Hey ya'll. Goddamn, this took me a long time, but you seem to like long chapters so I guess I'll keep pushing them out. Thank you to:
DarylDixon'sLover
Jana
Lillian81
MiaMia
Guest
saphirablue25
MayaFaya
Perseus Apollyon
Check out all these lovely peeps who reviewed, and a big welcome to the new follows and favorites. Let's continue on our adventure. Oh, and also pleaseeee don't hate me at the end lol
Jon
To say Jon was shocked would be an understatement.
He had known Arya to be a killer. He knew that through their years of separation from the moment he went to the Wall, and she went South, she had learned how to use a sword very well. But this kind of fucking magic he just saw from her…to steal the face of another man? He had never seen it.
And yet, here she was, in the man's clothes and with his face on the ground. Jon takes a step back in shock as guards suddenly come out. "Your grace, we heard the co-Queen Daenerys!"
They rush over to her at seeing her state, while two guards go behind Arya, restraining her. She looks up at Jon pleadingly. "Please, I was-"
"Stop." The voice that came out of him he didn't recognize. He couldn't look at his little sister right now. All he could think about was that she had quite literally stolen the face of a person, their own identity, and came in to kill Daenerys – possibly even her children. A different person was taking over him right now. "Don't speak. Stay there."
The guard behind Arya was looking to him, his brow furrowed. "What do you want me to do, my lord?"
Jon stares down Arya, seeing her eyes start to leak in with shame and despair, but Jon wasn't having any of it. Not right now. "Have the other guards clear the guests out of the room and into another – far below, so once they are drunk enough, they may leave. Once the guests are guided, bring Lady Stark to the dungeons."
Arya stares at him in shock. "Jon, I-"
"I said don't speak," he spat. She stills, staring at him in shock. He turns back around, looking at the guards who were helping Daenerys. "I'll tend to the Queen. You bring the guests downstairs – and please bring the children to bed. They shouldn't see this."
The guards nod, letting Daenerys go and heading back inside. Jon watches silently as one by one, they begin to usher the visitors downstairs. In their drunken and hazy state, most follow without much intervention, happy for the party to keep going. Jon watches as a guard pries Dan from the new friends she made, along with Daemon, both looking confused as to why they were being sent off. He could see Dan looking for him, but her eyes don't connect as she's whisked away.
It was for the better. Dan had named her damn direwolf after Arya, for the God's sake. If she knew what Arya had just done – it would crush her.
Once all of the attendees were down to a deeper level of the pyramid, Jon looks at the guards who were holding Arya down, nodding at them. They silently bring her inside. Arya tries to spare a look at Jon, but he looks away. Once the guards were out of sight with the girl, he turns back to Daenerys, helping her stand. He takes Dark Sister into his other hand, sheathing Longclaw, before turning back to her.
"Let's get you cleaned up," he says to her gently.
She nods silently, following after him back into the pyramid.
Once they reached her chambers, Jon sits Daenerys down gently, grabbing a clothe from the bathroom and soaking it in water, before coming back to where she was. He kneels in front of her, gently grasping her hand and wrapping the clothe around to absorb the blood. She flinches slightly but doesn't move.
"How does it feel?" he asks.
She shrugs. "Like I cut my hand open," she responds, causing him to roll his eyes. She looks down at him and sighs. "It hurts, but I had to do it to save myself…she was quite close to…"
"I know," Jon mutters, pulling back the clothe. He knew that there was a strong possibility that had he not come in, Arya would have killed her. As much as he had been training Daenerys, Arya had been fighting for longer and was much quicker than the dragon queen for now. It would have been a quick death. "I know. It's hard to think about."
He walks back over and grabs a bandage, this time wrapping it around her hand.
"I'm just glad you're okay," he responds quietly, looking up at her. "I know it must have been horrible."
"Horrible?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "That doesn't even begin to describe it." He finishes bandaging her hand and then moves his attention to the gash on her leg. As he lifted up her skirt slightly, he could still see the scar from when she was hurt in Volantis – it had healed nicely but would remain. He hoped this one healed a little better. "She…she had the face of my men. One of my men. Just like…she was him. It was…did you know she could do that?"
"No," he answers, shaking his head as he begins to clean out her gash. "I had no idea whatsoever. I knew she could fight but I…never knew this."
Daenerys was quiet after that, staring down at the floor. Jon continues to clean out her wound, quiet as well. After a moment, he could feel the bed dip, and Daenerys looks back at him, her head in her hands this time. "I knew that she didn't like me…but I never knew it was that deep."
"I didn't either," he admits. She raises an eyebrow, but he continues to nod. "I'm serious. I had letters after letters with her when I was in the North while she was traveling. She even told me that she gave you the benefit of the doubt because you saved us with the dragons back in Winterfell…I think what happened in Kings Landing might have changed her mind but I don't understand how she would know you're here. No one was there to tell him and-"
Daenerys stops him, her hand coming up. "Your brother." Jon's brow furrows. "Didn't you tell me a couple of days ago that you saw a bird that didn't seem to be right in Meereen? Or that's what Daemon said? What if that was your brother? What if he-"
"No," he answers, shaking his head. "I can't-"
"Jon, listen to me!" she exclaims, trying to stand but cringing at the pain in her leg. He lowers her onto the bed, looking at her seriously.
"Be careful, you don't want to hurt it."
"Jon, I know you love Arya," she whispers, her brow furrowed to stop herself from the pain. She takes a deep breath, lets it out, and turns back to him. "I know you love her. I do. But you need to realize that your 'family' has done nothing but turn against you. Your brother has sent people after us to kill me, and possibly kill our children. And now, Arya – your sister – almost succeeded. There is something wrong happening…you need to speak with her. Talk. Anything."
Jon looks down at her. What if his family had been planning against her? Against him? He hated to think about it, but he knew it was a strong possibility, as much as it broke his heart.
"I…I will go speak with her." He looks at her as he finishes wrapping up her leg. "Are you alright there?" he asks her gently.
She looks up at him and nods. "Yes, I'm fine…shaken, but fine." She glances at Dark Sister before moving her gaze back to him. "Did I do well fighting her, master?" she quietly jokes.
Jon almost laughs. It wasn't the time for jokes, but he knew it was a way to deal with the madness that had just happened. "You did very well, Daenerys," he answers softly. He goes to leave, but she grabs his hand with her good one.
"Can you come back here once you're done?" she asks him quietly, swallowing. "I, uh…don't want to be alone much after that. Let the visitors downstairs leave drunk when they are ready." Jon nods, squeezing her hand. "And…thank you for taking over the orders for me today, when I was in shock…that really means a lot, Jon."
"Anything," he responds, squeezing her hand once more. He comes forward and embraces her tightly, feeling her sigh against him as her own arms wrapped around his center. Once he pulls back, he plants a soft kiss on her forehead and steps back. "I'll be back in a bit – going to get some answers."
Daenerys nods, sitting on her bed as she watches him leave, shutting the door behind him with a slam.
Jon had never been to the dungeon cells of the pyramid. He supposed he never really had a reason to considering they hadn't had any serious threats since they had been back. And the last threat he ever thought he would see would be his sister, wearing the outfit of a guard.
When he walked to where she was being held, he saw her look up from where she sat on the ground, her knees pressed up against her body.
"Nice way to greet family," she states as he walks closer.
"When you try to kill someone, that is usually how it goes," he responds, walking up to the cell. From the light of the candle, he could see her staring up at him. There wasn't anger in her eyes or mistrust. She just seemed tired. "Arya, how are you here?"
"Why are you here?" she counters, finally standing up to walk over to him. "I've been in Meereen for days, going through all the shops and inns, and never once did I see you. Why are you here and why are you protecting her? Are you going to kill her when you get the chance again because you couldn't get it right last time?"
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he suddenly snaps at her, causing her to still. "Over letters ago, you said that even though you didn't like her, you at least respected her for what she had done – how her dragons saved us when truly, there was no other way for us to have survived the Night King's army. And now, you come here and practically nearly kill her, threatening the lives of our children and the people here? This isn't like you, Arya. This isn't at all, and you fucking know it."
"You...you two have children?" she asks, shock in her voice.
"Dan and Daemon. Both are hers...it was destiny I came across Dan, and now I've come across the rest of them. And you nearly killed their mother."
The woman was quiet, looking at him. She didn't say anything, but he could tell from her expression that what he had said upset her. Good.
"I know you never would have found out about her being here if not for someone. Who sent you?" She doesn't reply. "Arya, who sent you or else I will make someone come down here and have you say it."
"Bran," she states, her voice soft, echoing off the hard, concrete walls of the dungeon. "He assigned me to assassinate her."
Jon curses, stepping back and running a hand through his hair. "How did he know we came here? We killed his men."
"He…he used his powers. Saw into a window or something."
"Fuck," Jon mutters, leaning against the wall. He had been right. That fucking bird had been Bran. Kinvara's lessons were starting to ring true in his head. If someone had enough power, they truly could warg into fucking anything, couldn't they?
"He…he didn't tell me that you were here."
"And that makes a difference?" he asks, walking over to her.
"I…I-"
"If I wasn't here, you would have killed her just like that." He snaps his fingers. "But now that I'm here, oh, suddenly it's too sensitive and-"
"I never would have tried to kill her if I knew you were here, Jon," she states back instantly, her hands wrapping around the bars in front of her, trying to see him better in the dim light. "I know how much she meant to you back then…I was shocked to find out she came back to life too, but I wasn't that surprised because that happened to you…I'm sorry. I-" She swallows and looks at the ground. "Why do you care so much about her? She burnt thousands of people to the ground."
Jon looks at her before keeping his voice calm. "The Daenerys I have with me now is not the same person we both saw in King's Landing. Something happened to her – I don't know what, but I know it made her do that. There had to be a reason. Because why would whatever God is up there bring her back if she was truly that evil? Explain that to me."
With that, Arya was silent.
"Daenerys is one of the kindest women I have ever met," he continues. "Yes, she can be ruthless, but only when she has to be for the sake of her kingdom – to protect her family and her people. I've seen that while I've been with her all this time. I've seen how much she has changed. I've seen her grow into something amazing. And I'm not about to let you get rid of that."
Arya looks back at him. "Why are you here in Meereen? How did you know she was alive? How long have you been here?"
"In Meereen? A few months now. But we had met long before in White Harbor."
Arya's brow raises. "White Harbor? When did you go south of the Wall? I thought you were with the wildlings when you wrote me your letters."
"I was. We were." He glances towards the stairs and sighs. "Dan started to have these dreams – vivid ones – about a boy that looked like her with different features, in a pyramid in Meereen. And then she heard a voice saying 'you must go South.' After a while, I started to hear the voice too, and we did. There, we found Daenerys. And her son, Daemon. People saw who Dan was, and we both knew she wasn't safe, so we traveled to Meereen, together."
Arya looks at him before smiling quietly. "Dan is here?"
Jon nods solemnly. "She's been through a lot…nearly died a couple of months ago after being stabbed by one of Bran's men."
Arya looks at him in shock. "Bran's men would never kill a child."
"Tell that to the scar on Dan's stomach," he states back to her. Arya was silent again, staring at the ground. Jon sighs before taking a step back, looking at her. "You look well, at least…I need you to explain that magic to me...what you did with the face. How did you take his features?"
Arya looks up at him and bites her lip before sighing. "It's, uh…it's more than magic, Jon. It's…" She runs a hand through her hair. "I learned it from the Faceless Men. It's the…face of a corpse and magic to portray the look of the man you killed."
Jon stares, taking two steps back before he could finally manage words. "You're telling me that you killed that man – Horah – so you could sneak into this pyramid, just so you could kill the mother of my children?"
In the dim light, he sees tears start to well up in her eyes. "I…" She takes a deep breath and looks at the ground. "Yes. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I…I didn't even know she could fight like that."
"I've been training her," Jon bites out.
"You've…you've done a really good job," Arya responds, looking back at him. "I…Jon, the Daenerys I know is someone that is a killer, someone who murdered thousands of innocent lives. I know that isn't the woman you see – I can clearly see that, whether you two are…something, or not, but you need to understand where I'm coming from and why I did what I did. But you've made me see clearly, you've helped me understand – I don't want to take away Dan's lives here, or yours. Please…I'm so sorry."
Jon doesn't move, his mind racing with what to do. In a way, he did understand why she thought that way. There were thousands of people out there who did, and it would be hard to change their minds about something if they didn't have solid proof that Daenerys was tampered with. But at the same time, he didn't think any of those people who did hate Daenerys would ever come close to Meereen. And yet, here was one, staring right at him.
If he hadn't come in time and surprised Arya, he didn't know what could've happened to Daenerys. And a part of him didn't want to know.
"I don't know what you expect me to do with that, Arya," he responds finally, looking at her. "I can't just let you go. Neither of us can. You tried to kill the mother of my children. And not only that, but you killed a guard and took his face to somehow sneak in here and do it. Those crimes are punishable by death."
He could see her stiffen up, but doesn't move. He lets out a deep sigh before shaking his head.
"I'm not going to kill you," he says softly, and he visibly sees her relax. "But don't expect that I'm going to just let you go, or let you be free…Dan thinks of you far too much in a high ideal for me to even think about killing you. And no matter what…you are still my sister. And I love you."
"I love you too," she whispers, tears finally escaping down her cheeks but she wipes them away. She swallows and chuckles a bit. "You look good…despite the circumstances."
He almost laughed at that but shakes his head, looking at the ground. "Gods…why did you have to do this, Arya?" he mumbles before looking back at her. "I know why but I-I just don't want to believe it."
"I know, I'm sorry. Please…I promise I'll walk out of here and never come back. Never even look at you. I won't even go back to Bran after hearing what his men did to Dan. Please."
"I told you, I can't just let you go," he says to her gently. "There has to be consequences. And when the queen and I decide on them, we'll give them to you…but you won't die. You can at least have that off of your mind."
Arya swallows but nods, stepping back from the cell bars. Jon goes to leave, but Arya calls out to him.
"Is Dan a good fighter?"
Jon smiles and nods, turning over to Arya once more. "She is. Sweet girl…you might meet her if you're lucky."
"And…and Daemon? Is he your son too? Are both of them…truly Daenerys'? As you said before?"
"Yes. They are." He crosses his arms against his chest. "Do you have an issue with that?"
"No," she answers, shaking her head. "I just…didn't know you had two." She looks at the ground before back at him again. "Are you and Daenerys together again?"
Jon sighs and shakes his head. "No…we aren't. But I care for her much. And that's why you can not just go and leave, as you said." He looks at her quietly before stepping back towards the stairs that would leave out of the dungeon. "Get some sleep, Arya. We'll see you tomorrow."
She doesn't respond, stepping back into the shadows of the cell. Jon sighs and goes up the stairs before closing the door behind him, leaning against it, taking a deep breath. He backs off after a moment and proceeds to make his way back up the pyramid towards Daenerys' room. But his head was filled with thoughts of his sister.
He didn't know what they were going to do with her. He did care for Daenerys, probably more than he even did before, and the last thing he wanted was for his family, of all things, to kill her. Or to threaten the lives of their children. But Arya seemed like she was very sorrowful. Like she understood him.
'It could all be a trick' he states inwardly to himself. 'She could be using your humility against you.' But that didn't sound like an Arya-thing to do. That sounded more like what Sansa would do – and she sure as the seven hells below him was not there.
He didn't know what they would do, but somehow, they would figure it out.
When he walks back into Daenerys' chambers, he was expecting her to be in bed. But what he found was something surprising and rather…funny.
Daenerys was standing in front of her mirror, cursing and trying to move out of her dress to get changed. As soon as she saw Jon, she steps away from the mirror and looks at him, her cheeks embarrassingly red. "The cuts and gashes are making it hard to move. Can you help me?"
Jon lets his mouth open and shut for a second before he looks at her again. "I, uh..can get Eleana and –"
"No, she's moving the guests probably out of the pyramid. Come here. I just want to go to bed. You've already seen me without clothes. It's not the end of the world." She walks gently over to the bed, sitting down. "I just need you to undo the string on the back…I can put on my shirt."
Jon nods gently, walking over to where she was sitting. He sits behind her and brings his hands up to her back, his fingers slowly untying the strings that kept her dress up. As soon as it was loose enough, he pulls it down her body, exposing her back to him. He's not going to lie to himself – the first thought that came into his mind was what they did in the past, but he shoved that deep down his body. There was no way he was thinking of that right now.
"There," he states, but he feels his voice crack and curses. His fingers had rested on her back and he felt her chuckle when it happened. She grabs her nightclothes and places her shirt over her head, covering her upper body as the rest of her dress slid down to the floor once she stands. After that, she looks back over at him, laying down on the bed. Jon quietly gets up and walks to the doors, closing them, before coming back.
He gently lays down on the bed next to her, remembering her request from before, only this time she pulls the fur she had over them, and she moves to him, resting her head on his chest. It was moments like this that fucked with his head. It felt just like before when they were on a bed and just together, but now everything was so bloody complicated. He wished he could just…do what they had almost done in the garden. Except right now, he couldn't.
"Did everything go well?" Daenerys asks a moment later. Jon sighs and quietly wraps an arm around her.
"It went about as well as you would expect. She admitted she had to kill Horah for his face."
"…I assumed so," Daenerys answers quietly.
Jon looks down at her, the clear struggle in his eyes. "I don't know what to do, Daenerys. She's my sister but-"
She brings a finger to his lips, effectively shutting him up. He looks down at her, and she moves her hand away before looking back at him. "It's alright…we'll figure this out tomorrow. For now, you need sleep, Just fall asleep."
Jon looks down at her before letting out a deep breath, and he lets himself close his eyes, resting against the pillow with Daenerys curled up into his side. He could feel her fall asleep almost instantly, but his mind was wide awake for a long time until he finally forced him to calm down, and let his head rest.
Tonight had been great and bad. And he knew that it was only going to get more complicated as time went on.
Daenerys
The sun woke up Daenerys the next morning, shining brightly into her eyes. But when she realized that there was a pair of arms wrapped around her tightly, it woke her up even more. And when she moved her body around, she could see Jon, still very much asleep, holding onto her.
It was funny, how she looked at him now. It was such a different look from the Jon she had seen the night before when Arya had attacked her. That Jon had been full of confusion and anger, but this one had the most peaceful expression she had ever seen. It was like all his stresses had melted away.
She brings a hand gently up to his cheek, stroking it softly. He looked quite handsome in his sleep…
She gently pulls herself back from him, moving his arms slowly, so he didn't wake up, before moving her body over to the edge of the bed. Her leg still hurt intensely from the gashes Arya had left in her, but it was nothing now that she couldn't handle. Her cheeks redden at the memory of Jon trying to help her get out of her festival dress. Even he had been embarrassed, but she had needed help.
Daenerys moves over to grab some home clothes, throwing a shirt over her body before sliding on some pants that Eleana had made especially for her. As much as Daenerys loved her dresses, when it came to mornings like this, she much preferred to lounge as much as she could before she would train with Jon or attend to her chambers.
As she got dressed, she saw the door open slightly, and she looks over to see Ghost peak in, obviously looking for his master. Ghost and Arya, the wolf, had been keeping low in the pyramid ever since Dan had woken up. She knew it wasn't what the direwolves were used to, but she was trying to make them as comfortable as possible.
"Hey there," she whispers as Ghost trots over to her. "Better be quiet – Jon is still sleeping."
Ghost rubs his head against her hand, causing her to smile. She had developed a liking for the direwolf. While he was vicious to people who posed a threat to his master's family, he and Arya the wolf were like big puppies when it came to them. They wanted to be loved and cared for, and she tried to as much as she could. On the boat, she had seen Ghost every day and even fed him occasionally, but since she had been training with Jon, she had gotten especially close to the direwolf.
He sits at her feet and she glances over at Jon's sleeping form, his chest rising and falling with each breath. After a moment, she turns over to Ghost, standing.
"Let's go visit someone," she states softly, grabbing a pair of boots before heading out the door. Ghost followed her, hot on her trails.
She hadn't visited the dungeons for a long time. Maybe it was because she hadn't needed to. The crime in Meereen had been so low, and she had tried her hardest to keep it that way. But the few criminals they did have, most did not end up seeing the light down here. But of course, the one person who did was the one they all knew.
As she walked through the dungeons, she could feel the heat of the fire reflecting off of her skin as a small figure started to appear in the corner. They look up and then glance back down once they realize who it was.
"Have you come to brag then?" the girl asks. Daenerys shines her light into the cell to see Arya. She had finally stripped herself of the guard's wear and now was down to just her simple clothes. "How you beat me and then shoved me in a cell?"
"I didn't shove you in a cell – Jon did," she corrects, walking over to her. "And I'm not here to berate you, Arya. I'm here to speak to you. Civilly."
Arya looks at her, and Daenerys could see the tired expression across her face. She hadn't gotten any sleep last night. But then again, who would when it came to where she was. "Alright, what about?" she asks, crossing her arms across her chest. "Because I surely do not have a lot to say to you."
"Why do you hate me?" she asks her, being as blunt as possible. Arya was quiet. "I have never done anything to you or your family. I never harmed your brother, or your sister, or Jon – I always tried to help your family as much as I could while we needed it. And yet now, you tried to kill me. Tell me, was this all because of King's Landing?"
"You expect it not to be?" Arya finally answers, coming up to the bars, but as she did, Ghost growled. Arya's head turns in shock as the large direwolf finally comes into view, its teeth barring menacingly. "You…you have Ghost here."
Daenerys smiles slightly. "Yes, we do. Jon brought him, along with Dan's direwolf."
"Dan has one?" Arya whispers in shock.
"Yes, and you want to know what she named her? Arya. After her famous traveling aunt." Daenerys could see the surprise, appreciation, and sadness written across the younger girl's face. "Now how am I going to tell her that her favorite aunt, the one that she aspired to, looked up to and even named her bloody wolf after tried to kill her mother?"
"I-did Jon tell you?"
"That you killed Horah? Yes. He did." Her voice was filled with ice, sharp as an icicle.
Arya runs a hand through her hair. "I…alright, I admit to that. I do. And I'm so sorry. But Bran – he's the one who sent me. He told me you were alive, and he didn't say that Jon was here. He…he didn't tell me that you had changed. That you were different. I…" She looks at the ground before looking back at her. "When I look at you, I still see that day. I was covered in soot and blood and watching children, mothers, wives, husbands, fathers – everyone die. You can't tell me that after Jon supposedly killed you, you instantly trusted him. I'm sure you wanted to kill him, too."
Daenerys was silent. While she did agree that when she first saw Jon in the inn again, all she felt was rage. And yes, a part of her had wanted to end his life. But she knew deep down she could never do it. She had cared too much for him, even then. But her and Jon, it was a different relationship. She knew where Arya was coming from. She had felt that rage before too and had killed people for it.
"I understand," Daenerys answers finally.
"I am sorry for what I did. I had absolutely no idea that Jon was here and that he was taking care of you, or that you two were together or ruling or –"
"We aren't." She looks at the young woman and shakes her head. "Jon and I – we're just…I don't know."
Arya raises an eyebrow. "He told me the same thing, but after how he protected you last night, I wouldn't expect you not to be."
"He protected me because a madwoman was trying to attack me," Daenerys responds snappily, looking at the girl. "Look – I understand your frustration with what happened in the past – with what I've done. I do…but I truly don't know if we can let you out. You killed one of my men and almost killed me."
"I know," Arya whispers, taking a step back. "And I'm going to have to live with it – but please, if Bran had told me a portion of what I had seen from Jon last night, I wouldn't have done it."
Daenerys brow furrows. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I already told you he didn't tell me Jon was here," Arya states to her softly. "He only told me you were alive and 'planning something.' Put two and two together, and you might think something terrible might happen. If Bran had said to me that Jon was here and not only did he care for you, changed everything, but his children were here? I wouldn't have come. I love my brother. Even when he first brought you to Winterfell, and so many people distrusted you, I decided to trust him with what he said because I knew he always had some of the best judgment of people. He didn't surround himself with hateful people – only the good. So I knew there had to be good in you. But when I saw what happened at King's Landing…I thought back on everything your grandparents had done, what your father had done, and I didn't know another way out besides killing you. That's why I followed what Bran said – because I thought we might have had another Aegon if we didn't."
Daenerys stares at her, trying to assess if the young woman was telling the truth, but all she could see was honesty in her eyes. Daenerys comes forward, her arms across her chest. "You said Bran didn't tell you everything…how much has he seen?"
"As I said, he only told me you were here – he didn't mention Jon or your family at all. For all I know, he could have seen everything through his powers…I didn't know what he did to Dan. I'm sorry…that doesn't sound like the Bran I know."
Daenerys nods, thankful for the apology. "Dan's a strong girl…she made it out with only a sore stomach." She looks back over at Arya before sighing. "I'm sorry about what happened in King's Landing. While I can't justify the thousands of lives lost, I can reassure you that I feel complete sorrow for it. I have nightmares almost every night about what happened, even though I can hardly remember how it happened. They haunt me constantly. Just know that what happened…it will never happen again."
Arya's brow furrows. "Wait, what do you mean you don't remember how it happened? You lost all your friends, your family…two dragons, I believe. You don't think that would have caused you to snap?"
Daenerys raises an eyebrow at her. "Arya, if kings and queens snapped at the losses of loved ones, everyone would have been a mad ruler. Of course, I was distraught. I was angry as well. But I don't recall anything persuading me to kill thousands of lives. I always said before that I wanted to be the queen of the Seven Kingdoms, not of the ashes…and yet it happened, and I don't know why. I don't understand how it happened because I know I am not that person…but I don't have the answer to that, so the best I can do is apologize for what did happen and promise nothing like that will happen again."
Arya tilts her head slightly. "That's…strange. That you don't remember."
"You're telling me," Daenerys mutters before taking a step back. "Well…I wanted to come down here before Jon woke up to talk with you. I suppose I achieved my result."
She goes to leave, but Arya's voice calls out to her.
"I never hated you," she states, causing Daenerys to turn. "I'm sure Jon has told you this, and maybe you didn't believe him, but believe me – I never did hate you, to answer your question."
Daenerys stares at her, trying to process what she was saying. "Then why do you act like it?" she whispers, her voice shaking.
Arya was quiet, looking at the ground. "I guess I just didn't want to lose my brother," she responds finally after a moment, looking up at her. "I had just gotten him back when he brought you to Winterfell after years of not seeing him, and you were a Targaryen to add onto it…it was scary to imagine him leaving his home for someone we had just met. But I wanted to trust you – and you did help us immensely. And I will be grateful for that. Then King's Landing happened, and I didn't hate you…I was just disappointed. Angry. Upset. All of which you were when you lost your supporters. I thought his idea of his dream woman had failed, and yet here you are, still standing. So no, Daenerys. I don't hate you…I just wish that what happened back then had happened differently."
Daenerys stares at her quietly, seeing Arya looking back down at the ground. She was shaking her leg, clearly anxious before she moves her head back to Daenerys.
"I didn't have a lot of figures that I looked up to growing up," Arya states quietly, finally taking a step back and looking at Daenerys. "My mother and my sister were the perfect images of what a lady should be – something I never wanted to grow up as. I wanted to be like Jon, like my brothers, but there were so few girls who were like me that it was almost an impossible dream. I had heard about you when I was in Braavos. And even though you were a Targaryen, I admired you for what you had done. And when Jon first brought you, I did want to trust you. I wanted to finally have someone, a girl, who was like me – who wanted to fight for what they believed in…when King's Landing happened, I thought I lost that. I can see now that I didn't." She looks back at her, crossing her arms across her chest. "I know you can never forgive me for what I did – what I almost did – but just know I…I am sorry. I…I had no idea that Dan was your child. Jon always talked about how amazing she was, and it would be great if I got to meet her…I grew into the woman I am practically without a mother since she was killed…I'd hate to do the same to them."
Daenerys nods. She didn't know how much she could trust Arya after what happened, but for once, the girl did sound genuinely sorrowful for what she had done. While she knew she couldn't release Arya just yet – she had still killed someone – she at least knew the girl understood who she was now and who Jon had become.
"I'll have guards bring food down to you three times a day," she states to her. Arya quietly nods, glancing at the ground. Daenerys bites her lip before sighing. "Listen to me, Arya." She looks up at her. "I have always had respect for you. I always thought you were an amazing fighter. I mean, you killed the Night King – that obviously counts for something…Jon loves you very much, despite him being the one to throw you down here. He did it for precautionary reasons…right now, it's very tense…but you can rest easy for now."
Arya nods quietly again. Ghost sniffs at the bars before following Daenerys back up the stairs. She could hear the girl sigh as she did, before a soft patter onto the floor, indicating she had sat back down. Daenerys didn't want to hurt Arya. She wasn't that much younger than she was. She was lucky that no one else had seen her assassination attempt.
Maybe they could figure something out, but for now, it would have to be handled very carefully, one day at a time.
Dan and Daemon
"Why do you think we were rushed to bed last night?" Daemon asks Dan early that morning.
They had both gotten up to train together – something Dan had encouraged to get herself moving again following her injury – but this time it was filled with conversation of last night's festival. Dan had gotten to meet so many people like her in Meereen, plenty of children who knew how to fight and run around. They had danced and had fun, but it had been cut off so suddenly.
"I don't know," Dan responds, blocking one of his hits, but he swings at her leg and causes her to tumble, before pointing his sword at her. "Hey!"
"Doesn't father say watch for the unexpected?" he asks snidely. She pushes his sword out of the way before shaking her head, standing up.
"Oh, ha ha," she mumbles before glancing at Daemon. "Do you think there was an invasion?"
Daemon snorts. "An invasion? Pretty sure we would have heard it."
"No, um…wrong word," she states, shaking her head. "Do you think, maybe someone tried to hurt mother? Or father? And that's why they rushed us to bed?"
Daemon's brow raises in surprise, but he shrugs. "I wouldn't think it would happen, but I also wouldn't be shocked if it did...plenty of people have tried to kill mother in the past. I don't know how many with father."
Dan bites her lip, placing her sword down. "Maybe we should look around…see if something happened?"
"I don't know," Daemon states, crossing his arms across his body. "They might have rushed us for a reason – we may not want to see it."
"Well, clearly, I do," she states quietly. "Don't you think it's strange that father and mother have always told us about everything, and yet they don't tell us about this?"
Daemon was quiet, glancing at the door. "But what if mother or father see us sneaking down there?"
"I'm sure they're too busy training right now," Dan states to him. "This would be a perfect time. No one is looking after us. We have Arya." She points to the direwolf, who tilts her head at Dan's voice. "We can even bring her with us if we get nervous. Come on…you can not tell me you aren't the least bit curious."
Daemon looks at her before back at the direwolf, and then at the door. "Fine… we can go down, but we need to make sure we're back up here quickly. Don't need the guards finding out we went to the dungeons without their supervision."
"We have survived being taken away to some abandoned city – I'm pretty sure we can survive a trip to the dungeons." She looks over at Arya and whistles, and the direwolf comes over to her. "Let's go."
When the twins reached the bottom of the pyramid, way down to the dungeons, Dan held a lit flame on a torch. While she knew she was probably more than capable with the power she had, she didn't know how to manipulate it outright, so she preferred to just use the old fashion way for now.
"Have these been used often?" Dan asks Daemon.
The young boy shakes his head. "Not often. I know that before mother slaves used to be tortured down here, but we don't have many instances of serious crime anymore – we don't even know if anyone is down here right now. For all we know, mother and father could have killed them."
"I don't think they would do that unless it was a real threat," Dan states, looking over at him. "That doesn't seem like them."
"If it were a threat to us, it would be," Daemon responds. To that, Dan was silent.
Her direwolf walked ahead of her through the quiet cells. Dan had read stories of when Daenerys used to use the bottom of the pyramid as a dragon pit, to keep them locked away from the city of Meereen. Now, even if she wanted to, the dragons were far too large to keep them hidden from the world.
The direwolf suddenly stops and starts to growl at a cell. Dan and Daemon stop, following the animal's gaze. They couldn't see much past the darkness, but from the small flame that Dan held lit, she could see two feet sticking out from a figure.
"Hello?" she calls out. "Were you here last night?"
She sees the figure look up, but still couldn't find any serious features. "Yes, I was," the person replies. It was a girl.
"Our mother and father made guards take us to our chambers," Daemon states. "Were you the reason? They haven't told us anything."
The person looks away. "Yes."
Dan looks over at Daemon, who was encouraging her to keep speaking. "What happened?"
The person doesn't respond. Daemon comes forward.
"We are the children of the queen," he starts, his voice firm. "If you don't tell us what happened, we will report to her."
"Ah, so you are Jon and Daenerys' children," she starts, shaking her head. "If your parents haven't told you anything, shouldn't you not be down here?"
"It doesn't matter if we are or aren't," Dan states, trying to light the cell more. She could see a bit of the body now. "What matters is that we want to be safe from the people who are trying to end our family. And we don't want another person in the pyramid who tried to do it."
The direwolf beside her sits down, staring at the cells. Quietly, she finally sees the person stand and walk over to her. The light begins to show more of her face. Short hair, brown eyes – only maybe a little bit taller than Dan. She had on filthy clothes and had cuts across her face – probably from the night prior. But the girl rests her hands against the bars, looking at the two children.
"Aye. I did try to kill your mother. For what she did in King's Landing. And I've already apologized for it to her directly."
"But why?" Daemon asks. "What relation do you have to her? She's never done anything to you."
"She stole my brother away," the girl jokes.
Dan's brow furrows as she lowers the flame slightly. Her brother? "Are…does that mean you're-"
"Arya Stark? Yes, it does."
Dan takes a step back. She almost glances at her direwolf before she looks back at the woman in front of her. "I…I had no idea. You…my father used to tell me stories and…I…" She swallows and glances at her wolf again before her cheeks turn a dark red. "I named my direwolf after you…" she mumbles. "And you…tried to kill my…mother…"
Arya sighs before running a hand through her hair. "I know." She looks over at the little girl again. "And I regret it. I know both of you probably have mixed feelings about this, but I need you to know that neither of you is in danger…to be honest, the person who sent me didn't even tell me that she had children. He didn't tell me Jon was here, and that you meant so much to him. I was here for her only, and hadn't even seen you – just had focused and listened to what he had said. And that was wrong."
Daemon's brow furrows. "Who sent you?"
"King Bran," she sighs. "My brother…who I'm sure you know well, Dan," she states a moment after, gesturing to her stomach.
Dan instinctively places a hand over her wound. "How did you know?"
"I told you, I talked with my brother and your mother today. You're not the first to be speaking to me." She looks down at her and bites her lip before sighing. "I really don't think it's smart of you to be down here…you need to go back upstairs before a guard catches you."
Dan looks at her before glancing back at the stairs. "Are…are they going to kill you?"
"Your mother and father both assured me they wouldn't," she states gently to the girl and boy, looking at them both. "I…I don't know when it is that I will see you again, but I want you both to know that you two have parents that love you more than anything in this world…I can tell from how they speak about you. Whether I'm sent away or anything else…you must know that."
Daemon smiles a bit, grabbing her sister's hand. "We do know." He looks back at Arya. "But what does that mean for you? Even if you're sorry you…I've just never heard of good things," he admits quietly, before looking back at her.
"That's for your family to decide," she says to him softly. "For now, you two don't need to worry about me. Go back up to the world and live your life…one day we might be able to show each other our fighting skills, right, Dan?"
Dan smiles a bit. She had always wanted to fight with Aunt Arya and see if her skills were any better than hers. Her father must have told her through one of his letters. But if she was killed…
Suddenly, the dungeon door opens, and she sees light peak through from the top of the stairs. The two twins look up before running behind a pillar, the direwolf following closely behind them. She sees Arya wave goodbye to them discreetly, but before either could wave back, her smile disappears, and it was back to the frown from before.
They hide as they see a guard come down with food, and the twins use that to their advantage before running up the stairs behind the man, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once they were up at the top, they run around the corner, waiting for the guard to walk past once he was done giving the food to Arya.
After a few moments, the footsteps fade away as the door closes behind the guard. As soon as he leaves, the direwolf sits between their feet, and Dan and Daemon look at each other, still just as shocked.
"What are we going to do?" Dan whispers, and to that, Daemon was silent. He didn't know either.
The Targaryens
When night had fallen, and the direwolves were fast asleep in their master's chambers, it was the first time the family had come together since the night before. The meeting hall where the festival had taken place was clean, and the pyramid was silent except for the clinking of forks and knives across plates in the Targaryen dining room, where Jon, Daenerys, and the children sat.
It was quiet, tranquil. Much quieter than the children usually were, which arose concern from the parents. They took a glance at each other before looking back at the kids. Jon clears his throat before looking at Daenerys. "This chicken is delicious," he states, breaking the silence, mouth full of food.
Daenerys smiles. "I'll be happy to let Eleana and the cooks know. They've been paying attention to what the children have been liking." She swallows a piece of her chicken before turning to the two of them. "Is there something on your-"
"We know about Aunt Arya," the two of them said, both at the same time.
Daenerys stares in shock while Jon drops his fork on his plate. "What?! Who told you?"
"We went to the dungeon ourselves," Daemon answers.
"The dungeons?" Daenerys gasps, her brow furrowing in anger. "You two didn't even know what had happened, and you put yourself at risk going down to the dungeon? What if it wasn't Arya? What if it was a murderer?"
"Technically it was," Dan mutters before turning to them. "But we could have handled ourselves – and we were curious! You ended the festival so early and didn't even tell us why! Just let the guards take us away."
"It's not about the fact that you can 'handle yourself,'" Jon instantly states, standing up. "Whether you two like to admit it or not, you are still children. You should have waited until we told you what was happening."
"What happened to always telling each other the truth?" Dan asks accusingly. "You said-"
"Seven hells, Dan, I wasn't going to lie to you!" he snaps, causing her to sink in her seat a bit. "Neither of us were! Your mother and I have been spending the whole day trying to figure out how to tell you what happened. We sent you to your chambers so you wouldn't see your Aunt Arya get dragged away."
"We've seen much worse things," Daemon points out.
"That doesn't mean we want you to see anything else that's horrible," Daenerys instantly states back. "What you and Dan did shouldn't have happened. Your curiosity could have gotten you hurt if it wasn't Arya. They could have reached out, tried to kill you from the behind the bars-"
"We had my direwolf," Dan says quietly.
"A young direwolf can only protect so much," Jon states to her, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Its teeth aren't as sharp, and they aren't as strong. Even if you did have your direwolf, if it was someone else and they tried to hurt you, I don't know what would have happened."
The two children were silent, as the parents stared them down. Daenerys looks at Jon before taking a deep breath. Once she was done, she stands and walks over to them, kneeling to their level. "I understand why you were curious as to what happened. I know I would have been at your age as well. But you need to understand that whatever we may do that seems out of the ordinary, your father and I do it to protect you. We don't want you two wandering off into situations that you don't know, and this, regardless of what the outcome was, was that."
Daemon looks over at her and then back at Dan. "We're sorry," the two of them state, glancing at the ground.
Jon looks over as Daenerys turns her head to him, nodding at him to come over. He sighs and stands, walking to their side. "Next time," he states quietly, walking to their sides. "If you're going talk with someone that you have no idea about, talk with us before," he states, grabbing Dan's hand. She looks over, wiping at her nose. She looked like she had been about to cry. "I'm sorry for yelling," he says to her softly. "I just don't want you or your brother endangered. And when you two do things like that, it scares us. I know – and so does your mother – that you two know how to fight, but that doesn't change the fact that you are our family, and we want to be there to protect you."
Dan nods, swallowing. "I understand," she whispers, as Daemon nods.
He looks over at Daenerys, who was now standing. "What are you going to do, though?"
Daenerys brow furrows. "What do you mean?"
"With Aunt Arya," Dan answers for her as Jon stands, leaning against the table. "She said you weren't going to kill her."
Jon lets his gaze drop over to Daenerys. "She told your mother the same thing she told me – that Bran convinced her to do this and didn't tell her that we were here."
"She said the same thing to us," Dan states quietly, looking at the two of them.
"He did that purposefully," Daemon adds on. "She said that if she knew-"
"She wouldn't have attacked," Jon finishes, looking over at his son. "She told us the same story. And I believe she means it." He looks over at Daenerys, who nods. "Since you two are so aching to know, we haven't decided precisely what is going to happen with your Aunt. Yes, I know that you look up to her," he says to Dan gently, who was quiet. "But you do need to understand that she almost hurt your mother – and killed a guard to get to her."
Dan's brow furrows. "H...what?"
Daenerys sighs and shakes her head. "It's a long story."
Dan and Daemon share a glance. "More magic?" Daemon finally asks.
"Too much," Jon answers before walking over to the fireplace that sat in the dining chambers. "Either way, it's still up in the air. It's not like we can just let her leave or allow her to walk around."
Daemon glances at his father before gesturing to the door. "What if you used her as a spy? Or an ally?"
Jon's brow furrows. "What do you mean?"
"Well I mean maybe if you kept a close eye on her, you could use her as a way of telling you about Westeros – what King Bran might be planning, because it's quite obvious he's not thinking of having a civil conversation with us," Daemon points out.
"And she loves you," Dan adds on softly. "She might do it for you…she said she was sorry. Maybe even for forgiveness from mother."
Daenerys sighs and smiles at her daughter. "I don't know how well that would work, Dan."
"You wouldn't know unless you tried," she answers. "Daemon has a point. Aunt Arya might know what is happening in Westeros – and might have an idea of what is happening. It's worth a shot asking her."
Daenerys looks over at Jon, who was quiet. He sighs and nods his head. "I suppose we could at least ask her. She's right – it wouldn't hurt to try," he states gently to Daenerys.
The queen sighs and nods her head. "Alright…we could ask her tomorrow. Both of us," she states to Jon. "I don't think she'd do it if it were just me asking her."
Jon nods, squeezing her hand. Daemon looks over at Dan, giving her a raised eyebrow. The girl rolls her eyes, looking back at her food. "So, mother," Daemon states quietly, trying to change the subject finally. "Did you like your surprise from father?"
Daenerys instantly starts to blush and clears her throat, downing the wine that remained in her goblet. "I loved it," she says to her son softly. "He said you helped him. How did you find what she looked like?"
Daemon smiles a bit. "You'd be amazed at some of the paintings you'd find."
Daenerys shakes her head and looks at them both. "Well, it was a very thoughtful surprise. One day that sword might even be yours – and you helped create it again. You should feel proud."
Daemon smiles brightly. Dan tilts her head. "What sword? What happened?"
"Oh, that's right. You were sent to bed before I got to show you." Daenerys stands and walks over to a table in the corner, picking up a sword she hadn't seen. "Your father and I were practicing before you came to dinner – he had Dark Sister re-forged, one of the-"
"-ancestral swords of House Targaryen," she whispers in shock, looking at the details of the sword Daenerys showed her. "This is amazing. I saw drawings off it in my books – even jumped into the past to see it – but here it is."
Daenerys brow furrows. "Jumped into the past? What does that mean?"
Dan looks up at her before sheepishly looking at her mother and her brother. "I guess father didn't tell you – I can use my visions of the past with books. I'm able to step into memories."
"Huh," Daenerys states, raising a brow at Jon, who raises his hands in defense. He barely knew how to talk about it, either. "Interesting."
"When I read about Dark Sister, I saw the last person who had it, but it was never revealed where it might be. But now it's…it's beautiful." She looks over at Jon. "Where did you get this father?" Dan whispers in shock.
"I had it done down at blacksmith in town. Took weeks."
"It's amazing," she whispers, shaking her head – and then she frowns. "I want a new sword," she mumbles.
Daenerys chuckles and sits down. "Why? Your sword is fit for you."
"I know…I wish I grew quicker so I can get a new one."
"That is something that has been happening," Daenerys points out, moving her sword back to the table before sitting down. "You two have stopped aging incredibly quickly – at least from what I can tell."
"That's true," Jon agrees, looking at the two of them. "I always wondered why you grew so much quicker than other children."
"Didn't Kinvara say something about it being meant for something? If we're not growing now, does that mean we already did what we had to do?"
Daenerys bites her lip and shakes her head. "I don't know…maybe you two just needed to meet each other for you to return to normal. Stranger things have happened in this world." Dan only shrugs to that, turning back to her chicken. Daemon glances over at Jon.
"Do you know if they have any other Valyrian weapons down there, father? Ones they could still reforge?"
"I believe so, but I don't know how much for a sword," he admits to him. "Maybe for a dagger or an ax …it would have to depend on the size and-"
Suddenly, the doors to the dining chambers swing open, causing the family to jump and look over. Four guards, including the head one, Racho, and he had a long piece of what looked like parchment in his hands. "My queen," he states, kneeling on his knees while the other guards do the same. "I am sorry to disturb you and your family's feast, but I must relay to you information we have found on our deceased guard, Horah."
Daenerys brow furrows as she stands, walking over to them. "You may stand…what is the information?"
The four guards stand, and Racho walks over to her, handing her piece of parchment. "We can confirm that Arya Stark killed Horah through a slit neck, but apparently, her killing Horah was for the best."
Jon's brow furrows. "What do you speak of?"
"Read the letter out loud," Racho states to her. "We found it on his person."
Daenerys eyes scan over the letters before she lets out a deep, shaky breath, clearly too shocked to read what the parchment entailed to the rest of them, and Jon hears her slowly exhale the word "…fuck."
Jon stands and walks over to her before grabbing the parchment gently from her hands. He starts to read out loud. "To King Bran of the Seven Kingdoms – I am a Westeros man who has been working under the rule of Queen Daenerys Targaryen, pretending to be a guard so I could offer all the information you may need. I am willing to offer your men entrance into the Great Pyramid here for an exchange of land on Westeros – perhaps even a castle? I do not support the changes the Queen has made in Meereen, and have been working for her for months to gain…her trust…now is the perfect time to strike. Things are tense here – and your time has come. I'm done serving her – I want to serve the true…king," Jon mutters, crumbling up the paper and throwing it away. He looks over at Daenerys, who had shakily sat down on her chair. "Daenerys-"
"What if there are others?" she whispers, looking up at him. "Other spies?"
Jon looks over at Racho, who raises his hands above his head. "I have served my queen for years now. I could never change my support for who I believe in." The other guards around him nod as well, bowing their heads. Jon sighs and walks over to where Daenerys sat, wrapping an arm around her side, rubbing her back.
"What does this mean for Aunt Arya?" Dan asks.
"It means she did help us already more than we know," Jon responds, looking over at his daughter. "And we're going to take that into account when we figure out what to do with her." He sighs and shakes his head. "Arya always was an excellent judge of character when she was younger. I suppose that never went away. She must have thought something was off with him and that's why she picked him to kill."
"We need to close the gates," Daenerys says after a moment, looking up at Racho. "Or close the windows here to stop that man from using his powers on us. We need to do something. This can't happen again."
Racho nods his head. "We are working with multiple guards right now to figure out the best course of action. We will not allow for some stranger to weasel their way into the walls again, my queen. Or you can have my head the next time it happens."
Daenerys nods softly, looking over at the children. "Why don't you two head to bed? We're going to need to talk about everything that's happened."
"But-"
"Dan," Jon's voice cuts in, causing her to quiet down once more. "We understand that you want to help, but right now, it's better if you go and rest. We will tell you about everything later. Please, for us, take your brother and go to bed."
Dan and Daemon share a look before they both collectively sigh. "Fine," they mumble.
But just as they stood to get up, a loud bang was heard – like a door slamming against a wall, and a booming voice echoes throughout the halls, coming closer to where the dining chambers were. "Oh, Daenerys!"
The above-mentioned woman lets out a low sigh before seeing both Kinvara and Eleana come in, the two women looking very much annoyed.
"I'm sorry, your grace, we tried to stop him but-" Eleana was cut off when the door was burst open yet again, but instead of it being guards relaying information to them this time, it was Daario, who had his sword in his hands – and was quite clumsily walking up to her. By the gods, he was drunk. "He pushed past us before we could do anything."
"Oh shut up," Daario slurs before turning his head back to Daenerys. "How are you, my queen?" he mocks before shaking his head. "I heard your festival was cut short – maybe for the better, considering you're losing your fucking head."
"Daario," she starts calmly, raising her hands to stop him from coming closer. "You are drunk right now. I will not allow you to say such things as were repeated last night. Either you go to your chambers now, or we will be having issues."
"What things?" Jon asks, standing. Daario turns his gaze on him, before raising his sword suddenly in the air, pointing it directly at him.
"You," he snarls, taking a step forward. "You and all your 'high and mighty-ness.' I have something to say to you, Jon Snow. Why don't you just take your fucking freak of a daughter and go back to the North where you two fuckers belong?!"
Jon walks over to him as Daario points his sword towards him. Daenerys stands in between them. "Enough!" she snaps at him. "I will not have you threatening my family!"
Daario glares at her. "I can't believe you," he states. "I have done everything for you. I've trained your bastard son, made sure you were protected, and here you go stabbing me in the back for everything I've ever done. Do you know how that makes me feel, Daenerys? Pretty shitty."
"I thought you did it out of loyalty," she states angrily, taking a step back. "I never stabbed you in the back. I brought my family here."
"The family that killed you! You fucking insane queen!"
Jon suddenly steps between her and him, his hand on his sword. "I suggest you leave."
Daario stares at him before smiling slyly. "Oh, and what are you doing to do? Kill me? Oh smite me – I'm ready for this," he growls, grabbing his sword. Jon takes a step back as Daario swings it at him. Daenerys goes to grab her sword and turns to her guards at the same time, but Jon calls out to her.
"Stop. This is between him and me," he states, turning to her. She shakes her head in shock.
"I can help! The guards can help! Don't do this, Jon," she responds, but he shakes his head.
"I can handle myself. Racho, just make sure this madman doesn't go near the queen." Racho nods, his hand on his sword, watching Daario closely. He could clearly recognize when a man needed to be silenced – and this was the case with Daario. The man mentioned laughs, staring at Daenerys with an incredulously look on his face.
"Oh – you've been letting this bastard train you too?!" he yells, his face swelling as red as tomatoes, the rage radiating off his body. "You little traitor!"
He goes to strike at Jon, but he easily dodges and hits him back, sending him flying onto the ground. Daario glares at him.
"You son of a bitch," he snaps. "You've stolen everything from me – and now I'm going to steal it back."
"I haven't stolen anything," Jon states calmly. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Daario. As much as the man had annoyed him, he didn't want to kill one of Daenerys' oldest friends – and supporters. But he was getting quite close to the edge. "I am protecting my family, and you need to realize that."
"Oh, so you can fuck the queen?!" Daario yells. Dan and Daemon are suddenly pushed back by Daenerys as Daario stumbles their way. "Become a big happy family again?" He turns back to Jon. "I can assure you, bastard, no matter what you do, you will never be the person you wish to be. You will always be some lowborn scum who never should have gotten the chance to dig your cock straight into the queen!"
That had been enough. Jon suddenly strikes down on Daario, sending him backwards towards the curtains. It was enough to make the man bleed on his cheek, but not enough to knock him down. He smirks at Jon, stumbling.
"I bet I made the queen scream louder than you – cum harder. I can tell you, the people of Meereen probably heard her for hundreds of miles, and yet you have probably never made a dent, you fucking murderer!"
He strikes at Jon, and he strikes right back, blocking every hit. It helped that the man was drunk as day, but Jon could tell that Daario was strong – even in his current state. He kicked Jon in the shin, which caused the man to curse and fall to one knee while Daario stared down at him, his eyes filled with anger and hatred.
"I'll tell you what I'm going to do, Snow," he snarls at the man. "I'm going to take your woman, take your children, and take them somewhere far away from here. Fuck her until she realizes she was completely fucking wrong about you, and then kill you in a ditch. That sounds nice, huh? I like that idea."
Jon suddenly snaps and uses his leg to trip Daario, sending him to the ground. With that, he slams his sword down into the man's collapsed form, right into the lower part of his leg, him crying out in pain and clutching his skin. Jon stabs it deeper, the man's words ringing in his ears. He wanted to kill him. The very idea of him stealing his family away raged deep, vibrating off his core, but he held himself back. He kept all those feelings back. Instead, he yanks the sword out of the man's leg, glaring at him. Daario yells out in pain, clutching his bleeding wound, glaring at him.
"You're never going to steal my family," he snaps, leaning close to him. Daario shakes as he holds his leg, his sword right next to his body, fallen out of his hand. "I don't care about sex, or fight ability, or any of that – I care about keeping what is mine safe.And you are not safe. Not at all." He looks over at Daenerys. "He has to be locked away."
She was quiet, staring at Daario. "I didn't know he would become like this. I'm sorry, Jon. He disappeared last night – clearly to drink."
"Fuck you!" Daario snaps. Jon, in turn, kicks him, causing the man to yell out in pain. Jon grabs Longclaw and wipes the blood off, watching as Dan and Daemon appeared out from behind Daenerys, staring at the bloody mess on the floor.
"Come on," he states quietly, wiping the few bits of blood from the small cuts on his face. He could hear a slight shuffle from behind him but thought nothing of it. "Take the man and-"
"Jon!" Daenerys screams, running forward suddenly with the guards, the children staring behind her.
Before he could question why she was screaming, he felt a piercing pain enter his body. It felt like a thousand little knives had pierced his skin. He collapses to his knees before he looks down, seeing a blade sticking out of his chest, right from the back, straight through his body. He looks around hazily and sees a struggling Daario, who was smirking up at him, shaking.
The sellsword had used his good leg to stand and grab his sword. And when Jon had his back turned, he dug the weapon into him, right when he wasn't looking.
Daario pulls the blade out as he fell from his weak state, blood from Jon splattering onto the ground as he did, and Jon collapses, spurting up blood as the world started to grow black around him. He could hear Dan screaming, see Daemon running forward. He could feel Daario get dragged away, the guards shouting in a foreign language. But the last thing he felt was soft hands, holding him close, pulling his body onto her knees, staring down at him.
"Jon," he heard her whisper. "You need to stay awake – don't close your eyes! Look at me!" she cries. He manages to open his eyes slightly, looking at Daenerys. Even now, even in his state, she still looked as beautiful as the day he first met her.
"Dany," he chokes out, blood dripping from his mouth.
He could see tears start to fall at the mention of her name, and she stares at him, her hand holding up against the wound Daario had inflicted on him, trying to stop the bleeding. He hadn't followed one of his own rules, one of the first ones he had taught Daenerys.
Always expect the unexpected.
"Please, Jon," she whispers. "Don't leave me, please. You need to stay awake, we...we can help you - at least try to...please."
The blood had dripped down onto his hand. There was practically a puddle around them. He heard shouting muffled in the distance, but all he could see was Daenerys. At that moment, two more figures appeared in front of him, the hazy forms of Dan and Daemon, both crying. He reaches out his hand, and the two children grab it tightly.
"Father," Dan cries, barely able to form words.
"Listen…to your mother…" he breathes out. Each time he talked…it was getting harder. "Never…leave your brother. Family…is every…everything."'
Dan could hardly form words. "I love you," she cries.
"I love…you too, my…little…wolf," he whispers, hearing Dan cry harder at the statement. Everything was fading. Guards had at this point knocked Daario out, dragging him to the side, blood staining the surface he was dragged on. "Daemon…protect your sister. Always…always be there for her…."
"You're not going to die," he whispers in shock. "You can't. You can't."
Jon manages a grim smile before grabbing the boy's hand. "Protect your sister…protect your mother. Promise me."
Daemon stares at him, tears streaming down his cheeks before he nods. "I promise…I love you."
Jon finally lets his hand fall. "I…I love you too," he manages, his voice barely above a whisper. He now moves his gaze to Daenerys, who was still crying, tears falling down her cheeks. There were two people behind her, trying to take her away, but she pushes them back. "Dany…"
"Stop," she whispers. "You're not dying….you…."
"Dany," he repeats, trying so hard to stay awake. Just for this. Only for this. "You…were everything. My everything…you made me…me feel…so…good…please…don't change. Don't ever change…keep them safe…keep…our children…safe…I…" His breath was leaving him. He stares up at her, darkness enveloping his vision. She was the last bit of brightness. His strength was leaving. Everything became muffled, even his voice. "I…l…"
The world became black.
Daenerys
Daenerys stares down at Jon as he stilled. She could hear her children crying, hear her guards yelling, her mind screaming at her for not protecting Jon, for not yelling at him earlier, to tell him Daario had gotten up. He had been so stupid to let him live. He should have killed him; he should have –
"No," she whispers, as reality hits her, his limp body resting against hers, his heart stopped, his breathing stilled. "No, no, no."
Tears had fallen onto the ground, mixing with the blood that had formed beneath her and her children's feet.
Jon Snow was dead.
Big oof, right?
Now before you all come at me with your pitchforks and swords, remember that everything happens for a reason in this story. We can't have everything be family bonding - gotta have some drama in there too. But I can assure you that this ain't gonna be the last you see Jon - it's only going to get more wildin' from here.
As always, love it? Hate it? Want to crucify me like Daenerys did to the slave masters? Let me know in the reviews, as they always keep me writing and trying to push out these chapters for ya'll - i promise next chapter won't be an eye sore and be thirteen thousand words long lol you guys are amazing! Don't forget to follow and favorite if you want to join us on the adventure, and I will see you all in the next chapter. Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a nice day. Wash your hands and stay healthy! :)