Wings flapping to get enough height, the two ravens flew out of the rookery towards the South as Dany watched. She had offered the send off Jon's letter with a raven while he got everything ready for their continued travels northward.
In a split second decision, Dany chose to send another raven bearing a letter of her own. She had agonized over what to write to Grey Worm, no idea how she could put every thought she had into words, but settled on two lines of Valyrian that enclosed her final act as a khaleesi and as a Queen.
Gaomagon daor jurnegon syt issa. Ao issi dāez.
Do not look for me. You are free.
She watched until the ravens became nothing more than black specks upon the still darkened sky before descending down the spiral stairs to meet a waiting Ghost in the maester's chambers. Together, they headed into the yard where Jon, Tormund, and a smattering of free folk were waiting. This was to be one of the last bands leaving to go north. Only the most seriously injured still healing were to remain behind and Tormund had said he would return once more to lead the final group.
Once Dany had joined them at Jon's side, there was a stirring activity as some gathered possessions, mothers corralled their children, and they all began ambling towards the opening beneath the Wall. Though it was just a matter of walking, suspense hung in the air around the group. Tormund took the lead as they walked along the dark tunnel to the light ahead, quiet.
Ghost was the first out, gamboling a few lengths ahead of Tormund and trotting into the coming dawn, his gait more relaxed and lively. The dawn was so bright upon the snow that Ghost's white fur seemed to melt away. Tormund led the group out, each of them turning to shadow as they emerged into the light.
Shielding her eyes from the suddenly blinding dawn as she followed the group out, Daenerys Targaryen stepped beyond the Wall and Dany looked out upon the horizon before her. The sun breaking over the treetops enveloped her, kissing her hair and reflecting as if it were made of ice crystals. Even amongst the snowy, frozen landscape, Dany suddenly felt warm.
The quiet free folk transformed like Ghost as they walked on, becoming more spirited in step as they laughed and chattered. Children skipped around the adults, carefree and eager.
A younger woman walking next to Dany with dark hair and familiarly kind, golden eyes breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good to be home," she said to Dany.
"Yes," Dany agreed, "It is."
The group walked on for several days, the excited mood continuing on with them as they journeyed through the Haunted Forest. Their demeanour seemed to be infectious. Trees in the forest seemed to brighten, and none of the occasional weirwoods they passed by seemed to be weeping.
It was a bittersweet journey, however, as more and more of their companions split off from the group each day towards their own destinations. Dany found her missing each one, the bonds she had forged with them similar to the camaraderie she and Jon had experienced with fellow travelers in the Vale. But, Jon told her, that was the free folk way. Some lived in villages with their clans, some were nomads, some lived with rules and leaders like Southerners, some were completely lawless and savage, and some even holed up in caves and came out once every full moon. They were just free.
She had never felt this way on travels before. Her time spent with Viserys moving around the various Free Cities to be hosted by people who inevitably grew tired of them was marked by pain and despair. They often resorted to begging, in the end having to sell their mother's crown and with it, the rest of her brother's humanity. Otherwise, for Dany, traveling always had a direct purpose whether or not it had a destination, and usually that purpose ended in bloodshed. It was wonderfully new to simply be walking.
Deciding not to continue their nomadic lifestyle, though, Dany and Jon did have a destination in mind: they were planning to find a place to settle in the forest near where the Antler River met the Shivering Sea. Tormund had told them that there was a permanent village beginning up on the shores there, where some of peaceful free folk had decided to live together after losing most of their clans to the Army of the Dead. The way Tormund described it, the village sounded like the exact place Jon and Dany had been dreaming of reaching: a place for their family.
"I'm headed that way as well," Willa said when Dany told her of the plan she and Jon had discussed. Though Dany had integrated well with all of the free folk, she had become the closest to Willa, the woman with golden eyes that she had spoken to when they first walked beyond the Wall.
"Are you going to live in the village?" Dany asked her.
Willa shrugged. "Maybe, if I'm needed. I like to be busy wherever I go."
"I expect they'd need a healer," Dany said. Willa, pacifistic to the core, rejected the free folk tradition of spearwivery in favor of "just patching them up so they can go punch something else" as she put it.
She shrugged again. Dany had quickly learned that Willa was not inclined to make conversation unless it was necessary, but the silence between the two women was never uncomfortable and they walked on together peacefully as Ghost trotted alongside, his fur brushing up against Dany's leg.
Two mornings afterwards, they reached the Antler River and Jon and Dany parted with Willa, Tormund, and the other companions who had continued north this far.
"I'll definitely be staying at least a little while," Willa had told Dany, "Send word when you've found somewhere to settle. I'll come."
Dany nodded, smiling, but already missing her friend. "We'll see each other soon," she promised. Willa turned away and jogged to catch up with the small group headed towards the village. Turning the other way, she walked a short distance to Jon, who had is hand raised in goodbye to Tormund. The red-headed man was headed back to Castle Black for the remainder of the free folk with a promise like Willa's to come back.
Jon turned to Dany and took her gloved hand in his. "Come on," he said, "Let's see where home is."
Home, as it turned out, was a lean-to. At least for the night. Jon and Dany found a clearing in the forest just off the north bank of the river. It was mostly devoid of trees except for a few dotting here and there, but the surrounding forest kept it sheltered from biting winds. The sound of running water from the river was just audible, and she and Jon both quickly agreed that it was the perfect place to build a house - and a life.
In the meantime, however, they worked all day to construct the lean-to for shelter until the actual house had been built. Finishing in the gloaming before dark, the pair watched night set on their furs, the fire keeping them warm from just outside the shelter.
"And a bed," Dany said, longingly thinking of her one night at Castle Black, "A real bed!" They were discussing their priorities for the coming weeks and making a list for what they needed to trade for when Jon went into the village the next day, which Tormund had described as about an hour's walk away.
Jon laughed at her enthusiasm. "I'll see what I can do," he told her, "But let's get the house built first. And let's throw some more wood on this fire."
He stood up - stooped because the lean-to was slightly too short for him to stand tall - and walked to the fire burning just outside their shelter. Dany followed, drifting over to Ghost laying at the far side of the fire. Two people plus a huge direwolf would have been a little cramped sleeping in the lean-to, but Ghost was quite happy keeping watch outside by the fire. She stroked his big head, looking up at the night sky in wonder at the faint colored lights that played over the stars. Was there ever a more beautiful sight? A great sense of peace washed over Dany. She felt as though her destiny could very well be to simply to stand in this spot, one hand on Ghost and the other on -
As if fulfilling destiny, Jon's hand slipped into hers and he placed his other over her stomach. Without looking, she could tell he was smiling.
Though Dany could have stood with her family and stared at the stars for as long as they allowed, she let herself be guided back to the lean-to. As she turned around to sit down, Jon's figure before her was bathed in firelight and she glimpsed his eyes looking at her with yearning.
"You're staring," she said quietly.
"Aye," Jon responded, "You've changed."
Dany cocked her head and looked down at body, hands brushing over the swell in her stomach that had grown slightly larger, visible if someone meant to look as Jon was.
"No," Jon said, moving closer to her and cupping her face gently in his hands, "You've changed. You're...lighter."
"I'm home," Dany said, realizing the great sense she had felt was more than just peace. It was belonging. She reached up to kiss him and he met her delicately.
The kiss quickly deepened, Dany parting her lips in invitation to Jon. Accepting, his tongue peeked out to explore her mouth and his hands found the hem of her shirt to tug over her head.
Though the outside air was cold, the fire had made the lean-to a comfortable temperature amongst the furs and the chills that went up Dany's spine as she and Jon shed their clothes were purely from anticipation.
Jon's kisses moved to her neck and down the center of her chest. He placed a tender kiss on each breast, though did not linger, and continued to work his way down. Kneeling, he peppered kisses along her stomach, smiling into each one. With the last, right below her navel, he looked up at Dany, who had been raptly watching him descend. Her eyes felt heavy with euphoria and when she spoke, her voice was husky.
"Free folk don't kneel," she murmured, hands in threading through his hair.
"No," Jon agreed, beginning to move his mouth lower, "But I do."
He pressed a kiss right to her center and flicked his tongue out, sliding it in a broad stroke between her folds.
"Oh," Dany breathed, legs giving out as she fisted Jon's hair more tightly. He caught her, gently laying her down onto the furs before continuing.
Dany's legs splayed open, resting over Jon's shoulders so he could be closer, and she whimpered as his tongue stroked up and down more earnestly. His hands slid underneath her buttocks, lifting them for more access as his tongue ran in longer lines, making Dany's body quiver and eliciting soft moans from her.
One of her hands moved from his hair to grab at the furs as Dany felt herself begin to come undone under Jon's careful attention.
"Don't stop," she gasped, pulling his head closer to her, "Don't -"
Her lips fell parted in silent ecstasy as Jon pushed his tongue inside her once. And again. And again. Dany's back arched as her entire body shook with pleasure, so close to the edge. So close. Her hand left the furs to grip Jon's head again, needing him.
"Let go, Dany," Jon breathed into her. He laved his tongue flat over her once again and, trembling beneath him, she came over the edge.
Shaking, her body radiating heat and chills, she cried out as warm desire spilled from within her. Jon stayed, lapping it all up and he drew the last of her pleasure from her. Moving back up, he held her as she came down, whispering quietly into her ear, "I love you, I love you, my Dany."
"Mmm," Dany said sleepily, once she was able to use her voice again. She brought her hand up to brush his cheek with her fingers, eyes nearly shut.
"Rest now, my love," she heard him whisper before sleep took ahold her, the first night at home.
So we got to meet Willa, who is an OC. As I was writing, I realized that Jon and Dany needed characters to interact with beyond the Wall and Willa kind of fell into that role and specifically inserted herself as part of Dany's new life.
Until next time.