A Khaleesi's Request

by Plaid Beans

It is true that dragons come from the Asshai. That's why the Khaleesi marched through the Shadow Lands to find one last egg. One-shot.

It is true that dragons came from the Asshai. They were born in the shadows, learned flight and the breath of fire, and then took over the world. It wasn't until man started using them, binding them, and killing them that the remaining free dragons returned to the Asshai.

They came back to the shadows to die.

Or so my wise women told it to me. They mentioned it every time they glanced upon my mother's egg.

But that was a long time ago, and it doesn't do to dwell on the past. So much is happening at hand that I can't afford to waste time thinking about what was.

"Is she still there?" the small voice came from my sister, elbow propped against the stone window as she rested her circle-face on her hand, pressing her chubby cheek red, and squinted into the distance.

It was impossible to see what she wanted. The tall dark Mountains of Mourn obscured the valley below in shadow. We knew from the scouts we had sent out earlier that Daenerys Targaryen's khalasar of a thousand freed slaves and 8,000 Unsullied warriors were there, waiting in the shadows. Waiting for what, we didn't know because we refused an audience with the Khaleesi.

I turned to Faraaz, my guard and protector who stood silent as a black marble column by the door to my room. He always had his right hand on his long sword, but especially now that the palace was so empty and we had enemies closing in. It was painful to think how incredibly vulnerable the Asshai was.

"Yes, Princess," Faraaz responded when Imani turned her dark eyes to him. "The Khaleesi is still there."

"I want to see her dragons," she replied, turning back to the window. "The maegi said she has three. They said they came out of her like children."

"The dragons would probably eat you up," I said, only half-joking.

"They're little," Imani refuted, "They couldn't eat me."

"They'd nibble your fingers right off. The maegi told me that they come out of the womb with all their teeth. Teeth as sharp as Faraaz's long sword."

Imani scrunched up her face at me and ruffled through the folds of her dress until she pulled out a small, tied cloth bag. "If they tried to eat my fingers, I'd just blow this into her face. The maegi gave it to me."

I held out my hand and she gave me the little bag. Before I could open it, Faraaz left his post by the door and took the bag from me. I'm sure he feared there was something terribly malignant in the sack, although he knew we had known all the maegi in Asshai for our entire lives, and the likelihood of them trying to assassinate us was slim. However, if you had asked me yesterday what the likelihood was of freeing all of the Asshai slaves, I would have also said slim. Things change.

Faraaz opened the bag, and just a whiff of the powder almost made him sneeze. "She gave you shadow pepper powder." He said curtly, dark eyes narrowing on the girl. "This is dangerous. If you got this in your eyes you would be crying all night."

My little sister extended her arm to get the powder back, but Faraaz held it out of reach. "Faraaz, give it back. I'll need it for the dragons!"

"I guess you won't be meeting the dragons today," I told her, petting her head. She ducked out of my reach, the thick cords of hair of black hair and gold chained braids swinging around my fingers. "You two are so dull!" She cried, and stormed out of my room, presumably to go to hers or to find dinner.

Faraaz handed me the shadow pepper powder and I set it on the stand next to my bed. Normally, I would have been more alarmed by my 10 summers-old sister having something so dangerous, but today was far from a normal day. There were much greater dangers just outside the palace gate.

"This is a disaster," I told Faraaz quietly, although there weren't very many people left in the palace to overhear. "The slaves are freed and that Targaryen hasn't left yet. And if she doesn't leave shortly, she'll have no choice but to invade. She can't stay in the Shadow Lands for long."

The Shadow Lands were some of the most inhospitable lands in the world. The Mountains of Mourn completely shaded the region and kept any rain from falling on the southern side. The only life that could be supported in such an environment were eerie, inedible ghost grass; brave, intrepid travelers; and the hardy, magical people of the Asshai.

And dragons, if you believed the stories.

"She would leave sooner if we gave her audience," Faraaz replied.

I had wanted to speak with her. It wasn't every day a thousands people come to the Asshai through the hostile mountainous region. However, my decision had been overruled by my husband's counselors.

"Haven't you heard what she did to Astapor?"

"She left it in burnt ruins, her and her bastard dragon children."

"We should have the shadowbinders curse her, or kill her."

"It's only a matter of time before she turns Asshai to ash."

"Yes, only a fool would accept audience with her."

But they could not overrule me on the slave decision. They sent ten ravens to my husband, who was sacking some land on the far side of the country, but I didn't care. He would return furious at my insolence, but at least we would all be alive, and Assahi would be spared. If we had waited for his approval, Daenerys Targaryen could have destroyed everything, and for what? A few slaves? Asshai did not even have slaves until Westeros merchants began to trade with us. Most of the slaves were in the palace and they had been well treated. I told them myself that they were free and where they could find Daenerys. Many of them kissed my hands in thanks.

The counselors were furious. They said I made the Asshai look weak, and now Daenerys would surely sack us because of my stupidity. I said I had given her one less reason to attack.

But I must have been wrong, because she didn't leave.

I rubbed my eyes in thought, and suddenly felt the electrical touch of Faraaz's hand on my arm. "You needn't worry, my Queen."

"I have the bravest protector I could ask for," I replied, and our lips touched in a tender explosion of love, and strength, and passion. He pulled away first and said, "You're still sad."

"You're going to be angry with me," I mummbled and ran my hand along his arm and curled my fingers between his. "I need you to stand guard in Imani's room tonight."

Faraaz jerked away from me. "You are the Queen. You must be protected."

I tensed at his reaction. "And Imani is the princess, and some day she may be Queen. And she is my sister, the person I value most in this world." Faraaz didn't look convinced. My jaw clenched, and I said, "You will protect her."

"You are the person I value most in this world, and I will not leave you vulnerable when the Khaleesi has 8,000 Unsullied soldiers in the Shadow Lands, waiting for their orders to come and take you from me."

"Then find me another guard," I said, a tone slightly harsher than I had anticipated. "I am Queen Aliyah of the Asshai, and I order you to stay with Imani."

Faraaz stiffly tilted his head forward. He had to, like anyone else, when given a direct order by the Queen. "Yes, my Queen." Then he turned and headed for the door.

"It's only until she leaves," I said as he walked out. Faraaz paused in the doorway at my words, but didn't look back before he left to find another guard.

I left shortly after Faraaz to find my husband's counselors. There were only three left in the Asshai, because my husband had taken the strongest soldiers, best fighters and hunters, and anyone on the counsel who wanted to go sacking with him when he left three weeks ago. He left three white men from the far away land of Westeros in the palace to act on his behalf: William Sharp, Master of Coin; Terrance Lear, Maester; and Adam Black, my husband's younger brother who's role on the counsel I could never figure. Normally Adam would have gone with his brother on a sacking expedition, but he had been ill the day before the trip and Maester Lear convinced him to stay in bed. I'm sure now all three wish they had left.

"Queen," Maester Lear said in the Common Tongue of Westeros when I entered the room. "You should really be guarded at all times. Where is Faraaz?"

"He's otherwise engaged. I'm fine." I turned to Adam Black who was staring down a scroll. "Is that note from Daenerys?"

Adam ignored me for too long for me to accept. I snatched the scroll from under his eyes and he stood up screaming, "How dare you when I'm reading!"

"I am the Queen," I responded curtly, skimming the letter.

"And I am acting on my brother's orders, the King."

I was a much faster reader than Adam, even when reading the Common Tongue, so I handed him back the letter quickly.

"She is requesting an audience with me, not with my husband," I said, mostly to Maester Lear because I respected him the most. "Nobody told me that."

"It's not safe to speak with her, my Queen."

"Whom has she sent by?"

"An Unsullied boy with a spear, and a translator handmaiden," Adam huffed. "Not even a squire."

"She's sending us a message—she's trying to be nonthreatening; not disrespectful."

"They come by every hour," William Sharp spat, rubbing his temples in anxiety as he sat at the meeting table. "She is threatening us by not respecting our decision to refuse her audience." His already long face looked longer with his frown.

"If we accept her audience, we can figure out what she wants so that she can leave. We are in no condition to fight her if it comes to that, so we might as well humor her."

Asshai was not a city that had built up many defenses. There were no high walls into the greater city, and there were few walls keeping anyone out of the palace. Asshai had always been a peaceful, albeit dark and naturally inhospitable, land. After my father married me to the Westeros man, my husband brought many soldiers and fighters to the Asshai, so we became accustomed to a certain level of protection. However, all those soldiers were gone now, and any slaves we could have used as guards were released.

The reality was it wouldn't take 8,000 Unsullied to overthrow the Asshai. It would only take one woman and a handful of freed slaves.

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the palace doors. The few guards that were left tensed and pointed their spears at the door. Adam stormed over to the giant wooden doors and threw one open.

"We refuse!" he shouted at a curly-haired girl and an Unsullied boy.

I took a step forward, and Maester Lear grabbed my arm. "Stay back, my Queen."

The Unsullied boy was staring at me, an intelligent stare. I pulled away from Maester Lear's grip. "Adam, move aside."

He threw me a glare as venomous as a ghost cobra. "No, Queen." I stared at Adam, eyes cold with frustrated indignation. Eventually, Adam groaned and stepped aside so I could speak to the two delegates without a human barrier.

The girl handed me another scroll. I suspected it was the same as the one I had read earlier. "We cannot speak to the Khaleesi at this time," I said as politely as I could. "I suspect you can find anything you need by trading with the Asshai'i. There are many interesting wares sold by merchants from many countries."

The girl bowed her head. "Thank you, Queen. However, the Khaleesi has most everything she needs. She only desires to speak with you."

"Well, that simply cannot be arranged," Adam interrupted, and put his arm out as a barrier between the messengers and me. "Please, do not come back here again. The answer will be the same." And then he shut the door in their face. "That was absolutely ridiculous of you to speak with them, Aliyah," he grunted as he stormed away.

"It was ridiculous of you to behave like a child kicking a sibling out of their room. If they wanted to storm Asshai, they could do so in an hour. Don't treat them like they have any reason to respect you. You are nothing to them."

"And you are?"

"She is Queen of the Asshai," Faraaz's low growl erupted from the entrance of the foyer. Faraaz stood next to Adam, like an afternoon shadow, nearly a head taller than Adam and much thicker with muscle. Adam cowered away, muttering angrily to himself.

Faraaz turned to me and gestured to the young guard that was following him. "This is Mosa. He will guard you tonight, my Queen." Mosa looked like he was my age and wasn't much bigger. I'm sure Faraaz was frustrated that this is the best he could scrounge up. He pulled a dagger out of his belt and handed it to me, handle first. "This is for your protection as well. Sleep with it."

I bowed, and he bowed even deeper. Then Faraaz left to find my sister.

We ate dinner with the elderly wise men and women, the maegi, and the remaining palace staff. Imani wouldn't talk to me, but that was fine with me because I had so much on my mind. It was a very quiet, tense dinner for all.

After dinner I bathed and put on my sleeping dress. Mosa stood outside my bedroom door, which was proper, but I was accustomed to Faraaz standing inside my room. I knew he would be inside Imani's room, and that at least put part of my mind at ease. I liked to believe 8,000 Unsullied couldn't get past Faraaz, but the rational part of me knew that he was only one man. At the very least, I prayed he could protect my sister. Everything else could go to Hell.

I'm a very light sleeper, and I awoke in the heart of night to a thud on my door. It sounded like someone was leaning against it. The room was dark when I opened my eyes, and I didn't move. I listened, and heard the sound of metal sliding slowly across the floor.

My fingers curled around the dagger that I had in hand under the thick silk blankets. Then, I swung wildly to my left, barely nicking a stranger in the arm. I flew out of bed as he lunged at me, and I spun out of reach. I recognized the intruder as the Unsullied boy from earlier; he was finding it difficult to catch me with one arm on his terrifying spear. I held out my dagger, and he pointed his spear at me, causing me to back up. I was on the other side of my bed now, stuck against a wall.

"Don't scream," he demanded in Valyrian.

"I don't need to," I retorted, grabbing the sack that Imani had reluctantly given up earlier. I tossed the open bag at him, and the shadow pepper powder erupted in his face. I barreled past him, pushing his coughing, teary body away from me as I darted to the door. I pushed against it, but the door barely budged. I threw my shoulder into it, and realized Mosa's unconscious (or dead) body was blocking my exit. I managed to open the door enough to slip past, and then I slammed it again, so that the Unsullied boy would have one more barrier to get to me.

When I looked down the hall, I saw that the other guards were lying on the floor of the hallway. And then I saw a man I didn't recognize with long golden hair and high cheekbones. "Ahh, there she is," he cooed in the Common Tongue.

I wrenched my arm back and threw the dagger at him. He had to dive to the side to avoid it, and while he was distracted, I grabbed Mosa's sword from his lose grip. I saw his chest rise and fall, but I had no time to be relieved. The door jerked open next to my face, and the Unsullied tried to push his way through. I shouldered the door, squishing him slightly although his steel armor guarded him, and then ran away. The other man was coming now, the deadly curve of his arakh gleaming in hand.

The only benefit I had in this chase was that I knew the palace better than either of them. I turned two corners before they had even turned one, and ducked behind some shadows in a hidden corner. I held the sword close, trying to silence my breathing and racing heart.

I hope there are not more of them. I hope this is all she sent. I didn't dare think about Imani and Faraaz. They had to be safe. My mind couldn't bear to think of any alternatives.

I heard the two whispering in Valyrian, and then they split up. One set of footsteps headed towards the Great Hall and kitchen, and the other continuing down the sleeping wing.

I was safe in the shadows, but only temporarily. I counted to three, and left my comfort zone and headed back to Mosa. To my relief they hadn't killed him, but I couldn't shake him awake. I knew then that I would have to find Faraaz—if I shouted for him he would abandon Imani to save me. Her room was just down the next hall, but I knew at any moment one of the intruders could appear because I had heard one searching that direction.

I stood up and felt a hand on mine. The grip was soft, and I turned, expecting Mosa. To my terror, it was the longhaired mercenary. "Silence, my shadow princess. We don't want to harm you," he whispered.

He tried to pull the sword from my hand but I kept my fingers tight.

"Shadow Queen," the Unsullied corrected in Valyrian. "Princess is in that room." He pointed his spear down the hall that I knew led to Imani's door.

I felt my head spin with dread. "You didn't hurt her?"

The Unsullied nodded—Imani was still safe. I released the sword.

The intruders escorted me out of the palace. It was so empty we didn't even see any guards, although I knew there were still a handful around. The Unsullied and the mercenary didn't touch me; they just walked side-by-side, with me in the center.

"Careful of snakes, Queen," the mercenary said as we entered the ghost grass. I was barefoot, but his warning didn't impress me.

"I am immune."

He raised an eyebrow at me, clearly dubious. "Immune to ghost snakes?"

"Ghost cobras only bite outsiders." Then, I turned to the Unsullied and said in Asshai, "You're safe, aren't you?"

He stopped walking and stared at me. "How did you know?" He replied in Asshai. The mercenary just looked confused.

"You recognized me earlier. You are Asshai'i."

"My mother was. I was born in the Summer Isalnds."

"Then let me go," I said, trying not to sound like I was begging. "Leave the Asshai and don't return."

"I have a new mother now," he replied, this time in Valyrian and pushed me by my elbow forward. I wrenched my limb out of his grasp and continued walking through the thick ghost grass, towards the lights of the fires ahead.

When we finally reached the camp I began to feel overwhelmed. It's easy to talk about 8,000 Unsullied and a thousand freed slaves, but when you see them all together you feel the size as well as see it. There were tents everywhere and where there weren't, people were just sleeping on the grass. I recognized some of the sleeping slaves as ones who had once worked for me.

The two men turned towards the largest tent. I started to feel the fear bubble up in my gut and paralyze my heart. I stopped just before the tent, and the mercenary put his hand on my back. "Come on now, my Shadow Queen. You've been so brave, no need to be scared now."

"I fear nothing for myself; I fear for the Asshai'i," I replied in his Common Tongue. He led me forward, into the tent. "This is Queen Aliyah of the Asshai and the Shadow Lands," the mercenary introduced.

That's when I saw Daenerys Targaryen sitting on a pillowed couch surrounded by three cages. I knew what was in those cages. She stood up and walked closer to me. "I'm sorry for forcing you to speak with me like this, I know it's not proper." She had white blonde hair and fairer skin than I had ever seen. Physically, we were probably as opposite as you could be. A dove and a raven. But we were the same age, and both women, and both with incredible power and leadership given to us by the gods.

She took my hand and led me towards the couch. "Please sit with me. We have wine." Daenerys waved over the translator from before who handed me a glass of wine. I didn't drink from it.

"I freed the slaves when we saw you coming," I said. "I don't know why you're still here."

"I didn't come to the Asshai for the slaves, although we accepted them with open arms. They only spoke good things of you." She pushed a piece of raw meat into one of the cages, and I heard it being torn apart. The other two cages began to rattle and hiss. She smiled, and fed the other two in turn.

"Then why are you here?" I asked, ignoring the noises of the dragons. I was not intimidated by them, if that was her intention by feeding them in front of me.

"Because of them," she said, setting her hands on the cages. "When their eggs were given to me as a wedding present, I was told they had been purchased in the Asshai. I came to see if there were more in the homeland of the dragons."

I raised an eyebrow at her and looked at the translator girl. "It seems like something you could find in the markets or the port. If there are eggs for sale, that's where they would be," I said snidely.

"She checked there, already. Several days ago," the translator girl replied. I was gobsmacked. I had no idea that she had been here for days. I thought she had only arrived this morning.

Daenerys continued calmly, unaffected by the tone I took with her handmaiden. "But I heard from some of your former slaves that you once had a dragon egg. I was hoping to buy it off of you, and for a good price."

"If I had such an item, what makes you believe that it would be for sale?" I asked.

"Everything is for sale," the mercenary interjected, "Or it can be stolen."

"Daario, stop teasing," Daenerys scolded playfully, and the mercenary turned his head down in mock-shame, but mostly to hide his smirk.

I peered into one of the dragon's cages and saw how big they really were. They weren't the desert lizards I had imagined; they were actually the size of puppies. I imagined that inflight they were horrifying.

I turned back to Daenerys and said, "You think you're the only one who's ever given life to a stone? The Asshai has had dragons for centuries, you can still see their bones in the Mountains of Mourn, limbs the size of tree trunks. I've seen ones that were bigger than any merchant's ship that has come to Asshai. And we have maegi and wisepeople and maesters. Whose to say that one of them didn't know the secret and told me? Whose to say I don't have a dragon under my palace, as large as the building, sleeping right now?"

The Unsullied scoffed. "There is only one Mother of Dragons," he said, as if what I had asserted was so ridiculous, I had stated the sky was red instead of blue.

"Maybe so. Maybe there has only ever been one woman who could feel love and loss so fervently that she could bathe in fire, and through her flaming cleansing, brought about new life to stone eggs.

"Surely it would be impossible for another girl to feel so much pain and heartache that she tried to burn everything that reminded her of what she had lost. And maybe one of those things was a stone egg."

I had to stop myself, my heart racing and my breath getting caught in my throat. It hurt to think about this. I resented having to do so.

Finally looked at Daenerys and said, "I don't have what you're looking for. What I have, you won't want."

She tried to hold her stern look, but the glimmer in her violet eyes gave away her excitement. "I want to see it," Daenerys said.

"I want assurance that you won't kill me when you do," I replied.

"You have my word."

"And you will leave after you have what you want," I pressed.

She nodded her white-blonde head. "Agreed."

I stood up and Daenerys followed my lead. "We have something of a hike," I told her before heading to the entrance of the tent.

"We have horses," she offered.

"Don't bring them. They'll run." I pointed at a nearby goat and said, "bring that."

We had a long hike to the west, towards the Jade Sea. I led the way, followed closely by Daenarys who was flanked by her knight, Sir Joras Mormont and the blonde, arak-wielding mercenary, Daario. The Unsullied spearman trailed the pack with the goat. It was nearly sunrise by the time we reached the cave, which was well concealed.

The entrance actually wasn't even the cave. It was a tunnel my people had dug several years ago in order to hide the beast for me.

There was a false wooden wall covered in grass and rock to look like the rest of the land. I moved it to the side and climbed down a steel ladder. At the base of the ladder, the tunnel began. I felt along the wall until I found the unlit torch. It was dark, but it wouldn't be that way for long.

We walked into the thick darkness of the tunnel.

"Demons are in these caves," the Unsullied boy said in Valyrian, mostly to himself but probably also to Daenarys.

"Demons are the least of your worries," I told him. We had reached the end of the tunnel now, the last turn before it would spit us out into the cave. The ground rumbled slightly. A heavy weight shifted not far from us.

"Stay back until I say otherwise," I commanded once everyone had made it into the tunnel. The men tensed, unused to having any one other than their Khaleesi making demands. But Daenarys didn't protest, so neither did they.

I turned the last corner, and made my way toward the cave. "Nysah," I called, wearily. It was still dark, and the creature blended in with the walls of the cave. But still, I felt the great weight of the beast as it turned to face me. "Nysah, fire," I said in Asshai'i, and held out the torch.

The beat grumbled as it inhaled roughly, and then all at once released a sudden burst of soot and snot and smoke from its nostrils. I was standing as far away from the creature as possible, arm extended fully forward with the torch, and still I was covered in the animal's debris. But with all the other detritus it had exhaled, a small burst of fire lit the torch without burning my hand.

And I saw the face of the dragon I had betrayed. My mother's dragon.

"You may enter now," I called now that the cave was sufficiently lit. "And kill that goat."

The goat, which had been dragging its four feet throughout the tunnel, crying loudly in terror, was quickly silenced with a slice of the arakh across the neck. Daario handed me a leg of the goat, but I shook my head. "She'll take the entire thing, right before we leave. I can't feed her in pieces, or she'll kill me."

"What is this you have across her face?" Daenerys asked me, moving forward with her hand extended towards Nysah. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Don't. She is no pet," I declared icily.

"I don't think of dragons as pets," she hissed at me coldly. "They're my children."

"Well, this dragon is no child of yours or mine. She'll burn you, and if she had the opportunity she would roast us all and eat us happily." Daenarys pulled her arm out of my clutches and I didn't try to restrain her further. "Trust me," I insisted.

She did not listen, and instead took another several steps forward and laid her hand on the great beast's face. Nysah was enormous, the size of two cows, and had a face like a wheel barrel. She was such dark indigo she appeared black, with bright amber eyes that glowed with any amount of light. To my astonishment, she allowed Daenarys to rub her scales between her eyes.

"She thinks you're going to remove the sheath," I said, because I didn't want to believe that this creature could still feel compassion towards humans. "But it's enchanted. It can only be removed when the incantation is said, then it is off for a few minutes, before it covers her snout again. She cannot open her mouth to bite or breathe fire from her mouth with it on."

Daenarys looked coldly at me with her violet eyes. "That is cruel," she stated.

I was petulant. "Wait until your beasts are so large that they eat your friends. You wont think it cruel then."

Now the rest of the group had converged around Nysah. I was afraid she would start stomping, she could crush any of us easily with her weight against a cave wall. Her tail had broken some of my soldiers' legs that I had sent to feed her. The dragon could not be underestimated.

"You think that is cruel," Joras hummed and pointed to the side of the dragon's body.

I knew they would see this. I knew it would infuriate the Khaleesi, who thought of her dragons as her own blood. She would not understand—not now, anyways.

They looked at Nysah's massive sides, and saw the original enchanted harness we had created for her, that my maegi forgot to enchant to grow larger as the dragon did. Since it was crafted for Nysah years ago when she was much smaller, it had molded into her sides, some of her scales growing around it. She, physically, was growing around it, her sides protruding grotesquely from around the metal and leather that crafted the harness. The creation trapped her to one of the cave walls, so she could not turn the corners to get into the tunnel and escape her captivity.

"This is disgusting," Daenarys stated, clearly infuriated. "You will release her immediately."

"She will kill everyone if I do," I said. "Dragons are not forgiving creatures. They are loyal, but they are not forgiving."

"What happened?" Daario asked, smirk prevalent even in the darkness of the cave. "Dragon ate your sweetheart?"

I gestured for everyone to move away from the dragon. I could sense that she was becoming more excited with the activity. Her tail began to twitch.

"No. She killed his son."

The group followed my direction and returned to my side of the cave. I began to explain myself. "My guardian, Faaraz, had a little boy when he was also quite young. The boy lived with his father in our palace once Faaraz was hired to protect me." I picked up the goat and threw it over towards Nysah, who was now excitedly stomping her feet. "Until she ate him."

"When I was twelve, there was a fire at our palace. I had time to escape the flames. I knew my sister was out, I saw her leave with my father and mother. I thought, of all the belongings we owned, that I would save my mother's most prized possession—a dragon egg. It wasn't until I left the palace that I realized that it wasn't my mother I had seen leave the palace but a maid. That fire claimed my mother. I saved her egg, but I didn't save her.

"I ran back into the palace when I heard my mother was still in there—with the egg. I wandered through smoke filled hallways and burning rooms. I almost died. My father ended up pulling me out. I dropped the egg in the flames. After the fire was put out and we found my mother's body…" I had to stop because my voice was wavering. I paused, collected myself and said, "I found the dragon playing in the ashes of her corpse."

"I kept Nysah secret for about a year, but soon my father found her. By then she was nearly too large to keep hidden, about the size of your dragons. He told me to keep her in the dungeon and not tell a soul. Dragons were supposed to be extinct, after all. Anyone could profit from stealing her and selling her for a high price."

Daenarys nodded, and I remembered from stories the sailors who visited Asshai had told that she had already experienced such trick with her young dragons. Nysah's heavy tail, as long three horses standing in line, swayed and thrashed against the cave wall. She wanted us to leave, and I was comfortable obliging her.

I left the main cave and wandered into the tunnel, letting the torchlight lead the way. The rest of the group followed me as I continued. "Anyways, Nysah continued to grow over the years. She was half this size when she ate Faaraz's child. All they guards found of the boy was his left hand. He must have wandered into the dungeon while exploring. He was 6 summers-old by then, much larger than the goats we had been feeding her.

"I felt terrible, that my love had lost his child to my dragon. But, and it still disgusts me that I think this way, but at least it wasn't my sister. I feel more guilt that I kept such a perilous creature just a few floors below where my sister slept. If I had lost her…"

I shook my head, trying to knock such nightmarish scenarios from my mind, and continued down the tunnel.

"By then I was about to be wed, and later that very year I would become Queen of the Asshai when my father passed. I made the decision—no one else. I had the maegi craft a harness and a sheath for Nysah, then I banished her to this cavern, where she could never kill another innocent again.

"My husband and his Westeros men don't even know she exists. My sister was young enough to be convinced it was all a dream that we ever had a dragon in our dungeon." We were at the ladder now, and the light from outside the tunnel was bright with daytime. I snuffed out the fire. "How lucky she is, to forget that we ever deluded ourselves into believing that such a powerful creature could ever be fully under our control."

Nysah was thunderous now, stomping and crashing into the walls. She wanted the accursed sheath off her snout so she could eat. I said the command she wanted to hear, the name I could never forget because it was the reason I was forced keep her trapped. "Zarin," I declared. It was the name of Faaraz's son.

The beast roared, and smoke began to pour into the tunnel. We all climbed up and out of the underground labyrinth as quickly as possible. Everyone stood in silence at the entrance to the tunnel, listening to Nysah roar and stomp and breathe fire and try to break down the walls of the cave. There was a time when she could extend her wings fully in that cave, but she had long since outgrown that.

When the sheath snapped back around her snout, we could all hear her cry. Her roar was cut short, and the ground began to tremble as she smashed into the walls. I had watched her do this before. I used to try and calm her, try to tell her she was fine. But I didn't have the stomach for that anymore. The guilt could drown me if I let it. Now I refused to even get wet from it by refusing to watch her slam her head, sides, and tail into the walls. She would never escape. I would not let her.

The Unsullied boy and Daario covered the entrance to the tunnel, and eventually Nysah became silent again. Then, all you could hear was the Jade Sea crashing into the cliffs not far from us. If you peered west, you could hardly tell where the sky and the sea met, for the blue of both was the same color at this time of day.

Daenarys sighed and shook her head. "I understand your intentions behind locking the beast away…" There was a 'but' coming, and I refused to hear it.

I held up my hand and shook my head as well. "You understand nothing, yet. But you will. If you keep your dragons long enough, I can almost be certain of that."

I lowered my hand. "You've seen what you came here to see. Now I trust you'll hold up your end of the bargain, and leave."

She did not nod, did not make any indication that she was accepting what I was telling her. She eyed Joras, who was clearly her wiseman, and then turned back to me. "I would like to purchase your dragon."

I couldn't contain a gasp of pure astonishment. "I cannot believe this. No. She is dangerous."

"I wouldn't release her. That is your wish, and I respect that. I see that she is not fit to be around people anymore."

That was an understatement. But I think I knew where the Khaleesi was going with this conversation. "Your dragons… they are all male, aren't they?"

Daario's smirk was giving them away. Daenarys didn't have to respond.

The situation was unbelievable, and I wanted it done with. I rubbed my temple as I said, "You can use my dragon to breed yours, but you must never attempt to release her. If I find out that you have tried, I will have her killed."

Her face contorted with a deeper frown. She had been upset by the entirety of the situation Nysah was in, but my threat seemed to put her in an even fouler mood.

"I do not need threats," she said. "I will respect your wish of not releasing her, Queen," Daenarys replied. I nodded, trusting she would keep her word. We began walking back to her khalesar.

"Why didn't you just have your dragon executed?" Joras asked. "If you are so afraid of her destroying everything you love?"

That was not difficult for me to answer. "Because she represents everything I did love—she's my mother. My mother's most treasured possession was that egg, and that egg became Nysah. Killing her… would be losing my mother twice. I do not wish to go through that pain again."

We made it back to the khalesar without incident, but as soon as we made it into the tent I knew that was about to change.

Faraaz was standing in the center of Daenarys' tent, a half dozen Unsullied pointing spears and swords at him.

"Put away your weapons," Daenarys demanded upon walking into the scene. She did not wait for an explanation, although it was obvious. Faraaz had come alone to find me.

I walked towards him and embraced him. He asked if I was harmed or threatened. I told him the truth, no, and felt him loosen up slightly.

"Imani?" I asked.

He nodded. "Fine."

"Everything is fine then," I told him.

"Khalessi," I said, extending my arm for her to shake. She smiled and accepted it.

"Queen."

"Safe travels. Let me know when you are returning, and we will make you more comfortable then this, I promise."

She smiled. "You will have a welcome place in my Queendom as well. Blessings."

As promised Daenarys told her troops of Unsullied to begin packing up. They were moving out of the Assahai and back towards the cities they had previously been sacking. I knew she would be back.

My sister was devastated to hear that the Khalessi was leaving before she had a chance to see one of the baby dragons. Imani sulked around the palace, huffing and groaning and snapping at anyone who tried to console her.

Eventually, a nearly blind, ancient wise woman by the name of Myrsa got her to calm down with warm cinnamon tea and sweet crackers. Imani and wise woman sat facing the window, imagining the khalesar leaving the Shadow Lands.

"You know, my grandmother used to tell me a little lyric about dragons," Myrsa said, her voice crackly and dry despite the endless amount of tea she consumed. Imani was intrigued—against my own logic, so was I.

"A pretty princess from the Asshai

giggled from the back of a dragon.

They landed from the sky

With the princess inside

And a giggle from the belly of the dragon."

*** AN: Thanks for finishing this one-shot! Two things: the poem at the end is an adapted version of Salman Rushdie's "The Jaguar Smile" poem, which is a famous Nicaraguan poem. I encourage you to look up the original. Also, I tried to keep this as accurate to GoT as possible, but I've only read the first book, and seen all the seasons of the show, so there's a lot I don't know. My brother has read all the books told me that he thought the dragons could all produce their own eggs regardless of gender, so ignore that fact if that's true haha. Anyways, thanks for reading!