A/N: Just a quick note explaining why I/Robert chose Tywin to be Hand instead of Jaime, as he is constantly threatening in canon: who really expects that Jaime could be a good Hand before the War of the Five Kings? No, Robert is deliberately threatening Ned by using a man he knows Ned despises. Tywin on the other hand is proven to be a great Hand, as the early years of Aerys II prove, making him the most likely choice. Also, I changed Jon's Targaryen name in this and most of my GOT stories after rereading The World of Ice and Fire to Jaehaerys, after Jaehaerys I, called the Conciliator, as that is what the Seven Kingdoms would have needed if Rhaegar had won-someone who could bring peace back to Westeros. As for why Jon/Aemon/Jaehaerys kept changing his name, it's how he thinks of himself, he is trying, and has now succeeded in changing how he thinks of himself: not as Ned Stark's bastard, but as the legitimate son of Rhaegar Targaryen. And I realized that there is no real reason for Tywin to investigate Arryn's death, as not even Robert or Ned had reason to suspect murder, at least, not without Lysa's letter, so he doesn't learn the truth about his grandchildren. Last thing, though I bet that I already know the answer: should Robert still die in the boar hunt or no?

Amethyst Eyes

Chapter Three: Meeting the Family

The Qhoyne, Near Ar Noy, Essos, 298 AL-Jaehaerys

The voyage from White Harbor to Pentos had passed without incident, as had the journey from Pentos, allowing Jaehaerys to read the letter and examine the chest his uncle had sent him in peace. The letter itself was mostly filled with the most unusual and contradictory advice that he had ever heard, such as: if you wish to know the value of strength, learn what it means to be weak. If you wish to lead, then learn how to follow. The rest of the letter was an apology for keeping the secret from him so long, a longer explanation of how Ned had found him and his mother, and an explanation of the chest. Uncle Ned had found the chest at the Tower of Joy, with instructions that it be given to Jaehaerys should Rhaegar die in the rebellion.

Inside the chest, were several items, most of them books, a number of them were extremely old, and all but one of them in High Valyrian. Deciding to save the older books for later, he started with the younger books, and discovered that they were a set of journals written by his father. On the voyage, he had read through the books up to 278, the Year of the False Spring. The journals had revealed that Rhaegar had known about Aerys' madness, and was preparing a coup against him. The picture the journals had painted of his father was not looking good when it came to his parents marriage. Though as noble as his uncle, his father was quite melancholic due to the Tragedy of Summerhall. He was also quite intelligent, skilled at nearly everything he tried, and a budding bard, if the music in the journals was anything to go by. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he had become obsessed with this prophecy of the 'prince who is to come' to the point that, fond as he was of Elia Martell, he had decided to take a second wife in order to fulfil the prophecy, and gain a third child. The dragon must have three heads, was how he had put it. Jaehaerys' father had also known of the madness his own father suffered from, and had planned a coup, with a tourney acting as a cover.

However, that had all changed when he started reading the events of the Tourney at Harrenhal. Gods, it read like one of the songs that Sansa was so fond of! The journals had revealed that his mother was the infamous Knight of the Laughing Tree, and when Rhaegar had found out, well, that was what started it all. His father had fallen so hard and fast for his mother that he now understood why some called love a kind of madness, for certainly his father suffered from the madness of love. Rhaegar had apparently forgotten everything he had planned concerning the tourney, and about the prophecy, in order to focus on Lyanna and his growing mad love for her. And yet, if his father was telling the truth, then the madness was shared, as his mother seemed to have fallen just as hard and fast as his father, despite (and possibly due to) her betrothal to Robert Baratheon. But only the rest of the journals would tell if it truly was love, or madness.

In any case, Jaehaerys needed to prepare for meeting the rest of his family. Already he could see fires in the distance, which meant that he couldn't be too far from Drogo's horde. Aemon's only worry was how he would be received by them. Would they believe him, or would they reject him? Well, either way, his fate would be decided, but until then, he would keep up with his own journal. Who knows, if fate was kind to him, his journals may become as famous as the works of Lomas Longstrider.

King's Landing, 298 AL-Tywin

Tywin arrived in King's Landing just before the king, due to the shorter distance from Casterly Rock compared to Winterfell. He was immediately summoned to a meeting of the Small Council by one of Baelish's men. Well, at least he knew that the accountant's spy ring worked, which meant he would have to be careful, for the most part. But when Tywin walked into the Small Council room, he noticed that several members were missing. "Lord Varys, where are Lord Stannis and Ser Barristan? Why are they not here?"

"Lord Stannis left King's Landing for Dragonstone just after Lord Arryn's death," Varys explained. "We have sent ravens, but have yet to receive a reply from anyone."

Tywin raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why would the most stubborn man in the Seven Kingdoms give up his council seat without explaining why, and never return a raven? "And what of Ser Barristan? The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard is traditionally given a seat at the table."

"Like I want a man who fought for the Mad King advising me!" Robert roared as he came in.

Tywin raised his eyebrow again. "If that's the way you feel, then why do you have Varys, Pycelle and myself on your Small Council, Your Grace? We all served Aerys, and they served him even after your rebellion. Either you allow Ser Barristan to join us, or send us out."

Robert glared at the older lord, but eventually relented. "Fine, call him in, I might need him anyways," he finished with a growl. Once Ser Barristan was in the Small Council chambers, Robert started with "Eddard Stark has betrayed me." This came to the shock of most of the members of the Small Council, other than Tywin, who already knew the explanation. Still, the most honourable man in the Seven Kingdoms betray his best friend? Nigh on inconceivable! Robert explained "He has been keeping a Targaryen bastard at Winterfell, claiming him as his own son. I want them both dead, and Winterfell burned to the ground! Seven hells, I want all the Starks dead, and make the Leech Lord Warden of the North!"

"Your Grace, we can ill afford another war. You are already three million dragons in debt to me," Tywin stated.

"Plus another three million to the Iron Bank, the Tyrells, the Faith and some Tyroshi trading cartels," Baelish added to Tywin's dismay. "I was going to fill you in today anyways, my Lord Hand."

Tywin just shook his head. Tyrion had said that Robert was a big spender, but he had never listened. Well starting now he was going to start listening to his youngest son. Maybe they could even come to a deal, and Tyrion could stop being a disgrace to the name Lannister. But right now, Robert was the main focus. "We may not need to spend any money on a war, Your Grace. The Boltons have had a rivalry with the Starks for millennia, so I'm certain that a promise of the title and your blessing that they would go to war with the Starks for you. And as I recall, Houses Ryswell and Dustin will support them due to some slight Lord Stark made against them during the Rebellion."

"So be it," Robert agreed. "Roose Bolton is hereby named Warden of the North on the condition that he destroys House Stark. Any House that sides with the Starks will be denounced and attainted, stripped of all lands, ranks and titles. Their lands, ranks and titles will hereby be given to cadet branches of Houses loyal to the Iron Throne. Which leaves only the Targaryens to be taken care of. Promise lands and titles to any who would kill them and bring back proof of their deaths. Hells, I'll even give the reward to a Dothraki if they want it!"

"Very well, your Grace," Tywin replied. With that as a reward, it was hard to believe that the Targaryens could survive very long, and the Starks would soon be removed as a threat to the power of the Lannisters.

Essos, 298 AL-Daenarys

Dany was surprised at the quick change that had happened in just a few minutes. One minute she was enjoying a short walk in the tall grass of the Dothraki Sea, the next Viserys was charging at her, his sword drawn. "You dare! You give commands to me? To me?! I am the dragon! I am Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. I don't take orders from savages or their sluts, do you hear me?" She quickly pushed him away, but he was up quick as lightning with his sword pointed at her.

Suddenly, a sword made of black steel was at his throat. "I think it is obvious that the lady doesn't appreciate your insults, or you threatening her," a man stated in the Common Tongue. Viserys just froze at that, giving both of them time to study the speaker. He was about Viserys' height, but with brown hair, and he had the exact same colour eyes as them, the unique, amethyst colour that Viserys claimed was a mark of the blood of the dragon, the blood of Old Valyria. Some of the Dornish had purple eyes, but none had this particular shade, so how did he? And who was he? "You know, back where I came from," the stranger continued, "if a man struck a woman, he lost the hand, it didn't matter why. As you are the one whom the offence was committed against, Khaleesi, should he lose one or both hands?"

"You dare?" Viserys demanded in a rage.

"I don't want my brother harmed, ser," Dany answered.

The stranger gave her a smile. "I'm not a knight, Khaleesi, though not through lack of trying on my part. The knight I hoped to squire to refused me, then he was forced into exile. Last I had heard, he was serving with one of the sellsword companies, maybe the Golden Company. Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I am Jaehaerys Targaryen, the third of my name, only child of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark."

"You lie!" was Viserys' reaction, but Dany wasn't so sure. There was something about the man that said he spoke the truth. His amethyst eyes spoke to his Valyrian heritage, as did his pale skin and soft looks that bordered on beauty. And he spoke Valyrian as easily as she and her brother did. Yet his dark hair and cold exterior spoke of his northern heritage, and of the Starks that Ser Jorah knew so well. As it was, only he could now explain things now.

"Mormont! Kill this bastard now!" Dany turned around, and was shocked to find not only Ser Jorah, but also Rakharo and Irri in the clearing with them. When he didn't do anything, he insisted "I am your king!"

"Any man who must say 'I am the king' is no true king," Jaehaerys replied.

"Shall we return to the khalasar, Khaleesi?" Ser Jorah asked her. Dany nodded, and Jaehaerys followed close behind, as did a large white wolf. Once they were alone, Ser Jorah turned and confronted Jaehaerys. "So, Jon Snow, what are you doing here? Last I heard you were still in Winterfell with your father and half siblings." Dany stared at the young man, shocked that he had lied about something as simple as his identity.

"As it turns out, all of Westeros has been lead to believe a lie about my origins, Ser Jorah," the bastard responded. "I am not the son of Lord Eddard Stark, but rather his sister, Lady Lyanna Stark . . . and her husband, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. I have as proof of what I say in the journals of my father, which I have with me." Jaehaerys then showed them a chest full of books. "However, I am not here to claim a crown, but to find the rest of my family, and learn what it means to serve. Ser Jorah, I offer myself as your squire, as I did several years ago, before your exile."

Ser Jorah stared at the boy that he had known as Ned Stark's bastard for several minutes before deciding. "Swear on your honour as a Stark that you mean no harm to the Khaleesi, and I will take you on as my squire."

Jaehaerys drew his sword and knelt before Ser Jorah, vowing "I swear on my honour as a Targaryen and a Stark that I, Jaehaerys Targaryen, do mean no harm to Daenarys Targaryen, and that I shall never wield my sword except in service to our family."

Viserys had been silent through most of this, but hearing that made him fly into a rage. "You bastard! If it weren't for you and my thrice-damned brother, we would still be in power!"

Jaehaerys turned to glare at his uncle and replied in Valyrian "No, if it weren't for the Usurper's jealousy and your father's mad paranoia, we would still be in power and my father, brother and sister would still be alive."

"My father wasn't mad!" This denial came not from Viserys, but from Daenarys herself. Here this bastard had just sworn himself into her service, and he was insulting her father, his supposed grandfather!

Jaehaerys just stared at her in sad astonishment, assuming Dany was reading him right. "What lies has Viserys been feeding you, Daenarys? In the Seven Kingdoms, everyone, friend and foe of our House calls Grandfather Aerys 'the Mad King.' But that is family business, and no one else's, so I will explain later, in private."

"You'll die for that, bastard!" Viserys called out, before being left behind without a horse, the lowest of the low among the Dothraki, for they saw a man who did not ride as one without honour or pride.

As they rode, with the white wolf Jaehaerys called 'Ghost' following them, Dany asked "Why does everyone call my father 'the Mad King'?" making sure to ask the question in the Common Tongue, a language most Dothraki were unfamiliar with.

Jaehaerys gave a sad sigh at that. "Grandfather Aerys was always a little touched with madness, but it was a madness that could have been turned to greatness if he had pursued it. Maester Yandel was in the midst of writing a history of the Seven Kingdoms and the lands here in Essos when I left, and I was lucky enough to be given what he had already written when my uncle delivered a chest of my father's belongings. It is mostly thanks to that work that I know what Aerys was like. He proposed grand projects that probably could have never worked. Projects like building a new Wall a hundred leagues north of the original, building a city of marble south of King's Landing, making the desert of Dorne bloom by bringing waters from the Rainwood south, and invading Braavos to bring it under the rule of the Seven Kingdoms. As I said, mad but with the potential for greatness, for what are they but, as the proverb about our family states, opposite sides of a coin? Nevertheless, his early years were good ones, partly due to Tywin Lannister's ability as Hand of the King.

"The trouble started when your mother had difficulty delivering children that survived for more than a year, other than my father that is. Aerys decided to visit Casterly Rock, and when he returned, whatever friendship between Aerys and Tywin was obviously dead, and the former friends turned into bitter rivals. Aerys started becoming paranoid, fearful that Tywin was going to make a play for the crown, and as such, started hiring many spies, eventually including one from the Free Cities as his Master of Whisperers, Varys. His madness seemed to abate briefly when another son was born to him, but he also didn't survive the year. It was the next year that Viserys was born, but Aerys became even more paranoid, even to the point of destroying his gifts out of fear that they might be cursed.

"But the real turning point in Grandfather's rule was the Defiance of Duskendale. Lord Denys Darklyn wished to gain a charter for Duskendale in order to regain it's former trading power. After Tywin refused, Lord Darklyn invited Aerys to meet with him personally in order to hear his request. Tywin naturally advised him not to go, and Aerys went because Tywin said not to. It was his worst mistake. Darklyn and his men slaughtered Aerys' guards and took him captive. By the time Ser Barristan Selmy rescued him, he had been completely lost to madness. He refused to let anyone touch him or wield a blade in his presence, outside of the Kingsguard that is. He became obsessed with fire to the point that he burned convicts instead of hanging or beheading them. The obsession started as yet another attempt to bring back the dragons, then it changed into an obsession with wildfire, to the point that Wisdom Rossart of the Alchemist Guild was named a lord and eventually became Aerys' last Hand. Also, Aerys only left the Red Keep once after the Defiance, and that was because of a tourney that he believed was the cover for a plot against him.

"What finally turned the kingdoms against him happened after my parents eloped. My uncle Brandon and some of his friends came to the Red Keep demanding my father's head. Aerys had them arrested for treason before calling for their parents. When Lord Rickard Stark arrived at Kings' Landing he was also arrested for treason, before he called for a trial by combat. When Rickard came for the trial by combat, dressed in his armour and wielding a longsword, Aerys named fire as our family's champion, and had Rickard suspended above a fire in the throne room. Then he brought Uncle Brandon in. Tying a particular Tyroshi device around his neck, Aerys placed Rickard's sword just outside of his reach and proclaimed that if Brandon could cut himself free, then both would be released. Brandon strangled himself to death and Rickard was cooked in his armour. After that, he demanded the heads of my Uncle Ned and Robert Baratheon from Lord Arryn, who was fostering them. After that, the only chance for peace was the death of Aerys and a negotiated peace with my father, that or our complete and total destruction of our House. The Usurper though was beyond reasoning, and, well, you know what happened after that," Jaehaerys finished.

"It doesn't matter, the dragon answers to no one!" Viserys claimed. He had been following close enough to listen, and his nephew was getting on his nerves. Viserys was determined to see the boy dead within the year, and it would be even better if he could get one of these savages to do it for him.

Jaehaerys just shook his head. "That is why we don't rule anymore, Viserys."

A/N: For those who don't know, Maester Yandel is the in-universe author of The World of Ice and Fire, and it is from that book that I get the many details Jaehaerys/Jon provides on the rule of Aerys II. The book itself states that Yandel originally started the book as a history of the known world for Robert, but only managed to finish it during Tommen's reign. As such, I am assuming that he managed to get as far as completing his history of Westeros before Robert's death, as the in-universe evidence seems to suggest that. Ned placed a copy of what Yandel had written up to then in the chest because, in my head canon, Yandel visited each of the eight regions of the Seven Kingdoms in order to learn as much of their history as possible, and during his visit, Ned talked him into making a copy of what he already had.