Stay Alive - Chapter 2

The night ended with another feast. I was starting to see that this happened all the time. My stomach didn't seem to mind the food. I had serious doubts that the me from before would have been able to handle it. The gathered crowd seemed less enthused tonight. I sat with the full spread of Stark children. Tommen and Myrcella had joined us as well. We tried to ignore the antics of the 'adults'. Unfortunately, I noticed Cersei and Jamie shooting each other looks.

"Hey, Bran." I shifted to face the boy.

"Yes?" He perked up at his name.

"I heard that you like to climb the walls." I offered.

He shot a sneaky look toward his mother before he nodded.

"Could you show me how tomorrow?" I asked.

A bright smile crossed Bran's face.

"Nothing too high." I teased. "Alright?"

"Promise." Bran beamed.

Sansa swooned beside me. Arya was busy trying to murder her food while Jon looked entirely uncomfortable. I had made sure to loudly invite him to sit with the family. Robb seemed fine with it, but he did shoot the occasional glance toward Theon.

I tried to keep focused on the people around me.

"No climbing without me, ok?" I prompted Bran.

I didn't trust Cersei and Jamie to behave for much longer. If I could prevent Bran from getting hurt I would be on the way to avoiding war.

"Sure." Bran smiled brightly at me.

I swear I could hear Sansa's heart flutter. This poor girl. I wasn't sure how I would be able to take the throne and survive. Robert was not among the people I was going to try to save. He had done more damage to the world than the entire war for the throne that had followed his death. Things would be different if I could guide things. Plus, life with Cersei would be easier if she didn't have to deal with Robert.

A few of the new selection of guards escorted me back to my room.

"Was there an issue with the other guards?" I asked.

"It's been handled." The closest guard replied.

"Thank you." I inclined my head. "Gentlemen, I hope it's obvious, but things are changing. I almost died on the way here. Nearly shitting myself to death put my life in perspective. It made me realize that most people would be happy to see my dead. I couldn't blame them."

The guards didn't answer.

"I'm going to make mistakes." I said. "But I'm going to do better. I will do my best to be someone to be proud to protect."

I stepped into my quarters and closed the door behind me. Somehow, I had to change the next few years without making things worse. The Watch needed reinforcements desperately, the war needed to be avoided, and the kingdom had to be prepared for an industrial revolution. Well, maybe not that much, but more than this 'dark fantasy' setting. It wasn't like I could rely on magic doing the heavy lifting to better the world.

They measured time differently here. There were bell-towers, but clocks didn't seem to be an easily accessible item. Things slowed down once the sun was down. Candles, torches, and lanterns were not nearly as bright as a lightbulb. My quarters were already lit and at a comfortable warmth. Dozens of people had to work as staff here. I squinted my eyes in thought.

Did they do slaves here? I knew that across the ocean where Dany currently was had entire cities dependent on it. The books and show weren't something I paid much attention to. The world is horrible, everyone you like dies, and there is too much filler.

I paced back and forth in the room. My brain wouldn't calm down enough for me to sleep. Plus, my internal clock told me it was barely dinner time where I came from. I needed to do something. Anything other than sleep and just wait for things to happen.

Four patrols of the room were finally enough to spark an idea. I poked my head out the door.

"Would you kindly find Jon Snow and bring him here?" I asked the nearest guard.

He nodded then marched away. They didn't ask why. I needed to make sure these guys were taken care of. There were certain people you didn't piss off: people who prepare your food, people who handle your money, and people who keep you alive. I should add servants to the mix as well.

I strolled over to a nearby bookshelf and grabbed a random book. It was written in English. That made things much easier. I tracked down a piece of parchment and a knife-sharpened writing utensil that was kind of like a pencil. Once that was found, I set it out on the little table set for private meals. I wasn't going to write down my plan, or what I could remember from the show, that would probably be suicide. Burned alive at the stake for witchcraft or something.

My hand paused above the parchment before I could start to write. A note to the staff wouldn't be a good idea. This wasn't a hotel; I couldn't tip the workers. I wouldn't be surprised if Joffrey had purposedly left out coins to tempt desperate servants. There was a reason that people hated him… me… whatever.

I felt silly just sitting there with a pencil and blank piece of parchment. It made perfect sense to start doodling. I tried to sketch what I could remember about the toilet my grandparents had in their old house. The tank was elevated with a pull-chain to flush it. That would be the easiest to make. There had to be some sort of drainage, or sewer, in the Kingslanding. Once I had a couple variations, I moved on to something else to draw. This time, I tried to come up with a filter. I had enough experience camping to know that all water in the wild needed to be purified. Boiling it was fine for small batches, but it wouldn't do for large amounts. Vaguely, I could recall that sand, cloth, and charcoal could be used in some fashion. Maybe if there was a big enough tank to store the water for heating could work. Those water-tower thingies were placed on the tops of buildings too. Gravity assisted plumbing. I added one of those to the sketches as well.

Further sketching was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Enter." I called.

A guard and Jon Snow entered the room. The guard, I needed to learn his name, stepped out.

"You wanted to see me, my lord?" Jon bowed slightly.

"Please, call me Joffrey." I motioned for him to sit. "There is something I need to talk about. You're one of the few people I trust to listen to me."

Jon cautiously took the open chair.

"Why would you trust me?" Jon asked carefully.

"I've seen it." I shrugged. "Do you believe in prophecy?"

Jon stiffened.

"I don't know if it has been mentioned, but I almost died a couple of days ago." I continued. "You can ask anyone around that I've already changed quite a lot."

Jon gave a subtle nod.

"I saw the future." I replied. "A future, at least. It was not a good one."

Jon waited.

"Years of war, Winter comes, and the dragons return." I watched Jon listen to my words. When he didn't speak I went on. "Lord Stark is executed, Sansa is held hostage, Arya goes missing, Robb claims the title King of the North, Bran is paralyzed, and you join the Nights Watch. Robb sends Theon as an envoy, but it goes wrong very, very fast. That's just the next year."

Jon gawked at me.

"I know other things as well." I took a deep breath. "Your mother."

"Joffrey." Jon's voice came out strained. "Choose your words carefully."

"Don't worry." I gave him a sad smile. "I know my own origins too."

He scrunched his brow in confusion.

"Before I go on." I said. "I need your word that you will tell no one about anything we say in private. Not just tonight. Anytime going forward." I paused. "I also must ask for a favor."

Jon thought for a long moment. I could almost see him thinking it over before he nodded. Carefully, I stood and walked around the room. I returned to the table once I was sure that we weren't being observed.

"I cannot allow you to join the Nights Watch." I said. "You are too important for that. I will make sure that fresh men and supplies are sent as soon as possible, and frequently. It has been neglected for far too long."

Jon waited.

"You will be my man-at-arms, squire, or whatever I can find out what it was called." I rubbed a hand over my face. "Your life will change completely once I tell you. I need an oath of your service. That you will stand at my side, follow my orders, and help me be a good king."

Jon seemed to swell at the thought of the oath. His thoughts had a tint of bedtime stories of heroes and adventure. Jon may have thought himself beyond childish fancy. No matter how harsh this world could be, there were always dreams.

"I swear." Jon gave a single, solid nod.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts.

"Let me finish before you speak." I closed my eyes, centered myself, and opened them once more. "Ned Stark is not your father. He is your uncle. Your mother is Lyanna Stark, his sister. She married your father in secret. On her death, she swore Ned to protect you. She knew that Robert would kill you if he ever found out who you are."

The table groaned as Jon gripped it tightly.

"Why would he do that?" Jon forced out.

I gave him a hard look. Jon took a calming breath and motioned for me to continue.

"Your father was Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Lyanna Stark was not kidnapped; she went willingly with the man she loved." I went on. "Robert didn't want to believe that she would choose someone other than him. Even back then he would drink and whore himself crazy while professing his love for her."

"You don't think highly of your father." Jon said flatly.

"Robert Baratheon is not my father." I replied with a humorless smile. "Now you know my secret too."

Jon blinked as the information settled in.

"You see." I tapped my fingers on the table. "He'll kill us both if he finds out the truth. You're not only living proof that the woman of his dreams chose someone else, but he can convince himself to believe his lie and that you are the unwanted spawn of a dragon."

Jon still didn't speak.

"He'll kill me, and my mother, if he finds out that she found love elsewhere." I rolled my eyes. "You know, because he is a pillar of husbandly virtue."

Jon sat back against the chair. Neither of us spoke.

"Lord Stark knows." Jon whispered.

I nodded.

"He knew I wasn't a bastard." Jon muttered. "All this time."

"Now you see that I asked for your oath?" I asked.

Jon stared up at me as if he had forgotten that I was there. He took a couple of deep breaths before settling down. I stood up and motioned for him to follow me to the door. He did after a moment. I really hoped I hadn't just screwed myself.

"There is more, lots more, but I think that's enough life-changing information for one night." I shrugged. "Keep this to yourself. Tell no one about this. Not Lord Stark, your wolf, or anyone."

"Why not tell Ghost?" Jon flinched.

"Two reasons." I patted him on the shoulder. "First, you never know when someone is listening. Second, I wanted to make sure you were paying attention."

A flash of a smile played across his face. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall. The guards were standing at attention.

"Jon." I said before he could move too far. "If you see any servants, please send them up with a table and a couple of chairs. My guards can be just as vigilant and sit down."

Jon nodded and headed down the stairs. I returned to my quarters. It didn't take long for me to find another piece of parchment. There had to be something that I could think of to sketch. I was working on half-formed memories of things I had learned in passing. Hopefully my sketches would help someone smarter to figure it out.