Winterfell 305 AC.
Aegon.
After he'd watched her be removed from Winterfell never to set foot in it again, he made his way from the godswood and back towards the keep. Long and hard had he thought over what sentence to give her and while curbing his instincts to seek her head and watch her bleed had been difficult, it was the right thing to do. Not because he feared becoming a kinslayer, he had meant it when he'd named her as no kin of his. Instead, it was because it would have been too quick, too easy and she wouldn't have suffered anywhere near enough.
When the realization dawned upon him that the vision he'd seen of another life wasn't a dream or a taste of what may have been, but had been a life he'd actually lived it had almost broken him. The thoughts that what they had done, what he had done to the woman he loved were almost enough to make him lose his mind. Over time though they gave him perspective, understanding and made him far wiser than he had been for most of that other life. Aegon had seen what they'd done and he'd been able to stop it this time. He'd seen what he'd become and been able to kill that boy before he ever became a man.
The vision once he'd known the truth of it had given him the bare bones of a plan to deal with all those he had to deal with. Those who had stood against her like Sansa, Tyrion, Bran, and Sam and those who'd not stood with her such as Davos, Arya, and Varys. It had shown him that above all else she was a dragon alone in the world and the words of a man he'd not known was his kin at the time, were ones that the vision had made him now understand completely. The reality of things, the knowledge that it had been more than a simple vision had given him clarity of thought and strength of will. So the bones of a plan soon had meat and flesh added to it, the plan was then given its final touches.
With Sam, there was plenty of time to deal with him, and deal with him he would. The man he had once thought was his closest friend was a traitor, a betrayer, a selfish coward and he wanted him to live in abject fear before he took his life for him. Tyrion's whole sense of being had been so wrapped up in his mind that it was that he sought to take away from him. Jon Snow had known nothing, Ygritte had been right about that. He'd known nothing and so while he stumbled around in the dark, Tyrion used what he knew against him. The fucking malignant dwarf must have thought himself so clever when they'd sent him to the Wall, Aegon thought as he walked through the keep. How clever did he think he was at the end he wondered with a dark smirk on his face. Bran he'd simply used as he'd used him, he was a move in the game and though each instinct he had told him to drive Longclaw into his chest, he had a found a use that led to a far better fate for the thing that had once been his brother.
As for his so-called sister, the one who'd never truly thought of him as a brother and yet knew he was a weak-minded fool who only saw her as his blood. Sansa's own sense of self lay in who she thought she was and who she believed she should be. To hurt her as she had hurt him, as she had hurt the woman he loved, required stripping that from her. So he removed it piece by piece, he easily predicted the moves she would make and he had watched her all the while. Be it through Ghost's eyes, through the eyes of a small mouse as it scurried through Winterfell's halls, or through the eagle's as it had rested in the tree when she rode to the Bloody Gate. He had watched, he had taken note and when the time came he was ready. True there were some missteps on the way, times where she was out of his sight if not his mind. But never was she a threat to Dany, him, or to their babe and he'd been ready for her from the moment they'd arrived in Winterfell all those moons ago.
"Your grace." Ser Jorah said, the sound of his voice taking him from his head, Aegon smiling at the man as he walked into the room.
He was greeted by the sound of laughter and a dragon's trill and the sight was one that made all the anger that his thoughts were stirring up just simply fade away. Dany was holding Rhaella in her arms at the window while outside Lyarhaex was flying by and for lack of a better way to describe it, doing tricks. The dragon was putting on a mummers show for his wife and daughter and greatly entertaining them both given the sounds that both Dany and Rhaella were making. Aegon felt his breath still as Dany leaned a little further out of the window and then he watched as his wife held Rhaella in one arm while brushing her hand against Lyarhaex while the red dragon basically hovered outside the window.
"She loves it so." Dany said letting him know that she knew he was in the room.
"For a dragon, she seeks much attention." he said moving over to the window.
"I was speaking of our daughter, Aegon, look at her, see how she loves it so." Dany said her smile beaming as she directed him to look down at Rhaella.
His daughter was laughing, not simply smiling or even babe-like giggles, she was actually laughing. Soon enough so was he at the thoughts of what they must look like to anyone who looked up to their window. Four dragons showing their happiness and contentment with just being with each other. Three of them laughing almost like loons while one flew by the window and trilled as happily as she could be. It felt wrong to bring it to an end but he knew he must and so he kissed Dany and Rhaella each on their cheeks and spoke to Lyarhaex.
"Go fly to your brothers, we shall be leaving soon enough." he said and the red dragon chirped angrily at him "Go, we have a long flight ahead of us and the littlest dragon will be coming with us this time." he said this time to a far happier chirp.
He closed the window and took Rhaella from Dany's arms when she offered their daughter to him. Aegon welcoming the feel of her and how she almost snuggled against him as her mother would do when she sought comfort. They walked back further into the room and both sat down on a couch. Dany immediately began to play with Rhaella as he leaned back and held their daughter against his chest.
"Is it done?" Dany asked and he nodded "Good. And now you wish to leave?"
"I find I've no desire to be here any longer. We've done what we came to do and the North is safe once more. Let those we placed in charge see to the rest and let us go and be with our family." he said and Dany nodded.
"Missy will spoil her so." Dany said with a giggle as she took one of Rhaella's hands in her own.
"Missy? Wait and you see Davos." he said with a chuckle.
"Arya." they both said together laughing.
"You, Sansa…" Dany said softly.
"I am as well as I could wish to be. My wife and daughter make me so. As for Sansa, she is no longer someone that I will waste a thought on. Her life will be hard and she will only make it harder for herself and I find I care not for I've spent far too much time with her in my thoughts. Now I intend to reserve them only for my wife and this little one." he said as he pretended to be a dragon beneath his daughter and allowed her the Dragonrider that she would one day be.
"Then we fly, all of us." Dany said kissing first Rhaella and then him before she got to her feet and moved to grab her things.
While Dany did that, he moved underneath his daughter. Rhaella was sitting astride his chest and looking deep into his eyes as she smiled at him.
"Fly little dragon and own the skies for they are yours now and will always be so." he said softly.
King's Landing 300 AC.
Davos.
Each day since the raven had come he looked to the skies and found himself outside the Red Keep far more than he did inside it. He wasn't the only one to do so. Missandei, Grey Worm, Arya, and even Varys he'd found doing as he did. All of them being chided at one time or another by Lady Malora who told them that now was not the time for the King, Queen, and Princess to return. Yet each day he would look up and today was no different. They had held a Small Council meeting to discuss the treasury and a letter they'd received from the Iron Bank. One and a half million gold dragons they were claiming from them for payment made to the Golden Company and agreed to by Cersei. The Iron bank now saying that they wished for the crown to pay them their due.
It had led to angered shouts, looks directed at Jon Connington that he didn't truly deserve, and more than one member of the Small Council saying the crown should not pay. The problem with not paying was that the Iron Bank always got its due and if they said you owed them coin, then you owed them coin. How they'd seek to force you to pay that coin was the question and Davos shuddered a little as he thought of some of the suggestions that had been brought up in the meeting. The Faceless Men were not something he knew much about other than their reputation and despite all the protection around them, his king and queen were not impossible to reach.
Especially the king, as Davos had told Aegon far too many times to count. How was he to protect a man away from the battlefield when that very same man would almost seek out danger once he was on one. That was the key thought that was in his head when he saw Ghost and Missandei rushing through the Red Keep, though it was soon a fleeting one. Seeing the smile on the translator's face was enough to tell him the reason for her hurry and to bring about his own. Davos then too was running through the halls and corridors and when he reached the outside and saw the dragons in the sky, he smiled both in relief and happiness.
Even from this vantage point, he could see that Aegon had all three members of the Dragonguard and Tormund on Rhaegal with him. Which meant that Daenerys rode alone or she would have been if it wasn't for the precious bundle that was tied securely to her chest. The dragons didn't head for the Dragonpit and when they landed, he, Missandei, and Ghost were not the only ones waiting to greet them. Arya, Gendry, Grey Worm, Daario and Jon Connington had all made their way to the courtyard to greet the king and queen and welcome their new princess. Even Lady Anya had left her solar and was now standing beside him. The look on her face as the dragons landed was one of awe and wonder as she'd not see them as much as the rest of them had.
"Gods, look at the size of the red one." Lady Anya said and Davos chuckled, Lyarhaex had gotten much larger since last they'd seen her a little more than a moon ago.
"The princess's mount." Davos said speaking words that Aegon had spoken to him.
"How soon would she ride it?" Anya asked him as they moved to greet the king and queen and meet the princess.
"Left to her father, I'm surprised she's not doing so already" he japed which got a small laugh from the lady.
He watched as Tormund, Ser Jorah, Ser Brienne and Ser Jaime now stood by while Aegon helped Dany down from Drogon's back. Lyarhaex almost looked like another Dragonguard as she'd landed in front of Drogon and was staring at each of those who approached. The red dragon had a look in her eyes that suggested she was ready to burn any of them should they dare threaten her rider. Ghost had run from Missandei's side and as Aegon helped Daenerys to the ground the white wolf reached them. Davos and each of the others looking on as it was he and not they who got to meet the princess first. As always Davos was amazed by how gentle Ghost could be at times and as he looked on he saw the wolf's head brush against the bundle that Daenerys now held in her arms.
Once they'd gotten acquainted it was time for the rest of them and Missandei and Arya both moved as one and were soon laughing and speaking to the queen while playing with the babe. Davos welcomed the look he saw on Aegon's face as he looked at the scene in front of him and then both he and Tormund walked his way. Daenerys, Arya, Missandei, Ghost, and the Dragonguard now moving towards the keep. With a loud shriek that Davos felt was a warning, Lyarhaex and her brothers took to the sky and flew to he knew not where.
"She'll be back before nightfall." Aegon said just as he reached him, Davos offering him a warm smile as he looked at the departing queen and princess.
"It's good to see you back and well, your grace." Davos said.
"Aye, it's good to be back, Davos. But I know as loveable as I am it's not me who you really wish to see, so perhaps we should follow my wife and allow you to meet who it is you're truly out here for." Aegon said, his mirth clear.
"You are an ugly fucker. I told him, Davos. it's only because of the gods we got so lucky and the little princess takes after her mother. Can you imagine if she looked like this fucker." Tormund said laughing as Aegon pretended to roll his eyes and it was good to see they were all in such good cheer.
After greeting Lady Anya and Jon Connington, Aegon asked them to join them so they could meet Princess Rhaella and with a nod to Ser Jaime, they turned and followed after the queen. They walked slowly and though they didn't speak on what had happened while they were both gone from King's Landing, Aegon did speak briefly on things in the North. Explaining that the army they'd defeated had been sent to Westeros by the same man who'd taken Meereen and that in time they'd have to go and face this threat and see that it was dealt with.
For some reason, Davos felt his breath catch when Aegon said that. He'd known that the intent was for Aegon and Daenerys to retake Meereen and the Bay of Dragons and yet a part of him had hoped that battles and wars were a thing of the past. He'd prayed that they'd be allowed to live in the peace that both of them deserved so much. Even more so now with their daughter in the world. Knowing them as he did, both Aegon and Daenerys would have wished it for her far more than for themselves. His concerned look was noticed by Aegon who stopped for a moment and placed his hand on his shoulder. The look on his face one that told him that he knew what it was he'd been thinking and Davos was surprised by the concern in that look.
Not that his king wasn't sympathetic but because he was the one who should be showing Aegon his own sympathy and not the other way round he felt. Soon enough they reached the Royal Chambers and the sight that greeted him once they entered the room was enough to at least, for now, make him think of far happier thoughts. Missandei held the princess while Arya sat beside her making faces and laughing at the babe. The queen was looking on at the three of them with a look on her face that was as close to true happiness that he'd ever seen anyone wear. A quick glance to his left showed that the king too wore the very same look and Davos smiled softly upon seeing it.
"While I know that you wish to keep her to yourselves, there are others who'd like to meet their new princess." Aegon said his voice lighter than it normally was.
"Well they can wait, Missandei beat me and so she got to hold her first but it's my turn next, not yours." Arya said and Davos heard Aegon's true laugh when his sister stuck her tongue out at him.
"It seems we must wait then." Aegon said as if it was the greatest chore in the entire world, something that it almost felt like to him but a few moments later.
Eventually, after Arya had held the princess for long enough, Aegon walked over to her and took her from her arms. He then turned back towards them and Davos felt his anticipation begin to rise and almost shook his head from his shoulders when he was offered to hold her in his arms.
"She wishes to meet you, Davos, and I very much wish her to." Aegon said his voice a little choked up as Davos nodded and took Rhaella from her father.
"By the gods, your grace, she's the most precious little thing." Davos said as he held her before quickly adding "Tormund was right though, it is a good thing that she looks like her mother and not her father." he said japing and the sounds of the laughs coming from where the queen, Arya, and Missandei sat made the jape worthwhile.
"Mine own Hand." Aegon said overly dramatically.
After a few moments, Aegon took her from his arms and moved to Jon Connington and Lady Anya, introducing them both to the princess before he then brought her back to her mother. Davos watched as he carefully handed her over to Daenerys before placing a kiss on her cheek. Then Aegon knelt down and spoke softly to Ghost as the white wolf licked his face. He would freely admit that leaving the room was a hard thing to do and he could only imagine what it was like for Aegon beside him. He, Jon Connington, the king, and Ser Jaime all walked to the Tower of the Hand to speak rather than doing so in the solar in the Royal Chambers.
Once they reached his own solar Davos had sent out for refreshments. Aegon welcoming the ale when it arrived while Ser Jaime ate a little and drank some water. They sat and he readied to tell all that had occurred while Aegon and Daenerys were in Dorne and the North. He thought that Aegon may have been distracted at first given his lack of reaction to the news about the Iron Bank but it turned out that he just wished for him to get through it all before reacting.
"I'll send word to the Iron Bank requesting a meeting. We'll not be held responsible for the debts Cersei Lannister accrued. They knew of my wife when they made that loan and that she was the rightful queen and so they backed a usurper and must suffer the loss that doing so has brought them." Aegon said determinedly.
"The Iron Bank won't like this, your grace. Normally they would seek to enlist the Golden Company to force the Iron Throne to live up to their terms but the Golden Company is no more. Its men are yours and though some have gone back to Essos, there is not a one of them who will raise spear or sword against you, on that you can be certain." Jon Connington said.
"It's not the Golden Company they will send, Jon. I know who they'll task with taking their pound of flesh which is why it's to the House of Black and White I'll be going before I speak to the bankers." Aegon said.
"Is that wise, your grace?" he asked and Aegon chuckled.
"You should know me well enough by now, Davos, when do I do what's wise? But Aye, in this case, it is. Arya knows more about the House of Black and White than any of us here in this room but even did she not, I've always intended to pay them a visit."
"Your grace?" he asked confused.
"How do you bring down those in charge of the largest army the world has ever seen, Davos? How do you face off against someone who has dragons at their command? Malaquo brought more than 15,000 men and none will ever see Essos again. Those who didn't fall to my wife and me fell to the North and Lord Wyman now has a navy for the North to call their own. It's not an army that I fear, it's a lone knife in the night and the House of Black and White more than any other. I intend to leave them in no doubt that should they come for me, for Dany or for our daughter then I'll see every single one of them and their temple in flames." Aegon said and Davos nodded.
"The North, your grace?" he asked and Aegon proceeded to tell him and Jon Connington of what Sansa Stark had sought to do.
There was no bitterness, no anger or regret in how his king spoke of the girl he'd once named a sister. Davos could find no emotion in his words at all if the truth was told. It was simple and direct, a relaying of facts, and he was left in no doubt that as far as Sansa Stark was concerned, to Aegon she no longer existed. Other than a brief moment when Arya was brought up, the tale was simply told and finished. Aegon even waving away Jon's concerns about whether or not she should have been left alive. Davos agreeing completely with his king on that as the life she would be forced to live in Wintertown was one she very much deserved.
"You'll eat with us tonight, Davos?" Aegon asked after Jon Connington had left them.
"I had thought you'd wish to eat with family." Davos said and Aegon smiled warmly at him.
"You are part of that family and don't you ever forget it. I'll see you tonight, Davos." Aegon said with a nod as he moved to the door.
"Aye, you will, your grace." he said smiling at the boy, the king he thought of as a son.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Arya.
Her niece was the most precious thing she'd ever seen or held. Although she had her mother's looks and eyes, for Arya it wasn't just the dark hair on her head that showed she was her brother's babe as there were other smaller things too. Rhaella looked at things the same way that Jon did. Her eyes took things in and studied them just how her brother would and when she smiled, to Arya she was then all Jon. When she laughed as she was doing right now, she was her mother's babe once more and Arya found that she liked that just as much.
Holding her in her arms and feeling her move against the swell of her own belly brought up feelings that at times threatened her self-control. The thoughts that she too would have a babe of her own were now starting to feel more true as she held Rhaella in her arms. Knowing that she'd be responsible for the protection of such a small, delicate, and precious thing was something that she'd considered more in the last couple of days than in all the ones that came before them.
Each time she handed her niece back to her mother, as she had just done, it felt harder and harder for her to do so. Arya finding herself not willing to let her go and her mind drifting to the thoughts of the plan that she'd come up with and whether she would be able to go through with it. It was clear to her that both Jon and Dany loved their daughter with every single piece of their hearts and that she'd already become the most important thing in their world.
Would it be the same for her own babe?
Would she love it the way they felt about Rhaella?
Could she give it up?
Was the life she yearned for the life she truly wanted?
Each day these and other questions were what filled her thoughts when she left Dany and Rhaella. So as she kissed her niece's cheek and said her goodbyes to Dany and Missandei, it was to these thoughts that she expected her mind to turn. A few moments later she saw Jon walking through the keep and knew he was heading to check in on his wife and daughter, as he did regularly through the day. Upon seeing him, Arya gratefully welcomed the other thought that came to her mind and quickly latched onto it.
"Jon, can we speak?" she asked softly and guilty though she felt from diverting him from his destination, she was relieved when he nodded.
They walked together up some stairs and she wondered where he was taking her. The destination soon becoming clear when they passed the guard and walked out onto the large open space of the roof. She smiled when she saw Lyarhaex change direction and fly towards them. The red dragon soon landing in front of them and Arya knew she would have to wait a few moments to speak about the things that she needed to.
"Aye, I'll bring her up to you tonight. No, she's too small to sleep out here with you and you've grown much too large to sleep in the room with us"
"Aye, she'll grow too, and then I'll not stop her on the nights she wishes to sleep with you. Very well, for a few hours, now go and play with your brothers, go."
Listening to her brother speak to the dragons as if they were children was something that amazed her. They and Ghost were spoken to as if Jon heard the other side of the conversation in his head and she wondered what that actually felt and sounded like to him. After she watched the red dragon take to the sky, Jon bid her join him and they took a seat on some raised stone so they could peer over the edge should they wish to. He surprised her not more than a moment later when he spoke not of her and Gendry which she had wished to speak on but on Sansa, which she very much did not.
"I came close to taking her head, Arya. What she did, what she would seek to do and the risk she may have posed my daughter. I came damn close to taking her head." Jon said sighing.
"You didn't. You couldn't, you're not a kinslayer." she said looking at him.
"She's no longer my kin and she's made that clear far too many times for me to ignore it. Were she then I'd have seen her get almost all that she wished for but I know that even that wouldn't have been enough for her. She wanted the North, to wear a crown, and had she got it then even that wouldn't have been all she'd have sought in time."
"Jon.." she said softly and she saw the brief narrowing of his eyes.
She had tried to call him Aegon and had done so at times when people were around them but when no one could hear or when it was just those close to them, Arya always reverted to calling him by the name she would forever know him by. To her, Jon was Jon and would always be so but she could see that at times when it came to certain subjects that he hated that name. Speaking about Sansa had obviously become one of those times.
"In time she'd have stewed and felt the Riverlands were hers because Robb had once held that crown. That the Vale was hers because of her Aunt and with three kingdoms under her banner she'd have felt that she deserved even more than just those. She was to be the queen of all seven her mind would tell her and the gods only know what she'd have done to get them. So I offered her peace and she spat in my face and in Dany's face, and instead of working with us, she worked against us. She worked against me just as she'd been doing since the moment she arrived at Castle Black." Jon said and she could see his anger and that there was very title regret in his words and expression.
"What did you do, Jon?" she asked as softly as she could, hoping that her question came across as curious rather than accusing.
"I laid out all she did in front of the Lords of the North. I pointed out every action she's taken since we're been reunited and that along with joining with a foreign army to attack the North was enough to seal her fate." Jon said looking at her.
"Jon?"
"She's is never to leave the North again under pain of death. Never to set foot in Winterfell again or she will be executed immediately. She will not wed, bear children, hold any title or lands, and will live out the rest of her life among people that she's spent the vast majority of it looking down upon. I gave her a room over her head, clothing to wear, and food in her belly. I gave her what Ned Stark gave to me and no more." Jon said and Arya shuddered at hearing him say that about her father, their father, as once Jon had always thought him so.
"Father…" she began and the way Jon looked at her took her aback, the anger in his eyes, not something she had seen too often.
"Lied to me all my life and let me swear mine and mine children's future away. Each time I look at my daughter a part of me knows now that my uncle wished her denied to me. That he, if he had his way, would wish her gone from this world. Do not defend Ned Stark to me, Arya, for just like Sansa that man is no kin of mine." Jon said rising to his feet before looking at her "If you ever decide to take Winterfell for your own, my order still stands, Arya. She is not to set foot on its grounds and I will not be swayed on this. You may visit her in her home and for the rest of her days that is the only home that she'll ever know. Do I make myself clear?" Jon asked his face was like the Walls of Winterfell, unyielding and unreachable.
"It is, I didn't want to speak to you about Sansa, Jon, it's not what I…." she began and saw him change almost immediately, the look of worry on his face as he moved to her almost making her forget about what they'd just spoken about.
"Arya, gods… I'm sorry…" Jon said as he moved to her and knelt down, his hand raising her chin so she was looking into his now purple eyes and she found she missed the grey they had once been.
"I want to marry, Gendry, and I… we wish to be wed. I won't… Our babe… Jon, I won't…" she said and as her tears fell she was enveloped in her brother's warm embrace.
They held each other for a few moments and she felt Jon wipe her eyes before he gave her a moment. Arya laughing aloud when she saw the look in his eyes and she knew he was plotting something.
"What?" she asked.
"A large wedding, in front of all the Lords and Ladies, the dragons, the realm.." Jon said as he went to continue and Arya shook her head vigorously from side to side ready to protest until she saw him lose his battle with his laughter and she then hit him hard on the shoulder.
"You fucker." she said laughing a little.
"Embroidery, we'll need to teach you to embroider, so you can ready your dress and oh tea, we'll need tea too." Jon said laughing even more fully now and for the next few moments, that's all they did.
Jon would bring up something else that he knew she hated and off they would go again, both of them seeming to need the relief their laughter brought. Finally, when they were perhaps laughed out, Jon looked at her and spoke far more truly.
"We can hold it in the Godswood and just those you wish will be there. A simple wedding in front of our gods. Missandei, Lady Malora, maybe even Lady Kinvara and Dany too can help with your clothing."
"I'm not wearing a dress." she said with disgust and he nodded.
"Which is why I said clothing, little sister." he said kissing her cheek.
"Will you… Will you give me away?" she asked softly.
"I've been trying to do so for years." he said and she found she had yet another laugh in her "Aye, I'd be honored to. He's a good man, Arya, one that I'm happy to call a goodbrother."
She threw her arms around him and this time she kissed his cheek. The two of them then walking down the stairs and as she made her way back to her rooms it was only thoughts of the wedding to come and not her sister that she reflected upon.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Dany.
Rhaella proved that she could never have done this alone and without Aegon by her side. Not only was her husband the reason for her daughter's very existence but him being with her allowed for Dany to take as much time as she wished with her without fearing about the realm and being a queen. He allowed her to be the mother of the dragon she had most wished to be a mother of. The mother of the babe she held in her arms and at times almost refused to let go from them.
Aegon also allowed for her to be the queen when she needed to be the queen. Her husband never pressuring her to do her duty but being there with their daughter when or if she felt the need to. When he'd come to her and spoken about Daario it had been a shock to her. Not just because it seemed Daario had finally accepted the nature of things between then but because of what Aegon was suggesting.
" You can't be serious, Aegon?" she said her voice quieter than it may have been but only because of Rhaella sleeping between them on the bed.
" I find his words to be truthful, Dany. Did you know that Missandei set him straight about us?" Aegon asked and she shook her head "Aye, apparently she called him out to his face and let him know what is what."
" What is what?" she asked as he looked at her and took his hand from where it had been as he brushed it through Rhaella's hair.
" That you and I are one, that no one will come between us and any who threaten to do so will find themselves waking the dragon." Aegon said smiling at her.
" Would your dragon wake for me?" she asked smiling.
" I believe Missandei was speaking of your own dragon, my love." Aegon said with a chuckle.
" You really think him true?" she asked a few moments later.
" Aye, he wishes to protect, to serve and so I've given him a role, close but not overly so and we shall see for ourselves, but I believe him true."
Tonight though wasn't about her being a queen or even being a mother. Dany held Rhaella close to her chest as they stood near the tree and smiled, tonight was about family. All her life it had been what she'd sought, what she wished for more than any crown and at times she'd feared she'd never find it. The call to come to Westeros had been about the crown, or so she had thought. A crown that she'd hoped would fill the empty space in her heart that having no family had left there.
She'd been wrong about that, the call had always been about family. The crown had come too and she was grateful for it. Dany was more than happy to have been able to take back the Iron Throne that was stolen from their house. Family though, family was what she'd found, both new and the one that she brought with her. Jorah, Grey Worm, and Missy, they were her family. Aegon and Rhaella had allowed her to finally see that to be true. She'd gained more family here too, a father just like Aegon had in Davos, an odd uncle in Tormund, and a sister who was about to add even more to their family too.
"Who comes before the old gods here tonight?" Tormund said loudly.
"Arya of House Stark, a woman grown, trueborn and noble. She comes to beg the blessings of the old gods. Who comes to claim her? Aegon said his voice firm and true.
"Gendry of Flea Bottom, who gives her?"
"Aegon of House Targaryen, the king of the seven kingdoms and her brother who loves her so." Aegon said.
Dany watched as Aegon led Arya to where Gendry stood, her husband placing a soft kiss on his sister's cheek before he moved away. Arya didn't wear a dress, as Aegon and Arya would both tell anyone who asked, that wasn't her. Instead, she wore britches and a tunic, both in her House's colors and decorated with both the sigil of House Stark and a wolf that Aegon had told her was Nymeria, Arya's own Direwolf that now roamed free.
"Arya Stark, do you take this man?" Tormund asked as Aegon moved beside Dany and took her hand in his while they and Rhaella looked on.
"I take this man." Arya said nervously, though her voice held.
She watched as they both knelt and found herself wondering if Arya was praying for what she had on her own wedding night. When they rose and kissed each other she could see Aegon's beaming smile from the corner of her eye.
"The gods have spoken and have given their blessings. I give you Arya and Gendry Stark." Tormund said to cheers.
The feast they held was a small one, only those closest to them and some of Aegon's northern guards were present as Arya and Gendry had wanted little fuss and Aegon wished for the Northmen to enjoy his sister's wedding and the free ale. She, Missandei, and Rhaella slipped away early after she'd spoken to her goodsister and her husband. Dany soon putting Rhaella down to sleep and climbing alone into her bed, only to be woken by her very drunk husband later on that night.
"My husband has lost all his grace." she said shaking her head while pretending to reproach him.
"I have not, look." Aegon said as he stood on one leg and tottered precariously.
"Come to bed, you fool." she said with a giggle as he hiccupped and then climbed into bed beside her.
They'd refrained from coupling since Rhaella was born and she was growing ever needier for them to be able to, though thankfully Aegon found other ways to bring her release about.
"My beautiful wife." he said as he began to kiss his way down her body and she was happy that drunk as he was there were still many things they could do together.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Varys.
The new princess was just what the realm needed and his little birds brought him many songs of how she'd been welcomed by the Lords and Ladies of Westeros. There had been celebrations in Oldtown and throughout the Reach, in the Riverlands, and as far away as the Iron Islands. No one other than Sansa Stark had even deigned to speak anything but fondly about the newest little dragon and he doubted the former Queen in the North would ever do so in such a manner again.
The biggest surprise to him had been the reaction of the sellsword Daario Naharis. Varys had paid the man close attention since he arrived given his previous connection to the queen. Tyrion had in some of their late-night talks spoken of how he'd convinced Daenerys to leave the man behind in Meereen and had done so almost proudly. His own love for the queen had been something that Varys had known about for a long time but had wrongly assumed to be beneficial. Daario he'd found out had gone to ask for a role in things, not to the queen but to the king and after a long talk between them, he'd been given what he'd sought, almost.
He'd asked to be a Dragonguard but had no true concept of what one was and yet his desire to protect the queen had been a true one. What was said between the king and him was unknown to any other than the king, queen, and Jaime Lannister but in the end he'd been welcomed back into the fold. Varys wasn't certain that was a good idea and would have and did intend to counsel against it. Though he soon put that off to another time when Lady Malora and Lady Kinvara came to speak to him in his chambers.
" We must speak about Essos, Lord Varys." Lady Malora said.
" Essos is not truly our concern, my lady." he said bidding both ladies take a seat and offering wine that neither took.
" It is their graces and will soon be Westeros's." Lady Kinvara said before she looked at him "He seeks to become that which you've feared all your life, Lord Varys. Should we wait until he does so and has a chance to use the power he'd then possess, the world will suffer. All the world and not just the lands in the east."
" Their graces will turn to Essos soon enough regardless of this new threat. Each day the princess grows stronger is a day closer to her grace wishing to see her people free. It's time your little birds flew east, Lord Varys." Lady Malora said.
" What of your own birds, my lady?" he asked.
" They've already flown." she said cryptically.
So he'd sent word and reached out and though it would take time for the songs to reach him, reach him they would. Until they did he concentrated on ensuring that the realm was as fully behind its king and queen as it could be. In time they would be absent rulers and he needed to know that their absence wouldn't affect their rule. As much as the east needed them, there would be no point rescuing it and then losing the west in the process.
When word came that Princess Arianne had set sail from Dorne and the first of his little bird's songs started reaching him from Essos he knew the time was now upon them and he felt the first inklings of fear. Memories of a time when he was a boy and whole threatened to flood his mind and he shut them down before they could take hold. So Varys hurried through the corridors of the Red Keep and made his way to Lady Malora's rooms only to find the lady wasn't there. It was to Lady Kinvara's he next went and he found her alone and seeking answers in the flames.
All his life he'd hated magic and all that it entailed and it was only upon meeting the king and queen and knowing what it was they had to face, that he'd come to understand the truth of things. Magic like a blade was very much reliant on the person who wielded it. In the hands of a monster then monstrous things would happen. Varys remembering three bodies that were laid before a king on a throne. In the hands of a good man and woman though, magic would save them all and so while he'd always be wary of those who wielded it, magic itself was no longer something that he hated.
"It's time." Kinvara said as she moved away from the flames and Varys nodded.
They made their way to the Royal Chambers to seek a meeting with the king and queen, Varys almost chuckling when they literally bumped into Lady Malora along the way. When they reached the rooms he saw Ser Jaime and Ser Brienne were on duty and after the lady had walked into the room to announce them, he was left starting at the Lannister knight. He too was another he'd been wary of and so he'd filled the man with tales of Tyrion taking sail and heading east, just as his king had suggested. The mummery was necessary he knew and far better that he believed his brother alive than knew the truth of him. His loyalty to the king was absolute and Varys prayed that it would stay that way when it was he prayed for things.
"Their graces will see you now." Ser Brienne said and he and the two ladies stepped into the room.
For once it was empty other than the king, queen, white wolf, and the princess. Usually, there would be someone else present be it the king's sister, Missandei, Tormund, or Davos. Looking at the king play with the princess as he held her in his arms while the queen leaned close to him, Varys wished they didn't need to intrude. Alas, the world didn't operate on the basis of what a eunuch wished for.
"Forgive me, my king, my queen, but we must speak on urgent matters." he said and he saw the king's sigh.
"Essos?" Aegon said and Lady Malora nodded.
He watched as the queen walked to the door and spoke to Ser Jaime and as the king handed the princess to her and bid them join him in the solar that lay through a door to the left. None of them wished for wine or something to eat though all three accepted water when offered. A few moments later they were joined by the queen who took a seat beside her husband and whispered something in his ear that brought a smile to his face. Then in the blink of an eye, it was gone as was the one the queen had worn when she'd entered the solar.
"Tells us what you've found out." the queen asked.
By the time they'd left the room he was hungry, Varys finding his appetite had come upon him as they spoke. He was not surprised they'd known that Princess Arianne was on her way though he had been able to tell them both why that was. Norvos was requesting the princess's aide and Arianne was keen to seek theirs while offering her own. It did surprise him that a raven had been sent to Asha Greyjoy and that she and her brother would soon be on their way and then the truth of their situation finally hit home. A war was coming and while it was one that wouldn't be fought on Westeros's shores and with but a few Westerosi men, it was one that would still define Westeros for years to come. A war was coming that should they lose then the realm would suffer far more than it had ever suffered before.
"The Bloodstone Emperor." he said as he shivered just a little.
King's Landing 305 AC.
Jon Connington.
Over time he'd found he liked the queen as much as he did the king which had surprised him and made him feel guilty at the same time. He'd never sought to go to her aid or offer her his counsel simply because she was a woman. Daenerys was not his silver prince and for some unfathomable reason, he'd not thought of serving a princess.
Why?
What reason had he to deny her so?
Would he not have served Elia or Rhaenys?
Was it not her sex but who her father was?
And if so then why Rhaegar and not Daenerys?
The answers to these questions were unknown to him other than he knew he had felt some bias toward her sex. Why that was he could only put down to his stupidly and he was relieved that he felt it no more. When the realization had come he'd at first put it down to her being married to Rhaegar's son. That his acceptance of her was based on that and that alone and in his own mind when Rhaella had been born he'd only been more convinced of this. However the more time he spent around the queen, the more he saw her and Aegon together, the more he knew this wasn't true. They were as one and the realm, the crown and House Targaryen itself were the better for it.
As he sat in the Small Council Chambers he found his mind drifting to regrets and his thoughts were full of recriminations and so he welcomed it when the door opened and Lord Paxter entered. Soon enough the room was full and it was only the King, Queen, and Princess Arianne who'd not joined them. The Dornish had arrived the night before and though word had been spoken of their reasons for sailing, it had not yet been fully explained. Aegon instead telling him that today's meeting would cover it all. Hearing the door open he turned and saw Princess Arianne, Ser Daemon and Lord Ned Dayne walk in. Jon smiling at the youngest of the group and at seeing Dawn once again.
The king and queen arrived a few moments later and he was delighted to see the princess in the queen's arms. Rhaella was the best of both of them he'd thought when he'd seen her dark hair and violet eyes and he'd welcomed every opportunity he had to be in her presence. She more than anything proved that House Targaryen was reborn, she carried all his hopes and dreams for the future in her tiny little hands and he knew he wasn't the only one who saw her so. Aegon held out the chair so the queen could take her seat and then took his own beside her. Jon looking around the room at Lord Davos, Lady Anya, Lord Paxter, and Lord Varys. Sers Jorah, Jaime, and Brienne stood ready while Missandei, Grey Worm, and Daario Naharis sat opposite the Lady's Malora and Kinvara and Tormund Giantsbane. The Small Council and more had all called to this meeting and yet the room was hushed when Aegon began to speak.
"As some of you may already know, Meereen and the Bay of Dragons were attacked and taken by a force from Volantis. It's since been brought to our attention that Qarth too was taken and Princess Arianne has received a call for aid from her mother in Norvos. Normally the events in Essos would not be something that the Iron Throne would concern itself with but even were it not Princes Arianne's request for the Iron Throne's aid, it would still be to Essos that we'd look." Aegon said.
"His grace and I had already decided to set sail for Essos and to see the Bay of Dragons was freed before this latest news. Lady Kinvara and Lady Malora have since informed us that the man who seeks to control Essos won't stop there and events in the Dorne and the North have shown this to be true." Daenerys said.
"We have not come here today to ask your permission for what we're about to do. Essos calls and we will answer, that is no longer in doubt. Today we're here to see how the realm will function without its king, queen, and princess's presence." Aegon said.
"You mean to take the princess, your grace?" Davos asked.
"Our daughter comes with us, Lord Hand." Daenerys said leaving no room for doubt.
"Will you be taking all of your forces, your grace?" Lady Anya asked.
"All her grace's forces from Essos will depart, my lady. The Unsullied and Dothraki will serve us far better in Essos than they would here. Mine own Northern Army will stay and I've sent word to Lord Hightower to provide a garrison for King's Landing so as to see the will of the crown is backed up if needed. Queen Asha Greyjoy will provide further forces to our own and Princess Arianne will see we have Dornish spears at our side also." Aegon said.
"I would ask to come with you, your grace, along with some men of the Golden Company. We know Essos just as well as her grace's forces." Jon said and Aegon gave him a nod.
"Lord Davos will serve as Hand in our absence and his word will be as if it were our own. I'd take you with me if I could, Lord Hand but I find I've as much need of you here as there." Aegon said his voice showing his reluctance to do this.
"I understand, your grace. I will do as you request." Davos said.
"The Small Council will continue as it is, though we'll seek someone to take over Lord Connington's duties and once we've landed in Braavos we'll set up an easy method of communication with Lord Varys and Lady Malora and the Red Keep." Daenerys said.
"Do you seek to conquer Essos or save it, your grace?" Lady Anya asked as Jon looked to the king and queen.
"In this case, they are one and the same, my lady. The man we face seeks to conquer and we seek to save, in order to do the one we will have no choice but to do the other." Daenerys said as Aegon smiled softly at his wife's words.
Braavos 305 AC.
Quaithe.
Long had she waited, far had she traveled and her journey had been the most perilous even in a life full of peril. From when she was but a girl her life had been in danger and each day she'd lived since then it had been the same. She longed for the moment it would not be, for the time when she could breathe easily and be who she was instead of who she had to pretend to be. There was a time she had thought that it was soon to be so when she'd felt her kin close by and the dragon within her had yearned to be set free.
It was not to be, her time was not then and her words had been cryptic and spoken in riddles rather than the truths she had longed to impart. She had been so close to her kin, so close that despite it not being what she had been supposed to do, she'd reached out and taken her hand in her own. Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, her blood, and as they'd briefly touched she'd felt her own respond. It was then the visions came and also the pain and her words had been spoken in riddles as once again her life was in threat.
Qarth to Vaes Tolorro, where she'd sat were her kin had sat, walked among the bones of a long-dead dragon, and it was there she'd found the most precious of things. The thing which had given her comfort as she'd moved from there to Astapor, to Yunkai, and to Meereen, after always after and never before. She had followed the path that Daenerys had traveled but only long after she had traveled it. Their time was not now and hard though that was to take, the dragon's egg she carried with her had spoken and told her it was so.
" Not Now."
" Not Here."
" Not Alone."
The worlds both breaking her heart and filling it with resolve at the same time. If not now, then it meant then, if not here, then it meant somewhere and if not alone, it meant he would be with her when next they met. Her dragon's egg told her so and told her one more thing, one final thing that gave her comfort in a life that had been devoid of it.
" We will be together soon and then we will fly ."
So on she had traveled, past Mantarys and onto Volantis and finally, it was by sea and not land that she traveled and each night while she would sleep the dragon would speak.
" In the air and in the sky is where we both belong. Soon."
She had stood on deck as they passed Lys and sailed close to Dorne, her eyes drawn to a land she could not see and she'd wept that night alone in her room. Past Tyrosh and through the Narrow Sea the ship had sailed and she'd felt it when they were close to Storm's End. The anger she felt was shared by the dragon in the egg as was her sadness when they sailed close to Dragonstone. Memories threatened to overwhelm her of the fragments of a life that could have been.
When they'd arrived in Pentos she'd strolled through the streets and had found herself standing at the gates of a manse. The thoughts of what she would do to the man inside calming some of the anger in her heart. Days turned to weeks and weeks to moons and so she began to worry that her journey was for naught.
Had she misinterpreted the signs?
Was it still not time?
Was she doomed to spend her life alone?
The dragon knew, she always knew and she told her that all was well. This was the plan and the time was drawing ever closer and so she listened and waited and dreamt dreams of the life that could yet be. When the vision came she rejoiced and as the ship set sail she felt lighter than she had for years. As she did when she saw the Titan come into view.
" Here. Here and soon." the dragon said as she settled into her room.
She wished to dance and so she did, to laugh and so she did and to remove her mask and so she did. Standing in front of the looking glass she was finally who she had always been. Her aunt was coming, her brother was coming, her niece was coming and Quaithe of the Shadow she would be no more.
"My name is Rhaenys Targaryen and I am no longer alone." she said as she looked at her dark hair and violet eyes in the looking glass and spoke the words she'd longed to for so very long. The words she would speak to her kin, to her brother when Daenerys, Rhaella, and Aegon arrived on these shores.