A/N: Isn't it shocking when I get stuff out so quickly? It's almost like I'm doing it on purpose!

I'm pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've done on any of my stories, by a long shot. So... good for me, I guess?

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Chapter 13

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In the east, there existed several city-states of varying repute.

In Pentos, along the western coast bordering the Narrow Sea, a fat man was running. In fact, he was running in a panic. This would normally be a sight that would make every one of his servants goggle at him in shock.

The sight of Illyrio Mopatis, one of the wealthiest merchants of Pentos, swinging his immense bulk back and forth as he did his best impression of a sprint would have made anyone stare. Especially as he was in his own manse, at that! But Illyrio had a perfectly rational explanation for why he was in such a rush.

He was being chased by a monster.

Now, of course, anyone who heard this might have scoffed. But although monsters weren't a common sight in this part of the world, it didn't mean that they didn't exist.

And he just so happened to have pissed off the worst of them.

Slamming the door to his personal study open and squeezing through the door, he staggered over to a shelf and pulled at one of the books upon it. A corresponding click sounded from inside the wall, along with the shifting of immense gears.

The entire section of the wall shifted and pulled apart, revealing the immense tumblers of the vault door leading to his personal panic room. Complete with the immensely thick walls, made of sheets of steel, along with rations to last a year and his personal water supply, he could survive here for quite a long time, safe from all threats.

Collapsing into his comfortable chair as the door swung closed again, the weighted tumblers shifting back into place, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He stayed that way for a few minutes, trying to catch his breath. It had been a moon-lit night in Pentos, when he'd heard a commotion from the front gates. Wondering who had dared to cause a ruckus in front of his manse, he'd looked out the window to see what was going on.

Only to spot a head of golden hair, flashing in the moonlight as his gate guards were slaughtered to a man.

For a long time among the powerful men of the world, there had always been rumors about the monster who took up residence in the barbaric North of Westeros. How he'd almost single-handedly guaranteed Robert Baratheon's victory against the venerable Targaryen dynasty.

But more than those, there were other rumors. About what happened to noble houses and families who managed to catch the beast's attention. About how he would appear in the dead of night, without warning, and strike without mercy at those who had turned from the path of righteousness.

Naturally, Illyrio himself and most of his fellows scoffed at this. One didn't achieve anything in this world unless they were willing to get their hands dirty. It had been that way for millennia, and wasn't likely to change anytime soon, and certainly not at the whim of this righteous no-name upstart.

'Well,' Illyrio thought bitterly. 'That's what I thought, at least.'

He should have taken the Spider's advice.

"At least I'm safe here," he said out loud, sinking deeper into his chair.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" came an amused voice from behind him.

The elderly cheesemonger's eyes snapped open, even as he barely resisted the urge to spin around and the even bigger urge to scream like a little girl. Instead he spoke, with only the smallest tremble to his voice.

"Do you have any business with me?"

"Business?" the voice asked, sounding even more amused at the ill-disguised terror in Illyrio's tone. "There is no business I would conduct with the likes of you. I know quite well what sorts of things you get up to in your spare time. What you enjoy… what you trade."

Wincing at that, the nobleman swallowed a few times to try to speak. "I… In that case, I would ask why…?"

"Why indeed," the voice demurred, still sounding uncomfortably cheerful. To his horror, a hand settled on his shoulder. "Though in an ideal world I would have made sure you had an unfortunate accident whist you walked down the stairs, right now I need information. Information which I am quite… hopeful," he said even as the hand tightened enough to make Illyrio wince. "…you will be able to provide."

"Wha… what information?"

"Oh, a small thing. A business transaction, between an exiled prince and a Dothraki warlord some days ago. Of particular concern is what was bartered. Or rather… who."

Sweat dripped down Illyrio's brow.

"Now, normally, I may have simply have slaughtered near-everyone involved and walked away, but in this case, that isn't an option. For one, I doubt the Spider would be pleased with me if I took one of his pieces off the board, even one as useless as you. For another…"

The voice hissed in his ear this time, making goosebumps appear on his arm as he tried not to piss himself. "There is an… interested party who asked me to make sure that both the princess and her brat of a brother were kept… safe. Having fulfilled one part of that request, I simply need to ask one simple thing of you."

Illyrio tried to quell his fear, and barely managed to ask. "What?" Then, before he could do more than gasp, a hand seized the back of his chair and spun it around so fast that he almost flew off. And as he came face to face with Naruto Uzumaki, the cheesemonger audibly gulped.

A dark look had settled over the ninja's face, and despite his apparent youth, Illyrio couldn't help but shiver. An unnatural cold had settled in the room, but that wasn't what was so disturbing.

There was rage in that eye.

"Whilst they were under your roof, did Viserys touch her?"

"He… he tried," Illyrio managed after trying to speak through his dry throat. "He was caught the night before the wedding by Jorah Mormont, trying to sneak into her room. He was drunk, and angry, saying things that were… well, disturbing."

"Jorah Mormont," Naruto sneered. He had a whole host of issues with that man, but that could wait. At the moment, he had a much fatter fish to fry. "I'm sure you understand by now how easy it would be for you to meet with some unfortunate accident, yes?"

The nobleman's head swiveled up and down. "Yes."

Naruto reached up with a single hand and pointed at his own nose, his teeth glinting in the candlelight. "Do you ever want to see this face again?"

This time the head shook rather vigorously.

"That's what I thought. Just don't forget…" Naruto muttered, as a darkness seemed to spring into exist behind him, wearing the face of a terrible one-eyed demon. "I'll be watching."

Then he disappeared, leaving behind only a terrified man in the cold and the dark.

XXXXXXX

Far away, in a heaving ship bound for the Northern coast of Westeros, two purple eyes suddenly blinked awake.

Daenerys Targaryen, one of only two members of the Targaryen dynasty left, stared up at the wooden beam above her head and wondered how she had come to be in this position.

It was only two weeks before that she was about to enter into a marriage with a savage she didn't know, at the order from a brother she now despised, at the behest of a fat old man who stank of perfume and sweat.

And indeed, it wasn't that long ago that she had ridden off on a horse with her new husband, to perform her wifely duties, ignoring the fact that she was only sixteen.

And that she was filled with nothing but utter terror at the thought of what she'd been ordered to do.

Only for something to happen that she hadn't counted on.

They were interrupted.

XXXXXXX

Tears trickled down her cheeks as rough hands slowly slip up her arms. Hot breath tickled along the back of her neck where Khal Drogo was standing, pressed against her naked back. He smelled of horse and leather and blood.

His hands squeezed just a bit harder on her arms, grunting impatiently. Dany choked out a sob, and slowly started to lower her hands.

"Oi."

Both of them looked up, startled at the interruption. No Dothraki would dare interrupt the Khal's wedding night, and no foreigner would have been allowed anywhere near them.

A young man stood before them, a single eye glaring from under spiky blond hair. Daenerys stared at his odd sandals, tunic and trousers. Most off putting was the high-collared, dark red coat he wore, black flames blazing along the edges of the material.

"I'll thank you to take your hands off the girl," he said, his head tilted to the side as he regarded the Khal with a flinty gaze.

Drogo growled. For this young foreigner to dare give orders to him was an insult. To do it on a sacred night like this made that insult all the worse.

With barely a thought, he shoved Dany aside harshly, letting her stumble with a small cry, landing on the rough ground, leaving her to try to cover herself with her discarded dress.

Hands curled into claws, Drogo approached the stupid boy in a rage. He twisted, bringing a fist back to strike.

What happened next was too fast for him to process. Few people would have been able to follow the flurry of punches that slammed into the Khal's frame in the next three seconds, and fewer would have been able to withstand them.

Suffice to say, when Drogo hit the ground, he was already unconscious.

Daenerys gasped when her erstwhile husband hit the ground, and stared at the man who'd done it.

His intense gaze switched over to her. Without a word, he walked a few steps her way, and raised his hands, making her flinch and close her eyes.

Seconds later, she felt a weight settle around her shoulders, and opened them again to find his red coat draped over her shoulders.

Staring at him uncomprehendingly, Daenerys tried to think of something to say.

"Well?" he asked, crouching down, a kind smile on his face, his single eye twinkling merrily. "You gonna sit around here all day?"

XXXXXXX

That event had been weeks ago, and she had not, in fact, sat around there all day.

Daenerys closed her eyes and leaned back into the soft pillow, listening to the pitch and roll of waves against the hull.

Following his appearance, the Targaryen girl had panicked, wondering what would happen when Drogo woke up and roused the Khalasar, fearing that her savior would be killed and that she and her brother might share his fate.

But the man had simply laughed, waving off her concerns. Then, to her shock, he put a hand on her shoulder, and they were suddenly on the deck of a ship, far out to sea.

And her fear swelled even more as she suddenly realized in that moment who the man was.

Naruto Uzumaki.

Viserys had long warned her about those who had thrown down their house. Robert Baratheon, bloodthirsty warmonger. Tywin Lannister, traitorous bastard. Eddard Stark, merciless dog.

But there was one that he warned of above all others. The foreign magician. The demon in the dark.

The monster.

She was sharing a ship with him. She'd listened to him laugh.

And he was the one who had saved her from the man she'd been married off to.

The contradiction in her mind was one that she was struggling with, even now. And all that was compounded by what he'd said when she asked him where they were being taken.

"An interested party would like to see you," he'd said mysteriously to Dany and her brother. They'd both stiffened, thinking of several men in Westeros who would be interested in seeing them dead. But, to their surprise, Naruto had waved off their concerns. "Don't worry, it's not anyone you're thinking of."

In fact, for some reason, the blond had seemed amused at their confusion.

So now she waited. Waited and wondered, at what they would find across the sea.

A shrill shout echoed through the cabin walls, and she gave a sigh of consternation.

Viserys had been an absolute pain for the entire trip.

At first, he'd simply milled about, even paler than usual, not daring to say a word. Once it became clear that neither Naruto nor none of the sailors on the ship would harm him, he'd reverted right back to his old self. When he wasn't loudly complaining about the pitch and roll of the heavy seas, he was making various disdainful remarks about the quality of his cabin and the food they both recieved.

She was well used to it by now, but noted with some trepidation how many glares her brother was getting from the crew.

Naruto was often relaxing in the crows nest or helping some sailors with tasks that required strength, but even under his watchful eye, she couldn't help but worry.

Targaryen's had died more ignobly than being stabbed in their beds, after all.

Beginning the process of dressing herself, Dany finally made her way out of her cabin onto the deck. It was daytime, and the sun shone over the startling blue waves. Several sailors were in the midst of sanding the deck, while others adjusted the sails to catch the wind.

It was an uncommonly large ship that they were sailing on, nearly fifty meters from end to end. A frigate, which meant three sails, she'd learned. They swelled with the breeze above her, making the ship pitch to the right, or starboard.

The captain had seemed to delight in answering questions, when she asked, which was an unusual experience. The look of pride when he spoke of his ship, the Windstride, was obvious. The fastest in the world, he'd called it, a brand new, revolutionary design.

Suffice to say, her entire time aboard this ship had been surreal, to say the least.

Men gave salutes as she walked past, tapping their knuckles to their foreheads and making way as she walked along the deck.

Even now, days after she'd been brought aboard, she was still getting used to being treated in such a way.

At Illyrio's manse and at several places where she and her brother had been welcomed, they'd always recieved the finest clothes and food. Every guest they'd met had always been the very picture of nobility, jeweled and illustrious.

But Dany wasn't blind. She'd seen the way they always put her to the wayside, making all the time to flatter and smile at her brother, who soaked in the attention like a dry sponge, even as she was passed from one person to the next, seizing her company at any point to regale her with tales of their achievements or twirl her around the dance floor.

And the way some of the men looked at her…

Suffice to say, Khal Drogo was not the first man whose hands had wandered.

Now, though…

These sailors, common folk to a man, simply offered their respect.

They treated her like a princess.

It was eye-opening, to say the least.

It didn't escape her notice that not one of them had done the same for her brother the few times he left his cabin.

Finally coming to the end of the deck, she seized the guardrails flanking the steep steps and pulled herself up to the quarterdeck, where the ship's wheel was located and where most of the officers on duty spent their time overlooking the rest of the ship.

A small misstep almost made her fall, but a hand seized her wrist at the last moment and steadied her. The hand itself was missing several fingers, and she looked up into the kind eyes of the man who it belonged to.

"Thank you, Captain," she said with a small smile.

"You're quite welcome, your highness," Davos Seaworth answered with a wide smile of his own. "I know ship stairs can be difficult to navigate sometimes."

"It's no trouble, ser," she demurred, standing beside him and leaning her hands against the railing.

"What's no trouble?"

Proud of herself for managing not to flinch, Dany turned her head to look at Naruto's upside-down face.

He hung like a monkey from the nearest sail, grinning from ear to ear as he swayed with the movement of the ship.

"Nothing, milord, just making sure the little lady kept her footing," Davos responded, even as he looked up at the blond man dangling from the sail. "And how many times have I told you not to climb on the rigging? I don't need you breaking something and making more work for my crew."

"How many times have I told you, I'm not a lord. I'm not even a knight, of the hedge or landed variety," he said, amused despite himself. "Besides, I'm hardly making more work for the crew. I haven't even damaged anything!"

Half a second later, there was a sound of tearing rope, and Naruto, with a surprised look, dropped from the sail and thumped face-first into the deck.

"Oh, dear," Davos muttered, his lips twitching. "Faulty rigging, that. It seems one of those ropes was improperly maintained. I wonder how such a thing could have happened."

"Are you okay?" Dany asked, kneeling at his side, her violet eyes wide with worry.

And to her even greater surprise, the blond turned over and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! I'm impressed, Davos! It ain't often that someone gets one over on me!"

Then as his chuckles tapered off, he glanced at the young woman still kneeling at his side. "No worries, Dany. I'm all good."

As she realized she was still been sitting next to him, she got to her feet in a hurry, a small blush lighting her cheeks.

Why did him saying her name like that have to make her stomach flutter?

Even as she stepped away, he pulled his legs across his chest and kicked up, landing smoothly on his feet with hardly a sound.

Davos snorted. "Show-off."

"And proud of it," Naruto replied smugly. "You're just jealous."

"In your dreams," the knight scoffed. "You're about a foot shorter than a person's supposed to be."

"Least I've still got all my digits, half-hand," he replied, flashing all ten fingers.

For a moment, Dany almost worried that things would dissolve into a fight, but they both just burst out laughing all over again.

She sighed. This ship was just bizarre.

Then came a shout from above them. "On deck there! Land ho!"

They all looked up at the sailor, Davos cupping a hand to his mouth. "Where away?"

"Two points off the port beam, ser! About three leagues distant!"

Walking across to the left side of the deck, Davos looked through the Myrish glass his lieutenant handed him and nodded in approval. "And there's the mountain range you spoke of."

"I see it," Naruto said, grinning. "Well done, Ser Seaworth. You never fail to impress."

"Thank you, milord."

"Naruto, damn you! My name is Naruto!"

"As you say, milord."

"Bah!" the blond scoffed, waving off the elderly sailor, who walked away with a grin and began ordering the ship to make ready to drop anchor, leaving Dany alone with Naruto.

"Um…" she began, trying to think of what to call him. Despite his repeated attempts to get people to call him by his given name, she hesitated in doing so.

"What's up, little lady?" he said, a slight teasing tone to his voice.

Blushing at the effrontery, she tilted her chin up and looked him in the eye, like she'd been taught. "Where are you taking us? Who are you taking us to? You've kept my brother and I in the dark during this entire trip. Why did we have to sail here, if you could have brought us here in an instant?"

He was silent for a few long moments as he regarded her. She quailed a little under his searching gaze, but kept her back straight.

"…Several reasons," he finally answered. "I am taking you to a place where you will be safe. The reason I kept you and your brother in the dark, is that I didn't want to spoil the surprise. And the reason I didn't simply teleport you to where we were going… well, I thought you needed some time."

"What do you mean?" she asked, honestly confused.

"I thought you needed some time to relax in a place where your brother does not hold sway," he said, his sky-blue eye twinkling in the sunlight, even as his smile became a bit more strained. "It has not escaped my notice how he likes to treat you."

"I… don't know what you're talking about," she mumbled, her eyes lowering to the ground.

A rough hand took hold of her chin, and she stiffened, unsure of what to expect. But the hand simply raised her head back up.

"Yes you do," he said softly, his single eye glowing unnaturally bright. "Rest assured, Daenerys. You have nothing to fear whilst under my roof. Not from me, not from those in Westeros who may wish you harm. And certainly not from your brother."

Her breath hitched a little as she listened, and kept her chin up even as his hand fell away, her violet eyes wide.

"I… I understand," she breathed. He closed his eye and took a deep breath, stepping away as he did.

"Good then. You should get below decks and pack your things. Once you are ready, we will go."

She'd turned away and started walking before she remembered a question that he hadn't really answered. "Where are we going?"

He grinned at the question. "To my city. You and Viserys will be my guests for the foreseeable future." Then, with a turn, he hopped down the stairs and walked away. "Can't wait to show it off. Made the place myself, you know!"

Dany looked after him, bewildered. 'What does he mean, he made it himself?'

Several minutes later, she was standing on deck, a few bags with a few personal possessions already in a boat over the side, where several sailors were waiting to row them ashore.

Viserys was loudly threatening a group of men not to drop his things, even though they were already taking the utmost care.

Davos and Naruto rolled their eyes in unison.

"Is there something wrong, ma'am?" a sailor asked, startling her.

"Ah, well… um…" she responded, unsure of how to respond. After all, the only way down to the boat was to climb down, and she was wearing a dress.

"Oh dear," Davos said as he realized the problem. "Not to worry, milady, we'll have that sorted in a moment. You there, prepare a rig to lower her ladyship down!"

"No need," Naruto interrupted, stepping closer.

He hooked an arm beneath her knees and picked her in a bridal carry, making her face turn scarlet as she let out a startled squeak.

And, before anyone could think to stop him, he jumped over the side, carrying Dany in his arms.

A chorus of shouts emanated from the crew, even as her shriek joined them. Realizing in half a second that he'd overshot the boat and that they were about to land in the water, she closed her eyes and waited to get soaked.

To the surprise of all watching, nothing of the sort happened.

Slowly, Dany opened her eyes, and looked out over the ocean. For a second, she was confused, until she looked down.

Naruto was standing on the water.

Whilst the sailors on the deck above them continued to gawp in disbelief, he simply turned and gently laid her in the center of the longboat. She stared up at him uncomprehendingly as he rose up and down with the ocean water.

"See you on shore, little lady," he said with a grin. "Have a nice trip."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times.

Above them, Davos finally got over his own shock to realize that the entire crew was staring over the side. "Oi, there's still work to be done! Back to your posts, you lazy bastards!"

With many grumbles, they all trickled away, though many would be sharing their stories once they got some shore-leave.

Scarcely anyone noticed Viserys, who was unusually quiet even as he descended to join his sister in the boat. With a toss of their oars, the longboat began to move away from the ship, heading towards shore.

For a while, the only sound on the ship was the pattering of feet on wood planks and the gentle lap of waves against the hull.

What Naruto did next made Davos raise his eyebrow even higher. Sticking out a foot from where he was still standing on the water, the ninja pressed it to the hull and began walking up the side of the ship.

"…I'm too old for this," the Onion Knight muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Aww, don't say that, Davey," Naruto said, looking amused. "Who else can I count on for all my secret boat trips?"

"It's not a boat, it's a ship," the man growled half-heartedly. "And my name isn't Davey."

Chuckling, the blond glanced out over the waves, idly making sure that the longboat was still on it's way.

Then he turned back and stuck out his left hand. "Always a pleasure."

Noting the gesture, Davos grinned, reached out with the hand that still had fingers and shook. "The pleasure is mine."

As Naruto turned away and hopped onto the railing, the captain stopped him with a question. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, with those two? Some very powerful men won't be happy with you for bringing them here."

The blond scoffed. "Some very powerful women will be even more unhappy with me if I don't. Besides, she made me promise to keep them safe, and I will."

The former smuggler raised an eyebrow. "And who, exactly, is 'she'?"

"…A rather impressive woman, all told," Naruto said seriously, tapping a finger to his chin. "You'd have to be, to survive being married to Aerys Targaryen."

And, as Davos goggled at him, Naruto simply grinned and gave him a jaunty wave.

"Toodleoo."

And he faded from sight.

XXXXXXX

A long way away, in a room that even Elia and Ashara had not been made aware of, a pair of startling violet eyes blinked open.

The owner of those eyes gave a small groan as sleep once again eluded her. Even now, memories of fire and blood still gripped her mind, even though she appeared to the empty room as the picture of calm.

Long silvery tresses fell down her face as Rhaella Targaryen sat up in bed, putting a hand to her forehead to try and settle the ache in her skull.

Though she was now fifty-four years old, not a hint of her advanced age showed in her bearing or appearance. She might have been mistaken for a woman twenty years younger.

A knock at the door made her tense for a moment, but she forced herself to relax.

"Come in," she said softly.

Gently, the door opened, though not all the way.

"Are you decent?"

"I am wearing clothes, if that's what you mean."

With exaggerated care, Naruto stepped through the door, though he looked away quickly once he caught sight of her, cheeks going a little bit red.

"A nightgown isn't exactly what I meant."

She shrugged. The fabric may have been rather thin, but it was comfortable. It wasn't as if anyone needed to worry about getting cold. Naruto's city was layered with seals to keep the warmth in.

Rhaella settled back into the pillows, looking out the window at the buildings below. The center of the city where her daughter-in-law and her friend stayed was in easy view.

"As always, I find myself impressed with all that you have accomplished," she said.

Naruto floundered for a few seconds as he tried to think of something to say. "Ah, um… thank you?"

She tilted her head in a quick nod of acknowledgement. "I take it my children are on their way here?"

"They should arrive within the hour."

"Mm. Help me up."

The young man stepped forward and did so, gently putting one arm around her waist and putting hers over his shoulder, helping her to stand.

She sniffed once as he got close. "You've been fucking Elia and Ashara again, haven't you?"

His cheeks reddened at the casual question. "How can you tell?"

She waved off his question. "Their scent is very distinctive. Grow up in King's Landing and anything that doesn't smell of shit is a novel experience."

"Ha. I imagine it would be," he said, amused.

They exited the room, moving slowly, one step at a time. It took them both a few minutes to arrive at the common room, where Naruto helped her into a chair. He couldn't hide the concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay? You should still be resting."

Her purple eyes sharpened as she looked up at him. "I was in a coma for fifteen years, Naruto. I've rested long enough."

"I understand that, Rhaella, I do," he said, kneeling down at her side and taking her hand in his own. "But you will help no one by pushing yourself too far."

For a long moment, the Queen-mother of the Targaryen Dynasty regarded the young man who had saved her life so many years before.

Finally, she gave him a soft smile. "I know, Naruto. I'll be careful, I promise."

His grin lit up the room, and he stood and clapped his hands together. "Good, now let's get you dressed! Can't have you meeting your children in nothing but a nightgown, after all!"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Yes yes, that would be a terrible shame."

For the next few minutes, Naruto trailed back and forth from the room with a display of clothes and dresses of all sorts, which Rhaella all rejected.

"Where did you even get all of these?" she asked, baffled, even as she waved off another one.

"Trade, mostly," he replied absently, hanging one up and trying to pick another from the large closet where dresses hung from the railing. "A few were special works I commissioned, though that was mostly a cover. I wanted to learn how the master tailors did it."

Raising an eyebrow at that, Rhaella was about to ask him why he would do such a thing, when something caught her eye.

"…What about that one?" she asked, pointing. Naruto paused in his search and spotted the one she was looking at, and gently removed it.

"This is one of mine, actually," he said, holding it up so she could see.

Rhaella's breath hitched.

It was a sleeveless, modestly cut, flared gown that left the back and shoulders covered and ran down to the floor. The hem was a subdued shade of lavender, that slowly lightened as it trailed up into a bright silver at the neckline. The stitching was fine and even, and patterns of lace decorated the entirety of the dress, particularly at the bodice, making it shimmer in the sunlight.

"That one," she breathed. "I want that one."

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, turning it this way and that. "I wasn't sure about this. I'm still not an expert at making clothes."

She goggled at him. "Are you mad? This is beautiful! You could make a fortune if you make clothes that look even half as good! How did you even-?"

"Meh," he said, waving a hand. "Benefits of clones. I've had hundreds of 'em going around the country for years, learning anything that strikes their fancy. A few decided to pick up tailoring on a lark. And since I learn everything that they do..."

She digested that for a few seconds, still staring at the dress. "Well, take it from someone who's spent her life among the latest fashions. This is master-level work, at the very least."

He still looked doubtful. "If you say so. So you're sure, you want this one?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay! Here, let me help you with this."

He helped her stand and they both walked over to the end of the closet, where a screen stood to afford her a bit of privacy.

Despite knowing that Naruto had likely seen her in the nude many times during the fifteen years he'd been keeping her alive, Rhaella appreciated the gesture.

Painstakingly and with great care, she finally managed to wrestle her way into the gown, and still felt more tired than she was comfortable with. It was only a dress.

"Naruto, can you help me?"

"Uh… yeah?" he said as he stepped around the screen, very plainly looking up at the ceiling.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get excited. I just need you to help me lace up the back."

He stepped forward again, gingerly looking her way as if she would snap at him for the insolence. She leaned against a convenient rail and shivered as she felt his hands tug on the laces.

"Are you okay?"

"Mm-hm," she replied softly. He slowly tied the back of the dress, not tight enough to make it hard to breath, but enough to keep it snug. It only felt like moments before he finally let his hands slip.

"...Done."

"Good," Rhaella responded, turning around. By the time she did so, her legs finally lost the battle and gave out beneath her.

Before she could even begin to fall, she was enveloped by two strong arms.

"Told you not to push yourself," Naruto chided, gently picking her up, just as he'd done to her daughter only a little while ago.

"Dun' judge me," she mumbled into his chest, eyelids drooping.

"Okay, sleepy. Nap time for you," he said amusedly, walking back to her room. "We'll survive without you for a few hours, then you can meet your kids when you're not so exhausted."

She yawned. "M'kay."

Gently, he set her down among the fluffy pillows and pulled the sheets up, noting the way her breathing had lengthened. The dress had several seals stitched into the fabric, so he wasn't worried about it being messed up.

Taking a few minutes to make sure she was comfortable, Naruto was about to step out, when he paused. Then, slowly, he came back and knelt by her side again.

Tears trailed from her beneath her eyelids, even as she gripped the covers tightly in her hands. Gently, he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Rest now, Rhaella. Do not suffer under the burden you bear," he said quietly, making several hand-signs. At the end of the sequence, he pressed his palm to her forehead. Slowly, his blue chakra darkened with angry black strands of energy, released from the woman's mind and subsumed by his technique.

His one eye opened, staring at the Targaryen matriarch, who's face was softening by the second. "Let me carry it for a little while."

Finally, after several minutes, he stood and moved away. Taking a deep breath, Naruto closed his eye and rolled his shoulders, feeling unnaturally stiff.

Even as he did so, he looked down at her. The woman was perfectly calm, breathing deeply as she slept.

"See you soon. After all, there are two people who'll be anxious to meet you," he said, stepping out of the room and leaving Rhaella to her rest.

XXXXXXX

A/N: Welp. If only I could keep getting these out this fast.

Ah well. I've never been very consistent. Bouts of activity then a lapse into boredom and nacho fries.

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed.

Wolf out.