This story is completely self-indulgent, don't judge me. To be honest I thought about writing a story like this since season8 ended, I just never got around to do it. Two years later and I'm still mad about it so this is the result of that. This story is about a (former) fan of the show – but especially a fan of Daenerys, and Jonerys together – who ends up in the GOT world and tries to fix things for Daenerys – and Missandei and Grey Worm and the dragons – and Jon – and Westeros and Essos, by consequence, since I'm absolutely sure the 'reign' of 'Bran the Broken' and 'Queen Sansa' wouldn't have lasted five years before war broke out again, with the situation for the common people being as awful as it has always been because the only one who has ever cared about them was Dany (and Arya, once upon a time, before she was turned into a soulless, xenophobic assassin) and, of course, in Essos, without Dany there to stop it, slavery would have began again. So, just to warn you, the focus here will be on Daenerys for most of the story, until we reach the season7 time frame and Jon and Dany meet. This means that most of the story will take place in Essos, where Dany is. And no, the OC in my story will not try to stop Ned Stark's death or the Red Wedding, or Oberyn dying, or Theon being tortured by Ramsey, or Stannis and Shereen dying or Sansa marrying Ramsey, or Jon dying (basically everything that happens in Westeros before season7 won't be changed) because she won't even be in Westeros to change any of it to begin with. Things in Essos might change slightly though, like a certain death that happened in the show that shouldn't have happened; *cough* Barristan *cough*.
My OC/SI will be Rhaenys Targaryen (Rhaegar's daughter) but somewhat substituting Young Gryff in the story – in the sense that she will be the one saved at the Sack of King's Landing by Varys instead of Aegon (though we all know Young Gryff is not really Aegon Targaryen, but this OC will really be Rhaenys Targaryen, daughter of Elia and Rhaegar) – and she will spend the years before the events in GOT begin in Essos, with Jon Connington (but – spoilers – Jon Connington won't survive to see the events of season1, he will be dead when the GOT events start, since he's not actually present in the TV show).
No Arianne Martell in this story or Quentin, only Tristan (like in GOT, after all this story will follow the TV show versions of the events). Also, no Garlan Tyrell either, but there will be Willas Tyrell (who, in this story, will look like Daniel Sharman, because I love him and I think he would be perfect for the role), but as a cousin to Margaery and Loras and not as a sibling. Also, we don't really know all that much about Willas, but I imagine him a little like Lorenzo de Medici (clever, cunning, manipulative and kind of 'machiavellian' in the best way possible, determined to protect the family interests above all – therefore as a true Tyrell like Margaery and Olenna) but also sweet, kind and compassionate towards those he loves.
This will be a Willas/OC and Jon/Daenerys story eventually (like, very eventually). However, the focus won't be on romance, the focus will be the friendship/bond of family between Rhaenys and Daenerys (because Dany needs someone in her corner always and forever, especially if that someone is also family). So, if you don't like Daenerys, this story is not for you because it will be very pro!Daenerys.
On the other hand, for those who do love Daenerys and are still furious, like I am, about what Dumb and Dumber did to her, this story is for you. This is basically my love letter to the amazing character that is Daenerys Targaryen, who deserved the whole world and instead got what she got because the creators of GOT are fundamentally sexist assholes who are intimidated by powerful women.
I really hope you like it, tell me what you think!
(You'll find some similarities with my story 'The Dragon Queen'; that is because it was writing that story that gave me the idea for this one. Also, yes, this story used to be called 'Elaena Martell' but I didn't care about writing it anymore so I changed it. Sorry if you liked that premise better than this one but I much prefer this version.)
Prologue
Ryan tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep. It was late and she had to wake up early the next morning now that life was finally going back to normal, but no matter how many times she told her brain to just shut down and let her rest, she would find herself with her gaze on the ceiling but her mind returning to a TV show that she shouldn't be so fixated over two years since the last episode aired. No matter how disastrous that ending had been.
Saying that season 8 of Game of Thrones had been a colossal disappointment would be an understatement. All that hype, all that waiting, all the hopes that probably the greatest show in TV history would have a satisfying ending… it was all for nothing.
Nobody expected a 'happily ever after' but everyone expected an ending that made sense, an ending that did justice to all the characters and the storyline told up until that point.
Sure, what she was most upset about was the ending they reserved for Daenerys, her favourite character in the show. But she had loved Jon and Arya and Tyrion and she had hoped for a satisfying ending for all of them – and then season8 happened and now she practically hated Arya and Tyrion, and she was still on the fence about Jon.
Daenerys had always been her favourite character, not just of Game of Thrones, but in general. There has never been a character like her, and probably never will be again. There was a reason why she was so popular, why she was the face of the show since season 1, and even those that hated her couldn't stop talking about her, couldn't stop obsessing over her. Singers even wrote songs about her, for god's sake (Beth Crowley's Empire came to mind).
And it wasn't even the fact that they turned her into the 'final villain' in the end that bothered her. Hell, she loved villains. Her favourite characters were always either villains (Voldemort, Morgana Pendragon) or anti-heroes (Snape, Spike, Damon, Killian Jones). But the reason why Daenerys' turn into the 'final villain' didn't work was because it wasn't earned. A good turn from good to bad happens because the character makes it happen, by making choices that will lead to their downfall. But they didn't do that with Daenerys' character. She didn't make decisions that were bad - you could argue, in fact, that she made decisions since season 7 which went against her goal of becoming Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and, instead, actively chose to make decisions to protect the innocents and help save the world, like not attacking King's Landing with her dragons, which she could have done twice in season 7 and twice she chose not to do, and then, at the end of season7, when she went North to fight against the White Walkers, putting her quest for the throne on hold because she realized that was more important, like a good Queen would do.
And in season8, she didn't make decisions that led to her downfall, but things happen to her, outside of her control. That was not the way to write a negative character arc if that was Dumb and Dumber's intention. It was also the reason why Daenerys' decision to burn King's Landing once the war was already won and the Lannister army had already surrounded didn't make sense at all (beside the fact that she had already won the war so, in any case, it didn't make sense), it wasn't earned. It wasn't the last nail in the coffin so to say, it was just one single thing that came after a series of decisions that Daenerys made which indicated the exact opposite for her character. Her decisions not to go after the throne even if she could have easily done so should have rewarded her in the end, not punish her. In season 8, all those losses, one after another, that happened to her, not because she caused them by her decisions, but because others made decisions which impacted her - like Sansa, Tyrion, Varys, Sam, Bran, even Jon to a certain extent. Those people should have been the one 'punished' for their bad decisions, instead they were rewarded at the end of season 8 (except Varys). The ending of Daenerys and the other characters as well didn't feel earned at all because it almost seemed like Daenerys was punished for actually doing the right thing more than once and others like Tyrion, Sansa, Bran, Sam - they were all rewarded for their wrong, manipulative actions. This was not an ending that felt earned in any way.
And it wasn't even that she didn't get a 'happy ending' that was the problem. She loved the ending of Dark and most of the main characters of the show died (or rather, they were never born in the first place). But it was still perfect, bitter-sweet in the best way, but still satisfying because it made sense, because you could tell they planned every single thing from the beginning, so there were no plot holes, no loose ends. Was she sad that Marta and Jonas didn't get to be together in the end? Hell, yes. But she was still happy with how they ended up because it made sense. And that was all that mattered in the end.
The ending of Game of Thrones was rushed, clearly made-up at the last minute, and nonsensical, more about the spectacular visuals and not the characters or plot anymore. The gravest mistake they made – and the reason why it all fell apart – was not the fact that they ran out of source material, but that, instead of having the characters moving the plot forward, they had the plot moving the characters' decisions forward. They had the characters do what the creators needed them to, to arrive at the ending they wanted, even if said actions made no sense or they were in direct contradiction to who they had established the characters were in the other seasons.
If the problem had been the fact that certain characters died, she would have stopped watching at the Red Wedding, since she had loved Robb Stark. The Red Wedding had been shocking when it happened, but it had also made sense because you could just tell that Robb's decision to marry Talisa was going to have terrible consequences. The whole premise in season 1 was 'if you play the game of thrones you win or you die' after all. But that was it. It was Robb's decision that led to the Red Wedding, just like it was Ned's decisions that led to his death. But in season 8, there was none of that. And to be honest, the real problems started in season 7 but she was so taken with the idea of Jon and Daenerys finally meeting and falling in love that she missed the glaringly obvious warning signs.
She could list all the things wrong with season 8 that had nothing to do with what they did to Daenerys but what would be the point? Everyone who knew how storytelling worked, would be able to tell why season 8 was complete and utter trash. The worst ending in TV history, that was how Game of Thrones would be remembered decades from now. And that was just sad.
Ryan had reached a point in season 8 – probably at about episode 4 – when she didn't even care anymore what would happen to the characters she had loved for a decade. Arya was unrecognizable, a minion who followed mean-girl Sansa's words like she was the second coming, Jon was a useless piece of wood and Tyrion…well, they had destroyed Tyrion already in season 7, so she didn't have much hope left for him and in the end, he still managed to destroy the little love she still had for his character.
The final season had also managed to make her hate House Stark as a whole, so much so that she would have been perfectly happy to have Winterfell burn to the ground with everyone inside, so much so that she didn't even regret Ned Stark or Robb's death anymore. In fact, she wished all the Starks had died in season 1, Arya included. There were times she wished Jon was never resurrected, her hatred ran so deep. And she loved Jon more than anyone else except for Daenerys. But what they did to him was just terrible. They ruined him, maybe even worse than the way they ruined Daenerys. What was the point of his story? Why was he even resurrected in the first place? Why have him be the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna when they literally did nothing with that? Hell, why even have the dragons return after being extinct for a century if they weren't even all that fundamental to destroy the Others? In season 7 they kept reminding the audience that Daenerys couldn't have children so that in season 8…she would still be unable to have children? And what about Cersei and the Valonqar? All that building up to have Cersei die…by bricks hitting her over the head. What was the point of any of it? None of it made sense. All the prophecies, all the foreshadowing…it all came to nothing.
If the creators of the show didn't care, well, neither did she. Ryan didn't care anymore, about anything or anyone except for Daenerys. Once she would have dreamed about ending up in Game of Thrones to change the fate of Robb Stark, or Oberyn Martell, or Margaery Tyrell – another character she really, really loved – or even Ned Stark. Now…well, as far as she was concerned, Westeros could burn to the ground – everyone except Yara and Olenna Tyrell at least (also she wished they had introduced Willas Tyrell in season 7, maybe as a cousin of Margaery and Loras and the rightful Lord of Highgarden and the Reach after Loras and Mace's death. She wondered if, with a Tyrell by blood still alive, certain people would still have dared say that the Tarlys' death wasn't justified or that they weren't traitors exactly like the Boltons. Willas would look like Daniel Sharman because he would be absolutely perfect as Willas – just look at what a great job he did as Lorenzo de Medici). Now Daenerys burning King's Landing didn't even seem like a bad thing. She shouldn't have stopped there. She should have flown to the North and burn those ungrateful, petty turncoats in their keeps, Princess Brexit also known as Sansa Stark, first of all.
Now she would wish to be in Game of Thrones exclusively for Daenerys. And those really loyal to her like Missandei and Greyworm, and Jorah Mormont – and Barristan Selmy as well, who really shouldn't have died the way he did; and let us not even bring up how Missandei died…just disgusting.
Not only did Daenerys deserved to get the throne she had fought so hard for but she deserved to have a family that wouldn't sell her off and abuse her, or turn their back on her at the first opportunity, or you know…kill her. That was what Ryan would wish for now. Being Daenerys' family. Someone who would be there for her always, someone who would support her and make her feel less alone. Someone who wouldn't look at her with doubt and suspicion, or like they were constantly waiting for her to become her father. In short, someone truly loyal to her, no matter what. Someone who would be both her family and her sworn protector.
Ryan thought about the books, and (clearly fake) Aegon Targaryen and his storyline and, she had to be honest, that was one of the few things the show had done right in her opinion. The whole Aegon storyline just distracted and kept the attention away from the characters that really mattered, so she wasn't really sorry that he was never included on the show. But it made her think about someone else, a character we've never met and that we know little about. Rhaenys Targaryen, Rhaegar's daughter.
Wouldn't it have been way better if Rhaenys had survived the Sack of King's Landing instead of – supposedly – Aegon? It would also make more sense since it would have been easier to find a Rhaenys look-alike as opposed to an Aegon look-alike since Aegon had the Targaryen looks. She would have been the perfect third head of the dragon – a clear callback to Aegon the Conqueror and his sister wives. Well, except the conqueror was Daenerys in this case, of course. Still, three dragons for three Targaryens, as it should have been – but only if Jon could manage to get his head out of his behind and accept the fact that he was a Targaryen, otherwise he didn't really deserve to ride a dragon.
And talking about Rhaenys and Aegon, the whole annulment thing was yet another bullshit decision from the creators who clearly didn't understand the lore they were working with. An annulment would never have stood, there was no ground for it. Elia was a Princess of Dorne who gave Rhaegar two children, one of them a male heir. Nobody would have accepted Rhaegar annulling his marriage to Elia, such a thing would have caused another Civil War. And because of that, the creators didn't realize it but they made Jon a bastard. A Targaryen bastard instead of a Stark bastard, but a bastard all the same, since Rhaegar and Lyanna's marriage wouldn't be considered valid. A second marriage on the other hand…that was something that could have been accepted. With difficulty perhaps, but still more readily accepted, because there was a precedence for such a thing.
But they didn't, therefore, no matter how many times they repeated in season 8 that Jon was the true heir to the throne…he really wasn't. Especially if, like it's hinted in the books, Viserys was crowned King after Aerys' death. With Daenerys being Viserys' only heir, she was the rightful heir to the throne and not Jon.
Furthermore, she would have liked to see the theory of Aerys dishineriting all of Rhaegar's children after Rhaegar died because they weren't 'Targaryen' enough since they were only half-Targaryen after all, become a reality in the show. After all, if such an idiotic thing as the annulment could stand, then so should a decree made by the King - whether the king in question was mad or not. After all, in the GOT society, the King's word was law. But, of course, they couldn't do that because that would have given Dany a right to the throne equal to Jon's and they couldn't have that, could they?
Back to Rhaenys, though. She imagined Rhaenys looking sort of like Adriana Lima 10-15 years ago, but with violet eyes (indigo eyes like Rhaegar - and naturally both Viserys and Dany would have violet eyes like the books) but curvier, more like Arianne Martell is described in the books when she would reach 15 or 16 years old. She would have spent the years after the Sack of King's Landing and until she would meet Daenerys a little before her marriage with Khal Drogo, with Jon Connington in Essos, under a different name, of course. Perhaps even pretending to be a boy until fully grown and able to defend herself. She imagined Rhaenys as a fighter, a bit of a tomboy in her childhood perhaps – more like Visenya Targaryen than her namesake – but confident in her femininity and seductive because she was half Dornish after all – and growing up in Essos would have an impact on her even more than growing up in Dorne would.
She wouldn't use a longsword or a bastard sword though, they were too heavy for one and they were also Westerosi weapons. No, Rhaenys would probably have preferred double short swords (a Valyrian steel set, her favourite weapons), as well as bow and arrow (in the Dothraki style though) – like Artemisia in the movie 300 – and perhaps throwing daggers and a whip as well (fighting styles Rhaenys could teach Daenerys as well). A veritable killing machine, learning how to fight since the age of four. She had to be able to fight after all if she was supposed to be Daenerys' sworn protector.
She also liked the idea of Rhaenys having some kind of animal as a companion – why were the Starks the only ones allowed to? Jon got to have Ghost and Rhaegal. Why not Rhaenys? Since the direwolves were inspired by the real life, extinct dire wolves and cave lions existed in the books, why not have Rhaenys with a saber-toothed tiger? Or an animal similar to it anyway? It would be as big as a grown direwolf, of course, once grown, if not bigger. With long, sharp teeth – like a saber-toothed cat – and its coat striped like a tiger but having a lighter fur color, like a lion; its natural habitat would be the desert, though (even if it would be able to survive in different climates as long as it had enough food – not necessarily mammoths); therefore, it would be called Desert Tiger instead. And Rhaenys would call it Balerion, in honor of the cat she used to keep when she was a child in the Red Keep.
Once Viserion would be grown, she would get to ride him, of course. And neither Viserion nor Rhaegal would die – especially not Rhaegal in that absurd way, or Viserion because of that suicidal mission that was for nothing anyway since Cersei screwed them over.
Jon Connington would become one of the captains of the Golden Company – so Rhaenys would live with the men of the Golden Company for most of her life – until his death a little before the beginning of season 1 (since he didn't appear in the show it would make sense that he died before season 1 would begin). Therefore, Rhaenys would, eventually, bring the Golden Company to fight for Daenerys. And she would also know how to speak Dothraki, High and Low Valyrian (and all the dialects of the Free Cities) and Ghiscari as well – living in Essos, and especially with a sellsword company, it would be necessary.
Also, one specific thing she would change of the earlier seasons was what happened in Qaarth in the show. First of all, Rakharo's death was completely unnecessary, especially because it didn't happen like that in the books (in fact he's still alive, and so is Aggo, up until Daenerys flies away from Meereen the first time she rides Drogon). Moreover, in the books, Rakharo comes across the skeleton of a dragon. Dragonbone is extremely rare and therefore expensive. Daenerys should have sent her bloorider and others back to take as many dragon bones as they could carry back with them.
Moreover, Daenerys got nothing out of her sojourn in Qaarth so what was the point of going there in the first place? Instead, she should have, at least, left with all Xaro's riches - in the books he really is the richest man in Qaarth and he even has 84 ships - and the gifts Daenerys receives in the books (a silver collar with an enchanted amethyst to protect against poison; perfume and pomegranates; tumbling monkeys and spitting snakes; scrolls from lost Valyria; a palanquin of ebony and gold, and a matched set of bullocks to bear it, one white as ivory and one black as jet, with horns inlaid with jewels; a thousand knights, each in shining armor. The armor is made of silver and gold, the knights of jade and beryl and onyx and tourmaline, of amber and opal and amethyst, each as tall as Daenerys's little finger). Therefore, when Daenerys opens the vault, it would be full of gold and gems inside, not empty like in the show.
Ryan nodded to herself and closed her eyes. Her mind had finally calmed down and she was more relaxed. Maybe she would be able to sleep now. She had barely finished the thought when she fell in a deep slumber. That would be the last time she would ever sleep in that room or that bed, but she didn't yet know that.