King's Landing 304 AC.
Dany.
He was getting better. To others, it may not seem so, but Dany knew Baelon's moods better than any, and she could see it each day they had ridden south. She'd seen it when Tyrion was taken prisoner and when they had left the North behind. Baelon had even confirmed it somewhat as they lay in their bed one night. His words were ones that surprised him as much as they did Dany as he told her that for once in his life, he welcomed leaving the North behind. She'd wished to comfort him more or offer him up words to soothe his broken heart and yet it had been with touches and caresses that she'd answered him instead.
They'd lain together each night that they traveled. Almost as if they felt they owed it to themselves and those who'd been lost to do so. Dany had even beseeched the gods to break the curse she lived under and to gift them a child. To allow them to bring a new life into this world so as to somewhat make up for all the lives they'd taken from them. Yet despite their numerous couplings, no seed had taken hold and so she'd once again put that thought out of her mind and had instead concentrated on helping her husband back to being the man he once was. In this, she had no stauncher or truer ally than Rickon Stark and when she was not by Baelon's side, she could be certain to find his brother there. Though not today.
It was Missandei who noticed the young lad following them as they moved through the city. Both he and his wolf kept their distance and Dany wagered that if she was to search the sky above she'd find one of his birds circling overhead. If it was another time and another place and she knew him not as she did, then she may take some offense to his watching her. Yet she knew full well he didn't do so out of some fear of her betraying his brother. Far from it. Instead, Rickon followed her because he was worried about her, and though she had more than enough protection, he was Baelon's brother and she was pack. The thought of which now brought a smile to her face.
"Dany?" Missandei asked, confused.
"Wolves, Missy. Don't let anyone tell you that they are any different than dragons. Not when it comes to those they care about."
Missandei nodded her head and a few moments later her closest friend was wearing the same smile that Dany herself was. Soon though they both wore much different looks. Dany had seen the city somewhat already, but not as clear as she did now. While there was much work going on to fix what Tyrion had destroyed, the true extent of the destruction was now very much laid bare. She tried not to think that it had and was much worse than this, yet she found the thought coming to her mind regardless. As did the thoughts of those who had suffered greatly because of one man's malice and ambition. Feeling her inner dragon rise at the thoughts of the death that she'd bring to Tyrion Lannister, Dany closed her eyes and sought out her children.
"īlon'll sōvegon aderī, issa riñar. " (We'll fly soon, my children.) she whispered softly and she swore she could feel their trills warm her heart once she'd done so.
Opening her eyes, Dany was met with a much happier sight. Here they'd seemed to have avoided the worst of the damage. The buildings had been checked and some had been reinforced where needed but most were remarkably undamaged. People went about their daily routines as if the city had not almost been completely devastated by wildfire and beside her, Missandei pointed out the children playing. It brought another true smile to Dany's face to see it and so bringing their ride to a stop, she climbed down off her silver and moved to where the children were.
While she'd ostensibly come here to deal with Daario Naharis, this too was part of why she wished to ride without Baelon. She needed to see it through her own eyes and without the comfort of any words her husband may offer. Just as he too had needed to see it a day or so ago. They were both so very much alike when it came to such things. At times seeking the comfort of the other's presence while at others they needed to do things alone. That Baelon had not argued or tried to dissuade her from both the tasks she set herself for the day only showed just how well he knew her. And how much he trusted her too.
" I need not look into my wife's heart to know the truth of it. For to do so I only need to know mine own."
" I love you, Baelon. You and you alone."
" As I love you, Dany."
Dany spent some time with the children and was most reluctant to leave them even when Missandei pointed out just how long they'd been away from their camp. Her closest friend worried that Baelon or someone else may get the wrong idea about why that was, while Dany very much did not. Something she told her friend as they rode now to the docks.
"I worry not that Baelon would be jealous, Missy. He has naught to be jealous about."
"I know, Dany. Yet men are strange at times."
"As are we, are we not?" Dany japed back.
"We can be." Missandei chuckled.
When they reached the building that Daario had taken for himself, Dany steadied herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the large black wolf as it prowled. There was no sign of Rickon Stark, however. Not that she worried about her Goodbrother any. He was there, out of sight, mayhap, but only hers. The powers he possessed and which Baelon had confided had grown stronger as they traveled, would ensure that what his wolf or birds saw, he saw too and Dany wouldn't put it past him to be in some other familiar by now.
The smile that Daario wore when he greeted her was one that grated on her a little. She knew full well what that smile suggested and it proved he'd barely listened to the words she'd spoken to him upon her arrival in the city. That day she'd done all she could to dissuade him from any foolish thought he may have, but she knew him too well to think it would be enough. Be it his pride, arrogance, or something else, he'd think she spoke those words only because of those around her. Today she'd speak those and others and leave him in no doubt that he held no place in her heart and would never grace her bed again. This would be the last time she'd let words be how she expressed her feelings regarding him.
"My Queen."
"Daario," she replied curtly as he kissed her hand over extravagantly.
"Missandei of Naath, it's good to see you well," Daario said, his smile lessened as he looked at Missy.
"You too, Commander."
"No Grey Worm, my queen?"
"Torgho Nudho has his own duties to attend to."
Dany watched as Daario took note of who she'd brought with her and who she'd not. She'd bid Jorah to allow her to do this alone and had asked him instead to guard Baelon's back today. While she dealt with Daario and took stock of the city, her husband acted as a king and would be no doubt bored by the meetings he needed to attend. Yet he'd attend them regardless and for now they had but one member of the Kingsguard. Best he stood at Baelon's shoulder than hers. As too would Torgho Nudho.
"I shall have food prepared, my queen. The fare here is not what I'm used to and they make terrible versions of dishes from Essos, yet I still find them far more to my palate than those of these lands."
"You've not had a true northern pie then." she said to a giggle from Missandei "Trust me there are few better things to warm you up after a day in the cold."
"Where you cold often, my queen?" Daario asked suggestively.
"Rarely," she replied and enjoyed seeing his smile falter.
Turning down the offer of his arm, she walked beside Daario as they entered the building. Only to stop just before they did so. The auburn hair and blue eyes seemed close enough to touch and yet Rickon Stark was some distance from her. Dany could make out the expression on his face as if he was not, however. It was one that she'd seen on Jorah and Grey Worm's as well as on Baelon's from time to time. One that showed his concern and worries for her and she welcomed the sentiment and the feeling. Hoping that the small nod of her head showed she was in no danger here, she entered the building and was led to a room with a table set for two.
Dany knew what she should say and do. She knew full well how what she was about to say would be taken and yet she did so anyway. Bidding Missandei to leave her alone, for now, she tried not to glare at Daario when that smile that was starting to annoy her appeared once again on his face. Taking a seat, she picked at her food and drank some of the wine, finding both to offer her no comfort in their tasting. Wondering how she was to start this, it was Daario who chose her words for her and he made a grave error in his own words that he led with.
"He seems a small man, your husband." Daario said and Dany felt her ire rise.
"You really are a fool, Daario. I had not noticed it before but by the old gods, you truly are an idiot at times. My husband is ten times the man you are. He is a man amongst men. Closer to a damn god than a man if truth be told."
Daario snorted and Dany almost rose to her feet, instead, she picked up her glass and drank another small swallow from it. It didn't calm her any and yet she welcomed the brief respite it offered.
"It takes a god to kill a god and make no mistake, the Night King was a god of sorts. Yet it was my husband who struck him down and turned the darkness that you and all of us had been living in back into the light that we now know. The Prince that was Promised shall Bring the Dawn. A prophecy spoken of for hundreds of years. One fulfilled by Baelon Targaryen, my husband. This is the man you call small. A man whose shadow alone covers more ground than every single deed you've ever accomplished in your entire life." Dany declared, her voice firm, and yet she'd not raised it once.
"I spoke only in stature, my queen. You've known larger men than he before." Daario said, a twinkle in his eyes as he spoke the words.
"Have I indeed? For I tell you now and without hesitation, I've known no men before, Baelon. Drogo, you, both mere boys compared to my husband. Mere ants compared to the dragon he is. Where I to but whisper it in his ear, then you'd not see the sun when it arose on the morrow. If he or I wished it, then your life would be over in the blink of an eye or the click of my fingers." she said as she first blinked and then clicked her fingers for effect "Be thankful that we do not."
Dany rose to her feet and though she was still not much taller than a sitting Daario, she looked down at him anyway.
"I came here to retake my family's throne from those who'd stolen it from us. I believed that was my destiny and my birthright. It was what I sought. What I thought was needed to make me whole and yet it was but a dream. The only thing I ever truly needed or wished for was someone to share my heart with. Someone to be my equal. To love me as I love them. Yet I had long given up on ever finding such a man in this world or the next." Dany said, seeing Daario shrink a little in his seat "Only for Baelon to come into my life and take my heart as he offered me his own. My husband is a dragon, as am I, Daario Naharis. Baelon is a true dragon and only a dragon can love a dragon."
She moved away from the table and barely heard the words that Daario spoke. Stopping at the door, she turned to look back at him.
"You will return to Meereen by week's end. Rule the city in my name and be thankful that I still have a place in my service for you. I offer you but that and you bring me no more than that in return. I have no need of you further than that, no need of anyone further than that. My husband is a dragon, Daario Naharis, it would bode well for you to remember that. For should you wake him then you'll find nothing but death awaits you, just as the Night King and his army of dead men found to their cost."
Walking out of the room, she noticed the mouse scurry along the floor and somehow withheld the small laugh that she so longed to let loose. Dany soon met up with Missandei and they left the building after she'd done so. They'd not ridden more than a hundred or more feet when they were joined by Rickon and his wolf.
"Goodsister," Rickon said with a nod as he climbed upon the offered horse.
"All is well, Goodbrother?" she asked curiously.
"All is well. I've been busy watching dragons." Rickon said pointedly and Dany shook her head when Missandei looked at her.
"And what have you seen, Goodbrother?"
"That it's not just those that fly that people should fear." Rickon smiled.
"No, Goodbrother, it very much is not," she replied as they rode back to their camp, Dany was more than eager to see another dragon and she wondered if Baelon was up to a late-night flight.
The Neck/King's Landing 304 AC.
Tyrion Lannister.
There was peace to be found while being held in confinement. A time to think and let your mind deal with things you may otherwise not have. The knowledge that every moment, hour, or day that you knew was one that took you closer to your last was ever present and yet it was not the end that your mind dwelt upon, much to Tyrion's surprise. Instead, it was the things you didn't do that you should have or things you did that you should not. Those were what filled his mind and had done so ever since he'd been taken, prisoner.
He should have expected it and yet he very much did not. As always he'd thought himself so very clever and had done so right up to when the guards and the wolf had surrounded him. Tyrion hadn't even had a chance to consider fleeing and knew no words of his would talk his way out of the situation he'd found himself in. So for once, it wasn't with a clever response that he answered when he was bid to. Two words were all that came to him as Rickon Stark had moved forward and ordered the guards to arrest him.
' I'm fucked.'
In some ways, it allowed Tyrion to find an upside to Jaime's death. Something he'd not been able to do since the moment it had been revealed to him. Before that moment all he'd done was to plot and plan some way to see Jon Snow suffer greatly for being the reason why Jaime was no longer in this world. Since then, he'd just been relieved that Jaime wasn't alive to hear that it had been he who'd done what his brother had stopped the Mad King from doing all those years earlier. He who'd unleashed wildfire upon a city and had burned thousands of innocents in doing so.
Knowing that his brother wouldn't look upon him with hate-filled eyes or be disgusted by the fact they shared blood, had given Tyrion some comfort. It was to be all he was to be afforded as other than ensuring he stayed alive so he could be tried for his crimes, Daenerys and Jon Snow cared not for how he was treated. He was fed poor food and confined to a tumbrel when they traveled. Those who rode nearest to him were allowed to spit and jeer to their heart's content. His nights were spent in a cage that was heavily guarded and other than briefly when he'd been detained, he'd not seen Daenerys nor Jon Snow since. Were he to wager upon it, he'd say he'd see them only once more before he was sent to his gods.
As for how that was to be achieved, well that was the stuff of nightmares and he'd had many of those as they traveled further south. Torn apart by wolves or fed to the dragons, handed to the loved ones of those who'd died when King's Landing had burned. The most pleasant death he could imagine was to face Jon Snow and to lose his head to Dark Sister and yet he doubted that he'd be lucky enough for that to be his fate. What he did know for certain was that there was no escaping it now. That this time there was no Varys to help him escape from King's Landing and no Red Viper to stand for him in a trial by combat. Not even Bronn was willing to do so and it hadn't even taken much for his former sworn sword to be bought away from him. Bronn's words still rang out in Tyrion's head when he closed his eyes at times.
" Not even for double the price."
Laying down for another night's fitful sleep, Tyrion wondered what shape his nightmares would appear to him tonight and found very quickly they took him to days not long past.
A few weeks ago.
He looked down at the body of his brother. Jaime looked for all intents and purposes as if he was simply sleeping and yet it was clear that he'd never open his eyes again. Despite the look of pure contentment and peace upon his brother's face, Tyrion's expression was full of anger and hatred. Not for his brother but for the man that Jaime had died to protect.
Jon Snow had come and named Jaime a true hero. He'd named himself as not worthy of the life that Jaime had given up to see that he didn't fall. In this, Tyrion agreed with him wholeheartedly. He was very much not worthy of the life of a Lion. Tyrion had allowed him to speak the words and had watched as he dared to lay a hand on Jaime's face and place a kiss on his forehead. Had he been armed at that moment then he'd have probably taken his chance and stabbed him where he stood. Were they alone at the time, he may have still taken a risk and made an attempt for the knife that Jon Snow bore on his hip. Instead, he'd had to listen and nod and then wait for the man to leave so that he could plan his end.
Later he'd spoken words that he should not and only that he'd not truly placed the fault of Jaime's death at Jon Snow's door or he'd have mayhap faced consequences for doing so. His words had been taken as those of a man in grief, however, and so they'd been ignored instead of challenged. By the time words were spoken over the dead and Daenerys had named them as the heroes and heroines that they were, Tyrion had been able to calm himself enough to hide his true intent. Or so he'd thought at the time.
He was happy to leave Winterfell and the North behind and believed that one good thing had come out of Jaime's death. For it brought him somewhat closer to the queen once more. While not fully welcomed back into the fold, his brother's sacrifice had earned him some of the favor he'd lost. Combined with the fact that Jon Snow was wallowing in his own grief and that there was much to be done to put the realm to rights, by the time they reached the Neck, Tyrion was certain he was to be offered a place on the Small Council once again. Not as Hand, mayhap, since somehow that old cunt Olenna Tyrell had managed to survive, but some position which he would then use to gain even further favor. Then as they camped in the sight of Moat Cailin, his world came crashing down around him once more.
"Get up you lazy sod," Bronn called out.
"It's not morning yet," he replied groggily.
"Thank the gods."
"You believe in the gods now." he japed as he rolled out of his bedroll and welcomed the wine pouch that was handed to him.
"I've seen a night that never ended, dead men fighting against the living, and a war that none of us had a right to live through. Yet live through it I did, as did the woman who shares my bed and is soon to be the lady of mine own keep. So aye, I believe in the gods now."
"How poetic," he japed.
"Fuck you, you little cunt." Bronn replied as they laughed at each other.
"Come let's break our fast, no doubt we'll not be staying here long enough to rest," he said, rising to his feet.
"No, we very much won't."
They were walking when he saw them. Rickon Stark and that black wolf of his, its yellow eyes staring at him as it stalked behind its master. Seeing the number of men with him and the way they looked at him, he began to worry, and then before he knew it they had surrounded him. Tyrion noticed the dour former Night's Watch man, Edd something or other as well as men of the Free Folk and North. Yet it was the look that Rickon Stark aimed in his direction that truly made him worry that his time was at an end.
"Lord Bronn, you should move away and head back to Lady Tyene." Rickon Stark said firmly as Tyrion looked at Bronn and shook his head.
"Bronn…."
"Not even for double the price," Bronn said before he could speak any more words to him.
Tyrion looked on forlornly as Bronn walked from his side without turning even once. Sighing, he turned his attention to Rickon Stark, the guards, and most especially the wolf who had now moved even closer to where Tyrion stood.
"I'd run if I were you." Rickon Stark said, almost daring him to do so "But I know you won't."
The words and how they were spoken sent a shiver down Tyrion's spine and though he willed his legs to move, they refused.
"Arrest him and see him placed in the tumbrel, their graces will wish to speak to him later," Rickon said and it was Edd who moved to him.
Tyrion felt himself be almost carried to the cart that the tumbrel was placed upon. He'd asked why he was being arrested only to receive no reply and yet he knew full well the reason for his imprisonment. As he did for what that imprisonment meant. They jumbled him into the tumbrel and he almost laughed at the fact that it wasn't much larger than he himself was. Tied, chained, and guarded by more than enough men to make sure he didn't even try to escape, it was the only amusement he had for the next few hours.
At what point it was that he noticed the bird that rested at the front of the cart, he knew not. Though it was only moments after he did so that he noticed the black wolf was not too far from it either. The day soon turned into night and when it did, they stopped their traveling. He was then released and allowed to stretch his legs before he was then taken to the cage that was to be his new home for mayhap what little remained of his life. After he was fed a pitiful excuse for a meal, they finally came to speak to him. Daenerys looked every inch a dragon queen while Jon Snow bore the first expression of anything other than grief that Tyrion had seen him wear.
"Your sister is dead, Tyrion. She and Euron Greyjoy both lost their heads, literally." Daenerys said almost gleefully.
"My sister had lost her head years ago," he replied.
"Why Tyrion? Why would you do such a terrible thing? I knew you held no love for my husband and mayhap even none for me, but how could you do that to men, women, and children who harmed you not?" Daenerys asked and Tyrion could see she truly wished for an answer.
It took him some time to find one. One that he felt he could speak of, anyway. For the truth of why he did what he'd done was well known to him.
"I sought my position back, my favor back…" he began and Daenerys struck him hard across the face once and then again.
"And thought this the way to achieve such a thing. Are you a fool? A monster?"
"I am the Demon Monkey. The Imp. You name those people as innocents and yet where were they when I was being tried for a crime I didn't commit?" he spat "I told them all that I wished I had poison enough to kill each and every single one of them and I meant it. They were ungrateful wretches and deserved all they got."
"As will you." Jon Snow said, his first words in the entire exchange.
"Your brother was a hero, you….you are naught but a monster like your father and sister before you and we are building a world where monsters are no longer welcome," Daenerys said as Jon Snow nodded and Tyrion was helped back to his cage.
He dreamt of them that night. The family he'd once known. Jaime turned away from him while his father and sister welcomed him with open arms and it shamed him greatly. So much so that he woke and sobbed like he'd not done in many years.
Now.
Days had felt endless as he was kept in the makeshift cell. The food he was given was barely edible and yet he ate it as if it was the sweetest meal he'd ever known. Alone in the darkness with naught but his thoughts, Tyrion had much time to contemplate his mistakes. Finding that each of them haunted him equally. From the days before he'd been forced to flee to Essos to the days spent there and those upon his return to Westeros.
He'd proved himself a true lion in the end. Tyrion had allowed his pride to be his downfall. Had he not been so proud then he'd not have argued so fervently for the plans that Jon Snow had challenged. Tyrion could have remained as Hand of the King and stayed within his queen's inner circle. Had he not been so proud, then he would have never lost her favor so completely. Though her love was never something that was his to know.
As for Jon Snow, his feelings toward him were mixed, to say the least. A large part of him hated him and blamed him for his misfortunes. Just as he had his father and sister among others over the years. Another part of him almost admired him for playing the game far better than he had. Although, Tyrion knew full well that in truth, Jon Snow was not a man who played the Game of Thrones, or at least not how he and others had.
When the day finally came, Tyrion was ill-prepared for it. He'd somehow gotten used to being held as a prisoner and almost believed that was to be his fate. To be left to rot and die alone in a cell, forgotten by everyone and missed by no one. It was not to be. Death was to be the only respite he knew and that death it seemed was to come today.
"Get up." the guard said as he kicked him heavily and Tyrion was relieved that in the darkness the kick only grazed him "I said get up."
Shielding his eyes from the light, Tyrion was manhandled out of the cell and down the corridor. Soon enough he'd reached the door that led out of the cells and into the courtyard and he found his feet wouldn't' answer his commands. The kick he got this time was one he felt truly and he fell against the door, only to be grabbed and shoved through it and out into the daylight. Once again he needed to shield his eyes and this time it took far longer for the pain to go away and allow him to open them. What he saw when he did was not a pleasant sight. Nor was the sound of the jeers and the feel of the rotten fruit as it hit him square in the face.
"MURDERER!"
"MONSTER!"
"DEMON MONKEY!"
"IMP"
He heard it all as he was moved past the large crowd that had assembled and out into the largest of the courtyards. To his surprise, there was a cart with a cage built onto it awaiting him there and before he knew it, he was being thrown inside. Again it was jeers and rotten fruit, as well as some stones that he did his best to avoid, which were thrown at him as the cart moved through the city. Along the route, it seemed as if every man, woman, and child who now named this city their home had come to see him lose his life.
How long it took them to get to their destination, he knew not, only that by the time they did, he was crying. Tyrion had always known the truth of what people thought of him. His status as Tywin Lannister's son had, however, never allowed that truth to be spoken. Or at least not to him. Now, it very much did and it was a sobering thing to hear just how hated you truly were. He may not care for those who shouted out the words, yet he'd not lie to himself and say that hearing them didn't hurt him though.
So Tyrion was almost grateful when they reached the end of the last journey he'd ever get to undertake. What he wasn't grateful for was that it would seem that his time in this world was not yet at an end. Instead, he was forced to wait as more and more people arrived to see him lose his life. Forced to listen to more and more hateful things being spoken about him and to endure more things being thrown at him. At one point, he swore someone through some sort of shit at him and he prayed it had come from an animal's arse rather than a human one.
"Their graces, King Baelon and Queen Daenerys Targaryen." a voice called out and Tyrion looked through half-open eyes to see them both arrive.
Both of them looked every inch the king and queen they were and behind them rode guards dressed in black and red and one man wearing a white cloak. Ser Jorah didn't look his way, however, and neither did the king and queen. Once they'd dismounted from their horses, a woman that looked familiar and yet not stood forward and it took Tyrion far too long to put a name to the face. He'd mayhap not have been able to at all had someone else not done it for him.
"We have gathered here today to see those who committed the gravest of all crimes finally pay for their actions. In the name of their graces and as Hand of the King and Queen, I ask for the first prisoner to be brought forward."
Tyrion readied himself only to find it was not to be him that was to be dealt with first. It allowed him to look once again at the woman and to name her as Olenna Tyrell and he was stunned at just how different she looked. He understood it not and had very little time to try and make sense of it in his mind as Randyll Tarly was brought forward and Jon Snow moved into position.
"Lord Randyll Tarly, you have been found guilty of treason against the crown and against your liege lady. A charge that carries but one sentence, death. Do you have any last words before you're sent to your gods?" Jon Snow asked.
"I ask only for my crimes to be mine alone, your grace. My treason to reflect only upon me and not my House." Randyll began "While I expect nor forgiveness for my actions, I name them as the folly they were and am shamed by them, truly."
"May the gods grant you the forgiveness that we do not, Lord Tarly." Jon Snow said as Randyll took a knee and bowed his head over the block.
Tyrion was not the only one who looked on with curious eyes as Jon Snow seemed to hesitate before removing Dark Sister. Then in the blink of an eye, the thin blade was raised and fell and with one cut, Randyll Tarly's head was removed from his body. As soon as it was done, all eyes looked first to him and then to Olenna Tyrell. The now much younger woman steadied herself before she began to speak once more.
"While Lord Tarly's crimes were unforgivable, they were not the worst crimes we seek to see answered for this day. One man and one man alone carried out a deed that will go down as the worst atrocity ever committed in Westeros. Not the sack of King's Landing nor the Red Wedding can hold a candle to what Tyrion Lannister did. No man has ever deserved death more than he and I have no doubt that the seven hells await him. Bring forth the prisoner." Olenna said, her words as hate-filled as her eyes were when she looked at him.
Despite what he'd done, Tyrion felt Olenna had looked at Randyll Tarly more favorably and as he was moved from the cart, he shuddered to see the block and the body being taken away. He was helped to what looked like a stake and then tied to it and he felt his legs give out as it was done. It was not to be a blade that took his life and as he contemplated just what form his death would take, Jon Snow began to speak.
"Lady Olenna speaks true. This thing, for he is no man, this thing in front of us took the lives of far better people than he ever could claim to be. For those who lost a loved one due to his actions, I beg a moment's silence." Jon Snow said and Tyrion swore for the next moment or two he could have heard a pin drop as not a single sound was heard despite there being thousands of people present.
"The world my husband and I seek to build has no place for monsters such as Tyrion Lannister." Daenerys said as she moved to stand beside Jon Snow "So let the fate of this particular monster stand as a warning to one and all. For this is the fate that awaits them all."
He heard them then, the dragons sounding out their roars as they flew overhead. All three of them were there and as one they landed in front of him. Tyrion looked on as Daenerys reached out and took her husband's hand and as one they spoke the word. It was not Jon Snow's voice he heard, but that of Baelon Targaryen and it had taken him right to the last moments of his life to realize that simple truth. The bastard boy was gone and only a Dragon King remained, a Dragon King who'd found his Dragon Queen.
"Dracarys," they said in unison, and then the flames came.
Many years earlier, he'd seen the dragons lay down their flames and had thought it to be an awe-inspiring sight. He'd wondered if the flames were even felt by those in their path or if they simply turned to ash and met their ends quickly. The truth of it was now revealed to him and it was not one he welcomed learning. Whether or not the dragons held back and so their flames were lesser or whether this was how they felt to each and every one who knew them, Tyrion knew only one thing in his last moments. Being burned to death was not quick and it was not painless and it took far longer than anyone could imagine.
The Neck/King's Landing 304 AC.
Baelon Targaryen.
From a moon ago until now.
Grief was something that Baelon knew all too well. Something that he'd had much practice doing over the course of his life. The emotion of loss was not a new one for him to face and yet never before did that loss feel as devastating to him as the one he'd suffered. When he'd been at the Wall and had learned of the death of the man he'd believed to be his father, it had pained him greatly. Yet circumstances didn't truly allow for him to do anything with that loss other than let it be the fuel for what it was he needed to do.
Hearing of events at the Twins had almost broken him. While Baelon had not wept for Ned Stark's death simply because he had not the time to do so, this was not the case when it came to Robb's. He had found a quiet place away from everyone he knew and allowed his tears to fall for the brother he loved. Baelon had cursed the gods for their cruelty and had sought answers from them that had never been given. It had taken him some time to even be able to remember the times he and Robb had shared together without those memories forcing him to his knees.
When Ygritte fell. As she lay in his arms and he watched the light go out of her eyes, Baelon had felt his heart break in two. She had been a wild and free woman and while now he knew the difference between the love he believed he'd had with her and the true love he shared with his wife, at the time he'd known no better. Tears had fallen from his eyes when he lit her pyre and it had made him believe that he would never share his heart as truly with anyone ever again.
After the fight with the Night King. Seeing that Jaime Lannister had truly fallen, Baelon hadn't grieved for the man. Not that they'd not become friends or that he hadn't mourned the man's loss, but simply because he believed that had anyone ever dared to ask Jaime how he wished to die, then how he did would have been his answer. Baelon respected the man, truly at the end of his life. He knew too that Jaime would have believed that with his final act, he'd found the honor that so many thought him lacking. The debt that the former Kingsguard believed he owed to Baelon's father and family, to his former brothers, had, in the end, been paid in full.
' A Lannister always pays their debts.'
Later when he'd seen Tormund lying there beside Brienne, Baelon had mourned and grieved for his truest friend in equal measure. He could barely imagine not seeing the smiling and oft annoying face of Tormund Giantsbane for the rest of his days, and yet, just as with Jaime, he felt something else too. Tormund had died in Brienne's arms and she in his. They'd left this world together and as any man in love knew, there was no other way you'd have wished to go. So he mourned him, hated the gods once again for their cruelty, and yet it had not broken him.
' No that was to come later' he thought bitterly.
She was his little sister. His partner in crime. The girl he'd loved most in this cruel world and the only person he'd ever been certain had loved him unconditionally. To see her laying there lifeless had shattered his heart into a million pieces and Baelon simply didn't have the strength to put it back together again. He'd not yet truly grieved for her, nor truly mourned her. In truth, Baelon wasn't certain he could ever even feel again.
Had it not been for his brother. For Ghost and Rhaegal, for Wylla, and most of all, for Dany, then the shell of a man he'd been when he realized there was no chance of Arya coming back as he and Rickon had, would be all that remained of him. Baelon cared not for the North, the Realm, or even his own health in those first few days. He ate because Dany begged him to and he could refuse her nothing. His movements and presence during meetings or even the funerals they'd held were only because his brother willed it of him.
When he left Winterfell behind, he'd embraced his one remaining sister and had almost refused to let her go. Yet once he had, he'd all but forgotten about Sansa, Winterfell, and the North itself. The further south he traveled, the more certain he was that he would never see any of them again. He cared not to. Could not bear to. Not knowing that she would never be there and that each little thing he saw would only remind him of the little sister he had loved and lost.
" Come brother, there is much we must do. Lord Reed wishes to show us something in Greywater Watch."
" I care not for what Lord Reed or anyone wishes me to see, Rickon."
The memory was a fuzzy one and had it not been for what he had then heard, Baelon would have been lost in it and others as he'd been these past few days.
"Tyrion, Baelon, he betrayed us. It was he who set King's Landing alight." Dany said and Baelon though he wished to, had not the strength of will to yet do what he must.
"Rickon I…"
"I'll handle it, brother," Rickon said, and the first smile he'd worn in who knew how long appeared but briefly on Baelon's face.
Later when they confronted Tyrion, Baelon let Dany do most of the talking. One simple sentence was all that he uttered. He felt it though, a change coming over him as Dany spoke her words and Baelon looked at the monster in the cage. Other than for brief moments when he was alone with Ghost, Rhaegal, Wylla, or when he walked the camp with Rickon. Or those few precious moments he shared with Dany when she slept and he looked down upon her peaceful expression, Baelon felt an emotion other than grief. He felt hatred and he allowed it to wash over him and its fire to drive away the cold ice that loss had brought to his heart.
By the time they reached King's Landing, he was feeling it even more. He even welcomed the sight of the Sellsword and the look on Dany's face when she saw him. There was no jealousy, no fear that the woman he loved would abandon him for another. For the first time in weeks, Baelon was able to offer someone else comfort when they worried about something. His words to his wife after she'd dealt with Daario Naharis and his actions afterward, both went a long way to showing just how much he loved her and more importantly for Dany, trusted her.
"You are better?" Dany asked after they'd lain together and he held her in his arms.
"No." he said honestly and felt the small shudder that ran through her body "I will be," he said determinedly.
The days after that night were ones when he began to act like the king he was meant to be. Baelon spoke to Olenna and thanked her for the letter she'd given Dany to bring him all those moons ago. Her words had meant much to him at a time when he'd needed clarity and so he told her just how grateful he was for them. Then Baelon had set about showing the lady just how much her words and advice had truly meant to him.
Word had been sent to Dragonstone and Randyll Tarly's day of judgment was finally here. He would not be the only one to face judgment for his crimes, though Baelon knew that both he and Tyrion would face different sentences. With that taken care of, it was to other matters that Baelon turned his attention to. Marwyn the Mage, an Archmaester that Princess Sarella and to Baelon's surprise, both his father and granduncle had much respect for, had arrived and helped in the aftermath of what Tyrion had done.
Baelon wished to take the measure of the man and so, he and Ghost walked to where the dragons rested with Marwyn by his side. The sheer look of wonder on the Mage's face when he saw the dragons close up. How he spoke about them and magic and his life's work being proved true by their existence. Allied to the way that both Ghost and Rhaegal reacted to the man's presence, all combined to make Baelon trust him somewhat. Enough to offer him the post of Grandmaester for true and to ask his advice on how to deal with his less enthusiastic fellow Archmaesters and Maesters.
"Root and Stem, your grace. There is naught else for it but to remove them from the Citadel completely. For they will never be on the side of you or your House."
"They would plot against us?" Baelon asked.
"I believe they already have and it's not the first time they've done so your grace."
He took the new Grandmaester's words to heart and bid him to write a list of who he believed they had truly against them. Once he had it, a raven was sent to Dorne asking for Princess Sarella's view on the names contained. Baelon asked for one simple thing from the princess, to put a line through any man on the list she trusted not. In time, he'd deal with them but there were other things to deal with first of all.
Wylla was as always a great comfort to him and more than once, he'd toured the city with her by his side. Baelon had asked about her family back in Dorne and found they were all grown and with families of their own. Had she but wished it, then he'd have arranged for a comfortable keep for her back in her homeland and he offered to provide for her family only to find her and they were happy with their lot in life. She made but one request of him and it was one he granted almost before the words left her lips.
"I wish to stay close to you, Baelon. Whatever years I have left I wish them to be spent in your service. One day, you and your wife will bring babes into this world and I'd like to be to them what I had so wished to be to you." Wylla said, tears falling down her cheeks as she spoke.
"Are and were to me." Baelon said wiping those tears "I can think of no one I'd wish near any babe of mine and Dany's than you, Wylla. But not as a servant, you're more than that. You're family." he said, kissing her cheek.
Dany had been more than happy to find that Wylla was staying with them and when Baelon brought up what she'd said about their future children, for once his wife didn't try to reject the words. Whether it was because of all they'd seen, known, and gone through. Or was the faith she had in them, Dany was at least starting to come around to the idea of a family of their own. His wife certainly hoped for one and it would be through no lack of trying that one would be denied to them. As their coupling had once again become something that brought them naught but pleasure.
When the day came to an end Tyrion and Randyll Tarly, Baelon was resolved and ready. He took one of them out of the world with a swing of his sword and the other with the help of his and Dany's dragons. Both he and his wife knew, even if no one else did, that the dragons had lessened the ferocity of their flames when they burned Tyrion. Baelon could only hope that in his final few moments, the Dwarf of Casterly Rock felt the same pain he'd caused so many to suffer.
As Dany dealt with the Small Council and its appointments, Baelon dealt with matters that were more practical. They had but one member of the Kingsguard and so he and Ser Jorah set about to find others to fill the ranks. Baelon tested some candidates with his own sword and others with Ghost and Bear, Rickon's wolf, and his brother by his side. Ravens were sent out calling for a tourney to be held on the grounds outside the city. One that the people needed according to Lady Olenna and one that Baelon and Jorah would truly find the men who'd wear their cloaks and replace those who'd fallen.
"We'll not find a Ser Jaime or a Brienne, Ser Jorah. Though in time those we do may prove themselves worthy of serving as they both were."
"Aye, your grace."
In Ser Donnel Waynwood, Baelon believed he'd found a man who would serve them well. The man though was reluctant to join an order that placed celibacy at its heart and was upfront about it. Which earned him some of Baelon's respect. So Baelon bid the man to join him as he made his way to the new barracks of the City Watch. Ser Donnel, Baelon, and a half dozen Unsullied guards along with Ghost, all walked through the city unhindered and unmolested.
"Ser Eddison Tollet, Ser Donnel, the new commander of the City Watch, you know of his story?" he asked as they walked.
"No, your grace."
"Edd, like me, was a brother of the Night's Watch. Like me, he was its Lord Commander. I may be biased here, but I like to think in its final days the order at least had two good men at its head." he said, half japing, which was a new thing these last few days. His humor had somewhat returned, even if it was rarely shown.
"I dare say few would say different, your grace."
"While I joined seeking to remove the stain from Lord Stark's cloak and from mine own because of who I believed I was. Edd was lured in with tales of free food, drink, and even women. He'd oft grouse to Grenn, Pyp, Sam, and me about what a fool he was." Baelon said, a soft smile on his face as he remembered sitting at the table with the first true friends he'd ever made "Over the course of our time there we found out that some of the brothers would sneak off to the brothel in Molestown. It was a known thing and the Lord Commander and other senior men of the Watch turned a blind eye to it."
"I was not aware of this, your grace. Like everyone else I was raised to believe…"
"That there was honor in giving up your wish to lay with a woman." Baelon said for him and Donnel nodded "What is honor compared to a woman's love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms… or the memory of a brother's smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory and our great tragedy."
"Your Grace?"
"My granduncle, Aemon Targaryen. He was the wisest man I ever knew and he spoke those words to me when I was but a young fool." Baelon said with a chuckle "There is nothing as powerful as love in this world, Ser Donnel. Nothing fuels us more or gives us strength when we are weak. I seek only strong men to stand at my wife's and mine own backs. At our children's backs. Men I don't need to worry about whether or not they're sneaking off to lay with a woman in disregard to their vows or oaths. I served an order that supposedly held true to the vow to take no wife or father no children, I'll not seek any other to do so. Take the day, Ser Donnel, take the day and give me your answer, and know I'll think no less of you no matter what that answer will be." Baelon said as he saw Edd and moved toward him.
"I need no day, your grace. It would be the greatest honor of my life to serve you and her grace in the Kingsguard."
"Then I welcome you gladly, Ser Donnel."
Baelon spent the day with Edd and enjoyed both an ale and his friend's grumbling about the amount of work and responsibility that Baelon had thrust upon his shoulders. Edd half-heartedly asked if there was no one better suited than him and once again Baelon told him there very much was not. He bid Edd farewell and sent Ser Donnel to inform his family of his choice and then to report to Ser Jorah on the morrow. He then found himself walking almost aimlessly, Ghost leading the way and Baelon simply following.
Soon enough he was at the docks and looking out as ship after ship docked or sailed away. Most bore supplies to help rebuild the city. Some carried food to feed those who worked and lived there and though there was much work to still be done, Baelon felt just as these people no doubt did. Up to the task. Smiling to himself, he didn't turn around when he felt him near. Nor did he speak for some time when Rickon stood beside him. Both of them just looked out on the sea and smelt the fresh air that washed over them.
The dragons flew in the distance and Rhaegal was showing off for him. Baelon told him through their bond that they'd fly together later that night and that yes, he'd see if he could get Dany to fly with them. How long he and Rickon stood there silently, he knew not. It was a comfortable silence though, a needed one, and when eventually he turned to face his brother, Baelon saw the worried look that he'd seen far too often on Rickon's face and knew full well the reason for it. He was the reason for it, after all.
"It's time brother," Rickon said and Baelon nodded.
When they reached the remains of the Red Keep, Baelon dismissed the guards that were with them. Large sections of it had been destroyed and they were in the process of clearing the rubble before rebuilding it. What it would look like when it was finished, Baelon could only imagine, though it would be much different. A new keep, a new city, and a new start, the voice in his head said. Taking Dark Sister, Baelon began to dig around the ground and after he'd done so, both he and his brother knelt down and began to use their hands to dig even more.
Once they'd finished, Rickon moved to the pack that Baelon hadn't even noticed him carrying. A moment later, he held the Weirwood sapling in his hands and Baelon found himself staring at its blood-red leaves and white bark. Too small to yet be named a tree, it was still larger than Baelon expected. While he'd not gone to Greywater Watch with his brother, Dany, and the others, he had listened to his wife as she told him about what Rickon had brought back. He'd even taken a sneaky look at it as they traveled further south. Yet seeing it now felt different somehow. It felt more like a thing he cared about as if the timing was more right now than it had been then.
"We plant this together, brother," Rickon said and Baelon nodded.
Holding the sapling in his hand, Rickon doing likewise, Baelon felt a calm come over him. Gently, they placed it in the hole they dug and then covered it with the soil they'd disturbed. Before he knew it, Baelon's eyes had closed and he found himself praying to gods he'd long since believed had abandoned him. In truth, Baelon had abandoned them and had no wish to speak to them. Not then. Now, he spoke things he'd long since needed to. Standing up when he was done, he hoped his words had been listened to.
"Brother?" Rickon said worriedly upon seeing Baelon's expression.
"I'm getting better, brother. Thank you for being here," he said, offering Rickon as true a smile as he could and finding that it came much easier today than it had even yesterday.
"Come brother, no doubt my Goodsister is worrying about us both, and fuck me but I'm starved." Rickon said and Baelon gave him a chiding look "Sorry." Rickon said as Baelon mussed his hair and he, his brother, and their wolves turned to walk back to where Dany would be waiting eagerly for their return.