[Chapter Size: 3500 Words.]
Third Person POV.
Winterfell.
...
...
She was on one of the sections of Winterfell's wall, while the wind blew from the North to the South, making her hair swing forward and her face be bathed on the sides of her cheeks by the cold air.
Her eyes were fixed on the South, shining amid thoughts trapped in the figure of her beloved in her mind. Her nephew-husband led the army, taking back what belonged to his family by right, reclaiming what had been lost. More than a moon and a half had passed since Daemon had left, and she had remained in Winterfell.
Despite her desire to be at his side, wanting him to enjoy maternity with her. She knew he would love waking up every day knowing that the child grew inside her, who would be the future of House Targaryen, united by a father and mother who loved each other and would love that child. But, unfortunately, her duty was to be there, staying safe, while her husband fought for them, for their future, for the future of their family, a future she also carried in her womb.
"Lost in thoughts, your grace?"
A voice caught her attention, making her remove her hands resting on the merlons of the wall and look back and give a friendly smile to Barristan Selmy, the Kingsguard that Daemon had appointed to protect her after taking her to Winterfell.
He was their first Kingsguard and, since the oath, Daemon trusted him. Daenerys had come to know him better and he had become a dear friend since then. He walked like her shadow and was always alert to possible attacks, even though things had calmed down quite a bit since Daemon left Winterfell with the rest of the force. There were still men protecting Winterfell.
The free folk, along with the Northerners, kept vigil, and some families that were in the gift where the city the free folk were building stood had also migrated further south on their own, not wanting to remain so close to the wall. Seeking other opportunities, Daenerys had met some of them over the last few weeks, as they occupied houses in Winterfell, with so many residences empty due to the ironborn.
Daenerys was also learning by listening to subjects of the people of the North and the free folk in the place, seated in a chair they had put back where the Winter Throne and the Iron Throne had once stood. She herself conducted the hearings since Daemon had left, with the help of Barristan Selmy, the castle's maester and even Bran, who also participated as lord of Winterfell. Not to mention the hidden help she had from Daemon's mother, with Lyanna always giving her opinion and trying to find the best answer for each case and problem presented in the audience hall.
Daemon had asked her to conduct these duties so she would gain experience as queen, something she would have to do in King's Landing until their son took the crown.
Daenerys sighed before finally responding to Barristan Selmy's previous comment asking what she had been thinking about as he watched her in silence for dozens of minutes.
"I was wondering where Daemon is now. Yesterday's last letters said he had taken Pyke and killed Balon Greyjoy… as you know."
She repeated what they had discussed yesterday, when they received the messages coming from the South, letters directly from Pyke, sent to report the battle won, another for Daemon's mother and another for Daenerys, but it had been brief.
"If we stop to think, he should have already conquered Riverrun at this very moment. And soon, he must be marching West, from what I understood of his plans…" Barristan Selmy commented.
Daenerys nodded, bringing her hand to her pocket and holding the letter she had received. A movement at the corner of her eyes caught her attention at that moment. She looked and saw someone approaching urgently — it was Maester Wolkan himself, shaking his chains as he came with more letters in his hands.
"Another letter? Who could it be?" Daenerys murmured, surprised. She had already received one yesterday. A new arrival could not be from Daemon… or could it? She received all incoming letters even before Bran, since she was hailed as queen and held the greatest power after the king.
"My queen, it is from your husband, your majesty. Again," said the maester, bowing as he handed her two letters.
She was surprised and took the letters with the Targaryen seal... broke it and read the first one, which was addressed in a general manner, with a small instruction on the front requesting that she pass the news on to everyone on Daemon's behalf. Upon opening and reading it, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"He took Riverrun on the same day he conquered Pyke… and he did it alone," Daenerys said, not knowing whether she should be surprised or not by her husband; they had already been surprised that he killed the entire Frey family and took the gems with only 20 men, and yesterday news had also come that he took Pyke with the 8,000 men who left the North on ships...
She ended up passing the letter to Barristan Selmy to read as well.
"He landed with his dragon on the walls and simply leapt onto them, defeating the Blackfish and making the entire castle surrender without spilling a single drop of blood. Not even the dragon was still at the castle, and he took it like that," Barristan commented, returning the letter to the maester.
"You know what to do. Pass the information to Lord Stark and the others," Daenerys said.
Bran was administering Winterfell, taking on the role of his father and older brother, being the Stark with the highest authority in the castle at that moment. The maester quickly nodded, turned around and left.
"You once told me that Daemon is very different from my brother. It must be surprising for you, isn't it?" Daenerys couldn't help but ask, looking at Barristan.
"It is true, your grace. Rhaegar always preferred peace over bloodshed. But his son… well, he is nothing like him in that sense. He is..." He seemed hesitant.
"Do not hesitate, you may speak freely here and Daemon would not be offended by your assessment of him, of that I am certain," Daenerys said.
He hesitated for another moment, but soon sighed. "He truly knows how to conquer and kill. It is as if he were chaos itself, as if he had been born only for this..." Barristan replied with respect.
"I love him, ser. But I agree with you…" Daenerys nodded. No man could do what Daemon was capable of; she had seen him play with Khal Drogo in front of her, seen him kill men with the ease of a man breathing. Not to mention the stories she had heard of him killing white walkers beyond the Wall.
She would not doubt he would be considered some sort of demigod in the history books. He had conquered things and shown powers that made even the greatest warriors of the Age of Heroes feel ashamed in comparison.
She had not finished. "...But you also cannot forget that he has a beautiful singing voice, right?" Daenerys teased, trying to break the heavy mood of the conversation.
"Without a doubt, your grace… in that he even surpasses his father," Barristan replied with a small smile.
Daemon sang to her and the others many nights in their tent since they had gone North. He had also sung in the middle of Winterfell's hall a few times. He had told Daenerys and the others that he had become a bard out of curiosity in Skyrim and that he did quite well at it, although music was not his greatest strength. Even so, he was so good he could easily live off it, enchanting any maiden with his voice and earning rivers of money — although, for him, it was far better to be at war, killing monsters, conquering and saving the world.
"Do you think Rhaegar would be proud of him? Lyanna told me he certainly would. He would understand perfectly if he knew that his son had gone to another world full of monsters and magic and learned to survive there; he would understand why Daemon became what he is today. He would say he was proud to be his father..."
Daemon was not an evil man, no one could say otherwise. But sometimes he became cruel and firm when needed, bloodthirsty when the situation demanded it, but also fair and thoughtful. Daemon was what House Targaryen needed at this moment — especially for conquering — and he was doing that with fire and steel. Or rather, with ice and steel.
"I believe that as well, your majesty. Rhaegar would love his son. He would be proud of him. I know he is eccentric… and the first king to say he does not need Kingsguards. Perhaps only Aegon the Conqueror had been like that at the beginning of his reign. He did not want to waste a good soldier like me trying to protect him when I could accompany you, your grace. Protecting his wife and his child — the queen and the heir — was a much greater necessity." Barristan spoke calmly.
"I still worry about him, and I think he needs guards." Daenerys huffed. "Maybe I'll do like Visenya..." she muttered.
"And I would wish you good luck, your grace..." Barristan Selmy could not help but laugh.
Who wanted to create the Kingsguard was Visenya in the early years after strengthening the monarchy in the Seven Kingdoms. After stubbornly saying that her husband, Aegon the Conqueror, needed sworn guards to protect the royal family and the king, she, to prove her point, simply drew Dark Sister and placed the sword at his neck, saying that there was no one there to protect him and he would be dead if she were an assassin.
That was how the Kingsguard was born.
And Daemon didn't need that, because nothing could harm him, no matter the situation.
"I am only still worried that he might be..." Daenerys murmured upon hearing her Kingsguard's answer.
"...Your majesty is incredible at this, no one can deny it. I feel proud once again to follow a Targaryen to the throne… to follow dragons once more." Barristan continued, with a brightness in his eyes that Daenerys could tell had not appeared in years.
"All of us, at that time, wanted Rhaegar on the Throne. We were ready to follow any plan of his to take his unstable father's place before the Realm shattered. I am certain that all the Kingsguard of that time would look at a son of Rhaegar and at first be shocked… but soon bow in reverence."
He took a deep breath. "I believe in Daemon. I believe in you, your grace. And I am proud to raise my sword to defend you… to defend this family once again."
Daenerys smiled upon hearing those words. Then she turned again toward the south and took the letter that was addressed only to her. She began to open it, but did not fail to notice a white blur running into the castle with people moving out of the way; after all, there were many other blurs running right behind, as large as horses — Ghost had returned from his little morning run on the edges of the Wolfswood, along with the other direwolves that did this every day. Then, Ghost would go to her and stay by her side all day. The other wolves remained in Winterfell's courtyard; only Ghost followed her everywhere he could fit.
She focused on Daemon's letter for the first time. He was once again in the Tully castle, already making observations in his usual style… including mentioning that the vaults were still empty since he had left them.
He asked about her, if she was eating well, but at the same time, asked her not to overindulge in the kitchen's sweets, even if it was to satisfy her cravings. This made Daenerys huff. He was certainly spying through his wolf and still asked questions as if he didn't know things... He even confirmed spying on her in the following lines, saying that he had already written a letter from Pyke but wanted to remind her that she was beautiful as always.
He had the audacity to say that her belly was beginning to gain volume, making her even a little sexy — which made Daenerys huff even more before starting to laugh to herself, though she said nothing to Barristan as she finished reading. Daemon also said he missed her and that soon they would see each other. As soon as he had the first opportunity to leave the battlefront, he would fly to Winterfell to see her. He also repeated once again that she should eat healthily and not overindulge in sweets.
"The first time he met me, he fed me when I was starving… now he wants to restrict my food..." Daenerys murmured to herself for the third time, still opening a small smile.
It was at that moment that Ghost appeared through the castle walls and went to her, passing by Barristan as he began to sniff her, especially her belly. Daenerys bent down to stroke the soft fur of Daemon's wolf.
She stayed with him for a bit before standing and turning to Barristan. "Let us go to the godswood. I would like to pray for my husband," she said, even knowing Daemon was not religious at all; she had ended up becoming somewhat so. Daenerys had learned from the women of the free folk even beyond the Wall and had followed the old gods ever since.
People in the courtyard bowed before her, calling her "your grace" and "queen." Even the free folk had grown used to this in just a few weeks. Daenerys greeted everyone with a friendly smile and headed toward the godswood.
Upon arriving there, she found the Stark children playing with Daemon's other giant wolves, who had just returned along with Ghost from their morning run; the godswood seemed small for so many huge creatures that the children had drawn there.
"Get him!" Arya shouted to Rickon, while Shaggydog and Summer ran around the place along with the other wolves, much larger than the Starks' smaller ones. "Look, Rickon! Go!" Arya laughed with her younger brother.
Bran was not in his father's solar but was instead trying to walk in the godswood, where the audience would not be large. He found it very humiliating to be watched while taking slow steps in his walk, still adapting to walking again little by little since Daemon had performed the surgery on him.
"Go on, you can do it, boy. One step at a time." Lyanna's voice appeared beside Bran as she floated there like a ghost.
After Daemon left the castle, only the older Starks and Daenerys knew about Lyanna, besides Barristan after seeing her with Daemon still in the castle.
The Stark children discovered days after Daemon's departure, when Rickon saw her while she was talking to Daenerys and ran in fear — later being properly introduced along with his siblings.
Surprisingly, Arya looked at that with great excitement, while Bran seemed quite suspicious, but in the end, they all accepted the fact that their dead aunt was there floating like a ghost; Lyanna herself even played at scaring them, shouting that she was a ghost.
Since then, Lyanna interacted with them, helping them in everything she could, even giving advice to Bran as lord of the castle and teaching Arya — who absorbed everything easily — all the knowledge Lyanna had learned about weapons, riding, and being even more rebellious than Arya had ever been. Sometimes she even showed secrets of Winterfell that not even Arya knew.
They always gathered in the godswood in the morning, where Lyanna could manifest and talk to the children and even to Daenerys.
Bran took a few missteps but managed to walk back and forth in front of the sacred tree before raising his eyes to Daenerys; he stopped.
Lyanna, seeing this as well, opened a small smile. "Ah, you are here." Lyanna replied with enthusiasm. She approached Daenerys and looked at her belly beneath the dress.
"How is my grandchild today?"
"Still growing, Lady Lyanna." Daenerys replied, keeping her friendly smile.
"I am sure he is. Just take good care of him. I will not be here forever." she said, and Daenerys understood the weight of those words.
"Very well. I would now like to pray for my husband's well-being… and for the upcoming battles. You don't need to leave." Daenerys requested.
Bran opened his eyes and began to move away from the front of the tree with some difficulty.
"There is no need to hurry. We are all family here, aren't we?" Daenerys murmured, approaching — but Arya ran to her.
"Wait! Wait! Father's and Daemon's army is in Riverrun, right?" Arya asked excitedly. Daenerys felt a little uncertain.
"Yes. Actually, Daemon conquered Riverrun the same day he took Pyke. We just received a letter. The maester must not have informed anyone yet because he cannot enter the godswood when you all are here." Daenerys explained, after all, they forbade Maester Wolkan and anyone else from entering so he would not see Lyanna for obvious reasons. There were already enough rumors in the castle about the ghost of Daemon's mother; they didn't need to spread even more panic.
The children were surprised to hear about the fall of Riverrun by Daemon. "Wait… Riverrun? They are relatives of our mother!" Arya murmured, eyes wide.
"Yes. But Daemon did not kill the Blackfish, who was taking care of the castle. Edmure Tully is still a hostage of the Lannisters… He only took control peacefully, only knocked out your great-uncle." Daenerys replied.
"Wait… do you think you could send him a message?" Arya asked, excited. "You know… I have a direwolf that I left in the riverlands… I wanted to see if Daemon could bring him to Winterfell." she asked almost desperately; she saw her siblings with their direwolves, while she had sent hers away.
Daenerys knew that story — Arya had had to leave her she-wolf behind when she went to King's Landing with her father, otherwise she would have been sacrificed because of Joffrey.
"Why don't you tell him yourself? I told you that sometimes Daemon sees through his wolf. He always writes letters saying he's spying on me… that rascal cousin of yours." Daenerys said with a small laugh, while the girl stared at the largest wolf there, standing behind Daenerys and beside Barristan Selmy.
"That's true. Daemon, are you there?!" Arya shouted excitedly, almost jumping onto Ghost, who took a step back, wary of it, but did not seem the least bit aggressive toward the girl.
"Not like that, silly. You know when his eyes look different. Right now he is just the wolf." Lyanna replied, laughing as she approached.
"How do you know?" Arya pouted.
"I know because he also spies on me sometimes. Then I talk to him, ask how things are… tell him that I miss him and say that I love him, my son… although he can never answer me. He only opens his mouth and sticks out his tongue." Lyanna laughed in a way very similar to how Arya would.
"Then maybe you could talk to him when he is inside Ghost? Or you could explain better so I can ask myself?" Arya seemed excited. Lyanna began to explain, and Rickon also approached, enthusiastic but a bit tired after running after Shaggydog with the other wolves, while Lyanna continued talking.
Daenerys only smiled and approached the tree, kneeling. She joined her hands and began to pray. In the background, she could hear the children laughing, the wolves running, Barristan always silent, and Bran walking from one side to the other.
The feeling there was more welcoming than anything she had ever experienced. All those years running had finally resulted in something she could call family. Even with Daemon's rough relationship with the Starks, he had not burned bridges between them — he had certainly condemned Lord Stark to the Wall, but he did not blame the children for the crimes of their parents. Daenerys had been welcomed by them as well, as a member of the family.
She finally felt she belonged somewhere, something she had never thought she could feel.
It was the kind of home she had long wished for in that mansion in Pentos.
And soon, she and Daemon would rule all the Seven Kingdoms, raising the child growing in her belly day after day.
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