Artos Stark

The Children

Artos hated this. He spends almost every day standing in the throne room with Dany. This time Beast had joined them. He quickly became aware of the baby growing in Dany's belly and liked to keep close to her.
"You stand before Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar of the First Men. Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons." Missandei presented this time leaving Artos out of it at his request.
"Thank you for seeing me, Your Grace. My name is Fennesz. I can speak the common tongue if you wish." The old man in front of them said.
"You speak it very well." She told him with a smile.
"Before you freed me, I belonged to Master Mighdal. I was tutor to his children. I taught them languages and history. They know a great deal about your family because of me. Little Calla is only seven, but she admires you very much." He told them. Dany smiled at the thought.
"I hope I can prove worthy of her admiration. What can I do for you!" She asked him.
"When you took the city, the children begged me not to leave the house. But Master Mighdal and I agreed that I must. So I lost my home. Now I live on the streets." He told her.
"I have outfitted mess halls to feed all former slaves and barracks to shelter them." Dany informed him. Her mood became slightly hostile so Artos placed his hands on both of her arms.
"I do not mean to offend, Your Grace. I went to one of these places. The young prey on the old. Take what they want and bear us if we resist." He informed her.
"My Unsullied will make them safe again in short order, my friend, this I promise you." She told him.
"Even if they are safe, who would I be there? What purpose would I serve? With my master, I was a teacher. I had respect and love of his children." He told her longingly.
"What is it that you want from me?" She asked him not understanding.
"Your Grace, I ask you to let me sell myself back to Master Mighdal." He told her hopefully this time.
"You want to return to a man who owned you like a goat or a chair?" She asked him.
"Please, Your Grace. The young may rejoice in the new world you have built for them, but for those of us too old to change, there is only fear and squalor. I am not alone. There are many outside waiting to beg the same to you." He told her.
"I did not take this city to preside over the injustice o fought to destroy. I took it to bring people freedom. But freedom means making your own choices. I will allow you to sign a contract with your former master. It may not cover a period mastering longer than a year." She told him and gripped Artos's hand in question. Artos kissed the back of her head whispering his agreement in her ear.
"Thank you, Your Grace. Thank you." He said happily before leaving the room.
"That masters will take advantage of this situation. The men serving them will be slaves in all but name." Barristan told her.
"I will see to it myself if I have to. They will be treated fairly." Artos reassured them. As a man holding a blanket walked silently up to them.
"Approach, my friend." Dany said once he paused. Missandei translated from him. He continued to walk up the red of the way while sobbing.
"I have brought you- He came from the sky. The black one. The winged shadow. He came for my the sky and..." Missandei triad off as the man did. Artos sucked in a harsh breath and covered his mouth with the back of his fist and the sobbing man laid down the rags to uncover the black smokey bones of a small child.
"My girl. My little girl." Missandei finished.

"What was her name?" Asked once they were back in the map room.
"Zara, Your Grace." Missandei told her.
"How old was she?" Dany asked.
"Three." The response made Artos's stomach jolt. Alastor would have just turned two.
"Three." Dany echoed sadly.
"And still no word of Drogon?" She asked Grey Worm.
"Sailors saw him flying over the Black Cliffs three days ago, my Queen. Nothing since then." He told her. Dany took Artos's arms and pulled him to walk with her.
"Meet me at the Catacombs." She said as they walked out of the room.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Artos asked her.
"No, but I have to." She told him.

They stood at the large stone door with the two remaining dragons as it was pulled open. The curious creature wondered in first and Dany turned to Artos.
"I have to do this by myself." She told him. Artos nodded and kissed her stepping back to watch her walk into the darkness. He could hear the dragons screeching as they descended the stairs and fought over the food below. Artos knew this would be hard for her. He also knew that it would be hard for her to recover from it. He could hear the screams of the dragons calling out to her as she exited the catacombs and walked straight into his arms. Artos could feel the thin material of his shirt dampen as she cried into listening to the heavy door roll shut.

[I hate that part so much. Thank you so much for reading!]