Qarth 306 AC.
Dany.
She and Drogon had flown over the city and had felt what Aegon had said to her, the darkness and corruption was almost a living breathing thing. As below her Aegon and those with him moved through empty streets, Dany had looked to the streets ahead of her husband and been relieved that they too had been empty. Seeing the large crowd that was gathered in the center of the city had taken her aback and knowing that Aegon was heading straight for them put her on edge. Both she and Drogon quickly making themselves ready to do whatever it took to make sure that her husband came back to her unharmed.
When she saw him move towards the crowd alone, for some reason she felt no fear, almost as if she knew what it was he was going to do. So she told Drogon to look away and shielded her own eyes and then the light from the sword began to shine just as brightly as it had when he'd faced off against the Night King. When it dimmed she could feel it immediately, the darkness and corruption that she'd felt earlier were not more and as she looked to the people of Qarth she knew they were no threat to Aegon or to herself. Still, when she bid Drogon land she had him roar just so those nearest to Aegon and herself knew what they'd face if she had read them wrongly.
Aegon helped her down from Drogon's back, Dany's eyes roaming over every inch of her husband to be certain he was as unharmed as she believed him to be. Seeing him smile at her when he noticed what she was doing, quickly brought a smile to her own face and before she knew it he was holding her in his arms and kissing her deeply.
"Aegon?" she asked when he finally gave her a chance to breathe, her smile fuller now as she saw his own.
"Qarth is yours, my queen." Aegon said as he kissed her once more.
Behind him, Jaime Lannister, Jon Connington, and Tormund moved towards them and their men lowered their weapons when they realized they'd face no more fighting today. Aegon took her hand and Dany found herself looking to the crowds who'd begun to look less confused than they had been, her husband then moving her to Drogon and telling her to climb back onto her dragon's back. When she went to argue with him, he kissed her again and said he'd be joining her in a moment, Dany looking at him to make sure he wasn't just telling her what she wished to hear.
"I promise, Dany. We need to let the others know that the city is ours and they need to see you and me on our dragons." Aegon said and so she nodded her agreement and watched as he spoke to Jon, Jaime, and the others.
Once he had done so and joined her on Drogon's back, they flew to the outside of the city and found Rhaegal waiting for them, Drogon landing beside his brother before Aegon climbed down to speak to his own dragon and to their men. Then just as he had said he would, he climbed up onto Rhaegal, and within moments they were in the air once more. This time they flew almost slowly over the city, the two dragons flying low so they could both be seen and more important so she and her husband could be seen on their backs.
She saw Jon Connington speak to some men that she knew were the most important in the city and her eyes sought out the warlocks and the men who'd taken up the role of the Thirteen or to see if any of the Pureblood were there and she was sure she saw men who may be from both. Expecting Aegon to land in the city once again, she was surprised when instead he flew out to sea and she smiled as she followed him. They flew over their ships, over Asha Greyjoy's flagship, and finally over their own ship and she was happy to see Rhaenys and Missandei on deck and that Rhaella was with them.
Lyarhaex and Balerion then joined the other dragons in the sky and Dany was certain she heard Aegon speak to both dragons, though she couldn't make out the words. All too soon they headed back to the city and she took comfort in the thought that she'd soon be holding Rhaella in her arms once more. This time they did land and Aegon climbed down from Rhaegal more quickly than she did from Drogon. Her husband was standing in front of the green dragon by the time she reached the ground. So after speaking to Drogon and telling him how proud she was of him, something she knew that Aegon was doing with Rhaegal too, she then told her son to go and feed and that she'd call for him later. Just as before, Aegon came to her and took her hand, and led her to Jaime, Jon, Tormund, and the others.
"Your graces." Jon said as Jaime moved behind her husband's back and Jorah who she'd not noticed was standing with them did likewise to her own.
"All is well, Jon?" Aegon asked, his voice almost light and cheerful.
"The city elders wish to greet you both, your grace. So they can kneel and pledge their fealty." Jon said proudly.
"Then best we let them do so." Aegon said and Dany found she was on the verge of laughing loudly with just how casually he said it.
Jon led them to a nearby palace and when they arrived at it she was surprised to see them waiting outside in the gardens rather than inside. The great and the good of Qarth, The Thirteen, The Tourmaline Brotherhood, The Ancient Guild of Spicers, and even the Pureblood all taking to a knee when they saw her and Aegon walk into the garden. Her eyes sought out but could not find any of the Warlocks which relieved her greatly and then she heard a voice call out loudly.
"Qarth, the greatest city that ever was or ever will be is yours, your graces." one of the Pureblood said and Aegon looked to her to accept their oath.
"Rise all of you, we accept your fealty and welcome you into our empire." she said leaving them in no doubt that when they moved on from her it would not be leaving a free Qarth behind them.
"We thank you, your graces, and we pledge to be your Leal subjects from this day forth." the member of the Pureblood who had spoken said and Dany was surprised by just how genuine he sounded.
The palace they were given as their own was one of the largest if not the largest of all in Qarth, its opulence made Xaro Xhoan Daxos's seem almost a hut in comparison. Jorah saw that their men were brought into the city and almost all of them were able to set up in the palace's grounds. Those who were not were given their pick of the manses nearby. It took what felt like an age for Rhaenys, Arya, and the others to make their way to them. Aegon leaving to escort them personally as Dany spoke to Jon Connington and asked his take on the Qartheens.
"They are yours, your grace. I've no doubt of that, what exactly that means I know not as I don't see fighting men amongst them." Jon said shaking his head.
"This city was never truly built on that, its walls and its wealth enough to keep it protected." she said before adding "Until now."
"Indeed. I spoke to those who led this city, your grace, none of whom can really remember anything other than the wish to kill and to attack. Had his grace not showed them Lightbringer…" Jon said leaving the rest unsaid for now and before she could ask him more she saw Ghost and heard the sound of Lyarhaex and Balerion as they landed in the gardens.
"Your grace." Missandei called out a moment later, her smile a relieved one to see her unhurt and yet it was the bundle in her arms that Dany found herself concentrating on.
"My sweet babe." she said softly as she thanked Missandei and took Rhaella from her, her daughter was wide awake and looked to be taking in her new surroundings.
As she spoke softly to her daughter, Aegon and Rhaenys walked into the room followed by Jaime, Jorah, Brienne, and Grey Worm. Dany feeling even more relieved to see that they were all here and that the taking of this city had cost them very little if anything.
Storm's End 306 AC.
Edric Storm.
He had taken the insults to his name and his reputation because he had to and though he'd accepted them publicly, privately he had fumed. There was nothing he could do though as he had no way to fight against a united realm, let alone dragons. So he had smiled politely, knelt and sworn his fealty, and then he'd prayed to the seven for a sign. It had come not long after he'd marched back to Storm's End, the news that the Targaryens were heading first to Dorne and then to Winterfell showing that their reign wasn't as secure as they may have believed.
Edric had sat and watched, he'd waited and though he'd been annoyed that they'd managed to take care of their enemies so easy, it did at least prove his wisdom in standing down. Just as the visit from the Faceless Man had proved him right to hesitate in regards to Gendry Waters, or Stark as he was now. If one thing good had come from the Targaryens dealing with the threat in the North it was that his half-brother should he seek a seat would look there rather than to Storm's End. Something that made his position even more secure and would at least give him a starting point should the opportunity arise for him to become what he was born to be.
An opportunity that in some ways presented itself when news came that the vast majority of the Targaryen army, the dragons, and the King and Queen themselves would be heading east and be gone for some time. He'd barely believed it when Ser Andrew had brought the news. The mere thoughts that they sought to conquer and bring Essos to heel were ones that opened up so many possibilities. When they'd set out he'd called his closest advisers to his solar and laid out his plans, some of them arguing with him and yet all agreeing in the end. He needed coin and so that meant withholding it from the crown and making excuses for why he did so.
" Is this wise, my lord?" Ser Andrew asked.
" If we play it right, it is." he said as he wrote the numbers down on the parchment.
" Should they return?" Ser Triston asked worriedly.
" They won't for the withholding of taxes, only for the non-payment of them and it will take time for the crown to be certain that it's the latter we're doing." he said smiling at his own cleverness.
" And when they are certain?" Ser Gerold asked.
" By then we'll be ready to strike and the dragons will find Essos to be as vast as we did." he said to nods.
The ravens arrived first, requests to pay their due, demands to do so, and to see an accounting of their books. Edric writing out the replies himself and explaining how much the Stormlands had suffered under his uncle's rule and Lannister mismanagement. He'd pleaded that they needed time to come up with the coin and that they were suffering and needed to spend coin on their people as well. Winter though not as harsh as it could have been for some reason, was still winter after all he had said. There were keeps that needed work done to them, stores that needed refilling and once he'd seen to that then he'd be glad to give the crown their due.
When the ravens grew angrier, he'd then tried another tactic. Begging for deferments and promising to pay double in the years to come. That it was something he had no intent to do was not anything they needed to know, yet at least. He knew that soon the spider's little birds would look his way and that perhaps the crown would lose their patience with him and seek to force him to do so. Lady Anya's words showing their growing discontent with his excuses and attitude. Edric also knew that without the dragons he was untouchable behind the walls of Storm's End and should they send men to take him out, he'd break them against those walls.
If anything he hoped they'd gather an army and march to him as it would be easier for him to defeat them here rather than on an open field. While his advisers preached caution, he wished to be bold and he found he disagreed with their counsel at times. The Vale and Riverlands like him had knelt only because it was a dragon that forced them to, without that threat they'd rise he believed. Old alliances still held strong and it was his father that had forged them with Hoster Tully and Jon Arryn, and he was nothing if not his father's son.
"How goes the work?" he said to Ser Andrew as he walked the parapets and looked down on Shipbreaker bay.
"The weapons and armor are easy enough, my lord. Men are proving more difficult." Ser Andrew said as Edric shook his head.
"Our numbers?" he asked curiously.
"All told maybe 25,000, Possibly less."
"Not enough." he said and Andrew looked at him without answering.
"We need allies, my lord." Andrew said and Edric sighed before bidding him goodbye and walking back to his rooms.
At dinner that night he ate silently while around him men did likewise. Their worries about the path he'd set them on were clear for all to see and while his silence was not out of worry, it was the path he was contemplating. It was all meant to be so easy, arrive back and take back his family seat and his rightful home and then reach out to the Dragonqueen with an offer she'd not be able to refuse. Or at least that had been the plan. He'd not counted on another bastard beating him to the punch and taking what was rightfully his. Nor on a story better than the one he'd wished to be sung.
It was supposed to be the son of a beloved king coming back and putting aside the animosities of the past by uniting his claim with the beautiful Dragonqueen. He had believed it would be sung in all the inns and taverns of Westeros and that when they wed they'd be cheered loudly by one and all. Instead, it was the song of ice and fire and of a dragon hiding as a wolf. A story that painted the rebellion in a different light and named the heroes of it as villains and his father not as a man seeking to fight for the honor of the woman he loved, but a jealous man who lied because he'd not been able to accept the truth.
Lords who should be his had knelt for Jon Snow and a crown he was born to wear now sat another head. A woman who should be in his bed had lain with another and birthed him a princess of the realm rather than the son she should have birthed Edric. They'd not even saw fit to give him a seat on the council as recompense for all they'd stolen from him and so he'd see them fall. Though he hoped they'd do so in Essos long before they ever looked his way again.
Finishing his meal he then drank far too much and fell into his bed. His thoughts filled with silver hair and violet eyes and yet his dreams were not. Instead, when he woke the next morning it was with another thought in his mind, one that refused to leave him all day. So after he'd locked himself in his solar for an hour with no distractions and had just sat looking down on a map of the Seven Kingdoms, he called for Ser Andrew and Ser Gerold and sent for refreshments, the two men arriving within moments of each other.
"Sit both of you, there is much we must discuss." he said as he offered them wine and food that both partook of.
"My lord?" Ser Andrew asked, looking at him curiously when he'd not spoken for some time.
"As you know I had hoped to be wed by now, Ser Andrew. I had thought that it would be me and Daenerys who sat the throne and that by uniting our claims and our houses, Westeros would finally lay the rebellion and the War of the Five Kings to rest." he said far more composedly than he had expected.
"Indeed, my lord." Ser Andrew said his confusion still present in both his voice and expression.
"Much though I feel that in time the people would accept me, especially with Snow and the queen deserting them as they look east. I alone may not be enough and so I once again find myself seeking a bride." he said smiling.
"A good thing my lord, but who brings advantage?" Ser Gerold said and Edric's smile grew fuller.
"Would that was one that brought me men or a kingdom, or that I'd have known of the marriage between the queen and Snow earlier. Had I then the match I seek may have brought me a rather large advantage. As it is while at first she may not bring me so in men and support, she does in her name and with the story we can sell to the realm." he said almost laughing now at the looks both men wore, neither of them following his train of thought and were he not so certain he was right, it may have given him pause.
"My lord?" Ser Andrew asked.
"I need you to undertake a journey, Ser Andrew, you and some men have a long way to go to bring my bride back to me." he said and then added before Ser Andrew could ask more questions "Sansa Stark, Ser, I need you to travel North and to bring Sansa Stark to me."
What better union to sell to the realm than the one of the House of the Wolf and the House of the Stag, the one his father had sought all those years earlier. Together both of them could speak of how their fathers would never have wished them to see the realm lay down with dragons and though she didn't bring the support she should have, the old alliances and blood would soon see that support come. Especially once he showed them how weak the dragons had left the realm since their departure.
Qarth 306 AC.
Malora.
She had not seen it for herself, well not through her own eyes at least. Malora instead watching through the eyes of an eagle as the prince had brought the Old God's light to the people of Qarth. Were she to ask Kinvara it would be R'hllor's light that the red priestess named it as. For her, it was the Old God's who had gifted the prince so and to them that she offered her thanks. Just looking at the people who passed by the palace they stayed in was enough to show that she wasn't the only one offering thanks for what had been done.
Malora had seen what they had become and though not wights exactly, they were as close as one could be. Ones that breathed and whose hearts still beat that was. Had they been dead and raised as the wights the prince had faced at Winterfell and in the North, then not even Lightbringer would have been enough to help them. Powerful though the sword and the prince himself were, he didn't have the power over life and death. The Iron Born were wrong as what is dead may and needed to die especially if their eyes were an unearthly blue.
After it had been done and the queen had said her words to the prince, her worries about the risks he took and the danger he put himself in soon fading away, Malora had joined with them as they settled into the palace. She'd been given a set of rooms and though she'd wished to look for the path ahead, instead she'd welcomed and looked forward to the celebration that was to come. So after taking in the sight of people coming by the palace hoping for a glimpse of the prince and the queen, she then made her way to her room and dressed for the night ahead.
"My lady." Ser Jorah said as she passed him and entered into a large open hall.
Malora looked at the sheer expanse of it and knew from her own experience the expense it must have cost to build and furnish such a thing. It put the Great Hall of the Hightower to shame and reminded her more of the one at Highgarden than anywhere else. Though its marble floors and carved stone were something that not even the Tyrell's or Lannisters would have been able to afford. The plates, cups, mugs, and glasses too were of a quality she'd never seen before and it made her wonder just how wealthy this city had truly been and what her prince and queen would do with that wealth.
"A fine sight is it not." Tormund Giantsbane said catching her by surprise and taking her from the almost trance she'd fallen into as she'd looked around the room "Makes Ruddy Hall seem like nothing." he added before laughing loudly and Malora shook her head having no idea what or where Ruddy Hall was.
"Lady Malora, join us." the queen said and Malora smiled at her and at the prince who was holding the princess in his arms while talking to his sisters, his sister's own babe was laying in a crib that had been brought into the room with Ghost laying down beside him.
"I thank you, my queen, my king." she said taking her seat, her prince he may be but he was truly a king too, and soon to be an emperor she wagered.
Kinvara joined her not long after and she was surprised to see the Dragonguard join them, all three members of it not on duty, and instead, it was men of the Unsullied who stood guard this night. They and the dragons who she could see through the open windows. Lord Jon spoke to Grey Worm while the Dragonguard spoke amongst themselves, Jaime Lannister occasionally speaking to Lord Jon at times also.
The prince picked at his food and spent most of the night laughing at his daughter and rarely had she seen someone so at peace. Even when he allowed Rhaenys to take the princess into her arms and when Arya moved to her own babe, he sat with the same contented look on his face. His expression only changing when the queen leaned in to whisper something in his ear and to place a kiss on his lips or when Tormund made a jape at his expense. She was happy to see it and felt it most needed, this brief moment of calm before plans would need to be made for where they went from here.
"They look happy." Kinvara said and Malora turned to her, the meal in front of the red priestess finished for once.
"They do. It brings me joy to see it." she said and the smile on Kinvara's face was enough to show she felt the same.
"As it does me. Together they are everything I had wished them to be. Aegon may be the prince that was promised and Azor Ahai reborn but Daenerys is no Nissa Nissa and only with her by his side can his heart beat true." Kinvara said, her smile not diminishing as she spoke.
"The princess too, never have I seen two people who were more in need of a child than they." she said as she watched Rhaenys hand the princess over to the queen.
"I feel there is something more for the prince here, Lady Malora. My God tells me this though he shows me it not, perhaps your own will be more forthcoming?" Kinvara said her voice almost a whisper as around them people laughed and japed as the prince and Tormund told tales of the true north.
"I shall seek answers before I take to my bed." she said and Kinvara seemed relieved by her words.
She strolled through the palace after she'd bid them all goodnight. Malora not hurrying or delaying her walk to her room and instead just simply enjoying the pace of it. When she reached it she nodded to her two guards and bid them goodnight as they took up their positions and then she walked inside. After she'd undressed she sat cross-legged on the bed and closed her eyes. Quickly clearing her mind of all thoughts before she began to look into the past, present, and future to see what it was her gods wished for her to do and to find whatever it was the prince needed in this city.
It surprised her when she did and though she then slept that night, it wasn't a restful sleep that she found herself enjoying. The thoughts of that place and what the queen had seen there not allowing her to rest easy. Why they wished him to go there she knew not, only that there was something he needed in the former House of the Undying, that he had to go there and the queen would not be happy with her for sending him.
So she waited until she got the chance to speak to him alone, Malora first seeking out Kinvara to ask her own opinion on the place and relieved to hear her tell her that she felt the prince to be in no danger. Whatever it was the gods wished for him to do there, it wouldn't cause him harm or pain and Malora was comforted by that. When she did get the chance to speak to him, he was standing by the dragons and Jaime Lannister stood a few feet away. The prince speaking to Rhaegal and Balerion while Lyarhaex and Drogon looked on.
"You caught me." he said with a chuckle without turning around, his hand rubbing over Rhaegal's neck as the dragon trilled "I was thanking him and his brother for all they did and telling these two that their own time would come."
"They seem happy, the blue one especially." she said looking to Balerion.
"He knows it's almost time." Aegon said finally turning to her, the smile he wore a true one she felt as she'd come to notice that he had more than one.
"Time, my prince?" she asked before it struck her what he meant, Aegon's words confirming it a moment later.
"To fly with my sister." Aegon said as he moved towards her "I take it you have some news for me?" he asked, the smile was gone and his voice far more serious now.
"There is somewhere you must visit, my prince. A place where answers await." she said softly.
"Alone?" he asked and she nodded "And my wife will not approve will she?"
"Her grace may be fearful, my prince." she said as he looked at her and nodded.
"When?" he asked surprising her as she'd not told him where yet.
"Before we leave, my prince, it's not something you must do imminently." she said as she stared at him and saw an almost resigned look come over his face.
"I'll need to speak to my wife, no doubt we'll argue on this. Where am I to go?" he asked and she felt sorry that she was to be the cause of any issue between the prince and the queen, but knew she had her role to play.
"The House of the Undying, my prince." she said and the sigh he made was a loud one.
Qarth 306 AC.
Rhaenys.
Aegon had almost demanded that the armor was made by Gendry, true enough he'd asked the man to do so, but he'd left no one in any doubt that it was only his goodbrother's work that he'd accept for her protection. It brought a smile to her face to see him so protective and she was even more surprised when he designed it himself. That it was so like the set that Dany wore was another thing that made her happy to wear it. Though it was the knowledge of what was to occur once she did that more than anything made her eager for it to be ready.
The time had come for her to finally fly on Balerion's back, the dragon was now large enough for her to ride despite its age and she at first had been confused by that. Lady Kinvara then explaining to her that the magic of the other dragons, of her brother, and of all three of them being together was the reason for the dragon's growth. Lyarhaex dwarfed Balerion and both of the younger dragons were much smaller than Rhaegal and Drogon and yet she believed that by years end they'd be almost of a size with their older brothers.
As she was helped to put it on, the words her brother had said about her needing someone to do this each time finally made sense, and then she felt her heart begin to race. Both Dany and Aegon had taken her up on Drogon and Rhaegal and it was like nothing she had ever even dared to dream. To be able to fly on the back of a dragon and to see the world from up high, few even in her family had ever done so. Fewer still since the Dance of the Dragon and now there would be a third Dragonrider in the world. She had another reason why she felt so excited by it, a more personal one too. It was the culmination of all she'd gone through and of all that she had lost. The time had arrived for her to finally become what she was always meant to be, a Dragonrider, a sister, a goodsister and aunt, and the third head of the dragon.
"How do I look?" she asked as she spun in front of Gendry.
"Like a dragon." he said making her laugh.
The armor felt light and covered everywhere that it needed to, it wasn't a full suit and was more flexible because of it. Something that she much appreciated as she began to move around in it to get used to how it felt. When she stepped out of her room it was to find Aegon waiting for her, the look on his face one that made her nervous for a moment. Though the smile that appeared once he saw her worried look was one that she most welcomed.
"A dragon." he said happily and she felt her pride begin to rise, something about the words and the way he said it feeling different to how Gendry had just said almost the same thing.
Though she was older than Aegon, she felt younger. Almost as if he had spent more time in the world than she and it was only after he'd told her that he had lived another life that she realized why that was. She was twenty and seven and Aegon twenty and four and yet he had lived for seven decades on top of that. That she almost felt a girl each time she was around him only making him feel older still and she found if anything that she appreciated it. He could be at times fatherly, brotherly, and at times a fool, something that he was doing now as they began to walk to where the dragons were waiting for them.
"Stop it." she said as he made faces to try and make her laugh.
"Rhae, Rhae." he said blowing out his cheeks so they were larger and full of air.
"Egg." she said shaking her head and pretending not to be as amused as she truly was and then losing her fight with seriousness when he bumped her shoulder and then fell to the ground over dramatically.
"You are an idiot, brother mine." she said laughing fully as he begged Ser Jaime to come to his aid.
It was only when they reached the dragons and he helped her up onto Balerion's back that she understood why he'd been acting so foolish. The nervousness that she may have felt about being alone on a dragon's back never materializing and instead it was to the sound of her own laughter that she bid Balerion fly.
"Sōvegon Balerion." (Fly Balerion.) she said and in moments the dragon was in the air.
Her eyes were looking straight ahead as Balerion and Rhaegal flew over the city, not too fast or too high and when she looked to Aegon she could see his worries and fears clear on his face. She smiled beamingly at him to let him know that she was comfortable and then she bid Balerion go faster.
"Jikagon adere. " (Go Fast).
Within moments he had left Rhaegal behind and she risked looking over her shoulder to see where her brother and the green dragon were, soon finding them as they quickened their own flight.
"Ilagon konīr." (Down there) she said and Balerion dropped lower and flew between two towers, Rhaegal soon catching them up though Aegon kept the green dragon behind them, chasing but not caching and she began to enjoy the idea of a game.
"Eglikta" (Higher) she said her laughter soon ringing out across the sky as the blue dragon followed her command and they began to soar higher than Aegon or Dany had ever taken her before.
Up here the world seemed so very tiny and after telling Balerion to fly more slowly she looked to see Aegon and Rhaegal were now just a few feet away. Her brother looking at her worriedly before he too began to laugh when he saw the expression on her face. How long they stayed in the air she couldn't tell only that it felt as if time had stood still. So much so that when Aegon pointed down below and she told Balerion to follow Rhaegal, it was only then that she noticed that night was beginning to fall.
After they landed, she hurried down from Balerion's back and ran to the blue dragon's head, her eagerness to tell Balerion just how happy and proud of her she was, overriding all her other thoughts for now.
"Kirimvose Balerion, kirimvose, kirimvose." (Thank you Balerion, thank you, thank you.) she said over and over as the blue dragon looked at her, Rhaenys sure she saw joy in the Dragon's intelligent eyes, and the sounds she made only making that even more clear.
"My sister is pleased it seems." Aegon said his own joy just as clear to see and in the blink of an eye, she'd moved from Balerion to him and was hugging him tightly, tears of happiness falling from her eyes as he helped her back into the palace and to her room.
He removed her armor himself and told her that they'd fly again on the morrow, this time Dany and Rhaella would join them he said and she found the idea of all four dragons in the sky to be one that she very much looked forward to. In time she knew that her flights would take on a different meaning, less about pleasure and more about what she needed to do. Until then she swore she'd take as much pleasure out of them as she could and thanked the gods for the chance to be able to do what she had been born to do.
Qohor 306 AC.
Belicho.
Traveling with the fat fool was as annoying as he had expected it to be. Despite them doing so on his most luxurious of pleasure barges, the man still complained constantly as if he'd been made to walk the distance rather than sit back on his fat arse while others worked. Not even the constant supply of food and women could keep Samwell content and more than once he'd thought about gutting the fat fool only to hold back, for now at least.
It had firmed up his plans and would lead to the fat fool suffering horribly and so he took comfort in that, even as he grew more and more disgusted and angered each time he looked Samwell's way. The sailing felt like it took an age, the winds were not as cooperative as they could be and so he was forced to spend more time in the fat fool's company than he wished for. Each night he'd look on as Samwell gorged himself on food and groped servants. More than once he knew the fat fool had fallen asleep before he'd taken his pleasure with one of the many women he'd provided for him. Belicho only imagining that on those nights the girls themselves slept far more happily.
He drank to excess and proclaimed loudly that he'd see Jon Snow fall and each time he did so was more ridiculous than the last to Belicho's ears. While it was true that Jon Snow, Aegon Targaryen as he was now known, would fall, it wouldn't be because of anything Samwell did or at least not because of anything he willingly did. He'd actually learned more about him from Gilly than he had from Samwell. The fat fool's feelings towards the man he'd named his closest friend blinded him to offer up anything of interest. Instead of naming him for what he is and speaking the truth, Samwell diminished all that Jon Snow had done while over-exaggerating his own part in things. Many were the nights where Belicho had to tune him out or look to a servant to distract him just to shut him up.
" Were it not for me he'd never have been named Lord Commander."
" They'd have taken his head if I'd not done what I did."
" He didn't even wish to seek aid for the watch, just because the Boltons had killed his family."
" Had I not made him send me to the Citadel he'd never even have had proof of who he claimed to be."
They were variations on a theme and in all the proclamations he had made, Samwell named himself far more important than he was. He may have played his part in seeing Jon Snow named Lord Commander, but that was perhaps not as good a thing as it could have been. Belicho had listened to Samwell speak derisively of the story of Jon Snow saving the Free Folk and then being killed for it and had seen the truth in the lies the fat fool spoke. Had he not have been Lord Commander then true he would not have been able to bring the Free Folk through the Wall, or perhaps he'd have led them through himself as a king.
Maybe he would have sought the position he was born for much sooner, Belicho seeing him march south with a red priestess and a blue-eyed king and watching him take back his home easier and with a lot less loss of life. The ties that bound him to the Watch would have remained and yet not, the care he had for the Free Folk would have remained and yet not. Belicho had looked on as history played out differently and he cursed that while his powers would show him this, they'd not show him the past or the present, not yet at least. Instead, he was allowed to see alternates, different versions of the same events, and Jon Snow playing his part in all of them. While what he saw helped, it also did not as he couldn't be certain that the man he saw felt as he now did and so would not be different than how he truly was.
He rose from his bed and placed the Black Stone with the other pieces before calling for his servants to help him dress. Once he was done he walked to the deck of the ship and was told by his guards that the fat fool was still sleeping. It comforted him to hear it as he was beginning to hate his mornings as much as he did the nights. Samwell would wake up to break his fast and Belicho had come to hate the sight and the sounds he made while eating.
"We passed Dagger Lake?" he asked noticing the direction the ship was no sailing.
"Last night, Triarch." Vogo his captain said, his words bringing a smile to Belicho's face.
"How long to Ar Noy?" he asked curiously.
"A day, two at most, Triarch."
"Make it one." he said and Vogo nodded hurrying off to see his will was done, the poles soon joining the sails to make them move a little more quickly.
His ship couldn't do so on the Rhoyne itself, relying far more on its sails to propel it along. On the Qhoyne though it could and as he felt the ship begin to move a little more quickly he turned and walked to take his seat and to suffer through the morning meal. His own appetite was non-existent now, not even a morsel being required to pass his lips and yet he still made a show of eating. A mummery of the life he once lived and had now moved past. Soon sleep too would be something he needed not and he wondered what other changes would come when he had the last piece of the Black Stone in his possession.
He sighed when Samwell made his way to the room, the fat fool waddling and looking the worst for wear and the girl who walked with him looking in a rougher shape than even he. Dinner that night was as he had expected, more gorging, groping, and more proclamations and it was only that they passed through Ar Noy that allowed for him to enjoy the night. Belicho standing on deck as they sailed through the ruined city and feeling the darkness and power that was required to leave a city in such a state to be close at hand.
In less than a week they arrived at Qohor and he was met by Sallys Faranyr and Jaeros Myllanar along with Serina Hotin and their guards. Three members of the Church of Starry Wisdom and the looks on their faces when they saw him were ones he much appreciated. He'd always been used to deference and respect, now though he was finding that worship was something that he truly longed for. Soon it would be awe and fear perhaps, he thought to himself as he walked down the gangplank with Samwell, the servants, and his guards behind him.
"Seize him." he said not needing to name who it was he wished to be seized and the pained scream and girlish cry that Samwell made was music to his ears.
They dragged him through the city, beating him when he fell and Belicho found that he took great pleasure in every kick and slap the fat fool received. Hearing him cry out for him to help him, to beg him to come to his aid, all of it was music to his ears and when they reached the palace that he was to name his own, he turned to look at the nearly broken man.
"You should have made your peace with Jon Snow, Samwell. By his side, you may have been safe and may have lived to see another moon. By mine own you'll not and in four days you'll play your part in my rise. I must admit I'm most pleased it's to be you and I look forward to your suffering, as no doubt do my serving girls." he said, his voice calm and composed and though he was enjoying the moment greatly, to any who looked on they'd never know.
Qarth 306 AC.
Aegon.
She lay resting beside him, her silver hair laid out on the pillow and a small smile on her face as she dreamt of something that amused her. He wished to touch her face and yet feared he'd wake her and so instead he watched her for a few more moments and then moved quietly from the bed. After he dressed it was to the crib he walked and he looked down to see his daughter sleeping and wearing an identical expression as her mother was. Aegon wondering if it was possible that both could be dreaming the same thing and finding the thoughts of that being true were ones that stirred his heart.
Ghost lay beside the crib as he did most nights, his most Leal protector now having someone else he felt the need to protect, and that brought him more comfort than if he had a thousand guards standing over his babe. They spent less time together than they both would have liked and yet perhaps more time than they ever had since before he'd gone to the Wall. After he'd arrived there they'd been parted more than once and it was only now that he realized he'd been a fool to allow it.
Reaching down he stroked his hand through the soft white fur and felt Ghost's relaxed breathing. The smile coming to his face unbidden as he then turned and moved to the door. Aegon not trying to think whether wolves dreamed too and yet as he nodded to Jorah and Jaime joined him as they walked away, it was all he could think of and so he began to chuckle.
"Your grace?" Jaime asked and Aegon shook his head.
They walked through the palace and then outside, the quietness of the early morning something that both appreciated and when they finally reached their destination he saw the jug of water and the mugs already lined up and the two unsullied who stood and guarded it. Dismissing them he turned to Jaime and with a nod the knight moved to the two tourney swords, Aegon laughing when he threw rather than handed him one.
"At your mark, Ser Jaime." he said as he took his stance, and with a nod from Jaime they began.
It was more than a spar and had become something he much enjoyed, Jaime too. Aegon reveling in being a teacher and though Jaime had forgotten perhaps more than Aegon knew when it came to swordsmanship, he knew the knight enjoyed their lessons too. At first, his instincts had deserted him, Jaime confessing this to him one night as they sat and spoke on days long past. The loss of his hand had taken away all that made him who he was, or so he had believed. Aegon doing his best to let him know how wrong he was and still remembering the look on Jaime's face when he told him what he had.
" Who you are is in here, Ser Jaime." he said pointing to his heart "Not in here." he said touching his head "And certainly not there." he said touching his golden hand.
" That's easy for you to say, your grace, you have both your own." Jaime said, his tone showing just how much the loss of his hand had meant to him.
" You think yourself lesser because of the loss when what you should understand is that it's made you more than you were." Aegon said "Humility is a good thing, Ser Jaime, and once you know that, then and only then can we bring back your arrogance."
He'd then offered to train him and had expected to be rejected only for Jaime to almost immediately agree. Aegon completely ignoring all other methods and instead concentrating on simply one. Physically it was true, his sword hand was always going to be stronger and each instinct he had that made him a great swordsman had been tied to that. Aegon had done his best to show him though that those instincts had never been lost and could be adapted and over time he felt it had taken hold.
Dodging the strike that Jaime aimed at him, he knew it had. The smile the knight wore on his face was one of his truest ones and though he took the day, it took longer to do so as it had ever since they'd begun these early morning spars. In time he'd be the best blade in their command once more and should he learn to use the loss of his hand to his benefit, he'd be a match perhaps even for him. Aegon handed the sword back to Jaime and moved to pour them out the water, the two of them taking a seat as they drank at first in silence.
"Where to next, your grace?" Jaime asked as they sat and looked out on the immaculate gardens that surrounded the palace.
"Astapor and Yunkai, Mantarys, and then onto Volantis itself." he said and Jaime looked at him worriedly.
"Mantarys?" Jaime asked.
"We need to take all the cities, Jaime, first them and then the lands inside of Esso and though I wish to deal with Belicho, I feel that this is what we're meant to do." he said as he stared off in the distance.
"Why, your grace?" Jaime asked catching him by surprise "Why is this what we're meant to do?" he added and Aegon turned to look at him and found himself unable to answer for a moment before he then did so.
"Because my queen wills it of us, her people will it of us, and should we not do it right this time hen we'll be fighting here for the rest of our lives and that is not the world I'll see my daughter grow up in. She will know peace, even if it forces me to go to war with the entire known world." he said before he then swallowed the last of his water and bid Jaime follow him to break their fast.
That was the simple truth of it, though it wasn't just his daughter that he wished to know peace. It was his nephew, his sisters, his wife, and even himself. He feared that should they not deal with the threats that were out there and end them now, then in time those threats would be at Rhaella's door and at Robb's too. If he needed to scorch the world to see that didn't happen then so be it. His family was all that mattered, no that wasn't true, but it was them he would concentrate on.
Was he thinking more clearly and not worrying about what he'd face when he made his way to the House of the Undying or how fearful Dany would be that he wished to go there, then he'd have seen what he was doing. Just as with the Night King before him, he was taking potential soldiers from Belicho's army away from him. Removing them and placing them out of his reach before then dealing with the man himself.
He arrived back at his rooms to find Dany up and dressed and Rhaella too awake, something that pleased him greatly as he was then able to carry her to the dragons who rested in the gardens outside their rooms. Lyarhaex was happier even than he to see her rider and it was only his wife's calling for them both that stopped him from missing his morning meal and spending the rest of the day either speaking to or flying with the dragons. That and what else he needed to do today.
Arya sat with Gendry and Robb, his nephew wide awake and looking around the room when he and Dany walked in. Rhaenys smiled at him when she saw him carrying her niece and quickly reached over so she could hold her, his sister having eaten already it seems. By the time he was done, they'd been joined by Lord Jon, Lady Kinvara, and Tormund. Lady Malora staying in her room and perhaps fearing his wife's words, just as he was if truth be told.
"Dany can we speak, alone." he said softly as his wife was laughing at something that Missandei had said to Rhaella and Rhaenys.
"What's this about, Aegon?" she asked concernedly.
"Not here, our room, just the two of us." he said and she nodded and then joined him when he rose, Dany speaking to Rhaenys and Missandei and asking them to look after Rhaella for the next few moments.
He held her hand as they walked, feeling how she gripped his fingers and he hated that what he was to say would no doubt cause her more worry and concern. Her own dealings in the House of the Undying had almost cost her everything and though she'd taken comfort that the Warlocks were long since gone, he knew that a part of her feared them still. Jorah had told him that they'd tried to kill her only for Ser Barristan to save her life and for that they were lucky that they'd not still been here when they took the city. Had they been then either he or Dany herself would have seen to their end. Entering the room he saw the frown on her face and leaned in to kiss her softly, before then leading her to the bed and sitting down beside her on it.
"Lady Malora came to me a few days ago, she told me something I must do." he said softly.
"What? What does she seek of you now?" Dany said angrily, his fingers rubbing over her hand to try and calm her.
"I need to go to the House of the Undying." he said and she rose to her feet, her nostrils flaring as she turned to glare at him.
"I forbid it." she said firmly "I forbid it, Aegon, I'll not have you go to that place, I'll burn it to the ground first."
"Dany.."
"No, you have no idea of what it's like, what it does to you, no, Aegon, on this I'll not be moved." she said, and were it not for how angry she was, then he'd have laughed at how she crossed her arms in front of herself.
"I must go, Dany. Some things we don't get to choose. I know not what it is that awaits me there, only that I must go and that I will be safe and I will return." he said as he rose and reached out to take her hand, something she didn't allow for now.
"You've no idea of what it's like, Aegon, no idea of how that places messes with you. I… I almost lost everything there, I'll not risk losing you." Dany said and when he wrapped his hands around her, she let him and leaned into his touch.
"We will have a life together, see Rhaella grow and ride her own dragon, see the world free of slavery and tyrants. I swear to you that I'll be safe, Dany. The Old Gods didn't bring me back for this to be the end of things. I can't believe that, I'll not believe that." he said and though she didn't answer, he felt she heard what he'd said.
The House of the Undying 306 AC.
Aegon.
It was an unremarkable building and one that it seemed had no doors either. The House of the Undying was a stone circular tower and as he looked away from it he saw the worried faces on those who'd come with him. His wife, both sisters, Tormund and the Dragonguard, all of them looking at him concernedly. Only the ladies Malora and Kinvara were not and he hoped that they could offer comfort to those with him that his own words had not.
Closing his eyes he told Rhaegal that he would be safe and that nothing would part him from him, his dragon flying overhead and torn between listening to him and burning this tower down, listening winning out for now. Aegon walked over to Dany and took her in his arms, his words whispered to her as he told her that he'd be back with her and their daughter before the day was ended. With a nod to Rhaenys and Arya and a look to Tormund and Jaime that said, or at least he hoped said, that he knew what he was doing, he began to walk around the tower.
The light began to fade and it took him a moment to realize that he was indoors and not outside, the light now from candles and not from the sun. In front of him were stairs and so he began to walk up them, soon coming to a door which he opened and then found himself in a corridor full of doors on either side. Some were open and some were closed and as he looked in through the open ones he found himself looking at what seemed to be his past. The life he'd lived before he'd fallen at the Wall, the life he'd lived after, both being shown clearly to him as he moved from door to door.
" You know nothing, Jon Snow." her voice was not one he'd not heard or even thought about in so many years, and the cave, not something he'd thought about in just as long.
He moved from the door without taking a last look at a woman he'd thought he'd loved once. Now sure that what he'd felt for Ygritte had not been love, Dany was the only one who'd ever made him feel that way for true.
" The Freedom to make my own mistakes was all I ever wanted." Mance said as Jon looked at himself standing in the cells of Castle Black and he shook his head as he had then before moving away from it.
What would it have been like had Mance lived, he wondered? Would it have changed anything at all or would events have played out just how they had done? In the end, it mattered not as he was here to see and not to change, he'd already been gifted the power to do so once and he was more than thankful for that.
" Next time I see ya, you'll be all in black." Robb said.
" It was always my color." Jon said with a small smile on his face.
" Farewell Snow." Robb said softly.
" And you Stark." he replied before they embraced.
He felt the tears begin to fall as he moved from the door, the urge to walk inside and to grab his brother for true and hold him never to let go was strong and it took all he had to fight it down. The time had long since past and though he wished more than anything that Robb was here with him, it could never be. Each door he came to showed him a different moment from his life and it was when he reached the end of the corridor and found the door in front of him to be closed that he knew this was the one he was to walk through. Opening it he turned to look back at the others and wiped his eyes, only for the tears to fall even more fully once he entered the door and it closed behind him.
" I want to be brave." the woman said and Jon could barely look at her or at the man who knelt by the bed holding her hand.
" You are." his uncle said as his mother shook her head.
" I'm not. I don't want to die." his mother said her tears falling as she spoke and matched by his own as he moved further into the room.
" You're not going to die." his uncle said.
So hard was it to look, to see her lying there that he didn't hear the words she said, instead only hearing her beg his uncle to protect him and to tell him about her one day. To tell him who he was and to let him decide what his life would be and were he not moving towards his mother, then it would be his uncle he'd be seeking out. When he reached out his hand he was stunned to feel her own in it and to see her look at him as he knelt down by the bed. On the other side, his uncle was looking to the crib in the corner, to him and yet Aegon could only look to his mother.
" Is it you? Are you my son?" she asked the hope in her voice very different than the pain and worry that was there when she'd spoken to his uncle.
" It is, mother, it is." he said, his voice cracking as he leaned forward to be closer to her.
" Are you happy, Aegon? Are you safe?" she asked the worry back in her voice.
" I am, mother, I'm… I'm married, a father. You have a granddaughter." he said tearfully.
" Then I am at peace." she said softly.
" Don't….please… don't go." he said as he felt her hand loosen in his.
" I loved you, Aegon, your father and I, we loved you." she said and he felt her pull him to her, the kiss she placed on his forehead one that he'd wished for all his life, and then she breathed her last.
How long he stayed there by the bed was impossible to tell, he leaned against it with his eyes closed as he sobbed and then he may or may not have drifted off. Waking up or just coming back to his senses he found he was alone in an empty room and so he rose to his feet and moved to the door. Opening it and walking through it to find himself once again in a corridor full of closed and open doors. Again each room he looked into showed moments from his life.
His wedding day as he dressed and made his way to the Godswood, the day he decided to end his life as he handed Longclaw to one of the younger men of the village and walked out alone from it. The night he found Ghost and lay with him on his chest and finally he came to another locked door and upon opening it he then found himself looking at horses as he rode next to the man he'd thought was his father. The man he'd thought was the most honorable man who'd ever lived.
" There's great honor in serving in the Night's Watch." his uncle said not looking at him "The Starks have manned the Wall for thousands of years." his uncle added before pausing "And you are a Stark. You might not have my name but you have my blood."
" Is my mother alive" the boy on the horse asked as he stood and looked on, knowing the answer he sought would never be given by the man he sought it from. "Does she know about me, where I am, where I'm going, Does she care?"
" The next time we see each other, we'll talk about your mother, hmm." his uncle said "I promise."
He felt it then the anger threatening to boil over, the rage that he'd felt at times in battle wishing to be unleashed. Sometimes he forced that rage back deep inside of himself, sometimes, but not now.
" LIAR." he shouted as loudly as he'd ever sounded "LIAR." he shouted again and he took Longclaw from its scabbard and ran at the horse that his uncle sat upon, the sword and him running at it enough for the horse to jolt and throw his uncle from it's back "Liar." he called out as she stood over his uncle with his sword in his hand and how he didn't strike the blow he knew not.
" Jon?" his uncle asked confusedly as he rose to his feet.
" Jon Snow is dead, killed by you uncle, just as you tried to kill my family's future." he spat as his uncle looked at him "Why? Why send me here? Why not live up to that so-called honor you claim to have?" he said as he began to pace, his grip on his sword the only thing stopping him from beating his uncle to the ground with his fists.
" I.."
" You what? Gave me a home? Put a roof over my head? Saved me?" he asked angrily.
" You were my blood." his uncle said after a few moments.
" But never you son. I thank the gods that never did I come from the lions of a man such as you, a man who chose his fat friend over his kin." Aegon said his lips curling as his disdain only grew each moment he looked at him.
" Robert was…"
" A fat whoremonger who looked upon my blood and named them Dragonspawn. A man who along with you and Jon Arryn did their utmost to see my House was wiped from history, to see that the only son of my true father was placed where he could not be wed, father a child or hold lands. Want to know how that turned out for you all, do you uncle? DO YOU." he shouted.
" Jon…" his uncle said and so he moved to him, the slamming of his head cracking a bone and he enjoyed seeing the blood fall from his uncle's face as he tumbled to the ground.
" MY NAME IS AEGON. AEGON TARGARYEN.." he shouted looking at his uncle as he rose to his feet unsteadily.
He found himself pacing as he looked at his uncle, calming himself before he spoke again.
" The Baratheon's are no more, none of them breathe uncle, the house you tried to usurp mine own with is now extinct." he said, lying somewhat but he cared not "House Arryn is no more, they too have fallen and the Vale has sworn to me. To me and my wife." he said smirking "In time the Seven Kingdoms will be part of an empire, uncle, an empire ruled by my daughter, by the child that had you your way I'd never have known." he said and though his voice was composed his anger was there and just ready to be unleashed.
" I never usurped you." his uncle said and Aegon moved to him, not raising his hands or moving his sword, just moving and giving him a look that he was glad seemed to make him take a step back.
" Did you not? You wished for me to swear my life away and hid the truth from me so I'd do so. You betrothed your daughter to your fat fiend's son to join your lines, gods if only you'd have been a woman then you could have married the fat fuck yourself." he said laughing a little "You led your house to doom, uncle, forced them to suffer and cost the lives of nearly everyone one of them. In time your name will be spoken of with just as much contempt as your fat friend's and or the worst of my house. You are no wolf, you never were and it shames me that you think that I have your blood in my veins." he said as he moved to walk away.
" Jon..Jon…" his uncle called out and he stopped and looked back at him.
" What is to come to you, you deserve and I hope the old gods see fit to punish you for what you almost cost them and me. I damn you, I name you a kinslayer and damn you to the seven hells. You are not my blood, you are not a Stark, and you are not of the North. But the North Remembers, Lord Stark, the North Remembers, and in time you'll be remembered for who you truly were, a man with no honor, a fool who cost his house everything."
He stood at a closed-door and opened it without looking back, the past was where it should be in the past and Ned Stark deserved not even one more moment of his thoughts or his time. When he walked through the door he saw her, Dany standing there looking worriedly and he moved towards her.
"Dany." he said softly and then he felt her arms around him and finally the wolf was dead and only the dragon remained.