Chapter 5: New Beginnings
Danaerys
"So Lord Baelish, give me one reason to not feed you to my dragons at this very moment," I say putting on my bad face. He had to fear me. There was no choice.
"What reason have I given you to do that?"
"You served the family that murdered mine and stole the Iron Throne."
"You want revenge against the Lannisters and Baratheons I understand. I killed Joffrey Baratheon, the bastard who sat on the Iron Throne. I think I have done you a great service."
"So I should welcome you into my service because you murdered your own King?" I ask. How stupid does he think I really am?
"You should welcome me into your service because I can be a valuable advisor to you. You have no one at your side who understands the land you want to rule, strength and weaknesses of houses that will either join or oppose you."
"I have an army of unsullied and the second sons, I have the advice of Ser Jorah and Ser Barriston and I have 3 dragons. What could you help me with?"
"Well, the armies and the dragons do have a great advantage in the battlefields and Ser Jorah and Ser Barriston are experienced and great warriors but they lack... politics lets say. When you reach Westeros you will need someone who knows the lands and the people, someone who can make alliances for you and someone who can help you rule. Winning and ruling are not the same as the reign of late King Robert has proved."
"I don't trust you."
"I understand. I cannot expect you to trust me straight away. You need proof of my honest intentions and here it is. You have a traitor amongst your people. Ser Jorah Mormont is working as a spy for the Baratheons."
I turn instantly towards Jorah. The shock on my face must be very clear but I don't care about it one bit. I look in his eyes which go down with shame and I just know it to be true.
"Is it true?" asked Ser Barriston.
"Khaleesi, if we could speak alone."
"Speak to me here. Is it true?"
"Yes. I sent information to King Robert's spymaster."
"What information?"
"Information about your arrival in Pentos, your marriage to Khal Drogo, the death of your brother."
"Did you write him that I was pregnant with Drogo's child?"
"Khaleesi I..."
"Don't call me that. Did you do it?"
"Yes, he did. That is the reason why King Robert ordered your assassination. An attempt was made if I remember correctly," interrupted Baelish again.
"Yes, a wine merchant."
"I saved you from him," said Jorah.
"Because you knew that the wine was poisoned."
"I suspected. I am sorry."
I knew the words before they came out of his mouth and the little hope I had vanished. First my brother, then Drogo and now Jorah. Why am I losing everyone? I cannot trust him now, not after what he has done.
"You will take all your belongings and leave the city. If you are found in the city after sunset, your head will be thrown into the Slaver's Bay."
"Okay," replied Jorah and went away dejected.
"Stay here as my guest Lord Baelish. I'll give you my decision after sunset."
xxx xxx
William
"Do you want to try another fabric your grace?" asked the tailor. He was one of the finest ones in King's Landing.
"No, this one will work just fine."
"I have taken your measurements your grace and your clothes will be ready till the wedding."
"Thank you."
"Your grace Lady Sansa is here to see you," informs Bernadette.
"Send her in."
"That will be all," I say to the tailor who takes his leave.
I prepare myself for the upcoming conversation. It won't be an easy one that is for sure. I have to end things with her.
Sansa walked in looking beautiful as ever. There was a spark of happiness in her eyes that I felt was about to go away. She had lost so much these last few years.
"Leave us, Bernadette," I say and she obeys without a word.
"You wanted to see me 'nephew'," she said slowly moving towards me, swaying her hips trying to be sensual like Margaery but only coming off as funny and cute. I would have laughed if it were not for the seriousness of the situation.
She was in a playful mood. She must have thought this was a sexual invitation. This was going to be harder than I thought.
"Sansa, listen. I called you here to talk to you about something important." She probably understood the seriousness in my voice because she straightened up and asked what it was.
"Mother knows about us," I say and I can see the fear developing on her face. "What did she say? What is she going to do about it? Has she told Lord Tyrion?" she started firing her questions without giving me a chance to reply.
"I think it would be best if you went with Uncle Tyrion to Vale."
"What are you saying? That is no place for a woman. I'll be the only woman there. There would be fighting and wars and I can't be there. There has to be some other way."
"Margaery lived in army camps with Renly. She made it and so will you. It's the only way. You can't stay here any longer and there is nowhere else for you to go."
"I hate it. I hate your mother. I hate that she is trying to separate us. Why does she have to be like this? Can't you say anything to her? You are the king. Though she was never to listen to kings was she? She just has to control everything that goes around in her children's lives. I'm not going to let her win this time. Soon we will win the war with Vale and I will come back and we will be together again. Then even she would not be able to stop us from getting together. We will..."
"Sansa!" I stop her from continuing. She was shocked by the loudness of my voice. I walked up to her and held her hands in mine. "I'm not sending you away to protect you from mother. I'm letting you go."
"What? I don't understand."
"We knew it was never going to last Sansa. You are married for heaven's sake. I'm to be married soon. This is not going to work. Ever."
"So now that you are to be married you send me away. Does this mean nothing to you? Don't you feel nothing for me?"
"Of course I do. If only you could see what I was feeling inside. But we were living a dream and we had to wake up someday. You will never find happiness with me. I mean have you forgotten everything. You are calling the Vale your enemy, the house your aunt rules and you are wishing for the victory of Lannisters who killed your parents and brother. This not good for you. Just think about it ok."
"I just cannot believe this is happening right now. Will we ever see each other again?"
"Of course we will. And I hope that on that day I find you happier than you ever were with me. That you would finally agree that we made the right decision today."
"We didn't make this decision today Will. You did," she replied tears falling down her cheeks and she turned and left. I wanted to stop her, say something, kiss her goodbye. This was not how imagined for us to end but I cannot find anything to say that would make her feel better.
xxx xxx
A couple of days passed and life continued as normal in the capital. I thought I would be crushed with Sansa leaving but it hasn't been that bad. I haven't had the chance to think about her a lot, to be honest. The life of a King has not been an easy one. It requires a lot of hard work. I have also tried to keep myself as busy as possible, trying to learn to be a good king.
"So Sansa Stark is going with Tyrion on his expedition. How did that come to be?" asks mother coming into my chambers while I was going over the finances of the State.
"Since I asked her to," I reply without looking up from the books. She took the chair beside me and poured herself a glass of wine. "It's not even evening yet. Are you sure you want that?" I ask her as she starts sipping her wine.
"I'm your mother Will, not the other way around."
"I know. I just don't want to get addicted to it. I worry about you, mother."
"Don't you worry about me, son. I am fine. How are you feeling with Sansa leaving?" she said taking the book out of my hand, forcing me to face her.
"I have seen better days but I'll be fine. I have to be."
"I am so proud of you. Choosing the kingdom over your own happiness. Not a lot of people can do that."
"Well, I would never have been happy with Sansa. I don't think I could be with anyone, to be honest," I reply pouring myself a glass of wine as well.
"Why do you say that?"
"When I was in Qarth, I met a witch of some kind. She told me that I was never going to be happy. No matter what I did. Even if I win the biggest battles of my life, get the things that I ever wanted, nothing would ever make me truly happy. I didn't believe her at that time. I thought she was just trying to fool me because if I could have the things that I truly ever wanted, surely I would be happy."
"And now you feel otherwise?"
"I now realize that everything I wanted was that I couldn't have. Things that belonged to Joffrey. Do you remember father's hammer which he gave to Joffrey on our 13th birthday?"
"When you sulked about it for weeks and refused to tell anybody that it was because Joff got Robert's hammer? Yeah, I remember."
"I don't even know how to swing a hammer. I found it in the armory. Do you know what I did with it when I saw it? Nothing. I didn't even look at it twice. I realized that all my life I had been so jealous of Joffrey, so obsessed with living his life that I forgot I had one of my own."
There was complete silence for a couple of minutes. Then mother got up, came to me and gave me a hug. "Then it is time for you to move on from Joffrey and live a life of your own. Do things that you like and I sincerely hope that you find happiness in whatever you do.
xxxxx
Mereen
Danaerys
I have seen a lot of the world- travelled with the Dothraki, freed the Slavers Bay, dined with the thirteen and fought with the Unsullied but never have I met a man like Peter Baelish. There is something about the way he presents himself that makes me suspicious of him. Here he sits before me, drinking my wine and I have yet to decide what I want to do with him.
"Ser Barriston says that I should throw you out of Mereen at once. He says that you are not trustworthy, that you don't have honor. What do you have to say to that?"
"Ser Barriston is a great and honorable warrior. I don't think there is anyone who could deny that. However, his knowledge is limited to wars and violence. My expertise is politics. In politics, you don't always play by the rules. Some would say that I have no honor but they are not in the positions of power. They don't understand the things we have to do for the greater of good."
"Maybe you're right but still my safest bet would be to have you killed," I say to test him. Maybe if I try to unnerve him, he might panic and reveal to me his secrets.
"I could see why you would do that. Your father would have done the same," he says leaning back in his chair, taking a sip of wine and smirking. He is not afraid of me. It has been so long since I have met someone who isn't afraid of me in Mereen.
"I knew who my father was, what he did. I know the mad king earned his name." I take a pause, lean back and drink my wine. "Can you really help me?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On you."
"On me? I have ruled Mereen for about a year now. I abolished slavery. I have changed lives for the good here. There are thousands of people who love me, they chose me as their queen. They call me Misa. I think I would be a better ruler than the boy you have sitting on the Iron throne now."
"Maybe you would. But you are not on the Iron Throne and that makes it much harder for you to get there. You might win the throne with your armies and dragons but if you choose to do it that way then your reign will never be peaceful. You will live your entire life fighting wars and you'll die fighting them. All the great hopes you have about making the world a better place would never come true. All your time will be spent crushing rebellions and thousands of innocent people will die for it."
"There has to be an easy way."
"That was the easy way. There is another way. You will win the Iron Throne. You will rule the seven kingdoms peacefully, well, as peacefully as possible and you will achieve all that you want to. But to achieve that you would have to do things that are unethical, you will have to cheat and you will have to sacrifice your honor."
"I won't do that."
"That's why it's called the hard way. Everyone wants to be the king but most of them don't have what it takes. To be a ruler you have to do things others are unwilling to, make alliances, break friendships. The only thing that matters is your goal. You have to accept that any step you take towards the iron throne will be over the dead bodies of your enemy. Alas, you don't have it in you. You are just a girl with 3 dragons and an army. The only way you'll take down the Lannisters if they laugh themselves to death by looking at your tactics."
I haven't felt angrier and humiliated in my entire lives. He is just another man in my life telling me that I don't have what it takes. I'll show him the power of a true dragon. Before I could say anything he speaks again.
"My friends in the Iron Bank tell me that the Lannisters have paid their debt in full. The Iron Bank will continue to support the Lannisters. They already have the Tyrells with them. The North is in ruins but still technically under their rule. Riverlands is now under Walder Frey who is loyal to them. Stannis Baratheon will never back you, his entire claim rests on the illegitimacy of yours. That leaves you with Dorne and The Vale. Dorne is under the rule of Prince Doran Martell who is a very wise man and also a coward. He won't declare for you until your victory is almost certain. That leaves you with the Vale and I just happen to be the acting Lord of Vale. Nothing would make the Lannisters happier than you attacking Westeros without the support of any of the seven kingdoms. The lords of Westeros will see you as a foreign invader. The broken seven kingdoms will unite under the leadership of Tywin Lannister to fight the common enemy. Even if you manage to win, you'll still remain the enemy."
There is silence again. Now I realize why he came here, how he was sure that I would not kill him. He knows that I will need him. A day ago I didn't even remember his existence and now he seems to be the most important ally I want. But everything he said made sense.
"What do you want from me in place of your allegiance?" I ask embracing myself for a huge demand.
"A promise."
"Promise of what."
"A promise to be the best version of you. To do whatever it takes to win the Iron Throne. A promise that every decision you make from now onwards would be to bring you closer to the Iron Throne. That you will not care about anyone else until you sit on the Iron Throne. That you will not lose your sleep over the terrible things that you have to do in order to fulfill your dreams. And in the end, it will be all worth it. When the dust settles, when people are living peacefully in a world that you built, do you think they will care about the way you built it?"
"I promise," I say immediately as if I'm in a trance. I want the Iron Throne more than anything in the world. It is my destiny and I will have it by any means necessary.
"Then today begins your journey towards the Iron Throne. I have already planned our first step. With your blessing, my queen, I would like to execute it."
"What is it?"
xxxxxx
Kings Landing
William
The loud ringing of the bells wakes me up. "What is happening?" asks Bernadette panicking. "Get dressed quickly," I tell her. This doesn't look good. The bells only ring if somebody in the royal family dies. My heart sinks with fear. Images of mother and Tommen flash before my eyes. I get up from the bed and move towards the door to find out what happened when suddenly my kingsgaurd rush into the room.
"Secure all points of entry. Cover all doors and windows. Nobody gets in or out." shouts Ser Boros.
"What is happening?" I shout.
"It's the Lord Hand, your grace. He has been murdered."
End.
Author's Note:
I am finally back. I am so sorry for the delay. I know it is no excuse but I have been super busy with my college. Thanks so much for reading this chapter. I hope that you liked it.
Do review and tell me your thoughts on it if you liked it and especially if you did not like it. Your comments and criticism will help me become a better writer. Special thanks to everyone who favorited and followed the story. You guys inspired me to come back and continue this story.
I have tried to do this chapter in the first person. I'm sorry, I know it is super annoying to change in between but I have to find the best fit. So please tell me the way you guys like best.
Make sure to follow the story. Also, favorite it if you liked it.
Till next time.
