They hadn't gone far, if she looked back over her shoulder, she would still be able to see Highgarden in the distance. In front were the tracks of the Unsullied they sent ahead. Arya needed to get this off her chest before they met up with the larger group. "I'm sorry," she said, hoping the Princess could tell how sincerely she meant it.
Daenerys had been smiling, but her attractive features contorted when Arya's apology reached her ears. "For what?"
"The trip to Highgarden was supposed to be for you, so you could get away from the Red Keep and travel. We barely left the castle after we arrived and that is my fault. I'm sorry."
Shifting in her saddle slightly she reached out and offered her hand to her consort. Arya took it. "I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Highgarden, and although we didn't do much exploring, I wouldn't change a minute of it. Giving you and Sansa the chance to spend time together was preferable to roaming across the Reach. I don't accept your apology, because there is nothing to apologize for. I had a great time."
Her life had taught her one harsh lesson over and over again – it was dangerous to hope. After what happened to her family, and the welcome she received in Sunspear, she came to realize the world wouldn't bend to her will simply because she wanted something. She internalized that truth and took it to heart, learning to be independent. Relying on others would only weaken her position. If she expected something, and it didn't come to pass, she'd be the one left vulnerable. Determined to avoid that, she became entirely self-reliant. Even after she met Oberyn and forged a friendship with him, her opinions didn't change. The Viper was an exception to the rule, not a reason to discard it.
She believed in her philosophy deeply, which was why she was unprepared for the words she heard come out of her mouth. "Next time," Arya proposed, "I'll ask Margaery for some recommendations and I'll take you wherever you want to go." She didn't know what the future would bring, so she should've been hesitant to assume that she and Daenerys would make a return trip to Highgarden, yet she just couldn't help herself.
"That sounds great," Daenerys responded happily, "I bet she and your sister would love to join us. They could be our guides, showing us around their home, like you did when you escorted me around Sunspear."
She smiled fondly at the memories. She had enjoyed their time together just as much as the Dragon had. "We should probably pick up the pace," Arya suggested. "We don't want the Unsullied to get too far ahead."
Daenerys raised their joined hands to her lips, dropping a kiss on Arya's scarred knuckles. "You're right," she agreed before releasing her. No longer bound together their horses instinctively took steps to widen the divide between them. "How about a race?"
Ary6a felt it necessary to verify she heard that correctly. "A race?"
"Try and keep up!" she yelled backward. It didn't escape Arya's notice that Daenerys saved her quip for when her horse was already galloping, several lengths ahead of her stationary opposition.
Not the sort to refuse a challenge, Arya coaxed her horse into action. "Come on," she said as she began bouncing in the saddle, "if she wins, I'll never hear the end of it!"
R-C
She felt the breeze on her back as the flap of the tent moved, announcing someone's arrival. Daenerys didn't look up from the book she was studying, assuming that it was Arya coming to check on her.
"You know," Missandei said from right over her shoulder, "when I bought you that book, I didn't think the map you'd focus on would be so close to King's Landing."
She turned to greet her handmaiden and found her bringing tea for the busy Princess. "I'll dream about my travels later," she said taking the offered cup. "Now, I need to see who is likely to support us."
"Support you in what?" she wondered, taking a seat across from Daenerys.
"Rhaegar," she said in explanation. She averted her eyes, feeling shy despite knowing what she and her brother were planning was not only necessary, it was right. "He is gathering allies to replace my father."
"He is?"
"The Tyrells are with us. The Reach will recognize Rhaegar's claim to the throne."
"And you're okay with this?" Missandei checked carefully.
"It needs to happen. My father is sick, and he should not be permitted to rule. His illness controls him and everyday he sits on the throne innocent, hardworking men and women are in danger It can't be allowed to continue."
"And the Prince asked for your help?"
"It was my idea actually," she recalled, "but Rhaegar agrees with me. Things can't remain as they are, we know that, and he can't do what needs to be done without help, so I'm doing my part."
"You're doing what!?" Arya's furious voice reached her before the woman's body. "Please tell me I heard that wrong."
Her anger was unexpected. Daenerys took a moment to try and trace it back to its source, but she was unsuccessful. "You of all people understand why my father shouldn't be King. You said it yourself, no King is better than a bad one."
Arya remained defiant. "That doesn't mean you should participate!" She moved tp Daenerys's chair and took her hand. "Don't do this."
She tried again to comprehend the reason for Arya's anger as she felt the familiar callouses against her palm. Arya's logic remained elusive, so she came at the problem from another angle, trying to show Arya why she got involved. "It's the right thing to do, and I'm not doing much, just supporting my brother. The hard work, that's all for Rhaegar."
Arya scoffed, dropping Daenerys's hand as though it burned. With a frustrated huff she pushed a hand through her dark hail, pulling on the strands as she spoke, "Do you tire of living, is that it?"
"I'm not going to die. Arya calm down, Rhaegar isn't going to move forward until he has the support oe Small Council and most of the court."
"You aren't going to die?!" she repeated bitterly. "My father thought the same thing. What you're doing is the same crime he was executed for. He agreed to help Robert replace the King, like you're assisting Rhaegar."
A weight lifted when she understood what was causing Arya's unrest, but it was short-lived. Daenerys struggled with how to proceed. Arya's worry came from a good place, Daenerys could hardly fault her for that. She wasn't wrong either, there were similarities between Ned Stark's alleged crimes and the path Daenerys was charting, but there were drastic differences too. Rhaegar and Daenerys were Aerys's children. They weren't trying to usurp him, only replace a father with his son. "My father wouldn't hurt me," she said hoping she sounded more convincing than she felt. Intellectually she was confident that was the right thing to say to counter Arya's argument, but in her heart, she knew her father's love was conditional and dependant on his illness.
With a humorless laugh Arya shook her head. "You are too smart to actually believe that."
Realizing they were at an impasse Missandei tried to mediate a truce. "Arya," she said, "Daenerys knows her father far better than you or I. I agree she should be careful, but it's her decision to make."
So much more articulate than the Princess she served, the former translator made Daenerys's point perfectly, as if they'd discussed it beforehand. She allowed herself to hope Arya would be swayed. She should have known better.
"Do what you want," Arya barked on her way out. She left two incredibly stunned women in her wake.
"Wait!" Daenerys tried, but she was too late.
R-C
Arya kept walking until the camp was just a spot on the horizon. What was wrong with her? Since the day most of her family died Arya had been asking the Old Gods to bring her vengeance to the Mad King. There was a time not long ago when she would have thought any risk, any cost worth paying if it meant Aerys was no longer King. How many nights had she dreamt of plunging her sword into his chest and watching the life dim behind his eyes? Suddenly she didn't care if Aerys ruled the next hundred years, as long as Daenerys was safe.
Her reaction to Daenerys's admission was born out of fear. He may be the father of the woman Arya loved, but underneath that Aerys was dangerous. He nearly killed her multiple times, and despite all she suffered at his hands, Arya was one of the lucky few. She lived while many more died, the innocent and the guilty alike. It wasn't hard to imagine Daenerys becoming the next in that very long line. Her lover's weak assurances aside, Arya's concerns remained. Aerys didn't retain his power all these years by being accommodating, generous or kind. In order to stay on the throne, he needed to be merciless and unrelenting. If he learned Daenerys had taken part in a plot against him, daughter or not, she'd be sacrificed to appease the voices in his head and that thought froze Arya's blood in her veins.
Feeling the need to break something she drew her sword and took a hard swing at the nearest tree. The steel stopped several inches into the trunk. She planted her boot firmly on the bark and then pulled her weapon free. As soon as she had it, she swung again, and again.
She should be encouraging Daenerys to go ahead with her scheme. Few wanted the King gone more than Arya and yet she hesitated to act. She should be eager to help, to play some part in the bastard's downfall, but she couldn't shake the idea that it would end with Daenerys lying dead in the same spot her mother took her last breath.
She didn't trust Rhaegar. Whether he kidnapped Lyanna or they ran away together, his actions set in motion a war that he did obscenely little to stop. Countless men on both sides lost their lives and he could have prevented it all by telling the truth. Daenerys might believe in him, but Arya wouldn't put her faith in a man like that. Her time in the capital had taught her a lot about the inner workings of the royal family. Her parents may have insisted they didn't have a favorite child but Aerys Targaryen made no secret of his. If they were discovered it was unlikely Rhaegar would be punished, but Daenerys wouldn't enjoy the same protection. When it was her neck on the chopping block, Arya didn't think the King would hesitate to give the order. That was quite a risk to take on the assumption that Rhaegar would follow through. He'd had years since the rebellion to seize the throne and he's done nothing as his father, lost to his madness killed and burned more and more people. What changed? What made the Crown Prince a person worth believing in?
She swung her sword. Why did Daenerys have to be so damn stubborn? With both hands on the weapon she thrust it into the center of the trunk, where the heart would be on a man. Why couldn't she see how dangerous this was? Next, a fluid stroke lopped off a low hanging branch at its thickest point, proving Valyrian steel was worthy of the reputation it held. Why not leave the politics to others and stay out of it, where it was safe?
The questions kept coming and she answered each one with a swing of her sword. She wouldn't wander back in the direction of the camp until either the tree was reduced to kindling, or she was too tired to raise her arm for another strike.
R-C
Her tea went cold before she took a sip. Daenerys forgot it in the tent and walked the length of the camp end to end instead. She was looking for Arya and had little patience for anything else, but the Gods taunted her by choosing then to bring forward a whole host of people eager to talk to her. Several people asked her opinion on her time in Highgarden before Tyrion appeared to take his turn. She made it through a conversation with the Master of Coins without being too rude or dismissive, but when he stepped aside and Daario approached Daenerys knew her restraint was gone. Why did they keep doing this? Why wasn't he back in Essos fucking and killing his way to a mended heart?
"Hey there," he greeted her, working to sound casual, as if he hadn't been waiting in line for his chance to bother her.
She gave him only a fraction of her attention, peeking around his tall, muscular frame for any glimpses of dark hair and grey eyes. "Hello."
"Do you think we can talk now?" he asked. She wondered if he was oblivious to her tension or just unbothered by it. Every second felt like an eternity. She needed to find Arya, not waste precious minutes reliving her history with Daario.
"I suppose so," she supplied without enthusiasm.
"I know you didn't want to talk at Highgarden, and I get it, but it's safe now, we're miles away, we don't need to worry about who is listening anymore."
That wasn't quite how she remembered it. She crossed her arms and tried to refrain from counting the seconds he was delaying her. "I was more than willing to talk to you, at Highgarden or anywhere else as long as the topic you wish to discuss is not you and I."
"Daenerys," he uttered softly, extending a hand to touch her.
She stepped back to make her wishes clear. "We can't keep doing this and I don't know why you insist upon it."
"Doing what?" he fired back, growing agitated, likely by her unwillingness to change her mind.
"Fighting for something that is already over. Go back to Essos, live your life, forget all about me. What we had is finished."
"Don't do that!" he resisted. "Don't just snap your fingers and tell me what to feel. This can't be it, it just can't be."
On any other day the pain she heard behind his anger and the hurt in his eyes might've caused her to provide comfort, but all her sympathy was being spent on Arya. All Daenerys wanted was to get this over with so she could find Arya and make sure the guard was okay. "Why not, because you say so? You don't get to give me orders, about who I love or anything else!"
"That's not… you didn't even give me a reason. You can't end it without telling me why."
She sighed. "I did tell you why Daario, repeatedly, you just didn't like what I had to say so you…"
"No, not that crap about you not wanting it anymore or whatever, that's horseshit and we both know it. So, go on, tell me the real reason you don't want to be with me."
Thinking clearly, she might've made a different decision, but in that moment, with her worries plaguing her and the minutes she'd been apart from Arya piling up, she told him the one thing she'd been reluctant to admit In the past. Selfishly she hoped the truth would end their dispute once and for all. "I'm in love with someone else!" she told him plainly. "There you have it, you know the reason, are you prepared to let this matter rest?"
He was stunned, the highly trained mercenary appeared unsteady and ill. His face was deathly white, and his mouth hung open. "You… you love someone else."
"Yes, and I'm sorry that saying so hurts you, but it's the truth." She let that sink in before she continued. "Now I hope you understand why we can't be together. I meant what I said, you should return to Essos, to your old life. Go, I'll release you and your Second Sons from any obligation to the Crown."
Daario didn't seem to be listening and then all at once he returned to himself. He stood straighter corrected his expression and was back to the brash, cocky sell-sword Daenerys had come to know. "Who is it? Who?" While he waited for an answer Daenerys had no intention of giving, he reached a conclusion on his own. "Don't tell me it's that scrawny Loras?!" He didn't give her a chance to respond. "You can't be serious. He's…"
"One of the greatest swordsmen in the Realm, Daenerys told him. He was wrong of course. It wasn't because of Loras that they weren't together, but if he wanted to believe that. she wouldn't stop him. In truth, it was preferable.
"He wouldn't last five minutes in the Pits," Daario predicted. "I could kill him with my sword arm tied behind my back."
How typical for him to assume their problems could be fixed with brute force. As if all that was needed to win her back was for Daario to display his prowess on the battlefield. Daenerys was unimpressed. He didn't know Loras but was quick to belittle him and his abilities in a feeble attempt to shake Daenerys's belief in him. It was a transparent effort to restore his own ego. Whatever his motives Daenerys couldn't devote anymore time to them, she'd given him too much already. "You'll leave Loras and everyone else I care about alone," Daenerys commanded. "You can be angry but be angry at me. I'm the one who chose someone else." She used a hard glare to try and covey how serious she was. She wouldn't tolerate Daario trying to rebuild his pride by taking his hurt feelings out on everyone around her. "Now if you'll excuse me," she said pointedly, "I need to finish what I was doinag."
He may have called after her or maybe not, either way Daenerys didn't slow. She ran into Missandei next. The grim look on the handmaiden's face warned that the news she carried wouldn't be what Daenerys wanted to hear. "How bad is it?" she asked when they were close enough, intending to determine just how worried she needed to be. Daenerys had never seen Arya that upset before and certainly not at her. She wasn't sure the proper way to get them back to where they'd been.
"I checked with Grey Worm, he hasn't seen her, and he's been on the Eastern border of the camp for the past hour."
Daenerys nodded along but said nothing. There had to be more. "And?" she prompted when the rest wasn't forthcoming.
"Her horse is still tied up with the others," Missandei announced sadly.
Her horse. What did that mean? Was Arya close enough to not need it or did she leave it behind because she didn't know it was hers? "Are you sure?"
"I went to check myself," Missandei assured her. "We'll find her, don't worry."
Were it anybody else, the presence of the horse would have signaled that they were nearby. After all, what rational person would abandon their camp in the middle of the night and leave their stallion behind? However, this was Arya they wee talking about, walking away with nothing sounded precisely like her. She'd walk for hours, until her feet bled, if necessary. If the first town didn't meet her needs, she'd walk to the second or the third, fueled by her anger.
It was like the wind had been knocked from her lungs. Breathing became a chore but she did all she could to push past it. She needed to focus. Now was not the time to break down and cry, she could that later. First, she needed to find Arya. "You go that way," she instructed, pointing which way she meant. "I'll go this way. Spread the word among the Unsullied that they should be on the lookout."
"I will," she pledged. Before they parted, Missandei left her friend with one final thought. "We will find her."
"I know," she replied honestly. They'd find Arya because Daenerys wouldn't stop searching until they did.
Daenerys wasn't the religious sort. Most of 1the people around her worshipped the Seven, but they were hardly the world's only Gods. Who was to say which God was right? It wasn't that Daenerys didn't believe in a higher power, the world was too incredible, too intricate to be created without one, Daenerys's doubt entered in when she was required to believe that the Gods, any of them, cared about her. What had the Seven ever done for her? The Realm teetered on the brink of chaos! If they cared, surely they'd have chosen another King, someone not tormented by madness, someone other than her father.
She wasn't sure it would do any good, as a matter of fact she was almost certain it wouldn't, but she was running out of options. Arya had been gone for more than an hour. If they didn't find her soon, she feared they never would, so she resorted to prayer. Unsure of what to do, she clasped her hands and looked up to the sky. "They say you see all, that you're merciful," she began, feeling utterly foolish, "if that's true, then you know I can't survive without Arya. I need your mercy now. Send her back to me, please."
Nothing happened, so Daenerys went back to her aimless searching of the camp. It was on her next pass that Missandei came hurrying over. "Princess, I think I have something."
Stunned silent, Daenerys just stared for a moment. "What is it?" she eventually asked her friend.
"One of the scouts returned, he claims he saw Arya leave the camp and head North."
"Why didn't he say anything!?" she demanded to know.
"He was on patrol," she said in defense of the soldier, "he didn't know anyone was looking for her until he was relieved and returned to camp."
Daenerys nodded in understanding. One of Grey Worm's men just happened to be walking by, Daenerys grasped his arm to stop him. "Ready our horses," she instructed.
"What will we do?" Missandei wondered.
"We are going to bring her back," she announced, "but first, we need to find Grey Worm. If I reunite with Arya without guards protecting me, she'll be even angrier than she was when she left."
Missandei laughed. "Come then, I know where he is."
Daenerys went with her. Maybe she'd been wrong, maybe the Gods did have compassion for the mortals they watched over. "Thank you," she whispered to whichever God cared enough to answer her.
R-C
The tree was a mess, branches had been hacked off, chunks of the trunk were missing, and layers of bark were shaved off. Arya was readying her next attack when the sound of rapidly approaching horses gave her pause. She sucked in a deep breath and turned sword in hand to greet whoever had come.
She recognized the horse before the woman riding him. Her feet carried her in their direction without permission. The Targaryen dismounted before her mount came to a full stop. In such a hurry she wobbled a bit, causing Arya's empty right hand to flash out to help steady her. "What's wrong?" she asked, as her eyes swept every inch of Daenerys's body looking for damage. If the Princess came to harm while Arya was off releasing her frustrations, she'd never forgive herself.
"Are you alright?" Daenerys asked. A soft hand touched Arya's cheek. "What are you doing out here?" She didn't give her the chance to reply. "Were you leaving?"
Still breathing heavy from her exercise, it took her a moment to comprehend what Daenerys was asking. "Leaving? I was…"
"I'm sorry," she said, interrupting Arya's explanation. "We can talk about it, we can fix it, just please don't go."
Daenerys's plea tore at her heart. Instinctively she dropped her expensive sword and wrapped her arms around Daenerys. "I'm not leaving," she whispered in her lover's ear. "I'm not leaving you, trust me."
Her entire body sagged with relief in the prison of Arya's arms. "I… I … I didn't…"
"Shh, it's okay. Everything is going to be okay." She held Daenerys a little tighter.
"What are you doing out here?"
The Dragon's voice was practically unrecognizable with so much fear and uncertainty running through it. It didn't sound like the Daenerys she'd come to know at all. "I was just…" she paused briefly to think about her choice of words. She decided on the truth in an effort to calm Daenerys by confirming she was indeed planning to return. "I was angry, so I came out here to let it out. I was almost done."
"I should have told you," Daenerys said without releasing her hold on Arya. "I didn't mean…"
Being reminded of the reason she'd needed space reignited her anger, but it didn't burn as hot. Her -concern was Daenerys. "I just want you to be safe. Plotting against your father is dangerous."
She leaned back just enough to look into Arya's eyes, giving the Stark a clear view of how serious she was. "Does the common man living under my father's reign risk less?" she asked bluntly. "For too long I've done nothing. I won't be the obedient, silent Princess anymore, I won't ignore what's right in front of me."
Moving her worries to the side for the time being, Arya couldn't deny that she was more than a little proud of Daenerys and her commitment. She couldn't fault Daenerys or anyone else for wanting to get rid of the Mad King, Arya had wanted that for most of her life. She also knew changing the Princess's mind would be damn near impossible. She was too stubborn to be moved by anything Arya had to say. She saw only one solution, one way to ensure Daenerys was protected. "I understand," she relented, before finally ending their embrace. "I understand why you're doing it, and I agree, it needs to be done."
"But?" Daenerys pushed. She seemed to sense that it wouldn't be quite so easy.
"But I love you and the risks are real," Arya said. "Whatever we do, we do together, so if you want to help Rhaegar become King, then so do I." The words tasted bitter on her tongue, but it was much more agreeable than seeing Daenerys executed. Joining forces with Rhaegar went against everything she'd been taught, but she reasoned helping Daenerys was more important.
"I can't ask you to do that," Daenerys replied immediately after hearing Arya's offer. "If we get caught…"
She knew exactly what would happen if the King discovered what they were doing. "If we get caught," Arya told her, "I'd rather be standing beside you than watching from the my spot against the wall. Good or bad, I'm with you."
Daenerys took her hand. "You don't have to do this. I appreciate that you're willing, but this is my choice."
"It is," Arya confirmed, "and mine is to follow you."
"I love you," Daenerys said before leaning toward her for a kiss.
Arya obliged. When the kiss was over, she told Daenerys the only thing that truly mattered. "I love you too."
R-C
They were less than two days from King's Landing and Daenerys was sorely tempted to slow everybody down. She didn't want to get back to the capital too quickly, or at all, for that matter.
She was riding between Missandei and Arya, enjoying easy, friendly conversations in two languages. She and Missandei conversed in High Valyrian, while she and Arya used the common tongue. Instead of finding the constant switching annoying or troublesome, Daenerys was amused. Arya had little to say except asking what they were discussing each time the Princess laughed too loud or smiled too bright. More than once Arya was the answer to the question she was asking.
Missandei suggested they speak in a way Arya could understand, but Daenerys declined. She wasn't trying to hide what they were saying, rather she just enjoyed Arya's reaction to learning she was such a frequent topic. She also never failed to find it amusing when Arya eagerly asked, "What did she say? You were smiling? What are you talking about?" Seeing Arya so carefree, so childlike was a rare treat she fully intended to make the most of. If she and Missandei used only the common tongue those questions would cease, and Daenerys would miss them.
When Daario came riding hard in their direction, she anticipated the worst. She wasn't alone either, Arya moved ahead of Daenerys and angled her horse into the sell-sword's path. On the opposite side Missandei met her eye and passed along a concerned message. Daenerys shared her worry.
"What's wrong?" she asked, hoping he'd come for more than just another fight.
Daario's horse stopped in front of Daenerys, causing her to stop and with her, everyone else. "I was riding with the scouts you sent ahead, the road is blocked."
It was obvious those words meant more to him than they did her. He was serious, typically a condition that only befell him when danger was near, but she failed to see how a few travellers obstructing the road were worthy of such a reaction. "It's fine," she assured him, "we'll go around them."
He nodded and was in the process of turning his horse when Arya spoke out. "Wait!" she instructed.
Daario looked to her for confirmation, so she held up a hand and gestured for him to stay, then she addressed her lover. "What is it?"
"How many?" Arya asked. A reasonable question, but one that didn't seem important to Daenerys. Whether it was one or a hundred, they were blocking the road and Daenerys and her group would need to go around.
"Ten and a wagon," Daario responded.
She pictured a broken wagon and felt sympathy for the travellers stuck between where they started and where they were going. "Take some of the Unsullied and see if you can help them," the Princess directed.
For a second time Daario was leaving before Arya stopped him in his tracks. "Not yet!"
"What's wrong, Arya?"
"We don't know enough about them," she justified.
"What's to know?" she asked. "They're stuck and in need of aid."
"Maybe," Arya allowed, "or maybe they only look helpless."
"What are you saying?" They had dozens of warriors with them. What hope did ten men have against so many Unsullied? the stragglers were not a threat regardless of their intent.
"Did you see weapons?" Arya asked Daario.
"Most were armed," he noted. "The only ones without swords were an older man and woman." He stopped briefly before finishing, "If I had to guess I'd say they're travellers and the men are their guards."
"How many in your scouting party?"
"Fifteen Unsullied and me."
Arya nodded. Daenerys watched the exchange, unable to look away, afraid to blink. She realized then that while everyone was looking to her for answers, she didn't even know the right questions to ask. If she wasn't careful, she was going to get people killed.
"Daario," she said, "go back to the scouts and tell them to keep watch. Do not make contact until you receive the order from me."
"Consider it done," he said, smiling at her before he left. This time no one stopped him.
"What are you thinking?" Arya asked her.
She was thinking that she was woefully unprepared for this, but she was smart and surrounded by good people. "Missandei, can you go and get Grey Worm please, and I'll need to speak with Tyrion as well."
"Right away."
Once Missandei had gone, Arya expected her instructions to follow. "What would you have me do?"
"Stay with me," she said, reaching across the space between them and setting her hand on Arya's arm. She seemed to need the connection, exhaling deeply once they were touching.
"What are you doing? We can't stay here forever."
"Not forever, just long enough for me to hear from my advisors."
"Advisors?"
"You, Missandei, Grey Worm and Tyrion, you'll know what to do. I don't, but the four of you will."
"You're doing fine," Arya reassured her.
"I'm not," she snapped unfairly. "I never considered that it could be a trap. If not for you I would have fallen right in."
"I could be wrong," Arya supplied, "maybe you're right."
"Maybe."
Whatever Arya might've said next was interrupted by Missandei returning with both Grey Worm and Tyrion Lannister right behind. She dismounted her horse, causing Arya to do the same. "Make camp," she said to the soldiers immediately behind her, "and double the perimeter guards, I don't want any surprises."
They obeyed without question. Daenerys approached her friends but waited until her heart stopped racing to get them started. "I need your help."
R-C
"Why did we stop?" Tyrion asked when they were all together.
There was nothing formal about it, they didn't even have a table to sit around but these were the people she trusted most. If she was going to make a wise decision, she'd need them.
"The road ahead is blocked."
"Okay," the Lannister said, "and?"
"And I need to choose how to handle this, but I've spent most of my life in a castle with remarkedly little authority despite being royalty, I need your counsel to see the best course," she admitted without shame. She looked at the faces around her, Grey Worm was as stoic as he always was, beside him Missandei was sympathetic. Arya met her eye with a reassuring smile, giving her the strength to see this through, and finally Tyrion, who had been skeptical when she summoned him was thoughtful. "My instinct was to provide aid, but Arya rightly pointed out that they might prove dangerous."
"They need help?" Tyrion inquired.
"The scouts say they are stopped in the middle of the road." Since Tyrion was the only one asking questions, she posed her inquiry to him first. "What would you recommend?"
"It's possible you were right," he said, "but it's not a certainty. We've been at Highgarden for days, that's more than enough time for word to leak out of the Red Keep. Any number of people could know not only where you'd gone but when you were expected back."
"You think they mean me harm?" She had come to see the wisdom in Arya's caution, but thought them only potential bandits. She never considered they'd be looking for her specifically. It was more evidence that her life to this point hadn't prepared her properly. Nothing in the copious amounts of lessons she was required to attend informed her of what to do in such a situation.
"It's possible," he said, taking care not to unsettle her, "many oppose the King and kidnapping his daughter would not only fetch a high price, it'd also draw attention to their cause."
"Oh." She should've known this was about her father. Not even her kidnapping could be solely about her, she wasn't important enough to garner attention of her own.
"You could be right," Arya added quickly once she saw Daenerys's reaction, "It's my job to imagine the worst."
"Why do you think they are bandits?" Tyrion asked of Arya.
"I'm not sure," she acknowledged, "but most are armed, it has me wary."
"No matter how many they have we surely have more. I'd send a force of Unsullied to find out which of you is right."
"We do Princess," Grey Worm confirmed, "if you wish it, I will lead them."
Daenerys didn't miss the worried expression Missandei wore when he said that. "What do you think?" she asked her dearest friend.
"Protecting you is most important," she said, causing Arya to nod in agreement. "A large group of Unsullied could learn the truth without being vulnerable to attack. They could also assist the travellers if they truly are stranded."
The only person she'd yet to hear from was Arya, but Daenerys already knew what her lover would say. "You wish to join the scouts?" she guessed.
"My place is with you. I'll gladly investigate, but you need to be protected as well."
"I'm in no danger here," she contended seriously. The threat if there was one, was further up the road.
"It may be designed to make us think that," Arya opined, "if it were, they'd attack from the way we came, someone needs to stay with you, if not me, then Grey Worm."
She didn't think that was likely, but she wouldn't chastise Arya for taking her duties seriously, as she said, that was her job. The time had come for Daenerys to make a ruling. Her 'advisors' were in agreement. They recommended sending the Unsullied to deal with the problem but doing so in a heavy enough number that the armed men in the opposition wouldn't dare attack. It made sense to her. It was a harder choice was deciding who would lead them. Regardless of what Arya said, Daenerys knew she wanted to go and discover the truth for herself, but the Princess was reluctant to let her, and not because she feared she wouldn't be safe. She loved Arya and didn't want her at risk. Greedily she wanted her close but keeping her there would require her to send Grey Worm to carry out her orders, and would mean Missandei would be worrying in her stead. That was very nearly just as unsettling. In the end she hoped a compromise would make up for what she had to do. "Grey Worm will take half his men up the road," she said, emphasizing the amount. "That should scare them if they seek to harm us but prevent the Unsullied from being exposed needlessly." She was speaking to Missandei now and the handmaiden nodded, as if she understood and agreed with the logic. Daenerys knew her too well to believe that, she saw the fear she was trying to conceal. It pushed her to make an additional request of the soldier. "Grey Worm, I want you to avoid violence if at all possible."
With a nod, he turned to go but not before sparing one last look at Missandei. Daenerys went to her friend and whispered an apology in High Valyrian, so no one other than Missandei would understand. Although she smiled slightly it did nothing to remove the haunted quality from her eyes.
R-C
It was painful to see two people she cared so unhappy. Arya wanted to help, but nothing would right this wrong until Grey Worm and his men returned.
Tyrion stayed with them and was trying to improve their moods with conversation and wine, he was having only limited success. Neither Missandei nor Daenerys would ignore him or demand he stop, but their answers were brief and emotionless. If Arya didn't know what was really going on, she'd think the girls were making a game out of who could speak less.
Missandei was restless. Moving about anxiously, unable to stay still. When she walked toward the camp, she had her head down, looking at the dirt between her feet. It was the different when she went the opposite direction. When she was facing the way Grey Worm had gone, her head was up, her eyes sweeping the terrain for any sign of a returning soldier. Arya felt empathy for the young slave. When she was a girl, before she was fostered, and before she was trained, she felt that same unease each time her father rode off with her brothers. In Arya's case she was also jealous, but concern was mixed in to. How could she help, if she wasn't there? What if something happened? On those days she'd spend time with her mother and do her very best to be the daughter Catelyn Stark wanted her to be, because Arya knew that she wasn't the only one bothered by the absences. Her mother would barely sleep when her father wasn't in bed next to her.
Daenerys wasn't doing much better than her handmaiden. It had been her decision that sent Grey Worm and his men into what could be danger and if something happened, it would affect her. It wouldn't matter to Daenerys that she had made the right choice, the one all of her advisors agreed on, including Missandei. If it went bad, Daenerys would take all the blame. She met Missandei's eye bravely each time she neared where Daenerys was waiting. Both women were trying, Daenerys to apologize, Missandei to forgive, it was obvious they both wanted this behind them, but they didn't know how to get there. Daenerys's hands were shaking, Arya guessed she wanted to go to her friend and comfort her but resisted the instinct since in the Princess's mind this was all her doing.
A good friend would tell Missandei that Grey Worm cared about her and that he was too skilled a soldier to let a couple of bandits get the better of him. A good lover would remind Daenerys that none of this was her fault. She made a difficult decision for the good of her people, that was the mark of a just leader and a good Princess. Arya did neither because she wasn't with them, she was standing at the treeline looking out. She'd been well trained, and that education wouldn't let her go and mend frayed feelings when there was a possible threat. Attacking from behind while half the Unsullied were elsewhere would be exactly the sort of thing a group of bandits might devise to get close to the Targaryen. Her hand twitched against her hip, resting near her sword. Any man who came for Daenerys would need to go through her. If they tried it, Arya was determined to ensure they regretted that choice before they died.
Missandei gasped and Arya on edge spun toward the sound already pulling upward to free her blade. It was not necessary. "They're back!" Daenerys shouted.
They were small shapes in the distance, growing bigger with every step. Arya relaxed and wandered toward the Princess and the slave. Any ambush would have taken place before the men on the road let the Unsullied leave. Perhaps Daenerys had been right and they were innocent.
She got to the others when Daenerys had Missandei in her arms. They were speaking privately, in Valyrian, so Arya tried to give them privacy by stepping away. It carried her closer to Tyrion. "All's well that ends well," he said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Life is rarely that simple."
"You really don't think they were just travellers," he asked her, "even now?"
"No, I don't."
Tyrion smiled, and then chuckled. "They'd be the luckiest bandits in the whole of the Seven Kingdoms," he commented. "Block the road hoping for a trader and getting the Dragon Princess instead." He shook his head and seemed to be considering something serious. "I don't like coincidences."
"Me either," Arya conceded, "we'll know soon enough."
"She did good," Tyrion said, turning his head and pointing out Daenerys with his eyes. "That was smart, rounding up her 'advisors' and hearing what they had to say."
"Yes, she did." She was proud of Daenerys and how she'd handled this situation, but that was personal and private, for Tyrion she had something else. "This is her first taste of being in charge, I thought she'd take advantage of it and go with her gut instinct, but she didn't. She wanted to send a handful of Unsullied ahead to clear the road. When I disagreed, I thought she was going to send them anyway but she stopped and considered the possibilities."
"You think any men she sent would've been killed?" Tyrion verified.
"Or kidnapped, but I don't believe they are there by accident."
"Let's go see if you're right," he encouraged, waving his short arm toward the women.
Missandei was standing next to Grey Worm, checking him over for injuries when Arya came to a stop next to Daenerys. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Daenerys didn't take her eyes off the reunion of the slaves, but she did respond. "I'll be okay when I know they're all safe. I sent them…"
Arya put a hand on her far shoulder and used it to turn her, so she had to look into Arya's eyes. "You did what you had to do, to keep all of us safe. You sent highly trained soldiers into an uncertain situation, that's their job. They don't blame you for that."
"She does," Daenerys said weakly.
Although she didn't specify who the 'she' was, Arya knew. "Missandei is a smart woman, she knows you did the right thing, she's just a little tense from worrying about Grey Worm."
"I'd be worse if it were you," she confessed. "I would have been frantic."
"Grey Worm is safe, Missandei is relieved, you should get started," Arya advised.
"With what?"
Arya delayed before explaining, enjoying the cute, confused expression she saw. "Call your meeting back to order Princess, hear from your Commander what happened down on the road and then decide what's next."
They separated then, Daenerys went to Grey Worm, and Arya to Missandei. It would have been reasonable to ask her questions and learn the truth of the blocked road, but Daenerys offered only a few whispered words in a foreign tongue before she hugged Grey Worm, obviously relieved he was okay.
Arya watched the exchange with a smile while next to her Missandei did the same. "It's not easy when he goes away," she noted, "his life is a dangerous one, and there are always risks." Missandei was giving the guard her full attention. With a solemn nod she encouraged Arya to finish. "I've been around men with swords all my life. Long before I was allowed to hold one myself, I'd swing a stick and pretend. I'd hide in the bushes and listen to what the Master at Arms was saying to my brothers. I would repeat the words over and over in my head, so it would be harder to forget them. I tried to replace every lesson I was forced to take with the things I wanted to know, about combat." Arya took a breath and regained control of her emotions. They were coming more often since she began speaking of her family with Daenerys and Missandei.
Sensing that she needed a moment to gather herself, Missandei replied. "I'd say you did well. You finished your training and are the best guard Daenerys has ever had."
She appreciated the kind words, but she hadn't come to get complimented. There was something she wanted Missandei to know, something she hoped would help. "You can't help how you feel Missandei, I wouldn't dare try to tell you not to worry when he's gone, but you should know he's not like other soldiers."
"How do you mean?"
"Every man is different – I've seen peaceful men commit a massacre to defend their homes and I've known others who wouldn't lift a finger until their wage was paid. When I first began training with Oberyn I wasn't very good," she said, downplaying how horrible it had actually been. "I was too angry, too wild to focus, so he sat me down and he said, 'every soldier needs something to fight for, something that makes him willing to run toward the danger when everyone else goes away from it.' He explained it could be anything, family, gold, or even a desire to be the best there ever was, but it had to be something."
"What did you find?"
Arya didn't mind the question it was natural to wonder. "Revenge," she admitted plainly, "for a long time what happened to my family motivated me to train harder and longer than the rest.
"It worked," Missandei said, complimenting her again.
"It's the same for the Unsullied. They need a reason to fight, something they choose, beyond being told it's their purpose."
"They have it," Missandei assured her almost immediately. "Many fight for one another, not the one holding their whip. Others want Grey Worm's position, and some do it in the hopes they'll survive long enough to taste freedom."
She was impressed by how well Missandei understood the fighting men, but they could talk about that later. For now, she still had a point to make. "And what about Grey Worm, what's his motivation?"
"To be the best ever!" she declared
Arya smiled. So smart and so clueless. "Maybe once," she permitted, "just as my reason had been revenge but things change, even for people like us."
"I don't…"
"Grey Worm fights for you, Missandei. You're the reason he fights and you're the reason he will do everything in his power to come home."
The handmaiden was uncertain. "N…no, he cares, but being Unsullied, nothing matters more to him than that."
"You do," Arya insisted, "trust me." This conversation hadn't gone how she planned it. She had little practice comforting friends, but they'd ended up in the right place. She circled back to the beginning. "When he's gone, it's okay to worry, it's natural, but just remember he's one of the most talented warriors I've ever seen, and he uses every last one of those talents to try and make it back to you."
Brown eyes shined with tears, so Arya backed away, giving Missandei a moment to collect herself. "Arya!" she called, before the guard could retreat fully.
"Yeah?" Rather than answer, she gestured for Arya to come closer, she went. "How is she?"
They looked at Daenerys together, she was standing with Tyrion and Grey Worm, speaking quietly. The words were unknowable, but everyone appeared calm, a good sign. "She's okay," Arya said, "she's just worried about you."
"I didn't blame her," Missandei said in a rush, "I know she only did what she had to."
"I know and Daenerys does too, it'll just take a minute." It was quiet for a moment before Arya asked, "Did he tell you what happened?"
"No, just that everyone was safe."
That wasn't much, but it was something. She didn't like the idea of Daenerys carrying a soldier's death on her conscience. "Let's finish this."
R-C
Author's Note: I almost cut this part out and jumped right back to King's Landing, but I decided to leave it. This story is already obscenely long, another 20,000 words about the trip to the capital won't change that. I hope no one minds.
I wanted Daenerys to get a taste of leadership that went beyond the marriage negotiations. I figured it was a good measure of her progress. She's come a long way since Chapter One.
Thanks for reading.
