To Die For You If Need Be Chapter 13: To Dorne

This is a Game of Thrones fic. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.

Daenerys Targaryen

Again I was forced to be in the Room of the Painted Table by my duties. Besides Tyrion Lannister, Missandei, and Grey Worm there was Ellaria Sand, the Sand Snakes, Yara Greyjoy, and Olenna Tyrell. At least unlike the discussions about Jon Snow, something would happen shortly after this meeting. Things would happen so that it felt less like nothing was ever going to happen.

"I thought you would be at Dragonstone longer." I replied.

"Your Grace, Dorne needs a leader." Ellaria said. "My reign was already in danger before I came to you in Essos. I need to make sure that I still rule Dorne when you take the Iron Throne."

I resisted leaning back in my seat. Ellaria had a point as she was a bastard who had claimed a seat of power for herself. Unlike Jon, she had won through underhanded means rather than the love of her people. She had everything to lose if she stayed away for too long.

My eyes looked from her to her 'daughters'. Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene all had a deadly look to them. If a danger presented itself I was sure that they would respond before even the Dothraki could. The only one of the Sand Snakes that seemed to have a more peaceful demeanor than the others was Nymeria. Though even she looked like she was waiting for a foe to appear.

"I understand, Ellaria." I said. "It is just I thought things were calm enough in Dorne that you could risk staying here longer."

"It doesn't feel right to leave my home for so long." Ellaria replied with barely restrained irritation in her voice.

"So there is nothing to worry about?"

It didn't matter to me if she went back to Dorne as long as she left me the majority of her fleet. She had given me the fleet as a gift and I wouldn't give that up easily. The main problem was that I wanted to make it clear to everyone that I was to be respected. That one couldn't just leave Dragonstone on a whim if they wished to serve me.

"While I am at Dorne, I will add more ships to your fleet." Ellaria said. "Euron Greyjoy has now allied himself with Cersei which means you will need the largest fleet ever seen. He is a cruel man but is also highly skilled at what he does. Only a fool would think of facing off with him without being properly prepared."

I pretended to take a moment to decide on what to do. I pretended that my decision hadn't been made at the start of this meeting. Of course I would allow Ellaria to go to Dorne as long as she offered me something. It would make people know that while I was here to break the wheel, I wasn't someone to be easily dismissed. I was not someone that my supposed allies could betray without me knowing and consequences following shortly.

"I will await the additions to my fleet, Ellaria." I replied after a moment.

"Is it wise for Ellaria to go back to Dorne now?" Yara asked. "She has shown knowledge of my uncle. Why risk going in waters that he may be patrolling?"

"I'm not a coward to hide until the danger is passed." Ellaria replied.

"There's a difference between being a coward and a fool."

Euron Greyjoy would be easy enough to defeat with my dragons, but Ellaria did not have them and Yara brought up a good point. Was the future of Dorne worth risking her life? She was currently supporting my reign and I didn't have an idea of how to protect her fleet from Euron. Not unless I wanted to ride Drogon and risk being away from Dragonstone once Jon arrived.

Everyone in the room looked to me for a brief moment. As queen it was up to me to make the final decision in this case. I had been so foolish not to realize what the threat of Euron brought to Ellaria's return to Dorne. It was entirely possible that she could return without Euron being aware of her movements. The area of water from here to Dorne was large and the corrupt Greyjoy couldn't be everywhere at once. Though he would like people to think so.

"Euron can't be everywhere at once." I said. "His shadow hangs over everything to the point that it seems entirely possible that's not the case."

"But sailing brings a risk." Yara argued. "He's a cruel man all on his own. But now he is allied with Cersei which means he'll attempt to impress her. He'll want to solidify their alliance with proof of what he can do."

"Which means we'll need to be careful but he shouldn't deter us from traveling by ship at all."

"And why is Ellaria risking her life? Because something might be happening at Dorne? She should just send a raven to make sure no one is trying to overthrow her."

"People can lie in letters. It's much easier to detect lies when you're talking to someone face to face."

"People can lie to your face or else the Faceless Men would be useless."

Jorah had lied to my face when we first met. He had pretended to be a kind face when really he was using me to get back to his home. It was only after meeting me that he had decided to obey me and me alone. His whole life had quickly become incomplete without me.

Yara was also right that returning home was a foolish reason to leave. But it was also equally foolish to believe that rulers could spend time away from their seats of power without someone trying to overthrow them. Ellaria was a bastard and so many were probably seeking to overthrow her. Olenna Martel would have to return home soon as she too had somewhere to rule. Added to that was the fact she wanted to unleash my darker side as she was consumed by revenge. I just happened to be the person most likely to kill Cersei.

"I don't assume that my journey to Dorne will be safe." Ellaria said calmly. "I am aware that Euron could intercept me. From the tales I've heard of him, death would be the better option."

"And yet you'll go anyway?" Yara asked her voice a mixture between anger and respect.

"Yes. I will pray that the gods will protect me."

Someone chuckled and we all turned to Olenna. It was admirable how much power the woman had obtained and that she bowed to no one. Her schemes had let her granddaughter marry the King of the Iron Throne for a brief time. Even though the retaliation Cersei enacted on House Tyrell was devastating, Olenna seemed to have an even greater fire in her to get back at the pretender.

"That is amusing, Ellaria, it really is." Olenna said in a voice that somehow managed to be more sweet than demeaning. "What do gods care for people like us? If the gods were fair they would never have allowed a child like Cersei to sit on the Iron Throne. Margaery, dear thing, was caught up in that thing's machinations."

"I will avenge her, you have my word." I replied in an attempt to bring peace back to the room.

"What good will avenging her do? It won't bring her back. No, what I want is Cersei's corpse burnt and paraded throughout King's Landing."

I locked eyes with the woman and held my ground. To say anymore on the matter of vengeance could give the others the opinion that I would go mad. That there would be a point in time when I would fall victim to Targaryen madness. By making an attempt to appease Olenna showed that I wanted to kill Cersei but wouldn't be defined by destruction.

"If Daenerys agrees, I have a plan to protect Ellaria on her way to Dorne." Tyrion said.

"Oh, great, the Imp speaks." Olenna replied with barely contained contempt in her voice.

"What is your plan, Tyrion?" I asked and pretended to ignore Olenna.

"Euron Greyjoy is a foe to be cautious of but he can't be everywhere at once." Tyrion began. "So what we have to do is lure him to somewhere that Ellaria won't be."

Everyone was now looking intently at my Hand. Olenna was a clever woman and knew when to be silent. Or at least I hope she would remain silent until Tyrion was finished telling us his plan. Theon, who had remained so silent I had forgotten him, made a small coughing noise while never looking away from the Imp.

"I know that Cersei is not a strategist." Tyrion continued. "She is a deadly foe but she doesn't think that far ahead. Thus the majority of the threats she finds herself facing are because she's an idiot. Since Jaime has returned to her side, he will be advising her. So we don't need to think what Cersei will do, we just need to anticipate his decisions. And I am extremely familiar with his tactics."

It almost seemed like Tyrion had been thinking about this scenario for awhile. He knew that we would have to land on Westeros in the near future. My conquest of the Seven Kingdoms couldn't be done by staying on Dragonstone. I was reminded yet again that I had made a wise decision in making him my Hand.

"And where do you want me to go?" Yara asked. "It should be me who takes down my uncle."

"Casterly Rock." Tyrion answered. "Many would assume the place would have a handful of servants left there to take care of it. It is, after all, an important asset of House Lannister. Varys has assured me that Jaime has chosen to abandon Casterly Rock with only a few servants to look after it. There is also only a handful of soldiers that are protecting it mainly from any wanderers that come too close. They won't be ready for an attack."

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"Before fleeing to Essos, Varys had a spy network made up of what he called his little birds. Since arriving on Dragonstone he's slowly been building his spy network again."

There was something unnerving about Tyrion not only working with Varys but keeping information from me. It took all of my self-control to remind myself that the Lannister was helping me and he wasn't about to switch sides. Maybe he did truly believe in me or it could be that his loyalty would end once his sister was dead. If I were to reprimand him it shouldn't be done with others watching. I didn't want to show my allies a divided front.

"What makes Casterly Rock a good location to send me and Theon?" Yara asked. "All that is beneficial to us is that we will only have to worry about Euron's fleet and not any forces in Casterly Rock."

"You are right that being so fixated on a location due to it being abandoned is lunacy." Tyrion replied. "If that was the only reason then I would be a poor Hand for our queen. While thinking of a location to lure Euron to I thought of multiple reasons to use it. Jaime might not be expecting us to go there. Thus we'll surprise him which would leave him unable to anticipate our attack and thus he won't have time to send in reinforcements."

"And the other reason?"

"Euron is close to Casterly Rock. Close enough to come rushing to attack but not close enough to stop your ships from getting by him. Which would leave it up to you how to attack."

Though Yara's face didn't show it, I could tell she liked the respect Tyrion had given her. He had been able to show her how smart he was while also acknowledging there were gaps in his knowledge. He knew a lot but when it came to sea battles, a Greyjoy would always have the better opinion.

"So your plan is to have Yara and Theon Greyjoy to engage with Euron Greyjoy at Casterly Rock." I said and went over the plan in my mind. "Then while Euron is distracted, Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes will return to Dorne."

"Yes, Your Grace." Tyrion confirmed.

"Does this plan suit everyone?"

I looked around the table and saw everyone thinking it over. The plan was a clever one. It showed that Tyrion was more than up to the task of being my Hand. He understood that he was fighting a war with Jaime and that he had to anticipate events on a variety of scales. He knew that Jaime also understood him equally as well. I don't think I could think on so many levels at once.

"Why don't we focus on claiming Casterly Rock?" Olenna asked.

"Casterly Rock doesn't provide a strategic position at this point of my military campaign." I replied calmly. "The few men that are there would be easy enough to deal with, but Euron's fleet is another matter entirely. I'm not risking the lives of my men for so little. It's better if Yara distracts Euron and will thus have the option to escape."

"When it comes to my uncle, I will not run from a fight." Yara said. "I will fight him until he is dead."

In the Greyjoy's eyes there was a look that would scare even a dragon. She wanted Euron dead and I didn't blame her. From all the stories that had been told of him, he was a horrible man that deserved eternal torment. I was worried for her as there was a good possibility that she would die in pursuit of killing Euron.

"If Ellaria is going to be foolish enough to rush back to her home, I am loathe to admit it but Tyrion has a good plan." Olenna said.

"Then I assume you'll be staying on Dragonstone, Olenna." Ellaria replied.

"Does everyone here agree to follow Tyrion's plan?" I snapped.

"I don't think risking the lives of House Greyjoy is wise this early in your conquest, Daenerys. But I thank you for ensuring that I return to Dorne safely."

"I will kill my uncle to ensure that you will have nothing left to fear at sea." Yara agreed.

Theon was silent even though he should have a say in risking his life. But he followed his sister so asking him would be redundant. The Sand Snakes would follow their mother, or who played the role of one, and so asking them would also be redundant.

"Then there is nothing else to discuss." I said. "Ellaria Sand will return to Dorne while Yara Greyjoy distracts Euron. Yara, if you need a more detailed version of the plan I will have Tyrion write it up for you."

"Thank you, Your Grace." Yara replied with a barely visible nod of her head.

Everyone got up and slowly made their way out of the room. Ellaria looked proud with the Sand Snakes trailing behind her. She had gotten exactly what she wanted and hopefully she would keep true to her promise. I doubted after Euron engaged Yara's fleet that there would be much left. Yara left the room with a stance that implied she was excited about the coming bloodshed. Theon, on the other hand, looked like a dog following its master as he followed his sister.

Olenna gave me a glance before walking out of the room. Like everything about her, her brief glance had a lot of weight behind it. She wanted me to make a move and burn Cersei where she sat. She didn't care if I was driven to madness nor did she care about those who would die as long as Cersei met her end.

"Do you want us to leave?" Missandei asked once Tyrion had left. "That did not look like an easy meeting."

"It wasn't." I replied with a sigh. "I couldn't focus solely on what I wanted but also on how to appease my allies. Yara is consumed with hatred for Euron and all Olenna wants is for Cersei to die. If only Ellaria didn't want to return to Dorne now...that would have made things somewhat earlier."

"Do you think she was honest about why she wanted to return?"

"She is a bastard and so her seat of power might be in danger. It makes sense."

I stood up and waited a moment as the weight of the world seemed to be on my shoulders. If only I wasn't so concerned about playing nice and reassuring the Westerosi I was on their side. If only I didn't care about the opinions of others and didn't have to seek their constant approval.

After a moment I walked to look outside. I closed my eyes and took in the sound of waves crashing against the cliffs. The waves sounded angry as if they thought there was any hope of destroying Dragonstone. Though in time they might accomplish that task.

"You can do this." Missandei said and I opened my eyes.

"I serve you, Daenerys." Grey Worm added and stood beside me. "I've seen what you did in Essos and won't abandon you."

"Whatever decisions you make will be the right ones. I've seen many men that commit many sins but are certain of themselves. So if you're doubting yourself, you're not lost."

I nodded at her and looked out to the raging waters below. If only Jorah were here. He would know what to say to calm me. He might even be a better ruler than me. No. No. He loved me because of how strong I was. If I didn't sit on the Iron Throne, there would be no shame in that in his opinion. But if he saw that I had given up...no, I couldn't live with that.