Main Content
Archive of Our OwnArchive of Our OwnHi, TheBrimmedHat!PostLog Out
FandomsBrowseSearchAboutWork Search
tip: "uchiha sasuke/uzumaki naruto" angst kudos>10
Actions
Entire Work ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Chapter Index Bookmark Mark for Later Comments Share Download
Work Header
Rating:
Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning:
Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories:
F/MF/F
Fandoms:
Game of Thrones (TV)House of the Dragon (TV)A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. MartinA Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Relationships:
Rhaenyra Targaryen/Laenor VelaryonRhaenyra Targaryen & Daenerys TargaryenAlicent Hightower & Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena Targaryen & Rhaenyra TargaryenLaena Velaryon/Daemon Targaryen/Daenerys TargaryenAegon II Targaryen & Rhaenyra TargaryenAemond "One-Eye" Targaryen & Daemon TargaryenJon Snow & Daemon TargaryenDaemon Targaryen/Daenerys TargaryenJon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen
Characters:
Laenor VelaryonRhaenys Targaryen VelaryonLucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra)Jacaerys VelaryonDaenerys TargaryenDrogon | Daenerys Targaryen's DragonAlicent HightowerDaemon TargaryenAegon II TargaryenAemond "One-Eye" TargaryenVhagar (ASoIaF)Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena TargaryenLaena Velaryon (Daughter of Corlys)Caraxes | Daemon Targaryen's DragonVermithor | Jaehaerys I Targaryen's DragonJon SnowGhost | Jon Snow's DirewolfMelisandre (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Additional Tags:
Time TravelTime Travel Fix-ItDragon POV - FreeformWhite Walkers (A Song of Ice and Fire)ProphecyDreamsDance of the DragonsReconciliationPoliticsAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceSome RomanceFamilyRhaegal livesGood Sibling Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena Targaryen Joins Team BlackAemond does not lose an eyeSome angstHurt/Comfortsiblings bondingTime ShenanigansBlood MagicThe Long Night (A Song of Ice and Fire)One-Sided Jon Snow/Daenerys TargaryenJealous Jon Snow
Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of The Wings of Time Next Work →
Collections:
🌑 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 🌑
Stats:
Published:2023-09-27Updated:2026-07-08Words:479,849Chapters:115/130Comments:6,122Kudos:9,244Bookmarks:1,865Hits:519,728
Dragons, Dreams, and Second Chances
BearlyMadeIt
Chapter 4
Summary:
Daenerys finally wakes up.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Daenerys screamed. Sat upright and screamed. Viserion had been after her in her dream, blazing blue eyes. This time, she couldn't hold on to Drogon long enough. She slipped and her dead dragon dove after her, his fangs closing in –
Her voice broke and the prior whisper of a scream disappeared. She just panted and looked around. Slowly, her panic faded, turning to bewilderment. She was in a room. She was in a bed. A water bowl stood beside her on a small table. Water. Taking it, she gulped it down greedily, spilling some on a simple gown that wasn't hers. She was so thirsty. With every further gulp, she winced. Everything hurt. Her arms, her back, her legs… her gaze moved along her body, finally getting aware of all the bandages under her gown. How…
Drogon. He had to have gotten to Dragonstone.
Very carefully, she put the bowl away and slipped out of bed, nearly fainting when she got up. She didn't have time, quite literally. Wights supposedly couldn't swim, but they sure could walk underwater in some capacity. Not needing air had its benefits. (And there was Viserion…)
Outside her door, she found a guard, who looked at her surprised.
"My lady," he started, only to fall quiet when she whispered at him.
"How many are still alive?"
"Beg my pardon?"
"How many men do you…" her whisper faded once more, the world getting blurry. The guard caught her when she fainted.
---
"She asked how many men we have," the guard reported, feeling slightly uneasy being in the princess' private chambers. He normally didn't go in here, less alone to see the princess and lord in various stages of undress.
"She did what?" Laenor asked.
The guard simply shrugged and repeated his words.
"Well, she woke up… That's better than nothing," Rhaenyra said. There was hope. "Tell the kitchen to prepare a soup. Get a bowl ready in case she wakes up next… Call me, no matter the hour."
"Yes, my princess," he bowed and hurried out of the room.
Laenor looked after him. "Should we tell my mother?"
"No. If we could talk to her, yes, but…" but like this? She shook her head. Why wake Rhaenys for nothing?
Laenor nodded and settled into bed, hugging her before long. Rhaenyra smiled weakly, leaning against him. She still had to send word to her father.
---
The nameless girl woke up a few more times. Sometimes, she wasn't even aware she wasn't asleep anymore. There were long gaps of nothing, of darkness, of pain and panic. The dream of Viserion hunting her came back, again and again, and made her worry. Her dreams always came true… When she was awake enough, she drank water, drank the soup, and once again enquired how many men they had. And if they were still mining dragon glass. She had started another sentence, according to the guard, but her voice had failed once more.
"This is getting stranger and stranger," Rhaenys said matter-of-factly, watching her daughter-in-law pace around the painted table.
"Why would she ask for dragon glass?"
No one spoke up. What to say anyway? There was no reasonable explanation for the dragon glass.
"We just have to wait," she said. Rhaenyra grumbled, which in turn made Rhaenys smile. Patience was never a virtue of the young.
---
Mother was getting better.
Drogon knew as sure as breathing, as sure as flying. Slow, maybe, but she would get through it. The very same day, he started to devour the meat the odd men brought him. Ripped it apart to nice, eatable chunks and stuffed himself until he was full. Food had made him grow big, right? From the small little dragon, he once was. If he ate more... He had to be bigger to kill the dead.
While doing so, he eyed the red dragon who had stayed with him on the beach. She lay nearby, alternating between watching him, the waves, and the castle. She had jumped up when an old lady approached them, who smelled similar to mother. Drogon couldn't quite tell how… but she did. In some way or form. Like the plaything had smelled similar to her. There was just some smell about her.
He didn't understand how another dragon could possibly be, but he didn't ponder it either. Another dragon was good. More help to kill the dead.
Once he had stuffed himself, and could reasonably move afterwards, he jumped into the air, growling when his hurt wings cried out and flew higher. The men beneath him burst into running around and screaming.
Drogon circled higher and higher, looking out for… for his brothers. Blue eyes… and the good one. The sane one. He had to come here, right? He just had to. He didn't want to believe he had blue eyes too now. He just… with no Rhaegal anywhere nearby, nor Viserion for that matter, he turned to the other thing. The arguably more important thing. Dead in the water.
Closing his wings, he dropped and dove straight into the big water. Opening his eyes, he already expected to get stabbed again by the skeletons. They had to be close now. So, so close. They had reached him again and again in only so little. As if water would slow them down that much!
But there were only fish, scurrying away in a panic. Some sea plants. Sand and rock and the fragile sea rocks.
Just water.
He got out, flew barely higher than the waves, circled around the island, and dove again and again. He didn't believe they weren't there! There was no way. None at all. But they weren't there.
Eventually, he returned to his spot on the beach, staring at the waves. There was no damn way they weren't there. That they weren't coming for them. He would wait, alright. He would wait and burn them when they came out of the water. Growling at the ocean, he glanced at the red dragon. How many could they kill together? How long could they hold the island? Would she even help?
Sometime later, he heard metal clinging. Turning his head, Drogon saw the men who brought him meat. Carrying a huge chain.
Oh, never! He roared and breathed fire, nearly singing the first man. Then he realized mother probably wouldn't approve if he burned their helpers. They sure wouldn't approve either. They might stop bringing him meat. As an alternative, he set the beach on fire. It didn't burn well, but it sure got hot enough to keep them at bay.
Meleys watched him through all of it. Curious young thing. On one of his excursions, which he did like clockwork, Meleys and Rhaenys joined him. He was looking for something for sure, flying close to the water, sometimes taking a dive, then jolting himself all the way high up into the air and looking around, but she didn't get what. There was just water.
---
Daenerys didn't know how much time passed, how often she faded in and out of being awake. She only knew the next time she woke up, she nearly felt okay. Still in pain, still weak, but brilliant in comparison to the other times. This time, nearly to her guard's surprise, she didn't ask how many men they had.
"Can I talk to… whoever is in charge?" Obviously, someone had taken residence in Dragonstone in her absence. They even humored her by having the guards wear the traditional Targaryen colors. She should have –
No. She couldn't think of it. If she did, she would burst into tears. She didn't have time right now. She could cry later after she was sure her island was defended. Or ordered them all on ships and made a run for it. The further away, the better. She guessed at least.
"Yes, my lady," the guard said and hurried away. With him gone, she drank some more water, drank another bit of soup and got out of bed, slipping into some new robes she had been given. Too light for the weather, but oh well. She would handle it later. She toyed with the idea of staying in her bed, but holding audiences from her bed wasn't befitting a Queen.
She, very carefully, slipped out her door and made it quite a bit until a guard caught her.
"My lady, you should not…"
"I will meet them in the main hall," she only said, authoritative as ever. The poor man wasn't sure what to return. Was that an order from Rhaenyra? Her words didn't leave much room for interpretation. And dragging her back to her room wouldn't help either. Or look good.
"Let me help you, my lady," he said instead and hurried to her side, helping her walk.
Daenerys was the slightest bit irked about being called 'my lady' all the time. They sure knew who she was. Only one woman rode atop a dragon. Yet, they had saved her. She could let it slide.
---
Letting her fingers run along the painted table, Daenerys started to cry again. Silent tears, no sobs, but tears all the same. Last time she was here, they were all still alive. Missandei, Jorah, Grey Worm, Jon... and before that, Lady Olena. Maybe she should have listened to her. Flown her dragons to the Red Keep and taken Kings Landing. Be a dragon. Maybe together, all kingdoms united, they stood a chance. Viserion wouldn't have died beyond the wall… Only what if didn't matter. What if was gone and passed. Westeros had to have fallen to the dead by now, given her guesses. Maybe some of Dorne still remained, but everything else? Gone, dead, by snow and wind. Only being on an island seemed to save them. For now, at least.
The doors opened. Daenerys looked up and saw a woman, clad in black. Older than her. She had long, silver-gold hair, put up in a braid. She looked strikingly Valyrian. Maybe from the Free Cities. Maybe they had chosen to join her fight after all. Who to better support than a Targaryen if you were from old blood? She wondered why now, but decided to not question good deeds. The time for petty fights was over. They had to have heard about the dead and decided the Dragon Queen was their best chance at survival.
Daenerys nodded at her. "My lady."
Something odd flitted along the lady's face, but she all but nodded in return.
"What is your name?" Daenerys went on.
"Rhaenyra," said Rhaenyra, pondering when she last had to introduce herself. The girl really had to be from the Free Cities. Unbeknownst, they both thought the same of each other.
"I wanted to thank you for taking care of me and… How is Drogon? Please, tell me he is well. Or as well as he can be."
Drogon? "Your dragon? Yes, he is doing fine. His wings are still hurt, the wounds are healing slowly, but he is fine all things considered." He gulped down food as if it could run out tomorrow, for sure. Rhaenyra smiled. To ask about her dragon first. Whoever she was, she was a proper dragonrider. Always thinking of the dragon, first and foremost. She would do the same if Syrax got hurt. Thank her host… and then ask about her dragon.
What is your name, she wanted to ask. How did you get him? But not even that was the most important question. "What attacked you?" If something could hurt a dragon as big as him, hurt him so badly, they had to know.
Her smile faded and she looked away. "Viserion did. My… my other dragon. Although, he is not really himself anymore."
Rhaenyra stared at her. Her other dragon? Had she hatched more than one? Bonded to more than one? That was not even… Had it turned on her? Why would it? How could someone fly around with two fucking huge dragons and not be seen?
"Did Rhaegal turn up?" She asked, turning to her again, hope glimmering in her eyes. "My other dragon."
"No."
Had she hatched all three of them? How? When? Well, seven years ago or so the dragonkeepers claimed.
"How did you get the eggs?" Rhaenyra asked. She would either know and answer or…
"They were given to me as a wedding gift. No one thought they would ever hatch, but…" she smiled vaguely, only to sigh. "If Rhaegal is gone too…" she shook her head weakly. "Do you have words from the continent?"
Rhaenyra was still busy staring at her. Who was she? Getting three dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Bonding to three fucking dragons, which should by all intents and purposes be impossible in the first place. You bonded to one and that was it. How… why…
"Rhaenyra?" She asked again when the older woman didn't react. "Is there word from Westeros? Does anyone need our help? Is there anybody to help in the first place? I figured… maybe Dorne could still exist." Furthest away from the wall and, just maybe, the desert helped. They had survived Aegon too. If anyone could stand against the dragons, there was a chance they could stand against the dead as well.
"What?" What in the seven hells was she talking about? Why would she ask about Dorne?
"Well… If Dorne fell…" Seemed so. Otherwise, she would know, wouldn't she? Hopefully. "Is the island well defended? We should scatter dragon glass in the waves. Shatter them before they get here. Maybe… I know it's a stretch but… maybe they can't step foot on the island? It being full of dragon glass and all…" She paused, considering their options. "It will only buy us so much time, though, one way or another. They have my dragon. They probably have my other dragon too." Just saying it hurt. Rhaegal dead as well... No. Worse than dead. "They'll use them to burn everything down." Running away on ships suddenly didn't sound so enticing anymore. "We have to shoot them down, before they can light us up. How many archers do you have? Scorpions, maybe?" She'd hate watching them get impaled, especially Viserion, it felt like watching him die all over again, but there were only so many choices.
At last, Rhaenyra snapped out of it. The girl had gone insane if nothing else.
"My lady, what are you talking about?"
Daenerys looked at her confused. "The dead."
Notes:
Here we go. The first talk didn't go over so well. Will next time work better? We'll see!
Actions
↑ Top ← Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Bookmark Comments (55)
Kudos
alliemour, chewylotus, Vr2720202, MusicalNightOwl, pineeel, Kirarau_u, Not_Krispy, MidnightsShadow1208, Little_mushroom99, CatoWrites, erin87078, Mixple723, Tsukiyo_Akito, th_sa, danthv, IdonotknowwhoIam, Olimavivi, Abdr, Bradley52869, MoriAellaevae, Senku_Keisuke, 9Lives_9Tails_mystery, itsmomou, HRioo, Missingyumi, Escapes, Draconic_Nebula, Loe_any, Merilove21, cmdShort, Techleyor, Jay_bluefood, snowyowlwriter, Guten_Bag_Boi, creativecats, MentallyNotOkayRoseBush, indiscryptency, stvr_lightts, Caving_Chemist, Evora, Mae_2266, FluffyTeaCloudy, Tuk_2231, SuccinctEarth07, bookwormz, RandomElseontour, Benantifan1, Asiahan, Hell_08, Echo0112358, and 4381 more users as well as 4813 guests left kudos on this work!
Comments
Post Comment
Comment as TheBrimmedHat
Plain text with limited HTML ?
Comment
10000 characters left
Footer
Customize
Default
Low Vision Default
Reversi
Snow Blue
About the Archive
Site Map
Diversity Statement
Terms of Service
Content Policy
Privacy Policy
DMCA & TIDA Policies
Site Status
Contact Us
Policy Questions & Abuse Reports
Technical Support & Feedback
Development
otwarchive v1.2.0.0
Known Issues
GPL-2.0-or-later by the OTW