5 – Daenerys I
The break as very much needed for all of them. The chance to relax and unwind was imperative. They had learned little beyond what they had already lived through. On the other hand, all were very well aware that the next chapter would likely take place in the future and they had no idea what would happen. In a way they were heading into uncharted territory.
As Robb laughed with Jon over their meals, he didn't notice Theon watching the pair of them jealously. He knew that the two of them had been sequestered in Lord Stark's solar with the rest of the family all morning, but had assumed that Rob would seek him out at lunch. It now looked as though Theon had been wrong about that. Theon scowled at the sight of his best friend looking so happy with the bastard as they left the great hall together.
Perhaps unsurprisingly they were all back in Lord Stark's solar quickly after lunch, eager to find out what the book would tell them next.
Ned smiled wanly as he entered his solar and saw his children waiting in his solar. While he did not want to admit it, he was worried about what the book would tell them next. Deep down he was concerned about how it would affect his children. He had suffered ever since losing his family during the Rebellion fourteen years before, and he did not want his children to endure what he had.
"We'll be starting again soon," he told his children. "We're just waiting on your mother and Maester Luwin."
It wasn't long before both Maester Luwin and Catelyn arrived. However it was clear that Catelyn was angry about something.
"What's this I hear about you ignoring Theon at lunch, Robb?" Catelyn snapped almost instantly. "Your poor friend was rather put out to see you fawning over the bastard."
"Perhaps Theon would do well to be reminded that the 'bastard' is my brother," Robb snapped back. "And he also has a name."
"He is also right here," Jon interjected coolly, glaring at his stepmother. "And has eyes and ears."
Catelyn jumped at Jon's words, not having spotted him there yet.
Maester Luwin smiled proudly to himself at the sight of Jon standing up for himself. "As you have temporarily delayed us, perhaps you would like to start us off with the next chapter Lady Stark?"
Incensed, there was little Catelyn could do without causing an even bigger scene in front of her children, so she did the only thing she could. And that was to take the damned book from her angrily scowling husband. And Ned wasn't angry at the bastard thinking himself better than he was. Oh no, Ned was angry at her.
Opening the book, Catelyn felt her anger turn to confusion. "This chapter is called 'Daenerys'. But we don't know anyone by that name, do we?"
"Who's that, Mother?" Sansa asked. "Does anyone know?
"Unless I'm mistaken, it's talking about Daenerys Targaryen," Maester Luwin said.
Catelyn's lip curled. "The Mad King's daughter? Why do we have to hear about her?"
"I suppose we'll find out after we start reading," Ned reminded his wife, causing her to scowl before she began to read, looking irritated.
Her brother is holding up a gown for inspection, telling her to feel the beauty of the fabric. Dany does so and it is smother than any dress she can remember wearing before, like running her fingers through water. She is frightened and pulls her hand away.
Viserys says it was a gift from Magister Illyrio, with a smile.
Ned is surprised by the information provided. He had had little news of the Targaryen children since the end of the rebellion, and resolved to pass on as much information as he could to Robert.
His musings were interrupted by Bran's loud questions. "What's a Magister?"
"It's a term used for a lord in the Free Cities," Luwin told Bran, who nodded.
Viserys goes on to say that the colour will bring out the colour in her eyes and describes the jewelry that she will wear, that she must look a princess tonight. Daenerys asks why Illyrio gives them so much. What does he want from them?
Sansa sighs dreamily at the description of the gown and jewelry. It all sounds so gorgeous and lovely. She wishes she could wear such beautiful things one day.
They have been living with Illyrio for half a year now, and even at thirteen, Daenerys knows that such things rarely come without a price in Pentos.
The children are surprised to hear that she is so young – only thirteen. They had all expected her to be several years older, but their father and Maester Luwin explained that she had been born on the island of Dragonstone a few months after the Rebellion had ended.
Illyrio is no fool, according to Viserys, who is a gaunt young man with a feverish look in his lilac eyes. He knows that Viserys will not forget his friends when he eventually claims the Iron Throne.
Dany doesn't say anything. She had hard that Magister Illyrio has friends all over the nine Free Cities and beyond. It was said that he had never had a friend that he wouldn't happily sell out for the right price.
"Why the hell are they staying with the man, if he's that dangerous?" Robb interrupts loudly, shocked.
"I don't think they would have much choice, Robb," Jon answered shakily. "Harbouring Targaryens wouldn't be safe these days, not even in the Free Cities."
Daenerys knows better than to question her brother as he as a terrible temper which he calls 'waking the dragon'. Her brother says that slaves will come to bathe her and that she should wash the stink of the stables, to please Khal Drogo.
"What is a khal?" Arya asked, trying to hide her confusion as her father looked to Maester Luwin to answer her question.
"I believe that khal is a Dothraki title," Luwin answered carefully. Ned frowned, wondering what the Targaryens were meeting with the Dothraki for.
Viserys studies her carefully, saying that she still slouches. He tells her to stand up straight, to show them that she has a woman's shape now. His hands brush over her breasts as he tells her not to fail him tonight. "You don't want to wake the dragon, do you?" he asks as he cruelly twists her nipple.
Everyone's eyes widened at the casual cruelty. It was blatantly obvious that Viserys doesn't truly care about his sister. Sansa is pale, she can't imagine any of her brothers treating her like that.
Dany meekly says no. Viserys smiles as he says, "When they write of my reign, sister, they will say that it began tonight." Dany walks to her window and looks wistfully at the sea. Pentos is outlined against the sun, and she can hear children playing in the streets. She wants to join them for a moment, barefoot and carefree, not having to worry about dinner at a khal's manse.
Jon couldn't help but feel sorry for Dany. Lady Stark may have hated him, but at least he had his father and siblings. All Dany had for family was her nasty brother.
Across the ocean was a land of green hills, rushing rivers and blue-grey mountains, where armoured knights went to war under their lords' banners. The Dothraki called it Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the Free Cities it was known as Westeros. Her brother refers to it simply as 'our land'.
It was like a prayer for him, as if he said it often enough the gods would hear. Theirs by right, taken by treachery, but theirs still, theirs forever. No one steals from the dragon.
The children perk up at this part. Their parents rarely speak about the Rebellion, and it's strange for them to hear about the other side of it. It's not something that they've ever had to think about before. Viserys seemed almost crazed by pain and anger.
Dany does not remember this place. She does not remember Casterly Rock, the Eyrie, Highgarden, the Vale, the Isle of Faces – it was all just words to her. Viserys had been eight when they fled King's Landing ahead of the Usurper's armies, but Daenerys had just begun to grow in their mother's womb.
Sometimes Dany would picture the stories Viserys told her – the midnight flight to Dragonstone, her brother Rhaegar fighting the Usurper at the Trident and dying for the woman he loved, the sack of King's Landing by the lords Stark and Lannister who Viserys called the Usurper's dogs.
Robb visibly bristles at this, but his mother continues to read before he can say anything.
Princess Elia of Dorne pleading for mercy as her children were murdered in front of her. The Kingslayer murdering her father. Daenerys had been born on Dragonstone nine months later as a terrible storm raged outside. Viserys had never forgiven her.
Jon couldn't help but feel somewhat depressed hearing this. He felt sorry for Daenerys. She had likely never heard an unbiased view of her history, never had proper tutors or a Maester to care for her. Her only family was her insane brother.
She does not remember Dragonstone either, as they had run again, with a wetnurse and five loyal men, across the Narrow Sea to Braavos. She remembered Braavos, where they had lied in a big house with a red door and a lemon tree outside her window. She remembered being cared for by Ser Willem Darry. After he died the servants stole from them and kicked them out.
Ned wasn't surprised by the mention of Ser Willem Darry. The knight had always been a Targaryen loyalist.
After that they had wandered from Braavos to Myr, Tyrosh, Qohor, Volantis and Lys, continually fleeing the hired assassins of the Usurper. Over the years people had grown less willing to allow them into their homes, and in the streets and alleys of Pentos, Viserys is known as 'the Beggar King'.
"That's what he's called here too," Ned admitted softly. "It's one of the politer terms he's known by in certain circles."
Viserys lives for the day that everything is returned to them, the jewels and silks, Dragonstone, King's Landing. The only thing Dany wanted back was the house with the red door and her lost childhood.
There is a knock on the door and Illyrio's servants enter. They fill the tub and help her enter. The water is scalding, but Dany does not flinch.
"How is that possible?" Robb is perplexed. "Do Targaryens have some sort of inclination for heat or something?"
"Think of the Targaryen words, Robb," Maester Luwin tells him. "Fire and blood. Over the years many Targaryens have developed an obsession with fire, the Mad King Aerys among them."
Dany likes the heat. Her brother often said that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. The fire was in their blood.
The servant girl chatters about how lucky she is. How handsome Drogo is, how rich, how even his slaves wear golden collars, how he has never been defeated in battle.
Daenerys remains silent. She had always assumed that she would wed Viserys when she came of age, as was traditional for their family, since the day Aegon the Conqueror took his sisters to wife – to keep the bloodline pure. Now he is selling her to a barbarian.
"Is she upset about not being able to marry her brother?" Bran asked.
"Why would she want to marry him?" Arya shot back. "He's a monster!"
"Children, you have to understand that Targaryens have been marrying within their family for centuries," Maester Luwin said. "And it seems that Daenerys simply assumed that it would be the same for her and her brother."
"And look at it from her point of view," Jon said quietly. "Her brother may be a monster, but he's the only constant she has ever known. She would likely rather stay with someone familiar than be sold to a stranger."
Illyrio's servants help her dress in the beautiful dress along with jewellery and perfume, telling her that she looks like a princess now.
Sansa couldn't help but sigh wistfully at the description.
Her brother is waiting for her outside with Illyrio. Viserys tells her she looks regal while Illyrio says that Drogo will be enraptured with her.
Illyrio moves with a delicacy surprising in a massive man. Beneath loose garments rolls of fat jiggled as he moved. Gemstones glittered on every finger.
Arya gagged. Just how enormous was this man? He sounded horrifying!
Viserys momentarily wonders if she's old enough for the khal, but Illyrio assures him that she is, that she's had her blood.
Sansa worries at hearing this. Would her parents do the same for her, marry her off as soon as she gets her first cycle? She knows her parents are good people, unlikely to act like Viserys, but she worried all the same.
In the palanquin on the way to the khal's manse, Viserys says that he won't need the entire khalasar, that he could sweep the Seven Kingdoms with only ten thousand Dothraki warriors.
Ned almost choked. So that was Viserys' master plan, to sell his sister in exchange for an army. While he wanted to warn Robert, he knew that he couldn't be foolish. For all he knew, Viserys' plan wouldn't pan out in the long run.
Illyrio endears himself to Viserys by saying that the smallfolk are crying out for a restoration, sewing dragon banners in anticipation of his return. Daenerys does not trust Illyrio's information, but has no way of telling whether she's right.
Viserys, who has never killed anyone and does not even know how to wield a sword, is promising to kill the Usurper and the Kingslayer personally.
It took all Ned had not to laugh. If the man was truly untrained, than he would stand no chance at all.
The khal's manse was given to him by the magisters of Pentos. The Free Cities were generous with the horselords. A eunuch announces their arrival.
Dany looks around the courtyard at the other guests. Most are Dothraki, with brown skin and black hair, but she can also see people from Pentos, Myr, and Tyrosh, and even lords from the Summer Isles, with skin as black as ebony. With a start she realises that she's the only woman.
Jon can't help but be worried for Daenerys, but doesn't speak up, anxious to find out what is about to happen to her.
Illyrio is pointing out guests to them, one of whom is the Westerosi knight Ser Jorah Mormont. The Usurper wanted his head after he was caught selling poachers into slavery instead of sending them to the Wall. Illyrio considers the law absurd as a man ought to be able to do what he wishes with his own chattel.
"Did he actually just call human beings chattel?" Jon sounded like he wanted to be sick, but he can't keep quiet. "How can someone be so without compassion?"
Ned growled. "I remember Ser Jorah. After he was caught selling those people into slavery, I was to catch and execute him. However he escaped before I could. I haven't thought about him in years. I'd assumed he was dead by this point."
"Isn't his father the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch?" Robb asked. Ned nodded idly while wondering why Ser Jorah had been brought into the book.
After pointing out Ser Jorah, Illyrio turns her attention to the Khal. Dany wants to hide, but is afraid of displeasing her brother, so she turns to look at the man she is soon to wed. Khal Drogo is a head taller than anyone else in the room, although light on his feet. He is younger than she'd expected, no more than thirty, with copper skin.
Sansa smiled, hoping that Daenerys would be able to learn to like him. At least he was good looking, which was a start!
Arya, on the other hand, is disgusted. The khal was already thirty, and Daenerys just thirteen. What was her brother thinking? The khal was nearly twenty years older than her!
As Illyrio waddles over to the khal, Viserys squeezes her arm tightly. Viserys tells her that the Dothraki cut off their braids in disgrace when they lose a battle. Drogo's braid reaches the back of his thighs as he has never been defeated in combat.
Bran felt excited then, he hoped that this meant that they'd be hearing about a battle soon. However he knew that his parents would likely tell him not to get his hopes up too much, in case he would be disappointed.
Dany looks at Khal Drogo. His face seems hard and cruel, his eyes cold and dark. She is frightened of him. Dany tells Viserys that she doesn't want to marry him, that she just wants to go home.
Viserys is angry and tells her that they can not go home, talking about King's Landing, but Dany was only talking about their rooms in Illyrio's estate. Tears well in Dany's eyes. Viserys tells her sharply that the only way that they can go home is at the head of an army – Khal Drogo's army, and that a single wedding is a small price to pay.
The room is completely silent as everyone is completely horrified at the way Viserys is treating his sister. The man was clearly sociopathic.
With a smile Viserys tells her that he would let Drogo's whole khalasar fuck her, all forty thousand of them and their horses, if that was what it took to get his army and she should be grateful that it was only Drogo. She might even learn to like him one day.
The silence in the room only deepened at this and Sansa was visibly distressed. She had been hoping that Daenerys and Drogo would be like one of the romances her mother told her, but it wasn't.
Dany turns to see Khal Drogo approaching with Illyrio. She dries her tears and Viserys tells her to stand up straight. Dany listens to him and stands up straight.
"That's this chapter done with," Catelyn says with a sigh of relief as she closed the book.
"While it was interesting to hear about her, what was she doing in a book about us?" Robb asked. "I mean, I feel sorry for her and everything, but nothing noteworthy has happened as of yet. Only vague conversation about retaking the Iron Throne."
"I'm sure there must be a reason for it, son," Ned said tiredly. "She will likely become important later on. Now, who wants to read the next chapter?"
"I can," Jon said. However Catelyn ignored him as she handed the book to an eager Arya.