Author's Notes: Hey everyone, glad that you liked the last chapter and I hope that you like this one as well, as always I own nothing.
The following morning Sansa emerged and left the tent which had been provided for her, there was a breeze coming from the sea which was both chilling and invigorating at the same time. She could see that the camp was a hive of activity, with men running about while the Unsullied formed into disciplined ranks and began marching towards the coast. Just then a servant came up and told her that the Queen wished to see her. Sansa quickly dressed and went with the servant.
They did not go to the Queen's tent, but instead left the camp and headed up the hill beyond the fortifications to a spot concealed by some trees. Waiting there was the dragon. It was a terrifying, yet magnificent, sight to behold. Its burning eyes turned to regard her and they were like no other eyes Sansa had seen before. The eyes of most animals all looked at humans with a level of subservience or fear, Lady had looked at her with love and even those creatures which attempted to harm humans looked wary, as if acknowledging that they were facing an equal. The dragon did not look at her with any of those emotions. It was the predator and she the prey that existed only because it allowed her to. They said the dragons were young, yet its eyes seemed so much only and alien in a way no other animals were. Indeed, looking at it, Sansa had the feeling that somehow this creature was more than a mere animal. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of people approaching. She turned to face the Queen and was surprised by what she saw.
The Queen had abandoned her dresses and now wore more warlike apparel. She wore trousers of black leather, with greaves on her boots. She wore a shirt of black chainmail which fell down to her knees, over this she wore a black surcoat. This was edged in scarlet threat and in the center was the three-headed dragon of her house, also in scarlet. Belted at her side was a curved Dornish sword, though from the way it bounced about it seemed that she was not familiar with wearing the weapon.
"Lady Stark," the queen said; "I am pleased to see that you made it." She turned her eyes, now filled with affection, to the dragon.
"Isn't Drogon beautiful? The strongest and fiercest of the three. Today we go to show the people of the Reach, and all of Westeros, that my words were more than just wind." It was then that Sansa saw that Drogon had a saddle attached to his back.
The Queen approached and the dragon lowered itself so that the Queen could climb up onto the saddle. The saddle had a high back and had grove-like sides. The Queen put her legs in these and secured her legs with the chains attached to them. Another chain was attached to the saddle's high back and this one The Queen wove around her midsection and secured it as well.
With a cry of "UP!" The dragon took to the sky. A chuckle drew Sansa's attention away from the sight. She turned to see the man with the blue hair, Daario the Queen had called him.
"It is indeed quite the sight is it not? I never tire of the sight myself. They are both magnificent creatures, and I can never decide which of them is the more ferocious between them. I have only seen the dragon in battle a few times, it is quite the sight, and it gets both of our juices flowing." Sansa flushed, which she guessed was what he had been attempting to do. So she decided to go on the offensive.
"It is indeed an inspiring sight Sir Daario." She doubted that he was a knight, but her efforts to make him defensive proved to be ineffective. Clearly seeing what she was trying to do he merely smiled.
"I am no knight, just as well, I have no need for chaste maidens, though I won't say no to a queen if one is available." As they spoke they walked down to the coast where a number of boats stood ready to take them to a fleet sitting off the coast.
"Her Grace wishes you to accompany the fleet." Daario told her, indicating one of the boats, in which Sir Massey was already sitting.
The boat took them out of one of the ships, a big-bellied cog upon which several catapults and ballista were mounted on it. It joined a fleet of about seventeen ships, a mixture of cogs, galleys and ships Sansa could not recognize. They sailed out towards the Shield Islands, the wind was with them and they made good time. As they sailed Sansa saw a collection of other ships following behind them. Beside her Sir Massey was looking at the ships, a confused look on his face.
"Is something wrong Sir Massey?" He was silent for a moment, and then he began to speak.
"It is the fleet my lady, its formation is all wrong."
"What is wrong with its formation?" Sansa asked.
"There isn't one. The ships behind us, the ones carrying the Unsullied, they are in a formation. But the warships are not, they are all off on their own. The Ironborn all fight as individuals, the only way that his Grace was able to defeat them was to lure them into a trap and have his ships all work together. As these ships are, the Ironborn will make short work of them."
Sasna was not sure how long they sailed, but eventually she saw islands ahead of them and between them and the islands were the ironborn. There were twenty warships, spread out and rapidly approaching. As the two fleets drew closer the Ironborn ships slip up, each aiming for one of the approaching warships. Beside her Sir Massey cursed as one of the ships turned toward the shop they were on.
"We'll be cut to pieces!" Before it could reach them a roar tore through the sky.
There had been heavy clouds overhead all through the voyage and now the Queen and her dragon came through the clouds into view. The dragon dove through the sky towards the ship approaching the cog. Those on the Ironborn ship saw it and tried to turn away, but it was too late. Fire erupted from its mouth and when it touched the ship's sails and rigging they instantly took fire. A second blast and the deck also took fire. Burning men jumped screaming into the sea as fire consumed the ship. The dragon had already flown beyond the sinking wreck, moving towards another Ironborn ship.
This one had seen the fate of its comrade and were clearly determined not to share it. As the dragon drew near those on the ship launched a hail of arrows up at it. Many of these fell short, but several found their mark. Even at a distance Sansa could hear the dragon roar, its cry a mixture of pain and rage. It struggled and thrashed in the air and for a moment Sansa thought that it had been seriously injured. Yet it did not fall and something about its movements seemed familiar. After a moment it came to her, it was like watching a half-broken horse, the Queen did not have complete control of her dragon when it was angry or in pain.
Despite her shaky control the Queen guided her dragon towards the ship, which was trying desperately to turn out of the way. Water boiled and a gout of steam went up as dragon flame hit where the ship had been, but no matter how fast the ship could turn, the dragon could turn faster. Its next blast of flame took the ship with its full power. Like the first ship this one burst into flames and began to sink. The sight of fate of their comrades seemed to take the fight out of the other Ironborn ships. These turned and sailed, not towards the islands, but northwards towards the Iron Islands.
The Queen's ships gave no notice to these and sailed on toward the Shield Islands. As they moved towards them the ships fell into formation, their disorganization clearly being a trick to lure out the Ironborn. The warships came to a halt just off of the coast while the other ships advanced forward. These all had shallower drafts and grounded themselves on the beach. As they did so Unsullied began jumping off them and advanced to form up into block formations. Behind them came Dornish soldiers armed with bows, these formed up behind the Unsullied, also with them were men who looked like sellswords about them. These last were on the flanks of the Unsullied and they advance as a body.
As they moved forward a host of Ironborn poured out from the town and threw themselves at the advancing army. The Unsullied closed ranks and raised their shields. The Dornish were only to get a single volley of arrows launched before the Ironborn reached the Unsullied. Many of the Ironborn were taller than the Unsullied and fought with great savagery, but they fought as individuals and the Unsullied fought as one. Shields formed a wall and the Ironborn weapons failed to break through it. They pressed with all of their might and some of the Unsullied fell, but the remaining Unsullied did not budge and thrust forward with their spears, sometimes two or three of them piercing a single Ironborn.
The Ironborn had charged the Unsullied and ignored the sellswords. These took advantage of this by pressing in on the Ironborns' flanks. The fighting was fierce, but short. The final blow came when the Queen emerged from the sky. The forces were locked in combat so the Queen could not use dragon fire. Instead the dragon landed on top of several Ironborn, crushing them instatantly. It then lashed out with it teeth and claws, ripping and biting at all the Ironborn within reach. That was too much for the Ironborn, the survivors broke and ran. This proved to be a mistake as the Unsullied and their allies did not pursue them. With the way now clear the dragon again took to the sky and unleashed fire on the fleeing Ironborn. Many burned though some may have gotten away, it was hard to tell. What was clear was that the battle was over.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I hope that you liked the chapter. Did I make the dragon too powerful, I tried not to. I did not want the Ironborn to be too weak so don't worry if the victory seemed too easy, something is in the works. I also wanted to give the Unsullied a victory after all they had to go through in Season 5. Till next time please pray for the victims of the Ecuador earthquake, Christians being persecuted in Pakistan and elsewhere and all who need prayer. Bye and may Jesus bless you.