Sunspear 305 AC.
Ned Dayne.
Never even in the very worst of his nightmares did he think that he'd see an army surround Sunspear, especially one the size of this one. That he was part of said army and not on the other side of it protecting the Old Palace and the Shadow City, was something that made him hate Quentyn Martell a little. Knowing that his aunt was somewhere in the Old Palace and basically a prisoner made him fearful and yet as he watched the king and queen land on their dragons in front of them, he felt hopeful too.
They'd beaten off an army of dead men and though they had lost people doing so, it had been far less than anyone else could have and they'd ensured that those who couldn't fight had been kept from harm. After that, they'd marched and taken King's Landing, facing a mad queen and the threat of Wildfire, and had managed once again to do so without losing innocent lives. It made him believe that they would see his aunt safe, see the Shadow City and its inhabitants safe and see Quentyn face the justice he deserved.
He, Arianne, Daemon, and the Dragonguard moved over to greet them and he was relieved to see the look in the king's eyes, he looked determined and focussed, something they would need as even knowing the full army wasn't here, still left them with a tough task. Finding that out had been a huge shock to Arianne and the other Dornish lords, not that they weren't in Sunspear, but that they'd sailed North. It had also led to worries that the king would abandon them.
" How can they not be in the Boneway, your grace, did you fly it all, even the route there?" Arianne asked.
" We did, Princess Arianne, they never went to the Boneway, whether that was always their plan or they played your brother false, we can only speculate on." the queen said.
" Where have they gone, your grace?" Ned asked looking to the king who seemed deep in thought.
" North, they've sailed to the North." the king replied.
" Will you be heading North, your grace?" Arianne asked nervously.
" In time, Princess, in time, but not until Dorne is in the hands of its true ruler once more." the king said firmly.
The doubts soon faded as the march had continued, yet he knew each time the king and queen took to the skies there were those among them who worried they'd not return. He wasn't one of them, he'd taken the measure of both of them in Winterfell, in King's Landing, and since they'd come to Dorne and he knew they were good and true. They would see the city and Dorne itself back in Arianne's hands and he believed that the king would come up with a plan to see his aunt safe. Given how he spoke of his uncle and the look in his eyes when he did so, he doubted there was a man other than himself who cared more for Allyria than Aegon Targaryen.
With night falling he was called to the command tent, Ned surprised to see the sellsword there given what everyone knew about him and how the king felt for him. To see the Unsullied leader Grey Worm and Daemon there was no surprise and as he looked around the tent he was surprised when he couldn't see Aegon and that only the queen, Princess Arianne, and the Sand Snakes were present. It didn't take too long for Aegon to arrive though, Ser Jaime Lannister guarding his back like a shadow and it made him wonder if his uncle would have looked the same had he lived.
He knew he'd have been as dutiful and as diligent but would he have worn the same expression on his face and moved the same way that Ser Jaime did. Was it a Kingsguard thing? The way the knight's eyes looked everywhere and nowhere at once, how he stood close enough to pull Aegon out of harm's way and yet far enough away so as he didn't crowd him or limit his movement had he need to pull his own blade. There was a difference in how Ser Jaime was compared to Ser Jorah and Ser Brienne and he wondered if that was down to the training that he, The Bold, and his uncle underwent when they were in the Kingsguard together. It made him smile to think so, to consider that had his uncle lived, he'd be standing as Ser Jaime was and guarding the back of a good king.
"Princess, My Lords, Good Sers, on the morrow we'll parley with Prince Quentyn and offer him terms." the king began though Arianne interrupted.
"What terms your grace?"
"Surrender and keep his head, don't and lose it." the king said simply and directly.
"He'll not accept, your grace. Prince Quentyn was always too arrogant for his own good and I'd imagine thinking himself the ruler of Dorne has only made him more so." Daemon said and he saw the king nod before he looked to the queen.
"We're well aware of the way arrogant men behave, Ser Daemon, we're counting on it." the queen said and Ned looked at both her and the king curiously.
"Lady Malora has found a way into the city and the Old Palace, a way that though it's guarded, is not as guarded as it should be. Grey Worm will lead a number of the Unsullied to secure this entrance and when Quentyn comes to parley, he'll find the city being taken from behind him." the king said and Ned smiled as he spoke.
"You'll need men who know the city, your grace, me and mine would offer ourselves." Ned said and saw the king nod.
"As would I, your grace." Ser Daemon said and Ned saw both the look of worry on Arianne's face and the small frown on the king's.
"I'm afraid we must decline, Ser Daemon, were Prince Quentyn to not see you by Princess Arianne's side then he'd be aware that something wasn't right." the king said and Daemon nodded.
"You'll need a man who is used to sneaking into cities, my queen." the sellsword said and this time it was the queen who frowned, though the king smiled when he accepted.
"Grey Worm has already requested your help, Daario Naharis, I thank you for volunteering it before it was ordered." the king said and Ned almost chuckled when he saw the way the sellsword bristled.
"I'll go with them, your grace." Ser Jorah said and once again the king shook his head.
"The Dragonguard needs to be seen just like Ser Daemon does, Ser Jorah." the king said and the Lord Commander nodded his agreement.
"My sisters and I will go, your grace." Sarella said and he expected there to be pushback from the king, queen, or princess and yet there was none.
"Of course Lady Sarella." the king said simply.
They spoke of the signal, the dragon's roaring, and once they did so they were then to take as much of the palace as they could. There were almost two thousand men in Sunspear under Quentyn's command and he was stunned when the king handed them a map that showed where most of them were housed and based. Taking the Old Palace and holding it was more important it seemed than taking the city, the king telling them that once they did so the rest would surrender. He seemed so confident of it that it made Ned question whether or not he knew something he did not or it was just how he naturally was. Something that he questioned, even more, when he and the Sand Snakes were asked to join him and Grey Worm in the sands that overlook the city.
"Your aunt, Ned, she's been held with the other ladies in what used to be the chambers that Lady Ellaria and Prince Oberyn's other daughters were housed in." the king said looking to Sarella, Obella, and Elia.
"We know it well, your grace, my sisters and I will lead Lord Dayne to it." Sarella said.
"I have a strange request of you, Lord Dayne, and you, my ladies." the king said and Ned watched as the king held out his hand and a small white bird landed on it "Take her with you and let her fly, listen to her, follow her and she'll lead you away from any trouble."
Ned watched as the king moved his hand and Sarella took the bird, the small little chirps that it made were almost melodic in the night sky.
"You are a warg?" Sarella asked excitedly.
"I am, but it won't be me controlling her." the king said and Sarella laughed.
They stood quietly for a moment, almost as if none of them knew what to say and it was only that they needed to leave and make their way to the city that ended up shattering the peaceful silence that had descended upon them.
"We must make ready." he said and saw Grey Worm nod to the king and Sarella, Elia and Obella turn to walk away.
"I wish you all good fortune on the morrow." the king said looking to them, Ned surprised to see some worry on his face and it took him a moment to realize it was concern and not worry that he was showing.
"You too, your grace." he said to a nod and as he walked back down the hill, he saw the king and Ser Jaime look out onto the sands.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Quentyn.
It was like something out of his worst nightmares, the sheer mass of men that surrounded the city almost making him panic and run. How did they get here? Where was Malaquo? What was he to do? That his men were panicking too, didn't help matters either, and were it not enough to see Dothraki, Unsullied and more Dornishmen than he had ever seen gathered in one place, there were the dragons too. Huge, enormous, lethal-looking dragons who could burn him, his men, the entire city down, and not even tire when doing so.
When he first heard about them he had laughed it off, thinking it nothing but a strange tale from Essos. Considering all the strange tales that were told in that place, he'd assumed it was just the same thing, and that even were they to be real then they'd be small tiny misshapen things like the ones in the Dragonpit had been years before. Everyone had heard the tale of how the last dragons were small and misshapen and could barely breathe smoke let alone fire. In Dorne tales like that were welcomed and spoken of just as fondly as tales of Meraxes and Rhaenys and how Dorne had brought them both down low.
Over time he'd believed in them more and more, the tales were too frequent, the stories too certain. He'd thought to take one for his own, to present himself to Daenerys Targaryen and offer her Dorne's spears, and his own he thought with a wry smile, and to take her and a dragon for himself. It was not to be, fate, life, the will of the gods, sheer bad luck, all of it set him off on another path and when he finally did see the dragons, they were long gone and far out to sea. Seeing them now as they flew over his city, his palace, made him fearful just as much as seeing the army that surrounded them.
"Where the fuck is Malaquo?" he shouted to no one in particular.
He hurried back inside and made his way to find his men, it didn't take him too long to do so. Gerris and Archibald were almost running to him, both men wearing the same panicked looks on their faces that he was. They quickly moved to one of the rooms where they'd not be overheard or disturbed. It was one thing to show his fear amongst men who knew and trusted him as much as these two did, quite another to do so with the men of the Windblown. Them he'd won through courage and ending the Tattered Prince, their loyalty was not so sure as Gerris or Archibald's was.
"My prince, what happened?" Archibald asked.
"Was Malaquo beaten? Surely not so soon?" Gerris said.
"I believe we've been betrayed, Malaquo either through his own plans or acting on Belicho's has abandoned us. Were I to guess, I'd say he's left us here as a distraction." Quentyn said.
"What are we to do, my prince? We cannot beat the forces against us and were they to set the dragons against the palace then we're done for." Archibald said.
"We all heard tales of Daenerys Targaryen in Essos, of how she cares, this bastard king of hers may or may not be the same but the suffering of innocents will stay the Dragonqueen's hand." Quentyn said with a smirk.
"What of your sister, my prince?" Gerris asked.
"The whore is far easier to control." he said with a chuckle.
That they didn't attack that day wasn't a great surprise, instead, they simply surrounded the city, and were he not already clear that he could not beat them conventionally, then it didn't take him or the Windblown long to understand it. Yet he feasted and feasted well, he laughed and japed, and as he looked around the room, he knew that it was with those in here that he'd win the day. Not the men, not the soldiers, but the ladies, Allyria Dayne, Ynys Yronwood, and Daemon's Sand's whore of a mother, they, they would see his sister broken and see Daenerys Targaryen give him what was his by right.
The wine flowed and he drank it happily, Quentyn had already spoken to the Windblown and both Gerris and Archibald had spread word that all was in hand. Men won battles, not just numbers but men, smart men, clever men, men who were willing to do what other men would not. On the morrow, he'd show the dragons and Dorne that he was such a man, tonight he'd drink, celebrate, and enjoy himself.
When he woke his head hurt, his throat was dry and the girl beside him was unknown to him. She looked like a servant but could very well be a whore and he didn't even remember taking her to his bed. He got up and walked to the privy, relieving himself before he ended up drinking down the mug of water and pouring himself another. Looking to the window he could see the sun had already risen and so he quickly dressed before leaving the girl still sleeping in his bed and making his way to break his fast. Once he did so he sent for Gerris and Archibald and then spent the early part of the morning sparring before setting up where he wished his men to be.
"When will the seek to parley, my prince?" Archibald asked.
"Midday, I'd expect." he replied.
"You're sure this will work, my prince?" Gerris said.
"It will, the Ladies are prepared?"
"They are."
"Good, then we wait." he said as they strolled through the Old Palace almost as if they'd not a care in the world and there wasn't an army larger than any in Dorne's history at their gates.
He was right about the timing too, a little before noon the rider arrived under the flag of parley and Quentyn made ready to ride out to meet the queen, the king, and his whore of a sister. Turning to Archibald he gave him the nod to make ready the surprise, wondering how Daenerys, Daemon, Ned Dayne, the Dornish lords, and Arianne would react to the threats he was about to make. Would he have to actually kill one of them or would they accept his word that he would? He cared not, if need be he had no problem with cutting a women's throat, far better it be hers than his after all.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Tormund.
He'd gone beyond the Wall and seen his people settled and almost as soon as he'd done so, he'd wished to be elsewhere. The truth of things was he'd missed being with his friend, missed laughing with him, and he especially missed the fighting alongside him. Life was no fun unless you wee fighting or fucking, the big woman though had put paid to the fucking, for now at least. So he'd made his way back to Winterfell and found that the miserable crow had been left in charge and not the sister that hated Jon. It was an odd strange world he found himself living in when even a crow was better than a wolf to hold a keep, yet despite it all, he liked the miserable fucker just a little.
Edd had fitted him out with supplies, given him a horse and along with some men they'd then ridden to the home of the fat lord. Tormund finding the city to be a strange place where people ate, drank, and never seemed to hunt. He'd been welcomed friendly enough though, the fat lord knowing he was a friend of Jon's and telling him that they'd marched and would have taken the city by now.
" Of course he would, what city can stand to the Little Crow, the Dragonqueen and their mighty beasts." he said with a laugh, though the fat lord didn't laugh with him, at first.
" He is king now, Tormund, not just in the North but in the Seven Kingdoms, there are those who won't like hearing you name Aegon as such." the fat lord said.
" Who the fuck is this Aegon?" he asked confused.
" Jon's name is Aegon Targaryen, Tormund." the fat lord said as if that meant something to him, Tormund looking even more confused at him for a moment until he remembered that the queen was a Targaryen too.
" Like the Dragonqueen?" he asked.
" Aye, she's his aunt." the fat lord said.
" Thank the gods she's not his sister." he said and laughed loudly, one sister fucker was enough to know in this lifetime.
He'd not stayed too long in the fat lord's city, though he hadn't enjoyed the journey by ship and had spent most of it losing whatever he put in his stomach almost as soon as he did so. Something he did again when he reached the city that Jon and the Dragonqueen called their home now too, the smell not something he had expected. Seeing his friend again was worth it though and finding out that he'd arrived just as they were about to fight once more, only made it even better.
He didn't get to spend as much time with him as he wished on the journey to where the fight would take place. Jon and the Dragonqueen taking to the air far more than they did the sea. It was only when they landed in this godforsaken place that he'd wondered if he'd made a terrible mistake. The heat, not something he was used to, and the fact that Jon took the piss out of him constantly, didn't make him feel much better either.
" Take off the damn furs, Tormund." Jon said as they rode through the sands.
" You want me to ride naked?" he said shaking his head as the Dragonqueen laughed.
"No, though perhaps if I sent you to the gate of Sunspear that way, they'd all surrender in their fear at the size of your member." Jon said to laughs, his own included.
" Better than sending you to do the same, little crow, if people saw the truth of what you had in your britches, they'd not fear you as much as they should." he said looking to the queen and wiggling his eyebrows making her laugh even louder still.
" When we stop we'll get you some new clothes, you look like you're about to fall off your horse." Jon said and he nodded at him, happy for the words and the man who spoke them even if it meant he had to suffer this heat .
He liked the nights, as the air was cool and the wine flowed. Tormund soon finding that he liked the one they drank here far more than the one he'd tried in the fat lord's city. Sitting in the tents or out in the open as they ate and drank, he noticed it more and more, the differences in how Jon was now that he was Aegon Targaryen, were even more apparent. That he and the Dragonqueen were even closer than they had been was clear, as was the fact that they'd soon be welcoming a babe, something that Jon told him as they stood looking out on the sands one night.
" I'm to be a father, Tormund, Dany is to have a babe." Jon said.
" It pleases you?" he asked.
" It does, it worries me too. I don't want to fight, Tormund, yet it seems it's the life I must live if I want my babe to grow up in a world where they don't have to."
" Beyond the Wall, that was what I wished for, what we all wished for. Thanks to you and the Dragonqueen there are people there who'll know such a life." he said softly.
" I find I envy them, for my own is not to be that way and won't be for some time. This is not the only fight we have Tormund, here, Essos, we'll be fighting for years to come."
" Good, life's fucking boring when you don't fight, or fuck, you're fucking enough right?" he said to a laugh "Good, then you don't need my help with that, so I'll help you with the fighting instead." he said slapping his back.
" I'm glad you came, Tormund, that you're with me." Jon said the look on his face one he'd not seen before.
" Life's fucking boring without you, little crow." he said and heard Jon laugh as he made his way back to his and the Dragonqueen's tent.
The clothes he wore were fucking ridiculous looking and when the sister fucker suggested he shave his beard, he almost gutted him. When Jon suggested that the big woman may like him more if he did so, he almost considered it. Though in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do so, him without his beard, he may as fucking well be naked. Which given the clothes he wore he was beginning to feel that he was. This material was soft, light, and way too fucking colorful, not even the leather armor he wore underneath it making him feel as if he was wearing anything at all.
He almost growled at the Dragonqueen when she told him that he looked handsome and that yellow was truly his color. That Jon, the sister fucker, the bear knight, and the big woman all laughed when she did so only annoying him even more. Still, later on, as he stood with the other men in the same colors as they readied for the frog to come to speak to them, he did at least feel cooler than he had. When he saw them arrive, he looked to Jon and saw him nod and he readied for the signal, Tormund soon finding himself wondering what it would feel like to fight in such clothes.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Dany.
As important as she knew retaking Dorne was it was hard for her to concentrate on it. Dany instead finding her mind filled with thoughts of the army that was headed to the North and with what had happened in Meereen. She was relieved that Aegon was taken on so much of the planning for dealing with Quentyn Martell and that he didn't seem worried about the North. Though she knew that on that point it was more that her husband had been able to separate one from the other, something she herself couldn't truly do.
Aegon had explained his thought process to her, how they had to deal with this first and once they had they could then deal with the North before moving on to Essos. He said it was how he had managed to think about fighting against the Night King and preparing the North for that fight. That he had known the fight was coming and that he had time to prepare for it and so his mind had allowed him to not worry as much about the what if's of that fight. She had tried to do the same thinking about Meereen, tried to think not on the things she couldn't actually do anything about and more on the things she could, and she had found she could not.
In some respects, it had made her and Princess Arianne more similar than her and Aegon, both of them thinking of the people they were responsible for and the fact that they were suffering under someone they needed to deal with, rather than as Aegon was, the possibility of that suffering. That her husband was able to almost forget about things and offer her comfort too, also helped her greatly. Something he was doing now as they lay in their bed in their tent and he spoke softly to both dragons that were there with them.
"It's cold and full of snow, but it's beautiful too, Aye, of course, I want you to see it." Aegon said and though he was speaking to the babe in her belly, Lyarhaex listened and watched him intently as he spoke "Aye, I miss it, but it's not the home it used to be for me, that's wherever you are, wherever your mother is, not someplace, it's with her, with you and with your brothers."
She smiled at that, he'd told her it before but hearing him say it to both their little dragons, only made his words even more true. It was something she believed as much as he did too, home wasn't a place, it wasn't Dragonstone, the Red Keep, Winterfell, Meereen, or even a house with a red door. Home was wherever her family was, where her dragons and Aegon were, where Missandei, Grey Worm, Davos, and even where Arya Stark was.
"When you're here, we'll all fly together little dragon, Lyarhaex wishes it just as much as your mother and I do." Aegon said and Dany giggled when the red dragon chirped loudly "Your mother does too, even if she is a mummer who pretends to be sleeping." Aegon said and she laughed fully then when he looked from her stomach to her face.
"I couldn't help myself." she said laughing still and she almost couldn't breathe so truly did she laugh when Lyarhaex made what she swore was a disgruntled chirp.
When she calmed down and wiped the tears from her eyes, the happy joyful tears that she'd shed as she laughed harder than she had in some time, she looked to see Aegon move Lyarhaex to the corner of the tent. The red dragon was too big to truly sleep with them anymore, she was almost the size of Ghost and even bigger when she spread her wings. Yet she was a babe truly and wasn't yet ready to be away from either of them, though soon she'd be sleeping with her brothers and flying with them even more than she did now.
Once the red dragon was settled, Aegon began to remove his clothing, placing it beside his armor as he finally joined her in bed properly.
"How long were you awake?" he asked her as he put his arm on the pillow for her to rest her head on and snuggle up against him.
"A while, I find it brings me peace to see and hear you talk to our little dragon." she said softly.
"Both of them." he said with a chuckle and she nodded.
"She is so eager to see her, I worry what that will be like when she comes." Dany said and Aegon turned to look at her.
"She's soft and gentle when she wishes, Dany, though she's growing, she's careful when she moves. When I speak to our babe or when I touch your stomach, Lyarhaex does so at times too. Gods, it's like nothing I've ever seen before, I think that only Ghost can move so softly and without noise." Aegon said his smile beaming.
"You don't fear her with our babe?" she asked.
"Never. Remember how Drogon and Rhaegal were when first we brought Lyarhaex to see them, how they moved with so much care and how they were when you knew you were with child for true?" he asked.
She did remember it, both of them taking ever so much care to not hurt their little sister and when Drogon and then Rhaegal moved their snouts against her belly, she barely felt them as they did so. Aegon was right on this and she knew she really didn't have anything to fear when it came to Ghost or the dragons with their babe. Perhaps it was more simply the fear of the world she was bringing her into that preyed on her mind.
"How can we protect her, Aegon, from wars, from the fights we must have, how do we keep her safe?" she asked worriedly, Aegon turning to face her and holding her tightly against him.
"We end any who would ever threaten her, Dany, without thought, without mercy, if they are a danger to our babe then they die." he said firmly.
"How do we know when to stop?" she asked softly.
"We'll know. Malora is a servant of the Old Gods, Dany, the true Three-Eyed Raven, and Kinvara serves the Red One. We are their chosen you and me, us, Rhaella, we are the beginning of our house. They seek us to rise, to be safe, and yet I care not other than I know they're on our side. We won't be cruel or indiscriminate, but we will see Westeros righted and then see Essos righted and she will know peace, even if for some time all we'll know is war."
She kissed him deeply and as always the moment she did so her cares and worries began to be replaced by the comfort and surety she felt when she was with him. It was something that he had told her that he too felt, that being with her, laying with her, be it when they did many things or simply as they lay together in each other's arms, that was when his own worries and cares fell away also.
Later as he slept and she did not, she looked down on his face and watched as he dreamt and she wondered if he was dreaming the same things she did most nights. They would be older, Rhaella and her brothers would play in front of them and they would do so with dragons flying in the air. Their house was as strong as it had ever been and they were at peace, safe, and together. How they got there was not something she cared much about, only that they got there.
The North 305 AC.
Malaquo.
When they had seen the ship in the distance his first thought had been to ignore it, then for some reason, he had the desire to take it, almost as if some voice inside him told him that he must. So he'd given the order and it had fallen quickly and once again that voice changed his mind about what he was going to do. He had planned for them all to die, perhaps he'd have allowed his men to take their frustrations out on the girl before they threw her and her companion overboard, but the voice said no, speak to her, get to know her, and then decide.
So he had and how he'd kept his cool when he found out who they had captured, was something that even now days later he couldn't answer. Of all the people he could have met on his way to the North, his fate was to meet an actual Stark, the sister of the very man who had cost him his daughter. How she lived still, only the gods knew because each time he looked at her, spoke to her, and had to suffer her presence was a time too much. That the girl actually thought herself to be in control of the situation was laughable and why he allowed her to think so was something he couldn't understand or explain.
Where she another person and not a member of the family that he had come here to end, then he'd put it down to learning as much about his enemy as he could. To using her to secure his victory or to lay the ground for such, or to simply keeping her alive in case she was of use to him. But she was a Stark, a wolf, and that should have been enough to see her in pain, it should have been enough to see her dead. That he spent each night imagining how he'd make her suffer, thinking of the things he'd see done to her before he took her life, was no substitute from seeing it done, and yet each day she lived still.
"Send for the girl." Malaquo said to his guard as he poured himself the glass of wine and took out his pouch with the leaves inside.
He bit down on one of them and drank the wine down quickly, feeling his calm come over him once more and glad he'd brought a decent supply of them with him. Even with the voice, he'd found he needed them, the calm they brought him something he had been grateful for ever since the news had come about Talisa's death. Without them, he'd give in to his rage, his anger and at times he had and would do so again. When he ended this girl, when he took her brother's life and saw her sister dead, when he put Winterfell and the North to the sword, then he'd give in to his rage. For now, he needed to be calm and as he saw the door open, he welcomed the feeling that came over him.
"My lady, I'm so pleased that you could join me, some wine?" he asked, the smile on his face looking far truer than it really was.
"Thank you, Triarch." the redhead said as she took her seat, her own smile calculating and practiced.
"Malaquo, Lady Sansa" he said pouring her the wine and then moving the glass towards her.
"Malaquo." she said not offering him the same courtesy, the smile still on her face and still not reaching her eyes.
He briefly wondered if all the women of Westeros were as ridiculous as this one, was it a trait amongst them to think themselves far cleverer than they were, or was it just Sansa Stark? It would explain why her brothers had taken women raised in Essos for their wives, rather than those from their homeland. Though he tried not to dwell on that and certainly didn't pull too much on the thread when images of Talisa came to his mind.
"This Wintertown, Lady Sansa, your family's keep, are you sure they'll surrender without a fight?" he asked.
"Winterfell." she said her smile fading and he tried not to chuckle especially since he'd made his mistake on purpose.
"Winterfell, forgive me, Lady Sansa, being from Essos I find the names in Westeros to be most confusing." he said and she nodded, though the look in her eye said this was not a woman who knew how to forgive.
"It will, Malaquo. Not only is the force you bring with you far more than they could hold out against, it is as you say my family keep." she said as she reached forward and took the wine glass in her hand, taking a small sip before placing it back on the table "And with me by your side then they'll be more than happy to accept the offer I make them." she said smiling, a truer one this time.
"And the North?" he asked.
"Is mine by birthright, Malaquo. After the terrible act that was done to my brother and to your daughter, it then fell to me to be the Lady of Winterfell and to rule the North and though I never wished for it, I accepted it with grace. Only for my bastard brother to steal it from me." she said angrily.
"This, is this, Jon Snow that you've spoken of?" he asked and she nodded "And you say you believe that he played a role in my daughter and goodson's deaths?"
"I do Malaquo, I truly do." she said shaking her head as if it pained her to say such a thing "The more thought I've given it the more it's come to me that it can only be true."
"Then together we'll see him pay for what he did to our kin." Malaquo said and he watched as she took the wine glass in her hand, her smile true once more as she sipped and savored the wine and accepted another glass once she was done.
The girl was vain, bitter, and a fool, telling him a ridiculous story of how a bastard brother had conspired with their enemies to see Robb Stark brought low so that he could take their home from them. How he'd then allowed their other brother to die so there would only be her claim to stand against her own and then had tricked the Northern Lords with tales of an enemy that only he could beat. She painted herself a victim and told of how she had risen and won the lords to her side with the truth, only for her bastard brother to align himself with the Dragonqueen so that he could take it all from her again.
It was a story that only a deluded fool would believe and though he wasn't aware of the full truth of Jon Snow or Aegon Targaryen as he was named now, he knew it wasn't this. Still, it served him well enough and so he allowed her to speak her tale and he performed a mummery as if he believed it. In time he'd show her what he truly thought of her, for now, he'd allow her to think herself in control. Sansa Stark could play the damsel in distress, she could think she controlled the game and that she'd found a friend in him. Perhaps he'd even see her live long enough to think she had won before he took her head from her shoulders, perhaps not. As they sat in the cabin smiling at each other and drinking the wine, for the first time they both wore true smiles at the same time, though for vastly different reasons.
"Land, Triarch, the North is in sight." his guard said after knocking and coming into the cabin when he was bid.
"Shall we Lady Sansa." he said rising to his feet and offering her his hand.
"I thank you, Malaquo." she said as he nodded and led her from the cabin.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Daario.
Things had not developed how he had expected, his queen wasn't best pleased to see him though on that he couldn't blame her, he had lost her city after all. Not even his reasoning for why he'd come had seemed to bridge the divide that caused and it wasn't only Daenerys that wasn't pleased with him about Meereen's fall. Jorah Mormont, Grey Worm, and Missandei all making it clear to him that they'd have preferred to see him fall with the city than to come to them to explain its loss.
He expected if the dwarf was around then he'd have blamed him too, though he was happy to find that he too had found disfavor with the queen and had run in fear of her fury. That he'd found disfavor with the man she had married had been something he'd counted on. Though not on the man himself nor how his queen looked to him. Aegon Targaryen was no Hizdahr that was for sure and yet he had still had found him lacking. In height, looks, and in what he had assumed to be prowess with a blade, though on that last one he no longer did.
That he'd not fought him may have been to his good fortune, as seeing him spar with those he did so was enough to give him pause. Still, he'd tried and found the man had some mettle to him, something about him and it made his task that very much harder. He was a Dragonrider, in more ways than one if his queen wasn't just speaking it because she was still angry at him. The white wolf he controlled too somehow and though Daario didn't truly believe the tales people spoke of him in battle, he wasn't as sure of them not being true as he had been at first. He was also the father of the babe that grew in his queen's belly and that most of all raised questions. How? Why? Why him and not Daario? How had he managed to give her something that she wanted more than anything in the world when he could not?.
" Only a dragon can love a dragon."
The words took on more meaning now that not only had they brought another dragon into the world but soon they'd be bringing in the one in to ride it. He'd thought long and hard about what to do as they had sailed to take this place back for his queen, he'd considered many options. A knife in the dark, an arrow in the back, turning on him if they managed to fight together side by side. Even selling him out should he get the opportunity, and in the end, he'd discarded them all. He needed him to fall and his queen not to mourn him if he was to have any chance to be with her. As it was right now, she loved Aegon far too much and him falling wouldn't do anything for him, he needed to see him sullied in her eyes first, he just didn't know how to see that done.
"We move." he heard Grey Worm say and he looked up to see the bird in the air before he turned to look at the men around him.
He almost found himself lost for a moment before he realized that they were attacking the guards and had made their way to the palace and he wasn't still back in his tent. Shaking his head clear of the thoughts that he'd been having some variation of for the past few days, he checked to make sure his Arakh and his lady were on his hips and then nodded when Grey Worm gave him the signal. He, Grey Worm, the young Dornish Lord, and the Dornish women moved quickly giving the guards no chance, Daario slitting the throat of the man nearest to him and then throwing his lady to kill the one furthest away. It was over in a matter of moments, the guards were dead and the path into the palace itself was now open to them.
"You six, move the bodies and take their positions." the young Dornish lord, Ned something or other said and he heard Grey Worm send some of the Unsullied back to bring the rest of their men through.
Almost four hundred men would take the palace, three hundred of them Unsullied and he pitied the poor fools who'd stand in their way. These men would be no match for the spears and quick movement of the men that came to do his queen's bidding. Even without the element of surprise the battle was tilted in their favor, with it, it was a forgone conclusion. He wasn't even truly needed here and had only offered himself so that he'd regain some of the favor he lost. Daario knew though that until they had retaken Meereen, it would not truly be granted to him. In some ways, he was beginning to welcome that, as it would take him at least that long to figure out how to separate the queen from her husband, he only hoped that the man didn't fall before he did so.
He leaned up against the wall and drank the water from his pouch, Grey Worm stood a few feet in front of him as stoic and as quiet as ever. The young Dornish lord could be an Unsullied himself given how little he spoke, even his attempts to speak to the Dornish women had fallen on deaf ears and he was getting more and more bored as they waited. Had something happened? Something went wrong? Was the queen safe? She must be, the dragons would have made noise had something happened to her, wouldn't they? Looking up to the sky he could see the sun was beaming down and the bird was flying and almost hovering above them. It was growing close to midday and he took another swig of the water before putting the top back on the pouch and tying it back to his side.
"What if the…" he began to say.
The roars were loud and as one they moved, Daario's Arakh in his hand as they entered the palace and it was as he did so that he began to recognize some of the men. Why were the Windblown here? And where was the Tattered Prince? If he had time to think on it then it would have given him pause, as it was there was no time to think in a fight and so his Arakh did his thinking for him. He saw men recognize him too and one or two spoke his name as their last words. Though more and more simply died without speaking a word as Grey Worm and the Unsullied went about their work quietly and efficiently as always.
"Fuck, she's not here." he heard the young Dornish lord say and then he heard him tell Grey Worm and the others to stand down when faced with men who weren't sworn to the Windblown.
An hour, perhaps even less than that was all it took to take the Palace and though he couldn't count how many they'd killed, he was sure it was more than half the Windblown that had fallen. As for their own losses, there were some but only two Unsullied had fallen and they'd lost more Dornish men than the Queen's own. Daario smiling at that as it showed these Westerosi for what they truly were. They were weaker, inferior, less trained, and less skilled than the men of Essos. men such as him. He only wished he could say the same thing for the man of Westeros that stood in his way and held his queen's heart.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Arianne.
She had barely slept and woke up at various points during the night, thankful that she didn't wake Daemon when she did so. When dawn broke she could bear it no longer and so she rose and dressed, Daemon quickly joining her as she walked around the camp. For some reason Arianne found herself looking to the king and queen's tent, to the guards outside and it comforted her knowing that it was only her that seemed nervous about what was to happen later that day.
Aegon and Daenerys had told her their plan to take the city, the men had been sent and she was glad that Ned Dayne and men from Dorne were among them and that the queen had sent the leader of the Unsullied too. Daemon had reassured her that the plan was sound and she hoped that it was, as she felt that their parley with Quentyn would not be. Her brother was too proud, too stupid, and too bitter to understand the situation he was in and Arianne feared he'd do something stupid and cause more death than there needed to be. So much so that she was willing to let him leave, to give him safe passage from Dorne, though once he was back in Essos she'd do everything in her power to see him dead.
They reached the hill and she looked down over Sunspear, the sun was rising up behind the city and she closed her eyes and began to pray. To the Father, the Mother, The Smith, Warrior, Maiden, and the Crone, and finally, to the Stranger she offered up her prayers that today would go well and that those she cared about and her people would be safe. When she opened her eyes it was to see the dragons in flight, both of them looking fierce and she hoped that it was the image of them and the possibility of what they could do, rather than the truth of them that she'd see this day.
"All will be well, Princess." Daemon said and she welcomed his arms around her and the soft kiss he placed on her neck.
"I wish to wed, Daemon, when we've seen Dorne to rights, I wish to wed." she said and she didn't need to turn her head to know there was a smile on his face.
"Then we shall be wed, my princess." he said and she smiled too, relaxing as he held her.
They stayed like that for some time and then made their way back to the camp, a guard stopping them along the way and bidding them join the king and queen as they broke their fast. She could hear it when she reached the tent, the king's laughter, and the queen's mock annoyance at something he said and it comforted her that they were calm where she was not. Entering the tent she saw the source of that laughter as the king spoke to the Red Dragon and the queen looked on, Aegon on his knees as the dragon chirped and she couldn't help but listen in.
"You truly wish to act my guard?" Aegon said to a loud chirp "Don't you want to fly with your brothers?" a different chirp which brought a smile to the queen's face "Very well, I'll tell Ser Jaime that he has another Dragonguard today." Aegon said and the red dragon chirped what she was sure now was a happy sound.
"Princess Arianne, Ser Daemon please join us and ignore my husband and his morning follies." the queen said and Arianne smiled as she took his seat.
"I am simply listening to someone wiser than me, isn't that what you ask of me often, my love?" Aegon said and she swore he winked at her and Daemon as he took his seat beside the queen.
"I meant me, Aegon, not Lyarhaex." the queen said as if she was put out.
"Then I misunderstood when you told me to listen to the dragon, forgive me, my queen." Aegon said with mock sincerity and Arianne heard the red dragon chirp when Aegon turned to it and rolled his eyes.
"Aegon Targaryen, you did not just do that." the queen said slapping the king lightly and Arianne found herself smiling broadly as she watched them interact.
Outside the tent, men were readying to line up as if to attack and inside Sunspear Ned Dayne, Grey Worm and the Unsullied made ready to take the Old Palace from her brother's men. Yet were anyone to simply see inside the tent, then they'd have no idea that a battle may take place this day. It calmed her greatly and she enjoyed the meal more so than she had any since she'd found out what Quentyn had done.
Once she was finished eating and they spoke together for some time, she made her way back to her tent, and both she and Daemon dressed properly for the parley to come. Her clothes were now more to make a statement than for comfort and the dress she picked was in her House's colors, Arianne then placing the crown on her head. She was glad she'd brought it with her as it would send a message to any who saw it, she was the Princess of Dorne and Quentyn was merely a mummer, a liar, a usurper, and a man with no honor.
"Shall we Princess." Daemon said and she nodded following him outside the tent and making her way to where they would parley.
Her good humor lasted until she saw the horses ride her way and saw her brother leading the men and once she did she felt her anger begin to rise. She closed her eyes and looked to the sky, happy when she then saw them in the distance. She looked to the three members of the Dragonguard who stood to one side and as her brother drew closer, she smiled The dragons were on her side and this day would end with her and with Quentyn in their rightful places.
Sunspear 305 AC.
Aegon Targaryen.
After Arianne and Daemon left, he helped Dany get ready, Aegon fitting the armor to her himself and tying it so that it was secure. Once he was sure that she was well protected, he moved to put his own on, and then he looked to the two swords. A part of him wished to take Blackfyre with him today and yet he knew that it was Longclaw that he needed. Laughing to himself he stood with both in his hands and for a moment he imagined himself wielding them together, something he quickly shook from his thoughts before strapping Longclaw to his hip.
He opened the tent cover and Lyarhaex flew to join her brothers, Aegon nodding to Dany and then both of them walked out together. Ser Jorah, Ser Brienne, and Ser Jaime walked with them, the Dragonguard all well aware of their roles today and he looked to see Tormund standing and looking uncomfortable in his new clothes. Aegon resisted the urge to smile at his friend's discomfort, instead nodding to him and welcoming the nod he got back. He would be ready when he needed him and he was grateful for that, though it was simply his presence that brought him true comfort.
"You all know your roles, I'll say nothing more than what I already have, be ready and do your duty." he said to the Dragonguard and saw them nod.
"You're sure about this, Aegon?" Dany said and he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
"I am, you heard what Lady Malora said yourself, Dany, this is what needs to be done." he said and she nodded as they reached the dragons.
He spoke briefly to Rhaegal and then looked to Lyarhaex, the Red Dragon would be flying with her brothers today and not on Rhaegal's back. Instead, she'd fly beside them and he could feel her excitement and eagerness for the flight to begin. Looking to Dany, he saw she was already on Drogon's back and so he hurriedly climbed up onto Rhaegal's, his wife giving the order and all three dragons quickly taking to the air.
They flew over the sea for a little bit, Aegon watching as Lyarhaex dropped down into the water and came up with a fish in her mouth before flipping it in the air, hitting it with her flames and catching it as it fell. He'd not seen her do so before and as he closed his eyes Rhaegal showed him how he and Drogon had been teaching their sister what it meant to be a dragon. Thanking his son, they flew higher and though it was far slower than the dragons could fly, it was still faster than Lyarhaex had until now. Aegon knew that both he and Dany would need to praise her later on this day as she was eager to show them all she could now do.
Eventually, it was time and when he saw the horses ride out from Sunspear, he directed Rhaegal and Lyarhaex to land, the dragons landing in front of Quentyn and his men and close to where the Dragonguard stood. Once they'd reached them, Dany and he climbed off and the two larger dragons took to the sky, Lyarhaex did too but she flew only a few feet above their heads as they made their way to where Arianne, Daemon, and her guards stood waiting.
Behind them Qhono and his men rode, making a big show of things and he looked to see where Tormund stood with their own men, smiling when he saw him. By the time they reached Arianne and the others, Quentyn had arrived and it was then he saw it, the large smile on the man's face letting him know that Malora was right.
"Prince Quentyn." Dany said as Aegon looked to the men to see what it was that the prince had up his sleeve, Malora had warned them that it was something but she hadn't known exactly what it was.
"Queen Daenerys, King Aegon, Sister." Quentyn said cockily as he dismounted from his horse and how he said the last word made his feelings for Arianne clear.
"I'll not bother with pleasantries Prince Quentyn, our army can take the city, we could and will see you and every single one of your men dead, and those who don't fall immediately will wish they had." Aegon said looking to the men who lined up behind the prince and noticing four at the back who seemed to be surrounding something or someone.
"You could, yet you wont." Quentyn said cockily and Aegon closed his eyes as Dany spoke to the man.
He looked through Rhaegal's eyes as words were spoken, Quentyn daring to give his queen terms and asking Dany for his sister's head. Saying that he'd serve as Prince of Dorne and under their rule just as well as Arianne would. Aegon tuned out the words as best he could, the angered shouts from Arianne fading away and then he saw them and he knew what it was that Quentyn had up his sleeve. There was no need for him to hear Quentyn name them as Ned Dayne's aunt or Daemon Sand's mother or as the mother of one of the other Dornish lords. Aegon now glad he'd not allowed for any of them to sit this parley as he'd not be sure he could control what the lord in question may do. Instead, he simply told Rhaegal what he wished and to tell his brother to help.
" The guards, Rhaegal, just the guards." he said softly.
Opening his eyes he turned to see where everyone was and what was being said, happy to see Ser Jorah and Ser Brienne both standing so close to Dany. Looking to them and to Ser Jaime who stood close to him, he nodded to them and to Tormund, and then he raised his hand before dropping it quickly.
In the Air, Drogon and Rhaegal roared as they then swooped from the sky, the men guarding the women moved not to them but away from them when they realized the dragons were coming their way. The arrows flew, Qhono and his men firing them from horseback and the men around Quentyn quickly began to fall. Ser Jorah and Ser Brienne moved in front of Dany, swords drawn and ready to be used should they be needed. Tormund and his men swarmed any who hadn't fallen to the arrows and he saw his friend cutting down the giant guard who barely had a chance to swing his hammer before he was brought to the ground. Ser Daemon had moved just as quickly and Arianne was hurried away, her guards surrounding them both and it was then that he heard the red dragon's roar.
"Dracarys." he said and as Quentyn raised his sword, Lyarhaex let out her flames.
Though not as fierce or as powerful as her brother's they were enough to cover the prince and bring him to his knees, his screams loud as the flesh burned away from his face and his side. It was over quickly, they'd taken not even one loss, Prince Quentyn lived still though he may wish he had not and his death was only a matter of time. Aegon sent Tormund and his men to the women, relieved to see they were unhurt and he left Quentyn laying in the sand. He turned to Dany to make sure she was not harmed, and once he was sure she wasn't, he called for his horse and he, Ser Jaime, the Dothraki, and both Rhaegal and Lyarhaex headed to the gates of the city.
He didn't even need to ask for it, the surrender was given to him almost before he reached them. By the time he reached the Old Palace, it was theirs too. Most of Quentyn's men surrendered, none willing to face the dragons at their front or the spears at their back and when Ned Dayne made his way to him, Aegon told him about his aunt and nodded to Qhono to see that he was given a horse so he could ride out and see her for himself.
Dany, Arianne, and the others all arrived back with Ned when he returned with Allyria, Aegon meeting the woman only briefly as he spoke to Grey Worm and as Tormund spoke of the feast they have that night. He could see that Qhono and his men were disappointed, but they really shouldn't be. There would be many battles ahead where they could win glory and those would be fought on lands that they knew far better than he. Aegon turned to Dany and they walked to the rooms they had been given. He knew there were those who wished to speak to him and that recriminations would come and yet he cared not. They'd taken the city back, they'd not harmed the smallfolk who lived there and had lost few of their men, nothing else truly mattered compared to that.
"It worked." Dany said when they were alone, The Dragonguard in their place at the door, and Lyarhaex was flying outside their window.
"It worked." he said smiling.
"Is it not wrong we broke parley?" she asked softly.
"I broke parley, you did not." he said and she shook her head.
"We did so together, Aegon, what you do, I do." she said and he nodded.
"This is Dorne and I was only returning the favor. Let them dare speak of us and try to judge dragons.." he said looking deep into her eyes.
"For Daeron." she said softly and he smiled as he kissed her.
"For our family." he said as, outside the window, Lyarhaex let loose her flames.