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I'm so sorry for the long wait, I've been busy with school and work. I finished the chapter a while ago but I didn't like how I wrote it so I kept on changing and editing every sentence but a month has passed and it's not fair to keep everyone waiting, so here you go!
Thank you so much for supporting this story! I love you all!
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The pole boat with the single large lateen sail docked on the shores of Noyne. The Rhoynar considered the Noyne river as the daughter of Rhoyne and nicknamed it the Wild Daughter after its unruly currents that connected to the Rhoyne river. The Free city of Norvos sat along the Noyne banks, above a tall, link of hills. Viserys donned his dark black cloak over his head and hoisted their meagre belongings over his shoulder.
"Come, Dany" She grabbed his hand and together, the two walked onto the shores and Viserys limped as he walked. His right ankle hadn't healed quite yet and the pain hadn't diminished overtime.
"Are you alright?" Dany's eyes filled with pity and Viserys gut twisted. He did not want his sister to see him as weak. He was her protector and appearing frail would change her opinion of him as the strong brother.
"I am in good health" he responded. He was glad when Dany had not asked again.
It was a land of rolling hills and terraced farms, surrounded by small walled villages that support the larger city, Norvos. They crossed the plain lands by foot, collecting dust on there clothing. The walk from the the Wild Daughter of Rhoyne river wasn't far but Viserys defect caused there journey to take longer then expected.
After the short journey, Viserys entered the large, bustling city. Every building was a colourful orange, reddish colour and the pale sun brightened the cities buildings. Norvos was divided into two sections, with the High City on the tallest hill in the region, and the Low City located at the base of the hill by the river.
The lower city if full with riverman's haunts, brothels, and taverns. It is where the lowborn Norvoshi, out of sight of priests, nobles, or soldiers, find entertainment, away from the wind and prayer of the higher city.
Viserys despised entering the lower part of the city, deeming it too dirty and peasant-like for his tastes but he did not have enough coin to afford living in the high factions of the city with the nobles and so, once again, he was forced to trudge through the filthy streets.
While Viserys brooded, Daenerys found Norvos splendid and inviting. He took great comfort in his sisters delight.
"Look at there long beards." she giggled. The freeborn of the city, both noble or lowborn favoured long, unswept mustachios. Dany pointed at one man whose beard grew so long, he had to wrap it around his neck like a scarf.
"They look so funny, don't they? don't they?" Dany squealed fairly loudly, pointing towards a group of Norvosi men.
"Don't point, its rude"
His sister pouted and stuck her tongue out.
"Thats rude too"
Dany giggled and continued to pester him by making ugly faces that didn't suit her beautiful, angelic features. Her indigo eyes sparkled in the damp light and her silver gold tresses glittered in the light as if she had woven crystals in her hair. Viserys hated hiding Dany's hair behind a veil but it was the only way he could protect her from curious glances. Her exquisite Valyrian features would only attract attention.
The two continued to walk through the city, searching far an inn to rest in. One moment they were walking across a Norvosi street and the next, they were passing a Jiunea pleasure house. A few simpletons stood outside the sketchy brothel and one had decided to turn her attention towards his sister.
"My, my what a pretty lil' thing"
Viserys stiffened, pulling his sister behind him as a large, pock-faced woman with tits the size of cow udders approached, a wolfish grin etched on her face.
"She for sale?" the fat woman continued, in a twisted dialect of Valyrian and Ghriscari.
"Watch yourself, woman" he spat, his hand slowly coming to rest upon the hilt of his blade.
"Ooo, feisty lad, you are" she laughed, her large chest bouncing.
"I could pay ye, laddie. Ten gold pieces are enough, aye? My best whores could please ye, free of charge. That gal will make good coin in the cusp of maiden hood."
Her swollen lips widened, revealing rotten yellow, crooked teeth.
"So how about it, aye?"
He was a little more then insulted; he was enraged by the nerve of it all. His sister, the last Targaryen was being downgraded to a filthy whore!
"How dare you" Viserys hissed, tightly gripping the handle of his weapon.
Anger bubbled deep in his chest, for the first time in his life, he wanted to see someone scream under fire and burned till there were only charred bones. Daenerys knocked those thoughts from his mind when he felt her hand creeping up to his own.
"I'm scared, brother." she whimpered, gripping his hand tighter "Can we go?"
For a moment he wanted to unsheathe his sword and gut the damned bed slaver but he was frightened of what Dany would think of him by killing another. His sister was so innocent that even the thought of him taking someones life would be too foreign and difficult for Dany to comprehend.
Viserys quickly steered her away, glaring at the oaf of a woman as he left.
"We must find a place to stay for the night" he told her.
And a healer to treat my wounds. He thought to himself. Searing pain flooded his leg and Viserys had to stop for a few seconds to breathe.
Dany stared at him curiously but this time, didn't question him.
After countless searches, Viserys came across an Inn that wasn't crowded with dirty peasants, begging for dime. The inn was large, rising three stories above the dirt-caked roads, its walls and turrets and chimneys made of fine brown clay stone that glimmered against the hot sun rays.
There was life at the crossroads inn. Even before they reached the gate, Viserys heard the sound: a hammering, faint but steady sound of vibrating tunes coming from the entrance.
As he entered, merry sounds greeted him and the smell of freshly baked bread out of the oven. An simple-minded oaf with hairy legs burst into laughter at his companion jest. The group of man, all dressed in leather and armour who took up half the space were clearly drunk and Viserys noted to himself to keep away from those simpletons.
A dark-skinned, grey bear of a men approached them, his face all smiles.
"I'm Quon, the Keeper of Grey Inn. Will you be needing any beds?"
Viserys nodded "A single room would do well and while we're here, hot food to fill our bellies"
Quon inclined his bald head in understanding and set off to do the task. They found an empty table in the middle of the common room as all the other tables were filled. Loud, boisterous shouts and laughter surrounded them and Viserys ignored the noise as he was too busy counting the remaining coins in his hand and calculating the days he could spend in the Grey Inn.
"Brother" Dany pulled on his sleeve.
"Yes?" He said, not bothering to look at her.
"Who are they?" she pointed towards a couple dozen of hairless slaves shackled to the walls. They all huddled near each other and Viserys couldn't tell which was female or male. All were bald, scrawny and wore thin, cotton garb to hide their private body parts but some were chained naked.
"Don't look over there" Viserys gently pulled her chin till he was facing her.
"They're slaves, are they?" When Dany saw her brother nod, her face sunk.
"Why are they over there and not over here? Aren't they hungry? Do they always sit there? Why can't they sit here?"
Viserys shrugged his shoulders. "They are chained to the wall so they won't escape"
"Are they always chained?"
He gave her a sweet smile and stroked her pale cheek with his thumb.
"If it bothers you so much then don't look over there, my little dragon"
Dany nodded in agreement but he would catch her edging her head back towards the restrained slaves.
Right on Que, a bald-headed young girl carrying two large bowls of chilli, hot cross buns and ale headed to there table.
His stomach rumbled at the smell and after he paid the slave girl, Viserys dug into the meal. The warm, rich flavour was a welcoming taste to his tongue and he silently rejoiced.
"Why are slaves bald?"
He looked up from his meal and wiped the trickle of Chilli that trailed down her chin.
"The Slave in Norvos are shaved bare to symbolize the status of slaves" Viserys really didn't want to tell her but figured if she kept on wondering then perhaps she ought to be answered.
"Why can't they just have hair?"
He sighed and shook his head "Dany, some things in life just aren't fair"
She pursed her lips together and nibbled on her cross bun.
After they had finished eating, they were led to the upper floor. Their room was edged into a corner of the building beneath a sloping roof. The bedchamber features a low-ceiling, a sagging feather bed and a slanting wood-plank floor. One window overlooked the alleys and the rest of the lower city of Norvos.
Before Viserys could settle down, Dany grabbed the sack that served as their luggage from his hands.
"I'm going to do it!" Immediately, she began folding clothing and carefully organizing them on shelf racks.
She likes to take charge. He noticed.
He observed her for a little whole longer then he turned to the exit-way.
"Stay here, Dany. I will be back soon." He said, grabbing the door knob.
"Where are you going?" Dany quickly abandoned her work and rushed to his side.
"I need to do some business, that is all"
"I want to go to" she whined, stomping her feet.
"Its too late in the day, Dany. A little girl mustn't walk around in the night and there are many scary men who like to prowl on little girls"
Daenerys puffed her cheeks "But you'll protect me!"
Viserys shook his head "Its much too dangerous"
"Its not even dark outside" she complained.
Viserys peered at the horizon through the window. It would be dark in a few hours and he would rather have his sister inside and safe then wandering with him in the pitch-black night.
"No is no, Dany. You're staying inside" he said in his best authoritative voice that came naturally.
Unexpectedly, her purple eyes welled up with tears and her red lip began to quiver.
"You're always leaving... I don't want to be alone..."
"Okay, okay" Viserys sighed, pulling her into a quick embrace before breaking away. His sisters tears were his sentimental weakness."You can come"
Just as quick as her tears came, a beaming smile replaced her sorrowful expression. She speedily donned on her navy blue cloak and grasped his arm tightly around hers.
"But you must promise to stay by my side at all time" he said.
"I promise" she agreed, pulling him towards the door way. "Where are we going?"
"I need to find a healer and treat my injured foot"
Daenerys scrunched her eyebrows together "Is that why you've been walking funny?"
"How very observant of you, sweet sister." he said dryly, ruffling her silver locks.
Dany grinned and pushed the wooden door wide open.
"Lets go!" she cried, stepping forward.
"Ah, ah. No, come back" he called, pulling her back inside.
His sister frowned and scrunched up her little face. "What?"
"I need to cover your hair"
"I hate covering it" she grumbled, as he bound her thick white-gold hair in a black head dress.
"It is necessary that you do"
"Can't I just dye it brown like yours?" she asked, as they left their cabin.
"Most definitely not. Only the ones with the Blood of Old Valyria are able to possess such magnificent hair as yours"
"Then why did you dye your hair brown?"
Viserys shrugged "I needed a way to disguise myself from those who want us dead"
"Like the Usurper?"
Viserys did not reply and instead nodded. He was mainly focused on the crowded street and for his dire need of healer. Besides, he'd rather not spend his time speaking of the very man who was the sole reason of his poverty.
Thankfully, Daenerys did not bother to continue to speak of the Usurper and the two walked in silence through the packed, dusty roads.
Searching through the market for a healer was a tardy task and Viserys had spent countless hours asking others for directions which in the end proved worthless as none knew of any local healer.
"Maybe he'd gone out for dinner? I'm getting pretty hungry myself too!" Dany wondered aloud.
"Perhaps we ought to search over there"
She pointed to the open stand that sold sweet honey combs.
Viserys bit his lip from laughing "I do not think so, Dany"
Beneath the arches of the peddler's colonnade, he came across an wide stall that carried all sorts of dried herbs, the majority of them were foreign, odd-looking plants he had never seen before.
Desperate for any kind of help, Viserys blurted out "Are you a healer by any chance?"
The old, wizened mens blood-flecked eyes flickered towards him. He did not say anything for a long time and Viserys began to think he was mocking him until a tall, dark-haired woman approached from behind the man.
"My Grandfather has lost his wits ages ago but all the knowledge he knew of healing was left with me"
"Can I safely assume you could be of help?" he asked.
When the young lady looked at his face, he noticed a faint blush spreading through her cheeks.
"What is it you need of help?" she murmured, her eyes downcast.
To a certain extent, he was quite confused by her bashful reaction but at the moment, none of it mattered.
Viserys showed her his swollen ankle and she grimaced at the sight. Honestly, he wasn't surprised at her reaction. Pus leaked out of the sores and his foot swelled twice the size that it was originally.
The dark-haired lady gingerly took his foot in her hand. "The bones are misplaced. You will need a bonesetter to do the work"
"Where would I find one?"
"There are many in the high city but their work are costly"
Viserys had little coin and every piece of currency he carried was direly needed for food and shelter.
"I have once repositioned a broken arm, I can try to do the same with you"
He frowned and replied "An ankle is no arm"
"Bones are bones" was her simple reply "Let me try but it will cost you"
The last thing he needed was an amateur but even so, she was his last hope in relieving this pain.
After the price was handled, he was led inside a yellow canopy. His sister turned to follow him but he waved her away.
"Stay close to that old man, Dany. Don't wander off, I will be back soon"
"You said that I need to be at your side all the time!" she protested.
Viserys tiredly sighed "Be a good girl and stay here. If you do so, I'll buy you a treat"
"What sort of treat?" she asked.
"A delicious one" he responded, closing the flap of the dome tent.
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Daenerys huffed and sat on the carpet near the old man, patiently waiting for her brother. She stared at the wrinkled man whose milky-white eyes gazed towards the horizon.
"Whats your name?" she asked him. Dany frowned when he did not respond and so she poked him on his side. Even then, he did not seem to notice and continued to stare into the setting sun.
"My brother said its rude to ignore!"
This phrase did not budge him so Dany sighed and stretched her legs. A group of slave were being led through the streets and a few men holding long whips encircled them. Dany was immediately reminded of Kiki.
I wish Kiki was here. At least then I wouldn't be so lonely.
After sitting there for what seemed like ages, Daenerys grew bored and explored the stands filled with dried herbs. She sniffed at one brown, stringy plant and recoiled at the iffy smell.
The longer her brother took, the hungrier she got to the point where Daenerys decided to experiment and when the old man wasn't looking, she grasped a white rounded fruit that looked like an small and shrivelled apple. The strange fruit was so small she could almost hide it in her tiny palm and the smell was deliciously intoxicating.
Dany took a large bite and was glad to find the dried fruit was as sweet as sugared locusts.
After she had eaten to the core, Dany reached forward for another one but dizziness over flooded her mind. Shakily, she walked back towards the old man and curled on top of the rug, falling into a restless sleep.
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Once again, she fell back into her white dreams. The white land reached far in the distance and she looked past the endless forests cloaked in snow, past the frozen shore and the great blue-white rivers of ice and the dead plains where nothing grew or lived. North and north and north she looked, to the curtain of light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain.
Follow me, Follow me. A voice called. Dany turned and saw a raven with two red eyes flying above her still form.
The raven flew into the winter sky, not afraid of the storm that bellowed around its black wings.
"I can't fly!" she cried. As she said that, her body began to float.
She could see mountains now, their peaks white with snow, and the silver thread of rivers in dark woods. Then in the blink of an eye, she was inside a cold, dark cave.
A pale, skeletal man in rotted, black clothing in a weirwood throne of tangled roots sat in front of her. His skin was white, aside from a red blotch on his neck and cheek. Numerous red eyes floated around him, and all stared directly at her.
Dany wanted to step back out of fear of the man but her legs wouldn't budge.
"The taint flows in all of us who bear the Dragons blood."
Darkness clouded his features until all she could see was the weir wood tree thats root tangled across the caves walls. She stepped back and ran towards the light before the blackness could consume her.
"Where are you going, Little Dragon?" the red-eyed man called after her. "Why do you run?"
"I have to go home" she cried, reaching for the sun light that shone in the exit of the cave.
"You have no home"
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She awoke gasping in the sagging feather-bed of their small chamber.
"You're finally awake" Daenerys turned towards the voice and noticed her brother sitting in the flimsy wooden chair of their inn chambers.
"I had to carry you back to the Inn." Viserys took a sip of ale and gave his sister a tired smile.
Daenerys look at his ankle and noticed that it was immobilized by plasters.
"Whats on your foot?"
"I need to wear these until the bones are joined"
Daenerys looked at him in wonder "Can you walk?"
Viserys nodded "But I will need the help of this" he pointed to the wooden walking stick that stood on the side of the wall."
"Next time, do not eat something you aren't familiar with" he said.
Dany flushed and shuffled her feet "I was hungry" she mumbled.
Her brother grasped a peach lying on the table and gently threw it towards her. When she caught the ripe fruit, Dany took a large bite.
She wiped the wet, sweet juice rolling down her chin "I didn't know it would make me sleep"
"The fruit you ate is called Sweetsleep. Do you understand how dangerous Sweetsleep is?"
Dany shook her head and sheepishly replied "No, but it was very sweet"
Her brother pushed his dyed dark hair out of his eyes and fixed his dark purple eyes straight into hers.
"If the fruit had not been drained of all its juices, you would've died. Three doses of sweetsleep will cause the victim to slip into a deep coma they will never wake from"
Dany mused on what would have happened if she had never awoke.
If I had not woken, would I be stuck in that cave with that strange, red-eyed man forever?
That was truly a frightening thought.
"I didn't know" she meekly responded.
Her brother sighed and rubbed his temple "Of course you didn't know."
"Are you mad at me?"
Viserys motioned her to come closer and when she did, he pulled her into his arms and cradled her in his chest.
"I am mad at myself for letting it happen. You are so very special to me, Dany."
Dany lay head silver head on his chest and listened to the rhythmic sounds of her brothers heart beat as he continued to speak.
"I've never been scared of losing something in my entire life, then again nothing in my life has ever meant as much to me as you do"
"I'm sorry, Viserys. I didn't want to make you worry" she hastily responded, feeling guilty.
Her brother combed his fingers through her hair, an behaviour he loved to do.
"I had never told you this, but as our mother was dying, her last words were to protect you. I have a duty to keep you safe."
They remained silent for a short while before she asked "Was Mother a kind and pretty lady?"
Her brother smiled "Our mother was the most beautiful and gentlest woman in all of Westeros"
"Do I look like her?"
"All those who bear the Blood of the Dragon share similar features" he said teasingly.
"All?" she murmured questingly.
"Yes, sweet sister. Targaryen's follow the Valyrian practice of marriage. Our parents were brother and sister, their marriage was clean, unmixed and pure."
"But Rhaegar didn't marry his sister!" she protested.
"He didn't have a sister" he said dryly. "He wed Elia of House Martell."
"Was she beautiful?" she asked.
"She had an exotic beauty"
"What does that mean?"
Viserys laughed and drew her closer to his chest. "It means she was not like everybody else. Dornish woman have a different complexion from the rest of Westerosi woman. I was used to woman with lighter hair and pale skin."
Dany cocked her head to the side "Was Elia a kind, gentle lady?"
Her brother smiled "Yes, Elia was achingly kind. She had never once looked in my direction with hate in her eyes"
"Where is she now, brother?"
She felt her brother tense and for a moment she expected to hear rage from his voice.
"She is in a much better place" he said in an eerily strained tone.
Hearing his words, Dany immediately thought of the house with the red door.
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