Take

No matter how small they were, they were a sight to behold. A dozen soldiers, six carrying three dragons. Their wings were held closed with rope and their jaws with a modified muzzle. Smoke blew through the air as they thrashed against the guard's grip. There was no secrecy this time. Let them know that the dragons had been defeated. The dragons were captive. This time, once and for all.

A new cage had been made, just for the dragons. It was large, so as to hold them as they grew. It had replaced one of the cages down with the hounds, the bars made of stainless steel and locks on both the middle, bottom and top of the door. The gaps were small, with bars stretching both horizontal and vertical.

They threw the dragons in, locking the door before they could reach it. The black one crashed into the bars, gripping onto them and growling as it watched the guards leave. The hounds howled in a terrifying chorus that echoed down the halls of the castle.

Drogon clutched onto the bars, fuming. He strained against his muzzle, peeling back his lips and trying to cough fire out between them. His eyes filled with flaming fury as his claws scraped at the steel, his tail slamming against the metal with as much force as he could muster.

Ned Stark stood by the stairs, watching the black dragon rage. He would have to put guards down here from now on, to keep the dragons in, as well as to keep any potential rescuers out. He was well aware that someone had to have hatched the dragons. That person would likely want them back.

They wouldn't be getting them back.

Kidnapped

Sansa awoke to Lady's yelp. She scrambled back, her mind turning to the worst possibility. She saw Lady, sprawled out on the floor motionless. Two guards, the ones that usually stood guard on her door, loomed over the bed. "What are you doing?" She gasped. "Why did you kill her?"
"She's not dead, princess," one said, grabbing her arms and hefting her off the bed. "But she will be if you don't cooperate."

"What are you doing? Let go of me at once!"

The guards chuckled. "You're not giving commands anymore, princess. You're coming with us."

"My father will have your heads for this!"
"Your father will have no idea what happened to you." Something hit the back of her head, knocking the colour out of her vision and her world dropped into black.

Daenerys paced the streets of Wintertown, her eyes looking for any sign of her dragons. She hadn't seen them since the morning, and usually, Rhaegal would come back to her for the night. She didn't dare call for them, afraid someone would catch her.

A glint of silver caught her eye. She turned to the side. "Rhaegal? Is that you?" No response.

Something seized her arm, yanking her back. She felt the air leave her lungs as she was dragged backwards. She twisted her head around to see who had her. A guard, dressed in silver suit, was dragging her down the streets. She thrashed, hearing the guard curse as he held her tighter. "Shut up, girl."

Daenerys snarled. "Make me!" The guard slammed his fist into the side of her head. She felt dizzy, her legs crumpling and her consciousness swam away from her.

Slavery

The next time Sansa woke, she was laying on the floor staring up at a ceiling. She sat up, arching her back to stretch out the stiffness. She was on top of a rug inside a small room, with a table and four chairs set around it in the corner. Other than that, it was empty. There was a window opposite of the door, small enough that she doubted she could crawl out of it. It looked almost like a cell. A big cell, but a cell.

She felt the rug shift beneath her and looked beside her, jumping back when she noticed someone else lay beside her. "Dany?"

Her eyes flickered open, locking onto hers. "Sansa?" She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Where are we?"

"I'm not sure."

Daenerys stood, moving over to look out the window. "It's just water. Everywhere."

Sansa joined her at the window. She frowned. "There are seagulls in the air. The North doesn't have seagulls."

The door squealed open behind them. Both girls spun around to face the woman that walked through the door. Her hair was long and bright golden and her eyes were a bright leafy green. Sansa's face contorted into a scowl. "Cersei Lannister."

"Hello, little doves." Sansa bristled as Cersei walked closer. "How are you liking your new room?"

Daenerys growled. "What do you want with us?"
"Isn't it obvious? You're my prisoners."

"Then what do you want with her?" Sansa asked, her head tilting toward Daenerys. "She's a common girl."
"Perhaps she is. But she- both of you- can get me what I want."

"And what do you want?"
Cersei chuckled. "Those little dragons of yours."

Daenerys stiffened. "Was it you who took my dragons? What did you do with them?"

Cersei shook her head. "Oh, no, I don't have your dragons. The Starks beat me to that. It was the only reason I was able to bring you here. If the dragons were with you, they would've never let me." She pressed closer, backing them both against the wall. "But I will get them, and when I do, you will help me command them."

Daenerys snarled. "Why should I?"
Cersei smirked. "Because if you don't, one of your precious dragons is going to get itself grounded. Forever."

Sansa gasped. "You'd cut their wings off?"

"That is what it means to ground something, is it not?"

"You bitch!" Daenerys lunged for her, only for two guards to step in and aim their spears at her. She froze.

Cersei grinned. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Daenerys fumed silently. "Now, both of you will come with me. I'm having guests over tonight, and you will be my servants. Try anything and you'll find yourself missing a hand."

Daenerys didn't move after Cersei, glaring at the empty doorway. Sansa slipped her hand into hers, squeezing it and tugging her forward. She sighed but started after Sansa, gripping her hand tightly. The guards walked behind them as they followed Cersei through the halls of Casterly Rock.

The dining hall was already half full. Cersei waved her hand over to an adjoining room to the left. "Those are the kitchens. Other servants are there to show you what to do. If anyone asks for something, you will supply it for them. Make a mistake and you will regret it." Sansa and Daenerys exchanged glances. "Now fetch me some wine!"

Gathering Info

Maybe it was a pain, and maybe it was humiliating. That didn't mean it couldn't be beneficial.

When they first began their new work, everyone spoke in hushed tones and hushed down whenever one of them drew near, but over time the caution levels lowered. Whenever Sansa stepped up to pour some lord his wine, she could catch snippets of the conversation. She'd heard herself brought up, Daenerys, the dragons, her father, the Stark name, and she would always listen for as long as she could. She'd heard their opinions of her and her family, their lust for the firepower dragons could provide.

"We need to act!" Tywin Lannister slammed his fist down onto the table. "So we do have Ned Stark's daughter, what has he done about it? Nothing! He knows we won't kill her as long as he stays away. The longer he stays away, the more time he has to plan!" The lords all looked down. "Lord Payne, you sent spies to Winterfell. What have they reported?"

"They believe that the dragons are being kept down with the hounds. The area is guarded much more than it would usually be and there's been no chance to even get down into the area, though they have seen people bringing trays of meat down. They think it's to feed the dragons."

Tywin sighed. "Lord Payne. Are you aware of the fact that hounds eat meat?"
His face flushed. "I- yes, Lord Tywin, I am."

"Have you considered that maybe they are feeding the hounds?" His face only became redder.

Sansa felt someone slap her on the side. "More wine, girl!" Sansa obeyed, moving back to the kitchen for a new pitcher but keeping an ear out to the table. Daenerys passed her, brushing her shoulder with hers.

"Alright. So we have no more information on the dragons. How about plans. Do they mean to move on us anytime soon?"
Lord Payne shook his head. "There were no reports of an upcoming attack. Apparently, they are focusing more on their own people than they are on us."

Tywin sighed again. "Starks. Always looking out for others before themselves. It will be the death of them."

"Could we use that against them?"

"What do you want to do, send your men through Wintertown and slaughter the place?"

"Well, yes."

"Idiots, all of you." Sansa refilled his glass. "Even if we did kill the entire town our armies would be crushed. It would be a waste."

"But-"

"I will not hear anything from you imbeciles anymore. All of you, out!" Sansa set down the pitcher, stacking the plates as the lords filed out. She felt Tywin's eyes on her but ignored it best she could. "Girl."

Sansa kept her gaze low. "Yes, my lord?"

"What do you plan to do with all this information you're gathering?"
Sansa shrugged. "What could I do with it? I'm trapped here."

Tywin looked away. "Too compliant. Come here, dragon girl."

Daenerys emerged from the kitchens, her steps slow. "Yes, my lord?"

"What do you plan to do with everything you hear?"

Daenerys folded her hands together. "Make my own assumptions on what you plan to do."

"And then what?"

"Figure out if there's anything I can do to prevent it."

"And is there?"

Daenerys met his gaze. "No. You've made sure of that."

Tywin stared at her. "At least you've got some personality to you."

Daenerys frowned. "She's frightened."

"And you aren't?"

Daenerys raised her chin. "I've dealt with worse than she has."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what have you dealt with?" She looked away. He stood from his chair. "I suppose it doesn't matter. Guards, escort them back to their room once the table is clean." And with that, he walked out.

Past Troubles

Back in their empty room, Daenerys curled up in the corner and buried her head in her knees. Sansa sighed, sitting beside her. "Dany? Are you alright?"

"You're going to ask about it, aren't you?" She said, quiet.

"Do you want to tell me?" She shook her head. "Why not?"
"I'm afraid you'll think less of me."
"Daenerys, I could never think less of you." She looked up at Sansa, her eyes wide. "You just stood up to Tywin Lannister. You've survived troubles I could never begin to imagine. You hatched three dragons, Daenerys. Dragons! Creatures we thought were gone forever." Sansa took one of Daenerys's hands in her own. "Whatever happened to you shaped you into what you are now."

Daenerys took a shaky breath. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"

"If you want to tell it."

She rested her chin on her knees. "When I was younger, my brother and I lived in Essos. Braavos, to be exact. He always said that we were of a great ancient house, that we were royalty. He thought of himself as a king. He wanted to come back to Westeros and take one of the kingdoms for himself. He never said which one, he just wanted one.

"He needed an army, and he didn't have one. He planned to go to Astapor to get the Unsullied and in turn would give the slavers three dragon eggs. The dragon eggs, they were the only thing that Viserys had to prove our 'ancient heritage.' He said that they were the last remnants of a dying age. He said that they were relics, the dragons inside having been turned to stone over age.

"I-I couldn't let him sell the eggs. They were my only source of hope, hope that things would turn out alright. That I wouldn't always be hungry, that I wouldn't always have to live in Viserys's shadow. So I took the eggs and I fled. Took the first boat that would have me and let them sail me to wherever."

"And you ended up in the North."

"Yes." Daenerys sniffed. "The dragons, they were my light. With them gone, it feels like a piece of me is missing."

Sansa wrapped her arm around Daenerys's shoulders. "We'll get them back, I promise. Once we're free, I will convince my father of their innocence and they can stay with you."

"What if we never get out?"
"We will, I promise. My father would never let me stay here forever. He'll come and get us when he's ready." Daenerys nodded. "Your brother. Did he ever…"

"He would hit me whenever he got angry. He always told me that he would take me as his wife when he took the lands for himself."

"Did he tell you what your heritage was?" She shook her head. "Do you think he knew?"

"He knew. I think he was afraid I would betray him somehow. He always kept the details secret from me."

A cold gust blew through the window. Sansa shivered against Daenerys's side, sending chills up her spine. Daenerys tucked herself closer to her friend, letting her ever-warm body help fight the cold. It was always cold at night with no hot spring for Sansa and no dragon cuddle-buddies for Daenerys.

Sansa sighed into Daenerys's hair. "It'll all be fine soon. Even if it takes another year, we'll leave this hellhole behind us eventually."

"Stop making promises you can't keep."

"Optimism, Dany. Have some faith."

"In what?"

"In the world." Sansa squeezed her hand. "If there is any justice in the world, we'll be free someday."

Someday. Someday could be a long time coming.

Wild

Daenerys paced back and forth across the room. "I swear, if I have to spend another day stuck in a room with those arrogant fools I'm going to stick myself with one of those knives."

Sansa snorted from where she sat at the table. "Sure you will."

"You don't believe me?"

"Not particularly." Daenerys groaned, throwing herself into the chair across from Sansa. "Any way I could help?"
"No."

"Hmm. Pity."

Sansa took the time to study Daenerys. Her silver hair was done up in a bun, courtesy of a few other servants. Her normally tan skin had paled somewhat from the weeks they'd spent locked up inside and she had bags under her eyes. Her shoulders were hunched and her back was slumped lazily. A sad expression sat on her face. Her amethyst eyes had lost their shine and her lips were pale and chapped.

Daenerys raised her eyes to meet Sansa's. "You look sad."

"So do you." There was a pause and an idea suddenly hit Sansa's mind. She stood, offering her hand to Daenerys. "Dance with me."

Daenerys looked at her with a confused expression. "What?"

"You heard me. Dance with me."

"I don't know how to dance."

"So? We're locked away in an empty room with only each other as company. No one will judge."

Daenerys took Sansa's hand. Sansa helped her to her feet, pulling her closer. Sansa rested her hands on her waist. Daenerys held her hands awkwardly by her side. Sansa chuckled. "Around my neck."

Daenerys wrapped her arms around Sansa's neck and they began to sway to some unheard music. Daenerys kept her eyes away from Sansa, her fingers fiddling with the baby hairs on her neck. "Daenerys?"

"Yes?"

"You seem nervous." She shook her head, keeping her eyes away. "Dany. Come on, look at me." She reluctantly met Sansa's eyes, the ocean blue hues entrancing her. "What's wrong?"

"I-It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Daenerys, please, tell me. You shouldn't keep it to yourself." Silence. Daenerys once more averted her gaze. "Dany. Please, just… I don't like you looking so nervous around me."

"I'm not sure how you'll feel about it."

"Daenerys, whatever it is, I won't abandon you. You're my friend, now and always." Something in that sentence seemed to make her even more nervous.

Daenerys muttered a prayer to whatever gods were listening. Then she pressed her lips against Sansa's.