Jealousy

"You're amazing," Daario Naharis whispered huskily against Dany's skin.

Closing her eyes, Dany smiled as she felt the warmth of Daario's breath heating the shell of her ear when he whispered these same words over and over. Every night he came to her, and every night he told her the same thing — both before, during and after. You're amazing. Lips followed the trail that his breath had left as he made his way down her neck and collarbone, planting kiss after kiss onto her perspired flesh.

While Dany had spent weeks fighting her attraction to the leader of the Second Sons, she had succumbed to it not long after the Sack of Meereen. Of course she knew that what she had with Daario could hardly constitute a relationship; the man was so far beneath her in rank, nothing would ever come of it. Here and there he spoke of their arrangement as if there was a future involved, but she could never allow it. In truth, he was simply there to provide her with some much needed release after her long days spent trying to improve the state of Slaver's Bay. She would call on him two, sometimes three times a day to provide her with what she needed, and then send him on his way. Dany knew that her council was aware. Some didn't mind, and others quietly disapproved, yet she couldn't be bothered. It was completely normal for kings to keep mistresses. Why not queens? Why not her?

Taking one of her taut nipples between his teeth, Daario grinned up at her. "Have I mentioned that before?"

Arching herself closer to his lips, Dany tilted her head to the side as she gazed down at him, stroking his jaw. "Perhaps once or twice."

Chuckling against her full breasts, he made his way lower, pressing his lips to her ribcage before sliding down between her shapely legs. Planting a kiss to the back her thigh, Daario gave it a playful smack before sitting up. "Thirsty?"

Biting down on her lip, Dany smiled as she nodded in the direction of a small tray of refreshments she kept near her wardrobe.

Stepping down from the bed, Daario remained silent for a few seconds, then suddenly began to change the subject. "You aren't honestly considering sparing the traitor, are you?"

Lounging back against her large feather bed, Daenerys watched as Daario padded across the room, his beautifully bare backside visible as he poured some of the same wine she and Tyrion had sampled earlier that day. Of course once her advisor had left her chambers, she'd summoned Daario to join her for entirely different reasons. She wasn't seeking his counsel regarding Jaime Lannister, rather she desired a distraction that only he could provide. As always, he had performed to her satisfaction, but she was rather disappointed to find that his thoughts had returned to the Kingslayer once they'd finished their lovemaking.

"Come back to bed," she murmured, stretching herself across the mattress like a cat.

"You know as much as I adore your enthusiasm, we mere mortals require a few moments rest in between sessions."

Rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, Dany grinned.

"And as much as I know you adore me, I also know you're avoiding my question."

One thing Daenerys had always lacked was patience, and with Daario's charm diminishing by the second, she felt her anger rising.

"I didn't ask you here to discuss Ser Jaime's fate."

"No, you asked me here to fuck; now we've fucked, and now I'm bringing up the topic that we both know you're trying — and failing — to distract yourself from."

Reaching out to take Daario's offered glass of wine, Dany frowned when he pulled it away. "What would you have me do? March him out to the front of the city and have him executed now that there's finally peace in Meereen?"

"Don't make this about what you've fought so hard for. Don't make this about Meereen. This man stabbed your father in the back—"

"Yes, I'd forgotten, thank you." Dany snapped sarcastically, snatching the wine glass from him.

As if she could forget what Jaime Lannister had done to her father; what he had done to her family; what he had done to her. Although she had barely been the size of a speck in her mother's womb when he'd shoved his sword through her father's back, his actions had turned her childhood into a constant horror. Day after day, never knowing when would be her next meal, or where she'd sleep that night. Never knowing if she or her brother Viserys would ever have a place to call home again, or if they'd even live to see another day.

"You spent your entire childhood running away from hired swords sent to kill you."

"Jaime Lannister didn't make those orders."

"No, you're right about that. But without him the man who did wouldn't have sat on the Iron Throne for nearly two decades."

Pressing her glass to her lips, Dany tilted her head back to devour its contents. She knew that the wine would do nothing to offer her a clear head, and yet in that moment, she didn't care. For years she'd had to be the leader; the person to take care of others while doing nothing for herself. She'd never complained, and she wasn't about to start now, but she was finally going to take some time for herself. This was a decision that couldn't be rushed, no matter how many people seemed to want her to.

"He did horrible things, yes, but he didn't—"

"My gods, you're defending him!"

"I am not defending the man who murdered my father!"

"What are you doing then?

"I'm weighing my options the way a ruler should. I'm not being rash, I'm doing the opposite of what my father would have done. I'm considering my options.

"Yes, well, here's to considering your options." Daario scoffed, tossing his head back to swallow the remaining contents of his own glass.

Dany studied the man in front of her. Similarly to herself, Daario Naharis had never had much patience, and the small amount that he did manage to possess seemed to be dwindling away at a dangerous pace. She didn't want their night to end on a sour note, and yet she would not spend so much as a moment's time coddling a grown man over a disagreement. What gave him the right to hold such hatred for Jaime Lannister when that hatred so rightly belonged to her?

"Why are you so concerned with my decision? You've never shown nearly this amount of interest in the politics I've dealt with since you began serving me."

"Are you really asking me that?"

"I am."

Cradling his wine glass in his hands, Daario gave a harsh laugh. No longer was his voice filled with the playfulness he'd spoken with just moments before as they had laid tangled in her bed. Instead, it was replaced by a bitterness that she had never seen in him before.

Quickly growing annoyed at his indifference, Dany sat up. "You swore yourself to me; swore to obey my every order; follow my every command. Are you going to break that oath if my decision regarding Jaime Lannister isn't to your liking?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with you either." Avoiding Dany's gaze, Daario stepped forward, pulling on his clothes and strapping on his sword belt. "But don't worry, my queen, I'm not going to betray you. I'll leave that to the Kingslayer."

Without so much as another word or look in her direction, Daario crossed the room and left Daenerys' chambers. Breathing heavily, Dany ran a hand through her tangled locks, shaking her head as she tried to fathom what could have possibly gotten into Daario. Before she could put much more thought into it however, a sudden figure appeared, disturbing her from her thoughts.

Instantly thinking that Daario had returned, she lifted her head. "Yes?"

A brief pause, then the figure stepped forward to reveal Missandei. Dany frowned, somewhat disappointed to find her translator rather than her groveling soldier, but deep down she knew that wasn't his taste. It would take much longer for the stubborn man to realize the error of his ways and make his apologies to her, if he managed to do so at all.

"Forgive me, Your Grace. I heard arguing and wanted to make sure you weren't upset."

Standing from the bed, Dany crossed the room as naked as her name day, not even thinking twice as Missandei had seen her nude countless times before. Truly, she was like the sister that Dany had never had. From the moment she'd met Missandei in Yunkai she had respected the intelligent young woman, and after months upon months of travel and time spent together, she had grown to care for her as well.

"It takes much more than a few petty words from an even pettier man to upset me." Lifting her robe, she shrugged herself into it.

Gently bowing her head, Missandei made to depart, but Dany waved her forward instead.

"Did you hear what we were discussing?"

"Oh, I . . . " Pressing her lips together, the young woman began to wring her hands, clearly uncomfortable with admitting that she had overheard their heated conversation, yet also too devoted to her queen to lie.

"I won't hold it against you. We're just as passionate when arguing as we are in bed. It's no wonder you heard."

Nodding slowly, Missandei's cheeks colored as she looked down at the floor.

Tying the belt of her robe closed, Dany crossed the room to raise Missandei's chin so that she was looking at her. "Tell me, why do you think Daario Naharis grew so angry with me?"

"I-I can't be sure, Your Grace, but he appeared to be . . . well, he appeared to be jealous of Ser Jaime."

"Jealous?" Dany questioned, clearly appalled by the thought now that it had been spoken aloud.

"Forgive me—"

Waving away her apologies, Dany shook her head. "It's not that. I also thought he seemed envious, but I can't even begin to imagine why."

"Ser Jaime is . . . " Missandei hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with the topic but dutiful as ever to her queen. "Well, he's rather attractive, isn't he?"

"Attractive?" Dany raised her brows, shocked at the young woman's candor.

"He is an awful man, but . . . "

"I hadn't thought of it. Not really."

Of course, that wasn't entirely true. In fact, the very first thing that Dany had noted upon seeing the Kingslayer for the first time was how handsome he was. She'd even taken notice to the fact that his bloody and beaten state had barely done anything to diminish his golden features. But that didn't mean that his insides weren't hideous enough to ruin his outward beauty.

"Men are easily intimidated. I myself am not from Westeros, yet even I've heard stories of Jaime Lannister. I have a feeling that Daario Naharis has heard those same stories."

"That's ridiculous."

"It is. Men often are." Missandei smiled gently, to which her queen quickly returned.

Shrugging her deeply tanned shoulders, Missandei moved forward to refill Daenerys' glass of wine. The young translator was soft spoken and very often quiet when she wasn't performing her duties, but Dany had also noticed that she seemed eerily wise beyond her years.

"Perhaps he's threatened that you might replace him with a more skilled fighter."

Dany scoffed. "I haven't even decided whether or not I'm going to have Ser Jaime executed, much less allow him to serve me." Politely waving the wine away, Dany eyed the young woman curiously. "Every one of my advisors has flaunted their opinion on what I should do with Ser Jaime, and yet you've kept quiet."

"Oh, I don't . . . I am not worthy of such an opinion, Your Grace."

"Nonsense. Tell me what you think I should do — what you would do if the decision was yours."

A full moment of silence passed between the two women as they each contemplated the fate of Jaime Lannister. Finally, Missandei lifted her gaze to Daenerys'. "I cannot say why, Your Grace — I wish that I could — but I do believe you should keep Ser Jaime close to your side."

Surprised by her translator's words, yet somehow not disappointed, Daenerys crossed her bedroom floor and moved out to the terrace to look upon the city. Closing her eyes against the wind, she took a deep breath as she nodded. "Thank you, Missandei."