Godswood
Daenerys
For a change she woke up first. As they lie on their sides facing each other, she has a perfect opportunity to look at the face of the man she loves. Just looking at his calm, asleep face fills her with warmth.
She had that dream again about her and Jon riding dragons. She brought it up once before but he dismissed it. What about now? He is half Targaryen after all. Ah, but there is a real problem though, isn't there? His Targaryen heritage. She knows that these past two days he was still struggling with it. She knows that he is surrounded by the people who truly love him and support him, that itself probably gives him strength but she just knows he is uneasy about those revelations. He almost said it to her once or twice; well, maybe not directly, it is not in his nature to wallow in self-pity but she understood and tried to ease his mind gently. He only looked at her tenderly and kissed her forehead in response.
Sometimes she thinks that he is too honest and too brave for his own good. Her eyes inadvertently go to the scars on his chest. She recalls the time when he finally told her what happened at Castle Black. Her eyes still well up at the memory. She does not know what gods she should be grateful for bringing him back but she knows she owes Ser Davos and the priestess Melisandre more than she could ever repay. She never realised how her life was empty without him in it.
As the wave of infinite love for him rushes through her body, she slips her arm under his, and pulls herself closely to him, burying her face in his chest. He stirs slightly at that and wraps his arm around her.
She did not want to wake him up so she lies very still. But after a moment, she feels him kissing her head gently. She slowly upturns her face to check if his eyes are open and as they are, her lips break into a smile that is almost instantly crushed by the eager kiss from Jon.
Jon
As they lie panting from their exertions, he reaches for her hand and presses it to his lips.
"What's that for?" she asks breathily.
"Nothing. Everything," he replies equally breathless.
He can easily understand why the fire did not burn her. She is fire itself. She engulfs his mind and body in a sheer firestorm when they are together. The time he spends with her is the only time he allows himself to be truly happy.
"When I'm with you is the only time I can breathe easily," he says frankly, following his train of thought. "The rest is just a burden and worry," he says. Although he is hit immediately with another thought that he may be not wholly sincere. The duty is still the drive of his life, even if the definition of it slightly changed. Her safety became this nagging imperative that follows him everywhere. Again he recalls the words of Maester Aemon, 'love is the death of duty', and even though he tries to balance those two worlds, it is a constant battle.
"I know," she replies quietly. "Still no news from King's Landing?"
He shakes his head, in his estimation the Lannister army had an ample time for preparations and by this time they should be on the march. They should have heard of it by now.
"I think we may try to find out if the Lannister army is coming," she interrupts his thoughts.
"What do you mean?" he asks and turns his head to meet her gaze. No matter how often he sees her, she always takes his breath away. She smiles slightly, "You have to put your trust in me again," she says.
Daenerys
Obviously she heard of Ghost. But she is taken aback by the sheer size of him. She watches him playfully greeting Jon. Ghost almost swiped Jon off his feet with the intensity of this greeting. It is a sheer joy to see Jon so happy. She loves Jon's laugh, especially as it is such a rare occurrence in recent days. She slowly descends down the stairs leading to the main courtyard, she does not want to intrude on the meeting of two friends; Jon turns his head in her direction, "He's back!" he says happily. She smiles back at him but as soon as her foot reaches the ground, she sees Ghost running towards her.
She freezes, as if through the fog she hears Jon screaming anxiously "Ghost!" and running towards her, the Dothraki who followed her in some distance start to run down the stairs but Ghost is quicker. As soon as he reaches her he snarls but then his head raises and she is hypnotised by his eyes, disturbing red eyes. Ghost stopped snarling and inexplicably she puts out her hand towards him. Ghost sniffs her hand, whines gently and then rubs the top of his enormous head against her hand. She pats him tenderly and gives a reassuring signal to the Dothraki with her other hand. Jon stops in front of her and asks if she is all right. She smiles at him, "Ghost wanted to meet me," she says quietly.
Ghost steps closer and sniffs her stomach, he turns his head towards Jon and then he slowly walks out of the courtyard.
"He's a gorgeous beast," she says. Jon smiles at this. "He's not a beast to me, he's my friend," replies Jon. She smiles back at him. "Your true friends seem to accept me," she looks deep into his eyes. Then she turns to her guards, "Ready the horses," she orders them in Dothraki.
When they bring the horses, she mounts her white stallion quickly. Ever since she received the gift from Drogo she always preferred white horses. Their riding party is not large, just her, Jon and her Dothraki guards. They do not plan to go far and even though Ser Jorah insisted on accompanying her, she was determined to be alone with Jon. But then she saw Arya, standing in the shadows, watching them. 'She's always so watchful,' she tells herself. A little girl who had to become a young woman so fast. Not much real joy in her life, Daenerys understood it completely. Jon still sees her as a little girl he said farewell to. She understands that he feels especially protective about his siblings but he also should begin to see them for what they are now. They all must have gone through a lot even if she does not know the details. But of all Jon's siblings she feels the closest to Arya. Even if she is one of the Faceless Men. Well, maybe because Arya was the only one to whom she really spoke. She tells herself to try harder to get to know Sansa and Bran.
Suddenly she got an idea. "Arya?" she calls her. Arya walks towards her slowly and looks at her with the impassive face.
"How would you like to see a dragon up close?" asks Daenerys in a quiet voice.
Arya's upturned face loses its impassivity and it is actually fascinating for Daenerys to see how the young girl lurks from behind the mask. Arya nods eagerly.
"Go to Ser Jorah Mormont and tell him I've changed my mind. He can come with us if he brings you too," says Daenerys with a smile.
"I'll tell him," replies Arya. "But no one brings me. I bring myself."
Daenerys understands immediately and nods in agreement. 'I really like Arya,' she tells herself.
Jon
He should not have left Winterfell all those years ago. Maybe if he stayed the things would be different. Daenerys is standing beside him as they watch Arya and Brienne training. He cannot be anything but proud of Arya's skills, she is quick, smart and she clearly knows how to defend herself. But deep down, he is saddened at what this knowledge must have cost her. He is reminded that where they are standing now used to be the place from which Ned and Lady Stark watched Robb and him teaching Bran to use the bow. Happier times, less complicated. He sighs deeply.
"She's really very good," says Daenerys. "I mean they both good, but Arya is…"
"She's just a little girl," Jon interrupts angrily but then checks himself. "She shouldn't have to be that good."
"She's not a little girl, Jon," says Daenerys firmly. "She's a young woman who does what she wants to do and is what she wants to be."
"That's not what I meant," he looks at her in frustration. "I gave her the Needle." She seems not to understand. "Her sword," he explains. "She named it 'the needle'." He sighs. "Sansa told me she was trained as an assassin, one of the Faceless Men. Have you ever even heard of those?"
She looks quickly at Arya. "I have," she says. "When we were running from Robert Baratheon, there was always a threat of them being engaged by him." She looks sad. If they were not in the public place he would have taken her into his arms. That must have brought some bad memories. "I'm certain Ned was…" he begins.
"Your father," she interrupts, "was against killing me. Varys told me. He even resigned as the Hand over this. He was a good man, Jon."
He does not know what to say. He did not know this. Sansa is very reluctant in describing their life at King's Landing and Bran only told him roughly what happened, although some scenes were very detailed. Why did Daenerys not tell him?
He was about to say something when he noticed in the corner of the eye a very familiar white shape. "Ghost!" he cries and runs to get to the courtyard as quickly as possible.
Oh, he missed him so much. His loyal friend! Ghost is apparently very happy to see him too. He jumped on him with his two massive paws and almost knocked him over. "Where have you been, boy?" asks Jon happily. "I've been looking for you. You were supposed to watch over Starks when I was gone," he laughs and lovingly ruffles the fur on Ghost's neck.
"Direwolf?!" says Ser Jorah who came to the courtyard "I never thought I would ever see one."
Jon just smiles. He sees Daenerys coming down the stairs, he told her about Ghost many times, she wanted to meet him and finally Ghost is here. But then the direwolf suddenly leaves him and runs towards Daenerys. He is panicking now, he calls him and runs after him. But then he stops as he sees that Ghost was just curious. She lets Ghost to smell her hand and then she strokes his head. Well, that is the first. He is eerily reminded of his first real contact with Drogon. It is almost funny how the scenes mirror each other. Ghost accepted her and Drogon accepted him. But then Ghost does a strange thing, he comes even closer to her and almost nuzzles her belly. Then he turns his head and looks at Jon. He almost wants to ask 'what is it, boy?' but checks himself. It is not as if he understood even if Ghost was to bark the response.
The main thing is that Daenerys was not scared and she smiles happily at him, saying that Ghost accepted her as his true friends do. He wonders what she had in mind. Who of his closest people does not accept her? Should he be worried?
Daenerys
She has been calling Drogon and Rhaegal in her mind all morning and they came. They were circling above their heads. She was observing Arya, for once her face was not a puzzle, she looks overjoyed. They are riding slowly through the Dothraki camp, it does not look as well organised as the Unsullied camp but she is relieved to see that they do not look especially uncomfortable. Obviously the weather was drastically different to the one they were used to but she took comfort in the amount of fur they were wearing and many fires burning all over the camp.
They are accompanied by Ghost and it seems he draws a lot of attention from the Dothraki. She catches the snippets of their conversations, they think it is an another magical animal that serves their khaleesi. At least once they saw him, they will not try to hunt him down the next time they will meet him.
She did not tell Jon what she really intended so she is seeing an unease on his face. He thinks she plans to fly alone and he is not happy about it. He does not omit to mention it. She just smiles.
When they finally reach the clearing, Drogon lands with a great thud and is soon followed by Rhaegal. She wonders where they go when she stays at Winterfell. She is worried about them. They are not as safe as she once thought them to be. Her mind goes again to Viserion. There are no words that can describe her hatred for the Night King. The thought of him using Viserion in that way boils her blood.
When they reach the dragons she quickly dismounts and walks briskly towards Drogon and Rhaegal. Jon tries one more time to dissuade her. For now she chooses to ignore him. She wants to touch her children. She reaches first for Drogon and is relieved to feel the warmth emanating from his body. Then she goes to Rhaegal and again she is comforted by the thought that they seem unfazed by the harsh circumstances. 'I want you to meet my friend,' she tells Rhaegal. 'You are not to hurt him. He is very important to me.'
She then turns back and walks straight to Arya who also dismounted her horse and is staring at the dragons with fascination. "Arya," she says quietly so that the others would not hear her. "It won't be today but you have my word that I will take you for a ride on a dragon one of these days." Arya's face lightens up with the most joyous smile, almost like the one she had when she was reunited with Jon. "But for now," Daenerys continues, "let's keep it secret." "Yes, Your Grace," replies Arya quietly.
Daenerys then turns and walks towards Jon who by now dismounted too. "Walk with me, Your Grace," she says in her most regal tone. He follows her on her way towards the dragons and again tries to tell her that it is not safe for her to go alone. When they reach Drogon, she turns to Jon, "I won't be alone," she says and looks deeply into his eyes. "I'm not alone anymore."
Not waiting for the reply she starts to mount Drogon. When she finally sits more or less comfortably, she turns her head to Jon, "Are you coming, Your Grace?" She smiles broadly at him. He was starting to say something but thought better of it; slowly he begins to get on the dragon. When he reaches her, she tells him to hold tight. She gasps as he grabs her hips. She turns her head again to him. "That's not what I meant, Jon," she tries to control her laughter. "You need to grab Drogon's neck spikes."
He finally repositions himself and when she is satisfied she says 'vlar'. Drogon smoothly takes off. She turns her head to look at Jon's face, his eyes are wide open but he smiles.
Jon
He is not happy about her plan. She wants to fly alone to see if there are any signs of the Lannister army on the horizon. He knows she flew on Drogon many times over long distances but ever since Viserion, the thought of her on a dragon who may be targeted terrifies him. And who knows how far the Army of the Dead really had got to.
Bran tells him they are still on the Gift but he did not see the Night King. It seems that the Night King senses him and Bran thinks that staying too close he may endanger them all. Bran also told him that he cannot find Jaime Lannister in King's Landing so maybe it is a good sign. But then he also sees no army marching. On the other hand Bran cannot probably see the entire length of the King's Road. He is not sure of any of it. He knows next to nothing about warging. He saw some of it when he was with the Wildlings but it seems like Bran can do more than that, only his explanations are very vague.
If the Night King rides Viserion, he can be anywhere and then Daenerys would be in danger. He tries to brush away bad thoughts but they linger.
He is surprised to find that the Dothraki are holding quite well, all considering. Many of them point at Ghost in agitation, fortunately none of them tries to attack him. And now they know that Ghost is on their queen's side. No, not queen, what was it? Khaleesi? In any case he can clearly see with how much admiration they look at her. Well, he is not surprised. He looks at her like that and he did not see her stepping out of the flames. He will never understand how he managed to make this magical woman to fall in love with him.
"I'm still not so sure it is a good idea, Your Grace," he tries again. They had this conversation in the morning but she was adamant and after a while he knew he could not say anything more. She greets her dragons tenderly, then suddenly walks to Arya. At least it made Arya happy, her face, so inscrutable these days, is radiating with sheer joy. He does not hear what Daenerys and Arya are talking about but at least the conversation leaves Arya smiling. He must ask her later what it was all about.
Daenerys invites him to walk with her; he would rather say farewell to her in a more intimate circumstances but it must be a very private goodbye in public, at least for now. "I don't like the idea of you being alone out there," he says quietly. She turns to face him and says that she will not be because she is not alone anymore. He knows exactly what she means. She was alone, just as much as he was. But since they found each other, everything is changed. One thing does not change though just looking at her takes his breath away. He wants to tell her that he understands because he is not alone anymore either but she suddenly turns her back on him and starts to mount the dragon. That takes him by surprise, but he has no time to express that because she wants him to join her. So that was her plan all along? But why… He decides quickly that he does not have time to finish that thought. He starts to mount Drogon himself. When he reaches her she tells him to hold on. Without thinking, he grabs her waist. Only to be half mockingly admonished that he should rather hold to the dragon. That was stupid of him. He is embarrassed now, but he tries to find the most comfortable and secure position. And as soon as he does she tells Drogon to fly and the beast obediently follows her order.
There are no words to describe what he feels now. He had no real opportunity to talk to anyone who was rescued when they were beyond the Wall, so there was no one to prepare him for this. Exhilaration, happiness, pleasure? What should be the right word? Sometimes he had those dreams where he was flying but they did not even come close to what he is feeling now. And the strangest thing of all, it all seems nothing but natural to him. He is here because he should be here.
Daenerys
They are flying along the Kingsroad as Jon instructed. There is no sign of any army coming their way. She is worried about it but her thoughts steer to Jon. Deep down she almost knew that they would not see the Lannister Army, but she wanted Jon to ride a dragon and enjoy it to the full. She knows he is busy all day with preparations so she wanted to present him with the gift of pure joy. She accomplished it. She heard him laughing loudly and that gave her an infinite pleasure. She thinks he is ready to fly on his own so she is looking for a nice secluded place to land. She sees a clearing within a small wood. She tells Drogon to go there.
When they land, Jon dismounts quickly and when he is on the ground he reaches with his hand to help her get off. It is not that she really needs his help but she restrains herself from pointing it out. When her feet reach the ground he pulls her to him and kisses her deeply. They stand in that embrace for quite a while and his kisses are hungry, intense. She understands and happily joins him in this show of exuberant joy. There is no one to watch them and spoil it for them. Well, there are two dragons there too but they are family, so she does not mind. When their need for kissing is more or less satiated, they just stand looking deep into each other's eyes. She drowns in Jon's eyes, they are warm and full of tenderness. She loves and is loved in return, what can be better than that?
He says that he saw through her plans and she just smiles in response. "I haven't finished yet," she says after a moment. She extricates herself from his embrace, takes his hand and leads him towards Rhaegal. "This is my friend I was talking about," she says in Valyrian to Rhaegal. Then she turns her head to Jon, "Say something to him."
"Say what?" asks Jon stupefied. "I may be half Targaryen but it doesn't make me a Mother of Dragons." He is right. She did not think it through. How do you introduce a stranger to her dragon to accept him as a rider? She bonded with all of them when they were born and yet it took a while and extreme circumstances for her to ride Drogon. In fact, it was Drogon really who initiated it. Would Rhaegal accept Jon that easily? She thinks furiously.
"Rhaegal," she finally says in Valyrian. "I want you to take care of Jon. He is the most important person in the world to me. I want you to keep him safe for me. Would you do that?" She tries to read Rhaegal, she feels a positive response but she is not sure. As Tyrion once said to her, she should not believe things just because she wants them to be true. Rhaegal whines gently and turns his head towards Jon, he shows his teeth but she is almost sure it is a friendly gesture. It is a long way though from that to Jon actually riding Rhaegal. There is not much more that she can do now.
Jon reaches for Rhaegal's head as he did with Drogon. And Rhaegal starts to sniff Jon's hand, gently purring. She takes a step back. It should be just the two of them. Jon gently strokes Rhaegal's head. Then he steps even closer. She tries to be calm, but it is not easy. Dragons are dragons, they do what they want and they are unpredictable sometimes.
After a long while, Rhaegal lowers his head and gently pushes Jon towards him, as if inviting him, he even lowers his shoulder. She holds her breath. Jon gives her a quick look and very slowly mounts Rhaegal. When he finally sits and grabs Rhaegal neck spikes, she exhales relieved.
"Back to Winterfell then?" she says. Jon nods quickly and gives her a slight smile.
Jon
He is exhilarated, elated and excited, he wants to scream with joy. It is not better than making love to Daenerys but it is bloody close. He almost seems to forget why they are flying in the first place. She was just flying Drogon straight ahead in the southerly direction and he had to shout to her to turn to the left to get to the Kingsroad. But before she reacted he felt Drogon turning. Did Drogon just understand what he was saying? With all this excitement he finds it hard to focus his thoughts.
As he looks along the Kingsroad, there is no sign of anyone travelling towards Winterfell, and the least of all of any army. He begins to think that it was not really the plan. He thinks she just wanted him to fly the dragon. He recalls her mentioning it once but at that time he ignored it. Many things have changed since then. Even this annoying, nagging thought at the back of his head, that the Lannisters are not coming after all, is not going to spoil his mood now. He learns how to lean when Drogon changes directions and he is actually amazed how easily it comes to him. Again, it must be that Targaryen half of him. Or maybe because he is a good horse rider after all. In any case, he is very happy at the moment.
They go very low, he suspects she wants to land. Why would she do that if they hardly covered a long distance? They passed Cerwyn, and are just near Moat Cailin. It is clear to him that she just wanted a ride.
When they land he quickly dismounts, not even waiting for Drogon to lower his shoulder. The excitement of the ride is still buzzing inside him. And he thinks of a perfect way to relieve that tension. He pulls Daenerys close to him as soon as she is on the ground, he plunges into a hungry kiss. As their kissing deepens, his hands start to wander all over her body. And it is a good thing that it is winter and the snow is everywhere, otherwise he would probably not be able to stop himself from going further than just kissing. Sometimes he wonders at his forwardness with Daenerys. He had never actively pursued a woman. And yet he pursued her relentlessly. He still remembers those agonising moments when he stood in front of the door to her cabin. He never regretted it for a moment though.
"So this was your ploy all along to get me here?" he asks smiling at her when their lips part. She does not reply but he sees the truth in her eyes. Again and again, she always takes his breath away when he has an opportunity to look into her eyes. But then she takes him by the hand and walks him to Rhaegal. He guesses she wants him to get acquainted with Rhaegal as she still hopes he would ride him one day. Nah, that probably is not going to happen. Drogon and Daenerys have this magic bond between them, there is nothing magic about him. But to satisfy her he vows internally to try.
She talks to Rhaegal in the language he does not know. It sounds less harsh that Dothraki. Aye, there is this other thing, he can only speak the Common Tongue. She asks him to say something to Rhaegal. He cannot believe what he is hearing. And what exactly is he supposed to say? In what language?
She looks confused. Well, probably not as much confused as he is right now. Again she speaks to Rhaegal. Right, he promised himself to try. And just like with Drogon, he takes his glove off and reaches to Rhaegal. The dragon growls but he sniffs him as Drogon did. He takes a deep breath and touches the head. In his mind he tries to convey some unspoken message to Rhaegal of his admiration and respect. Apart from the heat that he feels emanating from the dragon's skin, he feels a rush of positive emotions running through his body. He is relaxed now and he steps closer. He does not understand it but he feels that Rhaegal accepts him. Especially as he looks into Rhaegal's eye. Then the dragon nuzzles him and lowers its shoulder. It cannot be clearer, Rhaegal decided to let him go onto his back. With almost no hesitation, he slowly gets onto Rhaegal. When he finally sits comfortably, he sighs loudly. Again this feeling of excitement and exhilaration comes over him. He is more than ready to try.
Daenerys suggests flying back to Winterfell. He agrees but he is bracing himself. When she leaves them and goes to Drogon, he says quietly, "Come on, boy, let's fly home." He did not expect the reaction from Rhaegal but to his surprise, the dragon took a couple of steps and took off seamlessly.
Daenerys
From time to time she glances towards Jon, sometimes she meets his eye and she can see clearly that he is happy. But most of the times she just enjoys his elated face. Her heart fills with warmth at the fact that she was able to give him these few moments of sheer joy. He deserves it. So much.
As they are getting closer to Winterfell, she spots two lonely horse riders. She tells Drogon to go lower as she is curious. Through all their flight she has not seen a single person on the road, well there were some carts but they were going from the northern direction.
When she is nearer she is almost sure it is Jaime Lannister and some other man she does not recognise. She tells Drogon to land near them. When they do, she does not dismount the dragon, she just waits until they are close enough. They stopped when they saw her but after she landed they slowly moved on in her direction. She hears Rhaegal landing just behind her. But then she can feel Drogon getting tense and he starts roaring menacingly towards the riders. They stop again. She tries to soothe Drogon by gently stroking his neck but it takes a long time before he stops roaring. Instead he just growls at them. They both look terrified.
She decided to break the impasse. "Come closer, my lords," she says loudly over Drogon's growl. The men look at each other hesitatingly. "On foot, if you don't mind," she says in a cold voice. The men slowly dismount their horses and tentatively walk towards her.
"Ser Jaime," she acknowledges Lannister. "And…?"
"Erm…Your Grace, this is Ser Bronn of Blackwater," says Ser Jaime.
Drogon roars again very loudly. She feels that he is very unhappy. "My dragon took a particular dislike to you two, my lords," she says.
Two men look at each other. "Maybe because he remembers us from the battle of Blackwater Rush," says Ser Jaime.
She takes a closer look again, of course she remember that Ser Jaime was trying to kill her with the spear, but the face of Ser Bronn eludes her. Drogon roars again. Then it suddenly dawns at her, this is the man who shot at Drogon. She is silent for a moment, she just stares at them icily.
"I'm afraid my dragons are less forgiving than I am," she says finally. "I expect they are waiting for some appropriate gesture."
Ser Jaime jaws are clenching. "We came here as allies…," he begins angrily but is interrupted by Drogon's roar again. After a beat Rhaegal roars too.
"Well?" she asks menacingly. After a moment Ser Jaime finally kneels on one knee. He gives Ser Bronn a side glance. "I'm definitely not paid enough for all this," says Ser Bronn but kneels nevertheless.
Her face is impassive but she feels that it should be enough. "Arise, my lords," she says after a while. When they stand up, she asks, "So where are your armies, my lords?"
Jon
Drogon seems to be landing, he did not notice before but he sees two men on horses. Jon does not say anything to Rhaegal, the dragon seems to know that he is to follow his brother.
Jon listens to the exchange between Lannister and Daenerys, but his thoughts are elsewhere. If they are here, where is the army? He knows that this is not good news. He is getting angry now as he suspects what the presence of only those two soldiers may mean.
He is startled by the sudden roar from Rhaegal. The noise reverberates through his entire body. He cannot explain it but he feels rather than knows that Rhaegal is angry. Well, the roar itself was a clue but there is something more, some sensation that he had not ever felt before.
Daenerys's voice is quite steely, she is clearly displeased and she almost demand their humiliation. They are supposed to be allies after all. Is there anything he does not know? Lannister mentions the battle. She never told him the details. In any case, they do not seem to be in an envious position and they finally bend their knees.
When she asks them about the missing army, the men exchange a look. 'Aye, this is definitely not good news,' he tells himself.
"I'm afraid…" Lannister begins, "the Lannister Army is not coming."
"Why not?" asks Jon sharply.
Lannister takes a long look at him. Jon sees that he is uncomfortable in relaying the message. "My sister…, despite the original declarations the Lannister army will not join your forces," says Lannister finally.
Jon closes his eyes in anger but before he can say anything, Daenerys interrupts. "I presume you forgot to add 'Your Grace' at the end of that sentence, Ser Jaime?" she says coldly. "You are talking to the King in the North."
Lannister looks at her annoyed but he concedes, "Your Grace, the army is not coming," he says again. "And what's more it is being reinforced by 20 thousand men from the Golden Company from Essos who will be transported to Westeros by Euron Greyjoy."
In the corner of his eye, Jon knows she is looking at him. Jon is too angry to look at her. This news is even worse than he thought. Not only they will have less men to fight the Army of the Dead, ['No, fewer men,' he corrects himself], but they may have to fight Cersei at the same time if she decides to go north. It is a disaster. He feels that Daenerys may bring up again the question of Viserion dying in vain. Tyrion's plan failed, but he cannot blame Tyrion. He blames himself. He should have foreseen it. He got distracted, he trusted the enemy. He sighs resignedly.
"Then why are you here?" he asks Lannister, venting all his anger and frustration.
"Because I made a pledge to fight those dead men," says Lannister in a firm voice. Jon grudgingly appreciates his stance and nods quickly.
"And I'm here because he owes me a castle," says Ser Bronn pointing at Lannister. "And because he doesn't fight so well with one fucking hand. I can't let him die before he pays his debts to me."
There is a long silence after that. Jon is still too angry to speak.
"Well, my lords," says Daenerys breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You are welcome to join us in our fight for the living."
Daenerys
When Ser Jaime and Ser Bronn left them and continued their journey to Winterfell, she slowly dismounted Drogon and walked towards Rhaegal and Jon. He does not look at her, his eyes are closed and his face is upturned to the grey skies.
"Jon?" she calls him quietly. Only then he opens his eyes and turns his gaze to her. He looks so unhappy that her heart breaks. After a moment he gets down to the ground. She comes closer. "I know what you're going to say," he says in a resigned voice.
"That we're fucked?" she asks. He gives her a sad smile. "Listen," she continues. "There is nothing else to do but go on with our plans as before. We may not have as many soldiers as we wanted but there is no other way than to fight with those we have. And to use them wisely." And then she adds after a beat, "I'm sure the battles had been won with worse odds."
He looks at her with such tenderness in his eyes that she melts inside. Then he put his arms around her and hugs her tightly. They stay in their embrace for a long time.
She would never have guessed what he said next. He reminded her of his proposal when they were still sailing. She pulls away slightly to have a proper look at his face. She does not know what to say. His face seems sincere and he is watching her intently.
"What made you think of that?" she asks, catching her breath.
He looks sad. From what he is saying he has a gloomy outlook on their chances of surviving.
'It can't happen,' she tells herself. She did not find him now, only to lose him almost immediately. If anything bad that had happened in her life so far was the price of meeting him and loving him, she would gladly go through it again if necessary. The gods, the fate, whatever or whoever is in charge of their future cannot be that cruel. And besides she had a dream. She saw them older, holding hands, looking towards the sea. Her dreams come true. They do.
She does not understand what is happening to her lately. She is so easily on the brink of tears and then suddenly she is full of joy. Looking into the eyes of the love of her life makes her want to cry now. She would do anything to make him happy.
"But what about your family? And Northern lords? And everybody?" she asks anxiously.
He says that he does not care. If she is to be honest she does not care either, even if she knows that she should; she should be responsible, reasonable, regal; she should not be reckless. If only she could.
Instead there is so much planning and talking to do. But first, she needs to be kissed. Hard. Deeply. To distraction.
Jon
He has not even noticed when Lannister and Ser Bronn rode away to Winterfell. He feels defeated even before the real battle has started.
Her voice wakes him from his stupor. She came to him and she is watching him with concern in her eyes. He dismounts and just looks at this incredible woman who even in the face of grave news remains calm; she even tries to joke. She really is as bad at jokes as he is. They are a perfect match. And then she tries to console him, she believes in him even after this fiasco. He thought many times what it was that he had done in his life to deserve her. He never found the answer. She is his friend, his lover and true partner in life.
A wave of tenderness engulfs him and he pulls her closely to him, he holds her tightly. There is this familiar whiff of her perfume that he finds so intoxicating. He never needed anyone so badly. He was always alone. And now he is not.
Then the thought struck him. What is he waiting for? There is no time to lose. If they are doomed he wants the rest of his life to be spent with her. Not as a secret, not as a shame hidden from others. It is selfish, he knows that. Maybe love really is the death of duty. He just wants to be happy with her if it is the last thing he does in this world.
"Do you remember what we agreed on the ship?" he asks, whispering into her hair. "I think it's time to go through with it."
She looks surprised and confused. For the shortest of moments he thought she changed her mind. He looks for any signs on her face. She wants to know why now.
"If it all ends badly, until then I just want us to be together for everyone to see," he says simply. "I don't want to hide anymore."
He had enough of secrets. His life was a secret for so many years. Still is. There is only a handful of people who know the truth about him. It does not lie well with him. The world is full of secrets and lies. So maybe at least one secret about him and Daenerys should be finally revealed. He could breathe easier. Not that it is the sole purpose of it all but he wants to be able to take her in arms or just hold her hand whenever his fancy takes him and not be afraid of anyone seeing it.
It may be just his imagination but it looks like her eyes are welling up. He gets tense. But then she asks about the opinion of others.
"I don't care about that," he replies. Again, he understands that this is selfish and probably reckless, especially according to Tyrion, but he is just too tired to fight every battle.
He still waits for her response, though, to his original suggestion. "You didn't tell me what you think," he prompts her.
"Oh, just kiss me, you silly man."
Daenerys
When they land behind the camp from where they started earlier, there is no sign of Arya, but Ser Jorah and her Dothraki guard are there, waiting. And Ghost. She sees from afar that Ser Jorah is more than surprised to see Jon dismounting Rhaegal but she only smiles inwardly.
When they mount their horses she finds to her amazement that Ghost is running by her and not Jon. She looks at Jon but he is deep in thought so he probably has not even noticed.
"Ser Jorah," she says when they walk through the courtyard to her chambers. Ghost is accompanying them. " I want you to gather everyone in my chambers."
"Everyone, Your Grace?" he asks.
"No, not everyone obviously," she replies a bit embarrassed. "I meant Lord Tyrion, Missandei, Grey Worm and Varys," she clarifies. And then adds again embarrassed, "And obviously you, Ser Jorah."
She waits patiently for all of them to take their places. She smiles gently at the enormous shape of Ghost lying peacefully in the corner of the room. She is mildly amused by the fact that Ghost decided to stay with her. She wonders briefly what Jon is going to say about it.
She is used to making announcements and usually it should not bother her. This time, however, she feels uneasy. She is readying herself for a battle. She takes a deep breath.
"Tomorrow night… I am going to marry Jon Snow," she finishes on the steadier note than the one she started on. She tries not to look at anyone particularly. She finally rests her eyes on Missandei.
There is a long, disconcerting silence after her statement.
"I don't know where to start…" says Tyrion finally.
"I think congratulations are in order, Your Grace" interrupts Varys and nods politely. Tyrion looks at Varys furiously.
"May I ask, Your Grace, what prompted you to make such a rash decision?" Tyrion tries to keep his voice calm but she can clearly see that he is angry at not being consulted beforehand.
"I don't consider it as such," she replies calmly. "Under the circumstances, a strong alliance with the North should be viewed as an astute political move, the one I would expect from my Hand." She does not want to be harsh with Tyrion but she could not help herself.
"The circumstances?" Tyrion asks unperturbed by the sting.
"Cersei Lannister decided to dishonour her pledge and is not sending the army to support us." She sees that the news shocks everyone, just as much as it shocked her and Jon this morning. "What's more, she contracted 20 thousand men from the Golden Company and plans to fight us. It is unclear if she wants to wait till the Night King is destroyed or sooner."
"How… How do you know this?" asks Tyrion quietly.
"Your brother informed me this morning," she replies.
"My brother?" Tyrion looks as if he disbelieves her. She nods quickly. "He should be at Winterfell any moment now. Together with Ser Bronn of Blackwater, I believe," she explains.
It is a rare occasion that Tyrion is speechless.
She slowly look at the faces of the people that are gathered in the room; Missandei gently smiles but her look is concerned, Grey Worm's face is impassive as ever, Jorah looks at the floor, Varys looks nervously at Tyrion and Tyrion just looks ahead of him.
"I must say that I agree with our queen, we need allies more than before," says Varys bowing to her. "And at the moment I don't see any other viable alternative. And I will try to make sure, Your Grace, that we are aware of the Golden Company steps when they reach Westeros. Do you know how are they planning to get here?"
"Euron Greyjoy's fleet," she replies. And her reply seems to be another shock to all.
"I presume Jon Snow is also cognizant of the facts?" asks Varys rhetorically. She nods quickly nevertheless.
"There is one more thing that you should know. But for now it has to be kept secret until the King in the North decides otherwise," she says firmly looking straight at Tyrion. She tells them about the true parentage of Jon, explain it as plainly as she can.
"I think I have to sit," says Varys.
"How long have you known this?" asks Tyrion.
"Since we came to Winterfell," she replies calmly. Then adds, "Jon learned about it on the same day."
"Who else knows?" Tyrion continues his invigilation.
"His family, Ser Davos and Sam Tarly," she is now annoyed by this questioning. "And as I said, Jon decided not to share this information for now. What I'm telling you is being said in the strictest confidence."
Then she looks at Tyrion again. "It doesn't change a thing," she tells him quietly but emphatically. Tyrion is about to say something but is prevented from doing so by the knock at the door.
Ser Jorah being the closest to the door goes to open it. There is a short murmur of conversation and then Jorah says loudly, "There is to be a war council meeting in the Great Hall now."
Jon
They walk across the courtyard with Davos, to whom he just related the recent mountain of news. He started with the wedding to which Davos reacted positively. It surprised him a little. "Congratulations, Your Grace," said Davos with a big grin on his face. "I always knew it would end that way. Are you happy?"
Jon gave him a sheepish look and nodded slightly. "Good," said Davos. "Not everyone will be happy with this," Davos continued, looking around the courtyard, his eyes rested for a moment on Ser Royce and Lord Glover talking animatedly in the corner. "But fuck 'em. We have bigger problems at hand."
"Speaking of which…" began Jon and then told Davos about the other news. The positive attitude of Davos faded quickly. He now walks beside him, gloomily staring at the ground.
Jon turns his head towards the gate where one of the guards seems to be shouting at someone. "I'm not saying that again. No beggars! Fuck off!"
Jon recognises the men standing in the shadows of the gate and then turns towards it. When he gets near, the guards notice him and bow their heads, mumbling "Your Grace".
"Ser Jaime, Ser Bronn!" he addresses the two men. "Welcome to Winterfell." The guards exchange a quick glance between them and then step aside to let the men go through.
"You need better guards, Your Grace," says Lannister.
"So I've been told," replies Jon. "My Lords, I presume you must be tired after your journey. We will arrange a place for you to rest but we will need to talk soon. I think you may join our war council to tell them more about the news you've told me earlier."
Lannister nods and then looks around. "Winterfell seems to have changed a lot," he says.
"It went through a lot," replies Jon icily. He and Lannister stare at each other for a moment.
"Right," says Davos. "If you can follow me, My Lords…"
He watches them going away but it does not escape his notice that they are also being closely watched by Ser Royce and Lord Glover. He sighs heavily. The alliances for this war are a complicated thing.
"Jon?"
He turns around to see Sam coming to him, he smiles at his friend, 'At least one friendly face,' he tells himself. "Good to see you, Sam," he says.
"Yes, well, you too, Jon," says Sam. "It's good to see you smiling for a change."
"There's something I want you to know, Sam," says Jon quietly.
Daenerys
That war council meeting exhausted her. There was no shred of good news. The more they learned from Jaime the more they were depressed. She is sighing in relief that it has ended, it started to give her a headache. She absentmindedly pats Ghost as he walks beside her through the corridor.
When she reaches her room, she hears voices coming from the inside. That puzzles her. She opens the door only to find Missandei laughing quietly with Sansa. 'This is a surprise indeed' she tells herself.
Both Sansa and Missandei get up when she enters the room.
"Lady Sansa," she says politely, "I didn't know you were to visit me, otherwise I would have stayed…"
"Nnno, no, Your Grace," Sansa stammers slightly. "I came to see if you require any help in the preparation for your wedding."
She watches her closely, Sansa still has not met her eyes since Daenerys came into the room. She does not know what to think about it. Sansa has avoided her since they arrived at Winterfell and even now she looks uneasy. Jon must have told her about the wedding. Is that why she is really here?
Daenerys rakes her brain for things to say. Fortunately she is saved by Missandei, "Your Grace, I was showing Lady Sansa the dresses from which we can choose the one you will be wearing tomorrow. Of course, it needs to be changed a little as the climate here is not so forgiving as in Essos."
She is grateful to Missandei, she made them all smile a little.
"Your dresses are beautiful, Your Grace," says Sansa wistfully. "It's a shame you can't wear them now."
"We must wait for the spring then," says Daenerys, smiling slightly. "Would you like some of them, Lady Sansa? I mean, I know you are taller than me but I'm sure we can make something out of it." She hopes it may build some bridges between them.
"You're too kind, Your Grace," replies Sansa and finally looks into Daenerys's eyes. "I think you may be right. We have to wait for the spring. And please, call me Sansa, Your Grace."
'Maybe it is working after all,' Daenerys tells herself. She asks them to sit down. She thinks that maybe she shad found a way to Sansa. "So which one would you choose, Sansa?" she asks. They spend several minutes talking about the dresses that are laid out on the bed. Sansa seems more relaxed, which is a huge relief to Daenerys as she can relax more now too.
"When I was a young, stupid girl, the pretty dresses were all I thought about…" says Sansa suddenly. She sounds sad and angry at herself at the same time. Daenerys thinks it demands some privacy so she gives Missandei a meaningful look. Missandei understands immediately. "Your Grace, I will be needing some more sewing materials, I will be back shortly." Daenerys nod and looks and Missandei gratefully.
Sansa did not even react. She is lost in thought and looks at the dresses. Daenerys takes a deep breath. "All little girls dream of nice things," she begins gently. "I dreamed of a nice house that I could call home, a place when I'd be safe and happy. Life doesn't always give little girls what they want…" Sansa looks at her intently. "Sometimes it gives us harsh lessons. But I chose to believe that everything bad that happened in my life made me stronger. And I feel… that whatever happened to you, Sansa, made you stronger too." She waits, she does not know if she said the right or the wrong thing.
After a long moment, Sansa replies, "I wish I could talk to that stupid, little girl who dreamed of pretty dresses and pretty princes."
"Would she listen?" asks Daenerys gently.
"Probably not," replies Sansa and smiles shyly. Daenerys smiles back at her. She feels that this is a good beginning.
Jon
Once again he sits with his siblings by the fireplace in Bran's room.
"I know it makes sense," says Sansa finally. "The alliance makes sense. But she is already here. She is an ally. You don't have to marry her!" Her voice rises. "You don't have to do this!"
"I know," says Jon calmly. "I know I don't have to. But I want to."
Sansa looks at him for a long moment. "You never listen to me. Why should you start now?" she says bitterly.
"Sansa…" he begins gently.
"And how do you think the Northern lords react to that?" interrupts Sansa angrily. "They chose their own king because they didn't want any southern ruler."
"There might be no kingdom to rule if the Night King wins," Jon is starting to lose his patience. "I think it's high time everyone realised that," he says in a raised voice. "All this squabbling between us makes no sense and we don't have time for that!" He should have known that Sansa would react that way. But he is really tired of it now.
"Apparently Cersei doesn't think so," says Sansa coldly.
"You're not Cersei, Sansa," replies Jon trying to sound calm. "You're Lady Stark of Winterfell."
He watches Sansa's face, he can clearly see that she is fighting within herself. Sometimes Sansa worries him. Actually all three of his siblings worry him. All of them went through so much. He worries that somewhere along the way they may have lost their gentle hearts.
"I still don't understand why do you want to marry her now?" says Sansa in a strained voice.
"Because he loves her," Arya joins the conversation. Sansa and Jon look at Arya. "What I don't understand why it is so hard to see," Arya says looking straight at Sansa. "Besides if we defeat the Night King, Jon and Daenerys will move out of here and you will be Lady of Winterfell, the Wardeness of the North. And everyone should be happy."
Jon smiles to himself even if his annoyance has not subsided yet. He never allowed himself to look towards the future. It always seemed bleak. Maybe he should take some lessons from Arya, or Sam for that matter. Maybe he should begin to change his attitude. Now he has someone to live for. And he got his family back, even if it is smaller than before.
"Rhaegar and Lyanna loved each other," says Bran suddenly. The sound of his voice almost made Jon jump. "Their love started all the troubles."
"And Jon and Daenerys's love may end the troubles," says Arya quickly.
Jon wants to hug Arya. They were always so close. Some things have not changed after all.
Again there is a long silence after Arya'a statement. Jon is impatient to know what is their decision; even if he is determined to follow through with his plan, he would prefer if his family was behind him. "Do I have your blessing then?" he asks.
"Yes," says Arya quickly. Jon smiles at her and then he looks at Bran, who slowly nods. Jon's gaze turns to Sansa. After a short while she nods quickly without looking at him. He sighs with relief.
"There's one more thing," says Jon nervously. "Someone should represent me in the wedding ceremony. It should be the head of the household but since Ned is no longer here…Sansa…?"
She stares at him with a look of absolute horror in her face. He did not think it through.
"You don't understand what you're asking of me!" cries Sansa.
His heart goes to her. "You're right," he says quietly. "I probably don't."
"I can't," Sansa is almost in tears. "I just can't." He stands up and walks quickly towards her, then he hugs her huddled frame. "I'm sorry, Sansa, I'm sorry." She is now sobbing into his chest.
Daenerys
She is nervous. The ceremony is not complicated and Ser Jorah explained everything to her but she knows nothing about the Old Gods of the Forest. She is afraid that she may inadvertently do something that may offend others. Therefore she is glad that not many people will attend the ceremony.
The Dothraki are carrying torches and she notices with some nervous amusement that they took a particular care to look presentable. She is not sure if they expect the same post-wedding behaviour as the one she witnessed at her own first wedding. She arranged for the wine to be distributed amongst her armies to celebrate her matrimony and she is a little worried that they may be carried away.
Ser Jorah is walking beside her, and on the other side is Ghost. He became her almost constant companion since yesterday. She thinks that he wants to protect her but she has no idea why he decided to do so.
But then she notices Jon standing by the tree, watching her intently. Her heart skips a beat. It is happening, it is really happening. She does not have eyes for anyone but him. He smiles at her and she smiles back. She feels the knot in her stomach tightening.
They finally reach the tree. 'Here it goes,' she tells herself.
Bran is pushed forward by Arya. "Who comes before the old gods?" he asks.
She looks at Ser Jorah, he probably does not enjoy his role so much. But she could not have thought of a better person to do it, she has no family, except Jon, and he is her oldest friend and protector.
"Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen comes here to be wed," says Jorah loudly and clearly. "A woman grown and flowered, trueborn and noble." She does not particularly likes this part but she assumes her regal poise that she has trained for years now. "Who comes to claim her?" continues Jorah.
Jon steps forward, "Jon Snow of House Stark…" he hesitates for a second, "and House Targaryen. Who gives her?"
"Ser Jorah of House Mormont," says Jorah. She is almost oblivious to everything. She just looks into Jon's beautiful eyes. She impatiently waits for the words.
"Will you take this man?" asks Bran finally. This is the moment she has been waiting for with bated breath.
"I take this man," she says in a clear voice without a moment's hesitation. Jon takes her hand solemnly and leads her closer towards the tree. They kneel in unison. She is supposed to be praying. This is not something that she has been doing often. But she looks intently at the face carved in the tree and she begs the Old Gods of the Forest to allow her be with Jon till the end of her days. She implores them to let her go first when her time comes, because she does not want to spend even a second without him. He is the only love of her life and she could not bear to live without him by her side. Her prayer is so intense that she almost misses a sign from Jon to get up from their knees. She stands up helped by his strong hand.
Jon then lets go of her hand and walks towards Sansa who hands him a dark cloak. He then turns to her again and takes off the outer cloak she was wearing and hands it over to Jorah. She feels his warmth when he puts the new cloak over her shoulders.
As far as she knows this is the end of the ceremony but Jon grabs gently her shoulders and turns her to face him. He looks deeply into her eyes and she just melts inside, then he takes her face into his hands and he kisses her tenderly, and quite chastely for him, in front of all those people.
She is the favourite of gods at this moment.
Jon
He is standing by the weirwood tree with his family, Davos, Sam, Gilly and little Sam. Ah, and Maester Wolkan. He is fidgeting and keeps looking if the bridal party is coming. He is not worried that she does not come, he just would like to have it done already. The ceremony is short which suits him admirably and then only a short feast afterwards in a very intimate circle.
His mind keeps coming back to last night. Well, actually he spent the night in his own bed which is not something to think about. But before that he went to Daenerys's room. He found her and Missandei beginning to prepare the bath. Missandei gave Daenerys 'the look' and quickly left the room. Only then he noticed Ghost sleeping soundly in the corner. "What does he doing here?" he asked stupefied. Daenerys smiled and looked at Ghost. "He keeps me company," she replied. And then turned her head to Jon. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
That was the question he did not expect. In all honesty he did not know what to say. "I may not know a lot about the Old Gods but surely they would not approve of your visit a night before the wedding," she continued when he did not reply.
He was speechless, surely she must have been teasing him. He stepped closer to her and took her in his arms but before he could kiss her, she pulled her body slightly away. "We both need a good rest tonight and besides I want to take a long, hot bath." The way she said those last three words made him almost dizzy with desire. He almost devoured her lips. But she broke the kiss. "I mean it, Jon, go!" she said, but her voice was shaky. "I really want to take that bath," she said regaining her composure.
"I can help," he offered.
She smiled demurely but shook her head. "We both know how it would end," she said. And he knew that she was right. So he went to his own chambers in frustration.
But now he finally notices the torches. She is coming! At last. He keeps clenching and unclenching his fists. He is not nervous, just bloody impatient.
He hardly listens to what is being said. He just looks at her. If it is even possible she looks more beautiful than ever. She has three blue roses in her hair and their scent is sweet and intoxicating. But then there comes his part and he needs to wake up. In response to Ser Jorah's question, he replies in a steady and strong voice, "Jon Snow of House Stark…" It suddenly dawns on him that he must be truthful in the eyes of the Gods. "And House Targaryen," he finishes. Now it is almost official. Except that everyone gathered here knows about his heritage already.
When she says that she will take him, the sudden rush of sheer happiness runs through his body. They are as one till the end of his days. He takes her hand and they kneel in prayer in front of the weirwood tree. First of all he thanks the gods with all his heart for the miracle of her. She made his life worthwhile. He prays for her health and happiness and begs the gods that if they were to die soon, he wants to go first. He does not want to face the world without her.
They stand up and he goes to Sansa to take the cape she has sewn herself for Daenerys. He does not know what had happened but it seems that Sansa finally accepted Daenerys and it is a huge relief to him. The cape bears two sigils intricately combined, there is the Stark sigil and the Targaryen one. He is very touched by this gesture on Sansa's part.
Now finally and in front of the whole world he is hers and she is his. He takes her exquisite face gingerly in both hands and kisses her tenderly. Despite the cold that surrounds them, her lips are warm and inviting as ever.
Now only this feast to go and he will be finally allowed to worship every inch of her body in the privacy of her chambers. His wife's body. His wife.