Daenerys

Only a month had passed since Jon's depatarture and the nights without himnext to Daenerys felt cold and lonely, but the days awake felt even lonelier. In every meal, the only one who gave her much company was Missandei and Tyrion, however they had their priorities elsewhere since Missandei had taken it upon herself to learn some of the Wildling languages to treat with them better and many of the few Dothraki that accompanied them from Dragonstone often fell into disputes with the Northerners and neither could understand what the other was saying. Tyrion on the other hand was stolen by Varys, Samwell Tarly, and Sansa Stark, working on preparations for the Army of the Dead. He had come up with many strategies about how to defend the Wall, but today they would discuss what to do if the Wall did indeed fall as Brandon Stark said it would.

Luckily for today, Missandei was with Daenerys as they broke their fast and oddly enough joined by Rickon Stark. He ate his bread and Honey while Missandei was speaking with Daenerys. "Your grace, I was informed by Lady Stark that some of the Wildling Elders are coming to Winterfell. They desire an audience with King Jon concerning some matters at the Dreadfort."

"Do we know when they'll be arriving?" Daenerys asked as she took a small bite of her pork sausage, but found something about it not to her liking.

"According to Lady Stark, they'll be arriving in three days."

Daenerys started to feel a headache come over her. She didn't even know what the problem the with the Wildlings was, but it seemed to give her some worry. "I don't think Jon will be back in three days, maybe not even three weeks. But I know he'll come back. We'll have to solve the matter ourselves if they can't wait for his return." Daenerys's gaze turned to Rickon who was listening in on them. "Of course, we'll need the help of the Lord of Winterfell and future Warden of the North."

Rickon swallowed his food, not looking happy, but rather nervous. "I think you'll want Sansa to be there instead of me. I'm not even twelve yet."

"And the Lady of Bear Island is just over elven, but if my lord desires, I will not require it of you to attend. However, I would advise you attend anyway when it happens. From what I've seen of you so far, you've shown all the qualities of a good lord. You only lack a bit more education and the confidence to act in certain situations."

Rickon looked down at his hands, appearing doubtful. "I just don't feel all that ready, so I'll just watch." He resumed eating his bread, taking large bites out of it. He looked back at Daenerys and Missandei, his mouth full of bread. "Haugh bag woth ha hafons go?"

Daenerys and Missendei tried to restrain their giggling at Rickon and his reminder that he was still a child. "I beg your pardon?"

Rickon swallowed his bread before repeating his question. "How big will the dragons grow?"

Daenerys couldn't say. When she landed at Dragonstone, she thought Drogon was at the largest he would ever get, but in the North, she'd already noticed his and his brother's size grow. "I honestly don't know the answer to that question. The largest dragon I know of was Balerion, Aegon the Conqueror's dragon. His head was the size of carriage and Drogon isn't far behind that size. But I'm sure that there were dragons even bigger than that before the Doom of Valyria."

"That was when all the Valyrians except the Targaryens died, wasn't it?"

"It was, but from what I understand, there were some others who survived the Doom, like a dargonlord named Aurion. He raised an army of thirty thousand and tried to claim what remained of Valyria, but he, his dragon, and his army disappeared without a trace."

"So Aurion had a dragon, but wasn't a Targaryen?"

"I do not know which family he belonged to, but a Targaryen he was not."

"So, it's possible for others to fly dragons?"

Daenerys could see the hope that gleamed in his eyes. It wasn't hard to tell that he wanted to ride one of the dragons. "I don't know the answer to that question. The Valyrians had magic that gave them the ability to bond and ride the dragons. I'm not certain where they acquired it, but things of old seem to be returning at a great amount. I won't say that it's possible, but I will say it's not impossible."

Rickon smiled at her and finished his bread. "Thank you for your time, your grace. I have to go do my drills now." He got up from the table and practically sprinted out of the Great Hall. It reminded Daenerys to finish her meal as well. Today she would be attending the War Council concerning defending the North instead of the Wall. Since the Great Hall was occupied for meals for the time being, she was told that the others were meeting on the balconies overlooking the courtyards. The whole walk to where they were gathered was exhausting, Daenerys's headache continued and the walk to the balconies felt like it was miles away. She felt tired and worn out, wanting to return to bed.

Daenerys and Missandei were greeted by Tyrion as they joined him, Lord Royce, and Lady Sansa. "Your grace, I'm glad you could make it." He looked delighted to see them, but it turned into concern. "Your grace, are you feeling alright? You look a bit out of the weather."

"It's just a headache," Daenerys sighed out, "please don't let it bother you."

Tyrion nodded his head, regaining half of the smile he had. "If it persists, I'll see of Maester Wolkan can get you some Milk of the Poppy." Daenerys smiled back at him, letting him know that would be fine.

"Where is Lord Varys?"

"I'm afraid he won't be joining us this morning. He said he had an urgent matter regarding some news he heard." Daenerys grew curious, but set her thoughts aside to focus on the meeting. "Now then, until we have room in the Great Hall to look over our map, we'll have to just go over options before the possibilities of them."

Lord Royce decided to voice his idea first. "The first thing we should determine is where the dead will strike at the Wall. They could attack any one of the manned castles to add more troops to there ranks or go for one of the abandoned castles to get passed any resistance. Though even with the increased number of men at the Wall, I hardly doubt there will be any resistance at all."

"As much as I'd like to disagree," Tyrion said, "Lord Royce is right. The largest amount of men manning a castle at the Nightfort and they have just over a thousand men. Though from what I have learned from our King, Eastwatch will be the where the army will march at, most likely."

"And how do you know this?" Lord Royce asked.

"Jon said that the White Walkers were gathering their army near a Wildling settlement called Hardhome. The closest castles to it are Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Greenguard, and the Torches. I believe one of these three will be there target. I've ruled out Greenguard and the Torches because neither of them have a door to beyond the Wall and the Torches have the feature to signal the other castles from Eastwatch all the way to the Woodwatch, which is basically a short trip to Castle Black."

"Like you said, until we have a map, we can't go over the possibilities, only the options." Lord Royce reminded.

"And what are our options," Sansa asked, "regardless of what castle the army attacks?"

"I had some thoughts," Tyrion said, "one of them being that we once the hunting party returns-"

"If they return." Lord Royce said bluntly.

"When they return," Tyrion persisted, pleasing Daenerys, "I suggest we pull all the man at the castles back and wait for the army to come."

"Are you mad? We'll be utterly defenseless when they arrive."

"And we'll need every man we can get. The Wall is fortified, more than it has been for thousands of years, but even if all of the Night's Watch manned the exact castle that was going to be attacked, it would be four thousand against almost one hundred fifty thousand. And it wouldn't even be four thousand, only eight hundred since that's how many of them are rangers. If we are absolutely certain the Wall will fall, we probably should pull back every soldier we can and fortify Winterfell, prepare for the attack, set up defenses."

They were suddenly interrupted by the raging of Gendry at his forge. From what Daenerys knew, he had gone through several more blades after his five failures trying to make Valyrian steel. She couldn't provide any more dragonblood and Sam had been scouring his books vigorously trying to find an answer. He was calmed down by Varys who appeared as if from nowhere at the right time.

"That reminds me," Tyrion said, "since we can't seem to get anymore Valyrian weapons or dragonglass, I suggest we find a second solution next to burning the army with dragonfire."

"We have pitch," Lord Royce informed, "but not much at the moment. I can order for more to be made and shipped to Winterfell within the fortnight."

"We'll do that regardless if we'll need it or not, it never hurts to be prepared. Assuming that we can get more, I doubt we'll have much to make a difference. So, we'll need to get ahold of something already made and in vast quantities, and I have a solution."

"It wouldn't happen to be in King's Landing, would it?" Sansa asked.

"Indeed, it is, my lady. The alchemist's guild has many storerooms full of Wildfire, unused, and in great numbers."

"I'm sure Cersei won't just give it to us." Daenerys said.

"No, we'll have to have it smuggled out of the city. And luckily for us, we have a smuggler at our disposal and a man I trust in King's Landing. The only thing we have to worry about are Qyburn's little birds."

"Bran could help us somehow." Sansa suggested. "I'm still not sure how his 'visions' work, but he might be able to give us something to our advantage in all this."

"Right you are, my lady." Tyrion replied. "In fact, I was hoping you could talk to him later today. I've tried to myself, but he seems to always be in that state of… I'm afraid I forgot the name of it, but in the state of his eyes turning white."

As they continued on, Daenerys's headache worsened and she started to feel sick. Her mind was taken off the pain however, when Lord Varys approached them on the balcony with Gendry.

"My lords, my queen," he took notice of Daenerys's condition, "are you feeling alright? You look rather ill."

"I think I might have caught a sickness of a sort." Daenerys finally admitted.

"I'll fetch Maester Wolkan. I'll be short of a moment." Lord Royce said as he walked away from them.

"Was there something you have to report Lord Varys?" Daenerys asked, leaning against the railing of the balcony for support.

"I have a report from my spies about a conflict growing in the Stormlands. It seems that Lord Selmy of House Tarth was going to be the new liege Lord of the Stormlands and planned on declaring for House Targaryen."

"Did he have a change of heart recently?" Daenerys asked.

"No, your grace, his heart stopped beating after he took a nasty fall down some steps. The other lords believe it to be an accident, but my little birds sing a song that is much more convincing in these times. It might be that Cersei had someone orchestrate Lord Selmy's fall. She even plans to do the same with other lords who are considering to declare loyalty to you."

"What about his children? Brienne is his daughter. Does she have any siblings?"

"No, your grace. Brienne is his only descendant, making her the new Lady of Tarth. However, the others lords have returned to a state of confusion and are unsure who to follow."

"That's why I'm here." Gendry said. "I've thought about it, and I still don't want to be a lord. But if I'm going to survive this war, I can't wait for it to come to me. I need to act now." He knelt down on one knee and bowed his head to Daenerys. "If you would have me serve you as a lord, then I will."

Daenerys still feeling sick, gained her composure and stood over Gendry. "Do you swear loyalty to House Targaryen, to the Rightful King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and the Realm, to pledge your banners, your men, and yourself, to answer when called upon. To protect the lands you will hold and the people who will serve under you?"

"I swear it by the old gods and the new."

"Rise, Gendry of House Baratheon, Lord of Storms End and the Stormlands." Gendry rose to his feet, looking discontent, but also proud of himself.

"Thank you, my queen. When Arya sends word that the Riverlands are secure, I'll ride for the Stormlands." Daenerys smiled at him, pleased at his mature decision. "If you wouldn't mind excusing me, I've got more work to do before I leave."

"Of course, my lord."

He bowed his head and went back to his forges, except he switched to something else instead of Valyrian Steel. Danerys turned her head to Lord Varys, looking pleased. "Was this your doing?"

"I did next to nothing, your grace." Varys replied. "I merely told him what I told you, and I reminded him that if he wants to be his own person, he should try doing it for once. I expected him to throw a hammer at me, but he seemed to contain the Baratheon fury."

Daenerys suddenly collapsed onto the railing, feeling out of energy and her stomach churning. "Daenerys!" Missandei stood next to her, holding onto her arm to give her some support. "You need to get back to bed."

"I think that would be wise." Daenerys agreed.

"Allow me to assist you, your grace." Varys took Daenerys's other arm and helped her walk off back to her chambers.

Before they entered the castle, the screeches of the dragons could be heard by everyone. Daenerys and the others looked out to the sky and saw all five of the dragons take flight. The force of Drogon's wings could be felt by everyone in Winterfell "Where are they going?" Missandei asked. All five of the dragons began heading north, disappearing above the clouds.

"I don't know." Daenerys said, but she lost thought after she felt something arise in her throat. She knelt down and vomited onto the wooden walkway. Missandei and Varys both knelt down to her, checking her condition.

"Where is Maester Wolkan?" Varys asked, looking around for him.

"Go get Sam." Daenerys croaked out before she let out more of the contents of her stomach. She started to feel disoriented and dazed and the smell of the stomach acid filled her nose and made her face scrunch in disgust. She was helped up to feet before Varys and Missandei rushed her to her room.


As she lay on her bed, changed into a nightgown, she started to feel better the more she let herself vomit into a bucket she was given. Sam had finally arrived, carrying a few bottles and a book with him. "Your grace," he said, "forgive me for the wait, Maester Wolkan was out of Milk of the Poppy and he's making more as we speak. I have some other things that will help you, but I need to check your condition first." Daenerys nodded at him and lay in her bed as he knelt down next to her. He placed his hand on her forehead, checking her temperature. "Small fever, vomiting, headaches, are you feeling nausea?"

"A little bit."

"Alright," he recorded all the symptoms onto a parchment he had as he went through them. "This might seem personal, but when's the last time you bled?"

"The last time was…" Daenerys thought about it and realized she hadn't bled for this moon and her previous one was too long ago. "It's not possible." She whispered.

"I'm sorry?" Sam inquired.

Daenerys ignored him for a moment and felt at her stomach, checking for any signs of firmness. "Your grace," Missandei said, "could you be with child?"

Daenerys looked up to her, feeling doubtful. "I can't be."

"Your grace," Sam said, "if I may." He gestured to her belly, hoping to inspect it himself. She nodded to him and allowed him to gently push against her skin. His eyes widened when he found a particular spot. "Oh my, I believe congratulations are in order." He smiled at her, but she only continued to be in distress. She felt where his hands were and felt the firmness of her womb forming. The sensation of it reminded her of one she had long forgotten. She suddenly remembered what Jon had told her not long ago after the capture of Pyke.

'I can't have children Jon.'

'Who told you that?'

'The witch who murdered my husband.'

'Has it occurred to you she may have not been a reliable source of information?'

She put her entire palms over her belly and felt a warmth that was exactly like the dragon eggs before they hatched. She finally managed to show some joy and start to laugh. For years she believed what the witch told her, but her she was now, defying the curse placed upon her. But as she continued to feel, she noticed that it was different from her first pregnancy, it felt like there was more in her. She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation around her stomach. She could feel the life inside her, and there was more than one. "Two," she whispered.

"Your grace?" Missandei asked.

Daenerys opened her eyes and looked up at her. "There's two of them."

"Twins?" Sam said, amazed.

"A dragon and a wolf." Her headache finally began to die down as she forgot about everything else except this. "Fire and Ice."