Daenerys

III

Maester Melwys nearly had to strap her to the bed, but Daenerys finally allowed herself rest and had slept for the better part of every day for the past fortnight. A storm of dreams had swirled through her head in those days and nights. She dreamt of dragons flying high above a volcano, bursting forth like a flock of birds in the ashy skies. An army of wolves raced forth on a battlefield of ice and snow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. A babe suckled at his mother's breast, though as the sun beamed upon them, the babe cast no shadow. A sea spread out before her, with drowned men rising to the surface in hundreds and thousands, all forming piles as the seas began to recede and laid the soil bare for all to see.

A burning heart began to burn brighter and larger until it was so bright that Daenerys couldn't look at it any longer. Though when she turned, a chill swept through her, stiffening her on the spot as she looked at a heart frozen and cracked. The heart of winter, she thought to herself, unsure of where she had heard the name. Loud crashes came from above her and she saw a storm rolling in, though the lightning was blue and the clouds white, and it was snow that fell, not rain, though the thunder and lightning stayed all the same.

"Your grace." She heard clearly, and that was when Daenerys awoke in her bed.

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to the door, seeing it barely cracked, with what was likely Melwys behind it.

"Come in." She called out, her voice hoarse with sleep.

"Pardon, your grace, I did not want to wake you, but I expect you'd have been more wroth if I had let you sleep." He seemed nervous, though in a good way?

"What is it, maester?" She began to push herself up on her elbows, her silvery locks spilling off the side of the bed.

"A red priestess from Volantis has come, she says she has brought the power of R'hllor to support you and it appears she is true, your grace." The man chuckled to himself. "She has brought a thousand armed soldiers, no more and no less, with fourteen priests and priestesses following her, and another six hundred serving men for her and her people."

Dany's eyes lit up at first, excited as she saw more help coming, wanting to bless it as help from R'hllor. Daenerys was not that foolish, however. She had only sent word three weeks past, almost four now, which was certainly a bit past, but if they had left when they had received her letter, she should still be waiting on them, for at least a few months longer, she would imagine.

"Send for handmaidens please, I'll need to be washed and clothed and my hair will need braiding if I plan on seeing anyone. A queen must don her rabbit ears."

"Rabbit ears, your grace?"

"Don't worry yourself about it, maester." She let out a laugh, remembering Barristan. "And call upon Grey Worm, please, I'll not be without my main guard."

She waited for a bit, until two girls came up, wearing gowns of silk and samite, so Dany knew they were highborn. They immediately set about bathing her in the hot water that had been brought up, one of them scrubbing her red while the other combed through her hair and massaged her scalp.

"Your hair is beautiful, if your grace doesn't mind me mentioning it." The smaller one with brown locks said, smiling sheepishly while keeping her head low.

"Thank you," She smiled at the girl. "I do not mind at all, what are your names?"

"I'm Kaylyn Swann." The black-haired girl spoke first, the larger and louder one of the two. "And she is Cassondra Celtigar."

"It's lovely to meet the both of you." She smiled. "I can braid my hair myself, worry not."

The girls were finished a bit after that and she began to braid her hair. She would still permit herself three for slaver's bay; for Astapor, Yunkai, and Meereen. She was still the Breaker of Chains. The largest middle braid would be for Drogon, her only remaining son that had been born to her on the Dothraki Sea years ago. She gave herself a braid for her Dothraki, for her Unsullied, for her victory against the Others, and now for her victory in taking the Iron Throne, though that was all. There would be no braid for Westeros, or for the people, not yet. She still had to restore order and peace, had to see the people grow fat as she spread the food and turned Westeros green and alive again.

Once she was done with the braid she begun to dress herself with the girls' help. She had many of her clothes with her still, made to match Westerosi style, in her hopes to show she was one of them. How bitterly hilarious that had come to be. This gown she had chosen was a black one that hugged her body tightly. It was thickly made, for the colder times of the year, with red stitchings woven throughout that resembled a scale pattern along the arms and on the waist, trailing down the sides of her legs. Her stomach had a firmness to it that hadn't been there before, she noticed while putting on her dress. There wasn't quite a bump yet, but she knew what the firmness meant, and could feel the life stirring inside of her.

When she was finished, she made her way out of the room, for the first time since her walk that ended in her fainting. Grey Worm was waiting for her outside of the door, with two other Unsullied at his back, and after a nod, they were making their way through the hallway, down the stairs and into the main area of the manse, where a solar branched off to the left and kitchens to the right. In the solar, stood a woman with dark tresses that shined brightly as the sunlight reflected off the oil in her hair. A dark red gown adorning her identified her plainly enough.

"Lady Kinvara," Dany called out, in what she hoped was a jovial joice, giving a curtsy as she approached the woman. "Thank you for joining us, the red sails were as beautiful of a sight for the city as the light of the heavens themselves."

"There is no need to thank me, your grace. I did what you requested, and what the lord commanded. I saw great turmoil in the flames. You have fought the great other, his soul lingers around you all, though the great war is not yet over. You must burn away the impurities of this world, my queen, and chase away the shadows with the light the lord has given you."

"I'm afraid the only war we fight now is the one of restoration."

"You fight a war in yourself, your grace. One of betrayal and pain, you don't know who is your enemy, and who is not. This council you await won't solve these answers, they will only spell out further riddles. The dragons are your only answer, your grace. The fires that burn in the heart of Drogon and in you and Aegon, and the fires that stir in your womb now. You will need both types of dragon now, for blood of your blood is your only true hope."

She looked down at the woman, watching the smile play across her face as though she was privy to some great secret Dany was unaware of. She didn't quite trust the red god and his followers, but they seemed to worship her.

"I imagine you also view me as this prophetic figure, this princess that was promised?"

"When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst salt and smoke to wake dragons out of stone." The smile returned to Kinvara's face. "What else are you, Queen Daenerys, if not Azor Ahai, the figure that R'hllor has waited hundreds of years for?"

The red star, Dany thought to herself. Salt and smoke, dragons from stone. The words sent a wave through her, too close to be true, though she had heard it with her own two ears.

"I will be up for whatever task the lord of light places before me, you and R'hllor have my word on that." Daenerys gave a small bow in respect. "You arrived quite early, my ravens were sent out only weeks ago?"

"The east is not as peaceful as it was under your rule, your grace. In the east, there is much and more conflict. With the Dothraki gone, the vultures have swarmed the great grass sea and have already begun to plant their flags where they will. In the Bay of Dragons, the people are not as pleased with the leader you have chosen as you had thought. In Volantis and the other cities, they itch for slavery, as they have forgotten the dragon queen."

She'd been a fool to try to convince herself this wouldn't happen. Dany knew the east was not strong enough to maintain the system she had built on its own, they only knew their way of life, and that same comfort was what they ran to now. She would have to return soon if she did not wish to see her children slide back into chains, but what about her home? What about the roots she had begun to plant in Westeros? She had thought once that dragons could plant no trees but she found that there was more of a foundation here for her than had ever been across the narrow sea.

"I thank you for your assistance and counsel, my lady. My men will ensure that you and yours are properly housed and given baths and supper, I imagine you'll all want rest after such an arduous journey."

And with that, Daenerys found herself leaving the solar, her head returning to the state of fogginess that had grown so familiar as of late. The priestess was right, Dany knew, she couldn't possibly trust most of those around her. Every time she thought of Jon, her breath would hitch in her chest and it took everything not to cry. His loyalties were so divided, that he would turn on her for the Starks instantly, she knew this. He didn't even love her anymore, not truly. Sansa would be arriving soon, she knew, and when she did, it would be her against Jon and Sansa, which was a battle Daenerys didn't want to fight. She had Grey Worm, and the men that remained to her but after fighting Cersei, after fighting the Army of the Dead, she was spent. Her numbers were low, and their spirits were lower. Her men could not fight any more, that much was clear. They needed to rest, to heal, to feel joy again.

Dany looked out the window at the end of the hallway, much larger than the one in her room. This one overlooked the river and she could see as small boats and barges and rafts went up and down the river as the people bustled about, bringing in timber and fish, food from fields beyond, and supplies being brought up from allies. She hadn't been very involved outside of the walls of this manse, but her men were still communicating everything to her, and they were apparently being given the information from various men who came down from Rhaenys' hill. The city was receiving aid and under the hands of Ser Davos, Jon, and Tyrion, it seemed to be managing well. Daenerys almost thought that perhaps everyone would be better off without her. She had defeated the White Walkers, and perhaps that was her purpose. She had broken their bondage of death, and now she must return to the east to break the physical chains that had given her that title.

Daenerys found herself in the small library of the manse, with two bookshelves on all four walls of the room, and a hearth directly across from the doorway, with two bookshelves on either side as the doorway had on either side of it as well. Vibrant Myrish rugs sat in front of the two bookshelves that rested against the walls at either end of the room and were accented with chairs sewn in a Myrish fabric that resembled the rugs. Dany looked amongst the bookshelves for a bit, thinking further of the only allies left to her; this "Prince of Dorne", Yara Greyjoy, and who else? Her men from Essos, the Red God, and Daario whenever he arrived. It was not enough, and most of them weren't even with her.

A book caught her eye and interrupted her thoughts. Dance of the Dragons, it was titled. She grabbed it out and admired the cover with the three-headed dragon of her house. She set it down and eagerly began to look throughout, never having had the opportunity to be in a Westerosi library before aside from the Winterfell library, though no reading had occurred there. She soon found other books: Aegon's Conquest and the War of the Ninepenny Kings, Sons of the Dragon, and tales of the Rogue Prince. She sat down and immediately began poring over them, feeling tears well to her eyes as she finally began to learn about her family in ways she hadn't been able to as of yet.

She read through the books and began to select others from the shelves, watching the sun set across the sky and give way to the black of night and the light of the moon and stars. At that point, Dany had lit a fire for herself and had been brought a second meal by Grey Worm. She felt as though there was so much she hadn't known, though in truth, she read so much of herself in these pages, knowing that as the Starks were known to be cold and harsh like their winters, and the Martells were unbowed, unbent, and unbroken like their words, she saw that not only was she blood of the dragon in truth, but so were those she was related to as far back as hundreds of years ago. Though she saw now that there had been mistakes.

Like her ancestor, Aenys the First, she had been too weak in Meereen, too concerned with the approval of the nobles, when she should have brought them fire and blood, though instead it festered and she was forced to flee the city and put down a rebellion. Like his brother, Maegor the Cruel, Daenerys had been without mercy and justness at times. There was a code of honor and a way of life in Westeros that valued duty, loyalty, and showing mercy, which she had not done to the Tarlys, nor had she fostered a good relationship with the Starks, or Tyrion, and in truth had not planned on showing to many. She wouldn't win Westeros with Fire and Blood alone, though. Even Aegon the Conqueror knew that. Nor could she give up on Westeros. Daenerys would restore things to order and would fulfill her ancestor's dream.

"Apologies, your grace." Melwys' voice stole her from her thoughts as the man stood in the doorway to the library, his chains rattling. "I didn't mean to disturb you, but I have a raven for you, and Grey Worm has arrived with your supper. Lord Rowan has provided us with duck and quail and venison!"

His excitement hurt Dany, as she realized that this was the state she had left the city in. Even the Queen and her council were only just now able to receive the luxury of meats like this. She did love duck, though, and could not help herself when Grey Worm brought in the platter, almost forgetting about the letter.

"Who has written to us, Grand Maester?" She spoke between mouthfuls, letting herself savor one of the few pleasures she had been given in quite some time.

"Lord Tyrek Lannister writes that he will not be present at the council nor will his kin, instead they will be sending Ser Addam Marbrand, fourth son to his lord father and Eleanor Lefford, daughter of Lord Lefford as their representatives while he restores order to the Westerlands."

Daenerys took a breath, going over in her head what she had been thinking about before Melwys had entered. She thought of Aegon, who broke those who did not bend, but lifted those who did up with a generous hand. Aenys who was too indecisive and passive, Maegor who was too tyrannical and cruel. She knew that she must now be the conciliator, as her great grandfather many times over, Jaehaerys the First, had been so many years past.

"Write to Lord Tyrek and thank him for his correspondence with the crown. Inform him that at this council, it will not only be the Iron Throne that is weighed upon, we will be deciding upon who will rule each kingdom and that will include weighing his claim over Casterly Rock against Tyrion's."

"As you were, your grace." He bowed slightly and shuffled out of the room, clinking as he went.

Resuming her reading wasn't an option at this point. The late hour had been creeping on her and blossomed in the form of a yawn. As she sank back in her chair, Dany tried once more to open the book and begin to read the page she had been on, detailing the wedding of Daeron the Second to Myriah Martell and at the same time as his sister, Daenerys had wed Myriah's brother, Prince Maron of Dorne. The first Daenerys had been a little girl, daughter of the conciliator, who had died young. The second had been this Daenerys, who had brought Dorne into the realm with a double marriage. Her mind traveled back to Jon for a moment, though thankfully, sleep had begun to creep upon her once more, and Daenerys chose the latter.

Grey Worm awoke her sometime while it was still dark, escorting her back to her chambers. The hall was dark and she was still hazed with sleep as he guided her back to her bed.

"I miss her." She heard him say, and she knew what he meant. "If I did not have you, I would have fallen on my sword when I saw her lose her head."

"I am more thankful for you than any man around me right now, you are my most loyal and trusted friend." She stepped a bit closer and took his hands into hers. "I miss her too, everyday. I miss her smile and her hair and the talks we would have while she would braid my hair, or the way she would correct me on how apparently I was not very good at Dothraki."

The two of them laughed for a bit together, basking in the moment that neither had had. Daenerys took the opportunity to pull him in for a hug and embrace him in a way he knew nobody had before. Missandei had embraced him as a lover, but Dany now hugged him like a friend, like family. He did not know a mother's touch and perhaps this was the closest he would experience, Dany thought to herself.

"Thank you, my queen." He smiled, in the stiff way that she had grown used to seeing. "Rest well."

She fell asleep quickly again, dreaming of a golden field that stretched on forever. She saw who could only be her ancestors; a strong man with two women standing on either side of him, the fiercer one wielding her own blade. There were hundreds of them; with hair of silver and white and silver-gold and eyes of violets and amethysts and lilacs and indigo and blue. She saw Viserys sitting in a field with a woman who could only be their mother. Next to him was another man, who Dany thought was likely their father. Drogo was there too, and a copper-skinned babe sat in his lap, with silver tufts of hair. Jorah was there, and Missandei, and Barristan, and Rhaegal and Viserion flew in the cloudless skies above them all.

The dragons filled the air with their music and as she sat down, everyone began to smile and talk to her and some began to laugh, though out of pure glee, not from humor. She felt a heaviness weighing her down and before she could realize it, she was leaning backward and once she sank into the golden grass, light began to break through the sky until it shattered it whole and left nothing but blinding light in her eyes. Though the light soon faded and her eyes began to adjust and she could see it was only sunlight streaming in through the window.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Dany sat up and looked around, wondering how she got there before remembering Grey Worm and their talk. Remembering Missandei and her sweet smile. Soon the Celtigar and Swann girl came and set to their same task.

Dany's body was beginning to cool again after the heat of the bath water when there was a knock at the door. She heard a several voices going back and forth, one evidently Grey Worm's, and another almost familiar, if only she could hear a bit better . . .

"No! I am sorry my queen, I tried to tell him." Jon Snow walked in with a frustrated Grey Worm behind him glaring at him. "Get out and await the queen to permit you entrance."

"It is ok, Torgo Nudho." She smiled softly at him. "Thank you for always being reliable."

He nodded and departed, closing the door behind him with one final glare at Jon and leaving the room with a silence so thick that Dany could hear her hair brushing against her ear when she moved her head.

"You came at a good time, at least I'm presentable now."

"Wouldn't be anything I haven't seen before." The playful smirk that followed it made her heart almost flutter with hope. Almost.

"That was an incident, Jon, not a precedent." She tucked her hair behind her ear as her hands began to crave movement, her nerves taking over. "Should I send for food and drinks to be brought up or will this be quick?"

"That is up to you, I could stay after we've talked if you would like. But this can't wait." He crossed the room in three strides and went to embrace her, though before he could she grabbed his arms, bracing them and keeping him at a distance.

"I'm not one to be toyed with, Jon, you've made your feelings quite clear."

"I love you." The words hit her harsher than a slap. "I love you, dammit. I've been a damn coward and a fool to not say it before but I do. Love you, that is."

"What was stopping you before?" This seemed almost too good to be true, Dany thought. Her house with the red door was so close, in her literal arms, yet, she couldn't bear to step through it for fear that it was just a brown door painted red.

"I had thought that," He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. "That my duty would be the death of our love. And then I thought perhaps our love would be the death of my duty, and so I chose my duty. Now I see that I was wrong, that I don't have to choose. Because my love for you is the other half of my duty to you and to our children."

She let go of her hold on his arms and the two of them came together, and Dany felt as though a fire had taken root inside of her, one she had not felt for some time. The room around them seemed to burn with the very intensity of their kiss as their lips pressed to one another's in almost a dance of passion. She felt his hands on her gown, unlacing it from her as her fingers found their way through his dark curls. Daenerys felt at home, felt at peace for the first time since the waterfall. That was the last time she remembered feeling truly happy, when her and Jon had their first flight together. Now, she wasn't quite happy, but there was a passion that burned in her now, where before a hole had formed recently.

"I love you, Dany." He looked her in her eyes, his stormy ones meeting her violet eyes, and she knew he meant it.

"I love you, Jon." She kissed him again and began to unlace his shirt, soon finding themselves back in bed, and before they had finished the sun had nearly set.

"I can feel them, somehow." He said afterwards, as he laid his hand across her stomach, tracing soft circles with his thumb. "Your stomach is tightening, I hear that's one of the first things that happens to a woman when she's carrying."

"This is not my first pregnancy." She laughed. "When I mentioned my husband, did you not expect I had been pregnant at some point?"

When their eyes met, time seemed to still, if only for a moment. Love comes in at the eyes, she remember.

"I suppose so, what happened?" When she closed her eyes she could still imagine the dead child they described. Sometimes the stirring in her belly made her forget for a second that she wasn't fifteen on the Dothraki Sea again with Rhaego in her belly.

"The witch who murdered my husband also took my son, though I imagine that one she didn't mean to do." She looked back up at him, pushing away the thoughts. "I imagine everyone will be awaiting me in the city for this council I hear of?"

"Aye, they want their Queen. You're the only monarch left in Westeros for anyone to root for, and no house has the strength to rise anymore. And I don't imagine keeping Tyrion around will win you any love from the people of this city, they seem to hate him more than anyone."

"No, I imagine it wouldn't. This council will have to wait until more of my allies arrive, I can't go so vulnerable, so unguarded."

"Nobody will hurt you Dany," He took her hands in his. "I will protect you with my last breath."

"You're only one man Jon," And you will only fight for me with this fierceness while I carry our children, she thought. "You can't always protect me. I've sent word to the east for more of my allies to come, with R'hllor coming in now and my Dothraki, Unsullied, and Drogon, I will be safe here, and when Daario and my forces from Meereen come, I will have an appropriate court around me to protect me."

"Dany…" He looked at her with sad eyes. "The wars are over, we're safe."

"We'll never be truly safe Jon. Not in this world."

"We can start by protecting our children, I'll not let them be raised as bastards." There was a pain in his eyes, and she thought of how much the name Snow must have stained his reputation as he went through life. "Please, Dany."

"I know you're right, it's just hard. With everything that's happened to me, to us, to the world, a wedding seems almost inappropriate. But I suppose it also seems like the most appropriate thing. I know it's for the best, Jon, and I will do it, just forgive me if I'm not rushing to it."

"I know you're scared Dany, and you feel like you're alone, but you aren't. You are the most powerful person I know, and its not because of the dragons and your army, its because you are Daenerys Stormborn." Jon was never one to be so eloquent, and she didn't expect it to happen again, but the sound of him saying that was sweeter than honey. "I will try to hold the council off as long as I can, but I can't control all of the lords and ladies and smallfolk, they will need their Queen sooner rather than later."

The two of them left the bed before dark, Dany remaining in her manse, visiting the library once more. Jon went off to his duties, likely tending to the site of the council and making preparations to stall. If I look back I am lost, Dany reminded herself. She did not have to fear Jon and the others now, but she still couldn't trust anyone fully, save for Drogon and the babies growing in her womb.

The next few days turned over to a repetitive cycle of waking, conversing with her handmaids, talking with Grey Worm, Melwys, or both, and seeing Jon in the evenings. She had forgotten what it was like to have someone warm her bed every night. It was a soothing feeling. And as she watched the sun rise and set and the moon chase it eagerly in turn, Dany fell into a routine of sorts, until five days later, when the bells began to rang and kraken sails were seen over the horizon.

"Yara." Dany whispered to herself through her smile, and she knew then that she was about to be less alone, and much more protected.