Sunspear 305 AC.
Arianne.
Four years she'd been exiled, four out of the five that she'd been sent away for. During that time she'd grown so much closer to her mother in Norvos and though she'd not come back to Dorne with her, she would soon be joining her. Arianne was more than grateful for that as given what she'd come home to, she knew she'd need all the help she could get. Dorne was on the verge of civil war, factions that had long since been silent had been riled up at the deaths of first her father and then of those who'd killed him.
Arianne herself was not sure how she was supposed to accept what had happened. True her father could be frustrating in his carefulness, but he didn't deserve that end and her aunt and cousins had shown what being reckless led to. Not that she didn't mourn them too, Nym, Tyene and she had been especially close, more like true sisters than cousins and Ellaria had been a source of great comfort to her while her mother was so far away. She could only put down what her aunt and cousins had done to madness. It wasn't Ellaria and the Sand Snakes who had killed her father, it was the Lannisters who'd done so the day they'd killed her uncle.
She tried to put the thoughts from her mind as she dressed, placing the grief and sadness she still felt at both sets of losses to one side for now. Dorne needed to be brought to order and not only was she a Martell but being Princess of Dorne was her birthright. As she put the last finishing touches to her appearance, the more than a hint of cleavage, the pink rub on her cheeks, Arianne looked at herself and smiled. Many years earlier she'd been a pudgy unattractive girl, awkward, shy, and feeling herself to be too ugly to gain male attention as her cousins and others did. That girl no longer existed when she looked into the looking glass. Turning away from the image she presented, Arianne walked to the door ready to reclaim her birthright.
"You look as good as ever princess." Daemon said and she smiled at him, they too had reconnected while she was away, Daemon proving himself an even better lover than she had remembered.
"You did as I asked?" she asked as they walked.
"I did, Manwoody and Yronwood are with you."
"Dayne?" she asked.
"Which one?" Daemon said with a little bite and she knew exactly what her paramour was thinking.
"Ned?"
"Is as honorable as they say Ser Arthur was." Daemon said.
"The other?" she asked smirking while knowing how much it annoyed him to speak of the Darkstar.
"Is anything but." Daemon said sullenly making her chuckle before she kissed his cheek to put him out of his misery.
Everyone rose when she entered the room, Arianne looking to see her cousins had taken up their positions close to the two raised seats, Arianne happy to see them and more so to have them with her. She'd worried about that most of all when she was sailing back to Dorne. Would Oberyn's remaining daughters join or oppose her? The thoughts of having to face Sarella, Elia, Obella, Dorea, and Loreza not ones that she enjoyed or brought her anything but distress. Thankfully they like her knew where the blame for their family's losses lay and once she'd promised them revenge and justice for their mother and sisters, they had quickly knelt to her.
It was a good thing too as even despite the turmoil, where the Sand Snakes went so did most of Dorne. Sarella was smarter than any other person she knew and Elia, Lady Lance as she was known, was even more fierce than her older sisters had become and almost unmatched when astride her sand steed. Each of them was the same and yet as different from each other as could be. Dorea was playful until she was crossed and then she was lethal with her morningstar, Loreza reminded her more and more of Tyene each day. While Obella took after Nym and at times looking at her made that ache in Arianne's heart hurt that little bit more.
Arianne tried not to look put out when she sat in the Rhoynish seat. Even though she was princess and head of House Martell, Dorne still hadn't confirmed it and until they did she was forced to accept her place. That would end today, four days of nonsense was enough and she felt that some lords had deliberately taken their time in making their way to Sunspear. Looking out at Qorgoyle and Wyl and at Yronwood, she knew they'd been the most reluctant to name her. Though Daemon had soon brought the Bloodroyal to her side.
"My lords, the time is upon us, we must make a choice and we must make it now. I'm my father's heir, Princess of Dorne is my blood right, it was what I was born to be, what I trained to be, and what I have always been." she said after rising to her feet.
"Yet you left Dorne"
"You were exiled by your father."
"Some of us believe that Quentyn is the true heir that he is who your father wished to rule and not you". Lord Qorgoyle said after the other voices had quietened.
"And where is my brother Lord Qorgoyle? For four years I stayed away from Dorne at my father's behest. True I was exiled, but well you know the reasons why. When the news finally reached me of what had happened here, what had happened to my father, to my aunt and cousins. When I found out I left and immediately came back here, back home. I knew that Dorne leaderless and without direction was like a ship with a captain, my lord. Where is my brother in Dorne's time of need?" she asked.
"Where he is matters not, Princess, what matters is whether we believe him to be our prince." The Darkstar said his eyes taking in every inch of her and she could feel Daemon's glaring at him from behind her.
If the man simply wished to bed her she'd be surprised, Gerold Dayne wanted her that was true but not for herself or even for her body, no, he wanted Dorne. He coveted it as much as he did Dawn and he knew he would have neither, so he took his enjoyment in trying to make as much trouble for those who had what he desired as he could.
"My lords." Ned Dayne said standing up, Arianne looking to the young lord nervously.
"My lords." he repeated a little more loudly as the room finally began to quieten once more.
She could barely remember the boy he'd once been as she looked at him now, the man he'd become was a devastatingly handsome one. His pale blond hair was now shoulder length and loose, his deep blue eyes almost purple when the light hit them. That he had also soundly beaten both Daemon and the Darkstar in spars also showed his worth as a warrior. Where her heart not already the property of another then she'd have perhaps sought a match with Ned Dayne, as it was she hoped the fact she did not, wouldn't be her undoing.
"For four days we've heard these self-same arguments, gone around in circles, and denied what is right in front of us." Ned said his voice firm and authoritative.
"Which is, cousin?" The Darkstar asked his trademark sneer on his face.
"That this is Dorne and speculating on the wishes of Prince Doran doesn't change the truth of things. Prince Quentyn could be alive or dead, I know not, only that he's been away from Dorne under no threat of exile and for far longer than Princess Arianne, whose reasons for her absence are known to all of us. Is there a man or woman here who'd not felt sympathy for the Princess's cause, not felt exile to be far too harsh a punishment?" Ned said looking around.
Arianne quickly finding that she was doing the very same thing he was, her eyes seeking out everyone else's as she tried to find who if any would oppose her. She was thankful when other than the Darkstar she couldn't find anyone who seemed on the verge of disagreeing with Ned Dayne.
"Yet once she heard what had happened her first thought was to come back to Dorne, her exile done not because it had run its course, but because Dorne needed its princess. We are not the rest of Westeros, here it matters not whether you're a man or a woman, the firstborn is heir and there sits our princess. I Ned Dayne and House Dayne declare for Princess Arianne Nymeros Martell, the Princess of Dorne." Ned said and she gasped as did others when Dawn's blade was revealed and Ned knelt while holding the sword in front of him. All eyes in the room looking to the milky white blade.
She didn't need to look to the Darkstar to see the jealous look in his eyes, nor to look around the room to see the realization dawning on everyone else's faces. By unsheathing Dawn, Ned had not just declared her Princess of Dorne, nor had she just been named as such by the Lord of Starfall. No, by unsheathing Dawn he'd shown that he now wielded it and Arianne had been named as Dorne's ruler by the new Sword of the Morning.
She looked on at others quickly joining suit, all the major houses, all the minor houses, each lord and lady. Even the Darkstar knelt when he realized that he either had to kneel or face the consequences of being alone and against her. Arianne felt her heart race, all her life she'd been trained to be this, it had been her destiny and though at times she'd misunderstood her father's wishes for her or had outright gone against them, she felt that he'd be proud of her today.
After she accepted the oaths of fealty, she arranged the feast for later that night and walked back to her room with a clearly happy Daemon. The smile on her paramour's face one of genuine joy and she hated to remove it so soon. But she had work to do and plans to make and she needed to know if the tales of what he'd seen were true.
"Daemon, ask Ned Dayne to join me, I wish to speak to him about his time in the Riverlands." she said and saw the smile disappear immediately "The sooner I do the sooner we can be alone my love" she said kissing him deeply before the smile somewhat reappeared as he left.
She needed to speak to Ned Dayne about one other thing, one other tale she'd heard and had remembered though she knew not why. But if they had to reach out to the Dragonqueen and they did, then perhaps it was for the best if they reached out to the man closest to her, the King in the North Jon Snow. Firstly though she needed to know the truth about whether or not Jon Snow was born in Dorne and whether or not he really was Ned Dayne's bastard cousin.
Winterfell 305 AC.
Aegon.
His little sister was worried about him, him, and Dany which had almost made him tear up some. That she had come back to him was a sign from the gods and something he had been incredibly relieved about. Though he'd been prepared to walk away from them all, with Arya it was as it had always been, so much harder to do. Even seeing how things turned out he couldn't fault her as much as he probably should. The realization that she wasn't herself one that he felt was a point in her favor. That Bran wasn't himself either didn't matter as much to him, his role in what he'd seen was so much more direct than Arya's had been.
Aegon didn't truly understand it himself, it was a vision but more than, a glimpse into a life not lived but more than that and he wasn't truly sure if he wished to pull on that thread more than he should. Certainly not with the fight to come and so he tried his best to put it out of his head, only to find that certain things brought it back to him. Looking at Bran as they walked to the dragon's being one of them, as unbidden a piece of the vision quickly came to him.
He saw Sam running from the room, upset at what Dany had told him, and almost sobbing as he did so. After Sam stumbled down the stairs, Aegon saw how he looked around and how he focused on Bran. Almost as if he was being drawn to him as he moved quickly towards him. Aegon could feel it, the sadness that Sam felt, the loss of his father and brother almost causing him to fall to his knees. There was something else there too, something he couldn't quite place until finally, it dawned on him. Anger a desire for vengeance, a desire to see Dany brought low.
" What are you doing out here?" Sam asked his voice almost cracking.
" Waiting for an Old Friend." Bran replied without feeling as usual "It's time to tell Jon the Truth."
" Nuh… you're his brother, shouldn't you tell him?." Sam said and Aegon couldn't be sure if he was afraid to tell him or if he genuinely wished for it to be his so-called family who did so.
" I'm not his brother. He Trusts you more than anyone, now's the time." Bran said.
The image was gone as soon as it had appeared and Aegon felt his hand on Longclaw's hilt, he even took a step towards Bran, changing his direction and causing Arya and Dany to almost bump into each other.
"Jon?" Arya asked worriedly and Aegon shook his head.
"Sorry I'm well, I got lost for a moment." he said as Dany looked at him and he smiled to try and show he was over his misstep, it worked as they walked from where Bran was and left the courtyard.
The truth was he was anything but well, what had been just glimpses before had started to become clearer views of things. Though he'd seen everything on the ship that first night, some of the details were lost to him, some of the finer points and little subtleties lost in the overall horror of the bigger events. Seeing Rhaegal fall, watching Dany as she and Drogon rained down fire on King's Landing, seeing Varys, Tyrion, Sansa, and Bran's betrayals and of course what he had done in the throne room. All of that making the little moments which were just as bad or terrible, worse somehow than the larger ones, almost become blurred and be lost amongst the larger events.
Some of them had started to come to him at the most inopportune times, others as he slept, but never had he seen the one of Bran and Sam before and never in the context he'd just now seen it in. Each word Bran said rang out true, he'd sent Sam because the fool that was Jon Snow had believed him to be his friend, he'd trusted him without question. Bran had sent him because he knew that he was sad and angered and whether or not Sam actually cared for him at all, Bran had known right then, right there, exactly how Sam would act.
" It's time to tell Jon the truth."
" Now is the time."
" I'm not his brother."
Each of the words resonated with him even more as they neared the dragons. The words were the unvarnished truth, Bran was not his brother and as for why now was the time or why it was time to tell Jon the truth, that much was obvious. He needed the wedge to be driven between them at the worst possible time, even going so far as to risk the fight against the army of the dead to do so. Why not tell him after the fight? Why not wait until the fight was done and they'd won the day? No, it had to be then Aegon thought as he remembered the images of the feast that had been held once they'd won. The gap between them had already become a chasm by that point and he'd offered her no comfort for the loss of Ser Jorah nor had he worried about her safety when he'd fought.
"Jon are you sure you're up for this?" Dany asked looking at him with concern.
"Aye, I'll feel better when we're in the air." he said smiling when he looked at her and as he saw Rhaegal over her shoulder.
Ser Jaime, Ser Jorah, Grey Worm, and some of the Northern Lords waited for them close to where the dragons had made their lair. Aegon looking to see Jaime especially looking curiously at him, before as always Tormund made his presence known. The bear hug he grabbed him up in was one which almost crushed his bones though it did at least bring a true smile to his face.
"You're sure about this, King Crow?" Tormund asked worriedly.
"Aye, the more we can take out before they get here, the better chance we have. The Wull?" he asked.
"Not bad for a kneeler, we're ready to back up those cockless men." Tormund said and Aegon nodded "Return to us, King Crow." Tormund said his voice matching the genuine look of concern on his face.
"Lord Reed. Lady Mormont." he said looking to both.
"Your grace, all you've asked for will be done by the time you return." Lord Reed said.
"I thank you, my lord, my lady."
He looked on as Dany spoke to Grey Worm, Qhono, and Ser Jorah giving them their own orders as he moved to Ser Jaime and Brienne.
"Ser Jaime, I leave the defenses to you." he said and Jaime nodded.
"They'll be ready, your grace, you have my oath on that." Jaime said looking at him as if he wished to say more.
"We'll take no risks, Ser, we'll fly high when needed, and should it become too dangerous, we'll return immediately.
"Be safe, your grace." Jaime said before moving to say the same to the queen while Aegon said his farewells to Arya.
"Do you really have to go?" Arya said and he reached out to muss her hair, glad when she let him do so.
"Aye, we can make it a much more even fight, Arya, we'll be back, both of us." he said looking from her to his wife.
"Promise you'll not rush straight in, that'll you'll at least think before you act?" Arya said and Aegon chuckled.
"Ser Davos been telling tales?" he said and saw her nod.
He hugged her tightly and felt her hug him back as he whispered in her ear that he'd not take any chances and then he promised her that he'd return. When she went to speak to Dany he felt that ice that had been around his heart when it came to his family completely melt away, in Arya's case at least. Aegon knowing that no matter what else happened from now until the fight was done, he'd gained far more than he'd lost when it came to the Starks this time around.
After whispering in Dany's ear they climbed up onto the dragons, Aegon wondering how far the Army of the Dead were from Winterfell. A small part of him worried about leaving the keep without the dragons to defend it, yet he knew the Night King would not attack with them gone. Even with an undead dragon he couldn't get what it was he wished for and as Aegon looked to Dany and they took to the sky, the plan he had for giving that to him had already begun to take shape.
" Yes he will, he'll come for me." Bran's voice said in his head, this time with no image with it, not that he needed one.
Aegon smirked as they flew over Winterfell, Don't worry brother he thought with a look down at the courtyard before they flew further north.
"Don't worry brother, he won't have to." Aegon said to the wind as Rhaegal roared loudly in approval.
Oldtown 305 AC.
Ser Baelor Hightower.
If there was any further evidence needed that the queen who thought herself a lioness was nothing more than a crazed cat, then it had just been provided for them. Not content enough with blowing up a Sept and killing hundreds, including her kin as well as his. Baelor still not able to dwell on thoughts of his goodbrother, nephew, and especially his niece's demise. Nor was it enough that she had sent an army along with that Turncloak Tarly to sack Highgarden and steal its stores. No, now she had to go and align herself with the damn fucking Iron Born of all people. Not just any Iron Born either but the absolute worst of them, which was saying something, the god's forsaken Crow's Eye.
That the woman had also not even tried to replace the now extinct House Tyrell or hadn't even bothered to reach out to any of the major houses, only showed just how little she actually cared about the Reach or its people. He cared though, Paxter cared, Lord Ashford, Ser Jon Fossoway and others cared. So against his father's wishes, Baelor had sent for and gathered the major and minor houses of the Reach to the Hightower. House Tyrell may be no more and the queen may think herself untouchable but the Reach would rise and he would see his kin avenged.
For now, though he strolled up the long winding stairs and readied to speak to his father and sister, neither of them sure to make much sense but speak to them he must. He knocked softly on the door and was bid enter, there was no need to make loud noises up here so high away from anyone else. Walking into the room he could see his father was just as crazed and disheveled as his sister was, neither of them having bathed in days at the very least. Their hair looked like the nesting places of rats and though there were many looking glasses, he doubted either of them knew or cared how they appeared.
"Father we must speak." he said softly.
"You've gathered the lords? Despite me telling you no to, you've done so anyway?" his father, the man once known as Leyton Hightower and respected by everyone because of it, who was now this thing which sat in front of him asked.
"I have." he said simply.
"Good." Malora said as she looked at him, his sister's eyes sparkling far more brightly as she did so.
"Good?" he asked confused.
"It's time to rebuild old alliances, time to swear our oaths of allegiance once more." his father said.
"Surely you can't mean to support the Lannister Queen, not after what she's done. No father I'll not allow it, Mace, Olenna, Loras, Margaery, gods what she did to your granddaughter, to my niece." he said shaking his head angrily.
"Do not presume to know my mind, boy." his father said and Baelor had to fight hard the urge to snort, know his mind, even his father didn't know his own damn mind.
"House Hightower will swear its oath to and renew its allegiance with House Targaryen, we'll kneel before the true king and queen and them alone." Malora said.
"King?" he asked shaking his head, what king was his mad maid of a sister speaking of.
"Jon Snow, he and Queen Daenerys are already wed. House Targaryen will rule these lands and we'll play our part in seeing that it's done, in seeing the wrongs righted." Malora said.
"You wish to place a bastard king on the throne?" he said shocked that his father who'd ever been pious and faithful would ever support a bastard.
"Jon Snow is far more than a bastard, far more my son. Gather the lords in the Great Hall tonight, Malora and I will address them there." his father said before turning from him.
"Father, please. You cannot." he said shaking his head in disbelief as his father turned to glare at him.
"I am still you liege as well as your father, now go gather the lords." his father said before he then turned back to speak to Malora once more.
Despite speaking to his brothers, his wife, and even the stewards of the Hightower itself, Baelor could get no one to agree to his suggestion that his father and sister needed to be locked up and kept under guard. So as he sat at the High Table that night and looked out on the gathered lords of the Reach, he felt his trepidation build. It did so right up until the time his father and sister walked into the Great Hall, then he felt nothing but shock and amazement. Both of them looked so much like themselves or how they'd looked once and had not in some time. In his father's case, his hair and beard had been trimmed and he looked just as he had a year or so earlier. Malora he'd not seen his sister look that way far longer than that.
"My Lords and Ladies, I believe most of you know my sons and daughters, for those who don't recognize the lady beside me, she's my eldest daughter Malora." his father said as they took their seats.
He looked out as lords and ladies whispered feverishly to each other and did everything but point at his father and sister. If his father's aim had been to throw people then he'd managed it completely and yet Baelor felt it was something else his father was aiming for, he only wished he knew what it was. As the hum around the Great Hall began to die down, he looked to Garth and Gunthor and to Humfrey. His brother's looking just as stunned as he was by the transformation in both his father and sister.
"To business then." his father said and at once the questions and statements began to ring out.
Some saying they needed to stay loyal to the crown, others who were closer to the Tyrell's demanding vengeance and justice while others suggesting they sit back and do nothing. Baelor watched as his father and sister almost took note of who was saying what before looking at each other and nodding, his father then rising to his feet.
"My lords, My ladies, many years ago I had the incredible pleasure of meeting a young girl, a girl who was smart, charming, who'd one day grow to be a beauty that tales would be told throughout the realm about. A girl who was born to be a queen and who would have been the greatest queen that we'd have seen in an age.
Two years ago that crazed bitch who sits the throne saw to that girl's death, to hers, to her brother's and to her father's, she saw them all burned to death in the Great Sept of Baelor. In a place where my son's name is taken from they killed that girl and most of her family.
They killed my granddaughter, Margaery of House Tyrell." his father said his voice loud and Baelor saw a tear run down his face, the first he'd ever seen him shed for Margaery, and yet he felt it was not truly the first his father had cried over his granddaughter.
"What would you have us do my lord? March on King's Landing and see the Lioness and the Pirate brought to heel?" Ser Jon asked and Baelor could hear the hope he spoke with, his wife who was sitting by his side looking most keen to see her niece, nephew, brother and mother avenged.
"Would that we could, but the Reach alone cannot take down a crazed queen and her rabid dogs. We of all regions hold our loyalties true, we swore oaths to the Fat Stag at the end of a blade but we swore our oaths to the dragons willingly. Daenerys Targaryen is Prince Rhaegar's sister, it's to her and her new husband that we must bend the knee, and to them we'll add our might." his father said.
"She burned Tarly."
"She's her father's daughter."
"A bastard king".
The voices once again grew loud and this time it was his sister that rose, her voice ringing out across the Great Hall when she did so.
"Jon Snow is no bastard, though his truth is not mine to tell. As for Randyll Tarly, who did he ride with? Whose side was he marching by? Did he not sack Highgarden? Did he not turn on his liege because the Lannisters asked him to? Think about that my lords, the Lannisters? The Rains of Castamere, the Red Wedding, the Sept of Baelor. Think on that before you deify Randyll Tarly as some great and true man. Ser Hyle Hunt, please step forward."
Baelor watched as an older knight moved forward and as the room hushed, Malora looking, no, staring at the man and almost staring right through him as she did so.
"Tell them, Ser." Malora said simply and Baelor listened as keenly as everyone else did as the man began to speak.
"It's true, Queen Daenerys burned Lord Tarly and Lord Dickon too. But only after they refused to kneel. She offered them to bend the knee and they refused, offered to send them to Wall, and Lord Tarly told her that she was not his queen. She offered the rest of us the same terms, kneel, join her army or be free to march back to our homes, even after what we'd done we were offered that." Ser Hyle said his shame clear.
"Would the Mad King have offered such terms? Do any of you truly remember what Aerys was like? For if you do then you'll need not me to answer that question. We are men and women of the Reach, My Lords, and Ladies, we knelt to the dragons and it's to them we owe our allegiance. I say we rise for House Targaryen once more, what say you all?" his father said.
"The Dragons."
"House Targaryen."
"Queen Daenerys."
Baelor looked to see his father and sister sitting there smiling as they looked out on the room and the feast that was held later that night was like none he'd seen in many a year. Malora dancing with more than one heir or knight and his father actually singing along with the minstrels when they played certain tunes. He found he enjoyed himself immensely and was singing along himself when his father motioned to the doors and got up from his seat. Baelor following the unsaid signal and making his way to the same doors a few moments later. He found his father standing on the balcony looking out on Oldtown and he turned to him once he heard his footsteps.
"It went well in their father, better than expected." he said and his father nodded.
"Aye, it did. I have something I need you to do." his father said.
"Anything."
"I need you to sail to King's Landing, once there I wish you spend some time in Chataya's and wait for a visitor there."
"The brothel? Father I don't…"
"I know, it's not that you'll be there for, I need you to wait and speak to the man who'll meet you there soon." his father said.
"Man?"
"The Spider." his father said and Baleor dry swallowed, he was in the great game now for sure.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Euron.
For a great beauty, she was a terrible lay. Whether she didn't put this much effort in with everybody or just him he couldn't be certain but if this was the only cunt that Jaime Lannister had known, then the Kingslayer had missed out greatly. Still, as he pumped his seed deep inside her, he took his satisfaction in the fact that she'd finally agreed to lay with him at all. Euron had been starting to believe that she guarded her cunt like the Iron Bank did their gold.
He rolled off of her and watched as she inevitably reached for the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. That she didn't offer him one was again something he'd expected, as Cersei seemed to care about Cersei and only Cersei to his eyes. Not that he minded that, he cared very little about what she cared for and she was only ever a means to an end for him. He looked at her slim neck and wondered how long it would take to choke the life out of her, feeling his cock harden as he wondered if he could spend before she passed. It was a game he liked to play with those he'd tired of, not yet finding one he'd spent into while she still drew breath.
' That one I'll name my rock wife' he thought with a smirk.
Euron grabbed his own bottle of wine, seeing the scrunching of her nose and the disgusted look Cersei gave him when he drank from it and not the glass she'd left on the table. Again it bothered him not, only making him chuckle when he realized that he'd end up like Robert Baratheon were he forced to endure marriage to this woman. No wonder the fat pig drank and ate and whored so much, it was probably the one way he could manage to get through the days and nights of wedded bliss.
"Do you trust Strickland?" she asked as she refilled her glass.
"As much as I trust any man." he said and almost sighed when she seemed relieved by his answer, that wasn't how he'd meant it.
"When the Dragon Bitch comes south I want us ready for her, I'm going to enjoy taking her head." Cersei said and he felt her squeeze her thighs together, his eyebrow-raising as he saw her nipples begin to harden.
He would enjoy taking the Dragonqueen too he thought, though it was far more than just her head he wished to take. The woman was an absolute beauty and seeing her straddle that dragon allowed for some interesting thoughts, more than interesting as he felt himself being to harden once more. Looking to his left he saw that Cersei had her eyes closed and her legs crossed as she lay back and squeezed them even tighter together. Euron wondering if perhaps there was a way to remove the ice from between her legs after all.
"Taking her head is far too quick, piece by piece would be so much better would it not? He said and saw her eyes snap open.
"But which pieces?" she asked her voice huskier than it had ever been in his presence.
He moved from the bed and saw the way her eyes widened when she saw his hardened cock. Moving to the end of the bed he grabbed the covers and pulled them to one side, seeing just how tightly she was squeezing her legs together and the way her nostrils flared as he exposed her nakedness. Euron reached down and took her foot in his hand and brought it to his mouth before he took one of her toes between his teeth and bit down gently.
"Her toes one by one." he said biting each of them in turn and seeing the way Cersei's chest rose as she took a deep breath.
He kissed up to her ankles before he wrapped his hand around her foot and looked into her eyes.
"Her foot from the ankle down." he said and then Cersei's hand dipped down towards her cunt.
"Her calf." he said biting gently on the skin behind the muscle itself "Her leg from the knee down."
Looking up he saw Cersei dipping her finger into herself, her eyes growing wider when she felt just how wet she truly was. Euron feeling his cock twitch when she took her fingers out and then brought them to her mouth. He felt her stiffen when he kissed her thighs and then he hardened, even more, when he heard her disappointed moan when he moved away and picked up her hand.
"Her fingers one by one." he said kissing and softly biting each before he moved up and kissed her wrist "Her small little hands."
He kissed her arm to the elbow and spoke about removing that and then moved to Cersei's ears, gently biting them and sticking his tongue inside before pulling on them a little harder with his mouth.
"Her ears." he whispered as he kissed down her neck and to her chest.
Each nipple he licked and sucked on for some time, waiting until they were as hard as rocks before taking them between his teeth and pulling them just a little too hard. Though given the moan and the look she gave him, maybe not.
"Her nipples." he said and heard her gasp as she looked into his eyes and licked her lips.
"Fuck me, fuck me now, fuck me hard, fuck me like I was your salt wife." Cersei said and Euron smiled as he did just that.
He took her every way a man could take a woman, in each and every hole and he was far from gentle. Spanking her arse, pulling her hair, biting her neck, he choked her and made her gag and she just looked at him and begged for more. That icy cunt he thought she had was like an inferno against his cock and as he felt her squeeze down on him, he began to wonder if maybe he was being too hasty in his plans for her demise.
By the time he'd spent in her for the last time that night, both of them were exhausted and both of them were satisfied. When he reached for his bottle of wine, he smiled to see her do the same, both of them laying in the bed breathing heavily as they drank from the bottle. Euron finding his dreams to be very different that night than they had once been. No longer was it the Dragonqueen sitting with him on his throne and he wondered if and when the time came for it, who he would choose. A dragon or a lion he knew not which, only that one of them would sit with the Kraken for many years to come.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Ned Dayne.
He'd arrived home just in time, though it was to bring sad news to Allyria and his aunt had taken it badly. Beric though was not the same man he'd once been and it truly showed the character of the man he had squired so diligently for, that he would not force his aunt or keep to the betrothal that had been made. Ned had given his aunt the letter and knew that he would soon need to field offers for her hand. Though he'd take his time to do so and allow her as much choice in the matter as she wished.
Allyria and her broken betrothal weren't the only issues he'd faced when he'd arrived and some were even more pressing, Gerold, having been one of them. That his cousin coveted Dawn was no world-shattering news and were Starfall not so well run by his aunt and their household then he may have been able to take it. Now though he never would lest he struck him down, something both Allyria and Vorian both warned him about. Not that Ned needed to be told to watch his back around anyone, as it was something he'd learned with the Brotherhood many years before.
Being named Sword of the Morning was far more complicated than just becoming a knight, there was a series of things that needed to be accomplished before you were even deemed just good enough to face the final test. It was something that Gerold had never understood and something that Ned had worried about facing. Yet he had come through all the tests even the final one and the entirety of Starfall had come out to see Allyria name him something hed wished all his life to be. That he'd also practiced using a greatsword for many years only making the transition to Dawn that much easier too. Allowing for him to beat first Gerold when he'd sneered at him and then Ser Daemon when he wished for a match for much different reasons.
That one accepted their loss with grace and the other not, only showing once again why not all men should be knighted. Still, it had garnered him the attention he needed and allowed for him to do the other thing he'd come back for, to see Dorne righted after their turmoil it had gone through. Standing up for the princess had been the right thing to do, he didn't need his aunt to tell him so though he welcomed her advice all the same. Now though he was being asked to join Arianne for a quiet supper and he wondered what her true motivation was. Something he'd find out soon enough he thought as he looked to Ser Daemon before knocking on the door.
"I'll leave you to your meal." Ser Daemon said as the door was opened, Ned looking to see far more of the princess than he'd expected.
"Lord Dayne." Arianne said welcoming him inside.
"My princess." he said with a bow noticing her smile as he did so.
The dress she wore made the very most of her figure, her breasts, legs, and rear all emphasized as she moved to the table. When she sat down the dress seemed to fall from her legs and Ned found himself unable not to stare at the sheer expanse of flesh on display. Composing himself he took a seat when offered and they began to eat, Ned finding himself once again enjoying the food of his homeland. He'd missed it while he'd spent so many years away, first at Blackhaven and then traveling through the Riverlands. Though he did still have fond memories of the times when Anguy would come back carting a deer that he'd managed to find.
"You've been away from home even longer than I, Lord Dayne." Arianne said looking at him over her glass of Dornish sour.
"I have princess, and please call me Ned." he said with a soft nervous smile.
"Only if you call me Arianne." she said and he nodded "Is it true that you served in the Brotherhood, of… I'm sorry the rest escapes me just now."
"Without banners, the Brotherhood without Banners my pr….Arianne." he said at her raised eyebrow glad to see her smile.
"The Brotherhood without Banners, an interesting name." she said looking at him.
"We fought for the smallfolk, and not for any lords." he said and she nodded.
"And while there you met Arya Stark or so I'm told?" she asked and he nodded.
"Only briefly." he said looking at her.
"You have heard of events in the North?" she asked and he shook his head, he'd been far too busy with events in Dorne to consider events elsewhere.
"No, I'm afraid not."
"Apparently there is a new King in the North, A man named Jon Snow, Arya Stark's bastard brother I believe." Arianne said filling her glass and his own once more.
Ned smiled at that, his milk brother had done very well for himself, very well indeed if he was named as a king even despite his baseborn status. He frowned though when he thought on it more clearly though, as if they'd named a baseborn as king then that must mean that the trueborn Starks were no more. There was another sister, a Stansa or something or other and Arya of course. Ned had liked the wild young girl and had hoped to tell her about Wylla and his connection to her brother when he'd heard her speaking of him. Only for her time with the Brotherhood to be fleeting.
"Lady Arya?" he asked and Arianne shook her head.
"I'm afraid we've heard little."
He nodded solemnly and looked to see that the princess seemed to wish to ask him something else and then he caught the look in her eye and knew what it was.
"He's my milk brother." he said softly "Jon Snow." he answered when Arianne looked at him questioningly.
"Is that all?" she asked which confused him.
"I'm not sure I follow?".
"Surely you've heard the tales?" Arianne said and he shook his head "About Lord Stark and Lady Ashara and how fond they were of one another." she added.
"He's not my kin, princess." he said firmly using her title to let her know how he truly felt.
"How can you be so certain?"
"Were he so then my father would have ensured he knew of us, that he'd have come visit. If he were the last remaining piece of my aunt, then I, Allyria, Dorne would have known of him." he said positive he was right and remembering how sad his father would get whenever Ashara was brought up.
"He was born in Dorne though?" she asked and he nodded.
"He was, Wylla my wet nurse, nursed him too." he said and Arianne laughed.
"Milk brothers." she said once she'd stopped laughing "It will have to do." she quickly added.
"Arianne?"
"Right now Jon Snow is King In the North and is allied with Daenerys Targaryen, as were my aunt and cousins before the Lannisters saw to their deaths." she said spitting out the last name.
"You wish to make an alliance with Queen Daenerys?" he asked.
"I do, and given your connection to this Jon Snow, I wish you to act as Dorne's representative."
"I've only just returned." he said almost petulantly.
"I know, believe me, Ned, I understand the feelings you have about finally being home, I feel them too. Dorne must come before feelings though, each day that woman sits the throne is a spit in the face for every Dornishman or Woman, Ellaria, Tyene, Obara, and Nymeria, their blood is on Cersei Lannister's hands, hers and Euron Greyjoy's. Dorne cannot face them alone and trust me Ned should Cersei win or should Daenerys not have our aid to stop her from doing so, then Dorne will suffer."
He looked at her and could see that she meant every word she was saying, each of them was the truth, and given that the Iron Born had the largest fleet in Westeros, soon they'd be knocking on Dorne's door. Yet he had no wish for travel, no desire to leave Dorne ever again, and had he his way then he never would. Today though was not a day when he would get his way and so he looked down at the table and picked up his glass before draining it.
"I'll leave as soon a ship can be readied. My aunt, I'd ask you to allow her to stay here for a little while longer." he said.
"Of course, thank you for this Ned, for this and for the words you spoke in the Great Hall. It is good that Dorne once again has the Sword of the Morning to call upon." Arianne said.
Two days later he said his goodbyes to his aunt and with almost fifty men, some from his own house and more from the Princesse's. Also with his cousin who'd somehow managed to wrangle his way onto this mission, they set sail from Sunspear. Ned looking forward to his first trip to the North and wondering if it was really as cold as he'd heard.
The North 305 AC.
Dany.
They had flown for most of the day without finding any sign of the army of the dead which made her feel very relieved. That they were still some distance from Winterfell gave them more time to prepare and kept the fight from them for a little longer. Not that she was scared about the fight itself, more she worried knowing that no matter how they prepared or how lucky they were, they would lose people they cared about in this fight. Her people were exactly that to her, hers, they weren't just soldiers or men who fought for her, they were her people, her family.
She knew them all, as hard as that may be for some to believe. To her unsullied, she was their queen, to her Dothraki their Khaleesi, and to the others who'd come with her, she was their Mhysa. Dany had spent time with them all, she regularly rotated her guards so she could speak to each unsullied that she could. With the Dothraki, she had visited the camps often, drank with them, spoken to them, and she regularly rode with them. Aegon did the same with the Free Folk and with the Northmen, spending time sparring or putting them through their paces. He would speak to them about their families or drink with them when he was not with her.
It was something that Ser Davos had commented on, how alike they both were in that respect and how different they were from those who'd ruled Westeros or from most of the lords he'd known. The downside to being that way was that you thought of them as your people and it meant their losses hurt you that much more. Sitting by the fire Aegon had set up, Dany felt both the warmth from it and the cold from the thoughts of losing those she cared for. None hitting her more so than the man who was roasting the rabbits in front of her.
"It's ready." Aegon said and she offered him the warmest smile she could manage.
"Dany?" he asked and this time her smile was much warmer, just knowing that he could see or feel when something was wrong with her warmed her heart.
"Good, I'm starved." she said as she took the rabbit from him and began to eat it, not wishing to share her thoughts just now.
After eating the rabbit she felt a little better, soon feeling more so when Aegon laid out their blankets and they laid down to sleep. Though they didn't make love that night, something which was a rarity since they'd wed, she welcomed the feel of his arms around her and the soft kisses he gave her before she tried to fall to sleep. The knowledge that she was not alone and would never be so again was something that had come upon her quite quickly. Each day since they'd been wed and more so since she'd found she was with child it had taken root in her head that she had and would always have a true family now. A husband and a child, for her that was greater than any crown and yet her husband had sworn to her that she'd have that also.
She snuggled against him and drifted off to sleep, her mind clear and free of the thoughts that had once been her usual bedtime companion. Even when she'd shared her bed with Daario or when she'd asked her handmaidens to sleep beside her, Dany had always felt alone in the world. The knowledge that she was the last of her house had always been something that she could never come to terms with. Now with Aegon, with their child, she knew she was not and so she slept as peacefully as she had since they'd wed and she found out that her dreams were far happier also. The future she dreamed of one that she wished for more than anything in the world.
"You didn't wake me?" she said the next morning as she watched Aegon cook the fish.
"My wife seemed tired and in need of her rest and there was no need, besides I'd not deny myself the pleasure." Aegon said with a warm smile.
"Pleasure?" she asked.
"Of watching you sleep." he said and she smirked as she sat up "Though you should know that your nose scrunches up and you bite your lip when you snore." Aegon added, Dany glaring at him playfully.
"I do not snore." she said and then chuckled when he answered.
"The queen snores, it is known." Aegon said doing a passable impression of one of the Dothraki women.
She got up and moved to walk away, Aegon looking at her confused until she told him that she needed to make water. That he then walked with her and stood watch over her surroundings while she went behind a tree, was both embarrassing and understandable given what they were out her to face. Once she was done and he had walked with her to the stream so she could wash, they then made their way back to their fire and she ate the two pieces of fish he'd cooked for her. Her appetite always felt more keenly in the mornings and she was happy to finally be over the worst of the sickness that she sometimes felt.
"We should fly." Aegon said as he put out the fire and she nodded, moving over to kiss him before they took to the sky.
This time they found what they were looking for but Aegon had them flying so high that they couldn't lay down their flames, instead, they flew past the first force and further north. When she saw the storm she looked to her husband and could see that he'd been looking for it too. Aegon having told her that he believed the Night King himself flew within the storm to mask his own movements which had seemed strange to her. If he was in there then his movements were anything but masked she had said, Aegon telling her it wasn't from them he was masking himself, it was Bran.
Once they'd located him and knew he was nowhere near Winterfell, Aegon had them fly further North, all the way to the rear of the army of the dead, and then and only then did he signal to her that they were to begin. This had been what she had been waiting for, the chance to remove some of the threats that faced them. To even or perhaps even better than that, the odds they faced and so she and Drogon began to dive down.
"Dracarys." she said and Drogon unleashed an arc of fire over the dead men beneath them.
Dany looked to see Aegon doing the same thing and then she brought Drogon back up before they dipped low once more. Again and again, they dropped down and let their flames fall upon the dead, hundreds, thousands of them burned beneath them and she could only imagine what the ground looked like. Eventually, she felt Drogon begin to tire and she motioned to Aegon and soon they were flying west, only turning to the north once they'd flown some distance. After scouting the lands beneath them to make sure they were alone, they landed and the dragons flew off to eat before coming back to rest.
The next day they repeated their actions, once again finding the storm and once again taking out those furthest from Winterfell. Just as they did the next day and the day after that, both dragons taking fire from arrows but not once did an ice spear come their way and not once did the Night King and Viserion fly to face them. She asked Aegon about it that night as they ate, why he didn't come to stop them, or to try to.
"He doesn't care about those under him, he's looking for more to raise. Had we not made sure the Mountain Clans or those at the Dreadfort had come or had we left the Umbers where they were, then they'd have been who he'd have added to his ranks." Aegon said.
"But we've taken a large part of his army, surely he'd retaliate?" she said not sure why he'd not done so yet.
"He will, I've no doubt he feels their loss, not in the same way that you or I would but more in the simple loss of the strength they gave him. But he has a goal, a target and unlike any other army, his doesn't have a limited supply of men. For each man of ours that falls, he gains another and he intends for many of our men to fall." Aegon said.
As they lay in each other's arms that night she felt frustrated. They'd not lain together once since they come out here, five days without feeling her husband inside of her, and that he was feeling just as frustrated as she, was no true comfort. The whispers that they would only need to do this for a little longer and would soon be back in their warm bed along with the promises that he'd make it up to her once there, was.
It turned out there was only to be one more day as this time when they lay down their fires the storm came their way. She more than anything wished to face him, to bring him down and to put Viserion to rest. Both Rhaegal and Drogon almost willing her to do so, neither of them happy about their brother's fate. Yet Aegon refused and almost angrily she flew back when he did, only happy that once they reached the front of the forces, Aegon gave the signal to unleash all they had. Something she had no trouble doing as Drogon made pass after pass over the army beneath them, leaving behind a field of fire as he and Rhaegal laid down wave after wave of fire.
They then flew towards Winterfell, the dragons tired but happy to be going back to their lair, and Dany looking forward to sharing her bed with her husband once more. That they made the trip so quickly gave her pause though and she knew then that the time for war was nearly upon them. After landing she ordered meals brought to the dragons, her children were tired and she'd not have them hunt after the work they'd just done. Dany praising Drogon over and over for what he'd accomplished and listening as her son trilled under her soft words. Looking over she could see that Aegon was doing the very same thing with Rhaegal and once the food was brought they headed for their bed. Dany knowing they'd have questions to answer before they would sleep this night.
"We'll speak to them on the morrow." Aegon said and Dany shook her head.
"They'll need to know now, Aegon." she said determinedly and he nodded allowing her to call the meeting.
It was to be a brief one, she was tired, hungry, and wished to be in her bed. Though she knew she'd not be falling to sleep for some time as she looked to see her husband staring at her with his own hunger clear. Ser Jaime, Lady Maege and Lord Reed, Lord Beric, Tormund, Qhono, Grey Worm, Ser Jorah, Lord Royce, and Arya Stark, an odd war council but their own, all soon stood in the solar that had belonged to Ned Stark. Dany looking to Aegon who nodded to her and bid her tell them all that she wished.
"For five days we laid down fire upon the dead, there are many less of them today than there were when we set out." Dany said to relieved nods and looks.
"How far, your grace?" Ser Jaime asked.
"Two days at most. One to be certain, but after the morrow, they'll be here and so that's the last day we have where we're not to be on full alert, where we're not to be fully prepared. Are things here ready?" she asked.
"Mostly, your grace, we can do more on the morrow, one day more will help." Lord Reed said.
"Then we'll speak on the morrow and go over our battle plans, her grace and I will take to our beds, as much as I love the North. I don't welcome sleeping in the cold as much as I did when I was a boy." Aegon said to laughs.
"I bloody knew a crown would make you soft, king crow." Tormund said to more laughs as they all began to move from the room.
They made their way to their own room and Dany was glad to see the fire was lit and the meals already waiting for them, the hot stew was most welcome and she sat down to eat it by the fire. After she had finished, she looked to her husband seeing the way he was looking back at her and feeling that tingle between her legs. Feeling the sheer relief of knowing that tonight she would find her release.
"Are we ready for them Aegon, for him?" she asked.
"We will be my love. The Night King will fall, his army will fall, and then the woman who dares call herself queen and the Kraken who sits by her side will fall too. They'll all fall while we rise, you, me and our babe, our House Dany, our family." he said as she leaned into him.
"Our family." she said before she brought her lips to his.