The princess sat idly on the chair in front of the vanity table in her room.
Her face was smushed between her palms, and her legs swung to and fro underneath the table as she stared at the rat, Gan, who seemed to be having the time of his life chewing through a big piece of cheese that Daenerys had ordered her maid to get.
"Is he here yet?" the girl asked.
The rat looked up, shook its tiny head and then went back to the cheese.
For Gan, the piece of dairy in front of him was far more important than answering the stupid human female who kept asking the same question again and again.
"When is he going to be here then?" Daenerys whined in a petulant tone, having grown tired of waiting. Though in fact it hadn't been longer than twenty minutes since their appointment time had passed.
Thankfully, at that exact moment, the aura of the rat completely changed, and its eyes suddenly gained a hint of extraordinary wisdom that it did not have before, even with its relatively high intelligence compared to other rats.
"I got a little busy because of a sudden meeting, Daenerys," The rat wrote with a hint of apology in its eyes, "I am sorry for the tardiness."
"N-No problem," Daenerys replied, hastily shaking her head.
The last Targaryen Princess still felt a bit unnatural talking to a rat, even though it had been more than a week since she had gotten acquainted with this strange relative of hers.
It had been explained to her quite a few times that it was not the rat that was doing the 'talking' here, but a boy named Jon Snow who was controlling the rat using... Magic.
She had, of course, been very skeptical at first, wondering if she was being duped here, but then the boy had reminded her that their ancestors used to regularly fly on dragons... so this little bit of magic was actually not strange, especially considering that there are real magics out there, among the likes of Ancient Warlocks, the Red God followers, and the others.
"So how was your day?" Jon asked as a conversation opener, like he did every day.
"It was fine," Daenerys answered with a smile, "I had lunch, had a short walk in the inner garden, and then came back into my room."
"So your brother is still not letting you out of the mansion, huh?" Jon asked with a hint of sympathy in his black, beady eyes.
"No..." Daenerys shook her head with a forced smile on her face, "But its fine, I have Gan here to keep me company," she said pointing towards the Rat that Jon had given to her as a part time pet, "Plus, I have you to talk to from time to time, so its not that bad,"
"If you say so," Jon replied before a serious look appeared on his face, "So did you read the book I sent you yesterday?"
"Oh, yes," the little girl exclaimed before she jumped up from her seat and ran towards her bed.
Kneeling on the floor, she grunted and raised her bedding with her right hand and then retrieved a thick book that had been deep inside with her left hand before she came running back to her seat, "I finished it," she said proudly while showing him the book.
"That is so fast, Daenerys. You really are a good reader," Jon praised without holding back, and the girl immediately blushed with a pleased smile on her face. "So? What did you think about it?"
"Oh, it was wonderful! I learned so many things. The names of so many of our ancestors and all the wonderful dragons they had, of how they were able to move across the continent on their whim, and how the people respected them..." The girl explained with wonder in her eyes as if she was wondering what it would have been like to live in such a place, but then, abruptly, a dreary look appeared in her eyes, "But then somehow...everything went wrong,"
"Oh..."
"It was all so heartbreaking and cruel," Daenerys said, her lips upturned in distress as she remembered the tragic tale she had read in the book that had been given such a... tame title, "They were all related to each other, brothers and sisters, uncle and nephews, but still they attacked each other so viciously... some were left maimed, some were torn apart in the sky, while others got burned and eaten by dragons, and the most cruel of all was when a mother was forced to choose between her two children," her eyes got a little wet as she remembered the tragedy that had befallen one of her ancestor, a woman who had been described as a peaceful mother, "And they did it all... so that one person could sit on an old iron chair,"
"It feels quite stupid, doesn't it?" Jon asked quietly.
"Yes," Daenerys answered with a sluggish nod, "Yes, it does. I just can't imagine why they, who had almost everything in the world at their fingertips, and were practically the most privileged people of their time, would go to such lengths for something so... useless."
"Their actions and decisions may seem a little unnatural and extreme, but you need to understand that these events had happened over the course of decades, and that many little things and events that influenced them may have just been left out by the Maesters, just because they were inconsequential to the realm. So we should not judge them just because of what is written in one book."
"I understand. It's just... I never assumed our ancestors were so..."
"Human?" Jon wrote with a hint of understanding in his beady eyes, "Because that is what they are... They may have had the might of dragons under their command, and they may have ruled the seven kingdoms for a few centuries, but no matter what anyone tells you, they were not gods.
They felt love, anger, greed, guilt and all the other emotions just like any other man or woman out there, and it is just because their decisions affect the whole realm that they seem so excessive in everything they do."
Daenerys remained silent for a few moments before she quietly asked, "Many people must have died during their conflicts, right?"
Jon thought for a few seconds before answering, "The Maesters say that the realm's population more than halved during that period, but there were other factors that contributed more to it, such as the spring sickness and the winter fever that hit Westeros shortly after the war, so it may have been an exaggeration. But yes, in the end, at least a hundred to two hundred thousand deaths have been attributed to that civil war,"
Even after knowing about the events, Daenerys was still absolutely shocked by the massive death toll.
"My brother... always made it seem," The girl mumbled to herself with unfocused eyes, "That the Targaryen family were the epitome of perfection, that the whole realm adored them, that seven kingdoms had prospered under our rule like never before, and that the realm wept when we were overthrown, that they secretly kept banner of our family to await our return..." she suddenly looked down at Jon with a wry smile on her face, "The smallfolks are not really waiting for the Targaryen family to take back the throne, are they?"
"Perhaps some are, who knows?" Jon wrote back with a shrug, "As far as I have witnessed, most smallfolks have short memories, and as long as they have food in their bellies they don't really care who sits on which ugly chair next,"
"Hm," The girl nodded quietly, before suddenly a bright smile appeared on her face. "So, what is the next book you are going to get me? Is it going to be one about the events after the Dance, or is it going to be a geography book? You know, similar to the one about all the wonders in Westeros, because I liked reading that..."
"You have already learnt about the history of the Seven Kingdoms, before and after Aegon's conquest, and now that you have also read about the Dance, I think it is time for us to move on to more recent history."
"R-Recent history, you say?" Daenerys gulped in a somewhat nervous voice.
She already had many of her previous misconceptions about her family destroyed by these books, so safe to say the girl was very frightened about what she would find out next.
"Yes. My friend shall deliver the book to your room sometime during the evening, and..." Here the rat hesitated for a moment, looking at the girl with something akin to pity, before his eyes firmed up, "I need you to promise me that whatever information you find in there... You will keep an open mind about it."
"I... Yes, I will,"
Jon nodded, gave her a friendly wave and then disappeared from Gan's body, hoping that the girl finds the inner strength to stand on her promise.
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