~ Welcome ladies and gentlemen of all ages! I would like to make it known that I am not an avid watcher or reader of Game of thrones so therefore I will be adding twists to the story so no one has to go through the struggle of correcting me. I also suck at uploading stories, as you can see from my Transformers story that I started in 2014 and still haven't finished yet. I do plan on uploading a new chapter of that by the way... I also do not claim to own any of the original characters belonging to GOT, only Ranta and her House specialties.
This is also my first attempt at a GOT story so go easy on me :D Toodles!
- LikeAnEcho
House Naylor: You cannot hope to stand against the storm.
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.o.0
"But I do not understand. Viserys is dead, the deal should be null and void. Why must I still go through with this marriage?" Daenerys sighed heavily, sitting still as a comb ran through her hair. "The deal is not null and void." a woman five years older than the last remaining Targaryen, corrected as she gently combed a snarl out. "You have said it yourself, Viserys is dead, not you. And unless you want the wrath of forty thousand Dothraki warriors bearing down on Pentos for cheating the Khal out of a wife, then you will go through with the marriage."
The former Targaryen lord had fallen ill not long before the deal between he and Khal Drogo occurred. Additional facts of the deal entailed that Viserys insisted on the horse lord marrying his sister within two months time so he could get his army, sail for Westeros and reclaim the throne that belonged to his family line. However, Viserys' illness had worsened as the date grew closer for matrimony. Healers from Pentos, Braavos and even Qarth had come at the request from Magister Illyrio but not even their combined knowledge could cure the mysterious illness that had filled the silver haired man's frame and ended his life a week before his younger sister was to be married.
In turn, Daenerys was now the last Targaryen and under the protection of the woman combing her hair, Ranta Naylor and Lord Illyrio instead of Viserys and Illyrio. Ranta was an old friend of Daenerys and Viserys, though she was closer to Viserys due to the closer age proximities. She was there by his side when the news of Jamie Lannister murdering his father, the Mad King, hit.
She was there when Rhaegar's death had reached the ears of the quickly diminishing family and she had been there when Rhaella the Targaryen queen died on Dragonstone giving birth to the girl whose hair she was combing now. The Naylorian woman had been with the violet eyed siblings through it all, helping them shuffle by from city to city after Ser Willem's death. It was when Viserys was laying on his deathbed, did Ranta learn just how much her loyalty to him and his family meant.
"The gods must hate me, Ranta, to have what I want most in front of me, but unable to grasp it. No better than denying a dying man water…" he trailed off bitterly, staring deep into the blue eyes he had always loved. Ranta took his hand in hers and pressed it to her cheek from her position at his bedside on her knees. " Do not give up hope so easily, Viserys, you'll pull through this." she whispered gently, though even she doubted the words herself.
The man scoffed lightly however with whatever strength he had left, " These peasants couldn't stitch a wound if their life depended on it, let alone heal me. I know I'm dying, Ranta, it's only a matter of time...Reclaiming the seven kingdoms would only have been a bonus when it came to making my vision come true." Ranta looked at her friend confused, "But you have always wanted Westeros, it's all you ever dreamed of." she proclaimed. The man chuckled weakly, his fingers in her grasp shakily stretching out to cup her cheek.
"And what is a King without his Queen? What is any man without his wife? I would have seen you by my side in matrimony before even sitting upon my throne. But since I cannot have you or my Kingdoms, I need you to promise me something." Viserys ignored her stunned look and continued on, "Daenerys will be marrying the leader of those savages Illyrio is friends with. He says that the Dothraki do not cross the Narrow Sea, I say otherwise. Find a way to get them to cross, find any formidable army to cross. Take back the Seven kingdoms in my name, Ranta." he instructed.
Ranta blinked, mouth agape. "B-but Daenerys-" "Daenerys is no dragon, she is weak. She couldn't rule the Seven kingdoms even if those savages backed her." he spat, but then paused, a wistful smile now coming to his face. "But even if she was a dragon…even if she did take Westeros... what dragon could ever hope to stand against the storm?"
Viserys had passed the next day after his confession, and his words had echoed in Ranta's head ever since. Take the throne in his name? House Naylor had no legitimate claim to the throne, they had been the Targaryen muscle outside of dragon fire ever since Aegon the first's reign but that gave them no right to rule over the people. Then again, Aegon never had a right when he took over.
"Ranta? Are you alright?" Daenerys voice broke her train of thought. The older woman realized that she had stopped combing her hair entirely, " Oh. Yes, yes I am fine darling." Ranta assured, running her comb through the younger woman's hair again. It was silent a moment before Daenerys spoke up, "You were thinking of Viserys again, weren't you? What did he say before he died?" she asked abysmally, her brother may have been cruel to her but she still loved him nonetheless.
Dany understood that he and Ranta both had their lives snatched away from them unfairly because of the rebellion, she knew that Ranta had coped much better with this fact than Viserys who often took his anger out on those around him - especially on his little sister because she had killed their mother trying to bring her into the world. That is why Daenerys never complained when he struck her, or verbally abused her. Her brother had been unwell in the head, and she could not loathe him for a reason that was out of his control. Not when it was the fault of a traitorous family or two.
Ranta swallowed, "He told me that he wanted to marry me, that he wanted me to be his queen." she revealed. Daenerys huffed a laugh, turning her head to look over at her friend with a smile. Daenerys had always been a bit jealous of Ranta's looks; she was tall, curvy, graced with bright blue eyes to match the sky on a sunny day and blue hair to match the color of the sea. Despite her strange hair color, that not even Ranta knew why it was colored the way it was, the woman was very beautiful without a doubt.
"Well that's a given, anyone could see that my brother loved you." Dany claimed, causing Ranta to blush and look off to the side bashfully, "Well it was a surprise to me." she mumbled. "What else did he say?" Daenerys asked next, playing with the ends of her combed hair. Ranta hesitated for a while, but Daenerys did not rush her, she merely waited patiently for her childhood friend who was like a sister to speak. "Viserys does not want you on the Iron Throne." the younger girl's fingers stopped playing with the ends of her hair.
" He wants me to take the throne in his name." the blue haired woman finished softly, no longer combing her hair. Daenerys slowly turned in her chair and looked up at the woman who had a regretful look upon her face, strands of hair falling from her grasp. "He...doesn't want me on the throne?" she echoed slowly, mind swirling with the information. "What army would even back you if you went through with his dying wish?" Daenerys questioned, but it wasn't said with distaste, it was genuinely filled with curiosity.
Ranta sighed heavily and shrugged her shoulders, "Your guess is as good as mine. Viserys wanted me to convince the Dothraki to cross the Narrow sea, but if I could not do that then I need to find any formidable army to cross and take back the kingdoms in his name." Daenerys got up from her chair, and walked to her dresser, grabbing a small sized chest and carried it back to Ranta. Resting the chest on the chair, the blonde woman opened it to reveal its contents. Inside were many pieces of jewelry Daenerys had come to posses, but the largest piece was her mother's crown that Ranta had convinced Viserys not to sell for money when a merchant suggested it during a bartering session.
Lifting it as if it were glass, Daenerys placed the elegant golden crown encrusted with jewels so beautiful that King Baratheon would be jealous of, atop of the exotic blue strands of hair that graced Ranta's head. After adjusting it slightly, Dany took a step back and smiled lovingly at the sight before her. "You look beautiful, and strong...fit for ruling the Seven kingdoms if I do say so myself." Ranta smiled, touched by her friend's actions and words.
"Thank you Dany, but I think it takes a bit more than beauty and strength to rule. An army would help, along with wisdom, experience, knowledge in the game of the high lords of Westeros but more importantly, the support of the common people." she explained, reaching up to remove the crown but was stopped when Daenerys grabbed her wrist to limit her movement. "You are very wise for your age. You already have experience and knowledge of how to deal with the high lords because you and Viserys had to deal with them when trying to scrape together an army outside of the Dothraki when we were all younger."
"Which we failed in doing"
"You failed in doing that because you had no army backing you. Now it will be different." Dany claimed determinedly, folding her hands in front of her. "And why is that?" Ranta challenged. "Because you are looking at the future wife of Khal Drogo, who has forty thousand riders at his back. And if I say that we will ride behind Naylor banners then we will ride behind Naylor banners." the Targaryen said with no room for argument.
Ranta smirked at the younger woman, so much for being weak like Viserys claimed. "Forgive me, my ladies." a meek voice said, gaining their attention. It had been one of Lord Illyrio's female servants holding a bundle of cloth in her hands. "Lord Illyrio bids you to wear this, lady Daenerys, to your meeting with the Khal today." she explained holding out the bundle for inspection. Ranta moved forward, and grabbed the cloth from her. "This is very fine fabric, Dany, feel it yourself." she encouraged her friend.
Daenerys reached out to touch the dress beneath Ranta's fingers and couldn't help but admire the texture of it. "This is very nice fabric, it was very kind of him to gift me this. Would you send him my thanks?" the Targaryen asked of the servant who nodded. "Right away my lady." the servant bowed and made to leave the room, though she paused in the doorway and turned back to the two regal women.
"If I may be so bold, Lady Ranta," she deviated their attention away from the purple silk dress, "you look very queenly with that crown upon your head." she smiled before departing to deliver Daenerys' gratitude to her master. Once the door shut, Daenerys looked up to the blue haired woman with a victorious smirk on her face. Ranta snorted lightly and rolled her eyes, " Oh stuff it, don't you have a future husband to meet soon?"
0o.0o..o00o..o0o0.0o.0o..0o
"Your hand is sweaty."
Ranta laughed at the harsh swat she had received from the blushing blonde next to her who was now rubbing her hand on her dress. She had been standing with Lord Illyrio and Daenerys in Viserys place for obvious reasons, but as time went on, the older woman began to grow restless. "Magister, if I wanted sore and blistered feet, I'd walk all the way to Qarth and back. Where is he?" Ranta asked a bit testily.
Illyrio turned to the woman beside him, "The Dothraki are not known for their punctuality, your guess is as good as mine. It is entirely possible that they haven't even left their camp yet." He said dryly much to Daenerys' amusement when she spotted Ranta's displeased one, however, it was gone in a flash when the sound of hooves hitting the ground filled the air. The trio waited in anticipation for the Khal and his blood riders to finally in sight, and soon they did, pulling their horses to a stop in front of the Pentos lord and his female companions.
The older woman watched as Lord Illyrio made his way down the steps and up to the Khal, "Respect to one that is respectful, great Khal Drogo. May I present my honored guests, Ranta of house Naylor, the first of her name, life long friend and protector of the Targaryen line. And her friend, Daenerys of house Targaryen, also the first of her name, princess and the sole survivor of her family." Lord Illyrio introduced with a wave.
"Do you see how long his hair is? How it runs all the way down his back?" Ranta began whispering to Dany, "The men only only cut their hair when they are defeated in battle. It is so the whole world can see their shame. Khal Drogo has never been defeated; he's a phenomenal killer, as well as his friends there." Ranta didn't get to say any more, because right at that moment Illyrio turned and motioned for Daenerys.
"Come forward my dear." He smiled, pressing a hand into her back once she was next to him and gently pushing her forwards in front of Khal Drogo for him to inspect. The younger woman had to take a deep breath before raising her head and forcing herself to meet the Khal's...no, her future husband's eyes. Even from Ranta's position back near the house, she could see that the brown coloring of his eye nearly completely blended in with his pupil.
His skin was also much darker than Daenerys', for obvious reasons and there happened to be a scar on his left brow, barely missing his eye. No doubt from an old battle wound, a close call from the looks of it. Had the Khal been a split second slower in his reaction time he surely would have lost his eye. As her young friend and Khal Drogo stared at each other, his rugged face gave nothing away to reveal his thoughts and feelings.
With the sensation of a pair of eyes burning into the side of her head, Ranta turned away from the couple she was watching and looked over to where the sensation was coming from, only to see that it had been Khal Drogo's bloodriders. Particularly the youngest one amongst them. Ranta quirked a brow and waved with a small smile, which snapped the men out of their dazes. The youngest blushed horribly at being caught and turned his head away, lashing out at his laughing friends.
Another minute had went by before the war lord suddenly broke their gazes and turned to the Magister, "You said she was the last of her family. What happened to the blonde haired man, the brother of the Khaleesi you have offered me?" he asked in his gruff voice. Lord Illyrio frowned, shifting his weight from side to side, "Unfortunately, Khal Drogo, Viserys passed a week ago from illness despite all our healers efforts from Pentos, Braavos and Qarth alike."
"What about the woman next to her?"
"...I am not sure, Khal Drogo. But I do know that Ranta is not royalty, nor is her family. The Naylor family have simply been the muscle of the Targaryen armies for as long as anyone can remember. Though, if my servants have heard correctly, then Viserys has named Ranta the rightful heir of Westeros on his deathbed even though she shares no blood relations with him or Daenerys. If she plans to fulfill his desires, however, I am not sure."
"..."
"..."
"The blonde one will do." Khal Drogo spoke after a long moment of silence, turning his horse around and rode off without a word, his men following behind him. A small gasp escaped past her lips as Ranta watched the group leave. He hadn't liked her?! The woman rushed down to the Magisters' side "What was that? After all that talking you two did, did he seriously not like Daenerys?!" she asked incredulously.
Lord Illyrio opened his mouth to respond but was soon cut off by the older woman, "How can he not like Daenerys? She's as foreign and exotic as they get! …..Besides me anyways." she added as an afterthought, "Was it because she is too young?" Illyrio raised his hands calmingly and motioned for the elder woman to relax, "I assure you, my lady, that if he didn't like young Daenerys, then we'd know." Illyrio commented dryly.
The Targaryen protector snorted unlady like, "Well like that's any better. How are we supposed to know what his decision is?" she questioned and was met with the same dry look. "We are still alive, aren't we?" Lord Illyrio pointed out, which she reluctantly agreed to. "But what about the ceremony?" Daenerys asked, putting the attention onto her. The Pentos lord folded his hands behind his back with ease, "The ceremony is over. There will be a feast tomorrow, to celebrate the union, but that is all." He shrugged.
"So Khal Drogo liked Daenerys?" Ranta asked for clarification.
"Yes."
"They will be getting married tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"Will you have your servants make me those little berry pastries I like so much?"
"Ye-" Illyrio stopped and looked at a now grinning blue haired woman with his own smile and wagged a finger at her playfully. "Consider yourself lucky you are well liked my dear." he chuckled, leading his younger, soon to be former houseguests, inside.
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"You know, this party is awfully deep into full swing considering we just got here." Ranta said thoughtfully, riding past tents and groups of half naked dancing people of men and women alike until they reached the heart of the festivities at the top of the hill they were on. There seemed no end to the amount of people dancing to loud and rambunctious music, in fact, most of the population here already seemed to be quite deep into their cups now that Ranta thought about it.
"I would certainly hope so my lady, considering the marriage ceremony begins at dawn." Illyrio informed the blue haired woman as they rode through the mass of people gathered for the wedding. A party beginning at dawn? That was entirely too long for Ranta's tastes.
Suddenly, a particularly strong gust of wind blew back the hood on the cloak Ranta had been wearing over her dress, and revealed her strange hair color before she could hide her hair once more. It seemed like that the moment her hood went down, all eyes appeared to land on her and her small group instantly. Dancing came to a halt along with the music as the Dothraki people stared down the companion traveling with the new Khaleesi, causing Ranta's heart begin to race nervously as she yanked her hood back up as their horses continued their journey for another few minutes.
She supposed amongst the deeply tanned skin, dark hair and eyes, she was a rather sore thumb along with Daenerys who had also began to get stared at once the Dothraki pieced together that she was the Khaleesi that was promised. Soon, Ranta dismounted her horse along with the rest of her party when they stopped at the top of a hill - giving her thanks to one of the slaves Illyrio had brought with him when he took the reigns of the animal who had carried her quite a ways to her wedding.
"Now that you have arrived, young Daenerys." said man turned to the silvery blonde haired girl, " the feasting will begin and shortly after will be the gifts." Illyrio drew the bride to be in close as he explained this and walked her towards the altar where her husband to be was waiting. Ranta trailed behind slowly, looking amongst Daenerys' new people and grimacing when she noticed that quite a few Dothraki who had noticed her strange hair color had been passing along what they had seen to their fellow horse riders from the amount of pointing, staring and whispers directed in her direction she seen.
"Before that happens though, you will approach your Khal and take his hand." Illyrio continued, unfazed by what was happening around him, "He will walk you up to your seat next to him and wait for you to sit, which signifies that you both consent to the bonding. Then the feasting and gift receiving shall start and there it is you are to remain until the end of the feast." he explained as quickly as he could as they walked closer and closer to the altar where Daenerys would be seated upon.
"Sounds easy enough." Daenerys breathed more to herself than to anyone else. "We'll be right here, Dany." Ranta lightly touched her friend's shoulder comfortingly before the young girl hesitantly walked up to the bottom a small set of low stone steps leading to the altar she would be sitting upon. A few men lounged on each side of the staircase, each side just as equally half naked and armed with curved swords.
In the center was Khal Drogo surrounded by said men who were his blood riders that they had seen yesterday. The Khal walked down the three steps of the altar and held out his hand who easily doubled the size of his new wife's. Daenerys took his hand with slight hesitance and allowed him to lead her up to her seat on a cushion of fine fur pelts. Glancing nervously at Illyrio, the female Targaryen saw him making a 'down' gesture discreetly with his hands, reminding her to sit so the feast could continue. Smoothing her dress under her, Daenerys seated herself delicately on the soft furs. The Khal sat down beside her, and the party erupted into cheers and pleased shouts before the celebration went back into full swing.
Approaching the altar, both women noticed, were slaves holding plates of meats, berries, fruits and the Gods only knew what else. Ranta did her best to hide her distasteful amusement at the sight of the mysterious meats being offered to her blonde haired friend as she whispered under her breath, "So I am guessing that not eating anything at this wedding would be considered an insult, right?" Ranta semi-joked, effectively gaining a smile from Illyrio next to her but no verbal answer.
However, a deep chuckle sounded behind her, effectively startling the exotic woman. Ranta turned and smiled lightly at the sight of a blonde, blue eyed man clad in light armor whose pale skin was of what could only be seen at Westeros. "Forgive me for laughing, my lady, but perhaps I could be of some service to you in pointing out which foods that would do you justice?" he asked. The woman smiled gratefully and nodded, "That would be amazing, thank you…" The man bowed his head respectively, "Ser Jorah Mormont of Bear Island, my lady." he returned to his normal position.
Ranta placed a hand over her heart and extended it towards him with a small dip of her head, "My heart sings to have made your acquaintance, Ser Jorah, I am Ranta of house Naylor...I am also hungry, shall we find the food you were talking about?" she asked when she noticed the stunned look on the knight's face when she mentioned the house she came from.
She rather not think too deeply on why he had been so shocked to hear her last name. Ranta was well aware that her family had scattered during the Mad King's reign, leaving her alone with the Targaryen family, but the Targaryen queen had well brought the somewhat abandoned Naylor under her wing and far out of reach of her husband's grasp. When house Naylor had been subjected to the King's madness by a burning of one of their own, they did not revolt. They simply fled. Half of them ran because of self preservation and the other half because of orders given by the queen so her husband could not use or harm them any longer.
Jorah cleared his expression and smiled, offering his arm to her, "As you wish, my lady. I have never heard that saying before, or seen that greeting. Where did you learn it from, may I ask?" he questioned as he lead them to a table filled with food. "I read it in a book once, a book of folklore filled with mythical creatures and ancient people that belonged to the races of Dwarf, man and elf." she informed him, eyeing a cut up loaf of bread.
"Well it is a good thing that at least two of those things have become reality now isn't it? That is sweet bread by the way, I think you would enjoy that with a bit of honey drizzled on it." Ranta's interest piqued at this information and reached for a plate, but was intercepted by Jorah's hand halting hers. "Allow me, my lady." he grabbed the plate and placed a few slices of bread on the dish and lightly drizzled honey over them before ushering her further down the table.
The Mormont collected a variety of fruits and berries that were significantly sweet once he was informed that the blue eyed woman preferred sweet fruits and anything else sweet in general. "Will you not eat, Ser Jorah?" Ranta asked as he lead her away from the food table without getting a plate for himself.
"I was here at dawn, I've been eating all day." he informed her with a chuckle as he escorted her to an empty table for them to sit down at. Ranta thanked the man wholeheartedly for his help before beginning to try out the sweet bread she had been eyeing ever since she arrived at the food table. "If I may be as so bold to ask…" Ser Jorah suddenly spoke up after the woman before him had emptied her mouth of sweet bread.
Piercing blue eyes met a paler blue as Ranta looked up, "Though the Dothraki are well into the celebration, most of them and other guests as well seem to be rather flustered by your appearance, my lady. Some say that Lord Illyrio has cheated Khal Drogo out of the most exotic wife. They say that you should be the one marrying the Khal if not for your exotic appearance then for the fact that you are not just barely into womanhood. Why-?" Jorah cut himself off when Ranta raised a hand and gave him a smile.
Flicking away the bread crumbs from her fingers, Ranta lowered her hood again, allowing her multi colored blue locks to be seen. Though the music did not stop this time, there still was still a considerable amount of staring from those who had caught sight of the eye sore that was Ranta. " Despite my exotic hair color, I am not royalty. Khal Drogo wants royal and exotic, I am only one of those." she supplied with ease.
"But did Viserys, may his soul rest in peace, not name you his heir? Does that not give you a bit of royalty to your name?" Ser Jorah questioned. Ranta blinked, staring at the man in disbelief. How in the seven hells did he find out about that? "And how pray tell, did you come by this bit of information?" the woman frowned. The knight seemed to realize that this bit of information was not supposed to be public knowledge and shifted warily.
"I heard it from Khal Drogo's bloodriders, who heard it from Lord Illyrio during the meeting yesterday, who must of heard it from his servants who must have over heard you and the Khaleesi speaking about it...the Storm Queen of house Naylor will sit on the Iron throne in the name of house Targaryen." he narrated. Ranta sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of her nose, "People talk way too much around here." she drolled.
Ser Jorah hesitated before asking," It is true then? You are Viserys' heir?" Ranta's brows furrowed at the prying question and straightening her posture, "Why do you want to know? Will you slit my throat in my sleep if it's true? Or would you take the cowards way out and send someone to kill me instead?" she accused. Grey blue eyes widened as the Mormont shook his head frantically, "Nay my lady, I loyally served under King Aerys Targaryen the Second, Gods be good I always hope to serve the rightful King...or rather Queen in your case, your grace."
Ranta stared down the man in front of her unwavering for a few long moments before sighing again, and waving off his declaration, turning her attention back to her plate. "Well I wish you the best with that, good ser." she popped a grape into her mouth.
"...A Naylor sitting on the throne would certainly be a sight to see, what does the Khaleesi think of this?" Jorah mused, rubbing his bearded jaw though his question was never answered because Ranta had then stood. Grabbing the nearly empty plate with one hand, and nodding to Jorah, "Thank you for keeping me company Ser Jorah Mormont of Bear Island, I hope you enjoy the rest of the feast." she declared.
The former knight quickly stood, a frown upon his face, "I meant no offense, my lady, if I have indeed offended. I just-" "Was curious, I know." the corners of her lips turned upwards, hoping to calm the man. "I am not mad at what you asked. Or offended." Ranta laughed lightly, "I'm just going to find Lord Illyrio and try to get as close to the new Khaleesi as possible. I was just trying to spare you of having to endure entertaining me for any longer, but if you want to follow, you can." she offered kindly, "But I do believe that the bestowing of gifts is about to begin if I am not mistaken." Ranta motioned to the crowd of people beginning to line up with various crates and boxes in their hands.
"So it seems." Ser Jorah agreed, " Farewell for now, my lady." he bowed politely. "Farewell, Jorah and hopefully the next time we meet you will have more sweet bread with you." the woman joked. The man chuckled and nodded, "I'll be sure not to approach you without it." he returned before walking away to grab his present for Daenerys and join the many others in line.
As Ranta approached the area where Lord Illyrio was last seen, she suddenly heard her name being called by a familiar voice. "Ranta! Ranta!" Daenerys called out, standing from her position at the altar. Said woman's eyes all but popped out of her head at the sight of what the young Targaryen was doing. Speed walking up to the silver haired girl, Ranta smoothly pulled Daenerys back down and sat herself next to her in one smooth motion, one eye on the Khal who had tensed and stood as well once his Khaleesi had.
"Dany darling, I love you but if you ever do something like that again, your hair will be colored vomit green for the rest of your life." the blue eyed woman chuckled nervously as Khal Drogo eyed her thoroughly before sitting back down on the pile of furs, seemingly uncaring of the new addition on the altar. "You wouldn't do that to me….. would you?" the young woman fretted, grabbing onto her braided hair once she seen the look the older woman gave her. "Try me." Ranta shot back dryly, "Now what is so important that you needed to flag me down like that?" she questioned.
"I cannot understand them, any of them." the Khaleesi hissed under her breath. Ranta looked at her incredulously, "And I can?! I'm just as clueless as you are when it comes to Dothraki language and culture." she pointed out. "That may be true but I still rather not be the only clueless one up here when they start handing out gifts." Daenerys informed her.
"Oh so if one of us looks bad, then we all have to look bad as well?" Ranta smirked lightly and huffed in exasperation when her friend nodded with a cheeky smile. However, that smile soon dropped when a man suddenly approached the two women on the altar. Ranta slid over to the side to create a bit of a distance between them despite the small noise of protest that escaped past the Khaleesi's lips.
The man bowed low as he held a curved sword that many of the Dothraki soldiers bore, out to Daenerys. "Smile and nod. Smile and nod!" Ranta hissed frantically to the young Targaryen who simply looked down at the man before her. Daenerys snapped out of her bewildered daze and quickly did as instructed once the man lifted his head to see if his new Khaleesi liked his gift.
"Thank you, for the gift….it is a fine weapon crafted by only the best I am sure." she said kindly though she knew he could not understand her. At the sign of her approval, a slave then stepped up and took the sword from the man and carted it off to a location that would hold the Khaleesi's gifts. This process continued with all who presented their gifts, whether they be medicine boxes, cloth waiting to be made into clothes, more weapons, paintings or jewelry.
While Daenerys grew to genuinely appreciate the gifts bestowed upon her, Khal Drogo looked like he rather be somewhere else at the moment, unimpressed with the gifts brought to his young wife. However, when a familiar man took his turn to approach, the Khal straightened up and greeted him in Dothraki. Much to Ranta's surprise, it had been Ser Jorah. She hadn't known he and the Khal were close enough to warrant a specialized greeting. Once the two men finished conversing, Jorah bowed his head to the war lord and moved over to present his gift to the Targaryen girl.
"A small gift for the new Khaleesi." He explained, holding out a small pile of books, "Songs and histories of the Seven Kingdoms." The knight then turned to Ranta and extended out a bundle of cloth carrying something. "And for the new Khaleesi's right hand….the very last loaf of sweet bread and a jar of honey, as promised." he smiled mischievously and earning chuckles from the two women before him. "And I shall treasure this gift for as long as it lasts, good sir." Ranta winked slyly, as she accepted the bundle and untied it, eager to tear a piece of bread from the loaf to pop into her mouth.
"Thank you sir, for the gifts. Are you from my country? Have you two meet before?" Daenerys asked, grabbing the man's attention. "Ser Jorah Mormont, of Bear Island I am also Khal Drogo's gift to you as a translator and protector." Jorah introduced himself, " I served under King Aerys Targaryen the Second, Gods be good I hope to always serve the rightful ruler." he cast a quick glance towards Ranta before returning his gaze back to Daenerys.
"And as for knowing this young lady by your side," he smiled knowingly at a now merrily eating Ranta, "I just met her a few moments ago. We talked briefly over food and discovered her love for sweet bread and honey." he informed the Khaleesi as the blue haired woman dipped a chunk of bread into her honey jar. "And I will forever be grateful to you for helping me discover my new love, Ser Jorah Mormont of Bear Island. I hope we shall discover many more foods for me to enjoy during our time together." Ranta raised her honey coated bread to him before popping it into her mouth.
Jorah smiled at the satisfied woman before bowing to them both and stepped off to the side to let the next man take his turn to present his gift. A man in a turban brought up a chest of snakes, grabbing one and lifted it up for closer observation. However, while Daenerys showed her displeasure with ease, Ranta leaned forwards in wonderment. It wasn't the snake in the man's hand she was amazed by though, it was the ones in the crate.
A majority of them were a variety of browns and tans, all except for two of them. One snake was pure white and the other black as the nighttime sky. "Well look at how gorgeous you two are." she murmured to the throng of wriggling snakes, "Not afraid to be different are you?" she carefully reached her hand out as if to grab them, but stopped herself.
Ranta preferred to not be bitten because of her morbid curiosity. The trader who brought the gift, reached in and grabbed the two snakes she had been looking at and said something that the blue haired woman could not understand. Disappointed that he was probably telling her that she could not touch them or have a closer look, she pulled back with a deep sigh and look of longing on her face.
"You misunderstand him, my lady." Ser Jorah suddenly spoke up, causing her to look at him in confusion. "He isn't trying to take the snakes away from you." he paused and turned to the trader who began speaking again. "He says that he was merely going to place them upon your shoulders." Jorah translated, "It will be easier to observe them that way instead of worrying about where to place your hands so you won't hurt them…though he claims that it would be very hard to cause harm to these two snakes specifically." Ranta flashed a grateful smile to the animal trader as he then stepped forwards and placed a scaly serpent the length of her entire arm across her shoulders.
The weight of the animal surprised Ranta at first, along with the texture of its skin. She knew snakes were supposed to be a bit rough to the touch, but the one on her shoulders was legitimately hard, the skin felt like armor. Ranta turned her head a bit to get a look at the snake and found that it was the pure white one placed upon her shoulders.
"Hello darling, how are you today?" she lightly stroked the front of his neck. With armor like skin, tan coloured eyes, miniature horns on each side of his mouth and the hooked ridges of its hood on his neck- Ranta knew that this little guy would grow to be one tough opponent if he wasn't already. He certainly looked fearsome enough for it.
The snake's pink tongue flickered out as he returned the stare the woman was giving him before moving his head from side to side in a so-so kind of way, much to her incredulous amusement. "I can understand that, being cramped in a box with dozens of others all day can't be fun." The blue eyed woman sympathized.
The serpent shook his head in a negative fashion before wrapping the lower half of his body around her neck in a non threatening fashion instead of having it just laying over her shoulders. "So not only are you intimidating, you are frighteningly smart. Did you know that?" Ranta asked, taking note of his actions and earned another nod before the snake rubbed his plated head against her jaw bone, careful of his horns near his mouth and sharpened hood ridges.
Huh, dangerous but affectionate.
When the second snake was placed before her on the ground since his counter part seemed intent on staying wrapped around the woman's neck, he received the same light stroking of his neck and questioning. Besides the obvious color contrast, the only difference between the two was that the darker of the duo had an extra pair of fangs poking out on the outside of his bottom jaw. Though this made him no less intelligent or affectionate as his companion, Ranta found, when the snake swirled up and around her arm.
Part of the woman was scared the serpent would begin to squeeze her arm buried in his coils, but when he merely sat there looking at the blue eyed woman innocently, such thoughts flew out of her head. "Can I have them, Daenerys?" the woman rubbed her finger under his chin and then turned to the Targaryen, only now noticing that she, her husband, Ser Jorah and the Blood riders had all been paying close attention to her interaction with the snakes.
"Can I not have them then?" at the sound of the innocently asked question, Dany blinked harshly and nodded speechless, much to Ranta's pleasure. "What will you name them, Lady Ranta?" Jorah asked as her spectators went back to watching the feast or watching the gift bestowing.
Ranta thought about it for a moment, absently rubbing her finger under the chin of the eggshell serpent. "This one shall be called Laemyx." she nodded to the one receiving her affections, "And the other will be called Vaemarr. Vaemarr and Laemyx." she declared proudly.
"May I pet one?" Daenerys suddenly asked, "Say hello?" she added on. The older woman nodded and moved up closer to the silvery blonde haired Khaleesi. Dany reached out slowly, a single finger hovering before the eggshell colored snake dubbed Laemyx. "Go on, he won't hurt you." Ranta encouraged her. The younger woman continued a bit hesitantly with her advance, the narrow slitted eyes and flickering tongue made her a bit wary but still lightly stroked the place where Ranta had before nevertheless, gasping in shock.
"His skin…!" she breathed. "Is armor, I know." the woman nodded with a smile. "Both of them are determined not to become any other predators lunch, I suppose." she laughed lightly. "They are beautiful. Frightening but beautiful...just like their new mother." Daenerys claimed as she moved her attention onto Vaemarr, a bit more relaxed at the fact that Laemyx showed no signs of aggression towards her.
"Well, I suppose I needed to have children eventually." she joked, laughing along with her old friend. However their laughter was cut short when hissing erupted from the two snakes, instinctively the girls tensed and looked to the serpents warily, wondering what set them off. Their question had been answered when they had seen fight had broken out near the bottom of the stairs between two Dothraki riders and it was gradually getting closer to the girls.
Khal Drogo barked out an order when seeing this, and curved swords were thrown to the quarreling men. Each man picked up a sword and the fight continued, but it wasn't long until one finally had his stomach sliced open and his guts spilling out onto the ground.
"You know, I was going to keep eating my sweet bread, but I guess I'm not anymore." Ranta commented dryly. The sweet bread suddenly didn't sound too good to the Naylorian woman anymore and quickly wrapped up what was left of her food with a bit of difficulty considering Vaemarr was still happily wrapped around her arm and focused on keeping her meal down in her belly.
As if sensing her displeasure, Vaemarr and Laemyx each rubbed their heads along each side of her jaw line, trying to comfort their new caretaker. Ranta hummed in appreciation, watching the winner cut off the dead man's braid and throwing it to the ground in triumph before being swarmed with dancing women from the corner of her eye.
"Just so you know," the blue haired woman then grabbed Daenerys' attention, "None of your people are invited to my wedding if they're going to be killing each other." she said decidedly. "But My lady," Illyrio called to her from his position in line in front of them, " A wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair." He explained with a small smirk. Ranta turned back to Daenerys with a certain look to her, "My wedding is about to be the most boring one in history." she declared much to the trio's amusement.
The women then sobered up as they watched Illyrio walk up and beckon to some of his slaves. They hurried up to their master, carrying up heaving looking chests and placing one at Daenerys' feet, uneasily glancing at the snakes wrapped around the blue haired woman's neck and arm. After the slaves backed away, the Targaryen woman fell to her knees to get closer to her gift.
Daenerys opened her chest and was stunned at the sight. Inside Dany's chest were three scaly eggs that required both hands to hold. One was red, another black and the third green. "Those are dragon eggs, young Daenerys, from beyond the shadowlands. The ages have turned them to stone, but they will always be beautiful." Illyrio explained to the young Khaleesi as she cradled the green egg in her hands.
"Thank you my lord, I have no idea how to ever repay you." Dany smiled widely as she looked up at the Magister. Lord Illyrio held up a hand and shook his head, assuring her that it was nothing. "Your snakes do know that they cannot eat my eggs right?" Dany asked with a coy smile. Ranta snorted, "Yes, they know not to eat them." she shot back playfully, and then noticing how the music and chatter from the feast guests had dropped into silence.
Standing up, Ranta quickly descended down the stairs and stood off to the side with Ser Jorah who had been discreetly motioning her to join him, mindful of keeping a bit of distance between himself and the two animals wrapped around her body. Daenerys noticed her friend moving away and her Khal standing up, making quick work to do so as well before following him down the steps and to wherever he was leading her.
"Come, my lady." Jorah murmured to Ranta before guiding her through the crowd of Dothraki and other guests. How Daenerys wasn't bothered by everyone staring at her as she passed, Ranta would never know but soon enough, she and Jorah came to a stop when the sight of the Khal and Dany filled their vision. Khal Drogo had been holding onto the reigns of a pure white mare and looking down at his wife with a flicker of hope in his eyes that she liked the gift he got her.
Lifting a hand and stroking the horse's neck, Daenerys looked at the Khal with a smile and earning a faint one back from the war lord. "She's beautiful." She whispered to him, though he didn't seem to react. She turned to the crowd behind her and spotted Ranta and Jorah standing together. "Ser Jorah. How do I say 'thank you' in Dothraki?" She asked.
The former knight looked confused for a moment before giving an apologetic shrug. "There is no such word in Dothraki." It was Daenerys' turn to be confused by the thought, but before she could put much into it, a squeak escaped past her lips as she was suddenly grabbed by the hips and placed on the horse by her husband before getting on his own onyx black horse.
Ranta laughed at the blush that settled on the pale woman's cheeks. "Have fun tonight DanDan, I'll see you tomorrow." the older woman smiled encouragingly to her younger friend who suddenly had a nervous look upon her face. "I expect full details when you get back Dany." Ranta added on, causing the nervous look to temporarily disappear to allow a scandalous one to take place. "Ranta!" the Targaryen woman managed to scold her friend right as her horse began following after Khal Drogo's when he spurred his into action.
Once the power couple left, the crowd dispersed and left Ser Jorah, Ranta and her animals by themselves. "You are a good friend to her." Jorah praised her, "That's hard to come by now a days." he pointed out as a matter of fact. The blue haired woman shrugged, "Well I try." she granted, "So," the woman continued with a sigh, "How does one feed two armored snakes?" she asked with a quirked brow.
Ser Jorah turned to her and shrugged himself, "I'm afraid I can't say that I know how, but I'm certain someone around here will know." he swept an arm out, an invitation for her to begin walking first. Ranta nodded her head in thanks with a smile and began walking with the Mormont man on her heels.