Chapter 1

Daenerys

"Pardon me?"

The words were innocent enough but spoken from a voice that was both pleasing to the ear and yet entirely foreign.

Daenerys looked up from the vendor whose jewelry that she had been admiring, into the startlingly green eyes of a man she had never seen before.

He didn't look a great deal older than her, but there was a weight to him, in his stance and in his eyes that made her wonder absently at his true age. He had shoulder length black hair that was slicked back and skin as pale as her own with high cheekbones and an aquiline nose that made her think immediately of royalty.

He was attired in strange clothes that looked very fine, an odd combination of gold and black and green with a dark leather surcoat and a strange golden ornamental breastplate decorating his chest. Detailed vambraces covered his arms from wrist to elbow and his fingers were bare save for a single gold ring.

He was quite a bit taller than her and cast a long shadow in the street that she was standing on. Daenerys shivered, but it wasn't from any type of cold.

"Yes?" she asked, her eyes locked onto his. A part of her was wondering if she should call out for her brother who was only a few stalls away, but a larger part suspected that this man wouldn't hurt her.

He was looking at her with complete shock on his face. It was far from anger or ill intent but there was a desperation in his eyes, a look that said she alone held the key to questions that he needed answered. His eyes were wide and unblinking as they looked at her, scanning every inch of her face.

"Rhaella?" he asked and it was as if a freezing ocean wave had crashed over her. She stared at him nearly speechless while the rest of her brain demanded that her tongue speak. She hadn't heard her mother's name in years.

"No sir," she said softly, the words nearly strangled in her throat. Even saying the late queen's name caused a pang to shoot through her. It had only been a few years since her death and yet Daenerys missed her terribly. "She was my mother."

If anything, this admission caused the stranger to look even more shocked, to the point where Daenerys worried that he might topple over. His pale skin suddenly looked ghostly and if she looked closely enough, the blonde was certain that his hands were trembling. "She was?"
"Yes my lord."

"And," he paused here for a moment and swallowed hard. His hands were clenched into fists and his breathing seemed shallow. "And your father?"

It was as if a candle had been lit within her mind and Daenerys wondered why she hadn't seen it before. That candle flame grew into a blazing inferno until it felt as if her entire mind was aflame with knowledge and memory.

Suddenly the stranger wasn't the only one trembling.

With shaking fingers, she reached up to the necklace hanging at her throat, the simple silver chain her mother had given to her not long before her death. Hanging on it was a ring; a silver ring that was coiled and scaled like the body of serpent. It was set with a green multifaceted stone and there was a rune carved into its face that was entirely foreign to Daenerys. It was no high Valyrian or the common tongue. She wondered if it was same ancient language of the Ghiscari whom her ancestor had plundered but had never gotten the chance to ask.

She held it up slowly, her knees felt like they were made of jelly. "She told me….that this ring belonged to him."

The stranger, who she was now certain was not a stranger at all, slowly reached down and held the ring between his thumb and forefinger. His hands were visibly trembling.

"I haven't seen this for a while," he said and his voice sounded hoarse. "But I do remember giving it to her."

Daenerys was shaking so badly at this point that she was uncertain whether she were about to fall or burst into tears.

Somehow she did neither.

"There's this as well," she said softly and reached into the pocket of her dress before pulling out the drawing. She had been looking at it the night before and tucked it away into the pocket of one of her garments for further review later.

Unfolding the parchment, Daenerys took a deep breath as her fingers faced the familiar contours of the image she had stared at countless times since she had been told the truth. Before she could talk herself out of it, she turned it around and revealed it.

The stranger's breath caught. He reached out slowly and trailed a fingertip over the edge of the parchment, down by the name that was inked into the corner of the page, a name Daenerys had whispered to herself time and time again.

Loki….

He swallowed again. "She was a talented artist."

"Aye, she was," Daenerys said, the words barely audible. In the hustle and bustle of the marketplace of Myr, somehow it seemed as if there as if there was no sound around them save their own voices. "She'd spend hours drawing while we played on the beach. But she never showed us the drawings until….until…"

"When did she die?" the stranger interrupted. His voice was still hoarse but there was something clipped in his tone as if he wanted to get the question out as fast as possible so it wouldn't hurt as much.

"Five years ago," Daenerys whispered.

The stranger put a hand to his face and a sound akin to a groan floated toward her. "Five years. I missed her by so little."

Even though the confirmation had been hanging in the air between them like an angry storm cloud, this new admission caused Daenerys to gasp sharply as the truth and the pain of the revelation washed over her.

She had known, she had known that her father wasn't Aerys; had known for the last four years. And yet knowing and understanding were two very different things.

The proof was now standing right in front of her and the truth had left her speechless and breathless.

"Father?" she asked in a voice that was breaking and at the intimate honorific, the stranger's eyes shot to hers once more. They were glassy now, as if he were holding back tears and his tone that had previously been clipped and almost harsh, took on a note that was nearly reverent.

"Yes sweetling," he said. "It appears as if I am."

Daenerys sucked in another breath, a ringing in her ears blocking out all other sounds around her.

She didn't even feel the tears on her cheeks until the stranger's gaze turned into something like panic. "Do not cry," he murmured, reaching his hands toward her face. "Please do not cry."

His hands were cool against her skin, a small relief from the heat of the midday sun and Daenerys unconsciously leaned into the touch, closing her eyes with a shaky exhale. There was a shuffling sound and a cool shadow fell over her, the scent of herbs and cedar filling her senses and Daenerys took a deep breath.

She opened her eyes and saw that he was indeed very close to her, his silhouette covering hers and his eyes on her face were so intent. The entire street might have burst into flames and Daenerys got the feeling that he still wouldn't have looked away.

"I am sorry," he whispered and those were the words that did the blonde in. With a strangled sob, she leaned forward which turned out to be all the prompting that he needed.

In an instant, she was wrapped up in his arms, his grip so vicelike that she could barely breathe. Daenerys buried her face in his chest, her hands winding in the soft green tunic beneath the surcoat.

She stifled another sob against him, but he must have heard it because his arms tightened even further.

"Father," she whispered again and when she felt his lips against her hair in response, that was when she fell completely apart. She was certain that she would be embarrassed of her behaviour later but for the moment, she couldn't bring herself to care.

For so long it had been just her and Viserys and now…now they weren't alone anymore.

And speaking of her brother…

"Daenerys!"

She jerked slightly as the sound of her twin's voice filtered through the noise of the Myrish marketplace around them.

He sounded almost panicked and with a great effort, she pulled away from her father….gods her father….and toward the only family she thought she had left in the world.

Her brother was standing about ten feet away from them, hand on the sword strapped to his belt, his face tight and worried.

"Vis," she called back. "Come here, it's alright."

Her brother made no move to come closer, his eyes still fastened to Loki. "Daenerys, who is this?"

His sister stared him straight in the eyes. "I think you know."

She watched as the realization came over Viserys' face. He had been with her when Rhaella revealed the truth to them on her deathbed and he had taken the news harder than she had.

Viserys had always had great pride in the fact that they were dragons so it confused him a bit as he had grown that both of their eyes were green instead of purple.

She knew the servants had seen as well and was certain that many of them had their own opinions about the change in features.

Fortunately they still retained the silvery hair of their ancestors otherwise their problems might have been exacerbated. Their mother had already told them that they were dragons and always would be but the words had seemed somewhat hollow after the truth had been revealed.

Slowly, the hand that had been gripping the hilt of his sword lowered until it was hanging limp by his side.

Without saying a word he walked closer and Daenerys glanced between him and her father, noting the way Loki's eyes had widened enormously and how they were fixed on her brother, noting their height similarities and the similar green eyes.

"Twins," he whispered almost to himself, the reverent tone of his voice back.

"Yes," Daenerys said, breaking in to diffuse some of the tension that she could feel building. "Father, this is Viserys, my twin brother. And also your –"

"Don't say it," Viserys all but snarled out and the rage sparking in his green eyes startled Dany. "Not here."

She had dealt with her brother's temper many times in the past, talking him down from moments where he had been angered. But she could count the number of times on one hand where he had been apoplectic with rage. The only thing that she could do in those instances had been to sit near him, watching him pace back and forth, sometimes for hours until he had wrestled with his anger enough that he was exhausted and just couldn't think anymore.

The last time that he had come close to this had been a year ago when….

She shook off the dark memory. This was a happy day, their father had come back for them. All would be well again.

"Vis," she began but was cut off when her brother held up a hand. He had never cut her off before and the abruptness of the gesture caused her heart to sink.

"Not here Dany," he repeated in a voice so low that she barely heard him. "People are beginning to stare. Come, we should go back to the house. If we must talk, let it be there."

And then, without waiting for an answer, he turned about and strode off down the street.

Daenerys sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. There would be no living with him after this.

She risked a glance up at the god beside her and was surprised to see that his eyes followed Viserys down the street. There was both hunger and longing there, as if he couldn't take his gaze from him and didn't want to.

"My son," she thought she heard him whisper and the sound of it sent a flicker of warmth through her, chasing away Vis' frigid manners.

"Come," she said and slipped her hand into his before she could talk herself out of it. "We shouldn't let him get too far away. Vis can be hard to catch when he works up a full head of steam."

Her father looked surprised at the gesture but after a second, his long fingers curled around hers and held them tightly and the tension that had been between Dany's shoulders for as long as she could remember, melted away.

Magister Illyrio was understandably concerned when they returned to the house, but all he had to do was take one look at their father, with his strange clothes and vibrant green eyes and he was instantly bowing and stammering out pleasantries.

Normally, Dany would have tried to set him at ease, but she was too elated with the person walking beside her to much care.

The three of them found themselves in one of the large open chambers on the main floor that looked out onto a terrace with a lovely view of the ocean.

Dany had often sat there with her mother to listen to the ocean and hear the former queen's stories.

It was only fitting that here she was going to hear another one.

Viserys didn't even look at them as he strode into the room, choosing the spot in the room where he could lean against the low wall and look out at the ocean.

Dany was certain it had nothing to do with the fact that he could keep his back to them and that it was the farthest spot in the room from their father.

Oh dear.

A thick silence permeated the room and Dany noticed that their father's eyes consistently swung back and forth between her and Viserys as he couldn't believe that they were real. There was an ache in his eyes that surprised the blonde and she wondered at the root of it.

"Does he know about us?" she had asked her mother years ago.

"No sweetling, and if I knew how to contact him, I would have done it the moment I learned I was carrying you and your brother."

"Will he ever come?"

"I don't know."

"Daenerys?"

She shook off the memory and turned to look at the god standing next to her. "Yes father?"

Across the room Viserys twitched and it was very difficult not to notice. Neither of them chose to comment on it however.

"Won't you sit down?" he asked and Daenerys acquiesced immediately. His voice was like silk, smooth and inviting with a low musical quality to it that made her certain he was a wonderful storyteller.

She sneaked a peek at him through her lashes and smiled a bit to herself. He was very handsome too, almost ethereally so and she could see why her mother had fallen for him. His porcelain skin had no lines and there was a near glow to him that betrayed the state of his own immortality.

And yet he seemed…tired.

There was a heaviness weighing down his shoulders that Daenerys was certain had little to do with them.

"I have so many questions," she began wondering where in all the realms she was going to start. "There was only so much mother could tell us about you."

He tried to smile at her but it fell somewhat flat after a few seconds.

"Five years," he murmured as if he were talking to himself even though he had been told the date twice now. "I missed her by a mere five years."

"It wasn't that short a time here I can assure you," Viserys said sharply and Dany shot her brother a glare. This conversation was going to go completely sideways if he wasn't careful.

"How did she die?" their father asked hoarsely.

"It was a wasting sickness," Daenerys supplied softly. "A few years ago a strange plague swept through the city. She succumbed within a few weeks. They tried to separate us from her but we wouldn't be deterred and fortunately we never grew ill."

"It certainly makes sense as to why," her brother muttered.

Dany hurried on. "It was…then that she told us, when she knew she was going to die. We had always suspected you see. We don't look…completely like the traditional Targaryens. So it was a…relief to finally have the truth."

Viserys snorted.

"She told us as much as she could about you," Daenerys went on. "She said…that you were a god and had come to court at Westeros years ago. She also said that she wasn't sure that we weren't the king's until we were born and she…saw our eyes."

"She said she was relieved," Viserys continued tightly, "that we weren't the get of that madman, even if it made things…complicated."

He shook his head and snorted again. "Complicated, as if there is anything complicated about being a bastard."

Their father's head shot up, his eyes were narrowed and the hand that wasn't holding Daenerys clenched. "You are not bastards."

Viserys seemed to think that this was amusing because a bitter chuckle fell from his lips, echoing in the stillness of the chamber. "I don't suppose that definition means something different in Asgard does it?"

He rolled the word back and forth between his lips like he was testing it and found it lacking. Beside her, their father stilled and Daenerys swallowed hard when she saw the green in his eyes flash with something unknown. He didn't appear angry, but she knew that Viserys was testing him.

Sometimes she longed to throw something at her brother's head.

"Enough," she snapped before anything else could be said. "Viserys if you can't be polite then perhaps you should leave the room."

Her brother whirled to face her and she caught the flash of hurt in his eyes before it was gone again. She barely kept herself from flinching as she looked away. Usually, she didn't show any frustration with him given that they were too dear to each other to argue for long.

The weight of Viserys' stare was heavy as she continued to not meet his eyes.

"Perhaps I will," he said in a low voice, his tone chilly and then there was the sound of hurried footsteps and she looked up in time to see him stride down the short staircase that led to the beach before turning the corner and disappearing.

Daenerys exhaled all in a rush and turned to her father to apologize for their behaviour, only to see him watching the spot where her brother had stood seconds earlier. The curious mixture of hunger and longing was back in his eyes and she felt a pang go through her.

Vis is far too stubborn for his own good, she thought to herself. I need to fix this. Our father is back, this should be a cause for celebration.

"I wouldn't worry," she tried. "He is just – "

"Angry, yes, I think that is easy enough to tell," the god said in a low voice before turning to her. She reached for his hands again and clasped them tightly. "He will come around. It's been…difficult these last few years."

The carefully blank expression faded and his fingers curled around hers. "I can only imagine. Would you tell me what it's been like for the two of you?"

Daenerys held back a sigh of relief and leaned back against the cushions. "I suppose I should start with the war then. Its what caused us to be here after all."

"I knew there were some…tensions politically upon my departure from the capital," her father said slowly. "But to have it dissolve into outright war –"

"Unfortunately it was Rhaegar's doing," Daenerys supplied. She tried not to think of their older brother too much, how his own insanity had torn down their family's legacy and driven them from their home. It was too painful.

She told him as much as she could about the war, how their mother had been pregnant at the time and how King Aerys had sent her away while Rhaegar had fought a war he was vastly outmatched in. She told him of Robert Baratheon and how it was his betrothed that had been stolen, sparking a war that had raged across the seven kingdoms. She told him about the burnings of Brandon and Rickard Stark, as told to her by her mother.

The late queen had never tried to keep that part of their history from them. She ensured they knew just what a madman the king…their uncle had been. It had been imperative to her that her remaining children not follow in a path similar to the mad king.

"When I saw your eyes my darling, I wept," she said to Daenerys that day. "Because it meant you were safe, safe from the madness that has followed House Targaryen for centuries. I wanted you to be his, and you are."

Daenerys wondered if it was the delirium in her final days that had caused her mother to muse like that, because while their mental circumstances might be assured, their physical ones were far less so.

Bastards…it was not a nice word and she did her best not think it because of just what it meant.

It didn't matter that they were a god's get. They could not prove it and the green eyes would always make others question whether they were truly Targaryens…or just an unfortunate hybrid.

Rhaella seemed to think they could be something more and Daenerys had held onto that hope with all her might. Hope was all she had left it seemed.

But it seemed that her hopes were justified given who was sitting beside her.

She told him about how they had been born during the sea crossing to Essos amidst one of the worst storms that the ship captain had ever seen. The birth of twins had left Rhaella weak but determined to raise them on a different path than the one their older brother had walked.

When she had finished, Loki's head was bowed, dark hair following over his face, obscuring him from her view.

Daenerys didn't like that. She wanted to memorize every detail about her father so she could catalogue them forever in her mind. For so long she had only been able to look at pictures and for as talented as her mother had been, they still did not do him justice.

"Please don't do that," she whispered and reached out to sweep the hair to the side of his face, fingers grazing his cheek. "It wasn't your fault."

"How can you say that?" the god asked, his voice hoarse. "I abandoned you."

"You did not know of us," Daenerys said. She wouldn't absolve him completely of that sin, but it was hard to beat the defence of ignorance. "I…I like to think that if you had –"

"Nothing would have kept me from you," he said, turning fierce eyes on her and Daenerys felt caught in his stare. His grip on her hands tightened until it was almost painful but she didn't dare try to pull them away. "Nothing."

The possessive tone in his voice thrilled Dany. Her mother had always told her that gods were jealous and vengeful creatures, claiming what was theirs and annihilating those who tried to take it from them.

Perhaps being thought of as a possession should be odd, but Dany liked the idea of belonging to her father. If there was anyone she wished to be possessive of her, it would be her family.

"I'm beginning to believe that," she said softly. I've…I've dreamed about meeting you for so long. I didn't know if it would happen in this lifetime or some other, but to have it happen now while I'm still young…is a dream come true."

He closed his eyes as if her words pained him. "I should have come back sooner. Perhaps your mother would still be alive."

Daenerys swallowed hard and fought off the burning sensation in her eyes. She didn't want to think that way. If she did, she would only become bitter and resentful and at the moment, that was the last thing she wanted.

She thought of her brother and shook her head. He was already bitter enough for both of them.

"Perhaps," she said. "But it doesn't do to dwell on thoughts we don't know the answers to. You're here now, that's all that matters."

"Is it?" the god asked. He laughed faintly and ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose I should be grateful that you do not hate me."

"Viserys doesn't hate you," Dany said firmly. "He's just….it's been hard for him since learning the truth. He's always looked out for me because he's the oldest and when we found out, he felt as if we wouldn't have the protection from our titles anymore. I don't know how it is where you are from, but here…to be a bastard is a terrible, shameful thing. If anyone found out, we would have no protection anymore. It wouldn't matter who our father was and we would have no way to prove that he was a god. Viserys has been worried these last few years that someone would find out and once they did…we would be as good as dead."

Her father made a noise in the back of his throat and she was surprised to see the green in his eyes blazing like a flame. "I would kill any who laid a hand on you," he said furiously. "I need you to know that."

Seeing him like this, feeling the sheer power in the grip of his hands, Daenerys did.

"I do," she said. "Will you stay?"

His response was to lean forward and raise her chin so that her eyes met his. She gasped when she saw the determination in his eyes. "There is not a force in this universe that could tear me away from you again."

So, I've been having a terrible time trying to write River Lily and so I decided to give myself a break and try writing something else, and this idea popped into my head. I kind of just want Loki to have a family and in this story, Dany and Vis will be it. I decided to make them twins in this story because it would have been easier for Rhaella to hide the fact that both of them are Loki's in exile than in Westeros. Since they are both Loki's kids, neither will be mad, but they will both still have some issues to deal with as the story progresses. I've already got the first six chapters written and am working on the seventh right now. Updates will be each Tuesday. Let me know what you think and don't worry, I will have the next chapter for River Lily up soon.