Chapter 54: Bend the Knee

As the year was in its final days, Ned Stark found himself stood on the strong, 100-foot-high walls of Moat Cailin above the River Gate looking down the Causeway as a procession of Baratheon men rode towards them in the distance. The fortress was now completed, with all 9 towers standing strong and tall above the thick stone walls that surrounded the castle. From a distance it looked a lot like the Crown of Winter, which of course was the intention.

Ned was proud of the castle, and as he stood watching the tiny specks of yellow grow slowly, he thought on what his legacy would be. He hoped he would be remembered for his family, but he knew what the thoughts of men were like, and if they beat the Winter in Moat Cailin then the building of the fortress would be what he was remembered for.

As the Baratheon party grew closer, Ned decided it was time to gather everybody in the courtyard. He personally grabbed the smith, Gendry, himself and stood him next to Cley Cerwyn behind Ned, while Cat stood beside the Lord of Winterfell, along with his youngest children. They were only waiting there a few minutes when the call came from above the River Gate to open, and the Starks watched as the heavy Ironwood gates creaked open, followed by the steel portcullis being raised. Stannis was the first one through the gates, closely followed by Bran. As the horses came to a halt Ned got down on one knee before the King, and he didn't rise again until he saw Stannis' boots before him and a hand gesture him to rise.

"The North is yours, Your Grace." Ned said formally.

Stannis nodded curtly. "Thank you, Lord Stark. We have much to discuss." The Baratheon went down to greet Cat, and so Ned took the opportunity to bring Bran in for a hug.

"He's not happy." Bran whispered. "He knows where Torrhen went."

Ned simply gulped, and the rest of the greeting went by in a blur as Stannis spoke briefly with Gendry before Ned led him up to Torrhen's war room. All the Northern banners were still hanging around the room along with the Baratheon one, but the room felt massive when there was only Stannis and Ned inside.

"Tell me where your son is." Stannis stated.

Ned didn't bother to hide anything. "Currently he should be on his way back from Meereen."

"And why was he there in the first place, conspiring with a Targaryen?" Stannis asked through gritted teeth.

"He was there to bring Jon back at the very least, and at best he was there to strike a bargain with Daenerys Targaryen." Ned explained honestly. Stannis looked furious as he threw himself down into a chair.

"My brother made it clear that any conspiracy with that House was punishable by death." The King said coldly. "I haven't repealed that law."

Ned nodded. "And yet we need her, and her dragons." He replied calmly. "I swear, my intentions were not to undermine you as a ruler, merely to seek an answer to a question on your behalf that you could never ask."

"And that was?" Stannis asked.

"If we could come together in peace and work together, Baratheon and Targaryen, in order to defeat the coming storm." Ned told him. "As soon as I heard that Daenerys Targaryen was to wed a Dothraki horse lord I thought I should get some eyes I trust into her camp to judge her and her brother as a character. I sent my bastard, and Viserys Targaryen died at the hands of his Direwolf, while Daenerys went on to hatch dragons. From then it was a case of ensuring she knew the real threat wasn't from us, it was from the dead."

Stannis put his hand to his chin as he began digesting what was being said. "So she knows?"

"Aye, she knows." Ned explained. "And Torrhen's last message to me was that she is willing to set aside her differences for the greater good."

Stannis sighed loudly. "This is a lot to process." He admitted. "But one thing bothers me, why would they believe your bastard?"

Ned froze. He knew that eventually he would have to reveal all, but he hadn't expected to do so without Jon being here as well. "Because he isn't my bastard." He said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Stannis asked.

"He isn't my bastard." Ned said, more firmly. "He is Lyanna's son."

The silence was deafening as Stannis processed that information. "You didn't have two sons when you broke the siege." He was talking to himself. "Then by the time you had returned to King's Landing, Lady Catelyn had birthed you Robb and you had a son down in Dorne." He almost slapped himself. "How could nobody have guessed? There was no time for you to sleep with a Dornish woman."

Ned shrugged. "My reputation helped. If I told people that he was my son, they believed me. I didn't want to lie, but Robert would have killed him if he knew and I swore to Lya that I would protect him."

Stannis slumped further into his chair at that. "He would have. You saw Elia's children, didn't you?"

Ned scowled. "I have never detested Robert so much as I did at his reaction. That made the decision easy. I took Jon to Winterfell and raised him as my bastard, keeping the secret that he is Rhaegar and Lyanna's trueborn son to myself."

"Trueborn?" Stannis sat upright at that. "They wed?"

Ned nodded. "She explained it all on her deathbed." And so Ned explained everything to Stannis. About the fight outside the tower, about his conversation with Ser Gerold inside, and then Lyanna's request afterwards. "I raised him humbly, and when Jon found out about his past, he adamantly stated he would never want the Throne. I swear to you, you will find no competition in Jon. He just wants to live his life in peace."

Stannis shook his head. "It is a lot too process, and his wishes may not matter if the Targaryen sympathisers find out about this."

"Which is why Daenerys Targaryen is the key." Ned explained. "She seems amenable to an alliance, perhaps even bending the knee. But she is a conqueror no doubt about it, she broke Slaver's Bay with 8,000 men after all. If we antagonise her, then we could turn her against us and doom every single living person that lives in Westeros."

Stannis stood up and walked over to where his banner was set up. He touched the fabric and sighed. "What you did was treason. Not telling us about Rhaegar's son was treason."

"I know." Ned said calmly. "And I will accept your judgement."

Stannis scoffed. "I can't kill you, Lord Stark. If I did then half of my allies would turn against me quicker than I could blink." He sighed again. "I'm known to be a harsh, unfeeling man, but I understand why you did what you did. Robert was blinded against the Targaryen's and he sentenced me to 20 years on Dragonstone as a consequence. Protecting your family as you did, I understand that."

Ned breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Your Grace." He got to his knee. "I swear, I have never been anything but loyal otherwise."

"I know." Stannis nodded. "Rise, please." Ned did as he was asked. "And you are right, we cannot afford another civil war. I will meet with these Targaryen's, but I swear to you, I shall not be cowed. They will bend the knee, or they shall leave my shores."

While the King and the Warden of the North spoke in the War Room, Bran was led by his mother to his chambers inside Moat Cailin. Very quickly the room filled up, as his younger sisters stood in the doorway. The sight of them made Bran realise how long it had been since he had been in the North.

"Sara, Lyarra." Cat said softly to the two youngest siblings. "This is your brother, Bran."

He looked over at them, placing his sword belt on the bed before he knelt down before them. "Hello girls." He said calmly.

Sara cocked her head to the side, her auburn plait swaying slightly. "You're our brother?" She asked. "Like Robb?"

Bran nodded with a smile. "I've been away for a long time, but yes." He answered her. Sara just grinned and hugged him tightly, an action which Bran reciprocated. Little Lyarra clearly idolised her older sister and copied her after a moment. Bran chuckled, looking up at their Mother who had a tearful smile on her lips. He sunk deeper into the hug and felt truly at home.

305 AC

For most people travelling from the suns of Essos, the sight of a dreary grey sky above a sleek white snowy White Harbour would perhaps be off putting. For Torrhen, Jon and Mira however, they were home. All 3 of them stood atop the deck of the Frostfang as the ship pulled towards the harbour, eagerly anticipating stepping in the snow.

The ship dropped its anchor and the rowboats were lowered. The majority of the Unsullied were to be rowed outside the city walls ready for the march, but the occupants of the Frostfang had been invited into White Harbour for the night. Torrhen helped both Ghost and Balerion into the rowboat first before he dropped in and picked up an oar, taking them towards the city.

A strong Manderly procession had gathered. As Torrhen stepped onto the wooden pier he recognised Lord Wylis and his wife Leona Woolfield, as well as Lady Wynafred Manderly, Wylla's older sister, and her new husband Ser Willem Locke. They all bowed their heads in respect to the Stark, but immediately as Torrhen went to open his mouth, the dragons roared from above startling the Manderly's.

"They will behave." Torrhen reassured them. "Thank you for allowing us into White Harbour, Lord Wylis."

Wylis bowed his head again. "We are always more than happy to welcome House Stark into our gates." He said pointedly, looking over at Daenerys as he said that. "House Targaryen however…"

"We trust Lord Torrhen's judgement, Father." Wynafred said calmly. She smiled and walked up to Daenerys. "And if Lord Torrhen thinks that this is necessary, then we are happy to welcome all of his guests."

Torrhen looked at the future Lady of White Harbour thankfully. "I can assure you, Lord Wylis. Old enemies are new friends all over the realm. I trust Daenerys Targaryen completely."

Wylis nodded. "The hospitality of White Harbour is yours." He stated. "Rooms have been prepared for everybody, Wynafred will be happy to show your guests to their chambers, but Lord Torrhen. If I might steal you away for a word?"

Torrhen nodded. "Of course." He answered. He turned to Mira and kissed her on the cheek. "Take Bal with you." Mira nodded, calling for the largest of the Direwolves to follow her as she in turn followed Wynafred with Asher, Dany and Jon. Torrhen watched them go until soon there was only him and Wylis Manderly on the pier. "I appreciate your hesitance…"

"My hesitance is only because I was there on the Trident." Ser Wylis said shortly. "I saw the Last Dragon fall at the hands of King Robert with my own eyes." Another screech was heard as Wylis looked nervously at the sky. "Now we have real dragons above my Father's city."

"They are well trained." Torrhen insisted.

"They better be." Wylis grumbled. "But anyway, your Father sent news ahead in preparation for your arrival."

That intrigued Torrhen as Ser Wylis began walking slowly down the pier. "I trust things in Winterfell are good? I have missed it."

"Winterfell is strong as ever." Wylis explained. "Your sister has relocated to the Dreadfort and all reports from my Northern borders state that she is doing a fine job as the Lady of the Dreadfort." Torrhen grinned, knowing full well that Sansa was as capable as anyone of dealing with the Bolton's. "Arya is also faring well on Bear Island. Your Father says she's as capable as you know her to be."

"That's a scary thought." Torrhen smirked, remembering the Arya that had been trained by the House of Black and White.

Wylis cleared his throat before continuing. "Lord Robb and Wylla are keeping Winterfell running, and all your other siblings are waiting for you at Moat Cailin, where the King awaits your arrival."

Torrhen gulped. "It is time then." He commented darkly.

"Aye." Wylis sighed. "I hope you know what you are doing. Stannis Baratheon isn't a man to bend."

Torrhen nodded as every possible outcome of the coming talks ran through his mind. "With any luck, Ser, he won't need to."

The Iron Islands were a shell of what they had been. As the Crow's Eye took his first steps back on Pyke since his exile, he took in the scene of Lordsport around him. It was abandoned, the stone huts that had once been bristling with activity by the port were now completely empty and derelict. Euron Greyjoy took a step towards the nearest one and kicked the door in, before he held his hand up to cover his eyes from the dust. It had been his favourite alehouse from before his exile, now the building was nothing more than a shell for the rats.

Euron scoffed and left the building, slightly angry that there wasn't even a barrel of ale for him to take back to the Silence. As he hit the fresh air once more he surveyed the empty town, shocked.

"Best be leavin' this place." A gruff old voice stated bluntly from another building close by. Euron turned to see a scraggly looking old man, trembling as he tried to hold a nocked bow. "You'll only get ghosts."

"What happened?" Euron asked. "Where the fuck is everyone?"

The old man chuckled darkly. "Where you been hidin'?" He grumbled. "Everyone's fucked off to Harlaw, or Great Wyk, or some other shitheap." He relaxed the bow and set it down. "Harlaw's in charge now, the Greyjoy's fucked off the Greenlanders one too many times."

Euron looked up towards his childhood home and for the first time noticed that he couldn't even see the top of the towers. "The castle?"

"Torn down." The old man shrugged. "The Greenlander King ordered it done, they took the stones somewhere. No-one is here now, no-one but me." The old man shrugged. "I ain't going nowhere, this is my home."

"It used to be mine." Euron muttered darkly. "Harlaw's in charge, you say?" The old man nodded. Euron looked back up to where the castle of Pyke should have been. "Not for long." He whispered menacingly.

The sound of the Unsullied's feet marching in unison filled the air as their boots slammed against the Kingsroad on their way to Moat Cailin. Torrhen, Jon and Dany led the procession, with both the Stark's of Moat Cailin banner and the Targaryen banner flying behind them. As the castle gates opened, the Unsullied came to a halt before entering the fortress, while a wheelhouse and a dozen or so horses entered through the Winter Gate that had the looming Giant's Tower on top of it. Torrhen dismounted his horse with everybody else and strode towards the gathered procession, falling to his knee in front of Stannis Baratheon. "My King." He said calmly.

"Get up." Stannis said shortly. Torrhen did as he was asked and met the cold blue eyes of King Stannis Baratheon. "I'm surprised at the deference given who is stood behind you."

Above everyone's heads, three dragons began screeching as they flew in the air, causing more than a handful of whispers and shrieks. Stannis, to his credit, only gave them a brief glance. Torrhen cleared his throat and began speaking. "I only did what was right for your Kingdom, Your Grace. As I was instructed to by my Father." Torrhen glanced at Ned to Stannis' side. "And as he is stood beside you and his head wasn't greeting us above the Moat's walls, I assume that to mean that we can forget any talk of betrayal and move on to what really matters, coming to an agreement so that we can all fight against the true enemy."

"Torrhen." Ned said warningly.

Stannis didn't smile, but his eyes flickered for a moment into something less accusing. "Lord Torrhen speaks true." He admitted, looking towards the two Targaryen's who had remained standing. "I never thought I would see another Targaryen for as long as I lived."

Dany smiled back at him, the action not reaching her eyes. "I never believed I would look upon a Baratheon unless it was across the battlefield. Yet here we are."

"Here we are indeed." Stannis repeated. "Let us get this done, to the War Room." He turned swiftly and walked inside the Main Keep. Torrhen breathed slightly easier as he embraced his Father.

"Go on a moment." Ned whispered to Torrhen. "Give me a moment with Jon."

Torrhen stepped back and nodded, and briefly allowed Dany a second to be introduced to Ned before she walked inside with him. "You did well." Torrhen told her.

"I've not been cowered by a man for decades." She scoffed. "Are you sure he will agree?"

Torrhen sighed. "He has to."

They got to the War Room to see it had already been set up. Stannis was sat in his seat already with Bran at his side, and four more seats had been set out, with guards of both Baratheon and Stark livery stood by the walls. Torrhen grinned at Bran, who moved to greet his brother before placing them both in their given seats. The tension was intense until Jon and Ned both entered the room, and the doors were shut and locked loudly.

"You're locking us in?" Jon asked.

"Best to not have any interruptions." Ned answered for him, taking his own seat around the circular table.

Jon nodded and sat beside Dany as silence fell once more. It lasted a couple of minutes before Torrhen grew impatient. "So how are we starting…"

"What are your intentions towards Westeros?" Stannis asked the Targaryen's, interrupting Torrhen.

Dany wasted no time in her response. "To save it." She answered back curtly.

"We know what is coming." Jon added. "Westeros is my home just as much as it is yours, and I would aid the efforts in any way I can."

"Then why wait all this time?" Stannis asked them all. Torrhen noticed Bran sat in the corner furiously scribbling away. "It's been 5 years since your wedding to the Dothraki Khal, why not head back to Westeros then? I know you knew of the threat back then."

Jon looked at Ned, who nodded. "We could have come back then, you're right." Jon told the Baratheon. "But what would have been better, a handful of men and women arriving on your shores, or an army ready and willing to protect the living?"

"An army of slave soldiers." Stannis corrected. "We have outlawed that." He looked at Daenerys. "Your ancestors outlawed it in fact, I believe."

"An army of free men." Dany corrected. "The reason we stayed in Essos and marched through Dragon's Bay." She emphasised the new name. "Is so that slavery is eradicated in the part of the world it is most apparent. I abhor slavery. We conquered the region so that every man, women and child could be free."

"And we will fight here for the same cause." Jon added on. "The Night King, if I am told correctly, wishes to kill us and force us into his army. We would stop that."

Torrhen smirked at the response, but Ned cleared his throat. "You can see how this looks to the King however, an army at his shore being led by the last children of a dynasty we sought to overthrow?"

"Lord Stark. I have not forgotten your role in this." Stannis said quickly, but Torrhen saw through the words and knew that he was just prompting.

"Lord Stark sent me to Essos after my heritage was revealed it is true." Jon explained. "But he never wished it to come to war between us. I would never want that either." He sighed, standing up and leaning on the table, which showed a map of the North today. "I was brought up as the Bastard of Winterfell, and no revelation has changed the fact that I am still the Bastard of Winterfell, trueborn Targaryen or not. I want no crown, I just want to live peacefully."

Stannis nodded. "Perhaps, but you are not the only Targaryen in this room." He looked at Dany once more.

Torrhen watched as Dany's purple eyes were illuminated by candlelight. She sighed as well. "My brother was the one to bring me up after we escaped you at Dragonstone." She explained. "He fed me stories of Targaryen glory, of the Baratheon Usurpers and our right to the Iron Throne. Do you know where all that talk got him?" She gestured towards Jon. "To the jaws of a Stark Direwolf. I don't want my family to die out over some notion that we deserve what was taken from us. We won the Iron Throne in conquest and we lost it the same way, I can accept that."

"Then what do you want?" Stannis asked.

"Dragonstone." Dany answered quickly. "Give us our home and House Targaryen shall be your loyal banners."

Stannis looked a little surprised. "That's it?" He asked them.

"That's all." Jon confirmed.

"The seat of my heir?" Stannis shook his head. "It can't be."

Torrhen spoke up then. "Your Grace, it was the seat of the Targaryen heir it is true, but do you really believe King Robert gave you the castle because you were his heir at the time, or because it was a constant reminder of what he viewed as your failure?"

Ned nodded his head at that. "That is a good point."

Stannis wasn't sure. "A good point or not, a Lord of Dragonstone has already been announced in your son, Lord Stark."

"These are unprecedented times." Dany explained. "By reforging a Baratheon Targaryen alliance I'm sure the people will care little for you changing your mind over Dragonstone."

"And Your Grace, I won't be there often, if at all, anyway." Bran spoke up. "If it means peace between us all, then I don't mind."

Bran was always good, Torrhen thought. He could see that his younger brother must have had some sway over the King too, as Stannis actually seemed to be considering it. "There is another Targaryen site that could be used as the seat of the heir." Torrhen told them. He went to some cabinets against one of the walls and found his map of Westeros as a whole and flattened it out on the table, pointing to an area in the Dornish Marches that had been abandoned for decades. "One that is within the Baratheon ancestral Kingdom."

"Summerhall." Stannis said quietly as he mulled it over. "A cursed place."

"It depends on what stories you believe." Torrhen shrugged. "But it's as good a place as any for the heir to sit."

Stannis was silent as he thought about it. "You will bend the knee?"

Both Jon and Dany nodded. "Give Dragonstone to us and we shall swear our fealty." Jon explained.

"Which of you?" Stannis asked. Dany just smirked at him and he groaned in realisation. "Of course, Targaryen's." He muttered.

"Jon will be Lord." Dany said amusedly. "Proclaim him now."

"And what about you?" Ned asked her.

Jon grinned as he took Dany's hand. "I was going to ask Torrhen about that a bit later…"

The pair of Targaryen's bent the knee to Stannis in the Moat Cailin main hall, surrounded by all the nobles that was housed in the castle. Once the ceremony was completed Stannis wrote up some official papers detailing Jon as 'Lord Aegon Targaryen of Dragonstone' before the King departed for King's Landing with all of his party bar Bran, who would be sailing back down to King's Landing after some time in the North. With the King gone however, attention turned to the next event, Jon and Daenerys' wedding.

The Weirwood in Moat Cailin was still relatively small as it was still in its early stages of growing, but to have the best of both religions a Septon was brought from White Harbour, and after a lot of persuasion and a meeting with Drogon, the Septon agreed to perform the wedding ceremony in the Godswood. Torrhen stood beside his wife and son smiling as he watched their union, and was glad to host the party that evening. He allowed Jon and Dany the Lord's Table for themselves and found himself stood on the edge of the revelry, silently observing as Mira was being spun around the dancefloor by Bran.

"Most people that knew him compare you to Brandon." Ned said as his Father came to stand beside him. "But it's times like this you remind me of myself."

Torrhen chuckled. "I just keep thinking about what's coming." He explained. "We've made our plans, we've made our alliances. Now it's just a waiting game."

"Aye, it is." Ned nodded as the Stark patriarch watched Cat also dancing, except she was in a large circle with Asher and their youngest daughters. "So go and enjoy yourself while you can." He gestured towards Mira, who smiled brightly over towards Torrhen from the dancefloor. "You have a lovely young wife, use this time now to make memories worth living for with her."

Torrhen nodded. "I will, Father."

He felt his hair get ruffled then. "Good lad. The time for sombre planning can come soon enough, but for tonight we celebrate."

Nodding, Torrhen grabbed the nearest glass of whatever wine they had had in the stores and downed it, grimacing as it was forced down his throat. He gasped slightly to recapture his breathing before he nodded again, more to himself, and he marched his way onto the floor to spend the night with his wife.