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Jon
The next morning, the first thing Jon did was get ready to go and train with Daenerys. He had been up for hours the night before, trying to figure out the best way to approach her and do this considering she had never held a sword for real in her life. A part of him wanted to maybe train her as he did for Arya, but at the end of the day, they were two very different people.
His mind had wandered to Arya, and he hoped she was alright. Maybe Tormund had sent her a letter to let him know that he had left to go on his own adventure and hadn't stayed in the North. And hopefully, if he did, she wouldn't come looking for him.
That was the last problem they needed.
As he walked up to the apex to meet her, he knocked on the door only to find it opened and ready for him to enter. He walks inside and looks around for Daenerys, but doesn't see her. A few paces forward and his eyes finally lay to where she might be, except he stopped midway.
There she was, on a bench in her garden, looking at a sword that seemed like she had taken from one of the guards here. But what really made him stop was what she was wearing. Her hair was in a braid completely, with a couple of loose strands hanging down the side of her face, and she had on boots and loose-fitting clothes that looked much like a normal civilian than a queen. She almost looked like she was supposed to be selling bread in the street rather than in the pyramid.
And it was a lovely sight to see. It was something so rarely seen by so many that he felt it was a privilege to get to stand here and watch her in such peace.
Deciding he had overstayed his stare, he coughs and she looks up before smiling at him. Gods, that smile. It could cure a plague.
"Jon," she states, standing. "Good to see you're awake. How did you sleep last night?"
"Good," he responds, looking down at the sword she had in her hands. "Where did you get that?"
"One of the guardsmen gave it to me," she asks before picking it up. He could see the struggle in her face but she tried to keep it tamed. "Nice, isn't it?"
Jon held back the urge to laugh and shakes his head, before lowering it to the ground. "It is quite nice, but I think we should start out with something a little simpler." Her brow furrows.
"We're learning how to use a sword, are we not?"
"Yes, but you barely know how to use one," he chuckles, taking it from her hands. A small pout appears on her face, something he didn't see so often from the queen, but she doesn't say anything. "The last thing we need is for you to suddenly knock our one of our eyes because you swung it too much. Starting out, we'll use these." He walks over to the edge of the garden and picks up two long sticks, both of equal length. "Then, once you've started to get the hang of it, we can get you a sword you can hold. Because let's both be honest, that was hard for you to keep in your grip."
Daenerys stares at him before dropping the act, rolling her eyes. "Fine. You're right. It was hard." She looks at the stick before turning to him. "I can't help it though. I want to learn as soon as I can and maybe using a sword would help."
"Daenerys, trust me. You'll get there." He takes a step back from her and then holds up his sword. She does the same. "Alright, lesson one. You have to learn the grip." He walks over to her side and goes behind her, adjusting her hands so she was holding it tighter. She looks over at him quietly, watching his brow furrow in concentration before he turned his gaze back onto her. "This is the proper way to hold it. Once you learn to hold it the right way, it'll be easier to swing into different directions."
She nods, understanding. He goes back in front of her, holding his stick.
"Take a swing at me."
Her brow raises. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. Take a swing."
She shrugs and does so. He easily dodges, hits her in the side and then knocks her feet over, causing her to let out a loud 'oof!' before glaring up at him. "What was that?!"
"Lesson two." He holds out a hand and she begrudgingly takes it, standing up. "Always expect the unexpected. No matter what, your enemy is going to look for your weak points, anything that is open. With that stance, you had your side and your legs close enough where I could strike. Keep your distance, but not too far where you can't hit."
"There seem to be a lot of rules with this," she mutters.
Jon chuckles and nods. "Not rules, per se. Techniques. But with how good you are at political strategy, this should be easy."
Even she could sense the sarcasm in his tone and she rolled her eyes before holding up her stick again, nodding at him. "Alright, joker. Come to me again."
Those words made him chuckle. Here she was, ready to take him on. He had to give her credit, she had a lot of heart. He comes at her a few more times. The first one she was knocked down again, this time in the stomach. The second she was able to dodge a few hits, until being hit in the side once more. The third was the longest, where she was able to deflect a few of his, jump back, and then come at his own with her own swing. He was impressed by that and nods.
"Good, you're making use of distance. That's the most important rule." He goes to swing at her again and she dodges once more but then slips on the pavement under her, toppling over into one of the small ponds there, covered in water. And that was it. Jon burst out laughing.
She glares at him as he laughed, before starting to laugh herself, shaking her head and trying to get herself out of the pond. Jon shakes his head and comes over, helping her out, her tripping as she did, little droplets of water flying everywhere. "Okay, maybe I got a little too eager there," she states, shaking her head.
Jon walks into her room and grabs a towel from her chambers, before coming over to where she was, starting to wipe the droplets off her cheeks. "That's another lesson. Always be aware of your surroundings." He pulls the towel back to look at her in the face. "Imagine if that had been a cliff. You could have toppled right off."
She sighs and nods. "I know, I know. I just want to be good," she states softly, looking up at him. "I always told Daemon how great of a swordsman you were and I know you say you aren't the best, but you're one of the best I know, and I want to at least, I don't know…tell him that his mother can be good too."
Jon lets his hand rest on her cheek for a second, looking down at her soft eyes that were filled with hope for a new beginning. There were so many memories in those eyes, so many feelings from the past. But he knew that it was something that was best left alone, at least for now. So he quietly lets his hand fall and nods.
"You'll be good. You have potential, Daenerys," he admits to her, speaking only the truth. "You're a quick learner. You remind me of my sister."
Her brow raises in surprise. "Sansa?"
"Gods, no," he instantly responds before shaking his head. "No. Arya. She was a quick learner when she was younger. Eager, just like you." He looks over at her, lost in memories before clearing his throat. "Sorry, just…thinking of the past."
Daenerys looks at him softly before reaching over. "It's okay. I understand that the family takes over the mind sometimes. I think about Viserys too." His brow raises in surprise. "Where I would be if he were somehow alive. Definitely not here, and not with you, I can tell you that."
Jon chuckles quietly. "Family is a funny thing, huh?" he asks softly before a question suddenly pops into his head. "Daenerys, can I ask you something?" Once she nods, he walks over to her. "You have bigger gardens downstairs to train in – I'm pretty sure whole rooms that would work where there wasn't a possibility of falling into a pond. Why train up here?"
Daenerys bites her lip before letting out a deep sigh. "Do you want me to be honest?" she asks him, to which he nods. "Daemon trains down there often with Daario, and if he finds out I'm training with you, it's only going to cause more strain."
Jon's brow furrows. "Why is that?"
"He has offered to train me for years and I have always said no because I didn't feel ready. Now, I bring back a stranger to him and suddenly you're training me, something he wishes he could do. I don't want to cause any more trouble than there already is. That's why I want to train up here."
Although every part of Jon wanted to tell her that she is the queen of this place and shouldn't worry what Daario said, he could understand the worry. He didn't want to cause any more fights here just because Daario got jealous that he was able to train her. "Alright…I understand." He walks back over to her and then hands her the stick. "Let's get back to training, huh?"
She smiles quietly and nods, happy to be away from the conversation before jumping back up. "Yes, let's."
And with that, their sticks crossed once more.
Three months pass without a day going by that Jon didn't worry about his daughter.
It wasn't that she was in pain. It was just that she was sleeping, for so many days. Kinvara hadn't been joking with him when she said that she had no idea how long she would be sleeping. And for now, Jon had a feeling that she had been right. It would be for a long time.
Periodically, he would visit her throughout the day, but it was near the end of the week that he would always tell her about everything that had happened. Arya, the direwolf, had taken up residence in her room, often sleeping next to the unconscious girl. Jon had gotten curious one day and had peeked at her wound to see how truly bad it was.
And he regretted it. It was filled with stitching, all to somehow keep it together. The knife had gone solidly through her body and slide out the back. It was no wonder she was sleeping for so long. Of course, he had known she had been seriously injured, but he never thought to that extent.
Later on, long after another training session with Daenerys, he had gone to visit Dan once more, this time for his weekly retelling. But now, he was feeling a lot more somber. He wanted his little girl to wake up, and it was killing him that she was still unconscious. It reminded him almost of what happened to Bran back when he was a child.
And thinking of how that had turned out for the boy, Jon rather pushed that thought away from his mind.
"Hey, Dan," he whispers as he walks into her room. They had carried her into her own space for the time being. It was right around the corner from Daenerys', a big room with plenty of space for her to practice once she was up and running again, with a giant bookcase all to herself to read to her heart's content. "Back for another storytelling, huh?"
He grabs a chair from the side and pulls it up to her bed, watching as her chest slowly went up and down. She was alive, and that was what mattered, but he didn't want to fool himself into thinking that he didn't want her awake.
"It's been nearly three months to the day, now," he starts off softly, sighing. "We're all wondering when you're going to wake up, but you take as much time as you need…Meereen is a beautiful city. It's nothing like what you've seen in Westeros. It's so warm and the sun always seems to shine…I think you'll like it very much here."
He glances out at the door, thinking back to the rest of the pyramid.
"Your brother is improving," he starts off, smiling a little. "He's been coming to me pretty periodically to ask me about lessons and such. I keep telling him that I've always taught him most of what I know. I think he's just looking for an excuse to spar with me." He looks down at her and feels his smile fade. "I'm sure once you're awake you'll be sparring with him until the end of the day here. There's so much more room than you would think, but you'll be able to practice to your heart's content. And then once you're feeling better, we'll figure out those…powers you have." He brings a hand up to her cheek, stroking softly. "You know, I always knew you were special…just didn't know how big it would. Turns out, it's much more than any of us could have intended."
He looks back at the ground, letting his hand drop to her side. Quietly, he thinks back to Daenerys and feels a slight smile tug at his lips once more.
"Your mother has been improving as well," he states, looking back at her. "I've been training her since you underwent your accident. She wanted to learn how to use the sword to impress you and your brother, as I've said before…but she's really starting to show that she can handle it. She even almost topped me the other day, her, a novice. It's impressive." He glances outside and then back at his daughter again. "She's afraid her friend, Daario, is going to find out about it. I don't mind if he does, but I don't want it to cause trouble for her."
Daario was a whole different situation with Jon. He knew he shouldn't be thinking about the man in any way. In fact, he should be thankful he had kept Daenerys safe all this time. He had no right. It wasn't like he and Daenerys were together. But it was just the way that the man looked at him that made Jon wary.
It made him feel like his time here was in danger and he didn't want to think that, because he wanted his children – as well as himself – to be safe. Daenerys would always be safe in Meereen as long as her men were beside her, but him? He needed to earn it.
And he thinks that he was getting there. Occasionally, he and Daenerys would go out into the city with Daemon, who often wanted to visit the market. There, Jon would see Daenerys greet the civilians, the ones that called her "Mhysa," and she would ask them how their day was and what they were doing. She would make sure they were being taken care of. She really did try to act like a mother here to take care of her people.
But as he started to go out with her more, he started to realize that people began to notice he was a regular occurrence as well. Often, they would try to speak to him, and the ones that did speak the Western tongue would translate. They would say how he seemed to be from another world, how he and their queen were so 'nice' and 'sweet' to care about the poor people. Jon just called it basic decency.
He was treated like dogshit for most of his life. Yes, he grew up in a castle, and for that he will always be thankful for them taking him in, but he had been raised as a bastard and that came with a heavy price. Did it form him into who he is now? Yes. But at the same time, it made him want to give better lives to more people.
After a couple of attempts, he started to get used to it and began to talk with the others, often playing with children who would come over to see him and fake sword battle with him. It was sweet, and as long as he made a good impression on the people around him, he at least had the impression in his head that they wouldn't suddenly rise up against him or his family.
Lost in his thoughts, he looks back at his daughter. "Either way, many things are changing," he says to her quietly. "The Dothraki arrived not too long ago," he starts. "With the Meereen men. It seemed it took the Meereen guards a bit of time to somehow keep them grounded and to follow them to the city, but once they got there, the Khal that we were following – I think his name is Khal Trago – bent on his knee and as did the other bloodriders, and pledged their swords to her – and to you, as well. I think they think of you as a god now too," he jokes, but suddenly really starts to realize how much of a genuine statement that was. "Oh Dan…what have we gotten ourselves into?" he mutters.
He rests his hands on her own, letting his head drop. He hadn't expected any of this when they had decided to go south of the Wall. Yes, he had a feeling he would run into some sort of destiny, but never something like this where his daughter had people worshipping her already. It was all too much for him. Maybe even too much for her.
Perhaps as soon as she woke up, it was best she stayed in the pyramid for a time. He'd have to talk it over with Daenerys.
"You know, I just want you to wake up," he admits softly, shaking his head. "Seeing you here in this bed everyday…it's killing me. It's killing your mother. Your brother. We just want to see you talk again. Hear your laugh. Walk with us. It's not complete without you…and I hope you can join us soon." He takes her hand in his and kisses the top of it before letting it fall back down onto the bed. "Besides, you need to wake so we can meet the dragons. Daenerys refuses to let me see them without you – something about wanting us to meet at the same time. There are three – where we thought there were none left. That's mad."
Still no response, as he was expecting, but at least he got to speak with her. Jon sighs and lets his head hang for one more second before leaning over and planting a kiss on her forehead. "I'll be back in a little bit."
When he goes to stand, he walks over to the door, hands in his pockets. But then, he hears a cough come from behind him, followed by a wonderful voice.
"D...dragons?"
Jon rushes over to where Dan was, her eyes barely open, looking around the room in pure shock before they land on her father. And then, a quiet smile appeared on her face.
"Father?" she whispers.
Jon almost stared to cry, as he gripped her hands tightly within his own. "It's me, Dan. We're here. This is Meereen. We're home," he says to her softly, wiping away her hair from her eyes. She looks around and sniffles, before coughing once more, letting her head fall back against the bed.
"How…how long...have I been...sleeping?"
"Three months," he answers.
Her eyes widen as best they could before she shakes her head. "I had no...idea," she whispers. "I…is everyone okay? Is Daemon okay? Mother?"
Gods, his daughter. Always thinking about people other than herself. "They are perfectly fine," he chuckles before standing. "Here, I'll go get them. They shouldn't be too far."
He heads back over to the room, rushing to where Daenerys was with her son, both in her room, reading about something. As soon as he bursts in, the two of them look up and he nods, gesturing towards the couple of rooms behind them. "Is she…?" Daenerys' question does not finish but Jon nods, knowing exactly what she was asking.
She stands as does Daemon, both of them rushing towards the room. As soon as they do, Dan looks up from where she sat and smiled at them.
"Dan," Daenerys says, rushing over to her. "Thank the Gods you're okay." She rests her hands on her daughter's face, looking at her seriously. "What hurts? Does anything still feel pain?"
Dan nods gently. "Um…a little. In my middle. But I don't think it's awful."
Daemon goes onto the bed on the other side, grabbing her hand. "We were really scared for you. We didn't know when you would wake up."
"I didn't either," Dan responds quietly, looking back at her family. "I, uh…had some strange dreams. Ones that reminded me a lot of the stories father used to tell me."
Daenerys brow furrows before she looks over at Jon. The question was clear on her face. "What stories?"
"The White Walkers," Dan responds, nodding outside. "The ones that attacked the North, that Aunt Arya killed. But they seemed…bigger. Scarier. There were more of them, everywhere. I don't know…it could have just been nightmares. It probably was, right?"
She looks over at Jon, who instantly leans over and takes her hands in his. "Had to be."
Dan nods quietly, looking at the bed. Daenerys looks over at him with the same slightly frightened expression on her face. She was thinking the same thing as he was – if the Night King was back, or if there was even a chance, they needed to look into it as soon as possible, even from Meereen. She knew the threat he brought. She had been a direct impact of that threat with her dragon.
"Do you remember your powers?" Daenerys suddenly asks her daughter, trying to change the subject from her dreams. "How you lit the guardsmen on fire? Do you know how you did it?"
"No," she starts out softly. "I…I remember being angry. I remember that I saw the man who took us talking with father and I knew fighting was going to happen, so I just…threw my hand. And fire came out. I don't know how I did it at all…it just happened."
Daenerys sighs and nods. "Alright. Kinvara says that she knows about your power. She might be able to help you."
Dan rolls her eyes and leans back on the bed. "What does she not know?" she mutters before shaking her head. "Does that mean I can't use a sword or anything anymore?"
Jon chuckles before shaking his head. "No. That doesn't mean that at all. You'll still be able to train as much as Daemon if you want to."
"Yeah, and I bet I can beat you now. I've been practicing," Daemon states, crossing his arms across his chest rather smugly. Dan raises an eyebrow.
"Once I get out of this bed, I'll take you on," she states, before leaning up. "Is it true that we really rode here on a dragon? Or was I just imagining things?"
Daenerys smiles and nods. "We did. Kinvara rode to us on Drogon. Apparently she has blood of Old Valyria in her so she was able to control him. I had no idea. Many red priests and priestesses do." She leans over and grabs the girls hand. "Which means you're going to meet the dragons as soon as you can walk."
"So it's real?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "Dragons really do exist? Daemon wasn't just lying to impress me?"
"Hey!" Daemon responds.
"Yes," Daenerys answers, chuckling. "And you're going to ride one eventually."
Dan falls back on her bed, looking around in shock. "And this…is my room?"
"Quite bigger than a tent," Jon remarks, which makes Dan snort and then cringe in pain, clutching her side. Jon instantly comes to her aid and she shakes her head.
"I'm alright…it just hurts," she says softly before looking up at her father. "I can't believe we're here." She looks over at Daenerys, swallowing the pinch of pain in her side to look at her mother. "Thank you for keeping me here…and for keeping us safe."
Daenerys looks at her quietly before squeezing the young girl's hands. "You don't need to thank me for protecting my family," she says to her. "You never have to thank me for that. We're just happy you're okay."
She leans down and hugs her daughter tightly, to which Dan hugs her back. Jon watches quietly before looking outside. They'd have to let the rest of the pyramid know that she was awake as soon as possible, but for now, they would enjoy the moment of peace between each other.
The next couple of days pass by without much trouble. Dan was starting to get up more each day that passed and by the end of the week, she was walking about the pyramid and introduced to many of the people formally. But what really had her excited for the end of the week is that Daenerys had promised her that as soon as she could walk, she could meet the dragons.
So Jon had watched her get up and down constantly to try and be able to walk again, because in her words, "I'm not letting a stab wound stop me from seeing a dragon!"
And what else could he do but somehow support her and help her walk?
Arya, her little direwolf, had been keeping her company while trying to heal. When Dan had seen that she and Ghost were still okay, she had practically cried and cuddled the animal for hours. And now, Arya would lay next to her in her room, protecting her until she could walk once more.
Once she could walk again, the moment she was waiting for came and Daenerys walked into her room early one morning. Arya was resting on the bed, so she wasn't going to be going anywhere today. Jon was with Dan, helping her put her hair up considering her arms still hurt from not moving them for a straight three months.
"Good morning," Daenerys says softly to both of them, raising an eyebrow once she reaches Jon. "I see you're not a master when it comes to woman's hair."
Jon rolls his eyes and drops his hands in defeat. Alright, maybe he wasn't. But he did at least try.
"I never really had to do her hair," he admits to Daenerys. "We lived in the North and we usually wore hair down to keep ourselves warm. This is the first time we've ever had to really care about it."
Daenerys shakes her head and then walks over to Dan. "Then let me do it then." He looks down at her. "Is that alright?" Dan nods quietly, watching as Daenerys starts to slowly move her fingers through her hair. "When I was younger, I didn't know how to handle my hair either. If I recall, I'm pretty sure I just let it down on the day of my wedding."
Dan's brow raises. "Really?"
"Really. For some time, hair does not mean anything to people. It's just another part of their body. But once you start to grow old and see the value in looking well-done, people start to change. Take me, for example. A custom of the Dothraki is that their hair symbolizes how many battles they have won. The longer the hair braided, the more victories they have. And if they fail, they cut it all off."
"Everything?!"
"Every part of it except for a nub where it might grow back." Daenerys moves over and grabs a pin from the side. "So for me, I started to put braids in my hair for each victory I had in my life. By the time I came to Westeros, I can't even recall how many braids I would have in my hair at one single point."
Dan looks up at her. "You don't wear a lot of braids now," she points out.
"Yes, but that's due to me trying to live a little simpler here - and not wanting to claim any victories right now." She rests her hands against the girls cheeks. "But I think they would look beautiful on you."
Dan tilts her head and looks at herself in the mirror before looking up at Daenerys. "Can I have two braids?"
Daenerys nods, starting to work on the small braids that she would link towards the back. "And what will be your victories?"
"Um…" Dan looks around the room before her head perks up. "One can be that I survived being hurt."
"That's a good one. What's the other?"
"Uh…." She glances down at her hands and then back up, before looking over at her father. "What can my other victory be?"
"That's for you to choose," Jon says to her softly.
Dan bites her lip before nodding, and then gasps. "Oh, I know! For saving you guys with my fire…which I still don't know how to control."
Daenerys chuckles before nodding. "Just because you don't know how to control it doesn't mean you shouldn't be proud of what you did." She pulls her hands down from Dan's hand and lets them rest gently on her shoulders. "There. Beautiful, as I told you."
Jon looks at his daughter and felt a piece of his heart ache. She looked almost exactly like Daenerys at that moment. The likeness was there and the braids made it that much more similar.
"I like it," Dan says softly.
Daenerys smiles before squeezing her shoulder. "Now that we're done here, who wants to see some dragons?"
Dan's smile brightens and she jumps up, holding her side as she did. "Me!" Although the pain was evident on her face.
Daenerys rests a hand gently on the girl's side. "Calm yourself. You don't want to hurt your wound before we go there. Go fetch your brother and we'll leave for the dragon pit." Dan nods before heading out of the room and down the hall to where her brother would be. Daenerys turns to Jon. "She seems to be doing very well."
"She's been constantly trying to move so she could go see them," he states to her before standing. "Just wait until she truly gets better and she wants to fight you in combat."
"I'm terrified," Daenerys chuckles. "Pretty sure both of my children could take me down at this point." Jon smiles a bit, looking over at her. It was moments like this where he remembered why he fell for Daenerys in the first place. The moments where she was Dany, where she let out her personality and wasn't some queen that needed people to obey her.
But at that moment, the door opens and Jon turns his head back over to where the children suddenly stood, where Daemon was with a big thing of meat in his hands.
"Got this from the cooks!" he says excitedly. "Let's go!"
Daenerys had revealed to him that they had built an underground tunnel to be able to access the dragons pit as soon as they could without having to weave through the city. After her first time in Meereen, she had said that she didn't want the people to fear her dragon – and later on, dragons – so she gave them a place to stay out in the east.
And occasionally, she would go out to ride them, feed them, and be with them, so the people were happy and so were her dragons.
"Do you ride them, Daemon?" Dan asks as they walked through the tunnel. A peak of light was coming through, showing they were reaching the end. Her head was turned to her brother. "I mean, you're small."
"And so are you, but that doesn't stop me." He looks back at her. "I usually ride Jorharion. He's a big black dragon that likes to sleep a lot but when he's awake he likes to fly around with Drogon."
Dan looks over at Jon with a smile. She was so excited to see these dragons that it almost made his heart melt. He hadn't seen his little girl this happy in a long time.
"Here we are," Daenerys states. She turns to the two of them, looking at Dan first and then at Jon. "Stay behind the two of us at first. Because you're new, it might take time for them to get used to you." Dan nods as does Jon. He remembered the first time he had pet Drogon. Nearly shit himself.
But that was before he knew the truth about who he was.
Daenerys opens the door out into the dragon's pit. Instantly, the largest dragon that lived was on the floor, resting. And then, he slowly opens his eyes, looking at all of them. Dan stares in shock, her mouth wide agape.
"Dan, this is Drogon," Daenerys says to her.
"And we rode him? He's huge!" Dan exclaims.
Daenerys chuckles. "Yes, he is quite big. And getting older." The dragon lays his head back down but keeps his eyes open, looking at them all. At that moment, another dragon, this time around mid-size, comes flying down in front of Daemon. The boy laughs and scratches the dragon behind the head, watching as Daemon threw a piece of meat and the beast followed after it.
"That's Jorharion," Daemon says to her. "You're the closest these dragons have been to people in a long time."
"Really? No one comes to see them?" Dan asks, walking closer to Jorharion. She reaches out to try and pet him, and after a moment, he allows her to. She stares in shock and wonder. "I'm actually petting a dragon. Seven hells."
Daenerys chuckles before shaking her head. "No. Most people are scared of them. I think they're misunderstood." She walks over to Drogon and pats his head lightly, and he lets out a huff of air, his way of giving affection. "Even so, the ones who do get close can't ride them. Usually only people who have blood of Old Valyria can. It's something the dragons can sense. It's why Kinvara was able to ride them."
"That's amazing. It's like they have this sense of smell that only can smell ancestral blood. That's like…magic." She looks over as suddenly, a bright red dragon flew past them and onto the ground. Dan stares at it in shock, tilting her head back and forth as the dragon came over to her.
Daemon hands her a piece of meat before nodding his head. "Give it to her. She loves red meat."
Dan nods and then hands out the piece of meat to the dragon. It looks at her, blinks, assessing her, before snatching the meat out of her hands and eating it right there. Once it was done, it comes closer to Dan, and she reaches out her hand. Within a second, she pets the dragon and lets out a sigh of relief when it huffs back.
"Who is this beauty?" she asks, looking over at her family.
"That is Visenya," Daenerys answers for her, walking over to her. "She's the most vicious out of all of the new dragons, yet she seems to be alright with you. Usually, that doesn't happen. She was quite hard to tame at first."
Dan smiles softly before looking back at Visenya. "She isn't so bad." Visenya looks back up at her and she feeds her another piece of meat, giggling as she scarfed it down. "I like her. She seems like a hunter."
"I knew you would," Daemon states, smiling.
At that moment, a third dragon suddenly flies into the pit. Jon couldn't believe his eyes. He had been shocked when he learned that Drogon was still alive, but seeing these three new dragons was completely mad and he didn't even know how to react.
"How are these dragons even here?" he asks Daenerys, his mind ablaze with questions.
Daenerys walks over to him this time. "Dragons can be both a man and a woman. They're capable of producing eggs no matter what. Drogon brought these eggs to us." The third dragon flew over to where they stood, landing in front of them. It was quite big, big enough for someone like Jon to ride on, but nowhere near as big as Drogon. None of the new ones were, considering they were all quite young.
"Who's this?" he asks Daenerys quietly as the dragon comes up to him. It sniffs his hand before letting him rest it on its snout. Looking at it, he could tell it was a deep shade of blue, something that would almost match the darkest parts of the sea.
Daenerys looks at him and then at the dragon before letting out a deep breath. "Jonarys."
Jon's brow raises in shock and he looks over at Daenerys. Visenya was after her ancestors, and Jorharion was after Jorah – that much was clear. Did that mean…?
"Oh!" Dan exclaims, looking over at him from where she pets Visenya. "Daemon told me she named a dragon like that when I didn't believe they really had them."
Jon looks back at Daenerys and sees the embarrassment in her eyes. "You named a dragon after me?" he whispers.
Her cheeks turn a bright red and she glances away. "It's only because I thought I'd never see you again," she states quietly. "The dragons were originally Daemon's but he let me name one. And this was the one I named." She crosses her arms across her chest. "I named a dragon after people who meant a lot to me and made me who I was today...I knew I had to name one after you after everything we went through."
Jon didn't know how to react to the news. He looked over at the dragon, who was relaxing on the ground, letting his hand touch the top of its snout once more. It huffs and then flies off to go over to Visenya, causing Jon to chuckle a bit.
"Well…thank you," he finally responds to Daenerys. "It's an honor I never thought I would have."
Daenerys nods, still looking at the ground before she glances back at him, and then lets out the softest hint of a smile. "You don't need to thank me," she admits. "It's just…what happened. The name felt right."
Jon nods as well, looking down at her. "It does."
The two of them turned their gaze over to the children, where Dan was still with the dragons, the largest smile on her face. Jon felt himself smile as well. Finally, she was smiling. Happy. It was what he wanted from the beginning. And he was happy Meereen was giving it to her.
"You know," Daenerys says to Jon as they leave, watching as the children walked back into the pyramid before them. "The people are anxious to meet Dan. Elaena was telling me that maybe we should throw a festival of some kind."
Jon's brow furrows in confusion before he looks down at Daenerys. "Are you sure throwing something like that will be the best option for us? We have eyes on our back."
Daenerys sighs before nodding her head. "If you're worried about them finding us, I think we're safe for now. You killed the last man who would have any say to the King over there, and Meereen is pretty well-hidden for people who don't know how to get here. It's only going to be for the citizens and the people who support me."
Jon bites his lip, thinking it over. She had a point. Meereen was pretty out of the way for most people to come to. But his mind kept thinking back to how Westerosi men still found them in the middle of the Dothraki Sea by disguising themselves as Dothraki themselves. If they could do that, anyone could.
"I think it would be good for the children," he says to her gently. "But if you do have one, the guards have to be increased around the pyramid. I just don't trust people, especially after what happened to Dan."
Daenerys nods quietly. "I understand. That was the intention in the first place."
Jon quietly looks to where the children go, heading out into one of the gardens before he let himself let out a long sigh. "I still can't believe that my brother of all people would be sending guards and people off to kill you…even try to kill you yourself."
Daenerys was quiet for a moment before her voice filled the room. "It's like what Robert Baratheon did," she responds, looking up at him. "As long as there is a threat to the throne, someone will try to eliminate it. It's what I did with people when I was fighting for it – and it's what Bran will do to people who try to take it."
"Yes, but it's different," Jon says, turning so he could look directly at her. "With you, anyone you got rid of was because they directly went up against you. They were trying to end you. It was a fight vs. a fight. But with Bran, you're not causing him any trouble. You're here, surviving and ruling thousands of miles away from Westeros. But even if you do make the comparison between Robert and him, it's still not the same because Bran just didn't seem to care about that. He cared more about protected the realm because of him being the Three-Eyed-Raven than him sending out people to remain in power."
Daenerys' brow furrows before her mouth opens, a question popping onto her tongue. "Jon, why were you sent to the Wall?"
His brow furrows. "What?"
"I mean, how were you send there? Who agreed to that?" she asks. "It couldn't have just been Bran."
"No," Jon responds. "It was a council. Bran, my sisters, a couple of other people who I knew. Greyworm was there as well as Tyrion."
Daenerys shakes her head, walking away. Jon could hear her mumble. "That doesn't make sense."
Jon's brow furrows as he follows after her, deciding to leave the children to play in the gardens. He follows her into an abandoned room. It looked like someone used to live here, but there were cobwebs on the ceiling, showing that it was not used in a long time. "Daenerys, what's wrong?" he asks.
"The fact that you were sent to the Wall. That's what doesn't make sense," she responds. "Think about it, Jon. That council was full of people who knew you personally. Who were your friends. Tyrion himself had said that you would be a better ruler than me…despite how much it hurts to think about it, after you killed me, you should have gotten the throne. They should have elected you into it. You had the most claim to it. You had people supporting you. The realm would have united below you. And yet, they decided to give it to Bran and not to you? The person who saved them? Warned people about the threat to the North when no one would believe them?" She shakes her head and glances outside. "As much as the past bothers me to think about, what happens to you wasn't fair. There was something else going on there that neither of us know about."
Jon stares at her, trying to process her words. It made sense, but a part of him didn't want to believe that there was something else going on. "No…Tyrion wanted a new way of ruling. Of changing the system. Electing people, or something like that."
"Tyrion was bound to the old system before whatever happened to me, happened," Daenerys replies, crossing her arms across her chest. "He believed in me until things started to go wrong. He knew that the topic of succession was what gave him that idea – the fact that he knew to have children was impossible for me at the time. The only reason he changed his ways was for another reason that we don't know about. But the Tyrion that gave the throne to Bran? That isn't the man I know. And the fact that he agreed to send you off to the Wall again doesn't seem right either. He knew how good of a resource you were. He was the one who encouraged me to meet with you. I'm almost positive he wanted you to rule as well…none of this makes sense."
She leans against her balcony, looking out into the city. Jon comes up next to her, following her gaze. "What are you trying to say, Daenerys?" he asks her.
The dragon queen was quiet, her eyes perplexed, before she turns her head to him and bites her lip. "I think that there are more people in Westeros that are power-hungry than we know, Jon," she replies. "And I don't know…something about what happened to you doesn't feel right. They wanted you to be king – your sister was one that was absolutely willing. She's the one who told Tyrion. But she lets them send you away? There's more to this than we know, Jon." She looks up at him, her lips turned downwards into a confused frown. "And I wish there was a way for us to find out because it's not right."
Jon looks at her quietly before gently resting a hand on hers. She doesn't pull away. "Daenerys, as much as the past has haunted me, I'm trying my best not to let it anger me anymore."
Her brow furrows. "But don't you want answers?"
"Of course I do," he replies. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to get them. Right now we need to stay as safe as possible here and trying to figure out why certain things happened to us is not going to help us that much." He nods out towards where the children were. "Right now, our focus should be on them. Helping Dan adjust to this. I can barely adjust still and it's been three months."
Daenerys chuckles quietly before nodding. "It is a hard adjustment, I'll agree with that." A comfortable silence develops between the two before she suddenly squeezes Jon's hand. "I'm happy you're here, Jon."
His brow furrows. "Is that you, Daenerys? Did you really say that?"
She rolls her eyes and then looks up at him. "Stop, I'm serious. Despite the past…I am glad you are here. Your children need you…in a way, I do too." She shrugs softly before looking back out. "It's not easy handling all of this on your own. And now since we have people coming after us, it's even more important that we stay together."
She pulls away before sighing softly, looking back out where the children were conversing. At that moment, they run around the hall, with Arya and Ghost chasing after them playfully. It seemed Daemon had gotten his hands on a piece of meat and was feeding them.
"The direwolves are going to tire them out," Jon chuckles quietly.
"Let them play," Daenerys says gently. "They deserve it after what Dan wen through." She looks around and sighs, letting her head rest against a nearby pillar. "I really hope that one day they can live in peace. I don't care about what happens to me. But if something happens to them? I don't know if I would ever be able to forgive myself. When I saw Dan get stabbed…I felt my heart stop. I felt like the world was falling. It's a miracle that Daemon was right behind the man and stopped him before the guard could hurt Dan more…I can't let that happen again. We can't."
Jon raises his hand and squeezes her shoulder. "And we won't." She looks over, his gaze filled with determination. "I promise. We're going to be alright. We just need to take this one step at a time."
Daenerys nods softly. "I know."
At that moment, the two children suddenly burst into the room, causing the two adults to pull apart in shock at the surprise. Arya had jumped on top of Dan and was licking her face while Ghost was chasing around Daemon with the meat.
"He's really hungry!" Daemon exclaims, laughing as he throws the direwolf one more piece of meat. Jon chuckles and walks over to him, scratching the direwolf behind the ear.
"Don't feed him too much, else he'll turn into a glutton." Arya jumps off of Dan, sitting beside her. Jon looks over at Dan and felt himself snort. She had what looked like direwolf slobber all over her face. "Seven hells, Dan," he chuckles.
"What?!" she exclaims. Daenerys snickers from where she stood and comes over, taking the girls hand. "Do I have something on my face? It does feel sticky..."
"C'mon, let's get you cleaned up." Daenerys grabs her hand and ushers her out to a bathing chamber, hand in hers. As they walk past, Jon spares a glance at Daenerys while they leave the room. His gaze, however, seemed to go on for far too long when Daemon reached out and pat his shoulder. Jon jumped in surprise and looks over at him.
"You're staring at mother again," he points out.
Jon's brow furrows. "Again? What do you mean?"
"You do it all the time. It's not hard to miss." Jon rolls his eyes as he ruffles the boy's hair, causing him to fuss before laughing.
"Keep your eyes to yourself," he chastises before letting his hand drop.
At that moment, a bird suddenly appears on the windowsill of the old abandoned room. Daemon's brow furrows and he tilts his head. "Strange…we don't have those birds here. They're usually in north of Essos."
It was a tall, black menacing bird, with a beak that could peck out someone's eyes easily. Not the size of a raven, but not quite as big as some of the birds Jon had seen in Essos. And it seemed to be staring right at them. Before Jon could do anything, he stands, and the bird flies away. Jon shakes his head and glances back over at where Daemon was, who was petting the two direwolves.
"Strange," he mutters. Could that have been…no. He only warged into ravens.
But at the same time, Jon was sure it had been Bran who had tried to kill them with the Leviathan.
He would keep his eyes out now for that bird. And if it kept returning, he had a sword with its name on it prepared and ready to strike. He wasn't about to let some other warg spy on them and hurt his family. He was done trying to give people the benefit of the doubt.
If someone threatened his family's life, he was going to end the threat, as quick and as fast as he could. It's what had to be done, for Daenerys and for the children's sake.
Oooh more creepy birds, yay!
I didn't expect this chapter to be Jon again but it just kind of worked out that way. Next chapter for sure is going to be purely Daenerys and it will be fluffy and fun and full of action so stay tuned.
As always, love it? Hate it? Want to burn me as Daenerys did to the Khals? Let me know in the reviews! I'm loving what you guys are saying and appreciate everything you say because it makes me keep writing and enjoy doing this, and you guys are awesome! Don't forget to follow and favorite to join us on the adventure, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day!