Daenerys came to with a thudding sensation at her temples. Running her hands down her silk robe, she tried to remember how she'd gotten back to her room, half-expecting Jon to be in her bed upon waking. And then the rush of embarrassment hit her as she realized how her night had actually ended. After Lady Olenna left her, she had a strange feeling she couldn't shake. Rather than fill up on food, she filled on wine, delighting in the way it loosened both her lips and limbs.
Unaware what time it had been exactly, she knew she'd overslept just by the way her stomach felt. So empty that the walls felt as if they were imploding in on themselves. "Ouch," she whispered to herself in her dark room as she rubbed the feeling away. She hoped she wouldn't be too late to break her fast with the others this morning.
She rose from bed, dressing slowly, as every minor movement made the thudding in her head worse. After picking out a dull, modest gown and pulling her boots over her stockings, all that was left was her cloak. As she pulled it from the back of her chair and wrapped it around her shoulders, she noticed a strange black leather book sitting on her desk, back facing up. An odd color, she thought, as she ran her fingertips along the soft leather. Most of the books she'd had were varying shades of brown.
Deciding to inspect the book a bit further before leaving, she picked it up and turned it over in her hands, surprised to see an embossed Targaryen sigil painted in red. Dany had almost felt startled upon seeing the three-headed dragon, it'd been so many years since she'd last set eyes on it. She pulled out a curved sheet of scrap paper sticking out from the pages. A crudely scribbled series of words she read aloud, "Keep this safe. We'll read it together."
Dany grinned ear to ear imagining Jon leaning across her desk with her small quill in his hands. She noticed how neatly he'd folded her clothes from last night. Still grinning, she grabbed the quill and scribbled a note for him in turn. She tucked the book safely under some others before pulling her hood around her hair and heading out in search of something to eat.
The chill had returned to the air this morning, the strange warm spell winding down. Even the sky had returned to a haze of smoky greys and whites. Instinctively, Dany rubbed her arms after folding them, though she enjoyed the cool sensation against her flushed cheeks.
As she entered the great hall, she realized she had been late for breakfast. Though, everyone inside had been taking their time eating and enjoying each other's company, in no rush to meander around in the cool air outside. Lady Catelyn and Lady Olenna were at the main table again, their voices carrying much further as everyone else kept their whispers hushed.
The food had been consolidated to the end of one table, buffet-style. Dany grabbed some fruits and buttered a roll before spotting Jon sitting at the end of a nearby table with Samwell. Throwing caution to the wind, she walked toward them. In her mind, they'd be married soon enough and all the sneaking around had felt silly. Besides, they were the only other faces in the hall that she recognized. So long as she stayed away from the wine as promised, she could keep her hands off of him in front of the others. Hopefully.
After setting her plate down, she discreetly tucked her scrawled note into Jon's pocket. He raised a worried eyebrow in her direction, but she quickly pulled her hand away so as not to get scolded. Moving to the other side of the table, she sat beside Samwell, rather than Jon.
"Sam, I'm so sorry about-" Dany began to apologize in a hushed tone to fit the setting, likewise feeling comfortable enough with the boy to freely use his nickname. Sam's face flushed as she addressed him.
Jon brought a finger to his lips, hissing a barely audible "Shh," through gritted teeth. He furrowed his brow and nodded discreetly in the direction of Lady Olenna. Dany adjusted her gaze to the noblewoman who had been rather animated in conversation, despite the intimate setting the dining hall had returned to since the feast.
"King in all but name. I hear he's taken so much off of Robert's plate that the King has even lost weight from all the whoring," the older woman laughed. For a moment, Dany admired the way she'd boldly taken a blow at the Usurper's expense. She stared in her direction while listening until she felt a gentle kick to her shin under the table. Shaking herself out of the daze, she tore into her bread feverishly, eavesdropping along with the boys.
"Stannis saw no benefit in what we had to offer. The Lannisters have more than enough wealth, after all. Thus the Freys, or more appropriately, The Twins. Stannis Baratheon, ever the Commander. I wonder what war it is he's preparing for."
The table sat in silence, listening in on the Queen of Thorns, though Lady Catelyn kept her voice low enough that they couldn't make out what she'd been saying in response. Dany knew Olenna hadn't been fooling them at all, certain she had been well aware of each pair of ears listening and just how far her voice carried. Though she hadn't been sure what good the information would do her, or anyone else in the hall other than Catelyn.
"That's enough of that," Jon broke the silence. He turned to Daenerys, nodding at the scant selection of food on her plate, "You should eat something more substantial."
"I will. I'm just being cautious after last night."
Jon nodded, deciding against lecturing her any further, "Did you get our gift?"
She began to shake her head excitedly, "Where'd you find it?"
"I didn't, Sam did. It was here, in the library tower, more or less hidden. He suggested I take it to you."
"Thank you, Sam," she beamed.
"It's mostly about Aegon the Conqueror, but there's a bit about other Targaryen Kings as well. I didn't have time to thoroughly read through it, but I thought it might be more suited to you," Sam explained, in an almost melancholy tone, as if he'd understood the loneliness she must've felt.
"Sam has something else to tell you," Jon nodded to the boy.
As Dany fixated on Sam with an intensity that made him visibly nervous, he stuttered his way through, "M-Maester Aemon, at Castle Black, I believe he'd be your great uncle."
"Another Targaryen? You've met him?" she grabbed his wrist similarly to the way Jon had seen fit to do the night before. Sam chuckled nervously, shaking her hand off of him as politely as he could manage. He gave Jon an apologetic look as he did so, taking a wild guess as to the true nature of their relationship.
Jon couldn't help but chuckle. He'd been happy to see Dany likewise feeling comfortable with Sam the same way he had, himself. Curiosity got the better of him as he fished around in his pocket for whatever it had been that Dany slipped inside.
"In a way, he saved my life. My father demanded I forsake all claim to my inheritance and take the Black, but Maester Aemon saw that I had promise after arriving. Somehow, he convinced my father that my skills would be better suited studying at Hightower. I spent only a few days by his side but he felt comfortable enough to tell me his true identity. I don't think many people know, so if you could keep it down," Sam raised his shoulders as if to plead her silence.
"That's not a problem," she explained in a hushed tone, "I'm well aware of the danger in simply bearing the name, myself." Dany popped a few small pieces of fruit into her mouth as she considered the news.
She turned back to Samwell, "Forsake all claim," she said with a layer of disgust coating her words, "Your father sure sounds like-" luckily, Jon's foot managed to find its way to her shin, nudging her again before she said too much.
"Whatever it was you were thinking, I'm sure you're exactly right," Sam laughed. Dany laughed along with him, relieved, she knew a fellow outcast when she saw one.
Jon tuned them out as they carried on talking. He retrieved the small scroll from his pocket, discreetly unrolling it in his lap. Beautifully scripted, it read, First Keep. After dark. Brushing his fingers over the words, he found his mind wandering, imagining what she might have planned.
His gaze drifted from Dany's hands, to her eyes, and finally, her mouth. She'd been happily carrying on conversation with Sam, though suggestively biting her lips between berries. She eyed Jon, knowing full well he had just read her note. First Keep, he thought. The old tower was abandoned, that was true enough. But it also sat right next to the guard's hall, which still made it a risky move, especially considering the influx of guests about the castle. Jon's eyes were transfixed on Dany's full lips, stained pink from the juice of the berries, almost suggestive of... No, he thought and shook the image of her naked body from his head. Now isn't the time, he reminded himself.
"What do you say, Jon?" Dany asked, shaking him further out of his daydream.
"I'm sorry, what?" he managed to inquire through the soft ringing sound in his ears as his blood stirred under his skin, hoping she really hadn't been asking him about their plans aloud.
"Sam asked if you'd still show him around the castle?"
"Oh," Jon said, "Right."
Jon simply nodded as he stood to leave as if in a daze, Sam shuffling to keep up behind him. Dany stayed behind, finishing her meal, considering going back up for something more substantial, as Jon had suggested. She'd need the energy later that night, after all.