Bound by Blood and Oaths

Chapter 53

Meereen

His mind felt blank from tiredness. Not even the jabs of pain coming from his stomach wound had registered all that much. Jaehaerys thought sleep would give him the rest yet he still felt tired from all of it. He wonders whether these two women will be the death of him.

He felt movement on his right, seeing Daenerys settle deeper into him, clinging to his right arm. She looked peaceful, more peaceful than all the days he has seen her before. A soft breath left her as a contentment settled on her face. He wonders what she is dreaming about. His gaze then went to his left where the third person of this marriage lay. While he felt Daenerys move, it was not much as she had a calm restful sleep.

On the other hand, Jeyne seems restless as he felt her sporadically move at times. Her eyes shut tightly, her breathing fast and at times she was holding a breath. Jaehaerys' brows were furrowed with concern. A nightmare? He couldn't tell. It felt different somehow. Almost like she was seeing something that unnerved her more deeply than a dream would.

"Jeyne?" Jaehaerys whispered to her, his left hand gently stroking her awake. "Do not be frightened-"

"Brother!" Jeyne screamed, breathing heavily as she soared into a sitting position, sweat glistening on her face and neck. Daenerys woke from her sleep, startled as she looked around with blurry sleep-filled eyes.

"What- what's going on?" Daenerys asked, looking at Jeyne who took the center of attention, Jaehaerys and Daenerys looking at her with concern in their eyes. "Jeyne?"

"Did a dream haunt you, Jeyne?" Jaehaerys asked.

"A dream...?" Jeyne questioned. "It didn't feel like a dream..."

Jaehaerys and Daenerys shared a look. It was something they had never seen before. He had bad dreams which gave him a cold sweat when he woke. Every man, woman, and child has bad dreams at some point in their lives. However, he never saw someone so shaken by a mere dream.

"Tell us, Jeyne," Jaehaerys said gently, a hand settling on her shoulder. She snapped her gaze to, as if the hand was something dangerous. Only a second before it registered as just his hand. "I took you into my protection. Share your worries with us."

"It felt cold. So, so cold," Jeyne started to explain, her eyes distant and filling with fear. "Many people gathered in a broken village. Ships at sea that gave hope and dreams to those on the shore. A silver man was there at the shore with my brother. Cold winds rose all around them. It felt as cold as the grave of long-dead men would be. The wind became stronger and stronger. I could not see around me anymore... except for blues eyes filled with ice. I never felt so afraid."

"You saw such that...?" Daenerys asked with concern. "Jaeh... Do you remember?"

"The House of the Undying," he answered with a nod. "It was the coldest I ever felt. Ice and snow covered the Red Keep. It was so cold we almost thought we'd freeze where we stood."

"You had such a dream too?" Jeyne asked, turning to them with her unshielded body. The two gave a solemn nod. While they enjoyed the view, they did not enjoy the vision of icy cold. The Red Keep filled with snow and a sheet of ice... something like that could never bode well. The warlocks may have wanted them for their own needs, the magic in that place still gave them a warning. They will never know why, but saw it they did.

"What does it mean? Is my brother...?"

"I don't know," Jaehaerys said with a sigh. "But we must know more," Daenerys added, "why else have we heard or seen two things related to a dreadful cold? Now we know where to start."

"With Jon, my brother," Jeyne said.

"Yes, why else would you see him? I wonder though, who was this silver man?" Daenerys asked, settling next to Jeyne to give comfort by holding her. "Could you tell?"