DAENERYS
The leather straps that were wrapped around her waist dug uncomfortably into her sides; despite the well-crafted Dothraki leathers she was wearing. Dany knew that she would have to have words with the new saddle maker about making changes. It would not do to have the saddle pain her when in use.
Dany had to concentrate on the battle going on in the city beneath her, not the pain flaring in her sides when Drogon was making a sharp turn in the air.
Circling over the red city, Dany watched her Dothraki riders charge through the streets while the Greyjoys attacked from the harbour, blocking any hope of escape to the sea.
There was a sense of justice that filled her when she saw the black fires of Drogon´s rage through the city. Latching on to anything flammable among the red bricks and destroying the last bastion of the Slavers.
The city where her faithful commander, Greyworm had been trained and mutilated as well as countless of other boys.
Under her reign there would be no tolerance for such practises. Where boys were trained to become Unsullied and babes taken from their mother´s breast to be killed before their weeping eyes, only for the slaver who owned them to be compensated because the child had been their property.
The very idea of Drogon being hurt and the person throwing money at her made her blood boil with the fury of the dragon.
Drogon let out a roar, almost as if listening to her thoughts as they flew the city again, the tips of his enormous wings almost brushing against the tallest of the buildings.
Daenerys Targaryen, first of her name would bring justice to all, for all the mothers who had lost their children and for all the children who had been forced to serve weak willed masters, who thought themselves better than they were.
Content with having others do the work for them, those infernal masters had never done a hard day´s work or sacrificed anything in their life. Not like her, who had been forced to grow up knowing that her birth right had been stolen from her and then sold into marriage.
However, Dany had risen like a dragon from the ashes. She had defied the odds and hatched three dragons back into the world and thrived where her weak brother had died.
If Viserys had been given the eggs, he would never have been able to hatch them and if somehow, he had been given a dragon, her brother would never have been able to train and control them, not like her.
Taking a deep breath as she urged Drogon to fly lower, feeling the heat from her dragon and the smoky air whip through her short, silver locks as the bells jingled merrily.
As Drogon took another turn, her eyes caught a glint of bronze in the sunlight. A familiar statue of a harpy with chains dangling from her talons in the centre of the Plaza of Pride, placed on a fountain of red bricks caused a surge of anger to rush through her.
That is where she had first met the Unsullied before freeing them from enslavement.
Ordering Drogon to fly over the Plaza, she felt the wind in her hair as she shouted the word, "DRACARYS". The black flames rushed over the square and soon engulfed the harpy.
Circling around, Dany could see the once prideful creature start to melt into the brick fountain. The features of the harpy quickly distorting, turning the already horrid creature into an abomination before it descended completely into the water, causing steam to rise and the water to bubble like it was in a cauldron.
Drogon let out a shriek of victory as they flew higher in the sky. Never again would the Harpy rule over the Bay of Drogon.
Now it was hers. Completely and entirely.
Directing Drogon to fly to the largest pyramid in Astapor, Dany was sure that this defeat would break the Sons of the Harpy that had been terrorising Meereen in the masters´ name. Both Yunkai and Astapor had been punished for their treachery and soon she would be heading west to take back her throne.
Landing at the base of the pyramid, Drogon let out another roar that shook the very earth and caused her bloodriders to cheer wildly as their horses neighed and reared back in fright of the Dread.
Reaching around her waist, Dany begun the irritating task of loosening the knots that held her in saddle. Thankfully her fingers were quick, and it did not take her long to unbind herself from the contraption, yet Dany was determined to have the new saddle maker take a look at leather straps, to see if he could do a better job than his predecessor.
It would not do to have the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms struggle to unfasten herself from her dragon.
When she slid down from Drogon´s back, her mount shrieked and shook his great horned head. Patting his long, graceful neck, Dany smiled at him. He was getting easier to control and yet she knew that the saddle irritated him as much as it did her.
"Calm yourself Drogon." Dany said to him, slowly working her way closer to his head.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her honour guard slowly making their way to her and Drogon and Dany noticed the terrified looks on the Dothraki Bloodriders as they neared the black dragon.
The black dread spotted them, and as soon as his blood red eyes turned to them, they stilled as they had been turned to statues. Turning his large head, forcing Dany to take a few steps back, Drogon let out a deafening roar in the men´s direction.
Her Bloodriders moved back, their eyes wide with fear and the message seemed to have been received.
The Dread was not a horse and would not be treated as such.
Moving closer to his head, Dany watched as he bared his teeth, his red eyes darting between the hoard and the men who had dared to approach him, almost as if he was waiting to pounce.
"Be calm Drogon." Dany repeated to her child in their mother´s tongue of High Valyrian. "Soon we shall leave this place and lay waste to our enemies."
Letting out another shriek, this one a little softer and yet not any less threatening to anyone other than her who might dare come too close to him.
"My Queen." Dany turned from her child when Daario Naharis called to her as he walked out of the pyramid with his trusted lieutenants of the Second sons. "We have secured the pyramid."
As soon as Dany started to move towards Daario, Drogon let out another roar and took to the skies, kicking up the dust as he went. Allowing her Bloodriders to fall in around her.
"Another glorious victory under your belt, my Queen." A handsome smirk was on the man´s face as he swaggered to her side. "You will be sitting on the Iron throne before you know it."
"Good. The sooner, the better." Dany watched Ser Barristan walk over and despite his self-imposed silence and best imitation of a statue, the man walked with the grace of a dancer to her side and fell into step just behind her to guard her back. "Soon we will be back home, Ser and we can start rebuilding the Seven Kingdoms."
"Indeed, your grace." His words were as stiff as a plank of wood and he stared ahead, his blue eyes not giving anything away.
Anger rose in her again at his response. She had just defeated the masters of Astapor and now the end of slavery was all but assured and he could not even be bothered to be happy for her success.
"My Queen, we have prepared the quarters for you in the pyramid." Daario said, his eyes roaming over her body. "And I have taken the liberty of having your maids draw a bath for you."
"Thank you, Daario." Smiling at the man, Dany knew that he would need a more permanent position at her court before they left for Westeros. The man had served her well and faithfully and the reward needed to reflect that. "I shall take advantage of that immediately, meanwhile I shall leave the rest in your capable hands."
Dany watched as the man´s face fell for a moment and disappointment shone in his eyes before it disappeared. "Of course, your grace." Bowing deeply and throwing a wink her way, the man rushed forward to where the Dothraki were waiting for him.
Dany and her guard were led into the pyramid and she could see many of the men taking down the golden statues and decorations that littered the halls. Turning to one of her Bloodriders, Dany spoke to him quickly in Dothraki. "I want all items of value to be shipped to Meereen just like we did in Yunkai. I have need of them for the war."
Nodding, the man rushed to follow her command and quickly disappeared from her sight. Dany made her way to the top of the pyramid where the quarters that had been prepared for her were located and left her guard and lord commander outside.
She was greeted by her Dothraki maids who helped her disrobe and made her way to the white marble pool that was built into the floor, before the wide balcony, overlooking the bay.
Letting out a sigh, Dany allowed her body to sink into the water, that would have scalded anyone who was not of the blood of the dragon and allowed her aching muscles to relax.
One of the Dothraki women, Jhairri started to untangle the bells from her silver locks and put them aside to be cleaned before she started to wash Dany´s hair.
There was nothing more divine than feeling the fingers of Jhairri´s massage her scalp and delicately detangling her silver hair as the scented oils tickled her nose.
The Dothraki girl, careful not to touch the bathwater, fretted over the silver locks. "It is a shame, Khalessi. That your hair was shortened in the Fighting Pit."
Dany smiled at her, a warm feeling rising in her chest at Jhairri´s kind words. "It was a small sacrifice." Replying to her in Dothraki, letting her small dainty index finger trace at the surface of the water. "In return I have Drogon back at my side."
Her dearest child, who had helped her take back the Slave cities of Yunkai and Astapor, was worth losing a small part of her hair for a short time. Thankfully it was not an indignity she would have to suffer for that much longer.
"Yes Khalessi, the black shadow is the greatest mount in the world. Greater than any of the Khal´s have ever commanded."
"He is." Dany took a deep breath. The remnants of battle energy surging in her veins as she glanced at the red marks from the saddle. "He is Balerion the black dread reborn."
Another servant girl handed her a cup of sweet wine. After taking a sip, Dany cheerfully noticed that the ache that had so often bothered her for the last few months stung less than normally and was much quicker to leave her. Putting the cup on the edge of the tub, Dany relaxed in the pool, allowing her violet eyes to close as she basked in the happy revelation.
"Can you tell me about him, Khalessi?" Jhairri asked quietly as she continued to work on her hair.
"Humm?" Slightly turning to look at the Dothraki woman, Dany raised a brow in a silent question.
"Balerion. Will you tell me about him?"
"Of course." Dany smiled at the girl´s shy request. "Balerion was the mount of Aegon the Conqueror. He was as black of scale as Drogon and his wings were so vast that whole towns were cast in shadow when he flew overhead. It was his fires that melted the stone of the castle Harrenhall and ended Harren the Pretender and his line."
"Who is Harren the Pretender?"
Dany tried to remember the last name of the master of Harrenhall and the more she thought the further it seemed to slip out of her grasp. "The King of the Riverlands."
"Oh, I do not know where they are."
Dany said nothing, allowing a hush to fall over the room as she stared ahead at the white marble walls. Viserys had told her that after Aegon the Dragon had burnt down Harrenhall, the lords of the Riverlands had flocked to him and sworn themselves to serve the Conqueror.
The oaths that their descendants had discarded when they rose in rebellion against her father. They would have to answer for their treachery.
Ser Barristan and lord Tyrion could say what they liked but the lords had no right to rise against their King and flock to the Usurper who had only been interested in the throne.
"The black dread´s fire could really melt stone Khalessi?"
"Of course, he could. Balerion was the greatest of the Targaryen dragons, until Drogon was hatched." The pride that filled her at thinking about her beloved dragon almost made her forget about the traitors that awaited her in the Seven Kingdoms. No doubt they would try and cast the blame elsewhere or make her forget how they had betrayed her father.
But the dragon did not forget.
"So, the dread was just like the green one?"
"The green one? You mean Rhaegal?" Dany now turned in the pool to look at the girl as a frown pulled at her face. The water that had been delightfully warm only a moment ago, now seemed to grow colder.
"Yes, Khalessi." The Dothraki girl´s face alight with curiosity and excitement shone from her face. "I have seen where the green one and the white one broke out of the pyramid of Meereen. The stone was still cooling down and I heard that some men were trying to shape the melted stone into jewellery to sell."
"They are?" Dany knew that she should be surprised but for some reason she was not. The jewellery made from the fires of her dragons would be worth more than their weight in gold.
"Yes, Khalessi." Jhairri smiled happily as Dany turned around again in the pool, the frown still on her face. "I even heard that many would be happy to have such unique and precious stones on their person. Even the Khal´s."
A strange feeling followed Jhairri´s words. A feeling that seemed to seep into her bones and claw at her innards.
Why did Rhaegal´s fires burn hotter than both Viserion´s and Drogon´s? Had it been a fluke or was there something else?
Dany could not find any reason as to why. Rhaegal was smaller than Drogon so why did his fire melt stone?
A soft knock could be heard on the heavy bronze door and one of the serving girls rushed to see who it was as Jhairri asked excitedly. "Can you tell me about the green one? I have never seen him up close."
Dany felt the feeling rise in her again at the question. "Not now, Jhairri. Go and find out why someone is disturbing me."
The girl rushed to the door where the other serving woman was talking to the person disturbing her rest.
Closing her eyes again Dany tried to relax but the question of Rhaegal´s fires continued to burn in her. Drogon was the greatest and largest of her three dragons, so why did his fires not melt stone?
"Khalessi." Dany opened her eyes again as Jhairri spoke again. "Daario Naharis is asking for your attendance in the Harpy´s chamber. There is news."
With a sigh, Dany stood up and climbed out of the pool, regretting having to leave the warm water, yet she knew that Daario would never dare to interrupt her without good reason.
After having dried, dressed and braided the bells back into her hair, Dany exited the chambers with Ser Barristan, who had been standing at the door following her.
The man remained silent as two Second sons opened the door to the Harpy´s chamber as Dany glared at the two facing beasts etched into the bronze door.
Inside the lofty room, with its tall pillars crafted into statues of tall women with their tails like scorpions as they reached to the ceiling as if holding the roof up with the tips of their bat like wings, stood Daario Naharis and Asha Greyjoy.
"My Queen." The sellsword bowed deeply as she entered, while lady Greyjoy´s bow was stiff and quick as if it was the most painful experience of her life.
The woman would have to be watched. The Greyjoy´s could not be trusted.
"Why have you asked for me?" At her question the sellsword seemed to lose some of his former confidence.
"There has been an issue, my Queen. However, let me assure you that I will not rest until it is rectified."
"Oh?" Raising a brow Dany walked over to a large table of beaten bronze that made Dany frown again. Her violet eyes traced the gold that had been expertly worked into shapes of Harpy´s and other monstrosities, even slaves fighting in what Dany assumed to the fighting pits of Astapor.
Taking her seat at its head, Dany turned her eyes to her lover. "What sort of an issue?"
Clearing his throat, Daario´s bright yellow outfit still covered with dust, ash and blood and his bright blue eyes alight with the aftermath of battle, Dany was sure that she had never found him as handsome as right now. "The masters of Astapor are nowhere to be found."
"What?" Dany asked the man, her voice filled with anger as both he and lady Greyjoy seemed more nervous than before. "Where could they have gone off to?"
"We are not sure, my Queen." The normally confidant man sounded so unlike himself at that moment that Dany felt herself grow uneasy. "We have looked everywhere and arrested their servants."
Asha Greyjoy tried to look disinterested in their conversation, yet Dany was sure she could see a hint of a smile creeping onto her face. Feeling her blood boil at the lady´s smirk, the Queen wanted nothing more than yell and scream at her. The Ironborn had not come to her father´s aid when he had been faced with betrayals from every direction, the daughter of the man who had abandoned her father could not be relied upon.
"What are you doing about this?" Dany demanded, dragging her attention back to Daario while she barely managed to bury the anger at the other woman. "They need to be found and held accountable for their treasons."
She could almost feel Ser Barristan´s gaze on her as the lord commander stood just behind her. Remembering how he had begged her to reconsider attacking Yunkai brought a dreaded thought in her head.
Had her knight helped the Slaver´s escape?
Almost as soon as the thought wormed its way into her mind, Dany cast it out. No, it could not be. The man was faithful to her.
Like how he was faithful to your father? A snide voice asked her. So faithful that he served the Usurper when she had been alive in Essos?
Pushing those thoughts out of her mind, Dany focused on the matter at hand. "Have the servants been questioned?"
"Not…sharply, my Queen." Daario said, his words slow and precise.
Dany let the words hang in the air for a moment before nodding. "Question them. I want answers and I want them now."
SAM
The pain was the first thing that registered in his mind. It pressed him from all sides, clawing at him as the darkness swam across his mind, pulling him further under.
Trying to scream or yell for help, Sam felt something claw its way down his throat. It was like someone was holding a handful of sand and forcing down his mouth.
Sam thought he heard his name being called from far away. "Sam. Sam. SAM!"
A sharp pain flared in his face, as the voice grew higher and more panicked. His eyes shot opened, and a cough forced its way out of his mouth, leaving his throat burning with ache that it left in its wake.
Arms wrapped themselves around his neck and he felt someone hug him tight. "I was so worried about you Sam." The Dornish accent tickled the ear and Alleras´ voice seemed rather higher with fear for him.
"I am fine," Sam croaked like a dying frog as he hugged his friend back. "Where-."
"We have to go." Alleras demanded and rose to his feet, trying to pull Sam along with him. "We are not safe here. We must go."
As she spoke an unearthly roar echoed of the ruined stone all around them, and he could see his friend shudder with fear. "What is that?"
Looking up to the sky, Sam felt hope that maybe Jon had arrived with his dragon. Yet he saw no hint of wings in the air. Only dust and smoke that had been lingering over the city since the Greyjoys arrived.
Alleras did not answer him, rather pulled him forward and dragged him along the ruined streets of Oldtown. Coughing and stumbling after his friend, Sam felt his vision fill with black spots that came and went like little bees rushing around his head. "Alleras stop, I must rest for a moment."
The Dornish man halted and allowed Sam to lean against a half-collapsed wall. "Are you about to faint?"
"No, I don't think so, I just need to breath for a moment." Screams could be heard from all around the city from where Sam was gasping for air and hoping that his vision would clear up as another roar was heard. "What happened? What is that thing?"
Alleras looked pale and his eyes were wide. "A Kraken."
Staring at his friend, Sam almost slid down the wall in his shock. "Krakens, here? How?"
The Dornish man´s horrified eyes stared into Sam´s own. "I was wrong. They aren't taking prisoners to sell in the slave markets of Essos. They are killing people and throwing them into the sea."
"What? They are just killing them?" A memory slithered through the fog of horror that rose in his mind. Reading about Aegon´s conquest, after the extinction of house Hoare, the sea around the Iron Islands had run red with blood and littered with the bodies of Ironborn. Krakens had risen from the deep and started to devour the corpses.
Instead of answering him, Alleras tugged on his arm again. "We cannot linger here. We are too exposed, and we need to get you back to the citadel."
Alleras led him through the labyrinth of fallen and half fallen houses and as Sam´s eyes darted to the direction of the Honeywine, as if trying to see the beasts of the deep. Yet they remained obscured, and the only indication that the krakens were there, were the deep roars and screams of terror.
Trudging forward, they made their way further away from the river, away from the kraken, and hopefully away from the Reavers.
Sam´s hopes were dashed as they heard shouting coming from behind them, and he felt his heart leap with fear as Alleras gripped his arm harder, dragging him forward.
The Reaver´s war cries reverberated off the stone walls and streets and Sam felt his legs scream in pain from the effort it took for him to run and keep up with Alleras. His vision started to darken again, and he stumbled.
Letting go of Alleras´ hand, Sam fell onto the stone pavement, his cheek crashing against the hard surface, agony spreading like wildfire through his head. "Sam." The Dornish man´s cry sounded far away again, and it took everything Sam had in him to call back.
"RUN." The Ironborn rush closer to him, likely having heard them over the crashing of boulders and the roar of the krakens.
Feeling hands on his body, Sam thought at first that the Ironborn had grabbed him, however his friend growled in his ear. "I am not leaving you Sam." Alleras struggled to help him up, and as the darkness gave away again, Sam looked behind them where the dornish man was looking.
Four Reavers stood there, each with a smirk on their lips and murder in their eyes. "More food for the kraken."
Alleras pushed Sam behind him, fire in his dark eyes as he unsheathed a short sword from his belt. "Run Sam." The order fell from his lips that normally would have sent the black brother scurrying.
"No, I am not leaving you either." His voice wavered and cracked with fear, yet he planted his feet firmly on the ground. Sam moved to take his own sword in hand, only to bump into the empty scabbard as the Ironborn laughed.
"A fat boy and a Dornish man." The Leader mocked, his own crude iron axe in his hand that was covered with blood. "This will be the easiest meal for us to give the king´s beast today."
"Go Sam, run to the Sept." Alleras ordered.
However, Sam did not listen.
Another sound reached his ears. A sound that started low and rose with every heartbeat. Iron on stone, neighing of horses and the war cries of men.
Now it was Sam´s turn to grab Alleras by the hand. "Run." Alleras was so surprised by the action that it was hardly difficult for Sam to drag him away.
The Reavers laughed again and started to follow them, too drunk on violence and bloodshed to pay any attention to the growing noise of the cavalry.
It happened so suddenly that Sam was grateful that he had not been trampled down. A flash of green and gold, and Sam pushed himself and his friend against a mostly intact wall, pressing them against the hard stone.
They huddled against the wall, hoping that the tidal wave of Highgarden men did not push them under.
As the horses slowed down, Sam dared to look up. A man mounted on a bay destrier, glowered down on Sam and Alleras, a shining round shield in hand with the golden rose of Highgarden painted beautifully on its surface, and feathers flowing like a mane from his helmet. "You are not Ironborn. Go to the Starry Sept, that is where all the smallfolk are to gather."
The knight made to ride off, yet Alleras was quicker. "We are novices at the Citadel."
The tall man on his fine mount rolled his eyes. "Then go to the citadel, you will only get underfoot."
"What is the meaning of this?" A calm voice carried over to them, as a splendid figure clad in green and gold of house Tyrell appeared, mounted on a grey horse that tossed its shining mane to and fro as it snorted at the smell of smoke and blood.
Sam stared wide eyed at Ser Garlan Tyrell as his directed his destrier to where they were speaking with the knight. "My lord," The knight bowed as lowly as he could, while still mounted. "These maesters do not want to go to the Sept like you have ordered."
Alleras opened his mouth to protest his words, however as Garlan looked over at them, his brown eyes widened. "Samwell Tarly?"
If not for the Ironborn assault from the river and the roars of the Kraken, there would have been dead silence. "Yes?" Sam fidgeted nervously as he glanced at the second son of Mace Tyrell, who seemed to glow with excitement at seeing him.
"Get horses for lord Samwell and his friend," Garlan barked out an order to one of his men and turned to the knight who had first spoken to them. "I want you too escort them to the citadel; you can have twenty mounted men with you."
The knight who had found them, looked miffed at the order, yet nodded none the less. "As you say my lord."
The horses arrived quickly, and Sam was astonished over their luck. However, he could feel nervousness and worry nag at him. Had his father told the lords of his theft of Heartsbane? Or was it...?
They rode with all haste through the streets of Oldtown, their horses sometime struggling when faced with the destruction left by the Ironborn and even sometimes forced to take alternate routes to their destination.
Yet finally, they arrived at the gates of the citadel. Sam was grateful to pass beneath the sphinx statues and be behind its walls. Unlike when he had left the courtyard to travers into the city to help the soldiers and the guardsmen, now it was filled with men clad in the green and gold of house Tyrell.
As the knight who had led their escort spoke with a man clad in green, Sam clumsily dismounted from his horse. His thighs ached and he thanked the old gods and the new that they had arrived. Samwell Tarly was not a great rider, and he never would enjoy riding a horse.
The knight allowed them no rest and insisted that both Sam and Alleras follow him into the scribe´s hall.
The tables and stalls that were normally occupied by novices writing away with abandon, had all been pushed against the wall, leaving only a long table in the middle of the hall. At its head, a young man sat, staring at something in front of him, with a terrifyingly familiar figure hovering at his shoulder.
Randyl Tarly spotted Sam and Alleras first. At first, Sam thought that he would be set on fire by his father´s stare alone, and he felt his trembling legs freeze to the floor, refusing to budge.
Alleras grabbed his upper arm and tugged him loose, gently guiding him after the knight. "Lord Willas, Samwell Tarly is here."
The future lord of Highgarden looked up and Sam could see the excitement glitter in his brown eyes. "Lord Sam." A comely smile grew on his face as he stood up with the aid of his cane. "I am so very glad to see you hale and whole. I have been longing to speak with you."
Glancing at where his father stood, his face red and twisted in fury at seeing him slowly make his way to lord Willas, Sam wondered if lord Randyl would demand Heartsbane from him there and then, before ordering his execution.
"Thank you, my lord." Sam´s voice wavered slightly as he waited for his father to finally speak. "How can I assist you?"
Willas Tyrell smiled as he turned to Sam´s father. "Lord Tarly, you have your orders. I am sure that you will execute them perfectly."
At the blatant dismissal, lord Randyl´s face turned from furious to annoyed and to furious again. Bowing rigidly to lord Willas, lord Tarly left the room, but not before sending Sam a soul withering glare as he stalked out.
Staring after his father, Sam wondered why the man had not demanded Heartsbane back this instant and demanded his head for the theft.
"Have a seat, lord Sam." Willas Tyrell gestured for one of the chairs at the table and introduced himself to Alleras courteously.
"I will get straight to the point, lord Sam." As lord Willas sat down, Sam could see the pain cross his face from the old injury. "I have been told by Arch maester Marwyn that you are a friend of king Jon Targaryen. Is this true?"
Glancing at Alleras, who had taken a seat beside him, Sam clenched his fist in his lap. "Yes."
Lord Willas´s shoulders seemed to relax, and the man let out a breath, as if relieved. "Does king Jon have dragons under his command?"
"Wow, you truly are getting to the point." Alleras said, raising a brow and leaning back in his chair.
"I don't think that we have time for courtesies, do you?" The Tyrell heir replied softly as the sounds of boulders crashing seemed further away now that they were inside the citadel. Grabbing a map of Oldtown that had laid quietly before him, Willas pointed to the river. "We have not been able to harry the Ironborn from the Honeywine. They are dug in too deep and they have their ships and their continuous assault on the city by sea is making it too hard for us to press forward."
"What about the Redwyne fleet?" Sam asked looking towards where the Arbor lay beyond the map. "Surely lord Paxter will come to Oldtown´s aid."
"The last we heard from the Arbor is that they were under siege and their fleet was sailing around the arm of Dorne." Willas frowned at Sam. "Which is why I need to know if it is true that your friend, king Jon has dragons large enough to come to our aid."
"Surely any dragons king Jon has are only small hatchlings at this point." Alleras said, his voice coloured by disbelief. "Every text about the Targaryen dragons claimed that it took years for them to grow to the size to join a battle."
The memory of Jon´s confession to him about how he was warging into one of the dragons that Daenerys Targaryen had hatched echoed in his mind.
"I have heard whispers that Jon Targaryen as two dragons from the east, one he has already ridden into battle against the bastard of Bolton." Lord Willas said, his eyes fierce as he looked from Alleras to Sam. "They say that he has chosen the green one, the bigger one and that they came from Daenerys Targaryen, abandoning her for your friend."
Sam´s mouth almost dropped open for the shock of lord Willas´s accurate reports.
"I want you to write to your friend." Willas said after a moment of silence. "Write to him and ask him to come to our aid. If he comes, I will swear this by the old gods and the new, that my brother and I will bend the knee and swear our swords and council to him."
"But not those of your father?" Alleras piped up before Sam could even formulate an answer.
Sighing deeply, Willas looked exhausted and pained as she retorted. "My father has decided to throw his lot in with the boy in Storm´s End and married my sister Margaery to this…Aegon."
"Convenient." Alleras crossed his arms over his chest. "Now house Tyrell can be on both sides of the war, you will win no matter who sits on the Iron throne."
"You think that this boy who had no dragons and no proof that he is the son of Elia Martell and Rhaegar Targaryen can win against a man who has been rumoured to have six dragons?" Willas asked, raising a brow as he reached for a flagon of wine and poured them each a cup. "My father may have doomed himself by allying with the boy, however there is still a chance I can save my sister and my youngest brother."
Handing Sam a cup filled Arbor gold, Willas Tyrell continued. "You are his friend, lord Sam. You will know his character better than anyone I have under my command. Could king Jon be persuaded to spear my brother and sister?"
Holding the cup not taking a sip, Sam did not hesitate. "Yes. Jon made peace with the Freefolk at the Wall after eight thousand years of fighting; you will be able to ally yourself with him."
Willas closed his eyes and let his head rest against his hands and Sam thought that he could hear the older man whisper something suspiciously like, thank the Seven. "Please write to him. Beg him to come to Oldtown and help us defend the city and hel-."
Whatever Willas Tyrell intended to say, was cut off, by an unearthly roar. It was not the deep grumbling ones of the krakens.
No, this one was high and shrieking. One that cut into his ears and shook the citadel. His heart raced in his chest as Alleras jumped to his feet, his dark eyes wide. The Dornish man rushed out of the scribe´s hall with Sam lumbering behind him, supporting lord Willas outside.
The first Sam noticed was the soldiers rushing around, call and shouting. The second was that another roar echoed the first one, coming from the sky.
Looking up Sam thought that he could see movement in the grey and brown skies above Oldtown. "SAM." Alleras called from one of the walls, his eyes as wide as before, gesturing for him to come over. "LOOK THERE."
Rushing forth, Sam climbed the stairs onto the wall standing between Alleras and too his shock Ser Jorah. The knight was staring up, his mouth open as a thin layer of ash dusted his shoulders.
Seeing where Alleras was pointing, Sam could see the ships around the Hightower were on fire. The flames were green and golden, streaked with bronze and white, leaping from ship to ship.
Another roar echoed over stone and waters, drawing Sam´s eyes to the sky. Then like an arrow, a huge green dragon dived almost vertically down, only to shriek and level himself along the river and breath a bright emerald flame from his gullet, burning at least twenty ships in his.
"Khalessi." Ser Jorah breathed out gripping his bow tight. Sam would not have been able to hear him if he had not been beside him. "She has come to safe us."
Sam watched as the green dragon quicky shot back into the sky, hiding in the clouds. Then another dragon shot down, this one shining white and golden mimicking the larger dragon, diving and breathing fire on multiple ships before disappearing into the clouds again.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Sam turned and saw that lord Willas had joined them on the wall, managing to sneak up on him even with his limp as Sam had stared at the dragons. "He is burning the fleet." Lord Willas breathed out before turning to the men in the courtyard. "SEND OUT RIDERS, TELL OUR MEN TO ATTACK THE IRONBORN. PRESS THEM TOWARDS THE RIVER."
Cheers and yells were drowned out by another roar, this one coming not belonging to the dragons.