Chapter 216: Doubt
"Don't blame Father," Bran said softly, seeing the turmoil in Jon's eyes. "Everything he did was to protect you. And the reason he had to do it... was because of your real father."
Jon's heart skipped a beat.
Protect him?
Ned Stark had been the Warden of the North, one of King Robert's closest friends. Who could possibly force a man like that to conceal the truth about his own family?
His voice came out strained.
"Who... who was he?"
Bran met his gaze.
"Rhaegar Targaryen."
"It was him?"
Jon stood frozen.
After hearing stories from Sam about Daenerys and the Targaryens, he had learned much about the events that sparked Robert's Rebellion.
According to the tale told throughout the Seven Kingdoms, Prince Rhaegar had abducted Lyanna Stark.
Lyanna's brother Brandon Stark and her father Rickard Stark had ridden to the Red Keep demanding justice.
Instead, King Aerys had murdered them both.
That atrocity had ignited the rebellion that eventually toppled House Targaryen.
A bitter smile tugged at Jon's lips.
"So in the end... I'm still a bastard."
That was the first thought that came to him.
Learning that Rhaegar was his father did little to change the reality he had lived with his entire life.
At the same time, however, he finally understood why Ned had hidden the truth.
If Robert Baratheon had ever learned that Rhaegar's son was alive, Jon would never have survived childhood.
"Your true name should be Aegon Targaryen," Bran continued.
Jon nodded instinctively.
Then suddenly his eyes widened.
"Wait."
"Targaryen?"
His brow furrowed in confusion.
"No... shouldn't it be Waters? Or perhaps Blackfyre?"
If Rhaegar had fathered him outside of marriage, then he should have borne a bastard's surname, not the name of the royal dynasty itself.
Bran shook his head.
"No."
"It's Targaryen."
"Rhaegar had his marriage to Princess Elia formally annulled by the High Septon. Afterward, he and Aunt Lyanna were legally wed in a ceremony conducted by the High Septon himself."
Jon's breathing stopped for a moment.
The implications struck him like a hammer.
Bran continued quietly.
"The marriage was legitimate."
"You were born of that marriage."
"You were never a bastard."
Jon stared blankly at him.
The words echoed through his mind again and again.
You were never a bastard.
The identity he had carried his entire life.
The shame.
The mockery.
The whispers.
The loneliness.
All of it suddenly seemed to crumble beneath a single revelation.
Before he could process that shock, Bran delivered another.
"And there's something else."
"The current Queen, Daenerys Targaryen..."
He paused.
"She's your aunt."
Jon's eyes widened.
For a long moment, he could only stare at Bran in silence.
His father was Rhaegar Targaryen.
His mother was Lyanna Stark.
His true name was Aegon Targaryen.
And the woman who now sat upon the Iron Throne—
the Dragon Queen who had united the Seven Kingdoms—
was his own blood.
His aunt.
After hearing Bran's explanation, Jon simply stared at him, utterly speechless.
Bran understood exactly what he was going through and didn't interrupt.
Some truths couldn't be absorbed all at once.
He simply sat there and gave Jon time to process everything.
Three minutes later, seeing Jon's expression gradually settle, Bran finally spoke again.
"I'll take you to see Queen Daenerys."
"What? Right now?"
Jon nearly jumped out of his skin.
The image of the regal Queen seated upon the Iron Throne flashed through his mind.
Now Bran was telling him that woman was his aunt?
The revelation was still difficult to accept.
Bran nodded.
"You're returning to the Wall soon. If you don't tell her now, who knows when you'll next come to King's Landing?"
Seeing Jon's awkward expression, he continued,
"Besides, this isn't the kind of secret you should carry forever."
It wasn't only because Drogon had instructed him to bring Jon.
Bran himself no longer wished to bear such an enormous secret alone.
Jon hesitated for several moments before finally sighing.
"Then... let's go."
Sooner or later, they would have to meet as family.
Perhaps now truly was the best time.
As he pushed Bran's wheelchair through the corridors, another troubling thought suddenly surfaced.
What if Daenerys didn't believe them?
Bran's visions were real, but proving them was another matter entirely.
Then an even bigger problem struck him.
If he truly was Rhaegar's legitimate son...
If he truly was Aegon Targaryen...
Then by the laws of succession, his claim to the Iron Throne was actually stronger than Daenerys's.
Jon froze mid-step.
Only now did he realize the true implications.
He had absolutely no desire for the Iron Throne.
But would Daenerys believe that?
Would her advisors believe that?
Would they see him as a nephew—or a rival?
Bran felt the wheelchair slowing and looked back.
Jon had stopped walking altogether, lost in thought.
"What now?" Bran asked.
Jon rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Bran... maybe this isn't a good idea."
He lowered his voice.
"What if Queen Daenerys thinks I'm here to challenge her claim to the Iron Throne?"
Bran couldn't help but laugh.
For once, his older brother was thinking like a politician.
It was exactly the same concern Bran himself had wrestled with.
He had even worried that Drogon might decide it was safer to eliminate both of them.
But those fears had vanished the moment Drogon appeared in his room.
If the Dragon God truly wanted them silenced, he would never have encouraged Bran to reveal the truth.
Drogon's attitude had made one thing abundantly clear.
He simply didn't care.
As frustrating as that realization was, it was also reassuring.
"She won't think that," Bran said confidently.
"Come on."
The reassurance did little to calm Jon's nerves.
Nevertheless, he pushed the wheelchair forward once more.
The entire way, Bran's words echoed through his mind.
Eventually they arrived outside Daenerys's chambers.
Bran knocked lightly.
Inside, Daenerys was studying maps and discussing plans for the upcoming campaign against the Free Cities.
Hearing the knock, she rose and opened the door herself.
The sight awaiting her caused her to pause.
Bran Stark.
And Jon Snow.
"Your Grace," Bran said politely. "May Jon and I come in?"
"Of course."
Though surprised, Daenerys immediately stepped aside.
She had no idea why they had come, but there was no reason to refuse them.
Jon offered an awkward smile as he pushed Bran into the room.
At that moment, Drogon lifted off the desk where he'd been lounging.
Seeing the dragon immediately solved one of Jon's concerns.
Bran had been right.
With Drogon at her side, Daenerys had no reason to fear anyone challenging her throne.
Not even someone with a stronger claim.
Not even him.
Jon couldn't help giving a strange, self-conscious smile.
Daenerys blinked in confusion.
Then, out of politeness, smiled back.
This is painfully awkward.
Watching aunt and nephew exchange bizarre smiles without understanding why, Drogon couldn't resist mocking them internally.
Bran glanced toward Drogon before speaking.
"Your Grace, you know that I'm a greenseer."
"I can witness events from the past."
Daenerys immediately stiffened.
If Bran had come all this way, then he must have seen something important.
Something connected to her.
Her gaze shifted toward Jon.
She remembered the strange smile he'd given her moments earlier.
Could whatever Bran had discovered somehow involve Jon as well?
When Daenerys looked at him, Jon attempted another smile.
It came out even worse than before.
Halfway between a grin and a grimace.
That only deepened Daenerys's suspicion.
Then another memory surfaced.
A day long ago, while she and Missandei had been working together, Drogon had suddenly spoken toward an empty wall.
At the time she hadn't understood why.
Now a disturbing possibility occurred to her.
Was Bran watching us back then?
Using his greenseer abilities?
Her expression darkened immediately.
No one liked being watched without permission.
Least of all the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Bran saw her face change and instantly grew nervous.
His carefully maintained composure began to crack.
Did Drogon already tell her?
Did he explain why I brought Jon here?
Is that why she suddenly looks upset?
The thought made him sweat.
But there was no turning back now.
Besides, Drogon himself had instructed him to bring Jon.
So Bran forced himself to continue.
"Your Grace, I witnessed the battle at the Tower of Joy."
"I saw my aunt Lyanna Stark."
"Before she died, she entrusted an infant to my father."
Bran paused.
"She said his name was Aegon Targaryen."
Daenerys's eyes widened.
The more she listened, the more shocked she became.
Then Bran spoke the infant's name.
At that moment she could no longer remain silent.
"That's impossible."
Her voice rang through the room.
"My brother Rhaegar's wife was Princess Elia, Oberyn's sister."
She stared at Bran in disbelief.
"How could that child possibly bear the name Targaryen?"
For the first time since Bran began speaking, doubt overwhelmed her certainty.