Okay, so the last thing you need when you're writing six stories is to START ANOTHER STORY!
What do I do? Yup, I start a new story.
Fair warning: I will not update once a week. It is impossible for me to do that. However, I will try to update as much as I can.
I won't give you more details, since you do have a bit of a prologue.
I do not own anything in the GOT universe.
English ain't my first languge, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I might make.
If you like it, you know what to do. If you guys like it, I'll write faster, that's how I work. So, follow, favorite and please, review. I want to hear what you think
Enjoy! :)
A servant. A friend. A trusted adviser. A sister.
Milani is her name. If she has a last name, she never speaks of it.
Milani and Daenerys met many years ago, when both were still children. Milani was Dany's opposite in so many ways. Purple eyed and silver haired, Dany was more noticeable than the brown haired, dark eyed Milani. Both were tall, slender and beautiful in their own, different ways. Milani was a quiet girl, always standing two steps behind her friend. She would have done the same even if her friend was not a Queen. Khalessi, rightful heir of Westeros and a Queen.
Milani is from Volantis. She never speaks of her family, never of her home. Only about her city, which she claims not to remember all too well, since she left it when she was barely four years old.
How she ended up in Pentos, she either did not know or did not speak of. Illyrio Mopatis was the man who introduced her to Dany. At first, the two barely spoke to one another. Dany only ever had a friend in her older brother, Viserys. And Milani did not speak much to anyone. For many years, Illyrio Mopatis did not even know Milani spoke the common tongue. How she learned it, she never said. Those who knew her and Dany always suspected it was Dany who taught her, and that Milani, in return, taught her Valyrian.
When she was still a girl herself, Milani started working as the girl's handmaiden. Having her friend be her servant never bothered Dany, as she had treated her all the same. Milani might have been the one to bring her food in the morning, but by the end of the day, the two would sit on the floor, talking about whatever interesting events they might have experienced during the day.
The girls grow even closer to one another over the years and when Dany was set to marry Khal Drogo, she wanted Milani with her. Milani, of course, agreed. She would have followed her friend wherever her friend might go.
That is how Milani's story started, many moons ago. And no one, not even Milani herself, could ever guess how it might end.
…
I do not like the Great Pyramid. It is not something I can explain; I simply did not like it. It felt empty before and it is even emptier now, with Dany gone.
Villas, houses, cold basements, war camps. All of that and somehow, this place is the one with the lingering, eerie feeling.
I suppose it is the silence that bothers me. In villas and houses, even in cold basements, I was not alone, not ever. You could hear people talking in different languages, you could hear jokes and laughter and children, as they played around you. Children that even made basements feel less cold and frightening. And war camps? There, you were never alone. People, children, horses and not a moment of silence.
Here? The halls echoed with every sound my sandals made as I walked through them.
I did not notice it at first, but with Dany gone, it has become worse.
"My Lord," I announce as I walk into the room. "Missandei tells me you wish to see me."
"Yes, Lady Milani," he tells me. "Please come inside."
"My Lord, I appreciate your kindness, but I am no lady. Call me Milani, please."
"Everyone else seems to call you My Lady."
"Everyone else does not listen," I tell him. "I have no name, no title, no house. I am no lady."
"Yet they tell me that you are Daenerys Targaryen's most trusted advisor."
"People speak, whether they are well informed or not."
I watch as Tyrion Lannister walks over to a small table and pours wine in two glasses; he walks over to me, handing me a glass. I take it, still watching him.
I've heard of the name even before I've seen him. The Imp. Tyrion Lannister, the youngest child of Tywin Lannister, the former Hand of The King to King Aerys Targaryen. Dany's father, also known as the Mad King.
He was small, which was not a surprise. Despite being small, he had a presence. His eyes stared at me in the same way mine stared at him. Both of us are trying to read the other one, and neither one of us is bothering to hide it.
"Why don't you take a seat, Milani?" he suggests. I did not want to do that, no more than I wanted to have this conversation with him, but I doubt I have a real choice. I nod and take a seat.
"What do you wish to speak of, my Lord?" I ask as I follow him with my eyes. He sits opposite me and almost downs his wine in one gulp.
The Westerosi kind. They do not know how to appreciate the finer things in life. One should drink wine slowly, relishing every sip of the bitter liquid. Or perhaps he had far too much wine in his life to truly enjoy it. There was a time when I would be thankful for water. It should not come as a surprise that I appreciate wine more than Tyrion Lannister does.
"What is your opinion on me, Milani?" he asks me. For a moment, I think he is joking, laughing at me. as his eyes do not look away from me, I realize that he is not.
"I am yet to decide, my Lord," I answer truthfully. "Why would you ask such a question?"
"I wanted to hear your opinion," he tells me, and by his speak of speaking, I can tell he is choosing his words very carefully. "Especially since Queen Daenerys seems to value your opinion." he adds. Now it makes more sense. He wishes to know what I have been whispering in her ear beforehand.
"Queen Daenerys is also highly capable of forming her own opinion, my Lord."
"There is no doubt in my mind that she is. However, I have been informed that you are her most trusted adviser. Closer than Missandei, closer than Grey Worm. Even closer than Daario Naharis."
"I doubt that," I tell him, taking a small sip of my wine. "There is, however, a difference in being someone's friend and someone's adviser, my Lord. The two do not always go hand in hand."
"But they do, when it comes to you and the Queen. Or am I mistaken?" he asks me. If I wanted to pretend and hide the actual depth of my connection to Dany, it was too late for that now. I was warned that Tyrion Lannister is a smart man. I did not expect him to fulfill those expectations.
"I met Daenerys Targaryen when I was still a child," I tell him, looking away from him as I speak; I look at the sunset, visible from the opening in the wall right behind where Tyrion Lannister was sitting. That is the only good thing about the Great Pyramid. It offers one hell of a view. "She was a friend to me when no one else would be my friend. She saved my life in more ways than she will ever know. Some bonds are stronger than blood, my Lord. It may sound foolish, but it is true. I have followed her since I was a child and I will follow her lead until my dying day."
"You were there when she needed you?" he asks me.
"I suppose so. She could always trust me. When you are a Queen with no crown, there are not many people you can trust. Dany learned her lesson. I have seen the pain she was in and I can assure you, I do not have an intention to see her feel that pain again."
"Are you giving me a promise or a warning?" he asks, cracking a smile at me.
"Both," I answer, keeping a straight face. "I would rather cut my own arm off than betray her. And I will do all that is in my power to keep others from betraying her. As much as I can do, that is. Daario Naharis is the one wielding a sword. I wield a different kind of weapon."
"You are making it very difficult for me to trust you, Milani," he admits, shaking his head at me. "You are either the finest liar I have ever encountered, or completely honest."
"I could say the same for you, my Lord," I sigh. "You do not need my trust and I do not need yours. You know that Dany trusts me and that should be enough for you. The same way as her trust in you is enough for me. For the time being." I add. While it is enough for now, I need him to know that that trust is not limitless. If I see him playing games on her expense, I will not hold back.
"Do you think she will return?" he asks me.
"I know it," I tell him. "Ser Jorah Mormont betrayed her and broke her trust in the worst possible way, but the man loves her. As does Daario Naharis. Both of them would rather die than to let anything happen to her. They will find her."
"I am afraid they will die before they have a chance to do so."
"Lord Tyrion, if you are going to follow her and be her advisor, I would advise you to have more faith in her. She will be back." I say, without a shadow of doubt in my mind.
"It is not her I doubt," he laughs. "It is Jorah Mormont and Daario Naharis."
"Do not," I shake my head at him. "If anyone can get her back, it is the two of them. That is, unless, she finds a way herself. Which would not come as a surprise to me. Do not waste your worry on her, Lord Tyrion. We should worry about Meereen. After all, we are the ones ruling it in her stead now."
"You, me, Missandei and Grey Worm," he nods, staring down in his now empty glass. "What are the chances that we will lose Meereen by the time she returns?"
"Slim to none, my Lord."
…
"What is on your mind?" I ask; she looks worried. Of course, she often looks worried.
"Some things are troubling me, but it is nothing I cannot handle."
"I am here if you wish to talk," I smile. I do not want to push her, but she needs to know that if she needs me, I will be ready to help. "Day or night, I am here." I remind her as I take a grape from my plate and throw it into my mouth. I stay silent for a moment, as I can see her pondering whether or not to share her worries with me. As much as I would like to help, I know that some things are better left alone.
"So many things have happened since Drogo died," she sighs. "So much time has passed."
"And we have not even noticed it," I agree. "Time flies. It always does. But we have not been standing still. You have freed cities and gained followers. All the while, all of them in Westeros are killing each other before you have a chance to end them."
"I agree, they have been doing a darn good job," she smiles and I laugh. Even better for us. "Do you ever feel lonely, Milani?" she asks me.
"Not really, no," I answer, but as soon as I do, I stop and think about my statement. "Perhaps at times. It is difficult to feel lonely when you are always with friends."
"I did not mean it like that," Dany smiles at me. "I wonder if you ever… desire company of a man?" she asks me. I could tell it was not an easy question for her to ask; just as I could tell that she felt a bit more uncomfortable when I started laughing.
"Dany, you know I have never been with a man," I tell her, smiling at her. "How can I miss something I did not have? If you are asking me this because you want the company of a man… well, that is understandable. You were a woman married. You know what you are missing. It is normal."
"Is it?" she asks. "You never felt any desire for a man?"
"I did," I admit, trying to remember. "I liked a man and I would go red in the face whenever he would look at me, but that is how it ended. If I had truly felt it, I'm not sure what I would do."
"You would go through with it," Dany tells me and I look at her in surprise. "You are brave. You do not care what people say. I know you, Milani. If you wanted someone, if you truly wanted someone, nothing else would matter to you."
"Perhaps you are right," I shrug. "After all, you do know me better than I know myself. And that would explain my chastity, if I never truly wanted anyone. But that is only me. If you want someone, it is alright to be brave."
"Is it?"
"Of course it is, Danny," I laugh. "You are a Queen. You are Daenerys Targaryen, Daenerys Stormborn, the Breaker of Chains. If you want a lover, bloody well take one!"
"Do you truly find that to be acceptable?" she asks me.
"Dany, you know the stories as well as I do, if not better," I smile at her, shaking my head. "If men can have loves that give them bastards, if men can visit pleasure houses without anyone batting an eye, why should a woman be concerned about taking a lover? A Queen, at that."
"You see the world in a simpler way than it actually is."
"Perhaps," I shrug. "But I do know we do not get a second chance at living. With everything that you have done, with all the lives you've saved, would it harm anyone if you were to have a little bit of fun?"
"You might be right."
"Is it Ser Jorah?" I ask and her eyes go wide.
"Milani!" she snaps in surprise. "No! Never! Ser Jorah is…. He is like a father to me."
"Perhaps he may be a father to you, but I can assure you, you are not like a daughter to him." I tell her. I am unsure if she could not realize it, or if she turned her head in a different direction on purpose, not wanting to see the truth. I did look the right way and I saw the way Ser Jorah looked at her.
It might not be my place, but I know that he would treat her right. The man would take an arrow for her, without batting an eye. Is that not what every little girl dreams of, when she imagines her Prince?
But she is not looking for a Prince. She does not need a man that would take an arrow for her. She has plenty of men around her that would gladly do it, whether she takes them into her bed or not. She does not need a husband, nor love. She wants a lover. Ser Jorah would never be the right option for that. She would break his heart into a million little pieces if she was to use him like that. No… luckily for her, she has plenty of men around her who would gladly be used in such a way.
"Ser Jorah is kind and honorable, but…"
"He is not what you look for in a lover," I finish in her stead as she nods her head in confirmation. "Well, you have an army to choose from." I laugh.
"I doubt the Unsullied have what I need."
"Not all of your men are Unsullied, are they now?" I ask, raising my eyebrow at her. "I see things, Dany. Perhaps even more than I should and without a doubt, more than I'd like. Daario Naharis worships the ground you walk on. And I think you know it as well."
"I need Daario Naharis to keep me safe and fight my battles."
"He can do both, so long as you do not tire him out," I laugh. My laugh grows louder when I see her go all red in the face. "Do not hold yourself back, Dany. You and I both know what you have been through. The perils you had to go through, the husband you loved and lost… It is difficult enough as it is. If you want something, especially if it is something as trivial as having a man in your bed on different occasions, you should not hold yourself back. We only get one life, Dany. You do deserve to have a little fun in it." I tell her, knowing that she never really had proper fun.
I remember when we were children. She would always follow Viserys, always listening to him speak about the Throne that was his. With a brother and a family legacy such as hers, Dany never got a chance to be a proper child, to play in the puddles and get dirt on her dresses.
She loved Drogo and then she lost him. I was there, every step of the way, trying to comfort her even if I could not even imagine the grief she was going through. I have never lost anyone that I care for. Not that I knew, at least. It was all foreign to me, but I saw my friend and pain and I just wanted to help.
She deserves a little bit of fun. She deserves a man that will make her forget about the wars she is fighting and the quest she is on. All of it will still be there in the morning. The only problem is that she is responsible and does not want to do that, not without reassurance from someone. In this case, me.
"It all seems so wrong," she shakes her head. "I do not know if I can do that."
"It might seem wrong, but I have a slight suspicion that it will feel right," I smile at her. "And regarding you being unsure if you can do that… You are Daenerys Targaryen. You can absolutely do whatever it is that you want."
"What would I do without you, Milani?" she asks me.
"Be an equally good Queen as you are now," I smile as she rolls her eyes at me. "You give me more credit then I deserve. You have always done that."
"And you do not give yourself credit enough," she leans over the table and takes me by the hand. "You are the only one that has been there for me, since we were both children. You have never left my side. You are my closest friend, Milani. You are a sister to me. We might not have the same blood in our veins but you are my family. The only family I have left."
"I will always be here for you, sister." I say, squeezing her hand as well. There were a thousand words I wanted to say, but I stay quiet, knowing they would fall short to the words she used.
She knows it. She knows I would do anything for her. She knows I would follow her into death, if that is where she is going. I even did that before and lived to tell the tale.
I owe her my life. We might not have the same blood, but she is my sister. And she will be my sister until my dying day.