Chapter 79 — The Queen's Jealousy
But how was that possible? The mysterious figure hadn't told Daenerys anything about Westeros — and had even gone against her wishes to save the Stark mother and son. Then who exactly was this person? What was their purpose?
A chill crept up Tyrion's spine. The council chamber suddenly felt colder, stranger — as though unseen eyes were watching everything in silence.
Seeing Tyrion's awkward expression under everyone's gaze, Drogon couldn't help but facepalm with a wing.
[This is all my fault!]
Daenerys didn't hear Tyrion's answer — but she did hear Drogon's thoughts. She just didn't understand them. What did this have to do with a him?
"Lord Walder's Red Wedding… the plan must have leaked. Robb was prepared, which is how he escaped," Tyrion said at last, forcing his thoughts into order.
Until he understood the full truth himself, he couldn't very well say that a mysterious figure had tipped off Varys, who then warned Robb. That explanation would have to wait.
"Walder Frey must be getting old. To let something like that slip," Barristan muttered.
He hadn't wanted Robb and Catelyn dead. Like Varys, he respected Eddard Stark and felt sympathy for the wolf family. The whole matter simply felt… off.
He had once defended Eddard when he was arrested for treason — even tried to stop Cersei from having him seized. For that, Barristan had been stripped of his post as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and only later reached Daenerys through Illyrio.
After finishing the Red Wedding account, Daenerys asked for more news. Tyrion then recounted the Purple Wedding — in which he himself had been the unwilling "star" — and the trial by combat that followed.
The room grew awkward. It wasn't easy hearing a man describe his own near-execution.
Tyrion, however, didn't seem embarrassed. Compared to barging unannounced into a queen's council chamber, this humiliation barely registered. He was simply grateful to be alive.
Still, everyone was struck by how utterly broken the relationship between Tyrion and his father and sister had been — to the point of mortal enmity. Sympathy for him quietly grew.
He continued with what he knew of Westeros, and only then did the Meereenese council begin to grasp the larger political situation.
Shireen listened closely. She hadn't known Tyrion's own family had tried so hard to see him executed. A quiet sense of shared fate stirred in her heart.
When Tyrion finished, Daenerys turned to Shireen and gently asked when she had first met Drogon.
Shireen, delighted by the attention, eagerly described Drogon's first visit to Dragonstone, how he often came to see her afterward, brought her treats, and eventually carried her across the Narrow Sea to Pentos — where they met Tyrion before traveling to Meereen.
She carefully avoided mentioning that Drogon could write.
As she spoke, Daenerys kept glancing at Drogon on her shoulder.
So that was why he had been gone so long that time.
When she heard that Drogon had visited Shireen often, brought her food, and even let the girl ride him across the sea, a strange discomfort welled up in her chest. Her gaze lingered on Drogon a little too long.
At first Drogon didn't notice. Then he realized there was a faint killing intent in her eyes.
She's jealous?!
He hadn't expected the Mother of Dragons to be jealous over a little girl. He hurriedly tried to signal Shireen with his eyes — but how was a human supposed to understand dragon eye-language?
Shireen kept happily recounting her adventures.
The others, hearing her story, also stared at Drogon in surprise. They hadn't known he had flown to Dragonstone so early — or that he had been so close with Stannis's daughter.
From Pentos onward, Drogon had escorted Tyrion and Shireen all the way to Meereen.
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Shireen never mentioned that her uncle had been burned alive by her father, Stannis. As a result, no one present knew why she had left the father who now claimed a crown.
Tyrion noticed the gaps in her story. She hadn't said about secretly taken to a remote shore on Dragonstone, where someone had met her and escorted her to Tarth Head — and from there Drogon had carried her to Pentos.
Why hide the part about the mysterious figure contacting Davos and Varys? Had that figure told her to keep it secret?
Tyrion was now certain Drogon was connected to this unseen hand — yet he still couldn't identify who it was.
After the council ended, Daario and Grey Worm immediately gathered their forces and set sail to reinforce Yunkai and Astapor.
Tyrion was not assigned any official position. Shireen, meanwhile, went to assist Missandei with preparations for the new academy.
Not long after the meeting dispersed, Daenerys received a report: thanks to Rhaegal and Viserion's aerial intimidation and dispersal tactics, the large-scale riots in Meereen had already ceased. Only a few pockets of street fighting remained, and those were quickly suppressed by the Unsullied.
Daenerys hadn't expected Shireen's suggestion to work so quickly. The problem that had plagued her most had been solved almost at once.
When Drogon heard the riots were over, he went out and brought the two dragons before Daenerys. With gestures and muttered dragon-talk, he made his intentions clear: Rhaegal and Viserion should accompany Daario and Grey Worm to Yunkai and Astapor, assisting in the cities' defense.
Daenerys was uneasy at the thought of sending the two dragons into battle alone, but after Drogon's persistent insistence, she agreed.
The pair had been trained by Drogon since hatchling days. Though only about the size of full-grown horses now, their close-combat and fire-breathing abilities were formidable, and their agility and durability far surpassed what they'd been without training. They were ready for real battle.
Moreover, Daenerys had earlier ordered Varys's little birds to investigate whether Slaver's Bay or New and Old Ghis possessed scorpion ballistae capable of threatening dragons. None had been found. That reassurance also influenced her decision.
With the dragons joining them, Daario and Grey Worm felt far more confident about the coming defensive campaigns.
Meanwhile, as Daenerys wrestled with the Sons of the Harpy, Queen Regent Cersei in King's Landing was faring no better.
Without the Mountain's protection, she now felt unsafe everywhere she went. Since Tywin's death, she sensed that the great lords of the capital no longer looked at her and King Tommen with the same deference. The respect was thinning.
That little Highgarden bitch, Margaery, had grown even bolder in her presence.
After Tywin's death, Cersei had annulled her own betrothal to Margaery's brother, Ser Loras, the Knight of Flowers.
She had also wanted to cancel Tommen's upcoming marriage to Margaery — but Jaime stopped her, reminding her that Tywin had only just died, and King's Landing still needed Highgarden as an ally.