Pi! Pi! Pi!
The sounds of cars honking echoed through the streets of Kings Landing.
Full lines of cars one behind the other filled the streets, the end of these was unappreciable. And the horn of the yacht traveling to Essos came as a background noise in all of this hustle and bustle.
Millions of people headed to the harbor. The inauguration of the 'Roaring Mass' (the first ocean liner to cross the seas with the final destination of Essos) attracted them like bread to pigeons.
Some were to ride on that ship that would change their lives, others to see them off...
Whatever the reason, nearly half of Westeros was heading to the port, therefore why Aerys and Rhaella Targaryen were sitting in their Acura MDX arguing.
"Why the hell are there so many cars? We're going to miss the boat" The handsome man said in exasperation to his wife. His nerves were palpable from the houses 7 miles away. Such was the case that leaning out the window, he yelled at the cars ahead as if that would somehow solve his problem. "My brother awaits us with Viserys on the other fucking side of the world! Move your big asses!"
"Vis!"
"Calm down, Aerys. We can't do anything right now" His wife, always understanding, tried to relax him while the cars moved forward and stopped once again. "Your brother won't mind taking care of Viserys for a little longer in the event we are unable to take the 'Roaring Mass'"
The Targaryen family had traveled to Westeros on a business trip which would close an important contract for the millionaires of Essos.
"Vis!" The same voice as before could be heard coming from the back of the car excitedly having heard his brother's name. That along with the small kicks to the driver's seat indicated the presence of a small creature. No older than five.
At first, the trip was to be made only by Mr. and Mrs. Targaryen. However, at the last moment Daenerys became ill (which they later found out was a simple fever of a couple of days) and Rhaella decided to take her little girl with them, leaving Viserys in the care of her uncle.
Rhaella turned to the back seat and smiled at her baby girl, ever so shining. "Yes sweetling, we're going to see Viserys soon"
After that brief interruption mother and father resumed their respectful argument.
In the back seat a pair of pale purple eyes stared out the window at everything that was happening in town. Daenerys always had been a very active little girl who didn't like to be still. Their parents' conversation was a long-forgotten background noise.
Her curiosity was now prey to the police officer who was 10 cars ahead. A big and tall man who Daenerys observed, was in charge of controlling the traffic.
He had thin black hair which only seemed to grow on one side of his face; something the child found very amusing. His eyes were deathly grey and frightening. And the scars on the left side of his face made Daenerys look away. He didn't seem to be very amicable.
Her gaze fell upon a new officer who was standing at the left side of the Targaryen's car. Sweat reflected on his forehead and he looked nervous. In spite of everything, he had a friendly look which caught Daenerys eye. He didn't have much hair but that did not make him look less fit or strong, and on the badge he was wearing just above his heart was engraved the name J. Mormont.
Daenerys, keen on him, lowered the crank of her window.
She positioned her chubby fingers on her mouth and nose and she started making funny faces at the officer causing him to laugh, which he had to disguise as a dry cough. Mr. Mormont stuck his tongue out for Daenerys to see, which made her giggle.
He walked up to the car and bowed. "What's your name?" He asked with a tinkle in his eyes. This silver haired, rounded face, pink lipped girl reminded him of his late daughter, making him smile at the thought of her.
"Dany" the girl said with mirth, happy to befriend the officer.
Then, the car started the engine and the officer smiled at her once more "Have a good trip, Dany". He stepped away from the gray car and watched as it left. With a sigh he returned to the police car and sat in the passenger seat; his partner Ned Stark was seated by his side behind the steering wheel.
"Cute girl, ain't she? Targaryen genes"
"Reminded me of my daughter" Jorah said with a sad and melancholic tone.
Before any further conversation could be made, a deafening sound was heard and the earth began shaking.
Jorah and Ned's first instinct was to duct their faces under the console of the car. When the shaking stopped, Jorah raised his head in order to see the mess that had been caused. A few feet from them, a very familiar gray car was overturned, face down and wheels up. Smoke was coming out from the bottom; the bomb (Jorah now knew it hadn't been an earthquake) had gone off near them. Jorah ran out of the car and forgetting the protocol to follow approached the vehicle. The driver and passenger appeared to be unconscious or god forbid dead; however, little Dany kept her eyes wide open and moving around, buckled up in her pink car seat. She seemed to be in a state of shock, cause her quirky appearance had left her eyes. With Ned's help, Jorah took the kid out of the burning car just in time to see it blow off.
When the second bomb detonated, Jorah forgot his name. He lunged for her. That's all he knew. He covered her with his body. Mortar crumbled into a powder whitening his hair. His lungs burned with smoke. Blood splattered on his face from the bodies of those closer to the explosion.
He covered her.
Finally, the roar that seemed to shake the whole place quietened. He placed Dany in the arms of his fellow partner, Ned Stark.
"Take her. Look for a place where she can stay, she doesn't need to see all of this" Ned nodded. Before he could move, Jorah grabbed his forearm and gave him a weary look "Be careful Ned"
His voice showed pain. Jorah was not giving Daenerys to Ned; for Officer Mormont his daughter was dying in his eyes again, and he was trusting his friend with his whole life.
"I have 4 children at home Mormont. I know what I'm doing" He said firmly and took the whimpering child to a worker's booth.
The child began to shake, possibly from the injuries she sustained from the explosion. Ned could see a piece of glass embedded in the little girl's thigh. Daenerys trying to remove it while crying. "Mommy!" Ned grabbed both hands stopping her; if she continued like this the scar would accompany her all her life. Ned knew she probably would not want to have a reminder of that day. The nightmares would fill her for years to come.
"Momma!" Daenerys cried, a fresh crop of hot tears streaming down her face. Ned cradled her and whispered soothing things on her ear trying to calm her down. Doctors had to be on arrival. Ned's eyes filled with tears, the little girl had suffered too much in her short life. He couldn't imagine this happening to any of his children.
Sure the Targaryens were despised by many. People didn't like the big bucks the family had, but doing that to a 5 year old...
She deserved something better. Ned couldn't think of what the future could hold for her.
Jorah Mormont, Jaime Lannister, Sandor Clegane and Brienne of Tarth were gathered around a wooden table deciding the fate of the only Targaryen survivor.
"We can all agree this was premeditated"
"That bomb seemed to have been there for months, how come nobody saw anything? Shouldn't routine checkups be done every three weeks?" Brienne said. Her gaze directed at the green eyes of Jaime Lannister, who used to show a too flirty smirk.
His cold eyes hardened "Don't even think about going there! My army and I checked the tunnels fourteen days ago and there was no artifact as such. Only plastics and cardboard that people throw there as if it was some kind of huge garbage can"
Jorah sighed "Enough with you two! Solve your problems elsewhere. We have to decide what to do with Daenerys" he said. His face down, fingers fidgeting with the gold chain necklace that he had found among the pebbles of the ground, broken in two. On it, like on the police badge he wore, was written: Dany AB.
Probably Daenerys' blood type. Her wary parents would have personalized the necklace in case the girl ever had an accident.
Jorah had to give it back to her. He knew that she had not suffered serious damage so as to need a blood transfusion but the chain was possibly one of the few things that the child would have from her parents and he couldn't not keep it from her, even though her parents weren't the best of people. "The terrorists who created the bomb could be roaming the streets at large. We do not know their true objective. The girl is not safe here and we should not keep her in an unknown country to her. She has suffered enough"
"You are right" Clegane said. His deep voice silenced the chattering held between Brienne and Jaime. The little girl won't stay in King's Landing" Jorah sighed in relief. "Nor will she return to Pentos. She will start a new life in Dorne. I'll get some tickets for the next southbound train myself. For now, Ned will take care of her. I'm sure he knows how to handle a little kid, he has four waiting for him at home"
Jorah wanted to object but the table had already been cleared before he could muster the courage to speak up his thoughts. After compiling himself, he run a hand through the ashes of the necklace and headed for the coordinates of the motel where Ned was staying with Daenerys. He had to give her what belonged to her by right. He just hoped that a girl as small as her could keep it safe until her adulthood.