This chapter has been edited due to content. I made minor edits in the chapter. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.
RIN KAARI
"Left!" Jorah shouted.
I pulled my wings close to my body and dove to the left. I only opened them when I felt a weak thermal beneath me. Using the thermal, I managed to flap my wings and rise above the Andalite fighters. The green sky didn't offer me anywhere to hide as my scales shown just bright enough in the darkness.
"I doubt this is what you had in mind, Rin." My husband muttered under his breath.
When I had made the turn it had felt as if Jorah was barely holding onto me. Surprising what a few centuries can do for a dragon rider. I wasn't a true dragon, of course. It was centuries ago in Essos, one of the many realities that the continent was in, that I connected with a dragon. When she had died her spirit had never left me. Among other things, she gave me her life span and the ability to turn into a dragon. Another lifespan I had inherited in my time had come from being one half of Lightbringer. Now I shared my lifespan with Jorah.
Through a series of maneuvers I made two Andalite fighters nearly crash into each other. I could easily turn around and damage the fighters with my dragon fire. But I did not want to kill them. It was not their fault I had made a mistake and ended up here. After the last reality we had spent time in, I had wanted to have a vacation with Jorah. Something simple so we could recover from our past adventure.
The plan had been to go to the very first instance that a Yeerk infested a Gedd. It was that point that eventually lead to the war between Yeerks and Andalites. After that war there would be some tentative peace between the two species. The moment when a Yeerk decided to infest a Gedd was monumental. It was also a moment in time that there would be no danger to myself or Jorah.
I flapped my wings as hard as I could. Jorah directed me to fly as far away from the lone Andalite settlement as I could. While I was much larger than before and could fly fast, the centaur-like aliens had technology on their hands. That meant they could keep up with me and it might be near impossible to lose them. Hopefully they would feel drawn back to others of their kind and so decide chasing me was not worth it.
Jorah had been right in saying that I hadn't meant for this. Instead of going to the point in time when the first Yeerk to infest a Gedd happened, I had gone much further in time. I had gone to the point in time where the Yeerks had felt trapped by the Andalites and decided to rebel. The Andalites had then decided to blame the incident on Prince Seerow instead of the species' farce that they called diplomacy. Hence the Andalites pursuing me were a little more aggressive than normal.
A few shots hit my scales before I was able to dodge them. One downside of my huge size was the fact that I couldn't be as nimble as before. A small enemy could take down a large one because of the freedom of movement. That is if the enemy was skilled enough. I wasn't afraid of being shot as it would take a lot of firepower to even damage me in this form. My worry was all about Jorah. If he was shot he wouldn't die, but I would have to waste time getting him. With the Andalites trying to kill me that wouldn't be easy.
I turned around and breathed fire at the Andalite fighters. I singed one but didn't bring it down. While I was changing to more offensive tactics, I reached out with my mind to sense other realities. It didn't matter which reality I chose as long as it was peaceful. As long as it allowed Jorah and myself time to relax before moving on.
[Westeros.] I told Jorah. [It will just be a momentary stop.]
I wouldn't stop in the version, the reality, of the Westeros I had grown up in. But it would be similar enough. With my mind I could feel the Westeros reality and tried to quickly find a pathway to it. Over the centuries finding pathways had become much easier. Though, as my current situation proved, there were still problems.
I rolled over and avoided shredder fire. As the beams of light passed me by I reflected on how well I could communicate with Jorah now. Before it was impossible to talk to him while in my dragon form. After so many years of practicing with the communication techniques used by the Rasiki, we were able to speak together with our minds. Sometimes communicating in ways that mere words couldn't.
"Does it have you in it?" Jorah asked.
[No.] I replied.
Just as one of the Andalite fighters shot at Jorah we were in Westeros. The sky was full of stars and I breathed a sigh of relief. By the night sky I could tell it was a few years after the War for the Dawn. I laughed and my roar seemed to shake the sky. With a small glance to the ground far below me I could tell it was the Vale. Once I had killed Little Robin, the land ruled by House Arryn fell under my House's rule. With that small conquest House Kaari finally had a home again. In my days of ruling there had been dragons raised here. But now I couldn't catch any scent of one. The wind didn't hint that one was approaching.
[Dragons haven't again taken the land.] I said. [I think it is because a version of me doesn't exist in this place.]
"It could be that the curse our House left has yet to be removed." Jorah added.
Our House. For so long he had retained the name of Mormont. But after so much time together he had taken the name of Kaari. It was a very human way of showing his devotion to me. It was something I didn't understand but made him happy. In the end such a foolish human sentiment did not make me mad. In some realities us having the same last name made fitting in easier.
"I wonder if House Arryn still rules." Jorah said. "Though I think we shouldn't get too close to the Eyrie in case anyone notices us. Do I exist here?"
I had to be close to a person, or have been around them often, to single out their unique scent. Though scent isn't the perfect word for what I mean. It was feelings, visions, sounds, and smells that allowed me to expertly track a person. Each version of a person had their own unique scent to them. Yet my Jorah's scent and another Jorah's scent were similar enough. With my mind I reached out to every part of this new reality. Some scents were familiar though I couldn't place them.
[Yes, you are alive here.] I finally replied. [Which means we need to be careful.]
Neither of us knew what this Jorah's situation was like. For all we knew this version of him could be evil. While Alex was a very distant version of him, he still had my husband's face. After all these years I could finally think of him without imagining his death. Alex hadn't been a good man. There was always an evil side to him. An evil side that had lessened over the course of our relationship. Only at the end had he been able to become a good man. Alex proved that there could be evil variations of people.
Connected to this reality's Jorah was, was an odd scent. It was a combination of two people I had known. It was the combination of two Targaryens. One who I had served and then turned mad. The other who had died under the insanity of the Night King. The way the scent combined the scents of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Stark told me it was their child.
"You sense something else, Rin?" Jorah asked.
[There is a child.] I said as I forced my mind to form coherent thoughts. [I sense the fire of House Targaryen and the ice of House Stark. Those two bloodlines flow thick in this child's veins. They make a beautiful song that echoes throughout this world though she is still young. Her song will become louder as time goes on. Jon and Daenerys had a child in this reality.]
"Are they alive?"
I reached out with my mind. Through the child's scent I was able to easily track Jon and Daenerys. I nearly stopped flying when I felt the strength of Jon's blood. I had not expected to ever feel my husband ever again. His death still haunted Jorah's mind.
[He is alive.] I said. [He is well and vibrant. I do not sense anything wrong in his scent.]
Down below I could see a few fires from weary travelers and smoke coming from homes. I did my best to avoid any major castles or towns. Even though it wasn't likely that I would be noticed, I wouldn't take the chance. If we stayed here, and the presence of the child made me think that was a possibility, no one yet needed to know about my dragon form. Every advantage I had would be used. That meant a certain level of secrecy.
"And Daenerys?" Jorah asked warily.
I didn't want to search for the Targaryen. There was a fear in me that warned about the queen I had once served. I remembered her hugging me in the Raqus estate and her killing my child in the Dragonpit. I remembered her before and after the madness had taken her. Since Jorah couldn't bear to kill her, I had taken the duty upon myself. I had hoped by doing so I would spit in the face of the gods. Jorah was Azor Ahai and Daenerys was Nissa Nissa. But it turned out I, along with my sword Alexander, were the two pieces of Lightbringer.
I pushed that fear aside as it was foolish. If she was alive she could be good. Daenerys could've resisted the madness that was in her blood. She might not have gotten with Yara Greyjoy and Cersei Lannister. She could've remained a good queen. She could've stayed the queen that I had served.
[Yes, she is alive.] I replied. [I can't tell if she is good or evil.]
"Is she with Jon?" Jorah asked and then laughed. "No, you wouldn't be able to tell that. Distances don't exist to your bloodsense."
Jorah and Daenerys had decided not to be together. They had decided that they wouldn't work together. Daenerys had felt as if she had wronged my husband too greatly. In this reality that could be different. So why would she have Jon's child and not be with him? Maybe all three were together. Maybe she had fucked Jon and decided not to be with him after. I had fucked Chris and not slept with him after that. Sometimes things happened.
"We can discuss Jon and Khaleesi later." Jorah said with a sigh. "Right now we need to rest."
I roared in agreement. Luckily Jorah and myself had been to a place where we had been able to wear his old clothing. Our garments would fit right in with the Westerosi sensibilities. No one would look at us and guess the truth. I stretched out with all my senses to find a location not many people would be at. If only a few men looked up and saw me they wouldn't be believed. It was night and the human mind tended to play tricks on itself then.
Over an hour was spent trying to find the perfect spot. A few places didn't have a lot of people but there wasn't a way for my massive form to make a landing. Finally there was a spot that would be just big enough. I pulled my wings tightly against me and dove. Jorah's grip on me hardly seemed to be there. He trusted me and his skills too much to be frightened now. I opened my wings and glided awhile until I was close to the ground. With a few flaps of my wings I made a graceful landing.
My husband quickly got off of me. I changed back into my human form and breathed a sigh. The sigh was partially relief of having survived and also sadness of leaving my dragon form. I liked flying as even when there was a battle, there was a peacefulness to it that you didn't get on the ground. My dragon form was large and had the whiteness of an Ice dragon. That made sense as my dragon had been a hybrid of ice and fire. My human form had pale white skin, red hair with bits of gold so that it sometimes appeared that my hair was on fire, and eyes that were a strange green color that echoed the wildfire that was trapped inside me.
Jorah, as always, looked regal. His sharp cheekbones and blue eyes always made him look angry. To most people it was as if he were annoyed at them constantly. But those who he let into his circle could see his many expressions. He was a bear though at times he looked like a wolf to me.
"There's a house nearby." I told Jorah.
"We could spend the night there." He said.
I brushed the hilt of Alexander with my fingers to reassure myself. Jorah gripped the hilt of Longclaw to do the same. As I was a human I had magic to aid me. Even if my sword was taken from me, I had many ways to kill an enemy. Even if I couldn't use magic anymore, I was still a deadly force of nature. It wouldn't do to allow oneself to depend too much on any sense or source of power.
Our footsteps brought us close to the house where a man was looking up at the night sky. He didn't have any worry except for the simple things in life. It was good to indulge those needs from time to time. Jorah and I had both lived so long that we usually left the great conflicts to play out without interfering.
"Your Grace," The man said and knelt in the direction of my husband. "What have I done to deserve such an honor?"
Jorah and I shared our minds in a way greater than words. We needed to think of our next set of actions quickly. This reality's version of Jorah had also become a king. Unless Daenerys restarted her House's tradition of polygamy, Jon would be King of the North still. So it must have been a one night stand with Jaehaerys Targaryen. My love needed to say a phrase that would not alert the commoner to the truth.
"It is by mere accident that I come here." Jorah said sternly. "I ask that you do not tell anyone, especially the Queen, that I have erred so."
"I understand." The man said and stood up. "The North and South do not need to know of your embarrassment."
North and South. That must mean Westeros was divided with Daenerys ruling the South and Jon ruling the North. I looked at Jorah as now the hard part of the conversation was going to begin. I didn't exist in this reality. I was not supposed to be here. For all the man knew I was merely a beautiful woman that was traveling with the King of the South.
"And who is this woman?" The man asked while leering at me.
"A traveler I ran across while lost." Jorah said and raised one of his eyebrows. "She is not yours to do with as you like. If not for her I might be dead now. And if you do raise a hand against her...she is one of the most talented fighters I have ever come across."
The man's gaze immediately became more respectful. He might have questions about who I was, but he knew those weren't his to ask. He wouldn't want to get in the way of politics as he was a simple man. I could tell he would not harm us. The most harm we could expect from him would be disrespectful glances towards me. In the grand scheme of things, looks meant nothing without the ability to harm.
"Forgive me, Your Grace." The man replied.
"We need a place to stay for the night." Jorah said. "We were wondering if you'd lend us a bed until morning."
"As you wish."
It would make sense for the man to assume the King of the South was having an affair. That the only reason secrecy was being asked was so Daenerys didn't find out about it. If the man started any rumors they would be quickly dismissed. If people were to look into the rumors they would find that Jorah Mormont was nowhere near the Vale. Technically a little outside the Vale.
[Will we be leaving in the morning?] Jorah asked and a smile tugged at his lips.
[No.] I replied, giving him the answer he expected. [We need to check if R'hllor is a Nieth in this reality. If so, we need to kill him.]
[And the fact that Jon's child is alive plays no factor in your decision?]
In my life I had learned that loyalty was the most valuable thing. When you were poor and close to death, loyalty could save you. Even though my Jon was dead, I still owed loyalty to him. That loyalty extended to this reality's Jon's child.
[You know the answer to that.] I replied.
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