A Feat of Daring
Jon
He was being shaken. His name called. Jon blinked open his eyes to find himself lying below deck with Jorah and Davos by his side, urging him to sit up. Next to him Edd still lay unconscious.
"Is he … is he all right?" Jon asked, fighting back the now familiar feeling of nausea as he hauled himself up into a sitting position.
"As far as we can tell," Jorah said. "You've recovered faster than any of the other Riders who collapsed though."
"I managed to get out in time." He paused, trying to get his mind back into the real world. "What happened?"
"A dragon arrived," Davos stated.
"Daenerys?" Jon shook his head the moment he said it, knowing that that was impossible.
"No, the smaller one," Jorah said. "I've no idea why he would come on his own. He only ever works through her Familiar."
Jon nodded, understanding the knight's confusion. None of the lesser wolves in his pack would act without Ghost close by either. It didn't exactly make any sense. "But what actually happened?" he pushed.
"The dragon ignored the kraken completely and focused on a single ship," Jorah said. "The lead one."
"The one with Euron on I assume. He may not be a bonded animal but I still don't think he would be capable of attacking a Familiar."
"Probably not. Anyway, the moment he fired, you collapsed and we feared the worst but … obviously you got out?"
"I got sent a warning." Jon frowned. "I need to get up on deck and see what's happening."
Two strong arms hauled him to his feet and then caught him when he staggered, retching slightly. "Are you sure you're strong enough?" Davos asked.
"Have to be ..." he mumbled.
Their ship was listing slightly, limping its way northwards towards the shore which didn't make keeping to his feet any easier. The moment he got on deck, Yara came running over to him.
"Are you all right?" Jon nodded weakly. "You look like shit. We couldn't get directly to shore because of the rocks but, fortunately, that dragon attack gave us the extra time we needed to escape and we're now skirting slightly north to avoid them. Is the kraken dead?"
"Probably not, but I doubt Euron got out of his head as quickly as I was able to. Without his control the creature will be running off to lick his wounds …" He shook his head, "… or whatever sea creatures do when they're over-Ridden." He looked up at the sky. "Where's the dragon?"
"I assumed it would have returned to the queen?" Jorah said.
"No, over there," Davos said, pointing. "On shore."
"Why is he still here?" Jon frowned, focusing on the creature briefly but was unable to sense him from his current position. He then tried to contact Ghost but his Familiar was still a long way away and Jon was in no fit state to push his mind out that far.
"We'll be there sooner than you think," Theon said, sensing his impatience. "The current will pull us in quickly now we're this close to Bandallon, you'll see."
Jon nodded, trying to get his head together. "Tell me everything then. How many ships did we lose? What happened during the battle? I need to catch up before we reach the shore and then I'll see what I'm able to do about getting the news back to Daenerys."
~o~0~o~
The battle for Oldtown had been lost, but their casualties were relatively small and most of Jon's army and the Greyjoy fleet would survive to fight another day. The journey back to shore gave the young king a chance to issue commands for their retreat and, fortunately, the dragon had evened the odds a little, causing a huge amount of damage to Euron's fleet and preventing the enemy from pursuing them. In the end, the physical fight had ended up as much of a stalemate as Jon's strange Warg battle had.
He felt perfectly recovered by the time he got to land, running towards the dragon whilst simultaneously pushing his mind out to Ghost, quickly establishing a faint contact with the direwolf whilst trying to work out what was going on.
'Big dragon fights,' his Familiar relayed.
Jon looked up at the sky, trying to judge the time. Apparently the King's Landing fight was still happening.
'Dragon fight started after Wolf fight.'
"Huh," Jon grumbled as he translated that information. "So much for our perfect timing. Can you sense anything from this smaller dragon?"
'Too far.'
He had assumed as much, slowing his pace as he got closer and reaching a hand toward the beast as he opened up his mind.
"Do you remember me?" he asked and then frowned, recalling something from his connection with Daenerys. "Rhaegal, isn't it?" Knowing his name should help him to form a bond with the beast.
The dragon turned to regard him, his head lowering, but Jon could sense no direct communication from him as he had during the Battle for the Dawn. Slowly, nervously, he reached out his mind, just skirting the edge of the green's, testing the possibility that he might be allowed to Ride him, but Rhaegal's reaction was instant and violent, turning to roar at Jon who jumped back, hands held up in apology.
"I understand. I was just checking and wondering why you're still here."
The dragon moved again, this time to one side to lower a wing and Jon initially thought that the creature had been injured in the fight and was asking for assistance. It took him a moment longer to understand what the beast was doing and then it was Jon's turn for the strong reaction, a real fear overcoming him. The dragon wouldn't let him Ride his mind but he apparently did want him to get on his back. To fly such a creature when he had no real control of him was highly dangerous.
"I need something from you, Rhaegal," he said, pushing his thoughts out tentatively again. "Why?"
'Help dragons. Help dragon Rider.'
"Is Daenerys in trouble, Ghost?" he asked his Familiar. "Is Drogon?"
'Yes.'
That was all he needed to hear. Without any further hesitation, Jon started to climb onto Rhaegal, now thinking of nothing but Dany and helping her.
~o~0~o~
The journey east was suitably terrifying, and Jon's stomach, which had only just settled after his Warg battle, began to churn again as he decided that sailing on the water was far preferable to flying in the air. He instantly gained a new respect for Daenerys then, especially considering she first started to fly like this as a child, as it certainly took a lot of nerve to be this high above the ground. The route to King's Landing was obvious from up here though, Rhaegal following the river Mander across the Reach all the way to Tumbletown and from there a relatively short hop over to Blackwater Bay. Once they reached the capital, the dragon flew directly over the water, keeping the castle to his left and skirting around it to stay clear of the battle, although Jon could see little more than faint dots of troops milling around in that direction. Then Rhaegal banked and Jon yelped, grabbing the spikes tightly as he tried to put his fear to one side and focus on the fact that they were now, thankfully, heading in to land.
And there, far below on an open field just north-east of the battle site, he could see the large, dark form of Drogon, curled up tightly like a sleeping cat.
"Is he all right?" Jon asked, but he could get no response from Rhaegal or Ghost and knew they would have to get a lot closer before he could make any sense of what was happening down there.
He thought to dismount once they had landed but the green made no attempt to offer him a wing, apparently deciding he'd be safer where he was, and, seeing as Jon had no idea what was happening with the physical battle here or whether there would be enemies approaching, that was probably sensible - the thought confirmed when he was finally able to reach out his mind and understand what was going on.
How ironic to find Daenerys and Drogon locked in a very similar battle to the one he had fought with Euron and his kraken.
As Jon prepared to enter Drogon's mind to help out, the large dragon was suddenly roused from his stalemate, turning towards him with a roar of anguish. Jon winced, pulling back for a moment, vaguely aware of a brief communication between the two dragons before the largest backed down slightly. Guessing something of what was happening Jon pushed his own thoughts back towards Drogon.
"Please let me in. You know me. You know I am here to help you and your Rider."
'Too many.'
"I understand but, if you let me in, I promise I'll get rid of them for you and then I will leave too. Trust me."
There was a long pause before the dragon replied. 'Trust Rider's mate. Help dragon family.'
"Yes," Jon confirmed, taking a deep breath and pushing his mind fully inside of Drogon's.
~o~0~o~
As usual he appeared fully equipped for battle; Longclaw in his hand and with Ghost, even fainter than before, by his side. The floor beneath him growled and shifted; Drogon, despite giving his permission, not at all happy about now having four people Riding him. Four. She was having to fight two Wargs. No wonder she was struggling.
Jon gasped when he saw the image of Daenerys his mind had conjured. A beautiful goddess made of fire; white-hot hair rippling above her head and bright flames dancing around and through her, whilst red ribbons of fire burst from her fingertips. Two opponents circled her - unnaturally large and growing rapidly - and Jon viewed them in the same way as he had Euron, half the elderly men they were and half the animals they Rode; a horse jumping the flames as his Rider fired a crossbow at Dany, and a dog, snapping and nipping at the sparks as his master shot his longbow.
"Leave her alone!" Jon snarled. He was both man and wolf with the full support of the dragon they were attacking and the anger he felt now was far greater than when he'd been fighting Euron. How dare they attack her! How dare they!
They were larger than him, but old and slow, their only advantage being the fact that they were working together. Jon danced around them, trying to work out which one was weaker - the dog, he decided - and he met the snarling creature with a growl of his own. He was a direwolf, his opponent a mere hound and the old man knew it too, soon shrinking and fearful and then … gone.
Jon turned with a roar, his blood up, barely contained fury turned fur and flesh as he approached the horse. A horse! The old man's face paled as he saw his opponent stalk closer and then, after a single swing of Longclaw he too was gone, thrown out of Drogon's head with very little effort required from Jon.
He turned again, sword up towards Dany, who now appeared as a small, silver haired child, hands held up towards him, half ready to attack, half ready to hug.
"Jon," she whimpered. "I should have told you. I should have said how much I miss you." And then she too was gone, pulled out with a sharp cry, just a moment before Drogon roared and forced Jon out after her.
~o~0~o~
He gasped, breathing heavily, clinging to Rheagal's scales as white specks danced before his eyes and his stomach rolled.
"Please let me down now," he begged and the green obliged, quickly lowering one shoulder and wing to the ground. As Jon had no strength left to climb he simply allowed himself to slide, hoping the slope down to the grass was as gradual as it appeared. He landed in a heap, throwing up violently, before staggering to his feet and heading towards Drogon who, now confused and angry, was threatening a group of people trying to assist their queen, curled up somewhere beneath his massive body.
"Jon?"
"Your Grace?"
He heard vaguely familiar voices, but his vision was still blurred, his ears were buzzing and it took a few moments before he was able to make sense of any of it.
"What happened?" someone else demanded. "What's wrong with Daenerys?"
He knew that voice. "Tryion?"
"Her dragon won't let us get close to help her, Jon. What happened?"
"She was attacked by two Wargs. I was attacked by one and …"
He blinked, trying to focus on Drogon whose great neck suddenly swung towards him whilst, behind him, Tyrion cursed loudly. Jon stood his ground - best he could when it appeared to still be moving - and pushed his mind towards the beast, attempting to still him.
"You know me," he said, repeating his words from earlier. "You trust me. Please let me help her."
With a loud, confused roar of anguish, Drogon turned away and raised his wings, quickly flying away with Rhaegal close on his tail and Jon staggered over to Daenerys, curled up tightly on the ground with her knees hugged into her chest, falling down on his knees next to her.
"Dany!" Jon cried loudly, not caring who saw or heard his emotional reaction to the sight. "I'm sorry, I must have pushed too hard. Are you all right? Please be all right."
She remained still and unmoving, so he slid one hand into the little ball she'd made of her body, searching for her neck, desperate to find a pulse. He breathed out, almost crying in relief as he felt it strong and secure under his finger tips. With the over-protective dragons gone, others were now moving forward and starting to crowd around them.
"We need to get her safe, Your Grace." He recognised Missandei's voice. "There is a wagon here and we can take her to the camp a little further north?"
Jon nodded and rose, adjusting his feet and wrapping his arms around her, ready to lift.
"You are too weak, Your Grace. Let Tormund carry her."
"No!" Jon snapped. "I've got her."
She was such a light little thing and Jon normally had no trouble lifting her ... lifting her onto the bed, lifting her onto his desk, holding her up against the wall whilst he ... He was struggling today though. Missandei was probably right. He'd just fought two Warg battles, had passed out after the first and flown a dragon in-between but, after all of that, Jon just couldn't bear to be parted from her again, not even for a short while. Somehow he managed to get the queen into the wagon and shortly afterwards was carrying her to her pavilion, continuing to ignore all offers of assistance.
"Your Grace," Missandei now sounded rather more demanding than concerned. "I need you to wait outside. I really must insist."
Jon turned to glare at the girl, hugging the queen even closer to his chest and the young woman swallowed hard at the sight of him even though, to her credit, she refused to back down.
"I know you are worried about her," she continued cautiously, "but … I promised her that-" This time when Jon glared at her she did relent, taking a step backwards.
"I shall tell her how determined you were to follow her orders, Missandei and will happily take all the blame," he declared. "You know she'll believe you over me anyway."
"But ..."
"Leave us," he growled and, after only a very brief pause, the girl nodded her head in a bow and hastily retreated backwards out of the pavilion.
"Lord Tyrion and I will be close by if you need us."
~o~0~o~
Jon lowered Daenerys onto the surprisingly large bed within the pavilion before collapsing to his knees by the side of it, exhausted from everything he'd been through, emotionally and physically. His fingers fumbled at her collar to find her pulse again and he breathed out in relief on finding it still strong and steady, briefly lying his head down next to hers and fighting to calm his own racing heart. He sent a quick message out west to Ghost, just to reconnect, before pulling his focus back to Dany and tracing the curves of her face, his heart rate picking up again as he reacquainted himself with her beauty.
He really had missed her so much and he then recalled that she had said much the same to him whilst they had both been Riding Drogon. He sighed heavily, looking longingly at the bed and debating lying down next to her but he instead forced himself to kneel up, continuing to gaze at her as he stroked her face then her shoulder, his hand gently wandering lower. He frowned then, tracing the curves of her breasts, for once not distracted by lustful thoughts but curious about what he could see as he tried to get his exhausted brain to make sense of it.
Confused, Jon began to untie the riding coat she was wearing, slowly, gently undoing the catches at her shoulder and peeling the top layer back, before studying the next set of ties and releasing those too. He opened the whole coat to reveal a lighter dress underneath and the sight that greeted him then quickly banished the last of the fog.
"Dany … what?"
When he'd brought her here Jon had debated the need to undress her, thinking he could simply lift the furs around her and let her rest but now he had another reason to continue the task, relieving her of the coat and then undoing the thinner dress, the ties on the front of the garment making it possible without having to move her. He pulled this garment open too, leaving her in just a thin shift, and swore quietly as he stared at a very different shaped body to the one he'd been dreaming about these last few months. Her breasts were considerably larger and the swell of her stomach, on a frame which was still slight in most other ways, made her condition instantly obvious to him.
He placed his hand slowly, nervously over her belly button, his heart beating whilst his mind raced at the implications of what he was seeing, and it was only Daenerys slight moan that had Jon snap his hand away, suddenly noticing her pebbled skin as she shuddered from the cold.
"Idiot," he reprimanded himself, quickly lifting and rolling her clothes out from under her before covering her up with one thin cover and a thick fur throw, trying to put what he had just discovered out of his mind and simply ensure that the queen was safe, warm and well looked after, after everything she'd been through. Then he checked her pulse once more, kissed her gently on the forehead and moved to fetch a chair, sitting by her side as he took hold of her hand and waited for her to come around fully. It wouldn't be long now, he guessed.
Soon afterwards her eyes started to flicker, the small hand held in his squeezing, and Jon could now feel her waking up as well as see it. Then, suddenly, the grasp on his hand became firmer and she breathed a deep sigh.
"Jon?" she asked, her eyes still closed but obviously sensing his presence too.
"I'm here, Dany."
She turned to him then her eyes opening, frowning as she looked around. "Where …?"
"What do you remember?" he asked.
"Water … Ice ..." She shook her head, her expression suddenly concerned. "Wargs! Cersei has Wargs too."
"Aye, three at least."
"Three?"
"I also had to battle one."
Daenerys blinked, focusing on him properly. "Are you all right? You look ... pale."
"I'm mostly worried about you."
"I ..." She frowned. "I was losing."
"You sent Rheagal to me," Jon said. "So he and I came back to help you."
She shook her head. "I'm not sure I sent him. He's never let me Ride him directly he … he may have gone because Drogon told him to or ... Bran?"
Jon frowned. "Bran?"
I think … your brother contacted me before ..." She looked around suddenly worried. "How long since the battle started? How did you get here? What happened?"
"Rhaegal came to my rescue," Jon started to explain. "He didn't let me Ride his mind but he did allow me on his back. So then we flew here and I helped to push your Wargs out."
"I was losing and weak and ..." Dany's eyes widened suddenly, as another memory returned and Jon could even sense her fear as she snatched her hand away from him, the other sliding down under the covers as she obviously remembered her condition. "W-where's Missandei?" she asked nervously, turning her gaze towards the pavilion entrance. "Who undressed me?"
"She was very insistent that I not stay," Jon said pointedly. "I had to order her out in the end."
"I …" She looked at him fearfully as if expecting him to be cross but he just raised his eyebrows, his gaze never once leaving hers as he took her hand back into his.
"I ordered her out and then undressed you and put you to bed myself."
She paled as she confirmed from his expression that he definitely knew. "I'm sorry, Jon …. I would have told you but …" She tried to pull her hand away but he held it firmly.
"Relax, Dany, I understand. You probably didn't even know when we last saw each other."
She shook her head. "And even when I suspected I continued to deny it for quite some time. I was so convinced that it couldn't be possible and ..." She swallowed hard. "And I didn't want to tell you via our Familiars. That didn't seem right somehow."
Jon moved to sit on the edge of the bed, still holding her hand as he leant down to kiss her forehead. "You really shouldn't have been fighting like this."
She pulled away slightly, glaring at him. "One of the reasons I didn't tell anyone."
"What? What do you mean? No-one knows?"
"Only Missandei," she confirmed. "I made her swear to keep it to herself."
"You idiot," he said gently, kissing her again. She was glaring at him when he pulled away but that just made him smile and her eyes quickly softened too, relaxing as she finally accepted that he wasn't angry with her. He shook his head then, gently leaning back down to kiss her lips and the contact made him shudder, realising just how much he'd missed her taste. He lingered like this for a while, feeling turned on by the kiss but also fighting his own exhaustion before he finally, reluctantly pulled away. "Gods, Dany. What happens now?"
She pulled the furs back down then, lifting the hand that was still holding his and lowering it to her tummy. "We start making plans to welcome our baby into the world, Jon."
He gasped, his gaze moving from their hands on her stomach back up to her eyes. "I … I still can't quite ..."
"I know. I'm sorry. It took me ages to come to terms with it and you've only just found out."
"Your Graces?" Missandei's soft voice had Jon jumping back onto his seat and Daenerys automatically pulling the furs back over her. The young advisor had seen the move though and smiled softly. "Are you both well?"
"Exhausted but no injury to … any of us," Dany replied.
Missandei glanced at Jon then, her shy smile acknowledging the fact that he now knew too. "I am sorry to disturb you, but Lord Tyrion is insisting he talks with you both."
"Of course he is," Dany said, sitting up in bed and checking the furs again. "If he could just give us a moment I'll come out and-"
"-Please don't trouble yourself," the dwarf said, striding in. "This really is important but so is your health. I need to talk to both of you anyway and Missandei can stay too, of course."
Jon glowered a bit, even though he accepted that Tyrion needed to be here and, anyway, despite how tired her felt, he really did want to know all the latest news. He attempted to pull his hand away from Daenerys for proprieties sake but she was having none of it, gripping it firmly and pulling it back towards her whilst Missandei brought a couple of chairs over to the opposite side of the bed for her and the queen's Hand.
Tyrion's gaze took in the scene, the two pale monarchs in front of him with their hands closely entwined and his lips twitched.
"Unfortunately we were not able to capture King's Landing," he began. "Although it's not all bad news. Cersei's army was in a sorry state just before your dragon was over-Ridden and so they are in no position to chase after us. Which means both sides have effectively retreated, even though our army is in far better shape than hers. We could mount another attack in a day or two but I wouldn't recommend it." He turned to Jon. "A Rider-bird just arrived from Oldtown but the message is a bit garbled. What can you tell us of your battle?"
"It was the opposite of what happened here really," he said. "We had a kraken Familiar attack our fleet and I attempted to over-Ride it, giving everyone a chance to retreat. I'm not sure if we would have escaped that though if it hadn't been for the smaller dragon appearing and burning some of Euron's ships." Jon frowned. "Daenerys and I still aren't entirely sure how or why the green came to my rescue but, once I was back on land, I got the sense that I was needed here and flew over as quickly as possible."
"Surely you weren't able to connect to him?" Tryion asked with a confused glance thrown at Daenerys.
"No, he wouldn't let me," Jon said. "I just ..." He shook his head. "The queen and I probably need to talk about this more once we've rested. I only know that I arrived here to find her fighting two further Wargs and so I hopped in and helped her out." He felt her hand squeeze his and looked down, smiling at her gently.
"Your dragon has flown off – they both have," Tyrion said to Daenerys, "but experience says they'll be back once they've calmed down a bit. And we're starting to prepare for our retreat along the coast with the intention to head back to Dragonstone?"
The queen nodded. "Yes, that's good. Do we need to move now?"
"No, it's getting late but first thing in the morning, yes. I'm sure we'll get more news from Oldtown by then too. Anything else you can remember about how you left things there?" he asked Jon.
"Much the same as here, I think. Both sides heading back home to lick their wounds." He sighed. "Retreats all around, it seems, but I left before I was able to get any true sense of our casualties."
"Well, the morning will bring new birds, as I said, and I can see how tired you both are." Tyrion paused, his eyes sparkling slightly as he looked at Jon. "We have a pavilion set up for you if you wish?"
"Well, I ..." He looked over at Daenerys.
"Jon is staying here tonight," she said firmly.
"As you say." Tyrion's eyes dropped down to their hands, still held firmly. "I'm guessing there will be no need to break up any fights between you two now then? Have you resolved this … issue between the pair of you?"
Jon raised an eyebrow and Dany smirked slightly. "We're perhaps heading in the right direction?" she replied.
"Good to know. I'll leave you to it then."
"Tyrion," she called out. "Before you go, there's something else I need to tell you."
Jon stared at her wide-eyed as she turned to look first at Missandei and then at him. Understanding her silent request he nodded in reply.
"What is it, Your Grace?"
"I have an apology to make to you. Something I should have told you weeks ago."
She slid her legs towards Jon - lifting their joined hand high - and he got the message, standing on wobbly legs to attempt to assist her as she pulled the furs back and stood up, the curves of her breast and stomach now even more pronounced through her thin shift than when she had been lying down.
Tyrion gaped, staring at his queen in shock. "How did you keep that …? What did …?" He looked back at Jon who shrugged.
"I only found out when I carried her in here."
The dwarf blinked a couple more times before shaking his head, smiling slightly. "Congratulations, Daenerys. I shall leave Jon to tell you off about keeping that news to yourself then, but I'm assuming now that the two of you will be following our advice about a marriage alliance?"
"I ..." Jon gaped at Dany who just shrugged in reply. "Of course … I just hadn't … it's all been a bit of a shock."
"I understand," Tryion said, "but I wouldn't recommend putting it off for much longer. Something else for the two of you to discuss tonight, perhaps?" He started to leave again but paused, turning back and looking critically at the pair. "Although do try and get some sleep too. The pair of you honestly look paler than Jon's direwolf.
~o~0~o~
