Here's a short interlude, hope you like it. Next one Rhaenys and Dany finally meet. Tell me what you think about this chapter!

Interlude

Waking up in a dingy room that could have perfectly fit in a catalog of medieval interior design, with a huge feline – striped like a tiger and big as a bear standing on four legs, but with the mane the color of a lion, and long, sharp front teeth – sleeping on a carpet in front of the hearth, on the opposite side from the bed she was lying on, would have been enough of a shock, but spying her reflection in the small, dirty and slightly cracked wall mirror over the dresser – its wood gnarly and crudely carved –, in the left corner of the room, made her feel like she had lost her mind.

She looked completely different from yesterday. Her hair was a very dark brown, straight and long enough to reach her back, with golden tan skin and hooded purple eyes – indigo to be more precise. And her features were all wrong too. She could have been Adriana Lima's twin 15 years ago.

It was only remembering her thoughts from the night before that saved her from a mental breakdown.

"No way." She whispered, afraid speaking in a higher tone would wake the great cat. She pinched herself for good measure but nothing happened, except that now her left arm hurt. "No freaking way."

She tiptoed to the only window in the room, the feline – Balerion? – purring oblivious in his sleep, and looked outside. The view was magnificent. Tiled rooftops gleaming red in the sun as far as the eye could see, square brick towers scattered among walled manses. She also noticed a dark, high structure and realized it was a Temple of the Lord of Light, with Red Priests kneeling just outside its gates, praying to lit fires – their red garments easily recognizable even at a distance.

Various smells and noises assaulted her senses – she recognized the scent of cinnamon, vanilla and saffron, mixed with fish and sweet perfumes and wine; the noises too were different from what she was used to living in a city. There was no car traffic, honking klaxons, loud music. Instead, she could hear horses neighing, birds chirping, the buzzing of the crowd, the sounds of wooden carts traversing the brick paved streets. Even the people walking just outside the building she was staying in – a tavern perhaps? – looked different. They wore colorful, long tunics, and she noticed some men with dyed, forked beards.

She retreated inside, her head spinning, before sitting down plump on the bed. How was it possible? How was she here, in the world of Game of Thrones, in what she suspected was Pentos, from what she remembered of its description in the books and a little from what is shown in the TV show. But, most importantly, what was she supposed to do now?

The answer seemed obvious if being in Pentos was any indication. She remembered her thoughts from last night. What she had wanted most of all. And it wasn't like she had any idea how she had ended up where she was, therefore figuring out how to return home seemed pretty impossible at the moment. The best thing to do would be to go where Daenerys was, so she could stay by her side. And wasn't that the whole point anyway?

She couldn't stop Daenerys' marriage with Khal Drogo, for more than one reason – first, because how was she supposed to stop it in the first place? She was alone, and ending up angering a Khalasar of 40'000 men wasn't the best option, not for her or Daenerys; then, there was the fact, that in the show, Illyrio gave Daenerys the dragon eggs at her wedding to Khal Drogo, and it was also through her experience with the Dothraki that Daenerys found the strength in herself that allowed her to escape from her brother's shadow and made her into the Dragon Queen.

In addition to that, it was the death of Drogo and her son Rhaego – plus the sacrifice of Mirri Maz Duur – that allowed Dany to hatch the dragons and she very well couldn't change that, could she? Moreover, it was because she became a Khaleesi of the Dothraki that Daenerys managed to unite all khalasars and become the Khal of Khals; it wasn't just because the Dothraki would make up most of Dany's army which would be needed to conquer Westeros, but it was also because, by following her, the Dothraki would stop pillaging and raping.

So, no, she couldn't stop it from happening. But she could make things better for Daenerys. Illyrio knew her after all, knew that she was Rhaenys Targaryen, because it was his friend Varys that smuggled her out of King's Landing and then to Pentos, and eventually to Jon Connington. She could use that to get close to the Targaryens.

She suddenly felt a stab of pain and closed her eyes, bringing a hand to her forehead. Images danced under her closed eyelids, too quick for her to absorb them all. The sensation lasted for several minutes but, when it finally ended, she became aware of the fact that she wasn't Ryan Taylor anymore, at least, not completely.

She had memories – years of it – of a life she had never lived and yet…

She remembered her father and mother – perhaps not clearly, but she remembered them. Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell – her father's voice and her mother's gentle smile. She remembered her little brother Aegon, how he would wrap his tiny hand around her index finger, his grip strong for such a small body, how smooth and warm his skin was when she would caress his cheek. She remembered her cat Balerion, how he would meow when he wanted attention or how he would follow her around everywhere.

She remembered that day. She hadn't seen them dying but she had heard her mother's screams. The Mad King's terrible laughter.

She remembered Jon Connington, how he took care of her and protected her but also how cold and distant he was, how harsh when she didn't do exactly as he wanted, how she could never seem to make him proud, no matter how hard she tried, how she was never enough – how he would compare her to her father and mother; he described Rhaegar as perfect, a paragon of virtues, while her mother as sickly and weak and not worthy of the Silver Prince and that it was no wonder that Rhaegar had run off with Lyanna Stark, and how Rhaenys was her mother's daughter, that she wasn't a true dragon.

She remembered his death. How the Golden Company had been hired to defend Myr against a horde of Dothraki and how he had perished from a wound to the abdomen. How angry, and sad, but also, to her shame, how relieved she had felt too. She had loved Jon Connington as a second father but she had hated him in equal measure.

Her face was wet with tears by the time she had made sense of all her new memories as Rhaenys Targaryen and it was only Balerion licking her face like a dog that made her come back to herself. Ryan would have been terrified of having such a huge, carnivorous animal so close to her but Rhaenys felt only affection and warmth.

She remembered him too, how she had found him in a patch of yellow grass in the Disputed Lands as a newly-born pup, still suckling at the breast of his mother's carcass and she had felt an instant connection with him. How Jon Connington hadn't wanted her to keep him, in fact he had wanted to kill him so they could eat its meat. How she had felt nauseous at the idea, even with the pangs of hunger gnawing at her stomach, after not eating for two days.

"Balerion," she whispered into his fur, stroking his snout, "you're the only friend I have in the world, at least here. But soon, we'll meet Daenerys. You'll like her, you'll see. I've never met her, but I feel like I know her anyway. She's warm, kind, compassionate, loyal and very protective of those she cares about. She's my aunt, but she's more than that. She's the queen this world needs and I'll make sure she gets to fulfill the destiny that should have been hers all along. She deserves to be queen more than anyone and I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. So, let's go now. We have a wedding to attend."