A/N: Hey! This officially marks the end of Blood and Iron, so yeah, there's that. I have a start on the next one, but not as much of one as I would like, so I'm anticipating a few months hiatus for me to get some more headway on that before I begin posting it. So, keep an eye out for that if you aren't following me. And just enjoy reading. I hope you've enjoyed this journey as much as I have, and I'll be for the third and final part before too long!

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bethesda Softworks and George R. R. Martin. Except Dar'Jazha.

Rating: M for suggestive content, strong language, and the consumption of alcohol.


When Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo met, she was just a girl, young and naïve, and he was a caravan master of great renown. When they met again, in the hidden cells beneath the Thalmor Embassy, she was a hero, with dragon blood coursing through her veins, and he held the sword of Red Eagle, with the Forsworn united at his back.

They shared their tales as they walked to Dragon Bridge, each discovering who the other had become. Though they had been apart for many moons, they talked easily, sharing smiles and exchanging absent touches, for in the end, no matter how they had changed, they were still husband and wife, and very much in love.

Delphine had been called away to Riverwood for what Sandor had disdainfully quoted as "very important business", and so as they waited for her return, Dany and Drogo spent their time at the inn, door closed and limbs entwined. It was three long days later that the Blade returned and when they emerged into the common room, Sandor was waiting, a flagon of ale in hand and Dar'Jazha at his side.

"Whatever journey that damned woman sends us on shouldn't be too difficult, surely," he quipped as he took a swig. "Assuming the gods heard your fervent supplications as clearly as I did."

The Khajiit snickered as the couple at least had the decency to blush, and though he smirked at his own jest, Dany could see the pain behind his eyes and knew that he was thinking of his own lover.

"Dany tells me I have you to thank for keeping her alive this long," Drogo said, nodding at the sellsword.

Sandor shrugged. "Perhaps, but your wife can evidently take care of herself. I have to say I wasn't sure that I'd be seeing you again."

The last part was directed at Dany, and she pursed her lips. "I don't think that Delphine was sure about that either."

At the mention of her name, Delphine approached the four of them, her expression neutral. "I'm glad to see that you made it out alive." Sandor snorted. She pointedly ignored him.

"What would you have done if I hadn't?" Dany asked evenly.

"Made you a martyr," Delphine replied without a second of hesitation. Evidently, she had given the idea a fair amount of thought. "If you weren't able to take a little trouble at the hands of the Thalmor then you would've been more effective as a symbol for the Blades anyway. But it seems we don't have to worry about that. Did you learn anything useful?"

After a brief, tense silence between the two women, Dany nodded and handed over one of the leather-bound dossiers that she had found in the Embassy dungeon. The others, she kept to herself, including the one on Delphine.

"They know nothing about the dragon attacks, but they're looking for a man named Esbern. They believe he might."

"Esbern?" Delphine raised her eyebrows and began to scan the crisp pages of the journal. "Figures the Thalmor would be on his trail. Esbern was one of the Blades archivists, back before the Thalmor smashed us during the Great War." There was definite bitterness in her tone. "He knew everything about the ancient dragonlore of the Blades. Obsessed with it, really. Nobody paid much attention back then. I guess he wasn't as crazy as we all thought."

Frowning, she closed the notebook again and looked to Daenerys. "Do they know where he is?"

"Riften," Dany replied, absently taking Drogo's hand. "Or so they believe. They seemed to think they had a reliable witness." The poor tortured prisoner had stumbled off into the snow as they escaped from the Embassy, ignoring their pleas for him to join them in Dragon Bridge for at least a decent meal.

"Riften, eh?" Delphine nodded slowly, deep in thought. "Probably down in the Ratway, then. That's where I would go." After a moment, her gaze sharpened again. "You ought to get to Riften. Talk to Brynjolf. He's...well-connected, and a good starting point at least. It's imperative that we get to Esbern before the Thalmor do."

"Quick to send us back into danger, eh?" Sandor asked, his ruined mouth curled into a snarl. "Why don't you just bloody go yourself?"

"I have other business to attend to," Delphine replied curtly. "And a child and a disgraced traitor are far more disposable than the last warrior of the Blades. Even if she is the Dragonborn."

Dar'Jazha growled lowly and Drogo's hand curled into a fist, but the woman held her ground, meeting their gazes with confidence and not a shred of remorse. "If the dragons cannot be stopped, then we will all die anyway. What does it matter when it happens, or how? I think you'd rather die by a Thalmor blade than when the world runs red with blood and fire." Her gaze found Sandor's and he returned it with a glower.

When no one replied, she nodded. "Go to Riften. If you find Esbern, ask him where he was on the thirtieth of Frostfall. And then bring him to me. I'll be waiting."


Although her traveling companion was none too happy about it, Dany decided to obey Delphine's orders with haste. Though she knew that the woman was not as unconcerned with her fate as she let on, it was true that their task would prove easier if they arrived before the Thalmor.

However, everyone agreed that the quickest journey would come after a good night of sleep, and so they remained in Dragon Bridge for one final evening, preparing their things, and delaying the inevitable.

Dany was running her hands through Drogo's unbraided hair in the privacy of their room when he addressed the unspoken topic. "I wish we could join you."

She sighed heavily and nodded, resting her chin on his bare shoulder. "So do I. Sandor isn't often much for company."

Drogo chuckled at that, and not for the first time, Dany was grateful that he held no jealousy toward the other man. Even if his scars hadn't marred whatever attractiveness he may have once had, he was still very much in love with another woman, a fact that was painfully obvious.

"Neither are the Forsworn."

Dany, for her part, had allowed a small well of resentment to fester in her chest as Drogo had absently mentioned the Briarheart woman that Madanach had called his queen. Vicious murderer and cannibal or no, Dany's mind had conjured up the image of a fiercely beautiful woman—and one who was often very close to her husband.

She hummed absently in response and wrapped her arms around his chest, softly kissing his shoulder blade. He smiled at that and turned his head to capture her lips before moving a hand to her stomach. Dany's heart lurched.

"Perhaps when we find ourselves together again it will be time to meet our child." The warmth in his gaze made her feel ill.

Her throat was dry when she tried to speak, and she could feel tears forming in her eyes. "Drogo, I..." She hesitated, her chest tight. How was she supposed to tell him that he would never meet his son? "I barely made it out from Helgen alive."

"I know," her husband soothed softly, stroking her hair back from her forehead and kissing her gently. "I know, love. But you did, and I'm here now. We're together again."

"I did," Dany echoed, her voice cracking as she began to cry. "But our child did not."

For a moment, Drogo was still and silent, and when he finally moved, it was to wrap her in his arms. She could feel his tears against her cheek as he held her, and she allowed herself to release all of the pain that she had been trying to hide since that terrible night after Helgen. She still remembered washing the blood from between her thighs, knowing that it was what could never be her son that stained the river water red.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry."

When he tilted her chin up, he kissed away her tears and shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. It could never be your fault." And as she drifted off to sleep with tears on her cheeks and her husband's arms around her, she tried to believe that.


The couple's eyes were dry as they said their farewells in the morning and Sandor and Dar'Jazha made themselves scarce as they exchanged kisses and soft goodbyes.

"Write to me," Drogo ordered, cupping her face in his large hands and kissing her again.

"I will," Dany murmured. "But only if you promise to do the same."

Her husband smiled and nodded. "Be safe. Come back to me."

"I will," she said again. "I promise."

Drogo nodded and sighed shakily, taking a long moment to simply stare at his wife and memorize her features. When she blushed slightly beneath his gaze, he suddenly remembered the satchel at his hip, and he smiled as he reached within it.

"I almost forgot. I have something for you."

He withdrew a delicate circlet, wrought from fine silver and adorned with glittering amethysts. He had taken it in Shor's Stone just after their wedding, and had intended to give it to her as a gift upon her return from Falkreath. That day had never come, but as she stood before him now, he knew that a crown had never been more fitting.

She gasped and turned it over in her hands before allowing him to place it upon her brow. "It's beautiful."

Drogo's smile broadened and he leaned down to kiss her deeply. "Not nearly as beautiful as you."

As Sandor approached and cleared his throat, they reluctantly broke apart. "We should get on the road, my lady." Seemingly uncomfortable in revealing the relative closeness that had grown between he and his employer in her husband's company, he had quickly reverted back to formalities.

"If we must," she answered. When she made no move to join him, Sandor nodded awkwardly and wandered back over to the horses. Dany sighed and twined her fingers through Drogo's once more.

"I love you, Drogo."

His smile was wide and it made her heart ache to know that she must leave him again. "I love you too, Daenerys Targaryen."

With a final lingering kiss they parted, each joining their companions and setting off on their respective paths. Though her eyes filled with tears, Dany did not look back, for she knew if she did that she could not let him go.

They rode out from Dragon Bridge in silence, and Sandor kept his gaze fixed firmly on the road, a road that Dany knew he had traveled before. In an effort to distract himself from his memories, he finally spoke, his gaze leaving the small shack in the forest beside them and settling on his companion.

"Did you tell him?" He asked it hesitantly, as though in fear of whether or not he had any right to ask such a question.

Dany sighed, remembering her husband's grief. After a moment, she nodded. As Sandor returned the gesture, she thought of another child, and her lips curled into a frown, for she did not know how to say what was on her mind, and had been for many days.

Her time in the Thalmor Embassy had been strange, from the distraction that a relative stranger had been willing to give to the discovery of Drogo and Dar'Jazha in the Thalmor dungeons. Strangest overall, however, was the presence of Lady Stormcloak in itself, for her husband was a sworn enemy of the Thalmor, a fact that was well known throughout the province.

Upon making her acquaintance, Dany had understood at once why Sandor had fallen in love with her. She was beautiful, and despite what she had endured since the execution of the man she believed to be her lover, she had a smile for everyone. Dany could see kindness and desperation in equal measure behind the blue of her eyes.

The young woman, however, had little attention for the other guests, focused only on the swell at her waist, barely visible beneath her dress. Her hands smoothed over the bump lovingly, cradling the child that grew beneath, and Dany knew at once the secret that had kept her from ending her own life, for surely, it was a tempting thought.

"Sandor..."

He grunted in reply and she paused for a moment before beginning again, hesitantly.

"The babe that Sansa is carrying..."

His jaw clenched. "Aye. Stormcloak's heir. That son of a whore. I'll kill him someday, I swear that to all the gods. Divines and Daedra alike."

"It isn't Ulfric's," Dany said quietly, before he could be consumed by his rage. "It's yours."

She could see the faintest glimmer of hope in his eyes as he met her gaze, and it tore her heart in two.

"How could you know that?" His voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

"She was at the Embassy."

"You saw her?" There was something close to panic in his gaze, and for a moment, she thought that he meant to turn around and ride back to Solitude.

Dany nodded. "And I know the child is yours. She treated the babe inside her as I once did," She said this sadly, slipping into her own painful memories. "With love. No one can claim that she loves her husband, and after what she's endured at his hands, she could hold little love for a child borne of rape. If she hasn't drank moon tea since the night of their wedding or thrown herself from the Palace windows, then that child is yours, Sandor. I swear it." Besides that, her pregnancy had been noticeable, if only just slightly so, and she had carried the Stormcloak name for hardly more than two moons.

"Why are you telling me this?" He sounded almost angry, and Dany was taken aback.

"I thought you deserved to know."

"That I'm leaving my child behind?" he snapped. "That I've not only abandoned Sansa, but our babe as well? If Ulfric discovers the truth, she will surely be killed, and at your side, I am too far to protect her from that fate."

"I only wanted you to know the truth," Dany said quietly, and after a moment, Sandor softened, shaking his head.

"I know. I already lose enough sleep with nightmares of my own death. Now I'll fear hers too." After a brief silence, he added, "and our child's."

With nothing else to say, they continued on, winding their way about the base of the Throat of the World and across the marshes that led the way to Riften. Though night fell and the sun rose again above them, they did not stop, for the thought of finding Esbern run through with a Thalmor blade was enough to keep them moving.

It seemed as though a lifetime had passed since Dany had last been home, and when the gates opened before them, the city seemed harsh and foreign. Sandor kept a close watch on her as she idly looked over the streets where she had grown up, and she kept her hood about her face lest she be recognized.

"Where are we to find this Brynjolf?" Sandor asked under his breath, watching suspiciously as a dark-clothed youth scurried past.

"In the market square," Dany replied without hesitation. Brynjolf was a well-known swindler, and yet he made an astounding profit despite his reputation. They heard him before he came into view.

"Genuine Falmer-blood elixir! Make love like a sabrecat or crush your enemies to dust like a giant! Only a mere twenty gold coins and all this could be yours!"

Sandor snorted in disbelief as they approached, and Brynjolf's charismatic smile shifted into a smirk at the sight of his two guests. "Ah, Lady Targaryen and the Hound himself. The rumours say you're both dead, but I suppose I should know better than most that rumours are nothing more than simply that—rumored."

Sandor tensed at the immediate and effortless identification, but Brynjolf simply laughed. "Pull the stick out of your arse, Clegane. I promise you that nobody else in Riften is sharp enough to peg either of you. I suppose what I should be asking you is why you're willing to show your faces in Riften however. Feeling homesick, my lady?"

Dany ignored his jest. "We're looking for a man named Esbern."

The Nord raised his eyebrows. "Esbern? You're Delphine's newest playthings then I take it. Watch out for that woman, she's almost as much of a snake as I am. And she doesn't take kindly to anyone who gets in her way."

"The old man," Sandor growled irritably. "Where is he?"

Brynjolf eyed them for a moment before sighing. "In the Ratway, I assume. Go on through the sewers and when you come to the Ragged Flagon, tell anyone who tries to stop you that Brynjolf can vouch for you. They shouldn't kill you then." He laughed again and grinned at Sandor's unamused expression.

"Hard to believe a lady like Sansa Stark would fall for someone with a scowl like that," he needled the younger man. "Though perhaps she didn't look at your face when you..." He made a rude and suggestive gesture which made Dany blush and Sandor clench his fist. The swindler grinned again. "That's a sore spot then, eh? Very well. Forgive me and be on your way. I'll trouble you no more."

As they turned, he offered one parting jab, directed at Daenerys. "Ah, I would stay away from the palace, my lady," he called out. "Poor Jarl Mormont still pines for his unattainable lady love."

"That man's tongue is like to get him killed," Sandor grouched as they descended toward the city's sewage tunnels. Dany nodded in agreement, following him as they waded through the filth beneath their boots.

The tunnel wound around upon itself, but they managed to find the Ragged Flagon with little trouble, hurrying through the underground tavern in hopes of making it through without detection. They were, however, stopped before long by a burly man in the obvious armor of a thief.

"Vekel doesn't like strangers in the Flagon," he said with a snarl, moving one hand to the hilt of his sword.

"We're hardly strangers," Dany replied, removing her hood and gesturing for Sandor to take off his helmet. Though he hesitated for a moment, he ultimately obeyed, and the bouncer raised his eyebrows.

"What are the likes of you doing here?" Though he still sounded suspicious, there was less aggression in his tone.

"We're looking for a man named Esbern," Daenerys replied. "We have reason to believe he's here somewhere, on the word of Brynjolf."

"Esbern?" He eyed them for a long moment before finally nodding. "I bet my boots you're looking for the crazy old man in the Warrens. He paid plenty for nobody to know about him, and you're not the first to come in here asking about him, either, so be careful."

When Dany nodded, he stepped aside, and the assorted thieves and lowlifes in the tavern eyed them warily as they passed through to the deeper tunnels beneath the city.

The depths of the Ratway were dark and damp, and Dany had to stifle a cough as she inhaled the thick, musty air. Moving slowly, and with their weapons drawn, they continued through, stepping carefully over bridges rotted with age and disuse.

The sound of footsteps halted their movement, and Dany's heart beat quickly in her chest as a Thalmor guard appeared in an adjoining passageway. Staying silent and still, they remained undetected, and he continued on.

"We need to hurry," Sandor urged, barely audible as he hissed through his teeth. Dany nodded and followed, moving forward through the winding halls until they reached a heavy iron door. It creaked loudly as Sandor hefted it open and he urged her through, but did not follow. She could hear hurried steps from the other side and the brief sounds of a scuffle before her companion joined her, his sword stained red with blood.

"Go."

Even deeper within the Ratway they crawled, stepping over the creatures that gave the tunnels their names and watching for any sign of the man they sought.

They heard whispers from the cells along the walls as they passed, evidence of those who made the Ratway their home.

"They were golden, even when they were dead. But their blood was red. I knew it would be."

"Inkpot. Stone. Bucket. Book. Knife."

"Don't run...stay for dinner!"

Dany shivered as their cackling laughter echoed along the walls.

"Wait." She only stopped at the sound of Sandor's voice, and she turned to follow his gaze, settled on a thick steel door at the end of an adjoining hall, its window shut tight and barred from within.

Leading the way, she approached the door, and after hesitating for only a moment, she knocked softly. A few long minutes passed, and she was just raising her hand again when a voice spoke from within.

"Who are you? What do you want? Go away."

Hesitantly, Daenerys answered. "Esbern? Open the door. I'm a friend."

"Esbern?" The voice sputtered. "No, that's not me. I'm not Esbern. I don't know what you're talking about. I said go away!"

Dany and Sandor exchanged a glance before she replied. "Where were you on the thirtieth of Frostfall?"

Another long moment passed and finally, he spoke again. "So Delphine sent you? And pointed you towards me? You'd better come in." They heard the sound of a lock being turned. "This will just take a moment." Another key turned, and then a bolt creaked loudly as it was pulled from its housing. "This one always sticks..." the old man muttered, before crying out in victory. "There we go!"

Sandor sighed impatiently as another key was turned, and Esbern responded in a distracted mutter. "Just a couple more…there we are." The door opened to reveal a gnarled hand which gestured them in. "Come in, quickly."

Obeying, they squeezed into the cell, coming face to face with an elderly man. Though his skin was wrinkled and his hair was white and thin, his eyes were bright and sharp.

"So," he began. "Delphine keeps up the fight, after all these years...I thought she would have realized it's hopeless by now." He sighed and shook his head sadly. "I tried to tell her, years ago."

"What do you mean, 'it's hopeless'?" Dany asked, worry evident in her lavender eyes.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Esbern asked incredulously. "What more needs to happen before you all wake up and see what's going on?" He gestured frantically, his eyes wild. "Alduin has returned! Just like the prophecy said. The dragon from the Dawn of Time, who devours the souls of the dead. No one can escape his hunger, here or in the afterlife." His tone grew grave, and there was a haunted look in his gaze. "Alduin will devour all things and the world will end. Nothing can stop it. I tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen. Fools, the whole lot of them! And now it's all come true, just as I said, and all I could do was watch our doom approach."

"Alduin..." Sandor echoed, looking over to his companion. "The dragon who's raising the others?"

"Yes, yes!" Esbern cried as Dany nodded in affirmation. "See, you know, but you refuse to understand!"

The sellsword sighed and a deep frown tugged at his ruined lips. "You're talking about the literal end of the world?"

Esbern shook his head and sighed at the obvious incredulity in his tone. "Oh, yes. It's all been foretold. The end has begun. Alduin has returned. Only a Dragonborn can stop him, but...no Dragonborn has been known for centuries. It seems the gods have grown tired of us. They've left us to our fate, as the plaything of Alduin the World-Eater."

The old man seemed defeated, and they could tell that he truly believed that he was merely counting down the hours until the end of Time.

Again, Dany and Sandor looked to one another, and when he nodded, the young woman spoke hesitantly. "It's not hopeless, Esbern. I'm...the Dragonborn. That's why Delphine found me...why she sent us to you."

Esbern's eyebrows rose high on his forehead, and he seemed to truly look at his visitor for the first time. "Really? You are Dragonborn? Then...then there is hope. The gods have not abandoned us after all. We must...we must..." His gaze roamed absently among the belongings in the cell he had made his home before snapping back to his two companions. "We must go, as soon as night falls. Take me to Delphine. We have much to discuss."

He turned to begin gathering his belongings then paused and looked to Daenerys once again, his gaze pitying, but hopeful. "It's a terrible burden to bear, my child, but the fate of all mankind rests in your hands...and yours alone."


A/N: Hey, again, just wanted to say real quick that my other story Gods and Heroes is the next part of this trilogy and the one that picks up where this leaves off. I've gotten a few reviews/PMs recently saying things about how it's been years since I've updated and while I'll admit it's been a bit, it certainly hasn't been that long, so I guess for some reason there are people who didn't realize that there's another 14 or so chapters up after this one, under Gods and Heroes. Not really sure what happened, but yeah, just so everyone knows, that's what's up.