A full month has passed since Thomas led the small band of Dothraki from Meereen. So far, the journey had been rather boring, with no problems on the road of between the party. It was quiet and peaceful so far and that was what worried Thomas the most. The calm before the storm he thought to himself. They had passed by a few towns and even one city called Bhonash with nothing of note happening. He at least expected to be glared at by former masters or loved by former slaves as he was wearing his traditional leather armor that had the Targaryen sigil stitched to the front. Everyone either knew who he was or at least who he followed, but all his party received were passing glances and maybe a few hushed whispers. After Bhonash the roads, which already had few travelers, seemed to empty entirely.
Fearing an attack would come at any moment, Thomas turned back towards his followers and looked them over. He counted two children, about 8 years of age, 5 men and 8 women. He knew for a fact that the woman all had daggers and the men had at least two Arakhs. One even brought a couple spears with them. The children, both boys, were usually tasked to help the women when they stopped to make camp and afterwards, trained by one of the men.
"Krollo! Come here." Thomas ordered. The rider, who at the time was stationed to the left side of their small column, rode up to him. Currently, they were on a small trail on a cliff overlooking the sea, the view spectacular and breeze refreshing. It did little to sooth Thomas's worried mind. It would be another month before the reached Tolos and he knew that the farther he was away from Meereen, the more danger they would be in. This also limited his chances of getting a ship to take them to the ruins of old Valyria.
"What is it you need my Khal?" Krollo asked as he neared Thomas. He had become the second in command of the Dothraki since leaving Meereen and Thomas was pleased with his ability to lead. He was an older man with a small black beard. His hair was tied back into a small pony tail. Two Arakhs were strapped to his horse while knives were strapped to his waist.
"We don't have enough fighters." Thomas stated simply looking over his followers as they settled down to rest. Krollo looked them over as well.
"Should we turn back?" Krollo asked when he completed his inspection.
"We have come too far to turn back now." Thomas shook his head. "I want each of you to start training the women on how to use an Arakh and spear." Thomas held up a hand when Krollo looked ready to protest. "I don't care if is against tradition just do it. Each of you will give up one of your weapons so that we have a higher chance of success. Is that understood?" When no answer came he looked towards Krollo. "I said, is that understood?"
"Understood. We shall start when we make camp tonight." Krollo nodded and went to relay the news to his fellow riders.
Thomas sighed when Krollo was out of range. He knew leading them would be tough but he never imagined the kind of pressure that would be heaped on his shoulders. In the first few weeks of the journey he had talked to most of them personally and over time started to care for each of them. Of course he also came to realize how foolish this mission truly was. If stories were to be believed, then hundreds of Stonemen awaited them upon the islands. With only six people able to fight, there would be few, if any survivors. They needed everyone able and ready to fight if they were to survive.
He was startled out of his thoughts by a child's laughter. He turned slightly to see the two children chasing each other, obviously playing. It brought a pained smile to his face as he realized they would most likely die on this journey. He had condemned two innocent children to early graves by insisting all the Dothraki come with him.
Now that he thought about it, why would they agree to bring children with them? It wasn't like he didn't tell them where they were going. They all knew the risk and he even gave them the option of staying behind to wait for Daenerys. Instead they all packed up and left with him. Looking over his small band he noticed one of the women off on her own overlooking the sea. Wondering what she was doing he dismounted his horse and made his way over to her. She was about the same height as him with long dark hair. She looked like your average Dothraki with her brown leather clothes and darker skin tone. But her eyes were more black than brown. She had an inquisitive look on her face as she watched the waves.
"What are you thinking about?" Thomas asked when he stood behind her.
Without turning her head she answered. "We are being followed." Thomas looked down upon her and raised an eyebrow. "Don't look but the cliffs to our left hold men hoping to hide."
Thomas sat down next to her. "Do you know how many there are?"
The woman shrugged her shoulders. "I do not know. I have counted three but the rocks may hide others."
"Why do you think they are following us?"
"I do not know." The woman finally looked at him. "To steal what we seek in the ruins or to merely gather information for masters. I cannot say."
"Do you think they will attack us?" Thomas asked with a sigh. Just what he needed. Something else to worry about.
"Again, I do not know. All I know is that you will lead us through anything that comes our way." She gave him a small smile before they lapsed into silence. The only sound being the waves before them and the people behind them.
Thomas sat there pondering what she had just said. Again all his doubts came swirling to the forefront of his mind until he just couldn't keep them bottled up anymore.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why what?"
"Why did you all follow me?" Thomas asked again. "Why would you come with me when you know it will most likely lead to your deaths?"
The woman looked at him for some time. The silence was almost too much for him but before he could demand an answer she gave him one.
"We follow you because you are our Khal." Thomas sat there in silence waiting for more. When she realized this she gave more details. "We follow you because you keep our Khaleesi safe. You are strong and honorable. You know right from wrong." She took a quick breath. "You have never forgotten us. We love our Khaleesi and will follow her anywhere but she seems to have forgotten us. She may still love us but for us, it appears we have been pushed aside for Meereen." The woman gave him a sad smile. "We had almost given up hope of being remembered when you came to us. You gave us purpose when we were lost. You may not know this but after you came to us and started our patrols, we chose you as our Khal and we your khalasar, your personal horde." She chuckled as he looked over the small band and gave her a look as if to say 'horde?'. "That if you ever went against the queen, we would fight for you." When Thomas said nothing she continued. "Do you want to know something?"
Thomas nodded, too stunned to speak.
"Irri was my daughter." A few tears fell from her eyes. "She loved you so much. When you two started spending time together she was adamant that you two were destined to be together as Daenerys conquered the world. That the great stallion would guide you both to a happy life behind our invincible Khaleesi. And for a time I believed them. Then the masters took her from us, from me, and they whisked our Khaleesi away on black wings. I learned a valuable lesson on both those days and now I pass it on to you. Beware of destinies, they are rarely what you expect." She stood then and turned to leave. But before she did she placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a comforting squeeze. "I hope that answers your question."
She started walking away then and once the weight of her hand left him he shook himself free of whatever was making him silent and turned around. "Wait! What's your name?"
She turned back briefly. "My name is Lara." She continued walking without a single glance back. Thomas for his part turned back to the sea and sat down. He would have people keep an eye out for the ones following them. He sighed as he sat there, he had a lot to think about.
Over the next few days he oversaw the training of the women and was pleased to see that for the most part all took to their training. Lara appeared to be a natural with a spear while the others seemed to favor Arakhs. Lara had even taken it upon herself to talk to him daily while riding. Never straying too far and always keeping him updated on their shadows and of the mood around the camp. Lara was rather insistent that they were to be called a horde, something Thomas didn't agree with. She claimed it was traditional that a group of Dothraki be called a horde. He eventually relented and even came to like it.
Another month went by before their new routine was shattered. It was the dead of night when they came. Men in black armor with a gold colored sigil stitched to the chest invaded the camp. They came swiftly and struck hard, arrows piercing Kovarro's chest, Krollo who heard his body fall, left his tent and received a blade through his belly. But the chaos didn't truly begin until the children screamed as their mothers were murdered before them and they were dragged from their tents.
Immediately the whole camp was up in arms fighting off the attackers. The battle was quick as it was bloody. After only a few minutes of fighting the attackers ran off leaving the small band to regroup and lick their wounds.
"I want a count of who we lost and someone to find out who the fuck that was!" Thomas yelled as everyone looked through the corpses. It was Lara who came to him later.
"We lost Krollo, Kovarro and Ahko. 3 women are dead and 2 more are missing along with the children." Lara stated bluntly. Thomas was a ball of rage in seconds picking up a rock and chucking it screaming. "It wasn't your fault." Lara was quick to try and calm him down. "The men who attacked us are from the golden company. Do you know who they are?"
"Yes." Thomas nodded still furious over the losses they sustained. "Jorah said he was a member once. He said they were the best mercenary company money could buy." Lara nodded her head before looking at him expectantly. When he gave her nothing she spoke.
"Well if you want to get everyone back then we need to follow them and see where they came from." Lara said.
"Do you know how to track them? Do you even have a clue as to where they might have taken them?" Thomas asked.
"The city of Zakuul." Lara's smile reminded him of a viper. "It's a few days out of the way but we can get there if you want. The Golden company usually stays there when they have no contract. It would make sense for those barbarians to take our people there."
"Then we will go there and when we do, we're going to burn them all." Thomas growled. "Tell everyone to prepare to leave. We have people to save."
"At once, my Khal. For the Horde." Lara smiled victoriously as she strode back to the few survivors.
As it so happened, tracking the men who attacked them was extremely easy. As, after they had given the dead a proper funeral, Thomas and his small horde quickly found their trail and followed them. It seemed that the men had no intention of hiding their trail. Soon enough they were on a cliff overlooking the city of Zakuul.
The city of Zakuul was a sight to behold. As Thomas and the remaining Dothraki hid in the surrounding mountains they noticed large elephants grazing outside its walls. Banners of the Golden Company flown throughout the city as people went about their daily lives. They had been following their attackers for 4 days and were getting impatient as they always seemed to be one step away from them. They were always just behind them, just missing them and now they watched as the men rode into the city, their captives seen clearly slung over the horses.
"This is going to be harder than I thought." Thomas muttered angrily. The city was heavily defended and if the Golden companies reputation was to believed it would take an entire army to take the city.
"I didn't expect them to have elephants." Lara muttered as she and everyone else looked upon the city.
"Ponno." Thomas called the man over. "I'm going to need you to sneak in there tonight and find any weaknesses we can exploit. If you see the women and children they took even better." Ponno nodded before moving back to his original spot.
When night fell they all watched as Ponno made his way down the cliff. When he started approaching the gate everyone tensed up, expecting him to get caught. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when nobody noticed him slip through with some farmers.
Hours later with most of their camp asleep Thomas noticed a dark figure approaching the camp. Silently drawing his sword he prepared to jump the intruder. When the man got lose enough Thomas kicked his legs out, tripping him before lunging with his sword. Grasping the man's face he covered his mouth to prevent screams and pressed his blade to his victim's throat. He froze though, when he realized it was Ponno.
"Shit, I'm sorry Ponno I didn't realize it was you." Thomas quickly let him up before waking up Lara and the others. "So Ponno, what did you find?"
"The men we followed brought our people to their commander. He was, using them for his entertainment." Thomas growled and Lara spat in disgust.
"Is there any way into the city that we can sneak everyone in?" Lara asked eagerly. Oh how she wanted these men to suffer.
"None that I could find." Ponno apologized. But I did notice a few merchant stalls." Thomas and Lara exchanged confused glances before silently urging him to elaborate. "One of the vendors had a sign stating he sold wildfire." It took Thomas a second to realize what that meant. The mad king was obsessed with the stuff and according to Ser Barristan, used it to burn men alive. If they got their hands on it then they could potentially burn the whole city to the ground.
"That's good, very good Ponno." Thomas smirked.
"I also noticed that they tether the Elephants at night." Ponno explained quickly how he overheard two guards complaining about keeping the elephants from wandering off. "It apparently take many men to corral them into a place they can keep them."
"Ok, thank you Ponno, go and rest you must be tried." Thomas patted the man on the shoulder and he left. When he was gone Thomas turned back to Lara. "You should get some sleep too."
"And you shouldn't?" Lara asked.
"I have to figure out what we are going to do next." Thomas muttered. He wouldn't admit it but he was exhausted. Thoughts of failing them constantly plagued his mind and kept him from sleep. "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore." He sighed.
Lara felt a surge of sympathy for the young man. Barely 20 years old and already he was leading men into combat, advising a queen and was expected to be a great king. She didn't even want to know how much pressure he felt. "You are trying to do right by your people."
"But how can I do that when my people are taken as slaves and used as toys." Thomas spat.
"You must be patient and when the time comes, harsh with your punishment." Lara advised. "We can wait a few more days if need be. Dothraki are hardy people, they will endure."
Thomas thought for a moment before nodding. "You're right, tomorrow we infiltrate the city at dusk and find lodging. Then we approach this merchant who sells wildfire. See if we can get enough to burn this retched city to the ground."
"Good, now get some sleep child. For we have a busy day tomorrow." Lara then went off to sleep. Thomas soon followed her example and for the first time in months didn't feel crushed by the weight of his command.
The next day Thomas had everyone sneak into the city in small groups of two. He wore a ragged blanket as a cloak to cover his armor and sword while the others left most of their weapons behind in camp. After they regrouped in the city Ponno led everyone to a small inn where they were able to purchase a few rooms. That night Thomas had one if his girls follow the merchant home and made note of his home. Lara was sent to observe the elephants while the rest watched the guards around the city.
When they met up that night and told Thomas what they found he smiled. Everyone waited as he started moving things around the room. Eventually he had a small diagram. "Ok this is the city." Thomas motioned towards the diagram. "Lara will take three of you to send the elephants into a frenzy." Lara nodded. "When that happens the golden company will be forced to go after them. That should take care of most of them. Ponno will take one other person to take the wildfire and scatter it throughout the city. When I give the signal light them up and head back to camp. I will take our final companion to free our people and kill the leaders of the golden company and raise the Targaryen flag over the city. Hopefully if everything goes correctly the city will be turned to ash and everyone will know that you do not fuck with a dragon and his horde." Thomas smirked along with everyone else. With their plan set, everyone got ready for sleep, ready to bring fire upon these men.
Of course all good plans never go right. The following day the majority of the golden company had packed up and left, taking all the elephants with them. Thomas cursed and soon sent out Lara and Ponno to find out if they took the children and women with them. They came back late that night informing him that the commander and a few of his captains had stayed in the city. Thomas thanked his luck and soon formed a new plan. Ponno and a few others would capture the merchant and force him to make more wildfire. Lara would watch the commander and his captains closely to make sure they wouldn't leave. In 3 days they would strike and burn the city to the ground.
Those three days seemed to drag on for Thomas. Of course they weren't quiet either. On the second day Lara heard nothing of the women and children. No sounds of rape or torture sounded from the building the commanders were using. Thomas grew worried but held hope that they were just put away for a night.
On the third night they struck, Ponno led everyone to distribute the wildfire throughout the city and Lara went with Thomas to sneak into the commander's home. Just before they approached the building Thomas held back and waited. Hoping to give Ponno and the others more time to scatter the Wildfire. After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded to Lara who pulled raised her spear.
"For the Horde!" She screamed as she and Thomas moved forward. Killing two guards, they busted in the back door and slayed two servants. Thomas wielding his sword while Lara used her spear to skewer her enemies. That was when all hell broke loose, bells chimed as people screamed. Ponno and the other had started lighting the fires and now green fire spread throughout the city at an alarming rate. Thomas smiled when he looked out a window and saw the green flames rise. Of course this brought on its own set of problems for the duo. The house was alight with activity, servants and guards rushed through the halls. Thomas and Lara sprung from the back room and slaughtered anyone that crossed there path. Eventually they made it to the top floor. The final room held screams of agony and shouts of rage. Thomas kicked down the door and when someone charged him with a sword drawn he cut the man down like it was nothing Lara through her spear and impaled a man through a wall.
Taking stock of the room, they noticed two children laying on the ground, their throats slit and another woman lying on the ground bruises covering her neck. Another woman had a gaping hole in her chest while the last was held with a sword to her throat. The commander was behind her holding the sword.
"Who the fuck are you!?" He shouted. "Stay back or the bitch dies!"
Thomas froze, sword at the ready. Lara prepped a dagger and watched the door. "Let her go." Thomas ordered.
The man's eyes widened when he noticed the sigil on Thomas's armor. "You're the Targaryen girls bitch aren't you?" He gulped. "My men said you were dead."
"Your men failed I'm afraid." Thomas growled. "Now give me the girl and I promise you a quick death."
The man laughed. "Do you think I would let my only leverage go?" He spat on the floor in front of Thomas boots. "No boy I'm walking out of here with this girl. You're going to stay here and then I'm gonna slit her throat, find my men and sack Meereen and rape your cunt queen." Thomas glared at the man.
"No, you will burn for what you have done." Thomas spat back.
The man chuckled. "Do you know this blades name boy?" The man flourished the sword slightly. Thomas raised a brow. "Thought not, this is Blackfyre. One of the few Targaryen ancestral blades." The man laughed. "This blade has tasted more Targaryen blood then many and when I'm done, it shall taste the blood of the last Targaryen." Thomas looked at the sword. It was a Valyrian steel sword, it had a black pommel with dragon heads adorning the guards. A giant ruby sat between the blade and pommel. HE noticed the swords handle was meant for a single hand but left enough room where the wielder could grip it in both. A bastard sword, he believed the name was.
"You will never harm a hair on her head bastard." Thomas eventually said.
"Oh I don't think so." The man laughed again. He stopped though when the woman in his arms jerked violently forward pressing her neck into the blade, effectively slitting her own throat. As she fell a small smile graced her lips and she mouthed a few words to Thomas and Lara.
Stunned into silence the man gaped at the dead woman on the floor. Thomas, seeing an opportunity lunged forward. The man blocked the thrust and soon both men were dueling. Lara rushed to the down woman hoping to do something for her. Sadly the woman was already dead. Looking up she noticed Thomas was backing away as the older more experience fighter slowly gained the upper hand. She snarled from the floor and prepped her dagger. Eventually Thomas was disarmed his sword flying off to the side. The commander smirked as he prepared to skewer him. That was when Lara lunged forth. Burying her dagger into his neck. He cried out as blood flooded his lungs. Dropping Blackfyre he fell to his knees, clutching his neck. Thomas picked up Blackfyre and grasping it with two hands Chopped down into his head. Splitting it in half. Lara and Thomas both stood over the corpse of the man who delayed there plans and killed their people.
"We need to go." Lara gasped for air. Looking outside they noticed the flames rising ever closer to their location.
"Let's get to the front gates." Thomas nodded, exhausted from the nights events. "If there are any survivors, I need to give them a message." Lara nodded before they rushed out of the building and out of the city.
When the sun rose only 20 or so people remained. The rest were charred corpses inside the blackened city. Thomas stood before them surrounded by his remaining followers. Blackfyre strapped to his waist. Lara stepped forward to speak. "Before you, stands Thomas Ward, The Stormborn's protector, and the Dragon of Zakuul!" She shouted much to his surprise. The people before them trembled in fear. "You have defied your rightful queen and broke her laws. Turn around and behold those who would defy her." She motioned to the city. "Those who oppose us shall burn, while those who help us shall rise." Lara stepped back and Thomas stepped forward.
"Go forth, spread the word of what happened here. Tell them what happens to those who oppose us. Tell them if they fight us they shall drown in fire and blood." Thomas glared at them all before marching away. Lara shooed the civilians away and they scattered, like dust in the wind.
"Dragon of Zakuul?" Thomas asked later that night after they made camp. Now their party consisted of Lara, Ponno and Zorno. Only one other woman remained. The rest had fallen. Thomas had no idea how they would survive the ruins but there was no going back now. If they turned back now all those deaths would be for nothing.
"I thought it would inspire fear in them. Plus you did burn an entire city. Only dragons are supposed to do that." Lara smiled softly. "Don't you like it?"
"It has a nice ring to it but I doubt people will enjoy this story." Thomas sighed. "I shouldn't have used wildfire like that."
"Why not?"
"When this gets back to Westeros, they will think me the mad king reborn. It won't help Dany in her quest."
Lara thought for a moment. "Is Daenerys like the mad king?" Thomas looked appalled as he shook his head. "Then you have nothing to fear. She will show them that she is not mad like her father."
"What will she think of this though?" Thomas asked.
"I do not know. We acted out of anger and rage for what they did to us." Lara shrugged. "I do not feel guilt for what we did. They bled us so we bled them. We failed to save those they took but we avenged them." Lara looked up to the stars. "They are with the great stallion now and will watch over us for the remainder of our journey."
Thomas smiled sadly. "I hope they can keep the rest of us alive."
"We have you for that, my Khal." Lara wrapped him in a comforting hug. "You have nothing to be guilty of, our Khaleesi will not see you as a monster and neither do we." Lara caressed his cheek. "She is a truly lucky woman to have a man like you."
"Thank you Lara for your counsel and lessons." Thomas bowed respectively.
"They are yours now Thomas Ward, use them well." Lara left to set up her tent, leaving Thomas to contemplate her words.
It took another month to reach the ruins. They had found a port city relatively quickly but finding a captain willing to go anywhere near the ruins was a pain. When they did find one, they had to use up all their gold to buy passage and even then, they ended up having to use a small rowboat to get to shore. The Captain had adamantly refused to any closer to those cursed shores. Using the cover of night, they rowed as silently as the could to shore. All the while Thomas prayed the captain would be there when they returned. Sadly, the man had only given them one day before he would be forced to leave them and move on with his journey. Thomas once again cursed himself for bringing them on this cursed voyage.
They soon made camp in an abandoned home near the shore. During the day Thomas had spied a structure that resembled a castle. Everyone new that was the goal. They would have one day to search through that structure before having to leave. Thomas gripped Blackfyre as he kept watch that night. As he looked over the land, he felt something. He shook his head but it wouldn't go away. A low humming like sensation ran through his head before abruptly stopping. He shook himself before moving to wake Ponno for his watch.
As morning came everyone got ready as quickly and as quietly as they could. The night had been silent. Not a single noise was heard and there was no sign of any Stonemen. Everyone was nervous they all felt eyes on them as they slowly made their way through the ruins. As they neared the castle Thomas felt the hummin gin his head again only this time it was louder and more demanding. Shaking his head with a scowl he pushed on.
The castle ruins themselves were a dark and foreboding place. The broken spires and shattered walls portraying a place of death. Entering they saw a few bodies laying around, unmoving and grey as stone. Thomas looked around and noticed four corridors in relatively good shape. Two on this level and two a level above them.
"Zorno, stay here and guard the entrance. Make sure nothing gets in or out." Thomas ordered and the man nodded before going back toward the entrance. "Lara, you and Ponno take the corridors upstairs." He received nods form both and soon they were up the stairs and down their respective corridors. The last woman named Sihala waited for his instructions. Thomas looked down the left corridor and as he was about to order her down it, he felt the humming come back tenfold seeming to urge him down there. Shaking his head, he sent her down the other one. Making sure Zorno was ok, he made his way down his chosen corridor.
As he made his way down the corridor dark rooms lined both sides. Some empty others wrecked beyond recognition. A couple bodies were spread around but Thomas paid them little mind. At the end of the corridor he saw a passageway leading down and as he walked closer the humming turned to a pressure that was getting stronger the closer, he got. Descending the dark stairwell, the pressure increased. Reaching the bottom floor he found a very dimly lit hallway. Cracks in the ceiling brought sunlight from the upper floors. Thomas could barely see but even he noticed a few doors on either side of the hallway. Stepping forward he drew Blackfyre and prepared for the worst. There was no noise at all, no breeze, no rats or birds. Not even the chirp of a cricket. Holding the blade, he couldn't help but admire the feel of the blade in his hands. It was lighter than any sword he had ever held and it melded with his style of fighting extraordinarily well.
*With Zorno*
It was quiet, too quiet. Standing here alone wasn't helping either. He could feel them. The eyes of the grey men were watching, waiting, for him to let his guard down. He knew they would pounce eventually. That they hadn't yet surprised him. He looked back into the castle for a quick moment before turning back outside. He froze. Slowly turning back around he noticed the bodies of the grey men were gone. No trace of them existed. Prepping his Arakh he started to move into the castle. Looking around frantically his breathing became erratic as every shadow seemed to jump out at him. Still so quiet yet the thumping of his heart was so loud. Then he heard it. The scuffle of feet behind him. Praying to any god who would listen he turned. Only to be met with the snarling face of the Stonemen. They pounced like shadow cats, ripping his throat out with heir teeth as he was forced to the floor. He let out few pained gurgles as more Stonemen entered the castle going after his family, his horde. He hoped the great stallion would keep them safe as the light faded from his eyes.
*With Ponno*
The corridor he had picked seemed to be filled with bedrooms. He had never felt so terrified before. Each dark room could lead to his death and the dark corridor was a silent as ever. The only time a sound was heard was a slight thumping noise but when he turned to look only a rotting banner blew in the breeze. Countless hallways were checked and he even ascended to other levels. But now he was coming on the last door. When he made it to the end of the corridor and opened the last door he was greeted with a privy and cursed his luck Nothing of any value was found. No gold jewels or even books. Just rotting furniture and fabrics. Sighing he was about to turn but froze. His blood ran cold when he heard snarls behind him.
Turning he noticed a large group of Stone men prowling behind him. Taking a deep breath, he reached for his Arakh. He prayed to the Stallion that his Khal and companions would live to see the next dawn as these abominations pounced on him. A terrified scream came from his lips as they ripped him apart. His last moments were filled with agony as their rotten teeth ripped into his flesh and their claws racked his skin.
*With Lara*
Clearing the upper levels was harder than she thought. She had found nothing but rotten furniture, dead Stone men and rusty blades. Coming into the last room she saw a window that looked out to another building. A quick jump would land her on the adorning floor. She was going to turn back and check with the others when she heard it. A scream right out her childhood nightmares. She spun around and froze as stone men stalked towards her. They were still a way down the corridor but even she knew there were to many for her to deal with. Her spear ill fit for these enclosed spaces.
Looking behind her, she assessed the jump and debated if she could make it. She was given little choice when the Stonemen ran for her howling in rage and hunger. Cursing she decided to jump and pray they would not follow. Taking a step back she ran for the window, leaping through the air she screamed in terror before landing with a role. Looking back, she saw the stone men stop at the hole and howl in anger before turning and racing back to the entrance.
Huffing she started running through the tower. A stone man was walking up the stairs and when she saw him, she quickly skewered the beast. Making a quick decision when she reach the ground floor she decided to head for the entrance and hope she could get out that way. When she got there she was greeted with the body of Zorno. She sent a quick prayer to the stallion before she was forced to jump to the side. Stonemen lunged for her and she was quick to either hit them aside or stab them. Killing 3 of them she eventually gave herself enough room to run. Three of the Stonemen gave chase.
*With Thomas*
Most of the rooms down here were empty. Only one was left and is headache was horribly painful. He swore he heard someone whispering 'wake us up. Wake us up'. He gripped his head as he pushed the final door open. The room was blank. Nothing but a pedestal in the center illuminated by a skylight. His breath caught in his throat when he noticed what sat on the pedestal.
Two dragon eggs rested there. Leaning against each other. One was blood red with streaks of black while the other was as blue as the ocean. Slowly walking up to them he barely noticed the voices ceased and the headache vanish. Touching them, his hand burned lightly as he caressed them.
Suddenly he was broken out of his revere by a cruel howl. He realized the Stonemen had finally shown themselves and grabbed the two eggs before stuffing them in a satchel he brought. Making his way slowly and quietly up the stairs was difficult. Nerves wracked his body making him jump at the slightest sound. He relaxed slightly when he noticed no one was at the entrance. The only thing there was the remains of Zorno and a few truly dead Stonemen, their blood surrounding them in a red pool. He was about to leave when he heard crashed and howls of pain down the corridor, he sent Sihala down. Cursing he ran down the corridor and found her holding off four of the beasts. Swinging Blackfyre he decapitated one and swiftly stabbed another in the gut. Distracted by his Entrance the other two were swiftly killed by Sihala.
"Are you ok?" Thomas asked quickly looking her over for injuries. She shook her head as she caught her breath.
"I found this in one of the rooms." She held up a scroll in great condition considering everything else in the castle.
What is it?" Thomas took the scroll and opened it. Sihala let him read it as she kept watch. Thomas gasped as he realized he was holding instructions for hatching dragons. Apparently, there were different ways to actually hatch dragons. Quickly stuffing the scroll away, they raced towards the entrance. When they got there a few more Stonemen had shown up. Howling they charged them. Thomas and Sihala took them out fairly quickly before they made their way to the beach, hoping the others made it back.
About an hour later he heard grunts and roars indicating a fight had broken out. Looking through the plants and trees that had sprouted, he saw Lara fending off some Stone men with her spear.
Running forward Thomas and Sihala burst through the fire and started hacking at the stone men. Soon enough it was just Lara, Thomas and Sihala. Looking around for any more Stonemen, Thomas kept watch as Lara and Sihala prepped their little boat. As soon as it was ready, they boarded and started making their way back to sea where they would get picked up by the ship.
"How did you make out?" Thomas asked an exhausted Lara. Sihala had offered to take the paddles first so the other two were resting.
"Nothing, nothing but ruins." Lara shook her head. "Ponno and Zorno are dead."
Thomas nodded. "I saw Zorno when I left. You saw Ponno?"
"No, but I heard his scream." Lara shuddered. "It didn't sound quick."
Thomas wrapped an arm around her. "Let's get out of here." Lara nodded.
Thomas soon took the oars and started rowing. What they had all failed to notice was the absence of the ship they took to get here. After an hour of rowing Thomas looked around, he soon realized that the ship that brought them here left. Now stranded at sea, their only options were to return to the cursed ruins or drift away at sea. They prayed that someone would find them soon.
They spent the rest of the day and all-night drifting and when morning came Sihala started scratching at her shoulder. Grumbling in discomfort as she rubbed the spot. Thomas looked at her inquisitively.
"I don't know what's happening it just itches." she mumbled.
"Let me look at it." Thomas moved forward. Moving her shirt out of the way he saw the beginnings of Grey scale. Gasping he jumped back. Sihala who held the shirt, stared in horror at the scaling skin. Lara looked over and clutched at her dagger.
"….." Sihala looked at Thomas tears in her eyes. "They got me." She started to cry and Thomas moved to hug her.
"It will be all right Sihala, we can fix this." He mumbled as he caressed her hair. She shook her head as a sob wracked her throat.
"You have to kill me. Please don't let me turn into one of those things." Sihala cried out.
Thomas looked away. He knew he had too. The risk for him and Lara was too great and there was no cure for greyscale. He sighed as he looked at her pleading eyes. Looking slightly behind her now to convince himself to do it he noticed a ship.
"A ship." He mumbled staring at it. "There's a ship!" He shouted before standing up waving his arms. "We're over here!"
"Thomas they won't hear you." Lara explained sniffling. Looking around she noticed flint they had used to light the fires on their journey. "Burn the boat."
"What!?" Thomas yelled but Sihala seemed emboldened.
"Burn the Boat. It can be my funeral pyre." Sihala explained. "The fire and smoke should be enough to alert the other ship."
Thomas was about to protest when a pulse rang through his head. Gasping in pain, he clutched his head before turning towards his satchel.
"What is it Thomas?" Lara asked eyeing the satchel now.
"Fire and blood." Thomas mumbled before reaching inside and removing the two eggs. Lara gasped in surprise. Thomas also took out the scroll and showed its contents to Lara. She shrugged clearly showing she couldn't read it. "One of the ways to hatch dragons for people with no Valyrian blood is to burn a person with greyscale. Alive. All I have to do is smear them with my blood, then light the fire with the infected alive in the flames." Sihala shuddered at the prospect of burning alive but pushed her fear down. She drew her knife and held it to Thomas.
"Do it, Thomas burn me with those eggs." Sihala urged. "Cut your hand and let your blood soak them before I burn this boat." He hesitated. "GO! Do it!" Thomas nodded before taking the knife, slitting his hand open and rubbing it over the eggs. They each got warmer beneath his touch and soon after Lara pushed him into the water before jumping in after him. Thomas struggled to stay afloat, his armor and blades weighing him down. Sihala hurried to set fire to something as she knew Lara had little to no experience swimming. The captain had been kind enough to tell them how to stay afloat but with no practice Lara was clearly having trouble. After a minute she eventually set fire to her shirt and grabbed both eggs in her arms.
"Protect him little ones, for he shall need you in the wars to come." She mumbled so softly only the eggs could here. Soon after she started screaming in pain as the boat slowly burned.
Thomas stayed close in case the eggs fell into the water. Now that he thought about it this wasn't the best Idea to hatch the eggs and now the scroll was soaked and completely useless. Lara was floundering away barely keeping her head above water.
Eventually the boat started to creak and he noticed the eggs role away from Sihala's ashes shaking. A ripping sound tore through the air and soon enough small cries filled the air. Thomas treaded water in stunned silence as a blue and red dragon clutched at the remains of the burning boat. Seeing Thomas they screeched before jumping in after him.
Thomas freaked out as they struggled to swim after him. Cries of help soon came from them as they struggled to stay afloat. Thomas moved towards them quickly. They scurried onto his shoulders affectionately nudging his head. Thomas observed them now and noticed they were leaner than the others were when they were born. They were also longer. "Your both female aren't you?" Thomas mumbled. The red dragon, who he now noticed had small black stripes on her back chirped happily at him. The blue one licked his face.
As they treaded water Thomas paled when he saw a fin skim the top of the water. He saw a few more circling them and realized that he was till bleeding form his hand. Moving closer to Lara who seemed to be on the verge of panicking Thomas sent a prayer to whatever gods were listening. His prayers were answered shortly after as a shadow crossed over them. The ship was close enough now that the crew called out to him. "Need some help my lord!?" Thomas turned his head and noticed Varys looking over the side.
"Varys?" Thomas called back, confused as to why the eunuch was here of all places.
A rope ladder was thrown down and Thomas and Lara eagerly pulled themselves up. When he reached the top, some sailors moved to give them blankets. The two dragons who were looking around curiously hissed at them. The sailors hesitated a second before holding out the blankets.
Lara and Thomas took them and nodded his thanks. Drying himself off was a challenge as the dragons tried to dry themselves off while he wrapped himself in it. "What are you doing here lord Varys?"
"I am returning from a trip to Westeros." Varys bowed slightly. "I see your quest was successful." He nodded towards the two dragons.
"Yeah, you could say that." Thomas sighed. "It came at great cost though. We are the only survivors."
Varys laid a hand upon his shoulder. "These things happen Thomas Ward. It is not your fault." Varys finally noticed the blade on his hip. "Blackfyre, it has been missing for quite some time."
"The golden company had it." Thomas growled remembering his run in with them. "I took it off their commander."
"An interesting tale I presume." Varys once again looked at the two dragons who crawled into his arms forcing him to hold them. "What are their names?"
Thomas looked down at the dragons who watching him with large eyes. One set blue the other a fiery yellow. He smiled down at them as a wave of happiness and contentment encompassed him. "Cinder and Saphira." Thomas said. "Their names are Cinder and Saphira." Thomas motioned to the red one when he said Cinder and blue for Saphira.
"Fitting names, for beautiful creatures." Varys smiled. "But I have heard tales of a burning city and you at the head." Varys raised an eyebrow. "Any comments?"
"Not today Varys. It's been a long few months." Thomas sighed.
"Worry not my lord. We have time." Varys nodded sympathetically. "Go rest. We have time before we reach Meereen." Thomas nodded before he followed a sailor down to an open cabin.
*few months later*
Walking into the throne room after so long felt surreal for Thomas. There were times on his quest he never thought he would see this place again. Two chirps on his shoulders caused him to pet Cinder and Saphira. Both we now the size of large cats. Another thing that helped him identify them as female. They grew quicker and were much more moody around others. So far Thomas was the only person they hadn't hissed or growled at. Even Lara wasn't safe from them.
As they arrived in the city, he was surprised to see ships the sigil of a kraken throughout the harbor. Varys had explained they were from house Greyjoy. Lara had payed more attention to the large camp outside the city. When they docked a group of Unsullied and Dothraki greeted them. Lara quickly conversed with her countrymen. She had turned to Thomas and told him she would head with them and tell his story.
"Worry not Khal, your horde will be even larger than before once I'm done." She bowed before walking off with them. Presumably to spread his tale and get many over to his side.
The Unsullied ended up taking him and Varys to the throne room. When he saw the throne, he smiled brightly as he saw Daenerys sitting there. A small smile adorning her own face. Tyrion was standing beside her and in the corner he noticed Missandei and Grey Worm. But on the side of the room he saw two people with a kraken adorning their armor. One woman with short cut brown hair and a pale skinny man who looked sickly. His eyes were focused on the floor but he kept glancing up at the baby dragons. The woman openly studied him and Thomas raised an eyebrow when their eyes met.
"Welcome back Thomas Ward." Daenerys brought his attention back to her. She was standing now and descending the steps to him. "I have heard tales of your adventure. I do hope you can shed some light on those stories." She soon eyed the dragons. "And who are these children?" Dany smiled as she reached him and raised her hand to Cinder. Cinder sniffed the hand before hissing and snapping at it. Dany jerked back as the dragon continued to growl at her. Saphira joined her sister's actions and showed her distaste of Dany by roaring at her. Thomas quickly shushed them before smiling apologetically at Daenerys.
"The red one is Cinder, the more feisty of the two and the blue one is Saphira. She tends to follow her sisters example." Thomas rubbed their heads as they quieted down. "They don't really like anyone but me. I'm sorry my Queen."
"So, you hatched them then?" Dany asked.
"Yes." Thomas nodded.
"Well then, father of dragons. Welcome home." Dany grabbed his hand and kissed his knuckles. Cinder hissed at the contact and Thomas sighed in slight annoyance. Dany chuckled lightly. "They are very protective of you it seems."
"You have no idea."
Dany looked behind him before turning her eyes back on him. "I heard you took others with you. Where are they?"
Thomas grimaced. "They… Most didn't make it. Only one returned with me and she is with the other Dothraki outside the city."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Dany nodded. "They shall be remembered and honored once we reclaim Westeros. As for this other survivor I would very much like to meet her." Thomas nodded before stiffening.
"We're finally going back?" Thomas asked.
"Yes, Tyrion has agreed to be my hand and you shall finally marry me. Daario shall stay behind with the second suns to keep order in my absence. With the master's fleet and the Greyjoy's, we can finally move all the unsullied and the Dothraki." Dany smirked before motioning towards the two unknown people. "Yara and Theon Greyjoy have agreed to support me. And Varys should have gotten us allies in the seven kingdoms." Thomas nodded as Dany filled him in. "We sail for Dragonstone in two days. Now go get some rest, I will join you shortly." Dany winked suggestively as Thomas blushed.
Thomas nodded before turning to go to their chambers. When he got there he noticed Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion flying over the city. He smiled as he saw the three fly free. Honestly he was exhausted and flopped on the bed causing Saphira and Cinder to screech in protest as they were thrown off his shoulders. Later when daenerys entered the room, she found two curled up dragons resting against Thomas's sides. Laughing lightly she cautiously joined them on her side of the bed, feeling oddly optimistic of their journey ahead.
*SO here is the updated version. More in line with what I really wanted to give you. Hopefully much better than it originally was. Now Lara is alive so not everyone on the expedition died. Anyway, she won't have any major part in the story aside from the final season so don't expect to see much of her for a while.*
So merry Christmas Everyone! Or merry Christmas Eve! Surprise I got all of season six in one chapter. Now I know out of all of them this is my weakest and I apologies for that. But on the upside I have another gift for you on Christmas day that should make up for it. And I will be coming back to this chapter to change a few things and make it better when I get season seven out. Well now you know what I meant by Father of dragons. With Blackfyre and Cinder and Saphira Thomas is now stronger than ever. I hope that you enjoyed this journey at least a little bit. But to clarify they do not hate Dany they just don't trust her. I find it kind of fun to show dragons who aren't all love for Targaryen's. I mean it never stated all dragons love Targaryen's. Anyway let me know what you think about the girls. Just know they are already written into season 7.