"Well, it is safe to assume that Drogon was here, Your Grace," Daenerys' frown deepened at Ser Barristan's words, but she did not deny them as they stared at the devastation in front of them.
The Forest of Qohor, once a beautiful and vibrant forest, was now nothing more than a field of ash and destruction, deep craters and crevices found everywhere.
The charred corpses of many of its inhabitants could be found everywhere and Daenerys grimaced as she saw a half-eaten elf with most of its flesh and skin having been melted off.
Her son had definitely gone to Qohor like she had suggested to him, but it appears that it looks like everything around him had suffered dire consequences.
'They've been gone for a fortnight since Drogon had shown up in his hysteric state thanks to the heat,' she thought, grimacing as she pitied anyone that came near either of the three during that time.
Daenerys forced herself to breathe through the stench of charred meat and lingering smoke despite the smells causing her a bit of nausea.
After all, she was now a Queen who had to become used to this."
"What...what do you make out, Ser Barristan?" she asked after getting used to the smell, turning to her Queensguard Commander as the man's gaze scanned the field.
"He was in pain and a state of delirium from the looks of the claw marks made sporadically on the ground. Along with that, the scorch marks are spread out instead of focused on certain areas, meaning that he didn't care for what he hit."
"You can also see by how he ate that he tried to appease the pain through feasting, but it did not work," Daario chimed in from where he was poking at the body of a bear with a spear, grimacing at how easily it was to tear the flesh from the bone. "At least, he opened the path for us."
"I do not need jokes, Daario. Not now."
"Of course. My apologies, khaleesi," Daario spoke with a bow of his head, but Daenerys knew the man was just doing it to save face.
Her gaze then moved back to her army, the freed people looking wary of the sight in front of them while most of the Dothraki's eyes were fixed on the skies above.
She didn't blame the Dothraki, especially since Drogon had gone into heat on the very first day that they met him. Still, it appears that they were now wary and slightly fearful of her son, which would not do.
The two still need to fight side by side should she decide to take back the throne stolen from her family.
'Or do I truly wish for the throne?' she thought with a frown, thinking of the end goal that was placed upon her shoulders since she was born.
True, she wished to take the Iron Throne back and instill House Targaryen once again as the ruling family, but at the same time, she did not need a throne to feel content.
She already did with her children and that brought her to her second point. With her womb destroyed by the stillbirth of her child, she could not bring forth children.
That was the one thing most would want from a Queen when she takes a King: to bring forth children that can continue their lineage, but she was incapable of having any.
At least, that's what she believes if that witch was to be believed. Then again, Mirri Maz Duur might have told tales to her as part of her revenge.
Daenerys will unfortunately never know whether the woman was being truthful or not, but she would rather not risk conceiving a child only to bring it dead into this world like her first one.
"DRAGONS!" One of the Dothraki exclaimed and Daenerys' head snapped up as she looked to the east, a relieved look flashing on her face as she saw all three of her children flying towards them.
She did note that they have grown a bit when they touched down, but she didn't care as she hopped from her horse and rushed over to her eldest.
Before Drogon could speak, Daenerys wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly, the scorching heat of his blood comforting to her as she relished in its warmth.
"Oh, son. I should have warned you earlier," she whispered, pulling back and staring at Drogon as he paused and shook his head.
"It is okay, Mother. I understand that no one knew of it," she raised an eyebrow at the ease with which Drogon spoke High Valyrian as well as that he did not shout every word now before pushing it back to discuss later.
Right now, she was just ecstatic that her children were okay. Speaking of children...
"Visenya, Rhaenys, my sweets. How did you two fare?" she asked, rubbing the chins of her daughters as they mewled and leaned into her grasp.
She was a bit surprised when she saw Drogon's gaze flicker to his sisters' posteriors as he moved back, but he looked like a frozen deer when he noticed her amused smile.
Well, it appears that while the heat itself was gone, her son still retained the urges that came with it. Thankfully, his mind was not clouded as before and she giggled as she saw the apologetic look in his eyes.
"It's okay, Drogon. I understand that you were in pain."
"Still, I am the eldest and the most capable. I should not have...I should have had better control."
"But you did not and you mated with them. Feeling guilt over what has passed will do no one any good. All you can do is look at the present and prepare for the future when it happens again."
"If it does, we'll simply help him again," Visenya chimed in and while she could not understand her daughter, she got the meaning behind her words when she saw Drogon's frown.
"Visenya, no."
"What? You didn't seem to mind it, especially when you pinned me down and just-"
"Okay! I do not need a play-by-play of what happened."
"I enjoyed it too, brother," Rhaenys added and Drogon just let out an exasperated growl as Daenerys giggled.
Well, it appears that she was worried for nothing.
"Your Grace, is it safe to approach?" Daenerys turned as she heard Barristan's voice, not surprised to see the knight approaching slowly. Daario, Grey Worm, Belwas and Aegon VI was slightly behind the man and all five froze as Drogon glanced at them.
"Apologies for my behaviour during that state of delirium," Drogon apologized and the five men gave slow blinks before Daario cleared his throat with an awkward chuckle.
"It's...it's okay, friend. It was not that terrifying and we were ready to protect your mother if you tried anything."
"It's okay, Daario. I can smell your fear."
"He pissed himself the moment you turned to us with a snarl."
"I did not!" Daario shouted to Belwas, who shook with his boisterous laughter while Barristan, Grey Worm and Aegon only relaxed when she gave a soft smile.
"Right. So, how do you feel?" her nephew asked and she turned to Drogon as he scratched his chin with a wing before shaking his head.
"Confused, but okay."
"Hey, that's a good thing."
"Is it?" Drogon asked, gesturing to the desolate land in front of them as Aegon VI gave a sheepish smile.
"R-Right, forgot about that."
"That brings me to my point, your Grace. Are we to still head to Qohor?" Barristan asked and Daenerys grimaced as she looked at the devastation.
If it was just her and her entourage minus her children, then they could stay in Qohor for a few days and then move on, but that meant that her children had to be alone and she did not want to let them out of her sight.
"I'd vote no," Daario spoke up after his shouting match with Belwas, shrugging when everyone looked at him. "The Qohorik love blood sacrifices and you won't get any better ones than dragons or their mother.
On top of that, they will most likely sent scouts to investigate this devastation and when they find out that dragons were the cause, they will not let anyone with a dragon near the city ever again."
"So, what would you propose as a plan of action?" Daenerys asked, to which Daario narrowed his eyes with a frown as he looked to be in thought.
"The Norvoshi will definitely try and take your life to get the upper hand on a positive relationship with Westeros and its ruler right now, meaning that Norvos is a no.
That just leaves one path: Marching straight west to Pentos through rivers and mountains."
"That is a foolish notion. Not only will the Dothraki not want to cross the rivers with their horses, but the journey itself will be treacherous for them alone let alone the freed people," Barristan spoke with a frown and Daenerys frowned as Daario shrugged.
"It's either that or we continue on the path to Qohor, Norvos and then with Pentos as our end destination," He replied, Daenerys frowning at his words.
"We cannot go to Qohor," she finally replied, a frown on her face. "And the Norvoshi are no safer as they would see myself and my dragons as weapons or hostages."
"Then, the river route is the only route, then," Aegon replied and she nodded with a deep breath.
"Illyrio Mopatis may have ill-plans for myself and my children, but there was a time where the man gave us his aid. We shall go to Pentos."
"Then, we need to prepare, your Grace," Barristan spoke before clearing his throat and continuing. "We must consider provisions as a march through rivers and mountains with the army we have now will require strictly organized supply lines."
"The Unsullied and some of the better-trained soldiers can take vanguard and form a rear guard if needed," Grey Worm spoke and Daenerys nodded at that.
"The Dothraki will guard the flanks," One of the former khals added, the others nodding in agreement as Daenerys smiled in thanks as she nodded.
"I thank you for that. Now, tonight, we camp and prepare. Tomorrow, we march. Make sure everyone understands."
"Yes, khaleesi!" They all spoke up, all but her children along with Missandei, Barristan, Belwas and Daario moving to relay her orders.
"Ser Barristan, Belwas, you two are on watch tonight. You may rest tomorrow when Grey Worm and Daario takes over."
"As you command, your Grace," Barristan nodded, Belwas doing the same and Daenerys smiled before turning to Missandei.
"I forgot to ask for your opinion as my closest confidant."
"I would have agreed with your order. It is the best course of action," she replied and Daenerys gave a pleased smile before turning to her children.
She was not surprised to see Drogon already having plopped down on the ground, Rhaenys lying over him while Visenya looked at her with an exasperated look.
"Yes, yes, I know, Visenya, but let them sleep. They deserve it," she replied before giggling at her daughter's affronted look and growls. "Of course, you do too, but we both know you're the better of the three."
"We can hear you," Drogon grumbled, but he didn't move as Visenya's tail smacked his nose, simply giving his sister a one-eyed stare before going back to sleep.
Daenerys giggled as she sat down beside her children, Visenya laying down beside her before gesturing for Missandei and the others to do the same.
"Like I said, we shall rest for tonight and tomorrow, we march."
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Illyrio Mopatis was nothing but a patient man when it came to his plans.
Sure, he had his close friend Varys to help him with certain plans for the time that they've known each, especially the ones pertaining to his child that was masquerading as a Targaryen.
Oh, how he had hoped that dear Daemon would not be needed in the process, but when Varys brought word of how king Joffrey had passed from poisoning and how the new King Tommen's rule was done by his mother and grandfather Tywin Lannister, he knew that their plans needed to be accelerated.
Unfortunately, there was one hiccup that caused the one big connecting factor of their plan to be removed from the equation.
"What do you mean my son is gone?!" Illyrio exclaimed, staring at the man in front of him who stood silent with a grimace.
The gold cloak that signifies his position as commander of the Golden Company would have made him a person to respect someone in Illyrio's eyes, but he did not care for the man's status at all.
After all, it was because of Jon Connington's foolish ambition of calling Daemon back too early that caused him to be kidnapped by that brood Daenerys and her dragons.
Oh, how he had wished that he had kept the eggs to himself or at least had given them to Daemon when he heard the stories of them hatching. He had basically just handed three potentially war deterrents to the woman for free...and that vexed him heavily.
"We did not expect the dragon to be there, but we will get him back.
"Oh, you will? And how will you do that when Daenerys Targaryen has left Meereen moons ago and headed into the Red Waste? Willl you go after her?"
"Illyrio, my friend-"
"Do not start with your shit, Varys. It's only thanks to our friendship that I do not toss you to the Lannister bastards chasing after you," Illyrio spoke with a scoff, a slave cooling him down with a fan as he sat down in his throne.
"Well, I'd say that he's still okay given that you have not received a ransom or the boy's body," the dwarf to the right spoke up, Illyrio's eye twitching as he watched the small man down half a bottle of Arbor Gold in the blink of an eye.
Tyrion caught his glance, placing the bottle down and giving a shrug, "You can glare all you want, but facts are facts. If she had slain him, you would have heard of it. If she meant to ransom him, you would still have heard of it. Silence usually means one thing."
"Which is? Please, enlighten us, dwarf," Jon asked and Tyrion smirked at the man's weak attempt to anger him.
"Simple. She doesn't know what to do with him."
"Daemon...he was meant to marry her in time, bind her claims and their dragons," Illyrio spoke with a grimace and Varys stepped forward with a hum.
"Perhaps this is not the end of our plan, but merely a different branch," he spoke, clearing his throat as everyone glanced at him. "Aegon, or should I say Daemon, is nearly grown, handsome, educated and well travelled.
The Golden Company would die for him, but they would not need to. Last I heard from my little birds after the fires of Qohor, they have not seen or hide of a Mother of Dragons or her army, meaning that she is avoiding both Qohor and Norvos."
"...She is heading directly here," Illyrio realized and Varys nodded with a thin smile.
"Precisely. Therefore, let us see that Pentos welcomes the Mother of Dragons with open arms."
"Agreed," Tyrion nodded, raising his wine glass as Illyrio ignored the dwarf before nodding.
"Agreed. Jon, go and make sure the Golden Company does not attack Daenerys and her men."
"Understood," the commander spoke with a salute, leaving the room as Illyrio looked at Varys.
"Will this truly work?"
"Targaryens drop like flies without their dragons. We can make sure she becomes another example."
A/N: Oh, schemes, schemes and more schemes. When will it end? Anyway, the family is reunited and we're heading to Pentos.
Next chapter: Decision.
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