Chapter 9: Caught

Daenerys felt the wind whip through her hair as the motorbike sped down King's Road in Chelsea. She looked around at the city lights rushing by and held onto Daario tighter. But he felt different – taller, maybe – his shoulders broader. They weaved in and out of traffic, traveling at breakneck speed until they finally made an abrupt stop outside of Buckingham palace and she wondered why he took here here instead of home. He got off of the motorcycle and lifted her off with ease, his hands seeming stronger and surer than she remembered. He gently removed her helmet and then removed his.

It wasn't Daario staring back at her. It was Jorah.

"Daenerys, are you alright?"

"Daenerys?"

"Princess?"

Daenerys opened her eyes, her head throbbing slightly from the night before. She looked at the clock and realized how early it was still, and that she had barely gotten four hours of sleep.

She sat up in bed, shaking off her dream when she realized that she could still hear Jorah's voice – he was knocking on her door.

"Come in…" she said, softly. The events of the previous night started to come back to her - Daario setting her up and trying to take advantage of her and Jorah stepping in just in time.

Jorah looked solemn as he walked into her bedroom. Underneath his left arm was a thick stack of newspapers. "I wanted to let you sleep longer, but we need to talk about last night."

He hadn't gotten much sleep himself. After making sure the tipsy Princess was put to bed, he stayed up filling in Lyanna, having a firm talk with Grey, making sure Missandei was packed up and sent home, and then scrolling through social media to make sure there were no traces of her being out. He thought that it could be the end of it. Grey learned his lesson, he would speak to the Princess in the morning, and they could all forget it.

That was until he saw the newspapers the next morning and Petyr Baelish called him and requested both Grey and the Princess at the palace by noon.

"Where's Missy?" Daenerys asked, trying her best to directly avoid his eyes.

"I sent her home. No point in her being here to deal with this…" he continued, laying out each paper on the edge of her duvet.

The Second Sons Frontman Scores

The Princess and the Rocker: Everything We Know

Princess Daenerys Takes a Joy Ride

Each paper had a blown up picture of Daario and Daenerys walking to his motorbike outside of the Troubadour or speeding off on it. Daario had gotten all of the publicity he could ever want.

"Why are you even here? I thought you were with your family?" Daenerys rubbed some sleep out of her eye, annoyed at all of this and it came out more critical than she intended. She just wanted to pull the covers up over her head and sleep her hangover off.

"Clearly I can't take any personal time without you finding yourself in trouble." He said. His voice had an edge to it that was hard to miss, "Your father wants to see you and Grey this afternoon."

"This is my fault, not his."

"Why did you leave with Daario?"

"I don't know. I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously. You were both drunk when I showed up last night. It's a miracle you weren't in an accident or worse. You aren't just anyone, Daenerys. You are the Princess of England. Stories like this have repercussions…" Jorah continued. He was no stranger to talks like these, having to dress Rhaegar down about his playboy behavior before he met Lyanna. But when Rhaegar was closer to her age, social media wasn't as prevalent. Since he had woken up, #thesecondsons and #bikerprincess were trending and the photograph of her looking back over her shoulder with her arms around Daario's waist on the motorbike had been retweeted almost a hundred thousand times.

"But I didn't do anything with him…" Daenerys finally looked her private secretary in the eye and saw a myriad of emotions right beneath the surface. He seemed angry and worried and annoyed, as was she.

"It doesn't matter what really happened - we both know that he set you up. But the British public feels that they are entitled to your life now, just as they felt entitled to Rhaegar's. Viserys hasn't given them anything to latch onto, so this one falls squarely on you."

Daenerys sighed. She had been careless and had ruined the night for so many people. Now Grey was in trouble, which would upset Missy, no doubt. And because she had been presumed missing, had made Jorah cut his weekend short. "I'm sorry, I truly am. I should have never left the club in the first place and I'm sorry that I made you fly back down here for me."

"I'd make the same choice again. I'm glad you are okay, Princess." Jorah said sincerely, softening his tone with her. He'd been hard enough on her and knew that the real scolding would come from the King. He gave her a small smile before lightly suggesting she get a bit more rest before getting ready to head to Buckingham.

"What about Daario's bike?" Daenerys asked just as he turned to leave. Jorah pivoted on his heel to look at her, a smirk on his face.

"What about it? Grey and I have a new toy." It was the one good thing he had gotten out of that encounter beyond making sure the Princess was safe.

He stepped out of her room and closed the door behind him, just as he felt his pocket vibrate.

Sansa Stark [8:31 a.m.]: Thinking about last night. Are you free tonight – same time, same place, maybe a different ending?

Jorah had been so preoccupied that it felt like his time with Sansa was weeks ago, not just hours. His heart jumped a little at seeing her name and the flirtation in her text, but he was also too focused on Daenerys to want to start a conversation.

Jorah [8:32 a.m.]: No. Back in London already.

Sansa Stark [8:33 a.m.]: I'll be back in town on Wednesday with Robb. Maybe a double date?

Jorah knew she was only kidding, but he didn't have the energy to play along.

Jorah [8:33 a.m.]: I'm sorry Sansa. I'll have to let you know later.

Sansa [8:34 a.m.]: Busy taking care of the Princesses' little scandal?

Jorah put his phone back in his pocket and sighed. Of course she knew, yet he found Sansa's comment about it a bit crash. She and the Princess would probably never be the best of friends, but Sansa playing nice would make everything a hell of a lot easier. He was getting defensive over Daenerys. She had just made a mistake – she was sorry, and nothing had happened between her and Daario. Embarrassingly, that was the aspect that calmed him the most.

~o0o~

"I'm extremely disappointed in you Daenerys." Aerys started the conversation with his daughter when she walked into his office. He had just finished his talk with Grey and had an unpleasant call with Ned Stark earlier that morning, so he wasn't in a good mood.

"I'm sorry, father – but what happened with Grey? Because it was my fault." Daenerys asked, rubbing her palms together from nerves. She had worried about his fate all morning, especially when he had walked out of his office to send her in, his face drawn. Missy had been texting her every few minutes wanting an update, worried that he would be fired and she might never get a chance to see him again.

"Oh, I know it was your fault. That's why he received a stern warning and only that," the King continued on, speaking to her like a delinquent employee rather than his only daughter. "Do you understand what this looks like to me? Blowing off your security detail and making Captain Mormont derail his weekend all so you could get pissed and God knows what else with some attention-seeking, barely relevant rockstar?"

Daenerys crossed her arms, her eyes stinging from holding back tears, "What does it look like?" She prompted him, but she saw the fire behind his eyes and already knew the answer.

"Like you are some common tart, not the Princess of England. Ned Stark called me this morning, furious. How is Robb supposed to date you and eventually marry you when you are riding around on motorbikes with other men?" He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to argue back with him and she had to swallow down the hurt coursing through her body. He would never understand if she tried to explain that she was set up, or that she had no interest in Daario. Her father had a bigger plan and she had unknowingly attempted to interfere with it.

"I don't want to marry Robb." Daenerys said firmly, raising her voice just a bit. If she could fight him on any bit of this, it would be that.

"But you will. You are going to go out on a date with him this week and I am going to make sure you are photographed doing so." Aerys had already spoken to Baelish and the PR team for the Royal family on ways to spin this in their favor. He needed both of his children to look as good as possible. Since Rhaegar's death, there had been murmurs, very quiet ones, but murmurs nonetheless that there were prominent members of parliament looking into abolishing the idea of a royal family altogether and ushering in a new age for Britain. The notion was brought up every so often without much substance behind it, but the public was currently on edge after Rhaegar's death. They had loved him and wanted him to be King more than they had ever loved or would ever love Aerys. And Viserys didn't have a favorable public reputation either. He needed Daenerys to shine.

Daenerys nodded, resigned for now. "If that's all?"

"Robb will be contacting you, and I'll know if you ignore him." Aerys sighed and picked up some of the papers on his desk, slipping his glasses on, which signaled the end of the conversation.

~o0o~

Jorah sat uncomfortably in one of the high-backed chairs in Petyr Baelish's office. The King's private secretary had asked to speak with him while the King was busy with Grey and the Princess. He and Petyr spoke everyday, and had for years. He was the main point of contact for him and Melisandre and all major events for the Royal family were planned and disseminated through him.

Britain thought King Aerys a powerful man, but in reality, Petyr held most of the power. He knew everything about the Royal family inside and out, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise to Jorah when the casual beginning of their conversation quickly turned personal.

"It is such a shame that you weren't at Kensington when Daenerys went missing. Grey is capable, but I'm sure you could have found her before all of this nonsense…" Petyr drawled, stirring his tea with a small silver spoon and offering a cup to Jorah. Jorah shook his head and crossed his legs, focusing on the view from Petyr's window instead of looking right at him. Something about his slightly beady eyes had always bothered Jorah.

"The boy set her up." Jorah noted gruffly.

"Of course he did. And he was smart to do so. His band now has over a million followers on social media. Overnight. All because of one picture," Petyr continued. "Aerys refuses to believe that and I'm sure is ranting on to her right now about how she's a little whore…"

Jorah flinched at the word. He hated that Daenerys was being painted as some harlot for one image of her holding onto some guy on a motorbike. When there were pictures of Rhaegar drunk in a club dancing with a random girl, he certainly wasn't taken very seriously, but he also wasn't vilified for it.

"She made a mistake. Her phone died and I came back as soon as I was able. Am I not allowed to have a weekend with my family?" Jorah asked Petyr, who he was pretty sure never took a day off. The man never shut down and didn't have any family to speak of. His life was the Targaryen legacy.

"But were you?" Petyr asked nonchalantly, turning away from Jorah and clicking through Twitter on his computer, looking at the new tweets about the Princess.

"Sorry?"

"Because I thought you spent most of your Saturday night with Sansa Stark?" Petyr turned back to Jorah with a little grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

"How did you…"

"After all these years, Mormont, and you still underestimate me?" Petyr leaned forward, his hand absently stroking the small patch of hair on his chin. "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"If?" Jorah asked. There was always an 'if' with Petyr.

"I'm thinking about a favor I need from you and I'll let you know when I need it. But for now, yours and Sansa's little tryst is safe with me. Unless you are careless like Daenerys and end up in the Daily Mirror". Petyr's shit-eating grin was hard to take and Jorah knew he had been caught out. "Look, Mormont. She's beautiful, I understand that. But you need to be a little bit more careful with her – if I knew you had drinks with her this weekend, then you aren't being as discreet as you thought you were."

"I appreciate your concern." Jorah said and stood up. He heard Daenerys' lilting voice from outside Petyr's door and assumed she was done meeting with her father. There was nothing more for him to say. He had no idea how Petyr knew about him and Sansa, but now it was being held over his head. The man had always had a bit of an obsession with the Starks, in particular Catelyn, so it wasn't far-fetched. But it still felt invasive.

"Oh, and Jorah? The Princess will be going on a date with Robb Stark this week – don't get distracted and lose her again."