The Crownlands 305 AC.
Aegon.
Seeing the banners and what houses they represented Aegon looked to Dany and nodded. His wife, Ser Brienne and Ser Jorah soon circling the ground as Rhaegal landed and he and Jaime climbed down off the dragon's back. A moment later Drogon too was on the ground and as Dany climbed down and walked over to him, the three Kingsguard took up their positions. They didn't have long to wait as the riders soon approached. Aegon looking back to Rhaegal who along with Drogon was looking warily at them. He did his best to calm the green dragon and hoped that in doing so Drogon too would sense that there was no danger here.
"These are men of the Reach, Dany. See the Golden Tree of House Rowan, the White Sun of Ashford, the Grapes of Redwyne, the Green Apple of Fossoway." Aegon said drawing her attention to the banners that flew over the tents in the distance, his eyes alert as the horses drew nearer.
"That's the Hightower sigil isn't it?" she asked seeing the banner with the White Tower and the flames atop it.
"It is." he said as he was finally able to make the horsemen out.
"Varys said these men are ours." she said with a smile.
"We're about to find out, my queen." he said making that smile grow larger.
Behind them, the dragons looked on making their intent clear, should these men and a woman, as Aegon noticed there was one amongst them looking his way, should they be false they would burn. Aegon didn't think them false though, not only had Varys told them about his meeting with Ser Baelor in King's Landing but the looks on the faces of those who dismounted were anything but unwelcoming. He was however surprised when as soon as the six men and one woman reached them, they as one knelt.
"Your graces, on behalf of my House and the Houses of the men alongside me. I Lord Leyton Hightower do welcome you both to our camp. We come to swear fealty to the true king and queen of Westeros, your graces. We come to join our army to your own. Our swords, our loyalty, we offer it to you both, from now until the end of our days." Lord Leyton said and Aegon saw the three Kingsguard knights relax as he bid those in front of him to rise.
"Rise my lords, on behalf of my wife and I, we accept your fealty." Aegon said and he could see that the smiles both on Dany's face and on the lords were true.
"Your grace, perhaps you and her grace would join us, we've organized for refreshments to be prepared." the woman said and Dany looked to her curiously.
"My daughter Lady Malora, your grace." Lord Leyton said when he saw Dany's expression.
"We'd be most happy to, Lady Malora." Dany said with a nod.
Aegon took notice of how some of the lords looked at the dragons, there was awe in most expressions and fear in some but it was Lord Leyton's expression that seemed the most eager. The man looking behind where he was standing and almost willing the dragons closer.
"Would you care to meet my wife's children, Lord Leyton?" Aegon asked, the lord nodding enthusiastically as Aegon bid him forward.
Dany stood speaking to the Lady Malora and the other men, Aegon knowing now that they represented most of the house's sigils he'd identified to her, while he, Jaime, and Lord Leyton walked over to Rhaegal. He leaned close to the green dragon when he got there to tell him that these were friends, Aegon then turning back to the Lord to bid him closer.
"Rhaegal, my lord, he'll allow you to touch him." Aegon said with a smile as Leyton's eyes grew larger.
"Your grace." Leyton said as he reached out his hand, the look on his face one of almost childlike wonder as he stroked Rhaegal's scales.
After doing so for a few moments, Aegon noticed more horsemen arrive, these men bringing spare horses with them and he looked to Dany who was laughing and japing with Lady Malora and the other lords. His wife was enrapturing them as she did everyone that took the time to get to know her. Aegon smiled at her when she looked his way and nodded and then he turned and told Rhaegal to go and eat. Drogon looked to his brother for a moment before the two were in the sky and Aegon heard the breath that Leyton took when he saw them leave the ground.
"A wondrous sight your grace, one I'd wished my entire life to see." Leyton said smiling as they walked back towards the others.
He heard the end of a conversation when he got there, one of the lords was arguing with the men who brought the horses for not bringing a carriage. Aegon smirked when the man was told that a horse was no way for the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms to travel. Dany didn't correct him with words but instead walked over to the said horse and mounted it expertly before sitting on it. His wife looking at him and the others as if to tell them to hurry which brought a chuckle from him, and soon enough they were riding back to the camp.
Once there they were offered guest rights which he gratefully accepted, their Kingsguard however did not just to show their intent should they be playing them false. Both he and Dany were of the same mind though and the welcome they'd received as well as the houses that had received them, only reinforced that these were their men now. They ate and drank what was some of the best fare they'd had since they left Dragonstone many moons earlier. Aegon watching the faces of the men as the table was cleared and each of the lords was introduced to them.
Hightower, Ashford, Redwyne, Fossoway, Rowan, Caswell, Crane, Oakheart, almost all the major houses of the Reach were present and the presence of Lord Leyton, his heir, his daughter, and another of his sons showed just how true the Reach's support truly was. Aegon once again noticed how happy his wife was by this showing of loyalty. He could understand that completely, as after how she'd been welcomed into the North by Sansa and some of the Northern Lords, Dany had been hurt. She'd come to them as a savior and been treated as unwelcome, as a stain, and had even been named as such by some of the lesser lords like that fool Glover.
When the Mountain Clans had accepted her so warmly, when she'd seen how the people had felt about her, and even when the Riverlords had knelt, Aegon had seen how much it truly meant to her. To now see a kingdom that had ever been loyal to the dragons do so too, he found himself smiling as he reached out his hand to touch her own. His wife gripping it and holding it as they readied to accept the Reach truly back into the fold.
"My Lords of the Reach, Lady Malora, my husband and I welcome your fealty, though I do have a question about the timing of it?" Dany said while still holding her hand.
"Your grace, had Lady Olenna lived then we'd have come to you along with her own forces, we were loyal to her and to you also." Lord Rowan said.
"Not all of the Reach Lords were loyal to my wife, my lord." Aegon said looking to the man who then swallowed dryly.
"Tarly was a fool, your grace. For what reason other than the man's own ambitions he chose to abandon his oaths, I know not. I assure you that no one here played a role in his treason, nor have we forgotten it." Ser Jon Fossoway said.
"Lady Olenna was your kin, Ser Jon, yours too Lord Leyton, I'd not accuse either of you of forgetting it. However, my wife didn't receive any messages of support from any of the Reach Lords, which I believe is what vexes her now." Aegon said.
"On that your grace, I must admit that you played a part." Leyton said looking to them both.
"You didn't come to me because of my husband?" Dany asked angrily.
"Partly, your grace. With Olenna's death, the Reach was left with a focal point, a figure to rally to. I'm afraid in that I've been most remiss for many years, mainly because of his grace." Leyton said as Aegon looked to Dany.
"I don't understand." Dany said shaking her head.
"We were waiting for him, your grace, for you both. Together you are the King and Queen that the realm needs, and so my father and I waited." Malora said.
He looked to Dany who still seemed just as confused and to the Lady Malora who was watching him curiously, Aegon not sure what to make of what the woman was saying but it mattered little for now anyway.
"The past is the past and while we must always remember it we can never be tied down by it. My wife could hold it against you all that you waited, I could bear a grudge against you that you did not come to her side earlier. Had things turned out differently then the lack of your support could have caused this war never to have been able to occur." Aegon said squeezing Dany's hand to have her continue.
"But we seek to chart a new future for the realm and so we shall not hold your reticence against you and instead welcome the fact that you are here now. On behalf of King Aegon and myself, we'll accept that the Reach stands with the dragons once more." Dany said to relieved looks and smiles.
They sat and listened while Lord Leyton told them that Lord Paxter had sent ships to begin the blockade of King's Landing but that he feared the Iron Born may cause a problem. Aegon letting Dany tell them that the Iron Born fleet was no more and then adding that his wife had seen to it with his help and the help of their dragons. Dany looked at him curiously and he knew she was wondering why he was giving her so much of the credit. They declined the offer to stay and instead said they needed to rejoin their men and that they'd catch up with the lords on the road to King's Landing. He asked for a moment alone with Dany and as the lords left the tent Lady Malora stopped to look at him.
"Your Grace, I wonder if I may have a word alone with you, regarding the Three-Eyed Raven?" Malora said looking at him, her eyes taking in his expression and her one he couldn't place.
"Anything you need to say can be said in front of my wife, Lady Malora." he said and he saw her look pleadingly at him and then at Dany who nodded "Very well, if you'd give me a moment with my wife first."
The woman nodded and left them alone, Aegon turning to Dany who looked at him curiously. His wife smiling when he leaned forward to kiss her deeply and then chuckling as she spoke to him.
"You just wished me alone to kiss me, did you fear to do it with all our new allies watching?" she asked her smile and tone making it clear she was japing with him.
"I'd not wish them to be jealous of me any more than they already are. It's bad enough I've got a crown and a dragon, should they see how much my wife truly means to me they may think me truly blessed by the gods." he said watching as her lip curled upward as she laughed loudly.
"Whatever happened to my quiet northern fool who'd say no such words but only think them?" she asked smiling still.
"As you say, he was a fool and I am not." he said before sticking his tongue out, Dany shaking her head as she laughed fully.
"Yes, my love, you're so not a fool." she said laughing still.
"I think we can trust them, Dany, I think they speak the truth." he said when she'd stopped.
"As do I. Why didn't you tell them it was your plan to attack Euron?" she asked.
"I, for some reason there is something else going on here. I don't doubt their loyalty, but I feel their reticence and now lack of it is because of knowing who I am. Whether that is as the Lady Malora says because they wished us to be together or because they wish for a king and not a queen, I do not know as of yet. So I want them to know who my queen is." he said looking at her.
"You think they wish only you to rule?" Dany asked her voice shaky.
"I think they want us both, Dany. What I don't know and mean to find out is why." he said and she nodded "Besides what they want and what we give them are two separate things are they not."
After they'd spoken he walked from the tent with Jaime behind him, a guard directing him to where the Lady Malora was waiting. Aegon saw her standing out in the open and looking to the sky as if she was awaiting the dragon's return. She heard his footsteps and turned around with a smile on her face, Aegon noticing how she looked at him as if she was taking him in completely.
"Long have I wished to meet you, my prince." Malora said and Aegon felt his breath hitch in his throat.
The Crownlands 305 AC.
Arya.
She sat with Missandei and looked at her as she held Lyarhaex. The red dragon was now sleeping in the scribe's arms while Ghost looked on. The white wolf had returned not long after Jon and Dany had flown off to meet with the army that marched ahead of them and that more than anything had calmed her fears for her brother and goodsister. If they were in any danger then Ghost would have gone to them and so it allowed for her to relax. Ayra sitting and enjoying the sight of the white wolf and red dragon as Ghost stared and sized the new arrival up.
"You should put her to bed." Arya said as she saw Missandei's own eyes were beginning to close.
"She'll only rest in my hands until their graces return." Missandei said her voice almost a whisper.
"Then you should go to your own bed." she said softly but the girl shook her head.
"She'll also not sleep in my tent." Missandei said as her hands stroked the sleeping dragon.
"There's a bed over there." Arya said pointing to Jon and Dany's bed and almost laughing at the shocked look that came over Missandei's face at the thought.
"I could not." Missandei said shaking her head.
"You're looking after their babe's dragon, they'd understand, go, should there be words spoken of it then I'll take the blame, my brother loves me he'll understand." Arya said smiling, the girl shaking her head but doing what she told her too.
Once she knew she was asleep, Arya left the tent and told the guards outside that Missandei was resting. She walked towards her own tent and when she saw Grey Worm she told him the same thing. The unsullied leader turning towards Jon and Dany's tent to guard who was inside, and perhaps to join her in the bed also, Arya thought with a smile. Reaching her own tent she was unsurprised to see Gendry inside, nor that he was already undressed and as much as she wished to join him, she knew she could not. She'd been putting this talk off for far too long and her uncle's words still reverberated in her head. Family, Duty, Honor, she was a Tully as much as she was a Stark, Edmure had said. Arya closed her eyes and remembered the conversation as if it was yesterday and not many days earlier.
" Niece, is it truly you?" the red-haired man said as he walked her way, Arya looking to him and trying to place him.
" Uncle Edmure?" she asked as he embraced her.
" Aye child, it's so good to see you, Arya, truly. I'd worried that I'd never get to see my kin again." Edmure said.
" It's good to see you too uncle, I'm sorry." she said softly when he let her go.
" You've nothing to be sorry about niece." Edmure said smiling at her.
" I left you there uncle, in the Twins, I left you there. You and the others, I was so focussed on my vengeance that I never thought." she said looking to the ground in shame.
" It was you?" he asked softly and she nodded "Then you've nothing to be upset about Arya. Were it not for what you did then I'd not have been released. True you mayhap could have done so but it was for the best it was my wife who did it in the end." Edmure said and she looked at him curiously.
" Why?"
" Had it been you then perhaps Roslin and I would never have spoken, I may have gotten to know her or my son, I'd certainly not have a daughter now. Your actions gave us time, Arya and time truly is the best healer." Edmure said with his hand on his shoulder.
" You are well, uncle, your wife, children?" she asked as he nodded.
" Come, I'd like you to meet your cousins" Edmure said happily.
She had met them both, Brynden and Catelyn, the girl's red hair and blue eyes, and hearing her name all had brought tears to her eyes. But it was what her uncle had said when they spoke of Sansa, of Winterfell, and of her future that had caused her sleepless nights since.
" I don't want it, uncle, it's not the life I wish for." Arya said after Edmure told her that given the path Sansa was on she was the only Stark, the only Tully who could rule the North.
" Life is what we make of it, Arya. Do you think I wished for the one I was given? We live, we love and we make the best of what we have, we deal with it. You know the words of my house, your mother's house?"
" Family, Duty, Honor." she said softly.
" Aye, and as my uncle, your great uncle Brynden would always say, family, comes first. It took me a long time to understand that. To realize that it wasn't just those who lived, but those who came before and after us that the words spoke of. You are the last of your line Arya, the last family you have."
" Jon is my brother." she said determinedly.
" Aye, but not by blood. He is a Targaryen, not a Stark, a Stark, not a Tully. You are the last of your mother's blood, Arya, the last of your father's. Family, Duty, Honor, Winter is Coming, that's who you and you alone are. I'll not tell you what to do with your life, how to live it, or what your path is. I simply ask you to remember who you are."
She shook the thoughts from her head and slowly undressed before climbing into the bed beside Gendry. When he looked at her with concern in his eyes she smiled and shook her head. Taking his head in her hands she brought him close and felt his lips, his tongue, soon searching out her own. Soon they were locked in a passionate embrace and then he was inside her. Arya welcoming the feeling of him and feeling her release when his own came. They lay together in each other's arms and she soon drifted off to sleep.
Her dreams were filled with memories of Winterfell and her childhood, of Jon and her racing through the Godswood and of stealing a lemon cake from Sansa's plate. She saw Robb, Bran, Rickon, and her mother as they went about their day. Arya heard the sound of clapping and looked to the balcony to see her father standing there and the smile on his face. When she woke it was to find her tears falling and Gendry looking at her with such concern, such tenderness that she sobbed against his chest and let his words and arms comfort her. He didn't ask her what was wrong and he didn't prod her to tell him what she was thinking. Instead, he just held her, spoke softly to her that he was here for her, and allowed her to cry herself out. When she did she looked at him and kissed his lips softly before moving away.
"Marry me." she said catching him by surprise.
"Arya I'm a.."
"Marry me." she said and he nodded and said he would.
They made love once more and she smiled as she looked at him sleeping beside her. Kissing him softly on the forehead, she rose and dressed and took the small pouch from her pack before walking outside. She moved a little way and opened the pouch, the smell of the liquid inside it almost making her retch. Moon Tea was not a pleasant smelling thing nor something that she liked the taste of and as she looked at it she found she had no desire to drink it. After pouring it out onto the ground, she looked at it as it pooled there and she nodded to herself.
"Family, Duty, Honor." she said before turning to head back to the tent.
The Crownlands 305 AC.
Malora.
She saw in her father's eyes just how much seeing dragons in the flesh meant to him, to her too although it was a different dragon that took most of her attention. Aegon wasn't how she had expected him to be but he was how she hoped he would. How close he was to his wife, how he made sure that it was Daenerys and not him that was the center of attention. This was not what her dreams and visions had shown her and yet it was only now that she was seeing them clearly.
For far too long she'd been afflicted with visions that didn't come true, dreams that seemed real and yet were not. So much so that amongst the lies and untruths, the truths often went by unnoticed, undiscerned, and to her dismay often unrealized. She'd seen the prince rise and fall, seen a boy die alone at the Wall only to rise again, dragons had flown high in the sky and dragons had been brought low over ice and water. For most of her life, she'd watched as the realm burned because of the ambitions and greed of men, and yet she'd seen it soar because of the love of one also.
As she waited for Aegon to come to her, Malora looked to the sky and thought back to the clarity that came to her. The vision that finally showed her the true path and how it made all the lies and untruths simply fade away. It had been moons ago, her sleep was as tortured as it usually was, images of death, destruction, of the fall of a queen, and the slow passing of time while watching a broken man wait for his own end. Suddenly she had seen it all for true, a prince rising to become a king and a love that would define a generation. Clarity, finally she thought with a smile as she heard the footsteps behind her and turned to see the prince, the king, standing there.
"Long have I wished to see you, my prince." Malora said as he looked at her, a shocked look on his face as he stared at the recognition in her eyes.
"You know?" he asked softly.
"I've seen it, my prince. The past, the future, I've seen the life you lived and the life you are yet to live." Malora said.
"How?" he asked curiously.
"The Three-Eyed Raven, my prince. I believe he reached out to me when I was but a girl, I have memories of another time, of a black bird and of being asked to fly." she said as she bid him walk with her.
"Did you?" he asked catching her by surprise.
"I fell, my prince." she said softly "I fell but did not fly, and after that, I saw but did not know."
"What did you see?" he asked.
"I saw a silver prince fall into waters of red as rubies flew from his chest. I saw a boy born a king and raised as anything but. I saw you fall though I knew not it was you and I saw you rise and bring forth the truth." she said looking to him and noticing how he was staring back at her.
"What else?" he asked.
"I saw a broken man sit by a tree and beg for death, a man who spent years mourning the life he took and the love he lost."
She looked at him as his shoulders sagged, her hands moving to stop him from falling to the ground and she saw his Kingsguard move from behind him. Aegon raising his hand to stop Ser Jaime from interfering as he straightened himself up. When she looked into his face she saw the same broken man from behind the Wall staring back at her and she cursed herself and the vision she had. Shaking her head clear of such thoughts she spoke softly to him when he closed his eyes as if he was blocking the world from his view.
"This is not a burden you must carry alone, my prince and you should have no fear that I'll speak of this to another, not even my father. The words I share with you today are for you and you alone. "she said as he looked to her.
"Why you?" he asked looking at her "Why do you care?"
"When you were brought back my prince, when the gods intervened it was not only you who was given another chance. In that world, in the world where those events take place my fate was set, my life ended the day hers did, my prince. A fall as I tried to fly once more." she said looking deep into his eyes
"And in this one?" he asked.
"As with you, I've been given a chance to right wrongs. The Reach is yours my prince, yours and her grace's, others will come too. They will come and do so not because you are Aegon Targaryen or because she is Daenerys Targaryen, they will come not because of the dragons or the war you've already come."
"Then why?"
"Together you shall herald in the dawn of an age that none have known. Your children, their children, the truth of House Targaryen's promise lies in you both. The prince that is promised shall bring the dawn and you are that prince. Already you've seen to the end of the Night King and you've stopped the Three-Eyed Raven from imposing his version of the future on the world. There are battles ahead my prince, battles not just in this land but in others too. You and she must fight them and win and live the life you should have, together as one. One love, one House, One Family." Malora said her voice almost rising as she did so.
Aegon moved from her and looked to the sky, Malora finally seeing the dragons returning and she waited with him until they had landed. He stood for some time just looking at them, the green one looking her way almost as if it was watching her for him. After some time he turned to look at her, his eyes looked different, his expression set, and she could see the determination in his features.
"You will fly back with us to our camp, my lady. Perhaps your visions can help bring about this future you say my wife and I are destined to create. I will have no word spoken of my other life, that man is dead and it's only this one who stands before you now." Aegon said as he stared at her, his eyes promising a painful fate should she disagree.
"As you wish my prince." she said with a bow of her head.
Aegon walked past her and she followed in his wake, Ser Jaime joining them as they walked to the tent and Malora smiled as she was bid enter it after him. She listened as Aegon told his wife that she'd be joining them and as he sent one of the guards from outside to fetch her father so he too could be told. Though there was no need to do so as she'd already told him of her path and why she needed to walk it. The raven was dead and would play no role in the future but the gods had a plan and she had a place, and that place was by the side of their chosen, both of them.
The Crownlands 305 AC.
Dany.
She had accepted it when Aegon said that the Lady Malora was to join them, her husband telling her that he'd explain it fully when they returned to their camp. Still, as she looked at the woman with her arms around Aegon's stomach as they flew alongside them she felt her jealousy begin to rise. That Aegon was only looking forward and paying the woman no attention only comforted her slightly. When they reached their camp and climbed off the dragons, they were joined by Ser Davos, Varys Arya, Missandei, and Grey Worm. Aegon asked Ser Brienne to see to a tent for Lady Malora and when the knight and the lady left their side, he came over to her.
"I'll tell you more when we're alone, but we can trust her Dany." Aegon said as he kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear.
"Very well." she said a little more abruptly than she liked, not liking one little bit the smirk on Aegon's smirk face.
"The army was the Reach's and it's Lords, Ser Davos, they've now sworn to her grace and I." Aegon said relaxing their Hand's worries.
"Ser Daven, your grace, he's most keen to speak to you." Davos said and Aegon nodded.
"Give her grace and I a moment, Ser Davos. Then have Ser Daven brought to us."
"Your grace." Davos said to Aegon and then to her.
They walked back to the tents, Arya looking to speak to Aegon and Missandei telling her that Lyarhaex was resting, though the girl looked guilty for some reason. What that reason was would have to wait as Dany wished to speak to her husband and to find out why Lady Malora was to be part of their accompaniment now. That small jealous spark inside of her was threatening to become a flame the longer she was left in the dark. When they reached the tent she walked in before Aegon did and she was already turned and waiting for him when he entered.
The kiss was long and deep and caught her by surprise, her hands lay still by her sides for a few moments before she wrapped them around Aegon's neck and began to kiss him back just as passionately as he was her. When they finally broke apart she smiled to see that he was just as breathless as she was. Dany raising her eyebrow before she asked him the first question that came to her mind.
"While I very much enjoy my husband's kisses, may I ask why that one?" she asked looking at him.
"I wished to kiss my wife but felt the Reach Lords may not enjoy seeing me do so in their tent and would certainly not like to see me when I take her on their desk." Aegon said moving to her, Dany laughing as she pushed him away.
"Lady Malora, Aegon." she asked when he looked at her.
"Knows things, Dany, she's had some of the same visions as I did. It's why she brought the Reach to us." Aegon said.
"She did?" she asked confusedly.
"She told her father of me, of you, of us. She says she's seen the world we'll create Dany, the world you and I will create together." Aegon said moving to her "And she knows."
"Knows?" she asked.
"That together we're far more than either of us are apart." Aegon said and she kissed him softly.
"A smart woman." she said making him chuckle.
"Let's see if Daven Lannister is just as smart a man." Aegon said and she nodded her agreement, Aegon walking to the front of the tent to send for the Westerlands lord.
She agreed they'd not speak of the Reach with Ser Daven, instead speaking only of the West until they ascertained what his reason was for coming to them. Dany walked over to look at Lyarhaex who slept soundly in the bed, a bed that was messed up for some reason and she smiled at the baby dragon as it slept comfortably. Ser Davos and Ser Jorah were the first to arrive, their Hand taking a seat and then Varys arriving a few moments later before Ser Jaime and Ser Brienne escorted Ser Daven inside.
"Forgive us our absence Ser Daven, please take a seat." Aegon said and the knight did as he bid.
"That's quite alright your grace, I trust all is well?" Daven asked.
"It is Ser." Aegon said before he turned to her and gave her a small nod.
"Ser Daven, am I right in thinking you've come to pledge your sword and the Westerland's men to our cause?" Dany asked.
"I have your grace." Daven said.
"Why Ser?" she asked looking at him.
"Cersei Lannister is not my queen, your grace. Not only has she no legal claim on the throne but even had she I would not kneel to her, not after what she has done." Daven said looking back at her.
"Which is?" Aegon asked.
"I know it was Cersei behind what happened at the Sept of Baelor, she may claim otherwise and may seek to blame it on her brother or on you, your grace, but I know it was her." Daven said.
"And this is the only reason you've come?" Dany asked.
"It is not your grace. As Warden of the West, my job is to protect the West and to answer the crown's call. Since I believe Cersei Lannister is not my queen then that makes you and his grace the crown, this is even more true now." Daven said.
"Why now?" Aegon asked and Dany caught him looking to Varys who nodded.
"Because I've been told the truth of you, your grace, of who you truly are." Daven said.
"And this makes a difference?" she asked looking to Aegon.
"May I speak frankly, your grace?"
"You may Ser Daven." she said with a smile.
"I came to kneel to you, your grace and to his grace, even though there were and are those in the West who took issue with his grace's perceived birth. Now that the truth is known of him, those men will raise no question. Oh, don't get me wrong your grace, they'd have knelt along with me, but they'd have spoken in hushed whispers about doing so to Jon Snow. When they kneel to Aegon Targaryen those whispers will never be spoken." Daven said.
"What does the West ask for its fealty Ser Daven?" Aegon asked.
"I'm to be married your grace, to Ser Jaime's cousin Lady Joy Hill. I would ask for her to be legitimized your grace and that she keeps her position as the Lady of Casterly Rock." Daven said looking to them both.
"And not your own position as Warden of the West?" Dany asked curiously.
"It is to your grace's discretion who they name as Wardens and Lord Paramount's. Both serve in your name and you have my word that whomever you choose will have no problems with me. My men are here to serve you both, we shall march by your side and fight for you if you'll have us. I've made my request your grace, I ask no more than that." Daven said with a nod.
"Ser Jaime, could you escort Ser Daven from the tent while his grace and I discuss his proposal." Dany said.
"Your grace." Jaime said as Daven bowed to them both before leaving the tent.
They waited for a while before they spoke, Aegon looking to Ser Davos and she to Varys, both men saying they thought Ser Daven spoke the truth and that his word was enough.
"Why didn't he ask to remain Warden?" she asked looking to Aegon.
"He asked for the minimum he could, Dany, were we to turn that down it would show is to be tyrants but had he asked for more than we would have been able to give him a choice for which he would accept, marriage or Wardenship." Aegon said.
"You think him true?" she asked.
"I think we still have a Warden of the West, Ser Daven is a man we can work with. We have another kingdom sworn to us, The North, The Reach, The Riverlands, The Iron Island,s and now the West, we have the realm, my love." Aegon said.
"Once we take King's Landing." Dany said.
"Aye, once we take King's Landing."
She called for Ser Jaime to bring Ser Daven back in, both she and Aegon rising when the man entered the tent.
"Ser Daven, his grace and I accept your offer of fealty and we ask that you continue to serve as our Warden of the West." Dany said her voice regal and firm.
"Your grace." Daven said with a bow as he looked to Ser Jaime who nodded his approval and allowed him to take out his sword.
After kneeling and swearing his fealty, Dany listened as Ser Daven was told the Reach lords had sworn to them also, and then with Qhono and some of their men they sent him to bring his forces to join with their own. They spoke to their advisers for a bit and she smiled when Lyarhaex's head came up from under the covers of the bed. Dany walking over to pick up the red dragon and hold it in her arms as Aegon dismissed everyone and sent them to their own tents for the night.
"We're almost done, my love." Aegon said as he stroked Lyarhaex's head.
"Almost." she said.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Cersei.
She sat in the meeting and listened as Qyburn told her that Daven had left the West. Cersei smiling at the knowledge that along with the Golden Company and Euron's fleet they'd have more than enough men to face the Dragonwhore and the bastard. Especially after they had faced Euron's surprise which just thinking about made her almost giddy. Cersei finding herself wishing to be on the Silence with her love, to look down on the faces of her enemies as they were brought low. It was the only reason that she didn't want Euron to end them all himself, she wished to look on their faces one last time first.
As Qyburn mentioned something about the Reach and Dorne, Cersei found herself lost in the fantasy of what she would do to the Dragonwhore when she got her hands on her. How she'd tie her up while she and Euron ravaged each other on the bed, only stopping to inflict pain and suffering on the woman who dared to think she could take her throne. She began to think of the bastard and found her thoughts going in a different direction, the moisture growing between her legs as despite herself she imagined what it would be like to ride a dragon.
He should have been her son, hers and Rhaegar's and as she closed her eyes she found herself picturing Jon Snow, Aegon Targaryen. She licked her lips without realizing as she imagined him tied in her room and in her bed, for her to do with as she pleased. It was the sound of a loud banging on the door that shook the fantasy from her mind. Cersei had been smiling as she'd just imagined removing his britches and was now looking furiously at the guard who had entered and disturbed her thoughts.
"Your grace." the guard said and she glared at him, the man moving to Qyburn instead as she picked up her glass of wine and drank it slowly, watching as the guard then hurried from the room and Qyburn looked to her.
"Your grace, there is something you must see." Qyburn said his voice as even as ever though she felt his expression was off somewhat.
"What is it, has Euron returned?" she asked, the heat between her thighs something that was now growing from a distraction into a need.
"Your Grace, the fleet…" Qyburn said and before he'd finished Cersei was on her feet, glass in hand she walked to the balcony and looked out to the bay.
She saw the ships as they returned victorious, hundreds of them, and her eyes were drawn to the one that led, The Silence looking as imposing as the man who captained it. Cersei swore she could see the silver hair of the Dragonwhore as she knelt by Euron's feet, the dark hair of Jon Snow as he was tied to the mast and she laughed and spun as if she was a little girl once more. Her giddy laugh sounding more like a cackle than the girlish giggle she imagined it to be.
Qyburn stood looking at her with a confused look on his face, his eyes drawn to the bay where the three or four ships that had survived their encounter now limped back. She didn't see how he looked at her so happy was she in her victory and his words were mere noise as she turned to ready herself for her love's return.
"We must gather everyone, they need to see what happens when you challenge a Lioness's rule, Euron, we must reward him somehow, a tourney, my love deserves a tourney. I'll throw him the biggest in the land, we can even give a night with the Dragonwhore as a prize" Cersei said laughing as she walked back into the room.
"Your grace." Qyburn said.
"I want Snow kept alive, Qyburn. Let Euron believe he's dead but I wish him kept alive, I have plans for him." Cersei said refilling her glass.
"Your grace."
"The Golden Company, have Strickland brought to me it's time I gave him his payment, his true payment." Cersei said thinking of what she'd do to the sniveling toad.
"Your grace, what did you see?" Qyburn said his question catching her by surprise and making her lose her thoughts for a moment.
"I saw my love, our fleet, our victory is complete." she said before she swallowed more of the wine.
"Euron lost, your grace." Qyburn said and she laughed and then looked to see her Hand wasn't doing likewise.
It took her a moment to see that he was being serious, that this was no jape and once she realized it she ran to the balcony. Her eyes looking to the bay where four damaged ships with burned sails and broken masts were barely moving towards the docks. She looked past them, wiping her eyes with her hands as she desperately searched for The Silence, her head shaking from left to right as she did so.
"This, it can't… it can't be." she said turning to storm past Qyburn.
It took some time for the men to be brought to the Throne Room, four Captains, and their first mates all that remained of the once-mighty Iron Fleet. Cersei sat on the throne with Ser Robert Strong standing to her side, her eyes on the Iron Born as the first of them stepped forward and began to tell his tale. Each of them told of the same thing, an ambush, dragons, fire, and the death of her love. Cersei listening dispassionately as one told how Jon Snow had jumped from a dragon's back to face Euron himself before another told of how he himself had seen Euron lose his head.
"Ser Robert." she said as her other guards took up their position beside her.
The first man's head was crushed between the giant's hands, the second man was brought to the ground with a butt from his head. By the time he took out his sword, three of the six men already lay dead, and yet it was their blood that Cersei wished to see. These men had lived while her love had not, they would live no longer, and as she watched she found her thirst for blood was still unquenched. Not that Ser Robert didn't paint the walls with the blood of cowardly Krakens.
One man losing his head and another his legs, while the last was cut in two by the greatsword that Ser Robert wielded as if it was merely a dagger. She heard the screams and then silence, Cersei turning to Qyburn and giving him the nod before she walked back to her room. Once there she poured the wine into her glass and stepped out onto the balcony to look out on the docks once more. The four ships were now aflame and she knew that her Hand had assured that every single Kraken paid the price this night.
Allowing these men to live when her love did not was not something she would countenance and as she drank and watched the ships burn she felt her tears begin to fall. She threw her glass against the wall and picked up another, filling it before emptying it and then moving to her bed. There her tears turned into cries and she found herself laying on the bed and beating her hands against it, crying out his name as she did so.
"Euron, Euron, please come back to me, my love."
"I need you, don't leave me alone."
"EURON."
Her dreams that night were of revenge and of something else, Cersei's waking to find her fingers moving between her legs as she welcomed the images she now saw in her head. A Dragonwhore tied to the pillar in her room, gagged and unmoving while Cersei rode the man she loved on her bed. His dark hair and grey eyes looking up at her while he swore his love for her and her alone.
"I am yours and you are mine, my dragon." she said as she felt her pleasure reach its peak.
The Vale 305 AC.
Theon.
He was not welcome here, they'd made that clear to him from the moment he'd arrived, and not even saving Sansa's life once more had changed that feeling. Lord Robert, Sweetrobin, whatever his name was, seemed to be the only one who appreciated what he did and Theon found himself invited to join the young lord more than once. Not that he enjoyed the boy's company or the way he looked at Sansa. Though it was how he spoke of her that truly raised his ire.
Hearing how she'd pleasured the boy the night before, Theon had at first assumed the boy to be jesting or to at least be thinking wishfully. Seeing the small changes in Sansa when she was with the boy and how she'd almost shudder when he touched her, Theon was certain now that he was not. He waited for the right chance to speak to her alone, something he rarely got anymore as the lord was jealous of any who spent time with his betrothed.
It took him more than a week after he'd noticed the change in Sansa's demeanor to finally get a chance to speak to her alone. Theon had hidden in the Sept and waited until her guards had checked it and took their place at the door. Once they had, he came out of his hiding place and made his way to her, standing a little away from her while she knelt and lit a candle. He waited until she rose so as not to startle her and when she turned and saw him she gave him both a smile and then a confused look.
"Theon?" she asked her eyes looking behind him to the closed door.
"I must speak with you Lady Sansa." he said softly and she nodded as they took a seat.
"What is it Theon?" she asked.
"Horses, supplies, I can get them and take you from this place, away from him." he said looking to the ground when he did so.
"Him?" she asked confused.
"Lord Robert, I know… I know what he makes you do." he said his voice cracking as he dared not say the words.
"How? How could you?" she asked her face flushed as she shook her head.
"He speaks of it often, I know Sansa, I know it's not what you wish, ask it of me and I'll take you anywhere you need to go." he said reaching out and touching her hand.
"I cannot, there is nowhere for me to go." Sansa said wiping a tear as she stood up.
"Jon, Jon will take you back, Sansa. He's your brother, he'll accept you and….."
"And what, have me kneel and beg him to give me what is mine? Have me crawl before his Dragonbitch so that she can sit high above me and teach me my place." Sansa said her face sneering and her voice angry.
"It's better than this, Sansa, what he's making you do…" he sad his voice stopping of its own accord.
He heard the snort and small laugh but ignored it, his eyes on her as she walked from the seat and stood in front of the statue of the Stranger. Theon looked at her as she lit another candle and said a prayer, the look on her face when she turned was one he remembered from his sister when she had sworn to see their uncle dead.
"I cannot go back, I can never go back. I am to be Lady of the Vale, I must be Lady of the Vale." Sansa said determinedly.
"Sansa?" he said softly as she walked to him, the kiss she gave him on the forehead the only reply he was given by her.
Later that night he sat in the Great Hall and watched as she sat the high table with Sweetrobiin. He noticed it when her mood changed and found his eyes drawn to the eager look that was on the boy's face as the meal came to an end and they readied for bed. Turning to the others in the room he saw some sitting with smirks on their faces, some of the men who the Lord had told of his nightly activities. Theon found himself gripping the knife tightly in his hand and almost cutting into the plate as he cut his meat.
After Sansa and Sweetrobin left, he found the eyes of the room now on him and so soon enough he finished his meal and his drinks and moved to walk to the room he'd been given. As he was leaving the hall he noticed that some of those who were usually among the last to leave had left earlier just as he now was. Theon finding it strange that Ser Mychel, Ser Harrold and the group that usually gathered with them weren't still enjoying their night.
As he walked to his room he saw the open door that led to the outside and moved to close it. He heard muffled noises coming from outside and found himself heading in their direction, keen to see what was making them. Something that became all too apparent as he found himself almost walking into Ser Harrold and the Lady Myranda. That they were too wrapped up in what they were doing to notice him was his only saving grace. Theon hiding against the wall as he looked to their coupling, their whispered words of passion soon rising higher.
"When I'm lord, you shall be my lady." Harrold said as he pressed into the woman that was pressed up against the wall.
"I'm no lady." Myranda said as Theon watched her wrap her leg around Harrold's back.
"Ladies are fucking dull, Randa, Sansa Stark is a lady." Harrold said as he began to thrust into her.
"Sansa Stark is a child." Myranda said, her laugh cut short by a gasp as Harrold began to move faster.
"A stupid dumb child, just like her cousin." Harrold said.
"When?" Myranda asked.
"Soon." Harrold said and then the conversation stopped, words lost to grunts and groans, and Theon snuck back to his room before he could be discovered.
Over the next few days, he did his best to find out more, learning that the affair between Ser Harrold and Lady Myranda was a passionate one. Theon noticing the number of times the two snuck off to couple and thinking the lady must have a never-ending supply of moon tea given the amount of the knight's seed she took. He noticed how the lords and ladies of the Vale looked to Sansa and Sweetrobin, a look on their faces that he knew all too well. It was one he'd suffered many times since he'd betrayed Robb, a look that most northerners and most of the Vale lords wore when they looked his way, a look that showed their contempt.
He tried to get to Sansa once again only to find that whether it was by her own design or someone else's not only was he never given the chance to sneak up on her, but when he asked to speak to her it was denied. Or more precisely him speaking to her alone was denied, Theon instead forced to come up with some made-up reason why he needed to talk to her and then having to do so with witnesses around. It was wearing him down, a feeling of oppression that he had not felt since he had been Reek that soon threatened to overwhelm him. As different as this was from that, the knowledge that he was being watched, judged, and that one wrong move could cost him his life was still the same.
It all came to a head one night, Theon almost making a fool out of himself in his effort to speak to her and once again being denied. He got drunk and was carried to his bed, the worry and concern he had in his heart finally put at rest due to the amount of ale that he had swallowed. It was not to last for long and when he woke the next morning with an aching head it was to find himself in a nightmare that he'd seen coming.
"You're to come with us." the guard said and he was dragged to the Great Hall, his feet brushing along the ground as he was held by his arms, his head thumping and his eyes closed to keep out the daylight.
"What's going on?" he asked but the guard said nothing.
He was thrown on the floor roughly and he then heard a pained shout as he rose to his feet. Theon looking to see Lady Anya and Lord Nestor Royce were sitting in front of him in two chairs while around him the room was full of knights, lords, and ladies. Hearing the sound of the cries from the other side of him he turned to see Sansa standing there with tears falling from her eyes and he looked at her confusingly. His head hurting even more when he got a slap to it when he tried to move to her.
"Sansa, what's going on?" he asked and she shook her head, Theon turning as Lady Anya began to speak.
"We're here Greyjoy because Lady Sansa killed our lord." Lady Anya said and Theon heard Sansa's pained cry and found all those in the room looking at them both, their hate clear in their features.
He looked to the Lady Any and motioned to Sansa and then made a move to comfort her, the woman nodding her permission and he was allowed to walk to Sansa's side. Taking her in his arms he whispered in her ear and felt her shake her head, Theon speaking softly once more and finally feeling her nod.
"I demand a trial by combat." Sansa said when he moved from her, her voice shaky but the words clear.
"Do you have a champion?" Lady Anya asked.
"I'll stand for Lady Sansa." Theon said loudly looking around the room.
Dorne 305 AC.
Maester Myles.
Caleotte and he looked to the walls of the city and the army that was encamped outside it. The news of their landing something that he had not believed and nor had the older Maester. Though compared to the man who led it, that news was the least of their surprises. Quentyn being alive was something no one in Dorne had still believed, not even the prince's sister had hoped for such a thing. Now they had found out that he'd not only lived but he'd somehow gained an army. An army that now besieged Sunspear and was perhaps going to cost them another prince or a princess.
He turned to the older man and waited for him to speak, Caleotte was far more experienced than he and while he'd moved to the rookery, it was the older man who had told him that he was wasting his time. Something that he'd seen the truth of not long after as he watched the ravens being shot from the sky. It was only the fact the army hadn't attacked that had kept the keep as calm as it was. Life inside the walls of Sunspear and the Old Palace still carrying on normally despite the army that now surrounded them.
"When will he parley?" he asked the older man who stared out on the army.
"He is ever the fool, Myles. Ever a man who believes himself more than he is. Quentyn won't send for a parley, he'll wait for us to come to him. He thinks it shows him powerful." Caleotte said.
"Is he not?" Myles asked looking at the army that surrounded them.
"Dorne does not surrender, Myles. It will not be subjugated, if the dragons couldn't do so then what chance a withered snake like Quentyn Martell." Caleotte said his voice dripping with disgust.
"He is our prince." he said and the man snorted.
"Many times I counseled his father about his foolish son, Trystane was a boy and green, and yet he would have made a far better Prince of Dorne than his fool of a brother. As for Arianne, on her worst day she outmatches Quentyn."
"What if he's changed?" Myles asked worriedly.
"A man cannot change his nature, not even love can see that done." Caleotte said "Come we must speak privately."
He followed the Maester from the walls of the city and back to the Old Palace, finding a group of men waiting for him when he got there. Some of them were guards and there was one or two of the few knights still left in the city. Myles looking from the men to the old Maester and back again. Caleotte bid him join him inside and once there he saw Ser Manfrey Martell and Ricasso were both dressed and readied to ride out to speak to the army and the prince outside their walls.
"You're sending out a party?" he asked.
"I am, we have no choice, Sunspear will fall as will the Old Palace, and the true battle will not be fought today." Caleotte said as they walked to what were or had been his rooms.
Once they reached them, the Maester sat down and began to write out some words on a piece of parchment, writing some more on another before letting them dry and then looking to him.
"You must ride Myles, to the Tor and Lady Myria, give her this note, and then take ship and sail to Stonehelm. Arianne and the Dornish army are marching to meet up with the Targryens, ride and ride hard and let them know of this." Caleotte said.
"I will." Myles said.
"Be careful my friend, for I would expect there to be men sent after you."
"What of you?" he asked to a small laugh.
"I'm about to kiss a prince's arse and I'll be his most leal servant until our princess returns."
"And then?"
"And then I'll watch him face a traitor's death." Caleotte said.
He was snuck through the keep, four guards with him and soon he was in the tunnels and making his way to the horses that awaited them. They wasted no time once they reached them, mounting up and riding fast and Myles was relieved to see they had no pursuers. The day turned into night and the cold air of the desert kept him awake as the men kept riding, their destination was miles ahead and their mission was one that none of them wished to fail.
The Crownlands 305 AC.
Arianne.
It had been more than two decades since Dorne had assembled an army such as the one she now led through the Stormlands. Arianne feeling that her father and uncle would both be proud of her for being able to be the one to do so. Obella, Elia, Dorea, and Loreza rode with her while Sarella rode in the cart, her cousin working on things that even Arianne was unaware of and forgoing a horse so she could continue to do so.
They had passed through the Stormlands with no difficulty, other than a tense meeting with the newest Baratheon to now name himself a lord. Edric Storm claiming a name that he had no right to and not taking her up on her offer to go and visit a king and queen that would decide if he would remain a Baratheon and stay a Lord. Arianne found herself more than happy that he had not, as she detested the man almost from the moment they'd met.
Another stag who thought himself to be above others she had thought and when she had found that he had some issue with the king and queen, she'd pressed down hard on that wound as much as she could. She laughed at the memory of the man's face and resolved to speak to Jon Snow about this boy. Though the news that Edric had shared about Jon Snow had left her with her own issues to resolve.
" He is a bastard no more, just as I am not." Edric said.
" Her grace legitimized him?" she asked.
" You've not heard, really princess I had thought you better informed." Edric said with a sneer.
" Heard what Lord Storm?" she said trying not to smile when the man bristled at her use of his bastard name.
" Jon Snow is not the son of Eddard Stark, he is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Targaryen, named Aegon after his brother I assume." Edric said.
" You lie, you dare to impune my aunt's reputation so?" Elia said.
" Ha, what care I for the reputation of a dornishwoman." Edric said and Arianne knew she was at least partly at fault for him saying such a thing.
" Careful Lord Strom, Dorne marches to another fight but speak once more in such a way on my aunt and it'll be the Stormlords that face our fury and not the Lions and Krakens." she said pleased to see worried looks on some of the faces around him.
" Forgive me, princess, I spoke out of turn." Edric said his words far more contrite than his tone.
" Where did you hear this tale, my lord?" she asked "This truth?"
He had then shown her the raven's scroll, the words of the Spider laid out for all to see, and later as she'd spoken to Daemon and to her cousins it had been Sarella who'd made it all make sense.
" That's why the Kingsguard were there." Sarella said.
" What?" she asked.
" Ser Gerold, Ser Oswell, and Ser Arthur Dayne, they guarded the Tower of Joy. Father always thought it odd that the Sword of the Morning was there and not by Rhaegar's side. He was there because he was guarding a prince, a king." Sarella said.
" While leaving our aunt and cousins unguarded." she said bitterly.
" They were not, father may have said so in his worst moments but think on it Ari, They were in King's Landing, they had an army, while in Dorne there were but three men."
" Men who should have been elsewhere." she said angrily.
It was an anger that now days later had yet to dissipate fully and yet she had continued her march. The pain of the past lessened compared to the pain of the present and while she may still blame Jon Snow, Aegon Targaryen, or whatever he was to be known as for that, there were others who she blamed for so much more. An uncle, three cousins, and a woman she'd thought of as an aunt even despite what she had done.
Rhaegar may have protected one wife over another, one son over a son and daughter but it had not been he who'd given the order for their deaths. Nor he who had been the cause of the deaths of more of her kin. So while she was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Jon Snow was Rhaegar's son and the feelings that stoked within her, compared to her feelings about the lions they mattered not.
Their scouts came back to them as they marched through the Kingswood. The armies of the Targaryens were now but a few miles away and as she slept beside Daemon that night she felt a sense of peace she'd not felt in quite some time. Soon she'd see her family avenged and once it was done she could decide how she felt about this Aegon Targaryen. They would kneel to him but they would never bow, they'd not to a dragon of old and would not to one now.
"Are you sure about this?" Daemon asked her when she readied her horse the next morning.
"I am, we ride out to greet them, Sarella and the Sand Snakes can lead the army forward, you, I and Ned Dayne can ride out and greet the dragons." she said looking to him.
"And this Aegon?" he asked.
"I'll hold my tongue." she said with a smile before she kissed him.
They rode fast and she looked to the city in the distance, King's Landing and the queen that sat the throne would soon be in their control, and justice would soon be served. She smiled at the thought and carried that smile with her for most of the ride. Though it was wiped from her face when she saw the army they came upon. Arianne gulping a little at the sheer size of the mass of men that stretched out in front of them.
Their scouts said it was the largest army they'd ever seen but even that didn't prepare her for the sight, nor did her first glimpse of the dragons as they flew over her head. Arianne looking to the sky to see the two riders on their backs and yet it was the dragons themselves that impressed her. One was black tinged with red and the other a beautiful green. They rode slowly from then, wary and careful and more than once looking to the sky. The group of men who came to escort them into the camp itself was made up of Westeros knights, and what she assumed where Dothraki.
"Lord Dayne." an old grey-haired man who was wearing the Hand of the King's pin on his chest said as Ned nodded and smiled at the man.
"Ser Davos, it's good to see you again. May I present the Princess Arianne Nymeros Martell." Ned said to the man.
"Princess an honor, allow me to escort you and your men to their graces." Davos said and Arianne noticed the look he gave Ned, it was one she couldn't understand, sympathetic and sad and she wondered why that was.
Riding through the camp the true scale of the army was even more clear. Arianne seeing sigils from the West, the North, the Reach and though the horse lords and the Unsullied didn't wear sigils, their own tents were clear for all to see. They were brought to a large tent and Daemon helped her dismount, Arianne seeing Ned speak to Ser Davos some more, a worried look appearing on Ned's face that he was given no chance to explain.
"Princess Arianne, you've arrived at a most opportune time, but I'm afraid I'm also the bearer of bad news." a dark-haired grey-eyed man said as he walked with a silver-haired woman toward the tent.
"Your grace?" she said realizing who the man was, though from the woman beside him and not so much from himself.
"Lady Kinvara, Ser Davos?" the king asked the grey-haired man.
"Is inside, your grace."
"Princess, there is much we need to speak on, including your brother." the king said.
"My brother?" she asked confused.
"Prince Quentyn seeks to replace you, Princess Arianne, Dorne has fallen." the queen said as she looked to her and made ready to laugh.
"Now, let's speak about how we are to help it rise again shall we?" the king said and she nodded as she walked into the tent.