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Daenerys Targaryen
The battle was now over with the fires
no more than faint wisps of smoke. I stood on a boulder with Tyrion on
my left and Jon on my right. Drogon stood on a larger boulder behind me
with Viserion and Rhaegal on either side of him. To enemies and allies I
was a sight that inspired dread and hope in equal measures.
I
spared a quick glance at Jon who didn't look nervous. With me he showed a
vulnerable side but to others he was confident. He was meant to be here
and wouldn't be denied his place. Though I was sure he thought of the
situation in much more humble terms.
In front of us were those of
House Lannister and Tarly. Most soldiers looked worried about if they
would be allowed to survive the day. Randyll and Dickon Tarly looked
defiant. Jaime Lannister seemed more than willing with whatever fate was
intended for him. Bronn didn't have anything in his eyes but contempt
for me.
Before I began speaking I carefully considered my speech.
Nothing could be out of place. Stories of me would begin to be told and
I had to place myself in the most favorable of lights. Then there was
the fact if I did anything wrong Jon could abandon me.
"You know
my name." I began. "I am Queen Daenerys Targaryen. What Cersei Lannister
has told you are a series of lies. I do not seek to conquer and enslave
a continent I have never set foot on before. Instead I intend to free
all those who are captive to the never ending cycle. Cersei seeks
nothing but to rule and loathes all that she cannot control."
Some
of the men looked like they were beginning to doubt their orders. I
hadn't just slaughtered them all without mercy. Instead they were alive
and listening to me. The ones who still looked at me with distrust would
be much harder to sway.
"I do not wish to become Queen of the
Ashes." I continued. "So I will give you a choice. If you bend the knee
then you can go free. The false queen you serve deserves no loyalty from
you. It was her that destroyed the Sept of Baelor with wildfire."
A
slight twitch from Jon revealed he didn't like my decision. He would
have to learn that sometimes you needed to inspire fear. Everyone wasn't
persuaded by kind words and mercy alone. I would never kill those that
were innocent, but I couldn't allow pity to drive my every decision.
While
my words came out certain, there was doubt on my mind. Enough had died
this day that no more corpses should be left for the ravens. But if
there were people that refused to bend the knee I would have to take
action. Those that survived couldn't know me to break my word.
At
first only a few bent the knee and then everyone bent the knee to me.
Viserion let out a loud screech of annoyance when only two people
remained standing. After Viserion's reaction, nearly everyone bent the
knee. As Bronn and Jaime were prisoners, they did not get the choice of
bending the knee.
The only two that remained standing were
Randyll and Dickon Tarly. Father and son stood proudly together. There
was no doubt in Randyll's eyes as he was firmly set in his ways. House
Tarly should have been loyal to me but they weren't.
I walked
slowly towards the Tarlys with two Dothraki behind me. One of Dickon's
eyes twitched and I realized how afraid he was. How young he was. He
shouldn't die because of the mistakes of his father. He should be given
the chance to **** himself on his own.
"Tell your dragons to burn me alive and get this all over with." Randyll said.
"I'm
not my father." I replied. "I executed with my dragons in Essos, but
not here. I will respect the customs of Westeros even when putting
enemies to death."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"You
will be beheaded. It is a quicker and less painful than being burned
alive. I will give you the chance to say your last words."
"You're nothing but a usurper. Queen Cersei Lannister will end your conquest."
One
of the Dothraki held Dickon back once he tried to go to his father's
aid. The other raised his blade and the sun reflected off of it. The
short amount of time it took for the Dothraki to behead Randyll seemed
to slow down to an hour.
While the Tarly had seemed strong
before, in the last second before his death there was a look of utter
fear. He didn't move or try to flee, but he was afraid. If he were an
ally, I would admire his bravery in the face of defeat.
Randyll's
blood splattered onto his son who let out a dreadful scream. As both
parts of his father fell to the ground, the Dothraki who was holding
Dickon couldn't stop the man from falling to the ground. His look of
pain tore at my heart. It helped to reassure me that my choice of his
fate was right.
"We will take Dickon as a prisoner." I said calmly.
"No!" He screamed as tears ran down his face.
"I
can understand your need to stand beside your father. I even admire it.
But you should have the chance of deciding your fate on your own."
"I have to die with him. I have to."
"You
still have a brother to live for. He's in the Citadel training to be a
maester. You also have a sister and mother. Would you leave them without
anyone?"
Dickon looked at me and there was hatred there. But by
the fact he didn't try and lunge at me proved he might side with me.
After some time pondering my character he could decide he was wrong to
go against me. If he didn't side with me and still begged for death I
would grant him his request. Though I didn't look forward to that
outcome.
"For my House's sake, I won't kill you this day." Dickon said weakly. "But the day I can kill you, I will."
"The
reason I am taking you prisoner is so you can better consider your
decision." I said. "I understand how hard this day is for you, so I am
not taking any answer you say today."
"Even if I bent the knee?"
"Even if you bent the knee and swore undying loyalty to me."
Though
I was uncertain of what my decision would be if he bent the knee now,
it was better not to take any decision he made today. If he sided with
me after seeing his father beheaded, it would mean he was a coward. A
coward who was more than likely to change sides at a moment's notice.
"I'll
never bend the knee to you." Dickon said. "I stand with my father. I
never expected you to bend the knee, bastard. From all I heard about
you, I thought you had more honor."
"I have not yet bent the
knee." Jon replied. "Queen Daenerys has given me time to consider my
decision. It was upon my request that she allowed me here. She wanted me
to see this day to better make my final decision."
Dickon's
expression changed slightly. It was well known that Jon Snow was the
most honorable man in all of Westeros, ever since his father had died,
and so it was highly unlikely he would lie. Which meant I would keep my
word to the Lord of House Tarly. He had nothing to fear from me this day
and he had finally accepted that fact.
"See that Dickon is treated kindly." I said. "He may be a prisoner but he isn't an enemy."
"Do you want him to travel with us to Dragonstone?" A Dothraki asked.
"At the moment there is no other place to hold him."
Two
Dothraki took Dickon Tarly away. I watched them go and realized in the
dark places of my mind I wanted to burn him alive. I wanted to take out
all my rage and frustration on an innocent man. It was hard not to fall
into that fantasy but somehow I managed.
I would not become my
father. I would remind the people of Westeros why House Targaryen should
again rule. At least until I died.
"Tyrion, bring me Jaime Lannister and Bronn." I said.
Tyrion
nodded and walked over to his brother. I understood his nervousness as
Jaime could very well die this day. As queen the hard decisions were
mine to make. Sometimes thinking of others as people could become a
hindrance. Yet even then I had to remember, in some part of my mind,
that they had souls of their own.
As Jaime was put in front of me
I remembered the stories Viserys would used to tell me about this man.
Back then I had fully believed in my father and that it was unjust my
House was nearly dead. But now I realized how cruel my father had been
and that it was better for the realm that he die. Jaime had made an
impossible decision for both royalty and smallfolk alike.
"Ser
Jaime Lannister and Bronn," I began. "You have taken actions against me
and, therefore, my House. Bronn, you injured Drogon."
"He doesn't seem to be injured anymore." Bronn replied arrogantly.
"Jaime, when I was on the ground you tried to kill me."
"I was only thinking of the realm." Jaime replied.
Of
course the man who had become the Kingslayer for Westeros would risk
everything to kill another threat. It must be his misplaced love that
made him unable to act against Cersei. Though there wasn't any excuse to
allow one to let a tyrant rule. Didn't he see that she would do more
damage than I could ever dream of?
While I didn't adhere to honor on all matters, there were things I would never do. I would never even think of doing.
"You
weren't doing anything for the realm." I retorted. "If the realm was
what you cared about, Cersei would be dead by now. I wouldn't have to
risk the lives of anyone if she were gone and I was allowed to reclaim
the Iron Throne."
"I can't kill my own blood." Jaime replied.
"You killed my father, your king. Why is killing your sister any different?"
"Please
have mercy in your heart, Daenerys." Tyrion pleaded. "He was merely
doing what he thought was right. While I can't explain his feelings for
our sister, it is a hard thing to turn away from love. They were holding
hands when they were born and that kind of bond is hard to break. Even
when you know that it's wrong."
What Tyrion said didn't change
the fact that Jaime had tried to murder me. He would have died in his
misguided attempt if not for Bronn. He would have gladly killed me and
slept soundly at night. I was the only one with enough strength behind
me to kill and overthrow the pretender on the throne.
But
Tyrion's words also had merit. Love was a strong emotion that made
reason seem unnecessary. If Drogo had become a monster it would become
near impossible to turn away from his side. No, it would be impossible
for me to kill him if it wasn't done for mercy. My love for Drogo was
undying and yet it wasn't as strong as what Jaime felt for Cersei.
Jaime
and Cersei grew in the womb together. They were born together with
Jaime unwilling to let go of her hand. Of course he would find it hard
to turn away from her side. It was disgusting and wrong, but that's what
love could do to a person.
Why was I even considering sparing
Jaime's life? It would make the most sense to just kill the Lannister
and Bronn. Or did that make the most sense to me because I wanted an
excuse to kill? That side of me was nearly overpowering at times, but I
would not be a slave to it.
Then a thought occurred to me: If I killed Jaime, Tyrion would leave my side.
While
Tyrion could be more than annoying at times, he was also intelligent.
He could look at a confusing situation and come to a solid conclusion.
More often than not he was right. He had helped me in many situations
and would continue to do so. That is if I didn't kill Jaime.
Could
it be that one day Tyrion would come to understand my decision? I
wasn't making a choice to kill a man to spite Tyrion or out of hate. At
one time of my life I would loathe Jaime beyond reason. But that time
had gone as I wasn't a child any longer. Right now the only reason I
disliked him was due to siding with Cersei and trying to kill me.
If
I wanted to risk Tyrion leaving, I would kill Jaime now. I would have
him beheaded quickly and leave some of the knight for the Imp to bury.
So I needed to figure out how important Tyrion was to me and quickly.
Why
was I making this harder than it had to be? The only correct choice was
obvious. I couldn't afford to lose Tyrion's support. Not only was he
one of my few friends, his mind was more powerful than my dragons. I
could lay waste to cities, but that wasn't the person I wanted to be.
My
father wanted to be king of the ashes, but that would not be my fate.
My House's past is something that would always be honored, but I wasn't
bond to it. It was my goal to break the wheel, not make it even stronger
than before.
"I will take your advice, Tyrion." I said. "Someone
needs to go to Cersei Lannister and report what has happened here. It
is doubtful that she will care if Bronn is the one delivering the
message."
In front of others I couldn't say the real reason. It
wasn't any kind of strategy on my part, it was purely to keep a good man
by my side. If he was let loose on his own he could die or work against
me. He had such love of his brother that he could very well turn
against me.
And who would be able to blame him?
"What message do you want me to give my sister?" Jaime asked. "Or is reporting on this battle all you want done?"
"If
Cersei surrenders to me, I will let her live." I answered. "It will be a
life in exile, but she will still be alive. She won't be powerful any
longer, but she can have a life far from King's Landing."
"And if she doesn't agree?"
"Behead Bronn." I ordered in Dothraki.
A
Dothraki was very quick to fulfill my wish. He gave no one any time to
consider what was about to happen. One moment he was holding Bronn and
the next he had chopped off the man's head. Though he ultimately lost
the fight, Bronn attempted to dodge the Dothraki's attack. If he had
been against another foe, Bronn would have won.
Tyrion looked
sickened by what I had done. He had mentioned a friendship with Bronn in
the past but it was either Bronn or Jaime. If I allowed both to live,
it would show a kindness that looked too similar to weakness. The older
Lannister's life being sparred was much easier to justify.
"Then I
will not show any mercy." I said once I turned back to Jaime. "She has
no love for the smallfolk as she cares for no one but herself. It was
her that destroyed the Sept of Baelor. It was her that murdered her own
husband in a quest for the Iron Throne. If she won't surrender, I will
be forced to kill her for the sake of the Seven Kingdoms."
"I will tell her." Jaime replied. "But I can't ensure she will agree. She is as prideful as they come."
"If she dies it will be your fault. If you do indeed love her, you will make sure her life is spared."
"Do you swear?"
"I swear by my House. You will be given a horse and enough supplies to last until King's Landing."
I
would have my men help me to decide how to divide the supplies. The
majority would be going back to Dragonstone, but the Tarlys would need
supplies of their own. It wouldn't be good to not show favor to those
that had just bent the knee. Then there was the fact that winter was
quickly approaching.
The Dothraki then took Jaime away to prepare
for the journey to King's Landing. I walked away from the crowd and
only Jon followed me. It was hard not to ask him if he would now bend
the knee or marry me. I had done things both to keep myself sane and to
please him.
If I hadn't yet convinced him, there was no longer time.
"You could have killed Jaime Lannister and Dickon Tarly." Jon said. "But you didn't, you found another way."
"It
was more for Tyrion's sake as he would never forgive me if I killed
Jaime. I can't risk our friendship for that. At least if there's another
way."
"My sister will be surprised that you didn't slaughter all those who were against you."
Ghost
suddenly raced past us to the battlefield. He was a wise creature, but
he wasn't human. He still had his own urges that overpowered his logic.
But could that not also be called human?
"I have made my
decision." Jon said and it felt like I could no longer breathe. "You've
proven yourself to me. You aren't a monster."
"Will you bend the knee or accept my marriage proposal?" I asked.
"I will marry you for the good of the realm."
"For the good of the realm."
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