A Dragon is not a Slave

Not the Only Targeryan

Dany had arrived in glory, but lately she hadn't felt entirely like a queen. The moves she'd made lately had taken more of her nerve, more sleep from her nights, and more time from her dragons. She never considered her first military loss would actually hurt, like a sturdy punch to the stomach. And she was cold. Somewhere along the way, she'd grown used to the soft, warm winds of the East.

From where she stood watching her children play in low drafts over the bay, the Seven Kingdoms were so close she could smell them. How easy it would be to fly straight to Kingslanding, rouse my people, show them Drogon...and then visit the Queen face to face. Never had the thought been more persuasive, like a lover pulling insistently at her hips. But you're not the queen of ashes...

A sharp wind struck her then, and she shivered. The long night is begun.

Her mind wandered back to the meeting earlier today, with the other contender in the game, the so called King in the North. Perhaps she'd grown attached to the notion that her power would seduce or overthrow any and all men she met in Westeros. It usually did. But this Jon Snow rebel seemed recklessly undaunted by the threats all around him, and equally determined not to pledge for her. Even when she tried to seduce him with her words, and perhaps her eyes, albeit subtly. He was young, and usually the young ones fell hard for her within the first moments. Maybe all Northerners were as stubborn, she considered. Maybe I will go there last.

Tyrion always told her there was more to foreign strangers and Northern fools than people knew. But the king in the north was hardly more than a boy, and even he wouldn't trust her. Her hand seemed to think he was an ally, but she wouldn't be surprised if Jon Snow had found his way off this rock already. He and his onion knight. The envy of that freedom awoke a fury in her. That, and she could picture a table of northern men laughing at the yarn their "king" threw at the Madking's daughter. The peals of laughter about Night Kings and Dragonglass, and herself a gullible child, a joke. And yet, Tyrion urged her, trusted the boy, and was willing to ask her to help him.

Perhaps the emphasis of what lie ahead drove her to look behind. At what ifs... Raegal swooped over her head, and screeched. He'd grown so much she wasn't sure he'd ever stop. He could easily have his own rider. If Drogo was there... Her heart longed, and strained, as it had so many times before. Had he crossed the sea with her, Drogo would have demanded battle by now. Together, they would have rode-

"Amazing thing to see."

She broke from her thoughts at the words, and knew by the accent who it was behind her, approaching.

"I named them for my brothers, Vyseris and Raegar. They're both gone now." She watched her precious ones race each other into the sky over the island, and then turned around to face the man properly. "You lost two brothers as well."

He nodded and grew distant.

She could tell their deaths meant more to him than her brothers had to her, but there were other things to address. "People thought dragons were gone forever, but here they are," she allowed. "Perhaps we should all be examining what we think we know."

The rebel came closer, to take in the full view of the bay and without looking at her, he said, "You've been talking to Tyrion.

She sighed and leaned on the wall. That feels like an accusation. "He is my hand."

Jon Snow scowled. "He enjoys talking."

"We all enjoy what we're good at," Dany said impatiently.
After a pause, he said, "I don't."

Danaerys couldn't stop herself from reading his face, which was still turned diligently away from her. Killing. she decided at once, like the brother I never met. He doesn't enjoy killing but he's good at it. His face was grave, almost too much so for a man so young, and it was alluring at the same time, even with the scars. Or maybe because of them. He certainly looked like he had the gravitas of a King, but she could not be made a fool of. There was too much at stake. At the very least Jon Snow must be made to realize that she would win this war.