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Daenerys stood on the balcony, watching the three dragons play on the large battlement. They were thumping each other, little more than smoke poofing out of their noses.
“Your Grace?”
“Yes, Missandei?” Dany asked the recently freed woman.
“Should I help you dress for supper?”
Dany shook her head. “I am not hungry.”
“Your Grace, please, you must eat.”
“Whatever for? There is nothing else left for me in this world.”
“Don’t say that, my Queen.”
“Queen!” Dany snorted. “I took a city because an army saw fit to follow me. Because I was able to hatch dragons from stone. I have a name, and nothing else.”
“You changed the lives of thousands of people by offering them freedom, Your Grace,” Missandei said.
“I merely treated you like people, as you should be treated,” Dany waved her off.
“You have a family across the Narrow Sea,” the translator insisted.
And that stung Dany like nothing else could. “A dead family.”
“Not all of them are dead.”
“My husband and children are dead and our home is burnt down to ashes. There is nothing left for me in Westeros, nothing but to remain hostage to the whims of a man who slaughtered my family twenty years ago and wouldn’t care to keep me alive now that I’m no longer a defenceless babe and therefore he wouldn’t be accused of cruelty. There is only death in Westeros for me and my dragons.”
“You are the Mother of Dragons. You are no man’s hostage.”
“Mother of Dragons,” Dany whispered, her voice cracking, “no longer of children. Never again of children.”
Missandei was at a loss of what to say. How do you convince a woman who had just lost her husband and children, her home, to keep on living? The door burst open and Ser Jorah rushed in, his breath failing as if he had run across town faster than his age allowed for. He panted, leaning heavily on the doorway, unable to get the words out.
“Ships approaching, my Queen,” Grey Worm, sweating and a little out of breath, but otherwise unaffected by the effort.
“The sigil…” Ser Jorah panted. “Starling… winter rose…”
Dany stiffened. No, she thought. The Starling forces fell. Jon is… She refused to finish the thought.
“Are you certain?” she asked in a trembling voice.
Jorah nodded, still trying to get his breathing under control. Dany tore out of the room, the dragons squawking behind her, displeased that she was leaving. She had to see. The courtyard had a view of the bay, and she could see blue and green flags cut before the afternoon sun. She ran down to the harbour, her heart racing in her chest, Missandei at her back and a whole squadron of Unsullied following after her.
By the time she got there, one of the ships had already docked. The flag was billowing in the warm air: a blue winter rose against grey silk. She gasped. Even if… someone from the Blessed Island had come, had found her this far away… her heart failed and she felt her eyes fill with tears when she felt the soft fur on her arm and she turned, sobbing when she saw Ghost.
She turned around in a whirl, hearing her name being called. His voice was familiar, unmistakable, the northern slur she had grown up hearing, that caressed her name like a lover, the voice she heard in her ear in the height of pleasure or in sleepy nights by the fire.
“Jon!” she sobbed. Her legs moved without her noticing and she crossed the few steps between them, throwing her arms around him, crying harder when she felt the familiar strength of his arms tightening around her. Safety, they screamed. Home. “You’re here. You’re alive. The children?” she panicked. “Where are the children?”
“Hey, hey, hey, they’re safe! They fine, they are safe, back home! Aunt Ayla and Uncle Benjen have them.”
She sobbed harder. “They’re alive? Please, please, say it again, they are alive?”
“They are, love,” Jon said, holding her face and staring deep into her stormy violet eyes. “They are alive, safe, and protected in our home. And I’ve found you. I’ve found you and I'm never letting you go.”
Dany broke down in sobs, tightening the hug impossibly. Jon only held her back, inhaling her familiar scent. They were locked together for an infinite moment, until the Unsullied raised their voices. Dany stepped back, and saw the reason for the confusion.
“Ziry iksos mirre paktot,” she said, raising her hand to signal them to lower their spears. “Issa ñuha mandia.” (*It’s all right. She is my sister.)
Arya came forward, slowly sheathing Needle. “Impressive body guards. Glad to see you, Dany. Next time a band of crazies kidnaps you, could you at least send a message or something saying where you are? A treasure hunt loses the appeal if you don’t have a map.”
Daenerys chuckled, pulling the young woman into a hug. “I can’t even describe how I feel seeing all of you. I thought… I was told the castle had fallen when they took me.”
“Oh please,” Arya laughed. “That castle has been standing since the Valyrian Freehold. Only an idiot would think it would fall that easily.”
Dany laughed as well, feeling as if she were floating amidst clouds, feeling Jon’s arms around her again. It seemed he was as eager as she was for the contact.
“Ñuha Dāria, kostilus, ivestragī īlva jikagon arlī naejot se sombāzmion,” Grey Worm said. (*My Queen, please, let us return to the pyramid.)
“Hen rhinka, udrāzmio. Jemagon se ñuhoso.” (*Of course, commander. Lead the way.)
“Ahm, what is happening?” Jon asked.
“Grey Worm is the Commander of the Unsullied,” Dany explained and the man in question nodded in greeting. “He thinks it best we return to the Great Pyramid. Grey Worm, this is my husband, Jon Starling.”
“Unsullied protect and fight for Queen Daenerys,” the man said in his heavily accented Common. “Unsullied protect her family as well, my King.”
Jon stiffened, thrown by the title and the feelings the recent revelation had brought up. And he hadn’t even told Dany yet. Somewhere deep down he felt as if he should be feeling repulsion, but he was so damned relieved at finding her that he couldn’t care less what people would now say about their marriage. They were Targaryens after all.
“It seems I have competition for the Kingsguard,” Arthur said, though he had a blinding smile on his face. “My Queen. I have waited years to say these words.”
Dany only smiled. “You have no competition. Not ever.”
“It gladdens my heart. But I agree with Grey Worm. We should get back indoors. Unless the King has an objection,” he needled, earning himself a glare from Jon.
“Don’t start, Arthur,” he said between his teeth.
Dany frowned at the use of the name. “It seems we have lots to catch up on. Let’s go. We can talk over dinner. I am ravenous.”
She pretended not to see Missandei’s relieved sigh and smile as they turned to follow Grey Worm back to the Great Pyramid.
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