Daenaerys
It had taken them six moons to sail from Meeren through the Gulf of Grief round the smoking ruins of what had once been Valryia, to reach Lys where her betrothed Victarion Greyjoy had declared that the Iron Fleet would dock for some time to repair and recuperate. The voyage from Meeren to Lys had been a hard one, a voyage wracked by storms, high waves, and once or twice Dany could have sworn she had seen things in the water moving toward them, things she had only heard in fishermen's tales when she had been a little girl. She had mentioned these sightings to Ser Jorah who had merely grunted something about Ironborn folklore- her bear had been none to impressed with her decision to marry Victarion Greyjoy, but what choice had she really had? - when she mentioned what she had seen to her betrothed, he had merely looked at her before saying that it was likely the haunted things from Valryia's past coming to wish her well on her journey to reclaim her birthright. She liked the sound of that.
Those six moons travelling and the two moons they had spent docked in at Lys had given her the chance to get better acquainted with her betrothed and the people who followed him. Victarion Greyjoy was not a handsome man, he was rough and ragged around the edges, there was a certain bitterness or anger about him, the way he held himself and the way he gave orders certainly showed that. But there was also another side to him, a side that rarely came out, a loving and caring side, her betrothed was a man with feelings beneath all that hard exterior of the warrior and king to be he played on when around his men, and it was that man that Dany was beginning to fall in love with. It was something of a relief she had to admit, to be marrying someone who was just as passionate and strong willed as she was, Daario had been slain when he had tried to turn traitor, and she did not want to even think about Hizhadar or Drogo not now.
Another thing she had learnt of her betrothed during the time they waited for the repairs to be made was that he had grown up in the shadow of his older brother Balon, and had lived most of his life in fear and in envy of his other older brother Euron. She learnt from some of the stories her betrothed told her, that whilst Balon had been fiercely proud and protective of them and the old way, it had been that pride that had ended with all of his children being killed trying to accomplish a way of living that just was not possible anymore. His tales of Euron Crow's Eye were much more dark and sinister, tales of how Euron had abused their youngest brother Aeron as a youth, and how he had dabbled in sorcery and kinslaying, and how he had sent Victarion across the narrow sea to find her and claim her for him. "He gambled on me being as loyal a servant to him as I was to Balon." Her betrothed had said one night when the wine had loosened his tongue. "He did not count on the fact that I wanted you for myself, or that the horn he had given me was a fake." Yes Dany had thought then, she had proved that when she had returned from her journey in the wastelands, no horn real or not could take her dragons, for she was their mother and they would only ever listen to her beck and call.
Victarion had returned to their ship one day with a smile as big as the sun, he had fucked her hard and quick that day, in an animalistic way similar to how Drogo used to take her in the early days of their marriage, and she had found his passion invigorating. When she asked what had caused such a change in his behaviour he had replied that his brother Euron had died a vicious death in Oldtown, slain by Baelor Hightower as he tried to claim the Citadel, and something within the Citadel, that according to one of the men Victarion had found in Lys claimed his brother had said would make him King of Westeros, and all the known world.
It was also in Lys that she learnt of the supposed rebirth of her nephew, long thought dead. Aegon Targaryen or someone calling he by that name had claimed Westeros, had taken the Iron Throne back from the hands of the usurper's family, with the help of Jon Connington and his dragon Acteon. She had at first thought that this was some sort of miracle, the gods had answered her prayers for one more member of her family to be alive, but then she remembered the mummer's dragon, and a feeling of rage brindled inside of her, at the thought of this pretender sitting on her chair, on what was her right, and her right alone. She decided then and there that she would take the Iron Throne from the clutches of this man calling himself her nephew, and she would roast him in Drogon's fire.
They set sail from Lys the same day she later learnt that the pretender Aegon Targaryen set sail for the wall to battle some strange creatures of lore. Rhaegal had disappeared from their ships long ago, during their stay in Lys, her bronze dragon had grown restless ever since that day when Quentyn Martell had thought to set him free and tame him, like the green boy he was. She wondered where her dragon could have gotten to, Aegon already had a dragon, but where her Rhaegal could have gone she knew not, unless it had something to do with the visions she kept having of a blue rose on a wall of ice. But what would he wish for in the cold of the north of Westeros, where there was no fire to keep him warm?
The wintry conditions on the seas made it so that what would normally take a two moon journey took four moons, as they set sail from Lys to Gulltown, where the red priest Moqorro said she had friends waiting for her. Those friends it turned out where Lord Petyr Baelish and his wife and step son. Lord Baelish was named Lord Protector of the Vale through his marriage to Lysa Arryn, and he had greeted her with the type of smile that she had often seen Viserys wear when she had come down from her morning bath, that smile had scared her somewhat, but she had learnt to look past that smile and toward the intellect that lay in the mind of the man. Lord Baelish, spoke with her and her husband, but mainly her about what sort of state the kingdom, her kingdom was in, apparently the pretender had been off fighting a war in the north for a year and half by the time she had landed, and had left but a small garrison of some 1,000 men to defend King's Landing. At first she had been very tempted to launch a attack and take King's Landing right away, but Lord Baelish had told her that that would be most unwise, he suggested instead that first she needed to meet with the lords of the vale and win their support before she could sit comfortably and plan her full assault.
And so she had met with the Lords of the Vale, separately for it appeared that Lord Baelish's wedding to Lysa Arryn had caused a division amongst the usually Standfast loyalty of the Vale Lords, at Petyr's insistence she met first with the Lords Declarant. All six leaders of the Lords Declarant came to Gulltown to meet with her, and it soon became apparent that their leader was one Bronze Yohn Royce, the Lord of Runestone. "Princess Daenaerys, it is an honour to meet you and to speak with you." The man had said bold as brass.
"Queen Daenaerys do you not mean Lord Royce?" She had fired back, already feeling her anger mounting.
"Ah you must forgive an old man, but I believe it is your nephew King Aegon who sits the Iron Throne and as such, you are a Princess are you not?" Royce had replied.
"The boy who names himself Aegon Targaryen and my nephew is nothing but a pretender, a false claimant to the throne. Who I shall deal with soon enough." Daenaerys had replied angrily.
"Ah but, Your Grace must forgive an old man's memory. For his grace King Aegon fought hard to reclaim the Iron Throne, winning it much the same way as his ancestors did during the conquest. And Lord Stark has testified to the truth of his origin as has Lord Connington." Royce had said smiling slightly.
"Lord Connington was thought dead for many a year, having drunk himself to death. Is it not a bit convenient that he has suddenly reappeared now with a boy who claims to be the son of his fallen friend?" Lord Petyr had asked.
It was then that Anya Waynwood had spoken. "You would like to think that would you not Lord Baelish? After all we all know how you loath the Starks."
"Lady Waynwood, you wound me. Would you of all people not wish to see a woman on the Iron Throne thus proving once and for all that Women are more than capable of ruling?" Baelish had replied.
Waynwood had bristled but had remained silent. Lord Royce had spoken once more. "Say we do bend the knee to you Princess, what you want from us. Winter has come, and our people wish to spend time with their loved ones and to survive what looks to be perhaps one of the longest winters in living memory."
Dany had swallowed once before saying. "Your armies and your loyalty. I know the Vale took no part in the War of the Five Kings. I know that your armies are strong, and able to call upon 40,000 men. Bend the knee to me, and I shall take half of those men and take King's Landing whilst the pretender sits in the North."
There had been much murmuring amongst the Lords Declarant at that, and Dany had looked at Lord Petyr for a brief moment and seen a brief smile flit across his face. It seemed the Lords Declarant the influential ones at least were about to swing to her side. Lord Royce eventually spoke, clearing his throat; the man said "Very well then Your Grace. We shall give you our swords, though we wish for 10,000 of our men to remain behind to hold the Vale in case the North should attack us."
Dany nodded her agreement at that and so it was that the Lord Declarant who had been causing so much trouble and bother for Lord Petyr came to bend the knee to her. The other lords of the Vale soon joined their brethren in bending the knee to her, so that she now had the whole of the Vale behind her. Banners were called and Dany moved to the Gates of the Moon with Lord Baelish and Ser Jorah accompanying her. More things were discussed, Dany learnt of the victory at the Wall, the defeat of whatever it was that had been threatening the safety of the North, and the pretender naming Jon Stark, his brother and the true born son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, adding one more Targaryen and nephew to her family, one more person she would have to kill.
Once word reached them that Aegon the pretender was back in King's Landing, his army sailing back from White Harbour, envoys were sent to Winterfell, Ser Jorah was sent under the banner of parley to make this Stark boy see sense, and Lord Nestor Royce was sent to Riverrun to speak with Lord Edmure Tully, Lord Baelish remained with her in the Gates of the Moon, and four moons after landing she found out she was with child.