Artos Stark

Mockingbird

As nighttime fell Dany and Artos were walking arm in arm back to their chambers. They rounded the corner to see Daario standing in the middle of it.
"How did you get in here?" Dany asked him.
"Your door is well guarded, but your window is not." He told them. Artos rolled his eyes and walked over to pour himself a drink.
"I swam to an island a mile offshore for these." He said handing Dany some flowers.
"Don't do that again." She said shoving them back to his chest and waking over to Artos.
"Never met a woman who didn't like wildflowers." He said looking down at them.
"Theses are the private quarters that I share with my husband. If I want you here, I will summon you. For professional purposes only." She told him sternly.
"Forgive me, my queen. I live to serve you." He said mockingly getting down on one knee. Artos sat d

own on a small couch and Dany sat next to him burning herself under his arm.
"Tell me why you're here." She told him. He stood back up and sighed.
"I came to ask a favor. I only have two talents in this world- war and women. You are staying here in Meereen to rule and have a baby. That is a wise decision. I respect it. But here in Meereen, I cannot pursue my talents." He told her.
"I've ordered the Second Sons to patrol the streets to stop the revenge killing." Daenerys told him.
"You've ordered us to be night watchmen." Daario argued back.
"And as for women, there are thousands in Meereen you can pursue." Dany cut him off.
"There is only one, and she loves her husband." He told her making Artos give him a mock offended look. He knew Daario had feelings for Dany, but he also trusted them both enough never to act on it.
"You swore me your sword." Dany started.
"My sword is yours till the day I die." He cut in.
"So if I command you to stay In Meereen and patrol the streets?" She asked.
"I'll stay in Meereen and patrol the streets. Send me to kill your enemies. Any enemy anywhere. Let me do what I do best." He pleaded with her.
"Then retake Yunkai. Execute them all." She said dismissing him. Daario thanked her and left the room and she turned to Artos.
"And you. Take off your clothes." She told him taking his cup of wine and sipping it. Artos laughed and stood from his seat and stripped. Once he was bare he lifted her by her waist and pulled her to her feet. His calloused fingers worked at the clasps and knots of her dress before it fell around her feet. Dany grabbed his hand and led them over to the bed and pushed him down on it. She didn't waste much time sheathing him inside of herself. Artos groaned at her movements and gripped her hips tightly. The rhythm in her hip pulled him quickly to his finish while the thought of making a baby with him pulled her through her own.

Artos stood behind Daenerys the next morning with his arms wrapped around her waist resting his head on top of hers as they looked over a map.
"Khaleesi, Artos." Jorah called out from behind them. He hated to see them like this. Yes, Daenerys may have been happy with him, but Jorah craved the young Stark's demise.
"You're here early." She told him. Jorah walked up to them.
"We've sent Daario and the Second Sons to retake Yunkai." Dany informed him. She pulled away from Artos and walked to the other side of the table.
"You have?" Jorah asked her almost surprised.
"Yes." She told him.
"Without you there to rule, Khaleesi, I fear the masters will simply bide their time, wait for the invaders to leave and reassert control." Jorah argued.
"That is why I ordered Daario to execute every master in Yunkai. The masters tear babies from their mothers' arms. They mutilate little boys by the thousands. They train little girls in the art of pleasuring old men. They treat men like beasts, as you said yourself." Dany told him.
"Herding the masters into pens and slaughtering them by the thousands is also treating men like beasts. The slaves you freed, brutality is all they've ever known. If you want them to know something else, you'll have to show them." Jorah told her.
"And repay the slavers with what? Kindness? A fine? A stern warning?" She asked him crossing her arms.
"It's tempting to see your enemies as evil, all of them, but there's good and evil on both sides in every war ever fought." Jorah told her.
"Let the priests argue over good and evil. Slavery is real. I can end it. I will end it. And I will end those behind it." She argued back.
"I sold men into slavery, Khaleesi." Jorah told her. Artos chuckled and stepped into the conversation.
"Yes, and if you would have taken the punishment. You would either be at the Wall serving for the remainder of your days with no titles or claims, or my father would have taken your head. People have been punished for it for decades. How is this any different?" Artos asked him.
"And now you are helping me show them to freedom." Dany said. Jorah looked angrily at Artos.
"I wouldn't be here to help you if Ned Stark had done to me what you want to do to the masters of Yunkai." Jorah told her while glaring at Artos who glared right back.
"The man who came to me the other day about burying his father." Dany said beaming their stare.
"Hizdabr zo Loraq?" Jorah questioned.
"He will accompany the Second Sons and serve as my ambassador to Yunkai. He will tell the masters what has happened in Meereen. He will explain the choice they have before them. They can live in my new world or they can die in their old one." Dany told him compromising. Jorah smiled and nodded.
"Well, go and catch Daario before he leaves. Tell him I changed my mind." She ordered him.
"Yes, Khaleesi." Jorah said before walking to the exit.
"No. Tell him you changed my mind." Dany called after him. 
"Do you think it was the right choice?" Dany asked Artos once they were alone.
"As much as I hate to agree with him, yes. The people will see you are not to be crossed, but they will also see that you can be merciful." Artos told her pulling her into his arms.

[Thank you so much for reading!]