Howl of the Dragonwolves

by Elphaba818

9 years ago, the Mad Queen and the Queenslayer died and left their bastard twins grow up in the cold shadows of House Stark. Torrhen and Lyaella Snow know their parents never got the happy ending they deserved. Now they have the chance to change things. They'll ensure their parents win the game of thrones. Or they'll die trying. TIME TRAVEL AU! Co-Author: Longclaw 1-6 as of 2-22-21

10. The Wolf in the Dragon's Court

Can you believe it? It's another moderately fast update for Howl of the Dragonwolves! You're not dreaming! You get another new chapter only ten days after the previous chapter was posted online, and what a coincidence that this chapter so happens to be Chapter Ten! Talk about fate, lol!

Well, you've all been waiting for this chapter long enough, anyway. It's the chapter you've been BEGGING me for in all your reviews: Dany and Torrhen's first meeting! You've been waiting for this chapter, and I hope it's everything you'd all hoped it would be and more. At long last, our Mother of Dragons is finally going to meet her lonely Dragonwolf Son... and maybe have a few scoldings to a certain sellsword for being the sole cause as to why this meeting has been delayed for so long? *wink wink*

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll wrap this up quickly, but before I do, I want to give a big shout out to Longclaw 1-6 for helping me with a small bit of writers block while I was drafting this chapter. I wanted this first meeting between Dany and Torrhen to be perfect considering how long you've all been patiently waiting for it, so I needed an extra set of eyes to look over a few areas I was struggling with. Thanks again, Longclaw! :D

Now, a quick note about the review total! We did it, people! We hit the review goal again! 157 reviews all together! I'm so proud of you all! Perhaps we can try another twenty reviews this time? How does striving to reach 175 reviews sound to all of you? I don't think I'm asking for too much at all, not when I know for a fact that all of you have been begging me in the reviews to get to Dany and Torrhen's first meeting! Considering how long you've all been begging to find out when our favorite queen would meet her future son, I'm hoping for a lot of reviews from you all this chapter! So please, review review review when you're done reading, lol!

Now, without further adieu, onto the chapter! And be sure to review when you're done!

Happy Reading!

- Elphaba818

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Chapter Ten: The Wolf in the Dragon's Court

Jorah Mormont was both the luckiest, and still most unfortunate man in the world. He an unfortunate man because he'd been exiled twice, yet lucky because for both exiles, he'd found ways to be pardoned for those exiles. Granted, his first pardon he later threw away when he realized it was wrong how he received that pardon, because it meant letting the one true queen of Westeros perish just so he could return to his homeland. Since Daenerys had exiled him, he'd been searching for ways to earn her favor again, especially upon meeting that young boy right after the earthquake.

He prayed nightly that young Torrhen and his wolf had managed to meet his queen and gain her favor. He didn't have much hope that the boy could convince Daenerys to forgive considering his actions in the past, but at the very least, Torrhen mentioning his name might soften her anger towards him for when he did find a way to regain her trust. And besides, that little boy was a Targaryen bastard. In another lifetime, he probably would've grown up as a Blackfyre. Thousands would've flocked to support him should he have decided to stake a claim to the Iron Throne. Luckily, it didn't seem as though that child had any such ideas, as he only cared about meeting Daenerys and finding his sister and their dragon. Jorah kept his eyes and ears open for any whispers of a little girl with silver hair and white dragon, but he'd heard none so far.

However, he had found another possible way to earn his queens' trust again. And it came in the form of a certain lion he'd been lucky enough to stumble across and kidnap.

The Lannister imp hadn't stopped fighting him the entire time he'd carried him to the city docks and stolen a fishing boat, struggling fruitlessly despite his bindings. It wasn't until they had left dry land for the open sea that he finally ceased his struggles. Instead, he chose to persistently annoy him by grumbling muffled words at him through his mouth gag.

"Mmph!" said Tyrion, staring up at him directly from where he was leaning up against the side of the boat. The same place he'd been sitting in since Jorah had dumped him there before casting the whole boat out to see. "Ppth mmph!"

Jorah pointedly ignored him. It was midday now. He'd successfully disregarded his prisoner for the past twelve hours or so. Aside from offering the little man food or water occasionally, he had to ignore his nonstop muffled words and focus on steering. He was not going to show any mercy to a man hailing from the same family that was sitting upon his queen's throne and birthright.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

He was not going to take that gag out.

He was not.

"Mmph!"

Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore hi—

"Ppth mmph mmph!"

Jorah sighed. Seven hells this was stupid, but if he heard one more muffled grumble, he'd chuck the dwarf into the sea. Stepping away from the rudder, he knelt down in front of his prisoner and tugged the gag from his mouth.

Tyrion gasped for breath as soon as it was gone. "Ugh, I hate that thing. Thank you."

Jorah said nothing, returning to the rudder.

"So… you obviously know who I am, but who are you?"

"Your captor," he answered shortly. Tyrion Lannister might be a dwarf, but he was still his queen's enemy. He might be showing him a bit of kindness by taking the gag out, but he would not let the lion think for a even moment that he was anything less than his prisoner.

Sure enough, the dwarf was silent for a moment, letting his eyes wander out to gaze at the far off shore in the distance. Finally, he glanced around the boat. "Don't suppose you know what happened to my flask, do you? I was drinking when you snuck up on me."

Jorah mutely shook his head, expression blank. Seriously? He'd snatched him when the man was taking a piss. He'd been drinking while doing so?

"Then do you have any wine on you? I could really use a drink."

"No."

"…I can't sleep without wine."

"Don't, then. Stay awake."

"But I am a person that drinks."

"And you're now the captive of someone who has no drink."

The imp let out an exasperated sigh, staring out to sea again. Jorah hoped that would've been the end of it so things would finally be nice and quiet, but then he started talking again.

"For a kidnapper, you're sense of direction is just as terrible as your knowledge as a bounty hunter is on who you're bringing me too."

Bounty hunter? What? He glanced down at Tyrion, expression carefully neutral. What exactly did his prisoner think was going on?

"We're going the wrong way, for starters," the dwarf continued. "My sister and my nephew Tommen are in Westeros, and Westeros is west. We're traveling east. And my sister's only the queen mother, but my nephew is king now, not a prince."

Ah, now he understood. "I'm not taking you to your sister or your nephew."

Tyrion glanced back him, blinking repeatedly. "What? But… But you said back in Volantis you were taking me to the queen and the prince."

"I am," Jorah replied, turning the boat slightly upon noticing a rough wave ahead. "To Queen Daenerys Targaryen and the Dragon Prince. They are who I serve."

The dwarf blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Then he unexpectedly chuckled. Jorah's brows furrowed. What was so funny? He'd always heard that the runt of Tywin Lannister's children was supposed to be smart. Had he cracked at some point since his exile from Westeros? That might explain why it'd been so easy to snatch him. Seriously, what idiot didn't keep their guard up when they were taking a piss in a grungy alley?

"What a waste of a good kidnapping," he explained, noticing his confusion. "I was already on my way to meet Daenerys Targaryen myself."

He quirked a brow, unsure whether his captive was lying. "Why would you of all people want to meet the queen?"

"We share mutual enemy, and they say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If you ever met my sister, you'd understand. So, now that we know we're on the same side, how about you tell me more about this Dragon Prince whilst you untie me?"

Jorah disregarded his requests, focusing his eyes back on the open sea. He'd be stupid to untie the dwarf just because he claimed to hate his sister. Anyone would say as such if they were in his shoes, and he wasn't going to tell the dwarf anything more about Torrhen. With any luck, Daenerys would have legitimized him right away upon meeting him so she could have lawful Targaryen heir. Jorah was fairly certain his abduction of the imp happened too fast for anyone to take notice of Tyrion's absence, but if someone was following them to save the dwarf, he couldn't afford to let slip too much. Daenerys would never have another child, which meant Torrhen was the sole hope of one day continuing the Targaryen line. His safety was paramount in ensuring the survival of the once great House.

Tyrion was silent for awhile, shooting him a disdainful look, then glanced over at his armor and rucksack over in the corner. "You're a Northerner, I can tell. You've got the accent, yet you're also a knight, and knights are rare in the North," he remarked. "All alone in Essos… dragon epaulets, bear sigil breastplate… you're Jorah Mormont, aren't you?"

The knight tensed, not replying. Yet that was all the confirmation his captive needed.

"Tell me, what great service were you doing for your queen and this Dragon Prince back at that brothel? And in Volantis, nonetheless?"

He drew a muscle in his cheek, inhaling slowly.

"Seems more like you were cast aside, to me. Why would that be, I wonder? For someone so loyal to his queen to go so far as to capture one of her enemies, it's very odd."

His fingers tightened around the rudder. He would not answer this arrogant little shit. It was none of his business, and he was still the one in charge here. Tyrion was just trying to rile him up, make him lose his focus. Nothing more.

"Oh, now I remember. I was half-drunk for most of the small council meetings, but it's all coming back, now. You agreed to spy on her for a royal pardon back to Westeros."

It took everything Jorah had to not openly glower. He had to keep his teeth clenched together and not lose his temper. Did this man even know how to shut up without that gag? Perhaps he should put it back in. Even if he started grumbling again, it would still be preferable to listening to him mock him for his past mistakes in his queens' service.

"She found out, didn't she? Found out and exiled you, so you're hoping to win back her favor with me as a gift. Desperate plan, I must say."

He was not going to hit this little shit. He was not going to hit this little shit. He. Was. Not. Going. To. Hit. This. Fucking. Little—

"You really believe Daenerys will feed me to her dragons and pardon you? The reverse is just as likely, I'd say," the imp grinned. "And there's nothing in your plan that can earn the favor of this supposed-prince you mentioned. Who is he? Don't suppose you know if he's the great 'Prince that was Promised' that the red priestess back in Volantis was preaching on about, do you? If he is, he'll already be with the queen, the other savior. He might just see you as a rival for the queen's affections."

That was it. He could handle the biting remarks the dwarf made towards his past mistakes and keen theories as to Daenerys would react upon seeing her again, but he would not let Tyrion Lannister speak poorly of Torrhen. That boy was a good lad. A little short-tempered judging by the little he'd seen when the boy tried defending him against the Unsullied that escorted him out of the city, but still a decent boy. Stepping away from the rudder, Jorah marched forward and struck the dwarf hard in the face.

Tyrion groaned, dazed. Jorah paid no mind though and lugged him back up into a sitting position, stuffing the gag back in his mouth. He never should've taken it out in the first place. Ignoring his protesting whines, he went back to his prior perch at the back of the small boat.

"You're the second gift I'm bestowing upon the queen," he said gruffly, focusing back on the sea again. Tyrion stopped grumbling and blinked at him, surprised. Good, he was finally quiet. Now that he was quiet, he might actually learn something. "My first gift to Daenerys was the Dragon Prince. With any luck, they'll have already met by now and he'll have told her just who it was that helped him when no one else would."

After listening to the arrogant dwarf talk so importantly, Jorah had no qualms at all in seeing the befuddled look on his face. It would have been one thing if Tyrion had simply accurately guessed who he was and left it that, but no, he had to dig in those biting remarks. Had he kept his mouth shut, Jorah probably would have dropped more clues regarding the little he knew about Torrhen Snow from their only meeting, if only to get some ideas from the Lannister on whether he'd heard any tales back in Westeros regarding his mysterious twin sister with a dragon. Now, though? The imp would have to wait until they finally met the Dragon Queen and the Dragon Prince to find out more. Let him think whatever he wanted, for now.

Shaking his head lightly, he focused back on the open sea, wishing there was some way he could force the little boat to go faster. He was going back. He was going back to Meereen to see his queen and the prince. He could only hope that helping Torrhen and bringing Tyrion with him as a prisoner would be enough to earn Daenerys' forgiveness.

---

His head was throbbing, but everything else felt wonderful. Soft and cool. It was such a comforting feeling, wherever he was. Were it not for how much his head was aching, he would have been content to stay lost in this darkness forever. Actually… maybe the pain in his head wasn't really all that bad. Maybe he could ignore it. So long as he stayed in this welcoming darkness, he would be fine…

Something cold and wet touched his cheek, followed almost immediately by something slimy and hot slurping it repeatedly. What the fuck? He wanted to raise his hands to bat whatever it was away, but for some reason, he couldn't discern which way was up. And the longer the wet thing kept running across his face, the more he found himself pulled out of the darkness and his head pounding even harder.

It took everything Torrhen had to open his eyes, only to immediately yelp as he was blinded by the unnaturally bright light everywhere and slam his hand over them, causing him to groan a second time as his whole head rattled from the sudden force. The boy didn't even get the chance to take a look at his surroundings a second time before an excruciatingly loud yip echoed right next to his ear, followed by that hot, slimy thing running up and down his face even faster than before. Only now, it was now nuzzling its entire furry body against his own.

Despite his splitting headache being amplified by both that unnaturally loud yip and his eyes being blinded by his bright surroundings, Torrhen let out a slight chuckle. He didn't need three guesses to realize just what that hot, wet thing on his face was anymore. "Shadow… Hey, buddy."

He didn't dare open his eyes yet, but he could feel his direwolf lick him even harder as he pressed up against him. He was happy his boy was okay, and Torrhen was glad his friend was safe too, wherever they were.

But that still left the mystery as to where they were now. The last thing he remembered was helping Ser Barristan and that one Unsullied — no, wait, three Unsullied, or just one? Unimportant, anyway — from those Sons of the Harpy. Then he got hurt and hit his head… everything was a little fuzzy after that, but he did distinctly remember one of those Unsullied talking to him for a moment before everything just slipped away. He didn't remember what the man had said or did exactly, just that he'd been up in his face. What happened to him? And what happened to Ser Barristan? Was his future mother's loyal bodyguard all right?

The boy took a deep breath and attempted to open his eyes again, but the moment he did so, the blinding light pulsated throughout his skull, and he was forced to squeeze them shut again. What was that? Where on earth was he that he was being blinded the very second he woke up? This time, he covered his eyes with both his hands, but left only a fraction of his fingers separated to see through as he slowly peeked out. To his surprise, he wasn't in that dusty alleyway anymore, nor was he anywhere out in the streets. He was lying on a soft mattress and covered in the finest silken sheets he'd ever seen even when living in Winterfell. But the room he was in was nothing at all like royal quarters of the castle. Instead of fireplaces with crackling flames, there was large, open and airy windows lighting up the whole room with brilliant sunshine, and the walls and floors were composed of the smoothest, most expensive marble surfaces imaginable. It was all so decadent, a new type of wealth and power he'd never seen before.

Were it not for how much his head was killing him and how he quickly had to close his eyes again as the sheer brightness of the warm sunshine bouncing off the walls made his head spin, Torrhen knew he would have been amazed. Instead, all he could do was groan as he slowly tried to sit up. His direwolf had apparently been lying in bed right next to him this entire time, because a sudden low whine followed by a shift in the feather soft mattress brought Shadow even closer.

Torrhen smiled, feeling around for his friends' furry head even with his eyes shut. "Sorry, boy. Don't mean to ignore you. I'm just worse for wear, right now. Head hurts even worse than it normally does after a fire flicker, and I think I'm going blind."

He wasn't sure where exactly his fingers were fisting through black fur, but he definitely felt a slight breeze near his fingers. Shadow must've been wagging. That made Torrhen chuckle.

"Don't suppose you know where we are, do you, bud? Did Ser Barristan and that other Unsullied guard make it out okay?" His friends' familiar head pressed up against his chest, promptly licking his face again. "Ugh! Shadow, no! Watch out for the lips!"

The boy lightly shoved him off him, only for his brows to furrow as he felt his fingers brush up against something odd on Shadow's fur. It almost felt like… cotton? He chanced a quick peek. His head throbbed from the quick flash of light, but he definitely caught a glimpse of bandages wrapped securely around his wolf's fur. Wherever they were, someone had tended to his best friends' injuries. That was good to know.

He needed to thank whoever it was. And he needed to know where he was. Which meant that somehow, he had to find a way to navigate out of this room while blind.

Torrhen took a deep breath to brace himself before hesitantly looking around again. Despite his involuntary grunt as the light pulsated through his skull, he let his eyes dazedly sweep across the small chamber to find the door. Pausing only once when he noticed his sword belt and lute lying on a small table in a corner, he at last spotted the open archway exit.

It was a relief when he could finally close his eyes again, as his whole brain felt rattled. Pressing his fingers against a particularly painful ache on the side of his head, he felt wrappings knotted through his hair. How badly had he hurt his head when that Harpy knocked him down into the rubble? If he was going to be blinded by bright lights for the rest of his life because of that jerk, he was screwed when it came to finally meeting the queen or eventually finding Lyaella and Sōnar. Pretty hard to do anything in regards to changing the future for the better if you couldn't see what was happening.

Groaning lightly at the thought, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and shakily stood up. He immediately felt his whole body become lightheaded and dizzy, and Shadow promptly leapt down next to him so he could hold onto him.

"Thanks, Shadow, I appreciate your help. Don't suppose you could lead me over to that table over there, could you? Gotta get my stuff before we can get explore."

The wolf whined an affirmative. Walking slowly so his dazed boy could keep up, Shadow led Torrhen over to the table. Waiting patiently for his little master to clip back on his sword belt, money pouch, and grab his lute and cloak, he then led Torrhen over to the doorway before the boy could even ask him too. Direwolves were incredibly smart, after all.

They moved incredibly slowly down the hall, but Torrhen didn't mind. Aside from the occasional peeks through his fingers covering his eyes to protect himself from the sheer brightness of the area, he had no idea where they were, but wherever it was, it was definitely very bright. There was no forms of drapes anywhere to block out the sun, making it impossible for him to fully look around at his surroundings, but he could tell that it was still very rich and exotic. Wherever he was, he hoped to find a dark place with heavy curtains and a nice chair to sit down on soon. He hated being all but blind, and this whole walk was making him all the more dizzy and disoriented.

"Do you see anyone around, boy? Anyone that can explain where we are?"

Shadow whined sadly, pressing up against him.

Torrhen sighed. "It's all right. Just keep an eye out for me, okay? We need to—"

"Oh, you awake. Good."

The boy jumped. "Hello?" he called out, head whipping around to his left. "Is someone there?"

There was the distinctive sound of footsteps approaching. "I here. You all rihgt, boy? Why cover eyes?"

Torrhen wished he could look at whoever was talking to him. It was a man talking to him, that much he knew, but whoever it was was speaking in heavily accented, broken Common Tongue. "I… I'm not sure who you are or where I am, but I hurt my head. Everything's… dizzy for me right now. And it's way too bright in here. My headache gets worse when I look around."

There was a brief pause, then whoever it was grunted a bit before Torrhen felt a roughly calloused hand gently move his fingers away from his eyes. "Can you open eyes for minute?"

"But I just told you—"

"I know. I need to check pupils. See if dilated."

Torrhen sighed, then squeezed Shadow's fur tightly to brace himself as he slowly opened his eyes. He immediately groaned, the light in the hall blazing straight through his retinas. He would have groaned and let his eyes flutter shut again, but then he took note of the heavily bandaged body bent over in front of him. The dark-skinned man looked like he was in a good deal of pain himself, as his shirtless torso was wrapped in so many layers of bandages around his right shoulder and stomach, but despite his discomfort, he ignored his pain. Instead, he focused solely on Torrhen himself, gazing directly at his eyes. Torrhen had no idea what he found so fascinating about his eyes, but even though the man looked vaguely familiar, he didn't have the energy to dwell over him. Just standing there in this light-blinding hallway while forcing himself to keep his eyes open to stare at the stranger directly was making his head pound and his stomach flip flop repeatedly.

He eventually broke his gaze, his nauseousness overwhelming him. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut to force the nausea away. "I… I think I'm gonna…"

Too late. He tried to turn and move away in time, but even with his eyes closed the world still spun around him in a dizzying manner. He fell to all fours as he violently threw up.

Within seconds, Torrhen heard the injured man groan in pain as he knelt down next to him. "Boy, you still have concussion. I take you back to chamber. You rest."

He felt himself being dragged back to his feet, but instead of letting himself being tugged away, Torrhen kept his feet rooted to the spot, holding onto Shadow to keep himself where he was. "Wait… tell me where I am. Where am I?"

The tugging ceased. "You in Great Pyramid. Ser Barristan and I bring you here after attack. Queen had maester come look you over. They say you might still be hurt when wake up. You are. You come rest."

Again, Torrhen felt the man try to steer away, but the boy snatched his arm back eagerly.

"Wait, I'm in the Great Pyramid? Queen Daenerys is here?"

"Yes. You meet her later. For now, come with—"

"No! I-I-I have to see her! Immediately! Come on, Shadow!"

He started walking randomly, nearly slipping in the puddle of vomit in his haste. Luckily, that didn't happen and he stayed upright, but when he felt the unknown man's hand try to grab him again, he shrugged him off and kept walking blindly forward. He had no qualms with doing this… until—

Smack!

"Ow!" he yelped, releasing his grip on Shadow and dropping his lute and gray cloak to instinctively clutch his head, pain amplified at least hundred times more than usual through his whole skull as he walked face-first into a wall.

The stranger carefully turned him around. "You all right?"

Torrhen nodded, dazed. "I think so…"

"You go lie down, like I say. You meet queen later."

"No. I've… I've been stuck on the streets for months now because I haven't been able to see her, and even before that… I've been waiting my whole life to meet Daenerys Targaryen. I've gotta see her now."

There was a brief pause, then he heard the man sigh. "Wait here."

"What? Why—"

But the sound of footsteps pandering off echoed down the hall, leaving Torrhen all alone except for Shadow at his side.

"What's going on, boy? Can you tell me where he's going?" Torrhen asked his wolf. Shadow only pressed up against his legs, silent as a mouse. Torrhen huffed at the lack of help and decided to do as the man asked. Perhaps he was doing him a favor by bringing his future mother directly to him.

Sadly, the echoing of footsteps wandering closer to him a few minutes later revealed only one pair of feet. The man had come back alone. "Here," he said, passing something round and metallic into the boys' hands. "Put this on."

"Put what on? What is this?"

"Unsullied helmet. Has face visor. Might be easier to look through."

Torrhen felt around for the helmet opening, and quickly slipped it on before opening his eyes again. Sure enough, the singular vision did indeed block out the vast majority of light, and while the little bit he could see was still quite disorienting, it was much easier for him to handle than without the helmet. "It works! Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now, if you really want to see queen, come with me. I take you. But tell me if you start feeling sick or dizzy. Maesters told us you'd be unwell for awhile from head trauma."

"Fine," Torrhen said with a slight huff. "But if I can't get there, you have to bring the queen to me. I've… I've been waiting too long to finally see her, and I need to meet her."

The man lightly chuckled. "Very well. Come."

"Okay. Come on, Shadow."

Wagging his tail lightly, the direwolf lightly trotted along beside his young master as Torrhen slowly trudged along behind the injured Unsullied soldier.

---

"So, the boy fell unconscious after hitting his head, you say?"

"Yes."

"But he froze up and… 'spaced out' before he got hurt?"

"Yes, that's right. Pardon my asking, but why does that matter?"

"I'm just making sure I have all the facts on what happened, ser. When it comes to head trauma, it's important to know the full extent as to what happened."

"Yeah? Well, I'm not sure how many more times you've gotta keep asking him the same questions. He's told us all the story so many times now I could tell you what happened, and I wasn't even there."

"That's enough, Daario. He is only doing his job. You will show him proper respect."

"Right. Sorry, my queen."

Dany didn't dare drop her heated look until Daario lost his cocky grin. Turning back to the healer, she smiled politely. "Please, continue."

The middle-aged Ghiscari healer nodded. "It's hard to say whether or not the boy will have any lasting damage until he awakens and I can examine him again. That he passed out right after the injury occurred is potentially worrying, as one should never sleep right after a head injury."

"Will he be all right?" Missandei asked. "He's only a child, and he saved her grace's most trusted bodyguard and the Captain of the Unsullied."

"Yes, I recall you mentioning that, but like I said, I can't know for sure until he wakes."

"Do you have any idea when he might?" asked Dany.

He frowned, thinking hard. "I'd say sometime later this evening, or tomorrow morning at the latest, your grace."

"Suppose he doesn't?" Hizdahr inquired. "What if he sleeps longer than that?"

"Then there is a problem and he most likely endured permanent brain damage. However, I don't believe there should be any lasting side effects. I won't know for sure unless he doesn't wake up, but because you summoned me here right away to check him over, I'm fairly certain that he'll be fine."

Dany smiled. "Good, I'm glad to hear that. Hopefully that young boy will awaken soon and I'll be able to personally thank him for saving the lives of two of my most trusted bodyguards."

The healer nodded again, but then his lips sunk down in a slight frown. He focused back on Ser Barristan standing behind her. "Just one last thing about the boy during the attack. The way he froze up as you described?"

"Yes, I recall," Barristan nodded. "What about that?"

"I have to ask… how did he look when that happened?"

Dany was confused by the inquiry, and glanced back over her shoulder. Her faithful knight was equally puzzled, and tilted his head to the side.

"How did he 'look?' I… I don't understand what you mean."

"His facial features. What was the expression on his face like?"

Barristan furrowed his brows, his confusion growing. "He was a bit of a ways off from me, so I'm not sure, but even when that happened I was focusing on the last Harpy attacking me. I didn't get a good look at his face."

"Pardon my asking, but why are you so curious about that?" Missandei asked. "When Grey Worm described the attack earlier, he was confused as to why the boy stopped so suddenly, but he said it only lasted for a moment or two before he snapped out of it. He assumed the child froze out of hesitating to kill another person."

The healer nodded, expression thoughtful. "I see. If that's why he froze up like that, then that's perfectly understandable. I was just worried that…" he trailed off, rubbing his chin as he considered things.

"Yes? Go on, please. Worried about what?"

He waved off Dany's question, shaking his head as he rose from his chair. "If it was simply a case of a child hesitating to harm another, then there's no need for concern. That's perfectly normal for a boy his age, or for any person when forced to take a life for the first time. But if it wasn't…"

"Yes?"

"I don't wish to alarm all of you for no reason, especially if it was only a case of understandable hesitance. Just… keep an eye on his condition for now. Be sure to contact myself or another healer in the sickhouses no matter the time if he awakens during the middle of the night, as he'll have to be examined right away."

"Very well. You have my sincere gratitude for all you've done."

Bowing politely to the queen and her small council, the healer smiled and followed the two Unsullied guards out of the small council chambers.

Barristan let out a deep sigh of relief as soon as he was gone. "I'm grateful you allowed me to bring the boy here, your grace. Especially after all the trouble he's caused."

"Of course, Ser Barristan. I would never turn away an injured child, regardless of how he's tried sneaking in before," Dany claimed. "But I must ask why you felt it necessary to bring him here instead of one of the many sickhouses? I'm happy to help him, but surely that would have been quicker than bringing him here and then having a healer brought in."

"You should've taken him to a sickhouse. Considering he's been such pest lately, the last thing we should do is reward that brat by letting him here in the pyramid," Daario grumbled.

"I hate to agree with Captain Naharis, but in this instance I must admit he's right," Hizdahr said. "I have nothing against him and I hope he'll be all right, but considering all the security problems he's caused, it wasn't wise to bring him here. We still don't know what he wants."

"Actually, I think I have a good idea as to why that boy has been trying to sneak in here so badly," Barristan interrupted.

Dany turned to him, intrigued. "You do? Did he tell you so himself? Please explain, Ser Barristan."

But the knight only shook his head, smiling apologetically. "He didn't state it out right, your grace. I merely met up with him by chance out in the marketplace prior to the attack and chatted with him for awhile. However… I noticed certain things about him. Things I doubt he himself is even aware of…"

"I'm sorry?"

Barristan turned to glance out the window as he sighed. "Forgive me, your grace, but if my theory as to what this boy might want is correct, it's better for you to hear it directly from him. I'm not trying to avoid your question, but if I'm wrong…" he frowned, looking extremely pensive. "I believe this boy might be answered prayer. If my suspicions are correct, it's vital you see him right away."

Dany was perplexed. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that Barristan Selmy was one of the most loyal, honorable men she'd ever had the privilege of meeting. He'd traveled halfway across the world just to serve in her queensguard out of loyalty and devotion to her late brother Rhaegar and to House Targaryen. She could tell he wasn't trying to be sneaky or manipulative, but what was so important about this young boy that required her immediate attention?

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a derisive snort, courtesy of her lover. "Don't tell me that you fell for that boy's lies? It's ludicrous, what he's claiming."

Daario obviously knew a few more specifics about what that boy wanted — he'd said so himself when they had discussed the child in passing earlier this morning — but why exactly did he believe him to be a liar? He was only a boy, after all. Dany opened her mouth to ask him what he knew, but before she could say anything, Barristan abruptly spun around, incredulous.

"Wait… did that boy tell you who he was? When you spoke to him before, I mean."

The sellsword shrugged, nonchalant. "He told me the biggest, stupidest lie I've ever heard," he chuckled. "Trust me, I've heard a lot of lies from people over the years. This one, though? This one was so stupid and absurd, the entire reception area broke out laughing."

"Yet you didn't bring him here to meet the queen?!" the knight demanded, affronted. Hizdahr stared, but Dany exchanged a quick, discrete look of surprise with Missandei. Aside from how enraged he'd been when they all found out about Ser Jorah's betrayal, neither of the ladies had ever seen the old knight so furious before. "You didn't think his story was at least a good reason to have her grace judge that for herself?! Did you even take a good look at his eyes?!"

For once, Daario lost his usual arrogant swagger. He blinked at the knight, genuinely perplexed. "His eyes? Why would I—?"

"How much farther? Even with this thing on, it's still so bright!"

"Don't worry, we're here. Wait here for one moment."

Dany and her advisers all turned. Grey Worm was strolling through the open archway, his pace relatively slow due to his injuries.

"My queen," he said, bowing as deeply as he could despite the obvious pain in caused his shoulder. "I not interrupting?"

Dany blinked twice before shaking her head. "Of course not, I'm glad to see you're all right."

"You should be resting!" Missandei added, hurrying over to support him when he grunted while straightening up. "The maester told you to stay in bed or else risk pulling your stitches!"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the soldier's face for a moment at the lingering touch from the Naathi translator, and that brought a small smile to Dany's face, too. Grey Worm was a good man, regardless of the horrors that had been inflicted upon him by the master's to make him part of the Unsullied, and Missandei was her dearest friend in the whole world. She hoped that one of them would find the strength to take the initiative in their relationship soon. They deserved happiness, especially now that they were free. Finally, Grey Worm managed to reluctantly tear his gaze away from Missandei to focus back on her.

"Forgive me, my queen, but the boy woke. He wanted to—"

"Argh! Fucking hell! Are there no drapes in this place?!"

The course language in the shout made everyone turn. Standing in the entryway was a small boy with an enormous black wolf at his hip and carrying a lute with a thick gray cloak draped over one of his arms. Oddly enough though, he was wearing Grey Worm's Unsullied helmet with the visor down, yet he had his hands blocking his face and his chin tucked down to his chest, as though deliberately not wanting to look at anything.

"Too bright! Too bright!" he whined, completelying turn around to avoid looking at anything in the room.

Dany could only blink repeatedly. Missandei and Hizdahr mimicked her, but Daario did a double-take, eyes boggling. "The hell's his problem?" he quietly murmured. Outwardly, she threw the sellsword a sharp look to watch his mouth, but on the inside, she couldn't help but wonder the same thing. What on earth were they witnessing here?

Ser Barristan was the only one there to quickly hurry around the long table and join Grey Worm in checking the boy over. "Torrhen! Are you all right?" he asked, quite concerned. "I'm glad you're awake, but what's wrong?"

Grey Worm frowned. "Too bright in here?"

The boy deliberately passed his lute to his wolf to hold between his teeth to cover his eyes with both hands through the eye slit in the helmet before daring to turn around, nodding vaguely in Grey Worm's direction. "Aye. It's… It's too bright!" he whined. "It hurts to look at it!"

Dany was still puzzled, but she still stepped forward, making sure to clear her throat so her soldiers would notice her. "What's going on? Is he all right?"

"He's still hurt by concussion," Grey Worm explained. "Concussions have various effects."

"Are you light sensitive right now, Torrhen?" Barristan asked, gently touching the boys' shoulder. "Is that the problem?"

The boy weakly nodded, still not daring to uncover his eyes. "Aye… that Unsullied guy gave me his helmet to hopefully make it easier for me to look around. It worked out in the hall, but it's brighter here than back there…"

The queen considered this explanation, then promptly turned to her handmaiden. "Missandei, would you be kind enough to draw back the curtains, please?"

"Right away, your grace."

She turned back to the boy, smiling gently even though she knew he couldn't see her. Even so, he had gone completely rigid, his head snapping around to focus on her general direction. She lightly patted his shoulder so he'd know she was addressing him.

"If you'll come with me, I'll escort you straight ahead to the council table. We can sit down and talk."

"O-Okay. Thank you…"

Still keeping his eyes covered with one hand, he reached out aimlessly for her until she took his hand in her own, and walked at an even pace back to the large circular table. His wolf stayed right on his heels, trotting along quietly without making a sound… or at least it did until her sellsword lover tried to quietly draw out his arakh. Within seconds, the beast sprang forward with a ferocious snarl, hackles raised as it growled menacingly at Daario.

Dany automatically gasped, jumping lightly. Hizdahr nearly slipped over the expensive silken rug and Missandei screamed. Grey Worm ignored the pain from his wound as he reached pulled out a dagger in a reverse grip hold. Aside from the boy, Ser Barristan was the only one there to not be alarmed.

"Torrhen! Torrhen, why's your wolf suddenly growling?"

The boy only shook his head, befuddled. "How should I know? I can't see, remember? Have the curtains been pulled back? When they are I can check to see what startled Shadow."

The queen was still on edge, but she still forced herself to glance back over to Missandei. It took Missandei a few seconds longer to snap out of her own state of shock. Gulping thickly as she stared unblinkingly at the massive black wolf, she slowly reached over for the pull cord without looking at it. The sheer scarlet curtains fell back, casting the whole room in tinted red shade.

"We drew back the drapes," Dany said slowly, making sure to keep her apprehension out of her tone. "You can try opening your eyes, now."

Slowly, the boy lowered his hand and looked around. After a momentary pause, he reached up and tugged off the helmet, revealing a thick mop of untidy black curls.

"Better, much better," he said happily. He turned to look up at her, only to immediately freeze in place. He stared, seemingly in awe.

Dany smiled. "I'm glad to see you're doing well," she said kindly. "I'm sure you already know who I am, but allow me to say this for the great service you have given me in spite of the risk. I am Daenerys Targaryen, and it is my honor and pleasure to meet you."

The boy jumped at the introduction, and promptly attempted to bow. "T-Thank you, your grace. I'm very pleased to— woah!"

He seemed to get quite dizzy from the bow, and would've toppled over her had she not instinctively caught him. "Oh, are you all right? Take a seat, please," she offered, helping the boy back to his feet and gesturing to the closest chair at the small table. "Just please call off your wolf first. I don't want it attacking the leader of my sellswords."

The boy glanced down at his pet before glancing over in open disdain at the frozen stiff form of Daario off to the right. There was a long pause, then the boy shook his head. "I mean no offense or disrespect to you, Queen Daenerys… but no."

Dany blinked, as did her council members. Daario jerked back, his head whipping back and forth between the boy and his wolf with his jaw agape.

"What?! You're — you're not gonna — you won't…? Why the fuck not?!"

The boy gave him a dry look. "Why should I? Shadow's doing what I've trained him to do — protect me. Considering you're the jerk who's drawing a blade less than five feet away from me right now and you and the rest of the Second Sons are half the reason why we've been starving on the streets of this city for the past two months, I don't see why I should."

The queen could only stare. His biting words were totally unexpected, yet at the same time, he had a legitimate point. But what was that he said about him and the Second Sons being directly responsible as to why he and his wolf had been starving for the past two months? Composing herself, she recovered her queenly mask and fixed the sellsword captain with a neutral look. "Sheathe your weapon, Daario."

"What—? But… But my queen—"

"I have given you an order. You would do well to follow it." She then looked down at the boy. "I'll admit I do not know what you're referring to when you say that Daario and the Second Sons are the reason why you and your wolf here have been starving, but please tell your wolf to stand down, then we'll talk."

Still, the boy didn't do as she asked… at least not until Daario fully sheathed his arakh and backed off. Only then did the boy finally grin. "Okay, Shadow. Down, boy."

Just like that, the wolf calmed itself — slowly plopping down and sitting as it wagged its fluffy black tail happily, gazing up at its master with its bright red eyes.

"Thank you. Now please, take a seat."

The boy nodded, sliding down into the closest chair at the council table.

Dany smiled politely, and then nodded to the others to take their own seats as she swept around the table to sit down directly across from him.

"Now then, as I understand—"

"So, you're really— oh!" said the boy initially excited, but quickly becoming sheepish upon realizing he'd accidentally cut her off. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!"

Had that been an adult, Dany would've been offended, but she could see that the boy was genuinely apologetic, and waved away his concern. "You seem to rather excited, I must say. More than I expected an injured boy your age would be."

"Well, of course I'm excited! I've been trying to meet you for months now, since I first came to Meereen! You have no idea how hard I've been trying to meet you… You're not an easy person to meet for someone to meet, you know."

She tilted her head, slightly puzzled. "I'm sorry? I'm afraid I don't understand. Aside from the most recent weeks due to the Harpy attacks, my court is always open to the common people. Had you come then, I would've gladly seen to you if you'd waited your turn."

He scowled at her, then shot Daario a rather ugly look. "Didn't you hear me a second ago? It's that asshole's fault!"

Daario huffed, folding his across his chest and kicking his feet up on the table. "Oh, for the love of…! My queen, I'm telling you—"

She held up a hand, hushing him promptly. She didn't even spare Daario a glance. "I remember, but like I just said, I don't understand what you mean."

"Well, I—"

Dany shook her head, smiling politely. "I'm not trying to disregard you right now, but it seems to me you're launching into the middle of a discussion without fully explaining yourself. Let's start over from the beginning, all right? Can you tell me your name?"

He blinked at her, then glanced over at Barristan, Grey Worm, and even Daario. "Didn't any of them tell you about me? I mean, they—" he gestured vaguely to Barristan and Grey Worm "—brought me here, I assume, and he—" he paused, shooting Daario a bitter glare "—just said he'd tried telling you something about me."

"I'm asking you, not them," she countered. "What is your name?"

"Torrhen. Torrhen Snow, and this is Shadow, my direwolf brother."

All eyes turned to look at the black wolf. Shadow had been lying down quietly, but his ears perked up at the mention of his name.

Hizdahr shuddered as the wolf's red eyes fixated on him. "Direwolves… those are extinct," he muttered, edging back slightly in his seat. "They died out over a thousand years ago, and even if they didn't, they supposedly live only far to the North of Westeros. Beyond the Wall."

Torrhen turned to him, rolling his eyes. "They're no more extinct than dragons are," he said irritably. "They're not dead, and they're not beyond the Wall anymore. If anything, they're extinct beyond the Wall and only live South of it now. Shadow here's probably one of the last of his kind."

"What makes you say that?"

"What makes you question it?"

Hizdahr fell silent, unable to think up a logical retort. Dany couldn't help but raise a brow. It was nice to see the eloquent noble silenced for once.

"Forgive me, Torrhen, I'll admit I never received a formal education," she said, bringing Torrhen's eyes back to her, "but as I understand it, your surname of 'Snow' is the common surname for those born illegitimate in the North of Westeros, correct?"

He frowned. "Aye, that's one way of putting it," he sighed, turning away and scratching his wolf behind the ears. "Bastard's the most common term…"

"Well, you're a long way from home, then," she remarked. "Regardless, I wish to thank you for what you did for two of my most loyal bodyguards. You and your wolf saved them, and I'm so sorry you got hurt like that."

He shook his head. "It was no trouble, really. I was happy to help. "I just met Ser Barristan right before that attack happened. Thank you again for that roasted duck, by the way," he added, turning to the knight. "Shadow and I both loved it."

Barristan smiled. "You're welcome. I'm simply glad you're all right, and that I could help you finally meet her grace."

"Aye, thanks again."

"I thank you, too, Torrhen Snow," said Grey Worm. "Ser Barristan and I outnumbered. We might not both made it if not for you and wolf."

He only shrugged. "I don't know about that, but if I helped changed the outcome of that fight, then I'm glad I could help you…" he suddenly blinked, as though realizing something. Everyone stared as he squeezed his eyes shut while rubbing his temples, looking lost in thought. Finally, he glanced up again, looking relatively sheepish. "Um… I think I only know the queens' name, Ser Barristan's, and the asshole Daario's name—"

"Say that again—?!"

"—I don't think I caught anyone else's."

Dany frowned. Regardless of Daario's attitude, it was still no excuse for the boy's own rudeness. "I would ask that you refrain from further insulting the Captain of the Second Sons from now on. I don't know why you are so cross with him, but so long as you're here in the Great Pyramid, you shall show my small council members proper respect."

"But—"

"No 'buts.' I will let it go this time, but I will not tolerate further attitude from this moment forward. Are we clear?"

He stared at her for a long moment, almost looking dumbfounded, then blew a puff of hot air at a lone curl of hair hanging over his eyes. "Fine…" he muttered, looking sullenly off to the side.

Strange… the way Torrhen was pouting right now was like how a boy his age would sulk if he'd been scolded by his mother. Would Rhaego have acted the same way?

The queen unconsciously flinched at the thought. Swiftly moving her hands to her lap, she squeezed them tightly beneath the table. She mustn't think about that. She mustn't remember the horrible pain she'd endured only a few years ago. To remember was to admit to being conquered by her own mistakes and memories. Swallowing thickly, she moved on. "Regardless, it's my pleasure to welcome you to the Great Pyramid, and to introduce you to the rest of my advisers. This is Missandei, of the Isle of Naath—" her handmaiden smiled kindly to the boy "—Hizdahr zo Loraq, the head of one of the noble families here in Meereen—" the noble rose, bowing politely "—and as you already know Ser Barristan and Daario's names, this is Grey Worm, the chosen leader amongst the Unsullied."

Torrhen had courteously nodded to Missandei and Hizdahr, but the moment he heard Grey Worm's name, he jerked and tried to spin around. The fast action made him get all dizzy again, and seconds later he toppled out of his chair.

"Ow!"

"Torrhen!"

"You all right, boy? That looked like it—"

"Don't touch me!"

Grey Worm blinked. He had tried to help the boy back into his seat, but Torrhen's sudden shout had surprised everyone. If he noticed their stares, he didn't comment on it. He just focused on slowly climbing back into the chair.

"There, see? I'm fine. I don't need your help," he grumbled. Reaching over for the helmet he borrowed, he passed it back to the soldier without even looking at him. "And I don't need this anymore, either."

Dany exchanged a look of confusion with Grey Worm, but the man looked just as confused as she was as to what had caused the boy to become so bitter so suddenly. Regardless, Grey Worm obeyed her discrete head shake so he wouldn't push the child to explain himself. He simply accepted his helmet back and returned to his seat without a word.

Daario however didn't seem to care about whether or not this wasn't the best time to not act like his usual arrogant self, and snorted disrespectfully. "Well, that's interesting…"

Torrhen's head snap around, fixing the sellsword with a piercing look. "What's interesting?" he demanded.

"You. I find it interesting that you don't want his help after he helped save your life…" he said, grinning smugly as he folded his arms behind his head.

The boy jolted. "What?"

Barristan frowned. "You don't remember? Grey Worm was the one who killed the Harpy that would have killed you back in that alleyway. He never would have had the chance had you not jumped into the fray when you did."

"Thank you so much for helping Grey Worm and Ser Barristan during that fight," Missandei added. "Things… Things could've turned out a lot worse if you hadn't."

Torrhen said nothing. He just glanced over at Grey Worm with an unreadable look, then stiffly nodded before reaching over to pet his wolf again.

"As I understand it, Torrhen," Dany went on, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "You're the young boy whose been causing quite a few problems for my guards here in the Great Pyramid. You and your wolf have tried sneaking in more times than any of them can count. Is that true?"

He nodded. "Aye, your grace."

"May I inquire as to why?"

"To meet you, of course. Sorry if I caused trouble, but I was desperate! I wouldn't have had to do that if not for him—" he glared at Daario "—and the rest of the Second Son's. I know I promised to be polite to him, but if I were you I'd fire your current sellswords and go hire the Golden Company instead. They're honorable and wouldn't have let people like me and Shadow starve on the streets like they did!"

Daario clenched his fist, temper rising. "Listen, brat—"

Dany raised a hand for silence. "You keep blaming Daario, stating it's his fault, but I don't understand what you mean. How is the fact that you and your wolf have been starving his and the rest of the Second Son's fault?"

Torrhen huffed. Shooting Daario one more spiteful look, he glanced back to Dany. "I first arrived in Meereen two months ago, the same day as the earthquake. Me and Shadow… we got separated from my twin sister and our honorary sister before we even got here, but I got hurt when we did. Were it not Ser Jorah taking me to—"

"Ser Jorah?" she interrupted, blinking in surprise. "You don't mean the Northern knight Jorah Mormont, do you?"

He nodded. "Aye, that's right. He found me right after the earthquake."

"Is he still here in Meereen? When did you last see him? Speak to him? What were you doing with him?"

Torrhen frowned, tilting his head to the side. "I only met him once, your grace, and that was the day of the earthquake. I hurt my ankle and couldn't walk. He found me and took me to a sickhouse to get fixed up. Once I realized who he was I tried begging him to take me here next to meet you, but then the Unsullied came and dragged him out of the city, saying that you ordered them to do that."

She relaxed. "That's right. I did."

"Why?" he asked. "He seemed like a good man. Devoted to your cause, and unlike him—" he threw Daario another dirty look "—he believed me. Other than Ser Barristan giving me money and buying me and Shadow our first decent meal in months, Ser Jorah was the only person I met who was willing to help us."

There was a long, tense silence as her advisers exchanged uneasy looks. Dany was quite rigid and refused to meet anyone's gaze. Aside from this young boy, everyone there already knew the reason as to Jorah had been banished, but the queen had never disclosed to any of them the full extent of the Northerner's betrayal. None of them knew about Rhaego, about how her whole world had shattered when she lost her baby boy. Jorah might have buried her child to spare her from more pain of seeing what that horrible woman's blood magic had done to her sweet son, but the fact that he played a role in nearly killing herself and her child before Rhaego was even born was what hurt the most. That was what hurt the most from the knight's duplicity, and it was the reason why she could never pardon him, regardless of how many times he had protected her since then.

"That matter is a private affair, and one which I am not at liberty to discuss," she said finally. "However, I don't understand how you being found by Ser Jorah prior to his exile from Meereen is relevant to how Daario is responsible for you and your wolf to be starving."

"Simple. Ser Jorah couldn't help me meet you after I told him why it was so important that I talk to you because you exiled him. Before he got thrown out, he told me to come here and wait to see you like everyone else does. Once my ankle was better I did that, but then that shithead threw me out of the reception hall!"

Daario scowled. "All right, that does it! My queen, listen to me when I say that this whole charade has gone on long enough! This brat is nuts! You're going to be insulted if you keep listening to his lies!"

A dark look spread across Barristan Selmy's face as he slowly rose, towering over the arrogant sellsword with an infuriated glare. "You would do well to stop making excuses for yourself, Daario Naharis. When all is said and done, I'm certain her grace will be demanding a full explanation as to why you wouldn't allow this boy to see her when he first arrived and tried to meet her properly."

Daario huffed, rolling his eyes. "And unlike this brat, I intend to tell our queen the truth." He turned to Dany, lips quickly turning up into a self-assured grin. "I am loyal to you, my queen, no one else. Trust me, you don't need to listen to this lying little brat any more. Just say the word and I'll have my men toss him out of the city like Jorah the Andal."

Dany's face hardened. She nearly scolded her lover for his arrogance, but Torrhen beat her to the punch.

"Are you stupid, or something?" he asked. "If you were truly loyal to the queen's cause, you'd have the brains to know that Ser Jorah's a Northerner like me, so we're both directly descended from the First Men of Westeros. Andals are everyone in Westeros who live south of the Neck."

Now Daario seemed to be getting genuinely mad. "Watch your tongue, brat, or else you might lose it."

"Daario," she hissed, flashing him a scathing look. Her lover huffed irritably, but luckily stayed silent. Then she turned her anger towards the young boy. "I warned you to show respect to my small council. This is your last chance, understand?"

Torrhen scowled. "I wasn't trying to be rude that time. I meant that literally. Only an idiot would call a First Man an Andal. It's a serious insult to Northerners, calling us Andals!"

To be fair, Jorah had never told any of them that. He never liked it when people here in Essos called him an Andal, but he never corrected them on it either. Still, how was this boy to know that. "Duly noted. Moving on, what is so important that you felt it necessary to meet me, Torrhen Snow? Why did Ser Jorah believe you to be telling the truth about this matter right away while Daario thinks you to be lying, and Ser Barristan believes you enough to bring you here to let me judge for myself?"

"My queen, there's no point—"

"Your grace, if I may—"

"I wish to hear his reason for myself, Ser Barristan, Daario. I shall be the one to determine if this boy is a liar, or an honest child." She nodded politely to Torrhen. "Go ahead, state your reason."

He smiled. "Like I said, my name is Torrhen Snow, and Shadow here's my direwolf brother. My twin sister though? Her name is Lyaella Snow, and our other sister's name is Sōnar, even though she's actually our dragon."

Everyone jerked at that, but none more so than Dany. "I… what? Say that again?"

"Our dragon, Sōnar. She's about the size of a horse right now."

She blinked, struggling to process his words. "And… And why exactly would the two of you have a dragon?"

"Because Lya and me are Targaryen bastards."

Daario scoffed at that while Ser Barristan smiled knowingly, but everyone else went wide-eyed with shock. Dany's shock outweighed them all, though. She forgot all about maintaining her usual queenly mask as she stared at Torrhen, lips parting slightly in her disbelief. Of all the reasons she might have suspected that this boy was so desperate to meet her, this idea had never even crossed her mind. And what was that he said about him and his sister having a dragon? Her dragons were supposed to be the only three in the world.

It took her several moments to find her voice. "I… I need a moment," she declared, rising from her seat. No one said anything as she crossed the room to stare through the sheer curtains covering the window. Her mind was a jumbled mess, but at that same time, it was utterly blank. What was she supposed to say to this? Was it really true and she wasn't alone anymore? Or was he just lying to get attention because he was starving and wanted a better life? If it was the latter, she couldn't be too angry with the child since he was only a child, but if it was the former… everything she knew was changing before her eyes.

It was nearly a full minute before she finally found the strength to turn and face Torrhen and his wolf again. "You're a Targaryen bastard, you say?" she asked. He nodded earnestly. "How can that be true? Since the death of my brother Viserys, I am the last Targaryen. Everyone else with my blood was killed during the rebellion by Robert the Usurper."

Torrhen sat up straighter. "Well, Lyaella and I are directly descended from House Targaryen, but because we're also Northerners, we've got Northern traces in our features. I've Northern dark hair with Targaryen violet eyes, but she's got Targaryen silver hair and Northern gray eyes. If she were here, you'd believe us right away about being related to your house, Queen Daenerys. Oh, and she always wears this one necklace with a Targaryen dragon charm, and I've got this, too."

He suddenly started fiddling with something on his waist, but before anyone could question him about it, he had unbuckled his sword belt and dropped it and his scabbard on top of the table.

"Look at the scabbard, your grace! It's the Targaryen emblem! And if that's not enough proof, then take a look at my eyes!"

The boy hopped down from his chair. He tried crossing the room to approach her, but before he took more than a few steps away from the table, he suddenly shook his head in a slight daze before tilting over. Hizdahr was the closest to him and quickly tried standing to catch him, but the wolf was faster. Quick as a flash, the beast went from lying on the ground to standing in front of the boy as Torrhen accidentally toppled on top of him. If he hurt the wolf, the wolf made no sign of it. He just wagged his tail and let the boy take as much time as he needed to stand upright again.

Dany briskly crossed the room to help Torrhen rise. There was no need for the boy to hurt himself by getting dizzy while walking right now. "Thank you," he muttered, nearly leaning into her as he tried to find his balance. Nodding in return, she helped the boy back into his chair, then promptly turned to pick up his scabbard.

"The emblem you mentioned, where is it?"

"Look near the top. It's close to where my sword pommel sticks out."

Her advisers all promptly gathered around, Grey Worm moving slightly slower than the others even with Missandei's help. Dany was only half-aware of them, though. Her gaze was focused solely on the leather in her hands as her eyes swept across the scabbard. Sure enough, she soon spotted it — a clumsily sewn three-headed dragon in shiny red thread right near the top of the scabbard.

"May I, your grace?" Barristan asked, his brows rising. Dany nodded, passing it to him without a word. "Extraordinary," he murmured, fingers lightly tracing over the sigil, "I'll admit that I hadn't even noticed this when I first saw him out in the market. It's only further proof, my queen."

"Perhaps," Missandei said skeptically, "but perhaps not. Anyone who knows how to thread a needle could've easily sewn that onto this scabbard."

"Yes, I agree," said the queen neutrally. "Do you mind if I check your eyes, Torrhen?"

He shook his head. "Go right ahead. I'm not lying, I swear! My eyes really are violet!"

Bending down a bit, she gently took Torrhen's chin between her fingers and tilted his head toward her as she peered intensely into his eyes. Sadly, it was impossible for her to make an accurate guess on what his eye color was. Between the room being cloaked in darkness from the drapes and his pupils still being somewhat dilated from his head injury, it was anyone's guess as to what color his eyes naturally were.

"You can tell, right?" he asked, smiling hopefully. "You see they're really violet!"

The queen bit her lip as she released his chin and took a step back. "Actually, I'm unable to verify what you say right now," she declared. "Your head injury has made your pupils dilated, and I can't tell they're proper coloring, especially not when the room is this dark."

"Oh," he frowned. "Then… Then you'll be able to tell what they are when I'm better, right?"

Her stomach twisted uneasily. She didn't want to hurt this boys' feelings, but still… "I suppose I could, but even if I did confirm that your eyes truly are Targaryen violet when you recover, that really isn't much proof whatsoever, even with your scabbard."

The boy stared at her for several moments, shocked. "You… You don't believe me?!"

She sighed. "Well, I—"

He shook his head, disgusted. "I don't believe this… I've been starving on the streets for two months just to get here and talk to you because I hoped you'd be overjoyed to meet me… but when I get here I find out you agree with that fucker with the goatee!"

"What did you—?!"

"I've been wasting my time, haven't I?! I should've just hopped on the first boat sailing back to Westeros the day that asshole had me thrown out on the streets! Good luck with your endeavors, Queen Daenerys! Shadow and I won't bother you ever again! Let's go, bud!"

Shooting all of them a dirty look, Torrhen hopped down from his chair and tried to encourage his wolf to follow him, but the boy easily got dizzy again. Were it not for the queen standing right before him, he easily would have toppled over. Still, he tried to shove himself away from Dany and storm out, but Dany easily caught his shoulder.

"I never said that I don't believe you, Torrhen Snow, just as I never said that I do."

Everyone became very quiet as they glanced curiously at the Dragon Queen, but Dany ignored them. Her sole focus was on Torrhen, and Torrhen alone. The boy looked utterly baffled by her response. "What? What d'you mean?"

She smiled, gesturing politely for him to sit back down. "Take a seat, please, before you fall down and hurt yourself even more." He blinked at her, but still did as she asked. Sliding back into her own chair, she made sure to keep her face fixed in a neutral look as she studied him for any signs of duplicity. There didn't appear to be any outward signs that he was lying, but for all she knew, the boy was simply an excellent liar. "I'm sorry for all the hardships you've endured here in Meereen, young man. Especially if they only happened because Captain Naharis didn't allow you to meet me when you first arrived."

Daario gaped. "Queen Daenerys—"

She held him a hand, not even sparing him a glance. "If you've been left starving, I'm truly sorry. However… I also cannot blame Captain Naharis for not believing you." Daario perked up at that, but Torrhen furrowed his brows, looking extremely puzzled. "It's odd that the sister you claim looks more Targaryen-like between you both is not here at this time, nor is this supposed-dragon you mentioned. Moreover, it's even more suspicious that the only Targaryen trait you claim to possess is impossible to confirm at this time because of your head injury. That scabbard over there? Anyone could have sewn that emblem onto it, so I can't consider it genuine proof. I don't mean to be rude to you, Torrhen Snow, but you have to understand why I'm reluctant to believe you. I'm not claiming your lying, but I'm not saying I think you're telling the truth, either."

Barristan frowned at her, but her other advisers all nodded in quiet agreement. Dany hated to disappoint her loyal knight, but she couldn't blindly believe him about this. If Barristan was correct about the boy being somehow related to her, then she would be overjoyed and would thank him and Grey Worm for protecting him during that Harpy attack. But if Barristan was wrong… she wouldn't hold this mistake against him, as she knew how profoundly loyal he was to her cause, but the boy wouldn't be able to stay here. She'd give him some provisions to take care of himself and see to it that he was placed with a good family here in Meereen. She wouldn't blame a child this young for just trying to get a better life for himself, but she couldn't house a liar in her court over a matter such as this.

Torrhen stared at her for a long moment, then sighed irritably. "What can I do to convince you, then?" he asked.

"You could start by providing some more details about why your sister and this dragon you mentioned are now with you, as well as explain who your parents are."

The boy tensed a bit, then sighed again as he looked away. "Lyaella and I never had parents," he mumbled, turning to pet his wolf. Shadow whined slightly, tail wagging as he scratched him behind the ears. "They both died when we were babies. We were raised by the Bitch of the North and our other Northern relatives."

Dany blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

He huffed, rolling his eyes. "Don't ask me to be respectful on this, your grace. Mine and Lya's relatives are the cruelest, most twisted people you could ever meet. They did everything they could to squash out our Targaryen heritage."

"Come now," Missandei gently interjected. "I'm sure that's not—"

"No, I know what I'm talking about, here. None of you are allowed to defend them either. They're the ones who deliberately plotted to get our parents killed, after all!"

Nobody said anything to that, not even Daario. Dany just exchanged wide-eyed looks with each of her councilors, not even sure what to think about that revelation.

Torrhen shook his head bitterly, disgusted by whoever his relatives were. "My relatives are monsters, your grace. Lyaella and I both know they'd rather see the world burn down to ashes then let House Targaryen rise again. Were it up to them, Sōnar would be dead, too."

Dany's mind was reeling. It was clear by how angry and bitter Torrhen was that he wasn't lying at least about his relatives being cruel, but there was a loophole in what he was saying. A fairly big one, too. "I believe you when you say you're relatives aren't fond of House Targaryen, but if they were trying to stamp out your Valyrian heritage, then your story doesn't make sense."

He blinked at her, visibly puzzled. "What? I don't understand what you mean."

She frowned, her skepticism only growing. "If your relatives didn't want you or your sister to embrace the Targaryen side of your parentage, then why would either of you have a dragon? Why are you allowed to walk around with the Targaryen symbol on your sword scabbard while your sister has a Targaryen emblem necklace?"

For the first time, the boy froze as though caught in a lie. He didn't answer her right away at first, either. Instead, he just stared at her, looking completely lost for words. His direwolf nudged him with the top of his head, whining to get his attention, but his master ignored him. He didn't even seem to know how to answer this question.

"I… Well… The thing is…" Torrhen bit his lip, shaking his head lightly with every failed attempt to speak.

Dany's eyes narrowed. Perhaps she'd been right to be skeptical. If he were truly honest, a question like this shouldn't have caught him off guard. "I'm waiting for an explanation," she declared. "If you can't answer this, I'll assume you're lying about everything."

Torrhen sighed. "I'm not lying, your grace," he bitterly mumbled, softly running his fingers through Shadow's thick fur. "I'm just… well, my sister and I got some money from our relatives for our seventh nameday. They told us we could spend it however we wanted so we could get ourselves a gift we actually wanted. I wanted a new scabbard for my training sword, and Lyaella wanted a silver necklace. The thing is… our relatives never specified that we weren't allowed to add certain details on our stuff. Lyaella sewed the emblem on there," he said, pointing directly to the sigil on his scabbard. "She's not the best when it comes to sewing, but she does all right. And I spent what was leftover on my savings to pay for the silversmith to turn her silver pendant into the Targaryen emblem. I know I paid three times what he'd normally charge for such work and I got ripped off, but it was worth it! She was so happy to have that detail added onto it, and I was thrilled by how she personalized my scabbard. They were nice presents we gave each other."

She silently considered this. It was a bit of a stretch was he was saying, but it still seemed somewhat plausible…

"That doesn't explain how the two of you have a dragon, though," she pointed out, folding her hands together across the table. "I'd like to hear details on that."

He tensed again, deliberately dragging Shadow's head onto his lap. "Sōnar's dragon egg was another nameday present, your grace," he mumbled, staring directly at his wolf instead of her.

Hizdahr furrowed his brows, confused. "That makes no sense. If your relatives didn't want either of you to embrace your Targaryen heritage, then why—"

"Her egg wasn't a present from our relatives. It was a gift from one of the few people we've met that actually treat like us like people instead of monsters," he spat. "But don't expect to hear any more than that."

Grey Worm lips pressed together in a tight line. "Why not tell—"

"No!" the boy snarled, his temper rising. "I'm not obligated to tell you any more than that, regardless on whether or not your queen believes me!"

Dany glanced around at her advisers. This sudden rage was completely unexpected. It was one thing when he'd been insulting Daario — he'd been annoyed at the most, and was acting more like a whiny child rather than seriously angry. Now, though? Now he looked ready to ignore his concussion and storm out of the room if he could if someone pressed him any further right now. Still, Dany needed to press him further. She needed a legitimate reason as to why she should believe him about this.

"That's not good enough. I need more specific details at the very least, or else I have no reason to believe you."

He scowled at her, but for some reason, it seemed to be rather sad instead of angry this time. "I don't want to talk about this, if you don't mind, your grace."

"Why?"

"Because while Sōnar is mine and Lya's friend and her egg was one of the best nameday presents we ever got… the reason why she hatched is a bad memory. We don't talk about that day. Not ever."

The queen didn't know what to think about this, and could only exchange more tense looks with the rest of her small council. "Your avoidance on this matter is not earning you any favorable points on why I should believe your tale," she said firmly. "I don't know what may or may not have happened to you, but can you at least tell me more about this sister of yours, then? Why is she and this dragon not with you?"

He shrugged. "Me and Shadow got separated from them before we even got to Meereen, and to be honest, I don't think they even made it to Essos at all and they're still somewhere in the North. Don't assume I'm lying just because I can't give you a straight answer on this, either, because it was not our fault we got separated! Were it up to me and Lya, we'd both be here together right now explaining all this! If you wanna blame someone for not having us be together right now, blame the Bitch of the North and our other relatives! It's their fault!"

"I don't understand…"

"Lyaella and I hate our relatives, your grace. If you wanted to kill them for the things they've done to us and our parents, we wouldn't help you do it since they still are our relatives, but we wouldn't stop you either," he explained. "We've been dreaming for years about running away from from them. We finally got the chance to leave for good, so we jumped at the opportunity."

"You… You both ran away?" Missandei repeated, incredulous.

He earnestly nodded. "Don't look at me like that! If you were forced to live with the same monsters who had killed your parents, wouldn't you want to runaway too if you had the chance?"

Missandei fell silent, but Dany didn't miss how her and Grey Worm met each other's gazes at his question. As former slaves who'd been made into property by the former masters, they knew the answer to that question better than anyone, and not even Dany could criticize this boy on his viewpoint. This was part of the reason why she was fighting to end slavery throughout all of Slaver's Bay, after all.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes.' Anyway, Lya and I had a chance to run, so we took it. Problem was, we didn't anticipate on our relatives finding out about it. I don't know how they found out, but they did, and they tried stopping us."

"And that's how you both got separated?" Barristan asked. "You got away, but your sister didn't?"

Torrhen considered his question, then hesitantly shrugged. "I'm honestly not sure where Lyaella or Sōnar are right now, but I think they're still somewhere back in the North, just not with our relatives. If there's one thing you must believe me about, it's that. Lyaella would never stay with our relatives if I wasn't with her. Trust me when on that, if nothing else."

Silence reigned throughout the council chambers as everyone slowly turned to look at her, but Dany didn't meet anyone's gazes. She wasn't sure what to think after hearing all this. In terms of believing she wasn't alone anymore as the very last of House Targaryen, her mind was pulling her in two separate directions, one side desperately wanting to believe this boy, while the other was demanding her to be wary and skeptical of his tale. What was she supposed to say to all of this? Was being skeptical a sign that she was being a smart queen, or overly paranoid?

Moreover, was the main reason why she was reluctant to believe him because she couldn't help but imagine what Rhaego would've been like if he'd lived to be close to Torrhen's age?

She thickly swallowed, pushing the thought as far away from herself as she could. She couldn't dwell on that. Should she linger on his memory for too long, she'd drown in her sorrow. She had to forget that time in her life. She closed her eyes briefly to gather her strength, and by the time she opened them again, she had regained her queenly mask of neutrality.

"Well, Torrhen Snow," she declared, "I'm still not sure what to make of your story, but in the meantime you are more than welcome to stay here in the Great Pyramid. Consider it my way of thanking you for helping save the lives of Ser Barristan and Commander Grey Worm when the Sons of the Harpy attacked."

That made him perk up. He seemed genuinely surprised. "Really? You'll let me stay?"

"Certainly. Until I know for sure whether or not your story is true, I cannot in good conscious send you away."

"Your grace?" Ser Barristan chimed in. "If it's all right with you, I'd be happy to have the boy apprentice under me as my squire."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I saw for myself he's good with a sword, if only inexperienced in fighting for real. If you don't mind and you, Torrhen, are interested, I'd be happy to train you."

Dany had nothing against the idea and merely looked to the boy to see if he was all right with it. If anything, Torrhen seemed excited by the prospect.

"You really wish to train me, Ser Barristan? Truly?"

"Absolutely."

"Wow! I can't believe I'm gonna be your squire! I mean… you're Barristan the Bold! This is a tremendous honor, ser! Thank you!"

Barristan chuckled. "I'm glad you approve of the idea, but for now, consider your first task to be focusing on getting better. I'll call over another guard and have them escort you back to your solar from before while someone else fetches the maester from earlier."

"What? But can't I—"

He held up a hand, silencing the boys' protests on the spot. "Until you're fully healed, it's too risky to train or give your other tasks to carry out. When you're better, we can work together then, all right?"

Torrhen sighed, but still nodded in understanding. "All right…"

"Good."

Waving over one of the Unsullied guards standing on the sidelines, Barristan politely requested that they escort the boy and his wolf back to the guest chamber, and after only a quick delay in which the boy insisted on bowing politely to Dany one last time, he followed the soldier out, his direwolf right on his heels as he went.

Everyone waited until he was gone before they immediately rounded on their queen.

"Your grace!"

"You believe me now, right?"

"Daario was correct, your grace. He must be lying!"

"He's only a child! Even if he's lying, I doubt he means any real harm!"

"My queen, what you think of him?"

Everyone was throwing out their thoughts so fast, Dany couldn't even keep up with them. She couldn't even get her own thoughts in order, let alone listen to anyone else's. She held up a hand to call for silence. "Enough! All of you!" she demanded. Gradually, her councilors hushed themselves and waited in obedient silence as she absorbed everything that had just transpired. Finally, she inhaled deeply and rounded on Daario. "Captain Naharis, explain to me right now why you did not escort that boy and his wolf to me when he first arrived here at the Great Pyramid."

Daario shifted, clearly not expecting her sudden anger. "My queen, I thought you said you didn't believe that boy's story?"

Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she stared him down. "That is not your concern, Captain Naharis, nor is that the answer that I seek. Tell me now why you did not have Torrhen Snow and his direwolf brought before me when he first tried to meet me here during a court session."

He tensed, not accustomed to being on teh receiving end of his queen's anger. "Y-Your grace—"

"Choose your words very carefully. I am not in a mood to be trifled with, I hope you know."

He seemed to pick up on the seriousness behind her words and quickly nodded. "Right, well… I honestly don't believe he's telling the truth, my queen. I-I-I mean, you saw him. He doesn't look like a Targaryen at first glance at all!"

"Perhaps not, but still… you didn't think to bring him before me so I could judge for myself?"

"My queen, had you'd seen how he was acting out there in the reception hall, you wouldn't have wanted to speak to him at all! He was demanding to see you even after you had us close the court early for the day and compensate everyone with extra food rations for needing to turn them away! Seriously, he acted like a spoiled little shit! I thought I was doing you a favor!"

She pursed her lips, unwilling to let the brief flicker of concern show on her face. "Regardless, I am very disappointed in you. If someone were to ever claim to somehow be related to me, I would expect my council members to bring him or her before me immediately. I've gone too long believing I'm the sole hope for my House and restoring House Targaryen to its former glory. That there could be others out there that are directly related to me…" she turned away, trying to reign in her emotions. It took her a moment, but finally she shook her head, and fixed Daario with a piercing gaze. "Go join the rest of your men in the streets."

Daario blinked. "My queen?"

"You are to join the rest of the Second Sons in passing out provisions and rations to everyone on the streets from dawn to dusk until further notice."

"What?! But — But my queen —"

"You dare question my orders? Go. Now."

Silence spread across the council chambers, no one daring to so much as breathe loudly. There was no mistaking the anger radiating off their queen at that moment. Dany wasn't just angry, she was furious with the leader of her sellswords. To risk disobeying her right then was to risk the waking the full rage of the dragon. Daario still looked like he wanted to protest, but he had enough brains to realize that this was not the time to plead his case further. Swallowing his pride, he stiffly bowed and left the room without another word.

Dany waited until he was gone before letting her queenly mask drop. She sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "What a mess… What a mess he made… Had he only brought that boy to me the moment he first came here, perhaps that child wouldn't have been so bitter right now…"

"Your grace, I don't mean to side with Captain Naharis right now, especially since you have every right to be angry with him," Hizdahr hesitantly began. "But are you certain you should trust that boy? He's appeared out of nowhere, and his story has so many holes in it… You don't honestly believe he could really be related to you somehow, do you?"

"I don't know what to believe right now, Hizdahr," she said, exasperated. "I know I promised that we would discuss the rebuilding project in further detail later… but with all possible respect I can give, may we postpone that discussion until tomorrow? I have a great deal to consider now regarding that child."

He politely bowed. "Of course, my queen. I completely understand. I shall return first thing tomorrow and we can discuss the status of Meereen then."

"Thank you, Hizdahr. Could you please see him out, Missandei?"

"At once, your grace."

Curtsying politely to Dany, Missandei briskly led the nobleman out of the chamber, leaving the queen alone with Barristan and Grey Worm.

"My queen," said Grey Worm thickly. "I tell you… Unsullied knew nothing about boy's story. If… If any did, they not tell me. I swear I would tell you if I'd suspected—"

"It's all right, Grey Worm. I believe you," she assured him. "I hold no anger towards you or your men. My anger right now is directed solely at Captain Naharis and the Second Sons. If anything, I'm grateful that you and Ser Barristan brought that boy here instead of taking him to a sickhouse."

"It no trouble, my queen."

"Your grace, I understand why you're… hesitant to blindly believe this boy's story," Barristan politely cut in, "but I swear to you on the soul of your late brother Rhaegar, I am thoroughly convinced he is somehow related to you."

"Truly, Ser Barristan?"

"Absolutely, my queen. I swear to you, those boys eyes are the exact same shade of violet as your own, and I doubt that Torrhen himself is aware of this, but he has an uncanny resemblance to your eldest brother, his hair simply being black instead of silver. Not to mention what he was even doing when I first met him…"

Dany raised a brow, intrigued. "Go on, please. What was that boy up to when you first saw him?"

The knight prepared to answer her, but then stopped, considering her request. "With all due respect, your grace, may I speak to that boy a bit more before I explain that further? I'm not trying to hide anything from you, I just want to see how plausible his story really is by finding out if Torrhen himself is even aware of this similarity."

She nodded. "Very well, but please make sure to share his answer with me later. I too wish to judge him in discovering if he's telling the truth or not."

"Certainly, your grace."

"My queen," said Grey Worm, "I think like you about boy. I don't know what to think of his story, but if he's just looking for better life, let him stay. I know what happens to children alone on streets of Essos. With Sons of Harpy's around, they might take him, sell him to slavers. That boy's young enough to become proper slave."

Her anger bristled at the very thought. "I have no intention of abandoning that orphaned child that young back on the streets, especially not when the Sons of the Harpy are still at large," she reassured him. "If he's lying though… I'll see to it that he's placed with a good family here in Meereen. I can't have him stay here if he's lying about being related to me, that would set a bad precedent… but I won't just throw him out either. He's only a child."

Barristan and Grey Worm both nodded in agreement. That was fair and understandable in their eyes, and their queen was right. It'd be one thing if someone close to Dany's age suddenly appeared out of the blue claiming to be a long-lost Targaryen relative — that person would most likely be trying to compete with their queen for her claim to the Iron Throne — but Torrhen was only a boy. A boy that had been literally starving on the streets and had only wanted to meet the legendary Dragon Queen. He wasn't a threat to any of them, nor did he appear to have any desire to be a threat. That he claimed to have a missing sister with a dragon out there somewhere was shocking, but at the moment, he seemed harmless.

"Is there anything else we can do for you, your grace?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you, Ser Barristan. You and Grey Worm may both take your leave, and please do rest, Grey Worm. I'd hate for you to further injure yourself."

The two nodded and took their leave. At last, she was alone.

Dany sighed and moved aside one of the curtains to step out onto the balcony. That young boy had been such an unexpected interruption in her life, and she wasn't sure whether to think of him as a blessing or a curse due to her uncertainty regarding his story. If he was telling the truth, she was overjoyed. She wasn't alone anymore, and in addition to him, there was one more Targaryen child out in the world too, a little girl. Though if he was lying… her heart ached at the thought for getting her hopes up, and she couldn't help but clutch the fabric of her dress over her heart as she stared out over the city. If he was lying, she wouldn't let him stay in the Great Pyramid. She would forgive him considering he was just a child and probably desperate to get off the streets, but he wouldn't be permitted to stay. She wouldn't be able to handle looking at him every day and being reminded each and every time of her precious little Rhaego when she looked into his face if he turned out to be a liar.

Rhaego… he would have had dark hair and violet eyes too, judging by that one vision she'd seen of him in the House of the Undying, but what would he have been like as a person? Short-tempered with a runaway tongue like young Torrhen Snow, or gruff on the outside while secretly gentle and caring on the inside like her dearly departed sun and stars? What would life be like for her today had her son and Drogo had lived…?

She jolted at that thought, and clutched the balcony railing even tighter between her fists. No, she mustn't think about such things. She knew her mantra on how to endure her painful past: If I look back, I am lost. She could not dwell on her mistakes from before. To remember such horrible memories was to risk losing herself to them now and forever.

Steeling herself with her fresh resolve, Dany closed her eyes for one brief moment as she gave into the pain, and as soon as she opened them again, she locked it away into the furthest depths of her memories and headed back inside. Whatever the case was with young Torrhen Snow, whether he was telling the truth or lying about being a Targaryen bastard, she must always remember to act appropriately as a queen around him — kind and regally polite, but never too open. It was the only way she could protect her heart in the event that he is lying.

Because she knew herself too well. To lose another little boy the same way she lost her sweet Rhaego would destroy her.