Guards bowed as usual when Jorah passed by them in the midmorning light, but this time, their gazes lingered on his companion.

Lynesse Hightower clung to Jorah's arm and looked about the palace eagerly as he led her to their destination. "This is so much more than Oldtown," she breathed, touching a dragon tapestry on the wall. "This is magnificent. You live here? Truly?"

"Mmm," Jorah hummed.

"And you like it? You used to go on and on about how everything you needed was on Bear Island." She glanced up toward a stained glass skylight and oohed in disbelief.

"I was a young man. Everything I needed was all on Bear Island," Jorah replied. "My tastes have grown more rich since then." He smiled at her. "Worry not. You'll want for nothing here. There's no place more grand in the world, not Oldtown, not anywhere across the Narrow Sea."

"I think I'll like it here," she smiled. She reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It's fitting for us to reunite, I think. We've lived and loved and gone through all sorts of shit, haven't we?" She laughed. "And now we're right back where we started."

"Several days' ride south, but yes, it's fitting," Jorah nodded. Almost there. Almost, almost. His heart pounded. If this is the right thing to do, why does it feel like betrayal?

Lynesse's next question didn't put his soul at ease. "I'll really be safe? What if someone knows what I've done and they want to come after me?"

"What you've done?" Jorah stopped and touched her shoulder. "What have you done, Lynesse?"

The woman shrugged. "Made bad choices, turned up on the wrong side of things far more than once." She smiled weakly. "Left the queen's general when he was a young man. I'm certain the lords and ladies still alive after the war will remember that treachery. I ran away from a knight to become a concubine in Essos. They'll hate me."

Sounds like a confession to me. "You'll be plenty safe," Jorah replied, his stomach twisting somewhat. "As a matter of fact, guards!" he called to a trio of white cloaks. "Here she is."

"Wha-?" Lynesse breathed. She turned toward him. "Jorah? They knew I was coming? How?" The innocent surprise on her face gave way to a smile. "You meant to come out and bring me back here to live?"

Jorah stepped away from her as Javo grabbed her firmly under the arm.

She gasped and tried to wretch her arm away, but the Queensguard tightened his grip and snarled.

"Jorah?" Lynesse squeaked. "What are they doing?" Surprise gave way to disappointment. "No, no," she whispered in disbelief. "Jorah, please. Please. Whatever you want, anything, anything!"

The knight stepped back once more. "Take her to a cell in the Hand's tower. Guard her day and night. No one is to know who she is. Just know that she's valuable to the queen and that under my orders, none should be permitted to speak with her."

Lynesse shrieked and struggled against the Dothraki guard. "No! I'll tell you everything! Jorah, please! I cannot be a prisoner!" Tears streamed down her face and real panic made her thrash in her captor's arms.

"Come, lady," Javo snarled. "I do not want hurt you. You must come, quiet."

Jorah stood and watched as the guards dragged her back down the hallway. Her eyes were full of so many things he recalled from their marriage; hatred, loathing, hopelessness, sorrow. The horribly desperate begging resonated through the stone halls and Jorah knew it was a sound he'd never forget.

"Jorah! Jorah!"


Baylee saddled her horse and strapped her pack on tight. The sun was almost rising and she wanted to be gone before it did. Snowflakes flurried through the air and though it was freezing, the beauty wasn't lost on her. The North was a breathtakingly gorgeous land and she knew why all of her Northerners - Jon, Sansa, Jorah - liked it so.

With a soft grunt, Baylee swung into the saddle and looked back at the small home that had kept her safe, warm, and fed for the better part of the past week. She gasped when she saw its inhabitants standing at the front door. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You don't need to tell us where you're going," Brienne said kindly. "But please be safe. And here. Food. You'll need it, wherever you're going." She strode forward to tuck the pack into a saddlebag. "I hope you know what direction you're going."

Baylee grinned in spite of herself. "Yes, I know the way. I may be from Oldtown, but I can read a map and track the sun and stars well enough." She sat up straighter in the saddle.

"She means your life," Tormund called, his baby girl cooing in his arms. He hadn't warmed toward Baylee, but moved toward her horse anyway. "It's never too late to go back."

"Back where?" Baylee asked. She tilted her head, curious as to where the wildling thought she should go.

"Back to somewhere you've been before. Back to the beginning before you had all these other people to think about. Back before the war." He shrugged. "You can go anywhere."

Brienne smiled fondly. "You've had a change of heart."

Smiling, Baylee simply nodded. "Thank you. Thank you for everything. If there's a way I can repay your kindness, I'll find a way to do so."

"Just go live your life how you want to live it, eh?" Tormund bounced the baby up higher. "It's what I'd want for my wife, my girl." He nodded. "Baylee Snow, Mormont, Redwyne, whoever you are."


Vedros hissed at him before curling back up and glaring at him from her cushion. Daenerys was right, Jorah realized. The dragon the size of a cow had no place in a castle. "My girl, I had to work," he reasoned with her. He'd snatched a leg of lamb from the kitchen and offered it to her. "You can't stay mad at me forever. We both know you aren't going to spend your days with Idana and Khaleesi."

As if she understood, Vedros reached out and snapped a bite of meat from the leg and gulped it down. She cocked her head and blinked at him for a moment before tugging the entire leg from his grasp, nearly toppling him.

"She'll have to get used to me at some point."

"Khaleesi," Jorah exclaimed. "Good morning." He turned and watched her stroll into his chambers, sit on the foot of his bed, and watch his dragon. At some point she had stopped knocking, stopped summoning for him, stopped any formality. She was eating an apple, nonchalantly crunching without a care. Few people knew that the queen hated eating in front of people, but it seemed to Jorah the tiny woman never stopped eating.

On the floor a few feet away, Vedros finished her lamb and tossed the bone about for a few seconds before coming bored with it and crawling back onto her cushion to nap. Before she closed her eyes, she made sure to hiss softly at Daenerys.

"Oh, you sweet girl, I shall love to see you when you're out of your moody years," she laughed. "Here." She tossed the apple core toward her. Vedros sniffed at it and acted disinterested. Daenerys turned back to Jorah briefly, then smiled when she heard crunching. "You look like you haven't slept at all, my lord. Your night with the traitor woman was a success, then?" Her eyebrow arched in curiosity.

"Yes." He sat next to her on the bed and fell backward. His greyscale skin ached and sleepiness tugged at his eyelids. Plus, he felt in need of a deep stretch or a hot bath to soothe his spasming muscles. Sex with Lynesse had worked muscles he apparently hadn't used in some time. The flicker of memory sent a brief surge through his body.

"'Yes?' That's all?" Daenerys pressed. "You must tell me." She flopped down onto the bed next to him. "What happened? Did you seduce her?"

Jorah gave her a look. "Lynesse is being held in the tower of the Hand."

Daenerys's eyebrows shot upward. "No! Truly? You took her as a prisoner?"

"Truly. Was that not the plan?" Jorah hesitated. "I got precious little out of her, but it was enough. I intend to meet with Grey Worm and Tyrion this afternoon to discuss our strategy. Tyrek Lannister's men are encamped somewhere nearby and they're planning to act soon."

"My sweet, gentle bear. The blood of the dragon is becoming stronger in you." The queen smiled wickedly. "Does it feel good knowing you bested her? You've waited a long time for that revenge."

"Your Grace," he scolded.

"Come, she deserves to be mocked. She spent your coin and left you! I heard her at the festival. She's a wretched woman." She nudged Jorah when he didn't say anything. "You're too good of a man, Jorah."

"Is that why two of my wives left me?" he grumbled.

"Stop it," Daenerys snapped. "You just need a nap and you'll feel better."

"Mmm," he agreed.

After a moment, the queen pressed him again. "But you fucked her?"

"Khaleesi." Vedros snarled and flapped her wings, sensing Jorah's anger.

"You did!" she giggled. She bounced onto her knees in the bed. "Did she like it? When did you tell her she was your prisoner? I must know. I must!" She threw herself across his chest. "Tell me! Tell me!"

Without thinking, he rolled her onto her back and pinned her down. His nose brushed the tip of hers. "No," he said sternly. "Go away."

"Is this what you did to her?" Daenerys whispered seductively before laughing. "Thrilling."

Jorah rolled onto his side. "Good night, Khaleesi."