Even after a few days in this strange city, Jon’s amazement of the huge proportions of the Great Pyramid wasn’t attained. Standing right where one of its edges met the ground, he finally had time to absorb everything that happened lately. However, that never meant he would be successful in doing so. As his eyes ran up over the sharp edge of the gigantic pyramid, joining the other three at the top, she took over his thoughts, holding a flamed torch in her bare hand. He knew Unburnt was one of her titles, but he had never witnessed what that actually meant. How could this woman possibly not believe in destiny? Everything about her screamed extraordinary. He lifted his right hand to satisfy an itch where the flame had once left his flesh burned. Just when his thoughts went to the day he got that scar, killing his first wight inside Castle Black, footsteps brought him back to reality.
“Why are you still here, Jon?” It was her, accompanied by two armed guards. Daily, Dany would take morning walks through the city that was once again hers, the chosen leader happily stepping down. With the slavers retaking Astapor and Yunkai, keeping the peace in Meereen was not an easy task.
He hadn’t seen her since the day they arrived, after the man who he thought was the leader of this city, the same one who had kissed her, escorted him outside on her command. Jon wondered who he might be, Dany failed to mention him once. One thing was certain though, he was not the leader of Meereen. Apparently, before she left the city to sail for Westeros, Daenerys let the people choose their own leader while this man and his Second Sons keep the peace she ensured. Whoever he was though, he was not just a nobody to Dany. They way she looked at him resembled the way she used to look at Jon. Like they shared secrets nobody else in the world knew.
“I don’t know” he answered, his eyes searching hers as she stepped beside him, focusing on the giant building in front of them. He was not the only one who found these pyramids breathtaking. She was wearing a light dress that wavered in the wind, matching the sandy-yellow color of his shirt. Right where her shoulders end, golden thin bracelets circled her arms, matching the simple, yet elegant dragon-shaped necklace around her neck. A thin golden belt imitating the scales of a dragon completed her look. Wrapped around her waist, it emphasized the shape of her.
He swallowed heavily, saying “Why haven’t you killed me… yet?” A ray of sunshine lurked behind the pyramid, amplifying the purple of her eyes, which now was focused on him.
“I don’t know…” lifting her shoulders, she walked away, disappearing inside the pyramid.
When he reached the end of the dark tunnel of the pyramid, the voices he heard were defined with the faces of Dany and Daario. Turned with his back to him, Daario completely ignored him. “...and so I woke up in Volantis.” Dany seemed to have finished her story.
“So, it’s true? You were dead? And you waited until now to tell me? ...Who were they? Who killed you?” Daarios gaze followed Dany’s, leading it straight to Jon, as he stumbled into the room.
“It doesn’t matter now” calmly answered the Queen of Meereen.
“It doesn’t matter!? Forgive me, my Queen, but how can you say that? Tell me who they are and I will bring you their heads” he took her hand in his, lowering his voice. “Please, let me do this for you and I will make sure you sit on that Iron Throne personally this time.”
Dany sighed, gently shaking her head. “No, I am not seeking revenge. Nor I wish for the Iron Throne, nor to be a Queen. I am here because I need your help.”
“Yes, help killing those who killed you.”
When she did not answer, giving the man in front of her time to abandon his opinions, it became clear there was no changing her mind about this. She stepped forward “Don’t get angry.” Jon could not see Daario’s face, but her hand on his cheek seemed to have calmed him down.
“Alright then, marry me.”
“What?” Dany spoke the word circling in Jon’s mind.
“Last time you couldn’t marry me because you were sailing for Westeros to be their Queen, hoping to make new alliances with marriage. Now you are no longer a Queen, you say. So marry me. I will help you with whatever you need help with and then marry me. I would love nothing more than to see little Daeneryses running through these streets.” Little Daeneryses, that would be a sight to see, Jon thought. It’s a shame no one would ever see it. Dany’s lips curved into a smile, a sad smile but a smile nonetheless.
“Daario… I am no longer the rightful heir to the Throne, no longer a Queen, no longer the Mother of Dragons. For the first time in my life, I am just a normal girl... You were in love with the Queen in me… and she is gone.” Daario took a few steps back in surprise, untangling their hands.
“Fuck Kings and Queens, I want you, not your titles. A great number of women could follow you...? No, Daenerys, you-”
Jon now wished he never followed Dany inside. He would rather not have heard this conversation, it was making him feel light-headed and ill, or maybe his body was finally reacting to the months of riding each day, trapped under the heat with no way out.
The deeper inside the dark, long tunnel he reached, the quieter their voices, leaving them behind him, away from that conversation. Now and again he would support his weight against the cold stone walls, keeping his balance. Maybe he should stay in these halls, for if nothing else, it was cool. What was he doing here anyway? First, it started off as following Dany because both of their paths would eventually lead them to the same destination. Drogon. But they cannot go back there without any help or the Dothraki would continue their fun where it stopped the last time - between Dany‘s thighs and a lethal rope around his neck. Jon knew riding to this town was the right and clever move. Yes. His goal hasn’t changed, Dany‘s priority was Drogon and so was his. That is why I am here, Jon convinced himself.
A loud horn blasted through the tunnel, interrupting his thoughts. Not long after that, heavy footsteps filled the silence of the darkness, each step louder than the previous. They are coming and they are coming fast. The sunlight lurking from the end of the tunnel reflected off whatever was running towards him, providing Jon with just enough light. Helmets. Armed soldiers rushed through the tunnel, shoving him against the cold wall, bringing back the dizziness. The ground beneath his feet started shaking, leaving him wondering if it was real or just in his dazed mind. Then came the sound as proof of reality. It happened again. And again, spreading smoke and burnt smell Jon knew too well. Drogon? But it seemed as if rain turned to fire. Blazing, heavy drops came raining down from the sky all over the city at once. As he raced through the tunnel, Jon remembered Dany’s greatest enemy of the east. The slavers. Meereen was under siege.
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