Hey peoples! I know that the previous chapter also felt like an interlude, but I felt like Dany and Yara needed a moment to breathe. I also really disagree with what they did with Daenerys' character, so I felt I needed to address it. (I don't hate that they made her go mad, but on their own premises it makes no sense, so here is this fluff fest)
Thank you to the new followers, the love and the comments. You guys are awesome!
Here we go!
Fire And Iron
By the Old Gods and the New
When Yara woke up, her first instinct was to shake off the shackles that had been tying her to a wall for weeks now. Instead of the fruitless pull of Chains against a wall, the young queen felt her hand travel towards her through a path of cotton sheets.
Slowly, she opened her eye. First kiting the warm glow of the room she was in. Nothing about the surroundings were distinctive. In fact it looked like every other room in any fancy castle. All except for the red, gold and black banner hanging on the wall, and the beautiful woman sitting by her bedside.
"good morning my love. How are you feeling?"
"Like a herd of horses stomped on me"
Dany smiled, her right hand softly playing with the few tendrils of hair falling onto Yara's for head. It was surreal, to finally have her so close after everything they had lived through recently.
"Where are we?"
"Still in Casterly Rock" Daenerys continued to softly pet her wife's hair, making sure to keep her as calm as possible "the castle fell surprisingly fast"
"Euron?"
"We think he escaped before we attacked the castle"
Yara dropped her head against the pillow, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips. The squirmy bastard always got away, and as of recently he also seemed to get away with a part of her.
"We think he's heading for Kings Landing"
"You seem to be fine with this?"
"We're all heading that way my love" the brunette grimaced at the thought of having to follow anyone to that shit hole place "Not so excited about our mission?"
"Some people might say it takes an arm and a leg to marry a queen. Little did they know it takes an eye and an ear"
"Yara!"
"If my prize is you, my queen, I'd pay it and maybe more"
"Just maybe? Perhaps it's time I find myself another consort"
"Well, if I lose another eye, I wouldn't be able to look at your face and thank the gods that you're my wife"
"very charming, Greyjoy. I like that in a woman"
Yara reached down for Dany's hand, keeping her smile as soft and apologetic as possible.
"I'm sorry, for what happened"
"Yara that wasn't—"
"I should've waited. For news or better odds" her face scrunched up in remorse "I should've made it a priority to tell you I was fine"
"you're here now"
"you know, the only thing I could think about while I was kidnapped, was how much I would hate if you were in my position" Dany could feel the tears springing to her eyes as Yara spoke, her voice softer than anyone had probably ever heard it. "If someone told me you were in the hands of some insane bastard, I would tear into the seven hells themselves to free you. And all I could think was how much you must be hurting, thinking I died so far from you"
It was hard, to be angry at Yara when she was this sincere and this apologetic. And honestly? She didn't want to be angry either.
"it's all in the past, you're here now" Dany's purple eyes filled with amusement at the thought that she would probably never leave Yara out of her sight again without a life or death reason.
"we have to get you that damn throne so we can finally rest"
"and rule"
"that too"
"hopefully before either one of us loses another body part?"
Yara smirked at her wife, amusement shining on her grey gaze "gives me a rugged pirate look, don't you think?" the Targaryen queen laughed, despite the tears of maybe relief or perhaps sadness rolling from her eyes. Ever the emotionally pained one, Yara chatisized herself softly for making her cry, reaching her hands up to clear her tears "You're the love of my life Daenerys, and I am not going anywhere"
The Queens lips met her wife's, relief flooding her. They had been far apart for too long. All over a God forsaken throne that hardly seemed worth the heartache. All that mattered right now though, was the wonderful woman slowly tugging her off her chair and into bed.
"Yara" her voice came off soft and breathless, trying to keep her desire clamped down "you're still injured"
"then be gentle my love, because I need you"
-oOoOo-
Theon knocked on his sister's door, nervously wringing his hands, with the sand snakes in toe. Daenerys' voice beckoned him in, and the prince of the Iron Islands found that he had a hard time keeping a straight face. It's not everyday one sees one's sister, who he'd last seen bloodied up and in pain, laying in bed with the mother of dragons laying her head on her chest, and a bed sheet covering them up.
"Well, I'm glad I don't have to ask how you're feeling"
"The healer recommended rest and relaxation. This is the most relaxed I've ever been" Daenerys slapped her shoulder softly, and it seemed like everything was finally back in place.
"I have some well wishers with me"
Obara and Nymeria inched into the room, trying much like Theon to keep the smirks off their faces.
"My queen, your grace" they tipped their heads towards the Queens laying in bed, everyone ignoring the naked elephant in the room "we wanted to make sure you were in good hands"
"who's better hands than my wife's?" the rugged woman kissed the silver-headed queen's head, realizing perhaps too late how soft and smitten she must be coming off as "I'm glad to see you've recovered well, your grace"
Despite her scowl at the "your grace" title, Obara couldn't help be grateful for the woman who had freed her.
"I believe I owe you a debt, Lady Greyjoy. House Martell owes you a debt"
"There can be no debts between allies, and I hope friends, lady Obara"
Nymeria and Obara looked around the room, surprised at how easily they could let down their guard around this company. Perhaps it was the debts they owed each other, or the mutual understandings of what they had to do to get here. Whatever it was, Yara was definitely not too far off.
"so long as we have the understanding that I am not a lady"
"aye, we can work with that"
-oOoOo-
Late into the night, Daenerys found that sleep was hard to get, even with Yara sleeping next to her. Most recently, her sleepless nights had to do with not knowing if Yara was fine or not. Whether they would find her alive or her heart would ache for another whose life had to pay for her duty.
Now, her sleepless nights were something more. How many people would she end up hurting to get the throne. Were it not for Reginald Lannister, she would've burned down the Rock to find Yara. Had the new Warden of the West not presented his case so thoroughly, and Obara Martell not offered an alternative strategy, she would've rained fire on the castle.
"no… no" Yara's whispered urgency startled Daenerys out of her train of thought. Granted, Dany was no stranger to her wife's nightmares. They would come and go randomly, as would her own, that didn't mean it wasn't terrifying when either Queen would wake up to find the other thrashing in fear "stop… no"
"Yara. Yara, sweetheart" Dany began to softly scratch her scalp, shushing her to be as gentle as possible "you're dreaming my love, you're safe"
"no… no. Please. Leave her… no" the Greyjoy queen began thrashing more harshly
"Yara" she whispered again, trying to get her attention without startling her.
"Take me… no"
"Yara"
"Dany… no… run"
"YARA!"
The pirate Queen shot up from bed, panting harshly, desperately looking around for the threats in her dream in the otherwise peaceful room and silent castle.
"Yara, it's me, you're safe, you're safe"
The older woman continued gasping for breath, her hands shaking as she looked for something, anything to keep her grounded.
"I just. They, he, had you"
Softly she nudged Yara forward, sitting herself behind her distressed wife to put her back on her chest, making sure she felt safe.
"it was all a dream my love, breathe with me, it's okay" the ever rugged Yara dropped her head onto Dany's shoulder, her breaths going in and out quickly at first, and then in slow rhythms that matched Dany's breaths behind you "we're alright"
"he took you from me, and I couldn't do anything about it. I'm a Queen, and even in my dreams he took my wife and I couldn't do anything about it" as her breathing slowed down tears began springing out. By the God's she knew that crying was unbecoming.
You have to be strong always, is what her father always told her. We are Ironborn, Yara. We take what is ours and we pay the Iron price. The Greyjoys are the children of the kraken my daughter, and you are the future of our house. And yet here she was, weeping because of a bad dream.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" the apology started rolling off her, softer and softer each time with the heels of her hands digging into her eyes.
"Yara, baby listen to my voice" Dany ducked her head down, resting on Yara's shoulder. She had months of experience soothing her wife, and years of quieting her own nightmares "there's nothing to apologize for, you've done nothing wrong"
"you married me because I could protect you. And here I am, a mess that needs comfort and protection"
"I married you because I love you" Yara slouched further into Dany's body, drawing comfort from the heat that her wife always seemed to have in spades "crying is not a weakness, fear is not weakness, asking for help is not weakness. Love this grand is not weakness either"
-oOoOo-
Yara lost track of how long they sat there, silently drawing comfort from each other, until something began to dawn on her.
"you were awake"
"what?"
"when you woke me up. You were already awake long before"
Dany's arms reached around Yara's body, hugging her more tightly than she had before "and they say all northerners are is dumb burly barbarians"
"Daenerys…"
"I'm afraid" her voice was so soft that Yar wondered if it had been real in the first place.
Slowly she untucked herself from Dany's arms, turning to face the young queen, slow enough to make sure her dressings wouldn't get caught on the bedding. She grabbed Dany's hands in her own, not knowing if she should be happy that even though they were less calloused than her own, they weren't the soft hands of a princess anymore. The moonlight shining into the room framed the already small queen in shadows, making her seem even more fragile. She could also see the tear tracks making her way down her face.
"What in the world could make you, Daenerys Targaryen the mother of dragons, afraid?"
"It's not funny, Greyjoy"
Yara tipped her head to the side, surprised that Dany who was usually very lighthearted around her in private, was snipping at her now "Talk to me then, what is wrong?"
"I wanted to burn the rock down" Her eyes dropped away from Yara's steely gaze, because that made her afraid too. She might see disappointment in her eyes, or worse, that she might disappear too deep in Yara and forget that this needed to be voiced, perhaps rather urgently "I didn't care who was here, or who I hurt. All I knew is that they had something that was mine and I had to get you back"
"And that makes you afraid?"
"What if it's too late to stop me next time? What if I can't stop myself i the stakes are bigger?" Yara's head perked up at the sound of sniffles, just because she couldn't see the tears it didn't mean they weren't there. Paying more attention also helped because Daenerys whispered, ever so softly "What if I'm going mad?"
This was one of those defining moments. One of those few where Yara couldn't simply jump into the deep end. She wanted a well thought out response, because her fear deserved at least that much.
"When a Targaryen is born, the God's flip a coin and the world holds its breath" Daenerys' head snapped upwards, incredulous that Yara of all people would agree so easily "People also say that the Lannisters shit gold, and that the Starks can turn into wolves. So pardon me if I don't put much stock in these folksy sayings"
"But…"
"Does that mean I'm going insane too? If I would tear this, or any, castle apart brick by brick to get you back. Does that mean I'm going mad too?" Dany scoffed, rolling her eyes at her wife incredulously, though she still relented when Yara lifted their hands to drop a kiss onto her wrist, and then the back of her hand, giving reassurance as much as she could "The world has taken so much from you, my love. And all you've done is give back to so many lives and for so few things for you". Her hands reached up to cup Dany's face, carefully clearing out her tears with so much devotion. Had anyone else seen it, it would be hard to believe someone could love somebody that much "the only thing you should worry about is how others might use this weakness, because they will. But you are the best person in this stinking shit kingdom my love"
"Well of course you'd have to say that" Dany pulled Yara closer, kissing her softly before playfully pushing her away "you're my wife"
Yara rolled her eyes back at her, pleased to see they were going back to their easy ways "Even if I wasn't, which let us both admit, would be a pity" laughter invaded their small space, that laughter of easier times and less heavy conversations "even if I wasn't your wife, I believe in you. I believe in you more than I've believed in anyone in my life. And I don't believe in crazy people"
"Would you stop me if you thought I was becoming something you can't believe in?"
"If at any point I think you're making a mistake, I will make sure we talk it out"
"Promise me?"
"I swear it, my love. By the old gods and the new, I swear it"
THere were probably a million different obstacles between here, in this bedroom in a small moment of peace, and everything they bargained for when they sailed to Westeros. And though at the end of the day this love would not be enough to keep a kingdom together or beat a tyrant, it might be enough to keep Dany together, and to Yara that seemed more than enough.
Don't forget to follow me on tumblr if you want to scream at me for the shenanigans I do TheIronDragonRants, and swing over to look at the edited version of Sail Away on ao3, where the third part of this series will live!