"Your resources are pooled and ready to be loaded on a ship any time now. If you would tell me what weapons you need, you could be on your way."
Turning, Jon came to see Jorah swing his hands behind his back and wait patiently for a responce from the northern king. "Trying to get rid of me already?" Jon turned back to watching a departing Naylor ship sail away in the distance, if he remembered correctly Davvos had told him that he had overheard from one of the ship crew men that Ser Barristan had been aboard that ship along with a cluster of Second sons going to sneak into the Westeros main lands and enter the Storm lands to try and negotiate with the lords and ladies there to swap their allegiances to Ranta. Even less people for him to try and convince to join his cause should they agree with the Selmy to join the Naylor's side.
"With the Northern men's record of being South, I'm surprised you haven't gone yet on your own accord - let alone on the subtle dismissal the queen gave you during the meeting. A Stark leaving Dragonstone alive and well, it'd be a first. With gifts of goodwill nonetheless." Jorah shifted from side to side. "I don't want her gifts" Jon replied quickly and defensively, "As much as I appreciate them, I don't want them." he faced the Mormont. Jorah quirked a brow but kept a straight face, "I'll be sure to let the Queen know." he mused turning on his heel and took a step to leave but was stopped when the younger man continued to speak.
"What I want is her help to defeat the Night King." Jon declared. " You best start looking for different allies then. She doesn't believe you, and neither do the others." Jorah kept his gaze steady on the Stark. "But why don't you?" Jon fought incredibly hard not to stomp his foot like a little child, " You are from Bear Island. You know the stories, you know the dangers. Why is it that I am able to reason with your twelve year old cousin Lyanna and not you?!" the dark haired man cried frustrated.
"You shouldn't have been able to speak reason to Lyanna!" Jorah barked back, "From what little whispers I've heard about her, she has little room to tolerate nonsense and that is exactly what you bring to the table. Utter nonsense." Jon had nothing to say to this because he knew it was true and the elder had a point. "Do you know how the Dothraki think the world will end?" Jorah asked and watched as the king shook his head mutely.
"In the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai, they say there are fields of Ghost Grass, with stalks as pale as milk that glow in the night and murders all other vegetation. The Dothraki believe that one day, it'll cover everything and that's the way the world will end….nonsense isn't it?" he looked to his companion whose silence answered for him. "I never said I didn't believe you." Jon looked up to the bear in surprise.
"I said that the others didn't believe you, I was the only one in there to speak on your behalf...well I planted it into her mind to keep all options open." Jorah shrugged, "And the queen has a very open mind but not too open to believe in the dead marching on us. Not yet anyways." and with that, the Mormont walked away but was quickly followed.
"So how do I get her to believe that the Night King and his army are real?" Jon looked to the older man, " How do I get anyone to believe me?" he matched the pace the Mormont set. " You can't." Jorah said honestly, " Not with just the word of some technical illegitament noble from the North. In the eyes of others, the North is just filled with foolish men with nothing better to do than to count the snowflakes that fall from the sky and pass along their wild imaginations. A familiar and legitamate name proclaiming these insistations for truth though...well you may just get somewhere. I will continue to speak to the queen on your behalf, I may even be able to rope in Tyrion and Varys to help. With us three on her back, she'll have no repreive and scarcely else to believe. Eventually she'll have to humor your presented words as truth." the blonde man smiled slightly.
"...Thank you." Jon said genuinely grateful for the man's vow. "Needless to say that in return, you will at least rethink your standing as an independent as Ranta suggested you should. If you think Cersei will ignore you just because you're in the North then you are mistaken, you're just as supseptable to her army marching on your home as we are." Jorah pointed out.
" I know I am." the dark haired king sighed, "She's already sent a letter demanding that I go to Kings Landing to bend or she would march on my lands." he revealed. "Then why don't you bend?" Jorah frowned, unable to understand his logic. "Inevitably Cersei will come for you, inevitably the Night King will come for you and inevitably we will come for you if you don't change your mind. Wars are a lot easier to fight with friends, son. I would much prefer to meet you on the battlefield as a friend than enemy and so would the queen ." he advised. "You think I don't know that?" Jon frowned, shaking his head and biting the inside of his cheek.
Casting his eyes out, Jon gazed to the water surrounding him, "Being surrounded at all sides with no friends in a war is something I'm not new to and it's something I'm not looking forward to revisiting any time soon." he brought his back to return their focus on Jorah, " I know Queen Ranta means well, I think she has a good heart for what she's fighting for and I know she has it in her to accompish her goals but the people back home will never go for it...bowing to a queen in the South." he finished bringing his eyes to the ground.
"And why is that? Besides past events, why won't they bend to a Southern queen?" Jorah raised a brow. "Because nothing good ever comes from the South in their eyes." Jon mumbled. " Most of the time," the Mormont acknowledged, "but not this time. Ranta is not Cersei, nor the Mad King or even Daenerys." Jon looked up at the mention of the Targaryen princess.
" Daenerys is just as hot blooded as any Targaryen in history and as Khaleesi that works in her favor...perhaps too well sometimes and that is what Ranta is for, to reign her back in. A storm to pacify the raging fire." Jorah noted and watched as the young wolf nod in understanding of his statement and coincidentally they came upon the blue haired star of the island relaxing on the beach below them.
"Ranta's got to be the most down to earth person in this world." Jorah smiled faintly, " If you want to make your plea to her again then be my guest, or you can just go down there and try to get to know each other. Either way, make use of what little time you have left here...what weapons do you need?" he asked. "Ones made from Dragonglass, this island is sitting on a horde of it." Jon informed the man and watched as Jorah nodded without missing a beat and walked away to go and round up some men to help him mine the material necessary.
Taking a calming breath Jon tore his eyes away from the retreating former knight and made his way down to where the blue monarch was lounging on the sandy shores. "Beautiful day to relax on the beach." Ranta heard a familiar voice chime in from behind her. "It is." the woman patted the spot next to her after turning to take in the form of Jon Snow.
"I imagine it's still a bit too warm for your tastes though." Ranta smiled lightly as the man humored her by sitting down next to her, a little bit of space between them. "Just a bit." Jon nodded. "Did you know that I'm not exactly a fan of the heat either?" Jon looked to his companion with a slightly raised brow. "You've spent a majority of your life in the hottest place in the world, and you're not a fan of the heat?" Ranta shook her head, lifting her hair off of her neck to let the breeze hit it before letting her strands fall back down.
"Can't stand the heat, I don't like to sweat and how you and the Dothraki are traipsing around in these furs is beyond me." Ranta fingered the pelt around his shoulders before letting it go. "Trust me, I intend to start leaving it behind in my room." Jon shrugged said furs off into the sand below, "It must be nice to be back home again...despite circumstances" he commented.
"It is, despite circumstances." the monarch smirked lightly, watching the waves roll up onto the shore and tease contact with the duo. "Has Jorah gotten you everything you need to go home?" Ranta asked. "He's working on getting the weapons together but otherwise yes, he said he had everything ready to be loaded onto a ship." the man nodded his head.
However, the monarch's brow only furrowed. "He's just now getting the weapons together? It shouldn't have taken this long." Ranta frowned. "I believe that's my fault, your grace, I haven't exactly been the most easy man to track down as of recently." Jon admitted and it was the truth, the Stark man was hard to pin down these days with his constant wanderings over the island. "I reckon it will still be awhile before I leave as well." the dark eyed man noted after a thought. "And why is that?" the wind blew ocean blue locks out from behind Ranta's ear and caused her to wrangle the strands back under control and tucked around the shell of her ear.
"The weapons I need are made from dragon glass, it still has to be mined and forged into weapons." the young king explained. At the mention of the rare element, Ranta tensed and looked to Jon with an indescribale look. "Obsidian?" she asked, getting to her feet and dusted what sand she could off of the back of her dress. "Or Volcanic glass, this island sits on a mound of it. It can stop the Whitewalkers" Jon stood as well, making eye contact with his companion as he did so.
Without replying to what the man had said, Ranta turned on her heel with a look of deep thought upon her face and walked over to a rocky wall of the island. Running a solitary finger down the side of the wall, the blue haired woman drew an imaginary line down the rock as if splitting the area she was working with in half. Placing a hand on each side of the imaginary line she drew, the Naylorian woman closed her eyes and began to focus - ignoring how Jon followed after and came to stop a few steps away. Within a few moments Jon heard a slight rumbling that steadily grew louder with each passing second and watched as an inches deep crack suddenly appear that continued to grow and stretch until it reached the ground.
Opening her eyes, Ranta took a step back and mimicked prying something open- the crack mimicking her actions and forcing the split rock to part outwards until it was wide enough for a man and woman to make their way into. "If it's dragon glass you want, than it's dragon glass you'll get." Ranta huffed with exertion, staring into the dark path she had created.
"But first I want to show you something, and there's something you should know." she turned to look back at Jon who had been solely focused on the newly created path in stunned silence. "You're right, this island does sit on a mountain of glass," Ranta nodded, gaining his attention back. "But you can't find it unless you know where to look.. and I have no idea where to look." she sighed in defeat.
"What do you mean it can't be found unless you know where to find it?" Jon frowned heavily. "Dragonglass was a Targaryen treasure...is a Targaryen treasure." Ranta amended blinking a few times, " They kept it hidden so no one could come traipsing in and mine it like you want to do." she crossed her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto one leg, " I know this island. I played, slept, ate and shat here. There's not a single inch of this island that I haven't explored and not once have I ever come across the glass." Oh it was just his luck. He was standing in the location of exactly what he wanted and yet it's slipped from his grasp.
"So how do we find find it?" Jon exhaled sharply, "How do we track it down?" he paced slightly. " Well you can't go hacking away blindly at Daenery's homeland and I can't go splitting chunks of the island in half - we'll cause a cave in somewhere from the instability." Ranta furrowed her brow and shook her head in thought, "I remember hearing stories about these crystals that can act as a guide to the glass - the more the crystal glows away from its' origin source, the closer you are to Dragonglass." she explained.
"And you know where to find these crystals?" Jon asked for clarification and watched as the monarch simply moved off to the side and began experimentally tapping on the sandy ground in seemingly random places, as if testing for something. After the tenth tap to the sand below, the blue haired queen tensed and suddenly dropped to her knees and began digging.
Unsure of what she was doing but determined to help, Jon approached and dropped to his knees to help the Naylorian woman. The duo digged about a foot down into the sand before unburying a cluster of spindly white snail shells. Reaching in, Ranta pulled out two shells and began kicking the sand back over the others. Once they were thoroughly reburied, Ranta stood with Jon and held up the two shells pointedly.
"What we're looking for aren't just normal crystals, they're echoing crystals that respond to melodies and tunes - luckily for us it's not anything specific." she handed a shell over to Jon and unsheathed a hidden dagger from within her boot. Taking the blade, Ranta carefully broke a hole into the main body of the shell and carved three more after that down a line before doing the same to Jon's when he handed it over. "So just blow into the shell and listen for the sound to be repeated." the man summarized.
"Well it has to carry a note but yes, that is the just of it." the monarch stood up and handed the shell back over as she walked back to the path created with Jon on her heels. Thankfully for the two of them, there was a torch mounted on the wall outside of the whole she created for the patrols and was able to take it with them.
"And how exactly do you know about this?" Jon questioned curiously as they walked into the innerworkings of the island. "Rhaella and Rhaegar." Ranta answered, "They told Viserys and then told me, so that I could tell Daenerys. The fact that Dragonglass is here is okay to know but outsiders aren't supposed to know how to find it so I would not only appreciate but suggest you keep this to yourself." she narrowed her eyes slightly though it was not like he could see the action with her back turned on him.
"You have my word." the Stark man promised a moment before he ran into her outstretched hand that had been brought up suddenly. Raising the shell to her lips, Ranta blew into the end and played a random basic tune that came to mind. Removing the shell from her lips, the duo listened carefully, pressing ears to either side of the wall that encompassed them after the original echo faded away.
"Here." Jon said picking up a faint sound from his wall on the left and stepped back for the Naylorian queen to work. Unlike last time though, the woman merely just landed an open palm strike on the wall and watched as a moment of nothingness happened before the wall slowly moved backwards on its own. "You said Rhaegar and Viserys...your brothers." Jon suddenly said.
"They're both gone now, but yes….though had things worked out differently Viserys would have seen me as his wife and not sister." the duo walked down the new path. "Oh?" Jon mused. Ranta huffed a bitter laugh, "I didn't see Viserys as anything but a brother but apparently everyone but me could see how he felt and that's one of the few things that I regret in my life. It wasn't until he was laying on his death bed hours before he died that he confessed his true intentions and feelings for me." the coppery bitter taste of blood filled the woman's mouth when her teeth clamped too hard down on the fragile flesh of her cheek.
Ranta raised the shell to her lips again but stopped when she felt a hand grab her arm, "I got it."Jon said having seen her raise her arms to blow into the make shift instrument. Playing a tune of his own the duo waited for the echo, and found it coming from the right wall. "It wouldn't have changed anything." the dark haired man suddenly said, halting Ranta's movement to move the stone wall.
"If you would of known about his feelings sooner...it wouldn't have changed anything. He still would of grew sick and died." he pointed out. It was silent for a long moment before the young wolf got a responce. "Perhaps." Ranta admitted, landing a similar strike on the wall. "And perhaps I could of at least given him a few years of happiness had I picked up on it sooner" she sighed watching the new path be created, "You lost brothers too?" the woman asked.
"I did," Jon nodded letting a small smile grace his lips, " though I doubt they wanted to marry me." he joked lightly, earning a chuckle from the queen in front of him. "So how'd you meet her?" Ranta asked casually causing Jon to look at her strangely. "Who?" he asked. "Your wife of course." the Naylor replied simply.
A flush worked its way across his cheeks at this and a nervous laugh worked its way past his lips, "I'm um...I'm not sure where you got your information from, your grace, but it's incorrect. I'm not married." he denied halting the woman in her tracks. "Not married?" she repeated turning around to face him and giving him an obvious once over, "Well what's wrong with you?" she tilted her head curiously.
Jon opened his mouth to respond but then closed it only to open it again and close it once more. "Oh!" Ranta's brows rose into her hairline at the realization. "You prefer men, don't you?" she guessed causing the flush to deepen and mindless sputters to errupt from the king's frame at the outrageous claim.
"There's no need to get so flustered about it, I don't judge." the blue haired woman grinned, the light of the fire illuminating her face quite nicely. "Lady Olenna had a grandson that was the same and I think Prince Oberyn has even dabbled in the art as well." she raised a finger to her lip as she looked down at the ground thoughtfully. "If it's a partner you are in search for, I can ask either one for references on where you would have the most luck finding someone…"she trailed off, turning and began walking once more but only made it a few steps before Jon brushed past her and blocked the way.
"I do not prefer men!" he exclaimed, "I never have and never will, not that I have anything against it. I had someone once...a lover. Her name was Ygritte" Jon informed. "Ygritte." Ranta repeated slowly, "That's no Westeros name, not even one that could come from Essos...she was a Wildling wasn't she? There hasn't been anyone since her, yeah?" Jon was surprised at the quick deduction the monarch came to and nodded slowly in confirmation. "Well, I'm sorry for your loss then, forgive me for my prying into your personal matters." Ranta apologized with a comforting pat to his chest before squeezing past the dark haired man, unavoidably pressing against him as she did so.
Create a tune.
Listen.
Create a new path.
Walk down it.
"What about you?" Jon asked as the continued their adventure. "Hm?" Ranta hummed. "Well what's wrong with you?" he repeated her words from earlier, "There was no one after Viserys that harbored feeling for you or that you felt something for?" Jon asked. "Well there were the perverts in the streets." Ranta sighed lightly, "There was also the King of Qarth that wrote to me suggesting a marriage but I ignored that, and there's of course Daario but that won't happen either...oh, Rakharo!" she suddenly laughed, "I forgot about his little crush on me when I was younger but I'm sure he's moved on from it." Ranta shrugged nonchalantly.
"Daario and Rakharo…"Jon repeated slowly and thoughfully, "They both serve you in your armies - Daario greeted us on the shore and Rakharo was in the throne room when we first arrived." he mused. "Both serving loyally and faithfully for years, no matter what mess I put them through." Ranta recalled fondly, a smile touching her lips. "You listed these names in past tense but with Daario you didn't, why is that?" Jon asked.
"Because Daario still has feelings for me...you are just full of questions aren't you?" Ranta quirked a brow. "You started it." Jon simpered, "So what have you done about it?" why his stomach was twisting and turning uncomfortably at this question was lost to the Stark.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"..."
"Daario and I have had conversations before about it and before we sailed I made it clear that we can't have anything between us...not even a single night. It would cause too many problems in the future and while he doubts that he will ever find someone other than me, I don't. Daario's a good man and he deserves better than what I could give him. There's a million people alone in King's Landing and that's one city out of how many in the entire seven kingdoms? If he can't find anyone here then he can go back to Essos and try his luck there again." Ranta said confidently.
Create a tune.
Listen.
Listen…
Listen….
The two leaders looked to each other confused when they couldn't hear an echo come from either wall. "Play it again." Ranta requested and waited from Jon's tune to play before straining her ears to hear the echo play back to her. It was there. They could hear it, but it just wasn't coming from the walls. It was coming from...Ranta's eyes darted down to the ground below and lowered herself onto her knees before pressing her ear to the floor and just barley catching the ending of the tune.
" Down?" Jon's brow furrowed, getting to his knees when the blue haired woman grabbed his gloved hand and pulled him down. "Of course." Ranta huffed exasperatatedly, "Brace yourself." the monarch warned striking the floor underneath them and felt the immediate shift of the earth begin to shift downwards.
Unlike how they used to travel a bit before trying to find where next to go, the journey was a bit longer and Ranta was at the point of asking if he really needed to find dragonglass that bad when the confines of the walls around them finally ended and was replaced by a much brighter view. "I think we found your crystals." Jon stared in awe at the multi colored crystal filled cavern they had been lowered into.
Reds, blues, purples, yellows, greens...just about every color imaginable had been emminating from the varying sized crystals that sprouted from the ground and from within the walls they were imbedded in. Once the slab of earth had landed on the ground, the duo stood to their feet and continued to take in the beautiful sight around them.
"Look Jon," Ranta whispered with a gentle nudge to the man next to her and motioned to the center of the cavern. In the center of the room, as if on display had been a tree that legitimately glowed with every color of the crystals around them and instead of leaves hanging off of the branches - they were crystals and twirled in the imaginary wind.
Approaching the tree who had branches were high enough to reach the stalactites above on the ceiling and ones low enough for the crystals to reach the ground, the duo slowly came to a stop before the tree. Ranta carefully daring to lightly caress one of the precious gems hanging in front of her face, it took her a few moments to realize that Jon was looking at her with a look of expectancy and something else.
"What?" she asked innocently with the light of a green crystal bouncing off of her face, " I'm not going to be the one to take a crytal off - what if I get cursed?" the monarch fretted a bit dramatically, looking to said objects. "Cursed? You never said anything about being cursed...and isn't believing in curses a bit silly considering how old you are?" Jon flashed an unsure look to the temptating sparkling objects.
"How old I am?!" Ranta repeated incredulously before rounding on the man. "And just how old do you think I am, exactly?" the Stark man was no idiot, he may stick his foot in his mouth from time to time but he was no idiot. This was a dangerous question to play around with, along with the one where a woman would ask if a dress made her look fat.
"I- I mean no offense my lady," he held his hands up pacifyingly. "I just meant that...that…" Jon waivered when Ranta raised a brow expectantly. "The days of children's play is behind us now along with some of the fables we were told." he explained carefully and felt a sense of relief fill him when he was greeted with a smile and not a slap to the face any other woman would of given like in his younger days.
"Consider yourself lucky I have a sense of humor and don't take much to heart." Ranta chuckled, patting his lightly bearded cheek before moving off, "And anyways, the part with the curse could have been skipped in the story, I don't know." Ranta shrugged unhelpfully. "And if it's so silly to believe in curses then you pull one off," she insisted but at the expression the king wore, it could be said that Jon most definitley had no intentions on being cursed for plucking something from the mystical tree.
"Can't you just...blow one off." he asked motioning awkwardly for her to do her Naylorian thing. Quirking a brow unimpressed, Ranta threw an arm out to motion around them. "I need wind,Jon, to blow something down and we're underground if you haven't noticed." and it was if the gods had a sense of humor because not a minute later had she said that, a gust of wind blew in from the whole in the ceiling they came in from and sent the layers upon layers of crystals tinkering against each other until a few finally fell to the ground harmlessly.
Blinking at the desired gems in stunned silence, Ranta snapped out of it and glared upwards at nothing in particular, "That's not funny." she grumbled and was greeted with another breeze that danced through her hair. Sighing in defeat, Ranta looked to Jon to see that he had gathered the few crystals that had fallen and passed them off to her except for one - wearing an amused look on his face nonetheless.
The northern man opened his mouth to speak but quickly shut it, a troubled look overtaking his features. Raising a hand, he pressed a finger lightly one of the eeryie blue ruins that had been coming from under her dress on her collar bone and carefully lowered the soft material but not so far that it wouldn't dip lower than necessary. The Naylor would be lying if she said that shivers hadn't run down her spine at the gentle touch on her imprinted ruin, but as much as he may of wanted to study it some more - they had been on a mission.
Grabbing his hand, Ranta broke Jon out of his daze and flashed a ghost of a smile. "Let's find you that Dragonglass, yeah? The sooner you get home the better, I reckon whoever you left in charge during your abscence has had enough of leading by now." she moved off, keeping an eye on the crystal as she walked toward an open path behind the tree. Hesitating for a moment, Jon followed after the woman with his brain buzzing with about a hundred different questions.
"That ruin." the dark haired king mused walking into the path. "Is nothing to worry your pretty little head about." Ranta finished. "B-but there are more of them, it's not just one is it?" Jon tried. "No, there's not just one." the woman sighed turning rightwards with the path and increased her pace so the curious wolf would ask no more questions, and no more questions did he ask. For a long while was their journey of creating new paths under the island a silent one, it wasn't until Ranta broke through a final wall did they come to a stop.
Eyes widening in awe, the Naylor was greeted with the sight of glittering black glossy stones jutting out of the wall. "This is it." Jon breathed coming up beside her, "Dragonglass." he muttered, slowly walking forwards to examine the room around him and while the king in the north was busy being starstruck with the sight before him, a stranger power was working on the Naylorian queen. Whispers had filled her ears the moment she stepped into the room, she couldn't understand them but they were whispers nonetheless.
Whispers of men, women and children of all ages and they seemed to be coming from...turning her head to the left, Ranta spotted a tight path that led deeper into the area they were in and found herself moving towards it. "Well if I die by some ancient cave monster at least no one can say that I never did a good thing in my entire life." she muttered to herself, slipping between a tight space of rock and stone.
"Probably could afford to miss a few meals though." the monarch grunted when she had to use some force to get her all the way through the path. Popping out from the path unexpectantly, Ranta stumbled a bit to catch herself so she wouldn't fall. Looking around, Ranta found she couldn't see much until she lifted the glowing crystals in her hand to shed some light and by the gods was she dumbfounded by what she seen carved into the walls.
"You have got to be kidding me." the woman scoffed with a hint of laughter in her voice. There were ancient carvings that had not faded a day since their creation. From what the Naylor could interpret, there had been a civilization of small people living in peace with one another - small and child like...then bigger people came by ships and marched on their land.
Ranta frowned as she watched the peaceful paintings turned into violent ones, a war broke out between the little and big people. There were burnings of strange looking trees, deaths on both sides of the war but there were far more carvings of the child like people being killed. So they ran, Ranta's eyes followed the retreating figures of the losing side to another drawing that suddenly showed a bigger man bound to a tree with a cluster of the shorter people before him and one making to stab him in the heart with some sort of pointed stone.
There had been a set of ruins and spiral symbols that the woman wouldn't try to understand but she did get the gist that it was perhaps a ritual of some kind that must of been used because above the symbols it showed the man becoming some sort of skeletal humanoid with blue eyes and from out of one there became more that stood in front of the little ones and faced the tall men.
An army answering to the children perhaps, but it didn't make much sense to the Naylor what had happened in the next picture. These skeletal creatures, turned on the very people who created them - started killing them and the men alike. All three sides suffered but the new army had not lost as many as the other two did, and when the original blue eyed creature was next to the body of a slain man or woman - they would suddenly be standing again with similar blue eyes.
Ranta's eyes widened as she seen the little and big people suddenly standing together and facing off with the blue eyed army. In fact there were many pictures of them fighting but eventually it came to an end when they were able to beat them back and an agreement was shown to pass between the combined forces from what the woman was able to gather. The final picture was of one symbols floating above a wall that seperated the armies, the blue eyes being locked away and isolated on one side while the victors of the battle were safe and together on the other….
"Your grace!" Jon's deep voice suddenly called, bouncing around the cave though it was hardly heard until the second time around "Your grace?" the man called again this time sounding closer. "I'm coming!" Ranta called back without taking her eyes off of the eeryie carvings and slowly moving away but not before spotting a message hidden in dust below the last picture that sent the Naylor's skin crawling. Raising a hand, the woman brushed away the dust as best as she could and raised a glowing crystal to provide what light it could but try as she might, the monarch could not decipher what the ruins had said.
"Well for fuck's sake, how is anyone supposed to read a possible ominous warning if it's not in a language anyone can understand?" Ranta's brow furrowed heavily but tensed when suddenly the whispers from before returned...and this time she could actually understand them.
" In their haste to create a solution…"
" A weapon unlike any other, the Children birthed something they didn't understand..."
"It shall be on the day when the barrier falls…
"When kingdoms collide…"
"Upon when thunder, fire and ice mix..."
"And life meets death...
"Shall one will fall and the other rise - leaving corpses of millions in its wake…"
Well that was something she could of gone through the rest of her life without hearing, Ranta frowned as the whispers faded into nothing and she was left with silence once again. "Your grace?" Jon called unsurely, sounding like he was now at the entrance to the path leading to her location. "Keep your pants on, sweetheart, here I come." Ranta assured moving away from the ominous warning carved into the wall and sighed heavily, feeling the stress eat away at her from inside. "Perhaps you aren't as crazy as you may seem, Jon Snow." the monarch muttered under her breath as she wiggled her way through the tight path. "Are you alright?" Jon asked as she popped out, catching her as she stumbled a bit.
"Fine," Ranta said nonchalantly, smiling in thanks as she steadied herself. "I'm sure you're over the moon." the blue haired woman smirked, nudging his arm and away from the tucked away cave paintings, "All the dragonglass you'll ever need but it won't mine its' self and quite frankly I'm tired of being under this island. Let's find a way out and get a crew down here to start mining, yeah?" Ranta smiled convincingly and walked off without waiting for a responce, not noticing Jon's small smile fade into a concerned frown. Turning, the dark haired man wondered what had been in that back area that had the Naylor woman fleeing from the cave in such a hurry but had little chance to ponder over it for much longer when he heard his name being called.
"Jon, let's go! I'm hungry and want some food before Daario goes after it all!" sighing, Jon backed away and followed after the blue haired queen waiting for him a ways off. He would just have to explore that part of the cave later, it seemed.
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.
"Your grace?" Missandei asked confused by the sight of her queen digging through her belongings and pulling out some of the most layered of her dresses. "Greetings and salutations, friend." Ranta said without waivering from her task, examining the material of the dress in her hand and finding it satisfactory. "Is- Is there something I can help you with?" the advisor asked as she tossed the warm dress onto the bed and then began rifling through her belongings again for some warm trousers and a shirt. "No, but there is something you should know." Ranta pulled out a set of clothes and tossed it on the bed with the dresses. "We are leaving, you and I. RIght now." she revealed.
"We are?" Missandei looked confused, "Where are we going?" she asked moving forwards to examine the clothes set out. "To make sure Daenerys isn't burning Westeros to the ground. Get a pack and put those clothes in there." she instructed, standing and adjusting her own bag over her shoulder. "Does anyone else know we are leaving?" Missandei asked grabbing a pack and stuffing her clothes into it with Ranta's aid. "No, but they will once they see us march past them in the dinning hall. I had the cooks get us some meals to last us about a while. We have to go pick it up." the monarch explained. "Is it wise to leave when Lord Snow is still here?" Missandei asked closing her pack and shouldering it. "It'll be fine, Missandei...do you have your dagger?" Ranta asked and watched as her friend patted her side where the blade was kept with a nod.
"Let's go then, we're taking seperate dragons by the way." the woman mentioned off handedly as they exited her room. "Your grace, are you sure you want to vacate the island of all the brothers and leave ourselves?" the translator fretted as she trotted after the blue haired woman. "No, my conscious is yelling at me to not do it but Vaemarr and Laemyx will be back soon enough along with our fleet and the Unsullied. Things will be fine here." Ranta assured. "And you don't think that Lord Snow will take any offense to our departure?" Missandei asked. "I helped him uncover Dragonglass, I sure hope he wouldn't...but Jon will be too busy mining glass anyways to be worrying about our departure." the curly haired woman bit her lip in uncertainty but trusted in her lady.
"So we fly to High Garden then return home with Lady Daenerys?" Missandei couldn't help the question that escaped past her lips, "Well to be truthful, there's more to it than that but I can explain more once we meet up with Dany." Ranta told her and the rest of the journey to the dinning room was filled with casual chatter between the two friends. Entering the dinning hall, Ranta was greeted with the sight of her council dinning together but what surprised her was a certain Northern King and his hand sitting and eating at the table as well.
"Lord Snow," Missandei spoke in the same amount of confusion and gathering the room's attention. " It was to my belief that you would be mining dragon glass, did something go wrong?" the brown eyed woman asked. Wiping his mouth before speaking Jon shook his head no, "No, nothing's wrong. We managed to mine a bit of the glass, but decided to really get to work at day break. I came down here to thank you, for helping me find it" he looked to Ranta, " but your advisors convinced me to sit and eat instead...but it seems to me you seem to be leaving." Jon's brow furrowed at the packs over the women's shoulders.
"Is that what this is for? Your journey?" Daario asked holding up a sizable pack no doubt filled with supplies for the duo. "Yes, thank you." Ranta snagged the bag away from Daario and threw it over her shoulder. "Missandei and I are taking a quick visit to High Garden to check on our forces and Lady Olenna. My advisors will be able to see to your every need in my absence." Ranta assured the dark haired guest.
Throwing subtle glances amongst each other, said council men silently wondered what the Naylor queen had been playing at knowing full well that no such thing was discussed with any of them. "Well let's see you off then," Daario suddenly clapped his hands together and stood from his seat with a convincing smile. "The sooner you two get to High Garden, the sooner you can return." he simpered, stealing the packs off of Ranta's shoulder and managed to even snag Missandei's as well as the others stood from their seats too.
"Did I miss a meeting discussing this particular journey?" Daario asked as the Naylor led the charge out of the room. "If you missed it, then so did I. I don't recall having any meeting that covered this excursion." Jorah added with a side glance to the blue haired woman. " We are going to make sure Lady Daenerys is not burning the lands of Westeros to the ground. The decision I believe was made last minute - no disrespect intended, your grace." Missandei added hastily though Ranta waved it off.
" The journey will not take long, we'll stay high in the clouds to remain hidden until we arrive to Lady Olenna's home - we'll even check on the Unsullied if they are still around by the time we get over there." the monarch explained. "Would have been nice to know sooner rather than seconds before your departure." Tyrion grumped. "The decision was last minute, like Missandei said. You have my apologies, I'll get better at communication and fending off impulsive decisions." Ranta promised.
"What do you propose we do about the young King while you are away?" Varys asked. "He'll be busy mining, leave him to do it and send him on his way once he has what he needs. I expect to see his ship ready to sail back home by the time I return at the very least." the woman ordered and came to a stop in a spacious clearing before sticking two fingers in her mouth and letting out a sharp whistle.
"Our packs, Daario, if you would please." Ranta requested and watched as the man obliged by unhooking them from his shoulder but did not hand them over right away. "Do you have at least four changes of clothing?" the captain looked between the two women. " Yes" they chimed together. "Weapons?" the women patted their respective weapons assuredly.
"Coin?" Ranta jingled her filled coin purse for all to hear. "Food and water?" Missandei took the opportunity to kick lightly at the pack the kitchen chefs had put together. "A map should you get lost?" the blue eyed woman pulled a folded up parchment paper from out of her dress and waved it pointedly before tucking it back in. "Dragons?" Jorah now asked and was answered by a dual set of roars and a shaking ground as said beasts landed before them.
"Check." Ranta grinned jovially before shouldering her pack as Missandei shouldered hers and then picked up the food and water supplies much to the queen's displeasure. "Rhaegeal darling! Viserion darling! Come, let's go on a journey to find your brothers shall we?" Ranta's tune quickly changed as she pranced to her tan steed and his sibling. Coming to a stop before the tan eyed dragon, Rhaegal pushed his muzzle into her hands and let out a low rumbling purr of content.
"Moment of truth, isn't it Viserion?" Missandei whispered to the green winged beast once she approached him as well. " We haven't had much practice riding together," she stroked his leathery snout, "but Lady Daenerys does it with Drogon and Lady Ranta with Rhaegal, so it should be easy enough, yes?" she asked and was met with a soft snort and a slight nuzzle from the dragon.
"That overgrown lizard won't let anything happen to you, Missandei. You have nothing to fear." Ranta grinned climbing up Rhaegal's offered wing and using the spikes along his neck to help keep balance until she was seated securely on his back. Mimicking her movements, Missandei also mounted and had to force herself to slow her racing heart by taking a deep breath. "Nothing to fear." the curly haired woman repeated to herself under her breath.
"We'll be back soon, keep everything in line until I return!" Ranta called to her advisors who nodded and waved in an acknowledging goodbye. " If you are gone by the time I return, I wish you the best, Jon Snow." the Naylor called to the Stark. "The same to you, your grace, I wish you both safe travels and a swift return." the wolf called back with a wave. Turning with a snort Rhaegal led the charge over to the island's edge with Viserion by his side. Pausing a moment the two dragons exchanged a look before Rhaegal was the first to jump off the ledge and plummet down to the sea below, Viserion a split second after him.
"Well now that the only entertainment of the island has just left us." Daario sighed, wrapping an arm around Jon's shoulder as the two dragons and their riders suddenly soared upwards from out of their dives and flew into the distance with cries of their own. " Let's finish our meal and have a few drinks before we retire for the night. Gods know I need one." the captain pulled the dark haired man and his older friend away.
Once the trio were far out of ear shot, Varys spoke. "I do believe that this is the first lie our queen has told us." the spy master mused, his eyes locked onto the retreating figure of the blue queen and her top advisor. " Or well, at least the first half truth...Lady Daenerys is not the sole reason for her sudden departure." Varys shook his head knowingly.
"Something has her spooked" he deduced. "What was she doing before she randomly decided to take flight?" Tyrion asked. "She had been relaxing on the beach," Jorah answered, " but then after a conversation with the King in the North, I sent him down there to speak to her about what ever he wished. They ended up going on a venture to find dragon glass under the island but I don't know what was said or found during the whole thing." the Mormont shook his head.
"Send word to your birds to take to the skies and keep an eye out for the Storm queen and a couple of dragons. Frequent reports on her whereabouts would be prefeered." Tyrion instructed. "Of course." Varys bowed his head lightly in acknowledgement before turning and leaving to do as instructed. "Where ever she's going with Missandei and Daenerys, I just hope she knows what she's doing." Jorah sighed deeply.
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.
Not many things impressed Olenna Tyrell, especially those Dothraki brutes traipsing their shitting horses all over her lands for the past how many weeks. But when those brutes and that fire breathing beast the Targaryen princess rode in on to stop the Lannister forces from advancing on her home, the thorned rose queen had been much more than greatful for them.
At least thirty thousand Lannister forces marched on High Garden, including her former friend Randall Tarly, but fifty thousand warlords and a dragon made quick work of the cowardly lions and all but frolicked on the field as they cut down the Lannisters for fun. The battle could easily be seen from her window, in fact she was enjoying it with a glass of wine as if it was an everyday occurrence. What she hadn't expected though, was to hear the trumpeting sounds of elephants over the screams of the dying.
Slamming the wine down in her throat, Olenna forced herself to remain calm at the sight of a team of seven war elephants with a golden lion with a red background painted on their faces and a team of fifteen archer men riding on top in a wooden post. "How much of your resources did you drain for seven elephants, Cersei? Not the wisest way to spend your money." the Tyrell woman tapped a finger on the arm of her chair.
At least three elephants had barbed wire strung across their tusks while the other four been stuck with pointed spikes wrapped around their thick ankles. "Turn that beast around girl, or it won't be pretty for your men" Olenna looked to Daenerys and her mount lighting fire to another squadron of archers that tried to take her down with their arrows. With another trumpeting cry from the giant grey war beasts, some of the Dothraki finally noticed the new players on the field.
"Now that's more like it," Rakharo grinned with a face full of his enemy's blood a moment after cutting down one of the metal clad men and galloping towards the group of beasts with a shreiking war cry. "War elephants! Was elephants on the field!" Jhogo cried following after him, cutting down what ever Westerosi was in his reach as he raced by. The more the warning was shouted, the more their forces were diverted to the oncoming threat and the quicker Daenerys noticed the grey giants marching towards them.
Shifting her weight to the right and giving a pull, Drogon banked hard in the direction she instructed and narrowed his fiery orange eyes on the threat before him. The roar Drogon released next only added fuel to the fire of the Dothraki as it did when they first originally charged at the Lannister forces and right as the lead elephant charged forward ahead of the others and swung its head back to take out a hefty amount of the bold men riding their horses, the war animal was tackled by a white blur. Daenerys' eyes widened when she spotted Laemyx's gigantic form wrapping around the elephant and setting fire to the men on its back.
Looking back, Daenerys just barely managed to catch Vaemarr tackling his own elephant to the ground and grappling with it and the riders as well. Squinting her eyes slightly on the horizon behind her, Daenerys was able to make out the black uniformed Unsullied soldiers rushing forward and was either taking on their own opponents still on foot, or had been picked up by a Dothraki rider and was currently riding to take on a war elephant.
The Unsullied must have taken Casterly Rock already and with little casualties if they had it in them to march all the way to High Garden. How they got here is what confused the Targaryen, they couldn't have known which direction to go from Casterly Rock unless... "Ha, ha, ha! Now this is what I'm talking about!" a familiar voice laughed hysterically and from out of the corner of her eye, Daenerys caught sight of Tarla being carried forward by a tree she had brought to life and whose roots were snatching up and tossing Lannister soldiers left and right - each falling with sickening cracks and never moving again.
Signaling Drogon to descend, Daenerys approached the pirate. "Grown bored of sea battles?" the silvery blonde called down, causing the elder woman to look up with a grin. "Hardly! Casterly Rock fell within a couple of hours and the fleet that Euron did send was no match for us or the serpents. The Greyjoys are holding down the Rock with the my men at the moment, glad I convinced that Unsullied dogs to march here" Tarla grinned, "Look at all the fun you're having all to yourself!" she laughed and then no sooner did an arrow come searing towards her and would have shot her straight through the side of the head had a branch not snatch it out of the air and broke the offending object in half.
"What ever works for you, Tarla" Daenerys mused before pushing Drogon away and having him climb back into the air before one of those arrows decided to try and go for her, "Dracarys!" the Targaryen pressed a hand into the dragon's neck and was rewarded with the screams and smell of burning flesh of humans and an elephant or two. Such was a reward the Khaleesi had been given for the next hour but also Jamie Lannister.
Moment by moment he watched men get cut down, wither it be by Dothraki, Unsullied, or by that damn living tree the unknown Naylor had been manipulating. This wasn't war, the one handed man thought despairingly as smoke and ash flew into his eyes and lungs from his burning surroundings. For every one foreign soldier cut down, it seemed like eight more of his own forces were cut down in retaliation and as for that damn dragon the Targaryen rode in on...it was unstoppable.
Arrows bounced off of its scales uselessly, Qyburn's Scorpion couldn't even touch it and even if he had wanted Bronn to retry and shoot one of the monster snakes running around - if he was even still alive- he couldn't. The dragon had burnt it into nothing but dust after Bronn had nearly shot its rider off its back. The elephants Cersei had emptied their treasury for were being slaughtered by the serpents and their human companions and while the elephants seemed to cause them quite a bit of grief- it wasn't long until the final one had fallen and Jamie suddenly found himself being confronted by Naylor forces.
Looking around once more at the death and destruction around him, Jamie allowed a small smirk to grace his face. No, this wasn't war. This was a slaughter. Raising his hand in surrender, Jamie waived the metaphorical white flag and allowed himself to be captured and corralled with what was left of his army, which wasn't much. Maybe fifty or sixty had been left out of the entire force he had brought with him if he was lucky...and Jamie had not been a lucky man in a long time.
"Well would you look at that...looks like you're still alive, cunt." Bronn's voice filled his ear a few minutes into the hike towards an unknown destination, cutting off his thoughts. Well maybe he was a little bit lucky. "Glad to see you're okay too." Jamie let the insult roll off his back. "Okay?" Bronn huffed incredulously, " I don't see how any of this is okay." he motioned around them, "Look at what they did to my arm! I ain't tryna be like yeh, Westeros already has its' resident cripple!" Jamie frowned at the mangled mess that was the man's arm.
" What, were you run over by a cart?" the Lannister grimace. "A burning cart nonetheless!" Bronn corrected, "Once that dragon burned the Scorpion to the ground, those horse fuckers had a blast chasing me around the battle field until they got tired of chasing me and decided to fight…..Damn bastard knocked me to the ground and I ended up getting run over by a run away wagon. The only good part of that happening is that the fucker that got me down took an arrow to the eye." he finished with a grumble.
Jamie was silent a long moment before speaking, " And to think there's more of them…" he mused down troddenly, "More Dothraki...more dragons...more Unsullied...more walking trees." the Lannister motioned to said tree passing by them with a brunette Naylor tucked away in its' branches. "If Ranta Naylor brings her entire force to King's Landing…." Jamie cut himself off. "You're dead." Bronn finished, "If you aren't killed now anyways." he shrugged lightly. "Don't you mean we're dead?" the one handed man looked to his companion confused.
"No I do not." Bronn shook his head, "You're fucked as it is at the moment and considering I get out of this alive - I don't intend on staying with ya through the rest of the war. Dragons, fire breathing basilisks and fucking walking trees is where I draw the line and where our partnership ends. There are still two more dragons, a shit load more men where this came from, and stronger Naylors - one of the strongest being the very one you intend to fight. What did they call her? The Storm Queen? No thank you, I like life thank you very much. I want my money, my castle and my highborn wife you promised me so I can go and live the rest of my life in peace" the man said unashamedly and spared a glance in his friend's direction when he didn't get a response.
"Now don't take it personally, cunt." Bronn frowned when he noticed the look of defeat upon Jamie's face, "I like ya, really I do and that's saying something because I don't like anyone." he placed an arm around Jamie's shoulders. " But you're in over your head. This was one fight and how many of us are left out of the thirty thousand we marched over here? Fourty? Fifty?" Bronn scoffed with a shake of his head.
"This ain't a war you can win, and unlike your sister you actually have a head on your shoulders. I suggest you use the damn thing before it gets loped off." Bronn advised and it was the last thing he was able to say before their group was pulled to a stop and before them had been the Mad King's daughter, the unknown Naylor, officers of the armies and the beasts themselves.
With a solitary roar, the Targaryen's mount drew the attention of the survivors if they hadn't been paying attention already. "My name is Daenerys Targaryen." the violet eyed woman spoke strongly. "Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea and sister of your future queen, Ranta of House Naylor. I care not for what slander Cersei has told you about my sister and I to get you here to fight today. For it is not true...we are not some foreign savages only looking to burn your homes down and murder your loved ones before you. Quite the opposite really. What I care about, is what you hear coming directly from the source…" her eyes trailed over the men gathered before her.
" Queen Ranta and I do come from across the sea, and we nearly did spend our entire lives there - though she was able to manage to scavenge a few years here before being forced to flee because of the rebellion. Growing up, we made all sorts of allies - violent and peaceful alike...and through these allies Queen Ranta was able to bring peace known like no other to some of the most dangerous and cruel places in the world. Places where those who were poor now live like kings. Places where she has made it so that people are free to get an education despite social standing. Solitary mothers who have lost their husband to war or illness no longer struggles to feed and provide for her children because she knows she can always go to the crown for help or to a neighbor or to one of the district market places for free aid. Men who are tired of fighting are free to lay down their sword and retain all the honor and glory they've retained during their golden days and sons of these men are free to make a choice if they want to pick up a sword and fight or maintain a peaceful life as a farmer."
"My sister is here to take the same peace she has obtained in Essos and apply it to Westeros. I ask of you now my lords, to join us. Join us so that you may spend the rest of your lives in peace and better than you ever have before….or you can resist and die with the others who try to stand against the storm." Daenerys finished coldly, drastically opposed to how she had been speaking during the majority of the speech. A few moments of uncertainty passed amongst the remaining soldiers before steadily one by one did men bend, mainly the ones who were below the age of thirty that made up three fourths of the people gathered before the Khaleesi. However, a combined roar from the trio of beasts sent the rest of the older men down onto one knee until all but four remained standing.
Jamie, Bronn, Randyll Tarly and Dickon Tarly.
Before anyone could speak though, storm clouds suddenly rolled in accompanied by low thunder. Glancing up to the sky knowingly, Daenerys smirked. "Well my lords, it seems you will be explaining your choice to the queen herself." her smirk widened as two more roars filled the air.
From out of the dark clouds did the two dragons appear and dive towards the gathered below, snapping their wings out last minute to slow their descent before touching the ground. Dismounting, Ranta made her way over to Daenerys with Missandei on her heels and looked over to the crowd appreciatively before over her soldiers as well.
"You got all but four to join us? That's not bad, Daenerys." Ranta acknowledged. "Had she done it with out torching my lands, it would of been even more impressive." Lady Olenna snarked coming out of the crowd with her own guard surrounding her. "You're fixing it too, Naylor" she looked to Tarla who grinned easily at the elder lady. "Of course, Lady Olenna." she soothed pacifyingly.
Satisfied with the vow that her lands would return to their lush green state, the Tyrell leader turned on the four standing men and glared. "Your sister rounded up quite the group, young Queen." Olenna mused. " You've got yourself a Lannister sell sword, a one handed cripple who is related to our enemy and for whom the sell sword works for, and two traitors who swore their allegiance to me." she spat heatedly at the mention of the last two.
"Olenna." Randyll murmured with guilty blue eyes, saddened by the fact he had tarnished their relationship. "Oh dear," Ranta scratched at her hand slowly, mind whirling with thoughts. "What would you have me do with them?" she asked a bit absently. " Kill the last two for all I care. Burn them, behead them, feed them to your beasts - it doesn't matter. What matters is that decades upon decades of friendship and loyalty is gone and tarnished just because Cersei Lannister gets a little twitchy and these two don't have the balls to stand tall and face her head on." Olenna snapped.
"I had no choice, Olenna!"
"You always have a choice!"
"And what choice was I supposed to make?" the Tarly refused to back down. "I have Cersei summoning me to King's Landing because of your actions, she's breathing down my neck along with the other lords of Westeros about nation loyalty and taking down the Naylor with Targaryen Madness or face her wrath" this had Ranta blinking in disbelief.
"Targaryen Madness? Me?" the monarch asked incredulously, "I have no madness, if anyone's crazy - it's Tarla and she's a pirate." Ranta pointed to the brunette who grinned and waved mockingly when eyes fell upon her. "Nonetheless." Randyll spoke again, " I had little choice. Either I fight for her or end up in the very situation I am in now or she marches on our lands and releases wildfire. Lands and people can recover from dragon fire, but not wild fire. Not all the Naylor abilities in the world could restore the damage." he finished. "What ever happened to dying with honor?" Olenna looked to him expectantly. "Whatever happened to self preservation?" Randyll retaliated.
Both were good points, in all honesty...
"So your judgement for the traitors is death?" Ranta spoke up, eyeing the Tarly duo carefully before turning to Daenerys with a steady look in her eye who in turn motioned for two Dothraki to seperate the group of four into two. "My lords Tarly," the silvery blonde spoke, Drogon adjusting behind her in preparation. " For your crimes against your former leige Olenna Tyrell and in extention Queen Ranta Naylor, the punishment has been set to death." Daenerys watched as the younger of the two Tarlys held a face of fear and unease, his mind racing with different ways that he could of talked his father out of betraying Olenna.
"If death is warrented, then death shall be given. Dracarys." Daenerys's violet eyes flickered to a dull color as she gave the command. Inhaling a breath, Drogon exhaled nothing but fiery orange flames that turned everything in its' path to ash...except for this time. A moment before the flames reached the men, a strong gust of wind suddenly hit the flames and manipulated it to circle them instead until the winds grew too strong and snuffed the fire out.
"Your punishment may have been death," Ranta's voice snapped many out of their stupors, causing her audience to look up and see her with an outstretched hand and wind dancing around her frame - her hair floating wildly to side to side and her dress threatening to flare up to reveal her under clothes. "But mine was life." the monarch finished, the wind dying away and her hand returning to her side. All All eyes looked to the Naylor in surprise, especially the eyes of the Tarlys.
"So let us compromise...you betray your lady and choose to stand against me, by all means I should of let you burn." Ranta shrugged, " But I will give you another chance to bend yet, my lord. I'll send you north to rot in one of the cells up there, within the Night's Watch custody until Jon Snow returns home."
"You cannot send me there, you are not my queen!"
" And when we march on the North," Ranta continued as if he had not spoken, " which we will, you will be given the chance to kneel along with the other Northerners. Should you choose not to kneel, I won't stop any dragon fire from coming your way and if you think that I do not have it in me to allow such a fate to happen, then I dare you to defy me a second time." she narrowed her eyes dangerously on the man before her.
"If you want, my queen," Tarla spoke, tilting her chin up and scratching lazily. "I can have my men lug the bastard up there, no trouble at all." she offered and grinned when she watched the monarch nod in agreement. "Take him away then...use this time wisely, my lord, it won't be long before we make our way up there." Ranta warned as some Dothraki men stepped forward, stripping the aged general of his armor and weapons before binding his hands behind his back.
"What about you?" she looked to the second and significantly younger Tarly. "Will you bend, or do you need to rot in a prison cell in the north as well?" Ranta questioned, the young man's Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed the spit in his mouth nervously. Having a quick glance at his father, Dickon was able to make out the feint motion of him nodding his head at the prospect of him bending.
"I didn't want to betray you, Lady Olenna, it never sat right with me. You never did any wrong by us" Dickon muttered to the Tyrell woman, "But as my father said we had no choice." he frowned with regret before sinking onto one knee and bowing his head. " Do you have any sibling?" the Naylorian queen cut in causing him to blink in confusion and look up.
"Siblings?" he echoed with a small frown before nodding his head, "I have another brother named Samwell." he answered. "Older or younger?" Ranta questioned. "Older" Dickon replied, wondering what the exotic woman was getting at. "Where is he then?" Daenerys chimed in, finding it strange that the eldest of the sons was not here with the older Tarly. "He studies at the Citadel with the maesters stationed there." Dickon informed and watched as the blue haired queen nod her head in understanding.
"Then that's where you shall go until I say otherwise, and should they put up a fight you tell them who sent you and if they wish to keep their books and research safe from ash and cinder then they will house you." Ranta said slowly and clearly before turning to the Lannister man and his friend who tensed under her gaze. "Run back home, Lannister, and tell your queen that I am coming for her seat. If she really wants to continue to rage war then I will be happy to but it's only going to get uglier from here on out...the fact of the matter is, I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms and I will." a flash of lightning flashed dangerously from behind the blue monarch.
Letting that sink in for a few moments, Ranta slowly turned away and made for Rhaegal once more, subtly tugging Daenerys along with her as Missandei made for Viserion. "Round them up, time to go home boys!" Tarla called loudly as the trio mounted their dragons and took to the skies but not before Ranta whispered a quick goodbye and sweet noting's to Vaemarr and Laemyx who were left to return to Dragonstone with the others.
"Perhaps now, would be a good time to mention we are not going back with the troops, your grace." Missandei said as Viserion glided close to his brothers. "We aren't?" Daenerys quirked a brow. "No," Ranta denied absently.
"We are going North. Far, far North."