A Song of Ash and Smoke | a continuation of A Song of Ice and Fire

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫

Summer rarely smiled anymore. Neither did Lady Jae, or the Dragon Queen for that matter. Did Danaerys ever really smile? Summer had never met anyone like her before. She was most impressive but intimidating without question. She and Jaehaera argued frequently and it scared Summer. All Summer really knew was that she hated this cold, dark place that left everyone around her cold and dark too. The clothes here were dreary but Summer was permitted trousers, something of a luxury compared to the Red Keep where her mother kept her in dresses. Still, they were all black, too dark for Summer. Summer wore a long coat over her trousers, one that flared a little at the bottom. The collar and hems were lined with black scales. Her unruly red hair was always braided into a halo around her head by the septa, whose name Summer did not remember.

Jaehaera was oddly suited to the clothing, Summer had observed. She now wore her long dark hair half braided up in a coil at the crown of her head. She wore a similarly styled coat, but hers had scaled shoulders, and a black cloak secured by a three-headed dragon on her shoulder. She carried herself with a quiet confidence that Summer had not seen before. Gone was the giggling girl, the Jewel of Lannister. Something had changed deep within her. She did not interact with Jojen or Tyrion much at all, so the two spent most of their time with Summer, relieved that at least she remained unharmed. 

Summer had been with the Dragon Queen for a few months now. She didn't really understand why Tyrion and Jojen were staying with them now. Every morning, she heard the pair taking morning tea with Danaerys in her chambers discussing terms. Every day those conversations seemed to end only in sighs and frustration. Tyrion would always come out, fingers pressed to his temples. Jojen would always remain stony. Summer could see Jojen's sadness weighing on him. His wandering eyes told anyone watching that his hardened face was a facade to cover how he watched Jaehaera every moment she spent in front of him. For a year, Jojen searched for her just to find this calculated woman in place of his love, he another victim to the iciness in her demeanor. It confused Summer too. She did not understand this version of Jaehaera, but this version still protected Summer fiercely. 

There was also the man who followed Jaehaera without fail. Her sworn sword, as all in the royal family are permitted. He looked like a lion, all thick golden hair and piercing green eyes. He kept his hair shorn closer to his head, not past his ears. He wore black armor with scales along the shoulder and a dragon across the breastplate. A white cloak brushed the floor behind him. 

Danaerys had made good time on her efforts to restore her own court. She'd appointed foreigners to her court as well as some from Yara Greyjoy's banners, and a curious man from Dorne. The Queensguard was made up mostly of Unsullied, with the exception of that one man sworn to Jaehaera. Celralis she'd heard Jae call him, almost affectionately, when she thought Summer was sound asleep. 

It was hot that night, two months after she'd arrived to Dragonstone, and Jaehaera had been singing Summer to sleep as she used to in the Red Keep. Summer was near asleep, enough so that Jaehaera had sat up from where she'd been leaning across Summer's chest and untangled her fingers from Summer's curls. A knock at the door and then he stepped in. 

"Almost done, princess?"

Summer now understood why they called Jaehaera princess. It had become apparent to her that one need not do much to style themselves a king or queen; they just needed people to support their cause. And as such, Jaehaera became a princess. Even Jaehaera had called herself princess, that first day on the beach. Summer wondered if she really believed it. She'd even witnessed Jojen and Tyrion also address Jaehaera with the title, and before she'd known it, Summer started doing it too. It wasn't just that Danaerys had crowned her heir, it was how Jaehaera carried herself. 

Jaehaera had stepped away from Summer's bed, drawing the blanket to Summer's chin. "She's so quick, every single time." 

"Is that bad?" The man's voice held a hint of teasing.