#fakexface writing
Text
Post Season 8
•As the weeks pass, construction is underway to rebuild the damaged parts of the city. Cersei is kept in her newly appointed chambers; Qyburn is kept in the cells along with Euron Greyjoy. During these weeks, the Lords and Ladies of Westeros are brought in.
•Rhaegar discovered a very nearly dead Ellaria within the cells; he ordered her to be taken for immediate attention and to be nursed back to health. By the time of Rhaegar’s coronation, she is able to hold herself upright and feed herself, though she is still too weak to walk on her own. Whenever she sees Trystane and her daughters, she breaks down in sobs. She can be seen sitting beside Trystane in a wheeled chair, with her daughters standing behind her.
•Lady Sansa and Bran had made their way to King’s Landing in lieu of the battle, as well as: Robin Arryn, current Lord Paramount of the Vale: Gendry Baratheon, the new Lord Paramount of the Stormlands: Tyrion Lannister, current Lord Paramount of the Westerlands: Edmure Tully, current Lord Paramount of the Riverlands: Lord Bronn of the Blackwater, current Lord Paramount of the Reach: Tristan Martell, the Prince of Dorne: and Yara Greyjoy, Queen of the Iron Islands. Each house is present for the coronation ceremony, as well as all of King’s Landing. Sansa, Bran, Arya, and Jon stand to the side closest to the dais upon which the Iron Throne sat. Daenerys stands to Rhaegar’s right, dressed in a gown of rich ruby and black, the Targaryen colors; a circlet of silver sits upon her brow daintily, and a cloak of black trails from her shoulders with the Targaryen house sigil upon it.
•Samwell Tarly begins the coronation, seeing as how there is no longer a high septon. Rhaegar kneels before Sam and swears his oaths: to lead Westeros into an era of peace, to rule justly. He wears no armor, but rather, a high collared black tunic, black trousers, and a ruby red cloak that falls from his shoulders. Sam places the crown of silver and ruby upon his brow, speaking his title loud and clear: Rhaegar of House Targaryen, First of his Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. The crowd erupts into cheers, and the sound of the dragons bellowing can be hear above it all as they fly over the coronation.
•Afterward, he calls a meeting with the Lord and Ladies of the Seven Kingdoms. Here, he explains his plans: they would each choose one person to represent their kingdom, and that person will remain within King’s Landing, forming a Great Council of the Seven Kingdoms. This is met with surprise and confusion- what was the need for a great council? Rhaegar states that having one man rule over the seven kingdoms does not bode well with him- that the winds have changed, and a new era is upon them. He wishes to open up trade once more to allow the Seven Kingdoms to flourish as they once had, as well as open up pathways for growth. He now has many connections within Essos; Ser Barristan Selmy was currently on his way back to Meereen to check in on Daario Naharis and how the situation bodes there.
•He makes it clear that he does not want an answer right at that very moment- a celebration was underway, and he wished to be with the people. But it was something that they need to think on; he would want an answer by the end of the week. He leaves the lords and ladies to talk amongst themselves. Sansa follows after him, calling out to him. She states that the North wishes to be independent. Rhaegar nods in understanding, and agrees that the North should be independent- it has practically been so since it’s creation. He will leave the details for her to discuss with her siblings, and to bring him their final decision whenever they make it.
•Rhaegar can then be seen doing what he once loved to do- be among the people. He stopped and talked, sharing stories and laughs. The people accept him quickly, as stories of his generosity had never died out.
•Later, he can be seen standing before the Iron Throne. Jaime Lannister approaches him and asks when he will be knighted once more, to which Rhaegar replies with a simple “now”. He turns, drawing his blade. For a moment, Jaime thinks that Rhaegar means to strike him down, but instead, Rhaegar gestures for him to kneel without a word. He kneels, and it brings him back to the day he was first knighted at fifteen, with Rhaegar watching him. Now, so many years later, Rhaegar is the one holding the blade and repeating the oath. “In the name of the warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the Innocent. Arise, Ser Jaime Lannister, a knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
•Jaime rises, and Rhaegar nods- once- before Jaime turns to leave, his head held high, shoulders squared. A knight once more.
•It is night when Daenerys finds Rhaegar sitting alone before the large painted Map of Westeros. The siblings sit in silence for a while before she speaks up, asking him what he intends to do. When he asks for clarification, she gives him a look- a knowing look. He responds that he will not choose an heir right now- there is too much happening, too much to be done. He leaves her to retire to his chambers for the night. Before he can leave, however, she asks him if it hurts to be here. He replies that it does- that he can still see Elia and Aegon and Rhaenys playing in the courtyard.•Come morning, the trials begin. The first one on the stand is Qyburn, who is found guilty on multiple accounts of manslaughter, of human testing, of abuse of power. He is sentenced to live out his days in the cells; Jaime adds that perhaps he should pray to his god for mercy. The next trial takes significantly longer, for it is Euron Greyjoy- who looks worse for wear, bruised and cut up. He is found guilty of kinslaughter, of piracy, of plotting against the rightful heir to the iron throne, of attempted murder, among other charges. He is sentenced to return to the Iron Islands with Yara and Theon; they will be the ones to determine what should become of him, whether he lives or dies.
•The final trial is Cersei Lannister. Jaime and Tyrion are both present for her trial. Cersei, smug, expects for her brothers to testify in her defense. Instead, neither do. They testify against her, much to her growing horror. She pleads with Jaime to not do this, but Jaime responds that this is the right thing to do- that what she has done can not be overlooked. It is a tearful betrayal for the twins. Rhaegar, aware of Cersei’s pregnancy, is hesitant to sentence her to death. Jaime asks that her sentencing be put off until she is able to give birth. Rhaegar agrees, and rather than sentence Cersei to death right then and there, sentences her instead to be sequestered in King’s Landing in a secret location that only a select few would know of. She would be watched day and night until she has given birth, after which her sentence shall be carried out: death. She asks if he will burn her in this very hall like his father liked to do. Rhaegar does not respond at first, drawing out the silence as the masses gathered strain to hear. He responds that dragonfire would be too merciful a death for her, and orders for her to be taken away.
•Later, after the trials have finished, Rhaegar meets with the Lords and Ladies of Westeros. They have come to an agreement- that yes, a Great Council would be the best decision. However, Sansa rises, stating that the North wishes to be independent. This causes an uproar, which Rhaegar quickly silences by agreeing with Sansa, explaining that the North has been practically independent since it’s beginning. No one is able to argue with this. Rhaeagar asks if they will still send a representative- Bran speaks up and states that that is the very reason he has come this far. Trystane Martell states that Obera Sand will remain in King’s Landing to represent Dorne. The other houses have not decided on who will be their representatives just yet. Rhaegar is pleased, and adjourns the meeting.
•The next manner of business is his Small Council; Daenerys remains as his hand, with Ser Davos Seaworthy becoming his Master of Ships, Tyrion becoming Master of Coin, Samwell Tarly becoming his Maester, Varys remaining his Master of Whispers. When asked who will be the Master-at-Arms and Master of War, Rhaegar replies that he has yet to talk to either person on this subject, and will speak with them shortly.
•He can then be seen approaching Brienne of Tarth, who is surprised to see Rhaegar. The two stand in comfortable silence, watching the reconstruction of portions of the Red Keep’s roof before Rhaegar asks Brienne to be his Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, surprising her. She responds that there could surely be someone better for the position. He counters by asking if Sansa had released her, to which she replies with yes. He then gives her a smile and states that someone who had defeated The Hound in combat, who had spent years protecting Sansa Stark, who fought and survived the Battle of Winterfell, and was knighted by Jaime Lannister is more than deserving of the role of Lord Commander. She accepts with a barely-hidden smile, which makes Rhaegar chuckle as he clasps her shoulder.
•He makes his way to visit with Jaime Lannister next, and does not allow for him to even think on taking up the role of Master-at-Arms. Rhaegar explains that he knows Jaime is a damned good fighter, having trained him himself when they were younger, and seeing him fight in the war against the dead solidified that. Jaime, surprised but honored, accepts the position. Rhaegar informs him that his duties begin immediately, and when Jaime does not move, Rhaegar leans close and whispers that immediately means now.
•Jon is summoned by Rhaegar that night; he wonders if he has done something wrong. Rhaegar greets him warmly, asking for him to take a seat, for there are matters that need to be discussed. Jon becomes worried that Rhaegar is going to send him away, and before Rhaegar can begin, asks if Rhaegar wants him to stay. Rhaeagar, surprised, replies that of course he wants him to stay- he is his son, after all, and he would like to get to know him- if he wishes to stay, that is. Jon takes a moment to respond before replying that he would like to stay. Rhaegar then asks him how he would feel about being his heir. Jon replies simply that he’s a bastard, and has not earned the Targaryen name. This baffles Rhaegar, who argues that he’s more than earned it, but seeing Jon uncomfortable with the mere thought has him second guessing himself. Jon admits that he thought Daenerys would be his heir.
•Rhaegar replies that, if Jon truly does not wish to be the heir to the Iron Throne- then he will give the position to Daenerys. Jon replies that he never wanted any throne, to be any sort of king or lord. That isn’t who he is. Rhaegar agrees after a moment, before asking one more question: if not a king or a lord, what about a Master of War? To which Jon, surprised but pleased, agrees- and for the first time, Rhaegar sees his son smile.
•Rhaegar approaches Daenerys in the morning, requesting that she join him for a walk through King’s Landing. The siblings take a leisurely stroll, accompanied by only two guards. The people respond better to Rhaegar than they did Cersei or Joffrey; Rhaegar pauses often to lend a hand. When a group of children run up to him, he kneels down, Daenerys following suit, and gives the children a few gold coins to go spend on sweets. They run off, and Rhaegar rises to his feet slowly. Daenerys finally asks him what this was about, to which he responds that he has chosen her to be his heir.
•She stills in place, looking at him as if he’s completely lost his mind, and asks him if this is some sort of joke, to which he replies that it isn’t. He’d spoken with Jon, who refused the throne. He then tells her that he had always planned on naming her his heir, seeing as how it is more than likely that he will not have any more children. She asks if the Hand can also be the Heir- Rhaegar replies that he isn’t sure, but he makes the rules now. She grins and agrees. He then begins to pry into her personal life with Jon Snow, to which she actively avoids and attempts to change the subject, drawing forth a laugh from the king.
•Months pass; King’s Landing is flourishing, with efforts being made to create a system to filter in clean water and filter out waste; Flea Bottom is currently being renovated and rebuilt. Trade routes have been reopened, and peace has finally come to the Six Kingdoms. The dragons have taken to staying in the Dragon Pits; Rhaegar finds himself wandering there often. Jon and Daenerys find him here, where he sits with Rhaenyx, the dragon sound asleep as Rhaegar plays a soft tune on a silver stringed lap harp. Rhaegar greets them by putting a finger to lips, a cue for them to be quiet. He rises, slowly, and motions for them to follow. He leads them into the tunnels beneath the Dragon Pits, and to Daenerys and Jon’s surprise, he leads them to a clutch of dragon eggs- four, to be exact. He isn’t sure who laid them, but they are here and very much alive.
•Daenerys becomes distracted by the eggs, which allows Jon to take Rhaegar aside and quietly asks Rhaegar’s permission to take Daenerys as his wife. Rhaegar, unsurprised, tells Jon that he was fairly certain he’d given him his blessing by not having him killing on the spot for taking his sister to bed on the boat. Jon flushes and becomes embarrassed. Rhaegar laughs, and the trio make their way to the surface. Jon and Daenerys leave Rhaegar, who stands amongst the three dragons, and for the first time in a very long time, finds himself at peace. He climbs atop Rhaenyx, who is now awake, and takes to the skies over King’s Landing, soaring over Jon kneeling before Daenerys, over Brienne of Tarth training new knights, over Jaime Lannister holding his newborn daughter and watching Brienne, over Bran sitting alone in a garden, over Obera Sand sparring with Arya Stark, who is visiting, and out over the harbor. Rhaenyx releases a loud cry as they circle back around, Vhagon and Meraxal having come to join them in the air.
#Rhaegar Targaryen#jon snow#daenerys targaryen#rhaegar lives au#Jaime Lannister#brienne of tarth#game of thrones#game of thrones au#fakexface writing#my writing
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
"What's in the Addison Sweet Tea?
Another poem inspired by @fakexface 's "Empire of Dirt" (I know I said it would be tomorrow, but I was really excited to write this.)
What's in the Addison Sweet Tea? It taste slightly of burnt maple leaves.
The flavor is like a song on the tip of the tounge. It slips away as quick as breath out the lungs.
The man who serves it is equally weird. It really feels like he's been here for thousands of years.
If you ask him questions, you will not get answers. For dear old Terrance doesn't answer to prayers.
Don't try to threaten him either. The mail slot is closed because of you heathen!
Not that it matters, just enjoy the tea. You won't get hurt if you just leave him be.
18 notes
·
View notes
Text
No Plan
Swiss is haunted by phantoms of his past and seeks comfort in the one person who knows it all: Cirrus.
Yeah this is just pretty much all smut. The woman mentioned by Swiss (not by name) is an OC. Also, I give Swiss & Cirrus actual TRUE names. And this is based on a lot of headcanons I have.
I ship everyone. Enjoy.
My heart is thrilled by the still of your hand,
it's how I know now that you understand.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
There were days that Swiss wished he could simply lay in bed and ignore his duties. But that wasn’t possible; he had to get up, to move, to tend to the instruments, to check on a few of the younger Ghouls, to check in with Copia and look over any paperwork that needed a second, critical eye. Today was one of those days, yet he’d managed- just barely. There was a word for this that the mortals used- depression, they called it. But he didn’t like that word, didn’t like putting words to certain things he felt.
It didn’t help that there was a new Ghoulette with hair the same color as hers and eyes the same shade. She wasn’t a Quintessence Ghoulette, though. She was just another Water Ghoulette, summoned to help the Abbey. Her words didn’t have the same biting tone; she wasn’t Her. Yet, he’d still flirted, had still stolen kiss after kiss. Harmless little things.
Now, sitting in his room, the silence was too loud. He could go to Mountain and tease him until he pinned him to the bed and fucking ruined him for the next week. He could go to one of the older Ghouls, perhaps Alpha or Omega, and have one- or both of them- wreck him. He could grab Dewdrop and be nothing but carnal release. His gaze drifted upwards, studying the solid white mask that sat beside a black mask of the same make. Memories danced within his mind of hidden smiles, stolen touches, fleeting kisses. Nothing ever progressed beyond that. They had always been too busy carrying out the Clergy’s dirty deeds.
‘Nomos’, she’d whisper, her voice low, ‘Nomos, touch me-’
He jolted off the bed, jaw clenching, claws digging into the skin of his palms. He needed out. His tail twitched quickly behind him, showing his anger, his aggression. He didn’t even bother with shoes, simply grabbing his room key and leaving, slamming the door behind him. The lock clicked automatically, a handy little thing for the Ghouls- unless you forgot your key.
Swiss wasted no time in crossing through the Ghoul’s wing, climbing the stairs up to Cirrus’s room, ignoring Aether’s call of his name. He needed- needed to talk to her. She knew. She knew everything. She could help.
He needed her.
By the time he reached her door, tears had filled his eyes. He knocked twice, and waited- listening as footsteps neared the door, as the door was unlocked. Cirrus stood there, mask hastily shoved on, wrapped in a silken navy robe. She stared at him, hard, before stepping aside. “Come on.”
He slid in, and she closed the door behind him, locking it. He set his keys aside and dragged his hands through his hair- Nine circles, he’d forgotten his mask. Too late now. Cirrus watched, her arms crossed over her chest, as he paced the floor of her room. He was irritated, wrung raw and chafing.
“Talk.”
“It’s close to the anniversary,” Swiss began, tears spilling over, trailing down flushed gray cheeks. “I can’t- there’s just. It’s too much, Cirrus.” He whined, sinking down onto the edge of her bed. “It’s been over two hundred years and I still see her shocked face in my dreams. I still hear her laughter. I can’t stop thinking.”
Cirrus moved closer, sitting beside him. She scooted back before grabbing his shoulder and tugging him over. He complied, head settling atop her thigh as sobs began to spill out. She didn’t speak, simply toyed with his dreadlocks, claws gently scraping against his skull, down his neck, back up again.
This wasn’t something she wasn’t used to. Swiss had told her one hundred and three years ago about what had happened one night. They had both been drinking- Ghouls always held a lower alcohol tolerance compared to humans- and he started rambling. Talking about Umbra and how she had taught him. How he’d been a hound for Nihil for years. How the scars that decorated his skin were from an Eldritch, this one from a Ghoul gone mad, this one from a Sibling who fought back against his death, this one from a higher demon, and on and on. And Cirrus had sat there and listened to it all until Swiss had finally fallen silent.
And then, she told him of her trauma. Of the forced surgery. Of the blood on her own hands. The lashings she received. The hatred she held. She told him all, and he pulled her in, and just… Held her. Held her, and hummed, and ran his fingers over her arm. And she had curled her arms around his waist, and they sat like that until dawn came.
They understood one another, better than anyone else in the entire Abbey.
She glanced down as Swiss pulled away, scrubbing at his eyes. His cheeks were flushed, his nose rosy and eyes glazed. “Go wash your face off,” she murmured, and he nodded, Rising to his feet, he made his way to the attached bathroom. He didn’t look at his reflection- he knew how he looked. Instead, he took one of her lavender soap bars and lathered up, scrubbing his face before splashing it with cold water. A shock to the senses, clarity coming through. He dried off before returning to collapse onto the bed, falling into the mountain of pillows Cirrus kept.
He shifted, his head tilting back against the soft pillows. Her room smelled of lavender and spices, the bed a lovely four poster with sheer, light blue fabric hanging from the bars along the top. It almost resembled a cage, he noted- though, he knew well those bars were not just for show. His gaze drifted to the left, where the Ghoulette sat on the edge of the bed.
She'd let her hair down, the black hood and silver mask set aside. Long, deep brown tresses flowed down her back, curling near the ends at the small of her back. Idle fingers reached out, brushing through the soft tresses. He watched as a shudder ran through her, her head raising. She’d discarded her robe to reveal a black satin nightgown.
"Pretty pathetic, right?" Swiss mused, lips quirking upwards in a humorless smile.
"No." Cirrus shook her head, turning around to face him. "It isn't. You were used by men and women to complete jobs they didn't have the guts to. And you're still here." She reached out and cupped his cheeks. A mere fifteen minutes ago, they'd been tear-stained and flushed. He leaned into the touch, trilling softly. "You're alive. You've survived. I remember those days. I remember seeing you and-... And her coming back, bloodied but laughing, high off the thrill of it." She rose onto her knees, her black satin nightgown rising to show thighs that he knew, very well, could choke a man out. "I miss that laughter. You were once so happy, Nomos," a gasp left him, eyes widening at the sound of his true name.
She shuffled closer as he sat up, cupping both cheeks now. She leaned in, a low rumble of a purr filling the air. "Let me take that pain away?" Cirrus asked, lips hovering over his own. A whine left him, the urge to submit washing over him like a tidal wave. He closed the distance, claiming her lips in a kiss she immediately took over, forked tongue snaking out to trace along his lips. He gasped, lips parting, and their tongues met, brushing against each other.
His hands came to rest on the tops of her thighs, clawed fingers pressing into the smooth skin repeatedly, kneading. Her scent invaded his sense- cold winter winds, harsh mint, gentle lavender, an undertone of woodsmoke. She pulled back, and he followed, rising up- only for a hand to press down on his chest, holding him in place. She pressed harder, and slowly, he fell back upon the bed, watching as she climbed atop his lap, settling down with a pleased murmur. Cirrus was beautiful in a wicked way; high cheekbones, sharp steel-gray eyes that held a hint of gold within, framed by long, dark lashes. Full lips that she liked to paint a deep red, and a surprisingly feminine jawline.
She was every bit a lioness, and he was her prey.
Wordlessly, her hands drifted beneath his shirt, pulling it up and over his head, careful of his horns. Bared before her, his gaze slipped away from hers. "No." She shook her head, frowning. "Eyes on me, Nomos," she murmured before leaning down, tongue sliding out to lick across a twisting scar upon his left bicep. A hellhound had caused that one, he remembered briefly.
"Aquilo," he whispered, gaze trained on her as she continued to kiss and lick every scar she could reach on his upper torso. A shudder ran through her, her tail coming to curl around his thigh, squeezing at the sound of her true name. By the end, he was panting, keening for more, and her hips were sinfully, slowly grinding down. "Aquilo, please-"
"Please, what?" She mused, sitting back up. His fingers gripped her hips, urging her to go faster. She didn't relent, instead reaching up with both hands to wrap around his throat, thumbs resting below his chin, keeping his head up. "Patience, darling. Let me tear you apart," a slow circle of her hips, "allow me to drink deep your pain," her hands squeezed, pulling free a high keen from his throat, "I want to break you down, piece by piece." She leaned down, teeth grazing along a surprisingly sensitive nipple. "Will you let me?"
He squeezed his eyes shut as she waited for an answer. He could feel her purring- could feel how wet she already was, soaking through her silk panties and his own sweatpants. Finally, he swallowed roughly. "Please- please tear me apart. Help me feel again, Aquilo."
Her lips spread into a wicked grin; she felt his pulse jump in his neck. “Good boy,” she murmured before leaning down, licking a hot stripe across that damned hellhound scar before she shifted, climbing off his lap. He didn’t dare move his hands; not now, not as a claw traced the shape of his length. A groan pulled free as Cirrus suddenly pressed down with her palm, enjoying the feeling of him jumping beneath her. She grasped the edges of his sweatpants and tugged, pulling them down and off, tossing them to the ground. “No underwear? Slut.”
A laugh escaped Swiss suddenly as he shook his head. “Really? I don’t think you’ve ever called me a slut before.”
She grasped him, her palm cool against his heat, and a groan left him. “You seem to like it,” she mused as she loosened her grip, letting her fingers slowly trail up, claws brushing against the sensitive head. Her index claw just barely grazed the slit; a pleased noise escaped her as she watched a pearly bead spill free. “Already beginning to weep for me, Swiss? Is this the Incubus in you?”
“Don’t tease,” he whined, hips bucking. Her hand withdrew, drawing for an even louder whine.
“Patience,” she murmured as she leaned down, tongue lolling out. She drug it down his length slowly, the sound of Swiss moaning above her like music to her ears. “Or else, I won’t let you cum.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Swiss gasped as she suddenly grasped his cock around the base, squeezing almost painfully. “Okay, you would-”
“I know Mountain edges you,” she began, her lips just brushing against the underside, “I know how he uses his fingers and brings you to the edge over and over again. I know how you like to ride his fingers, how you whine and beg for more when he pulls away.” Swiss whined, and she laughed, a low, dark sound. “Yes, just like that. I know how you like it when Aether wraps his hand around your throat. And how you make Dew ride you in the confession booth. How you let little Rain choke on your dick. You’re our little slut, aren’t you?” Swiss was panting, his pupils blown, swallowing the honey brown iris nearly completely. He licked his lips.
“How- how do you know?” He asked, swallowing roughly as her hand began to move slowly. “Who told…?”
She hummed, resting her chin on his thigh as she moved her hand almost painfully slow. “I have my ways, darling. Mountain is surprisingly talkative when in the right mood. And we know how big Dew’s mouth is.” She watched as he twitched, a snort leaving her. “You’re desperate for more, aren’t you?”
“Please, please,” his head rolled back as she withdrew her hand. “You’re evil.”
“Normally, I’d keep tormenting you. But I don’t think you need that tonight, do you?” She could feel his tail creeping up the back of her thigh, the spade toying with the band of her underwear. “Aw, little Nomos is so needy!” She reached up, squishing his cheeks. “Needy little kit.” She couldn’t help the trill that left her as the tip of his tail dipped low, rubbing against her heat. In retaliation, she slid two fingers into his mouth, watching as his eyes widened in surprise. “Suck.”
Swiss hummed around the fingers, tongue curling around them as Cirrus watched. Her own pupils were blown wide; she was shivering in anticipation. Good; he reached out, gripping her wrist, pulling it from his lips. “Aquilo,” he purred, watching as she shifted her hips, her thighs clenching. “You’re just as needy as I am.”
“Did I say you could talk?” Cirrus snapped, lip curling as she jerked her hand free. She moved back, out of his reach. He watched as she reached between her thighs, a sigh escaping her as she slid her silken panties down. She didn’t speak as her fingers brushed against herself, her eyes sliding shut. Swiss let out a groan at the sight, watching as she wasted no time, sliding a finger into herself. It was a slow process, drawn out to tease him no doubt, as she fucked herself. There wasn’t really any true need; she knew she was wet enough. She even savored that sting that came with the first push, but to see Swiss thrusting into thin air, begging to be touched as she touched herself… It was addicting.
Her hips rolled forward as a moan spilled free. She was getting close- too close. With a whine, she pulled her fingers free. Swiss reached out, grasping her wrist, and before she could pull back, his tongue was curling around the wet digits, groaning at the taste. A keen pulled free of Cirrus as she watched him clean her wetness from her fingers. She pulled them back before shuffling forward, brows furrowing.
“You don’t have to take the nightgown off,” Swiss spoke suddenly, his voice soft. The tension in Cirrus’s shoulders melted away as relief flooded her system. “I know.”
“Thank you,” she murmured as she climbed atop him once more. She reached back, grasping him with a gentle hand before shifting her hips down. A groan spilled free of Swiss as his cock brushed against her, the head knocking against her clit. Cirrus jolted, a grin spreading across her lips as she simply grinded herself against him for a moment, drawing out the pleasure before finally lifting her hips.
This wasn’t their first time together, or even their second, or their fifth. She could offer him what he was too afraid to ask at times; she could read him like an open book. And he could see her, touch her without her flinching away or growling.
She slowly lowered her hips, her head falling back as he filled her. It was still a stretch; two fingers had not been enough, but the sting faded quickly as she bottomed out. She took a moment, letting herself adjust. Swiss reached up, grasping her hips gently beneath her nightgown, thumbs rubbing small circles into the smooth skin. Her eyes opened, and grey met brown as her hands crept up, encircling his throat.
“Squeeze,” he whispered, “please.”
And squeeze she did as she raised her hips slowly before dropping back down, enjoying the slow movements as she began to ride him. He gave her a breathless smile as he braced his feet against the bed, knees rising to give her a little leverage. Neither of them would last long, not with how worked up they already were, not with her hands around his throat. She began to ride him in earnest, hips swiveling on each thrust. Soft moans left her- Cirrus was never one to be too vocal. Swiss, however, would have been vocal- had hands not been wrapped around his throat. Instead, rough keens left him as the sound of skin meeting skin filled the bedroom.
One of his hands slipped forward, roughened pads of his fingers slipping between them to rub tight, quick circles around her clit. His other hand stayed on her hip, gripping, claws digging into her skin. His tail twined with hers, the spade pressed against her own.
“In you,” he whispered, breath coming in harsh pants. “Please, can I-”
“Yes, yes,” she replied, eyes squeezing shut as she approached her climax. “Cum for me, Nomos, Now.” It wasn’t a request. Her hands tightened before releasing his throat altogether. A surprised gasp left him as his orgasm crashed over him. She was right behind him, her hips stilling as she clenched around him. She bit her lip hard enough to break skin, fangs piercing the flesh. Blood welled up; she licked it away, shuddering as his fingers continued to rub until she batted at his hand.
His knees dropped as Cirrus climbed off, collapsing beside him. “I didn’t wear a condom.”
“I know.” She hummed, leaning over to lick at a bead of sweat that had been slowly trailing down his throat. “I needed to change my sheets, anyway. And take a shower…” She trailed off, grimacing at the feeling.
Swiss hummed, leaning over to steal a kiss, the iron tang of blood drifting across his taste buds. “Thank you.”
“You can thank me by taking a shower with me,” Cirrus replied as she shifted, stretching her arms over her head. “You stink.”
“So do you,” he countered, smiling as she laughed. These were the soft moments, the afterglow. Cirrus looked beautiful like this, with light dancing in her eyes and her lips spread into a smile. It was a rarity; very few ever got to see her like this. He thought himself to be lucky to be one of the few. “Wanna go raid the kitchen afterwards? I think there’s still leftover Chinese.”
“You say that as if I’m letting you leave this bedroom anytime soon.” She replied as she rolled off the bed to stand. “I’m not finished with you yet. We have all night. There’s no plan, no kingdom to come.” She didn’t even glance over her shoulder as she made her way to the bathroom, finally pulling off her nightgown, revealing lash scars on her back.
Swiss rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help but grin as he climbed off her bed as well, bare feet padding on the stone floor, trailing after her. “Copia’s gonna be pissed if we’re too tired for practice tomorrow.”
“Maybe he needs to get fucked, too.”
“... Probably.”
Laughter filled the air as Cirrus tugged Swiss close, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she stole a kiss, thoughts of phantoms gone for the moment.
#swiss army ghoul#multi ghoul#swiss ghoul#air ghoulette#cirrus ghoul#the band ghost#this shit be hella en es ef double u#fakexface sin#fakexface writing
21 notes
·
View notes
Text
Part 1
I don’t know if anyone remembers, but a few months back, I wrote out an entire AU where Rhaegar Targaryen survived, and how that ended up changing the series. So, here’s this. I’ll post it in 6 parts, because this is VERY long. But since it’s Targaryen Appreciation Month, I figured this would be a good time.
After the Battle is where my own canon starts up, and it is where I begin to take a LOT of liberties. I don’t own Rhaegar or any of these characters, I did this purely for roleplay purposes and figured hey, I put in three weeks time on making this mesh well, why not share it?
And if you do end up using any of the headcanons that I used in here, please reference back to these posts.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝓣𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓶𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝔂 𝔀𝓮 𝓰𝓸 𝓽𝓸 𝔀𝓪𝓻; 𝓽𝓸𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓰𝓸𝓭𝓼.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
•Prince Rhaegar was the firstborn son of King Aerys II Targaryen and Queen Rhaella. He was born at Summerhall in 259 AC, on the same day as the Great Tragedy there. As a child he read obsessively, to the point that jests were made about his habits. He became a noted warrior later in life, although he did not initially seem inclined to martial habits. However, apparently by something he had read, Rhaegar became motivated to become a warrior.
•At the age of seventeen, Rhaegar was knighted, and from all reports grew into a highly skilled and capable fighter, always distinguishing himself well at tournaments, although he seldom entered the lists - he never loved the song of swords the way that men like Robert Baratheon or Jaime Lannister did.
•Rhaegar's squires were Myles Mooton and Richard Lonmouth, and after he knighted them they remained close companions. Jon Connington, whom he had squired with, was a good friend to Rhaegar as well. Returning from a trip to Dorne, Rhaegar once visited the Connington seat of Griffin's Roost. His songs brought the castle's women to tears, while Lord Armond Connington sought House Targaryen's support against rival House Morrigen. Rhaegar's closest and oldest friend, however, was Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, trusting him more than Ser Barristan Selmy.
•Rhaegar often liked to visit the ruins of Summerhall with only his harp and when he returned he sang songs of such beauty they could reduce women to tears. Although Rhaegar was often dour, private and bookish, Cersei Lannister noted at the tournament in honor of Viserys's birth in Lannisport in 276 AC that the smallfolk cheered for Lord Tywin Lannister twice as much as for King Aerys II, but only half as loudly for Tywin as for Rhaegar. Rhaegar fought well in the tourney besting a dozen skilled knights, among them Barristan Selmy, Gerion, and Tygett Lannister but was defeated in the champion's tilt by his friend Arthur Dayne. Aerys refused Tywin's offer at the tourney to betroth Cersei to Rhaegar. Rhaegar defeated Arthur in the tourney at Storm's End.
•Rhaegar was born at a time when the Targaryen's had declined, and once he came of age, there was no sister, or anyone else of their bloodline, available for him to marry. King Aerys sent his first cousin, Lord Steffon Baratheon, to seek a bride for Rhaegar. Despite Valyrian blood still being present in Essos, Steffon could not find appropriate females of noble-enough birth for Rhaegar to wed.
•After this in early 279 AC, Rhaegar was formally betrothed to the Dornish princess, Elia Martell, the younger sister of Doran Martell, Prince of Dorne. They married the following year in 280 AC, a lavish ceremony was held at the Great Sept of Baelor. His father did not attend the wedding as he was paranoid about an assassination attempt and nor did he permit the young Prince Viserys to attend. Rhaegar and his father's relationship was straining at this point, and he and his new bride took up residence on Dragonstone instead of King's Landing. Rhaegar and Elia had their first child, a girl named Rhaenys, in 280 AC. When the babe was presented at court, Rhaegar's mother, Queen Rhaella, embraced her grandchild warmly while King Aerys remarked: "she smells Dornish". The relationship between Aerys and Rhaegar became more and more estranged.
•Elia and Rhaegar had a son they named Aegon. Elia, due to her delicate health, was bed-ridden for half a year after giving birth to Rhaenys and nearly died giving birth to Aegon, after which the maesters told Rhaegar she would be unable to have any more children.
•Maester Aemon, whom Rhaegar corresponded with via raven messages, remembers that Rhaegar believed his child Aegon to be the prince that was promised.
•When Lord Tywin resigned his position as Hand of the King and left court, the new focus of King Aerys's mistrust and paranoia was his own son and heir, Prince Rhaegar. At court, there was growing tension between factions loyal to the king and to the prince. Grand Maester Pycelle dispatched a letter to the Citadel, writing that tensions and division at court strongly resembled those before the Dance of the Dragons. Pycelle was fearful a civil war would break out unless some accord could be reached that would satisfy both factions.
•In 280 AC, Lord Walter Whent announced a tourney would be held at Harrenhal to rival any previous tournament. It is believed by some that the tourney was secretly arranged and financed by Prince Rhaegar, as a pretext, so Rhaegar could meet up with the great lords of the realm to discuss arranging a Great Council and the removal of his father. The tournament was announced by Walter shortly after his brother, Ser Oswell of the Kingsguard, visited his older brother. When Lord Varys alerted Aerys II to this possibility, the king decided to attend the tourney.
•During the great tourney at Harrenhal, Rhaegar seemed unstoppable and defeated even Ser Arthur Dayne. Taking the winter rose crown for the queen of love and beauty, he revealed his interest in Lyanna Stark by passing over his wife, Princess Elia of Dorne, and setting it in Lyanna's lap. Eddard Stark later recalled that moment as "when all the smiles died". The next year, Rhaegar seemingly kidnapped Lyanna, for reasons unknown. This act ultimately triggered Robert's Rebellion and the downfall of the Targaryen dynasty.
•Some believe that Rhaegar spent the beginning of Robert's Rebellion, also known as the War of the Usurper, with Lyanna Stark at the tower of joy in the Red Mountains of Dorne. King Aerys sent Ser Gerold Hightower, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, to retrieve Rhaegar. Leaving Ser Gerold, Ser Arthur Dayne, and Ser Oswell Whent at the tower, Rhaegar returned to the crownlands and took command of the Targaryen army after the defeat of his friend Jon Connington in the battle of the Bells. Ser Jaime Lannister was left at the Red Keep to protect Rhaegar's father and family.
•Rhaegar met Lord Robert Baratheon in combat at a ford during the battle of the Trident, where the pair had a legendary duel in the raging rivers of the Trident. Rhaegar, despite wounding Robert, was struck down with a massive blow from Robert's warhammer, which scattered the rubies encrusted in Rhaegar's armor into the water. Despite receiving a mortal wound, he survived. However, he was knocked unconscious, and thinking him dead, Robert left him.
•Upon waking, Rhaegar found himself alone. The wound had cut through his chest cleanly, baring bone. He could not remove his armor on his own; thus, he forced himself to his feet and half stumbled, half crawled to the nearest Inn- Crossroads Inn. The Innkeep, alarmed and confused, took Rhaegar in and did their best to patch him up. During all of this, his mother and Viserys were spirited away to Dragonstone Island while his father was slain upon his throne by Jaime Lannister. His wife and children were murdered by The Mountain, Gregor Clegane.
•Hearing this news, he laid low, keeping his head down and going as far as to color his hair with bricks of dye, darkening the ivory locks to a muddy blonde. He sold the few rubies that remained from his armor for safe (and secret) passage to Dragonstone. It had taken him nearly eight months to completely heal, in which he went by a false name and claimed he was a bastard- a Rivers. He’d learned of his former wife, Elia’s, death- of his children’s murder, of his father’s murder. Usurped by none other than Jaime Lannister.
•He arrived at Dragonstone the day of the great storm, where he bore witness to the birth of his sister, Daenerys. Try as he might, his mother bled far too much, and passed on due to the complicated birth. He, along with Viserys, Daenerys, and Ser WIllem Dary fled to the Free Cities. There, for fifteen years, they remained, being welcomed with open arms. Rhaegar, the true heir of the Iron Throne, was well sought-after by family after family; a twice-widowed Targaryen prince. He, along with his siblings, find solace with Magister Illyrio Mopatis, who allows them to live within his estate in the Free City of Pentos.
•He takes time to write in secret to Aemon Targaryen, a distant relative who is stationed on the Wall, having taken the Black long ago, requesting information- if any- on Ned Stark and the “bastard” that he has. Aemon responds that there is a new Bastard, but knows nothing more.
•This thus has Rhaegar writing and sending a raven to Ned Stark, explaining that yes, he is alive- his siblings live, as well. His mother perished, but they are alive, and in Essos, laying low. He requests that Ned look after Aegon and Lyanna, believing her to still be living.
•Ned writes back, simply stating that Lyanna died shortly after giving birth to Aegon, who Ned has taken in as his bastard and will be going by the name Jon Snow, and that he would not tell Jon of his true parentage until the time is right. Reading that Lyanna is dead breaks something in Rhaegar, and for a short time, he becomes melancholic and reclusive, refusing to speak or work on gaining favor with the families in Essos, grieving for Lyanna and Elia simultaneously- both women he loved, now dead.
•While the Dothraki screamers were a tempting alliance- he did not make one with them. No, instead, he let them be. Rather, he held a minor celebration for his youngest sibling, Daenerys- a coming of age celebration. Illyrio Mopatis brings forth a surprising gift- dragon’s eggs. Rhaegar questioned him on how he came to hold such treasures, but only received riddles in response. Ser Jorah Mormont, a knight of Westeros, brings books about the Seven Kingdoms and offers Rhaegar his service. Daenerys is given a beautiful white mare.
•That night, before beginning their journey across Essos, Daenerys requests a bath. Rather than waiting for it to cool, she enters it. Alarmed, the handmaiden fetches Rhaegar, claiming that his sister is going to hurt herself. Rather than be alarmed, Rhaegar is pleased- claiming simply that fire cannot kill a dragon. He later reveals that he himself prefers to take his baths beyond scalding temperature, for it soothes the phantom pains he holds in his chest. Viserys is the only one who disagrees.
•They begin the slow trek across Essos, coming into contact with the Dothraki unintentionally. Rhaegar makes is clear that they are merely traveling, explains who they are, and finds himself and his companions brought before the Great Khal himself, Khal Drogo. The situation, while tense, plays out in their favor: Rhaegar manages to convince the Khal to allow them to travel with the Dothraki, just through the Grass Sea.
•During their travels, Rhaegar keeps Daenerys under strict guard, ordering Jorah to keep her with him at all times. While he did not want to assume, he also did not want anything to happen to his baby sister. He himself rode near the Khal often; a quick learner, he was able to pick up the language surprisingly fast, well enough to hold a simple conversation or ask simple questions. Doreah, a handmaid gifted to them for Daenerys, grows close to Viserys during this time.
•During one of the final nights they would be riding with the Dothraki, Rhaegar approaches Daenerys with an idea. The eggs, while they may be stone, might be opened- with fire. At first, Daenerys assumes he means for her to simply place the eggs in the fire, until he speaks a common phrase amongst the Targaryens: fire cannot kill a dragon. Viserys claims that his older brother has gone insane. Rhaegar does not reply. Instead, he watches as his baby sister strides into the flames, holding two eggs- the final being held by Rhaegar himself. He remembered having read in a book long ago, before the Sack of King’s Landing, how a dragon’s egg would be bathed in flame before hatching.
•Lo and behold, he was right. And behind his sister he strode confidently through the flames. While she hatched two dragons, a vivid black and red and a vermillion and gold, he came through with the final one: a gold and red dragon.
𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐰𝐨
•They depart from one another after traversing the Grass Sea; the Dothraki to Vaes Dothrak, and Rhaegar and company to Qarth with their new dragons. Viserys, acting as scribe for Rhaegar, documents this occasion in detail. Their arrival to Qarth is not as welcoming as Rhaegar had expected. The Thirteen, the ruling council, refuse them entry unless they show their dragons- which Rhaegar and Daenerys both vehemently refuse to do.
•When it seems she will be turned away, the Qartheen dignitary Xaro Xhoan Daxos vouches for them and their people, against the order of the Spice King.
•Rhaegar and his surviving people are made guests in Xaro's lavish home. Slowly, he and Daenerys begin to teach their dragons to cook and eat their own meat, and slowly begin breathing fire on command. Rhaegar seeks out any sort of information he could find in the form of books or old scriptures. Daenerys suggests to Doreah that she use her skill as a lover to find out more about Xaro, who happily agrees. Their host holds a reception for the Targaryen siblings, introducing them to Pyat Pree of the Warlocks of Qarth. He demonstrates his magic by replicating himself and invites Daenerys alone to visit his order at the House of the Undying. Rhaegar does not approve of this, though Daenerys does not listen.
•Xaro suggests that Ser Jorah has feelings for Daenerys but she denies this. Xaro shows the siblings the Valyrian stone vault that guards his fortune and offers to fund their return to Westeros in exchange for Daenerys’ hand in marriage. He relays news of the death of King Robert Baratheon. Rhaegar secretly revels in the joy of this information. Daenerys seeks the council of Ser Jorah and Rhaegar. She is eager to seize the opportunity, but both men counsel against entering Xaro's debt. Jorah reveals the depth of his feeling for her and his hope for the ruler that she will become. She agrees to take the harder path that he suggests, but does not acknowledge his affection. Rhaegar becomes troubled with this knowledge, but does not speak to Jorah about his feelings.
•Later, Rhaegar, Daenerys, and Viserys try to negotiate with the Spice King for ships to return to Westeros. However, he considers it to be too risky an investment – considering that they have no army and no open supporters in Westeros – and they receive nothing. Rhaegar states that he will take what is rightfully theirs with Fire and Blood, but the Spice King remarks they will have to do it without his ships.
•Daenerys, Rhaegar, and Viserys unsuccessfully appeal to more of the merchant nobles of Qarth to lend them ships. After meeting with them, they return to Xaro's home to find that it has been attacked; half of their men have been brutally murdered, and Doreah and the dragons are missing. Unbeknown to them, Doreah has taken their dragons to the House of the Undying, due to an alliance with Xaro and Pyat Pree.
•Xaro hosts a council of the Thirteen so Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys can appeal to them for aid. During the meeting, Pyat Pree reveals that he was responsible and Xaro announces his intention to seize control of the city, as the new King of Qarth. The warlock uses his magic, creating thirteen duplicates to murder the rest of the Thirteen. Rhaegar draws his blade, intent on fighting, though Viserys convinces him to flee with himself and Dany. However, Pyat Pree appears to them, only to be stabbed through the back by Jorah. The stabbed Pyat is revealed to be another one of the duplicates. He repeats his invitation to Daenerys, telling her that her children are at the House of the Undying.
•They take refuge in a disused courtyard, where Jorah advises Daenerys and Rhaegar to leave their dragons and flee Qarth, as he has recently booked passage to Astapor. Daenerys insists on attempting to reclaim them and asks Ser Jorah to lead her to the House of the Undying, without knowing what lies in wait. Rhaegar agrees, stating that he and Viserys will create a diversion for them.
•Daenerys arrives at House of the Undying and is magically separated from Jorah and Kovarro. She finds herself in an empty circular room with many doors.
•She chooses one and opens it. She is presented with tempting visions. First the snowy, ruined throne room of King's Landing where she turns away from the Iron Throne. She then walks through the gates of the Wall surrounded by more snow, and into a tent. She finds Khal Drogo and what could have been her infant son Rhaego. They talk about whose dream they are in, and Daenerys silently leaves after touching Rhaego's hair.
•Meanwhile, Rhaegar and Viserys are causing chaos, fighting against a few of Xaro’s men before Rhaegar tells Viserys to go after Daenerys, that he has a bad feeling. Viserys agrees and leaves, which leaves Rhaegar to fight against three men.
•In the meantime, Daenerys returns to the room with many doors and finds the dragons chained to a pedestal in front of her. Pyat Pree appears and explains that she and her brood are the source of his restored magic. Daenerys is also chained by Pyat's magic. The young Targaryen is unconcerned however, and simply regards Pree with a cool, almost lazy gaze. She calmly utters a single word: "Dracarys"; after a couple of tries, all three dragons unleash their fiery breath, and Pyat Pree is incinerated.
•Daenerys knows that Xaro has betrayed them. She finds Viserys outside of the House of the Undying, and together, they return to Xaro’s palace to confront him. Rhaegar joins them shortly after, wounded but not mortally. They return and find Doreah in bed with him. Daenerys takes his key and uses it to open his Valyrian stone vault. They are surprised when it is empty, but observes that this proves something can easily come from nothing. Rhaegar suggested that Doreah be executed for her treason against the Targaryen crown. Daenerys disagreed. On Daenerys’s orders, Doreah and Xaro are locked into the empty vault to die, their pleas cut off by the closing door. Daenerys salvages enough from Xaro's household to buy a ship. The siblings seize Xaro's gold and jewels; no one attempts to stop them, not with the dragons that rest upon Daenerys and Rhaegar’s shoudlers.
•Rhaegar states that he wishes to travel farhter across Essos soon; there is a company of soldiers who were formed beneath a bastard of Aegon Targaryen that they could use in retaking their homeland. Rhaegar also brings a select few soldiers from Qarth that served beneath Xaro, the beginnings of an army.
#Rhaegar Targaryen#rhaegar lives au#house targaryen#game of thrones#game of thrones au#my writing#fakexface writing#this is 10 pages in word#but it was FUN
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Question
𝟐𝟖𝟒 𝐀𝐂, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐬
━━━━━━━━━━━━
The question came like a blow to the chest, much akin to the war hammer that had once threatened to break apart his chest cavity on the banks of that damned river. He should have expected it, really; Viserys was a wise child. He had known about Rhaegar's children, despite never meeting them. No, Aerys had kept Viserys far from his 'Dornish smelling' daughter and son.
"What happened to Rhaenys and Aegon and Lady Elia?" Viserys had questioned. Rhaegar was not surprised that he had forgotten; it had been a year since they had left Westeros, six months since they had been welcomed to the home with the red door and the lemon trees. He would have blocked those memories out.
Yet, it did not stop Rhaegar's heart from stilling within his chest, for his breath to catch in his throat, for his blood to turn from dragon fire to ice.
"... They were killed, Viserys." He spoke softly and simply before excusing himself. The answer had pleased the boy well enough, it seemed.
His footsteps trailed through the winding hallways until he found himself within the small garden. His mind had drifted to golden skin, honey brown eyes, and a laugh like windchimes. Elia had stolen his breath the moment they had first met; she held a mischievous air about her that her siblings also shared. She had met him step for step in any conversation they had held.
She had danced circles around him with the stories she knew. And he had sung ballad after ballad for her as she laid in their bed upon their wedding night. She had been a gentle soul, truly, but she was a Martell at heart. Fiercely protective- he remembered the first time she had yelled at him. It had been before the Tourney, before she knew of the prophecy.
She had been beautiful, and she was dead.
'𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦,' 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳. '𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.'
'𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭. 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦.'
That promise was never filled.
A sob tore free as he sank to his knees before a lemon tree. Rhaenys has been five. Aegon barely more than a year old. They were children. They were dead. His children.
'𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘢!' 𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘙𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘥. '𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺!'
Rhaenys, with her lavender eyes and her dark hair. Aegon, with his silvery blond hair and honey brown eyes. His children.
The sound of a baby wailing had his heart clenching painfully. For a brief moment, he was back in King's Landing, upon a balcony. He could hear Elia singing softly in Dornish to calm Aegon. Rhaenys was seated before him, grinning a tooth-gapped smile.
He blinked. He was alone.
A part of him died that day, with his wife and children.
He wasn't sure if that part would ever resurrect, or if the hollow pit within his heart would continue to sit, a constant reminder of the ones who he had failed.
Elia Martell-Targaryen.
Rhaenys Targaryen.
Aegon Targaryen.
Aerys Targaryen.
Rhaella Targaryen.
Lyanna Stark.
Slowly, he rose to his feet, indigo hues darkened. He stared down at his hands, at the blood that had begun to drip from crescent shaped cuts within his palms.
Daenerys wailed.
He turned, and made his way inside, wiping away ruby droplets upon dark trousers.
#rhaegar lives au#rhaegar lives#prince rhaegar#rhaegar targaryen#elia x rhaegar#elia martell#game of thrones#viserys targaryen#fakexface writing
53 notes
·
View notes
Text
That Night
Based on an AU I've been working on in which Rhaegar survives.
━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟖𝟐 𝐀𝐂
𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞
━━━━━━━━━━━━
Dragonstone was rain wrapped and shuddering with each rumble of thunder when Rhaegar arrived, chest pink with fresh scars from a war hammer and crushed armor. He kept his head low, sweeping into a place he'd once called home, expecting to find Rhaenys and Aegon and Elia.
He found his mother with her water broken and a terrified Viserys, instead.
The guards took him in, at first thinking him an imposter before his mother called out to him, waddling towards him through horrid contractions. A difficult birth it would be, the wet nurse said, worry etched about her face. Rhaella clutched her first born, pulling him close, sobbing into his shoulder- in relief that he survived, in grief of what had happened in King's Landing, in pain from the contractions. Rhaegar held her close, confusion dancing across his features- what had happened in King's Landing?
His answer came in the form of little Viserys running towards them to clutch as Rhaegar's leg, sobbing, babbling about how father was dead, how Elia and the babies were slaughtered.
Rhaegar leaves, then- his mother retreating to her chambers to focus on giving birth, Viserys taken to his rooms. He stands in the room with the map of Westeros carved into a table, forged by Aegon the Conquerer, and watches as lightning flashes across the sky, as it strikes the sea, the beach far below. Turmoil washes through him as tears spill down ashen cheeks. He asks the guard that stands at the door what, exactly, had happened.
"I'm not sure, my lord. When you left- when we thought you dead, Tywinn Lannister took the city."
"And what of my father?"
"Your father was killed by Jaime Lannister, my lord."
His breath halted within his lungs. Jaime, golden haired and bright eyed and talented and young. Jaime, who had begged to go with him. Jaime, who he had placed to watch over his father. Jaime, who turned against the crown and killed a king.
"And of my... Of Elia? And the children?"
"My lord, you... you do not need to hear-"
"I do. I want to hear. I want to know."
"... Gregor Clegane, sire. He... Took her. And murdered her. And your children-"
"That is enough." He did not face the guard, who stepped closer out of worry for his liege.
"My lord, I apologize if I've upset you..."
"Get out."
"Pardon?"
"I said to GET OUT!" Rhaegar roared, prompting for the guard to flinch and scurry out, the door slamming behind him.
Dead. Elia was dead. His children were dead. His father was dead. A liar and thief sat upon the throne. His blood rushed in his ears, drowning out the sound of the storm that raged outside. They were dead- because of him. Because of his choices. Elia was supposed to be out of the city. She was supposed to be in Dorne with their children. What had gone wrong? What had Aerys done?
He gripped the object closest to him- a tall-backed chair- and threw it with all his might, causing it to shatter against a wall. His breath was coming too quickly, his hands shook too hard, his knees grew weak. He fell to the floor, pained sobs tearing free. His chest ached, not from the wound that Robert Baratheon gave him, but from the new wound caused by his own actions. He could still see her- her bright smile, the mischievous light in her eyes. Could hear his children's laughter, could hear her singing Dornish lullabies to them.
Could feel her in his arms, still. They had a plan. She knew of the prophecy. She understood. They had a plan. /They had a plan/. And now, she lay dead.
Shaking hands gripped silver locks as a pained yell escaped the prince, mingling with the storm's wails, with the screams of a mother giving birth, with the shrieks of a babe drawing it's first breath.
He is found later, numb and with bloodied hands. His mother is weak- she will not survive the night, the birth was too much for her to handle, there was too much blood and the bleeding won't stop. He goes to her, and sits by her side, stroking her hair and singing to her in High Valyrian, ushering her into a deep sleep, into the afterlife. He sits beside her and sobs while holding his newborn baby sister, whose name would be Daenerys Stormborn.
It is then that the news of ships arriving with the Baratheon and Lannister sigils upon them broke.
#fakexface writing#rhaegar targaryen#game of thrones#game of thrones au#daenerys targaryen#viserys targaryen#rhaegar lives au#elia martell#jaime lannister
51 notes
·
View notes
Text
Bottom Of The Deep Blue...
Little notes on this drabble: Mariana is my Ghoul OC, she's a water ghoulette. I decided to nickname the Second's water ghoul as Shallows bc I needed a name REAL QUICK a while back & it stuck. And Papa II is Cain. That's all.
The bottom of the pool was quiet. It was a deep pool, Olympic sized for the water ghouls of the abbey to use during the winter months when the river and ponds were frozen over. There had been a time where she had been scared of the depths, where she felt fear grip her bones and kept her clinging to the edge of the pool as her mother tried to coax her out into the open. Silly, how terrified she had been of her own element. It took her years to grow comfortable enough to float in the large pool. Even longer to dive down, down, down to the bottom. Rain was the first one to help her; he'd promised her that she'd be safe. She controlled the water, not the other way around.
The water answered to her beck and call.
She chose her name when she reached mental maturity; by then, she wasn't afraid of the deep. She was mystified by it, wanting to know what lay beneath the murky waters of the black pond in the forest, what creatures dwelled within the wide waters of the oceans. Mariana, she had decided, after the Trench where no man had successfully reached the bottom of. Her mother and father both agreed it was a fitting name.
Above her, Shallows dipped his feet into the pool. She could always recognize the Second's water ghoul; he'd been the one to take her in and teach her properly. Things her mother hadn't, things she wouldn't teach her. But Shallows taught her how to hone in on her anger, how to make sections of the river freeze over entirely for a moment. She froze the black pond, had walked on it's surface. It was deep, far deeper than she thought. And she'd thawed it after she returned to shore, all under the tutelage of Shallows. Many in the Abbey were afraid of him. They should be, she thought to herself. He's big, and strong, and silent. But his hand was gentle, and his voice was soft.
The water answered to her beck and call.
She rolled in the water along the bottom of the pool, air bubbles floating to the top. She would need to surface soon; water ghouls were born with pockets in their lungs where extra air was stored, allowing them to remain below the water for longer periods. Apparently, they once had gills. She wished she had gills; she'd never have to surface again. The water whirled around her; Shallows was pulling her up. She fought against the current, pushing, until she felt the familiar crackle of ice in her veins.
The water began to grow colder, cold enough that Shallows jerked his feet out of the water, the current dissolving. She swam up slowly, more fish than ghoul, before she breached the surface, black hair plastered to her head, her neck, floating along the surface below her shoulders. Shallows stood, waiting to the side. He didn't speak; she didn't respond. She pulled herself up and out; there were no steps in this pool.
"Were you intending upon freezing the entire pool?" Shallows asked as he handed her a warmed towel.
She accepted it with a gracious hand. "No," she answered as she wrapped herself up. "No, just make it cold."
"Dinner is over; you missed it."
"Oops." She'd find something to eat in the dorms. "I like it down there."
Shallows paused, glancing towards the pool. "Why?"
"It's quiet. I cannot hear the screaming."
"Screaming?" His gaze trained on her, intense emerald hues searching her face. "What do you mean, screaming?"
"The First says it is due to my connection to Hell," Mariana shuddered, brows furrowing. "Normally, only Quintessence ghouls have the connection. But he thinks I might, too- something to do with my father not being a full Air Ghoul."
"And?" Shallows asked as they began to walk towards the doors, black cassock just barely grazing the damp marble floor. "What do you think?"
"I think something is happening," she replied. "Something that none of us are prepared for. They are readying themselves, the Princes. The screams tell me so." She dipped through the door, leaving Shallows behind.
A sharp sound echoed through the auditorium; he turned, and with wide eyes, watched as a sheet of ice began to crack and break away from the top of the pool. His gaze followed the trail of water- no, ice, little stalagmites that jutted up from her footsteps, trailing after her in each little puddle she'd left behind.
The little Ghoulette was far stronger than she ever let on; a shudder danced down the old Water Ghoul's spine as he followed her inside, leaving the ice to slowly melt in their wake.
"The Princes of Hell, eh?" He mused softly. "Perhaps Cain was right."
He hoped Cain and little Mariana were wrong.
#the band ghost#the band ghost oc#ghoul oc#the band ghost fanfiction#water ghoulette#water ghoul#fakexface writing
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
This was for a roleplay account I have but I'm proud of this so I'm posting it here.
Enjoy a small Cirrus drabble bc I love the Ghoulettes a lot.
----
It was late; the abbey was silent, the only sound to be heard was the occasional squeaking of a mouse or the call of a night bird. The night sky was clear, dark, full of stars and the sliver of a moon. The air held a chill to it, a promise of autumn coming soon, brushing away the blistering heat of the summer.
Her footsteps were silent as she slowly crept through the halls; it was her turn to do rounds, tonight. Outside, she could sense Omega in the front of the Abbey. Terra skulked in the gardens. Almost outside of her senses, Vitae and Gamma were within the forest. Deep below her, something moved within the catacombs. She didn't question it- creatures lurked with the dead whom she had no reason to seek out.
Torches were lit, hanging high in evenly spaced intervals, giving any Sibling who woke enough light to see. She didn't need the torches; she could see perfectly within the night. A lucky quirk all Ghouls held, with pupils that expanded and contracted much akin to a feline's. Idly, she reached out, allowing sharpened claws to drag along aging stone, creating sparks on occasion. When the moon was full, the torches were rendered useless; the light spilled through the stained glass and was more than enough to see with. Even thr Siblings would be able to see.
The Air Ghoulette paused, head tilting as she listened closely; someone was awake down the corridor to her left, mumbling to themselves. A younger Sibling, no doubt studying. To her right, she could hear the sound of a squeaking mattress, muffled by stone. A knowing smirk curled ruby lips as she shook her head. No need to lurk those halls. She continued straight ahead, taking the large spiral staircase slowly, leisurely. A breeze brushed past her, lifting long, dark strands. She paused, eyes narrowing as she sniffed at the air.
Nothing but a phantom of times long past, carrying the scent of the strange herbs used during Rituals.
Cirrus continued on her way, nonplussed. As she reached the first floor, she hesitated. The night was beginning to fade; morning would break within the hour. Her shift would end, and she would return to her rooms to freshen up. Gray hues swept from left to right, tracking any hint of movement. Distantly, the sound of an organ began to disrupt the early morning silence. Her decision was made, then. The sound of her heels clacking upon dark stone floors echoed; no one slept down here. The rooms were meant for meetings, for holding items that were allowed to be seen by the public, for photographs of former Papas and Unholy Mothers and Fathers and Clergy members of old.
It felt as if their eyes followed her as she stalked towards the back, where a side entrance lurked. She only knew of it due to Nomos- Swiss. Swiss, who had been used and abused by the Clergy for almost four hundred years. Swiss, whose body was littered with scars, many of which he couldn't even recall the history of. Swiss, who held such radiant light despite the shadows of his past and the blood that stained his hands. She could still see that night with such vivid accuracy; the tears that spilled down his cheeks, the shoulder-jerking sobs as he confessed his sins to her. How the night had begun in a fit of carnal pleasure and ended with her holding him to her bosom.
Her fingers twitched; a breeze swept through the hallway, called forth by the anger that coursed through her veins.
The door opened, and the familiad white mask of Terra appeared. Neither spoke; the First's Ghouls were far older, and far more powerful than she. She stepped aside and bowed low, waiting until he passed. His steps were soft yet heavy, as if the Earth itself pulled down each foot. She slipped out of the door and into the night, a pleased purr rumbling free as she let her head fall back. The air was damp and cool; she removed her mask for a moment, allowing herself to soak it in. She could call forth a gale, could rip the leaves from the trees and destroy the damned church.
The wind answered her call, picking up for mere moments before dying down. No- it was not time. Her contract was nowhere near close to ending. Cool metal fitted against feminine features perfectly as she replaced it once more. High above her, the sound of a soft trilling cry; a kit, woken from it's sleep by hunger or a nightmare. Her gut pulled, her instincts screamed at her to run to it.
She turned, and made her way towards the river instead, pushing down that maternal instinct. She would never have children of her own.
The Clergy had made sure of that.
The sky began to lighten; the night birds returned to their roosts as early birds started singing their songs, ushering in the morning as a cool breeze shifted through the trees from the north, creating a chorus of the pines- groaning trunks and whispering leaves. Cirrus stilled within, eyes closed. Her feet left the ground slowly, her element wrapping itself around her. This is what the witches of the Abbey sought to accomplish, what came so naturally to her.
Cirrus held the strength of hurricane winds within her; one day, she would wipe the Clergy from the face of the Earth.
But not today.
#fakexface writing#cirrus ghoul#air ghoul#nameless ghoulette#nameless ghouls#the band ghost#ghost bc#drabble
11 notes
·
View notes
Text
A Thousand Years
𝟐𝟖𝟑 𝐀𝐂, 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐬
━━━━━━━━━━━━
The air in Essos was warm, yet Rhaegar had never felt colder. His hands shook as he walked, little Daenerys swaddled and in a baby basket upon his back. The sky was uncharacteristically dark, heavy with clouds that thrwatened to unleash a deluge upon Pentos at any given moment. Ser Willem Darry walked ahead of him. Viserys walked in front of him.
But his mind was not on the path they were walking.
His mind was elsewhere, back in a wooded glen with a maiden whose skin was white as snow and hair black as coal, whose eyes were a stormy tone note quite blue nor grey. Whose lips spread into a wide smile, whose laugh was loud and joyful. The laughing knight had suited her well in the Tourney. She wore a gown of palest blue, and her hair was braided in a surprisingly Targaryen fashion as she stood before him.
'𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘦. 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳, 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.'
She'd been beautiful in that emerald glen. The air had been chilled, blowing strong from the north. And when they had slipped away, had laid in the grass in bliss, she had spoken words that he wished had come true.
'𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸.'
'𝘈 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.'
How he wished they had stayed in the glen.
The skies roared with thunder. Daenerys began to cry. Ser Willem Darry took her from Rhaegar and entered the house with the red door. He took Viserys, as well. He left the dragon prince- now a dragon king with no throne- to stand in the storm as lightning cracked overhead and wind kicked up around him. The rain felt like tiny daggers piercing his skin, cold for this time of year in Essos, as if it had come all the way from the North to fall upon him.
The Last Dragon fell upon his knees, tilted his head back, and let loose a 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 that rivaled the sound of a dragon dying; pain, anguish, heartache, anger, all coiled into one.
#rhaegar lives au#rhaegar targaryen#rhaegar x lyanna#prince rhaegar#rhaegar lives#game of thrones#viserys targaryen#daenerys targaryen#fakexface writing
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
Season 8
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓘 𝔀𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓲𝓯 𝓖𝓸𝓭 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓹𝓻𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓶𝓮.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
•Upon arrival in the North, Rhaegar, Daenerys, Jon, and their combined forces march through Winter Town on their way to Winterfell. The townspeople cast the Targaryens many suspicious looks, and Jon reminds them that Northerners have a long-established distrust of outsiders. Rhaegar gives a tight smile and replies that he deserves these looks- the blame they give him. He was the one who took Lady Lyanna from them, after all. Immediately following this exchange, Vhagon, Meraxal and Rhaenyx fly overhead, startling the townspeople and causing Daenerys to smile proudly. Rhaegar lets out a soft laugh as he watches the trio fly overhead.
•In Winterfell's courtyard, Jon introduces Daenerys and Rhaegar to Sansa; the two women exchange a civil but tense greeting while Rhaegar drops into a low bow, surprising everyone present, and states that Lady Sansa favors her mother, Catelyn.
•Later, Rhaegar is seated at the high table in the castle's great hall along with Jon, Daenerys, and Sansa. Tyrion attempts to calm the slightly hostile Northern lords by telling them that the largest army ever seen has been assembled, but Sansa asks how she is supposed to feed such a force along with three dragons. When she asks what dragons even eat, Daenerys replies, "Whatever they want." Rhaegar cuts in, giving his sister a harsh look, before replying that the dragons will hunt outside of Winterfell; they are capable of feeding themselves. One of the Northern lords makes a passing comment of how Targaryens know treason better than anyone else; Rhaegar does not reply.
•While inspecting the preparations for the coming battle, Daenerys remarks to Jon upon Sansa's apparent dislike for her. While Jon assures her that Sansa wasn't overly fond of him when they were growing up, Daenerys rebuffs him by saying that they don't need to like each other, but she will be respected as hand to the King. Several Dothraki approach the pair and mention that the dragons haven't been eating as much as they normally do.
•Rhaegar can be seen standing before Rhaenyx, worry evident. He asks for Daenerys and Jon to take them out, away from Winterfell- the dragons don’t like the cold, and flying would help warm them up. When Daenerys asks if Rhaegar will join them, he shakes his head and states that there are matters that he needs to attend to.
•Daenerys mounts Vhagon, planning to take him for a ride, and suggests that Jon mount Meraxal. After much trepidation, Jon does so, and the dragons take the pair on a wild ride over the snow-covered landscape, Daenerys being somewhat pleased at Jon's almost instant connection with the dragon. Eventually, they land near a waterfall in an area where Jon used to hunt as a youth. Away from all concerns about the coming battle, Daenerys and Jon share a brief moment of intimacy. Rhaenyx can be seen continuing to fly farther south before circling around, almost as if he were playing the role of scout.
•Rhaegar finds his way into the catacombs of Winterfell, and he takes his time, walking past the tombs slowly. He stops before Lyanna’s, and tears can be seen falling from his eyes. He finally breaks down after a moment, all but collapsing to his knees, sobbing softly and apologizing over and over again for leaving her alone, for dragging her into everything, for not making it back to the Tower of Joy in time. Tyrion, having followed Rhaegar, does not approach and instead, stays hidden behind a corner, listening to Rhaegar cry.
•Daenerys and Jorah later encounter Samwell Tarly in Winterfell's library. After praising him for realizing the secret behind dragonglass and curing Jorah of his greyscale, she asks if there is anything she can do to repay him. Sam jokingly asks for a pardon for stealing books from the Citadel and for taking his family's ancestral sword without permission. Upon hearing his surname is "Tarly", Daenerys realizes that he is in fact Randyll's son, and proceeds to tell him the difficult truth that his father and brother are being held on Dragonstone for rebelling against Rhaegar, and will have a trial for this crime after Rhaegar takes his throne. Sam is speechless for a few moments before asking to leave the library.
•Rhaegar is on the battlements, studying their composition and how many men could fit without it becoming too cramped when a commotion erupts in the courtyard. He quickly leaves, making his way down, only to pause when he sees who was causing the commotion: Jaime Lannister. He moves quickly, with purpose, striding across the courtyard. He calls out to Jaime by using his title of Kingslayer, and as the Lannister turns, Rhaegar snaps out, striking his jaw with a harsh uppercut that caused a split lip to form. Jon Snow sees what happens and runs forward, separating the two as Rhaegar snarls out how he had trusted Jaime, how he had put him on duty to watch his father because he trusted him, before yelling out why he didn’t try to stop the murder and rape of his wife, Elia Martell, or their children.
•Later, Rhaegar and Daenerys are once again seated at the high table with Jon and Sansa. The two women harshly berate the Kingslayer for his past actions and question whether his loyalty to their cause is genuine. Rhaegar makes idle comments on how Jaime stood by while his family was slaughtered “like cattle”. Only when Brienne of Tarth vouches for Jaime does Sansa trust him, and Daenerys allows his sword to be returned to him. Rhaegar, after a moment, relents- there are bigger monsters to deal with currently.
•Rhaegar finds himself alone in the mess hall, a much needed moment of peace and quiet. He stands, staring at the flames, when Bran wheels himself in. Rhaegar turns, and before he can say anything, Bran says two words that have Rhaegar stilling: he knows. Rhaegar does not attempt to dance around the subject, simply stating that it was not Bran’s place to tell Jon, that he had plans. Bran does not reply. Rhaegar, on his way out, pauses, and states that he had a relative, Bryndyn Rivers, who was rumored to have been the last Three-Eyed Raven. Bran agrees, stating that he is the one who taught Bran and passed the mantel onto him. Rhaegar places a hand on Bran’s shoulder, but he does not speak. He leaves a moment later.
•Jon finds Rhaegar in the chambers Sansa appointed for the Targaryen, and approaches him, distraught over what Samwell has told him. Rhaegar does not speak at first, prompting Jon to grow distraught and ask if it was all true, what Sam had said. Rhaegar replies that yes, it is- that Jon is, indeed, his son. His given name was not Jon, but rather, Jaehaerys, named after Rhaegar’s grandfather, the last sane Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne. Jon grows angry, asking why he left, why he never tried to reach out, to which Rhaegar, just as distraught, tries to explain what had happened- how he had been nearly killed, and by the time he reached Dragonstone, it was too late and he had to run. That he had correspondence with Ned and Maester Aemon over the years, keeping track of Jon.•He wanted to see him, to visit and be a part of his life- but it would be far too dangerous. Jon then asks if he was ever going to tell him, to which Rhaegar replies yes, he was- after the war was over. Jon then asks if Daenerys knows, and Rhaegar, after a moment, states that she doesn’t; she believes that Rhaegar’s children are dead. Jon doesn’t stay, leaving Rhaegar alone in his chambers. Rhaegar, in a rare fit of rage, tosses a chair across the room, causing it to shatter against the stone wall.
•Later, Daenerys speaks privately with Sansa, addressing some of the thorny political issues involved in their alliance. She also openly confesses her love for Jon, explaining she has had only one goal - retaking the Iron Throne - until she met Jon and now she's in the North helping him fight the Night King and the army of the dead. Although a greater understanding appears to develop between the two women, Sansa remains firm in her conviction that the Northerners will never truly accept an outsider as their ruler again, and bluntly asks Daenerys what Rhaegar’s plans for the North are once the dead have been defeated. The awkward moment is interrupted by Maester Wolkan announcing the arrival of Theon Greyjoy and his men.
•Rhaegar is already within the room when Sansa arrives to greet Theon, and he watches with curiosity, having met the boy back on Dragonstone. After they have their moment, he clears his throat and asks where Yara was, and if he knows what has happened with Ellaria Sand. Theon replies that Yara was the only one on the ship when he arrived, and that he doesn’t know what became of Ellaria. Rhaegar, crestfallen, thanks him before leaving.•Surprisingly, Sansa comes after him, finding him standing upon a battlement overlooking the front gates to Winterfell. She asks him how he finds Winterfell, and he replies simply that it is much colder than he expected. She then asks what his plans are, after he gains the throne- to this, he turns to her and studies her for a long moment before stating that while she favored Catelyn in looks, her strength and biting resolve were that of Lyanna’s. He then explains that after the Throne is taken back, he will call a council of those who are the new heads of the houses of Westeros, and from there, decide on where to go. A change needs to happen, he states with a shake of his head; the time for total control is over, that much he learned in Essos. His ancestors- Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya ruled together. He wants something akin to that- multiple rulers, not just one person, or one council.
•When the survivors from Eastwatch bring the news that the army of the dead will be at Winterfell's gates within a day, preparations inside the castle begin to move forward at a feverish pace. Rhaegar meets with all the prominent commanders and heads of houses to discuss battle strategy. Daenerys finds herself in the crypts with Jon. While standing in front of Lyanna Stark's statue, Daenerys recounts the story of how her brother Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna and drove Robert Baratheon to rebel against the Iron Throne.
•On a prior urging from Samwell, Jon finally reveals the truth about his parentage to Daenerys. She is utterly stunned, and immediately questions the validity of the story. When Jon assures her that it's true, she realizes that Jon actually has a better claim to the throne than she does. Daenerys leaves in a hurry, leaving Jon behind in the crypts. She finds Rhaegar in his rooms, polishing his blades, which is where she demands to know the truth. Rhaegar tells her quickly- yes, Jon in his son, yes, he knew it was him from the moment he saw him, yes, he planned on telling her, and no, he did not kidnap Lyanna. This brings out frustration and anger, and he begins to tell her the full story of how he and Lyanna fell in love; however, before either can discuss the matter further, a horn sounds three times to signal the arrival of the army of the dead. They exchange a look before leaving quickly to find their dragons.
•Rhaegar, Daenerys, and Jon watch with Vhagon, and Rhaenyx, and Meraxal from a distance as the Dothraki charge the army of the dead, but when the Dothraki are slaughtered, Daenerys breaks away from Jon's plan to wait for the Night King and attacks the army of the dead with dragonfire. Rhaegar curses and quickly follows after his younger sister, with Jon trailing behind. Rhaegar keeps lower than Daenerys or Jon, watching the battle unfold. Rhaenyx leaves the dragonfire to Vhagon and Meraxal. Daenerys and Jon's visibility is cut off when the White Walkers summon a blizzard, however. The pair take to the skies above the blizzard while Rhaegar keeps low, circling Winterfell the best he can. Daenerys suddenly plunges on Vhagon, drawing Rhaegar’s attention. When he realizes who she is aiming for, he screams for her to pull up, but his voice is lost in the sound of battle. He watches from the back of Rhaenyx in horror as Vhagon blasts the Night King with fire- but to no avail.
•They escape as the Night King hurls an ice spear at Vhagon. When Jon is surrounded by newly risen wights, Daenerys and Rhaegar save him with Vhagon and Rhaenyx, burning through wights and creating a path for Jon to rush into Winterfell to help Bran and stop the Night King. Rhaegar leaves shortly after, trying to find where Meraxal had flown off to, and is horrified to see the dragon being covered by wights. He and Rhaenyx dive down, freeing Meraxal. However, Rhaegar is thrown from Rhaenyx’s back as Rhaenyx attempts to keep the wights away from Meraxal, leaving Rhaegar to be surrounded with two angry dragons.
•He manages to climb atop Rhaenyx and take to the skies with Meraxal, injured but able to fly, following after. He panics when he realizes that Dany is nowhere to be found. He takes Rhaenyx over Winterfell and blasts what dead he can while Meraxal flies further south, to safety. As Daenerys watches over Jon, wights climb onto Drogon, and Daenerys falls off while Drogon flies away. She is protected by Jorah, who dies defending her, leaving Daenerys crying hysterically while Vhagon wraps around them after the Army of the Dead falls. Rhaegar, having dropped from Rhaenyx’s back, is fighting alongside those in the courtyard of Winterfell and growing overwhelmed by the minute, until the Army of the Dead suddenly falls.
•After the battle, which saw a living victory, Rhaegar and Daenerys mourn the dead outside Winterfell, lighting a pyre. He steps forward with Daenerys to light their funeral pyre; she kisses the dead Jorah's forehead and whispers something to him before Rhaegar lights the pyre. Later, the siblings celebrate at the feast inside Winterfell. Tormund makes a toast to Daenerys, "To the Ruby King!"- a new title for Rhaegar, and Daenerys stands up herself, toasting Arya Stark as the "Hero of Winterfell." However, despite her initially celebratory mood and the smiles she exchanges with Jon, Daenerys's mood grows downcast when she finds herself worried over Jon's popularity among the Northmen, Valemen, and wildlings compared to Rhaegar’s popularity. Rhaegar, on the other hand, is celebrating just as much- congratulating Jon and toasting. Daenerys rises to leave, but Rhaegar stops her with a hand on her arm, shaking his head. It is then that Tyrion speaks up, requesting a song from Rhaegar. The hall falls silent, as many who are there have heard of the Targaryen’s voice moving people to tears. Rhaegar, flustered but still reeling from their victory, agrees and begins to sing The Night That Ended; no one joins in, and the hall is surprisingly silent as he sings. Daenerys sits beside him with a fond smile.
•Daenerys finds Jon in his chambers that night and they kiss, beginning to undress, before Jon stops himself due to learning of their relation. Daenerys laments that she wishes Jon never told her about his true identity because otherwise, she'd be happy- they’d both be happy. Daenerys tells Jon it doesn't matter what he wants or how many times he swears fealty to Rhaegar - he didn't want to be King in the North either. Jon gets on one knee before her and says that Rhaegar is his king. Daenerys begs Jon not to tell anyone else about his parentage, fearing that it will destroy them. Jon insists he must tell his sisters because he owes them the truth about who he is, certain it will work out and they can all live together. However, Dany believes the only way they can live together is if Jon keeps his identity secret.
•Rhaegar spends the night alone, walking the halls of Winterfell until he finally grows too restless and goes to leave, only to be stopped by Sandor Clegane, who asks him what he was planning on doing. Rhaegar confesses he needed to get out of Winterfell for a bit; The Hound decides that he’s going to join him. The pair walk out of Winterfell’s gates in relative silence. Sandor breaks the silence by asking if Rhaegar plans on killing Cersei or Jaime or his brother. Rhaegar hesitates before answering that Cersei will have a trial once King’s Landing is taken; while he would love to kill the man who took his children and beloved away from him, he believes that the honor should belong to Sandor. The Hound doesn’t reply, and leaves Rhaegar to be alone afterwards. Rhaegar, instead of returning to Winterfell, continues his walk, eventually finding the dragons, each asleep. Rhaenyx awakens first and watches as he approaches, but does not stop him. Rhaegar settles down on the ground beside the dragon, who lowers his head and covers Rhaegar, all but hiding him from view. In the silence of the night, Rhaegar allows himself to grieve for those he had lost.
•Come morning, no one can find Rhaegar. A panic sweeps through Winterfell before Arya arrives with Rhaegar trailing behind, the pair both looking amused at the situation. Arya explains that she had watched him leave Winterfell the night before, and curiosity drew her to look for him- and get a closer look at the dragons. Rhaegar then leads a war council for the resumed campaign against Cersei Lannister for the Iron Throne. They will not sail immediately to King’s Landing, despite Daenerys’ argument that they should march now. Rhaegar counters, agreeing with the Lady Sansa that their men are exhausted and injured; marching to King’s Landing right now would be marching them all to their deaths- again. They would wait five days, giving the men time to rest. He ends the meeting, though requests to speak with Daenerys and Jon alone. However, Jon has already disappeared, leaving the siblings to have a tense stand off before Daenerys leaves without a word.
•Later, Rhaegar is in the crypts beneath Winterfell once more, standing before Ned’s statue. Sansa finds him here; she makes to leave at first before he speaks up, stating that while she may favor the Tully side in looks, her personality was purely Stark. She takes this as a cue to approach him, and she admits that she did not know Lady Lyanna, but had heard plenty of tales. Rhaegar smiles and tells her the story of how Lyanna poured wine over her brother’s head. A moment of silence passes before he turns and studies her, before sighing and asking if Jon has spoken with her and Arya. She says that he has- that she had, admittedly, been looking for Rhaegar to ask if it truly was so- that he was his son. Rhaegar nods slowly, and Sansa gets a pensive look about her before asking why he didn’t come after Jon. It is then that he begins to recount to her the tale of Elia, Lyanna, and himself as they make their way back to the surface: the murder of his father, his mother’s death giving birth to Daenerys, how they had to flee Westeros completely and seek shelter in Essos. How he sent ravens to Ned and Aemon, asking after Jon. How assassins had been sent after himself and his siblings, and how dangerous it would be if the world knew that he had a living heir in Westeros.
•They depart from one another afterwards, where Sansa runs into Tyrion and tells him of what she had learned. Rhaegar, meanwhile, went to find Daenerys and Jon; they would be leaving at dawn. He gave Jon the choice: travel by dragon, or ride by horse. Jon, after a moment, admits that he isn’t used to riding on the back of a dragon yet, and relents to lead their forces by horseback. Rhaegar agrees.
•As his fleet is sailing back to Dragonstone, Rhaeagar rides Rhaenyx next to Daenerys on Vhagon, with Meraxal trailing behind, when suddenly three bolts are fired, narrowly missing the dragons. Rhaegar yells for Daenerys to fly higher while Meraxal soars ahead quickly, weaving towards their fleet. Euron's Iron Fleet reveals itself from behind Dragonstone's rocks and tries to take down Daenerys and Vhagon as they escape, but are unable to do as they pull back. Rhaenyx turns and takes them around the back of Euron’s fleet, allowing Rhaegar to get a look at just what he was dealing with. To his dismay, the part of the Iron Company he had left behind had joined with Euron. Euron instead targets Rhaegar’s fleet, destroying it and capturing Missandei in the process.
•Rhaegar, furious with this outcome, returns to Dragonstone. There, both siblings become tempted to storm King's Landing. However, Rhaegar is brought back down by Varys, who reminds him that while it may be a tempting idea- there were far too many innocent lives at stake. Daenerys, Tyrion, Varys, and Grey Worm parley with Cersei outside the gates of King's Landing, where Cersei threatens to execute Missandei in front of them. She taunts them, asking if Rhaegar had decided to give up, to turn tail and flee like he once did, when the roar of a dragon is heard. Rhaegar soars overhead upon Rhaenyx, landing upon a spire beside Cersei. Rhaenyx takes out two scorpions with his tail, and another with dragonfire before Rhaegar dismounts. He asks Cersei if she knew of the casks of wildfire beneath the streets. On cue, a burst of green flame shoots into the air, startling Cersei and giving Rhaegar the chance to grab Missandei and pull her behind himself. In the midst of the chaos and confusion, a Scorpion looses a bolt- only for it to fly wide and crash into the road below.
•Rhaegar gives Cersei an ultimatum: give up now, and King’s Landing will not suffer. Refuse, and come dawn, King’s Landing will no longer belong to the Lannisters. Cersei commands for the Mountain to kill Rhaegar. Before he can move, Rhaenyx releases a blast of dragonfire close enough that it scorches Cersei’s dress, allowing Rhaegar and Missandei to climb atop Rhaenyx, who takes to the skies quickly and retreats to safety behind their lines. Missandei and Daenerys have a tearful reunion before Grey Worm takes her into his arms.
•Rhaegar states simply that Cersei would not compromise. Come morning, King’s Landing would no longer belong to the Lannisters. He leaves them, then, despite Tyrion calling after him, and makes his way towards the camp that had been set up. There, he meets with his guards, who had caught Jaime attempting to sneak into the city. Rhaegar sits down with the man, removing his chains and offering him a cup of wine. Rhaegar does not speak, allowing the silence to grow until Jaime finally breaks and asks if Rhaegar intends to kill him and Cersei. He replies that no- Cersei will not die. She will have a trial- but she needs to abdicate the throne, lest Rhaegar be forced to take it by force. Before Jaime can begin to defend her, he adds that her sentence would be less severe, should Jaime bend the knee. He knows that Cersei is pregnant, and guesses correctly that the child is Jaime’s.
•Jaime, after a moment, settles down onto one knee, and bends the knee to Rhaegar. Rhaegar takes this time to ask Jaime why he did it- why he killed Aerys. Jaime replies that Aerys would kill Rhaegar if he knew about Lyanna, and that Aerys would had been killed anyway because Tywinn would not have let him live. When asked about Elia, Jaime falls silent and admits the fault was purely on his part, that he should have gone to them, and he regrets it every single day. Rhaegar agrees- that he, too, regrets not being here. He admits that he can still hear Elia’s voice singing Dornish lullabies to Rhaenys and Aegon.
•It is in the early morning hours that news breaks; Varys had spread word of Jon being Rhaegar’s son. Daenerys becomes enraged, saying that it should have been kept a secret, that Jon should never had told Sansa the truth. Rhaegar counters that Jon was not raised to be a Targaryen, that he was a Stark, and those were his sisters- his family. The ones he had grown up with, lived with, eaten with. However, it was not Varys’ place to spread word. Rhaegar brings Varys to Dragonstone, where they hold a mock trial; Rhaegar explains that, by all means, he should kill Lord Varys. He should allow Rhaenyx to snap his spine and burn him alive. Rhaenyx even begins to creep forward, but Rhaegar stops the dragon. Instead, he states that he will allow Varys to live. This was the first time he had crossed Rhaegar- and the last. Should it happen again, he would not live to see the dawn. He leaves Varys on the rock outcropping as the sun begins to rise over the horizon, painting the ocean vivid hues of orange, yellow, red- like dragonfire.
•Later, Rhaegar calls Daenerys and Jon into a private bedchamber to talk. He begins by saying that the room they were in had once been his; it was now striped of everything that had belonged him. He turns to them, and asks Jon if he was okay with word now spreading that he is Rhaegar’s child. Jon hesitates, conflicted; he states that he hadn’t meant for word to spread. Rhaegar replies that it is too late now- the Lords and Ladies of Westeros would soon know the truth, and that Jon should prepare himself for that. Rhaegar hesitates for a moment before stating that he has not chosen an heir- that, technically, Jon should be his heir, but Daenerys had a viable claim since she is his sister. He leaves them afterwards to talk amongst themselves.
•Rhaegar consults with Tyrion on how best to go about this; Euron’s fleet would need to be destroyed, as would the Scorpions atop the battlements. However, he does not wish to end innocent lives if at all possible, which Tyrion agrees with. Daenerys asks why they wouldn’t simply storm King’s Landing and destroy it. Rhaegar replies that while it had never been Dany’s home, it had once been his, and the people within King’s Landing were innocents, held hostage by a tyrant- ever since Robert Baratheon had died. Tyrion responds that the smallfolk are afraid of Cersei because Cersei will punish any rebellious acts. Daenerys counters that Cersei is using mercy as a weakness against them but Cersei is wrong, mercy is their strength - her mercy for the future generations of Westeros, not those in the present. Rhaegar shuts her down quickly, reminding her that they are not Aerys- that, as much as he would enjoy seeing the Red Keep fall- they would not burn the city. They would give them mercy.•Before Tyrion leaves, Rhaegar informs them both that Jaime was caught by his men trying to get past their lines. Rhaegar informs Tyrion that Jaime is not a prisoner- that he has bent the knee and swore to serve Rhaegar once more. Daenerys asks Rhaegar if they can trust Jaime, to which Rhaegar and Tyrion reply simultaneously with a simple “yes”. Come morning two days later, Rhaegar flies over King’s Landing- high above, hidden by clouds, though the sound of wings beating could be heard. It is as if the city stands still as they listen; Cersei can be seen peering into the clouds, looking, listening, straining to catch a glimpse of Rhaegar.
•Daenerys attacks Euron's Iron Fleet atop Vhagon as the Battle of King's Landing begins, sinking the fleet and destroying the scorpions. Rhaegar suddenly appears, looking as if Rhaenyx were falling, when suddenly the pair sweep low along the walls of King’s Landing, destroying scorpion after scorpion while Daenerys lands Vhagon atop a tower. Meraxal appears, and upon his back sits Jon Snow, who lands outside of the gates. Terrified screams can be heard from the people below.
•Rhaegar has Rhaenyx fly up once more, taking to the clouds over King’s Landing, where the silhouette of Rhaenyx can be seen through the clouds, casting a shadow over the city. Daenerys destroys the gate and its walls that the Golden Company guards, killing many of the sellswords from the debris that falls upon them. This allows the Dothraki, Unsullied, the Northern and the Vale armies to destroy the remaining sellsword contingent and charge into the city. Overwhelmed, the Lannister soldiers surrender despite Cersei not ordering it, ringing the city's bells. A piercing cry from Rhaenyx has Vhagon and Meraxal taking to the skies as the bells ring out. While the two dragons circle King’s Landing like dogs herding cattle, Rhaenyx suddenly plummets once more, settling atop the Red Keep. Rhaenyx cranes his neck down, allowing Rhaegar to see Cersei, in which he informs her that her soldiers have surrendered their arms, that her people are being evacuated, and that as they speak, Unsullied are making their way through the Red Keep, slaughtering her soldiers. She barks back that Euron’s fleet was still there, to which Rhaegar shakes his head slowly. She asks about the Golden Company- and he shakes his head once more.
•He asks her if she will abdicate the throne peacefully, or if he needed to take it by force. The sound of battle can be heard growing closer; she can be seen casting a wary glance to the doors, to the Mountain, before looking back towards Rhaegar. Just before the door breaks down, she relents.
•Rhaeagar gives her a small, sad smile. Rhaenyx releases another cry, which Vhagon and Meraxal echo. He informs her that, should she attempt to escape, he would kill Jaime (a bluff, though she is not aware of it); that he has him outside of the city, surrounded by Dothraki screamers who are dying to bloody their blades. She relents, and the Mountain leads her and Maester Qyburn down from the tower; the steps are cleared of her soldiers, and Rhaegar’s Unsullied remain. At the bottom of the steps stand Daenerys and Grey Worm. On Daenerys’ order, Grey Worm shackles both Cersei and Qyburn.
•The Hound appears, then, and the battle between brothers commences. Daenerys orders no one to intervene, despite her growing horror. Finally, Sandor has Gregor on his knees, and decapitates him, ending the Mountain once and for all. The Hound falls to his knees, grievously injured, though he does not succumb to his wounds.
•Thousands of the surrendered soldiers and innocent civilians are gathered outside of the Red Keep and in the streets with Northmen and the armies of the Vale. In front stand the Unsullied; at the very back, the Dothraki sit on their horses, screaming and cheering. Rhaegar stands above them with Daenerys to his right and Jon to his left. Jaime stands off to the side beside Tyrion. Here, Rhaegar gives his speech to the people, proclaiming that the Lannisters are no longer the rulers of Westeros. Cersei has abdicated the throne, the very same throne that his ancestor, Aegon Targaryen, forged. He explains that he will take the throne as the Rightful Heir, and they will begin to rebuild the damages caused to King’s Landing, as well as holding a trial for the crimes that Cersei Lannister has committed, as well as one for Euron Greyjoy, who had been captured by Theon and Yara Greyjoy. Maester Qyburn would be stripped of his chains, and held accountable for the crimes he’s committed.
•He adds that a Great Council will be formed in the coming months of the Lords and Ladies of Westeros. Things would be changing; no longer would a tyrant rule. He leaves it at that as the crowd cheers.
#Rhaegar Targaryen#rhaegar lives au#daenerys targaryen#jon snow#Cersei Lannister#Jaime Lannister#game of thrones#game of thrones au#fakexface writing#my writing
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Season 6-Season 7
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝓕𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓬𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮; 𝓘 𝓼𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓻 𝓽𝓸 𝓖𝓸𝓭.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐱
•Now a prisoner of the khalasar, Daenerys is brought before their leader, Khal Moro, enduring remarks about her appearance from her captors. Out of jealousy, Moro's wives suggest killing Daenerys, though he repeatedly ignores them. Daenerys reveals her identity, but Moro laughs off her titles, saying she is nothing more than his bed slave. Daenerys refuses, revealing herself as the sister of the Silver Dragon, who rode with Khal Drogo. Moro has a change of heart, cuts her free and promises no one will touch her due to the rumors that had begun to spread of Rhaegar; how the legendary Khal Drogo did not kill him, but rather allowed him to ride beside him. A grateful Daenerys promises to reward him with more horses if she is returned to Meereen, but Moro informs her that she will be escorted to the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen in Vaes Dothrak, a home for widowed khaleesi. When she asks why, he explains that it is the safest place for her.
•Daenerys eventually reaches Vaes Dothrak and arrives at the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen. Inside, the widowed khaleesis strip her of her clothing and jewelry and give her traditional Dothraki clothing. She attempts to intimidate them with her name and titles, but their leader lectures her on how Daenerys should have become a Dothraki, since they were accepted into Khal Drogo’s khalasar. Daenerys is then informed that she had violated Dothraki law, and her fate will be decided soon by the khals at the "khalar vezhven".
•The High Priestess of the Dosh Khaleen introduces Dany to the other khaleesis, some of whom hate her for not being of pure blood. During her time in captivity, Daenerys befriends a young khaleesi named Ornela, a Lhazareen girl taken from her village at the age of twelve. The High Priestess gives Dany permission to relieve herself outside but sends Ornela to escort her. The pair are accosted by Jorah Mormont and Daario Naharis, who have traveled to Vaes Dothrak to rescue her. She tells them to cancel their rescue plan and proposes a plan of her own.
•At the Khalar vezhven, Daenerys tells the gathered khals that none of them are fit to lead the Dothraki. Daenerys declares that she will lead them herself. After a pause, Moro and the khals burst into laughter. Dany reminds them that her brother, the very man who now sails back with the Golden Company, was allowed to ride beside Khal Drogo- that they are the last dragons, and will reclaim Westeros. Disgusted with her insolence, Moro declares that she will be raped by each of the khals, then by all of their bloodriders, and then, if she is still alive, by their horses.
•Daenerys's broad smile deepens at his threats and replies that they won't have to follow her because this is where they will die. She knocks over the braziers at the center of the temple, setting the entire building aflame. The khals desperately attempt to escape the rapidly spreading fire, only to find the temple's only door barred, the bodies of the two khaleen guarding it lying dead outside. Moro tries to confront Dany a final time, but she upends the last brazier on him, completing the conflagration. As the flames climb higher, the dosh khaleen and khalasars gather in confusion. Eventually, the doors collapse and Daenerys emerges, naked and unburnt. Many of the assembled bow immediately, with the high priestess and the rest of the dosh khaleen following. Jorah and Daario move to the front of the crowd and bow last.
•The next day, Daenerys formally thanks Jorah for saving her life, but still remarks that he has been banished twice and returned both times, so is left with a dilemma on what to do with him. She is shocked to learn he has greyscale, feeling responsible for his condition. After Jorah confesses his love to her and prepares to leave, Daenerys tells him to find a cure; that she will need him by her and Rhaegar’s sides when one of them sits on the Iron Throne.
•On the road back to Meereen, Daenerys stops to outline her plan to Daario for when she returns to the city, asking how many ships would be needed to sail the Dothraki and Unsullied. Daario's estimated figure of a thousand troubles Daenerys, as no one owns a fleet that large. Though the sellsword believes she is a conqueror more than anything else, Daenerys states that she takes what is theirs. The conversation ends when Daenerys senses something in the distance and rides ahead to investigate. A few moments later, she returns on the back of a fully-healed Vhagon, declaring all of the khalasar as her bloodriders instead of selecting a select few. She then vows to lead them to conquer Westeros.•As Meereen is being besieged by a fleet of the Masters' ships, Daenerys finally returns to the city, arriving at the Great Pyramid's balcony on Vhagon. She is originally mistaken to be a threat from above by Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm, but her identity is revealed when several Unsullied discover her on the balcony adjacent to the council room.
•The following day, Daenerys and Tyrion discuss a plan to deal with the slaver fleet currently besieging the city. Daenerys declares her plans to "return their cities to the dirt" but Tyrion pleads for diplomacy, begging her not to become like her father. It is then that a commotion occurs, with Grey Worm throwing the doors open and Rhaegar storming in, confusion and anger evident. He demands to know what, exactly, happened in his absence. Daenerys is lost for words, and Tyrion struggles to explain.
•Rhaegar, having been unaware that Tyrion was even in Meereen, asks more questions- why Meereen is on fire, why Drogon is on top of the temple, where his dragon is, where Viserys is, and why the hell a Lannister is standing in the council room.
•Daenerys is forced to tell him everything that had happened in his absence- the loss of control, the Sons of the Harpy, Viserys’s death- which has Rhaegar stilling before leaving the room in anger rarely seen. She follows after him, rushing to explain how she fled on Vhagon’s back, how she was taken by the Khalasar but she now has Dothraki bloodriders. He turns on her, conflicted, and tells her that he is glad she has the Dothraki now, but Meereen is on fire, their brother is dead, their dragons are locked in a dungeon and she caused a giant mess by making rash decisions and not listening to rationality and instead, fed into the Targaryen curse of bloodlust. Rhaegar tells her to take a step back and let him fix the mess that she created before it becomes worse. She argues, telling him that she did what she thought was right, and he fires back that their father also did what he thought was right.
•Daenerys and their entourage then meet with the slave masters Razdal mo Eraz, Belicho Paenymion, and Yezzan zo Qaggaz; representing Yunkai, Volantis, and Astapor respectively. The masters discuss their terms of surrender, announcing they will allow Daenerys, Rhaegar, and Tyrion to leave the city, while Missandei and the Unsullied will be sold back into slavery, and the dragons will be slaughtered. Daenerys rejects their terms, informing them they aren't meeting for her surrender, but for theirs.
•The Masters are bewildered by their unwavering confidence until Vhagon lands beside her. She mounts her dragon and the two take flight, while Rhaegar and Rhaenyx rise from behind the great pyramid, Meraxal flying below, Rhaegar having freed them from the catacombs of the great pyramid - all three dragons finally reunited. Rhaegar then orders their dragons to burn the slave masters' ships; tilting the negotiating table in her favor. Meanwhile, Grey Worm executes Razdal and Belicho but spares Yezzan to spread tidings of her power. Daario leads Daenerys' khalasar to slaughter the Sons of the Harpy; ending the threat of the slave masters and their Harpy allies.•After this, Rhaegar brings Daenerys to the docks to see the Golden Company. Tyrion, Varys, Grey Worm, and Missandei accompany them. Rhaegar states simply that the rest of the Golden Company would join them once they reached Dragonstone, and would sail from Dragonstone to King’s Landing.
•Later, Rhaegar, Daenerys, and Tyrion meet with the ironborn Yara and Theon Greyjoy. Yara offers to provide one hundred ships to the Targaryens if, in return, she helps them defeat their uncle Euron Greyjoy and recognizes the independence of the Iron Islands. Rhaegar accepts Yara's offer of an alliance but Daenerys demands that the Ironborn end all pillaging of the mainland. Yara is skeptical, but Daenerys claims that both of their fathers left the world worse than they found it. Rhaegar and Daenerys and Yara are going to leave it better than they found it. Yara reluctantly agrees to her terms, and the trio of royals make a pact.
•Daario reports to Daenerys and Rhaegar that the fleet is nearly ready. He's eager to see how the Dothraki do on the open sea. Daenerys informs Daario he won't be joining them, which Daario interprets to mean that he will go on to seize Casterly Rock to cut off the Lannister retreat. Dany clarifies that Daario is to stay in Meereen with the Second Sons, to keep the peace until the city can safely choose its own ruler. Furthermore, she cannot bring her lover to Westeros, as marriage is still her most valuable bargaining chip when considering new alliances. Rhaegar is thrown by this, confused as to when Dany began any sort of relationship with the Daario.
•Daario begs her to take him, pointing out that kings have mistresses, and queens should be no different, but Daenerys stands firm. Daario realizes that Tyrion convinced her into leaving him, but admits that it is a good move politically. He muses that no woman can take her place, although Daenerys is sure he will have many more lovers. Daenerys assures him that she'll leave specific instructions for him to follow in governing the newly-renamed Bay of Dragons.
•After Daario leaves, Rhaegar goes to confront Daenerys, but she leaves before he gets a chance, slipping away. Dany goes to see Tyrion, who tries his best to console her. Dany thanks him, but admits that she's not upset about Daario: rather, she was frightened that she was able to easily dismiss someone who loves her unconditionally. Rhaegar unintentionally listens in on this conversation and finds her admittance worrying. He leaves before he is caught, going instead to his own chambers, where he is greeted with a letter from Winterfell.
•The bastard, Ramsay Bolton, had taken hold of Winterfell. Rhaegar then begins to panic, for there was no mention of his son within the letter. With Aemon having passed away, Ned being beheaded, Catelyn and Robb Stark dead, and no sign of Ned’s two daughters, there was no one else he could contact in Westeros. He makes the decision for them to sail to Westeros as soon as possible.
•Some time later, Rhaegar and Daenerys lead their armada to Westeros. With the Liberation of Slaver's Bay complete, they sail the Summer Sea, their three dragons: Vhagon, Rhaenyx and Meraxal fly over the her assembled armada, composed of the horde of Dothraki, Ironborn, Dornishmen, Reachmen, part of the Golden Company, and Unsullied fleet of House Targaryen. Daenerys, clad in Targaryen black, stands on the deck of the flagship with Tyrion, Missandei, and Varys. Rhaegar, clad in Targaryen black and red, with a circlet of silver and ruby across his brow, stands further back by the wheel, gaze settled on the horizon as the dragons cry out overhead.
𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧
•Rhaegar and Daenerys arrive on Dragonstone for the first time since she was born, accompanied by Tyrion, Missandei, Varys and Grey Worm. Rhaegar leads her up, talking of their history as the ascend the steps; how Aegon and his sister wives conquered Westeros, how Daenys the Dreamer saved their family all those years ago. Upon entering, Rhaegar stills, studying the banner of the Baratheon house, placed by Stannis Baratheon, before Daenerys tears it down. After examining the Painted Table of Westeros, Rhaegar asks Daenerys if she would be his Hand. Stunned, Daenerys asks him why he would want her, rather than Tyrion or Jorah or Varys. He responds that a Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing, and that he would want nothing more than to rule with her as his Hand, as his top adviser.
•Later, watching the weather, members of their council comment on how it relates to the night of Daenerys’ birth and the storm that came with it. Contrary to what she would have believed, she says that Dragonstone doesn't feel like home, but Tyrion reassures her that they won't have to stay for long. Rhaegar gives a sad smile and agrees, saying that it feels like the ghost of a home he once knew. Daenerys then comments on the fact that Cersei only controls parts of Westeros, to which Varys says this is due to the fact that many nobles despise her. Rhaegar agrees; the Lannisters were once loyal to their family, but betrayed them. He adds that it’s a shame he doesn’t get to see Tywin’s face when they take King’s Landing, but seeing Cersei and Jaime’s faces would be enough.
•Daenerys then grills Varys on his true loyalties, comparing his desire for a Targaryen restoration to that of when her father sat upon the throne, in which she also states that Varys only supported them when it suited him, and followed Aerys until his death. She also questions why he betrayed her father for Robert, to which he explains that he would have been executed if he had not done so and that he obeyed Robert's strength in contrast to Aerys's cruelty. (Varys doesn't mention that Robert had rescinded his order that Daenerys be killed before he died.) Varys then makes it clear that he is truly a representative of the common people, and that his loyalty to them ultimately outweighs his loyalty to any monarch, though he still believes Rhaegar is the one most worth following. Daenerys then requests that Varys make a promise to advise them when one of them goes wrong, rather than betray either of them, to which he concedes. Rhaegar questions his sister after Varys is dismissed, wondering where this sudden bout of paranoia came from. She responds that she wanted to make sure he would follow them and not turn coat.
•Rhaegar and Daenerys are then visited by Melisandre, who is welcomed due to the number of Red Priests who supported Daenerys in Meereen. Melisandre is immediately pardoned for siding with Stannis and explains to Rhaegar that the both of them may have something to do with the prophecy of The Prince That Was Promised. Daenerys points out that she is "no prince", only Rhaegar is, prompting Missandei to explain that, in the language Melisandre used, the prophecy is gender-neutral. Melisandre further states that Dany has a role to play in the prophecy, as does another - the King in the North, Jon Snow. Rhaegar, having been more amused than anything, grows rather serious at this point. Daenerys notices this change, but does not ask, assuming it is simply due to a new contender.
•Tyrion is surprised and questions Melisandre, confirming she is talking about the Jon Snow who is the illegitimate son of Eddard Stark. When Daenerys asks if Tyrion knows him, Tyrion explains he traveled with Jon to Castle Black. Varys asks about Jon, and the siblings learn of his role as the King in the North and of unifying the Northerners and the wildlings against a common enemy. Clearly intrigued by the sound of this man, Daenerys requests that Tyrion write a letter to Jon, after Tyrion tells her that Jon will prove himself a valuable ally in Rhaegar’s bid to claim the Iron Throne, particularly as the crimes committed by the Lannisters against his family give him enough reason to want Cersei overthrown, asking him to come to Dragonstone and bend the knee.
•Rhaegar does not speak out, though it is obvious that he is unsettled with this news. He leaves shortly after, leaving Daenerys alone, much to her confusion. He can be seen walking the halls of Dragonstone with Varys, neither speaking.
•Daenerys later stops the arguing between Ellaria Sand and Tyrion over the assassination of Myrcella Baratheon, to which Daenerys replies Ellaria must respect Rhaegar’s council. She also agrees with Tyrion over Yara's idea to attack King's Landing immediately, and that the Unsullied should attack Casterly Rock while the Westerosi armies lay siege to the capital. When everyone has left the chamber, she requests an audience alone with Olenna Tyrell. Daenerys then tells her that she knows Olenna is on her side due to their mutual hatred for Cersei, rather than a love for Daenerys herself. In response, Olenna encourages Dany to be a dragon, rather than a "sheep", like the other high lords and ladies.
•When Rhaegar learns of this meeting, he approaches Ellaria alone, cautiously giving his apologies for the loss of Oberyn. He states that he did know the prince well; the two had been close in their youth while Rhaegar courted his sister, Elia. He asks after the Mountain, whether or not Oberyn had managed to kill him. Ellaria laughs bitterly and replies that Cersei had done something horrifying to that man after Oberyn nearly killed him. Her voice wavers on Oberyn’s name, but Rhaegar does not reach out to her. Instead, her turns to her and vows that the Mountain will be killed one way or another, for both Elia and Oberyn. Ellaria agrees, and states that she wants to be there when he dies.When Jon Snow and Ser Davos Seaworth arrive at Dragonstone, Rhaegar sits in the keep's throne room, waiting for them. Daenerys stands at his side, dressed in a newly furnished dress of black fabric mimicking dragon scale, and a deep red cloak that falls over one shoulder, fastened with a silver three-headed dragon broach. After their entrance, Daenerys speaks Rhaegar’s name and announces his many titles before Missandei announces Daenerys’ titles, which stand in stark contrast to Davos simply announcing Jon as "the King in the North". Rhaegar can be seen sitting still and staring, his brow furrowed and lips drawn into a thin line- looking angry, but also as if he is seeing a ghost. By all means, he is- for Jon is the spitting image of Lyanna, from the dark hair, to the big eyes (“The wrong color.”), to the way he presents himself.
•In the beginning, Daenerys assumes that he has come to bend the knee to Rhaegar, as he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, and declares how Jon's ancestor Torrhen Stark bent knee to the Targaryens and was named Warden of the North, reminding that the eras wherein their Houses collaborated brought prosperity to the Seven Kingdoms. Jon, however, reminds her that any fealty House Stark owed House Targaryen ended when their father murdered his grandfather and uncle (though he accepts Rhaegar’s apology on behalf of House Targaryen for the crimes committed against the Starks and he agrees that neither one of them is not to blame for their father's sins) and states that his purpose is different; he has come to ask for their help in the coming fight against the Night King and his army of the dead, to which Rhaegar would also need Jon's help in order to expunge the Night King's army.
•Dany becomes increasingly annoyed by Jon's refusal to bend the knee and tells him that since her brother’s survival of the killing blow by Robert Baratheon, they havae been through countless ordeals of every kind, but have lived through all of them and even managed to take advantage of certain situations; all because of her faith in them. That is the reason she believes that the argaryens are destined to rule over Westeros once more. However, Jon insists that the kingdoms will be nothing more than a graveyard should the Night King win.
•Davos starts stating Jon's own achievements during his time as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch up until the moment he was crowned King by the Northmen, all of which Jon has achieved not by virtue of inheritance, as he has none due to being an illegitimate son, but rather, by his deeds and the faith his fellow Northmen have in him whose respect Jon gained as a leader. Rhaegar, Daenerys, and Tyrion notice something off in Davos's speech about Jon "taking a knife to the heart." As Davos speaks of Jon, it becomes apparent to Daenerys that Jon did not take power for the sake of taking it and his journey to his present standings was every bit as fraught with sacrifice and hardship as theirs. Tyrion notices how Rhaegar is unable to look at Jon for long periods of time, and curiosity begins to grow, though he does not speak on it just yet. There is time for that later.
•Tyrion takes up and urges them to kneel before Rhaegar and, after the war against Cersei, their combined forces would defend the North. Jon refuses both because it may take long to win the Iron Throne from Cersei and, by then, it may already be too late as at that point the Night King's army may have already bypassed The Wall and marched further down south into the Seven Kingdoms. Jon also explains that he doesn't know Rhaegar or Daenerys at this point, that his claim to the throne rests on his descent from a king his family helped overthrow and he was chosen by his people to lead, so he must lead them as well as he can. Rhaegar concedes that this is fair and is about to say that he respects Jon’s decision, but Daenerys counters by saying that if he insists on that view, she will count him as a rebel against her brother’s rule. Rhaegar ends their meeting when Varys whispers the events of the assault on the Targaryen fleet by telling Jon that he is not yet in their captivity, leading to Jon and Davos exiting the throne room. Varys then tells Daenerys and Rhaegar that Ellaria, the Sand Snakes, Yara Greyjoy and the remaining Greyjoy forces are either dead or captured. Rhaegar rises from the throne, feeling sick to his stomach at the news. Daenerys then asks if they have all been taken under control of Euron Greyjoy, the instigator of the attack, unknown of Theon Greyjoy's abandonment of Yara and his escape from the attack.
•Rhaegar leaves them, claiming that he needs to think over this recent turn in events. He can be seen walking the battlements later, gaze turned north. Melisandre approaches, asking him if there is anything she can do to ease his troubled mind. He gives her a tightlipped smile and shakes his head, before asking her about her Lord of Light; he remembers having read about the Lord of Light when he was younger, and the prophecy of Azor Ahai. She gives a knowing smile, and the pair make their way, slowly, back towards the throne room.
•Sometime later, Tyrion talks Rhaegar (mainly Daenerys) into letting Jon mine and make weapons of the dragonglass. He insists that if Jon is to be their ally, some good-willed intent must be shown from their side and as they have no use for the dragonglass, they have nothing to lose by letting Jon have it. When she goes back to Davos's saying of Jon "taking a knife to the heart", Tyrion brushes it off as a tall tale. Rhaegar has the inkling of a feeling that it is no mere tall tale.
•Daenerys and Jon meet in privacy at a spot overlooking the sea and the dragons, which roam the skies. She expresses similarities between them in having lost loved ones (Rhaenys and Viserys for Daenerys, Robb and Rickon for Jon) and tries to make him feel like they're both fighting on the same side, and concedes that given people once thought dragons gone for good, she perhaps should not be so skeptical about the undead, but Jon remains adamant about not bending the knee. Daenerys doesn't back down either, but she does offer to help him mine the dragonglass he needs and even provide men, on Rhaegar’s oders. He asks then whether she truly believes him, to which Daenerys responds by telling him to hurry and begin his work.
•Rhaegar can be seen standing above them, listening in. In his hand, he clutches a single ruby, supposedly the only one he has left from his famed armor, as he watches them. They create a near mirror image of himself and Lyanna. He turns to go back inside as Rhaenyx flies overhead, screeching.
•Tyrion later informs Rhaegar of his plan for the Unsullied to take Casterly Rock through a secret passageway he used during his whoring days. However, this leads to the Unsullied ships being burned by Euron, causing them to be trapped at Casterly Rock. Rhaegar and Daenerys ultimately lose another ally during the Sack of Highgarden, in the forced suicide of Olenna and the loss of the Tyrell army.
•Days later, Daenerys strolls around Dragonstone with Missandei at her side, both wondering about the fate of the Unsullied. Missandei reveals to the queen that certain things happened between her and Grey Worm, before they get interrupted by Jon Snow. Rhaegar trails far behind, talking with Varys lowly, the pair debating on the sacking of King’s Landing. Varys believes that if Euron Greyjoy’s fleet was destroyed, King’s Landing would be relatively defenseless. Rhaegar disagrees- he grew up in King’s Landing. He knows how the soldiers work there. Seeing Jon has him cutting the conversation off and jogging to catch up.
•He leads the siblings through an underground cave, whose walls are rich in dragonglass. He shows them ancient wall drawings, which were made by the children of the forest, Rhaegar states in obvious awe. They depict the children themselves as well as the First Men and how they banded together to defeat their common enemy, the White Walkers. Daenerys is finally awestruck and convinced of Jon's sayings, promising to defend the North with him- when he bends the knee to Rhaegar, who is listening to them intently while taking in the drawings, fingers brushing over them gently. Although Jon insists his people would never accept a southern ruler after everything they suffered, to which Rhaegar barely manages to hide a wince, Daenerys rhetorically asks him whether his own pride is more important than the lives of the Northmen.
•After they leave the cave, Tyrion and Varys deliver news of the Unsullied's incomplete victory at Casterly Rock and the fall of Highgarden. Rhaegar becomes melancholic, falling silent and inwardly blaming himself for the loss of life and Highgarden, while Daenerys becomes enraged at the loss of their allies, Daenerys snaps at Tyrion, accusing him of devising soft plans to protect his family and impulsively suggests flying to the Red Keep and burning it to the ground. Rhaegar, in turn, snaps at her, stating that there would be far too many innocent lives lost if they even thought to do such a thing- something that they had been striving for: Mercy. Daenerys, stunned and slightly hurt, turns her attention to Jon and asks for his advice. He tells them that all their followers saw them accomplish the impossible and believe they can do so yet again. However, using the dragons to destroy the castles and cities of Westeros would make them no different than the ones they are trying to overthrow. Rhaegar agrees.
•When the combined armies of Jaime Lannister and Randyll Tarly prepare to finally leave Highgarden, Daenerys's horde of Dothraki attacks them as they cross the plains of the Reach, with Daenerys herself leading the charge riding on the back of Vhagon. Rhaegar can be seen coming from the opposite side, trapping the Lannister-Tarly infantry. The Lannister-Tarly infantry assume an anti-cavalry shield wall, but Daenerys has Vhagon blast them with dragonfire, clearing a path through the formation for her warriors to charge. Rhaegar does not have Rhaenyx use fire, instead circling and diving low, snatching men in his talons or jaws and soaring high before dropping them. Although the Lannister and Tarly forces fight fiercely and inflict heavy casualties against the Dothraki at first, the combination of dragonfire, being picked off like sheep, and cavalry charges overwhelms them, and their formations soon fall apart. Jaime briefly rallies a group of archers to target Daenerys as she dives again, hoping to kill her and leave her forces leaderless, but Vhagon pulls up sharply and the arrows glance harmlessly off his scales. Daenerys and Vhagon launch dive-bombing attacks from above to destroy the Lannisters' supply convoy, and the Dothraki mercilessly slaughter every fleeing soldier they find. Seemingly out of nowhere, a giant bolt whizzes right past Vhagon as he flies and Daenerys immediately heads for the scorpion to destroy it. Rhaegar yells for her to fall back, to pull up, but before she can reach it, Bronn (who is manning the weapon) manages to strike Vhagon’s wing, causing the dragon to wince in pain and lose his balance.
•Rhaegar, enraged, has Rhaenyx dive, going to stabilize Vhagon but having to pull up due to a barrage of arrows.
•After plummeting nearly to the ground, Vhagon regains his balance right in front of the scorpion and incinerates it with his fire-breath. He then lands on the battlefield and demolishes what's left of the scorpion with an angry swipe of his tail. Daenerys dismounts on the riverbank and tries to pull the bolt out of Vhagon shoulder. While trying to do so, she turns to see a mounted Jaime galloping towards her with a spear in hand. Vhagon moves to protect his mother, shielding her behind his head and shooting a line of fire at him, only for Bronn to save him by tackling him off of his horse into the river.
•Rhaenyx and Rhaegar land near them, with Rhaegar aiding Daenerys in removing the bolt from Vhagon’s shoulder.
•In the aftermath of the battle, the survivors are rounded up and taken before Rhaegar and Daenerys. She claims they've been manipulated by Cersei, and offers them a choice: bend the knee and join them, or refuse and die. As if to reinforce this point, Vhagon and Rhaenyx roar menacingly from their perch behind Daenerys, at which most of the survivors quickly kneel, with the exception of Randyll Tarly and Dickon Tarly. Randyll refuses to trade his honor for his life, claiming he has chosen his queen. Tyrion suggests Rhaegar send him to the Wall, but Randyll reminds him that he cannot, as he is most certainly not his queen. A nervous laugh leaves those kneeling. Rhaegar, not amused but smiling despite it, waits, a hand held up to halt Dany. Dickon follows his father, despite Randyll's protests. Daenerys sentences them both to death by dragonfire, and at her command, Vhagon begins to oblige. Rhaegar gives a sharp command to stop, watching as both men freeze up, looking confused.
•He steps forward, studying them both- Dickon, who he had met when they had both been younger. He orders for them to put in chains and taken back to Dragonstone. They would be tried after Rhaegar reclaimed his throne. Vhagon roars, releasing the dragonfire meant for the men into the air. Rhaenyx, annoyed, goes to bite at him. Daenerys attempts to argue, saying that killing them would be better, but Rhaegar shakes his head, replying that this was not Aerys’ court.
•Back at Dragonstone, Jon Snow watches as Daenerys lands Vhagon in front of him. Rhaegar lands Rhaenyx near, but far enough so that he could watch. The dragon approaches Jon, who stands his ground. Vhagon allows Jon to touch him, to Dany's astonishment. Rhaegar nods slowly, pride swelling within him as he dismounts smoothly. She dismounts, at which point Vhagon flies off, and claims that the "gorgeous beasts" Jon sees are her children, aside from the one that Rhaegar rides. Rhaegar, casually, leaves them to their talking, instead looking over Rhaenyx for injuries that he might not have noticed before. Daenerys informs Jon of their victory over the Lannisters, and then asks him what Davos meant by "taking a knife in the heart for his people." Jon avoids discussing his resurrection, claiming that Ser Davos gets carried away, but before Daenerys can press him further, they are interrupted by the arrival of Jorah Mormont, who has been cured of his greyscale. Delighted, Daenerys embraces Jorah and introduces him to Jon, who tells him that his father was a great man.
•Rhaegar approaches, curious, stating that greyscale is nearly impossible to cure. He and Jorah make their way inside, with Rhaegar quizzing him about the healing process.
•Inside the Chamber of the Painted Table at Dragonstone, Rhaegar holds a meeting with his advisers, as well as Jon and Davos. Daenerys extends her relief to Jon at his discovery that his half-siblings Arya and Bran are still alive and at Winterfell after years of believing them dead. Rhaegar makes no comment, but smiles in relief. Jon, having received Bran's warning of the Night King marching towards Eastwatch-by-the-Sea and fearing for his family's safety, states that he must go home to Winterfell and prepare to fight the army of the dead. Daenerys questions his ability to do so with the modest amount of men sworn to fight for him, and Jon requests Rhaegar’s help once again. Daenerys refuses, noting that Queen Cersei wins if they abandon their cause to take the Iron Throne. Rhaegar offers to go with Jon, but Daenerys replies that “the true king should remain here to show a united front”, to which he cannot argue. Varys pipes in that the last time Rhaegar left, he returned to Meereen burning and a sibling dead. Unsure of how to proceed, Tyrion presents the idea of bringing evidence of the army of the dead to Cersei, in the hopes of convincing her to join the fight against the White Walkers. Jon decides to lead an expedition north of the Wall to capture a wight and bring it south to King's Landing. Rhaegar, worried, doesn't agree with Jon's departure, but is convinced by Tyrion's confidence in the mission.
•As Jon Snow and his party including Jorah Mormont prepare to depart on boats for Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Rhaegar and his entourage arrive and Daenerys bids Jorah farewell. Jorah quips that he is used to saying farewell. When Jon warns Daenerys that there is a chance that he might not return and that they won't deal with the King in the North anymore, Dany tells him that "she's grown used to him". Rhaegar can be seen wincing and looking away, much to Varys’ curiosity. Then Jon wishes her well in the "wars to come". Daenerys and Rhaegar, with a concerning look, along with Tyrion watch as Jon Snow and his party depart on their boats for Eastwatch. Rhaegar does not leave with Daenerys or Tyrion, remaining rooted in place. Daenerys states softly that her brother needs to be alone.
•Sometime later, beside the Painted Table, Daenerys voices her concern for Jon to Tyrion and Rhaegar, claiming that she does not want to live with a hero, as the heroes she has fallen in love with, notably Daario Naharis, have done stupid things and have either died or almost died, though when Tyrion implies that Jon might be in love with her, she dismisses it, claiming that he is "too little" for her. Rhaegar laughs, shaking his head, and states that he said a similar thing once about Elia, and how she proved him very much wrong. The subject shifts to Rhaegar’s rule, where Tyrion praises him for keeping Randyll and Dickon alive instead of giving them time to think; however, he comments on Rhaegar’s lack of an heir. Rhaegar falls silent for a moment before replying darkly that it was because of the Lannisters that his children were dead. Daenerys startles at this, for Rhaegar rarely speaks of his wife or his children. He leaves the room immediately after.
•Later, he receives a raven from Gendry calling for help beyond the Wall. Against Tyrion's advice, insisting Jon knew the risks of the mission and everything they've done will be for nothing if either of them die beyond the Wall, and therefore unable to break the metaphorical "wheel", Rhaegar and Daenerys fly North with their dragons, leaving their army on Dragonstone.They arrive in time to save Jon and his party, burning countless wights and landing for them to climb up. The Night King, however, impales Vhagon with an ice spear through a wing, injuring him. Enraged, Jon sets his eyes on the Night King but as the monster reaches for another spear, he then shouts at Daenerys to leave. Reluctantly, she and the others flee just as the Night King throws another spear at Vhagon, which misses, and they return to Eastwatch. Rhaegar remains behind, dodging spear after spear, plucking off the Night King’s army, trying to reach Jon again but never being able to fly close enough. Benjen Stark arrives, and saves Jon; Rhaegar manages to sweep low enough to grab Benjen in Rhaenyx’s claws and break apart the ice to give Jon enough time, as he and Rhaenyx fly overhead.
•Daenerys stands on the Wall with Jorah, who ushers her to leave, but stays, obviously concerned for Jon. When he returns on the horse of Benjen Stark, who almost sacrificed his life to save him, Daenerys is visibly elated, and sees Jon's stab wounds for the first time when they remove Jon's frozen clothes, realizing the truth of what Davos said about him. Rhaegar flies overhead with a wounded Benjen.
•Daenerys and Rhaegar sit at Jon's side until he wakes up; a distraught Jon apologizes for Meraxal’s wound, believing it his fault, but Daenerys insisted that they needed to see the scale of the threat facing them for herself. She reveals that the dragons are the only children she will ever have, promising that they will destroy the Night King forever. Jon thanks her and calls her "Dany", to her amusement, though remembering that is was what her abusive brother used to call her. Rhaegar softly states that he is glad that Jon survived, and that he needs to attend to Benjen, leaving the pair. However, Jon calls him "my King" and pledges fealty to him, moving Daenerys to tears; when she asks what the northern lords sworn to him will make of this choice, Jon gently assures Daenerys that like him, they will come to see Rhaegar for the good person he truly is. Rhaegar shakes his head, smiling bitterly, and leaves them. Though she takes his hand in hers, she stays herself and leaves shortly after Rhaegar, allowing Jon to rest.
•At the Dragonpit, the various factions meet: Cersei Lannister, Jaime, Qyburn and Euron represent the Iron Throne. Jon, Davos, and Brienne represent the North and Rhaegar’s court. When Cersei demands to know where her rival is, the Silver King makes a suitably dramatic entrance on Rhaenyx’s back, with Vhagon and Daenerys flying overhead. Vhagon lands long enough to allow for Daenerys to dismount before taking to the air, chasing after Rhaenyx.
•After making apologies for their lateness, they proceed in getting the meeting on track. However, Cersei is stalled by seeing Rhaegar alive and well. Beside her, Jaime is visibly distressed. Rhaegar, in a remarkable show of restraint, gives the twins a tight smile, despite his hand curling around the hilt of his blade. Tyrion, Daenerys, and Jon try to warn Cersei of the greater threat coming for them all, but she dismisses it as a ploy to trick her into lowering her defenses.
•To prove their claims, Sandor returns with the crate containing the wight, which is worryingly silent. Sandor gets the crate open, but there is still no movement. He finally gives the crate a massive kick, which prompts the enraged wight to launch itself out and charge toward the nearest target - Cersei, appropriately enough. Visibly horrified, the Lannister queen and her allies recoil in horror as Sandor pulls the wight back on a chain, its claws inches from Cersei's face, and manages to slice the creature in half when it turns to attack him. The assembled look on in shock as the wight's upper half still moves around. Jon steps forward and picks up the wight's discarded hand, using a torch provided by Davos to demonstrate how fire can be used to stop them. He then uses a dragonglass dagger to the heart to end the wight's upper half, bluntly stating that if they don't win the coming war, such a fate awaits every person in Westeros. A horror-struck Jaime asks how many wights are coming, and Rhaegar tells him the army of the dead numbers at least 100,000. Euron asks if the wights can swim. When Jon responds, "No," Euron announces to Cersei his intention to withdraw the Iron Fleet back to the Iron Isles. He declares that he has been over the whole world and has never been terrified until now. On his way out, Euron tells Rhaegar and Daenerys to retreat to their island while he returns to his own, and to come find him when they are the only three left alive with a crude gesture towards Rhaegar, adding in carrying on old Targaryen traditions. Rhaegar doesn’t respond immediately, giving Euron a slow once over before sneering, stating he doesn’t sleep with leeches.
•Seemingly convinced, Cersei immediately offers terms: satisfied that Rhaegar and Daenerys are concerned with the Army of the Dead, Cersei will not withdraw her troops, but will guarantee that they will not hinder the Targaryen or Northern forces in any way during the battle against the White Walkers. She refuses to deal with Rhaegar or Daenerys at all, however, and calls on Jon Snow, as King in the North and Ned Stark's son, to keep the truce and to stay out of any future conflict between Cersei and Rhaegar. Jon, however, says that he cannot serve two rulers - and reveals to all assembled that he has already declared for Rhaegar, infuriating all three Lannisters present. Declaring that there will be no truce if it is just her and Rhaegar, Cersei storms out, content to let the Starks and Targaryens battle the undead alone and then deal with whoever emerges victorious from that conflict.•Meanwhile, Daenerys and Tyrion (who never knew about Jon's change of heart in the first place) rip into Jon over his ill-advised action, suggesting that learning to lie just a little might be a good skill. Jon responds by arguing that while such an attitude may or may not have contributed to getting his father killed if no one is willing to speak the truth, then everyone's word is worthless, and lies will not help them win the coming fight. Tyrion reluctantly decides that he will go and try to talk some reason into Cersei alone. Daenerys and Jon protest, fearing Cersei may have him killed out of spite, but Tyrion insists it's the only way if they don't want everything they've done to be for nothing and bids them wait. Rhaegar does not intrude, his gaze locked on Jaime’s back as the Kingslayer retreats. His blade can be seen being drawn slightly before he sheaths it and leaves, stating that while here, he would like to at least see a little of his home.•Daenerys and Jon discuss the dragons and how her ancestors caged them, and in turn became less impressive as the power of the dragons waned. Jon questions Daenerys's assertion of infertility, particularly when she admits that she never got an informed opinion about her condition from anyone. Their conversation is interrupted by the return of all three Lannisters, as well as Rhaegar. Cersei has agreed to work with Rhaegar, but not by keeping her troops back: the Lannister army will march north to fight alongside the Starks and Targaryens. Rhaegar thanks her tensely before commenting on how it felt to sit on the Iron Throne. When she replies that she quite likes it, he nods, before sneering and wondering aloud if his father’s blood still lingered on the blades that had been taken by his ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror. He then turns to Jaime, and says only a single word: “Kingslayer.”
•In the Chamber of the Painted Table, Rhaegar and his court discuss logistics. It will take the Dothraki a fortnight to reach Winterfell, and the plan is to have Jon and the Unsullied cross the sea by ship and meet them at White Harbor. Jorah Mormont points out that the North is not really safer for Daenerys than anywhere else, as someone with a memory of Robert's Rebellion and an idea of becoming a hero could easily take her out with a single crossbow bolt. Rhaegar interrupts, asking Jorah if he has more that he wishes to add about the past. Jorah does not respond, and after a moment, suggests Daenerys and Rhaegar fly to Winterfell to avoid any potential unpleasantness. Jon counters that Daenerys ride with them so that the North can see her as a liberator and ally. After a moment's consideration, Dany decides to sail north with Jon. Jorah, suspecting a different reason for her decision, throws her a look, which she notices but avoids. Rhaegar studies Daenerys for a moment before agreeing, for his own reasons, of course.
•After setting sail, Jon knocks on the door of Daenerys's cabin. She answers and meets his gaze without words. After a moment, he enters, and, with their eyes still locked on one another, shuts the door. Unaware of their biological connection to one another, they finally give into the burgeoning passion between them and make love.
•Unbeknownst to both of them, Tyrion had also been on his way to speak with his queen, and had seen Jon enter the cabin. He retreats, finding Rhaegar standing at the prow of the ship, studying the stars. Rhaegar hears his approach, and speaks up, telling the imp of how he used to travel to Summerhall and sleep in the ruins, beneath the open sky. Tyrion asks him why he would do such a thing, and Rhaegar gives a shrug, responding that he sometimes felt more of a ghost than a man.
•Tyrion falls silent, standing beside Rhaegar, watching the stars. Rhaenyx, Vhagon, and Meraxal fly overhead, interrupting the starlight. Rhaegar, quietly, states that he knows about Jon and Daenerys. Tyrion asks if he is upset. He shakes his head before adding that he would speak with Jon and Daenerys once the Night King was dealt with.
#Rhaegar Targaryen#rhaegar lives au#daenerys targaryen#jon snow#tyrion lannister#Cersei Lannister#Jaime Lannister#game of thrones#game of thrones au#fakexface writing#my writing
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Season 3-Season 5
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝓣𝓮𝓵𝓵 𝓶𝓮 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔀𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓪𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓯𝓸𝓻; 𝓽𝓸𝓸 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝔂 𝓰𝓸𝓭𝓼.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞
•Following their journey from Qarth, their ship, Balerion, arrives at the city of Astapor in Slaver's Bay. By then, the dragons had grown to the size of small dogs. While these dragons were now capable of hunting fish for themselves, they are still not large enough to be used as weapons of war to invade Westeros. Thus, Rhaegar needs an army. While the Unsullied, the elite warrior-eunuchs produced in Astapor, are regarded as some of the finest soldiers in the world, Rhaegar and Daenerys know that their being slave-soldiers would become problematic in Westeros, where slavery is outlawed. However, Jorah states that they have no choice but to settle for this solution since they have no other means of acquiring an army; Rhaegar argues that if they sail to Essos and meet with the Golden Company, they would have an army. This causes a slight rift to grow between Rhaegar and Jorah. Meanwhile, Viserys is dealing with sever seasickness.
•Upon arriving in Astapor, the siblings are given a tour of the Unsullied barracks by the Unsullied's owner, Kraznys mo Nakloz, with his slave girl Missandei translating his Low Valyrian into the Common Tongue of Westeros for the siblings. Since Kraznys does not know that Rhaegar, Daenerys, or Viserys understand Valyrian, he frequently insults them- especially Daenerys, much to Rhaegar’s annoyance.
•Throughout the tour, Kraznys explains that the Unsullied were trained for battle from the age of five, and that only one in four recruits survived the training. He also demonstrates that the Unsullied do not fear pain or death by slicing off the nipple of one soldier, much to Daenerys's disgust; Viserys goes to yell, but Rhaegar stops him, despite his own anger. This soldier not only shows no sign of pain but even thanks his slave master for the opportunity to serve him. They also learn that the Unsullied are trained not to show mercy or weakness by killing a newborn slave child in front of its mother at the end of their training. While Daenerys is outraged by this, she still asks Kraznys how many Unsullied are available while Rhaegar has to take a step back, tugging Viserys back with him. They are told that there are eight thousand soldiers for sale and that Rhaegar has until the next day to make a decision.
•En route back to their ship, Ser Jorah recommends that Rhaegar purchase the Unsullied, arguing that under his command, these slave soldiers will have a far better quality of life serving him than they would under Kraznys and his ilk. Daenerys is distracted by a playing child who follows her and Jorah. However, neither of them noticed a hooded man, armed with a dagger, following them. The child offers Daenerys a gift, a wooden ball, gesturing for her to open it.
•As she does, the hooded stranger knocks it out of her hand. In response, Rhaegar grabs the stranger, and in their struggle knock Daenerys to the ground. The ball then cracks in half, releasing a manticore. Before the creature can harm Daenerys with its lethal sting, the stranger, revealing himself to be Ser Barristan Selmy, kills it with his dagger. Meanwhile, the child hisses in a reptilian manner and uses magic to escape. Ser Barristan quickly identifies himself as one of their father's Kingsguard and begs Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys’s forgiveness for failing House Targaryen during Robert's Rebellion. In return for his wrongs, he offers to serve in their Crownsguard, which Daenerys accepts immediately despite Rhaegar’s hesitance, given how Rhaegar knew Barristan from when he was younger. He makes a comment in passing referring to the tourney during the False Spring. Ser Barristan gives a nervous chuckle.
•The next day, Daenerys, Rhaegar, and Viserys, accompanied by Jorah and Barristan, walk along a sea wall known as the "Walk of Punishment". Here, any slave who shows insubordination is strapped to a cross and left to die out in public, as a warning to all other slaves. Daenerys offers a condemned man water, but he refuses to drink, saying that he just wants to die. Later, they continue their negotiations with Kraznys over their planned purchase of the Unsullied. During the meeting, Rhaegar announces that they would take all 8,000 Unsullied soldiers, including those in training. Kraznys initially dismisses his offer and instead offers to sell them one hundred soldiers. Daenerys then offers to sell him one of her dragons, much to Rhaegar’s confusion.
•In the end, Daenerys reaches an agreement with Kraznys to sell her biggest dragon, Vhagon, for all of the Unsullied soldiers. Jorah and Selmy object to this deal on the grounds that the dragons are key to winning the Iron Throne. Rhaegar is able to read between the lines, and becomes impressed with his baby sister, sitting back to watch how everything will plan out. Viserys remains silent, more so out of shock than anything. However, Daenerys appears to brush away their concerns and accepts the transaction, and also takes Missandei as a token of faith. Upon leaving the meeting, she scolds Jorah and Selmy for criticizing her decision in public. Rhaegar congratulates her on her cunning wit.
•Daenerys also asks Missandei for her name and whether she has any living family, but Missandei responds that she does not. Daenerys warns her that she was heading to war, she may be killed and fall sick and die. In response, Missandei recites the Valyrian aphorism: "Valar morghulis", which translated into the Common Tongue as "all men must die". Daenerys then realizes that Missandei actually knew High Valyrian, and also adds that "we are not men".
•On the day of the exchange, the slave masters and Kraznys, along with the 8,000 Unsullied warriors, meet with Daenerys, Viserys, and Rhaegar to complete the deal. Rhaegar hands the chained Rhaenyx to Kraznys, who does not realize that he has been give the wrong dragon. Rhaenyx is hostile towards his slave master. Kraznys then gives him the golden whip, the symbol of ownership over the Unsullied. After finalizing the transaction, Rhaegar tests these new powers by ordering the Unsullied, in Valyrian, to march forward and then halt. This shocks everyone including Jorah and Barristan, who did not know that he spoke Valyrian.
•Kraznys then complains that Rhaenyx did not obey his command, to which Rhaegar angrily retorts Rhaenyx does not obey him because he is not a slave; Kraznys is both stunned to learn he speaks fluent Valyrian, and horrified to realize Rhaegar understood his derogatory comments and insults about Daenerys the whole time, merely feigning ignorance to lull the Astapori into a false sense of security. Daenerys finds this encounter humorous, watching from the sidelines with Vhagon and Meraxal, named after her ancestors dragons, Vhagar, and Meraxes, perched upon her own shoulders. Rhaegar then orders the Unsullied to kill all the slave masters; Daenerys adds in for them to free all the slaves in Astapor, but to hurt no innocent people. When a panicking Kraznys desperately shouts for someone to kill her, Rhaegar orders Rhaenyx to burn Kraznys alive.
•With the Unsullied under his command, Rhaegar sacks Astapor with little resistance. Once it is done, he addresses all of the Unsullied warriors and tells them they are now free. He also gives them the option of leaving unharmed or fighting under his command as free men. At first, the Unsullied remain quiet, not knowing what to do with their newfound freedom. However, one Unsullied soldier begins to beat his spear against the ground, signifying his allegiance to him. The rest of the Unsullied follow suit shortly thereafter. Now in command of an army of free men, Rhaegar, Daenerys, and Viserys march forward with their new army while their dragons fly overhead and roar triumphantly.
•During their journey to Yunkai, the next great city of Slaver's Bay, Rhaegar ordered the Unsullied to elect a commander from their own ranks. The officers ultimately choose Grey Worm, who like all Unsullied, was given the name of a type of vermin. When Rhaegar instructed the Unsullied to go back to their own names or pick new ones they like, Grey Worm elected to keep his, as it was the name he had when The Silver Dragon and Daenerys Stormborn set him free.
•While Daenerys and Barristan were confident that they could conquer Yunkai since that city only bred sex slaves, Jorah expressed his concerns that the city's defenders would not fight them on the battlefield but would rather strengthen their position behind the walls and utilize guerrilla tactics against her army. Rhaegar agreed with Jorah, stating that doing this wouldn’t gain them anything: there were no soldiers to gain in Yunkai. Jorah also viewed the Yunkai campaign as a distraction from their main goal of taking Westeros. Daenerys was, however, adamant on freeing the slaves of Yunkai, who number in the hundreds of thousands.
•She ordered Grey Worm to send a messenger to the city and inform Yunkai's slaver rulers that they must either surrender or suffer the same fate as Astapor. Rhaegar did not stop her; Daenerys held an audience with the Yunkish herald, Razdal mo Eraz, who was one of the ruling "Wise Masters" of Yunkai. Razdal attempted to discourage Daenerys from attacking his city by claiming that numerous armies throughout history had tried and failed to conquer it. However, Daenerys was undaunted and commented that a hard-fought battle would give her Unsullied much-needed practice. Razdal then attempted to bribe her by providing her with the gold and ships needed to transport the army to Westeros. In exchange, Daenerys and her brothers would have to leave Yunkai in peace.
•In response, Daenerys makes a counter-offer: she will spare the lives of Razdal and the slave-masters of Yunkai if every slave (men, women, and children) in the city were set free, and given as much food, clothing, and property as they could carry in payment for their services. She threatened to show no mercy if Yunkai rejected her offer. Razdal was offended by Daenerys's demands and threatened to use Yunkai's "powerful friends" to destroy her. Rhaegar found this amusing, but did not step in to aid his sister, for this was her fight.
•Razdal's actions caused the dragons to make threatening gestures. When Razdal protested that he had been promised safe conduct, Daenerys responded that the dragons had made no such promise and took offense to him threatening her and her brothers. Razdal was also unable to reclaim the chests of gold he had brought with him. Following his departure, Daenerys ordered the knights to find out more about Yunkai's "powerful friends" before she decided to attack the city.
•They eventually discover that these "powerful friends" are the Second Sons, a professional mercenary company. While there are only 2,000 of them, the Second Sons are armored and mounted, enough to cause trouble for the Unsullied. Daenerys tells Barristan to organize a meeting with the Second Sons' captains, saying that men who fight for gold "can't afford to lose to a girl". Rhaegar agrees, though he is more curious to see these so-called “Second Sons” in person more than anything.
•Daenerys meets with the Captains Mero, a Braavosi who is also known as the Titan's Bastard, and Prendahl na Ghezn, a Ghiscari, and Prendahl's underling Daario Naharis. During the proceedings, Mero insults Daenerys by likening her to a whore and touches Missandei inappropriately. It takes Jorah and Viserys both to keep Rhaegar in check, for had they not, he would have drawn his blade and ended the meeting in a battle. Prendahl and Mero refuse Daenerys's offer of an alliance, pointing out they will not get their rewards until Rhaegar reclaims the Iron Throne. In response, Daenerys replies that they had no army a fortnight ago and that they had no dragons a year ago. Daenerys gives them two days to make up their mind and sends them away with the barrel of wine which Mero had departed.
•After the Second Sons depart, Daenerys instructs Barristan to kill Mero in the event that she had to fight with them. Barristan replies that he would be glad to do so. Later that night, Daenerys takes a bath and is surprised to learn that Missandei speaks nineteen languages. In response, Missandei comments that this shouldn't be that odd since it only took Daenerys a year to gain a reasonable grasp of Dothraki. The khaleesi bristles at the idea she speaks only reasonable Dothraki and switches to the language to teach Missandei a lesson, only to have her pronunciation corrected. Rhaegar, in the meantime, can be seen studying the night sky; Jorah approaches him, asking him if he misses King’s Landing. Rhaegar responds that he does, but he loathes to see the mess that it has become under the Lannister’s rule.
•Suddenly, an Unsullied enters and holds a knife to Missandei's throat, advising the women not to scream. He removes his helmet, revealing himself as Daario. He confesses that his captains want to kill Daenerys, but he disagreed with them. Instead, he beheaded them and shows their severed heads to Daenerys. Shortly after, Daario swears fealty to Daenerys. Thus, Daenerys gains a new ally in the conquest. She calls for Rhaegar, who quickly returns and is ready to kill Daario on the spot until Daenerys explains everything.•Rhaegar is still untrusting of Daario, for any man who was willing to kill the very men he fought beside was not honorable. Daenerys tries to argue with Rhaegar, but finds truth in his words, despite how trusting she wants to be.
•For their assault on Yunkai, the new captain Daario suggested attacking the city through its lightly defended back gate. Their plan was to infiltrate the city and open the main gates for the rest of the army to invade. While Ser Jorah and Rhaegar were skeptical of the plan, Daenerys and Grey Worm were willing to trust Daario. During the war meeting, Daario attempted to flirt with her. Rhaegar and Viserys both quickly intervened. When the battle began, Ser Barristan and Viserys remained behind to guard Daenerys. During that night, Rhaegar, Jorah, Daario, and Grey Worm infiltrated the city and fought their way through the slave soldiers guarding the city. Within a few hours, Targaryen forces had captured Yunkai.
•The following morning, Daenerys addressed the city's slaves with Missandei serving as her translator. Rhaegar and Viserys both stood back to allow Daenerys her time in the light. During her speech, Daenerys told the slaves that it was their own choice to reach for their freedom. As a result, the liberated slaves revered Dany as their "mhysa", which translated as "mother" from the Old Ghiscari language. Daenerys mingled with the former slaves who regarded her as a "glimmer of hope" in an increasingly dark world. Rhaegar smiles as he watches, pride filling him to see the people accepting Daenerys so willingly. Viserys grumbles that he has not had his time in the light yet. Viserys receives a light smack on the back of the head from Rhaegar.
𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫
•Daenerys, Rhaegar, and Viserys sit near the sea with the three dragons, each one about the size of a small horse. Dany strokes Vhagon’s head, while Rhaenyx and Meraxal fight over a dead lamb and Vahgon joins the fight. As Daenerys tries to calm him down, Vhagon, without warning, snaps at her with a hiss as a warning to not interfere. He then roars and goes to contest the kill. Rhaegar and Viserys both grab Daenerys and pull her back, with Rhaegar standing before his younger siblings. Vhagon snarls a warning at his mother. This act, that her own child would threaten her, and that they are outgrowing their influence and ability to control them, leaves Daenerys and Rhaegar visibly shaken.
•Rhaegar returns to his Unsullied army to resume the march to Meereen. He notices Grey Worm and Daario Naharis are absent and sets out to find them after being told they are "gambling". Daario explains they are deciding on which of them will ride up front with him in the vanguard. Frustrated, Rhaegar states that the honor goes to Daenerys and Viserys, as well as Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan as they did not keep him waiting all morning. He orders the two men to ride at the back with the livestock. He also adds that the last man holding his sword shall find themselves at the end of his own blade, begging.
•On the road to Meereen, Daenerys speaks with Missandei, who tells her that Meereen would be wise to fear her brother’s approach. Daario meets them on the cliff side, and Dany expresses her annoyance when he shows her flowers he has picked. He reveals that the flowers represent a portrait of the landscape, and serve various purposes, chiefly that knowing her surroundings is important to her strategy. Rhaegar watches this from afar; he states to Ser Jorah that he still does not trust Daario, though his knowledge of the land is worth keeping him around for.
•The marching army halts and Daenerys goes to the forefront, discovering a slave child nailed to a cross. The child is dead, her hand pointing the way to Meereen, and Ser Jorah tells Daenerys there is one for each mile to the last of the great slave cities, 163 in total. Rhaegar does not comment, but his face shows that of great pain. Viserys retches softly in the background. Ser Barristan offers to have outriders go ahead and bury them, but Daenerys refuses, ordering that each of them be buried, and their collars removed, but not before she has looked upon each and every face. Rhaegar cannot help but feel surprised and proud of his sister and joins her. Viserys is the only one who does not.
•Rhaegar, Daenerys, and their army eventually arrive at the gates of Meereen as they begins their siege. They are faced with a champions duel where a riding knight of Meereen challenges her to choose a champion that will fight for her. Daario Naharis, commander of the Second Sons and the most expendable member of Dany's entourage, volunteers to be her champion. Once Naharis quickly dispatches the Meereen champion, Rhaegar begins the siege of the city by speaking to the gathered slaves and then catapulting the broken chains of those Daenerys has freed across the city walls, demonstrating their previous successes. As the slaves examine the broken chains, the Great Masters look on, perhaps in fear.
•He sends the Unsullied, led by Grey Worm, to sneak into Meereen and start a slave revolt inside the city. The plan is successful, the slaves rise up against their masters, kill some of them and open the gates to the three siblings. They enter the city as liberators and the freedmen of Meereen celebrate Daenerys’s arrival by shouting "Mhysa" and throwing their old slaves' collars at her feet. She then has 163 Great Masters killed similarly to how they had murdered the slave children on the road to Meereen, and despite Ser Barristan's council to answer their injustice with mercy, she claims she is "answering injustice with justice". Rhaegar views this as a dangerous move, and voices his distaste to such a method; killing those who created such injustice would not create balance, but more of an eye-for-an-eye scenario. Despite this, he allows her to go ahead with her plan. The Great Harpy of Meereen at the apex of the Great Pyramid is covered with a great Targaryen banner as Rhaegar, Daenerys, and Viserys look down on the newly liberated city.
•As a meeting with his advisers and commanders of his forces is held in the highest quarters of the Great Pyramid, Rhaegar is informed that the Second Sons had taken the Meereenese navy, composed of 93 ships. Although Rhaegar did not command Daario to take them, Daenerys asks if it is enough to take their army to King's Landing. Jorah remarks that even though they might be able to take King's Landing, they wouldn't be able to hold all the Seven Kingdoms. He also tells her that in Yunkai, the Wise Masters re-established slavery and took control of the city, swearing to take revenge against Daenerys.
•In Astapor, the council Rhaegar has left behind to rule has been overthrown by a butcher named Cleon, who named himself "His Imperial Majesty". Rhaegar, angered, commands everyone except Ser Jorah and Daenerys to leave him, and here he questions his ability to rule the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros if they can't even pacify the three cities of Slaver's Bay. Thus, he decides to have Daenerys stay in Meereen to gather more knowledge and experience.
•Daenerys asks him what he intends to do, and he flashes a rare, toothy smile: he is going to take a third of the fleet and sail to gather the Golden Company. He instructs her on how to rule, spending the next four days preparing her to rule in his stead. Viserys would be there as well to give aid; Ser Jorah and Daario would remain as her guards. He would leave Greyworm and two thirds of the Unsullied, as well as Ser Barristan. He departs on the fifth day with thirty two ships, leaving behind sixty four for Daenerys and Viserys.Daenerys sets up the time to hear petitions from her new subjects. Among the first is a goatherd whose flock were roasted by the dragons; Dany orders him paid three times their value. Next is Hizdahr zo Loraq, who asks to be allowed to bury his father, one of the 163 Great Masters Daenerys ordered crucified. Dany is swayed by Hizdahr's arguments (aided by guilt upon realizing that the elder zo Loraq opposed the crucifixion of the slaves in the first place) and allows the burial. Missandei informs her that there are 200 more supplicants. Viserys aids her in her decision process, though his own opinions are often colder than what Daenerys decides.•Some weeks later, Daenerys is irritated to discover Daario in her private quarters. The mercenary tries to give her flowers, but the queen demands to know what he wants. Daario asks to be allowed to indulge in his only two talents: killing men and loving women. Dany counters that the Second Sons are assigned to patrol Meereen and keep the peace, and there are plenty of women in the city that Daario can pursue. Daario says that police work doesn't do the trick and that the only woman he wants isn't interested.
•Nonetheless, he confirms that he is sworn to her and that he will continue boring patrol work if that is what the queen wants, and only asks that she occasionally allow him to do what he is actually good at. In response, Daenerys orders him to take off his clothes.
•When Viserys learns of this the next day, he very nearly steals a dagger to go “chop off that mercenary prick’s prick,” and to “see how well he can please a woman without a cock or a tongue!”
•The following morning, as Daario leaves, Jorah enters, observing that he is earlier than most, but later than others. Daenerys brushes off his disapproval and says that she is sending the Second Sons to retake Yunkai. To ensure that slavery is truly dead in that city, Daario is under orders to kill every Wise Master the Second Sons encounter. Jorah protests, warning her that good and evil exists on both sides of every conflict, and that he wouldn't be advising her today if Eddard Stark had done to him what she is about to do to the Wise Masters, and that Rhaegar would disapprove, having said nearly the very same thing he had just spoken. After considering this, Daenerys instructs Jorah to tell Daario that she has changed her mind: his orders are now to accompany Hizdahr to Yunkai so that he can give the Wise Masters a choice: they can live in her new world, or die in their old one. As Jorah leaves, Dany says to tell Daario that it was Jorah who changed her mind.
•Daenerys is in her chambers with Missandei. The two are talking about Grey Worm and how Missandei caught him gazing while she was bathing naked downstream. Daenerys asks whether Missandei thinks he was spying on her. She says no, and Daenerys mentions that the Dothraki have no taboos against nudity or public love-making. Of course, Missandei is not Dothraki, but she says it doesn't matter, as Grey Worm isn't interested in her - none of the Unsullied desire women. Missandei says he was interested, surprisingly to both of them. Daenerys inquires whether, when a slave is castrated, the masters take "all of it" - both the "pillar" and the "stones." Missandei says she doesn't know, to which Daenerys asks if she's ever wondered. Thoughtful, Missandei confirms that she has. Later on, Viserys finds out that Jorah Mormont was spying on Daenerys.
•Jorah enters the throne room in Meereen. In an audience before her, a seething Daenerys demands an explanation, and Jorah says it is a plot by Tywin Lannister to divide them. Dany counters that the pardon was signed the year they met. Asking him whether he claims the pardon was forged, Jorah admits that it was not. He soon confesses to giving Varys information on Daenerys's activities in Essos. Daenerys angrily says that his telling them of her and her brothers still living and gaining ground led to her near-poisoning at the hands of a wine merchant. Jorah then protests that his actions stopped her from being poisoned, but Daenerys retorts this was only because he knew it might be coming. Jorah begs for her forgiveness, but Dany rebuffs him, saying he betrayed her, selling her secrets to the man she holds responsible for the death of her family. She spares his life, however, and gives him a day to leave Meereen. She warns that if he is seen in the city after that, his head will be thrown into Slaver's Bay. Jorah is last seen leaving Meereen on a horse.
•Viserys, alarmed at the changes that were suddenly occurring, sends a raven to Essos, hoping to reach his brother to tell him what had occurred. By this time, it had been a month since Rhaegar had left. The letter is written in High Valaryian.
•Meanwhile, Rhaegar has landed in Essos, and has been working to gain the favor of the current leader of the Golden Company, Harry Strickland. Upon arrival, he was pleased to note that what he had read as a child was true; that the high officers display a rude splendor. Like many in their trade they keep their worldly wealth upon their person, including jewelled swords, inlaid armor, heavy torcs, and fine silks. Many wear a lord's ransom in golden arm rings, with each ring signifying one year's service with the Golden Company.
•The captain-general's tent, made of cloth-of-gold, is surrounded by a ring of pikes topped with the gilded skulls of previous captains-general. A rather morbid display, but it signified strength- something that Rhaegar appreciated. He explained who he was, how Aegon Targaryen was his ancestor, and how he, along with his siblings and their dragons, intend to take back King’s Landing and rule the Seven Kingdoms once more, but that he couldn’t do such a thing without an army.Harry counters that Rhaegar has the Unsullied. Rhaegar replies that the Unsullied are a fraction of what he needed. He also added that the pay would be handsome, and waves forth Ser Barristan, who brings with him five trunks full of jewels and gold- all from House Targaryen.
•Harry agrees to help on the condition that only a portion of the Golden Company would return with Rhaegar at the time being; the rest would set sail for King’s Landing once Rhaegar was prepared to launch a formal attack. Rhaegar agreed with this, for it was the best deal that he would get.
•Daenerys sits in her throne room where she is receiving another day's supplicants. An old man named Fennesz approaches the throne. Fennesz explains that he was not one of the slaves who toiled away at manual labor, but a well-educated teacher and servant to Master Mighdal, who employed him as a teacher for his own children. He tells Daenerys that Master Mighdal's seven-year-old daughter Calla admires Daenerys, having learned of the Targaryen dynasty through Fennesz's teachings. As a servant of Master Mighdal, Fennesz was well-treated and even well-respected in the household, but when Daenerys forcibly freed all of the slaves in the city she did not understand the full-scale complications of suddenly having to care for so many people. Fennesz originally stayed in Master Mighdal's house after she took the city. Mighdal's children begged him to stay, but Mighdal and Fennesz agreed that he must leave rather than face reprisals, forcing Fennesz to become homeless. Daenerys insists that she had established mess halls to feed the freed slaves and barracks to house them. Fennesz says that he has visited these refugee centers and they are not very safe: the young prey on the old, harassing and robbing them. Daenerys insists that the Unsullied will restore order, but Fennesz points out that even assuming that they are able to ensure his physical safety, he has lost his livelihood and his purpose and is too old to start anew. Therefore, he has come to Daenerys to beg her permission to sell himself back to Mighdal. She is shocked that he would want to be an owned as a slave again, as a man might own a goat or a chair.
•He implores her that the young who can adapt rejoice in her new world, but for those too old to change, there is only fear and squalor. Nor, he says, is he alone: there are many supplicants waiting outside lining up to make similar requests. Daenerys is crestfallen and says she did not liberate the slaves of Meereen only to preside over the very injustice she sought to destroy, but surprisingly relents and admits that freedom means making one's own choices. Viserys argues, saying how this could become dangerous, how the masters could abuse this, that they should wait for Rhaegar to return, but she does not listen. Therefore, she allowed Fennesz to enter into a labor contract with Mighdal, but lasting no more than one year. He earnestly thanks her, and leaves. The next supplicant then enters, a shepherd carrying a bundle in his arms. The shepherd timidly approaches and states that he is unable to speak in the common tongue and requires Missandei to translate. Distraught, he tells Daenerys that the "winged shadow" came, placing the bundle on the ground and opening it to reveal charred bones - of a human child. Daenerys's largest dragon, the pitch-black Vhagon, has roasted the man's three-year-old daughter Zalla until this is all that was left of her.
•Horrified, Daenerys meets with Missandei and Grey Worm in private to discuss the details of Zalla's death and how to deal with the growing threat the dragons are posing to the people of Meereen. Grey Worm reports that Vhagon was last seen flying over the Black Cliffs three days ago, but he can no longer be found. Realizing that she can no longer control the dragons, Daenerys tells them to head with her to the catacombs under the city. Viserys, distraught, realizes what Daenerys intends to do, and tries to reason with her: chaining the dragons up would do more harm than good, that they need the open air and skies. Later, she leads her remaining two dragons, Rhaenyx and Meraxal, into the catacombs, where they are distracted by sheep carcasses. As they are feeding, Daenerys personally locks huge iron collars around their necks, which are secured by heavy chains. She weeps as she does so, as it is symbolically reducing the remaining "children" to chained-up slaves themselves. Viserys stands back and watches, not quite crying, but his eyes are damp as Daenerys returns without the dragons. Daenerys wordlessly leaves and closes the huge stone door to the catacombs behind her as her dragons grow distressed and pathetically call after her. When they attempt to follow, they realize they are chained in place.
•Rhaegar begins to travel back to Meereen, the thirty-two ships full of both Unsullied and members of the Golden Company. He mentions to Barristan how he cannot wait to finally return to Dragonstone, to Westeros.
𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞
•Following the removal of the golden harpy from the top of the Great Pyramid and the subsequent murder of White Rat, Daenerys is furious. She orders that he be buried with full honors in the Temple of the Graces as a statement to the Sons of the Harpy, and orders that the Unsullied patrol the streets of Meereen. She later receives Hizdahr zo Loraq's report on the situation in Yunkai. Daenerys is pleased that the Wise Masters will share their rule with the former slaves but refuses to support Hizdahr's concession of allowing the fighting pits to reopen. Viserys tries to talk her into opening the fighting pits, but is ignored outright with a door shut in his face, much to his annoyance. He yells through it, saying how she should listen to him if she didn’t want to “wake the dragon”- to which she laughs.
•Later that night, Daario tries to convince her to reconsider, explaining that he was once a slave who earned his freedom in the pits. The skills he learned ultimately led him to the Second Sons and thence to Daenerys. Upon learning that Vhagon hasn't been seen in weeks, Daario muses on the possibilities of a dragon king with no dragons. In response, Daenerys and Viserys visit Rhaenyx and Meraxal in the catacombs where she imprisoned them. To their horror, they try to attack upon hearing her voice and she is forced to flee with Viserys quickly closing the door. He then turns to her wordlessly, gesturing towards the catacombs as if to say “I told you so”.
•Daenerys leads a council meeting in the pyramid debating the fate of a Son of the Harpy that Daario and Grey Worm found. Barristan pleads that the man deserves a fair trial while the freed Meereenese slave, Mossador, insists Daenerys put the man to death. Viserys is torn during this discussion, for he can see either side, though he does agree that a fair trial would look better.
•Daenerys thanks the advisers for their council and dismisses them, but Viserys asks her for a word in private about their father, the "Mad King". Daenerys initially scoffs at Viserys for reminding her of what she considers her enemies' lies. He tells Daenerys about how their father set entire towns and castles ablaze, murdered sons in front of their fathers, and burned men alive with wildfire, laughing as they screamed. All of this led to a rebellion that killed every Targaryen save for her, Rhaegar and Viserys. Daenerys is visibly shocked but assures Viserys that she is not like their father. Viserys agrees, but he still warns her that the Mad King gave his enemies the justice he thought they deserved, and each time it made him feel powerful and right until the very end. Daenerys promises not to have the Son of the Harpy executed without a fair trial.
•Later, Mossador goes against Dany's order and executes the man, angering Daenerys. She decides to sentence Mossador to death, stating that killing the Son of the Harpy broke the law. A crowd gathers to witness Mossador's execution and Daenerys tells the crowd that when she conquered Meereen she promised freedom and justice, but one cannot exist without the other. Daenerys is escorted away by the Unsullied when riots break out between the freedmen and the masters.
•She retreats to her pyramid where she wants to spend time alone. She steps out onto her balcony and finds Vhagon atop the Great Pyramid. Daenerys is happy to see him and tries reaching out for him, which she hadn't done since the start of her reign over Meereen, but he flies away. Daenerys is left heartbroken as she gazes at Vhagon from the distance.Daenerys looks down at the streets below from her royal apartment in the Great Pyramid. Daario arrives telling her that Hizdahr is in the throne room awaiting her. Daario assures her that he has her well protected, despite claiming she could easily defend herself against Hizdahr. In the throne room, Daenerys hears Hizdahr plead again to reopen the fighting pits of Meereen, but she refuses. Viserys disagrees with this decision. Hizdahr rationally argues that the fighting pits provide a great spectacle that has always been enjoyed by both the masters and slaves, and is one of the few things that can bring the city together. Dany does not interrupt him this time as he continues to offer his proposal.
•Daenerys is devastated upon learning of one of the Unsullied’s untimely death at the hands of the Sons of the Harpy, and grieves over his corpse in the throne room. Upon the suggestion of Daario, Dany decides to round up each of the leaders of Meereen's noble families, including Hizdahr zo Loraq.
•Bringing the eight of them down to the catacombs where Rhaenyx and Meraxal, Dany, with the enforcement of the Unsullied, forces the leaders forwards towards the dragons until one of them is burned alive and then brutally torn apart. Viserys smiles at this, pleased with the fear it drew from the other leaders. Drawn into Dany's debate between mercy and revenge, Missandei advises her to trust the decision that she alone sees. Taking this advice, Dany approaches Hizdahr in his cell, admitting her mistake of refusing to open the fighting pits. Daenerys, in order to secure her bondage with the noble people of Meereen, decides to wed herself to Hizdahr, although she makes it clear that she will be the one in control. Viserys is completely blindsided by this decision, and takes Dany aside to talk to her about this- about their familial traditions. Daenerys will not hear it, claiming that this is the only way.
•Later, while in bed with Daario, Daenerys reassures him that her marriage to Hizdahr is purely political in order to maintain peace. Daario hints at jealousy and asks if Daenerys would marry him instead, but Daenerys, who would like nothing less, is forced to refuse him.
•To everyone's surprise, Viserys, Daenerys, and Hizdahr appear in one of the fighting pits to watch the opening of the games, though Daenerys is visibly uncomfortable at the violent butchery before her, and gets up to leave, she is convinced to stay by Hizdahr. Viserys remains as well, taking interest in the “savage games” of Meereen. While Daenerys argues with Hizdahr, another fighter emerges into the pit and proceeded to overpower the other participants, knocking them down one by one using non-lethal means that caused Dany to become intrigued by this newcomer. When the fighting is over, the surviving fighter reveals himself as Jorah, but Daenerys, who still hasn't forgiven him, orders him taken away. However, Jorah shouts out that he has brought Daenerys a gift. Jorah's companion enters the arena and introduces himself to Daenerys as Tyrion Lannister. Viserys very nearly spills his wine.Daenerys has both Tyrion and Jorah brought before her inside the Great Pyramid. Though she had doubts about the Lannister's claimed identity, she lets him try and talk her out of executing Jorah. On Tyrion's advice, she spares Jorah's life and banishes him from Meereen again (he counseled that she should not kill those devoted to her, but also that Jorah could not be present should she ever claim Westeros). Tyrion asks where Rhaegar is; Daenerys states that he is returning with the Golden Company, much to Tyrion’s shock.
•Later, over wine, Daenerys and Tyrion speak about their families and past. Daenerys is still thinking about executing Tyrion, mostly as revenge against the Lannisters for betraying her family, but decides not to when she sees Tyrion's indifference to death. Tyrion warns her that the noble families of Westeros are too busy fighting the game of thrones or exhausted to help them reclaim the Iron Throne, and suggests that they consolidate their power in Meereen and build a new kingdom for themselves. Daenerys says they will only stay in Meereen long enough to stabilize the situation and likens Westeros's game of thrones to a spinning wheel, with the Great Houses as spokes. Tyrion dismisses her idealism, noting that others have tried to stop the wheel, but Daenerys firmly declares that she and Rhaegar intend to break the wheel, not just stop it. She then informs Tyrion that she will advise Rhaegar to take him on as an advisor, but confiscates his wine – she needs him to communicate in complete sentences.
•Attended by Tyrion Lannister, Missandei, Viserys, Hizdahr zo Loraq and Daario Naharis, Daenerys sits in the royal box at the Daznak's Pit and watches to crowd; they are silent. Hizdahr tells her to clap her hands, which she does, beginning the Great Games. She then notices Jorah in the array of fighters, who gives the traditional dedication to her and manages to be the last fighter standing. At this moment, Jorah suddenly hurls a spear at the royal box – embedding itself in a Son of the Harpy sneaking behind Daario.
•Suddenly, Sons of the Harpy reveal themselves on every level of the arena and begin slaughtering collaborating Masters and freedmen alike – Hizdahr included. Jorah and Daario evacuate Daenerys from the royal box, while Tyrion and Viserys rescue Missandei. Finding the exits blocked, the group makes a stand in the center of the Pit with the remainder of the Unsullied defenders. Seeing they are hopelessly outnumbered, Daenerys takes Missandei's hand and closes her eyes, ready to face her death.
•At that moment, a draconic screech pierces the air, and Vhagon descends upon the arena, flying out of a giant flame burst. Many of the Sons scatter in terror as Vhagon bites and mercilessly burns the nearest ones to death. The Sons rally enough to attack Vhagon with spears, which Daenerys hastily makes an effort to remove. Trying to get Vhagon out of the Sons' range, Dany climbs atop his back and bids him to fly, becoming the first Targaryen dragonrider in over a century. The Sons of the Harpy temporarily routed, Daario, Jorah, Missandei and Tyrion look on in astonishment as Vhagon, with Daenerys on his back, soars away.
•Daenerys is able to still see as Viserys, with his attention on his baby sister, is cut down by a Son of the Harpy, much to her horror. Eventually, the Unsullied are able to contain the fighting, but Viserys’s wounds are simply too much and cannot be healed, and he dies within the fighting pit. His last thought was that the Targaryens are finally back with their mighty dragons, and how he could not wait to see Westeros from the air.
•Later, Daenerys finds herself far away from Meereen, atop an impressive hill in a sea of green grass. Vhagon is still recovering from his wounds and is uninterested in flying back. Unfortunately, he's also not interested in finding them any food. Daenerys wanders away to find something for them, but is shocked to see a trio of Dothraki bloodriders emerge. Within minutes, an entire khalasar has her surrounded. Understanding what might happen to her, she quickly removes a ring and drops it in the grass, determined to leave a trail.
#Rhaegar Targaryen#rhaegar lives au#daenerys targaryen#viserys targaryen#tyrion lannister#jorah mormont#game of thrones#game of thrones au#fakexface writing#my writing
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Just did a bad thing
I regret the thing i did
& ur wondering what it is, well I'll tell u what it is
I did a bad thing.
And that thing is, I started writing a new fic. Not a Sally Face one. But a Ghost one. With my Sister of Sin oc. This was not the PLAN.
But I'm gonna work on it. see if I could figure out a more solid plot. And also
Finish Empire of Dirt.
11 more chapters, kiddos.
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Chapter I
Prologue [ x ]
Ten Years Later
The sun was high in the sky, a horridly hot, blazing thing that made sweat gather upon his brow and drip down between his shoulder blades. But that didn’t matter; his skin wouldn’t blister, only tan. Before him stood a man twice his size with a sword that could cleave him in half, and a smile that promised blood. Turning the xiphos in his hands, he raised the blade before him. He licked his lips, tasting iron and salt, and grinned.
The man lunged, and the crowd around them cheered.
He ducked, turning, leg sliding out to catch the man by the ankles. A quick jerk sent him tumbling forward, and he turned, watching him fall. He wasted no time, lunging forward, the blade poised for the base of his neck, where the spine was weak. A yell surged free as he dove, knees hitting the other’s back, pinning him down, as he brought it down quickly-
“Do you yield?” He asked, panting, as the crowed fell silent. When he received no answer, he let the tip of the blade ghost along the back of his neck, beneath the shock of red hair.
“… I yield.” The man finally spoke into the dirt, pain lacing his words as the crowd roared to life.
A chant began, one of the title the boy had gained. “Songbird! Songbird! Songbird!” Over and over, and the boy let his head fall back, drinking it in. He let it go on for another minute before his lips opened, and he released a single, piercing battle cry that echoed around the small fighting pit, like an eagle crying out. The crowed seemed to grow louder with the sound.
“That’s enough, that’s enough! You’ve all work to be done, still!” A booming voice broke up the cheering, which quickly turned to lighthearted booing. The man on the ground groaned as he rolled over, staring up at the clear blue sky with obvious distaste. “Up, up, Durgin. Go clean that blood off of your face.”
“Mihai, you buzzkill,” Durgin grumbled as he pushed himself up, red hair falling into his face as he doubled over and groaned once more. “Matthias, next time, don’t go for my stomach. You know that’s my weakest point!” He complained, lip jutting out in a pout as he righted himself.
Matthias let out a laugh, shaking dark locks wet with sweat out of his face. “Then it wouldn’t be a fair fight, my friend!” He replied, gaze drifting towards the captain who approached with an amused grin. “Mihai, perfect timing. Care to spar?” A mischievous grin curled his lips as he slid the xiphos back into its sheath with a pleasant hiss.
“Afraid not, my friend,” Mihai replied, shaking his head. He’d recently gotten a haircut, Matthias noticed; the dirty blond strands that had been drifting to below his shoulders had been cut short, bangs falling upon his forehead despite the evidence of him styling them back, cut shorter on the sides. A common haircut among the warriors of Kashim. Still handsome, the cut did nothing to hide the high cheekbones or the vivid blue of his eyes. “I’m here on official business.”
“Official?” Matthias echoed, perplexed.
“Business?” Durgin added, sounding just as perplexed as Matthias.
Mihai nodded, holding out a rolled piece of parchment. “You’ve been summoned, Matthias. The Jor himself wishes to see you.”
The Jor, the reigning King of Kashim, was a man of fierce reputation. Florin the Fearful was what the people of Kashim called him due to his strategic movements during the War of the Songbirds. He had been known to cut down his enemies with little more than a glance and was a terror to face. Matthias would know.
After all, Florin had been the one to abduct him from his home in Cruimore ten years ago.
“Right…” Matthias drawled, taking the parchment and opening it with little grace, tearing the wax seal. The summons was true, it seemed. The message gave little away to what, exactly, this summons was to be. That annoyed him, but there was nothing the captive prince could do. Slowly folding the message up before holding it aloft in his hand, he made sure that Mihai and Durgin could both witness his next minor act of rebellion. Blue flames erupted from his palm, causing the parchment to turn to ash in a matter of seconds.
Mihai let out a soft chuckle beneath his breath. “You truly do have a death wish, don’t you?” Matthias only gave a wink in response. Clearing his throat, Mihai straightened his shoulders and jerked his chin. “Move it, I’m missing dinner with Emrie for this.”
“How is she, anyway?” Matthias asked as he grabbed his shirt, tugging the ivory piece of cloth over tanned, dirt streaked shoulders. “I heard that the pregnancy was taking a toll on her.”
“It is,” Mihai affirmed, lips set in a grim line. “She wakes with sickness each morning, and she complains of small contractions. She is nearing the end, at least.”
Matthias hummed, gaze sweeping the training courtyard as they slowly made their way through it. So many men and women, each with their own story. Some more similar to his own than he’d like to admit. “Will the Jor allow healers to tend to her when the time comes?” He asked casually, hands slipping into the pockets of his muddied trousers.
Mihai’s lack of a verbal answer let him know that it had already been discussed- and denied.
The walk to the throne room was quiet; Mihai had told him all those years ago, when they had just been boys, that the walls had ears and eyes. The only safe place to ever speak of anything of importance was outside of the city- a luxury two boys from separate kingdoms, both stolen from their homes, did not have. Instead, they created a way to speak without words- hand signals, each one meaning a word. They perfected it during their studies, making sure to keep it out of sight of the Master of Words.
No one knew, and that was exactly how they liked it.
The halls were long and pristine, onyx stone carved and polished to a gleaming, smooth perfection. The first time he’d seen the palace, he thought it had been carved from the night itself. The entire exterior was a deep, endless black, with golden trimming and ivory marble columns. The interior gleamed, the onyx intertwined with gold flecks and splashes of rich, deep sapphire, like the cosmos themselves had been pulled from the sky and spread across. Even the floors were a rich black tone.
But the true masterpiece was the throne room.
The doors were huge, carved from ivory and inlaid with gold. Beyond that sat the throne room, a space easily the size of the amphitheater in the Lower Districts. The ceiling stretched high above in a dome, with a great chandelier of sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds dripping down. The steps leading up to the throne were gilded gold, polished daily. The floor was black marble, and the walls were ivory marble. The throne was a giant, terrifying thing, easily spanning the height of two grown men, and came up to a deadly thin point. Carved from onyx, it held the faces of the Five Gods- the Father, the Mother, the Sinner, the Healer, and Maiden Death at the very top, directly over the Jor’s head.
The Jor was a terrifying sight, too. Pale hair that swept long and flowed free, reaching the small of his back, frame a face that seemed to be carved from marble. A strong jawline that held a deep scar on the right side, high cheekbones, an elegant nose and brow, and eyes the color of a stormy sky. He was a tall man, breaching six feet easily, and a mountain of pure muscle beneath armor of bone and black. He bore no crown, for why would a man that was known far and wide require such a thing?
Matthias lowered himself to a knee and bowed his head low, though his gaze strayed from the Jor to the pair that stood either side him. A smile curled his lips at the sight. To the Jor’s right stood his trusted Spymaster, a woman with hair cropped short and skin that rivaled the onyx of the walls. Her eyes were a vivid sky blue with a starburst of brown in her left, and her lips were always painted a shade that rivaled fresh blood. She wore no jewelry aside from a single ring on her left thumb, a simple silver thing. Her clothing was perfect, as always, a rich maroon gown that rose high upon her neck and fell in layers to the floor. Her name was Zoya Kathiu, from the kingdom of Kaalee Ret to the Southeast of Teoterra. She was a terror in and of herself; a master of poisons and the art of the blade, she could take down an entire kingdom with little trouble.
To the left stood Luca, the Jor’s son. He took after his mother in temperament and moral, but his father in his looks. Long hair the color of starlight fell to his waist in an intricate braid that was tossed carelessly over one shoulder. His eyes were a light blue that turned stormy when he was angry, and his lips were a rosy pink. His skin was a shade darker than his father’s, holding a healthy glow to it due to being outside with the soldiers. He wore armor of silver and bone, standing tall and proud. His belt held the broadsword, Sineater, a weapon forged of blood and bone and tears- or so they say. He was a year older than Matthias himself, the oldest of Florin’s three children, and the most mischievous.
“Rise.” Florin spoke, deep voice echoing within the room dramatically. Matthias managed to keep his snort in as he and Mihai rose to their feet in near unison, both standing at parade rest. Florin studied them for a long moment, disgust evident as his gaze swept over Matthias. ‘Good’, he thought to himself, ‘let him be disgusted.’ “There’s whispers of an uprising within the border towns. Have you heard of this act of defiance?” The question startled the prince, and he found himself staring at the Jor in confusion for a solid minute before finding his voice. Did he suspect that Matthias was part of this uprising- or the sole cause?
“I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything of this uprising, your highness.” He answered carefully, brows furrowing as the Jor rose from his throne, onyx and bone armor shining in the sunlight that filtered through the stained glass on the peak of the ceiling, directly over the throne. “I assume you’ve summoned myself and Mihai for a reason pertaining to these… Whispers?” Temper, temper; he could feel Mihai tensing up beside him. But Matthias wasn’t worried- no, the Jor saw him as a weapon, and wouldn’t dare harm a finely crafted tool that could turn a battle to their favor far too easily.
Florin hummed, hands loose at his sides, as he slowly made his way down the ten steps that created the dais upon which his throne sat. High enough to be above all the court, but not too high to become and easy, open target. “I do,” he agreed, thin lips curling into a cruel little smile. “I wish for you to take,” he paused, a finger pressing to his lips. Matthias reigned in the urge to curl his lip at the sight of the black, pointed nail which resided on that finger. “I wish for you to take ten of your best men, along with Mihai here, and squash any signs of rebellion that you find.”
Squash, as in kill. Mihai grimaced, but nodded. “Of course, your highness. Is there anything else you would require of us?” He asked, head tilting to the side, feigning innocence and loyalty. Matthias had to cover the chuckle that rose with a cough.
“That will be all. Dismissed,” with that, the man turned on his heel and retreated- not to his throne, but past it, to the dark doorway that lead to his own personal chambers beyond, and Gods know what else. Matthias couldn’t remember what horrors lay beyond, only the ever-consuming darkness. It still made his skin crawl regardless. Dropping down in a low bow at the waist, the pair held their position until Florin was out of eyesight, and then a moment longer before raising.
Luca had climbed down the stairs, while Zoya had simply vanished into thin air. Mihai turned, slowly, looking for the Spymaster as if she could be hidden within the shadows. Then again, she just might. The thought made Matthias suddenly question every single thing he’d ever done when he thought he was alone.
“He’ll want you to take off first light,” the petit prince spoke, voice softer, more melodic compared to his terror of a father. He took after his late mother in so many ways, Matthias noted with a tinge of melancholy. “You’ll need to prepare for the journey tonight. Your horses should be being tended to currently…” Trailing off, Luca fidgeted with his sleeves, an old habit he’d had since he was but a boy, apparently. Mihai had pointed it out.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Mihai pressed, watching as the prince shifted, armor clinking. Armor that had been styled after his fathers, silver and black and just as horrid. Matthias crossed his arms over his chest and waited, watching as Luca looked around the room before stepping even closer- close enough that, if he wanted, he could reach up and tuck some of that long, white blond hair behind a delicate ear.
Luca worried his lip before meeting Mihai’s stare. “Father intends to use this as a show of force- not just for here, but against the other nations. Against Cruimore.”
The sound of his home country made Matthias pause, brows furrowing. Against his home? Why? Sapphire hues studied Luca carefully, reading his every movement, looking for the telltale show of lying- but he found nothing. A cold chill crept along his skin as he let the words sink in. “Why against Cruimore?”
“Because your sister has ascended to the throne.”
“My sister?” Matthias echoed, disbelief painting his tone. “How? Father was on the throne, not Thea. Thea wouldn’t take the throne unless…” Unless something had happened to his father. Unless something had caused him to abdicate the throne. Unless something had…
He didn’t realize he was running until he burst through the throne room doors and was halfway down the hallway when Mihai managed to catch up- but didn’t stop him. He ran beside him, a hand on the pommel of his blade. Their footsteps echoed like war drums, a staccato against the silence of the palace. No servants were in their paths, no noblemen or women, no courtesans. Empty. They turned, racing down the stairs, taking them three at a time, towards the courtyard.
He couldn’t be dead. He couldn’t, could he? He wasn’t. There was no way- they would have sent word, right? Why wouldn’t they have sent word?
‘They think you dead, little prince.’ A viscous voice hissed at him from within his mind. No. They couldn’t. He was alive! He was here, breathing, alive!
They swept across the courtyard, barely slowing to leave the gates, before Matthias turned and slowed his steps, speed walking through the crowds of the Upper Market. “Kaith will know.” He hissed, hand curling into a fist before uncurling and curling once more. He could feel his nails bite into his skin, the sting a reminder that he was alive. Mihai didn’t answer, instead using his bulk to slide in front of him and clear a path. For that, he was grateful. Broad shouldered and taller, with a severe jawline and a dangerous glint in his eyes, Mihai made for a terrifying sight that made crowds part like waves around a rock.
The Upper Market was always busy, especially on sunny, warm days. Shopfronts were lined with the finest of dresses, made from silk or velveteen with lace appliques. Others held pastries and decorative cakes, the smell of sweets wafting into the street, covering the smell of sea with their sugar. The cobblestone was clean, no cracks, nothing that could cause you to stub your toe or trip when drunk. Speaking of, there were no taverns, not up here. No, those were below.
The Low District was their destination. Or, more accurately, the Barnacle, a port-side tavern that was popular with sailors and held the most information. Where Kaith resided. It was obvious when one passed from the Upper to the Low; the cobblestone gave way to dirt roads, the shops were no longer white and pristine, and the smell of sea salt crept into every pore and crevice, sinking into your clothes, your skin, your hair. The shops and houses here took the brunt of the sea’s wrath, the high waves and torrential downpours. Their walls weren’t of the pretty wood and stone, but of brick and rock, made to weather the sea.
Matthias began to jog, speed slowly picking up as he picked his way down the empty alleyways, startling fat rats and skinny cats. He didn’t care; he could hear the roar of the sea, the laughter of drunk men, the calls of women to lure men into their brothels and enjoy themselves. None of that mattered.
Not when Kaith slipped out of the shadows directly into their path, causing both Matthias and Mihai to nearly slip in the mud. Kaith stood still, dressed head to toe in black, their dark hair tied back in a loose braid. “You’re in a rush,” they noted, brow raising as they studied them.
“I need to know.” Matthias panted out, hands on his knees.
“Know… What?” Kaith pressed, words no more than a whisper.
“I don’t have time for games, Kaith!” He exclaimed, straightening up and leaning close. “I need to know what you know about Vatis.” Kaith’s dark eyes gave nothing away; endless pools of obsidian that could swallow a man whole and make him beg for mercy. He didn’t look away. “What happened to my father.”
Kaith didn’t answer, not right away. Instead, they looked around, gaze sweeping for peeping eyes and listening ears. The Shadow of Istis, that’s what they were called. And the Shadow could see things in the Shadows that others could not. “Come,” they spoke finally, turning on their heel to make their way towards the docks. “Malekai will tell you.”
Malekai, their… Boss? Keeper? Lover? Matthias wasn’t sure what the relationship was between the Shadow and the Pirate. But if Malekai had information, then he would gladly go to the ship. Even if it meant forfeiting secrets he was not fond of giving. That’s what Malekai and Kaith traded in; secrets.
Everyone in Istis had a closet full of skeletons, and a chest full of secrets.
“Lead the way,” Mihai spoke for Matthias. Kaith nodded and turned, braid swinging with the movement. For as long as Matthias had known Kaith, he had never figured them out. They were masculine, but feminine. Strong angles and soft curves. Long hair and longer knives. Their clothing gave nothing away- he would know, he’d stared. And stared. And could never see beyond the baggy pants and loose tops covered with a heavy leather jacket. Within those layers were weapons of all kinds hidden: stilettoes, daggers, switchblades, Rettan smoke bombs, Eastern Isles poisons. Dangerous, in so many ways.
The port was busy, sailors calling here and there, merchants making last ditch efforts for sales, wives kissing their husband’s goodbye and husbands waving their wives off, gone to sea for another few months. And at the very end, flanked by two of Florin’s Royal Navy ships, sat the Crimson Grace.
It was quite a sight, something that could take anyone’s breath away. Its black sails were furled, hiding the crimson bird that decorated them, anchors dropped, but despite that, it was still marvelous. The entire ship was doused in a color far too close to fresh blood, with black and gold trim work. The figurehead was of a woman, her arms outstretched towards the horizon, her hair a deep ebony and skin a vivid gold. Her dress was crimson, just as the rest of the ship.
Kaith wasted no time in leading them on board, not needing an introduction. The crew knew them well, stepping aside for the Shadow and their companions. They opened the door to the Captain’s Quarters after knocking once, sliding in and gesturing. Inside lay all sorts of treasures; a large map of the seas upon one wall, a mahogany desk with golden trinkets and another map and ships and other strange wooden figures stationed atop.
And leaning against that desk was the captain himself, Malekai the Malicious.
When Matthias first met him, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Some old, weathered sailor with scars and missing teeth and maybe a missing limb or two. Instead, he was met with a handsome, young face that vaguely reminded him of a wolf, or perhaps a fox. Golden blond hair that fell to his shoulders in gentle waves, mischievous blue eyes, and a kind smile. Nothing compared to what he had been expecting.
That had been four years ago.
Malekai hadn’t changed much in that time; he still fancied extravagant suits tailored to his figure and pure red wine and remained as mischievous as ever. Except for now- now, that mischief lacked from his gaze, the corners of his lips were turned down in a deep frown, and he wore a loose, white shirt that was unbuttoned clear to his sternum and high waisted, black leather trousers. The shirt revealed a tattoo of a sun over his heart.
“Malekai.” Mihai greeted, and a beat later, Matthias spoke up.
“What do you know?”
Malekai eased himself from the desk and gestured to the two chairs that were situated before it. “Sit.” It wasn’t a suggestion. Slowly, the pair lowered themselves into the plush seats, sinking down. “There’s really no easy way for me to say this…” He began, hands gripping the edge of the desk. Matthias noted how his knuckles whitened, how his jaw clenched. He leaned forward in his seat, gaze locked on the pirate.
“Tell. Me.” He managed to grind out, heart hammering in his chest, blood pounding in his ears.
Malekai sighed, slowly crouching down before Matthias. “There have been whispers on the winds and lips of traveling merchants from the North. Whispers that… There has been a change.”
“A change.”
Nodding, the pirate studied his hands, the scars that crossed his knuckles. “There is no easy way to say this,” he repeated, looking up from his hands to the captive prince before him, “your father was killed in an attempt to overthrow the royal family. Your older sister has taken the throne and crown, and has been declared Queen of Cruimore, with your mother as the Queen Regent.”
A moment passed where it felt as if the world dropped out from beneath Matthias, as if the ocean had suddenly swelled up and crashed over him, leaving him to float with no sign of surfacing. “What?”
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Prologue
Ten years ago…
The sound of the war drums echoed throughout the passageway, distant but strong. Renard’s hand was sweaty as he dragged the young prince along, turning this way then that, the map of the underground tunnels flashing before his eyes. Kashim had come, and with a vengeance. Thea and Her Majesty had been swept away by a separate group of guards, taken to the villa where Renard was trying to get little Matthias to. This scared, ten-year old child who knew to stay silent and to run as fast as his little legs could carry him, to hold in his whimpers. They had a plan; separate the children to create confusion, send out the servant’s children to act as decoys.
Renard didn’t want to think on what happened when they found out that the children in the royal library were not the royals at all.
One step after another, he plowed on, even when the screams grew close as they passed by hidden doors. A bloodbath had crept onto the doorstep of the kingdom, and the rioting in the streets simply added to the chaos of trebuchets sending smoldering rocks over the towering walls, to the sudden outpour of warriors and knights and gods know what else from the sewers. The damned sewers! They had made sure guards were everywhere- but the sewers. How they had gotten in, well- he would never know. He was but a mere butler, nothing more, nothing less. He knew how to get through the passageways, and how to ensure the safety of the children. His Royal Majesty was above them somewhere, fighting alongside his men and siblings. Ser Oghren would be in the streets, working to control the chaos, while Lady Rhea would take her Mice and slip through the alleyways, cutting throats and minimizing the losses on their side as much as possible.
Two more turns, and that would get them to the royal garden. From there, the maze, where another door lay in the ground beside the large fountain in the center, which would lead them deep below the ground and then into the Jurdis mountains beyond, where the Queen would be with her other children. Gods, had the other children made it out? Little Ewan and the baby, Dorian the Second. Had Matilda grabbed them? Or had they been taken with the Queen? He was Matthias’ designated ward, staying by the child at all times. But now… Now, where would they go?
The stones beneath his feet grew wet, their footsteps splashing, echoing through the tunnels. The door was right there, right there! And then, a clear shot to the maze. He reached out, turning the handle, throwing the door open-
Only to feel an odd, stinging, burning spread throughout his stomach, and to hear the screaming of a child. Blearily, belatedly, he looked down, down, down to where a blade had run him through. “What?” He managed to get out before the sword was jerked out in a horrid twisting motion, tearing innards and opening the wound wider on its retreat. Falling, falling, down to his knees. His hands clutched at his stomach as he looked up, up, up to the face that stared down at him. Beautiful white blond hair, steel gray eyes, and a pale face greeted him.
Florin the Fearful towered over him with blood coating his armor, smeared across his cheekbones, staining that lovely hair to a vivid ruby. A cold, cruel smile curled rosebud lips as he jerked his sword to the side, sending blood splattering onto the cobblestone. Renard wanted to shout, to scream, but no words came, only a bitter, iron taste as he coughed, choking. He watched as Matthias, with his black hair combed back and his sapphire blue eyes wide with tears. “Run,” he whispered, feeling his breath catching as he fell forward.
The last thing he saw was Matthias begin picked up, and boots- three pairs- walking away, through the garden, to the maze. The maze. They hadn’t just come through the sewers, someone had told them about the pathway. There was a rat in the kingdom. Someone needed to tell the King. Someone needed to know. Someone…
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Snippet of: World Gone Mad
Aether stormed back to the door, gripping at the wood, knuckles whitening. “Maybe you shouldn’t be fucking the head of our church. Ever think of that, Dewdrop? Ever think that maybe, for once, you should think with your head and not your dick?”
Dewdrop hissed, teeth bared. “Maybe that’s why he won’t fuck you. Because you’re too stuck up. Stuck up- or maybe it’s cause you don’t even smell like a Ghoul. You’re nothing but a mutt, aren’t you?”
Silence fell. Aether’s Glamour slipped, revealing vivid royal purple hues that had filled with tears, his lips parted, jaw slack. Dewdrop swallowed harshly, realizing exactly what he’d just said. He paled, eyes widening.
“Aether-”
Aether slammed the door shut and locked it, leaving Dewdrop outside. He leaned back against it and slid to the floor as he struggled to breathe. Mutt. A mutt. He was a mutt.
6 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
leftdestiny-posts
°•*⁀➷"Welcome to the bakery!"
fumahelia
alassa
indiemovies
dreaming of a lake
omniscientspinelfanatic
Omnesci-the-Spinel-Fanatic
demonicxrocker
reqs are closed, sorry.