Chapter 19: 19. Dream
Stannon's face became serious as he looked between Jon and Ned, his eyes quickly darting toward the door. Realizing how important this conversation was, he leaned forward and spoke quietly. "I had a dream… the same one I had four years ago."
Ned's brow furrowed, noticing the two knights standing guard outside the door. Their armor clinked slightly as they shifted. He stood up quickly. "Stay here," he whispered to Stannon, before walking over to the door. In a soft but firm voice, he told the knights, "Step away for a moment."
The knights nodded respectfully, and they moved down the hallway, far enough away to keep the conversation safe from being overheard.
Once the door was shut, ensuring no one could hear, Ned returned to his seat and spoke in a quiet voice. "Alright, Stannon. What's going on? What did you see in your dream?"
Stannon then turned to look at Jon. "Do you know about the dream thing?" he asked.
Jon nodded and spoke up, "Robert told me about it."
Stannon sighed and sat down in the chair next to Jon. "I had a dream," he began. "In this dream, there was a man… I think he was called 'Middle Finger' or maybe 'Big Finger'. His real name is Petyr Baelish. He caused a lot of chaos in the kingdom. He made us fall into huge debt. He also… he was responsible for killing you, uncle. He has big plans to take over the Seven Kingdoms."
Jon looked at Stannon, his face filled with shock. He was the first to react. "What? Killing me?" he asked, his voice trembling with surprise.
Ned's brows furrowed, and he exchanged a quick, concerned look with Jon. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice stern but calm.
Stannon nodded, his face grim. "I'm sure," he said, meeting Ned's eyes. "I have a bad feeling that he's already working behind the scenes. He's dangerous, and if we don't do something soon, he could ruin everything."
Seeing that both Ned and Jon seemed unsure, Stannon decided to add more. "I think he's going to become the Master of Coin for the kingdom soon. Aren't you going to appoint him, Uncle Jon?"
This shocked Jon even more. He had been thinking about giving Littlefinger the position, but hadn't told anyone about it yet.
Jon looked surprised, trying to understand what Stannon was saying. Before he could respond, Stannon let out a frustrated sigh and sat back in the chair. "I know it's hard to believe, but these dreams... I know by heart, they're true. I don't know where they're coming from or whether they are really the blessings of Gods, but they tell me important things. They even showed me things about you, Uncle."
Jon raised an eyebrow, finding it hard to process all of this. "What things?" he asked, sounding both curious and uneasy.
Stannon hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is it okay if I tell you now?"
Jon nodded, giving him permission. "It's okay." He looked at Ned, signaling him to listen. "Your Uncle Ned is like a son to me. You can trust him."
Stannon shook his head gently. "I trust Uncle Ned, but these things are secrets about you." His voice grew quieter but more serious.
Jon nodded, looking a bit uneasy. "It's okay, boy. Just tell us."
Stannon took a deep breath and began speaking, his voice serious. "Uncle Jon… Your wife, was pregnant once before you two were married. The child was Petyr's."
Jon froze, his face going pale. "What?" he whispered, shocked by the words. "How do you know...?" He stopped mid sentence.
Stannon spoke quietly. "I saw it in a dream. She was going to keep the baby, but something happened. She had a miscarriage, but it wasn't normal. She had to get an abortion, all because of Petyr's and her father's influence."
Jon couldn't say anything at all. This was a big secret and only few people including him knew about it. There was no chance or reason for anyone to tell about it to Stannon.
Stannon could see that Jon was almost ready to believe him, shock clear on his face. Taking the chance, he leaned in closer and whispered, "Uncle... My father has an illegitimate kid named Gendry whom you have been visiting from time to time, right? An eight year old boy living at a blacksmith's"
Jon froze, holding up a hand, his voice shaking. "Boy, stop. Don't say another word. You're going to stop my heart from beating." His face was pale, trying to process everything.
Stannon saw how he was and decided to stop from saying anything more. He also wanted to tell them about Joffery being James's son instead of Robert but held it back at the last moment. He felt that if he really told them this, Jon would surely die of a heart attack.
Moreover if this information got revealed to Robert, a full on civil war would break out now and Stannon wasn't ready for this. He still needed time. But this doesn't mean that he would let Jon die in the future by poisioning. He still had time to stop that from happening.... probably about six to seven years.
He wanted to wipe off the Lannister's from the planet's face without causing huge losses to the realm.
According to him killing Petyr before he became more influential was a good decision but revealing the truth about Cersei's kids was not as it would lead to war. And war is never a good thing.
If the war would happen in the future then they would have less strength to deal with Targaryens and the Walkers.
Stannon was brought out of his thoughts by Jon.
"Stannon... this is too much. You can't tell anyone about your dreams. Not a soul. Do you understand?" Jon spoke sternly.
Ned, his face serious, added, "Keep this to yourself. If it gets out, it'll destroy everything. You can't speak of this again."
Stannon nodded, understanding their concern. "I wouldn't have told you all this if it wasn't urgent, but Petyr is about to become Master of Coin. If I had waited to tell you, it'll be too late." He leaned in closer. "Uncle Jon, check the finances at your house. I'm sure he's already stolen a lot."
Jon and Ned exchanged a glance, then Jon spoke. "We'll handle it. But you must promise me you won't say anything to anyone else."
Stannon nodded. "I promise. I just had to warn you."
Ned added, "We'll deal with it quietly. The fewer people who know, the better."
Jon agreed. "Now step outside. You don't have to burden yourself with this matter anymore. It's for the adults to handle it now."
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