Davos

Inspired by his own words, Tyrion leaves them in search of a quill and parchment, the better to begin crafting the missive he intends to send throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Arya, ever restless, gathers their bowls and murmurs something about stretching her legs before wandering away, leaving Davos and his king to share a not altogether uncomfortable silence.

"You have been long away from your home." Jon stares towards the battered walls of the city as he begins to speak. "If you wish to return, I would not blame you."

Davos follows the other man's gaze toward the city walls. Though the smoke has stopped rising and the ash no longer falls, he cannot get the sounds and smells of the dragon queen's attack out of his mind and he knows it is the same for Jon. He recognizes the weight of guilt and self-recrimination which envelops the younger man, for he feels it himself. He had accompanied Jon to Dragonstone and had come to believe in Daenerys too. Hadn't he not even a moon's turn earlier advocated for a marriage between her and his king?

"If it's all the same with you, I'd like t'stay and help you put to right what happened here."

He smiles at the look of relief that crosses Jon's face and feels a surge of affection for the young man who has become much like a son to him.

"Grey Worm stopped by my tent first thing this morning," Jon says idly, eyes still trained on the city walls. "He spoke with the Dothraki as I asked. They've agreed to leave as soon as we can provide them with a ship and crew to take them back to Essos."

"Well they couldn't be allowed t'stay," Davos admits.

"They fought bravely in the North, lost more men than any of us and we owe them a great deal." Jon goes back to a conversation they'd had the previous evening. "But, no. They would never integrate with the Westerosi people and frankly, the citizens of King's Landing are already terrified enough by the presence of the Unsullied and our soldiers. We'll never achieve peace with the Dothraki here. It's not something they understand."

"I thought it'd be harder t'get them to agree to go," Davos murmurs. "I worried they'd want to avenge their queen."

Jon huffs out a bitter sounding laugh. "The Dothraki followed Daenerys because she could walk through fire and had three strong dragons. With the dragons gone, it seems her death means little to them." He shoots Davos a disbelieving look. "Grey Worm said they offered to fight for the 'king who rose from the dead'."

Davos watches Jon's chest expand as he draws in a deep breath and then deflate as he blows it back out on a long, unsteady exhale.

"Poor Daenerys," he whispers. "Betrayed at every turn, even in death."

Davos waits, watching as Jon struggles with his thoughts. "Was it right what I did?" His eyes dart from Davos' face to the troops milling about around them, to the ground beneath his feet, seemingly unable to focus on one thing for any length of time. "It doesn't feel right," he whispers.

Davos' heart clenches with compassion and he shifts in his seat to lay a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"I don't know, lad," he says. "But you did the only thing you could do in that moment. You did what was necessary." His grip tightens and he dips his head to capture Jon's gaze with his own.

"What she did here..." Jon shakes his head, still unbelieving of what had happened. "I don't even have the words..."

"Aye," Davos agrees. "It was barbaric and there's no condoning it. But I think something broke inside her," he says slowly as he sorts through his thoughts, trying to make sense of what happened. "They all look at her and see a monster," he muses jerking a chin toward the camp. "Your sisters and the lords of the North only saw a foreign invader bent on bringing them to heel. But you and I saw a different side of Daenerys on Dragonstone. We saw the queen she could have been."

"She was brave," Jon murmurs, remembering the thrilling sight of her appearing alone with only her dragons over the frozen lake north of the wall when all had seemed lost.

"Aye," Davos nods. "She had an inner light," he says. "And I believe she did have a desire t'do good in the world. I watched the two of you fall in love and I rejoiced in it. A just woman and an honorable man," he remembers and releases his breath on a long, sorrowful sigh. "But in the end she either allowed her demons to hold sway or she simply could no longer restrain them. And I believe – as you did - that she would not have stopped here."

He politely averts his gaze when he sees Jon swipe a knuckle across his damp lashes.

"If there had been more time," the former smuggler continues, "or if she had been willing to listen..." Agitated, he pushes to his feet and begins to pace in a tight circle.

"Or if I had listened to those who warned me." Jon rubs the heel of one hand against his forehead and rakes his fingers through his hair. "How can I rule wisely if I am so poor a judge of character?"

"Will y'look at me, lad?" Davos asks, ending his restless pacing and coming to a stop before the other man.

"You're human and you make mistakes just like the rest of us. Perhaps I'm making excuses for the part I played in all of this. But I cannot condemn you. Is it so very wrong to want to believe the best of the people we love?" he wonders. He drops back into his seat and leans forward, pushing his face close to Jon's.

"Daenerys allowed her desire for the throne to take precedence over the good of her people. The difference between you and she is that I have never known you to make a choice for selfish reasons. That is why I have stayed by your side. That is why I will remain at your side for as long as you need me. Perhaps I am a poor judge of character but I'm willing to put my money on you."

Jon tilts his head to study the other man. "And just how much money have you got, Ser Davos?" he asks with a wry smile as Davos makes a production out of patting down his pockets to reveal a handful of copper pennies and a single silver coin.

"Not much, your Grace," he admits, drawing a rusty laugh from the young king. "So it should hold all the more weight that I'd still be ready to bet my last penny on you."

A/N: It's with a bit of trepidation that I post this chapter. I've come to realize that there is a fragment within the fandom that is very definitely either Team Sansa or Team Daenerys and never the twain shall meet. For some folks, it seems that it is almost a betrayal of one character to find anything positive to say about the other. But I don't buy into that. This show, these books, are populated by characters who are good, evil and every shade in between. Tyrion's words to Jon in the cell could have been directed solely to me alone, so closely did they speak to my own feelings. "Everywhere she goes, evil men die and we cheer her for it." I did. When she "bought" and freed the Unsullied and turned Drogon onto Kraznys and the slavers? I cheered. When she unleashed the Unsullied during the Battle of Meeren? I cheered. When she torched the Dothraki khals? I cheered. When she destroyed the scorpions mounted to the walls of King's Landing? When she burned down the Iron Fleet in the harbor outside of King's Landing? When she burst through the gates of King's Landing and soared out over the Golden Company? I cheered. And cheered. And cheered.

But when she turned Drogon on the people of King's Landing? I cried. I clapped my hands over my mouth and was quite literally talking to the television and begging her to stop.

I do not subscribe to the idea that in fiction – novels, movies, television or fanfiction – that one female character must be bad so that another female character can be good. There is a part of me that loves the character of Daenerys, just as a part of me loves the character of Sansa. And I believe that Jon could – at different times and different places in his life – have loved both of them.

I hope that you can respect where I'm coming from, even if you don't agree. And for those of you who are awaiting Sansa's appearance, all I can say is that, apparently, I've gone into slow burn mode as far as the Jon/Sansa pairing goes. I spent quite a bit of time sitting on the beach this past week, writing scenes – fragments and whole – in my head and scribbled onto paper – and each of them are scenes that feature Jon and Sansa. Once she shows up (in about two chapters) she will be one of the primary POV characters. I do, for the most part, know where I'm going, albeit slowly, with the two of them and with this story.

In the meantime, I enjoy reading your comments and I hope you'll stay with me for the journey.