Daenerys woke up a few hours later in Aegon's room. The bed was comfortable and the pillow embraced her head with such comfort she barely wished to move at all. Still she forced herself to sit up and hissed from the pain coming from her shoulder.
- Thank the Seven, you're finally awake - said Aegon, standing up from a nearby armchair where he was waving his fingers over the candleflame and walking to sit at her side on the bed - I was worried the blade could have been poisoned.
At first, she didn't answer, she just checked the bandage covering the now stitched wound on her right shoulder. Then the memories came back to her as she woke up fully: the wedding at the Sept, the feast, Viserys' drunk rants, the dagger coming her way…
And Aegon's sword going for her brother's head.
- Whe… where is Viserys? - she asked, though she already could imagine the answer.
- He's gone Dany - said her husband with a tone that mixed his burning anger for what had happened with his attempt to be soft to her - He tried to kill you and, to protect you, I had to act. Though I was too late to stop him from throwing that dagger and for that I beg your forgiveness. When I struck him down, you were already injured.
The first tears that streamed down Daenarys' face were quickly dried up by the woman and no more came after that. Her brother was dead, by the hands of her husband and nephew, but that didn't mean he didn't have it coming. For all those years he had used her and mistreated her. For the fact that he tried to kill her. For the fact he was not a real dragon, but a weakling. He had it coming. She'd shed no more tears for the man who brought doom upon himself with his own arrogance. Her brother was no dragon. A Dragon had awoken that day, yes, but it wasn't him. It was her, and her husband.
- There's nothing to forgive Aegon - she said putting her hand on top of his - he tried to kill me and you did your duty to protect me. Nothing more, nothing less. If you worry about being called a Kinslayer, be sure that you won't hear that from me.
A smile graced Aegon's somber face and she continued to speak.
- How long have I been sleeping?
- I don't know for certain, a few hours. It's past the hour of the wolf now.
- And you've been keeping watch over me for all this time?
- Yes - he answered - I've been checking on you. As I said, I was worried that his blade could have been poisoned. Maester Haldon has also been coming every couple of hours to see how you're doing.
- Thank you - she said, moving for a chaste kiss on his lips.
Aegon was about to escalate things further, but then he remembered what the Maester had said about it not being a good idea. He cursed Viseris in his mind for cockblocking him on his wedding day. Well, at least Viserys was dead and he was alive and would get to consummate his marriage with Dany another day.
- And what about the feast?
- The feast proceeded after what happened, but I didn't stay for long. As soon as the Maester said you were properly accommodated and stable, I bid the guests goodbye and came here. It should have ended by now.
She smiled as he hugged her and gently stroked her hair.
- Oh and there's one more thing… - he said kinda sheepishly.
- What is it?
- Well, while you were out I got somewhat carried away and I might have declared an Empire…
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For Daenerys it was weird to think that her husband had declared that he'd reform Westeros into an Empire. Wierder still was getting used to people calling her "My Empress" or "Your Imperial Majesty" left and right.
Not to say she wasn't proud of Aegon, because of course she was. He had behaved like a true dragon ever since he set foot in Pentos. He had protected her even before their engagement. He had amassed an army strong enough to rival a kingdom. He had forged alliances and he had the charisma of a true leader. Men followed him not just because of his birthright, but because they felt part of something bigger than themselves, they felt inspired. Aegon had given them this sense.
But now it was a different time. Proud as she might be, the time was not of praises or overtures, but of sobriety. It was time to give the last rites to her brother.
She arrived at one of the spacious gardens of the Magister's palace with two servants bridging a medium-sized chest behind her. The guests from the wedding feast had mostly left and the group present for Viserys' funeral was rather small.
Apart from the servants that went about their duties with the occasional glance to the funeral pyre, the present included Aegon, Magister Ilyrio, Lord Varys, Prince Oberyn, Jon Connington, Septa Jordane, Maester Haldon as well as Harry Strickland, Ser Jorah Mormont and some other prominent sergeants of the Golden Company. All of which had somber semblands. Not of grief, of course, for none mourned the Mad Prince, as he began to be called, but from the sour taste the nasty business of the previous day left in their mouths and the current spoiling of their afternoons on honoring a dead cunt.
"My Empress" Lord Connington bowed respectfully when she stopped next to Aegon "we are here to offer our condolences to you. Despite all that happened, the loss of a brother is a heavy burden. Please know that all of us present are at your disposal to aid in bearing it."
"Thank you, Lord Jon" Daenerys said with a polite nod, but no smiles "I know he wasn't well liked. The Seven know even I might not truly like him, all things considered. None of you have any reason to be here for him and, to be honest, it was duty alone that brought me here now, but I'm strengthened by your presence and support."
"We live to serve Your Imperial Majesties" added Lord Varys with his flowery voice and dramatic bow.
Normally, words would be spoken in honor of the deceased, but none had anything good to say about Viserys. After all, none had met him when he was a child, before he became maddened by arrogance. Daenerys simply approached the pyre where her brother was, his head stitched back to his body and covered by the tall collar of a shirt, to mask the beheading.
"Goodbye, brother. We bury you know, though I know your true death happened together with Ser Willem. Your good natured soul went to the Stranger with him and only a hateful husk was left behind. I hope you will finally rest now. I hope you will find peace."
With that, she moved back to the chest the servants had brought for her and opened it, revealing the three dragon eggs inside. She didn't truly know why she was going to do what she was about to do, but something inside her said that it was the right thing to do. It was more than just a gut feeling. It was as if a voice on the innermost parts of her consciousness told her what to do.
One by one, she picked the dragon eggs and placed them gently next to Viserys in the funeral pyre. The pyre itself was large in size, making her have to bend over it to reach her brother's body and place them where she wanted.
Once she was ready, Aegon approached her.
"Dany, are you sure you want to do this? These eggs are priceless…"
"Indeed, Your Imperial Majesty" added Ilyrio with concern and slight annoyance "if you wish to get rid of them, we could sell them and the gold alone would keep your army supplied for more than a year and perhaps beyond that."
Daenerys turned to him with sharpness in her eyes.
"Do not mistake my actions for ingratitude, Magister Ilyrio. I wish not to get rid of them. I just know that this is something I must do, deep within the core of my being and, if I don't do it, I will live a life of regret wondering what would have happened. And since I married Aegon, I've decided I'll suffer no more regrets in my life."
The Magister was shocked by her reply and simply bowed and took a few steps back to his place. As for Aegon, she just looked at him and asked.
"Do you trust me?"
"With my life." he answered, looking deep into her eyes.
She picked up the torch from the nearby stand, got up on the pyre and extended her hand to him.
"Empress, no!" shouted Jon Connington.
Before anyone could react, however, Aegon took her hand and leapt towards the pyre as Daenerys threw the torch towards the oil soaked wood and it ignited in flames. The others scrambled, unsure of what to do, some ordered servants to fetch water, others looked at anything they could throw to douse the fire. One thing, however, was strange and soon one of them noticed it.
"There are no screams." said the Red Viper to the others "listen, it's completely quiet."
One by one they stopped and looked at the pyre, where the flames raged and reached towards the sky before dissipating into nothingness. Inside they noticed two standing silhouettes. They didn't scream, didn't contort themselves in pain, didn't make any movement to indicate their intentions of leaving the fire.
The spectators watched in awe as three other, smaller, silhouettes joined them. They looked like small animals, but none could identify which. One climbed up towards the larger silhouette's shoulder, while the remaining two did the same with the smaller of the humans.
Eventually, a few minutes later, the flames had died down, enough for the figures inside to be seen. By that time, there were far more people in the garden standing witness of what was happening. Servants, guards, mercenaries and knights all looked towards the pyre as the Imperial Couple descended from it.
Viserys was gone, nothing more than a pile of ash and charred bones. So were the clothes of Aegon and Daenerys, leaving them absolutely naked. And finally, the eggs were also gone, replaced by three living breathing dragons, the first in roughly a century and a half.
As Aegon's feet touched the garden's ground, he extended his hand back to Daenerys and helped her down. At the same moment, all those present knelt in awe and reverence. They had witnessed something truly incredible. The return of House Targaryen as a major player of the Game of Thrones. The declaration of an Empire. And now, the rebirth of dragons, as if in confirmation of the Targaryen's divine right to rule.
"Hail Their Imperial Majesties, Harbingers of Dragons!" roared Jon Connington.
The crowd answered with booming cheers and hail. Aegon told them to stand and soon clothes were brought to cover the Emperor and Empress. Aegon looked at the bigger of the three dragons, that was perched on his shoulder and couldn't hide a smile of wonder and satisfaction. Daenerys did the same, gently scratching the smallest one's scales and holding the other one in her right arm.
"By the Seven, look at the sky!" said Harry Strickland pointing upwards.
As the gathered did so they saw something unexpected, something that only added to the aura of mystique and wonder.
A red comet flew across the sky, giving the world its crimson majesty. And for those who looked towards the sky at that moment, it was an omen and a declaration: dragons had returned to the world and soon would House Targaryen return to rule Westeros.
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It was night in Winterfell and the Godswood was absolutely quiet. Were Catelyn Stark a devout of the Old Gods, she'd be there praying by now, but she wasn't. Now she was in the local Sept, praying to the Mother so that she can find her son Brandon Stark. The face in the Weirwood Tree witnessed nothing but the passing of hours and the wind flowing through the leaves, both on the trees and on the ground.
Then, just like it had happened months prior, a rift opened out of thin air. This time, however, three figures were spit out of it, instead of just one. Two men and one woman, all jovial like the one who had preceded them.
They stood up and the taller man groaned, adjusting his clothes.
"Ah, another happy landing" he said looking around "now now, stand up you lazy assess. It seems we've arrived exactly where we wanted to. Now let's go find Arabella. Let's bring her home."