Dragons in Disguise

Daenerys was sitting on a tall stool behind the shop counter studying the accounts; a pen in one hand, mug of coffee in the other and one bare foot resting idly on her largest dog's back. Drogon shifted under her, searching for a scratch, and she did her best to oblige with her toes, far too preoccupied to bend down and fuss him properly. The numbers in front of her barely added up but she didn't really care. It wasn't as if money was an issue for her, after all, and this new, quiet life was her reward for everything she had gone through before this; a modest flat over a shop full of dragons, fairies, jewellery and magical books. Just her and her three large dogs who were far more than pets to her. They were the loving family she'd never had, the security she had always craved and the honest companionship she didn't dare search for elsewhere.

They had saved her life. They were her life.

She always had mixed feelings when the old-fashioned bell rang over the shop door. Obviously she needed customers, and ideally more than she currently had and yet, somehow, it still felt wrong when her little sanctuary was invaded. The dogs sat up instantly, moving into position at the counter entrance in order to keep an eye on the people who entered, whilst remaining motionless so as not to scare anyone away. They had their place and the customers had theirs and, as long as their mother was not under threat, they had been trained to stay still and quiet.

"Look, Mummy! Look at the big doggies." The little girl seemed as entranced by the animals as she was by all the magical stuff on the shelves.

Dany smiled, moving forwards. "Like most things in this shop it's best that you look and don't touch," she said kindly, before dropping her voice to a whisper. "They're dragons in disguise you see."

"Really?" The girls' eyes widened as turned back to the dogs and Dany tried not to giggle as all three panted in the summer heat, looking about as threatening as a basket of kittens.

"Best come away, Jeyne," their mother said, her expression a mixture of amusement and concern. "They do seem very big."

The mother's gaze moved up from the dogs to their owner, frowning slightly as she took note of her distinctive white-blonde hair, and Dany sighed as she saw the all-too-familiar look of recognition on the woman's face. Fortunately the little girl proved a useful distraction, calling out to her mother to show her the various ornaments on display; colourful fairies, fierce dragons holding gems in their talons, the wizards with their pointed hats and long beards, the beads and charms and magical pendants.

"Please, Mummy. Please can I have this one?"

As the little family came to the counter to make their purchases, the bell rang again and Daenerys glanced up to see a young man with an unruly mop of dark curls standing in the threshold with his mouth open, as if shocked at where he found himself, and he was still gaping when the mother and daughter walked past him to exit the shop.

"Yes, can I help you?" Dany asked.

"Ah, yes it's ..." He turned to look at her and then stopped again looking momentarily stunned.

'Here we go again!' And yet there was something different in his stare; less recognition and more …? For some reason she was finding it hard to interpret what she was seeing within that dark, stern gaze.

Fortunately, Daenerys was getting recognised a lot less nowadays, although some might say that opening a shop called 'Here Be Dragons' was asking for trouble. However, the worst parts of her youth had come from the best part of her childhood and so she had found it difficult to completely sever herself from her past. Her three large dogs were a help, of course, their presence usually putting off most awkward questions and unwanted attention.

This young man's reaction was confusing her though. He was still standing there staring at her and, although she didn't feel especially threatened, she gave Drogon a little nudge, subtly telling him to be rather more intimidating than usual. Her black dog prowled forwards on her left, whilst Viserys and Rhaegal quickly leant their support and the young man, who had started to move forwards, now stopped, blinking, as he took note of the animals. To his credit, he held his ground, smiling as his gaze returned to Dany..

"I'm here on behalf of the local animal shelter." He spoke with a soft, northern accent which she immediately found herself trying to pinpoint. "Any chance I can leave a collection tin here? Perhaps display a poster?"

For some reason his calm reaction to her dogs annoyed Dany, although she had no idea why it should.

"I've made it my policy not to promote charities here," she replied. "Sorry."

"I see." His eyes never left hers - dark, mysterious – and she shuddered despite herself. "Why?"

She glared at him. "Many reasons, none of which are your concern."

"You're afraid of being duped, perhaps?" he asked, taking another step forwards. Dany gave Drogon another little push but, for once, the dog misunderstood, staying stone still and acting as if this man was no threat to her at all. "I can't say I blame you for that. Here's our official charity notification."

She took it automatically, instantly recognising the shelter he represented. "I know it well," she said. "I got these three from there as pups."

He smiled. "Grown up a bit now?"

"Yes."

She still couldn't see anything in his expression to indicate that he had recognised her and yet she wasn't entirely convinced he was flirting either. He was making her feel very uncomfortable though, for reasons she couldn't quite understand. Why were her dogs not doing as she asked? They were usually so well tuned to her emotions.

"Newfoundlands?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Mostly." They had been listed as such but didn't quite conform to the breeders' standards. Seventy-five percent Newfoundland, twenty-five percent dragon.

"Well, I would have thought that would have made you want to support us then," he said, rather abruptly. "What harm could it do?"

His rude comment had her instantly turn more defensive. "My windows and counter are full enough, thank you."

Seeing as this annoying man wasn't getting the hint, Daenerys decided to give Drogon a far less subtle push. Unfortunately, rather than the slow, intimidating stalk that she had wanted, the dog instead bounded forwards, dancing around the man enthusiastically - something he only ever did around those he knew well. She froze, both embarrassed by Drogon's friendly reaction and worried that the move might come over as aggressive. To add to the problem, her brown and grey also started forward, tongues lolling, keen to join in with the 'game' and Dany quickly grabbed at their collars, yanking them back.

At least it had had the desired effect on the young man who had instinctively frozen to the spot, finally looking intimidated as he realised it was best not to move any closer. She could only hope that Drogon's move wouldn't get him labelled as dangerous and get them all in trouble.

"I'm so sorry," she stuttered. "I don't know why he did that. He's normally so calm."

"I-it's fine. I suppose I was asking for it." The man took a small step backwards and Drogon, rather reluctantly, moved back towards Dany when she called. "I'm sorry for pushing, it's just a cause I'm very passionate about."

"No, no … it's fine," she said, pulling the dogs back behind the counter and moving forwards. "I'll take the tin, of course and, ah … I apologise for Drogon."

"Drogon?"

"He's a dragon in disguise," she replied automatically.

The man laughed then, his gaze roaming around the shop and on all the fantasy elements, and her stomach clenched at the sight. 'Stop it, Dany. He's not that handsome.'

"Of course he is."

"Huh?" She shook her head, belatedly realising he was responding to her dragon comment. She debated giving her full name to check this man's reaction but chickened out at the last minute. "My name is Dany by the way." She held out her hand for the tin but, to her surprise, he moved it to his left hand so he could instead shake hers.

"Jon. Jon Snow."

The touch felt electric and, for a moment, she felt unable to move either her hand or her gaze. Those eyes! But finally she managed to come to her senses, pulled her right hand away and reached out for the charity tin instead.

"Sorry again."

"That's fine. Thank you, Dany." He was still staring at her, his dark eyes deep and unfathomable. "And a poster?"

She glared at him. "Don't push your luck, Jon Snow."

He smiled again. She really wished he wouldn't. For some reason it made her even more nervous than when he was being stern. "I'll see you soon."

"Oh, you will, will you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "To collect any money?"

She simply scoffed, turning away and walked behind the counter, making a show of fussing Rhaegal and hoping he'd be gone by the time she turned back around. The sound of the bell and the clicking of the door had her breathe out in relief.

"What the hell was that all about, Drogon?" she said, turning on the black dog.

He looked up at her, ears pricked and panting. If she didn't know better Dany would say he looked exceptionally pleased with himself.

~o~0~o~

Once the shop was closed, she headed upstairs to change into her running gear, the three dogs being even more annoying than usual, impatient for their walk. She was now in a bad mood and hated the fact that some random man had managed to get to her and, even worse, that she was taking it out on Drogon.

"I wouldn't have even taken the tin if you hadn't played up," she complained as she attached the leads to them in the hallway. "And now he has an excuse to come back. You'd better act mean and growl at him next time."

Drogon now realised that she was cross with him but the poor baby obviously had no idea why. He just gave her a mournful look, eyes all wide and sad, instantly reminding her of that other pair of dark eyes and … 'God, Dany what the hell is wrong with you?' She really should have learnt her lesson by now. Romance was another sacrifice she had had to make. Her emotional health was far too important for that and she just couldn't allow herself to get involved when she had no idea what part of her the other person was attracted to.

"Come on, kids, let's get all of these useless emotions out of our system, shall we?"

As much as she loved her own company and space nowadays, Dany always enjoyed taking her dogs out. The three of them needed a lot of exercise and she'd walk them in the morning, run with them in the evening and drive them out to the woods at the weekends. She was almost always recognised at some point in the day but at least this way she could convince herself that people were simply staring at the fascinating sight of petite woman with white-blonde hair jogging in the park with three huge dogs trotting next to her rather than … for any other reason. And it helped to clear her head; her mind only able to process the paths, the trees, the dogs and the comforting ache and tiredness she felt as her run continued.

Once home she would head with the dogs into the large wet room behind the shop, soaking herself along with the dogs, before spending some time drying and grooming them. After that it was back upstairs to prepare some food and watch DVDs before bed, whilst all three dogs took it in turns to attempt to share the sofa with her.

~o~0~o~

"A charity tin?" Missandei asked when she called in after work the following day and spotted it on the shop counter.

"Oh, don't get me started," Dany replied. "What a mess that was."

"Is it an interesting story?" her friend asked with a smile. "Worth talking about over a glass of wine, perhaps?"

"Hardly worth talking about," she replied, "but … the wine? Yes, of course. Come on upstairs."

Missandei was now Dany's one and only friend. All the others from her childhood and teenage years had faded away for one reason or another. Well, mostly for one reason, but the less said about that the better. Missi was different though. Her mother had worked for Dany's family when they were small and the girls had quickly become firm friends, despite her mother's disapproval. 'Consorting with the help!' she had complained, but then she always had acted as if she was some sort of royalty.

And, whilst others had drifted away, Missi had remained throughout to offer a shoulder to cry on and a glass of wine to laugh over. She was so beautiful and calm and Dany smiled brightly as her friend giggled over the dogs' reaction to her arrival upstairs, trying to avoid their enthusiastic tongues.

"What is it with all the men in my life at the moment?" she joked. "Always seeking attention and slobbering over me, but I would have expected better manners from you three."

Dany laughed. "I definitely prefer their attention. My life is so much calmer now I don't have to deal with all of that."

"I worry about you though," her friend said. "I understand why you feel the need to shut yourself away but I'm sure there are other ways to deal with being recognised. You could dye your hair, perhaps and then we could go along to a nice, dark nightclub and have some fun."

She pulled a face. "I couldn't, honestly. Even if I wasn't recognised I'd feel ..." She shuddered. "I'm fine, really."

Missandei nodded, understanding her concerns more than most. "So, what about that charity tin?" she asked. "You said something about a mess?"

Dany shook her head. "Just a very annoying man who wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Really? And yet you took it anyway? Not at all like you to have backed down."

"That was Drogon's fault. Well, all three of them really. Acted like he was their best friend and really freaked the poor guy out."

She frowned. "Poor guy? I thought you said he was annoying?"

She shook her head. "I just panicked because he was from an animal charity and worried he might call the inspectors on me, or something."

Missandei was looking at her very closely. "Dany? What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing."

"He recognised you?"

"No."

She smiled. "You almost sound offended by that."

"No, not at all. It's just I couldn't quite work out why he was … I mean, it wasn't as if ..." She shook her head, wondering how she could change the subject.

"Okay ..." She really wished Missandei would drop it but, unfortunately, her friend knew her far too well. "And how old was this man?"

"W-what's that got to do with it?"

Her friend's lips twitched. "Good looking, perhaps?"

"Missi!"

"Aha!"

"I hate you."

"Right, Miss Daenerys, let me top you up and then … then I want you to tell me everything!"

~o~0~o~

Jon Snow turned up again a couple of days later and Dany fought with conflicting emotions as he approached the counter. She'd somehow convinced herself that he hadn't really been as handsome as she'd remembered and was both annoyed at the flutter she felt as he smiled at her and frustrated at how casually he was treating her.

I mean, she didn't want to be recognised – she really didn't – and so, why did she feel offended when he acted so calmly around her? And why were her dogs trying to make friends with him again? She hooked a leg in front of Drogon, stepping in front of the counter to dissuade him from moving onto the shop floor.

"There's a little money in there," she said before Jon had even said hello, "but you'd have been better off waiting a bit longer."

"I know, but my boss has just decided to have this fund raising evening next month and I was hoping perhaps you might reconsider your poster policy." He held up some rolled papers and smiled broadly.

She frowned. "You have some nerve."

"You should come. It'll be good."

She glared at him. "You presume too much." The cheek of it, trying to get some free publicity.

"What?" He seemed genuinely confused. "What did I say?"

Dany took a deep breath, ready to give him a hard time but was quickly distracted by a push on her legs as the dogs lost patience with her restriction.

"Hello, Dragon," Jon said, holding a hand out as the biggest dog moved eagerly forwards to greet him.

"Drogon," she corrected him. How could he make such an obvious mistake, seriously?

"Oh … really? I thought ..."

She raised an eyebrow. "Me calling them dragons is just a joke?"

"Right …?"

"Because, you know, dragons don't actually exist."

He glared at her then, belatedly realising she was being sarcastic "Funny." He again looked around at the shop. "Not really into this sort of thing, I'm afraid."

She gaped at him. "This sort of thing?"

"Yeah the … fantasy stuff?"

Her heart jolted strangely. Could it be possible? Did he really not recognise her?"

"What, you're not into Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or … Magical Menagerie?" she asked as casually as she was able.

"No," he replied pulling a face. "Although my friends and family love to tease me about how unaware I am of all those things." He rolled his eyes. "'I know nothing, apparently."

She gave him a level look whilst her heart raced faster. "So it seems." 'He doesn't know who I am!'

"I just like my dramas a little more … down to earth." He looked at her expression and smirked, apparently finding her reaction more amusing than embarrassing. "Although, considering what sort of shop this is, I imagine you find that a bit … sinful?"

"I find it odd," she replied, trying not to react to how good that last word had sounded on his lips. "And actually quite refreshing."

"But I know you geeks can be terribly serious about their favourite films and shows, my cousin certainly is, and so perhaps that means we can't be friends?"

She gave him a long, level look. "You were expecting us to be friends?" 'Did he just call me a geek?'

He was staring at her again and still she wasn't entirely sure what he was thinking. "I had hoped." He waved the poster at her again.

She shook her head, confused again by all his apparent contradictions. If he didn't know who she was then he couldn't have been trying to get that extra publicity and yet … socialising really wasn't her thing any more.

"I'll take it and think about putting it up," she said eventually, "but I'm not making any promises. As I said, I'd rather not show any favouritism when it comes to promotion."

He gave her one of those smiles and her stomach gave another little jolt. "Thank you." She raised an eyebrow. "For thinking about it."

This Jon Snow really was incredibly annoying.

~o~0~o~

A/N: So, here I am with my first GOT modern AU. I'm just dipping my toe in here and keeping it fairly short, light and with a very small cast. I've deliberately kept Dany's backstory vague here and so you'll find out more over the next few chapters. As usual, I'm well ahead with this, enough to guarantee regular Wednesday updates (and Silent Declarations will continue to come out on Sundays)

Here Be Dragons ... and fluff, and humour (allegedly) with plenty of smut on the horizon. I hope you'll comment and speculate as I'd love to know what you think so far.