Ashara smiled as the one-year-old Jon stood on wobbly legs. Wylla was watching as well, behind Jon and close by in case he fell. The boy looked around the nursery with wide gray eyes as the sun shone in through the window.
"Come on Jon, walk to me. You can do it." She softly coached.
Jon babbled something indescribable as he wobbled some more. He seemed more taken with the wall of purple painted stone than to care what she said. But Ashara didn't care, she merely watched as Jon took in his surroundings and babbled some more.
Then he seemed to look around, smiling dumbly as he noticed his mother before taking a wobbly step forward. Both Ashara and Wylla gasped as he took another step. Before then falling to his knees and crawling the rest of the way to Ashara.
"He walked." Ashara laughed as she picked him up. "He walked Wylla."
"Stumbled, my Lady," Wylla said with a wry grin. "But two steps are still two steps."
Jon looked between the two women. Confused about why they seemed so happy. But he felt tired so he yawned and placed his head on his mother's shoulder.
Ashara cooed when she saw this. "Oh, looks like someone's tired."
"Shall I go and lay him down my Lady?"
"No need." Ashara smiled. "I'll do it myself. Why don't you go and see yourself to the kitchens in the meantime?"
Wylla gave a quick bow of her head. "As you wish my Lady."
….
Ashara watched from a small alcove hidden from the two children in front of her. Jon, her two-year-old son, was laughing and giggling while Ashara's eight-year-old younger sister Allyria played catch with the boy. Jon couldn't catch the ball for the life of him. Allyria would throw it and Jon would either let it slip through his fingers or let it bounce off his chest.
Allyria huffed and pouted. Her starry blue eyes were shining with annoyance and mirth as she tried to fight back the smile on her lips. "Come on Jon. Catch the ball."
"I'm trying."
Allyria threw it again and once more it slipped through Jon's fingers and bounced on the ground. Allyria groaned loudly as the ball rolled back over to her, slowly.
"Again!" Jon cheered.
Allyria sighed and once more tossed the ball to Jon. This time he was able to catch it and all the weariness seemed to leave Allyria as she opened her hands to catch the ball once more.
….
The fireplace crackled as the moonless night settled over Starfall. Jon sat in Lord Dayne's solar and looked above the mantle. There lay the sword Dawn, House Dayne's ancestral sword. A greatsword with a blade pale as milk glass and possibly the most famous blade to exist in the Seven Kingdoms.
Ashara felt her eyes soften and sadden at the sight of it. Dawn had been her brother's sword, one he wielded with pride and chivalry. She recalled the day when he was finally deemed worthy to wield it. How happy and prideful he had been. How many times he dragged her to the training yard to just show it off to her.
What fun they had.
"Does the blade take your fancy boy?" Lord Dayne asked. He was a tall man with black graying hair and purple eyes. His face was hard like chiseled stone yet his eyes were soft like feathers. He was sickly yet still stood as tall as any man his age. The only thing that still gave him strength was his mana core which kept the flow of mana in his body strong.
The three-year-old Jon nodded his head. "It's pretty to look at."
"It is." Lord Dayne smiled as he stood next to Jon. "Did you know my brother used to wield it?"
Jon was quick to nod his head. A wide grin spread across his face. "Mhmm, they said he was the greatest swordsman to ever live." Jon turned and craned his head. "Can I be a great swordsman like him someday?"
Lord Dayne smiled as his eyes flicked over to Ashara. "I believe any of House Dayne can become a great swordsman. If their mothers agree to letting them pick one up of course."
That glint in her brother's eyes was positively mischievous as Jon's head whipped around so fast that Ashara was afraid it would fly off. His storm gray eyes were wide and excited, something he shouldn't be right before bedtime. But her brother always had a way of messing with her in subtle ways.
"Can I Mama? Can I wield a sword? Please?"
Ashara gave her brother a half-hearted glare before looking down at her son. "When you're older sweetie."
Jon frowned. "But why not now? You always told me how Uncle Arthur was training with a sword since he could walk. Why can't I?"
Lord Dayne snorted behind Jon and Ashara shot him another glare. "Because our father wanted something for Arthur to do as a second son. So he had him train to become a knight."
"So why can't I do that?"
Ashara sighed and pursed her lips. "Because it's late Jon. It's time for bed, not playing with swords."
"Well, what about tomorrow?"
"Jon," Ashara said in a tone he knew meant trouble. "Bedtime, now."
Jon quickly stood up and walked quickly to his room while Ashara sighed. "Did you really have to put that notion in his head?"
Her brother snorted as he walked to his desk. "Arthur was waddling around here with a wooden training sword while the two of you were still in swaddling clothes."
"Jon's not Arthur." Ashara pointed out.
"No." Her brother agreed. "He isn't, but with who he is shouldn't he know how to defend himself?"
"He's three!" Ashara hissed. "The guards at Starfall can defend him for the time being."
Her brother gently held up his hand. "I understand your concerns Ashara. But look at it this way. Learning how to use a sword will teach him a certain amount of discipline. Don't think I don't know about the mischief he and Allyria cause."
He was right about the mischief. But it was more Allyria dragging Jon along with her as she got into trouble. Stealing sweets from the bakery, running around the keep, and raising hell for the maids, and many failed attempts at trying to skip their lessons. Or Allyria is trying and failing to get Jon to help her skip her lessons.
Now that Ashara thought about it, she was glad the keep hadn't burned down already because of how much trouble the two had caused.
"You're thinking about it."
"No I'm not." Ashara scoffed. "Now if you'll excuse me I must put my son to bed."
….
Her brother had won in the end. After weeks of Jon pestering her and Allyria roping him into more schemes Ashara finally relented. It was clear Jon had a restless amount of energy and the only one who seemed to be able to keep up with him was Allyria.
But with her in lessons Jon seemed to sit and wait until she came to get him, letting that energy build up even more before it eventually exploded. If lessons with a sword taught him some discipline and tired him out Ashara was all for taking that deal.
To her and everyone else's surprise, Jon seemed to take to the sword as easily as Arthur did. Although it was only a small wooden sword that Ser Desmond, Starfall's master-at-arms had crafted just a day before. Jon seemed to actually pay attention to the movements Ser Desmond was teaching him.
It was oddly calming for Ashara to watch her son practice the basics over and over again. Watching as his little brow furrowed in concentration as Ser Desmond fixed his stance or showed him a new form. She felt like a little girl watching Arthur train again while she sat on their Father's lap.
Though Ashara found it quite amusing at how serious Jon was taking this. He was only a boy of three yet seemed to soak up the knowledge Ser Desmond was imparting to him like a piece of paper on water.
But it was also intriguing. The only boy Ashara could remember taking to the lessons so well was Arthur, and that was because he had a goal in mind for as long as she could remember. To become a knight, and now with Jon training with the same focus, Ashara wondered what Jon had set as his goal.
Would it be like Arthur's? Or was it something completely different? Perhaps something more innocent? Maybe she was just looking into this too much. Jon was three, maybe he was just a boy excited to swing a pointy stick around for hours on end.
Most boys did like to do that after all. Play with swords, pretend to be knights, and fight in mock battles where they would save the day. A childish innocence she knew would one day be ripped from her son as he grew older. A thought like that made her face drop as she watched Jon reset at Ser Desmond's instruction and start again.
Ashara turned her thoughts back to her son however. Watching with unmasked pride as he swung and swung and swung. She knew he'd sleep well tonight with all that energy expended.
But as Jon swung his little practice sword again, he stopped and furrowed his brow. Ashara immediately felt as if something was wrong, and Ser Desmond did as well as he approached Jon.
"You alright Jon?" He calmly asked, taking a knee in front of the boy.
Jon slowly nodded but his face scrunched up more. "Yeah, but I feel funny."
Ashara was already on her feet as Ser Desmond spoke again. "Funny how?"
Before Jon could answer, a sudden force of power shot forth from his sternum and caused Ser Desmond to fly back and crack the stone beneath Jon's feet. Tiny bits of stone flew everywhere and Ashara had to raise her arms to cover her face as gusts of wind whipped her black hair around wildly.
The sudden gusts didn't last long and were over within a second. Ashara shot a quick glance over to Ser Desmond who was sitting himself up. He didn't seem injured, but his black eyes were wide with shock and so were Ashara's.
Most people who became mages awakened their mana core at the age of 8-9. Some cases happened younger like Aemon the Dragonknight who awoke at the age of six, and only one other person in history who awakened earlier than that.
Aegon the Conqueror who like Jon, awakened as a mage at the age of three.
Ashara already felt the headache coming on as her son looked at her with those wide, gray excited eyes. He was a mage now, and by most accounts a prodigy at that.
She just hoped no one would draw the connection between his feat and the Conquerors.
"Mama! Mama!" Jon shouted as he ran to her. "Did you see that! Did you! Did you!"
Ashara pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and smiled as she picked her boy up. He had gotten so big since the first time she held him.
"I did." She softly said, truly proud but worried for her son. "I did."
"This means I can be a mage now!"
"I know, I know."
Ashara was now worried about the future. A lot of eyes would now be drawn to Jon. The exact thing she and Ned had wanted to avoid by keeping him here.