13 Unburnt, Unbroken

She was floating in a world of light. Bright light, encasing her totally and lifting her up from the ground. She could forever stay in this state, Dany thought.

Then suddenly, the white light was pulled away and replaced by pain. Sharp, searing pain was pulsing through her body, causing her eyes to flare open.

"She's awake", some said, but as soon as Dany's mind had reached some sort of consciousness, the pain overwhelmed her anew. It felt as if her whole body was still in flames, which it literally had been. She closed her eyes and tried to shut out the pain, and soon lost consciousness once more.

Bjorn was sitting outside of the tent, sharpening his axe. He felt so useless whenever he stared at his wife in her sleep. For days, Dany had done nothing but sleeping, sometimes stirring a little, sometimes groaning from the pain.

He had already thought he had lost her, when they had returned to the camp after it had been burned down by the Lannister forces. In the smoldering heap of fabric that had once been their tent, Bjorn had found her underneath a soldier's dead body. At first he had thought she was dead as well, after all, the fire had burned off her hair and her body was covered with ash, but she had begun to stir as he had touched her. Underneath the ash, her skin had remained untouched by the flames.

Slowly the pain subsided and Dany opened her eyes. She blinked a few times, surprised that she was actually still alive. Her entire body was still sore, but the most pressing matter was the loud grumbling in her belly.

"You're awake!" Helga cried out. Floki's wife had begun to care for her, and immediately handed her a cup of water, followed by a bit of dry bread.

Bjorn had heard Helga's joyful cry from inside the tent, and entered at once. Standing in the doorway, he just looked at Dany with his mouth open.

"Don't just stand and stare, my love", Dany smiled at him, "Come over here and give me a kiss."

Without hesitation, Bjorn walked the few steps over to Dany and pressed his lips against hers. After a few moments, the need for air drove them apart.

"I thought you were dying", Bjorn whispered in her ear.

"Haven't you heard – fire cannot kill a dragon", Dany grinned, "But how long have I been asleep?"

"Almost three days", Helga chimed in, "You were already at the gates of Valhalla, but the gods decided to spare you…"

"How are you feeling now?" Bjorn wanted to know, while Dany continued to nibble on her bread.

"Hungry..." she smiled, "And every bit of my body is in pain, from the tips of my fingers to my toes…"

Only as she spoke, it dawned on her. She had never felt pain in her legs, ever since her injury. While still swallowing a bit of bread, she watched her foot. Very slightly, it moved as sh tried to wiggle her toes.

"Bjorn?!" Dany gasped, "Did you see that?"

"What?" Bjorn wanted to know.

"My toe moved!" Dany nearly yelled, then tried again, while Bjorn was watching. There it was. Only a faint movement, but her toes moved a little.

Dany's eyes filled with tears of joy, and Bjorn put his arm around her and hugged her tightly enough to make her squeal.

As much joy Dany and Bjorn felt about her recovery, in the majority of tent the mood was bleak. Too many of the wives and children had been slain or burnt to death. The men were not better off, at least not by much. A great number of them had been killed in the spontaneous battle near the ships, when they had somehow managed to stop the redcloak's sortie.

In the king's tent, Ragnar and Lagertha were sitting next to each other. Both had been relieved, when the news of Dany's awakening had reached them.

"Do you think she will be able to walk again, now that she is able to move her legs?" Lagertha wanted to know.

"That is up to the gods", Ragnar shrugged, "But I hope so. In any case, it will take much time until she is strong enough to stand on her own."

Tyrion felt uncomfortable, being in the middle of the throne room. On the stairs in front of him, his nephew Joffrey was sitting lazily on the Iron Throne, staring angrily at him.

"Why haven't they sailed away?" Joffrey wondered, "You promised me a victory, uncle…"

"Your Grace, we have won a victory", Tyrion argued, "We slew many of their warriors."

"Some would consider the commander of an army that fails to win battles for the king traitors…" Joffrey warned him, "Are you a traitor, uncle?"

"As I said, we won a victory", Tyrion repeated, "Otherwise they would have already attacked the battlements. Many of their warriors fell, most of their supplies were destroyed. Some say the Targaryen girl has been badly wounded, perhaps even killed. This is about the best outcome we could hope for this battle, it means we are going to be able to hold out until relief comes."

"My grandfather has to be already on his way", Joffrey mused, "He will come to our help. I guess you did all you could do, now it is for my grandfather to win the victory…"

Up on the balcony, among the other nobles of the court, a shy young woman was watching. For a change, it wasn't her being belittled by Joffrey, and so Sansa allowed herself to feel a bit sorry for the imp.

"One could think, our army was badly defeated", Shae whispered next to her. Sansa turned to her handmaiden and indicated to be silent. In this court, no one could ever be sure not to be accused of treason.

Night had fallen over the Viking camp. Ragnar was anxious not to allow the army from the city a repetition of their coup, so he had placed strong guards all around the encampment. With every passing day, more and more of the wounded recovered, the ones who were fated to die had already been taken to Valhalla within the first days since the attack.

Bjorn and Dany were lying in their tent, their bodies glistening with sweat as they were making love. To Dany it was a new sensation, being able to feel every single touch once again.

The next morning, the leaders of the Viking army met in the King's tent. Bjorn and Dany sat on their chairs side by side, while Rollo, Lagertha and Floki had taken the other seats. Ragnar himself remained standing, prowling around the table like a cat.

"What are we going to do now?" Lagertha was the first to speak.

"We are going to attack", Rollo told her, "Isn't that obvious?"

"Thank you for clearing that up", Lagertha smiled sarcastically, "I mean, how?"

"Is it possible to scale the walls?" Bjorn asked, "Floki, can you build something?"

"I will make something truly astonishing", the boatbuilder replied, "It is going to take a few days though."

"Then it is decided", Ragnar opened his mouth for the first time, "Once Floki is ready, we will attack the city. Everyone agreed?"

Up on the battlements, Tyrion and Bronn were watching over the camp outside the city.

"They're coming", Tyrion muttered, "I don't know when, but they're coming again."

"How would you know that?" the sellsword asked.

"Why haven't they sailed away?" Tyrion asked his friend, "If they had given up hope of taking King's Landing, they would have already returned to wherever they came from… No, they're just preparing themselves…"

"Then we better start preparing ourselves", Bronn shrugged, "We don't want them to make them to make the king as short as you are…"

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A/N: So I finally gave in to all those pleading reviews, asking me to heal Dany :)

I hope you liked it and don't forget to review!