Chapter 56

Dany was so tired, she was quietly hoping that the time in court would be over soon. Her back was tired and she hadn't been sleeping well. The Westerosi would be here in the next couple of weeks and she still wasn't sure how to receive the families responsible for her father's death. Her brother had always claimed vengeance was the only answer but as the years had passed, she wasn't sure why she should really want that. She hadn't even been born when her father was murdered, she knew only what she had been told. It felt unnatural to seek retribution on those coming. Other than Jaime Lannister, none of them had any part in the downfall of her family or the death of her father.

She wasn't a person who wanted others to be hurt, if anything, she wanted the pain and destruction to stop. She knew she had to listen to them, it would not be an easy journey, nothing worthwhile was ever easy. She wondered how those in Westeros felt about the Kingslayer. Did they honestly care and despise him as a man or was it just his name they feared. From all accounts, three of the seven lands in Westeros were behind him, and he gave no indication whatsoever that he was interested in the throne.

The Westerlands were Lannister territory, Dorne was represented by a Clegane, the North by a Stark. That left the Vale and the Riverlands, which could be tied back to the Lady Stark.

Ser Barristan gave her good and wise counsel, Ser Jorah...well, her patience with him was running thin. He was negative and tried to push her into rejecting all of them, especially The North. He must think her a very foolish little girl. She knew he felt more for her than was proper but she had no feelings towards him in this . She remembered what he had told her about why he was exiled. He had betrayed her once and he had no way of helping her take back her legacy. He had nothing to offer except negative comments.

Her mind was brought back from it's meandering as Missandei leaned to her and told her about a woman requesting an appearance in court. Upon hearing the name, Daenaerys felt a chill run over her skin, so it begins. This will either be the beginning of the future or it will be folly.

Dany dismissed court except for her Unsullied guards, her personal guard and Missandei. Greyworm escorted a woman and a boy into the Court, beside the boy was a huge black wolf. She heard Ser Barriston take in a sharp breath and saw Ser Jorah grasp the hilt of his sword. Missandei announced," Lady Asha Greyjoy of The Iron Islands and Lord Rickard Stark of House Stark of The North."

The two companions bowed, "Your Grace."

Dany took in both of them. She had no way of knowing if they were who they proclaimed to be except by the reactions of the two men beside her. The woman was not unattractive but she had a hardness about her that made Dany think that she wasn't a stranger to battle. The boy was young but hard. He was strong and well built for one of his age.

Her face revealed none of her feelings as she addressed the new arrivals," Welcome to Meereen. I would offer you refreshments, I was not expecting you I am curious as to why you have come here." She watched passively as Missandei served to two, and had to hide a smile as the Lady slapped the hand of the boy away from the wine and gave him a glass of juice. His glare was deadly but he offered no words and the woman wasn't, in the least, affected by his gaze.

"I thank you for your welcome, My Queen. I have been sent here by an ally in The North though at this time, he cannot openly give you allegiance. My quest was twofold, I know you will be having guests from Westreos and my friend wished me to find this young Lord and rejoin him with his family who believes him dead. We knew of no other way to prove that he is exactly who we say he is except by his direwolf. I see you have a craven and slaver from the North beside you, he can tell you the truth of the Stark's and their direwolves. The second part is to inform you, that as the heir to the Iron Islands, I am here to pledge my allegiance to you."

Dany could feel the tension rolling off of Ser Jorah, she knew why the woman called him a craven, he ran from Northern justice, she would not correct the woman. She looked at Ser Barristan, who nodded to her, indicating the truth of her words. He said, " I was under the impression that your uncle, Euron "Crow's Eye" was claiming to be King of The iron Islands."

"Aye, it's true, he WAS. He is no longer." She motioned for two sailors to bring in a large wooden chest, beautifully
decorated with carvings of Krakens and all manner of sea creatures. "Your Grace, if I may, a gift from my Uncles." She walked to the chest and opened it.

Dany hid the smile that almost crossed her mouth. "A strange gift, My Lady. Did you do this?"

Asha Greyjoy knew that this would be coming, it couldn't be avoided, " Westeros is at war, Your Grace. Horrible things happen to horrible people. My uncle, Euron, sent my other uncle, Victarion, here to kidnap you and bring him back to Pyke so he could force you to marry him. We couldn't have that. As you can well see, they were out of their minds. Victarion was killed in battle on the way here, as he was dead, I saw no reason for him to keep his head, you would need proof that he was not a threat to you. Euron, slept too soundly. To answer your question truthfully, yes, I am the one who killed them both. I am at your mercy, as I don't know what laws you have in regards to kinslaying here in the East."

Dany kept her expression mild, 'I feel nothing about it. I watched my own brother be murdered by my husband and did nothing to stop it. I felt nothing then either. He wanted to harm me, as did these men.' She looked at Lady Asha, the woman was battle hardened. She is like me in regards to doing away with those who mean to harm and destroy. " Lady Asha, as you said, there is war in Westeros. I accept your allegiance and you will be treated as my ally. What I have is yours. The same is true for Lord Rickon and his direwolf. Since we are not in Westeros yet, the customs don't apply, do they." She glanced at the chest and spoke so that those present knew it was her decree, " We will speak no more of the gift from your uncles. Bad things happen to bad people, as you said." She looked at the direwolf, who had been watching them all, just as if he could understand exactly what was being said. He tilted his head to the side and whimpered. Rickon looked down at him and nodded, the beast walked towards Dany,
she knew she should fear him but as she looked into his eyes, she knews he wouldn't hurt her.

Ser Jorah stepped in front of her and the direwolf immediately became menacing. Crouching as if ready to leap and the growl that rolled from his chest echoed in the Court. Dany ordered Ser Jorah to resume his post and the direwolf calmed again. 'Interesting. I trust my dragons to help me judge others, could it be that direwolves are the same way. Does he sense deception?' The wolf continued to Dany, she stood up and walked towards him, 'He is so huge! I could ride him like a horse.' She gently offered her hand to the predator, watching as his long, white fangs were exposed as he sniffed her hand and then began to lick her hand. He gently took it in his mouth and pulled her towards the boy who had been watching it all with a knowing expression on his young face.

He finally spoke to Dany, "He likes you, My Queen. He doesn't like many people at all. If he trusts you, I will too. His name is Shaggydog. He'll kill anyone who tries to hurt you as will I."

Dany was momentarily shaken by his comment. " How old are you, My Lord?"

"Eleven or twelve. I'm not sure. It matters not. I may be young but I am not a child, I learned to kill while I was living with the tribes on Skagos. "

She heard Ser Jorah repeat the name and turned to him. He said, " Kaleeshi, Skagos is an island in the Shivering Sea. The North believes them to be descendants from The First men. They are very fierce and independent, no one ventures there that's why they have never been conquered. It is believed that they are also cannibals."

She heard Rickon start to laugh.

"Indeed . They are fierce and proud. They just want to be left alone. They don't leave their island and they seek no
fortunes. Have no fear if they did eat men, it wouldn't be you. They are a proud people and a craven like you would surely poison their souls." The vehemence in his voice was startling.

Again she saw Ser Jorah grip his sword, " Ser Jorah, if you cannot control yourself around our guests, I will have to relieve you of your duties until a time that you can." She didn't trouble herself to notice the stricken look on his face. "Missandei, will you show our guests where they will be staying?"

"Yes, Kaleeshi."

The Kraken and The Wolf bowed to her again, "Thank you, My queen." She watched them leave and thought on the
prophecy from Quaithe. The Pale Mare had ridden, the Sun's son was gone, by his own folly. The old Lion was gone but two young lions were coming instead and one of them she truly didn't know how to receive. Now the Kraken. The two rebels gone and the heir has just given her alliance. She knew what the Others and the Darkness was. That battle must still be fought. Through her contact with Lord Tyrion Lannister and talking with Ser Barristan, she had a very good idea who the perfumed senchel was.

Sandor clearly understood why he had lived his life as soldier, the remaining few weeks of travel had been wearing on him. Being in discussions with Tyrion, Bronn, Varys, and the envoy from the Braavosi bank, Taeko Patel, held no interest for him. He cared not how the crown would pay back it's debt. He glanced at Jaime and saw the same boredom on his face. He wasn't even sure why they had to be involved in any of this, except for the fact that Shalene told him that since he was a Prince of Dorne and had substantial holdings now, it was one of his duties. He was representing his new homeland. At least she had told him that he had to only look interested in what was going on.

It wasn't until after the banker left that Varys handed Tyrion a scroll. After reading it, Sandor started to feel that he
knew what his purpose would be now, if all went well.

He and Jaime looked at each other, Sandor asked," Can it really be him?"

Jaime shook his head. " There are only two people left alive who know the truth to that. Me and Ser Barristan Selmy. I don't know who this one is, but I swear to you, that baby that was murdered was him. I am as sure of it as I am that I no longer have my right hand."

Sandor had not been in the capitol when the rebellion happened. He was a few years younger than Jaime so he had no idea what to make of this but he could tell by the conviction in The Lion's voice, that he spoke the truth. Tyrion sat quietly for a few minutes, " I have my suspicions of who this might be. Tell me, Jaime, what do you know of Jon Connington?"

The discussions went on so several more hours. Tyrion and Varys were quiet as they watched Jaime and Sandor go over the maps of Westeros, especially the Stormlands and The Crownlands. He felt his pride in his brother swell, as he watched him in his element.'That's what Jaime is best at, being a war commander.' He enjoyed watching the ease of both men as they worked out strategy and possible scenarios. Jaime, the Commander and planner, Sandor the strategist and questioner. It was like watching them spar, both knowing their roles so well, and able to to quickly find and determine the extent of the rivals weaknesses.

With and idea of where and how to confront this threat when the time came, they left the solar, minds tired and bodies hungry. Sandor was looking for Shalene and was greeted with his tiny wife feeding bits of raw meat to the largest eagle he had ever seen. The raptor's claws were as long as Sandor's fingers and they were as sharp as daggers.

She showed no fear towards the bird and when he walked closer, the falconer stopped him and handed him a very thick leather glove and told him to put it on. He has been around Shalene enough with her gyrofalcon to know what the glove was for but he had no intention of letting those claws or that beak near him. Shalene saw him and smiled," Look what Father sent you! Do you like him? He has been trained the same way that LeeLou has so you already know his commands and you can teach him any of your own."

"Why would I need a bird?"

"He's not just a bird, Sandor. He's a Golden Eagle. He has also been trained to help you in battle, much like Stranger does. Do you not like him?"

Sandor still didn't want to get close to the eagle. But he had to admit that he liked the way he looked once he looked at him as an accomplice in battle. He watched Shalene talk to the bird and slowly cover its head with a hood, like she did her falcon when she wanted to keep it calm.

He put the glove on his left hand, and approached her. Close up, the eagle was eminence."Just stay clam and give him commands like you have seen me do with LeeLou. You call him with this and when he responds correctly to you, give him a treat." She handed him a small whistle and a leather pouch with bits of raw meat in it. " When you become more comfortable, you can change his commands and how you call him so that he only obeys you, just like
Stranger. Are you ready?"

Sandor slipped the whistle underneath his leather vambrace and attached the pouch to his belt. He took a deep breath and nodded. Shalene removed the hood and the eagle blinked a couple of times, then looked at Sandor, cocking its head slightly as it observed Sandor as pensively as Sandor did it.

"Give him the command for up."

Sandor followed her direction and quietly but firmly gave the command and the eagle hesitated for just a second before it ruffled its feathers and stepped to his awaiting arm. Shalene stepped away and quietly left him to learn about his new companion. She knew how useful and protective her gyrofalcon was to her, she knew, in time, that this massive eagle would also become as much an extension of her husband as his deadly warhorse was.

They were about two days from Meereen, the men were in the solar, going over the last details of their arrival plans when Myrcella quietly entered the room and whispered in her father's ear, she then left the room. Everyone looked up curiously, only to find Jaime smiling and looking straight at Tyrion. "It seems, dear brother, that you're soon to be a father. Shae has been in labor since this morning and the maester says her time is very near."

Tyrion went pale, "Why didn't anyone tell me! I should have been there!"

"Well, it seems that she forbade anyone to tell you until she was closer to giving birth. She had Shalene and Myrcella threaten any servants with their lives if they told you. So, it seems that.."

Jaime hadn't finished his sentence when Tyrion has scooted off of his chair and was walking to the door as quickly as his stunted legs could take him. Bronn was the first one to speak," Well, I suppose we should go and give our comrade our support." He looked around at the other men, he knew Sandor had been in battle when Kolenee had given birth to his twins. That left Jaime, " So, Lord Jaime, you've been here, do we have the wine now or later?"

Jaime smiled and looked at his friends, " Both! I think Tyrion will need it!"

The men gathered on the deck, sitting very close to the hall that led to Tyrion's chambers. It seemed like it would never end. Servants came and went, none of them would look at the men. Sandor began to wonder if it was because something was wrong or due to the fact that Shalene and Myrcella had scared them into silence. His thoughts drifted to Kolenee and what she may have gone through. He found himself thinking about the Old Gods and quietly asked them, if they were real, to keep Shae and the babe safe. He like Tyrion, he'd grown to respect the little man very much and he honestly didn't want him to be hurt. To be such an intelligent man, it was odd to know that the little Lord really didn't have anything. He had no lands, his hope for the future was tied to the Dragon Queen winning the throne. His name was all he truly had besides his wife and child.

It was at sunset when a very tired Myrcella came and sat down beside her uncle. Myrcella leaned over and kissed his head, "Uncle, you have a beautiful daughter. Shae is resting but she will be fine, she has lost quite a bit of blood but the maester says she is healthy and just needs to rest. Come, meet your daughter." Tyrion stood on wobbly legs, 'a daughter, I'm a father now!' He followed Myrcella into the bedchamber and made his way to Shae. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, her eyes opened and her smile eased his heart. She did look tired, but she was happy and her eyes were full of love. " Hold your daughter, Tyrion. She needs to know you."

Tyrion eased up to sit on the bed beside Shae and no sooner had he made himself comfortable, when Myrcella was handing him his child. He smiled at his niece as she made sure he was holding his daughter properly and securely, giving instruction as if she were an expert on child rearing.

His first look at his child took his breath away. 'This child is part of me.' He couldn't keep the smile from his face as she yawned. Her hair was a silky, deep brown, just like her mothers. Tyrion looked to the maester, as if he could read his Lord's mind, he said, " My Lord, your child is very healthy. By all indications, she will grow to be a very beautiful woman, of her mother's height. She is a normal size baby." Tyrion could feel his eyes burning with
tears, as he kissed the babe's head, she opened her eyes, and he laughed softly, " Thank the Gods the only thing I gave you was my eyes." His child's eyes were reflections of his own mismatched ones.

Shalene asked, " What will the new Lady's name be?"

Shae looked at Tyrion a moment and they both nodded, "Her name is Vivianna. Lady Vivianna Lannister."

Shalene made her way to the group of men, she sat on Sandor's lap and relaxed against him. Jaime, never one to be patient, couldn't keep quiet, " Well, Princess, don't do me like this. How are they!"

Shalene laughed, "Shae and the babe are healthy and doing well. Tyrion is holding his daughter and the newest Lannister is named Lady Vivianna. The Maester says that she is of normal size and should grow into a woman of normal height. She looks just like Shae but Tyrion did pass those devilish eyes to her. They are the only thing other than his name, he gave to her!"

Shalene felt Sandor's hands on her stomach. She knew what he was thinking. She turned her body to where she could face him, she pulled his head down to her, and whispered," I stopped drinking my tea a sennight ago." She kissed his neck and felt his body relax. For all the fears that she had carried before about having a child, feeling Sandor relax after her confession, feeling the slight tremble in his fingers as he held her, banished all those fears. She had the most wonderful husband, his happiness and love was all she wanted. She was proud to be his, once she had let go of her childish fears, she had come to know that she did want his protection and the strength he so freely gave. She wanted to have his child. His heir.