I do not own any rights to the characters mentioned or the GoT universe.

Chapter 2

It’s been a week now since the battle of Winterfell. Dany still hasn’t returned and everyone is concerned of her whereabouts.”We will have to trust our Queen” Grey Worm says to Tyrion, Sansa, and Jon. “She will be back soon.” Missandei smirks. She is the only person that knows where Dany is and what she is doing.

During dinner there are 4 conversations happening simultaneously.

Sansa says to Tyrion “I meant what I said down in the crypt. You really were the best of them.” Tyrion smiles shyly ” We could have made great partners, we do work really well together, you know” claim Tyrion. “I honestly don’t think I could marry ever again.” Sansa pauses to take a sip of her wine. “We do work well together though” she finishes. Tyrion, for the first time in his life, feels himself blush. He’s always admired Sansa for how resilient she is. She was able to survive both Joffery and Ramsey. Not many people could have done what she has done. “She’s very beautiful tonight,” he thought to himself. She’s always been beautiful, but it’s different this time because she’s a woman now. A powerful one making smart decisions for the North, and that’s what Tyrion is attracted to the most, her intellect. He flashes back to conversations he has had with her in the past “I will not have you unless you want me to” he always told her. He glances at her and gives her a warped smile, not knowing what to say.

Sansa has always appreciated Tyrion for what he is– a smart dwarf who likes to drink his wine. He was from a family who hated hers since the beginning of the war. She’s happy that he’s always been different than the rest of them. He was the only part of her young adult life that was bearable. When she first met him, she was a naive young girl who wanted to marry a handsome prince who was big and strong. She now knows that those qualities are not a good enough reason to marry someone. Tyrion is present, loyal, smart, and brave. All the qualities that should matter when choosing someone. Plus, she would have the entire North and Casterly Rock if she decides to marry him again. She glances at him the whole night giving him a half smile and talking strategy for the upcoming war. Tyrion was always a good person to talk to because he really listened. He finds flaws in plans if they are there and offers solutions to those flaws. Sansa valued this. The North will not make anymore mistakes and she knows he is on her side.

The second conversation happening at the right end of the table was between Tormund and Brienne. Tormund is always so nervous around her, everything he says comes out as word vomit. “One time when I was a young lad, I went out hunting by myself and got lost. I wasn’t able to eat because I wasn’t a very good hunter yet, you see. I went 5 whole days without having a good shit!” Brienne makes an unpleasant face and Tormund quickly says “I’m sorry, not a thing to say to a lady.” She sympathizes. She realizes he has been trying hard to impress her, so she says “I have run into that problem many times in my travels too.” Tormund gives a big, goofy grin. So big that he feels like his mouth is about to fall off. Brienne couldn’t help but smile back. His smile was contagious. “Have you traveled a lot then?” says Tormund. “Yes, I’ve seen all of Westeros, besides beyond the Wall” Brienne says matter-of-factly. “Oh you have to see the North, Brie, it’s the second most beautiful thing I ever saw” Tormund responded, looking at Brienne in awe. Knowing how ridiculous he just sounded, he quickly says “how did you become such a great fighter?” Brienne starts telling her stories while Tormund sits there eating the rest of his meal, drinking sour goats milk, and listening happily to every detail the big lady had to say. Brienne wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline of war, but she was enjoying Tormund’s company more than she thought she would. She doesn’t even care that Jamie has been talking to a beautiful Wildling woman all night.

On the left side of the table sits Missandei and Grey Worm. Grey Worm says “is there anything you want to do after the war is over? Once we have served our Queen, we could go anywhere and do anything we want.” “I just want to go somewhere peaceful, warm, and beautiful” Missandei responded. Grey Worm thinks for a moment “Naath?” “I don’t have any family left there. I do miss it but I have no reason to go back there. Maybe I’d like to visit one day, but I’d like to stay close by to Daenerys. She is my best friend and really my only living family” Missandei said. Grey Worm nods and says “She is my family too.” They eat a few bites when Missandei notices 4 young children picking food off of abandoned plates. “I feel sorry for them, losing their parents in the battle” she said. Her and Grey Worm both understand how they must feel, because they both lost their parents at a young age. He feels a deep sorrow towards them and a pit in his stomach, but he doesn’t let Missandei see his weakness. Later that night, Grey Worm finds them and brings them each a meal.

At a separate table is Jon and Sam. “She wants to get married, Sam” Jon says a little to loudly. “Well do you love her?” Sam responded. “It’s not that easy” followed Jon. “Yes it is. What does your gut say?” said Sam. “I feel like throwing up all the time. It’s all a lot to handle. How did you know that you wanted to marry Gilly?” Jon asked. “Well,” Sam paused, “she makes me happy all the time. I don’t want to be where she’s not. Seeing her face every morning and every night makes me the happiest man alive. She’s a great mother to little Sam. She’s a great cook. She knows how to hunt and how to build, things that most girls don’t know how to do. She’s incredibly strong. Most importantly, she loves me, I am not sure why, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let her go,” he laughed, “that’s why we got married before the battle. It’s better to die in love than completely alone. I see the way you look at our Dragon Queen and I see the way she looks at you. Worry about the attack on Kings Landing for now, but when it’s all over, make your choice. If you choose what I think you will, ask her yourself this time.” Jon looked at Sam and nodded in agreement.

The romance was heavy in the dinning hall that night.

—-

Arya didn’t take the Kings Road alone. The Hound was riding along side her and he said “I needed out of that shit city” and Arya said, without hesitation, “you think all cities are shit cities.” They had an uneventful trip so far. No one dared to rob or harass them. Everyone recognized The Hound, but mostly, everyone was tired of fighting. The two of them spent most of their days riding hard and fast, as Arya wanted to get there as soon as she could. Arya never mentioned to Sandor why she was going to Kings Landing ahead of the army and he never bothered to ask. Maybe he assumed she was going to kill Cersei. But they trusted each other, so there was no need to discuss what both of their motives were.

Almost two weeks into their trip, Arya and Sandor made camp for the night as usual. They were making great timing, only a few days left of travel. Arya was thinking about how she could kill Qyburn. She asked Bran to warg into a cat before she left to spy on him. He’s always in the Red Keep and he’s always surrounded by The Mountain or many knights. She’ll have to be careful and creative. She knows she can take several men at once but The Mountain and trained knights? She wasn’t sure. Sandor is already asleep and the sound of his snore makes Arya tired and she starts to drift off. There was rustling in the bushes and she stands straight up with her sword in hand. The noise grows louder. She kicks Sandor in the leg and whispers “get up, something is coming.” He wakes up and is obviously annoyed. “What?” he said with an attitude. Arya points with her sword in the direction she hears the noise. He stands up gripping his sword. A huge figure jumps out and lands on Arya. Her face is being licked by a dog so large, it’s the same size as a horse. “Nymeria!” Arya screamed. The last time she saw her was when she was on her way back to Winterfell. “You never left me after all. Six more direwolves follow. “Are these your fucking pets?” Sandor says. “Nymeria used to be, this must be the pack she found” Arya responded. All of a sudden, one of them pounces on The Hound and starts licking him all over. “How ironic, a hound for The Hound” she laughed. They wouldn’t leave their sides all night, almost as if they knew Arya and Sandor will need them in the coming weeks. Arya wonders if Bran helped with this reunion. Either way, she is so happy to see her best friend again, and she swore she saw a genuine smile coming from Sandor when the direwolf that pounced on him curls up next to him and lays her head on his shoulder. Looks like he’ll have a best friend too.

The next morning, Arya wakes up before Sandor and walks off a bit with Nymeria and says “I have no idea if you’re able to understand me, but I could use your help. We are going to be fighting Cersei soon, and she is bound to have something huge prepared.” Nymeria looks at her and bows her head like she understood. Sandor wakes up and one of the other direwolfs carried a fresh dead deer in their mouth to their camp. Sandor cuts off a leg and starts a fire while all the direwolves share the rest of the kill. They finish their breakfast and Nymeria kneels in front of Arya. The direwolf that slept with The Hound kneels in front of him as well. They want them to climb on their backs. Arya walks over to their horses and frees them. “The fuck you doing?” Sandor said. “They want us to ride them instead” said Arya. She climbs on Nymeria’s back. She expected to continue to fight with The Hound about getting on his wolf’s back, but she didn’t have to. He climbed on and the entire pack started to run. This is how they traveled for the next few days. When they would make camp every night, one or two wolves would go off and bring back a kill for dinner and Arya would teach the remaining of the pack commands.

On their last day of travel, they settle into the Kingswood–the woods located directly outside of Kings Landing. “Sandor, I need you to stay here with them until Queen Daenerys comes. I have work to do on her behalf” Arya said. She then whispers to Nymeria “keep an eye on him, will you?” Nymeria whimpers. “It’s okay girl, you’ll see me soon.” Nymeria nudges her with her head and Arya gives her a kiss in return. She says goodbye to The Hound and makes her way to the city wall. The pack howls at the moon. She walks for about an hour and can now see the Capital, she reaches into her book bag and pulls out a face she took from The House of Black and White before she left Braavos. She takes a deep breath, transforms into someone else, and makes her way through the city’s gate. Arya knows she has to be quick, as Daenerys and Jon’s army would already be on their way. She finds an inn to sleep in for the remainder of the night and in the morning she will try to get into the castle.

—

Daenerys is up in the clouds with Drogon. It’s been two days since she left Winterfell. She has a lot to accomplish before the last battle begins and she keeps running the list over and over in her head. They have been flying nonstop and Dany is sleeping on Drogon’s back when he purrs to wake her up. She opens her eyes and she can see them in the distance–The Iron Islands. They land on the coast of Pyke, and Drogon guards her, unsure if they’ll be welcomed or not.

“I am Daenerys Targaryen, the Queen of the 7 kingdoms, and I wish to speak with Yara” she said confidently. No one said anything, probably because they feared Drogon. A small group of people ran off the beach to fetch Yara. Not much time passed before Yara walks down to greet Dany. They shake hands at first, but glad to see that they’re both okay, pull each other into a hug. “Welcome to the Iron Islands, Dragon Queen” Yara said. “Is there a place we can talk without all the eyes on us? I only have a few hours before I have to leave” says Dany. “Yeah, we’ll go up to my chambers” Yara responded, looking serious. She begins walking up to the castle and before Dany follows, she tells Drogon “Get some rest, we have an even longer flight soon.” Just like that, Drogon closes his eyes. Dany then turns to the men on the beach who still stood frozen and said “Can you fetch him some food? Some sheep or a few barrels of fish will do. I’ll pay you for whatever he eats.” The men nod and scurry off.

Dany and Yara arrive in Yara’s chambers. “So, what can I help my Queen with” Yara says. Dany response, “we are preparing to attack Kings Landing in less than a fortnight and I hear your Uncle has a massive fleet guarding the bay. I could use your help.” “There’s no way what remains of the Iron Fleet can take on what Euron has created. Plus, we just got the Islands back. My men have to stay here to prevent it from being taken again” said Yara. “I realize what’s at stake here. But if Cersei wins, Euron will come back to take what he thinks is his, and he can defeat you. If you help me win, the Iron Islands are indefinitely yours. I should also say, you will not be alone in the fight either. You will have help from the sky. Dragons can do a lot of damage very quickly, but I also need to protect them from the giant crossbows Qyburn has created. We’ll need an attack from above and on the water simultaneously” Dany said. Yara takes a sip of ale and says “Okay, you’re right. I bent my knee to you long ago. When you call, it is my duty to answer. We will prepare the ships and set sail in the morning. Will you stay for dinner?” “I can spare some time” Dany says with a smile. “We have a lot to catch up on.” They spent the next few hours talking about the Battle of Winterfell and remembering Theon. Dany tells Yara the heroic actions of Arya Stark and what a great fighter she is, “She sounds like quite a woman, I hope to meet her soon” Yara said, impressed. The Iron Born always admired great fighters, and Yara always admired great female fighters.

Dinner ends and Yara walks Dany back down to the beach. “I’m glad we are allies” Yara said. “We are more than that, we are friends too, I would like to think” Danys says amused. “Thank you for agreeing to come. I wish you safe travels and I’ll see you soon” she said. She grabs a coin bag and gives it to Yara and says “for feeding my dragon.” Yara accepts the coin and shakes Danys hand one last time and says “I hope this won’t be the last time you visit the Iron Islands.” Dany gets on Drogon and as he is about to take off, she yells “it won’t be!” and Dany goes off into the night as all the people on the islands gaze at her in amazement.

She tells Drogon “We’re going to Valyria.”

They ride day in and day out, only stopping when Drogon needed to rest. They were careful not to be spotted. When they landed, they were far from any road or town.

They just have to cross the Narrow Sea now. She knew once they got there, they were going to have to be extremely careful, as no one besides Jorah and Tyrion have made the journey through alive. The Stonemen take over Old Valyria and both her and Drogon need to make it out without getting touched or killed.

She sees what was once her ancestral home off in the distance. The Fourteen Flames catch her eye, that’s where she was heading. When the Doom of Valyria occurred, all fourteen volcanoes erupted at once and a fire so hot burned, it even killed dragons. The ancient Targaryens were known to have “the sight” and that’s why they left Valyria to settle on Dragonstone, they knew the Doom was coming. Daenerys has heard stories of this, of course, but never thought she’d have the ability. All she knew was that something has been telling her to come back here for weeks now and to enter the volcanos.

She flys overhead. It’s eerie. So quiet, you can hear your own breath, and each flap of Drogons wings sounds like an earthquake. She is drawn to one volcano in particular. She and Drogon stand at the top, and looking down, Dany sees nothing but darkness. “Alright, boy. Let’s go down.” Drogon dives deeper and deeper into the earth and Dany can feel it getting hotter and hotter. It feels so good. She can finally see something below them now. It’s glowing. Red, orange, and yellow. It’s lava. As they get closer, she can see there is a whole network of rooms and tunnels that sit maybe 50 feet above the lava pools. She lands with Drogon and she begins to explore. Drogon dives into the lava head first without warning. Taken by surprise, Dany watches. Drogon completely submerges himself. He is under for quite sometime, but right before Daenerys has the chance to panic, Drogon shoots out of the pool. He looks glorious. He is glowing in orange while lava drips off of him. He looks bigger and stronger. How is that possible? She walks over and touches him. His scales are as hard as metal. The extreme heat must have made Drogon completely indestructible. He lets out a loud roar that echoes throughout the volcano. A few moments go by and there are returning sounds. Drogon heads off in the direction of the noise and Dany follows. They walk for a few minutes into a wide open cavern. Dany couldn’t see where the ceiling was or where the walls ended. Another roar was heard but it wasn’t from Drogon.

There they were. Six dragons. Three of them were already the size of what Rhaegal is. The other three were flying around the cavern, but Dany could tell they were small–about the size of a grown man. “They must have been born recently” she thought. Then she hears a thought that wasn’t hers, “the bigger ones were born at the same time myself and my brothers were born, the smaller ones are new” Dany turns wide eyed to Drogon “did you just….speak to me?” She hears the voice again “yes, in a way. We’ve always had a telepathic connection but now my thoughts are your thoughts. The volcano holds ancient magic. The original Valyrians were sorcerers and enchanted this volcano. They worshipped it, because this was a home for the dragons. This is where Valyrian Steel weapons were created, including your own ancestral weapons, Dark Sister and Blackfyre.” “So can I only hear you while we are in this volcano?” Dany said. “No, the lava transformed me to better serve you. It made my skin impenetrable, made me grow to be the largest dragon in history, and gave me the ability to talk to you” Drogon said. “Could Rhaegal do what you just did? What about these dragons?” Dany responded. “For now, I am the only one. Rhaegal may be able to once his rider is accepted by the ancestors. The rest of the three heads will be able to for generations to come, as long as the Targaryen and Valyrian blood stays strong enough. These ones here might like making a home by the pools, but they wouldn’t live if they dived in. You’re the first head of the dragon in this lifetime, with Jon being the second and the Night King was the third. You chose me to ride, that’s the only reason why I was able to do what I did” he said. “How do you know all this?” Dany wondered. “Ancient magic is strong. And have you never heard that dragons are the smartest creatures?” Drogon says. Dany laughs. She can’t believe it. “Are you able to talk to them for me?” she asks Drogon. “Yes. But you are now of course, able to speak to all the dragons through me. Anything you ever want to say or demand, they’ll be listening. And I can tell you what they said, or show you what they’ve seen.” He makes a few grunts and snarls and they make the same sounds back. “They know you’re their mother and they have been waiting for you to come” Drogon translates. “They’re ready to go with you.” Dany climbs on Drogon’s back and all of them begin to fly out of the volcano. They soar over the remains of what was once a great city. Daenerys was once told that the towers all had open rooftops, and it was true. There was something else she felt like she needed to do before leaving Valyria. She was beginning to feel drawn to the castle that once lived the emperor, she was drawn to something inside and she had to get it. She directed Drogon to a tower on the castle. “Stay up here with the other three large dragons and guard the castle from any Stonemen. I need to go inside to get something. The smaller ones can come in with me” Dany said, and Drogon nodded. The smaller dragons walk on each side of her as she enters the castle.

Upon entering, her breath was taken away. Even in ruins, this castle was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. There were ornate designs on the walls made out of gold and the floor was silver with a unique pattern on it. “Is this Valyrian Steel? This entire floor?” Dany said out loud. There were purple ceiling-to-floor curtains that hung on every window. Perfectly handcrafted furniture was still in tact. She was getting distracted from what she came down here to get when she heard Drogon and the other three dragons start attacking something. “Stonemen” Dany thought in a panic. She and the three dragons moved around the castle quickly until they ended up what appeared to be a Throne Room. At the end of the room, she saw a corpse sitting on the Valyrian Steel throne. The floor in here was covered in white marble. There were marble benches with purple cushions placed along the sides of the room, presumably for the court. There were purple tapestries decorating the ceiling. Everything was still in perfect condition. But Dany couldn’t focus on the beauty much longer. She knew what she came here for was on the corpse. It’s strange though, he wasn’t infected with the disease the Stonemen were. He was dead, but he was not decaying.

Her brother once told her that Emperor Aurion was one of the few Dragonlords that survived the Doom. When he and 30,000 men came back to reclaim the Freehold, no one ever saw them again. Dany assumes she just found his final resting place. She walks over to him and can see the Valyrian Steel crown on his head. There are amethysts encrusted all over the crown. She takes the crown off his head and slowly places it on hers. The corpse turns to dust. She feels different. All of a sudden her clothes begin to change. The outfit that the first Targaryen dragonlords wore are now on her body. There are flames on the sleeves and collar of the black fitted top. The pants were heavy, but fitted, and had flames going up the sides. She still hears the four dragons outside making noise, so she needs to head back. Climbing all the stairs up to the tower would take to long, and they could be in danger, so Dany decides to exit out of a large window in the Throne Room.

When she came outside, she saw a strange film between the castle walls and a few feet in front of her. She takes off the crown and the film disappears. Was this the magic Drogon was speaking of? Did Aurion put a spell over the castle to protect it from the Stonemen so he could live out his days in peace? Dany then noticed that the film only seemed to cover the Throne Room. “Perhaps it was to prevent the artifact from being contaminated? Maybe Aurion didn’t have enough time to protect the whole castle, and only enough time to make sure the crown was safe” she thought. She suddenly looks up and can see that Drogon and the others were spitting fire at hundreds of Stonemen from the sky. Some of them noticed Dany on the other end of the castle and start to run towards her. She looks at the three dragons that are with her and she climbs on one of their backs. They take off and fly back up towards the tower. Dany yells to Drogon “it’s time to leave! Now!” Just as she finished that sentence, at least 20 Stonemen come hurdling up the stairs. The three small dragons begin to spit fire towards them, but it’s not enough. Dany sees Drogon is closing in so she tells the three young ones to fly off. She didn’t want them to get touched. They were only a few inches from Dany when Drogon scoops Dany up with his claw and all eight of them are now safe in the sky.

“Back to Winterfell?” Drogon said.

“Wait. There is someone I want to visit before we go back. Last detour, I promise.”

Chapter 3 is coming next week. Stay tuned.