Chapter 8
Daenerys
And so life carried on in this manner:
Rising early, eating a sustaining meal, sword training and hand to hand combat, followed by another meal and magical studies.
Dany was beyond grateful for her new energy and vitality. As a human, she never would have been able to do all of it without collapsing from exhaustion. As it was, she went to bed every night with sore and exhausted muscles, only to wake stiff the next morning and rise to do it all again.
But it was truly the best that she had ever felt in her life.
Being near her father, learning from him, spending time with him, was exhilarating. He was endlessly patient as he taught them magic and even though both Viserys and herself fell far too many times during sword training, she could feel herself becoming stronger within a few weeks. Muscles that she did not think that she had were becoming taut and corded and she could see quite a difference in Viserys too.
Her brother had always been cold and closed off, keeping his explosive temper under wraps as best as he could, excepting the few times when it had been impossible for him to do so. His shoulders had always been hunched, as if he bore the weight of the world on his frame. He seemed tired more often than usual these last few weeks before their father had come and Dany had found herself worrying about him more and more.
He had been tense as they had grown older and Dany knew it had been because their futures were in the balance and he was unsure of how he was going to take care of her. She had wanted to ease his fears and soothe his worries but hadn't known precisely how to when the source of them was something that she couldn't control.
And now it was as if all his burdens had disappeared. He walked taller and carried himself like a prince, the kind that Dany always knew he was deep down. His fatigue had vanished and there was a new light in his eyes that she truly couldn't remember being there before.
He was still sometimes tense around their father and the blonde was certain that their sire noticed.
He had been making an effort to spend as much time with her brother as possible, keeping one hand on his shoulder at all times, angling his body towards him when they spoke and generally, keeping him as the focus of his attention.
Perhaps the most shocking thing was how gently he treated Viserys. That was not to say that he coddled him in any way, but their father was attentive to every one of her brother's facial expressions and studied the minutia of his body language like it was an ancient text that he found utterly engrossing.
Dany could tell that her brother was both pleased and overwhelmed by the attention and seemed to be trying his best not to show either of those emotions. She herself had never been the subject of such intense focus. She could feel her father's stare almost as if a shadow would fall on her.
It was both comforting and intimidating and Dany could see how her mother had fallen under his spell so quickly. Aside from his ethereal good looks, his dark façade and persona made him incredibly compelling.
Needless to say Dany was fascinated by her father.
He seemed to glide everywhere he went and the blonde wondered if she would ever achieve that level of grace and finesse.
They certainly had time.
And as the weeks turned into months and she and Viserys grew in both experience and skill and stature, she began to see glimpses of the being she would turn into.
It both pleased and excited her.
She would never be vulnerable again to anything else in this realm and would have no fear of going out into the streets by herself if that was what she desired.
Approximately half a year after their father's arrival, when Dany began to wonder why fear had been such a constant presence in her life, her existence was once again interrupted by the most unexpected visitor imaginable.
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