring day was filled to the brim with stalls ranging from fresh fish and produce to clothes and jewelry. Today, with the cool winds of winter passing around them, the market was full of Christmas spirit with carolers singing, stalls filled with toys and clothes to buy, and young kids selling hot chocolate instead of lemonade.
They enjoyed a few rounds of songs before Daenerys moved them to continue the tour. They drove to the old Dragonstone castle next and Daenerys explained that the castle had belonged to the Targaryens for centuries and that they had lived there before her father turned the Windwrym tower into a luxury hotel, and the Stone Drum tower into another museum, with the Sea Dragon tower being kept for the Targaryen family to use as they wished.
During the ride Jon had told her of Winterfell and how it had also been in his family for centuries, and how like the Targaryens the Starks had opened half of the castle to the public though as a northern museum instead of a hotel. The Starks however still lived in the other half of the castle.
When they arrived at the last stop on the tour Jon laughed
“The Dragon Museum” he said knowingly “Lyanna randomly brings up the facts she gets from the museum’s ‘Daily Dragon Facts’”
“This is where I first saw her” Daenerys said “I was coming to check in on a few things and she was knocking her head against the doors frustrated that the museum was closed”
“She’s been begging me to bring her here for the past year. Probably thought she finally had her chance to see it”
“She looked devastated when I told her it was closed until after Christmas, but she can still have her chance. It’s closed because we’re throwing our annual Christmas eve party for all of our employees from the museum, the hotel, and from Balerion Corp. All of them. It’s going to be massive as always. You all can come as well if you like. The party is for the adults, but we can let the kids in early that day to see the dragons if they wish” Daenerys offered
“I think Lyanna would murder me in my sleep if I said no to her going” Jon laughed “But as far as the party bit, I’m not sure any of us have the proper clothes for it. We were supposed to be in Dorne wearing as little clothes as possible. We definitely didn’t think to pack evening wear”
“You’ve seemed to have forgotten whose home you are staying in Jon” Daenerys laughed “My mother has probably already sized you all up just with her eyes. All you have to do is agree to come and she’ll have clothes in front of you not an hour later. Don’t worry about that part. So will you come?” she asked a bit of hopefulness bleeding into her tone
“Yeah” he smiled at her “I mean I’ll have to run it by my family, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t jump on the chance. Sansa especially”
“Good, I’ll let my mother know” she beamed and they headed back towards the Targaryen estate.
_________________
“It’s Meraxes! Daddy it’s Meraxes!” Lyanna exclaimed as she ran towards the large draconic skeleton, who’s nameplate read ‘Meraxes; Rider: Rhaenys Targaryen’, leaving Jon and Daenerys behind
“I thought Meraxes was lost” Jon said admiring the full skeleton as he and Daenerys caught up with Lyanna and the other children as she and the young Targaryen’s were explaining the history of the dragon and it’s rider to Lyarra, Rodrik, and Rickon who looked over in fascination
“Her body was lost. In 13AC Prince Nymor of Dorne sent his daughter Princess Deria to Kingslanding with the head of Meraxes as a gift to King Aegon. Though I doubt he took it that way” Daenerys replied
“Most thought it an insult, right?” He questioned, looking bashful as Daenerys’ looked over at him surprised “Arya loved the conquerors as a girl. Wouldn’t stop speaking of them. Visenya was her favorite”
“Yes, most thought it an insult” Daenerys nodded with a soft smile “And it was, no matter how Dorne tried to shape it. To return the head of the dragon you killed without the body of its rider while still demanding independence” Daenerys shook her head “It was brave, I give them that, but it was an insult none the less…A threat in a way as well. They brought the evidence to show that they could kill a dragon and then demanded they be left alone”
“But if it was an insult why did Aegon agree for peace?” Jon asked intrigued “The stories never show him as a man willing to back down from a challenge”
“No one knows. Princess Deria gave him a letter which he burnt immediately after reading. Whatever was in it made him change his mind, but it’s said that he wasn’t happy about it. Theories were made of course. Some said that the Dornish had Rhaenys, just barely alive, and were promising a clean death for her if Aegon stopped attacking. Others theorized that the letter was from Rhaenys herself asking Aegon to stop the war and saying she fell in love and wished to live the rest of her days in Dorne”
“Never heard those before” Jon said “Only heard that she had died with her dragon but her body was never returned”
“No one ever found the rest of Meraxes remains or those of Rhaenys, so no one really knew what happened to Rhaenys. Well not until about a year ago” Daenerys smirked proudly “I got a hit from one of the scout teams I had sent out to Dorne. They were buried deep in the desert”
“They?”
“Yup, Meraxes and her rider Queen Rhaenys”
“You found Queen Rhaenys?” Jon asked in both shock and amazement
“Yes” Daenerys laughed “She was quite a distance away from her dragon. It was all over the news last year. How have you not seen it?”
“Wow. I don’t know honestly. Between Lyanna and Arya I should have known the day they were found” Jon said laughing and shaking his head at himself “So she did die with her dragon? What did you do with her? How did you know it was the Rhaenys Targaryen?”
“We believe she was unseated during Meraxes’ death throes and fell in an area unreachable to the Dornish at the time. She was still wearing her circlet and bits of her clothing remained to identify her, but I tested her DNA against my own to be sure. We held a private ceremony for her at the castle. It was where she was born and raised and so we thought it best to give her to the flames in her home and placed her in the family columbarium next to her siblings and son”
“Given to the flames?”
“Targaryen custom is to burn our dead and keep their ashes together on the island”
“So you have the ashes of all of the Targaryens?” Jon asked astonished “Aegon the Conqueror, Jaehaerys the Conciliator, Meagor the Cruel-”
“Daenerys Stormborn Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, and the Breaker of Chains” Daenerys grinned “Yup, we’ve got all of them”
“Wow. I was never a big Targaryen junkie, no offense” Jon chuckled “But those names are legendary. It’s easy to forget that they were actually real people and that their line stills go on to this day. I mean we Starks have our own legendary ancestors, but they are only legendary in the North. Your ancestors are legends worldwide”
“Yes, trust me I know” Daenerys laughed “I am the one who maintains the history of the family”
“So this museum and the one in the castle is all your work?”
“Yes they are my domain. Missy works over the international side of the business, Viserys works over the tech side, and Rhaegar works under our father overseeing Balerion Corp as a whole”
“Wow”
“Yeah, Missy likes to joke that she was adopted because our mother didn’t want to push out any more kids but our father still needed another future ‘Head of Department’”
“And I’m guessing he’s already making plans for his grandchildren as well then” Jon joked
“He asked me the other day if Jaehaerys was still top of his class in math” Daenerys replied feigning annoyance making them both laugh
“Balerion!” Lyanna squealed, laughing as she ran again through the museum to get to the large skeleton “He has a hat!”
“Lyanna no running, and not so loud!” Jon admonished
“It’s fine Jon, we’re the only ones here” Daenerys smiled “Besides it took a lot of work to get and put that hat on. I thoroughly appreciate the enthusiasm”
“It truly is amazing what you’ve done here” Jon admitted as he looked around at the Christmas decorations. Every skeleton had something on it, from hats to wreaths and even full elf costumes on the smallest of the dragons. There were snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and fake snow around the edges of the rooms. Stacks of small boxes of actual presents, party favors Daenerys had said, sat under the various Christmas trees seen throughout the lower level.
“Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal!” Lyanna exclaimed moving on to the next of the most popular exhibits “Look daddy! Rhaegal’s rider’s name was ‘Aegon Jon Targaryen! He was from the North and has your name!”
“I see, how cool” Jon said, smiling back at his daughter’s enthusiasm
“His mother was a Stark and his father a Targaryen, but he didn’t know until the War with the Dead” Aegon explained “He grew up in Winterfell and teamed up with Queen Daenerys, his aunt, to defeat the Dead. They married after she retook the Iron Throne”
“He was raised a Stark, truly? How come we didn’t know about him?” Jon wondered
“He was actually raised a Stark bastard by his uncle, which is why he didn’t know his heritage. Once he found out he denounced the Starks and went by the Targaryen name his mother gave him before her death. That was his direwolf, Ghost” Daenerys said pointing to the skeleton the children were now looking at “It’s the only non-draconic skeleton here, but he was a member of House Targaryen during Queen Daenerys’ reign and so her and King Aegon’s descendants had kept his bones with those of the dragons”
“So blood of the First Men runs through you too then” Jon smirked
“Not as much as it does you, but yes it does. Though not just Stark blood. Queen Daenerys’ own great grandmother was a Blackwood, she was queen to Aegon V. There was even a marriage with a Mormont or two later on, and most recently a Manderly with the marriage of my own great grandparents”
“More First Men blood than I thought then” Jon hummed
“We Targaryens are known to be inclusive. Not like you northerners who stick with your northern folk” Daenerys teased
“I’ll have you know my mother is from the Riverlands” Jon laughed “She was Catelyn Tully before becoming a Stark”
“That explains the hair”
“Aye, only Arya and I managed to get the dark northern coloring”
“Maybe you Starks are a bit inclusive then. Just a bit” Daenerys conceded
“I’ll take that” Jon smiled as they finished their walk through of the museum
“Wow I timed that perfectly. Alright kids that was the last one and it’s about time for us to go” Daenerys said looking down at her watch, receiving groans and complaints in return “Sorry but we have to get ready for the party. Besides Grandma Ella has already got everything set up for you back home. Cookies, movies, pizza! You’ll have so much fun. You can even watch the movie about Queen Daenerys and King Aegon and compare their dragons to the real thing! Now come on, to the car we go”
Her words were met with more groans of weak protest but none of the children’s hearts were really in it knowing that whatever Rhaella had planned for them back at the house would be enjoyable. With the car packed and the Christmas music playing through the speakers they made their way back home so Daenerys and Jon could prepare for their own Christmas eve entertainment
_____________________
“Absolutely not! You are not wearing that. Are you trying to become the next Mrs. Jon Stark or the next Mrs. Claus?” Missandei exclaimed as Daenerys stepped out of her closet in an emerald green long sleeved and collared flare dress
“Missandei, this dress is very pretty” Daenerys argued
“Yeah for the next conference meeting with dad, not for wowing your future husband!” Missandei replied passing by Daenerys and rifling through the cocktail dresses in the large walk in closet
“Jon isn’t my future husband” Daenerys said with an eyeroll, biting her lip as she leaned on the door frame of the closet, watching as Missandei pulled out dress after dress analyzing and then hanging them back up with a huff
“Not with you wearing that dress” Missandei tsked “But if we just find the right one…ah ha!” she exclaimed gleefully when she found the dress that fit the look she wanted Daenerys to have. She shook the ruby red dress in front of her in giddiness, thrusting it in Daenerys’ chest and dragging her in front of the mirror.
The ruby red sequin fabric sparkled in the light as Daenerys turned to view it in different angles. The hem reached the tops of her knees making it an acceptable length for a business party, though Balerion company parties had never been known to follow the same social norms of other office parties. You came to a Balerion Christmas party to have fun, get drunk, and probably take someone home. Since Daenerys had begun leading the party planning, the Christmas parties had so far resulted in four marriages, three divorces, seven pregnancies, and countless relationships. The three months following Christmas were always the hardest for the HR department.
The combination of a deep V-neck, spaghetti straps, and the lack of fabric in the back of the dress would be wildly inappropriate to most company parties, but fit right in for a Balerion Corp. Christmas.
“Hurry up! Put it on!” Missandei demanded moving to the other end of the closet to find shoes to pair with the dress “Here try these” she said handing Daenerys a pair of emerald green snakeskin strappy heels, the stiletto heel a shiny gold to match her jewelry “This way Santa is still an option if he happens to miraculously look better than Jon Stark, or you know you can bring them both back to your room” Missandei winked
“Missy!”
“What? There’s nothing wrong with a little threesome, and anything is better than the drought you’ve been in since Daario”
“I’ve not been in a drought” Daenerys declared buckling the last strap and standing up to look at herself in the mirror. She hated to give Missandei a bigger head than she already had, but she had to admit that she looked good. She looked over her shoulder in the reflection to see her sister smirking at her
“You don’t have to say it” Missandei said “I know I’m good. If this doesn’t help get Jon in your bed tonight then I’ll buy you that Patek Philippe watch you were looking at earlier”
“Who’s to say it’s not already sitting under the Christmas tree for me?” Daenerys asked swiping a hand through her curls and manipulating them until they lay perfectly. Missandei just shrugged
“Then I won’t buy you another, listen that’s not the point! The point is I have put myself in charge of finding you a husband and I will not fail so push those boobs up as high as you can get them and go make Jon drool”
___________________
Jon stood in the foyer straightening out his charcoal black suit for the fifth time. Not wanting to make anyone late, the Stark siblings dressed as soon as Rhaella’s assistants brought in their clothing. Dany had said that the party started at 9 and so they had been ready at 8:30 to give Daenerys and the Targaryen’s extra time in case their help was needed with anything. Thinking about it now as they all lounged around waiting for their hosts Jon chuckled a bit. Balerion Corp. was a multi-billion dollar company, of course they would hire the proper people to work the party so their help wouldn’t be needed.
It had been Aerys that told them that while the party started at 9 it didn’t usually end until 4 in the morning so it didn’t really matter what time they showed up. He and his wife, and both of Jon’s parents, were staying in and having their own grown ups party while their children were away.
It was around 9:45 when Elia, Rhaegar, Grey, and Viserys finally came down the stairs. All in rich fabrics and tailored suits that subtly showed off their wealth. After realizing that the Starks had been ready for over an hour Elia apologized profusely at not having told them that there had not been a rush at getting there on time.
“One of the assistants said as much. It was Jon who rushed us all into getting ready” Arya said rolling her eyes at her brother
“I just didn’t want us to hold anyone up” He Jon muttered
“That’s usually Dany and Missy’s jobs” Viserys chuckled, eyes glued to his phone screen
“Speaking of” Grey smiled looking up at the top of the stairs as his wife began descending, Daenerys following shortly behind
Jon gasped at the sight of Daenerys, mouth going slack as he followed her movements down the stairs.
“Be glad I’m in love with my wife, brother. Or I would have went for her before you even had the chance” Robb whispered elbowing Jon in the ribs”
Jon shoved him away without breaking his gaze from Daenerys. She looked up at him and their eyes met. A small demure smile and a nod was all he got from her before Rhaegar was leading them all out to the cars
He gulped audibly when she walked in front of him leaving him to take in the smooth milky skin of her back. Two small moles above her hips enticed him, as if they were markers made so that he knew exactly where to put his hands. His fingers itched with want and he stuffed them in his pockets as the chauffer held the door open for him.
By the time they arrived back at the museum it was 10pm and the party was already in full swing. Balerion might have been a Targaryen company, but they had refused to wait for the Targaryen’s arrival to start the festivities. Strobe lights peeked through the curtained windows and the music oozed out into the street. Jon swore a few cars in the parking lot rocked slightly but decided it would be best to ignore them.
When they finally walked in they had been quickly spotted by the DJ who proceeded to announce them and demand they pay the entrance fee. Two shots each were downed and the fee had been paid. All Jon could think of the entire time was that he had never been to an office party like this.
They’d had a private area on the second floor where they could enjoy the arm space of being away from everyone while still being able to look down and feel a part of the party. A few minutes after their arrival a dark haired olive skinned woman wearing heavy makeup and light clothing barreled into their area and jumped into Viserys’ arms, making it her personal mission to suck his face off.
“His girlfriend” Daenerys supplied, taking Jon off guard as she appeared at his side “Well, I’d wager that she’ll be his fiancé soon”
“I would hope she was his ‘something’ the way they’re going at it” Jon chuckled
“Won’t be the last of the make out sessions tonight, and I can’t promise you they’ll all be from couples” She winked turning to look out at the party “Oh fuck. Everyone signed their wavers right?” She called out to one of the security guards near the door. A breath of relief flowing out of her at the nod she was given “Tyrion fucking Lannister” she mumbled turning back
“MERRY FUCKING CHRISTMAS!” Called out a little person in a bright red Santa costume standing at the top of the staircase on the opposite side of the building. Golden curls covered partially by the fluffy Santa hat. He took a long drink from his cup, pumped his fist at the cheers of the crowd, and then sat himself on the wooden sled at his feet.
“Holy shit!” He heard Arya and Robb call out as Tyrion, or at least Jon assumed the man was Tyrion ‘fucking’ Lannister, went flying down the staircase and slid across the floor as people moved out of his way in order to not get hit. The loud thud signaled that his body had finally hit a wall and all was quiet
“STRAIGHT DOWN THE CHIMNEY!” Tyrion yelled popping up the heap he had been in. The alcohol had muted the pain, but Jon had no doubt the man would be sore for many days to come
The DJ cranked the music back up as the crowd cheered and Tyrion was supplied with more shots
“Holy hell” Sansa breathed “The party only started a little over an hour ago”
“Oh Tyrion’s probably been drunk since this morning” Missandei shrugged
“I’ve never seen the man not drunk” Viserys said, apparently Tyrion’s little show was exciting enough to pull he and his girlfriend off one another
“You asked about a waver” Talisa said turning to Daenerys “Does this always happen?”
“Well, Tyrion is always drunk” she started ticking off her fingers “Someone always manages to find that sled, and injuries are bound to happen with the amount of alcohol consumed at this party. There’s an ambulance out back ready just in case anyone gets too enthusiastic and manages to actually break something”
“How many times has this happened for you to be this prepared?” Robb laughed
“The first party we were put in control of” Rhaegar winced “Had to pay the medical bills of four employees and we were sued by two others. Being this prepared was the only way our father would allow us to host anymore Christmas parties. The employees love it too much to back out because of the risks” he shrugged
“It also helps that they have the best insurance coverage offered” Missandei assured “But enough about that. Let’s dance!”
_________________________
They dance for hours, Daenerys making it a point to rub on Jon when the moment called upon it. His grip on her hips became tighter and tighter as the songs went. When the DJ announced that there were only twenty seconds until midnight Daenerys couldn’t help but noticed just how far down they had moved while dancing.
Grabbing his hand and dragging him through the crowd of bodies she made her way to the one spot she usually avoided at these parties
“I’m glad you came” She said shyly as they stopped just short of the ‘Queen Daenerys & King Aegon’ exhibit
“Aye I’m glad too” he breathed “Never had so much fun in my life”
The crowd had made it down to the count of five as they stood there, slightly out of sight, smiling shyly at one another
“MERRY CHRISTMAS” the crowd yelled as fake snow was blown down from the third floor
“Merry Christmas Dany” Jon smiled, a bright nervous laugh leaving Daenerys’ mouth
“Jon” she said moving in closer. Be a dragon reverberated through her head. “Look up”
And he did. A bright smile splitting across his face as he laughed at the small bundle of mistletoe above them
“Well I’ll be damned. Guess that means I gotta kiss you, doesn’t it” he said moving in closer
“It does” she replied
“Can I let you in on a secret?” he asked as he leaned his head down slightly, hovering his lips against hers
“Yes” she whispered against his lips
“I would have done it without the mistletoe” He breathed and it was all she could take as she all but threw herself into him and took his lips hungrily
A sharp white flash had him pulling away slightly and looking around in confusion
“A camera” she grinned impishly. “They’re hidden around every mistletoe. We have the pictures printed out if people want to keep them. You know in case they want to remember the night. If not they get deleted” she assured
“Finally!” the heard, turning to see Robb, Arya, and Missandei peaking around the corner
“Thought I’d have to ‘accidentally’ cancel your plan ticket” Arya said wiggling her eyebrow before Robb winked and moved her away. Missandei smirked and followed the two out, giving them back their semblance of privacy
“Aye, finally” Jon smiled, leaning in for a more slow and soft kiss
“Finally” Daenerys echoed smiling up at him
“TIS THE MOTHERFUCKING SEASON!”
“For the gods! Someone get Tyrion off the fucking chandelier!”