“What’s the matter?” Zhowo asked Rhaenys anxiously.

“I-,” she started to speak but couldn’t find words yet. “Arya, get Yara, Sansa, Aegon, Gendry and Meera. Meet me in the Throne Room. I’ll see if Brienne and Tormund came in last night. Zhowo, get the other Ko’s and Izi. Bring any other high ranking Dothraki. It’s important.” Arya got up and ran off searching for the people Rhaenys asked her to and Zhowo was hesitant but ultimately did so. She starts to walk away but Shadow whines and paws at the ground. “You know what? You can come too. Find Brienne and Tormund,” Rhaenys said and she climbs on top of Shadow. Shadow sniffs the air a few times and then takes off.

It was still mostly dark out and the entire khalasar and city were still sleeping. Shadow ran around the city walls to the other side. There were thousands of tents up. Shadow walks a few steps in and starts sniffing the tents. At the fifth one, Shadow laid down. She found them. Rhaenys gets off and goes in the tent, deciding to only wake up Brienne.

“What? What is it? Who is that?” Brienne said in a groggy voice. “It’s Rhaenys. Please, I need you and Tormund in the Throne Room now…why are you sleeping out here?”

“We got back late and Tormund wanted to celebrate with the Dothraki. They’ve grown on him. Even started learning some words. We will see you in a bit,” said Brienne. Rhaenys exited the tent and heard Brienne try to wake up Tormund. She would have laughed in different circumstances.

She takes a deep breath of the warm air around her, climbs back on Shadow, and heads for the Great Pyramid.

She’s the first one in the Throne Room. It was strange seeing it empty. She glanced around the room with Shadow by her side but her eyes fell on the throne.

“Should I take it?” she thought to herself. She would sometimes sit on the Iron Throne but never in a formal setting like this. But she needed to tell them what had happened. She needed to figure out what to do. It felt odd walking up those steps, only because she wasn’t sure what her mother wanted. Rhaenys was positive her mother had the same vision she did. “Perhaps we should just wait for her?” she thought again. “No. I’m going to be a Queen one day. I’m going to do this.” She sits on the white throne and Shadow prances up the steps and sits right in front of her. Rhaenys pets her for a few minutes and the door opens. Two dozen Dothraki enter the room. Then Brienne and Tormund. Arya, Sansa, Aegon, Yara, Gendry, then Meera. Daario’s wife and children funneled in last. They were all very tired but looked worried. Rhaenys wasn’t even sure how to say it. She then heard two unfamiliar voices. Dragon voices. One male and female. “Rhaegar wants to know where you are,” she the male voice. “Talisa wants to know where you are,” said the female voice.

What? How–? They must have went to the volcano, and Talisa is the third dragon! Now she’s hearing both of their voices! “Throne Room, in the Great Pyramid. I’m coming outside,” she thought back to them. She stood and and said “I’m sorry, I brought you all here in a hurry, but you have to excuses me for just a few minutes. I’ll be right back, hold on.” Zhowo, Aegon, and Sansa looked very suspicious and followed her out.

“What’s wrong, Rhaenys?” Sansa asked as she was chasing her down the corridor. “Rhaegar and Talisa are here, with the others too. They can help explain,” Rhaenys said as she’s running full speed, still getting information and images from Dusk and Meraxes. She got outside and it was still dark, but the sun would break very soon. She looks around and sees 8 shadows walking her way. A small shadow breaks from the group and sprints to Rhaenys.

“Rhaenys!” the shadow cried. Rhaenys knew it was her little sister, Rhaella. Rhaenys scoops her up and embraced her. “I thought you were supposed to be in the Iron Islands?!” she said.

“Bharbo called us back. We all have a mission soon,” Rhaella said to Rhaenys. Before she could question her further, Rhaegar and Ned pull her into a hug. Rhaenys had such a close relationship with the both of them. They were the people who understood her the most. I suppose sharing a womb helped that relationship. Rhaenys eyes water slightly. “I’m so happy to see you all, but I just wish it was under different terms. I have a room full of people waiting, let’s go,” and Rhaenys walks off, being followed by her siblings and cousins.

Sansa finally saw her children and ran over to Talisa first. “Oh Talisa! Why are you here? I’m so happy to see you! Are you okay with what happened at Dragonstone? W-what happened to your hair?” she trailed off, now coming into the dimly lite corridor of the pyramid. Aegon greets Loras, Margaery, and Benjin. “Well, I went with Rhaegar to his ceremony in the volcano, and Meraxes revealed that I was the third head of the dragon,” Talisa said kind of nonchalantly

“What?” said Aegon and Sansa together. “Yeah. It changed my hair and my eyes. Dusk went into the lava. Her scales are hard and she grew. Meraxes is the size of Rhaegal now and Dusk is only a bit smaller,” Talisa told her parents. Aegon laughed, he was thrilled. “The third head of the Targaryen dragon came from my family line! How exciting! I’m so proud of you!” Sansa couldn’t believe it either but hugged and congratulated her too.

Everyone gets back in the Throne Room and they stare at the new crowd walking in. Rhaegar and Ned walked closely to Rhaenys. Sansa took a seat on one of the benches and Margaery sat on her lap. Sansa wrapped her arms around her and kissed her cheek. Loras, Benjin, Rhaella, and Bharbo stood closely together near Sansa and Aegon, that is until Rhaella saw Arya and Yara and ran over to them.

Rhaenys climbs back up the steps to the throne and sits. Rhaegar and Ned are standing right at the bottom. She noticed some of the Second Sons and Dragons Bay warriors joined. The Hykroon were also there.

Rhaenys speaks, “I apologize. My family arrived unexpectedly.” The crowd was looking at Rhaegar and Ned.

“I just want to start by saying thank you to you all. Dragon’s Bay is safe, and we won over the remaining cities of the Valyrian Peninsula because of all of you. Thank you to each group, and to those who lost their lives,” said Rhaenys. There was a few moments of silence. Rhaenys continued, “the unfortunate reason why I called you all here this morning is because the Jogos Nhai attacked Vaes Dothrak two days ago. There were many losses. Only a few Dosh Khaleen members survived.” There was an uproar, especially from the group behind Zhowo, they were all screaming in Dothraki.

“How dare they attack when they knew we weren’t there!”

“Cowards!”

“They defiled our sacred land!”

“You must burn them all!”

They screamed. Rhaegar and Ned were fluent in the language. Bharbo and Rhaella weren’t yet, but they were able to make out parts. Rhaegar spoke, “you don’t need to worry about that anymore. Myself, Rhaegar Targaryen-Stark, son of your Khaleesi, and Talisa Catelyn Stark-Targaryen, eldest daughter of Sansa Stark and Aegon Targaryen, flew to their lands when we saw it happening. We gave them a choice. Surrender or burn. There wasn’t one soul on their land who chose to surrender and bend the knee. They were yelling about planning another attack and then started to try to attack us. We hardly made it back to our dragons in time, as the entire village was chasing us with weapons in their hands….. We burned them all.” The Hykroon chanted. Annithi, the leader of the all female army, let out the loudest battle cry. The Dothraki were overall silent, but a lot of them gave respectful nods to Rhaegar, and Talisa, who joined Rhaegars side. The Dothraki admired Talisa’s unique beauty, as they all stare at her, making her a bit uncomfortable.

Ned spoke to them next, “the rest of us cleaned up the city, and built pyres for the dead. We didn’t burn them yet, we thought it would be best for their own blood to do it. The remaining Dosh Khaleen are recovering, my brother Bharbo helped cure them.” Little Bharbo stood taller and looked proud as the Dothraki group bowed their heads to him. There wasn’t anything more sacred to the Dothraki than the Dosh Khaleen.

“Khaleesi knows what happened, I was able to speak with Drogon. She and my father are on their way here, and they will travel with you back to Vaes Dothrak for the ceremony. They will be here soon, so pack up and get your horses ready,” said Rhaenys.

The Dothraki bowed their heads again, and left. Annithi spoke to Rhaenys next, “Princess Rhaenys, we would like to accompany the Dothraki back to their city. We feel we owe our respects too. And thank you, Prince Rhaegar, for fulfilling your family’s promise to get rid of those horrible humans. The Far East and the Dothraki Sea will be better off now.”

“Very well, Annithi. The Hykroon may travel with us. I hope you didn’t run into to much trouble in Yunkai?” said Rhaenys.

Annithi smiled, “easy. Our archers killed anyone who got within 100 feet of the city’s wall.”

Rhaenys said “very good. Thank you for coming. Everyone is dismissed.”

Rhaenys takes her siblings and cousins up to her room. Zhowo and Izi followed, so did Shadow.

Izi was devastated. Zhowo was upset but tried not to show it, but, Rhaenys saw right through him. He was kept occupied though, Bharbo was very interested in him and was asking him a million questions. Ned, Loras, and Benjin were in on their conversation. Rhaella missed her older sister so much, she sat on her lap amongst all the pillows on the floor. Margaery sat next to her, Izi sat next to Rhaenys on the other side, while Rhaegar and Talisa sat across from them. Rhaenys caught her brother and sisters up on everything that has happened while being away. It was nice to just talk to them again, face to face. They were her favorite company, besides Zhowo, of course.

The sun rose high into the sky. Breakfast came and went. The room became a bit more light hearted as the morning progressed, but it quickly came to an end.

“Mom and dad will be here soon. We should head down to the sitting room, they’ll want to leave as soon as they get here. Loras, could you fetch your mom, dad, Jaime, and Octavia? Margaery could you find Aunt Yara and Arya? Benjin, could you get Brienne, Tormund, Meera, and Gendry?” said Rhaenys.

They all get up to exit Rhaenys quarters. “Rhaegar, could we talk?”, she asked as they were approaching the door. “Yes, of course,” he said. They walked several feet behind the rest of the crowd, speaking softly.

“You remember of what I wrote you?” said Rhaenys.

“Yes.”

“I think I desire to stay here. The more I see of this land, the more I fall in love with it. It’s culture, it’s people, the landscape. It has so much potential. It’s three times larger than Westeros. Slavery here isn’t banned yet. There are thousands of slaves in each of the so called Free-Cities. I want to finish the work Mother started here. I knew once I became Queen, I’d rule Dragon’s Bay and be Khaleesi of the Dothraki, but I want to be more than that. I want to be the Queen of Braavos, the Queen of Volantis, the Queen of Pentos, the Queen of Myr, Tyrosh, Lys, Norvos, Qohor, New Ghis, Qarth, Yi Ti, Leng, the Shadowlands, and everything else in between and beyond. When I heard you finally made the second head of the dragon and Talisa made the third…it all makes sense doesn’t it? The prophecy that was made so long ago. It is about us. We are meant to rule the world and unite it. Myself in Essos, and you Rhaegar, in Westeros. I’m not sure what Talisa will be yet, but she is part Targaryen, no doubt she will be great,” Rhaenys finished triumphantly, and was relieved to finally say all those things out loud. She scanned Rhaegars face to read his thoughts, but he looked calm and cool. “Very well,” he said after a moment.

Rhaenys was confused, “I just told you I’d like you to rule of an entire country instead of me, and all you have to say is ‘very well’?”

Rhaegar laughed and grabbed his sisters arm to stop her and faced her. “Rhaen, I know,” he said.

“You know?”

“Yes. Ned too. We are triplets. We can feel each other’s happiness, sadness and woes. We are blood of the dragons too, so it goes deeper than that cause there is magic running through our veins. The confirmation came when Mother and Father wrote to me a few weeks ago. They could sense that you’d want to stay, so they granted me next in line to rule Westeros. All of us know. We just wanted you to realize it on your own,” Rhaegar said.

Rhaenys was shocked. She thought she was going to cause a family feud with her news, but it didn’t even come close.

“So no one is angry?” Rhaenys asked.

“For the most part, no. I think some of the common people in Westeros will miss you as they have grown fond of you. To Mother, she said it makes perfect sense. That she should have realized her daughter would be more like her in spirit. She’s glad that you will continue her work here and she’s looking forward to the lighter work load. There’s so much to be done here and you’re the only one who can do it. There’s millions of slaves here that are going to count on you for freedom and guidance. This is your duty. All of us are behind you. Ned is of course a bit upset. I’m sure you could feel that. But he is coming to terms with it. Mom and Dad says his destiny is something else,” said Rhaegar.

“Well I’m pleased that this turned out better than I thought… I’m happy for you, Rhaegar.

Drogon just spoke to me, they have arrived. Come, we must be quick,” Rhaenys finished.

They jog to the sitting room to see their other siblings, cousins, and family members there once more. Once Rhaenys caught her breath, a very tired Daenarys and Jon walked into the room. Without saying anything, Rhaella and Bharbo ran other to their parents to hug them. Dany lifted up Bharbo and Jon lifted Rhaella.

“It is difficult to be angry with you when you give us such affection,” Dany said to her youngest child. She stared at Rhaegar and Ned now. “You two however should know better! A Targaryen must always remain in Kings Landing! What would happen if we were all killed? Or if another attack happened around the Capital?” Dany said with a stronger, and harsher voice.

“We left a note for Tyrion that if that did happen, he would be King and we all signed it,” Ned said, but immediately regretted it because both his parents glared at him.

“Mama, we had at come. You saw what the Jogos Nhai did. If we didn’t get to Vaes Dothrak in time, there would be no survivors, and they would have fled. They were making plans to move their hoard into hiding and attack again,” said Bharbo.

“And Bharbo said we all have a mission to go on very soon. We needed to come!” cried Rhaella.

Rhaenys was curious. What mission? Was Bharbo indeed having the same dreams as her? Was Daenerys having the dreams too? Her response next answered her question.

Dany sighed, “you are right. At least you all traveled together. I have had a feeling for a long time we were all being called East…”

“We need to go to Asshai,” said Bharbo matter of factly. Rhaenys knew it to. But her whole family?

“So that’s what you wouldn’t tell me,” Ned said. “What the hell is in Asshai?”

“I’m not quite sure. I’m getting blocked. I just know we have to go. Everyone with Targaryen blood. Rhaen knows it too,” said Bharbo looking to Rhaenys for reassurance.

Rhaenys nodded her head when they all turned to her.

“We will deal with that in a few days, okay? Right now, let’s deal with the Dothraki,” said Jon.

“Yes, he’s right. But first, and quickly, how was the battle in Yunkai and Astapor?” Dany asked the crowd.

“Fairly easy, your Grace. We had no trouble on the Dragon Road. Missandei flew in a few times to cover us, but it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle,” said Brienne.

“Same in Astapor, there were a lot of troops but Aegon covered us well,” said Gendry. Aegon half smiled.

Yara spoke up, “Their fleet was impressive. I think it’s time though, don’t you think, that Dragon’s Bay gets its own Royal Fleet?”

Dany said, “I am glad you said that Yara. I have been considering it for a few years now. Would you like to organize one here? I give you permission to hire people from each city, whoever can build or wants to work. You can set up base on the Isle of Cedars. It’s a large and forested island that isn’t settled yet. Whoever chooses to live on the island will be free of tax for two years, they just need to build and grow themselves. You can fortify the island and use the wood on the island to build the ships. You can start working as myself, Jon, and Rhaenys go to Vaes Dothrak. Perhaps the rest of you could help Yara. I understand you can’t stay here much longer so we will have to find you an apprentice…”

Daario and Iliana’s son, Galeo, speaks up. No one even noticed he was there. “I’ll do it,” he said. “I prefer being on the water anyways.”

Yara smiles and slaps him on the shoulder, “you think you have what it takes to command a whole fleet?”

“I think so. I work with the Royal Fleet in Blackwater Bay when we visit Westeros. I’ve been wanting to build ships for years now. I only built two for my own leisure but now I have an excuse to build more. I know many people in the Dragon’s Bay area that would love to join and help. I can do it,” he claimed. “Aye then. Let’s get started,” said Yara and they all ran out of the room. Dany looked at Ned with a “please look after Rhaella” face and he nodded. Only Dany, Jon, Rhaenys, Bharbo, Aegon, Rhaegar, and Talisa remained.

“I want to go with you back to Vaes Dothrak,” Bharbo said to his mother. “Bharbo…you know I want to say no but I suppose I can’t stop you. You are the only one of us who has a great name of a great former Khal,” she said and half smiled.

“I don’t think we should ride on our dragons,” said Aegon. “You want to come too?,” asked Jon. “Yeah. The Targaryen’s are loyal to the Dothraki, and I’m a Targaryen, still apart of the Royal family. They are my friends. I also think Talisa is wanting to go if Rhaegar goes, and I’d like to spend some time with my daughter after the attack at home.”

Rhaegar said, “yes, we both want to go. If I’m going to be King of Westeros one day, the Dothraki will be my allies…” Dany and Jon both looked a little shocked that he just said that. They didn’t know he spoke to Rhaenys about it. They looked to Rhaenys to read her face and she smiled and nodded to Rhaegar. “…oh don’t worry, I spoke with her before we came to meet you. She knows and agrees. Anyways, I’d like to pay my respects. I’m going.” Talisa then said, “me too.”

“Very well. I agree with Aegon, I don’t think we should fly. I think it will be better if we ride with the Dothraki. The dragons can travel with us if they wish but I think we should ride with the hoard. It’ll take a few days with all of us. So let’s hurry up. Pack what you need to and go to the stables to get a horse. Bharbo and Rhaenys can just ride their direwolves. Meet me at the front of the hoard as soon as you can.”

They rode everyday and camped under the stars every night. This is what it meant to be a true Dothraki. Nomadic. Wild. Free. To feel the hot sun beating down on her skin, breathing in the fresh air, to feel the gentle wind against her face. Within a day, Dany’s, Rhaenys, Bharbo’s, Talisa’s, and Aegon’s skin were as dark as the Dothraki’s. Valyrian’s are typically very tan, or can get very tan easily. Rhaenys was happy. Not about the circumstances but she was happy to make this land her home. She didn’t blend in though, on the back of her horse-sized direwolf with her silver hair flowing in the wind and giant blue dragon flying above her. But this is who she was. A Targaryen and a Stark. One day a Khaleesi.

Dany led the hoard at all times. She had a beautiful pure white horse that she loved deeply. She told Rhaenys that this was the daughter of the horse Khal Drogo gave her as a wedding present long ago. Jon rode behind her on a gorgeous grey horse next to Aegon who was riding a black one. Bharbo was in between them riding on Red and talking their ears off. Rhaenys was at the front of the hoard, right next to her mother, leading as well. Rhaegar and Talisa were riding behind their fathers.

Every night, Rhaenys hung around her family and shared a large tent with her brothers, Talisa, and Izi. To Rhaenys surprise, Zhowo and Cavo slept in the tent too, with little protest from Jon. Probably because Rhaegar and Bharbo were there.

On the last day of their travels, Izi and Rhaenys finally had some alone time. They went spearing for fish in the near by river. “You know, Izi, you never told me what you’re saving money for,” Rhaenys said to her. “Oh no. Please. I don’t want to burden you with my problems when we have all of this going on,” Izi responded. “Don’t be silly, you’re my bestfriend, perhaps I could help you get it!” Rhaenys softly demanded. Izi fell silent for a few moments and said “I’m saving up for my mother.”

“Your mother? What do you mean?”

“She’s a slave in Volantis. I am trying to buy her back.”

“Wha-What? How’d she become a slave there?”

“She was part of a semi-noble family within the city. Now one of the most powerful families there. But she fell pregnant from a Dothraki rider, my father. He rode back to Volantis to get her, to bring her to Vaes Dothrak, where her and I would be safe and I could be raised as a Dothraki. When he finally arrived into Volantis again, he was attacked by a group of hired bandits from her family. She was able to sneak outside the walls to get to him, where he met me for the first time. My mother said he was pleased. Said I looked strong. But her own brother reported her to her father that she left the house. My mother wanted to be with him more than anything. A tragic love story,” Izi said.

“Well what happened? How’d she get enslaved?”

“When my mom, dad, and I were riding off with the small group of Dothraki he brought, her father brought out more men and attacked them about 2 miles outside of Volantis after my mom and dad thought she was free. My father did everything he could. He fought off 20 men himself, standing in front of my mother and me. But the person who would be my uncle, killed him. Shot him with an arrow in the heart. My mom said she turned around to one of his friends and handed me off to them, knowing she would be captured. It was Aggo, Zhowo’s father. That’s why he and I have always been friendly. His father would tell me all about my father, that’s how I know the story. I loved Aggo and was devastated when he died, just as much as Zhowo. She was captured and brought back to Voltantis. Disgusted that she breed with a savage Dothraki, had a baby outside of marriage, and tried to run away, her father forced her into slavery. I snuck into the city two years ago, dressed as a commoner. She has many friends in the city, all the slaves and handmaidens. They told me what time of day she goes out shopping for food and I went up to her, as secretly as I could. The other slaves described her face and hair to me. Told me what she would be wearing. When I saw her, she was beautiful. I look more like my father to say the least. When I approached her, I spoke as quietly as I could and told her who I was. She started to cry. Told me that she thinks about me everyday. Said she wanted to hug me so bad, but didn’t want to draw attention. That’s when I asked her how much she’d cost to purchase and she told me. To buy her back is 14,000 Volantene Gold, or about 17,000 Gold Dragons. I told her I’d come back for her. I’m almost there. I will free her soon.”

Rhaenys had no idea. She couldn’t imagine not knowing her father and not seeing her mother.

“Izi. I am so sorry. I want you to know that I am staying here, in Essos. I’m not going back to Westeros. I am going to free every last slave on this continent, and abolish slavery once and for all. Bring every city into the Targaryen Dynasty. Keep your money, Izi. I will free her with no cost to you, I promise you that. I need to go to Asshai with my family after this funeral, but perhaps I can send warning to the rulers of Volantis. Give them time to make the easy choice of surrendering their city to me.”

Izi returned a small smile to her dearest friend, but had doubts whether she could do as promised. It was too good to be true.

That night, Rhaenys sent a scroll to the three Triarchs of Voltantis:

“This scroll is for all the Triarchs and noble families that stay hidden behind the Black Wall.

I, Rhaenys Targaryen-Stark, daughter of Queen Daenarys Stormborn Targaryen and King Jon Stark, am writing this letter to you as a warning and giving you a choice. I am going to be the new Queen of all of Essos, and it is my goal to bring each city under my rule. My mother conquered Dragons Bay nearly two decades ago and the Dothraki have been serving us longer than that. Our army is 100,000 strong and we have more dragons than we can count. Over 300 years ago, my ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror made a mistake. He, Rhaenys, and Visenya should have supported your city after the Doom hit Valyria. Your ancestors wanted to bring all the Free Cities under the Volantene Rule. As the first Valyrian city that was established after our ancestral home was destroyed, he and his sisters were wrong not to support your claim and to rise against you. You thought the future should be with a Valyrian ruler, which is why you make people prove their ancestry in order to live behind the Black Wall. I want to offer you that. I am the Blood of Old Valyria and I want to start a new way of life on this beautiful land.

You may still be Lord’s and Ladies of Voltantis, and the political parties of the Tiger and Elephant may remain with certain limitations which I will be happy to review and compromise with you.

Voltantis is the largest of the Free Cities. But over 80% of your population is made up of slaves. Under my rule, I fully intend on eliminating slavery once and for all. Slaves will not run Essos anymore. If you choose to rise against me, you better think who your slaves will side with. Deny me, I will not hesitate on attacking your city. You cannot beat my army. Hell, I’ll take my best 10 dragons and ride to your city and handle it myself.

You have a few moons to decide. Once you have come to a decision, write me back and we can meet in Meereen and you will be welcomed as my guest.

Lastly, if you haven’t heard yet, we now have the control of Mantarys, Tolos, and Elyria. To our surprise, there were hundreds of full blooded Valyrians in Mantarys waiting for us–the Targaryen’s. I suggest you give a similar welcome.

-Rhaenys Targaryen-Stark, Queen of the Free Cities and heir of Dragons Bay and Khaleesi the Dothraki. Liberator.

”

She asked Dreamfyre to send a small delivery dragon. She sealed the scroll with the Targaryen-Stark mark, tied it to the dragons leg, and sent him off.

The next day was the funeral. The smell in the air was horrible, as the dead bodies have been laying in the warm sun for a week. Nevertheless, it was sad. Some girls younger than Rhaenys shed a few tears when they saw the dead faces of the Dosh Khaleen members. It was determined that Daenarys would be the only one fit to light the first fire, the pyre with the Dosh Khaleen. The remaining Dosh Khaleen that were still wounded joined the crowd to belt a haunting Dothraki song. It made Rhaenys very emotional and had the hairs on the back of her neck and on her arms stand. The Ko’s, Dany, Rhaenys, Rhaegar, Talisa, Jon, Aegon, and Bharbo all began to light the other pyres. Some of the other high ranking Dothraki joined too.

The Dothraki do not like to mourn much over their dead. Instead, that evening, there was a massive celebration of life. Rhaenys took this time to visit the Dosh Khaleen in their yurt for a while. They all praised her and told her the old stories of the Dothraki, as one day she will be Khaleesi and she needs to know these things. She sat in there enchanted with their tales, while tending to their health.

Not wanting to celebrate with the rest of the hoard, she asked for her mom, dad, Cavo, and Zhowo to meet her in the Khaleesi Estate. She told them about the letter she sent and Dany was the first to respond,

“I really wish you came to me first, but if you feel like that was best, I have to trust your judgement. You need to make your own decisions and mistakes to be a good Queen. But I agree with the fact that Voltantis needs to be the first of the Free Cities to join. I will send word to Kinvara, the red priestess. She has much influence there and has a whole temple of people who follow her. She’s always been a Targaryen supporter.”

“Do you really think you’re ready to start this war, Rhaen?” Jon asked.

“I didn’t start it yet. I just gave them a warning so they would hopefully make the right choice. I have to go to Asshai. Once I get back, there will need to be an answer. Then I’ll be ready for war if necessary. I do want to ask of one thing though,” said Rhaenys.

“What do you need?” Zhowo asked.

“I would like Cavo to put together a small group of no more than twenty people and spy on the city. I’ll assure a messenger dragon stays close to you so you can write me,” requested Rhaenys.

“But I could do it,” Zhowo said firmly.

“No, I need you here. It’s important that you stay here. I trust that Cavo will do a satisfactory job.”

Cavo said “I’d be glad to. When should we leave?”

“In the morning tomorrow. Try to get there as quickly as you can.” Cavo nodded his head in agreement and went back to the celebration outside with Jon and Dany. Zhowo is standing in front of Rhaenys now, looking down at her. “Why didn’t you want me to go?” Zhowo said.

“Because I need you here. You’re the person I trust enough to make decisions in the Targaryen name if something were to go wrong in my absence. I have no idea how long I will be in Asshai. You need to take care of things here in Vaes Dothrak.”

Zhowo couldn’t argue with that. Neither of them felt like being in the crowd outside. So they went upstairs, to the third floor where her room was. They went out to the balcony to watch the festivities from there. Dreamfyre landed next to the house, and laid her large head next to Rhaenys on the balcony as the rest of her body stayed on the ground. She’d crush the house if she put her weight on it. Rhaenys leaned against her head and petted her. Dreamfyre purred loudy–it was vibrating the entire structure. The three of them stayed like that all night. They talked for a while and then Aggo, the small dragon that saved Daenarys when she fell off Drogon, flew on to the balcony and landed next to Zhowo. The dragon appeared to have grown about a two feet in length since Rhaenys first met him several weeks ago. He now was the same size as Zhowo. Aggo laid right against him and was nudging him with his head. Zhowo let out a small laugh and patted him on the head. Dreamfyre said in Rhaenys head “sometimes I wish I was small enough to lay with you like that!”

“I think being the biggest dragon in history with Drogon is much cooler.”

Shadow found Rhaenys and laid down with the little group. She barely fit through the balcony door. It wasn’t long before they all fell asleep. The warmth of the dragons and comfort of Shadows fur made it very hard to stay awake.

Rhaenys woke up in the middle of the night and shook Zhowo awake. “We always fall asleep. I’m going inside, you should go back to your yurt. You need a good rest.” Zhowo stood up and gave her a tight hug and hard kiss. It wasn’t until Dreamfyre lifted her head that they pulled apart. Both Aggo and Dreamfyre were staring at them. Rhaenys laughed. “Goodnight, Zhowo,” she smiled and waved from the glass door. He hopped on Dreamfyre who lowered him down. Aggo appeared to follow him. “That little one is attaching himself to him,” Dreamfyre said. “Could he be a rider?” Rhaenys asked curiously. “You said his mom was Dornish? It’s possible. The Dornish were Valyrian’s a long time ago. Only time will tell, if Aggo gets large enough to be ridden,” finished Dreamfyre.

Shadow followed Rhaenys inside and fell back asleep on the floor. She undressed and collapsed into the comfort of her bed.

The morning came and Rhaenys woke up later than what she normally does. Izi came in first. All the makeup was washed from her face and her hair was down and wavy again. “Ah good, you’re awake. Your brothers have been wanting to talk to you, but I wanted to come up first to make sure a certain someone wasn’t still in the room,” Izi said smirking.

“Ah, no, I sent him back to his yurt late last night. We both needed a good nights rest. Did Cavo leave already?” asked Rhaenys. Izi said “yes.”

“Good. I hope you two had fun last night,” Rhaenys said and winked. Izi laughed.

“Now today I am heading back to Meereen for a day, then I am going to Asshai for a while. I need you to help Zhowo watch over this place. Okay? I want you to write to me every week. I will come back here when I can. And when I’m gone, I want you to take care of Shadow. You can ride her wherever you want. I’m sure she will be with her pack most of the time, but if you just whistle, she will come,” said Rhaenys as she put on her dragon riding gear and put her hair back into two braids.

Izi’s eyes started to water ever so slightly. “I hope you won’t be gone long, Rhaen. I will miss you and your family. Stay safe.” Izi hugged her tightly. Rhaenys hugged her back.

She went down to her parents balcony and Dany, Jon, Aegon, Rhaegar, Talisa, and Bharbo were already there eating breakfast. “Finally!” Bharbo yelled.

She sat down and they all spent the morning together. As the afternoon approached, it was time to leave again. Back to Meereen for only a day. She couldn’t imagine what her family’s life would be like if they couldn’t travel by dragons. It makes their complicated lifestyle possible, and the reason why they’re able to hold and conquer land.

She gave Izi one last hug goodbye and kissed her cheek. Her family was making their way down towards their dragons, securing their belongings in the pockets. But Rhaenys had to say goodbye to one more person. She anxiously looked at her mother and Dany understood and said “go. We will wait.”

Rhaenys hops on Shadow and they run to Zhowo’s yurt. Once she reaches his home, Meraxes speaks to Rhaenys “Rhaegar said to take your time, Talisa and him are exploring the market district. Notify me when you’re on your way back.” Good. That buys her some time to say a proper goodbye. She walks passed his guard who greeted her and enters. He is sitting in front of his hearth skinning a fox, next to him is a bowl of unchopped vegetables. “Hey,” she said. He turned around and smiled. “Hey! I thought you were leaving?” he responded.

“I had to say goodbye to you before I left,” she said, as she walked closer to him. He stood up and washed his hands in the wash bowl. “Listen, I don’t have much time. They’re all waiting for me…” she started to say as he dried his hands on a towel. He moved quickly across the floor and lifted her up into the air. His hands were intertwined in her hair and his lips were on hers. She’s used to his passionate embraces but this time was different. He walked them over to his bed and before he laid her down, he started to undo her top. She froze for just a second, but snapped out of it almost right away. She did want him and she didn’t care anymore. Her torso was exposed and Zhowo moved to undoing her pants. He would have normally just ripped them apart, but as she needed to go back with her family soon, he tried to be as careful as he could while being quick because he couldn’t wait anymore and there wasn’t much time. Rhaenys was feeling the pressure too, and started to undo his pants.

Everything was off now and Zhowo took a step back and looked at her with admiration, desire, hunger, and like she was the best thing he ever laid eyes on. He scooped her up once more and gently put her on the bed and climbed on top her. She let out an audible moan. Zhowo covered her mouth and said “shh, I don’t want the whole hoard knowing about this. It’s just you and me.” Her eyes were wide and she nodded.

Pure bliss.

Rhaenys was dressed now, and in a hurry. She went to give Zhowo one last kiss when he said “be my wife.” She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. “What?” she said. “Be my wife,” he said once more.

She smiled and ran back into his arms. “I will, but not until I am done with Asshai and Voltantis is mine.” He smiled back and said “I’ll wait.” They kissed once more and she said “okay, I really must go now. I’ll see you.” She was almost out the tent when she heard him say “anha zhilak yera m’ei zhor anni. Vorsa ki tih oakah.” She smiled at him one last time and said “fire of your soul, eh? I like it. And I love you too.”

She hurried back as quickly as she could. Poor Shadow was panting hard when they got back. Thankfully they weren’t all standing around waiting for her. Once she got back, she spoke to Meraxes, Dusk, and Drogon and mounted Dreamfyre. Shadow went to Izi who was standing on the third floor balcony waving to them. They all gathered once more and took off.

Half way to Meereen, Rhaenys decided to fill her Mother in on what happened. Not everything….of course, but the “he wants me to marry him” part.

She jumped onto Drogon to fly with Dany for a while. Daenarys was so excited for her daughter, and gave her a hug. “I knew he’d ask you soon. He’s madly in love with you! I take it you said yes?”

“I did. But I told him that I’d like to wait until after Asshai and I conquered Volantis. That might be a few years,” Rhaenys said to her.

“I respect that choice. Duty first, wedding second. I can’t wait to help you plan it though.”

“I wonder how Dad will take it…”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I just had Rhaegal tell him. He will come around. You’re just his first daughter so he’s protective. He likes Zhowo, and I’m sure he will eventually be pleased with the match. I’m going to go ride with your father for a while, you should get back on Dreamfyre.”

Drogon dropped Dany off on Rhaegal first and then Rhaenys on Dreamfyre. She looked to her right and saw that Talisa was riding with Rhaegar. Those two have been looking very cozy lately. She wondered if there was anything going on between the two of them the rest of the way back to Meereen.

The family decided that they’d stay in the city for two more days instead of one. Everyone was exhausted. The next morning, Jon said goodbye to his wife and his children. They’ve been gone from home too long, and he doesn’t want to raise any suspicions about what his family plans on doing in Essos. Brienne and Tormund went with him. Dany would leave the day after Jon, once Daario flew back on a dragon her and Drogon sent for him. He, Dany, and Rhaenys had a long debriefing about the status on Elyria. “The people there just seem scared still, but at least they seem smart enough not to rebel,” Daario said.

“Can we open up trading with them immediately?” Rhaenys asked.

“We could but I doubt it will be successful any time soon. They don’t trust us yet,” replied Daario.

“How about we give the island 80,000 Gold Dragons? They could hire their own guards specifically for the trade route. However many makes them comfortable. And we can have Unsullied stationed along the way that do patrols to ensure everyone’s safety. We can set up 50 or so cabins near the route to hold ten Unsullied each. We did just get a bunch of new Unsullied. May as well give them a purpose. We can tax every individual trader a small amount every time they make a trip to one of the cities they don’t live in. That plus the monthly tax we collect from our cities, we could have that 80,000 Gold Dragons back in a year. This goes for Mantarys and Tolos too,” said Rhaenys

Dany smiled at her. “Well I think that’s a great idea. Daario, write the Iron Bank. I’ll make a stop in each city tomorrow to discuss the plan on my way home.”

“You shouldn’t go alone though,” Daario said worried.

“Sansa, Arya, Yara, Gendry, Meera, Jamie, and Octavia will be flying home tomorrow with me. We will meet up with Grey Worm and Missandei in Mantarys. I’ll be fine, Daario,” Dany said with a light hearted laugh.

The next day came and everyone gathered outside the city’s walls to say goodbye to those who were leaving. “But Mom, you’ll be needed in Asshai too,” Bharbo cried. “I’m sorry, I can’t go right now. I have to spend some time in the Kings Landing after being away so long. I’ll meet you there in a few weeks. I love you. I love all of you. Please stick together,” Dany said to the small crowd. Hugs were exchanged and Aegon finally approached Dany last. “Thank you again for going with them, I can’t thank you enough,” she said to him.

“If we are being called, I want to go. I also want to keep the kids safe. I don’t feel comfortable letting them out of sight anytime soon. None of us have ever been to the Shadowlands or Asshai. I’ll write to you and let you know what’s happening soon,” he said and gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. He then ran over to Sansa one last time and embraced her.

Ned had to pry Margaery and Rhaella from Arya and Yara. Rhaegar was shaking Jamie’s hand, Octavia was giving Bharbo a hug. Loras and Benjin were saying goodbye to Gendry and Meera. In minutes, they were up in the sky, waving down at all of them. It just got real. They were now mostly on their own.

They would leave in a few hours. They used this time to eat, finish packing, and get more sleep. Asshai was further away than Kings Landing and they’d need to camp twice. Rhaenys packed a whole bag of just food and water. She was sure it was going to just be desert around them for at least one night. Once she was done, she put on her riding pants and a short fitted cropped top. It was hot outside.

She meets up with her siblings once the sun is high. Rhaenys had a strong sensation flood her. They were all mounting their dragons outside of Meereen when it hit her. It must have hit all of them because everyone looked in the same direction. There was someone on the back of a massive horse, wearing a dark red cloak and had long red hair hair. They knew who it was.

All of them have met Kinvara a handful of times. She would come to visit Kings Landing every few years to visit the Westeros Temple for the Lord of Light. Dany and Jon both agreed for her to practice the religion there after seeing first hand what the red priestesses were capable of. The family wasn’t super religious though. No where near what Stannis Baratheon was, but they did respect the religion and would visit the temple once a week. They also respected both the Old and New Gods, as many people in Westeros still followed that religion. The Targaryen-Stark family still kept weirwood trees in their garden, and it was Jon’s favorite place to escape too. But the popularity of the Lord of Light was growing in the bigger cities. Missandei and Grey Worm agreed for Kinvara to build one in Highgarden too. It’s about half way built. The temple in the Capital was built over the Sept of Baelor. After Cersei blew it up, the space was empty. Now there stands a very gothic looking building with high peaks and red stained windows. It was actually quite beautiful and drew in a lot of curiosity. “I wonder why she’s here?” Benjin said. “She intimidates me a little,” said Rhaella. “I suppose she’s not a person you can have fun with… but she’s a loyal supporter and we need her. Everyone be kind, please,” said Rhaenys. She gets closer and everyone is silent until she’s 10 feet away and you can see her big honey brown eyes staring back at all of them. She speaks first.

“My Targaryen and Stark children. It is so good to see you again.” She gets off her horse and walks closer to them. “You must be wondering why I am here,” she said and there was a pause. She holds up a scroll, “I got your letter.”

“But how? Aunt Dany sent that recently. How’d you get her so fast, by horse?” Loras said.

“The Lord of Light told me over a year ago to prepare for what lays ahead. I knew what Rhaenys was planning to do before she knew,” Kinvara said very firmly. Every one stares at Rhaenys, including Kinvara. “Don’t worry, Princess. I fully support what you plan on doing, now and always, and what your children do after you. I’m just here to guide you. Guide all of you. All the priestesses have already fled Volantis. We spred a rumor that we will be secluding ourselves in the temple for a week to pray for the world and to focus on what the Lord of Light is saying. They believed it. The week started two days ago and they fled into the darkness the night it started. It will be a few weeks before they get here, though. We would like to settle in Yunkai. We think it’s the perfect location, being between Meereen and Astapor.”

“Yes of course. And I’ll go send some Dragons Bay Warriors to search for them to make sure they get back safely” Rhaenys replied.

“There’s 37 of them. They split up into 4 groups, leaving a few hours apart from each other. They aren’t wearing their red cloaks, but they will have a pin of a flame over their breasts. You know what to tell them to say when they find them?” Kinvara asked.

“Valar Morghulis,” said Rhaenys and Kinvara nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” Rhaenys said to her family and took off to the city again quickly. The barracks were next to the main gate, not that far of a jog. When she got there, she realized Kinvara followed her. For what though? Did she not trust her that she’d give the commands?

She spoke with the head guard and he didn’t even question Rhaenys. She wasn’t sure if it’s because he respected her or that he was afraid of Kinvara because he kept nervously glancing at her. “…and when you find them, say Valar Morghulis. They’ll know to trust you. Send a messenger to Yunkai as well, notifying them that they’ll have new company and that the company will be building there. Don’t tell anyone who it is yet. We can’t let Volantis know their most valued citizens fled. Got it?” He nodded quickly.

Rhaenys turned back around to get back to Dreamfyre. But before she got too far ahead, Kinvara said “Rhaenys I need to have a quick word.”

“What is it?”

“It is important that you write you mother and father in a few moons to tell them to come to Asshai. Your parents are still weary on whether or not to come. Grey Worm will need to come too.”

“Okay, but why? I can understand my mom needing to come but why my dad and Grey Worm?”

“It is time you, especially Rhaegar, and your siblings to know, but I mustn’t be the one to tell you. I just need you to convince them to come. They won’t need to be there as long as you all will, but it’s still important that they do. Now, may I accompany you on Dreamfyre?”

“Uh, sure?” Rhaenys said confused, not sure what to make of the conversation she just had.

The both of them get back to the crowd and she and Kinvara climb on Dreamfyre. They all take off at once and begin flying further East. Rhaenys heart sinks a little and looks behind her once last time. “Don’t worry, we will be back sooner than you think,” Kinvara yelled. She looked forward, refusing to look back again.

That entire day they flew southeast over the Red Waste. There were ghost towns littering it. “Okay, find a way to bring these towns back to life after I conquer Essos,” Rhaenys thought.

Very late at night, they had to stop in one of these ghost towns to rest. It was eerie but somewhat peaceful knowing there wasn’t anything around to bother them. She was glad she packed food and water as there were none around. The dragons ate well last night, so they didn’t need to feed for a few more days.

As soon as the sun rose, they were off again. Early in the morning, they flew over Qarth. Rhaenys made it a point to circle over the city a few times and had Dreamfyre be as loud as ever. She wanted to playfully taunt them, to let them know she’ll be knocking at the city gates one day, asking to bend the knee. Aegon couldn’t help but laugh at her. As the sun was setting again, they flew over Yi Ti. It was massive. Rhaenys thought she has seen big cities before but Yi Ti was double the size. And very tropical and colorful. “I wonder if that city will be difficult to take,” she said to Kinvara. “Ah on the contrary, Princess. They will be the easiest, so long as you know what to say,” Kinvara said.

“What do you mean?”

“I suggest doing research on the city to answer your question.”

Why can’t the red priestesses ever give a straight answer? Rhaenys was slightly annoyed.

They needed to call it a night again. She was scared camping out here. There were tons of little towns, trading routes, and military bases near by. She was hoping the sight of 8 fully grown dragons and two small ones would imitate any wonderers.

They all fall asleep quickly, but Rhaenys kept waking up, nervous that the Shrouded Lord might pay a visit again.

They all had strange dreams that night. Their sight was stronger since they were closer to their destination.

——

It’s twilight now and they’re passing over the Shadowlands and the dark and empty cities within. They were all quiet while passing over, nervous if they or their dragons made any sounds, they might awaken something they didn’t want to. They did however see some wild dragons. Obviously not used to people or other dragons they didn’t recognize. They were defensive, even towards the Targaryen family. Maybe they scared out all the pirates and Grey Scale that once used to litter this land.

Once you were able to get passed the eeriness of it all, the place must have once been beautiful. The architecture almost mimicked Old Valyria’s, only it was a bit more dark. Old Valyria was filled with bright greens, purples, blues, and silver. These cities were mostly black. “We are getting close now,” Kinvara interrupted Rhaenys thoughts. And she could see it– the vast city of Asshai.

The city was sparse. The land within its massive walls was ginormous, but the buildings and homes were few. Everything was made of ebony or dragonglass with touches of amber. There were no children and it was mostly quiet. “What a strange city,” Aegon said. The younger ones huddled behind him, Rhaegar, Ned, and Rhaenys. “Follow me, I know the way. This was once my home” Kinvara said.

They all make their way through the city getting stares from the residents. They were all masked or veiled and wearing some hexagonal pattern. Her hands were being weird, one second they were ice cold and the next they were hot. She looked around to everyone else’s and they seemed to be fidgeting with them too.

They finally arrived outside a massive building that is in the center. It is, surprisingly but also unsurprisingly, shaped like a hexagon. It was almost all dragonglass but had amber walls in some areas, and scattered all over the structure was purple, green, white, gold, blue, and red specs. “Are there gemstones inside those walls?” Ned asked. “Amethyst, jade, emerald, diamond, gold, sapphire, and ruby. Yes,” Kinvara said as they were making their way to the tall double doors. “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” Margaery said with her mouth opened and Rhaella nodded her head feverishly in agreement. “Why? I feel like poor from all over the world would try to steal from these walls,” Benjin asked. “The stones are sources of power, if you will. I know you heard the rumors about Asshai. You’ll see and understand soon why no one would ever dare to try,” Kinvara said, opening the door guiding them all inside. It opened up into a massive room. The center was sunken in, needing to go down nine steps to reach the bottom. There were two rows of pillars going around the room. The room was different shades of black, but with the smallest hint of colors from the gemstones in the walls and floors. Rhaenys imagined shortly that this must be was the world looks like outside of their world. In the depths of the night sky.

There was a massive fireplace that was burning a wild fire on the north end, a big fountain on the other that had a dragon statue in the center on the south end. The water seemed to be pouring over the dragon and landing in the surrounding pool. There was a large, strong tree that almost touched the ceiling on the west end. The top of it was flatter, but it was very wide. Below it was a beautiful bed of flowers and plants. On the east side there was only one thing–a narrow glass door on the ceiling that was opened, letting in a burst of wind. There was a small section of seating built into the steps to the right. Rhaenys was looking all around and she barely even noticed three figures standing in front of them on the opposite end of the room. Kinvara guides them closer. In a blink of an eye, Kinvara is wearing a form fitting jumpsuit with dark red hexagons all over it. “What the…” Rhaegar began to say but stopped himself. The other feminine figure walked forward and greeted Kinvara. This woman was completely masked in a gold and red hexagons and was wearing a dress on hexagons too. All, this is Quaithe. “I look forward to knowing you all and seeing your mother again,” she said. “Again?” Bharbo said. “We met in Qarth long ago. When she had next to nothing. I admire her.” The other two figures walk up, and they are male. “I am Arapho,” a very tall and muscular man said. He had wavy dark brown hair that went passed the shoulders. He was wearing red pants, and of course a gold and red hexagonal shirt, same as the man next to him. He had pale green eyes.

“I am Aeren,” said the other man. His skin was dark. He had long locks. Was lean and athletic, and tall, but not as tall as the other man. His eyes though were dark red.

“We know all of you have been dreaming strange things, and Bharbo and Rhaenys have even seen us. You all have been summoned here because the Grey Scale population has been getting out of hand. There are a lot more people traveling in Essos freely now, due to the success in Dragon’s Bay, the trading posts in Vaes Dothrak becoming more….friendly to outsiders, and the new jobs. All of which are a good thing. But because of that, they become prone to Grey Scale attacks. Hundreds of people go missing every few months. There were five of us, Master Sorcerers. One left a few weeks before your 16th Name Day. His name is Gyllo. He’s hasn’t been around as long as we have been, but he mastered this art very quickly, and has been helping us advance our abilities this last century. He always had a dark side, and we were hesitant to let him into the school. But his abilities were too impressive to turn away. Apparently he has noble blood from Old Ghis, and some of his living distant family served in the Sons of the Harpy, against the Targaryen rule. He was loyal to his family and was rooting against your mother. He almost lost it when they all died in the siege. We had to lock him up because he wanted to track her down and kill her. But Kinvara was sure she was necessarily to the world, and oh how right she was. Essos would still be a disaster, millions more slaves, and everyone in Westeros would have joined the army of the dead. Even then, we didn’t let him out for a whole year. When he saw she was going back to Westeros, he calmed down. Well, once we all started having visions that Rhaenys was going to be Queen here, he left without a note. He’s determined to end the Targaryen name,” Aeren said.

“So what is he doing exactly?” Aegon asked before Rhaenys could.

Quaithe spoke up, “he went to one of the ruined cities in the Golden Fields, summoned the Shrouded Lord, and then was able to turn the Grey Scale in the area into mutants, even more so than they are now. They can’t be destroyed by fire or Valyrian steel, or dragonglass. He made sure of that. Instead, we are positive that they can only be killed one way–by ice. Then crushing them. The complete opposite of what the Targaryen’s are known for. What he doesn’t know for certain is that you all, because of your blood, harvest sorcerers abilities.”

Talisa stepped forward and said “there was recently an attempt to kidnap myself and Loras. The pirate we were able to capture said that the Shrouded Lord sent them. That he wanted us… if Gyllo doesn’t know, he definitely suspects.”

“Yes. That was unfortunate. I’m so sorry that happened. It was a last minute decision on his part, probably to try to hide it from us so we wouldn’t step in. I am glad you’re safe,” Arapho said.

“Now, Kinvara may be the first red priestess, but I am the first known sorcerer. I am the leader of the clan. I make the rules. I enforce the rules. Are there any questions before we begin?” Aeren said quickly and firmly.

Ned asked “is everyone in this city a sorcerer?”

“Fair question. Everyone here can do magic to some point. Some only make potions. Some can only enchant items. Some can do one of the four elemental based magic, but if that’s what they do, no one can become a master. They never exceed the apprentice level,” said Aeren.

“Elemental based magic?” Rhaenys questioned out loud.

Kinvara spoke, “water, all things dirt and rock, fire, and the wind. You all will become masters of water and the ground you walk on. Of course if you want to learn fire and wind later, we will teach you, but the other two are more important right now. That is what is represented here on this floor of the building. This is your arena.”

“So…um…how are we going to learn? And how will this work against all the Grey Scale? There are only 12 of us. And we physically cannot be touched by them. Samwell knows a cure but could he get to all of us quick enough?” Aegon started going off and asking too many questions to count.

“12?” Rhaenys thought. “That’s odd. He must have miscounted by one.”

“You won’t be alone. You will have your Westerosi Army as well as your Essos one. You also have blood relatives in Mantarys, don’t forget. They will come here in a few moons to train as well. Notice was already sent. I also believe your Uncle Brandon is working on something, and at the opposite end of the border, someone else will be working on something that will be very effective in the war to come. There is time,” said Kinvara.

There was a moment of silence.

“So are we ready?” Aeren asked finally, and there was a census around the Targaryen-Stark crowd. So they begun.

——

Two weeks into the grueling practices everyone was able to move a nice stream of water from one fountain to a bucket on the other end of the hall.

——

One month in they could create a tornado with the water and raise a rock about the size of their fists into the air for a few seconds.

——

A month and a half in, they practiced throwing and catching water to each other. Same with the rock, but without touching it of course.

——

Two months in the were getting restless. Even Aegon, who just missed his wife. Bharbo was acting a bit more rambunctious than usual and Rhaenys, Rhaegar, and Ned needed time take turns watching him. They all had their own tiny rooms and a medium sized common room to gather in together in the evening. They took turn reading stories to each other or making up games to keep themselves sane.

They were working on freezing the water this week and it was proving to be very difficult. Rhaenys in particular was having a tough time with this. Yeah she was half stark but she only felt fire and warmth inside.

“Concentrate Rhaenys! Think! What’s the coldest place you’ve ever been to?” shouted Aeren.

Winterfell was chilly even during this long summer. Freezing? Not really. One coat and a pair of gloves are enough. She’s been to Brienne and Tormunds cabin beyond the Wall that sits on the edge of the Bay of Seals. That was definitely very cold. She hated it up there. But the most freezing place she’s ever been was when she took her Uncle Bran back to the Three-Eyed Raven cave when during a Winterfell trip. She was gone for less than a day and didn’t stay long, but that was so cold it was uncomfortable. Uncle Bran showed her the cave and the tree, and were he set up a small room with a bed, fire, some food, pots and pans, a small table and a wooden chair. Out of curiosity she was glad to look, but as soon as the little tour was done, she went right back to Winterfell. So she answered Aeren “the Three-Eyed Raven cave.” She concentrated hard on the way her body felt then. All of a sudden jets of ice were shooting out from her fingertips. Aeren smiled.

——

Almost three months at Asshai now. They all passed their novice and apprentice exams, and they are now working at the Adept level, but Aegon was a step ahead at the Expert level. Kinvera said it’s because his brain has been fully developed and everyone else hasn’t reached that level of maturity yet. Jon, Daenarys, and Grey Worm finally arrive. Everything came quite naturally to Daenarys, and within only a fortnight, she was at the same level as Aegon.

Jon was making good progress too. He was especially quick and gracefully when it came to the ice.

There was something strange and tense about the air though. Daenarys and Jon seemed to both be on edge and they couldn’t understand why. They did wonder why Jon was able to do magic. Was it because he’s married to the most powerful woman in the world? At night sometimes, Rhaenys would catch a glimpse of Kinvara speaking to just the two of them in hushed voices but was able to over hear Kinvara say “when will you tell them? It is important for them to hear the story. Especially Rhaegar and Talisa. It’s a tale that the Targaryen bloodline depends on.” “Soon. Right before Rhaenys has to leave for Meereen. Will you be there with us when we tell them? It’s important that you help explain things,” Dany said.

“I am here for your family always,” Kinvara said.

——

Grey Worm was surprised about why he was there. He didn’t believe Kinvara or Aeren the entire first day. “But why you say I can do this? I am not a Targaryen!” he said.

“We arent Targaryens either but there are a select small few in this world that harness the power. You do. You might not be able to do all four branches, but we know you can at least do one, maybe more. Now, try please,” Kinvara said to him.

Within a month, Grey Worm was caught up to the rest of the kids, at level Expert. Dany, Jon, and Aegon have reached Master.

——

Over five months now in Asshai, and they were all allowed to take a hiatus finally. Rhaenys needed to go back to Meereen in the morning. A leader from Voltantis will be there to meet with her. Aegon was eager to spend some time with his wife, who has been in Kings Landing in Jon and Dany’s place because Tyrion wanted to go back to The Rock for a little while. Little Margaery was going to go with him. Jon and Dany were heading back to the Capital with Bharbo and Rhaella. As for Ned, Rhaegar, Talisa, Loras, and Benjin, they all wanted a break. The little dragons that Dany hatched months ago found their way to Benjin and Margaery. They were now the size of a child of 8 years. They were happy they finally got dragons of their own. Margaery named hers Rosie and Benjin named his Winter.

The night before everyone left, Dany and Jon came into the common room holding hands and the room became quiet.

“I know you all have been anticipating this moment. You’ve sensed the anxiety and discomfort,” Jon said.

“When I met Jon, he was Jon Snow. The bastard of Ned Stark. And we fell in love with each other kind of quickly,” Dany said and she gave a loving glance to Jon.

She continued “for as long as history goes back, the Targaryen’s have married each other to keep the bloodline pure. Many other families have done the same but it was important to us to we could have the dragons and magic. But with years and years of incest, we started going mad. Like my father and brother Viserys. I wanted to break that cycle, and so did Aegon. But the night before the War at Winterfell, we found out something with the help of Uncle Bran and Samwell. To be straightforward, Jon isn’t a bastard and never was. He wasn’t the son of Ned Stark, but Lyanna Stark, Neds sister…”

“Who you named you direwolve after!” Bharbo chimed in.

“Yes, who my direwolf is named after. He was secretly married to my much older brother, Rhaegar…”

“Who I’m named after,” Rhaegar said.

“Yes. My brother Rhaegar annulled his marriage with Elia, which are the two parents of Aegon here. Rhaegar loved Lyanna and she loved him back. During the peak of Robert’s Rebellion, Lyanna was hidden in the Tower of Joy while Rhaegar went to go fight Robert. Unfortunately Robert killed him. Well, Ned tracked Lyanna down and went to her at the Tower as she is giving birth to a black haired boy. She dies in childbirth but tells Ned that his name is Aegon Targaryen and that no one can ever know. To raise him as his own son. And he did.”

“Wait, two Aegon Targaryens?” Talisa said.

“My brother Rhaegar was a firm believer of prophecy and thought Aegon was a leaders name. When he thought Aegon died, he wanted his other son to have the name.”

“Who knows about this?” Loras asked.

“Only our closest friends. I consider myself to be Stark. I have the hair. I have the eyes. I have the skin. And I was raised as a Stark. I am half Targaryen, which I am proud to be, but I am a Stark, which is why I kept the Stark name and told no one,” Jon said.

“So why are you telling us this now?” Rhaenys asked.

“Well because you are all probably wondering why Jon is the second head of the dragon, why he can walk through fire, why some of the dragons listen to him, why he’s here, able to do magic with us. We thought it was time. And now that you all are getting older and will marry soon, we needed you to understand. Kinvara has vital information…” Dany finished.

Kinvara stepped from the shadows. “You all understand by now that I serve your family. I will be around to see your great, great, great, great, great grandchildren and even passed then. But in order to serve your family for that long, you all are responsible for keeping your blood pure enough. I definitely will never recommend marriage between brother and sister, but a good way to get around the madness is by marriage between cousins, at least after every other generation. Or by marrying someone of strong Valyrian blood. Like Rhaenys, you will marry Zhowo who is of half Valyrian decent. It will be important that your ruling child marries a cousin. Same with yours, Rhaella. You won’t rule Essos or westeros but you will rule other lands. Rhaenys line will always rule Essos. Rhaegars will always rule Westeros, and Rhaella’s will rule her dominion. We will get that in writing one day, so your in case your grandchildren ever forget their purpose they can reference that. Any questions?”

Rhaegar speaks up, “we always knew our family history and I don’t think anyone were raised to think it was odd or different, but what if we are scared of the madness coming back or by what people think?”

“Daenarys is the last person that will ever have 100% Targaryen blood. That madness will never occur unless you have generations of that. In terms of what people think, every noble house din existence have marriages between cousins, for similar reasons why we are doing it. No one will think anything of it. If you want to marry Talisa, you should,” Kinvara said. Realizing quickly she may have been too forward. Talisa’s face turned beet red and Rhaegar looked a little panicked.

Daenarys quickly stepped up and said “this doesn’t change anything. I think we all knew this to some extent. We are still who we are. Now everyone please enjoy their time off and we will be back to complete the last tests in two months.” She looked at Rhaenys, “are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“No, I need to do this alone. They won’t respect me if I bring my mommy and daddy along,” Rhaenys said.

Jon gave a small laugh. “Very well, but Daario will be advising you the whole time,” Dany said. Rhaenys nodded.

“Now if we have nothing else to say, go to sleep, long day tomorrow.”

They all left to go to their rooms, feeling a bit strange, not sure how to take the news. But their parents were right. It doesn’t change anything. They are still mom and dad. Still consider themselves half Targaryen and half Stark. Maybe just now there’s a little more Targaryen, and that’s okay.

Ned didn’t like being lied to. He didn’t care about the news, he was just mad that it was a lie all this time.

Rhaegar was the happiest about the news. He could finally be with Talisa and not have it be a secret anymore. So long as she will still have him.

——

Next morning they all eat together. It was still a little awkward, but it was less than what it was in the previous days. Rhaenys needed to leave first. Her visitors would be arriving soon. She hugged her mom and dad and kissed them both on the cheek. “Just so you both know, none of us care. We are glad you’re our parents.” Dany and Jon looked at each other and smiled. “Rhaenys, before you go, I’m having Grey Worm go with you. I don’t care what you say, you have to camp for two nights and it would bring me peace knowing he was with you. He will wait in Meereen for a day and then I’ll pick him up to take him back to the Capital so Missandei can get him. Okay?” Dany said.

To be honest, Rhaenys was relieved. She was worried about the nights alone. “Okay. Seems fair,” she said.

She and Grey Worm are about to head out the giant black door when she realized she forgot to say goodbye to Ned and Rhaegar.

She runs over to them and gives them a hug. “So where will you go on your break?” she asked them.

“I’m going to fly to Storms End and pick up Cella. I think she wanted to build a small cabin in the Rainwood somewhere in between the Weeping Tower and Stonehelm. Near the beach on the Sea of Dorne. She wanted a peaceful place to escape to every so often. I was going to help her build it,” said Ned.

“Oh that sounds lovely! I wish I could help. Make sure you fly up and down the coast to get the safest and most beautiful spot! What about you Rhaegar?” Rhaenys asked.

“Talisa and I want to explore more over here. I think we are going to take a trip to the Thousand Islands. You know, get cultured before I become King of the 7 Kingdoms one day,” he said. Talisa came strolling across the floor and said “I think I want to visit the Isle of Elephants too. I would love to see all the elephants in their natural habit. The island is supposed to be beautiful.”

“Then I guess we are visiting there too!” Rhaegar said with excitement in his voice. Rhaenys have Talisa a hug goodbye and started to walk off towards the black door with Grey Worm. She quickly turned around and ran back over to Rhaegar and Talisa. She grabbed their hands and forced them into each others. “Just so you know, I approved of this.” She smiled and then waved goodbye to the rest of her family and headed out the door. Dreamfyre was there waiting already. She gather a small crowd of curious people who were staring at the three of them. She ignored it and climbed on Dreamfyre and Grey Worm followed.

Off they were to Meereen. She was jealous of her siblings and cousins who get to go on a holiday. But she had bigger things to do, like make Volantis bend the knee.

Rhaenys Targaryen Part V will be here soon.

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