Daenerys blinked at them owlishly and scrunched her face in thought. It was obvious that her brain was working in overdrive.
"What will happen to my brother now?"
"I won't do anything to him, if that's what you're worrying about." Emily shrugged.
"G–good. He is still my brother, my blood." She breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he was the way he was, it was not always the case. Once upon a time, when they were both younger, he was different, kind. All of that changed the day he was forced to sell their mother's crown. That broke him and made him into the man he is today.
"Does that really matter? I heard him speak, you know? You're an object to him, a precious bargaining chip, nothing more. That is not how a family should act." Deep down, she knew that Emily was speaking the truth. Somewhere along the line, she ceased to be a sister.
"What is the point of telling me all of this? Y–you already took me." Her voice hitched. She didn't want to hear this.
"I want you to know why I did that."
"But it doesn't matter, does it? You won't let me go."
"Hmm~ Won't I? I will not chain you up. Talk to Pyra… and I guess, you can talk to Kinvara as well, and if you still want to leave, and walk straight to your grim future, I won't stop you." Emily said her final piece and walked out of the room, leaving behind confused Daenerys and sighing Pyra.
"B–but she said she won't let me go…" She mumbled.
"Eh. Emily's mind is a mystery to us all. But she is giving you a choice, and you should think about it."
"It's not really a choice. At least it's not really my choice. If I leave, I go back to the future my brother signed me up for, and if I stay, I am still entrusting it to somebody else. Trading one master for another." She said pensively.
"It seems that way, doesn't it? But honestly, it's probably the furthest from the truth as you can get. Emily has no plans for you. In fact, Emily has no plans whatsoever."
"Then why take me? Why offer me help?"
"She told you, didn't she? Because she could. It was done on a whim."
"S–she saved– kidnapped me on a w–whim?!"
"Pretty much, yeah." Given the absurdity of the whole situation, the feeling that they might be truthful has begun to gnaw on her.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Lady Pyra… princess Daenerys?!"
"Yeah… Emily just took her. Why do you sound so surprised? Is that not why you're here?" Pyra asked when she noticed her tone.
"*ehm* No. Lady Emily just told me, and I quote, "We have a situation. Help!" and ran off, Lord knows where…"
"E–Excuse me? Are you nobles?" Daenerys hesitantly asked.
"No. Absolutely not." And Pyra resolutely denied, like it were/ an accusation.
"And yet, she addresses you as my Lady." At this, Kinvara smiled wryly.
"This is as much reverence as Lady Emily allows." That only gave her more questions with no answers.
"Reverence? I–I would really like to know who you people are. Y–you want something from me, the least you could do is tell me your identity."
"You have not told her yet, Lady Pyra? Why? It's not like you really keep it a secret." Kinvara looked surprised.
"Emily was going to, but I stopped her. It needs to be done gently, and she was going to just blurt it out." Pyra said while shaking her head.
"How do you gently tell somebody that you're a god?"
"Ugggh— Not like that! Did Emily put you up to this?" Pyra groaned and ran a hand down her face in exasperation.
"No, sometimes it's better for things to be out in the open, instead of dancing around it."
"You're all mad… That woman is a god?" Daenerys knew that she was a bit naive, so maybe she could believe that they really saved her, but that her savior was a god? Never.
"Do not let her demeanor fool you, because underneath that chaotic exterior lies power so great, so dangerous, that others pale in comparison. Or did you not stop to think about how you got here? You're in the Red Temple, little princess, on the other side of Pentos." Kinvara's voice was laced with great certainty, like she wholeheartedly believed what she was saying.
"...But…no, wait, she told me, didn't she? That she took me to the Temple, I mean."
"Why are you hesitating, Princess Daenerys? Lady Emily has chosen to save you. She extended her divine hand to you, and you'd be a fool to reject it." She quickly scanned the room, looking for any sign of displeased Emily.
"I cannot accept this. Not without proof."
"Cannot accept what? That you truly are saved? Or that your savior just so happens to be a god?" Kinvara prodded.
"The latter? Both? I don't know." She bit her lips in frustration. Maybe this Pyra was right, and this was too much for her in one day.
"I can show you!" A shout came from the middle of the room, and Emily materialized in front of them with a grinning face.
"...*sigh* you've been here the whole time, haven't you?" Pyra gave Emily a deadpan stare.
"Yup. Hehe~ I sneaked back when Kinvara came in. I heard you, by the way." Then she proceeded to shoot an annoyed look toward Kinvara.
"So? What sort of proof would convince you, kiddo?"
"Huh? What…" That's not how this goes, does it? There are supposed to be empty promises, and stringing along… She wasn't just supposed to agree.
"Can you— can you bring back my mother?" In Daenerys' mind, nothing else would probably convince her.
"Not permanently, but sure. Gimme your hand." Emily happily skipped to her side.
"Not permanently?"
"Yeah… Sorry, kiddo, but the dead reeeally want to stay dead for some strange reason. So, hand?"
"Hi Queen!" Emily greeted the ghost that appeared in the room. She could feel Daenerys stiffen and then start shaking a bit, but she didn't run.
"M—mother?"
"Daenerys… my little dragon…"
"Oookay! There is your proof. I'm gonna leave, so talk to your momma, kay?" Emily gingerly pried her fingers off her hand and stood up.
"Thank you for letting me speak with my daughter." The queen gave Emily a deep bow.
"You're welcome. By the way, I'm not sorry for kidnapping her. "
"Nor should you be. I know."
"Good. Okay, bye!"
—
I roamed the temple for a few hours, you know, giving the kid time. I did walk by my room a couple of times, and each time, I heard something different. At first, it was quiet sobbing, but that was later replaced by laughter.
"You good in there?" I popped my head in the room and asked.
"Oh, more than good, I was just done regaling Dany with childhood stories of her oldest brother." The Queen and Daenerys beamed at me.
"Ah, yes, Prince… prince…???"
"Rhaegar, dear. Prince Rhaegar."
"Yep. Doesn't ring a bell. So, kiddo. You convinced yet?"
"Yes… Mother thinks it's for the best." She said shyly.
"And you?"
"I–I think it's for the best as well."
"Please! Before you leave, I have a favour to ask of you, Your Grace."
"None of that. Emily will do. What favour?" I rapidly waved my hands in dismissal.
"My son Viserys is already lost to the Targaryen madness, but there is another one, my grandson, Rhaegar's and Lyanna's son. He is being raised by the Starks. Please help him as well." She pleaded.
"I've met Eddard a couple of times already, and he doesn't strike me as a bad guy. I don't know if the boy will need help. But I can offer it."
"You've met Stark?" Daenerys asked with wide eyes.
"Yep, I live in the North. I'm pretty sure I scared the guy into giving me a nice piece of land." I whispered the last part conspiratorially.
"How did you manage that? The Starks are almost unshakeable." The Queen asked with a laugh.
"Showed him how devastating I can be, defeated the ancient enemy of mankind by accident, and brought back the ghost of the assassinated Hand of the King, who revealed a giant conspiracy. There was also the fact that I pretended to be a mysterious merchant that could be summoned by walking around a tree, but that's just a minor detail compared to all that."
"H–How long were you in the North for?" The ghostly queen actually sat down in shock. I didn't know ghosts could do that. Neat, I guess you learn something new every day.
"Three weeks? Give or take a day. Most of it was spent playing merchants, though."
"Pft! Poor Ned. You sound like a handful." The queen giggled once she processed all of that.
"That she is. Emily! Why did you disappear without a word?" A miffed Pyra opened the door. Oops.
"Hehe~ I forgot to tell you?" I laughed awkwardly.
"*sigh* Well, seeing as you're all laughing, I guess everything is good?"
"Yes, all is well." "Yes, all good." Both mother and daughter spoke at the same time.
"Great, because we should leave now. I've had Kinvara keep an eye out on the mansion you stayed at, and they are searching for you in a mad frenzy all over the city. They are not being careful about it, so the rumors will spread quickly." Pyra looked annoyed at that.
"Bah. Let them run around like headless chickens. I've got what I came here to get, so I don't care."I just shrugged. We could always explore the city later, after all, we had all the time in the world for it.
"And what is that, if you don't mind me asking?" The queen asked.
"You don't know? I thought you'd be watching your children constantly." I tilted my head in confusion.
"I don't watch them all the time. There are other people as well."
"Eh, Fair enough. Anyway, it's dragon eggs. I wanted a pet dragon, and that merchant had three of them."
"I assume they were meant for my daughter, correct?"
"Yeah, as a "wedding" gift. Sorry, kiddo, I stole them. But first, I have to figure out how to hatch them, as they are currently petrified and nothing more than a fancy paperweight."
"Y—you said three, right?! C—Can I have one? Please?" Oh, shit. Is this how my parents felt when I asked them for a puppy? That's totally unfair! And why is the Queen giving me puppy eyes too?!
"Okay… okay… You can have a dragon. But you have to take care of it yourself. Understand?"
"Oh my. You folded quite fast for a god. Hahaha~"
"Don't push your luck, Queenie. I will find a way to revive you, just so I can punch you in the mouth." I glared at her, but it somehow didn't have the desired effect. She just laughed more.
"I'll take your word for it then hehe~… But I'm starting to feel myself slowly fading… I think it's time for me to leave as well."
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My vacation time is over, so depending on the amount of work, I might have to skip a day or two this week.