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Samaya had searched every room in Eastwatch, but she just could not find her sister anywhere. Frustrated, she walked into the common hall, her stomach growling. She could not remember the last time she had eaten something, but she was determined to change that.
She lined up for a bowl of non-descriptive stew, and took a seat on one of the empty tables. Just as she started to eat, somebody coughed lightly, announcing his presence. Sam looked up to see the man who had been with her sister when she arrived with Jon.
"Apologies, milady, do you mind if I sit?" he asked in a Flea Bottom accent. Sam swallowed and gave him a small smile.
"Only if you tell me your name, Ser," she answered and he chuckled as he sat down.
"Davos Seaworth, I was the one to send you the raven," he introduced himself.
"Ah yes, you are Hand to the King in the North," Sam said, taking another spoonful of stew.
"I am. He has talked a great deal about you, you know? That is why I called for your help, I knew you would come," he said and she raised her brow at him.
"And what made you so sure of that?" she asked, clearly amused.
"Well Jon.. I mean, his Grace, said that you were more of a believer than your sister when it came to the Army of the Dead. And… forgive me if I am being blunt, but he thinks a great deal of you. I assumed you do the same," he explained and Sam looked at his face for a long moment. He had an earnest demeanour, but there was a little mischief glinting in his eyes. She did not know why he had come to talk to her, but she sensed that she would like this man.
"You were right, Ser Davos, I do hold Jon in high regard," she finally answered. Now it was his turn to raise a brow.
"Shouldn't you address him as your Grace?" he teased her, smirking a little. Sam chuckled as she put the spoon down.
"My sister would not like that very much now, would she? How have things been in Dragonstone after I left?" she asked, her tone getting more serious now. Davos let out a deep breath and shook his head slightly.
"Your sister still wants him to bend the knee, but he refuses. I fear they are both just very stubborn in this matter. At least she allowed him to mine the dragonglass, that was a step towards the right direction," he reported. Sam nodded slowly.
"I do not always agree with her course of action, but I am glad she let him do that at least. And I hope that after what she has seen today, she will understand. Why did he go there in the first place? I was not informed about the reason," she realised, having had so many thoughts in her head, she almost forgot to ask as to why Jon had been beyond the Wall.
"To prove that the threat is real. The main objective was to capture a wight and bring them to the Queens. Make them see, make them stop their fighting and band together," he told her and Sam's eyes widened in shock.
"The Queens? Does that include Cersei?" she asked incredulously. Davos sighed at her reaction.
"I know you hate her, and trust me, I do not like the possibility of working with her either, but if we want to survive, we have to work together," he explained slowly. Sam searched his eyes for a moment before settling down.
"Did they succeed in capturing one of these… creatures?" she asked.
"Yes, I believe they will send it down south as soon as possible," he reported. Sam nodded again.
"Good," she looked down on her stew in contemplation. It was clear now that Daenerys planned on going to King's Landing, and Jon would join her for sure. The only question that remained was where that would leave her. She did not want to go back to Highgarden when such an important meeting was about to happen, but could she face Cersei and not immediately want to kill her?
Another man stepped to their table, and Sam blinked in surprise. He looked like the ghost of Renly Baratheon, only with more muscles.
"I would like to know where we are going next," he said to Ser Davos, ignoring her completely. She gave the older man a questioning look.
"Ah, Lady Samaya, this is Gendry Waters," he quickly introduced and the man gave her a short nod. Sam smiled at him.
"Why do you look like a Baratheon?" she asked him bluntly. He chuckled at her question.
"You must have known my father, King Robert?" he replied and now it was Sam's turn to chuckle. She had guessed that much.
"No, but I knew your uncle Renly, he was married to my sister, albeit briefly," she explained, her smile vanishing at the thought of Margaery.
"Gendry is King Robert's last surviving bastard, and he's joined our side," Davos told her and she nodded again, letting her gaze roam up and down the young man's physique.
"And we'll be richer for it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to find my sister," she quickly said and stood up, carrying her plate back to the kitchen. After she had put it in a wash basin, she turned around only to collide with a massive chest. She apologised, but stopped talking when she looked at the man's face. He was big, so very big, and his hair and beard were the colour of fire. An intense gaze collided with hers, and he did not move to get out of her way.
"Erm… excuse me?" she said, a little intimidated by this man. He looked stern for one more moment before a huge grin broke on his face and he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. All the air was pressed out of her lungs as he embraced her with vehemence.
"You brought him back," he finally started talking and let her go. Sam was absolutely baffled, but quickly composed herself.
"You're welcome?" she said, more a question than an answer.
"I said to him, she better be good, this dragon girl of yours, she better be a warrior. You are, and I approve," the man continued. Sam furrowed her brows in confusion.
"Who are you, and of what do you approve?" she asked, still not understanding what was actually happening.
"I am Tormund Giantsbane, and I have been fighting with Lord Crow ever since he saved us from the Dead," he answered, and she was putting some of the pieces together now. He must be one of the wildlings that Jon had let through the Wall. But she still did not understand what he approved of.
"He talked about you on our little mission. 'I hope Samaya is safe, I hope she can convince her sister, I wonder if she will come to King's Landing with us'," he mocked Jon, raising his voice a little and then laughed.
"Jon Snow does not strike me as such a talkative person," she replied, her voice carrying her scepticism. Tormund laughed again and bent down to poke a finger at her chest.
"No, he doesn't talk much, but I know how to ask. I knew his last love, fine woman she was, and you better live up to her," he told her sternly and Sam looked at him in shock. As far as she knew, Jon Snow had been in the Night's Watch before he returned to Winterfell, how did he have a woman? She suddenly realised that there was so much she did not know about him. They had spent some time together in Winterfell and Dragonstone, but they never really talked about their pasts.
"So… you be good to him, and I'll be good to you, aye?" Tormund interrupted her inner ramblings, and she mentally returned to the situation at hand.
"I will… I mean, I will try my best," she answered, unsure of what this man wanted to hear. He gave her a brusque nod.
"Good. See ya," he then pat her on the shoulder with good-natured force and walked away. Sam was left puzzled and motionless. What had just happened?
Jon Snow was staring at the ceiling in the room he was resting up in. Samaya had only just left his side, but he could not get her mind off her. With everything that had happened, there were thousands of other priorities, but she did something to him… he did not know why or how, but every time he was with her, he felt happy and safe.
The shuffling of clothes made him realise he was not alone, and he looked at the door to see the Targaryen Queen standing there. Her hands were clasped at her front, and she seemed unsure of whether to come in or go. She tried not to stare at his bandaged leg, and her shoulders were strained by tension.
"Please, come in," he said, and she seemed to relax a little. Slowly, she stepped to his bedside, sitting down on the chair that Sam had pulled up earlier.
"You almost died," she started talking, her voice quiet and soft. Jon gave her a sad smile.
"Not for the first time. Do you believe me now?" he replied, searching her expression for any hint as to what she was feeling.
"Yes, I do. I should have sooner. You will be happy to hear that the wight has been brought back. We can proceed with the meeting in King's Landing," she reported, her voice still low. Jon realised how pained she must be. Gently, he took her hand, and she looked at him in surprise.
"I am sorry about your dragon," he said, giving her a sympathetic look. She nodded slowly, not looking into his eyes. He could tell she was fighting tears.
"My dragons… they are like my children. I birthed them, I raised them, I defended them when they were little. I did not just loose a means to an end, I lost a child," she explained, a single tear rolling down her cheek. He squeezed her hand comfortingly, having no words to give her to ease her pain.
"And Rhaegal… he has bonded with my sister. I fear that he is more hers now than he is mine," she continued, her voice taking on a hint of anger.
"I thought dragons had no owners?" Jon asked, to which she looked at him quizzically.
"No, I suppose not," she said, looking down on the floor. Jon let go of her hand and sat up straighter, his leg paining him as he did so.
"You asked me to bend the knee before. I can't very much do that now, but I hope my words will be enough: I am yours to command, your Grace," he said and she stared at him in disbelief. They were silent for a long moment, before she spoke up.
"Why now?"
"Because his army has grown. If we do not fight together, then we will not be able to stop them. We have the proof to take to Cersei, and I hope that she will see reason as well. I never asked to be King, I never wanted to rule, I refused to bend the knee because Northerners will not take lightly to a southern ruler. But all of that does not matter anymore. The only thing that does is that we live," he explained, Daenerys clinging onto every word that he said. She searched his face for any indication of dishonesty, but like always, he was speaking true.
"And Samaya," she then said in a disappointed tone. He furrowed his brows at her.
"Samaya matters to you. I saw you, earlier," she continued, not being able to stop herself. He let out a deep sigh and leant back on the headrest of the bed.
"She does, yes. I did not want this to happen, but I care deeply for her," he replied, to which she just nodded slowly.
"Well, I do hope you know that the King in the North can't marry a bastard girl, even if she's a bastard Targaryen," she then said, her tone having gotten hard all over sudden. Jon was confused by this change. He would have expected her to be happy for them.
"I am a bastard, too. Besides, you can legitimise her," he answered, challenging her with his eyes. She gave him a deliberate smile.
"I could. But that does not mean that I will. Maybe I have other plans for her," the Queen mused, a dangerous glint having entered her eyes.
"Why do you think she will follow your plans? If we are talking about the same girl, you and I both know she doesn't like being told what to do," Jon argued, finding her words very confusing.
"True, but I am her Queen. She has no other choice. And you, Jon Snow, should marry someone that can give you something in return. If we survive this war, you need a strong wife by your side, from an influential family," Daenerys continued. Jon slowly shook his head.
"All this talk about plans and weddings… it is wasted now, your Grace. We have a much bigger problem to solve first," he reminded her, and she nodded in confirmation. Slowly, she stood up and straightened her skirt.
"You are right. We will rest here one night and then return to Dragonstone. Gather your strength, Jon. You will need it," she added and started walking out of the room. He called after her, needing to know one last thing.
"Will she be joining us?" he asked and the Queen just smirked at him.
"We'll see," was all she said before she left the room and a very frustrated, slightly angry King in the North.
Sam was on her way back to Jon when she finally found her sister. Daenerys was walking down the hallway leading to Jon's room when the two met. The Queen looked at her in a critical way, and Sam furrowed her brows at that.
"A word, Samaya," Daenerys said and gestured to an empty room on her left. They both entered, closing the door behind them.
"I want you to know that I am disappointed that you defied my orders. Again," the Queen started talking, hands clasped at her front, her face emotionless. Samaya let out a little huff.
"Which ones did I defy this time, then?" she said in an annoyed tone.
"I told you to remain in Highgarden until I send for you again. We are currently not in Highgarden, in case you haven't noticed," Daenerys explained. Samaya was highly irritated, she did not understand why her sister was mad about that.
"So I should not have come and helped save Jon Snow's life?" she asked after a few moments. Daenerys gave her a calculated smile.
"I am glad that you did, but you need to understand that I am your Queen, and when I give you an order, you should follow it. You have undermined my authority a few times already, I cannot tolerate this behaviour in the people closest to me," she explained. Sam started pacing around the tiny room, not knowing whether to be angry or disappointed. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, she answered.
"You want me to follow you blindly, to never question your choices or orders, to do as you say, and not have a mind of my own?" she almost spat at her sister. Daenerys sighed loudly.
"No, that's not what I meant. I meant that we have to put up a united front. We have to show Cersei that no matter what she does, we will fight against her together," she continued. Sam laughed at that without humour in her tone.
"I will always fight against Cersei, there is nothing she could do to change that," she told the other girl with a dangerous glint in her eyes. The Queen gave her a long, hard look before she answered.
"Of course. Tell me, Samaya, do you wish to join us in King's Landing when we meet with her?" she questioned, surprising her sister as she did. Sam stopped pacing and gave her a suspicious look.
"Are you giving me a choice?"
"No, I have made up my mind. I just want to know what you think," Daenerys replied, her voice emotionless. Samaya exhaled slowly and balled her fists at her side.
"I do not know if I want to go. I do not know if I can face her after everything she's done. However, I do not want to part from you in times like these," she confessed with exasperated breath. Finally, her sister seemed to give her a real smile, albeit a sad one.
"Let us rest for the night. Tomorrow, I will go back to Dragonstone, and you will return to Highgarden. When it is time to go to King's Landing, I will send you a raven. We will arrive there together. Show them our strength," she concluded, looking for confirmation. Sam nodded slowly.
"As you wish," she muttered in a quiet tone. Daenerys stepped closer and put a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"I was relieved to hear that your brother is still alive, I hope you know that," she told her. Sam gave her a disbelieving glance.
"I did not know. It's not like you sent that raven back with any news of your own," she said stubbornly. Daenerys sighed and dropped her shoulders.
"I apologise, there were other matters at hand at the time. I wanted to," she excused her lack of communication. Sam put her hand over her sisters' and gave it a light squeeze.
"Just promise me you will keep me informed this time," she asked and the other girl nodded. Sam then turned to leave the room when Daenerys spoke up again.
"Samaya… do not get too attached to him," she said quietly and Sam stopped in her tracks. Without turning back around, she replied in a sad tone.
"I think it's too late for that."
I hope you can see that even though Daenerys does not like their relationship, she is still trying to be nice to her sister.
The next chapter will hold a great surprise which I hope you guys will be excited about! Any ideas?
Please leave me a review if you enjoyed this chapter :)