Arya
By the Old Gods, Arya had never thought that a meeting in court could put her on edge so watched from the crowds, unseen by the Dragon's Queen's eyes and Jon's and was amazed how great the fires of conquest could be fanned and controlled by such powerful monarchs. It almost made her afraid.
But that was yesterday, today, her challenge ahead excited her beyond imagination.
If anything Arya learned from the House of Black and White, her days with Yoren, with the Hound, all of it had taught her anything and everything she knew, all of it mattered for this one singular moment for nothing else mattered this day.
Sneaking into the Twins could have been done without the use of her faces. But this… no face in the world except one could get her to her goal and obtaining that face was an absolute no, or else let Westeros fall into war again at the hands of Arya Stark.
Her own skill in stealth would be her only weapon if she wanted to get the closest look she could of the incredible dragons. But even then, who knows what kind of beasts they were with senses attuned to a degree as powerful as their presence.
There was no one patrolling the grounds around, for Jon had declared that any who dared to venture a close look at the dragons would be beholden to the consequences that fell upon them. His barracks project was put on hold because of the new occupants. But speaking realistically, it was probably over.
She was almost at the Dragonpit, almost at the dragons. She could have made it there unseen by anyone, even the gods. So how in Seven Hells did Daenerys Targaryen find her behind the shrubberies?
"Hoping to see the dragons?" Daenerys asked.
Arya, having brushed the dirt off her breeches and standing her tallest, came eye to eye with the Dragon Queen which felt nice for not having to always look up at someone for once. "I was, but not with them seeing me. Seems I failed at that with you finding me."
Daenerys Targaryen hinted at a smile. "Indeed. But do not think that my children have senses akin to that of a human. They are far greater creatures than simple beasts."
"I hope so. I'd be disappointed if they weren't what I expected them to be. You certainly aren't and I'm happy for that."
"And did you expect?" Daenerys asked with a curious brow.
She shrugged. "Rumors went around about you in Bravos. You had a towering crown of gold and precious stones, you wore a pale lion's mane like a cloak, and you bared your breasts naked because you didn't fear the gazes of men." Arya smirked. "It was easy to tell the exaggerations from the truth, but I did expect more vanity. Instead you appear more like a Queen should be. Someone who truly takes command."
Daenerys' brow arched. "You certainly know how to flatter, Lady Stark."
"Sansa's Lady Stark. I'm just Arya."
"Arya the She Wolf as I've heard. A woman with a blade as sharp as her tongue and skills in the shadows none live to speak about."
Arya smiled. The Dragon Queen knew exactly how to flatter as well. "You look like how I thought Rhaenys Targaryen did. If you had a sword, there would be more of a Visenya presence to you… but there's something about you that wouldn't fit. And to be honest, you don't look much of a warrior."
"Well, to be honest, I'm not much of one. All I have is a dagger, a gift of surrender when I took Volantis."
"Yes, I got to have a look at it after what happened in court. Perfect balance, beautiful design, and Valyrian Steel, something perfect for you. I wish I had one like it."
"From what I hear, the King has some smiths recreating Valyrian Steel. I'm sure you'll find one on your belt soon enough."
Arya stiffened and rolled her eyes, a reaction that caught Daenerys off guard.
"You don't think the King would have a weapon made for one his best warriors in King's Landing?"
"No, and to be fair, I'm not one of the best. I am the best. I can easily beat the Hound now, and I can beat the King if I get the chance to duel against him." Arya's fingers began tapping the pommel of Needle, fidgeting with it from her impatience with the state of things.
Daenerys paused and simply looked at Arya in a studying glance. "Sansa said that out of all your siblings, you were the one closest to Aegon. You were the only one to truly treat him as a brother."
"Jon Snow was my brother," Arya clarified, "Aegon Targaryen is the cousin I do not know. All those years apart and I find he's become a total arse. I understand he's gone through things that no common person has, not even my journeys compare to his, but he shouldn't be so…"
"Confined in himself?" Daenerys guessed.
"Aye. He's open with Sansa, Davos, and a few others, but I can see that he keeps himself alone. He's being stupid just like every other damn man around here."
"Some other fool giving you trouble? A friend, perhaps?"
Arya tensed again, feeling as though she had given away a secret. But it wasn't one that she needed to care about. "A former friend now, courtesy of the Wise King Aegon telling him that all I wanted him for was a tumble in the sheets."
Arya delved into what had happened that day she met with Gendry at the forge, what he said, what Jon said, and just how stupid all of them were being but also just how stupid she felt for not realizing how much she thought she knew Gendry. It never had occurred to her that he would want a family, but that was something that she couldn't be for him.
"So he was that sort of friend," Daenerys caught on with a narrowed brow, "but then what did you want him for?"
With much resistance, Arya refused herself the desire to shrug and appear as confused about this as she felt. "Well… I was thinking we could do that. I never have yet and I thought it would be good with him since we know each other well and have… had trust in each other. But I also just wanted to keep what we once had as friends."
"But he wants something more?"
Arya nodded. "I can't be what he wants. It's not me."
"I see." Daenerys fidgeted with one of the rings on her left hand. "You don't look like someone who is typically what one would consider a lady, not that I think you are out of place. In fact you seem in the right place out of half the people I've met since coming here."
"See, even you see that," Arya snorted. "Only one who didn't was my own mother." Kicking around a stone with her foot, she thought out her next words. "Gendry… he was always a good lad and one I'd trust with my life, but now he's a high lord and ruler of a Keep and the entire Kingdom of the Stormlands. He'll need a fine Lady at his side and heirs just like every other lord. I don't begrudge him for that, but it's not me. It'll never be me."
"And because of that, you are giving up?" Daenerys asked.
"No, I'm not giving up, I'm not going to try."
"Well that is stupid. Addled in the head, rather." Daenerys stopped and faced Arya who finally noticed just how close they both were in height. The heels of their boots both added some that made them eye level with each other, even if Daenerys was slightly taller. And yet Daenerys had a stature that felt like she towered over her. "Is that all you assume? Either he gives up his lordship to be with you or you give up who you are to be with him?"
She shrugged. "The way of the world, I suppose. The only women I know like me are Brienne of Tarth and the Dornish Sand Snakes, and none of them are married."
Daenerys rolled her eyes. "You spoke of my ancestor Visenya Targaryen, and she was every bit as fierce and powerful as you hope to be, moreso in fact."
"I also remember when they said she shared Aegon's bed a tenth of the time he shared Rhaenys' bed, and she was more a proper lady."
"A lady that rode a dragon into battle, so not near as proper as one would say… and truthfully I've found histories are often far sided. One can only imagine what they'd say of me if I lost compared to if I won. Visenya lost when Maegor did." Arya hadn't thought of it that way, though now it made sense. "Gendry is a bastard, isn't he?"
Arya's eyes narrowed. "A legitimized bastard."
"But bastard born… so do you think he'd ever be any sort of proper Lord? Do you even think he has it in him?"
"Of course he does. In some aspects he reminds me of my father. He's honest, strong, loyal, brave, one man among ten thousand that deserve to be a Lord."
"One man in ten thousand," Daenerys said with a smirk, "so why can't you be the one woman in ten thousand? Or a hundred thousand, or the only one for all you care? There are so many notable Ladies of Westeros who have wielded a sword instead of a needle. Forgive my inability to name any outside of my family for lack of a formal education, but can you not?"
Arya softened as she thought. "Well there was Black Aly, my ancestor. She didn't have a sword but she did have a weirwood bow and those are only deserving of the finest of hands to wield. And I've heard talk about the new Lady Mormont of Bear Island."
"Jorah's niece? She's eleven, isn't she?"
"I think she's twelve. But her reputation as a fierce commander is nonetheless confirmed by everyone who talks about her. Every Northerner at least." And how could Arya forget one of her most favorite women in history. "And Princess Nymeria was so strong she bested a Sword of the Morning."
Daenerys appeared concerned at her, or was it for her? "You know these women who have done what you fear cannot, yet you still hold back from trying. You remind me of my best friends. You've met Missandei, haven't you?"
"I've seen her but I haven't met her yet."
"Well who you haven't seen is the Commander of my Unsullied, Grey Worm. He is one of my strongest and his defense is unbreakable unless she were the one to stand before him. His shield would falter and his spear would fall if he tried."
"She didn't seem that intimidating… oh… Oh!" Arya suddenly realized what Daenerys meant. "But if they're lovers… how does that work if Unsullied don't have…"
"That is not yours to ask and neither is it mine. The point is that you are reminding me of how the two of them were for years before they finally found the courage to say how they felt to each other. But don't be like Grey Worm and say it after several men tried to kill you."
"But it doesn't feel like it's that easy."
"You won't know unless you try. People can't understand each other if they just assume and guess. You want to understand him, but don't forget to make sure that he understands you too."
For being a potential enemy and threat, Arya found herself liking Daenerys, or at least finding respect for her and she wasn't upset about it. If things could be resolved peacefully for all, a friend like her would be wonderful. It felt like Daenerys understood her better than just about anyone else had except for Jon before he became so distant. That old crone had it right.
"Come," Daenerys offered, "would you like to meet my children?"
Arya had no chance in hiding her joy from hearing the offer as she felt lips grow into a big, excited smile. She didn't even have to say yes out loud.
They walked together into the archway of the Dragonpit but both of them stopped as they just entered the coliseum portion of the grounds.
All three of the dragons were up. The black one on the left, the bronze one on the right, and the green one in the middle in front of Jon.
Arya was about to call out to her brother, asking what he was doing here and almost felt the protective urge to call him away. But when she finally looked at what he was doing, she could hardly move.
Jon was touching his forehead to the snout of the green dragon and both of his hands rested gently in different spots, almost as though he were hugging the dragon like it was a lost friend returned.
Arya couldn't see his face but she could feel from the atmosphere that Jon was at such peace with the dragon, a peace far greater than she had seen him in since their reuniting. And from what Sansa told her, perhaps even since Sansa's reuniting with him.
Was this the proof that defied what any Septon's journal could tell regardless?
Jon
He never realized how much he missed the dragons, all of them. But Rhaegal… they had only flown together a few times and yet he felt such a bond between them unlike anything he knew except with Ghost. And when Rhaegal died, he felt he lost a part of himself.
Being with the dragon again, that void inside finally filled and it gave him a great release he never realized he carried since that tragic time.
As he was, feeling the skin and warmth of Rhaegal, their heartbeats synchronized as was their breathing. He lost his worries and his troubles in these moments.
These feelings ended when the other dragons shifted their attention from him. Jon needn't guess that Daenerys had just arrived. He released his touch from Rhaegal and both of them moved to face Daenerys. Jon was surprised to see Arya with her as well.
"I apologize if you find this intrusive." Jon said to her, slowly walking away from the dragons to the women. His calm demeanor was kept up on the outside, but he could feel the muscles in his neck start to tighten and his heart beat harder.
Daenerys was in awe of him. "Surprise is all I feel right now. The only one they've ever let near them is Tyrion for the sake of being freed from their chains. But what you just did, I can hardly believe it still."
Jon cracked a faint smile and shrugged, almost feeling a bit embarrassed. "It was a little frightening to approach them at first, but I wanted to all the same. Your children are beautiful." He looked at Arya who had already turned her gaze to the dragons, locking eyes with Rhaegal's. "Trying to sneak a look for yourself? Or perhaps hoping to ask for a ride from their mother?"
Arya scoffed as if his suggestion was a joke. "Just a look. I don't even think I'm brave enough to try riding them."
"And you're the pinnacle of bravery?" Jon half smiled with Arya but Daenerys challenged him.
"If you think you are, then by all means try." Daenerys walked past him over to Drogon.
Jon looked back at Arya. "Sure you don't want to?"
"I've no dragonsblood in me. I think I'll just watch the show and make sure to get first claim over your things if you fall," she teased.
Jon left her and approached Rhaegal without a second thought. But when he did reach Rhaegal's side, he hesitated. He wanted to fly again, there was no greater thrill or feeling than being on a dragon's back in flight over the world. But their hesitation came from within, stemming from a pit of unworthiness. 'Do I truly have a right to fly for what I did?'
"Scared after all?" Arya called out with a giggle.
Her words, childish as they were, made Jon ignore the feelings he had and he climbed onto the dragon with only a little bit of trouble. Once he reached the top and found a perfect grip over the spikes, he looked at Daenerys and she was smiling at him as she tightened her grip.
Drogon roared and launched forward, climbing the walls of the Dragonpit and taking off into the sky. Rhaegal followed after as fast as he could with Viserion on his tail.
The last glimpse of Arya that Jon saw was her jaw dropped in full amazement and envy the instant Rhaegal left the ground.
The world immediately began to shrink beneath Jon as the air rushed by his face. He almost lost the ability to breathe when his body had to adjust to the sensations of this again. His mind felt such nostalgia return to him.
Rhaegal banked around the Red Keep, flying low so that the dragon and rider were in complete view of many people, including Sansa, Margaery, and Olenna who were strolling through the gardens. Jon's excitement and banging heartbeat nearly compelled him to whoop in the rush. But a sudden rise up in the sky pressed his body flat against the dragon.
Drogon suddenly flew past them overhead, taking the lead in direction with Viserion close at his brother's tail. The dragons flew high over the city, pulling themselves closer to the tops of the sky, passing over the clouds before falling into a steady glide.
Jon breathed in excitement when he saw the world underneath him. Everything was incredibly small. The Red Keep, the city, the people were impossible to see, and his problems felt just the same. Up here, he was free.
Arya
When she said she didn't want to fly with them, she was too intimidated at the time. But when the moment happened she watched the wings of the dragons open up and produce the force of a storm in a single flap, she immediately regretted it. Next time, next time for sure.
She decided to watch them both from a vantage point high in an oak tree that outgrew the height of the Dragonpit's tallest wall. She watched in amazement and envy as the dragons soared into the air with Jon riding atop one of them and Daenerys riding the biggest.
But when they landed, she had just enough view to see them talking in the pit though she could not hear. She could only discern from the faces and emotions they displayed. And when she focused on Jon, she saw the face of a man in love. But then it suddenly turned to guilt right before they parted. What was going on with him?
She thought about climbing down the tree to talk to him but stayed up in it when she saw Jon leave the Dragonpit and walk almost in her direction. He looked angry and upset at something. They weren't talking about politics, were they? At a moment like that?
She lost all thought when she witnessed the unexpected. She saw Jon collapse to his knees against a tree, supporting himself with one arm and clutching at his chest with the other. Was he hurt or in pain? She almost began her descent down the tree to give what said she could but stopped short when Jon started punching the tree and cursing insults at himself with such anger. He wasn't poisoned or injured, he was in agony.
Arya thought of why it could be, at least the reasons that made sense for her brother, excluding such trivial, childish reasons like Daenerys forbidding another dragon ride or visit or something like that.
But she did think that Daenerys was involved somehow. Perhaps she declared war or threatened him largely. No, Jon wouldn't crack at things like that, not with the things he has been through.
Her body stiffened when an idea pushed into her mind, one that felt like it was not hers. The ways Jon kept looking at Daenerys, the way he's always been looking at her, could it be that he was in love with her? Daenerys was certainly beautiful, otherworldly even in terms of beauty. But she was Jon's aunt and though Jon was accepting some of his Targaryen heritage, there was too much Stark in him to go over the line.
Was that what this was about? Hating himself for being in love with someone he shouldn't?
One thing was for certain, Arya couldn't simply look at this and keep quiet. She wasn't going to gossip like a prissy little girl at a tea party of course, but she had to tell someone about this, and who better than her only true sibling in the south with her?
She made her way to Sansa's chambers with haste, nearly tiring herself out since the Dragonpit was miles from the damn castle. Sansa was kind enough to have water and wine available and Arya felt like she could drink the entire Red Fork in one gulp.
Sitting down, Arya recounted what had happened in her afternoon. Talking with Daenerys, watching Jon pet the dragons so fearlessly, and then him taking off in flight with Daenerys.
"He went higher than a hawk, it was bloody amazing!" She could still picture the image of the enormous dragon shrinking to the size of an ant and all the fantastic maneuvers they did. "I swear this, the next time he goes for a ride, I'm gonna be with him."
Sansa smiled and showed genuine excitement. "I don't think I'm that brave. But Perhaps a flight low to the ground," she japed and Arya laughed. "If you fly on one first then I'll see if I can after so long as you're with me."
"It's a deal, but that means we need to get Daenerys and Jon to make peace, which leads to what happened after." The playful mood turned down. "When they landed, they started talking, looking happy and smiling. And for an instant I almost thought they might start to kiss," Arya noticed that Sansa flinched at the mention of that, "but then it just ended and they parted ways. Daenerys went back to the castle while Jon went off alone and just started sobbing." She sighed. "You'd think he was holding someone close dying in his arms."
Sansa thought about it, thinking long and hard, it looked like. "Just like the day they first met. He marched off and was crying without anyone around. Just who is this woman to him? It can't just be that she's his long lost aunt."
"Aye, it looked too personal to be that." Arya turned her head when she replied, and in a split of a second saw someone standing a ways off just outside the door. She didn't register it until her head began turning back to Sansa, but when her gaze shot back to where she thought she saw someone, there wasn't anybody there.
"What is it?" Sansa asked, looking over where Arya was.
"I thought I saw someone…" but there was nothing, and Arya's sense of danger wasn't troubling her. "Has Jon talked much about what's happened before you two met again? What he's done at the Wall and that?"
"A little. He spoke of the Great Range with Jeor Mormont and meeting his first lover."
Arya's interest immediately peaked. "Jon broke his vows?" Their Jon? The man who used to do everything to be as honorable and oathkeeping as their father?
"With a wildling girl. He said her name was Ygritte and she sounded like she meant the world to him. He mentioned that she died in his arms during a battle at Castle Black."
"Perhaps he's in love with Daenerys and fears they'll have to fight." Again, Arya noticed that Sansa shifted at the mention of love and Daenerys. "Did um… Jon mention what Ygritte looked like? Was she the striking image of Daenerys?"
"I don't know. He said she had red hair. She was a warrior too, an archer." Arya didn't hear the latter, only the former.
"Hm…" Arya scratched at her chin as ideas that made her smile began to form in her mind.
"What?"
"Nothing, it just feels like certain pieces of a puzzle have a chance to fall into place if you do things right."
"What do you mean?"
Was she that oblivious? Jon wasn't their brother anymore, he was their cousin. And while he was no Florian the Fool, he was a King that was just as dashing, Arya had to admit that, and he certainly has the strength to sweep a beautiful red-haired maiden off her feet since he certainly has the eyes for them.
But then why should she try to help nurture this? Sansa clearly was taking extra notice of Jon in a special way but Jon was being total arse ever since they got here. Perhaps this was something she would have to save around until Jon asked for forgiveness.
To the Seven Hells with it, and Daenerys did say to try things head on. "Sansa, are you in love with Jon?"
Her sister whipped her head around, eyes wide. "What? Arya! He's our brother!"
"Technically he's our cousin, like Tywin and his wife were, like our grandfather and grandmother were, and you keep flinching every time I use the words love and Daenerys in the same sentence with Jon."
"It's just a sensitive topic, that's all. And how can I not react to something like this? Have you ever thought that perhaps she's attempting to get to the throne through marriage?"
That was a good point. "But, as long as Jon's around, she wouldn't get the throne, only stand next to it."
"Maybe that's enough. I don't know but I am growing certain that it's not. She's a fierce queen and a wonderful person, but everyone has their masks."
This time it was Arya's turn to flinch. A new idea came to mind. Should she try to disguise herself as someone who could get close to Daenerys? Even though she had a lovely chat with the dragon queen, she was still on the opposite side of her when it came to loyalty. No, it would take too much time, and Sansa was far ahead of her in that regard and she didn't even need a disguise. Still, her faces felt like they were going to waste now that she didn't have any real need for them.
But… "And you're trying to change the subject," Arya chided with a proud smirk. "Could it really be that you-"
"Arya!" Sansa hissed firmly, "I'm his sister and he is my brother. It's not going to happen, it wouldn't happen. Will you please speak no more of this?"
Well, it looks like Arya wasn't the only one Jon was pushing away. "Very well. But then what about yourself?"
Sansa sighed. "I didn't take you for one to talk about these things."
"I'm not, but you are and I'm willing to listen."
"Thank you, but I don't think I'm ready to talk about it yet. Perhaps later."
Arya folded her arms, not feeling completely convinced. "Well then, when later comes… you shouldn't let it hang in front of you. Just seize the moment or else it'll be gone for good." And if she didn't either then the same would happen to her.
"Who told you that? The Hound? Gendry?"
"No." Arya shook her head, smiling slightly. "Daenerys did."