The students at Westeros Academy were required to wear uniforms. Uniforms were employed as a means of equalizing the students—in a crowd, it was often difficult to tell some students apart from others.
But the new girl stuck out like a sore thumb.
No one could quite put their finger on why. It was more than just her mane of silvery-blonde hair or her violet eyes ("They stare into your soul," insisted Hot Pie). Maybe it was something about the way she walked, as if she was the queen of the world ("She walks like that because she rides horses," Alla Tyrell said supremely). Or maybe it was just because she'd never been to public school ("She had a tutor when she lived in the Free Cities," Margaery Tyrell said matter-of-factly). Whatever the case, no one could stop talking about her.
"But who is she?" Sansa asked the Tyrell girls in awe.
"Her name is Daenerys Targaryen," Elinor burst.
"Her family used to be super rich and influential," added Megga. "But they got into this weird religion and now they're all either dead or in a mental institution."
"Except for Daenerys and her brother, Viserys," added Alla.
"He's super cute," Elinor butted in.
"Daenerys and Viserys were passed from foster home to foster home in the Free Cities," Margaery said in a much calmer voice. "Viserys has legal guardianship of Daenerys now and they wanted to come back home. Their family practically built this school, you know."
Sansa didn't know, but she didn't really care about Daenerys's family. "But what is she like?" she wanted to know.
"How do I even begin to describe Daenerys Targaryen?" Megga sighed.
"Daenerys Targaryen is flawless," added Alla.
"She has three horses," Elinor said.
"I hear her hair's insured for ten thousand gold dragons," Megga piped up.
"I hear she does car commercials…in Meereen," Alla said dramatically.
"Her favorite movie is The Last Dragon," said Elinor.
"One time, she met Xaro Xhoan Daxos in Quarth," said Megga.
"—and he told her she was pretty," Alla finished.
"The other day, she punched Joffrey in the face." Elinor lowered her voice to a dramatic whisper. "It was awesome."
The Tyrell girls weren't the only ones in awe of Daenerys.
"She's really hot," Gendry said. "Ouch!" for Arya had punched him.
"She has a boyfriend," Lommy said gloomily. "Some Tyroshi."
"And her boyfriend before that was the head of a Dothraki motorcycle gang," Hot Pie added, apparently not seeing the pained look on Lommy's face.
"So it's just a matter of time before she runs into your arms, Lommy," Gendry snorted, laughing even harder when Lommy tried to kick him and missed.
But Lommy had a long line to wait in; everyone, it seemed, wanted Daenerys, from shy and studious Quentyn Martell to grizzly old Professor Mormont. Sansa didn't blame them; Dany, as the student body began calling her, had questionable judgment and often made poor decisions, but you couldn't help loving her ("It's because she's exotic," Lommy explained).
In fact, Dany's popularity happened with such rapidity that by the time Homecoming rolled around, she was voted Homecoming Queen.
"The Dothraki word for queen is khaleesi," Dany said in her worldly way. "It encompasses so much more than just queen, you know?"
Everyone was so impressed that the school soon adopted khaleesi as slang. If Daenerys noticed the effect she was having, she politely pretended not to.
Even Margaery Tyrell, who had been the queen of the school until Daenerys's arrival, appeared to have Targaryen fever; her Instagram indicated that she spent nearly every weekend riding horses with Dany.
"Aren't you jealous of her?" Megga asked.
"Why would I be jealous?" Margaery laughed.
"Because you were the most popular girl in school until Dany transferred in," Alla explained patiently.
Margaery only got a gleam in her eye that some might call greedy. "We'll see."
.
A few weeks before prom rolled around, word got out that Dany had broken up with her Tyroshi boyfriend. Every single male in the school (and a few not-so-single ones) fought to be the one on Dany's arm that night, but she turned down every one.
"I already have a date," she said with that offense-less grace she so often employed. When pressed to tell them who, she merely said, "You'll see."
"I bet it's her Dothraki ex," Lommy said moodily as he tore up the grass around him.
"Well, I heard she was hanging out with Hizdahr zo Loraq over break," Hot Pie said obliviously.
"Don't be stupid," snorted Gendry. "A Ghiscari celebrity isn't going to fly to King's Landing just so he can go to a high school prom, even if she is the hottest girl at Westeros Academy."
Arya kicked Gendry's backpack. "She probably just said that so that everyone would stop asking her," she scoffed. "She probably isn't even coming to prom, she's probably spending the night with her dumb horses…"
"Are you jealous?" Gendry demanded to know, a huge grin splitting his face.
"SHE'S NOT THAT HOT!" Arya bellowed at him before storming off.
.
But Daenerys was that hot.
Everyone always outdid each other at prom, but Dany outshone them all. In a dress of silk so fine it was almost sheer, she glided through the ballroom at the Embassy Suites and practically commanded the room. She didn't dance with any one person but was always surrounded by a group of admirers desperately trying to imitate her exotic dance moves.
"Where's your date, Dany?" Quentyn Martell asked with not a little envy.
Dany tossed a wave of silvery-blonde hair over her shoulder and laughed. "You'll see."
The music turned off after a while and Renly Baratheon took the microphone. "All right, kids, it's time to announce the Prom King and Queen, so stop grinding your grotsky little butts long enough to be supportive—that means you, Arya Stark and Gendry Baratheon."
The lights came up and everyone sighed as they made their way to the DJ stand. Renly pulled out two envelopes with an almost smug-looking expression. "The votes were a little interesting this year…unfortunately, a prom king could not be voted on."
Everyone murmured in surprise, and an outraged shriek of "WHAT?!" rose from Joffrey.
"Instead, there was a tie for prom queen," Renly continued as if he could not hear his sort-of-nephew pitching a hissy fit. "Our first prom queen is…Margaery Tyrell."
Everyone burst into applause as Margaery, wearing a gown with a daringly low v-neck, glided up to the DJ stand, smiling and waving royally at everyone.
"And our second prom queen is…Daenerys Targaryen."
"Not a queen," Daenerys said. The crowd parted for her. "A khaleesi."
Renly crowned both the girls to thunderous applause. The applause grew even louder when, after raising their joined hands, the two girls kissed sweetly. Then they swept off to dance with each other and ruin everyone's lives with their perfection.