" Three, two, one, one. Good, your grace! Very good!" Barristan praised as she held her own with the blade in her hand during the slow practice rounds. " Good enough to take a break?" the woman asked hopefully but when she caught the way Barristan's eyes drifted to something hovering behind her, Ranta whipped around and brought her sword and leather clad bracer arm up defensively in an X formation just in time to block a small dagger from cutting into her.
A very familiar dagger whose hilt was molded into a naked woman. "There will be little time for breaks in the field of battle." Daario smirked amused and before Ranta could comprehend what had happened, the Sell sword had her disarmed, spun around and pinned her to his chest with his dagger held to her throat lightly.
"But I will not be on the field of battle. That's what you lot are for." The queen quirked a brow. "And when we are unable to protect you and you find yourself in this kind of position?" the brunette said without missing a beat but immediately regretted when the blue haired woman suddenly threw her head back as hard as she could into his face. A resounding crack filled the air as Daario's nose broke and caused the man to stumble away from his assailant and held his sniffer protectively as blood ran down his face. Scrambling forwards Ranta picked up her discarded sword and had the blade pointed at the man's throat within seconds.
"You have a hard face, my head hurts." The monarch complained, rubbing the sore spot at the back of her head without lowering her sword. It was only then did she register the laughing and applause that surrounded her courtesy of the ship's crew. Looking around, Ranta returned the smiles directed at her with her own sheepish one and lowered her sword. "Your head hurts?!" Daario echoed incredulously, blinking back the pain.
"You broke my nose, my face hurts!" the man complained. "Well you asked what I would do in that position and I answered." The monarch said simply. "And it was a good answer." Jorah chuckled, "But word of advice, your grace, more often than not the men we encounter will be wearing helmets and if you try doing that to one of them, you'll only knock yourself out." The Mormont warned. Ranta nodded in understanding, vaguely she seen a maester approach Daario and began to help him with his nose. "Ranta!" a familiar voice called, turning the woman herself seen Daenerys approaching on the breached head of Vaemarr, in her hand had been a cup filled with some kind of liquid.
"Come to join us?" the blue haired woman asked, helping her sister onto the deck of the ship once the snake had brought her close enough and then sank back down into the waters below. "Yes, well, watching full grown men throw up has its limitations. But besides that I did have something to ask of you." Daenerys looked down into her cup and swirled its contents around a bit absent mindedly.
"And that thing is?" Ranta quirked a brow. Pausing for a long moment as if contemplating if it was worth asking, the blonde took her cup and threw its contents at the older woman. Flinching backwards, Ranta raised a hand in defense and braced herself for the inevitable but when she remained dry, the woman opened her eyes and see the water floating in front of her face harmlessly. "Did you seriously throw water in my face?" Ranta asked incredulously after recovering from her shock.
"I wanted to test a theory."
" So you did that instead of just asking?" Ranta glared lightly. "I wanted to see if it would work, I was speaking to Grey Worm about your travels south and he mentioned it during the story of how you guys were rescuing the dolphin." Daenerys explained, slightly raising her hands in surrender. Letting the issue drop with a small sigh, the blue haired woman looked between the water and her sister much like how Dany had done before and with a flick of her wrist, sent the water flying back at her.
Sputtering at the onslaught of water that suddenly crashed into her face the blonde retreated back a few steps and blinked the water out of her eyes, wiping the excess water from her face. "I suppose I deserved that." the Khaleesi smirked lightly. "When did you speak to Grey Worm?" Ranta asked curious. "Just a few moments ago." Dany replied truthfully and the Naylor looked at her strangely, " Have you been using my snakes to ship hop?" she asked and watched as her younger half nodded unashamed.
" How come you don't use them more often?" Daenerys asked suddenly. "Use what?" the monarch returned. " Your other gifts." the silvery blonde explained. "Why do you never come to me just to say hello?" Ranta countered. Sighing exasperatedly but amused nonetheless, Daenerys looked to her elder sibling with a pointed look ,"Hello Ranta." she greeted dully.
"Hello Daenerys." Ranta smirked, " and I don't use my other powers because well….I don't see the need to." the elder finished with a lame shrug. "Because you don't need to or because you don't know how to?" the purple eyed woman asked. "Enough, say what you mean Dany. What is the point of this conversation?" Ranta questioned. "My point is," Daenerys huffed, " what if we need your other powers but you don't know how to use them." the younger of the two pointed out. "If I need any of the other gifts then they will come to me." Ranta said confidently. "I do believe she means offensively, your grace, and against others." Ser Barristan spoke knowingly, seeing the Targaryen nod in agreement.
"And why would I want to do that?" Ranta questioned confused, absently spinning the ring on her finger. "So you would use the dragon fire or one of the snakes to break through stone walls or barricades?" Daenerys quirked a brow knowingly and effectively sent her adoptive sibling into a deep contemplation. It was a very good point the blonde made, why sent any of the brothers in when she could deal with barricades and walls herself?
" You forget that our Lady has put out the call for her house to make for Dragonstone," Varys intoned, " there will be others who can break through our enemy defenses easily enough." Turning, Daenerys regarded the spy master but not cruelly. " And what if they don't get there in time before we see battle? You need to know how to use your other powers, sister. At least tap into them" she said plainly.
"And how do you propose I learn? By training with you?" Ranta asked bluntly but not cruelly. "Well, not with her but I'd like to think I'd do just fine." a familiar voice called. Turning, the Naylor monarch was greeted with the sight of a familiar pirate ship sailing besides them. Taking a closer look around, Ranta was able to see countless amounts of pirate ships integrating themselves into her fleet.
"You've caught up to us easy enough." the Storm queen commented and watched as the law breaker take a rope in hand and swing over the blue sea below and land safely on the deck she occupied. "Yes well, it'd be rather disappointing if I missed out on the glorious moment you step foot in Westeros lands again." Tarla said simply, walking towards her relative and coming to a stop before her and Daenerys.
"I'd also be damned if something happened to you, knowing I could of done something to help prevent it." she added after a moment. "You specialize in plant life and we are no where near land," Ranta motioned around to the endless sea of blue surrounding them, "How do you plan to help?" she asked. Reaching into the pocket of her pants without a word, Tarla pulled out a solitary seed and clenched it in her fist.
At first nothing happened but then a greenish yellow light could be seen glowing from in between her fingers. Opening her palm, Tarla showed the small seed beginning to come to life before them- a small green plantling splitting the brown shell in half and growing right before their eyes. Before long Tarla dropped the little seed that was quickly becoming a rapidly growing tree sapling that grew to around ten feet tall before it stopped its growth.
"Okay, you have a tree. What are you going to do now?" Daario asked, blood cleared off of his face and a white bandage strapped across his nose. "This." Ranta briefly processed Tarla's vague answer before her feet were suddenly swept under her and was sent flying off the ship. "Tarla!" the woman shrieked before plunging into the water below. Gasping, the ship deck occupants rushed over the edge of the boat and looked over the railing to try and see their queen resurface.
"Man overboard!"
"Man overboard!
"Drop anchor, half sails, throw out a line!" Penrose shouted to her crew. Snapping her head up, Tarla glared at the woman at the wheel, "Belay that order, keep the lines in." The pirate ordered with equal authority in her tone that had the crew members hesitating and looking between the two women to see what to do. "Have you lost your mind?!" Jorah exclaimed as he began stripping off armor to jump in after his queen.
"She's fine. Keep your fucking armor on!" Tarla snapped back just as Ranta's head popped up out of the water gasping for air. "What if I couldn't swim?!" the monarch gasped, paddling after the slowed down ship and seeing multiple heads appear over the railing again with equal amounts of concern. " If you couldn't swim then you would already be on the deck of this ship, whether it be courtesy of your powers or your guard dogs here." Tarla mused, watching her cousin carefully.
" This dress is heavy!" The younger Naylor yelled dramatically but truthfully as she swam. The pirate opened her mouth to reply but snapped it shut when from out of the corner of her eye she spied Grey Worm stripped of his armor and with one leg on top of the railing, prepared to jump into the water below. " Oi, Unsullied dog! Keep your arse on the ship!" Tarla yelled, effectively earning the Unsullied captain's glare.
Even from within the water below, Ranta could see a vein in the poor man's forehead throbbing angrily. "It's okay Grey Worm!" Ranta assured the man, "I'll let you know when to come get me." She promised though there was a slight burning in her limbs from swimming already. "Any time you would like to propose how I get back onto the ship without any help would be great Tarla." The monarch looked to the pirate with mild frustration.
"Remember what I told you back in the isles, that's all you need to know to get back on the ship." The red lipped woman advised. "Oh for fuck's sake." Ranta cursed under her breath, the fact that she was beginning to lag behind the ship was not lost on her either. Swimming harder the blue haired woman tried to keep up with the ship, but if only she got a boost from behind it would be much easier to keep pace...
Ranta yelped when a large rush of water pushed her forwards so she was no longer lagging behind. "That's it, cousin! That's it!" Tarla cheered from above, "Do it again, try a little harder" she encouraged. "But I don't even know what I did in the first place." Ranta mumbled to herself but continued to swim anyways with the occasional aid from the water. See it, picture it, envision what you want to happen... soon pushes through the water became gradual lifts out of the water that got the queen closer and closer to the deck of the ship until she was finally able to grab the outstretched hand of Daenerys and got pulled into safety.
Panting, Ranta vaguely processed the inquiries if she was okay and nodded her head silently. "Well done, darling." Tarla grinned casually after a moment," I knew you could do it." she nodded her head before her grin dropped as quickly as it appeared. "Now do it again, but faster." the brunette woman ordered before making to shove her blue haired relative back into the water below and watched with a cruel smirk as she disappeared beneath the water's surface once more.
And so... the cycle of the pirate's harsh impromto training of her relative did begin. The monarch would be shoved into the water and be forced to manipulate the element around her to get her back on deck time and time again. Each time completed in a time faster than the last. It had been about the fifth time Ranta had managed to get herself onto the deck of the ship when she once again came face to face with Tarla making to shove her back into the water before she could collect herself.
However unlike before, there was no splash to be heard. Ranta's body had moved on its own to dodge Tarla's unkind shove and in retaliation, the monarch shoved the pirate overboard. A gasp of surprise escaped past the pirate's lips as she went plunging towards the water but before she could be submerged, the tree she had grown came to life and one of its branches stretched down below and caught her around her ankle before using another root to sweep its master's assailant off of her feet and had her dangling upside down in the air in a similar fashion.
"Put me down, Tarla." Ranta wiggled in the tree branch's grasp, glad that she had pants on under her dress. "You started it!" the pirate's smirk could practically be heard as she was brought back on deck and as the other branch snaked its way around Ranta's body like a snake constricting its' meal. Seeing this, many tensed and made to draw their weapons, "No stop!" the monarch barked quickly, halting any rash actions even though the plant life was now making its way to wrap around her throat.
"I got it." Ranta muttered, eyes flickering to the water and quickly swung an unwrapped arm filled with glowing ruins out and made a sweeping motion towards the red lipped woman as if she was splashing water on her. Much to the pirate's surprise a wave of water came to life and jumped aboard the ship - sending her flying across the deck and wrapping around the gasping blood red lipped woman's body, trapping her in a bubble of water.
Coughing from within the bubble, poor Tarla only inhaled water in an attempt to get what she swallowed inadvertently, out. "Put me down, Tarla." Ranta repeated with a smirk though the branch was now wrapped around her throat and squeezed threateningly. For a long couple of moments, both women were locked in a staring contest until Ranta finally seen the older woman mouth a not so kind word in her direction and found herself being suddenly dropped and able to take in air easier. The moment the younger of the two had been dropped, so had the water prison around the pirate, allowing the brunette Naylor to breathe once more.
Rushing forward, Missandei helped Ranta onto her feet and fretted over her like the other men began to do as well but Ranta only batted them away. "I'm fine, I'm fine." she assured the group with a hint of a smile before walking forwards and offering a hand out as a peace offering. "That, with the water... was dirty." the pirate mused good naturedly, shaking her hand with no hesitation.
"Your tree started it." Ranta returned with an amused look. "Land ho Captain! Straight ahead of us!" a man in the crow's nest cried pointing towards something in the distance. Tensing, Ranta turned her head and looked to the front of the deck, seeing that the crew man had been speaking the truth. "Is that...it?" Daenerys asked softly, coming up beside the slightly older woman. "Yes, that's it." Ranta agreed absently, eyeing down the floating piece of land in the distance. "Dragonstone. We're back in Westeros now." she breathed.
The Naylor may as well have yelled that sentence because the moment it was out of her mouth, the ship flew into a flurry of movement. Tarla had returned to her ship, but Grey Worm and a handful of his men had left their ship and crossed over in a similar way Tarla had. Ranta had been corralled towards a long life boat and helped in before the others piled in after her. "Lower the life boat! Everyone's accounted for." Penrose commanded once she had spotted that Ranta and her group going ashore had piled into the long floating vessel.
" What do you want me to do with the rest of the fleet, your grace?" Penrose asked, watching her queen being lowered into the water. "A majority of this island is hollowed out, take the fleet and sail it a bit north until you come by a cliff wall covered by hanging plant vegetation, behind it is the entrance where the Targaryens and Naylors used to keep their fleet. Load the ships in there. Have Tarla help you." Ranta instructed the captain and watched her nod in understanding before waving goodbye as her boat hit the water. "How did you know the island is hollowed out?" Daenerys asked as the Unsullied began rowing them towards the island.
"Because Viserys and I used to play in there." Ranta offered simply, "Even Rhaegar joined us once or twice." she smiled fondly at the memory. A familiar cry had suddenly sounded but none looked up when Drogon suddenly flew past them with Rhaegal and Viserion on his tail, the gusts of wind the trio left behind greatly ruffled the hair and clothes of the people below. From beside the boat on Ranta's right did Vaemarr emerge from beneath the water with Laemyx on the other side of the boat, both snorting out water from within their nostrils.
Ranta pet the top of the midnight black beast absently as she watched the dragons circle the mighty structure before each landing on top a portion of the Targaryen base. "That has got to be the most intimidating palace I ever seen." Daario commented as a matter of factly. " That is because it's not a palace," Ranta corrected, " It is a mix between military base and a castle built by the Valyrians of Old. Because of the way it was built and our geographical position, it'll be very hard to breach its' walls and can be held by a small garrison against a larger force." she informed.
"Not that anyone would try anyways." Daario mused, "You Westerosi aren't that stupid to attack an island where a known Naylor is with her army, are you?" he asked looking to the men in question. "Perhaps not stupid." Barristan amended, "But there are those certainly insane enough to try." Jorah finished. "We have nothing to fear," Tyrion brushed away the concern, "Like our grace has said, even if we did come under siege - Dragonstone will survive. With little damage nonetheless. The only ones we'd have to worry about attacking us is Euron Greyjoy and that is what we have the pirates and Yara for." the Lannister assured.
Humming deeply from beneath her hand, Vaemarr began his animalistic babbling that none understood except by Laemyx. "And of course you and your brother." Tyrion amended, petting said white basilisk beside him as he spoke. Grabbing a rope by her feet that had been attached to the front of the boat, Ranta offered it to the tan eyed water serpent. "Speed up our progress to land, would you darling?" she asked and watched as the great beast nodded his head before taking the end of the rope in his mouth and disappeared below the water once more, pulling the humans along as he swam forward and getting them going at a faster pace.
Vaemarr had dragged the human filled boat well onto land when he dropped the rope, taking in his surroundings along with Laemyx who had slithered up to his side. Looking to each other, the duo seemed to have an internal conversation before moving forward and slithering up the rocky cliffs and disappearing over the ridges. Watching her children disappear from sight, Ranta's eyes panned over to see Daenerys who had already disembarked from the boat and was walking on the beach, violet eyes dancing from every possible thing she could observe.
Following in her footsteps, Ranta climbed out of the boat and wandered up to the Targaryen's side. "So this is Dragonstone." Daenerys noted, kneeling down and placing a hand into the wet sand. "It doesn't feel like home...but it is." she furrowed her brow in confusion. Ranta kneeled down beside her and placed a hand on her back comfortingly, "Maybe not now, but it will soon." she promised the younger woman, removing her hand from her back and began digging in the sand lightly until she unearthed the special sea shells that liked to hide beneath the surface and handed it to her.
It was a curved blue mermaid shell with hints of black and white on it. Brushing the sand from her hand and out from under her nails, Ranta stood with Dany in tow- shell safely clasped in hand. "How do we get in?" Daenerys looked to the Targaryen castle in the close distance. "There's a gate around the bend, come. I will show you." Ranta said and began their walk towards the place they once resided in.
"Do you have many memories of playing on the beach?" the Targaryen asked as the rest of their party followed at a distance out of respect for the two sisters and their reunion with their old home. "As many as I can have considering." Ranta returned gently and their trip was silent until they finally finished climbing the stairs that led to the grand gates that protected the way forward. "Dragon gargoyles?" Daenerys breathed upon seeing the giant dragon heads sitting before the gates. "The Valyrians were very creative, you should know that." Ranta smirked as the rest of their party caught up and too looked in awe of the stone creatures posted at the gates.
From behind the duo, did two Unsullied move forward and climb the few stairs that led directly to the gate. In synch the two spear wielding men pushed the gates open to reveal the lush green grass and craggy coast the Valyrian Targaryen castle sat upon across a stone bridge with stairs carved into the pathway. "Welcome home my Queen, and Khaleesi." Jorah's deep voice sounded, nothing but sincerity in his voice as he said so.
"Now that is something I have not believed I would hear in a long time." Ranta smiled faintly before walking forwards once more, taking the well crafted stairs two at a time in eagerness to get to the main attraction of the island before her. Past all these years, the Naylor was surprise to find that the island had remained so untouched. She would have thought that at least one of the houses would of taken up residence here, but the island was as barren as an old woman's womb. There was no sign of human activity anywhere.
The breeze coming off of the sea was pleasant as the group crossed the stone walk way above the tide pools below, the Naylor could remember the multiple times she had insisted on walking atop the low stone walls that kept anyone from falling to their deaths should a strong wind blow by and the many times Rhaella or Rhaegar had snatched her right off.
"Naylor or not, best not test the gods, Ranta, you never know when your day will be your last." they had told her. However, more often than not the warning would go in through one ear and out the other until one day Viserys had followed her lead and actually was almost blown right over the edge had she not been walking the stone path and managed to grab him at the last second.
Climbing the last of the stairs, the group came to another set of doors, only that these were made of sturdy stone and had a large storm cloud engraved in it with a lightning bolt dropping down to the ground. In the center of the cloud had been the three headed dragon emblem of the Targaryens. Pushing open the stone door, the Unsullied soldiers revealed another set of stairs that led into a black pit of darkness that not even the day light could illuminate.
"I had nearly forgotten how ominous this place could be without proper lighting." Ranta commented, grabbing a torch off of the wall and handed it to one of the men as another worked on creating sparks for a fire. "And to think I was born here during the worst storm in all of history." Daenerys commented lightly, running her hand over the patterns on the door.
"In the middle of the night no less. There weren't enough torches on the entire island to keep this place well lighted." Ranta huffed a laugh and a split second later heard the sound of a sucessful fire being made and grabbed another torch off the wall. Holding it out, the soldier shared the fire with the barren torch and then took it from her with ease and passing it to his companion before lighting the way for the group.
Though the light was limited even with the torches, Ranta was able to maneuver through the inner workings of Dragonstone without a problem. There was only one piece of evidence that someone other than Targaryens occupied the island and that was a flag baring House Baratheon's symbol hanging up outside of the throne room but that was quickly torn down and set ablaze curtesy of Daenerys.
Opening a third and final set of doors whose handles were sculpted into dragons, the former Essos occupants were immediately greeted with a spacious dark stone room with intricate designs carved over every inch of the place, even in the floors. Sitting at the back of the room, before a glass payne window had been the seat of the island, the one thing that the Valyrians had not carved and shaped.
No, this throne had been crafted by a Naylor in the ancient days past and one could tell because the very material of the throne was made out of stone jutting through the well crafted floors. Walking forwards the two sisters approached the slab of stone the chair was engraved into and looked to it, each with their own forms of longing. "Will you not sit in it?" Ranta asked, breaking the silence between them.
Daenerys tore her eyes off of the throne and looked to her blue eyed sister uncertainly. "It's alright, I'm not greedy." Ranta laughed, "I don't need two thrones. I have a more comfortable one waiting for me in King's Landing, I just have to kick someone off of it first. Sit. Gods know that we all sat in it atleast once" she insisted, referring to how Viserys, Rhaegar and even Rhaella sat in the chair at least once before.
Hesitating a moment longer, Dany finally edged forwards to the throne and slowly lowered herself in the seat, fingers flexing against the craftmanship of the designs in the arm rests. "My lady," Ranta mock bowed before moving off to the right where she knew a room was hidden across from the throne hidden behind the stone pillars. "What's over there?" Daenerys asked watching her sister go but soon stood up nonetheless and began to follow after.
"The Chamber of the Painted Table...or in simpler terms, the war room" Ranta answered her with a knowing grin before dipping into said room with a flourish. Inside, it was no less brighter than the rest of the castle, though the door sized openings in the wall that led to outside did help some. Slowly trailing in with the rest of the others following after, Daenerys looked about the room.
In the center of the spacious room had been a table shaped into the entire continent of Westeros and engraved with its major cities and land marks. Multiple house symbol pieces were littered across the table, some knocked over and some not, some lacking in numbers while others excelled. It was this table that Ranta lightly fingered as she walked to the head of it without saying a word, face set in silent contemplation.
Looking to her right, Daenerys and the others noticed a giant detailed dragon carved into the wall while on the opposite sat a giant storm cloud with the usual lightning bolt right above a fire place. Looking to the table, Daario studied the enhanced map and the locations of all the small house pieces. "So, this is Westeros...much smaller than Essos." the Second son mused thoughtfully as others took their places at the table to observe the lands they would be conquering quite soon.
"Smaller, but no less dangerous. Even more so, I would say." Barristan warned. "In Essos it was predictable to know when someone was going to stab you in the back, here, it is much harder. We'll have to constantly be on our guard from now on." Jorah cautioned. "And who exactly, is who on here?" Daario motioned to the map and symbols before them all, and with the help of Barristan, Tyrion and Varys the men were able to piece together an accurate showing of Westerosi houses and territories since the former two left. "So technically, there is no ruler of the Storm Lands out side of your sister." Daario asked to clarify, looking to Tyrion.
"Exactly, House Baratheon is extinct and while my sister has claimed the lands as hers - we have a feeling that the houses living there are not happy with her as Queen. We'll have to do some negotiating with the lords and ladies there. You are originally from there, Ser Barristan, perhaps you can take lead on the matter" Tyrion suggested and watched relieved as the elder warrior nod without complaint.
"And you want to put the Unsullied here?" the Sell sword captain pointed to Lannister territory on the western coast of Westeros. "Ideally yes, with Tarla or Yara patrolling the waters near by it so that should Euron try anything while Casterly Rock is being taken, it won't work." Tyrion nodded. "What about the Second Sons?" Daario asked but before a response could be spoken, a new voice sounded. An elderly one at that.
"Oh my, it seems to me that you have a plan set in stone already. Perhaps we should return home and let you handle the war against Cersei by yourselves." turning, the occupants of the room looked to see who had intruded on their meeting and came face to face with an Unsullied, two others and the Greyjoy siblings. The two guests being one woman and one man, the women being elderly while her companion had a youthful expression on his face and whose skin tone contrasted greatly when compared to the elderly woman.
"Apologies, my queen," the soldier spoke as the guests took note of how the men of the room eased off of their weapons at the abrupt interruption. "But they were rounded up by the Greyjoy ships and led to shore, they claim to be interested in allegiances." he reported. "It is fine, thank you for bringing them to me" Ranta replied after a moment and watched as the man bowed his head and left the room.
"Tarla's still helping store the fleet away with Penrose?" the monarch turned to Yara. "Yes, and those who are already off the ships are helping to unload them or getting themselves familiar with the island as we speak." Yara replied, earning a satisfactory nod from the Naylor before turning her eyes to the unknown Westerosi.
"Your grace," Jorah spoke, eyeing the newcomers as well, "Say hello to your Westeros support. This is Lady Olenna of House Tyrell and Prince Oberyn of House Martell... You two are a bit ways from home." the Mormont noted thoughfully. "Yes well, I had hoped to at least see the woman destined to get Cersei off the throne at least once before I died from old age." Olenna commented dryly before observing the blue queen very carefully through her aged eyes. "For so long have we awaited your return to Westeros, sweet one." Oberyn grinned devillishly, slowly approaching.
"I remember the day Lady Olenna and the mother of my children, Ellaria, had first been able to see you in that mirror your family protects...the smile on Ellaria's face was one that I will never forget." Oberyn was now closest to Daario and Barristan and came to a stop when the two men blocked his way from continuing forward. The smile never left his face though, in fact it remained perfectly in place.
"I asked her, what was she so happy about, if she missed me that much while she was away and she said no." the prince laughed and continued his walk towards the blue haired mystery queen before him who was unbothered by his approach unlike her guards. He knew that they would not attack unless she gave the order if she felt unsafe. "She said no, I am happy because there is finally some hope for us. Hope that everything around Cersei Lannister will finally come crumbling down around her and that we will be the very thing she sees as it happens." he finished.
"So you are here out of hatred for Cersei and your own personal vendettas?" Daenerys asked, drawing his attention seeing as he was now within reach of her and Missandei. "Those are factors, yes. But honor also binds me to the Naylor family just as the Tyrells are...plus I love beautiful things and you and your sister are quite the diamonds in the rough, aren't you?" Oberyn smirked, grabbing a lock of Daenerys' hair and admiring the color.
"You and Daario have something in common then," Daenerys commented, pulling her hair out of his grasp though the prince was unfazed. " Can't find any other reason as to why he would fight for her besides her looks." she mused. "Really?" Oberyn turned to the Second son captain, "You are a man with good taste then." he smirked causing Daario to shift on his feet. "Well the fact that she allowed us time to think over her offer and didn't immediately send her Unsullied and Dothraki to murder us in our sleep also plays a factor." he admitted casually.
"May I ask a question of you, Lady Olenna, Prince Oberyn?" Ranta inquired of the two nobles. "Of course." the dornish prince agreed while the aged lady merely nodded her head, taking a seat at the table. "How is it, that you are here so soon? As you can tell, we only just got here. My men are hardly off the ships now." Ranta questioned. " Your mother is out there sweeping the nation for the rest of your house, we caught wind of it, figured you be on your way and set sail as soon as possible. I reckon she's wandering the Eryie by now if she was held back by something or somewhere in the North if all has been going well" Olenna informed truthfully.
"Your spies found her that quickly?" Ranta turned to Varys with a quirked brow. Varys shifted on his feet and cleared his throat lightly, "About that your grace, you see I received a letter a few days ago from the men I sent out and according to them, they couldn't find your mother anywhere on the island. She must have left before they could find her, usage of the mirror I suspect." he guessed.
Well, she supposed that worked. As long as the Naylors were gathered and brought here, what did it matter? "I do believe proper introductions are in order, even if you are familiar with quite a few people in here." Ranta suddenly proclaimed. "You took the words right out of my mouth, your grace." Tyrion agreed before motioning to the woman herself.
"Lady Olenna, Prince Oberyn I have the immense honor and pleasure of introducing you to Lady Ranta of House Naylor, First of her name, the Storm Queen, Queen of Mereen, Queen of the Unsullied, Little Sister of the Dothraki, Liberator of Slavers Bay, and the Mother of Beasts. To her left is Missandei of Naath- our queen's most trusted advisor. Next to Missandei is her younger sister Daenerys Targaryen - the Khaleesi of the Dothraki in the Great Grass Sea." the trio of women all gave varying forms of greetings and acknowledgements to the two nobles.
" Next is Daario Naharis - the captain of our Second Sons unit and Grey Worm - the Commander of our Unsullied. Ser Barristan Selmy the Captain of our Queen's guard. Jorah Mormont - the General of our armies and Varys our Spy master. Then of course there is Yara and Theon Greyjoy, Yara being the leader and future lady of the Iron Islands. And last but not there is me, Tyrion Lannister - Hand of the Queen." the dwarf finished.
"You have quite the group with you, don't you?" Olenna mused not unkindly, "Dothraki, Unsullied, Second Sons, Pirates...tell me, what do you plan to do with them all?" she asked. "Well you've heard what I planned on doing with the Unsullied and Pirates, that much will still stand to pass." Ranta looked down to the map below. "But with each of my units just now I have decided that I wanted to mix in Westeros support, which is why Yara is partnering with Tarla. Ideally I would place the Dothraki in your lands, Lady Olenna, to stop Lannister forces from attacking you or in extension the Unsullied in Casterly Rock." Ranta grabbed multiple house pieces and plus her own to symbolize where she wanted soldiers.
"You holding your ground with half of the Dothraki locks in the people and soldiers of the Westerlands from fleeing East," she placed a rearing horse and the flowery house sigil in the Reach. "Tarla and Yara will lock them in from the West and at the same time taking care of Euron if he shows." Ranta placed the newly updated Greyjoy symbol next to a skull and cross bones in the sea next to where the Unsullied will be.
"Once we secure the Westerlands, we can focus on pushing out. Focusing on the Storm and River lands. Once those come under our grasp, the Crownlands will come under siege, there will be no escape by land or sea once we swing our fleet around to block them in." the blue haired woman finished. "This is a good plan, a very good one." Oberyn acknowledged, studying the map and the piece positions.
"But where is Dorne and your Second Sons in all of this?" he asked. Looking down at the map, Ranta shrugged. "Where would you like to be put?" the woman returned, grabbing the curved sword and the sun symbols and placed them in the Riverlands. "This was where I was thinking to put the both of you." Ranta admitted looking to Daario and Oberyn. "But I would like to wait to gain some victories before advancing so far ahead. However, if you are so eager to join the fray Prince Oberyn" the Naylor mused and placed a sun piece with the Unsullied head in Casterly Rock.
"Your troops can join them there but that means I will only be supplying six thousand men there and keeping half here to protect the island with the Second sons and other half of the Dothraki." she explained with a shrug. "And what do you plan to do about the Vale and the North?" Olenna asked before Oberyn could respond. "The Vale is not something to be much worried about," Jorah spoke up.
" If rumors really are running around about our armies then I'm sure they heard the rumors about the dragons. They are trapped within mountains with little room to fight or flee, it'll be a massacre if we come in from above and they know that." the man shrugged slightly. "And as for the North," Ranta sighed looking to the wolf head, " The King in the North is coming down here to meet me, I reckon sometime very soon." she informed. "And if they do not bend? Northerners are stubborn and have gotten used to their independence." the Tyrell woman pointed out.
"Stubborn nobles stuck in their ways is not something we're exactly new to. We dealt with them before in Essos and we'll deal with them the same way here." Ser Barristan said surely. "If pirates and my Ironborne men can bend then so can the North." Yara tacked on. "It's a matter of pride really, will the King's pride be greater than the desire for him and his people to survive." Daenerys noted.
"That is true." Jorah granted, "But even if the North does bend, there are still concerns coming from there. Our queen will be as loved as she will be hated by some. Many northern men died fighting the Targaryens and Naylors, tens of thousands of them. Say Ranta is taking a stroll through the northern kingdom to visit her people and one angry man with a cross bow spots her? Or maybe someone slips something into her food or drink? If you had a chance for revenge, would you not take it despite your loyalties to a house like the Starks?" he asked the room.
"So our concern is bitter old men and the sons of bitter old men?" Daario asked, not noticing Tyrion shifting uneasily nor the meaningful looks Olenna and Oberyn exchanged with each other. "Then we weed them out, put them under watch like we did with the nobles in Mereen and take care of them should they prove to be a problem." the brunette said simply.
A silence filled the room for a long moment before Oberyn reached forward and removed the pieces from the Riverlands, "I am a patient man, I can wait. The Lannisters and their friends are not going anywhere." he explained himself before a child like expression filled his tanned face. "Can I see your dragons and your little water monsters?" he suddenly asked. "You didn't see them wandering around when you arrived?" Tyrion asked but the duo merely shook their heads which led to Tyrion looking to her expectantly along with the rest of the room.
Alarmed at the sudden turn of attention, Ranta raised her hands slightly in surrender. " Very well, but don't expect much from them. They're bound to be tired after the crossing." she warned before leading the way out of the room and out of the poorly lighted castle. The group of eleven made their way across the way of the island, close to the northern most part with the light and polite conversation flowing between them all until they finally came to a cliff over looking the sea. Looking down however, Ranta spotted the five main attractions down below on a smaller cliff working on getting comfortable for a nap from the looks of it.
"See? They're all going down for a nap, unfortuneately." Ranta said to Oberyn and Olenna as they peered over the edge and feasted their eyes on the mystical creatures. "They are beautiful." Oberyn whispered in awe, watching Viserion release a wide yawn that exposed his sharp teeth before shaking his head and lying down once more. "They are all brothers? Around the same age?" the prince asked in a hushed tone, noting on how the group of five nestled well close together.
"Mhm. Vaemarr and Laemyx are older though but not by much." the monarch informed. "That tan beast of yours," Lady Olenna spoke, "He's rather scarred up, isn't he? What happened?" she asked having caught sight of Rhaegals' old wounds. "Rhaegal and I were shot down some time ago by some members of the Golden Company that had been working for a red priestess. I landed in the water of the lake we were flying over and he got to crash land into trees and rocks. I was worried he wouldn't be able to fly on his own for awhile, but he's fine now." Ranta assured.
"You fly them?" Oberyn asked intrigued. "Mhm," the blue haired woman nodded. "I've ridden all of them before at one point or another and trained them. However, should we take the dragons into battle, I will soley ride Rhaegal, Daenerys will ride Drogon- the black dragon and Missandei will ride Viserion. Even Grey Worm's ridden Laemyx before, the white snake." Ranta mentioned and this was clearly news to Daario from his affronted expression on his face.
"Why did he get to ride one of them?" the brunette asked. "Because I was drunk when I ordered him to get on." Ranta answered plainly but sighed when she seen that the man was still a bit sour about it. "Would you like to take a ride on Vaemarr, Daario?" she asked a bit exasperatedly but smirked nonetheless. "Why I would be honored, my queen." the man grinned in victory, holding a hand to his chest.
Ranta opened her mouth to reply but snapped it shut abruptly, her brow furrowing in concern as her head tilted to the side and eyes distant. There were vibrations in the ground, beneath her feet. A familiar vibration to the Naylor, "Oh come on Tarla." Ranta sneered before abruptly diving to the side to avoid the tree root that had burst through the ground in the spot she had occupied seconds before. Rolling to her feet, Ranta continued to dodge the vines of the plant life coming for her until something hit her on the side of the head and slowed her down enough for the vines to capture and dangle her in the air by her feet once more.
"Ouch," Ranta hissed rubbing where she had been hit and did a double check when she seen a random stone next to her head. "Di-did you hit me with this rock?!" she snatched the stone off of the ground and glared in the direction of her cousin's laughter. "Not me." the pirate laughed, hands in the pockets of her trousers. "But him." she nodded her head to the side, motioning to a sheepish Colren Naylor standing beside her.
"Any particular reason why?" Ranta asked a bit heatedly. "Because that's the next lesson, cousin, before we go back to reviewing water…. Earth." the pirate grinned toothily as other members of her house that made the trip with her suddenly appeared with an abundance of stones themselves. "But I thought we weren't done with water yet." Ranta pointed out but Tarla merely waved her hand dismissively, "You don't need to be a master at it, so long as you can manipulate your other powers at will then that's good enough for me. Thunder and lightning are your specialties after all."
What really made the queen pale though, was not her words or the large pile of small stones now piled on the ground... but the catapults more Naylors pushed into sight and the well rounded balls of earth inside of them.
"Oh dear."
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Not too far in another part of the country, Dasina liked to think she was a good woman. She paid her taxes, served the crown loyally, gave to charity, married and had a child. She never did anything wrong, though some would disagree concerning who she supported on the iron throne. But now she was trying to make that last thing right- trying to serve the one person who would actually do some good on the grand seat.
So before one of Varys' little birds could even find the woman and deliver the letter from her only offspring, Dasina made quick work to do as inadvertently requested thanks to her spying through the Mirror. Gathering the Naylors and bannerman in the Southern territories were easy enough, in fact, Olenna, Oberyn and Ellaria had caught wind that she was in their lands and after a brief encounter the duo were on ships and off to Dragonstone before Dasina could say otherwise. Ellaria had opted to remain behind and allow her lover to handle the meeting with the Naylor queen.
The journey to the Eyrie had taken her and her large group of followers a decent amount of time but combing through the mountains for Naylor settlers and not wild tribesmen settlements had proven a task indeed, though not impossible. So now, thoroughly freezing their arses off, the Naylor group mounted on horseback tramped through the snowy lands of the North, making for Wolfswood in order to seek brief refuge with the Forresters before heading off for Sea Dragon point and the northern mountains.
Their journey had been one of peace until they had been naught but a few minutes from the dangerous wooded area, not in her entire journey did Dasina run into anyone outside an ally but now her streak had been broken. Standing in front of her, clad on horseback themselves had been Ser Davos Seaworth and Jon Snow. The king in the fucking North and his right hand man, that was exactly what she needed in a time like this.
Jon hadn't known what to expect when he and Davos set out for a ride outside of Winterfell to clear their heads. Running into a cloaked party of countless men and women on horseback had not been one of his expectations. Had they been laid up in arms, he'd believe the North was under attack. But these people before him had nothing but the clothes on their back, supplies on their mounts and a few weapons here and there.
So far no one had said a thing, the two parties merely awkwardly exchanged glances between themselves. "It seems like we were not the only ones in need of a ride today." Davos spoke to break the ice but none from the Naylor party took the bait. "Going somewhere?" the Onion knight then tried. "Are you?" Dasina spoke though her gut told her not to, and did she regret it.
Recognition filled the salt and peppered mans face and walked his horse forward a few steps. "Dasina? Is that you?" he asked in disbelief, wondering if he was really seeing the woman before him. "Your eyes have not failed you yet, my friend." the ravenette smiled weakly and noticed that the young King beside him looked helplessly confused. Noticing this as well Davos quickly made to correct his slight blunder.
"Dasina this is Jon Snow, King in the North. Jon this is Dasina. Dasina Naylor, mother to Ranta Naylor." the elder man finished purposely. Nodding his head, Jon offered a nothing but a kind look to the woman before him. " It's a pleasure to meet you, my lady. Any friend of Ser Davos is a friend of mine." He looked to the rest of her party before peering back into those emerald green eyes of hers.
"It is a pleasure to meet you too, young King" Dasina mused, " Now if you would excuse us" she squeezed her heels lightly into the sides of her horse to urge him into walk but only made it a few steps forward before having to pull him to stop once more when Davos spoke. "Where are you going?" the knight asked. Sighing slightly in exasperation, Dasina turned back to the duo.
"To collect the rest of my family and bannerman as per instructed by the Storm Queen. This is our last stop before making our way to her." the ravenette answered. "Found a safe passage ship to Slaver's Bay then have you?" Davos assumed but was met with a confused look. " Why would I take them there?" she asked and watched as worried looks were exchanged between the King and has advisor. "Because that's where Queen Ranta is." Jon said as fact but was clearly unsure, " That's where we were told she would be, she's Queen of Mereen and beyond." He finished but watched as the woman shook her head.
"All of that is true but my daughter's not in Essos anymore." Dasina revealed, " She has already set sail for Westeros with her armies and beasts alike… they're heading for Dragonstone more specifically. She should be there by now if not soon and Houses Martell and Tyrell have already left to greet her there. Your information is a bit outdated, young King and if I were you, I'd take a page out of their books and make your way down there yourself if you want an alliance between our houses. There's only so many people she can keep happy before interests begin to conflict" and with that, Dasina decided she had enough with conversing with Ned Stark's bastard and looked to a few of the women behind her pointedly who nodded in understanding.
"Farewell, Ser Davos and Jon Snow." Dasina spoke over the howl of the summoned wind that whipped up the snow on the ground around them and that was now falling freely from the sky. With the combined efforts of the women, a blizzard was easily called forth and limited the view of the Naylor party to scarcely nothing. "Run back home little wolf and remember what I said." Jon managed to hear before the blizzard completely enveloped them and cleared moments later, leaving no evidence that there had been an entire party of Naylors standing before him. Could he of chased after them? Of course, they couldn't of gotten too far in such a short amount of time but Jon had more important matters to handle.
"Come Davos, back to Winterfell." he turned his horse and spurred him into action with the Onion Knight on his heels. If there were lords and ladies still missing by the time they returned then they would just start the meeting without them. He needed to leave, and he needed to leave today. With the rapid pace Jon had set, Davos was surprised the horses had not slipped and fallen into the snow - it was if they were running like a demon was on their heels but he supposed it got them to the familiar gates of Winterfell fast enough.
Thankfully the wooden gates had been opened just in time for them to rush through and pull their horses to a stop though Jon had jumped off before his steed was even standing still. "Meeting now, my lords and ladies! To the great hall!" Davos exclaimed loudly for all to hear as he sped walked after his King who was already taking on the stairs to get to the designated meeting room. Very faintly did he register a maester shoving letter scrolls into his hand as he too climbed the stairs and made for his destination.
"What is the hurry about?" Sansa popped up beside him along with Littlefinger slinking behind them. "What has him so scared?" she questioned as men and woman trickled into the Great hall. "Not scared." Davos denied, " But determined. Queen Ranta is here in Westeros already, we ran into her mother and the rest of her house near Wolfswood." he reported.
"She's here?!" Sansa echoed shocked, walking into the scarcely lighted room with all of the others who had been invited. "I thought we had more time." she looked to the salt and peppered man before taking her seat at the head table and as Littlefinger slinked into the shadows against a wall that gave him a clear view of the lady wolf. "So did I." Davos sighed heavily before taking his seat on the other side of the table, Jon standing tall in between the two of them as he waited for everyone to find a seat and the doors to close.
Looking down into his hand, Davos regarded the letters he had received from the maester moments ago. One was from the Citadel, from Samwell Tarly without a doubt but the other… "Jon," Davos stood from his seat and showed the two seals of the letters when the younger man's dark eyes fell upon them. Taking the second letter with the house sigil of the Naylors, Jon motioned for Davos to read through the one from Sam.
After reading through the letter from the Naylorian Queen, the King in the North released a calming breath before turning to address his people. "Today, mere minutes ago Ser Davos and I had a most interesting ride." Jon spoke, quieting the room. "Can anyone guess who we crossed paths with when out there?" he asked but the occupants of the room remained silent.
"Out there, on the outskirts of Wolfswood was a woman and her entire house along with bannerman, some of you may recall the name Dasina Naylor from years ago." murmurs immediately sprung up at this just as Jon expected. "Dasina Naylor." the King's voice rose above the others, "Is here collecting the last of her house before going to meet with her daughter, Queen Ranta. Dasina has brought to my attention that not only has Queen Ranta left Mereen, but she's left Essos altogether and she is here. Ranta Naylor is here in Westeros with her armies. This letter I have just received only confirms it." he held up the scroll he read moments ago.
He allowed chatter to flow through the room for a few moments before speaking again. "The letter was not long, but it did show me that Queen Ranta was not opposed to carrying on tradition of alliances between house Stark and Naylor and she is open to meeting me. However, Dasina has also revealed to me that I will not be the only one rushing to try and put alliances in place. House Martell and Tyrell have already begun their journey to Dragonstone to speak with the Queen and I must follow in their footsteps. Today, after this meeting and after Ser Davos and I are packed, we make for the White Harbor and sail for Dragonstone." he finished with a light sigh.
"Sail? You cannot sail, we need you here!" Sansa protested from her seat. "Your grace, with respect, I must agree with Lady Sansa." Lord Royce stood from his chair, causing Jon to turn to regard him. " Do you even know who acts as Hand for the Naylor Queen?" he asked but was met with silence. " It is not known for certain who is Queen Ranta's Hand," Petyr spoke up from his position.
"She never named one while she was in Essos, but it is very possible that she has now. We know for certain that Ser Barristan Selmy, and Ser Jorah Mormont had both fled over the sea and have served her for years. They were the only ones to give her Westerosi advice before the Greengoods arrived. It could entirely be possible that one of them are her hand." Littlefinger mused, ignoring the mutters and how looks were thrown to the young Lady Mormont in particular.
"However," Petyr began again, his face now incredibly darkened as he spoke," then Tyrion Lannister and Varys the Spy master appeared before her and offered their services as well...out of those four who do you think she made her Hand? A couple of knights, a spy, or a dwarf who knows the workings of King's Landing like the back of his hand?" he clenched his jaw minusculey.
If there was anyone smart enough to see past his cunning mind tricks and silver tongue it was indeed Tyrion Lannister, and that was a problem all on his own and perhaps he really was backing the wrong side. "If what Lord Baelish says to be true and we assume that Tyrion is her Hand, then he cannot be trusted. He's weaseled his way back into a position of power and this time it will stick with the Storm Queen leading the charge." Lord Royce declared with certainty.
" Let us not forget that Ranta Naylor is not the only attraction in the south," Davos stood up from his seat and held up the letter he had read over, quieting the room and gaining their attention. "This is another letter we received today. It's from Samwell Tarly in the Citadel, former brother of the Night's Watch and a man our King trusts more than anyone." Jon nodded in confirmation of this.
" As per his request, Sam has found proof that Dragonglass stops and kills white walkers and their foot soldiers….Dragonstone is filled with this kind of glass. And we need it, by the gods do we need it. Especially if the talks between us and the Storm Queen go bad. Should that happen, then perhaps we can appeal to Daenerys Targaryen to let us mine the Dragonglass and make weapons from it.
Dragonstone is her birthright, where the girl was born. Queen Ranta and Daenerys may be sisters but they are not one person, I reckon Ranta won't have much interest in the running of Dragonstone - not when there's a better throne waiting for her in King's Landing. One way or another, whether you lot like it or not we need to go south. We have to appeal to the Queens on Dragonstone if we want a chance at stopping the Night King and his army. Our king wasn't asking your permission to go, he was telling you that he was." Davos glared at the occupants of the room.
"You may think I'm abandoning you." Jon spoke softly into the silence, "But I'm not, I'm doing this for the North. So that we all have homes and families to return to once this war is over. Until my return, I leave you in the care of my sister, Sansa Stark."