It was strange to see a direwolf take to the hot weather of Meereen so easily. Lady was extremely well-behaved during the voyage from Dorne and she was even happier to be back on dry land. Once Lady's crate had come into the Great Pyramid, she went running towards Sansa, shocking Missandei, who was showing her around at the time, to no end.

"Forgive me, I've never seen an animal like that before," Missandei apologized after Sansa had calmed Lady down.

"There's nothing to worry about, really," Sansa offered, scratching Lady's head. "Lady is very friendly and well-trained." She turned to Lady and said firmly, "Lady, sit." Thus, Lady sat rather demurely beside Sansa, much to a very amused Missandei. "Here, you can pet her head if you want to."

Slowly, Missandei approached Lady with her hand outstretched. She was hesitant at first, but Lady's calm demeanor brought her a little more courage. However, Lady stood up and nuzzled herself against Missandei's hand. "She is friendly indeed," Missandei replied, despite the fact that Lady was almost as big as a horse from the ground to the shoulder.

"Lady likes you," Sansa explained. "If she didn't, she would rip your throat out and eat you for supper." Immediately, Missandei withdrew her hand and looked towards Sansa in utter fear. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you, I..." As if she understood Sansa's regret in her choice of words, Lady stood by her and whimpered, lowering her head as well. Such a display actually calmed Missandei down enough that she could not help but chuckle. It was almost unbelievable. There she was, the Princess of Dorne and the North that Daenerys could only see in visions, in the flesh with a man-eating direwolf and they were doing all they could to prove to her that they were harmless.

"It is alright, Princess Sansa," Missandei said. "You are right indeed that Lady is well-trained. Would you like to house Lady in a courtyard?"

Sansa shook her head. "Lady will be fine in my room," she said. "Lady goes everywhere with me. But... she will need about two chickens for lunch and dinner each day if that's not too much of a bother."

Missandei smiled. "The chickens are not a problem, Princess," she said. It would be a better alternative than having the direwolf eat the general populace of Meereen out of hunger, at any case. "Dinner will be served in two hours. Would you need me to come and bring you to the dining hall?"

"Yes please," Sansa smiled and led Lady back to her room. There, she gathered a few pieces of paper and started to lay on her bed. For the first time in a year, there was no one that she could turn to when she was in bed. It was a strange feeling. She was there in Meereen. She had already finished half of her journey. She was there in Queen Daenerys' court. Yet, why did it feel so empty? She did not understand... why was there a kind of beat in her heart that turned her thoughts towards home? Home? She did not even know what "home" had meant to her now. Was it Winterfell or was it Dorne? Was it Westeros as a whole, because she had called three cities in it her home at three different times of her life?

Her first instinct was that she had missed her family. Oberyn and Ellaria were the first in her thoughts. She wondered what they must have been doing. Ellaria told her that if war were to break out, she would bring Elia and the rest of the Sand Snakes back to her father's home, to Hellholt where she would wait the war out. That would mean Tyene and Sarella would remain by Oberyn's side. All four of the older Sand Snakes would then be involved in the war, somehow or other.

She also had no news from the North, probably because she had left so abruptly. She knew that Talisa had passed and that Robb had a son, but... she did not know about the others. Jon, Arya, Rickon and Bran... ever since they miraculously talked to one another, across space and time, they had not spoken together ever since. She had tried so many times, but failed to even contact Arya. She had tried warging secretly, and was able to succeed in entering Lady's mind with great ease, but she could not control that hold. She was quickly ejected from Lady and the effects on her was the same as entering a vision via Greensight. She would shake and she would be so weak that she would be bedridden for hours.

If Oberyn were here, he would have held her until she stopped shaking. It was something that even Ellaria did not do. He had been the one to catch her since she fell the first them she had her visions, but the last time it happened, there was no one there to hold her. She had weathered by her own and she knew that she had to continue to do so, as long as it took.

There she was, in Meereen. There she was in the city that she had dreamed of seeing when she saw Daenerys taking it in her own visions. What was she hesitating about? She was not a princess. She was not the Lady Ambassador... she was just a stupid little girl that did not know how to do her own job properly...

"Princess Sansa?"

A male voice interrupted her thoughts, accompanied by a few polite knocks on her door. She opened the door only to find a rather handsome figure, dark haired with jade-colored eyes. He was armored, but bore a smile that she instantly recognized. It was the smirk of a known womanizer. A dangerous one that her husband had also worn.

"Princess Sansa, my name is Daario Naharis," the man introduced himself. "Missandei is somewhat... occupied with her duties with Her Grace, the Queen and she sent me to bring you to dinner."

"Oh, yes, of course," Sansa replied. "Could you please wait for me for ten minutes?" she asked him. Had it been two hours already since Missandei had left her? How could she even lose track of time at all?

"Not a problem, princess," Daario said and stood right where he was.

Sansa dashed into her chambers and tried to wash and put on a new outfit as fast as she could. In the end, she decided not to do anything to her hair, for she was too pressed for time. She had chosen to wear her wedding dress instead of any of the stately gowns that Oberyn had made for her. She decided that it would have been too much for her to remind the Queen of her days in Qarth, begging for political support, if she were to wear her Qartheen gown, which Oberyn liked to call her Ambassadorial Gown.

"I'm ready, Ser Daario," she said to Daario Naharis, only to find him chuckling and shaking his head even as they linked their arms together.

"It's only Daario, princess," he corrected her. "I am merely to commander of the Queen's Second Sons."

"The Second Sons?" Sansa repeated. "My husband served under the Second Sons before."

"That is strange, how would a Westerosi prince serve under the Second Sons?" Daario asked her in return. "Wait... is your husband Oberyn Martell?"

Sansa nodded. "The one and only," she replied. "Did you know him?"

By that time, Daario was roaring in laughter. "Know him? Princess, Prince Oberyn bought my freedom from the fighting pits in this very city. He told me that he liked the way I fought against larger, stockier opponents and filled my master's pockets with golden coins from all over Essos so I would be free. As if it wasn't enough, he even gave my name to the Second Sons. He'd told me not to tell anyone, but, I believe that the Gods might be at work here."

Sansa chuckled. "Then this shall be our little secret then," she told Daario Naharis, giving him a wink that she had learned from Ellaria. She was sure that it made him gulp a little. There was little wonder why Oberyn would buy his freedom then. He was an able warrior after Oberyn's own style: a highly mobile fighter that fought lightly, one that valued speed and precision over brute strength. "But why did you choose to tell me this, a stranger that you've barely met?"

Daario merely shrugged. "I cannot resist a beautiful woman," he told her simply. "I once met an exquisite blond girl in Yunkai and I killed my captains in her name. Now, a beautiful redhead comes to my Queen and I am brought to my knees in awe. I owe your husband what is called a life-debt and now I will fulfill it with you, however I can, since you are here."

"A life-debt?" Sansa asked. "But..."

"Dear princess, I may sound as if I'm just purely jesting, but I am serious," Daario told her. "I owe your husband my freedom. I was a great fighter in the pits, but every day I stayed there was a gamble. Out in the battlefield, I could make my own odds."

"Then can I count you as a friend in this court?" Sansa asked him.

"Yes," Daario told her. "You can count me as a friend."

She knew that there was a chance that Daario could be lying to her. There was also a chance that he was speaking the truth. She needed to test him, and she knew that it would take time. However, it was good to have a friend in court. While Tyrion was a political hostage, aiming to be the Queen's Hand by the look of things, she needed someone who at least had the Queen's ear.

Did Daario Naharis have the Queen's ear though, was another matter altogether.

Dinner with the Queen was a surprisingly delightful affair. There was plenty of fruit and salads, which Sansa seemed to enjoy. Tyrion rather liked the meats. There was chicken, beef and pork abundant and at least, there was conversation to be had on the food. "Princess Sansa, the credentials that Prince Doran sent us are indeed impressive," Ser Jorah said to Sansa. "You were Lady of Sunspear for a year, and the Lady Ambassador from Dorne to Volantis... You went from captive hostage to diplomat within a year."

Sansa smiled her most diplomatic smile. "I am thankful that my husband and Prince Doran have given me the opportunity to learn from them," she replied. "Ser Jorah, you are doing very well for yourself as well. A new life in Essos has granted you much fortune."

Those words were never meant to scathe. That was not Sansa's act. Sansa's act was much alike that of Margery's, but on a higher profile, Tyrion realized. Sansa's act had everything to do with Littlefinger's. Her act had everything to do with the fact that she was a novice in everything, that she had much to learn, so that others would underestimate her. Her smiles they were well-placed, her big blue eyes widened at the opportune moments. Her time in Dorne had been the greatest push to her political acumen. Tyrion knew that she was a survivor ever since Joffrey ascended the throne and beat her, but now, she was going to be a force to be reckoned with. How she had learned such skills from Littlefinger, he did not know. But her days in Dorne had amplified them, riddled them with the sex appeal that only a Dornishwoman could possess. She was truly a Dornish princess then.

Ser Jorah chuckled sardonically at her words. "Forgive me for saying this, princess, but I had the fortune to escape your father's justice, as it would seem to be," he replied. "If not, I would not have had the fortune to have met Her Grace. I entered her service when she was the newly minted Khaleesi of Khal Drogo's khalasar."

"That is most wonderful news indeed," Sansa beamed.

"Tell me again, dear Sansa," Daenerys said. "How is it that you became a Dornish bride. When I was Drogo's Khaleesi, you were in King's Landing with your father as the King's Hand, weren't you?"

"My Queen, two weeks after my brother Robb took Casterly Rock, Prince Doran received an invitation to attend the late King Joffrey's wedding to Lady Margery Tyrell, who has since wedded King Tommen. He sent Oberyn to King's Landing in his stead, as his representative on the Small Council and also to ask for my hand in marriage. I was wedded within the end of the month to Oberyn."

Daenerys listened to her tale with great interest. "So your marriage to Prince Oberyn Martell fulfills two goals: one, to placate the Lannisters by moving you far into Dorne so that you are out of reach from the North," she guessed. "The second is to form an alliance between the Starks and the Martells. But... both of these families hate one another, do they not?"

"Yes, they do," Sansa said truthfully. "My aunt Lyanna dishonored my late sister-in-law, Elia Martell when Prince Rhaegar stole her from her family after the Tourney of Harrenhal. I might be a stupid little girl, but I think that at least by marrying Oberyn, my brother Robb would be less inclined to attack Dorne if he wished and vice versa."

Ser Barristan Selmy nodded. "It is a wise political marriage," he noted. "One that would start healing the wounds between the Starks and the Martells. You are very brave to have entered this marriage, despite how young you are, princess."

"She's in love," Daenerys said, looking towards Sansa, directly towards her. "I know those eyes. I had those eyes when Drogo was still alive." Amethyst met ice. She knew that she was facing her greatest adversary yet. Sansa knew that once she could overcome this adversary, she would become her greatest ally. "Sansa, you and I were the lucky ones, that political marriages somehow worked for us."

Sansa smiled brilliantly. "Yes, we are," she said. "Thanks to Oberyn, I have also come to love another. Ellaria, our wonderful paramour. She taught me everything."

"Now things are getting interesting," Daario Naharis interjected. "Princess, are you insinuating that you and your husband have a paramour between the two of you?"

"I am telling you, Daario Naharis, that my husband and I have a beautiful paramour and she is as fair as the morning sun," Sansa replied, and everyone fell into a roar of laughter. Tyrion knew that like all the other roars of laughter that he heard before, it was a lie. However, Sansa was the most striking jewel of all. She had learned to tell the perfect lie by presenting to them the utmost truth.

"To your happy marriage then, princess," Ser Jorah offered a toast. "Perhaps when you return to Dorne, may you be blessed with a child when you return."

"Oh, thank you so much for your kindness, Ser Jorah," Sansa replied, clinking wine-glass with that of Ser Jorah's. "But Oberyn and I have decided to wait. Ellaria says that I have many child-bearing years before me."

For whatever reason, unknown to them, Daenerys agreed. "I was pregnant when I was your age, Sansa," she told her. "I lost the child too and now I might not carry another. You must be very careful about your womb. It is wise to heed your paramour's advice."

"Your Grace... I didn't mean..."

"No, no, Sansa," Daenerys smiled, knowing very well that Sansa had meant no harm to her. "Those days are behind us now. Now, we look to the future."

When dinner had ended, Daenerys had silently motioned for her council to remain at the table after Sansa and Tyrion had left. "Well, gentlemen, what do we think about our new friends?" she asked them, looking into every one of their eyes. "Jorah?"

"Khaleesi, I would think that Princess Sansa is more than just a messenger," Ser Jorah said. "She may look young and inexperienced, but we must remember that she has Volantis' ear as well as that of her brother and husband."

"The bond between the North and Volantis has been severed," Daenerys proclaimed. "I... I saw the Queen in the North dying at childbirth the other day. In that vision, I saw Sansa Stark as well."

"Your Grace, you know that I am not a man of superstition, but there must be a reason that you and Princess Sansa share such a bond," Ser Barristan added. "However, it does not mean that you can drop your guard when it comes to her. Dorne was only forced to fight for your father because he held Princess Elia Martell hostage in King's Landing."

Daenerys then looked towards Daario, who had no semblance of Westerosi politics. "She is a beautiful woman," Daario shrugged. "I like beautiful women. I don't know about Ser Jorah or Ser Barristan, but the princess does seem like she comes as a supplicant to you, my Queen. However, there would be no harm in observing her behavior for a while. Besides, if she really represents the wishes of her brother and her husband's family, I don't see why you can't make a new friend too. I don't see why you can't make a new friend too."

Missandei nodded. "Your Grace, I believe that perhaps we should make sure that the Princess and Lord Tyrion Lannister are watched at all times, by either among us," she suggested. "That way, we would not seem to be unfriendly as well."

"Missandei's suggestion is a good one, Khaleesi," Ser Jorah said. "That way, you can also learn more about our new friends."

"Then it is settled," Daenerys said. "We shall do as Missandei suggested. I want them watched constantly. Oh and Daario... try to be subtle if you intent on chasing her skirts."

Daario chuckled and nodded. "You know me too well, Your Grace."

HAN: So this chapter focuses solely on Meeren. This will not be the first and only though, hehehe.

Does anyone want to see any action between Daario and Sansa? HMMMM.

Will Dany continue to keep Tyrion and Sansa at arm's length?

Enjoy!