A/N: A man returns in May, as promised.
Alas, this story isn't quite as popular as "Claws of a Lion" or "Son of the Stag" or the ever favored HOTD stories but still some people enjoy it, so I'll try to update.
Unfortunately, I finally got sick this week from overworking myself. Had to rest for two solid days, to the point where I couldn't even function. Sorry for vanishing like that. I wish I could say it won't happen again, but with my jobs pushing me the way they are...
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. All this insanity around the world serves as a terrible example. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
No questions this time. More stories to update. Busy, busy, busy.
Sorry, just an old man ranting. Alright, I think I've kept you waiting long enough.
As ever, I own no quotes, references, themes, or memes. Not a wit or a one! They're tributes to legends far greater than I.
In keeping with traditions, each chapter title stems from "Rains of Castamere" and ohhhh does it fit in this chapter. To a T some might say.
Some shots are taken at Season 7-8 here, but lets face it, everyone's still raking those two over the coals these days...
Some verbatim for season five here, among other minor liberties. Barristan, for instance, still lives.
"A dragon is not meant to be caged like some common hound."
"I am not caged."
"Aren't you?"
~A discussion.
A Lion Still Has Claws
Small.
Such were Tyrion's first thought of Daenerys Targaryen.
As a dwarf he was hardly one to say such, let alone judge another based on their height, but it had to be said. The Mother of Dragons, this queen, this lady, this girl...was tiny. He'd expected someone taller -much taller!- clad in armor, bristling with both height and power as much as majesty. But this girl? Pod would have towered over, to say nothing of Jamie. Even the stone throne she sat atop seemed to swallow her whole. How quaint. Yes, all told, he'd certainly expected someone...bigger.
The great city of Meereen lived up to its reputation of course, but they weren't here for the city now, were they? They'd come for its queen. Reaching the "Breaker of Chains" hadn't been difficult. Ser Jorah had been forbidden from returning to the city under penalty of death. One look at him and the Unsullied practically dragged them before the queen.
Yet now that they finally stood before her...well.
For all she lacked in stature, Daenerys easily recouped with sheer bloody presence. He couldn't quite put his finger on it exactly; despite being so indefatigably short, when she spoke, her voice carried weight, when she stood she seemed to tower everyone in the room, guards and supplicants alike. Or perhaps that had to do with where she was seated. Above them as most monarchs -aspiring or otherwise- so often were. Even now, he found himself almost drawn in up the steps against his will ,and he knew he wasn't alone. Jorah looked upon her as though she were king Jaehaerys reborn and she might bloody well be for all the way her followers were looking at her.
Unfortunately, she wasn't happy to see them. Or him, more aptly.
Perhaps leading with his name hadn't been the wisest course of action, but it made certain he granted them an audience.
Alas, it also meant most of her ire was focused on him, and not Ser Jorah.
"How do I know you are...who you say you are?
A rueful smile tugged at the corner of Tyrion's mouth. "If only I were otherwise...
"If you are Tyrion Lannister, why shouldn't I kill you?" her gaze pierced him deeper than any blade. "To pay your family back for what it did to mine?"
Ah. And now they came to the crux of the matter. It always came back to vengeance, didn't it? Fire and blood.
It always came down to blood, didn't it?
Something cold and hard settled in Tyrion's gut. "You want revenge against the Lannisters?" this time, he didn't bother to quell the bitterness that rose within him. "I killed my mother, Joanna Lannister, on the day I was born. Likewise my own father, Tywin Lannister, has been trying to have me killed in one way or another since said birth. Sadly, he hasn't succeeded yet." he raised his hands. "What else is there? Oh, yes. I've driven my sister, Cersei, the queen mother, half mad trying to claim my head. No one knows more of the Lannisters than I.
A pale brow rose. "So I should welcome you into my service because you killed and tormented members of your family?"
Such arrogance. "Your grace, we've only just met; its too soon to know if you deserve my service."
"I could have your head put on a spike, if you like."
Naruto shifted beside him. Just an inch.
It was enough.
When I was a young man I heard a story about a baby born during the worst storm in living memory." oh, yes. He remembered the tale well. "She had no wealth, no lands, no army, only a name. She was eventually sold off to a warlord at the edge of the and that appeared to be that." he didn't miss the way she swallowed at the mention of said warlod. "And then a few years later the most well-informed person I knew -and a certain man who shall not be named- told me that this girl without wealth lands or armies had somehow acquired three in a very short span of time. Along with three dragons. He thought she was our best, last chance to build a better world.
He tilted his head, considering her.
"I thought you were worth meeting at the very least."
He didn't dare say that this was mostly Naruto's idea. That would give the game away.
"And why are you worth meeting?" The Mother of Dragons bit back. "Why should I spend I spend my time listening to you?
"Because you cannot built a better world on your own." Did she not realize this? "You have no one at your side who understands the land you want to rule; the strengths and weakness of the houses that will either join or oppose you.
Daenerys wrung her hands. "I will have a very large army and...very large dragons.
"Killing and politics aren't the same thing. When I served as Hand of the King I did quite well with the latter, given said king was a vicious idiot." And may Joffrey roll in his twisted, wretched little grave forever. "I could do an even better job advising a ruler worth the name.
"If that is indeed what you are." Naruto stepped up beside him. "I, on the other hand, am not so sure."
"You stand before Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen." the young girl beside the dragon queen piped up anew, rattling off a list of titles, each more absurd than the last. "The Unburnt, Queen of Meereen Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons. You would do well to show respect."
...titles, titles and more titles." the Man of Many Faces exhaled shortly. Sharply. "Arrogance for days, the inability to see wisdom when its offered...
Daenerys lowered her chin to stare down at him from her throne. "And who are you?"
Tyrion wisely stepped back, content to watch the fireworks that followed.
He'd said his peace. Now the ball, as they say, was in his court.
Naruto merely tilted his head once as though regarding something only he could see.
"Mother of Dragons." He looked left, right now, then frowned. "Where are your children?"
"They are flying." She answered a little too quickly. Tyrion knew a lie when he heard one. As did his bodyguard.
"Are they, now?" Naruto took a step forward, heedless of her Unsullied. "I did not see them in the sky when we entered the city, nor have I heard them since." His eyes narrowed upon her. "You caged them." It was not so much a question as it was an accusation. "Why?"
"Such was necessary for the safety of my people."
That only outraged him. "Have you learned nothing of your ancestor's errors?"
The Mother of Dragons bridled, sitting that much straighter upon her throne. "I do what is best for my city, ser."
"Ser? I'm no knight." The Man of Many Faces tucked a thumb in his belt. "As to who I am, I'll tell you my name...if your answer satisfies me."
She looked past him, remembering Jorah at the last. The poor man hung his head beneath her gaze.
"You bring a traitor and spy back into my presence, after I exiled him. Why should I listen to a word you have to say?"
"Alright." A slow smile stretched across Naruto's face. "That does it. Spanking the dragon queen."
Daenerys bolted upright. "I beg your pardon?!
Tyrion sputtered. "Surely you jest?"
Naruto walked up the steps.
Gods be good.
"Because Jorah was spying for me as well, little girl." He took a step up the stairs. "He told me a great many things." Two, now. "There was a moment when I almost ran across the sea for your sake...until I heard you were in love." Another step now. "A shame what happened to him." Still another. "You have my condolences" Another again. "Not for your brother, though; Viserys always was a little snake. He deserved his "golden crown"...
She bridled. "Now you insult me? I have even less reason to receive you."
A wall of unsullied spears slammed down before him.
"Yet receive me you will." He tutted and leaned past them to smile at her. "You've never been disciplined before, have you? Not properly, not really. Understandable, I suppose. Lets fix that, shall we?"
Tyrion didn't see him move.
One moment the Man of Many Faces was blocked by Unsullied shields and spears, seemingly with no way through. In the next, he raised his gaze and glared at them. That was all. He didn't do anything else. One long look and soldiers crumpled to the ground like puppets cut from their master's strings. He let them tumble down the steps, uncaring of their fate.
Barristan drew his blade to stop him. "That's close enough."
"Oh?" Naruto grinned as the steel ticked his throat. "Its gonna be a fight, then? Good. Haven't had a proper scrap in CENTURIES. Tell you what, if you manage to beat me, I'll tell you everything you want to know. I'll even throw myself in a cell, if that suits you."
Ser Barristan looked to his queen. Said queen nodded.
"You need a sword, sir."
"I have a sword." he reached to his belt and tore a scroll free. A flick of his wrist unfurled it through the air. He pressed a palm against it, conjuring a plume of smoke...
And there, in his grasp...a sword?
No, two swords.
"...!"
Tyrian sucked in a ragged breath as the haze faded. He knew those blades; every bloody child in Westeros and Essos knew them.
Blackfyre and Dark Sister. Clean and polished, immaculately cared for.
Supposedly those blades had been lost to time and history...or so he'd thought. Full of surprises, this one.
Barristan must have known them well; because here at last, he hesitated, his expression torn somewhere between awe and anger. "Who are you?"
"Many things." Naruto took them both up, one to each hand, Blackfyre in his right and Dark Sister in his left. For a wild moment Tyrian found himself thinking of Ser Arthur Dayne. He wasn't quite sure why. The swords sang in his hands as he twirled them once. "None of which matter to you. These blades were entrusted to me until I found them a worthy owner. First blood or yield?
"To yield," Barristan declared.
The Man of Many faces clicked his tongue in mild approval. "Smart."
Together they descended the steps.
Paced away from each other.
Then...!
Barristan the bold lived up to his name and lunged first, striking in a singular sweep. Naruto parried with Blackfyre and cut in with Dark Sister, forcing him to dance backward, but not without injury.
A thin line of blood ran down his cheek.
Naruto hummed. "Nothing cuts like Valyrian steel."
Now the old knight was wary. Tyrion preened a little. He should be.
The Man of Many Face took full advantage. He pressed the attack, poetry in motion. Steel clashed again and again, a storm of swords. Tyrion watched with rapt attention. Within thirty seconds he already knew what the outcome would be. Barristan was a fine fighter and a wise warrior. He'd seen countless battles -with more than a few kings- and lived to tell their tales.
Naruto was better.
Far better.
Deadly.
For all his claims of being ancient fought with the vim and vigor of a younger man-a man possessed. He took blows no sane man should take and shrugged them off, dodged others that shouldn't have been possible, and struck back at impossible angle with blinding speed. He favored strength over form, substance over any given style.
Each time Barristan sought to pierce his guard he found himself beaten back by impossibly quick blows, swings that rent arm and cut through his leather armor with ease.
Before long the stones of the great pyramid began to run red with blood.
In theory using two swords at once -Valyrian Steel or no- should have left him weaker; after all, one could not brace the blade with both hands nor brave the hilt. You wouldn't know it by looking at him now. He was a maelstrom of death, all the grace of a Braavosi water dancer paired with the untamed savagery of a Dothraki screamer. The outcome was never in question.
Their blades clashed one last time, then it was done.
He sheered clean through Barristan's blade, stunning the old man. In that brief moment of hesitation, he kicked his left knee out, knocked him down and pressed scissored Blackfyre and Dark Sister over his throat. Tyrion knew the move well. A single twitch of his wrist would cross the blades and take his head. to his throat. Realization dawned in the older man's eyes. He knew he was about to die.
Daenerys sprang to her feet. "Stop!
"Why?" Naruto looked back to her. "You are no queen of mine. I have yet to determine your worthiness."
"Please!"
Naruto looked back to Barristan. "Yield."
The old knight relented with a grunt. "I...submit."
"Good." he stowed his swords in their sheathes and sealed them back in their scroll. "Now, then...
Then he started up the steps again.
"W-Wait!" Daenerys' already pale face went bone white. "What are you doing?"
"What does it look like?" he didn't pause for a moment. "I'm a man of my word. You've had this coming for a long while...
In an instant he swept her legs, sat down on her throne, and dragged the Mother of Dragons over his knees like some unruly child. She kicked and fussed and cried out, to no avail. One hand swept her dress up, exposing her hindquarters for all to see. The other swung upward, paused at its apex, an he closed his eyes as though beseeching the heavens themselves for their blessings. Aand then-
WHAP!
Daenerys jolted in his lap as his open palm struck her hindquarters with sound and aplomb. Everyone in the room flinched.
Jorah started forward. Daario held him back with a whispered word.
Daenerys glared over shoulder at her tormentor. You dare...?"
Naruto hummed. "I dare."
WHAP!
She cried out. "I will remember this."
"Good. Then perhaps you will learn." The many of many faces wound up for a third strike.
Daenerys yelped. "Why are you doing this?!"
WHAP!
"I can make you a rich man! Give you gold beyond counting!"
WHAP!
Tyrion had seen many things in his day but none of them this, never this. After all, it wasn't every day one took a queen-to-be over their knee. Her pride didn't break, not right away, she was far too stubborn for that, but he could see the cracks beginning to form. Despite that, no one stopped him. No one dared, if only for fear of what he might do to them. And so it continued.
"Because your father was a lunatic."
Whap!
"Rhaegar was a noble fool so obsessed with prophecy that he started a war."
Whap! Whap!
"Viserys, a snake, undeserving of the Targaryen -of our!- name."
Daenerys jolted. "Wait! Are you-
Whap! Whap! Whap!
"And you? His hand paused as he consider the furious, squirming, red-faced girl sprawled across his legs. "What are you? You've made a better start than them, I'll admit, but now you're floundering. Making the same mistakes they made, or worse. How long will it be before you go mad as well?
"I am not mad!"
"Then confess. Why do you see the Iron throne?
WHAP!
She snarled. "I have earned it!"
WHAP!
He struck again. "Why do you want the Throne?"
"It is my birthright-
WHAP!
"Your birthright was to die." Another spank left her quivering in his lap. "If your loyal retainers hadn't ferried you across the narrow sea as a baby, you would not be here to hate me. Now, the truth."
"It is the only thing I have!"
WHAP! WHAP!
"Nonsense. You have your dragons, your advisors, your people."
She tried to rally. All that emerged was a whimper. He spanked her again.
...because I want to go home." she whispered softly. "I want to stop being hunted. I wanted to live in peace! Is that so wrong?! To want that? After all I've been through?"
Tyrion tensed, expecting another smack. It never came.
In less than nine minutes, he'd broken her.
Almost gently Naruto set her on her side.
"Here." He laid a pouch well within Dany's reach.
She grasped it with fumbling fingers. "What's this?"
"Cream for the pain. Should set you right in a day or two."
"Where are you going?!"
"To free your dragons." He shrugged one shoulder. "We can talk afterwards...
(.0.0.0.)
Tyrion wanted to punch himself in the face.
He'd followed the Man of Many Faces down here, into the deepest dark of the pyramid. He hadn't been afraid then.
He was now.
Now, as he watched his guard -friend!- step out into the shadows, knowing he'd have to go out there with him. His legs felt weak and his arm heavy. What little he'd eaten threatened to come boiling back up his gut and ruin his clothes. Because you see, he he could hear the dragons, but even by torchlight he didn't know where the bloody things where.
They could be anywhere and he'd never know.
Not until the beasts were right on top of them, and he'd be dead.
Hopefully they realized he was here to help. Don't eat the help and all that.
"..."
Now where in the seven hells were they?!
A vicious jolt of flame pierced the air ahead of them and his prayers were answered.
Tyrion nearly threw himself backward. It was only Naruto's hand on his shoulder that stilled him. He stared into it without fear.
Rhaegal -he assumed it was- growled at them, baring his fangs.
"Hmm." Naruto sighed behind him as it faded. "So that's a dragon. I thought they'd be bigger."
"That's a frightfully large beast!
"Still thought it'd be bigger." he stepped past him and stroked the beast's chin as one might a particularly large cat. "There, there. You're alright, now. You won't die, I promise. Didn't ask to be cooped up down here in the dark, did you? Its not your fault." a please trill rose from the beast as he cooed at it. "Your mother was just doing what she thought was best. Don't worry." his fingers found its neck, and the collar there. "We'll get you out into the sun soon enough.
Tyrion released a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. "Right, then. Now where's your brother-
He turned and found himself face to face with a dragon.
Oh, dear.
Viserion stared back... and offered his neck, next.
Tyrion hastened to unlock his shackles with fumbling fingers, not trusting his temper or his nerve to last long.
The very moment he freed Rhaegal, the dragon all but bowled him over in his haste to get at Naruto.
They did not eat him. They did not even try. Were they...cuddling up to him?
Gods be good! They were! Like giant dogs!
Rare laughter filled the crypt.
A/N: Aaaand there we go.
Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. Meaning folks don't like this, it won't be continued. If the story itself ain't popular/well-received...well, I won't be able to continue it. I'm working two jobs, holidays are here too, meaning I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy.
By all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.
So In the Immortal Words of Atlas... ...Revieeew, Would Ya Kindly?
Next time: And Mine are Long
And a warning!
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS LAY AHEAD!
YE BE WARNED~!
(Previews)
"Training begins now."
Daenerys landed on her rear with a yelp.
Naruto tutted softly. "You weren't ready. Again."
Tyrion took a long drink from his goblet and settled into watch.
Cersei read the letter. Her eyes widened.
And so the shrieking began.
Damnitall!
An arrow whistled through the air. The Man of Many Faces caught it in his fist.
"They never learn."
"Come back to bed, my lion...
"I don't think that's wise."
He felt Shae drape herself across his back as she watched the Master's fleet burn. Dragons were devastating creatures. The Man of Many Faces even moreso. He had no idea when or how he'd conjured that giant golden beast and frankly, he had no desire to no. It waded into the water and well...the rest as they say, was history.
He almost pitied the Dothraki when they found them.
Westeros would be worse.
"You're going to be a father? Congratulations!"
"Easy for you to say!" he poured himself another glass of wine. "You've been one before. I haven't."
R&R~!
=D