And we're back!

I know I got a lot of flak for not posting the Jon reveal last chapter, but I knew that I wanted to make it a whole chapter dedicated towards it. Patience is a virtue, my dear readers! I post things in a certain order for a reason! Also I promise you guys Rhaella didn't take her children to the North penniless, but on the other hand she had no idea of the wealth Rhaegar had hidden that was described last chapter. Then again, Jon Arryn and Stannis could have been overestimating how much was truly there; probably added the total to how much the decor around the castle would be worth. ;)

See you guys at the end of the chapter for a quick word! Enjoy~

It had taken all of her persuading to let Ser Willem leave her alone with Eddard Stark as they wandered the corridors of Winterfell on their way to the nursery. Even still, the Kingsguard knight did not trust the man. He had claimed it was a trap, but the queen had reminded him that she was under his protection, and he was one of the most honorable men in the North if not Westeros. She would be fine! Besides, she was a dragon, and even as old as she was at eight-and-thirty she was not going to let the Quiet Wolf walk all over her. No, she would fight back and make sure that her children were safe and sound. Even if it meant the cost of her own life, she would make sure they were alright and able to live and fight for the throne that Aegon the Conqueror had built for them. The Lord of Winterfell had offered his arm to the queen, a very courteous offer, and they walked down what seemed to be the seventh long corridor of their journey. This castle was large, and Rhaella had to wonder which was larger, this or the Red Keep. It had to have been close.

The castle was warmer than expected, but if the queen remembered correctly it was because of the hot springs that this castle was built upon. She had remembered speaking of the idea with Aerys when they were children, how they would have to go and swim in these famous hot springs if the Starks allowed it. Aerys had made a comment about how if he was king they couldn't deny him. Even then she should have seen it, even then she should have been trying to stop the madness. Had her father been able to see it when he was younger? No, of course he couldn't have, he was more concerned about prophecy. Prophecy were a fickle thing, and one that she never wanted to be apart of. Prophecy even took her son Rhaegar and perhaps that was the cause of his death as well. Her maddening thoughts were silenced however when Eddard Stark finally broke the silence between the two.

"Your daughter, I never asked her name."

Rhaella smiled down at the young girl in her arms, "Her name is Daenerys."

"Did you name her after Daenys the Dreamer, or after Daenerys, the daughter of Aegon the Fourth?"

The Targaryen queen was impressed, "You know your history, Lord Stark!"

Eddard sheepishly grinned, "Aye, when I was a young boy in the tiltyard, Brandon and I would always pretend to be Targaryen kings. But when there were five Aegons, we had to know which one we were pretending to be." He chuckled to himself, "I was always fond of Aegon the Fifth."

The queen smiled, "My grandfather was a kind man, I was very fond of him as well." And had it not been for Summerhall, her grandfather might have still been here. Her uncle, Prince Duncan, would have made sure to whip Aerys into shape had he started to go mad. All because of those thrice damned prophecies. But she supposed it would be fitting for her son to have been obsessive over a prophecy after having been born during the events of Summerhall, something that had been related to a prophecy in itself. She could still remember the fires that took Summerhall as she gave birth to her eldest. Oh Rhaegar… What was it he had been going on about? The Prince that was Promised? It was the same prophecy, she believed at least, that her grandfather had been obsessed with. At least he had tried to bring dragons back into the world.

But the dragons were gone, and their riders were on the brink of extinction.

Summerhall, the Rebellion, what had the Targaryens done wrong to bring forth the wrath of the Seven? Had it been because the Targeryens had let their dragons die out? Had it been because of their continued marriages to their close kin? Had someone cursed them? The queen sat in her thoughts, however somber they might be, barely listening to the history lesson that Ned Stark was telling her about Winterfell and how it was built by Bran the Builder; everyone knew of that story. But what Stark had said to her about someone she needed to meet, it piqued her curiosity. Was it Lady Stark? Surely that could have waited until after the sun rose in the morning. No, the Quiet Wolf was up to something, something that the Valyrian queen could not put her finger on. Why the secrecy? Why only her? Had Varys found his way up to the great white North? If he did, then she would have some choice words to say to him at least. Letting open the gates for the Lannisters, that move cost her the lives of her grandchildren. Varys was lucky he was a eunuch already, because if he hadn't been, Rhaella would make sure that he was by the time she was done with him.

Finally after what seemed like another ten long corridors, the Lord of Winterfell stopped in front of a large black oak door. He paused, his hand gripping the handle, almost as if he didn't want to show her what was inside. She wouldn't question him, it was late and he was probably simply tired. A woman's voice could be heard, shushing a babe inside, and Eddard's eyes widened. This voice gave him the strength to open the door it seemed, and a large sigh of relief washed over the Warden of the North.

"Cat, why are you awake at this hour?"

Catelyn Stark was every bit a Tully as Rhaella could have imagined her being. From the fiery hair to the shining blue eyes that she could see reflecting the candlelight, but that nose was a Whent's nose. Ah yes, wasn't her mother a Whent? There was a time when Rhaella had known all of the Lords and Ladies of the realm and whom married one another, but such a time for that had passed. Aerys had never asked her for council on matters involving the realm, only to bare him his heirs. She wondered how Ned Stark let his wife rule, if he even did at all. It would be an interesting thing to note, because if he was to help raise her son, Viserys would look up to and take after all that Lord Stark did. Rhaella stayed back, wary of stepping foot into the nursery, but a smile from Eddard persuaded her to come forward and shut the door behind her.

"Robb was crying," the Lady of Winterfell responded, not looking up from her child, "I assume his tooth is bothering him. I will have to ask Luwin for a remedy." Had it not been for Daenerys gurgling in her arms, Catelyn Stark most likely would have never looked up. Her eyes widened and her mouth went dry. "W-Who? Ned?"

"This is Rhaella Targaryen, my lady. And her daughter the princess Daenerys."

Catelyn Stark hadn't been as dumbfounded as she was in this very instance in such a long time. Her Tully eyes jot back and forth between the Targaryen queen and her husband. "I-I know who it is," she finally sputtered out, "But why? I thought you had perished, my lady."

Rhaella nodded, "A story to cover up our movements, I am thrilled to see that it has worked."

The Lady of Winterfell stood and placed her firstborn into his crib, "Excuse my frankness, but why are you here?"

Eddard Stark sighed, "Cat." But he couldn't get out the words. So instead, Rhaella took over for the younger lord. "Robert Baratheon has insulted the North for the last time. Your husband has sworn fealty to my son and will back his claim for the Iron Throne."

Confusion was what the queen expected to see on the face of Catelyn Stark, but anger was what followed. She inhaled a sharp breath and her nostrils flared as she scolded her husband. "You did what!?"

"Cat, I-"

"No, Ned, you didn't even consult me on this!" She proceeded to stand close enough to Eddard to make the lord step back, something that Rhaella was shocked at. "You decided the largest and most treasonous action without me! I am your wife, I should have a say in whether you put our son in danger!"

Eddard wanted to yell back, to say that he was the Lord of this castle, but he knew that Catelyn was right. He sighed, once more, his eyes looking towards another crib in the corner of the nursery. "Robb will always be in danger, he has been since the moment I returned from Dorne."

"What do you mean?" Catelyn pushed, "How was he in more in danger then than he is now?"

Eddard Stark did not answer his wife, but instead turned to Rhaella and offered his hands out for him to take Daenerys. She obliged after a moment of hesitation, but her racing heart slowed as he placed her in the crib next to his son Robb. But instead of returning to listen to another lecture from his wife, the young lord strode to the crib in the corner of the room and picked up another sleeping child. His back remained turned to the women in the room as he cradled the child close to his chest. His voice shook with sorrow, guilt, and anger. It was low, lower than she had ever heard his voice before. Almost as if he was admitting the worst crime to the Gods.

"Lyanna's bones were not the only thing I returned from Dorne with."

Catelyn sneered, "Your bastard? What harm would he be except for usurping my son's place in succession?"

But Eddard didn't respond to his wife and instead turned to Rhaella and brought the sleeping child before her. Rhaella was unaware that Eddard Stark bore a bastard, and she had to think of whom the child's mother could be. Ashara Dayne? A common tavern wench? A Northern lady? The more she thought about it, the braver she thought Eddard was. Keeping his bastard in plain sight alongside his half-brother. Most lords kept their shame secret, sending money to them whenever their mothers needed it. Rhaella had once wondered if Aerys had any bastards roaming the Seven Kingdoms, but Varys has assured her that no dragonseed had been spread beyond their own children. They truly were the last of the Targaryens. Or, so she thought. When Eddard Stark handed her his bastard, she heard Catelyn scoff and if rolling one's eyes could produce an audible sound, she would have heard them too. Confused, the queen took the child into her arms.

"His name is Jon."

Her body shook. A cold chill swept within her. The babe's eyes were staring right up at her into her own. Those eyes, so dark that with his dark brown hair they would be considered black. Those eyes, those dark dark eyes, those were Aegon the Unlikely's eyes. Those were Rhaegar's eyes. Her hand reached up and clasped her mouth, suffocating the sob that rocked through her body. She held the babe within her left arm and collapsed to her knees on the floor. Eddard reached out to catch her or the babe, but Rhaella shook her head and shooed him away. How? How? She could not speak. She clutched the babe to her chest and the tears rolled down her face. She didn't understand, if this was supposedly Eddard Stark's bastard… Catelyn Stark was also confused, looking at her husband with questioning eyes.

"H-How?" Rhaella finally croaked out.

"When I arrived at the Tower of Joy, I found Lyanna in a bed of blood. As she died in my arms, she made me promise. Promise to take care of her child. To take care of Rhaegar's child."

Catelyn Stark's eyes widened with realization, and they quickly went to anger. "You shamed me for almost a year. You made me believe that child was your bastard. You couldn't trust me enough to tell me the truth?"

His name is Jon. He had said, a Northern name, one not to incite suspicion. One could also say it was after Jon Arryn. Rhaella's tears dropped onto the babe's face, earning a gurgle from him. Her Rhaegar lived through this child, and he would have died here in the North as a bastard, unaware of his heritage. Was he a bastard? She didn't care. She wanted to be angry at the Lord of Winterfell, she wanted to scream at him for not telling her sooner, for hiding her only living grandchild in plain sight. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. She brushed his dark curls back, he was definitely Lyanna Stark's child, and wiped her tears off of his face. Rhaegar's eyes stared up at her, curiously. Yes, those were without a doubt her child's eyes. Well, the shape of them anyways. The color, well, his dark curls helped paint the picture of him being Northern. No doubt those were dark purple, the color of her grandfather's.

Rhaella looked up through her tears, a sobbing mess on the floor and looking nothing like a queen should, and she met Eddard's eyes. Those eyes that reminded her hauntingly of his father's as he had died in the Red Keep. She shuddered and tried to compose herself, but she couldn't. He offered her a hand and she took it, and when she stood she pulled the younger lord into a hug, one that the Quiet Wolf was not expecting.

"Thank you." It was said in a whisper, for that was all she could muster.

When Rhaella finally settled down, she was sitting in an old rocking chair holding her grandson. Catelyn Stark was letting her husband have it, and Eddard was taking it all gracefully. Finally, after all she said, the Lord of Winterfell simply looked into her eyes and muttered, "Jon is my blood, I will always protect my blood." That did not seem to appease the Tully girl and she left in a fit of fury that would have rivaled a Baratheon. She at least took care not to slam to door and wake the entire castle. Eddard Stark sat down in a chair across the room and placed his face in his hands.

"She'll never speak with me again."

"She is young, she is angry. Give her time, Lord Stark."

The Quiet Wolf chuckled softly, jesting as he rubbed his hands down his face, "Viserys might never get his Stark queen now."

Rhaella brushed her grandson's hair with her hand softly, rubbing a small circle behind his ear. She remembered it was the only thing that had calmed Rhaegar down when he was a young babe, before he had grown into such a melancholy warrior. Eddard Stark looked up and his eyes focused on Jon. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him sooner. I didn't want you taking him away…"

"You made a promise to your sister," the queen whispered, "I understand why you did it."

SIlence between them commenced as Eddard fidgeted with his fingers. Rhaella broke the silence between them, "How long would you have kept him a bastard? How long would you have lied to him?"

A deep and heavy sigh came from Stark's mouth, "Truthfully? Forever if I had to. He is Rhaegar Targaryen's child, some would have fought to put him on the throne."

"And you?" The queen asked with an eyebrow raised, "Would you have fought to put him on the Iron Throne?"

"No." He was blunt and his tone was final.

She nodded, "Had I died when I gave birth to Daenerys, I couldn't imagine what would have happened to my children. They would have grown up not knowing their nephew, but they could have been on different sides of the war if it came to it." She paused for a moment, "Does anyone else know?"

"Howland Reed," he replied, "he was the only survivor of the battle."

A Crannogman, she recalled, surely he would not be one to run and scream this information from the mountaintops.

But now came the most important part. Eddard Stark had revealed to her that another Targaryen was in the world, a Targaryen that some could argue had a stronger claim to the throne. "Is he a bastard?" she whispered, "Or is he trueborn?" She assumed it was the former, she couldn't imagine any annulment between her son and Elia Martell happening.

"I'm not sure," Eddard admitted, "but Lyanna was never the type to agree to carry a bastard."

Hm, he had a point. If only Rhaegar had been here to tell them what happened, if only he had sent a raven detailing his plans. Rhaella's violet eyes met Eddard's grey eyes which looked as hard as stone.

"Viserys will be king." She declared, testing the wolf. But he surprisingly fired back instantly, "Viserys will be king." A pause while he looked from Jon to his own son, Robb, and then back at Jon. "I never wanted him to be king, Lyanna didn't want it either."

"What is his name, Lord Stark, his true name?"

Stark's grey eyes went from as soft as fog to hardening like the stone walls of this castle. "Jon."

That would not do. This boy was a Targaryen, not a Stark. "He needs a Targaryen name, a royal name."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, your grace, but Duncan was not a Targaryen name either."

She sucked her teeth at that one, it was true that her uncle had been named after her grandfather's childhood friend and protector Ser Duncan the Tall instead of a traditional Targaryen name. She knew she had been defeated in that regard, "For appearances, he must remain Jon Snow. The world must know him as your bastard as much as it pains me."

The Quiet Wolf smiled at that, he had won this little battle. But Rhaella would win the war, she would make sure this child knew he was a dragon, even if he looked like a Stark. She thought for a moment about the child's deep purple eyes, the eyes of her grandfather. Aegon? No, that was the name of his brother, there couldn't be two Aegons. But, now that she thought about it, her father had those eyes as well.

Jaehaerys. She thought, Jaehaerys will be your name.

He would be known as Jon Snow for now, but soon, she would make sure that Westeros knew that Viserys Targaryen was backed by his nephew. A new branch of Targaryens would spawn from this child. She would have to make sure she found a suitable bride when he got older. Surely Eddard Stark would wish a Northern girl for his "son", but Rhaella knew that a Targaryen was respected mainly by their looks now that the dragons were gone. She would do everything in her power to make sure the Valyrian looks were passed onto her great-grandchildren. Hopefully the Velaryons or the Celtigars would have a daughter soon. Or perhaps she would look to Essos for a bride there as Steffon Baratheon had once tried to accomplish for Rhaegar.

But that could be taken care of in the morning. For now, sleep overtook her as she slunk in the old rocking chair with her grandson in her arms. For tonight was the first night in a long while she slept peacefully. A new hope was brewing for House Targaryen, and Westeros would rue the day they turned their backs to the North.

Alright guys, a little note for the end of the chapter. This is a Viserys-centric story, Jon was never going to become king when Rhaella discovered him. Please do not spam me with pms or reviews trying to change my mind, it won't happen. I urge you to stick around and enjoy the ride though, everything will work out in the end! Also if someone wants to talk about succession and how Jon should be king before Viserys even though he was born after Viserys was crowned by Rhaella, I urge you to take a look at the Great Council of 233 AC and what happened with Aerion Brightflame's son.

Hope to see you all in the next chapter!