Kings Landing 306 AC.
Davos.
He stood and looked out the window of his solar, the sun was just rising and he knew that meant that he had another long day ahead of him. Though he was looking west instead of east, it was to the east where his thoughts were as he wondered how his king, queen, and princess were doing and tried not to think how much he missed their presence. With a last look at the rising sun, Davos turned and made his way to break his fast and to have his walk. It was his usual morning routine or to be more precise it had become so.
Wake, stare out the window, eat and then walk around the Red Keep and ponder the day and the problems ahead. His two northern guards waited for him as he left the room, both of them knew his routine as well as he did and it had taken him some time to get them to eat with him when he broke his fast. He'd waved off their concerns about his safety as they did so, telling them that if someone wished him dead while he ate his bacon and eggs then perhaps it was time for him to go to his gods. So over time, they'd relaxed and he very much enjoyed the morning conversation with them both.
Almost as much as he enjoyed the walk he took, the one moment in the day where he could be truly alone with his thoughts, even though he was not ever truly alone other than when he was in his bed. After eating and taking his walk, Davos made his way to the Throne Room and then to the rooms behind it. Some had said he should stay in the Royal Chambers but Davos had refused to even contemplate such a thing. He'd conceded that he'd use what should be the king or queen's solar, but that was his only concession. Hand and acting regent he may be, king he was not and he had too much faith in the king and queen he served to allow anyone to even consider that for even a moment.
"Lord Varys." he said as he walked to the solar, the Master of Whisperers already waiting outside for him which meant he had news from the east.
"Lord Hand." Varys said with a small bow.
They both entered the room and he sent out for water as neither the eunuch nor he were big wine drinkers and certainly not this early in the morning. Taking his seat, he bid Varys do likewise and then he tried not to look too eager for whatever news he brought with him. He'd found he quite liked the man, something that if you'd told him years or even but a year earlier he'd have laughed at your for saying. Varys though was not who he had thought him to be. The man cared about the people and wished to make their lives better and since that was what his king and queen had tasked him to do, Davos was more than happy to name the man an ally, if not yet a friend.
"Our king and queen have added two more cities to their empire. Braavos has knelt and pledged itself to them both and Meereen is once again a free city." Varys said and Davos smiled a smile which was only to grow bigger a moment later "Ships have been sent from Braavos to the North and some to ourselves. They carry food and supplies to add to our own." Varys said and Davos almost fell the need for wine such was his relief.
Food was greatly needed and not just in the North. Cersei Lannister had taken most of the Reach's winter supply for herself and was that not bad enough, she'd then wasted a lot of it. Davos had almost cried in frustration when he'd seen how badly stored it had been. Winter hadn't come on them too hard and before they left both Lady Kinvara and Lady Malora had said to him that it would not do so because of the death of the Night King. So they had at least been able to plant more crops and in time they'd have another harvest, in time but not now.
So despite hoping to make people's lives better, one of the first tasks he'd had as Hand was in essence to make them a little worse. Food being rationed out instead of freely available and though he knew in his heart that the people in Flea Bottom were actually better off, it didn't stop him from feeling guilty that he could not give them more. If there were supplies starting to come from Essos and if those supplies were regular, then perhaps soon he could.
"Was anyone hurt? When they took Meereen did we lose anyone?" he asked worriedly, knowing that had the king, queen, or princess been harmed then Varys would have already made that clear.
"No, it was taken quite easily." Varys said almost proudly and Davos breathed a relieved sigh for those others in the king and queen's company that he'd become close to.
"Where do they intend to go next?" he asked curiously.
"I'm not certain, perhaps Yunkai and Astapor." Varys said before looking at him "There was one other piece of news, one most curious and one I'm happy to say that it shocked even me."
"Things shock you?" Davos said with a chuckle that Varys joined in with.
"Not often, I'll admit, but then again how often does one hear news such as this. Rhaenys Targaryen is alive, Davos. Alive and by our king and queen's side." Varys said and Davos shook his head as he looked at Varys, almost expecting to hear the punchline to some jape.
"How?" he asked, the one clear thought that he could bring himself to speak aloud.
"I know not the details. Only that she is alive and by their side." Varys said sounding perplexed for once.
"Can we be sure it's her?" he asked and Varys smiled.
"On that, we can be certain, it seems there are now four dragons in the world, Davos. Princess Rhaenys is soon to be a Dragonrider too, Dragonrider to a dragon hatched by our king." Varys said smiling still.
The Small Council meeting that day turned out a far happier affair as he told them about the news of the campaign in the east. All of them including Lord Daven Lannister, who had accepted the role of Master of Laws on a temporary basis while Jon Connington was with the king and Ser Hobber Redwyne who had agreed to sit his father's seat while he sailed with the Royal Fleet, were relieved to hear they'd suffered no casualties. When he told them the news of the food shipment, Davos could see the relief that each of them felt clearly in their eyes.
While the major shortage was here in King's Landing deliveries from each of the Seven Kingdoms were now far lesser than they'd ever been, every region needed more. In time he hoped that they'd be back to how it was before the wars and he'd then ensure that it went beyond that and to a time that few could remember. How long it would take to get to that point had just been shortened and he was relieved greatly by this. There were still many issues to discuss and coin was once again was a large problem and would soon be a larger one, or so he thought until Varys spoke.
"They forgave the debt?" Lady Anya asked incredulously.
"Forgive me, Lord Hand, in discussing other things I'd forgotten to bring this up." Varys said looking to him and Davos shook his head to say there was nothing to forgive "The Iron Bank was persuaded by our queen, from what my little birds tell me, she spoke very vociferously" Varys said with a smirk on his face.
"Thank the gods for Queen Daenerys." Lady Anya said, her relief and gratitude clear.
"How much does this help us?" Ser Hobber asked.
"Without the Iron Bank's interest payments or the debt itself, greatly." Lady Anya said "We've begun to collect our taxes again and all but Storm's End have been forthcoming." she added before looking to him.
"We'll discuss coin at a later date, Lord Varys when can we expected the ships from Braavos?" he asked changing the subject.
"Within the week, Lord Hand." Varys said as Davos scratched his chin, his beard needed a good trimming and he'd left it far too long.
"Ser Hobber, make sure the old Tyrell warehouse has been properly cleaned out. Take some people from Flea Bottom and gave them extra rations for the work."
"As you say, Lord Hand."
"That'll be all for now, Lord Varys, Lady Anya, please wait a moment."
He waited until Lord Daven and Ser Hobber had left and once they had he then poured himself a mug of water, Lady Anya taking a glass of wine while Varys refused either.
"What is that fool playing at?" he asked not needing to speak Edric's name aloud.
"I don't know, Davos. His letters suggest that Lord Stannis cleaned out the treasury which you yourself confirmed, but we know that he's since collected taxes himself." Lady Anya said.
"Varys?" he asked and Varys shook his head.
"I've not got one of my little birds close enough to him yet. Perhaps he's testing the crown with their graces not here or perhaps he's speaking the truth somewhat, for now, I can't be certain which." Varys said and Davos could see the man's annoyance at himself.
"Be certain." he said and Varys nodded.
"And should it be the former?" Lady Anya asked.
"Then he'll be given but one warning and the next one won't come from me but will come from a dragon." Davos said hoping that it would not come to that, but willing if need be to send for the king or queen.
The ships arrived two days later and they were even more bountiful than he'd dared to hope for. Davos having to get Ser Hobber to open up another building to store the food and then being told that the North had received just as much as they. Finding coin to be a part of the shipment was an even bigger boon and he knew that Lady Anya would put it to great use. It was the letter though that he felt was the biggest boon of all and later that night after he'd read it, he stood by the window once more.
"Sentimental sod." he said smiling as he thought on the king's words.
The Black Wind 306 AC.
Daario.
Of all the ships and all the companions that he'd expected to sail on and with, the Iron Born would have perhaps been his last choice. Were it not for the fact that he'd made his peace with the king and had been accepted back into the fold by the queen, then he'd think he was being punished somehow. He was not, the ten Unsullied and ten Dothraki that he had under his command and the fact that this was the swiftest of all the ships in the fleet proved that. As did the mission that he'd been tasked to complete. Even if it was just to scout the lands between where most of the fleet was to land and Qarth itself.
His first couple of nights on this ship had been dull and uninteresting. The young Iron Born was practically an Unsullied himself and was certainly as miserable as they could be at times. His sister was more of a man than he and even dressed like one. Other than for the drink which flowed freely, Daario felt that this would be one of the longest journeys of his life. Or he did until he found himself not quite drunk and yet not sober and being pushed against a wall by Yara Greyjoy.
*Lemon Begins*
"Let me see that cock of yours, if it's as big as your mouth I may let you stick me with it." Yara said as she began to undo his britches.
"What makes you think I want to stick it in you." he said and though he meant the words, he only half meant them, it was a dull and boring journey after all.
"The fact that this is hard." Yara said as she wrapped her hand around his cock.
"It's always hard, don't flatter yourself." he said with a half-smirk.
"Aye, I'm sure it is, but right now it's hard for me." she whispered in his ear as she bit down less than gently on it.
"Careful girl, I can play rough too." he said as he grabbed her by the throat.
"Thank fuck for that." she said as she smiled and for the first time he looked at her and he saw that she was actually far prettier than he had thought.
This was only reinforced when she moved to the bed and began to take off her clothes. Yara revealing a body that had been hidden away and one that truly deserved to be seen and to be enjoyed. He moved closer to the bed and watched as she spread her legs a little, her hand going between them as he removed his own clothes so quickly that he tore his shirt. Something that pleased given the faster movements of her hand.
When he began to kiss her and tried to slip himself between her legs, she closed them. Her hands taking his head between them and moving them from her face to her neck and chest and making her meaning clear. It was not something he normally did, his own pleasure meaning far more to him usually than whatever woman he laid with. There was something about her eyes and the way she looked at him though and it took him a moment to see the challenge in them, a challenge that he felt the need to accept and master.
When he bit down on her nipple she pulled his hair tightly and forced him away from it. Daario smiling as she moved him to her other breast. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he kissed her stomach and licked around her belly button before again he felt her hands on his head as she pushed him down lower. Yara had dark hair around her sex, hair that had been trimmed and was now damp to the touch. Using his fingers he softly stroked that hair before moving them between her legs and with a feather-light touch, he stroked and felt the source of that wetness.
"By the Drowned God, use your damn tongue already." Yara said after he'd teased her for a while and whether it was the look she wore on her face or his own desire to please her, he did as she bid.
She tasted of the sea, or as close to it as he could name what it was that her particular taste reminded him of. He found himself enjoying the little shakes and quivers she made each time his tongue passed over her nub before it continued its journey downward and then began an even slower journey back up again. Daario drew it out, moving quicker one way than the other, building up her frustration and tension until she grabbed his head once more and directed him where she wished him to be.
Once she did he wasted no time, he licked, bit down ever so gently on, blew cold air against, and moved her nub from side to side with first his tongue and then his finger. When he then slipped the first of his now wet fingers inside her, she arched her back, and when he added another the sound of her moan would and should wake the rest of the ship. That sound only grew louder as he brought her to the brink and he saw her raise up on her elbows so that she could see him. A look of hunger and desire in her eyes that did wonders for that ego she had claimed he had.
"Time to fall." he said softly and he saw how her nostril's flared before he took her nub between his lips and sucked and then pushed his fingers a little deeper inside of her.
Yara wailed, she actually wailed like a creature of the sea, and only that her thighs gripped him tightly and cut off all sounds or he'd have known just how long that wail went on for. Eventually, she relaxed, her grip loosened and he kissed her softly between the legs and then he felt her shudder as he moved his way back up her body. She kissed him deeply when he reached her face, the taste of her was on his tongue, lips, and even his chin and she kissed, licked, and reveled in tasting herself.
"I had thought you'd be all show." she said with a smile.
"And I had thought you a man." he said honestly.
"Then what I'm about to do to you makes you a very different type of man then doesn't it." she said as she rolled on top of him and began to kiss down his body, her lips, her tongue, and her teeth all leaving their marks as she did so.
It would have made him a much different type of man indeed, he thought as he drifted off to sleep with her in his arms later that night. A very different type for a very different type of woman.
*Lemon ends*
Each night they sailed since had found him in Yara's bed, Daario soon finding her to be almost two different people. Outside of her cabin, she was a hard and fierce woman, a sailor, reaver, as crass and crude as any man on the ship and twice as dangerous as most of them. In her room she was never sweet and gentle, never a lady, but she was always a woman. They would lay together and talk afterward, Yara telling him tales of the Iron Islands and the things she'd seen while at sea, while Daario told of his adventures with the Second Sons.
The only thing that they didn't speak of was Daenerys, Daario making the mistake of doing so one night and finding himself sleeping alone because of it. At first, he thought it was Yara's own loyalty to the queen, something that was without doubt. Then he realized it was that she didn't wish to hear him speak of Daenerys because of what he had shared with her and was now sharing with Yara. Not just his time in the bedroom, but more than that, so much more than that.
" You're the only one I wish to lay with, now and in the future."
He'd told her that last night and had meant it completely. His time with Daenerys was in the past and not only did she not want him that way, but Daario had begun to realize over time that he no longer wanted her that way either. Partly that was because he'd found that he actually liked the man that she was with now, partly it was because he wished for his life to be more than what it was before. As he looked and saw Yara point to the land ahead of them and wearing a small smirk on her face when she saw him looking at her, he knew that part and perhaps the largest part of all was that he'd found another queen to serve.
Meereen/The Dragon's Wroth 306 AC.
Arya.
The arguments had been long and loud and she'd been fighting alone for all of them. Neither Gendry, Dany, Missandei, or Jon had taken her part. Other than Tormund and Qhono, not one of them did and she was grateful for Tormund's support, if not for the way he spoke that support. Arya hadn't liked been compared to a Dothraki woman giving birth on a horse. Though it at least it gave her something to work with and something to argue back.
She knew they only wanted what was best for her and that they were worried given how close she was to birthing her babe. There were even times when she had considered staying back in Meereen while they sailed on to Qarth. It was more the amount of time that they'd be parted that she couldn't accept. Even at the risk to her or her babe, she just couldn't accept that she'd not see them for moons on end. The thoughts that Jon wouldn't hold his niece or nephew in his arms and that her child would not be close to their cousin while Rhaella slept in her crib, were too much for her to bear and so bear them she would not.
So she'd not listened, argued, and had fallen out with Gendry and Jon most of all, as Dany and Missandei had eventually come around. Gendry too as the day neared when they would be departing Meereen drew closer. Jon though, he could and was as stubborn as she, and each time they were in the same room together then the arguments would start once more. More times than she could count they'd ended with her storming from the room and telling him how much she hated him. Only to later cry for what felt like hours on end as she said over and over that she hadn't meant it and that she loved him for true.
It was the visit from Rhaenys that told her what the true issue was, that while yes he was worried about her and the babe she carried, it was far more than that. Arya listening as she was told of the fight to come and how even that paled in Jon's mind compared to what he thought when he looked at her and saw her grow ever closer to giving birth. Her words made her search him out and she found him with Rhaella as they sat out on the balcony and spoke to Lyarhaex.
"Jon, can we talk?" she said softly as she moved to him and she saw his small frown as he looked from her to Rhaella in his arms.
"Aye."
"I'm not her, Jon. It's not the same." she said as she sat down beside them both and he looked at her with so much worry in his expression that she leaned forward and kissed his cheek "I know what you fear, gods I fear it too. It'd be the same if I was here though, the same but worse as well."
"You'd be safe, there are healers and…"
"I'd be alone, Jon. My family would be elsewhere, I'd be alone and I can't be alone… I…" she felt the tears come and they annoyed and frustrated her.
"Arya…"
His arm went around her and he held her with one arm while he held Rhaella with the other. Only one of them crying and to her shame, it wasn't the babe. She didn't hear the words he spoke to her, just felt they were comforting and she welcomed them because of that. Not until she had stopped crying did he let her go and when he did he wiped her tears away with his hand as he looked at her and nodded.
"You sail with us on our ship and you do what you're told, Arya. Promise me that and I'll say no more on it." he said determinedly.
"I promise, I promise. Thank you, Jon." she said happily the smile making the tears fade away.
They set sail the next day and Jon had a number of healers and two Dothraki women with experience in birthing children all placed close to her. He also made sure that Lady Kinvara was on this ship and not another which she found strange but cared not about. All that mattered to her was that she wasn't being left behind and she wouldn't be alone.
The sickness of the sea came upon her hard which meant that both Jon and Gendry were even more worried about her and then even more protective. She tried to tell them both she was well, that there was nothing for them to worry about and that she still had more than a moon to go until the babe would be even close to being birthed, she tried to no avail. Her husband and her brother confined her to her bed, both of them deciding that they knew better than she and when she went to argue, Jon just looked at her and so she held her tongue.
It turned out to be for the best as within a day or two she began feeling better and just as they gave her leave to finally get out of her bed, the pains began. In her life, she'd been beaten, cut, bled, and almost worse, and yet the pain she felt as her time drew close was unlike any she had ever felt before. She cried out and begged the gods for respite in one breath before cursing them in another. Yet the pains persisted and if anything they soon grew even worse.
"The babe is coming, it's to be tonight or early on the morrow." one of the Dothraki women said to Dany and Arya felt annoyed with herself that she couldn't remember the woman's name.
"And Arya?" Dany asked the woman as Arya listened or tried to.
"Is as strong as any mother could hope to be, Khaleesi." the woman said with what looked to be a smile on her face though Arya couldn't see it clearly.
"Thank you Ithi." Dany said before moving to sit in the chair beside the bed.
"Where's Rhaella?" Arya asked as Dany reached out to take her hand.
"With Missy. I know this hurts, Arya, I'd like to be able to tell you that the pain will go away, it will, but not for some time. If it gets too much we can give you something, but it's better if you bear it." Dany said.
"Was it? For you was it…" she asked worriedly.
"The very same and I feared as you fear now, but you've seen Rhaella and she was worth a little pain just as your own babe will be." Dany said squeezing her hand.
"Gendry, Jon, I need to speak to them." Arya said almost panicked.
"I'll fetch them, all will be well, Arya, trust me." Dany said reassuringly.
Her husband and brother arrived a few moments later and she looked at them both. Each of them was as worried and concerned as the other, though Jon seemed perhaps slightly the worst of the two. Rhaenys words about his own mother seeming truer now. She'd asked why he'd not felt that way about Dany and Rhaenys had told her that he more than likely had, but with her, he had more time to think that way and so in some ways it was worse.
"Should… If I don't.." she said shakily.
"You will, You will… don't say that." Gendry said his anger a front for his fear.
"If I do, both of you need to look after the babe, both of you. Promise me, Jon, Promise me." she said, the words coming out of her almost in a burst.
"I promise, little sister, I promise that I'll be the truest uncle to my niece or nephew, that I'll see them play with my daughter, and that they, their father and their mother will have many days together. I promise that they will grow up with the love of both their parents and they'll know it each time they look into their mother and father's eyes." Jon said his voice as firm as if he was giving her an edict or command.
"Jon.."
"No, Arya. You will be well, the babe will be well and there is only one thing we say to anyone who dares to say otherwise." Jon said as he moved to the bed "What do we say?" he asked her as he took her hand and looked deep into her eyes.
"Not Today." she said softly.
"Not Today." he said as he kissed her cheek.
When she cried out in pain once more, they were ushered from the room and the Dothraki women rushed inside. She felt them as they cleaned her between her legs, as they wiped her brow and spoke to her, and then she felt her eyes begin to close and her vision cloud over. The voices in the room became muted and the room she was in was no longer the cabin on the ship. It was the Great Hall in Winterfell and she looked around to see almost all of her family were there.
" I told you not to feed Shaggydog from the table Rickon." her mother's voice said as Arya turned to see her standing there and looking as she had always looked to her.
" Sorry mother." Rickon said, her brother wass older and taller and yet the same as he ever was.
" Bran, no more climbing, I'll not say it again." her mother said as Arya looked to see her other brother walk to the table before taking his seat.
" Robb, we'll need to visit Cerwyn today." her father said and Arya felt her tears fall as she looked to her father and her brother, both of them looking just how they had when she had last seen them and as they began to fade away she didn't wish to leave.
" FATHER PLEASE." she shouted.
" Your place is not with us, little wolf, Not Today." her father said, the smile on his face the same one he wore when she had hit the target on that day so long ago.
When she opened her eyes the pain was gone, she felt clear-headed and she looked to see Ithi hand her the babe.
"Your son is as healthy as a babe can be, his mother too." Ithi said and Arya took a hold of the precious bundle that was her son.
"My husband, brother, and Dany." she said barely able to get the words out.
"Will be told and allowed in if that's your wish?" Ithi asked and Arya nodded.
She looked at her son, his eyes were a bright blue, his hair so very dark and he looked so very much like his father that it brought a smile to her face. As it did when he grabbed her finger with his hand and tried to pull it to his mouth. As she looked at him, she felt him almost cry out in her head, as if he was telling her what and who he was and she knew then what his name would be. Arya heard the door open and she looked from up her son to see Jon, Dany and Gendry enter the room, her husband moving over to her and then reaching down to touch their son.
"Robb, his name is Robb." she said happily and she looked to see the beaming smile that Jon wore on his face as he and Dany moved closer to see their nephew for the first time.
Wintertown 306 AC.
Sansa.
Over the past few moons, her life had become a routine, a horrible and pathetic routine. Each day her food would arrive and each week she'd be given her coin. At first, they'd given her enough to purchase food herself, but the people of Wintertown had refused to sell to her or had charged her prices that she couldn't afford. A week had gone by where she'd barely eaten and so she'd been forced to go to Winterfell and beg for their help. They'd not allowed her past the gates and she feared that she'd be sent away with nothing to show from the trek from Wintertown. Then the man who now ran her family keep and who had served with Jon in Castle Black had come to speak to her personally.
She'd met the man when she had gone to Castle Black and he'd been sweet enough, even though he was still and had been incredibly dull. So she'd tried to play upon his sympathies and had asked for her room to be moved back into the keep. Sansa playing up the hatred and scorn that she got from the people in Wintertown and adding in that she feared for her safety while there. None of it had worked and a man she now remembered as never smiling in all the times she'd seen him, had then laughed loudly upon hearing her words.
" You're good, and by the gods were this moons ago then I'd have fallen for those pretty words of yours. I've seen the truth of you though, heard it, and it's not just my men who've been watching every move you make. What you said about the princess, you think I'd not hear about that?" Dolorous Edd said to her with a smirk on his face.
" I was angry and upset, I didn't mean it." she said as she willed her tears to come.
" I doubt other than angry, that any of those words you've just spoken are true. My men will escort you back and they'll see you're given food, water, and some material for clothing. You'll receive a delivery each day from now on and the difference will be taken from your own coin." he said as he turned.
" You're cutting my allowance?" she asked horrified.
" Your allowance is for you to live on, since I'm now supplying most of your food and clothing you don't need as much and we wouldn't want you to have more than you need now would we."
Over time she'd thought they'd forget her words or remember who she truly was. These people owed their lives to what she had done and even before that they owed their allegiance to her House above any, even above a king and queen. Yet they seemed to care not that was it not for her they'd have been left to suffer under Bolton rule or forced to endure the rule of a wrathful Dragonbitch. Something that somehow had not yet come to pass and which had made her now more certain that time was not her friend.
Sansa had been sure that given enough time on the throne then the truth of Daenerys Targaryen would shine through. Her true nature and true intent would eventually be made clear and once it had they'd turn to her because she'd known and warned them of what was to come. At night she'd lay alone in her small bed and pray to the Mother to show these fools the truth of the Dragonbitch and the Bastard. Then each day would be the same as the one before and all that she'd hoped and prayed for would turn out to be nothing more than a silly dream.
She was sure that food supplies would grow short without her there to manage them and that once people felt the hunger in their bellies then the truth of things would be revealed. Only to find that even in that the gods were not on her side. When her own food delivery arrived it made her think that finally, things were turning her way and that they were starting to see just how important she was. Only for the truth of things to take away another piece of the hope that she carried within her. The hope that in time Daenerys Targaryen would be made to walk in her shoes and Jon Snow would be shown for what he was, while she would finally be crowned and giving what was hers by right.
"What's this?" she asked looking to the basket that the guard had brought to her door.
"Your delivery." the guard sneered.
"It's larger… is there, will there be no delivery on the morrow?" she asked worriedly as larger though the basket was, it wasn't enough for two days, at least she didn't believe it was.
"There will be a delivery on the morrow." the guard said as he handed her the basket.
There was a time when she'd get excited about her nameday, or when her mother or father had that glint in their eyes that told them they were gifting her a present for some good deed that she'd done. When she'd excelled in her embroidery or when Septa Mordane had spoken her praises, or sometimes when her mother and father just wished to see her smile. Some days she'd get excited when she knew they were having lemon cakes or when she knew they were to receive visitors. Over time the things that excited her changed and became more personal victories. As she had waited for the Dragonbitch and her bastard brother to arrive on that day that now felt like an age ago, Sansa had been excited by the game she had been set to play and the victory that would and should have been hers.
"How has it come to this?" she asked as she opened the basket and tried not to dwell on the thoughts that she was excited by what she may find inside.
The peach was juicy and she ate it as far from ladylike as possible. Its juices rolled down her chin and she cared not. Just the mere taste of it in her mouth was enough to rob her of all her manners and dignity. When she saw the small lemon tart she almost drooled such was her eagerness to taste such a thing once again. Gods knew how long it had been since she'd tasted a dessert or eaten something that wasn't just for sustenance.
"I'll save you for later." she said almost giddily as she put the tart to one side.
Her meal that night was one of the best she'd had in a long time, even better than some she'd had while Lady of Winterfell as her appetite there had never truly returned to what it had once been. The memories of the things that Ramsay had done to her in her family home were not conducive to enjoying eating in that same home. If anything she'd perhaps drank wine, more so than she had eaten when she was in charge of the keep.
Over the next few days when her food was delivered, she was again that giddy excitable girl she had once been. Each time to her delight she'd find a piece of fruit and a tart of some sort. Even though they were not always lemon she welcomed them all the same and she was sure that it was because they were starting to see the error in the way they'd treated her. It was only when the day that she was to receive her allowance arrived that she began to suspect that something else was going on. Sansa surprised to find no change in it at all and it was that which led her outside of her room for the first time in moons.
What she found and heard as she walked around the town was enough to almost crush that little bit of hope for good. The food she had been so enjoying, the extra little treats, and fuller supplies were not something that she and she alone was receiving. They were not some sign that people had seen the error of their ways. The truth of them was far simpler and far more hurtful to both her and to her cause.
" Aye, the king and queen sent ships to White Harbor and to Deepwood Motte and Bear Island."
" Saw the carts arrive at Winterfell meself, hundreds of them there were."
" I knew they'd see us through Winter."
" To the King and Queen."
" Hail to King Aegon and Queen Daenerys."
" Hail to the Dragons."
The words were like arrows to her heart and she hurried back to her room hoping that she had remained unseen. In this at least she was lucky as the scorn and vitriol that she would face from these people would only be worse now. She sat down on her bed and let her tears fall as she began to face up to the fact that time was not going to bring her back what she had lost, nothing was. This was the life she was to live from now on and it was a life that she hated with all that she was.
Qarth 306 AC.
Rhaenys.
Were it not for the fact that she couldn't go flying with her brother then she'd have found the journey to Qarth to be the happiest time of her life. Being on the ship with Aegon and Dany, and spending time with Rhaella was more than she ever hoped it could be. She had a family, a true family, and her brother when he was with her was completely different than he was with most other people. Other than Dany and Rhaella or to her surprise Tormund Giantsbane.
Even when he was with Arya he was different, more on edge and restrained, though perhaps that had been more to do with his worries over her being with child. With Dany and Rhaella he was more relaxed, he laughed more and at times he could be incredibly silly. It was the same with Tormund Giantsbane, the large man seeming to have a way to make his irreverence seem normal and much appreciated by Aegon.
For her, though it was the times when they spoke, the tales they shared about their childhood that were both good and bad. Aegon would hold her hand and she had never known how much she actually needed the feel of another person doing so. Especially someone she knew who loved and cared for her as much as her brother already did. They both spoke of how different their lives could have been, even though this was the only life they could have had. Then one day as they sat on deck together just before they reached Qarth itself, Aegon finally asked her what would have happened to her in that other life as he told her about what he'd done and why.
"I killed her, for them, for all of them." Aegon said softly "I let them into my head and saw what they saw and then spent the rest of my life behind the Wall trying to die."
"It was not the life you were supposed to lead, Egg." she said as he squeezed her hand.
"I know, I understand that. What I can't understand is why didn't the god intervene then? Why didn't they show me the truth then? What happened to you Rhae? After I… what happened to you?" he asked worriedly.
"I died, Egg, everyone died, I just died sooner than most." she said as she looked out to sea.
"Do you remember it? Or is it like with Dany?" he asked.
"I have no memory of it." she said truthfully and heard his relieved breath "The world then was as it is now, the true enemy was always here, Egg. Without you and Dany, I wouldn't be strong enough to stop him, I'd not have been able to hatch Balerion, but I'd still have been a threat and so I'd have been among the first to die." Rhaenys said, her words spoken with no emotion though they were hard for her to say aloud.
She felt herself being pulled towards her brother and then she was leaning against his chest as he held her tightly to him. Rhaenys closed her eyes and allowed the feel of him and the rise and fall of his chest to comfort her.
"We'll do it right this time, Rhae. You, me, and Dany, we'll do it right and I swear to you that no one will harm any of my family, no one." Aegon said determinedly and she nodded as he held her tightly.
When they reached where the ships were to dock she was then finally able to fly on a dragon once more. Aegon telling both Balerion and Lyarhaex they weren't allowed to come with them before he then spoke to Dany and said they'd be back soon. It was almost time for her to fly on Balerion's back for true, both she and the dragon could feel it, but Aegon had asked her and so she'd agreed not to fly before Qarth had been taken.
Her brother wished for her to be much more experienced before going into battle and though she feared for him and Dany going without her, she deferred to him on this for now. Who felt it first as they flew over the city she wasn't sure, but it was clear by how he stiffened that Aegon felt it too. There was evil in that place, death and it had taken the entire city for its own. As they flew back she saw the group that Aegon had sent on ahead and so they landed near them to learn what it was that they themselves had found out. Aegon helped her down from Rhaegal's back and she joined him as they spoke to Daario and the Greyjoys, her brother gone once more and the king now back again.
"You saw much of the city?" Aegon asked.
"We didn't go inside you grace, but we saw as much as we could." Yara Greyjoy said and Rhaenys felt the woman looked almost terrified as she spoke.
"Did you see any hostages? Any that were not…" Aegon said struggling to find the words.
"There were none unless they're deeper inside and close to the center, your grace. All those that we could see were the same, they were all those things. What was it you called them? "Daario said looking to Yara.
"Wights." Yara said, her expression still the same as it had been when she'd spoken a moment earlier.
"They're not wights." Theon said as Aegon bid him continue "They're different. They're wights but not wights, I can't explain it other than they seem different."
"Your ship is safe?" Aegon asked to a nod from Theon "Make your way back to the camp and to the ships at sea, I want you on the water where you're at your best."
With a look to her, Aegon turned and they both walked to Rhaegal, and less than a moment later they were flying back towards their camp. Once they arrived, Aegon immediately called a meeting, and then after giving his orders to their men, he pulled her to one side to speak to her.
"I want you on the ship with Rhaella, Arya, and Robb. Balerion and Lyarhaex will stay by your side as will Ser Brienne. I'll have the Greyjoys provide escort and should it come to it and the need arises for you to leave, you leave." Aegon said.
"Egg…"
"My family, Rhae. You, Rhaella, Arya, and Robb. You're all I have left and I need to know you're safe before I can even think about what I'm about to do. It won't be long until you and Balerion are flying with us, but not today." Aegon said leaving no room for argument.
"Not today." she said and then he leaned forward to kiss her cheek.
"We found each other Rhae, in this life we found each other. I've thanked the gods for that every day since Braavos. We found each other and we will have the life that we should have had. You, me, Dany, and Rhaella we're the last dragons in this world, the only dragons in this world for now. In time there will be more, my daughter will have brothers and sisters, and you Rhae, you will have children of your own. Our house will grow, our family will grow, do you believe me?" Aegon asked and she nodded vigorously "I love you big sister." he said before he then kissed her cheek once more.
She stood on the deck as the ship sailed away and out into the open water, beside her Missandei held Rhaella in her arms and above their heads, Balerion and Lyarhaex flew. On the seashore, she could see both Aegon and Dany looking her way and both of them waiting like she was until they could see each other no more before they moved. Rhaenys then closed her eyes and offered up a prayer to the gods that had seen fit to reunite them to do so once again, to keep her family safe in the war to come.
Battle of Qarth 306 AC.
Dany.
She flew towards the docks while Aegon and Rhaegal flew to the main gate. Dany tried her very best not to think about the last time she'd been here in this city and all that had happened to her while she'd stayed her, only to find her thoughts would go nowhere else. Memories of Xaro Xhoan Daxos and Dorea led to her wondering if their bodies were still behind that vault door. She found herself thinking of Quaithe, Rhaenys as she now knew her to be and she wondered if things would have been different if her niece had come forward then and told her the truth.
Would it have been as Rhaenys had said and led to the doom of all or would it have made her path to the life she now knew just a little easier? Had she known that she was not alone would it have brought her as much comfort as finding the truth out about Aegon had or would it have left her fearful that Rhaenys would seek to take her place since she had the greater claim to the throne? In the end, it was maybe for the best that it was now and not then that she'd found out the truth. The same as it was about Aegon's own truth, she thought as she saw the docks come into sight.
"Dracarys." she said as she flew over the first of the ships, her thoughts could only be on what she needed to do now as Drogon's flames swept over the first set of ships.
With them aflame, it was to the docks themselves they flew and she saw the arrows fly towards her in the air. It gave her a moment of hesitation when she looked at those firing them and she saw that they looked like living men and not the dead they'd faced before. Were it not for their eyes then she'd have thought twice about letting Drogon's flames welcome them into their warm embrace. Their eyes though were eyes she'd seen before and those eyes didn't belong on living things.
"Dracarys." she said as Drogon let loose again and again.
Five passes, six, maybe seven before she was done and she looked off in the distance to where the main gate would be. She could see the fire rising and yet it wasn't spreading and so rather than fly over their own ships and give them the signal to dock, she flew towards Rhaegal and Aegon to find out why they'd not moved further into the city. As she flew over the city itself she saw Xaro's palace and her memories were back once more.
Memories of finding her Unsullied dead and looking down on Irri's body and the fear and sense of loss she had felt when she'd realized her dragons had been stolen. Her anger at the Warlocks and at Dorea and Xaro Xhoan Daxos for what they'd done and what they'd cost her. As they flew over House of the Undying she felt Drogon's anger that it still stood, her son almost pleading with her for the command to let loose his flames, but for now, Dany refused.
She saw the Khalasar ride and yet they didn't enter the city, instead they cut down men who ran towards them while Aegon and Rhaegal bathed those who moved out from the city with fire. Directing Drogon to fly closer to his brother, she looked to Aegon who pointed to the right and nodded at her. Dany following his direction and soon Rhaegal's fire was joined by Drogon's own. It was only when the men stopped coming that she heard Rhaegal roar and she looked to see the Dothraki form up once more and Aegon bringing Rhaegal to the ground to land.
"Tegun Drōgon, tegun hembar naejot aōha lēkia." (Land Drogon, land next to your brother.) she said and Drogon did as he was bid, while Dany looked to the burned gate to see it empty.
Aegon.
Burn the gates and enter the city, it was easy, a simple plan and he was willing to carry it out or had been until he flew over the city himself. On Rhaegal's back with Rhaenys behind him, he'd felt it, and almost immediately he knew that he couldn't follow it through. There was a darkness in the city, a presence, and the only way he knew to describe it was to name it as evil and leave it at that. It wasn't the same as the dead he'd faced at Hardhome or Winterfell, not even close. Other than perhaps with Bran, he doubted that he'd felt such a thing before.
This was corruption, deep and dark and it wanted him to come to it, to move to it. It called to him and bid him enter and it bothered him that a part of him wished to. It worried him that it perhaps called only to him and yet it scared him with the thoughts that it called to the others too. So he changed his plans, fire, and wait for them to come to him. Outside and not inside he'd see this battle fought and so after telling Dany to see to the docks, he headed for the gates and readied the Khalasar and the Unsullied for the battle to come.
"Qhono, ride but don't enter, ride and cut them down and then regroup, just like you did in Winterfell." he said looking to the large man.
"The Walls Khal Ver?" Qhono asked.
"Will be bathed in fire and so will any who move in front of them. Rhaegal and I will be your escort, Qhono." Aegon said to a smile from the Dothraki leader "Lord Jon you lead the infantry, hold them back, and don't march unless the Khalasar needs you."
"Of course, your grace." Jon Connington said.
"Ser Jaime, Ser Jorah, I'd have you both on horses overlooking the city. Jorah the Khalasar, Jaime the infantry, and the other mounted men. Should they be diverting from the plans then I'd ask you both to bring them back into line. I don't wish us to enter this city other than by my command, is that clear?" he asked.
"Aye, it's clear, your grace." Jorah said.
"Your grace." Jaime said with a small nod.
"What are my orders?" Tormund asked a half-smile on his face.
"To fuck people up in your own unique way, Tormund." he said to laughs.
"But not to enter the city?" Tormund asked and Aegon shook his head.
"I'll burn this city to the ground if need be. There is death here and though we want to take it as undamaged as possible and see if there are people there still alive. I'll not do so at the risk of any of your lives. We take the gate, wait for them to come and don't enter, understood?" he asked and received no argument.
It was a simple plan and though he'd told Dany not to divert from her own, he was glad to see her when she and Drogon arrived. After a number of passes, those inside had stopped coming towards them and the gates had long since burned away. Aegon told Rhaegal to land and Drogon followed a few moments later. He moved to the black dragon quickly to make sure that he and Dany were unharmed.
"You're unhurt?" he asked as he helped his wife down from Drogon's back.
"I'm well, as is Drogon. We set the ships alight and the docks are ours should we wish it, but I've not given the ships the signal to land." Dany said and Aegon smiled at her before reaching out to take her hand in his.
"Rhaegal took down countless of them but there are still more inside and I'm torn between using the dragons or leading the men into the city." he said softly as they walked.
"You can't lead them." Dany said worriedly.
"I must. It has to be me. I'd have Jaime with me and Tormund, but I can't send them to do what I would not." Aegon said.
"You're a king Aegon, that's what you're supposed to do." Dany said frustrated.
"We'll speak to Malora, if she agrees…"
"God's Aegon is that how it's to be. Each time I wish you to not do something you'll just bring the Three-Eyed Raven in so you can get your way." Dany said her anger clear as he moved away from him.
"Dany… Dany." he said reaching out for her hand "It's that or burn the city to the ground and I don't wish to do that unless it's a last resort." he said as she looked at him.
"Drogon and I will fly overhead, Aegon, if I feel the need for you to leave then you leave. Promise me that and live up to that promise and I'll agree."
"I promise. Should you feel the need for us to leave, we leave, no questions or further talk on it." he said and she looked at him carefully before nodding.
Tormund.
His friend was a fool, gods he loved the boy but at times he could be a complete fool and this was one of them. He loved a fight as much as the next man and his sword was barely wet with the blood of these things, so he'd have loved nothing more than a tougher and longer fight. That didn't' mean he wished to walk through these streets and feel those blue eyes look at him as he did so. True he couldn't see them anywhere, but he and those with him could feel them and he'd have much preferred if they'd just used the dragons and burned this city to the ground.
He, the sister fucker but not the beauty or the bear, the Lord that was kissed by fire and Jon Snow led more than two thousand men through this city, and from the time they had entered it there had been no sign of any of those fucking dead things. For dead things, they were no matter what the woman in red or the Three-Eyed Raven said. He'd seen their eyes and the only things with eyes that color were the fucking dead.
"Where the fuck are they?" he asked annoyedly as they cleared yet another street.
"So eager to meet them are you, Tormund?" Jon Snow asked and Tormund chuckled.
"I fucking knew I should have been more like the sour-faced crow." he said to a laugh from Jon.
"You'd have never wished to be left in charge of a keep, you'd get too fucking bored." Jon said and Tormund shook his head.
"I'd have been safe, I'm never fucking safe with you." he said to an even louder laugh.
"Like I said, bored."
The little fucker was right, he could have stayed with his people Beyond the Wall and had a nice comfortable life. There were no more crows to attack them and force them from their lands and further north. No more dead men marching on them to force them south and onto the crows as there had once been. Life though would have been fucking boring and he'd have died an old and bored greybeard.
That was not the end for him and besides without him here the little fuck would have no one to take the piss out of him, for by the gods he needed it. Jon Snow was surrounded by kneelers and arse kissers and while there were few who deserved their arses kissed as much as he or the Dragonqueen did, a man needs to have his balls broken every now and then.
"What the fuck are you smiling about now?" the Lord kissed by fire asked him.
"Remembering the time I was thought a king." Tormund said as he looked to see the bright smile on Jon Snow's face.
"Who thought you a king?" the sister fucker asked.
"That kneeler over there." he said pointing to Jon Snow who was chuckling as he shook his head.
"Come on your grace, we've work to do." Jon said and Tormund laughed as they entered another street, the laugh soon ending and the smile quickly leaving his face as he looked to the sky and breathed in relief when he saw the Dragonqueen and her mighty beast.
"Well I guess we found them then." he said as in the wide-open square in front of them there seemed to be thousands upon thousands of blue eyes all staring right at them.
Jon Connington.
The wilding irritated and annoyed him with how little respect he showed to the king. That the king seemed to accept it from him confused him greatly, but the two had an odd relationship to say the least and it was only the wilding that the king accepted it from. Perhaps he should be happier about it, a king willing to allow a little disrespect was a good thing, and Aerys never being able to forgive or forget a slight may well have been a sign that he and others should have taken more notice of.
Watching Aegon and Daenerys as their dragons laid down fire was a sight that he was thankful to the gods for. Finding a good king and queen to serve had been something he'd given up hope of the moment that Rhaegar fell. In his son and sister though he'd found it and the more time he spent around either of them, the clearer it was that they were who he hoped them to be. He'd seen it in Braavos and Meereen, how they cared for the people here, but also remembered those they ruled in Westeros too. The food shipments had already been sent to the North and to King's Landing, winter had come and the people of Westeros needed to be fed and so fed they would be.
If he could change either of them, then it would be in only one regard and only in one of them for true. Aegon was too reckless, not with his plans or his campaigns, but with his own life. When it came to those who fought for Daenerys and him, then he was as protective as a father was with his children. With himself, he was very much not, and Jon while reveling in hearing the things that he had already done, worried about them and those to come greatly. This was a folly, a mistake and though he'd spoken out against it, he'd been overruled and so had insisted he come too. Looking at what was in front of them he hated being proved right and yet was glad that he was here by Aegon's side.
"Form up, form up." Jaime Lannister said and Jon looked to the sky to see the queen bringing the dragon in to let loose its flames and he breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Then time seemed to slow, Jon looked on as Aegon moved away from them and he heard him speak words that made no sense.
Why did he need to shield his eyes and turn away?
What was his king doing?
No, no, come back you fool.
Questions and a cry out and then he saw the sword being unsheathed, the light shining from it and he heard the dragon's roar. It shined so very brightly that he was forced to turn his head, not even the arm he'd placed in front of his eyes stopping the light from getting through. As he looked to the others he saw they too were shielding their own eyes and had their heads turned away from Aegon and his shining sword. After a few moments, the light was no more and he heard the dragon's angry roar as it landed next to Aegon.
Jon turned to make sure his king was unharmed and he couldn't believe his eyes. What had been thousands of people with blue eyes was no more. The people remained but their eyes had changed and each of them now wore confused looks where a moment earlier their expressions were full of anger and hate. He looked to see Aegon help Daenerys off Drogon's back and Jaime Lannister and Tormund Giantsbane move to the king and queen and so he did likewise, only catching the end of the words that Aegon was speaking.
"Light forces the darkness away." he heard Aegon say and as he looked at all those he'd feared would overwhelm them, he could see no darkness in then anymore.