A/N: What if Danaerys Targaryen had not been forced to marry Khal Drogo, but another potential ally?
This is set after Season 2 of Vikings, before we get into Season 3.
This chapter is a sort of test, I am not sure how I will be able to take on the story... What do you think of it?
Disclaimer: I do not own Game of Thrones and Vikings. They belong to their rightful owners.
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Chapter 1 The Engagement
Danaerys was standing on the terrace in Magister Ilyrio's house in Pentos. Today was the day she had dreaded, the day she would meet her husband.
Until a few weeks ago, the young woman had assumed she was someday bound to marry her brother, as it had been custom in the Targaryen dynasty for centuries. Then the crown that had been passed through the family for three hundred years had been usurped by another one, and they had been forced to flee from their home in Westeros.
Their family had fled to Dragonstone, an island off the coast, where their mother died while giving birth to Danaerys. Finally, one of the knights had brought Danaerys and her older brother Viserys to Essos.
The children had grown up during all those years on the run, they wanted nothing more than to return home and regain the iron throne of the seven kingdoms of Westeros. At least that's what Viserys wanted. Danaerys wanted it also, but she had never been to Westeros, she merely knew what her brother had told her about it.
A few months ago, they had found the hospitality of Ilyrio Mopatis, Magister of the free city of Pentos. Together with Viserys, they had arranged for Danaerys to be wed to a powerful warrior, in exchange for an army to reclaim the iron throne.
Today, they were expecting to finally meet the groom. Viserys had let his sister sleep in a little, to be sure, she did not look tired, when she met him. Now, the servants had prepared a bath for her.
Danaerys shrugged out of her silken robes and slowly lowered herself into the hot water. She soaked herself for a while, then began to scrub herself clean.
"You are doing fine", a voice behind her said. Danaerys turned around, startled.
"Viserys, you scared me", she told her brother. He was smiling at her, his soft skinned face framed by his long silver hair.
"I didn't mean to scare you", he told her, "How is the future bride?"
"I still don't want to do this", Dany complained. Her brother rolled his lilac eyes, and stepped closer.
"How else do you presume we can get home?" he wanted to know, "We need a powerful ally with a strong army. You are no little girl anymore. Make sure he sees that body of yours."
Viserys stood up and left his sister in her bath. Dany sat there, thinking. Show him that body. Easier said than done. What if he was absolutely disgusting, an old man with hundreds of concubines? She didn't want to become another one of those. But she had no choice but to obey.
Finally, Dany stood up from her bath. The servants had put out a fine dress of blue silk and perfume. Dany put on the dress and sprinkled herself with the perfume, while one of the servants braided her hair for her.
At noon, they had a small meal, Dany, Viserys and Ilyrio before they headed out to the port, where the groom would arrive.
The port was filled with activity. Ships of all classes were docked, large war galleys, mostly belonging to Pentos' own war fleet. Merchants, with their fat wooden bellies filled with expensive goods, silk for the export, wines from the Dornish lands, fruits from the summer isles. Workers were busy loading and unloading the ships, carrying the precious cargo into the warehouses. Trade captains were negotiating with city officials about the taxes and customs fee (or the bribe needed to forget about that small detail) and with other traders about the right height of the prizes. Soldiers were patrolling the streets by order of the magistrate, to ensure the safety on the streets.
"Don't these savages know about punctuality?" Viserys cursed as the group stood there waiting.
"They will be here", Ilyrio tried to calm him. Getting Viserys upset was an unpleasable experience and would have soured this day heavily.
"Don't forget to smile, when they finally arrive", Viserys reminded his little sister. For probably the hundredth time since she woke up this morning.
Dany became more nervous with every passing minute. The arrival should have been almost an hour before, yet, there was no one in sight that Ilyrio would have identified. She only hoped, her brother would not blame her if they didn't show up. Viserys had a short temper, which she had experienced regularly during her childhood. He called it waking the dragon.
After what seemed an eternity to Dany, the increasingly restless Viserys pacing next to her, Ilyrio pointed out, towards the entrance of the port. A ship had passed between the walls, different to any kind of ship Dany had seen before.
It had a single mast in the middle, where a rectangular sail could be hoisted. The ship was quite long, but thin, the belly shaped that it barely needed much depth. On both sides, there were shields fastened, painted wood, round and in different colors. Between the shields, there were oars coming out from the ship. At the bow Dany could see something like a statue.
The men in the boat were savages, Dany thought. They were all clad in woolen tunics and leather jackets, with blankets of fur lying in between them. Their hair was mostly long and they wore also long beards.
Dany remembered to smile and stood in anticipation at the pier, as the men tied the boat to the pier. Several of them came ashore, wild looking men, weapons at their belts. Right in the middle of the group, two men, that Dany took to be their leaders. The older one, with a long beard, had the sides of his head shaved, and only on top of his head, there was a rest of hair. He had been tattooed in the places where his hair used to be.
The other one was much younger, about Viserys' age, with the sides of his head also shaven bald, but the long hair remaining on top had been bound together at the top of the head. Like the older man, he was wearing an axe at his belt and a short sleeved tunic.
They all strode forward and were greeted by Ilyrio, and cautiously eying the others. They all followed Ilyrio to his house, where a feast had been prepared. They all ate and drank, but there were no conversations between the groups, as no one for Ilyrio spoke the other's tongue.
Dany was nervous. She had been smiling for hours now, observing these warriors shyly. No one had bothered to tell her, who was to be her husband, so she just smiled at everyone, hoping that she did it right. After all, she didn't want to wake the dragon.
After the feast, which had lasted for hours, the guests dispersed through the house. Viserys took his sister to a private room.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"You haven't even told me which one it is", Dany reminded him.
"Really?" Viserys asked in surprise, "It's the blonde one, the young man. He's the oldest son of the king in their country."
"The blonde one?" Dany asked in confirmation.
The next day, they left Pentos. In the evening, her future husband had handed her a golden ring, a sign of their betrothal. They set sail shortly before noon, the warriors, Dany, accompanied by both Viserys and Ilyrio. Viserys could have stayed behind, but was determined not to stray from his new allies until he had the army they had promised him.
The journey was long, Ilyrio had warned them both. Long and uncomfortable. He himself had never visited this country before, but had negotiated with envoys from there. Now he had joined them, to help them both get along the first few weeks.
The first day passed slowly, Dany thought. They just set sail and headed out into the vast ocean. After an hour or maybe even less, Viserys was hanging overboard, vomiting his lunch. Dany's betrothed stood next to her, smiling silently over his seasickness.
The older warrior with the short hair was on the helm. Ilyrio had not recognized him at first, but had murmured to Dany, that he was the King. Ragnar, he had called him. His son, who she was going to marry, was called Bjorn, what meant 'bear' in their language, as he told her.
Dany was glad she did not feel seasick at all. She had already realized, his seasickness had not helped Viserys to gain the respect of the other king, who rolled his eyes when he thought no one was looking.
"They need to respect him more", Dany thought, "After all, he is a King as well."
Bjorn was taking a nap on the planks, taking over his father's place at the helm at sunset. They all were fed, although the rations were held pretty short, especially in comparison with the feast the day before. They had salted fish and bread, with a little Ale to wash it down. Dany was fully aware that on such a ship there was no storage space for a big feast and ate her portion in silence, while her brother complained silently about the poor food.
After she had eaten, Ilyrio had suggested, that Dany should bring her betrothed his food, he hadn't eaten yet, still manning the helm. Dany gathered another portion and walked towards the stern of the ship where Bjorn was sitting.
"I have brought you something to eat", she said.
Bjorn looked at her blankly, then smiled as he became aware of the food and drink she was holding in her hands. He took it and ate it, smiling grateful at Dany, or so it seemed to her. All the time, he still kept his eyes on the horizon, only blinking shortly at his bride.
After the sun had set, the crew went to sleep. Dany found the rhythm of the sea calming, as it splashed against the planks. She was soon asleep, despite the remarkably uncomfortable way of lying on the bare wooden deck.
She awoke at midnight, shivering. After the sun had set, it had become cold on the ship and Dany was still clad in the fine dress, she had worn before. She looked around, Bjorn was just being relieved on the helm by another warrior.
Dany sat up when Bjorn walked past her. He looked down at her and smiled. He said something, she didn't understand, then he looked at her questioningly.
Dany looked blankly back at him, trying to tell him that she was cold, by clutching her arms tight around her body. Bjorn looked at her for a while, then he understood. He pulled a blanket from a pack and handed it to her. Dany smiled grateful and tried to get back to sleep again.
Dany awoke earlier than usual, just in time to see the sun coming up over the sea. It was more beautiful than she had ever seen a sunrise before. The absolute silent ambiance, except for the noise of the small waves captivated her, and she truly enjoyed it all.
Then her brother awoke. He was miserable right from the beginning. Dany could understand it, the comfort on this ship was less than they had been used to in Ilyrio's house. The rather poor food was not helping his mood.
Except for Viserys' constant brooding, the day passed uneventful. The next day began just as well, and in the afternoon, Ragnar and Bjorn started to look uneasy. Not annoyed, like when they glared at the complaining Viserys, but uneasy, as if something was wrong.
"What is wrong?" Dany asked Ilyrio, hoping that no one overheard her.
"I don't know", he admitted, "And I will not ask them, they are amongst the fiercest sailors in the world, they know what they're doing."
Dany sat back on her place and watched. Next to her, Viserys complained about the boredom of this journey. Dany watched the waves, and suddenly noticed that they seemed to grow bigger.
Soon the ship was sailing over waves higher than the ship itself. Everyone was working, Ragnar was manning the helm while Bjorn and others were clinging to ropes, trying to keep control of the ship.
Viserys was frightened, that was obvious to everyone. He was afraid of the storm and did his best not to show it, in an attempt to regain a little of the respect, he had lost with his seasickness at the beginning of the journey.
Viserys tried to seem stoically calm, to impress the others, but his plan had not included, that the Northmen, as they called themselves, actually enjoyed the storm. As they were clinging to the ropes, Bjorn and the others started to laugh loudly and to sing. Ragnar pushed his ship higher in the wind, and they sailed over the waves and crashing down in the valleys in between. Everyone cheered, as they sailed, as if they were immune to fear.
The storm lasted for the rest of the day. Finally, the wind eased and the rain stopped. Everyone on the ship was soaking wet. That night, they slept unwell, shivering underneath the wet blankets and furs. Their bodies ached from exhaustion, as the sea came crashing from both below and above, everyone, including Dany, Viserys and Ilyrio had been forced to work with the buckets to get the water out of the ship's belly.
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A/N: How will they fare in the storm? Will they reach Kattegat safely or will they all drown?
Do you want me to continue?
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