The sun was low in the sky as Tom stood in the center of the village looking on at the assembled men and women who had come out to see off the folk from Rivermouth. Seeing the relieved looks on many of their faces, Tom quickly deduced what it was they were thinking and decided that his best bet was to somehow bolster their morale a bit more. Hopefully another speech would do some good.

"Whether or not they had agreed to aid us," he paused to give the men in question a respectful nod, " I would have have gone on to rescue my good-sister anyway and I am sure that the courageous men, "he looked to Mya and Visenya, "and women that stand beside me this day would have accompanied me regardless. Prepare yourselves tonight, find whatever weapons or armor you can gather from our previous...guests and be ready to move at first light, because we sail at dawn!"

The response was a wordless shout from both the men and women of the village. In the torchlight, the borrowed weapons many of the villagers had gathered from the dead Ironborn, seemed to glow a blood red. Tom couldn't help but grin at the sight.

As the crowd began to disperse he noticed two irritating problems. Neither Visenya nor Mya had left with the others. Instead they seemed to be preparing themselves and... good lord, Visenya was looking through the swords laid out for the men's perusal.

Tom looked around to see if anyone was still watching him and seeing that most of the men were busy with their own preparations for the next day. He sighed deeply and walked over to the two women.

Before he could open his mouth, Visenya spoke first. "We're going," she stated with the finality of the grave.

Feeling a bit off put, Tom crossed his arms and glared at the both. "One good reason."

"You will need my help identifying her," Visenya stated steadily.

"Yes. I need help to find an attractive young woman with silver hair and purple eyes," He responded with a smirk, "I'm sure there will be dozens."

Her eyes narrowed and she promptly responded, "So you could find my sister. What then? She will have been held captive by the Ironborn for days now. She is ill, alone, and likely paranoid out of her mind. She'll will have hidden away at least one knife, and she always poisons them."

Tom gave her a long look before taking a deep breath and letting it out in a loud huff, "Alright. But I want you out of the fight. I'd hate to lose you, dear wife." He finished, attempting to keep up the charade that Visenya had set for them.

Her eyes twitched for an instant but she nodded, "As my lord husband commands." She answered with a bow.

"But while this answers one question, it does leave another open," he replied smoothly. "That explains 'I'. What was that about 'we'?"

Before Tom could even turn to face her, Mya answered heatedly. "If Enya is going then I am as well. I'll be more use on this adventure than she will be anyways."

Tom grit his teeth, doing his best not to sound the frustration he was feeling dealing with these two women. "Mya, Enya's coming because the only person I'm pretty sure won't have a case of poison knife to the kidneys if they get close to her sister. You on the other hand, unless you suddenly are able to swing around one of those battleaxes here then I'm not sure what we can do with you."

Mya looked levelly at Tom, and the tone of her voice slow and somewhat sarcastic. "M'lord, the woman's taken ill and you'll need someone to look after her. I doubt Lady Enya knows much about tending to the ill, and you can't exactly ask a man to attend to a woman, for obvious reasons."

"Is this true?" Tom asked Visenya.

"Yes," she replied. "I know about tending wounds but my sister was the one of us who was most knowledgeable about nursing," she paused for a moment, "I'm not pleased to say this, but it looks like your little peasant strumpet is going to have a chance to earn her worth on her feet rather than her back."

Mya's face flushed bright red and she looked at Visenya, who smugly ignored her, with a look that if any more intense, would probably cause her hair to catch alight.

"Cut it out, both of you!" Tom said cooly. "I'm convinced but I want you both to stay out of the fighting." He hoped that repeating that command would reaffirm it.

Visenya snorted. "I'm no damsel, but I have no intention of charging the enemy lines for as little as the idea of my sister becoming some Ironborn's saltwife amuses me, I find the concept of becoming one myself even less entertaining. I'll be guarding your back and letting you handle the foolish heroics."

Tom nodded. "Alright. I want everyone ready for the morning."

Mya nodded. "Don't worry. I'm already packed."

"And I've already chosen the best equipment I could," Visenya added.

"Alright then, we need to retire because we're leaving at dawn."

With that the 'married' couple bid the girl goodnight and turned back to their set aside hut to try and get some sleep before they set sail tomorrow.

Tom had already gathered the best bits of Ironborn armor he could find from the spoils, but he decided to check them on last time. He was tapping the side of an iron helm when he looked over to Visenya who was brushing her silvery hair with a borrowed wooden comb. Her hair seemed to glisten in the light of the fire burning in the central pit in the middle of the room. Despite knowing who she was and what her original intentions had been. Tom still was forced to admit that the woman was beautiful. He also remembered the promise he'd given her brother, made when he wasn't completely accepting of where and what he now was.

A thought came to mind and taking a breath he asked a bit hesitantly, "M'lady, I was just wondering. When we find Rhaenys and I get the two of you back home. What do you plan to do when you get back?"

Visenya did not stop her brushing, she seemingly had not heard his question or was purposefully ignoring him. He was about to try and ask her again. When she stopped her brushing and put the brush down on a small table. Not looking at him she broke the silence, "We will have to endure whatever may come."

She then turned to look at Tom, her violet eyes searching him with a surprising intensity, "And what of you? What will you do once we have come home?

Tom shrugged, he hadn't really thought that far to be honest, ever since he'd woken up he'd merely been going from crisis to crisis. "I guess I'll come back here." He finally answered. "The villagers like me and well," he went red for a moment, "there's also Mya to think about."

Despite only knowing the girl for a few days, he liked the fiery little red-head.

"You're wasted on this peasants. Return with us to Dragonstone and I'll make you a proper lord." She replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Tom's eyes narrowed a bit, "Wasted? That's fine talk for the people who've been working so hard to save your sister. And what about Mya? I took her maidenhead and I owe it to her to at least look out for her." His tongue tumbled at that slightly out of date word but she didn't seem to notice.

"Then keep her. Sire little Snows, Sands, Pikes, whatever it is they call bastards in your realm on her, but you have greater things to accomplish." She answered with a wave of her hand.

"Greater things huh? What greater things would that be if I pledged myself to house Targaryen?" He said with a little more heat than he'd intended.

"Ideally," she replied, as cool as ice.

Tom was silent for a moment before he responded. "You know maybe you're right, maybe I am a bit wasted merely staying here. But why should I swear to house Targaryen? I'm sure King Mern Gardner of the Reach or maybe Loren Lannister of the Rock would like my services. I'm sure they would offer riches beyond my wildest dreams for my services. Maybe they'll offer me a daughter. So unless you have something else to offer beyond a strip of land on Dragonstone I think I might be going elsewhere after I bring you and your sister home."

Visenya's faced softened just a hair before she replied,"To them you'll just be another lord. My people have always been people of the Dragon, and you are a dragon no matter what appearances may well. Dragonstone is the only place in Westeros where you will be welcomed for what you are and not what you can do. They will fear your powers, we will honor them."

"Honor me? Well that does sound rather nice. How would you honor me?" He asked his eyes never leaving hers.

She seemed to flinch for an instant before she recovered and said, "Well whatever we offer you. It will have to wait until I have Rhaenys back with me and the two of us can decide what would be proper. With that she quickly stripped to her shift and jumped into bed.

Tom looked at her slightly confused but shrugged and went back to examining the rest of his equipment. When he was done he also prepared for bed and did his best to sleep. His dreams that night were of fire and steel.