"We near Westeros," Ser Barristan said, pointing to the map spread out on the table before him, the Seven Kingdoms painted in vivid colour before them – the white north, the green reach, orange-brown Dorne, with Kings Landing marked by a tiny painting of the Red Keep. Dany could see Dragonstone, too, a little grey rock jutting out of a styilized blue ocean. Her birthplace.
She looked up at Viserys, who was hunched over beside her, ducking his head to avoid hitting it on the low ceiling of the cabin. They shared an excited smile. They were almost home!
"Where will we land?" Dany asked the room in general.
"Dorne, your grace," Ser Barristan said instantly. "The Martells have always been your staunchest supporters."
"And what of this Aegon pretender?" Viserys pointed out. "Will he not make for Dorne too?"
"With all due respect, my lord, his lineage is in doubt," Ser Barristan smiled. "Aegon is believed dead by most. Besides, he has not the dragons."
"If not Dorne, then where, brother?" Dany asked.
"Why not make straight for Kings Landing?" Viserys jabbed the tiny Red Keep with his finger. "We have no need to beg for soldiers from Doran Martell – what is he anyway? Naught but some cripple, barely a prince at all."
"Someone who sent his son to us," Dany said. "To welcome us when no other would."
"You know that fool Quentyn was sent out here to woo you?" Viserys snapped. "He told me so himself. Wanted me to put in a good word for him to you – can you imagine?"
Dany giggled. The thought of that dour little prince as her husband – when instead she had Viserys, her glorious king – it was laughable. "What did you say?"
"I soon set him straight," Viserys smiled thinly.
Ser Barristan coughed. "If I had not interjected, his grace would have run Prince Quentyn through with a sword."
Viserys frowned, but his eyes sparked with laughter. "Hush. You will make Dany think the less of me."
Daenerys slipped an arm around her brother's waist. "Never."
"Very well then, not Dorne," Ser Barristan said, returning his attention to the map. "We could take Kings Landing, I suppose. We have the men for it."
"Men?" Viserys scoffed. "We have dragons, greybeard!"
Barristan smiled at the jibe, knowing that Viserys did not mean to offend. "True, your grace."
Dany still liked to hear that. Selmy had begun to address Viserys as 'king' only recently, and her bloodriders had followed suit and dubbed him 'khal' – when their seasickness allowed them to leave their bunks, that is. All of Dany's khalasar were suffering on this voyage over the 'poison water', and their superstitious terror of the ocean would have been laughable if it weren't so pitiable.
"But should we deal with this usurper Aegon first?" Viserys turned to Dany, as he always did.
"He may not be a usurper," Dany reminded him. "He could be Rhaegar's son." She was mindful of the riderless Rhaegal – perhaps this was what the gods had intended by giving her three dragons. "They do say that Jon Connington rides with him. Wasn't he one of our brother's closest friends?"
"Yes," Viserys nodded. "Since childhood."
"Do you remember him?" Dany asked, curious. Viserys had known this land, known this people who were still only names and sigils to her.
"Yes," Viserys said again. "He and Rhaegar were always laughing, always merry together. When Rhaegar was sad it was always Jon that could lift his mood."
"Was Rhaegar often sad?"
"Oh, often. He'd leave us and not come to our rooms for days at a time. It would always make mother very worried. You could always hear his harp though – the saddest melodies you ever heard."
"Your memories of it are so vivid," Dany said, a little jealous. She had never known their family.
"Not really," Viserys shook his head, strands of silver-blonde hair hanging forward over his face. "I was only a child. Besides, there is nothing really worth remembering from those years – my life hadn't yet begun, truly."
"Oh?" Dany cocked her head, a smile already playing at the edges of her lips.
"Of course not," Viserys grabbed her playfully by the hips and pulled her roughly against him. "You were not born then, were you?"
Dany smiled, utterly content as she rested her head against the smooth silk of his shirt.
"So – to Dorne or Kings Landing, my love?" he asked her, his voice soft and sweet. "Or Dragonstone, if you will?"
"To Dorne," Dany said decisively. "Let us meet Aegon, if it is him. And let the Usurper get word of our coming – let the fear build in him a while."
"Oh?" Viserys laughed. "You wicked girl, tormenting an old man so!"
"More fear means more chance of surrender," Dany explained. "And less bloodshed. I don't want to burn our ancestors city, do you?"
"Of course not," Viserys reassured her. "To Dorne, then. To meet our nephew."
"He will be almost our age, wont he?" Dany asked, allowing hope to build inside her, that this Aegon could be real – that through him, she might begin to know a brother who died before she was born.
"Remember, if it were truly our nephew, he would have come to us years ago," Viserys cautioned. "Or if it is him, why is he trying to launch a rival claim to our throne? It does not bode well for his amicability toward us, sister."
"But we can meet him, and decide, cant we?" Dany smiled. "And he could be a trueborn Targaryen, like us."
"A halfblood," Viserys said jealously. "Half-Dornish. And you're mine anyway."
Dany giggled again. "That was never in question, brother."
"Good." Viserys kissed her forehead. "Good."
Dany looked up at her brother, at her king, at the only person in the world who truly knew her, and could not stop another smile from spreading across her face. She leaned up and tugged his face down to hers so she could kiss him. his hands ran gently up and down her back, and the kiss deepened.
"I shall tell the captains to sail for Dorne, your highnesses," Ser Barristan said tactfully. "Excuse me, I think I shall get some air." He left, closing the door carefully behind him.
Dany and Viserys looked into one another's eyes and laughed like children. "Everything is coming together for us now, Viserys," Dany whispered. "I love you."
"As I love you, sweetling," Viserys returned, lifting her gently onto the table with the map and leaning her backwards. "As I love you."