As soon as the words left Jorah's mouth, his queen's blood turned to ice.

Perched atop Drogon, Daenerys' eyes were wide and disbelieving - staring at him with an intensity unmatched in the Seven Kingdoms. It took much of Jorah's courage to will his gaze not to waver. He dug his boots deeper into the earth of the Dragonstone clearing - planting himself firmly in front of his queen and her dragon - all in a bid to keep them from taking flight.

There was something to be said about either his bravery or his stupidity as he stood in the path of a dragon, but even then, the knight steeled his resolve to stand his ground.

He could not leave - not yet. His queen had yet to answer the question that had haunted his mind for some time now.

"Do you intend to destroy King's Landing, Your Grace?"

He had been there when it happened. When the Northerners hailed Jon Snow as their king at the feast - all but forgetting his queen who had brought them their salvation. He was there when she told him of Jon's true heritage, her eyes barely concealing her heartbreak and panic at the damning revelation. He had been there when Rhaegal was shot out of the sky - when his queen's child choked on his own blood and plunged into the sea. He was there when sweet, gentle Missandei was beheaded, and when Grey Worm fought against the bile rising in his throat as his beloved's head rolled.

And he had been there when Daenerys' eyes shifted. When the green irises hardened into Valyrian steel - forged by the blazing inferno of her grief and her rage.

She had left King's Landing with the unspoken promise of retribution, and when her eyes finally locked onto his, Jorah felt the hairs on his neck raise in alarm. This was not the gaze of a woman who intended to rule a kingdom with love and kindness. This was the gaze of a woman who intended to burn and raze a city to the ground.

Jorah knew his queen had a good and gentle heart. It was the heart he knew better than anyone else - the one he had followed through the great deserts and across the vast seas. It was the heart of a kind and just ruler; but hearts like these could only take so much.

He had hoped - he had prayed that he was wrong - that his eyes had been mistaken and that he was a fool for doubting her at all. But no… he wasn't wrong. The emptiness in her eyes as she executed Lord Varys was proof of that.

And now - now she was at the very brink - ready to storm King's Landing and take the Iron Throne, whatever the cost may be. A point from which there was no return.

But no. He would not let her fall. Not while he still drew breath.

"Stand aside, Ser Jorah," Daenerys ordered, tone brokering no room for argument.

But the Mormont stood his ground. She had not answered his question.

"I apologize, my queen," his head dipped low, "but I'm afraid I cannot."

White-hot anger sparked in the queen's eyes, the air simmering around her as the scent of ozone filled the empty clearing. Her voice, however, was as cold as stone.

"Is this betrayal, Ser Jorah?"

His response was instantaneous. Faster than she could blink, the knight's spine straightened - his eyes hardening as they locked with hers - his voice vehement.

"Never."

Daenerys growled low, her frustration building.

"Then what is the meaning of this? Why do you refuse to let me claim what is rightfully mine?"

Jorah's voice was even; his stare, resolute.

"Because you have not answered my question, Your Grace: do you intend to destroy King's Landing?"

The Targaryen could physically feel her blood boil - reaching a fever pitch as her rage and her grief quickly rose to the surface.

"Cersei is using my mercy to keep me from claiming my birthright-"

That was not the answer Jorah wanted.

"Do you intend to destroy King's Landing?"

"-she is trying to exploit my reluctance-"

"Do you plan to kill thousands of people-"

"-the people here will only follow me with fear-"

"-the innocents you swore to protect-"

"-they will not follow me-"

"-children-"

"-they will not accept me-"

"- babies -"

"-they will never love me-"

"-all of them slaughtered, khaleesi-"

"And what if I do?!" Daenerys burst in a scream of unrepressed rage - chest heaving and eyes wild with grief and blazing ire.

Jorah was stunned into silence. Not in fear or in horror, but at her very admission. At what she had almost done; at what she planned to do.

And again, the knight saw his queen's eyes shift.

"And so what if this is what I intend to do?" she asked icily. "What if I do fly to King's Landing and take it by force? It is my birthright. I have suffered - I have lost far too much to let it all be in vain. Do you propose I stand aside? That I let the woman who killed my closest confidant walk free? Unpunished?"

Daenerys felt the fire filling her chest - blazing, growing, raging, until she could hardly breathe - suffocated by the enormity of it. She could feel the same fire building in Drogon's throat, his growl growing louder and louder until the ground trembled beneath their feet.

All the while, Ser Jorah stood his ground, and Daenerys hated it.

"You saw what she did to Missandei!" she roared at her knight. "They killed her - beheaded her - her hands bound and in chains for all of us to see! And these people - I see how they look at me. With fear and distrust, even when I brought them their deliverance. When more than half of my people died so they could live!"

Her breath came in short bursts, panting and racing like the beats of her heart that threatened to burst out of her chest and that pounded in her ears as her blood rushes rushes rushes burns-

"They kill those I love - they shoot my child out of the sky - they betray me, they despise me, they take, they lie, they use, they steal, they fight, they fear -"

Abruptly, her voice halted and her eyes grew empty. Jorah's blood ran cold.

"They fear." Toneless. "They will always fear me. They will never love me - they will never accept me as their queen. Not in their hearts. And if this is the case…"

Her jaw was set.

"…Then I shall give them something to truly fear."

And at her words, Jorah felt all the color drain from his face - his eyes wide and disbelieving.

His queen did not seem to notice; perhaps she didn't care.

"Stand aside, Ser Jorah."

The knight felt his hands tremble and his knees shake as the truth of the situation washed over him. He knew what she was about to do, and if he stood aside now, she would follow through. She would do it: burn thousands upon thousands of innocent people, all to serve as kindling for the inferno of her misery and rage.

This was not her. This was not the true Daenerys - Jorah knew it in his heart of hearts. This was not his queen who locked her dragons away for killing an innocent child. His queen was kind and gentle and just and good. She was loving and compassionate - she wanted to care for her people - to serve, to protect.

This was not her.

Jorah took a shuddering breath - mustering all of the courage in his soul, and praying that the iron of his will would not bend. Fixing her with an unyielding gaze - why were her eyes empty, this was not her - the knight stood before his queen and her dragon, and unsheathed his sword.

Not a moment later, he dropped it to the ground and kneeled.

"If this is the path you have chosen, my queen, then I cannot stand aside and watch you become what you have fought so hard to destroy."

The Mormont could feel her gaze burning into his bowed head, and it took all of his resolve to keep his voice steady, even as Drogon's growls grew louder and the earth shook underfoot.

"I will not watch you burn, khaleesi," he said, finally meeting her eyes. "If you truly intend to raze King's Landing to the ground and slaughter thousands of innocent lives-"

He nodded once, resolute.

"-Then let the first life you claim be mine. If only to strengthen your resolve."

And with that, Ser Jorah Mormont dropped his gaze to the ground in a position of total surrender.

For a moment, there was only stunned silence.

Then,

"Your actions have displeased me, Ser Jorah," Daenerys said slowly through clenched teeth, unwilling to look at her knight who was bowed in submission - awaiting his own execution. "But, for all our time together, I am willing to consider the possibility that you believe you are acting in my interest. And so, however displeased I am with your actions here today… you have done nothing to warrant your death."

To her words, Jorah's reply was soft but sure.

"Neither have the people of King's Landing, khaleesi. The innocents have done nothing to warrant their demise. If you intend to kill them, then this would be no different."

His eyes were the saddest she had ever seen them.

"But please, khaleesi, I beg you. Do not."

An echo of words spoken a lifetime ago.

"Do not."

With nothing left to say, Jorah bowed his head, closed his eyes, and accepted whatever fate lay in store for him.

He did not regret anything. If he were to die here and now - by the hand of his queen and the dragon he helped raise - then he would die knowing he protected her to the end. He would die protecting the true Daenerys - remaining loyal and steadfast to her 'till his very last breath - just as he had promised so many years ago under the scorching Essos sun.

And there was no better death for him than that.

He heard the crunch of grass as Drogon shifted before him - bracing himself and rearing his head, Jorah supposed. His eyes shut tight, the Mormont took one final, shuddering breath, and prepared himself for whatever awaited him beyond the wall of flames.

He hoped it would not hurt for very long.

…But instead, it never came.

Instead, all he heard was a voice - so quiet and so unsure.

"Ser Jorah?"

Daring to open his eyes, the knight raised his head to the source of the voice, and was shocked by the sight that met him.

It was not Drogon's maw or a sea of flames to consume him. It was Daenerys - her eyes clear and shining and so very very scared.

Eyes that belonged to the young new bride of a fierce Dothraki khal.

He was on his feet, arms open in an instant.

The young woman wasted no time in running into his embrace - her heart seeking the comfort only her protector could provide. In the safety of his arms, she finally - finally - allowed herself to weep.

"Ser Jorah, what I was planning - what I was about to do-"

"Shhhh…" he hushed, stroking her hair gently as she sobbed into his chest. "It's all in the past now. That was not you, khaleesi. That was not you."

"But it was," she whispered quietly. "I wanted to burn them. To make them feel my pain. To make them fear me and follow me, like a mad, tyrant queen."

"But you didn't, khaleesi ," Jorah said firmly, holding her closer as she welcomed the warmth. "You fought it. You defeated it. You are nothing like your father."

At his declaration, Daenerys couldn't help the tears that rolled down her cheeks, nor the muffled sobs that escaped her throat.

She had been so close - so very, very close to the edge - and if her wonderful, brave, loyal bear hadn't been there then maybe she would have-

"Shhhhh…"

Her thoughts were cut short by her knight's soothing hush - the sound rumbling in his chest and filling her with a warmth that thawed her bones.

"What do I do now, Ser Jorah?" she whispered, needing his counsel more than ever.

The Mormont responded by rubbing her back comfortingly, with all of the tenderness and affection he could offer.

"Now, khaleesi, you breathe." His quiet voice was steady as he held her in his arms - safe and secure. "All you have to do is breathe."

And as the young woman buried herself deeper into her knight's warm embrace - sighing in contentment as the world fell away - she allowed the air to rush into her lungs and leave in a calm and gentle whoosh; finally able to breathe again.

Author's Note:

Hi there! So this is my first contribution to the GoT fandom!

I heard so many people say that Jorah would have been able to talk Dany down, and I couldn't see him killing her, so this is how I pictured the confrontation to go! I really hope it was in character and turned out well, but if you have any opinions or constructive criticism, I would be more than open to hear it! All feedback is loved and treasured, so please leave your comments down below!

Also, please feel free to drop and ask or message on my Tumblr, gameofthrones-fam! I'd love to get to know all of you more!

Thank you all again and I hope you all have a wonderful day!