Oaths in the Dark
The palace was quiet. Too quiet.
Beyond the walls, the khalasar camped in the fields, their bonfires dotting the night like a thousand cruel stars. Drums pounded in the distance, wild and relentless, echoing the inevitability of the dawn to come.
Tomorrow, Daenerys Targaryen would be wed.
She sat alone in her chamber, the silks of her dress discarded, her hair unbound. The air smelled of salt and lemon, but she could not taste it. Her hands trembled in her lap.
Her brother had been unbearable all evening. Viserys had raged at Illyrio, cursed at her, screamed of thrones and crowns, until the fat magister's guards had dragged him away before he embarrassed himself further. His last words still rang in her ears: "Do as you're told, or I'll give you to the Khal myself!"
A knock sounded. Not the timid tap of a servant, nor the oily slide of Illyrio. This was firm, controlled.
"Enter," she whispered.
Leonidas stepped inside, bronze armor catching the lamplight, crimson cloak draped across his shoulders. He carried no spear, no shield — only himself. Yet his presence filled the chamber more than any guard could.
For a moment, he simply looked at her. Not with hunger, not with calculation, but with steady calm.
"You fear tomorrow," he said.
Her throat tightened. "He is… he is a Khal. He will not ask. He will not care. He will…" Her voice broke. "I am afraid."
Leonidas knelt before her, lowering himself until his eyes met hers. "Daenerys." His voice was a command and a comfort all at once. "Fear is no shame. Even the bravest warrior feels it. What matters is whether you let it break you."
Tears welled in her eyes. "But I am no warrior."
"You are wrong." He reached for her hand — not to grasp, but to let her decide. After a heartbeat, she placed her trembling fingers in his. His grip was warm, solid. "You have endured your brother's cruelty, exile, hunger, and chains of silence. That is a battlefield as cruel as any I have known. And still, you stand."
Her breath caught.
"You are stronger than you know," he said. "And you are not alone. So long as I draw breath, no man will break you. Not Drogo. Not Viserys. Not the world itself."
For the first time, her tears fell freely, not from despair — but from release.
"Leonidas…" she whispered. "If I had been born free… if I could choose… I would choose you."
His jaw tightened, the weight of her words heavy. He bowed his head, pressing her hand to his forehead.
"You are my queen," he murmured. "And I am your shield. Always."
The System roared to life in his mind, brighter than ever before:
> [Critical Bond Achieved: Daenerys Targaryen – Oath of the Queen.]
[Reward: Spartan Army Expansion – 300 Warriors Unlocked.]
[New Ability: Spartan Wall – Formations unbreakable against cavalry.]
Outside, the Dothraki drums thundered, wild and unrelenting. But inside the chamber, another sound rose — the metallic clash of phantom shields.
Leonidas turned his head. In the shadows beyond the lamplight, he saw them. Three hundred Spartans, summoned from the abyss, shields and spears gleaming, red cloaks rippling though no wind stirred. They stood in silence, watching, waiting.
A wall of bronze, a promise forged in steel.
Tomorrow, Daenerys would be given to Khal Drogo. But tonight, she was no longer a pawn trembling in chains.
She had a shield.
And with him, an army.