Daenerys looked at the steel cage that imprisoned her three little dragons. They were fast asleep, huddled together. She smiled at the open affections her dragons displayed with one another. The scene reminded her of her nieces and nephews, they always seemed to be huddled together, much like her dragons. A part of Daenerys had always been jealous of the bond they had; they shared secrets and made unbroken promises to one another. They played together and fought often but they always forgave each other quickly. Daenerys had never had that kind of bond with her brothers, they were much too old to play with her and much too responsible to fight with her. She knew that they loved her and she loved them very dearly, but she always craved for a companion. Her nieces and nephews had each other. Aegon had Aemon, Visenya and Viserra grew in the same womb together; destined to always be together. Even Rhaenyra and Daeron had each other for company. Rhaegar had Viserys which thus left Daenerys alone.
But whenever she feels the loneliness creep up in her heart she remembers her niece. Not Visenya or Viserra, not little Rhaenyra; no, she remembers Rhaenys, who was imprisoned and alone in a den full of her enemies. Daenerys reminds herself how fortunate she is to have her family by her side, feeling guilty for getting so upset at something so trivial. Her poor aunt had no one. Not even her mother. Daenerys shuddered to think of a life without her mother Rhaella. A world without her mother was not a world Daenerys wished to live in.
All traces of loneliness and self pity would disappear when she recalls the misfortune of her niece.
Her thoughts of her aunt brought about a desire to look at Rhaelyx. The gold and cream dragon she had named after Rhaenys. Daenerys smiled at the thought of her aunt meeting her namesake in the form of the once rare dragons. Her mind summons a distant memory of Rhaegar sharing a rare laugh with Viserys and Arthur as they reminisced about little Rhaenys being gifted a small black kitten whom she insisted on naming Balerion after the Black Dread. She felt giddy, imagining Rhaenys' seeing a real dragon, especially one named in her honor.
"Dany, where are you?" She heard her brother call out, drawing her out of her thoughts. She poked her head out from the cabin and saw Viserys walking towards her.
"What is it?" She asked him.
"Rhaegar wishes to speak to you."
"What for?" The silver haired girl asked.
"He wants to go over some things with you." Her brother told her. "Alright." She said as she gave her dragons one last look and followed her brother to the ship's main cabin where Rhaegar held his war council.
A number of people were present in the room. She recognized some of them but she did not know them by names. The only men she knew were Arthur, Rhaegar, Oswell Whent and Gerold Hightower. The bastard of Driftmark, Aurane Waters and Alton Celtigar were also familiar faces to her. Lady Lyanna was there as well, she stood in one of the four corners of the crapped room. The men stopped conversing as she they caught sight of her and Viserys.
"Daenerys, come here." Rhaegar said. "I would like to speak with my family alone." He ordered the room. The men shuffled out of the cabin with hurried steps.
"You wished to speak with me brother?" She beckoned her elder brother.
A quick nod of his head answered her question. "Mother only allowed you to come with us if you remained on the ship, far away from Dragonstone, to ensure that if anything goes wrong you will be able to flee back to Pentos." Rhaegar said. Daenerys nodded her head, she knew the terms her mother had given to them to bring her along very well.
"She also said that you are to remain at Dragonstone with Ser Whent and Ser Gerold while we go off to the Reach to rally our men." Daenerys had not known about this.
"But you said I could go with you when you go off into battle." She said, Rhaegar let out a sigh.
"Dany, it is much too dangerous for you to join us as we ride to battle. You will be safer at Dragonstone." Viserys' gentle voice cut through. "It was foolish of Rhaegar to let you think you would be riding with us to war." Viserys shot a glare at their older brother.
"But I won't be on the battlefield. I will be away, in the camp, safe from the battlefield." The desperation was clear in her voice but she did not care. She wanted to join her brothers in reclaiming what was stolen from them.
"Dany, the camp is no more safer than the battlefield itself." Rhaegar gruffed. "You will remain at Dragonstone while we fight. Is that clear Daenerys?" She kept quiet.
"I said, is that clear?" Rhaegar said authoritatively. Daenerys answered with a brittle voice. "Yes."
"Good. Now go and rest, we should be getting closer to Dragonstone by now. We will wait for the signal and once it comes, Ser Whent and you, along with some other guards will take a small boat and join Lord Celtigar's ship. 'Red Claw' will be a safe distance away from Dragonstone and the battle. You will be safe there." With a simple nod of her head Daenerys was dismissed by her brother.
The sound of feet scrambling against the floor of the ship woke her up. She could hear the loud commotion just outside the door, she wondered how she hadn't woken up to the loud noises. She looked around and saw that Lyanna was gone. Daenerys and the gray eyed woman had shared the only real featherbed on the ship. Daenerys looked around the cabin once more, her grogginess disappeared as she became aware of the empty space next to the featherbed. Lyanna had rested her sword on the small cabinet beside the bed and now it was gone. The young girl notices the disappearance of other of Lyanna's belongings. The silver plate that she wore often when training with Arthur was gone, along with the small number of knives Lyanna carried around for protection.
All of this mixed with the unruly commotion just outside her door alerted her of something. Something dangerous was happening. She dressed herself quickly. A pair of worn out trousers and a simple gray tunic. She contemplated taking the cage that housed her sleeping dragons with her but ultimately decided against it. She first needed to find out what was going on before she panicked and caused her beloved dragons any distress. Panicked dragons on a ship was a disaster waiting to happen. She gave her sleeping dragons one last look before she left them.
Daenerys tried to get the attention of the many men that ran through the corridor but none would stop and answer her questions. She felt slightly foolish standing there, waiting for someone to stop and give her answers. Daenerys made her way to the cabin her brother and his men occupied. She knew for certain she would find a familiar face to tell her what was going on. People were crowded at the entrance of the cabin, men came in and out. They were in such a rush that they didn't even notice her presence. She struggled to get into the main cabin, the already small room was crammed with people. She fought her way to the middle of the room where she was sure she heard Ser Arthur speaking.
"We must go now, if we wait any longer they will no doubt notice our fleet even in the cover of darkness. If that happens we will have to deal with Stannis' eighty gallery's that are currently in the Stormlands in Renly's possession " Arthur's voice was loud against the chatter and quiet mummers of the people crowded in the room. "We are wasting time waiting for Lord Velaryon's signal." He added.
"Arthur we need to know if the castle is as undefended as our spies say and Lord Monford is the only one who can confirm that, we must wait for his signal. If we march in now, we can be ambushed. We must wait." She hears Viserys say but she can not see him over the tall figures that surrounded her.
"Rhaegar you must make a choice. Will you have us wait for Lord Velaryon's signal or will Dragonstone be reclaimed now?" Arthur asked impatiently. They clearly seemed to have been discussing this matter for a while. Daenerys had always known the white knight to be patient but this matter was clearly causing him some distress.
Daenerys was suddenly pushed aside as someone came barreling into the room. He moved men out of his way, shoving and pushing, harshly. Daenerys could only assume that the man had urgent news and so she said nothing when the man nearly knocked her over with his harsh push.
She was proven correct as the man called out to the king.
"My Lord, we have spotted the fire. Lord Velaryon has lit the flames." He said hurriedly. At the man's words, everyone quieted down, eager to hear what Rhaegar would say.
"Very well then. Let us sail towards Dragonstone. I shall give clearer orders once we are at the coast." Rhaegar said. "Ready the men and get into position." He commanded.
At the sudden order, the group of people who stood in the room began to file out. Daenerys was being shoved once again as they left the room in a hurried pace.
"Ser Oswell, wake my sister and take her and the dragons to Lord Celtigar's ship at once." Rhaegar commanded his old friend and white cloak. But before the knight could obey his king's orders, Daenerys made her presence known as she tried to fight her way to where her family stood. "I'm right here." She announced.
Her brothers stood around the round table, Arthur and Oswell stood behind them. Lyanna was off to the side with Gerold Hightower. All their eyes focused on her as she stood in front of them. "Dany, what are you doing here? I thought you were asleep." Lyanna said as she hurried to Daenerys' side.
"All the noise woke me up." She explained to the woman.
"It's good that you're awake, you must go now. We will be making our way to Dragonstone now and attack it." Rhaegar informed her, though she already knew that. "Ser Oswell will be taking you back to your cabin and once you have all that you need, he will take you to the small boat that awaits you. Lord Celtigar's ship is your destination." He repeated the same plan he had told her earlier. And once again Daenerys nodded.
"Tyrion Lannister will be joining you." Rhaegar added. She nodded her head once more. Daenerys had not seen much of the lion man since his father was executed. Daenerys recalls how the man had not cried when he was told of his fathers death, instead he had a shaky smile on his face. It unnerved Daenerys, how unbothered the son seemed by the death of his father. In the back of her mind she wondered if her brothers, Rhaegar and Viserys, were as unbothered as Tyrion Lannister when they heard of the death of their father. She could only wonder, for her brothers never spoke of him. Her mother never uttered a word about her husband and brother and Daenerys never asked.
"Daenerys." Her elder brother called out. Rhaegar stared at her, surely waiting for her to depart but Daenerys stood still. Without saying another word she walked to her brother and pulled him into a hug, he returned the gesture. She freed herself from his grip and threw herself on Viserys. He caught her with ease, as he always did, and hugged her warmly. She broke free from him and turned to look at her brother Rhaegar once more.
This could be the last time I see them. The realization filled her eyes with tears but she refused to let fall on her pale face. I must be strong.
"Go." He ordered her. Oswell Whent guided her back to her cabin.
Most of her belongings were unimportant and so she left them behind. All of her gowns had still been packed away in her brown trunk. She simply ordered two of the guards that would be accompanying her to the 'Red Claw' to bring her trunk to the cog boat they would use to sail to the much larger ship.
Once again Ser Whent escorted Daenerys out to the deck. They made it to the deck, and there she saw Tyrion Lannister. He was wearing his usual garments. A nicely embroidered jerkin and black trousers. A red cloak with the Lannister lion on it was wrapped around his shoulders in an effort to keep him warm in the night's cool breeze. He turned around just in time to greet them.
"Princess, I do hope you had a good rest. Gods know that we will need it." He said with a joking smile. Daenerys only offered him a reluctant grin.
Her dragons let out slight cries. They had woken up as she was being lowered into the smaller boat. She resisted the urge to let them out and hold them, she did not wish to worry the men who worked the oars for they already looked frightened enough with the presence of the dragons. Letting her dragons out of their cage would surely be a disaster.
The cog moved faster than she had thought it would. The once distant ship, 'Red Claw', came closer and closer as the men worked the oars in a steady pace. Daenerys looked back and saw her brother's fleet getting nearer to the coast of Dragonstone. The dark sky made it difficult for her to see much but she could still make out the shadows of the large ships sailing towards her homeland.
Daenerys lowers her head to look at her dragons who were caged on her lap. She felt helpless. Her brothers were just moments away from reclaiming their home and here she was, sailing away from the conflict. If only you were bigger, I would have ridden you and reclaim Dragonstone myself. There would have been no need to endanger the lives of the soldiers. Daenerys wondered if she would ever get to ride her dragons to war. A part of her hoped that one day she would fly on dragon back and disintegrate her enemies. But that was a foolish thought. That was a warrior's dream and Daenerys was no warrior.
The cog boat came to halt. Daenerys looked up from her lap and saw the large ship that was stationed mere inches away.
She boarded Lord Celtigar's 'Red Claw' with the help of Ser Whent. Lord Edwell Celtigar was old but he insisted on being on the battlefront, his son Alton, had insisted on his father staying out of the battlefield at all and asked him to remain at Claw Isle, the old man refused and to make peace with both father and son, Rhaegar suggested that Lord Edwell be in charge of protection his sister. They both reluctantly agreed. But Daenerys could see the bitter expression on the man's face as he greeted her, no doubt wishing to be sailing towards Dragonstone instead of sitting at bay guarding a girl.
"Princess it is an honor to have you aboard my ship." He tells her. "I am afraid the accommodations won't be to your standards but it was the best we could do." He tried to sound apologetic but the annoyed look on his face told her that he wasn't sorry at all. Nonetheless Daenerys thanked him.
She was led to a shabby cabin north of the ship. Ser Whent stood guard just outside. Daenerys wanted to join the others on the ships deck, they waited eagerly to see a fight break out on the coast of Dragonstone, but Daenerys couldn't. She didn't want to watch if her brothers fail, if their fleet was decimated and their lives lost. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of either of her brothers falling in battle. She rather stay in canon with her dragons and wait for news.
Daenerys tried to sleep but couldn't. She closed her eyes but sleep would not come, her worries kept her from drifting off into a dull slumber. So instead she passed time with her dragons. She let them out of their cage and watched as they played with each other. Seeing her dragons carefree and excited made her nerves simmer down slightly but the bulging pit in her stomach remained.
Without being aware of it, the ship's smoothe sways rocked her into a dreamless sleep.
She was awakened for what seemed just moments later but she knew some time had passed as she peered out the tiny circular window in her cabin and saw the unmistakable illumination that the sun brought as it rose over the sea and up towards the blue skies. The kingsguards, Owell Whent, had brought her a bowl of oatmeal and hard bread but she scarcely ate her meal. Daenerys was preoccupied worrying about her brother's safety to even think about the aching pain in her stomach from the lack of food.
Instead of wallowing in her anguish and fear she decided to get out of the small cabin that would become her home until her brothers had won Dragonstone, that is if they won. If her brothers failed to conquer the Targaryen ancestral home then she would need to spend more time in Edwell Celtigar's galley ship, for he would be responsible for bringing her back to her mother; in Pentos.
She changed quickly into a simple blue gown and tied a black cloak with red threading over her shoulders. Her dragons were awake, she could hear their high screeches, begging to be let out. Daenerys walks over to the small rounded table she had placed the steel cage on and picked up the semi heavy cage. Daenerys would let them out once they were outside on the deck.
The girl could feel the heavy gazes on her as she walked around with three dragons, curious whispers were being mumbled by the pair of men that she walked past.
Now out on the ship's deck she could see the sky more clearly. The day was beautiful. Daenerys climbed the steps to the upper deck and saw that there was someone there. She knew immediately who it was. Tyrion Lannister stood on the far side of the upper deck, watching Dragonstone, though all that could be seen of the castle was a blurry figure. 'Red Claw' was quite a distance away from Dragonstone, not much could be seen from the ship's deck. Still though, the man stood and watched.
Tyrion turned around and faced her, he seemed inspired by her presence. He must have heard her heavy footsteps as she climbed the steps. Daenerys watched as the man's eyes slid from her face towards the cage that housed her children. The three of them all screeched at the man seemingly bothered by his presence. But to be fair to the dwarf, her dragons scarcely liked anyone who was not of valyrian blood, except for Viserion who was the friendliest and nicest of her dragons.
"Ah, your dragons do not seem fond of me." Tyrion jokes but Daenerys sees a flash of hurt in the man's mismatched eyes. Feeling guilty at her dragon's reaction towards the dwarf, she tries to reassure him.
"No, not at all, they are just hungry." She tells him. Her words seem to have made the man feel better as he lets out a grin.
"I do hope you do not plan to feed me to your dragons. Surely there is a bigger man who will be able to fill up your dragon's bellies better than me." He jest. Daenerys lets out a shy laugh.
"My dragons only eat animal meat My Lord, you have nothing to fear." She replies to him in a charming manner. "Well that is good to know Princess." He says. Tyrion begins to make his way down the steps, leaving her alone.
Daenerys feels the loneliness and worry begin to creep up. The short time she had spent in the presence of Tyrion Lannister had kept her mind occupied from the horrors of what was going on. Not wanting to think about her brothers and their battle, she calls out to the man before he takes his final step down.
"My Lord, would you like to see me feed the dragons." Daenerys said eagerly. "It is quite entertaining." She added, almost desperately. The silver haired girl did not want to be left alone with her thoughts and worries on the brink of consuming her whole.
Tyrion turned around with a pleasant smile on his face and nodded his head eagerly. His face lit up, almost childlike.
They had quickly gotten uncooked meat from the small galley and made their way back to the upper deck. The three dragons thrashed around the cage as they yelled to be let out, Daenerys set the cage down on the long table that was placed firmly onto the ship's upper deck. With a steady hand she unlocked the cage and out her dragons flew.
Daenerys watched as the three dragons flew in circles above her head, they let out shrills of excitement. It had been a little over a day since her dragons had spread their wings and glided into the sky, they seemed overjoyed to finally be able to do so. She leaned over the railing as Aegarax and Rhaelyx flew down and gilded just above the water. Viserion was content with flying in the air, he spun in small circles and released excited shrieks.
She looked over and down to where Tyrion stood, he had an awe expression in his face as he watched her black and green dragon fly in the sky. Daenerys would never tire of seeing that expression on the faces of strangers as they see her beloved dragons for the first time.
Daenerys calls them back. Viserion returns to her immediately but the two other dragons stubbornly continue to skim just above the cold water. But after a while of calling for them, they return to her.
She presents them with the uncooked meat. Aegarax looked at the piece cursorily, he leant closer to the meat and began to sniff it. He let out a disgruntled noise that Daenerys could only assume was one of disgust. She giggled at that.
"Does he not like meat?" Tyrion asked, he stood beside her and watched the dragons with enthusiasm. She let out another small giggle at the sound of disbelief in the man's voice.
"They do. It's only that my dragons prefer cooked meat. Raw meat is not appetizing to them." She informed the Lannister man. An astonished expression etched itself onto the man's face. Daeneyers could not blame the man for being surprised that her ferocious beasts did not like the taste of raw meat. She remembers how distraught she had been when just a few hours after the hatching of her dragons Daenerys had tried to feed them little bits of raw sheep but her dragons refused to smell the meat, let alone eat it. It was only when Rhaegar suggested the meat be cooked that her dragons finally ate. It had been so relieving seeing her dragons eat for the first time.
"Then why did you bring uncooked meat if you know the dragons don't like it?" Tyrion furrowed his eyebrows as he asked his question. Daenerys let out a grin.
"Watch." She says as she picks up a piece of the raw meat and sets it in front of Rhaelyx. Her cream and gold dragon already knew what to do as he stood up on his hind legs and elongated his neck. He waited for his mothers command.
"Dracarys." Daenerys said loudly. Rhaelyx opened his mouth and fire came out, bright and hot. He stopped once he thought the meat was sufficiently cooked. Rhaelyx opened his mouth and gulped down the meat he had just cooked with his hot fire. The smell of cooked meat had enticed Viserion and Aegarax to beg for the raw meat Daenerys had in her hand, so that they could cook it with their fiery breath. She laughs as Viserion nibbles his teeth against her hand in an effort to get a hold of the meat. After a few moments of probing, Viserion grows frustrated and lets out a shriek.
"Fine, here you go." She gives him a piece and watches as he throws the meat in the air and lits it on fire. She gives him more and watches as Viserion and Aegarax fight over the food. She quickly calls out to Aegarax and offers him a giant piece of raw meat. The black and red dragon swoops in and grabs the meat. He does the same as his brother and lights his food until it is thoroughly cooked to his liking.
Daenerys continues to feed her dragons while Tyrion watches. Once the raw meat is all gone, Daenerys lets her dragons fly around for a bit before she calls them back. They reluctantly get back into the cage and Daenerys readies herself to leave but before could depart Tyrion stops her with an inquiry.
"Princess, do you believe your brother will be successful in his conquest for the throne?" He asked. His question had startled her but she quickly composes herself and answers the man.
"I have faith that Rhaegar will win back his throne." She says confidently. Daenerys eyes him with suspicion. "Why do you ask Lord Tyrion?"
The short man only shrugs his shoulders in an effort to appear nonchalant. "I was merely asking. Though now that I think about it, it was quite a foolish question to ask. Of course you believe in your brother's ability to win back his crown." A small grin appeared on his face. The look in his mismatched eyes led her to believe that there was something more that he wanted to say but he was clearly unsure on whether he should speak so freely in front of a Princess of House Targaryen.
"Is there something else you wanted to say?" She beckons. Daenerys wondered what sort of thoughts lingered in the man's mind. Tyrion hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "I was just wondering what would happen to my uncle and cousins." He admits. "My uncle Kevan is acting as Lord of Casterly Rock in the absence of my father, just as Lord Tywin had commanded. I doubt word has reached my uncle about his brother's death. But once Kevan learns of the matter of his brother's execution, I greatly doubt Kevan Lannister will step aside and allow me, a dwarf, to be Lord of Casterly Rock."
"If they bend the knee and join my brother's army, then they shall live their lives as they always have." She tries to reassure him.
"And if they don't. If my uncle claims Casterly Rock for himself and joins with Robert's army?" His voice is strangely calm. "What then?"
Daenerys is silent for a moment, not sure how to respond to the man. "Then my brothers will deal with them as he sees fit." She speaks softly but firmly.
Tyrion nods his overgrown head in agreement. And with that, Daenerys leaves the man in the upper deck of the ship and heads back to her cabin.
She remains in her room for the rest of the day, the few maids that were aboard the ship occasionally brought her something to eat along with raw uncooked meat for her dragons but Daenerys finds her stomach strangely full. She does nothing more than watch her dragons cook and eat their food.
The days passed and still Daenerys had not heard any news of her brother's conquest. In moments of desperation for news of her brothers, she would go out onto the deck and look towards the countless ships that surrounded Dragonstone. Daenerys waited for any signs that could have indicated that Rhaegar had started his assault on Dragonstone but as the hours and days passed the Targaryen fleet remained in a hold still.
On the fourth day she laid in her featherbed. Her dragons were laid with her as well, Viserion and Aegarax huddled against her stomach and her cream and gold dragons rested atop one of the pillows near Daenerys' head.
The low growling her dragons made sang her to sleep.
On this night, while aboard the 'Red Claw', Daenerys had a dream.
She was at the mouth of the gigantic entrance of a cave. In her dream the moon lit up the sky with a beautifully luminescent glimmer. Daenerys heard the familiar sound of her dragons' high pitched growls. She looked around for the source of the sound and saw her three dragons fly out of the cave, they screeched excitedly and flew to her with childlike eagerness. They seemed to be beckoning her towards the cave as they lightly pulled on her cream gown. Daenerys allowed her children to pull her along with little hesitance.
The cave was dark and only the little moonlight that shone through the ceiling of the cave gave her any light. Her dragons flew around the cave but Daenerys noticed how eager they seemed. The silver haired girl watched as her children flew deeper into the hollow cave.
The floor of the cave was cold and muddy but she continued to follow her dragons. She did not know how long she had been walking deeper into the cave but it seemed like a long duration of time. The young girl had grown exhausted and ordered her dragons to stop. She was surprised to see them ignore her and continue to fly deeper into the cave. Her exhaustion had made her temper rather wroth and so she yelled at her dragons. They continued to fly but this time they flew faster than she had even seen them.
Their lack of obedience made her even more cross. Daenerys let out a frustrated yell and ran after her dragons. She lost sight of them for a bit but was able to catch up to them as they came to a sudden stop. The girl was preparing herself to reprimand her dragons but something burrowed into the walls of the cave caught her attention.
Her three dragons flew towards the object etched into the wall and let out loud growls.
Unwilling to ignore the massive object in the wall, she walked towards it slowly. It was large, taller than her. The horn was wrapped in Valryian steel and red gold. It had a black gleam and in certain angles she saw a red glow emit from the horn. The object was so unusual that Daenerys knew it should have been completely unfamiliar to her but the enormous horn was something she knew for certain she had seen before.
She thought back and tried to remember. It took her a moment before she finally pieced together where she had seen such a thing.
On one of Prince Oberyn's visits to Pentos, he had brought along a friend of his. An archmaester that went by the name Marwyn, though she recalls Prince Oberyn calling him Marwyn the Mage at times. The odd archmaester had been a scholar and his rather intense knowledge and interest in magic had turned him into an outcast at the Citadel. His thirst for knowledge had led him to follow his friend Oberyn to Pentos. The man was strange but kind and so Daenerys enjoyed his company and would seek him out often.
On one such day, the man had shown her a book. It was written in Old Valyrian and much of its contents was about dragons, the book was rather interesting to Daenerys but a certain page had caught her attention. On the page was an old drawing of a horn with Valyrian steel and red gold banding. When she asked Marwyn what the horn was, since the page itself had no information about the horn, he told her the horn was called a 'Dragonbinder'.
When she inquired more information about it he simply said that should someone ever blow the horn, the dragons would come to their riders. Daenerys had said "How could the person who blows the horn claim a dragon, there are no dragons alive." The archmaester had smiled mischievously and told her the tale of the wild dragons that some said still lived.
Daenerys had thought the tale of wild dragons nonsense. How could there be any dragons alive? It seemed impossible to her that the dragons had remained unclaimed and unseen for the past hundred years.
But now that she stands in front of the Dragonbinder, she wonders if any of the wild dragons would come to her if she blew the horn. She continued admiring the horn. And after a while she could feel herself fade.
The moon was still out when she had woken up from her dream. Her dragons were fast asleep, undisturbed by her sudden awakening. She remained still in bed for the night and when the sun rose she would learn of her brother's fate.