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Lyanna
"I was a real terror as a kid, wasn't I Ned?" Lyanna grinned and took the glass of wine from Catelyn.
"You still are," Ned laughed as Rhaegar raised his glass with a "Hear, hear!"
She chuckled. "Well at least my sons are perfect little angels."
As if to prove her wrong Jon's cry rang loud and clear from the upstairs nursery.
Cat sighed. "Arya must be up to some mischief again. Lya, do you mind checking up on them?"
"My niece is an angel Cat. Jon probably broke his toy or something." She took her glass with her, "I'll be right back."
"Don't spoil her too much Lya!" Cat called after her.
Well, how could she not? Arya was the daughter she never had.
She found Jon in Arya's crib, his finger in her mouth. Arya gurgled and bit down with her front milk teeth, and Jon flinched and cried but didn’t recoil suddenly for fear of hurting her.
"Owwwhh Arya, it hurts!" He groaned, tears shining at the corner of his grey eyes.
Three-year-old Aegon was at her side immediately. "We were just playing, and Jon-he climbed in her bed because she was crying and she always stops when he does Mommy. And Arya she bit him."
Her niece let go of Jon's finger with a giggle as soon as she spotted her and leaned forward, raising her arms. Lyanna picked her up with a shake of her head.
"Are you okay baby?" She asked Jon, inspecting the small teeth marks on his little finger and Jon nodded.
"That really hurt, Arya." He told her and then cracked a hopeless smile when she gave him a huge sloppy grin.
Oh, the little angel had him wrapped around her finger already.
___
Lyanna was watching them one afternoon, when they had an argument over the colour of the new toy Rhaegar had bought them.
"It is Balayen the black...dragon!" Aegon was obsessed with the story of Balerion the black dread.
"It’s red!" Arya who was now three and learning her colours, insisted.
"It’s red...and black." Jon said trying to play peacemaker.
Arya turned her teary eyes to Jon. "But it's awl red!"
"Yes its red." Jon agreed. Arya did have his full loyalty.
It just frustrated Aegon more. "It's black Jon! Mommy said I could have Baylion the black."
"It is...a little black." Oh, the poor boy.
Arya had sensed Jon was struggling too, and she frowned. "It's red, red, red!"
"No, it’s black, black, black!"
"Don't fight!"
Arya was shorter than Aegon, but she was glaring at him angrily, and Jon had put his arm around her.
"Stupid."
Jon gasped. "Don't say that, apologize Arya."
"You're not...not real." I think you mean unbelievable, son.
"It is red and you're stupid!" Her finger came up to point, but hit Aegon in the chest instead.
Aegon stared at his chest in shock. "You poked my heart."
Arya looked guilty.
Aegon put his hands over his chest and looked so hurt. "You're pretty and-and not real and- and you poked my heart!"
"She didn't..." Jon started but finally Aegon saw her standing there and ran up to her, throwing his chubby arms around her legs and burying his face at her knees.
"Mommy, she poked my heart."
Lyanna got to her knees, and wiped the tears gathering at the corner of his purple eyes. "It's okay baby, your heart is fine."
"It is?"
"Yes, sweetheart."
"What happened?" Rhaegar asked when she came downstairs.
"Oh, just Arya."
"What did she do now?"
Lyanna smiled. "She poked his heart."
___
Arya
Their swords clashed with a nice plastic thwack and she shouted. "Yield! I'm Aemon the Dragonknight and the best swordsman in history!"
Aegon sword swung again. "But I was going to be the Dragonkight! You were supposed to be Naerys!"
"Jon is Naerys, you stupid. And I'm the Dragonknight. You were supposed to be Aegon the Unworthy!"
"I don’t want to be Aegon the unworthy." Aegon grumbled.
She hit his leg with her sword.
"Oww!"
Then she took the pink princess crown and put it on Jon's head. "There now you're the Queen of Love and Beauty, Jon!"
He looked just as unhappy as Aegon though. "I don’t want to play Queen Naerys."
She threw the plastic sword on the ground. "Fine, then what do you want to play?"
"I want to be Aegon the Conqueror." Aegon threw himself on the grass with a huff.
"I can be King Jaeherys I and you could be Queen Alyssane," Jon suggested instead.
"Or you could be Visenya Targaryen." Aegon added quickly.
Arya made a face in disgust. "I don’t want to be a Queen. Can I be Bran the Builder?"
Jon and Aegon looked at each other, then shrugged. "Okay. But that's the Age of Heroes."
"I can kill the Others!"
Jon smiled and chucked the pink crown on the ground. "Great, let's go save the world!"
___
Jon
"Do you think we-"
"Shhhh!!!"
"He's going to run!" Aegon whispered desperately.
Jon leaped, but the black Tomcat had already bolted into the dark.
"Argh! We're never going to catch him like this." Arya grumbled, already following him into the caves.
Aegon glanced at him and Jon shrugged and followed her, his brother following after.
"Aunty Lya told me they call him Balerion because he has a nasty temper. But I'm going to keep him in my room."
"Aunt Catelyn will throw a fit," Aegon pointed out.
Arya glared at him, "Only if you tell her. Are you going to tell her?"
Jon threw him a warning look over Arya's head.
"No?"
"Good. Now stop breathing so hard, he could probably hear you from Essos."
"Do you even know where Essos is?" Came the retort.
"I am seven, not a baby."
"Seven is a baby."
"You're nine."
"And I'm way taller than you."
"Jon is eight and he's almost as tall as you." She tells him smugly.
"Shush, I think I see the cat!" Jon whispered and they all went quiet.
An hour later, they emerged from the caves with scratches all over their arms and their clothes black from tumbling in the dirt.
At least Arya looked happy. She had managed to place a fat kiss on the Tom cat's head before he tried to scratch her eyes out.
"I think he'll like me eventually." She grinned from ear to ear and Jon groaned inwardly.
___
Aegon
"Who's that?"
"Uncle Ned's friend's son." Jon answered sullenly.
"Why is he here?"
"He's staying at the house for the holidays."
"So, he's going to be here? With us? Everyday?"
Jon pursed his lips and kicked a stone. "Yeah."
Aegon instantly disliked the dark-haired boy with his blue eyes and Hot Wheels. But Arya seemed to be best friends with him.
"Come on, let's go play in the gardens," Aegon said, already fed up with the little toy cars.
The boy looked up, interested, but there was no way Aegon was showing this kid their spot.
"Can Gendry come too?"
"No." He said instantly, but Jon sighed, the traitor. "Fine."
Arya smiled and he tried to be angry, but the kid was such a lost puppy. "Okay, whatever."
It still irritated him that the puppy was much taller than him, though obviously younger.
"We're playing hide and seek." Jon explained and Arya immediately volunteered.
"Nope, he's new, he should go first." Aegon insisted with a smug smile.
"Okay," Gendry agreed, "don't worry I'm going to catch you first," he tells her and the smile fell off Aegon's face.
"Five, ten, fifteen, twenty..." Gendry started and they all scrambled in different directions.
Twenty minutes later, Aegon had to admit Gendry wasn't so bad. He played well, and found some great spots to hide. He even became 'it' out of his turn often.
When it was Arya's turn to be 'it', Aegon glanced at Jon from across his hiding spot behind the hedge, and Jon gave him a small nod.
As soon as she came looking for them at the hedge, they tackled her together, tickling her sides.
Arya laughed loudly and wriggled away. "Stop, stop!"
"Do you yield O mighty Dragonknight?" Jon asked and she shook her head and giggled, "I'll die with honour!"
"Oh, but we are sellwords with black hearts and have no honour!" Aegon teased.
"Let me go!" She squealed. "Help! Gendry!"
But her friend was watching them and chuckling. "Sorry, Arry."
"Who is the bestest of the best?" Aegon asked.
"Not you!" She laughed harder, "Ahhhhhh okay, okay, Aegon and Jon!"
She rubbed the tears from her eyes, before Jon helped her to her feet.
"Hey how come Gendry doesn't get tickled silly?" She asked as they headed back to the house together.
Aegon glanced at the big boy. "Maybe after we take him to the caves."
___
Gendry
He hated the cat.
It was black, and mean and scratched him every time he went to Arya's room. It scratched her too, but she stubbornly held on to it, and let it sleep on her bed, and called it 'Bell' like it was some cute pussycat.
"Bel's short for Balerion, idiot." Aegon told him one day when he complained about it.
That did make sense.
"Where are we going?" He asked them for the thousandth time, watching Arya struggle with Balerion in her arms.
"You'll see." Jon replied for the thousandth time.
They were huge caves and darker than he liked, but when all three of them walked inside like it was the most natural thing to do, Gendry followed.
The air was warm and humid, and the walls of the caves glittered here and there.
"What is this?" He asked in awe.
"It's obsadin or dragon glass. They say ages ago Dragons were born here." Aegon's voice was low and creepy enough that Balerion hissed and scratched Arya till she dropped him. He fled into the darkness.
She wanted to go looking for him, but Aegon said they shouldn't wander off down here. Gendry stayed close to them.
They finally came to a point where the air was heavy with humidity and the sounds of bubbling water echoed in the caves.
"These are the dragon breath pools," Jon said. "They say this was a lake till a dragon drowned here and turned the water so hot, all the fish died."
Gendry thought he was going to be ill.
"Come on. We're going in," Arya said and began pulling off her clothes. Apparently, they had come prepared with their swimsuits underneath.
Gendry hesitated and then followed them inside and soon they were splashing and laughing.
"Rule number one: you can't tell anyone about this place," Aegon said when they rubbed the water from their burning eyes.
"We have rules?" Arya asked, but Gendry nodded. Sure, he would keep their rules, he liked playing with them.
"Yes, we do. Now rule number two: you never break a blood pact."
"What's a blood pact?"
"It’s a promise. We spit on our hands and shake on the promise, and you can never ever break it," Arya parroted solemnly.
"If we use spit, why do we call it a blood pact?"
"Just because! And rule number three: Once you're a part of the pack, you can never leave."
Gendry considered it, he liked the last rule best, he decided. "Okay."
So, they spat on their palms and shook on it.
"Rule number four is that tickling is not allowed." Arya said when they pulled their clothes on.
"No can do." Aegon smirked.
"Okay rule number four is that I'm the leader of the pack." She continued as they made their way back.
"You wish." Jon bumped her shoulder.
Just then Balerion ran past their feet and Arya shouted for them to catch him.
There was a scramble of arms and legs and a whole lot of scratching by the time they emerged from the caves.
"Okay, okay I've got it! Rule number four is that Bel is our mascot!"
"NO!" All three boys shouted at once.