Those Who Were Never Saved

(Location: Arthur's Tree)

(Time: Night)

(Jon POV)

We'd managed to make it off the forest floor and up into a tree that had been hollowed out, similar runes to what I'd seen in the cave were carved around where torch stands were held.

I've been struggling to get my thoughts together ever since I heard Arthur's story, even though he never came out and said it the story told me all I need to know about who my mother is.

'But it also tells me that Lord Stark isn't my father but my uncle and that my real father is Rhaegar Targaryen, the man who kidnapped my mother and raped her' I think to myself feeling sick to my stomach.

'I never thought even after how I was treated in Winterfell that I'd be more ashamed to be alive' I think shamefully to myself.

I turn away from the circular opening that we climbed through and look at Arthur who is taking off his scabbard and boots.

"I listened to you, we are out of the forest now tell me what I want to know" I said impatiently as I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him.

He didn't even flinch he just gave a small wistful smile.

"You look exactly like her when you narrow your eyes like that, I can't tell you how many times I've been on the other end of that stare, usually when I'd tell her she couldn't do something" he says with a small chuckle still taking off his boots.

I don't say anything continuing staring at him until he sighs and then looks up at me.

"Your father is Rhaegar Targaryen and your mother is Lyanna Stark" he says bluntly

"I gathered as much from your story of the tower of joy" I reply my arms still crossed.

"My father kidnapped my mother and raped her, why couldn't you've just not told me at all, I felt better about myself being known as the shame of Ned Stark" I say in a harsh voice.

Anger flashes in Arthur's eyes as he stands up "That was a lie!" He spits as he loses his temper.

"Rhaegar was one of the best men I've ever known, he would never do something so despicable" he continues

"I was with Rhaegar that day and she came with him because she loved him and did not want to get married to that usurper scum Robert Baratheon" he sneers

"Robert dishonoured Lyanna every night he went to a brothel and slept with his whores even though they were betrothed! Even though he strutting around Harrenhal claiming he loved her" he starts pacing around while breathing in and out trying to calm himself.

"Robert Baratheon is a weak man, barely even a man look at how he drinks and eats himself to death all because he couldn't get something he wanted like a child"

"Rhaegar knew her value and he asked her if she wanted to go with him, he never would've done something against her will" he says finally calming himself down.

"I'm sorry Jon I admit I lost myself there for a minute" he sighs

"But the point is Rhaegar loved your mother, I was there when the married each other and I've seen two people so happy" he says to me

"How could he have married my mother if he was already married to Elia Martell" I ask

"He annulled his marriage to Elia, he did love her but she could not bare him another child as she was already dying" Arthur says sadly quickly rubbing his eyes.

"How was she dying, what do you mean" I ask curiously.

"Crabs in the stomach or so the Maester said, it would spread throughout her body before the year was out" he explained

"Rhaegar loved her but he believed he needed to have another child it was just good fortune that he met your mother" Arthur states with a small smile.

"Why did he need to have another one" I ask curiously

"We will discuss that another time" he says severely

He then moved back and walks to where a bed roll was strewn out.

"Come, ask any question and I'll try my best to answer them" he says sitting back down on an the floor of the tree.

"What did you mean when you said you're the one who caused the ship wreck" I asked in mild curiosity.

"That was a bit of an accident on my part, but when I followed you onto the boat I was behind you by maybe half a minute but it was long enough for me to hear someone behind me so I had to hide" Arthur explains.

"But who I say wasn't a member of the crew but your sister who was looking around, I stepped out and she looked back at me and ran away, she must've thought I was one of the crew members, she never saw my face as ever since I've been in Westeros I've worn a helmet. He continued.

"Why did you need to most of the small folk would never have met you" I say in confusion.

"But your uncle would recognise me from a mile away and I've had to stay close to you since I knew when you were old enough he would've sent you to the wall, I was hoping that at the time I would be able to spirit you away when you made your journey to castle black" he explains.

"But going back to the story, I followed Sansa to where she ran off too only to find both of you sprawled out on the floor" he gives a small laugh as my cheeks heat up a bit and I go back to facing the outside.

"Before I could do anything though it seemed the crew had returned and they were getting ready to set sail, so I hid"

"The ship was huge so it wasn't a hard task but unfortunately members of the crew found you"

He then looks at me and asks me something I never considered.

"The ship was going to Qarth and from white harbour that's a long journey, did you not consider how you were were knocked out in white harbour and woke up on a beach in Sothoryos" he says in an even tone while looking at my back.

My eyes widen and I turn back around to face him "I suppose I never did, I mean I had no idea where we were at the time until I read an old journal I found, but I suppose even being unconscious for more than a day would be weird" I say touching my hand to my bare chin.

"The ship wasn't transporting cargo it was transporting people" he says as I look at him with wide eyes disgust slowly showing on my face.

"No not like that" he says holding his hands up

"They were transporting important people from Qarth, in this case warlocks from the house of the undying" he continued

"How did you know they were warlocks" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"They aren't hard to spot, their lips blue from overuse of shade of the evening" he says with a little disgust.

"I have no clue what warlocks were doing in the north, perhaps it is something to do with magic, the north has always been much stronger in magic than the south has" he ponders out loud

"It was the warlocks who decided to keep you unconscious by force feeding you milk of the poppy, the crew was initially just going to wake you up and tell you to fuck off" he states

"But why would they want to do something like that!" I ask anger rising in my voice

"Jon..." he sighs

"You may not want to hear this but you are a Targaryen your blood is powerful, even more so when it is mixed with stark blood" he states in a serious tone.

"Sansa will have magic in her blood as she is a Stark, but you have the blood of the first men and of the dragon lords of Valyria, that is a powerful combination and it would make your magic even more potent" he continues

"In Westeros and most of Essos magic has been dying, it started during the doom of Valyria and has continued to this day, look there are no more dragons in the world, men like the warlocks of Qarth have no real power anymore"

"The only way they can acquire power is through blood and sacrifice" he states in a grim tone

"So they kept us unconscious to use us in a ritual" I say to Arthur to which he nods his head.

"I had to dodge and hide from the crew and warlocks for nearly two weeks before I got a chance to get both of you to a life raft and get us out of there" he says while shifting himself in his seat.

"It was a pretty rough night at sea and a lot of the cargo hold was empty but there was a few crates in there, mostly food, but after one particular rough wave a box of this black powder substance fell on the floor" he continues.

"I didn't think much of it until another wave made me stumble and knock into a box which caused a cascade effect ending with a torch getting knocked off the wall"

"What happened after that" I said paying complete attention to his words.

"Well it cause an explosion akin to a lot of wildfire being lit, though lucky it only threw us back. But it did make a huge hole in the ship" he stated with a small chuckle.

"I managed to get us through the hole and I put both of you in a life boat before I ended up getting swept away in a wave" he says while shrugging his shoulders.

"After that I woke up on a beach and started looking for tracks, I found the remains of your boat and your tracks going into the forest, so I took the long way around and ended up finding this place" he concludes.

"How did you know not to go into the forest" I say suspiciously

"Rhaegar has looked through everything written about this continent, whether it be history books or first accounts he's read them. He always believed that coming here would strengthen a persons inherent magic but he never was able to come, being the Crown Prince and with his fathers madness increasing he couldn't risk himself" Arthur states in an even tone.

"In one of the accounts of a pirate from the Basilisk Isles a man came here looking for new and precious resources in order to fund his own fleet" Arthur explains

"He managed to survive the forest but then took the first opportunity to leave, he said that this land is sick and all who come here will only find death and madness, some forests aren't real but are just traps that poor adventures wonder into believing themselves to be okay until they realise they've walked straight into the belly of a beast" he states which gives me chills down the back of my spine.

"He recalls all the dangers he faced but he goes into detail about the forest and how it was the worst one by far"

"Can you help get us out of here" I ask him in a hopeful voice.

"No" he states bluntly

My heart drops as all hope of us leaving here is dashed against the rocks.

"You're the only one who can help us escape" he states in the same blunt tone

"What do you mean" I ask in a confused voice

"Jon, even during the height of the Valyrian empire a real sorcerer was one in a million, most of the time Valyrian express their magic at an instinctual level which results in being resistant or sometimes immune to fire as well as the connection that forms between them and dragons"

"But sorcerers were capable of performing real magic mostly in the form flames as that is what the Valyrians have an affinity for" he continues.

"I think you might be right" I say slowly

"Ever since I've come to this place, there has been two times where fire has seemingly shot out of my body" I say in a disbelieving tone while sitting next to Arthur.

"Magic is still alive here, so it makes sense you'd be able to start instinctually using it without the need of a focus" he says while nodding his head.

"Can you show me how to control it" I ask him in a hopeful tone.

He smiles at me and says "Of course your grace, but for now we should get some sleep"

"Yes I think we could both use some" I say before lying down and closing my eyes.

(The next morning)

I'd been awake since just before Dawn, I couldn't help but worry about Sansa, I'd left more than a few torches burning so I'm hoping she's okay but I need to get to her soon.

I go to Arthur to try and shake him awake, before I can even touch him his hand is around my write.

Feeling shock and a little bit of awe at the man's reflexes even in his 40th decade.

"Sorry but you need to wake up I've been away from Sansa for too long we need to go" I say in a serious tone while shaking his hand off of my wrist.

"I apologise your grace, I've had very little sleep in these last few weeks" he says with a small smile as he gets up and starts to get ready.

"Don't call me that" I say testily to him.

"Why not it's what you are" he says back bluntly.

"I'm still dealing with the fact that my whole life has been a lie, coupled with the fact that I'm not sure I even want to be king" I say while rubbing my forehead with my hand.

I move and pick up my sword belt and tie to to my waist, I walk to the opening in the tree and feel the heat coming through the opening 'It's barely mid morning and it's already this hot' I think to myself as I turn around to face Arthur who looks to be contemplating something.

He sighs "Alright Jon I won't call you king until you're ready, but I've watched you for a while now and I know the kind of man will be, you won't be able to sit by and watch people suffer under the usurpers rule" he states with conviction.

"I guess we will see" I say looking him dead in the eye.

"Now let's go" I say to him and he nods as we both climb out the tree to go back to my cave.

(3 hours later)

We managed to make it back to the river here without incident, even stopped by the grove to get more fruit and a little breakfast, now we are at the least wide part of the river.

"This is where we need to cross but be careful I'm not sure what manner of creatures lurk in these waters" I state in a serious tone while pointing in the river.

Before I can start walking he puts his hand on my shoulder and holds me back.

"I'll go first, whether you want to be king or not it will not take away from my duty towards you" he says before going forward.

He gets to the river back and draws his sword, but before he can step into the water the scaled like creature burst through the shore mouth already extended and ready to sink its teeth into the member of the kingsguard.

"Watch out!!!" I shout to him trying to reach towards him.

But before I can even breathe he pivots on his right leg and spins around then slices his blade in an upwards motion until it's hanging above his head.

When I finally take a breath I see the creatures head fall off the rest of its body and the whole thing sink back into the water.

My mouth is open in disbelief, if I had blinked I don't think I would've even see Arthur attack.

"This creature is a Dire Lizard-lion, or that's what a Maester from the citadel so cleverly called them" he states while putting dawn back into its sheath

"There aren't that many of them left, rumour has it that someone either killed them all or they were taken" he shrugs

"I want you to train me with the sword" I say to him ignoring all that he just said.

"My my, is the little king giving me a command" he says while laughing.

"I thought you didn't want to be king" he says with mirth.

"Please train me" I rephrase myself as I clench my fists.

"I barely survived my first encounter with one of these things, I need to get stronger whether it be mastering magic or the sword" I say looking up at him.

"It won't be easy" he says to me all humour from his face gone.

"We are in one of the most hostile places in the world, not a fancy castle, at any point in time we could be attacked and you want to exhaust your body on a daily basis" he continues.

"You are brave, but quite foolish" he says a small smile returning to your face.

"Come, we can go through the specifics at a later time we should go get your cousin first" he says before walking through the water with myself quickly joining him.

(At the Hill)

I basically sprint up the hill in order to make it back to the cave and my heart sores at the fact that the lights still burn in the cave.

Though when I enter I lose hope again as I see no one in there apart from the skeletons.

Sansa is gone

"AHHHH!!!" I scream as I bash the wall with my fists throwing stuff everywhere and releasing my anger on anything and everything. The warmth in the centre of my chest suddenly floods my body as flame erupt from my hands and feet spreading through the cave.

Arthur catches up to me a few minutes later to see the once orderly cave to be a chaotic mess of burnt wood and broken glass some of it even being warped and melted.

"I'm sorry Jon, but you needed to see this for yourself" he says to me in a somber tone

With my body still hot with anger I look up at him with a scowl on my face my eyes entirely violet with an orange outline.

Arthur looks shocked as he sees my eyes but composed himself "I believed there was a good chance she would be taken, those runes on the wall do not keep out other people" he says

"Who took her" I spit out while getting up on my feet.

"The brindlemen" he states while looking straight at me.

"They are a monstrous people, tall thickly muscled and hairy they resemble more that ape than they do us but are far more intelligent" he says

"What are they gonna do with her" I ask afraid of what his answer is going to be.

"I don't know" he says unconvincingly

"Tell me the truth!" I shout at him walking straight up to him

He flinches and then sighs "I read about it in a book once when me and Rhaegar were researching this continent, they steal women and eat parts of them in order to reproduce, but to complete the ritual they need a male, which is why you must absolutely not go" he says with conviction

"How can you expect me to leave her!"I shout back at him.

"I wish we could help her but you don't understand, those sacrificed in this ritual become part of their god" he says in a panicked voice

"He takes everything you are and leaves his followers with what they need"

"Who is this so called God they follow" I say sarcasm dripping from my voice.

"The Great Other" he states seriously

"The one who almost drowned this earth in a never ending darkness in the dawn age"

"That doesn't make any sense, we defeated the white walkers and the Night King and then Bran the Builder built the wall" I say with a small amount of confusion.

"Are you naive enough to believe that the Long night only happened in Westeros" he says shaking his head at me.

"It happened everywhere, and we got lucky that a few legendary heroes managed to rise up and fight back the darkness" he says

"Azor Ahai, The Last Hero, Edric Shadowchaser, The Stallion Who Mounts The World, The Prince Who Was Promised, The Flying General, all of these me were heroes though in time history seemed to blend them into one person but they all existed around the world and they fought back the long night, in Westeros all the way to the furthest reaches of Essos" he continues while turning around leaning on the cave wall and facing outside the cave.

"Who stopped the long night here" I say quietly.

"No one" he says looking back at me.

(AN: sorry this chapter went on for a bit longer than usual and it's a bit info dumpy but a lot of people wondered on the specifics of how he got ship wrecked I was initially gonna put this in the first chapter minus the reveal of Arthur probably would've just been mysterious stranger or ??? POV but I was already approaching 5,000 words and felt people would lose interest if I kept going on)