Game of Thrones: The Ruler

Rhaenys took some time before she returned to herself and was able to speak again. She drank a few gulps of water from the glass on the nearby table and took a few deep breaths to calm and steady herself.

Jon realized he could continue the conversation now. Perhaps the further conversation would draw her mind away from the pain of her memories.

"So, Wazunk was the one who helped you escape from King's Landing," Jon asked gently. "And he brought you to Essos? To Braavos?"

"Yes," Rhaenys nodded. "He had some contacts in Braavos, and though many were aware of his true identity as a loyal guard of my mother, he simply claimed I was his daughter and was one of the lucky few to survive the sacking of the King's Landing. It was a believable story, and no one questioned him and no else bothered in Westeros too."

Jon nodded, looking thoughtful.

"But why Braavos? Why not Dorne? Your uncles would surely have welcomed you. Even now, Oberyn Martell speaks often of vengeance against the Mountain," He noted.

Rhaenys nodded and replied, "I will not deny that both my uncles loved my mother and me dearly. And I also know that they would have gone to any length to keep me safe."

"But my elder uncle, Doran Martell, would never have hesitated to use me as a piece in his game. A bargaining chip to further his own politics and his designs. He would have seen me a path to further his own interest. A path to sit his own bloodline on the throne. He would have surely sought revenge against the Lannister but it would have mixed with own ambitions."

Jon looked at her in confusion.

"When my mother had planned our escape," Rhaenys explained further, "we were not to flee to Dorne. We were to go to Essos. If she had lived, hiding would have been difficult but not impossible. She would have maintained some contact with her brothers, but she would not have partaken in their games. She would have lived an isolated life and would have stayed as far as away from any kind of politics."

Her eyes grew distant as she recalled.

"It was her clear instruction that, should she die, we or whoever survived were to live a normal life. We were not to worry about revenge or thrones. She knew it would only mean throwing ourselves into a pit of fire. All she wanted for me was a peaceful life. Not a life where I am constantly struggling or is living in state of worry or paranoid."

"Wazunk did as he was told," she added softly. "I was too young to understand what he had done for me, but as I grew, he shared these things with me."

"I see," Jon mumbled. He was not sure if he agreed with Elia's philosophy. For someone seeking revenge amidst all the struggles would have been the correct path.

But he could not deny her reasoning. After a hellish life in the Red Keep, a life free of political ploys must have felt like salvation.

If Rhaenys had sought the throne alone, she would never have known peace, only constant danger and the shadow of fear.

"Where is this Wazunk now?" Jon asked.

Rhaenys shook her head, a tear glistening in her eye. "He died four years ago… of a sickness."

"Oh…" was all Jon could say. He wished he had words of comfort, but there were none that could soothe a wound carved so deep.

"What was your life in Braavos like?" he asked instead.

Rhaenys then gave him a careful account of her years in the Free City, how she had lived under Wazunk's care, and how she had endured alone these past four years.

"Nice," Jon remarked when she finished. A small, wry smile tugged at his lips. "You have lived quite an adventurous life."

That made Rhaenys smile too, just a little, but enough to soften the grief in her eyes.

"So," Jon finally questioned. "What exactly did you see in the dream that made you to leave the comfort of your settled life and start such a dangerous journey?"

A faint blush crept onto Rhaenys' cheeks as her mind wandered back to the memory of being wrapped in Jon's arms.

Jon raised an eyebrow, eyeing her reddened face.

"What is it?" he asked, curious what thought had unsettled her.

Rhaenys hesitated for a moment before answering softly, "I saw us… together. Riding a dragon."

Jon was definitely surprised, though he betrayed little on his face. Before he could respond, Melisandre gasped audibly.

She had been silent until now, but her voice cut through the air, drawing both their attention.

"Dragons? Dragons, you say?" she whispered, her gaze darting first to Rhaenys and then to Jon.

Jon felt the weight of her suspicion immediately. He could see it in her burning eyes. Melisandre was questioning whether he already possessed such creatures.

Rhaenys, too, looked at him with searching confusion, her nod confirming the seriousness of what she had seen. Slowly, both pairs of eyes fixed on Jon, silently demanding an answer.

Not having much answers and having enough confidence in protecting the dragons, he nodded in agreement. Surely, he was not going to reveal the numbers.

Rhaenys reeled back in shock, her lips parting as though words had failed her. Across from her, Melisandre's face lit up with almost unholy delight.

A wide smile spread across her lips, her eyes burning with newfound zeal. This was fuel for her faith, a sign to stoke her frenzy about the Prince Who Was Promised. Jon had little doubt that she was going to get even more loyal.

"You… you have a dragon?" Rhaenys whispered, scarcely believing her own words. She dared not to imagine more than one dragon. Her voice trembled as though naming it aloud might make the fragile miracle shatter.

Jon's answer was as calm as it was devastating. He simply nodded. A confirmation.

"How?" She mumbled.

"I just got a bit lucky," Jon replied.

Rhaenys have had a lot of questions on her mind but now everything had been forgotten.

"Where?" She almost pleaded. "I want to see them."

Rhaenys at that moment had forgotten any boundary she should have had with this new man. She was too excited to consider all these things.

"I have no problem in taking both of you to see a dragon," Jon mumbled. "But I have a certain condition."

"What condition?" Rhaenys asked.

"To be completely loyal to me," Jon replied and both the ladies looked at him in bewilderment.

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