Daenerys's silent contemplation didn't escape Ashara's eyes. With a solemn expression, Ashara said, "Your Grace, you need not doubt. Although I wasn't in King's Landing at the time, the letter was handed to me by one of Varys's men.
"But I'm very familiar with Princess Elia's handwriting and choice of words. I can confirm—it was indeed written by her."
Daenerys snapped out of her thoughts and asked, "Does Prince Doran of Dorne know about this?"
She didn't ask to see the letter.
There was no point. She didn't recognize the princess's handwriting anyway, and handwriting could be forged.
Ashara shook her head. "Prince Doran does not know of Prince Aegon's existence."
"That doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't Princess Elia turn to her own brother for help?"
"Perhaps she feared that Sunspear was too crowded, too many prying eyes, and it would risk exposing Prince Aegon's identity," Ashara mused. "Even I had to fake my death to leave Westeros. Ser Clinton did the same—faked his death and vanished from public view."
Daenerys had to suppress the urge to snap back: So what does that make Viserys and me? Just cannon fodder to distract Robert?
Legally speaking, Rhaegar had not yet ascended the throne, and he had already violated a sacred marriage oath, which disqualified him from being king (see also: the case of the first Prince of Dragonfly who broke off an engagement).
That would mean Viserys was the rightful and legitimate heir to the throne.
So how did Varys and Illyrio treat Viserys?
They sold Daenerys like a slave to Khal Drogo in exchange for Dothraki support to invade Westeros—so Viserys could claim the Iron Throne.
If Viserys hadn't died, and Drogo hadn't died either, and the fifty thousand screaming warriors had taken King's Landing…
Who would've ended up on the Iron Throne?
Most likely, by that point, Viserys, Daenerys, and even the Khal himself would have met tragic ends.
The truth was, Viserys and Daenerys were nothing but pawns on Varys's chessboard, expendable pieces paving the way for the "true dragon."
Daenerys couldn't even begin to understand where Varys found the nerve to bring Young Aegon before her.
Did he really think he and Illyrio were the only clever people in the world? That everyone else was a fool?
Did they think no one could see through their scheming?
To be honest, before Young Aegon appeared, Daenerys had felt the tiniest shred of gratitude toward Illyrio.
Yes, he sold her. Yes, he was another schemer like Lü Buwei, treating her as a commodity to be bargained with—but at least he seemed genuinely committed to the Targaryen restoration.
Selling Daenerys to the Khal could be interpreted as a necessity—a sign of limited power, forcing him to seek outside help.
Even if he had selfish motives, so what? There's no such thing as love without reason in this world.
When someone makes that much of an effort, of course they expect something in return.
But once Young Aegon appeared, everything changed.
It became clear that Illyrio and Varys had never harbored good intentions toward Daenerys. They never truly meant to put her or Viserys on the throne.
Ashara glanced at the silent Dragon Queen, bit her lip, then added, "There's something else. Princess Elia was never certain she wanted Aegon to reclaim the throne. Back then, I…"
Her delicate face flushed with shame. She lowered her gaze and said softly, "I became pregnant out of wedlock… and gave birth to a stillborn girl.
But no one outside knew about it. I only told Princess Elia, and she intended for me to claim that Young Aegon was my child."
"Uh… Ser Barristan seemed to…" Daenerys said with a strange expression.
She hadn't expected that old Barristan had actually "guessed" right. Ashara wasn't Jon's mother—something Daenerys had long known—but for someone in this world to have figured that out sixteen years ago? That was impressive.
"He knew you gave birth to a stillborn daughter."
"Ser Barristan spoke of me to you?" Ashara asked in surprise.
"Of course. He never hid his admiration for you."
"A secret love. You might not know," Daenerys emphasized.
"No, no, I know. I know how he felt about me. Sincere and passionate—but always at a safe distance."
Ashara's face lit up with a new glow. Her usually unremarkable deep violet eyes sparkled with sudden, unforgettable vitality.
Yes—vitality.
As if Ser Barristan's love had breathed life into this once-deadhearted "withered nun."
Daenerys, however, sighed inwardly. If it had been mere unrequited love, it wouldn't be so bad. At least he wasn't groveling.
But clearly, Ashara had known all along. She even knew how deep his love went. The more passionate he was and the less he received in return, the more pitiful it made him look.
So even Ser Barristan was a poor, lovesick fool.
Ashara's smile faded, replaced by a trace of bitterness. "An illegitimate stillbirth brought great dishonor to House Dayne. My brother strictly confined all knowledge of the event within Starfall's walls.
Dorne is already a desolate land, and Starfall sees even fewer outsiders.
So in the beginning, word of me didn't spread across the Seven Kingdoms.
At the time, according to Princess Elia's plan, placing Prince Aegon in my care could keep everything hidden.
But before Varys brought the little prince to Starfall, another person came to me—someone I could not turn away."
"Eddard Stark? He was your daughter's father, so before Aegon arrived, he already knew about the difficult birth—and that the baby was a girl," Daenerys said with a raised brow.
This was almost too melodramatic.
"It was Eddard. He came with Arthur's sword, Dawn—the ancestral blade of House Dayne," Ashara nodded, then shook her head. "But Eddard was not the child's father."
She looked hesitant, clearly reluctant to name her lover in front of others.
But Daenerys was too shocked to notice Ashara's pause. And even if she had, she would've pretended not to and kept pressing forward.
Because Ser Barristan had always believed that Eddard had "cuckolded" him. Even that, he could endure.
But what crossed the line was that Eddard had abandoned Ashara—whom Barristan regarded as a goddess—and had broken her heart so badly she took her own life. That was something a loyal simp could not tolerate.
Thus, whenever Eddard was mentioned, Barristan's resentment was almost as deep as that of Lord Mormont—who resented Eddard for serving him loyally for decades, only to have his head nearly chopped off over a few poachers.
Little did he expect, the man he thought was a scumbag turned out to be a pitiful simp himself.
Yes, during that fateful spring, at the Tourney of Harrenhal, Rhaegar fell in love with Lyanna by mistake, and both Eddard and Barristan helplessly fell for the radiant Ashara.
Barristan once recalled how, during the tourney's feast, Eddard had blushed countless times while stealing glances at Ashara, his eyes overflowing with affection—Barristan was stealing glances at her too.
Eddard's elder brother, Brandon, noticed his brother's infatuation and repeatedly encouraged him to ask Ashara for a dance.
Eddard blushed so hard it looked like he was bleeding, yet he was too nervous to move.
In the end, it was Brandon who approached Ashara and told her that his brother was smitten with her and wanted to dance.
That night, Barristan saw with his own eyes just how happy Eddard was dancing with Ashara in front of everyone.
No need to doubt how Barristan knew all this in such detail. A true simp knows every detail surrounding his goddess.
Barristan believed Eddard's love for Ashara was no less than his own.
This belief allowed him to continue living a lonely yet noble life as the White Knight, entrusting his heart's true love to the honest young man of the North, Eddard.
Who would've thought that the "honest" young man turned out to be a scumbag who even caused the goddess's death?
So he hated—hated Eddard's hypocrisy, hated that he trusted the wrong person, hated that he never confessed his feelings to Ashara, hated that he failed to defeat Rhaegar and give Ashara the "crown of love and beauty"—a gesture that would've been both a confession and a way to spare the prince.
"Whose child was it? I mean, the man you loved back then," Daenerys asked urgently.
A flicker of hesitation flashed in Ashara's eyes before she rasped, "Brandon."
"Huh? Which Brandon?"
"Brandon Stark, Eddard's elder brother," Ashara said, lowering her gaze.
Daenerys's expression was one of utter shock.
She never would've expected this—truly, never.
In that mistaken spring, Cersei wasn't yet of age, the Little Rose had just been born, and Ashara, as the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms (?), being adored by Brandon was understandable.
But he clearly knew his brother saw her as his first love, and he himself had already been betrothed to Catelyn Tully.
How despicable must he have been, to encourage his brother to confess while secretly—
Tragic. Far too tragic.
Both the honest Eddard and Barristan had been too cruelly treated.
No, Eddard had it even worse—he probably already knew that his brother had gotten his first love pregnant.
Actually, maybe not. Maybe Eddard wasn't the most tragic.
After Brandon was brutally executed by the Mad King, his fiancée Catelyn Tully ended up marrying Eddard.
The brother cuckolded the younger one, leaving his first love with a child. Then the younger brother cuckolded his dead brother, having five children with the woman who was once his betrothed.
What goes around comes around. Karma never misses.
"Eddard knew you were pregnant with Brandon's child, so he came to visit his brother's bastard? Then found you in a difficult labor, and Varys changed his mind and helped you fake your death to leave Westeros?" Daenerys asked tactfully, burying the real gossip beneath the guise of serious inquiry.
"Varys and Princess Elia had different views from the start. Elia wanted the young prince to live a safe life. Varys wanted Prince Aegon to reclaim the throne.
Whether Eddard came to Starfall or not, the outcome wouldn't have changed much," Ashara said in a complicated tone.
"Right. Did Eddard go to Starfall alone? He brought back a bastard son from Dorne—Jon Snow. Many in Westeros believe Jon is your child," said Daenerys.
"No, Eddard wasn't alone. With him was a knight named Howland Reed, a lover named Wylla, and a boy—Jon Snow, as you called him."
"Lover?" Daenerys's pupils contracted.
"Yes. Eddard told me the child was of his blood. Before leaving, he asked my brother to take in Wylla. At the time, Eddard had already married the daughter of Lord Tully.
Lady Catelyn was pregnant. Eddard feared that seeing Wylla in Winterfell would upset her. So he left a large sum of gold and took the child away.
Though Eddard killed Arthur, we never hated him. On the contrary, my brother admired his character and bravery. He not only took in Wylla, but made her Eddard's wet nurse."
"Eddard?"
"Oh, that's my brother's son, Edric. He was born two years after I left Westeros.
Eddard defeating Arthur proved his courage. Returning Arthur's sword in accordance with knightly customs proved his integrity and honor.
My brother admired him deeply and had long decided to name his child 'Eddard,'" Ashara explained.
"Edric" and "Eddard" share the same nickname—"Ned."
Just like how both "Daenerys" and "Daeny" are used for the same person.
(End of chapter)
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