Disclaimer: I don't own Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire
Alyssa I Targaryen
Book : The Long Night
Chapter 4: Final Preparations
Beta:
The morning after finally consummating her relationship with Gwyn and the farewell orgy they had shared with the rest of her concubines afterwards, Alyssa was in a courtyard of the Red Keep as her men organized themselves for the ride out of King's Landing towards Ghost's lair where he was waiting for her so they could travel together to Castle Black via Gate. He would have flown into the castle and pick her up but since his latest growth spurt, he had become far too big to safely land anywhere inside the walls.
She was just about to mount her horse when Arya and Elia approached her, both dressed in full plate armor.
"Let me guess," Alyssa said with a roll of her eyes. "Both of you want to come North with me and join the fight?"
"Yes," both her sister and her Dornish concubine chorused without hesitation.
Even if Alyssa knew this was coming, actually confronted with it she couldn't help but be annoyed by it.
"Elia I can understand." Alyssa said with a sigh. "And I welcome you, Lady Lance. Though I wished you had approached me about this sooner."
Elia blushed at the use of her nickname but nevertheless smiled at the easy acceptance. Something which also seemed to give Arya hope if her own eager smile was anything to go by.
"But I draw the line with you sister," Alyssa continued sternly. "Whereas Elia is a trained and skilled warrior already, you have not even fully mastered the Water Dance."
"Master Fyllolis says I'm competent, don't you master?" Arya asked her Water Dance Master who she'd dragged along apparently just for this.
"She is competent, your grace. But I would be wary of sending her to war." The Bravo said with an apologetic nod to his student.
"Master!" Arya whined.
"I'm sorry, my student, but I must speak the truth."
"There you have it, Arya." Alyssa told her sister with finality. "You're not ready. So stay in King's Landing."
Arya looked ready to argue, so Alyssa added. "Do I need to make it an order?"
Arya pouted but shook her head.
"Good girl," Alyssa said leaning over to ruffle her little sister's hair, earning a cry of indignation and her pulling away to hastily 'fix' her hair.
Alyssa looked on in amusement even as she addressed Arya's Queensguard shadow.
"Ser Cuy, please make sure my sister doesn't do something foolish like sneaking away to join the front." Alyssa told the Yellow Knight.
"Ser Royce and I will make sure that won't happen, your grace." Ser Cuy replied with an amused grin. "We will keep the royal family safe while you are away on campaign."
Over by the rest of her concubines and Ned, carried in Margey's arms today, the other Queensguard knight staying behind in King's Landing nodded in agreement to his Brother's words.
"I have full faith in you both," Alyssa told them seriously. "I would not leave you this task if I did not."
"You honor us, your grace." Ser Cuy told her with a grateful bow.
"Elia, go mount your horse. It is time to move out."
"Right," the tan skinned beauty agreed as she rushed off to obey.
"Alys-" Arya began but Alyssa just shot her a look and she subsided though not without an adorable pout.
Alyssa couldn't help laughing at how lovable her rambunctious sister could be when she wasn't trying. It was thus in good spirits that she mounted her horse and began to trot out of the castle, her retinue following behind her including her concubines and Small Council. At the formers' insistence they would say their farewells at the last minute, something the Small Council, at her Hand's urging no doubt, was happy to agree with and shift the formal ceremony marking the departure to Ghost's lair. Though for some reason, they had insisted she ride there instead of simply using a Gate to travel there.
I guess I should be glad Elia and Arya didn't try to convince me at the absolute last second, though this was bad enough. Alyssa thought with a sigh as Elia made her way to her place to her left at the head of the procession just as it exited the Red Keep.
As it did, the reason why the Small Council had agreed to change in itinerary became evident as Alyssa caught sight of people lining the streets and they began showering her and the rest of the royal procession in flowers and well wishes. For a second Alyssa questioned the people's apparent enthusiasm but quickly realized this was the first time she had ever processed through the city since she had taken the city during the War of the Four Sovereigns. Every time before this whenever she had to travel to and fro from the Red Keep, she had, for the sake of convenience or speed, either flown over the city directly to the castle or used a Gate. As such the people of King's Landing had never had a chance to express their feelings for her before now.
Feelings that if the storm of flowers and unending well wishes were any indication were positive indeed.
It was those positive feelings that buoyed Alyssa as a day later, she found herself at Castle Black and was confronted by the enormity of what needed to be done. Such as overseeing the repair and expansion of the main stronghold of the Night's Watch just to accommodate the incoming armies, which would be arriving in the coming months. Thankfully the handful of surviving giants and mammoths had helped immensely in these efforts, their manual labor alone making up for hundreds of men and greatly accelerating the pace of construction. With their help, and on occasion that of the dragons, they were keeping pace with the arrivals. If only barely so. Already the new curtain walls being built to protect from attack from other directions beyond the north to accommodate the expanded area the final form of the newly imported Castle Black was expected to take up was well underway.
And that just keeps getting revised doesn't it? Alyssa thought irritably as she stood at the top of the King's Tower and looked at the giants, mammoths and men at work.
She had been up there for some time when she heard the sound of the trapdoor that led up to this uppermost level of the tower opening, turning around to see she saw her Aunt Dany climbing up the ladder to join her. The Mother of Dragons and her men had sailed directly from Dragonstone to White Harbor and marched from there directly to Castle Black, making them one of the first major armies to reach the Wall.
"It is amazing, you know that, Niece?" Her Aunt said by way of greeting as she moved to join her at the edge of the tower and looking over its merlons at the frenetic construction.
"The temperature?" Alyssa asked, genuinely confused by the seemingly random statement.
It was a completely valid assumption to make. Unlike Alyssa who had grown up in the North and was thus somewhat used to the cold of the Wall and thus could make do with just slightly more winter clothing than usual, her Aunt and many of the new arrivals hailing from warmer southern climes were all bundled up in thick furs. The exasperated look her Aunt shot her in reply told her she had been wrong in her guess however.
"That too I suppose," her Aunt conceded. "Though I meant the diverse forces that you have brought together."
Alyssa just shrugged. "I merely did what needed to be done."
"And that's why it's so impressive." Aunt Dany insisted. "Everything you've done so far, including the restoration of our dynasty was for this war wasn't it?"
"In part," Alyssa admitted.
"Like I said, you're an impressive woman Alys."
Shrugging again, Alyssa decided to change the topic.
"How are your Unsullied and Dothraki taking to the new dragonglass weapons?"
The production of dragonglass weapons was thankfully proving less difficult than expected as supplies of the material poured into Castle Black from Dragonstone and other smaller sources. They were arriving in more than enough quantities for the small army of craftsmen she'd recruited to produce the weapons they needed to properly fight the Others and their Wights.
"The Unsullied have adapted fine. Their new dragonglass spears are fundamentally no different from their old ones. It is the Dothraki who are the problem."
"The craftsmen still cannot produce a dragonstone arakh?"
"They have," Dany said with a shake of her head. "But the Dothraki are hesitant about using them. They are very attached to their traditional blades."
"They need time to adapt." Alyssa concluded. "And pressure to do so."
"I know. I will continue to push them."
The sound of a commotion below tore the two Queens from their discussion and they both turned to its source to see many people pointing at the Kingsroad. Following their gaze they saw a host marching towards Castle Black, at the head of which flew Stark banners.
"He's arrived." Alyssa said with a smile. "Come, Aunt, let us go welcome my brother."
Days after Robb's arrival, Alyssa was in the training yard of Castle Black to see Tormund and Black Jack Bulwer off. The two unlikely friends were leading a host that would be marching along the wall towards Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, detaching forces to reclaim and man the old abandoned Night's Watch castles along the way whilst reinforcing those still occupied. They were departing a day after a force led by Robb had left towards Westwatch-by-the-Bridge with the same overall mission.
"May you not encounter any unforeseen difficulties along the way." Alyssa told the two men as their forces, a mixed group of Night's Watch Brothers, Free Folk, Northmen, Unsullied and Dothraki, marched pass behind them.
"No need to worry, Witch Queen." Tormund reassured her. "Thanks to you, we have all we need, even if we end up fighting the Others. Dealing with anything else besides that is easy."
"Apologies for this rude, overconfident ass, your grace." Bulwer said hastily while shooting his Free Folk friend an exasperated glare out of the corner of his eyes. "We appreciate your concern and will be sure to be careful."
Smiling at the clearly visible camaraderie between the First Ranger and the Free Folk leader, Alyssa moved to dismiss them.
"I won't occupy anymore of your time then, good Sers," Alyssa said giggling at Tormund's jovial indignation at being addressed with a kneeler title. "You are free to return to your men."
Tormund nodded politely and Bulwer bowed respectfully before both left.
Alyssa watched them go for a moment and could clearly hear them arguing goodnaturedly at Tormund's refusal to accept the Seven Kingdoms' etiquette.
They really have become friends haven't they? Alyssa mused as she turned to return to the King's Tower to continue with coordinating the campaign. I suppose without me around for Tormund to develop a friendship with, someone else would have to step in to fill the role. Still, I never expected Bulwer to be the one to do so.
Not that she had anything against the man. He simply was not someone Alyssa remembered strongly from her past life at all, thus it was surprising to see him fill her shoes in this one.
As she stepped inside the King's Tower and the command center for the defense of the Wall that they had transformed it into, Alyssa discarded such thoughts. She had no time for them at the moment.
"They have departed," she informed Lord Commander Thorne and her Aunt Dany as they waited expectantly where they sat at a table upon which was spread out a map of the Wall.
"Good. With this all the castles along the Wall will be occupied for the first time in centuries." The Lord Commander said with a sigh of relief.
"Will that be enough?" Her Aunt asked skeptically as Alyssa took a seat beside her at the planning table.
"No," Alyssa admitted. "But it is a beginning. Before we can think of a way to attack we must first see to our defenses. Especially against a foe like the Others. Their armies are tireless, fearless and likely to outnumber us in most battles. We must fight them from defensive strongholds as much as possible."
"Queen Alyssa is right, your grace." Lord Commander Thorne opined. "That's why refortifying the Wall is so important."
Aunt Dany nodded even if she didn't seem happy. Alyssa could understand. Much of her Aunt's military successes came from being aggressive and bold, a defensive posture was not something she favored. Yet, such was exactly the kind of war they now had to fight.
At least she's not fighting us about it. Alyssa thought. Better bitter acceptance than open disagreement.
"Understood," Aunt Dany said in a resigned sigh. "We were working on how to redeploy the incoming Westerosi armies before you returned Alys. They are your men, do you have anything to add?"
And thus began yet another long day of planning and preparation. Despite that, Alyssa still savored it. Better tiresome organizational work than fighting for her life against the undead and their otherworldly masters.
It seemed that not everyone shared her opinion on the matter as less than a week later, an unknown army was spotted marching towards Castle Black under a flag of truce. With limited manpower at their disposal, it was decided that it was unsafe to intercept them and they were thus allowed to travel an uncomfortably short distance to the Night's Watch headquarters before Alyssa and Aunt Dany flew out to confront them.
Thus it was that with their dragons looming behind them Alyssa and Aunt Dany met an unexpected army just outside the growing camp around Castle Black, which now included men from as far away as the Stormlands and the Reach. The latter of which had been accompanied with much appreciated supplies of foodstuff. While the army would not have starved thanks to the multiple supply lines without it, it had provided much desired variety to the rations that was hard to come by when all the local game was largely being hunted down and eaten by four hungry dragons.
"I recognize many of those banners," Aunt Dany whispered to Alyssa. "They belong to various sellsword companies from Essos."
"And they all march under the banner of the Iron Bank." Alyssa whispered back as a small party rode ahead of the army towards them carrying a large pennant bearing the key sigil of the Iron Bank of Braavos.
"Greetings, Queen Alyssa, Queen Daenerys. I am Noho Dimittis, a representative of the Iron Bank." the leader of the delegation said as he respectfully approached after he and his guards dismounted. Guards which Alyssa belatedly noted was being led by the heretofore missing Sandor Clegane.
What is he doing here? And with the Iron Bank of all people?
"And what Banker Dimittis are the Bank's intentions?" Aunt Dany asked the dour Braavosi Banker. "First, you funded my return to Westeros. And now you march an uncalled for army to, I presume, aid our cause after I have allied herself with my Niece?"
"We have done all that to better our chances, that of the living, in the war against the dead."
"You say that. But you offered the loan to my Aunt before the Great Council where I revealed the threat of the wights." Alyssa countered as she tore her attention away from the Hound.
"Indeed we did," Dimittis admitted. "And we make no apologies for that. We weren't sure that with only one dragon your grace would be hold the Iron Throne against Queen Daenerys. We were thus hedging our bets."
"By supporting both of us?" Dany questioned.
Dmittis nodded without shame.
"And this sellsword army is recompense for the deception?" Alyssa asked, picking up the questioning once more.
"In a way," Noho said with a frown. "It is also us playing our part in this fight for survival. Your demonstration at the Great Council was most persuasive."
"And my Aunt's debts to the Bank?" Alyssa asked, causing her Aunt to look at her in surprise.
"Your Aunt has prudently already made arrangements for the Cities of the Bay of Dragons, that is Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen, to shoulder the debt. Something they happily accepted as an act of repayment on their part for the Mother of Dragons liberating them from the Masters."
"That was forward thinking of you, Aunt Dany," Alyssa told the other dragonrider honestly. "I'm impressed."
"She never told you about it, your grace?"
"I never asked," Alyssa told him. "It is a potentially sensitive subject. As family and her ally I had the grace to not probe her on the matter."
"But it is perfectly acceptable to do so with a neutral third party?" Dany observed with a roll of her eyes.
"Exactly." Alyssa said with a coy smile.
"Well played, your grace. Well played indeed." The Bank envoy opined.
"Thank you. One last question, are you aware of the reputation of the captain of your men?" Alyssa asked, eyeing the silent Hound warily.
"Sandor Clegane has proven himself quite capable and we needed someone familiar with Westeros. If you are asking after his crimes, I believe your trails found him not guilty in absentia."
"I ask merely to know if you were knowledgeable as to his past. Since that appears to be the case, I have no objections to his presence. We need every able warrior we can."
Dimittis nodded, looking inordinately pleased. He seemed to think he'd won one over her. Alyssa couldn't see why. She was being honest in all her preceding statements.
Deciding that deciphering the Banker's thoughts was not worth the effort, she moved to dismiss him. "That concludes our business I believe. Aunt Dany?"
"I too have no more questions."
"Then unless you have further business with us, I regret that we must end this audience." Alyssa told the banker. "We have much other work to attend to."
"No, your graces, I believe I am done. May fortune favor you."
"You as well, Banker Dimittis."
With a polite bow, the Banker left, taking his entourage back with him as they moved to rejoin the marching column of his men. Alyssa waited for him to be out of earshot before she sighed. She wasn't lying when she had other work to attend to. Organizing all the necessities for the arriving armies was proving more difficult than conquering the Seven Kingdoms had.
"There, there, Niece." Aunt Dany said patting her shoulder comfortingly. "At least we have Missandei to help us."
"Thank god," Alyssa said earnestly. Without the little Naathi girl and her exceptional talents, she was sure the sheer amount of work would have overwhelmed them.
The work of coordinating the hundreds of thousands of men they had rallied to their cause never ended but neither Alyssa nor Aunt Dany could work non-stop thus they sought diversions from time to time. One such was touring the camp and on this occasion both Queens had decided to do so together and had decided to stop at an archery range that had been set up to have a look at some of the men as they practiced.
"Is that really appropriate?" Aunt Dany asked with a raised eyebrow as Elia quite shamelessly snuggled into Alyssa's side.
"Hells if I care," Elia said with a shrug. "It's cold up here and Alys is warm."
Alyssa rolled her eyes at her lover's flippant response.
"It's fine." She reassured her Aunt.
The Mother of Dragons still looked skeptical but shrugged and turned her attention back towards the archers. The range was being used by a group from the Vale today and they were showing quite impressive skill for men who Alyssa knew were usually farmers or shepherds.
"You look surprised, your grace." Ser Wendel, one of her Queensguard shadows for the day, said suddenly. "At their skill, I mean."
"Yes, I am actually. I presume you can enlighten me?"
"The Vale is rife with predators, your grace." The skilled archer told her. "And these men use their bows to fend them off."
"Why a bow?" Elia asked curiously.
"It's cheap for one but more importantly it has decent range." The knight explained. "When you're dealing with a bear or shadowcat which can disembowel you with its claws if given the chance, range is your friend."
"And there is a special need of such a defense in the Vale?" Aunt Dany asked curiously.
"The Vale is highly mountainous," Alyssa supplied. "More so than any other region of the Seven Kingdoms. That means there are many places for dangerous wildlife to survive, sometimes very close to human habitation. More so than any other place in the Realm. If I follow Ser Wendel correctly then I imagine that is why the smallfolk of the Vale have such skill with the bow?"
"You are correct, your grace." The plump Manderly knight said with a nod.
"I see," Aunt Dany said with a frown. "It seems that is much I need to learn about the Seven King-"
Her words were cut short when suddenly a messenger ran over.
"Your graces!" The young boy said as he came to a stop. "A group of unknowns have been spotted heading towards camp under a flag of truce. Lord Commander Thorne is requesting orders."
"Another one?" Elia asked warily.
"We might as well check it out," Aunt Dany said with a sigh.
"Agreed. Boy, let the Lord Commander know that we'll handle this."
It took Alyssa, Dany, Elia and their escorts ten minutes to arrive on horseback to find a tall slender woman with long hair the color of burnished copper and pale, unblemished skin dressed in the long robe of red fabric characteristic of a red priestess of R'hllor that Alyssa instantly recognized as Melisandre. She stood at the head of a hundred Red Priests and Priestesses surrounded by a squad of Reach knights under the command of Dickon Tarly, Sam's younger brother. Alyssa had met Tarly in passing at Bitterbridge and her march to King's Landing afterwards, but she had never actually bothered to give him a close look. Now that she did, she could appreciate the handsome dark haired man who unlike his fat, intellectually inclined older brother, instead looked every bit the capable warrior.
"You have our thanks, Lord Tarly, for handling the situation." Alyssa told the man.
"Just doing my duty, your grace." Tarly said with a nod, his eyes not straying from Aunt Dany since he first caught sight of her. Her Aunt noticed this of course but beyond a smirk showed no sign of being aware of the smitten boy.
I am not touching that with a ten foot pole. I have enough issues with relationships of my own. Alyssa thought as she shared an amused look with Elia. Though mine are happy issues.
"Red priestess," Aunt Dany said while Alyssa was daydreaming. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"I am Melisandre and-"
"Stannis Baratheon's infamous Red Priestess?" Alyssa asked at last.
"The same." The Red Priestess freely admitted. "That was a mistake on my part. I had mistakenly believed that he was Azor Ahai reborn, but I know better now. If anyone is to be the legendary savior than it would be either of you, your graces."
"Is that why you're here?" Aunt Dany asked, her eyes narrowed. "Because you think one of us could be your prophesied hero?"
"Yes. The two of you are the two most likely candidates. And since both of you are fighting alongside each other, your cause must be just thus we have come to assist you."
"And how am I to know that you won't betray us?" Alyssa asked even as Ghost flew over from his lair to add his intimidating glare to the one she was already leveling at the Red Priestess. "You did try to burn me and my dragon alive with a fireball once."
Many of Melisandre's fellow Red Priests shot her incredulous looks at that revelation.
"As I said, I was operating under the foolish impression that Stannis was Azor Ahai at the time. I sincerely apologize for my mistake, your grace."
Alyssa was not mollified and neither was Ghost as his growl and the burst of anger he sent her indicated but Aunt Dany shot them both a sharp look.
"Calm yourself and your dragon, Niece." Her Aunt said sternly. "We cannot turn anyone away. Not against a foe of unknown power like the Others. Set aside your misgivings for now and we can have an accounting of this woman's crimes against you, whatever they might be, after this war."
Alyssa was unhappy, but her Aunt had a point.
"Very well." Alyssa conceded. "But there will be an accounting."
"I will gladly present myself for your judgement when the time comes." Melisandre said with what appeared to be genuine honesty.
"You better," Elia cut in unexpectedly. "If you don't or even think of betraying my Queen, you'll answer to my lance."
She emphasized this point by brandishing her lance, now modified to have a dragonglass tip.
"But of course, Lady Sand." Melisandre assured her. "I would be more than happy to hand over any traitors to your justice. Myself included should the unthinkable ever happen."
"Enough with this posturing." Aunt Dany said, her tone chiding. "It is cold. Let us get these men in front of a fire before they freeze to death."
"Agreed. Let us escort you to a spot where you can set up your camp then," Alyssa said turning her horse around back towards the camp
Two days later, Alyssa and Aunt Dany stood outside of a target range set aside for Melisandre's red priests as they practiced with her brand of fire magic by tossing Fire Bolts and Fireballs accurately downrange like they had been doing so all their lives. All she had done was given them copies of the primer of her fire magic she had written and they had taken to the new magic like fish to water.
"How?" Alyssa turned to Melisandre in shock.
"All priests of R'hllor have wielded fire magic from the earliest days of their service. Not as easily cast or as powerful as your own most of the time. Not without the sacrifice of blood. However, we still have ample experience shaping fire mystically to our god's will. In light of that, learning your magic is simply a natural progression."
"That makes sense," Alyssa said with a sigh.
"You're jealous, your grace?"
"Yes," Alyssa admitted. "Fire came easily to me, but not this easily."
Melisandre just smiled. "Your blood sings of ice and fire, your grace, but even its potency cannot make up for years of study and training."
"Does that mean I can learn fire magic too?" Dany asked curiously.
"It is likely, your grace." The Red Priestess said consideringly. "But it will take you some study."
"I wonder-"
"I'll pass you a primer later." Alyssa told her Aunt. "It took me weeks to master just Fire Bolt when I started though, so don't expect quick results."
"Thank you, Alys. And I won't."
Their conversation was interrupted when Elia suddenly rode into the practice range on her favourite black filly.
"Alys! Father is here with the Dornish spears! And he brought my sisters!" She cried excitedly offering Alyssa an arm. "Come greet them."
Alyssa gave Melisandre and Dany a quick nod in farewell before taking her lover's arm and swinging herself up onto the horse.
The moment she was secure, Elia turned her filly towards the Kingsroad entrance to the camp and rode through it at an excited gallop. Her poor Queensguard shadows for the day, Ygritte and Brienne barely managing to mount horses of their own and chase after them.
"I'll prepare the formal welcome!" Aunt Dany shouted after them. "You two go see Elia's family."
"Thank you, Aunt Dany," Alyssa shouted back as they raced through the camp uncertain if her Aunt could even hear her.
Thankfully, Elia slowed down as they made it out of camp and began riding towards the Martell host. She was also strangely enough adjusting her riding leathers.
"Are you trying to look better in front of your family?" Alyssa asked, surprised by Elia's reaction.
The Dornishwoman just blushed. "Yes. I haven't seen him in moons, not since we left King's Landing. And my sisters since they went back to Dorne after visiting with Uncle Doran during the Great Council. That was almost a year ago! I want to look my best."
Alyssa giggled and kissed her lover's cheek. "I think you look lovely always."
"And you're biased Alys."
"So's your Father." Alyssa noted. "Isn't that right Prince Oberyn?"
"Indeed, I am." The Red Viper said with a chuckle as he rode up to them, having pushed his own horse into a gallop as he saw them exit the camp and managed to reach them while Alyssa had helpfully distracted his daughter.
"Father!" Elia practically squeaked, causing both her loved ones to burst out laughing at her expense.
"You deserved that," Tyene said as she and Obara caught up with their Father.
"Tyene~!" Elia whined.
"It's good to see you've not changed a bit, Elia." The oldest of the Sand Snakes said in lieu of a proper greeting as she looked around. "Where's Nymeria?"
"Probably, with the rest of the official reception party." Alyssa said with an amused smile at the embarrassed look Elia was sporting. "Someone was impatient and rode on ahead."
"I think we can guess who," Prince Oberyn said with a teasing smile at Elia that had her turning to hide her blushing face in Alyssa's chest.
Shaking her head at her lover's behavior, Alyssa wrapped an arm to make sure she was secure and used the other to take the reins of their horse that she had discarded.
"Let's head into camp where we can welcome you all properly," Alyssa said, turning the horse around.
"Lead the way, your grace."
Done!
Just a final set up chapter. The next one should be the start of the War for the Dawn, so look forward to that.
Anyone wondering why the people of King's Landing are so supportive of Alyssa? Let's see the reasons. All of which can be inferred from the story, but which I will outline here:
i) She has ensured any food shortages are a memory of the past since she has the firm support of the Reach thus ensuring foodstuff from the breadbasket of Westeros arrives to the capitol without issue
ii) Unlike the Baratheons and Lannisters, she actually bothered to call a Great Council to validate her rule and not just assume the throne entirely by right of conquest. That this event also meant a lot of money flowed into the city from all the attending nobles just endears her even more.
iii) She defused the threat to the city of Dany's taking of Dragonstone and thus being only a short distance away from King's Landing itself peacefully, preventing a bloody repeat of the Battle of the Blackwater.
Beyond that, any issues should've been entirely self explanatory within the chapter itself. As such, I'll be calling it here. Till next time saluu!