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Rating:
Teen And Up Audiences
Archive Warning:
Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Categories:
F/MF/F
Fandoms:
Game of Thrones (TV)House of the Dragon (TV)A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. MartinA Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Relationships:
Rhaenyra Targaryen/Laenor VelaryonRhaenyra Targaryen & Daenerys TargaryenAlicent Hightower & Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena Targaryen & Rhaenyra TargaryenLaena Velaryon/Daemon Targaryen/Daenerys TargaryenAegon II Targaryen & Rhaenyra TargaryenAemond "One-Eye" Targaryen & Daemon TargaryenJon Snow & Daemon TargaryenDaemon Targaryen/Daenerys TargaryenJon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen
Characters:
Laenor VelaryonRhaenys Targaryen VelaryonLucerys Velaryon (Son of Rhaenyra)Jacaerys VelaryonDaenerys TargaryenDrogon | Daenerys Targaryen's DragonAlicent HightowerDaemon TargaryenAegon II TargaryenAemond "One-Eye" TargaryenVhagar (ASoIaF)Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena TargaryenLaena Velaryon (Daughter of Corlys)Caraxes | Daemon Targaryen's DragonVermithor | Jaehaerys I Targaryen's DragonJon SnowGhost | Jon Snow's DirewolfMelisandre (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Additional Tags:
Time TravelTime Travel Fix-ItDragon POV - FreeformWhite Walkers (A Song of Ice and Fire)ProphecyDreamsDance of the DragonsReconciliationPoliticsAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceSome RomanceFamilyRhaegal livesGood Sibling Rhaenyra TargaryenHelaena Targaryen Joins Team BlackAemond does not lose an eyeSome angstHurt/Comfortsiblings bondingTime ShenanigansBlood MagicThe Long Night (A Song of Ice and Fire)One-Sided Jon Snow/Daenerys TargaryenJealous Jon Snow
Language:
English
Series:
Part 1 of The Wings of Time Next Work →
Collections:
🌑 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 🌑
Stats:
Published:2023-09-27Updated:2026-07-08Words:479,849Chapters:115/130Comments:6,122Kudos:9,244Bookmarks:1,865Hits:519,728
Dragons, Dreams, and Second Chances
BearlyMadeIt
Chapter 7
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"My lady."
Daenerys turned away from the dragons to look at Rhaenyra.
"Yes?"
"We have some more questions," Rhaenyra said.
What should she say? No? She nodded.
Laenor spoke up this time. "How did you hatch your dragon?"
Daenerys gaze flickered between them. They didn't believe she had more than one, did they? Anger flared up in her, followed by sadness right after. The urge to cry. They were both gone. Or as good as. From their perspective, she may as well just have Drogon.
"I dreamed if I carried his egg into a great fire he would hatch. He did."
"Ha."
Rhaenyra watched her. "How did you get the egg?"
"I told you. They were given to me as a gift."
The two exchanged a gaze.
"Did you have more dreams that came true?"
She hesitated. Yes, but… "No." None that would help her right now.
Rhaenyra watched her, maybe sensing or seeing she was not fully telling the truth. No further questions came, though.
"The king will sail for Dragonstone within a couple of days. He will make a decision on what to do with you."
Daenerys nodded. A couple of days. So little time. "Will he have me killed?" She would do if she was Queen. Her brother would have done the same if she had hatched her dragons while he was still alive. Just her existence and bonding with her children was a threat to his claim or so he would have surely believed. Things weren't much different now, were they? Sure, she was no direct threat, but her having a dragon was a threat.
"I highly doubt that, my lady," Rhaenyra replied without hesitation. She was not sure what her father would do, but certainly not execute the young woman. Question her, yes, try to understand where and how and why, but not execute. Likely imprison her, which she didn't say, of course.
---
She spent the night barely able to sleep, just as Rhaenyra had done before, brooding about what to do, about how to start anything, lying in bed and staring at the ceiling or pacing around in her chamber. She had to tell them, of course, but no matter which idea came to her, she only sounded ever more insane. Claim she was a Targaryen? Yes, of course. Their long-lost niece, perchance. Not even she would believe it.
Daenerys huffed. Drogon in itself was proof she had to be Targaryen. If she wasn't of the dragon, he wouldn't listen. Yet, it wasn't overly convincing. Not if she was going to tell them she was Queen, last of their blood, and had seen the end of the world. They would think she was insane. No. More than insane. Lost her damn mind.
Sighing weakly, she tried sorting her thoughts. She had to know something she could use to convince them!
For now…
…well…
She asked her guard for parchment, a feather and ink. Easier to think if she wrote things down.
When a servant returned with her request a little later, she thanked the woman. "Oh. What year do we have? It may have slipped my mind."
"124, my lady."
"Thank you."
124.
She wrote it down on her empty parchment. 124. And then added
'Laena Velaryon dies' followed by 'Aemond claims Vhagar' and 'Laenor gets murdered'.
What a year to be alive. Which gave her what? Six years?
She went on writing down what she remembered, all the way until the storming of the Dragon Pit, added years when she knew them. Daenerys stared at her parchment. What a bleak future. How should she stop any of this? Maybe kidnapping Aegon was the way to go. Bind him to Drogon and make a run for it. Or burn him. Could he burn? Viserys had burnt.
Chuckling, she shook her head. Not an option. They'd hunt her down. Better focus on the task at hand. What did she know of the time before?
Well, Rhaenyra's and Laenor's marriage, Strong burned, who may or may not have been the father of her bastards. What else? She needed something to convince them!
But nothing came to mind. How could she not know anything about her own family? How could she just… she knew all about Robert's damn rebellion, knew the Dance, of course, about the Blackfyres and Summerhall, but actually usable family secrets?
Nothing. Just damn nothing. If she didn't know any family secrets… what did she know of Rhaenyra?
She stared at her outline, finally adding her death at Sunfyres… fangs? And went on staring. There had been rumors she had slept with one of the Kingsguard. If it was true, Rhaenyra sure wouldn't have told anybody. If it was false…
If it was false, she may offend the one person she had to convince above all else.
---
"Princess?"
Rhaenyra looked up from Joffrey, who made happy baby noises.
"Yes?"
"The girl asks for an audience."
Oh. What would she say now? Had she finally decided the dead weren't going to attack them after all? She had looked shaken enough yesterday. Maybe it had forced some sense into her.
She nodded. "A little." She looked down at Joffrey in her arms, barely finding a smile. She missed Harwin so much. If only she had forbidden him to go. Ordered him along, yes. Maybe as additional protection… but no. Too obvious. Too reckless. People did have eyes. Jace questioning his lineage was bad enough.
Sighing weakly, she handed her little one back to the wet nurse and got dressed. No time for brooding, no time for missing her love either. She had taken some time when they got here, Laenor holding her while she cried. The girl had been a welcome distraction in a way. No time to be sad when she had to contend insanity, the dead walking, and the mystery of the black dragon.
Entering the main hall, she smiled weakly. Once again, the girl stood by the opening in the wall, staring down at her dragon.
"My lady," she greeted.
Daenerys turned around, looking ashen. She really may have seen the Stranger. "My princess."
Stepping beside her, Rhaenyra frowned. Her dragon was pacing around on the beach.
"What do you want to talk about?" Please, let it be an explanation. If her father got here and she had an explanation, things would go over better, she was sure of it.
Daenerys bit her lower lip and turned away, walking back to the painted table.
"It may sound insane," Daenerys said softly, staring down at the table. "It will sound insane."
Rhaenyra frowned. Oh gods. What now? What else could she come up with?
"Tell me."
After the walking dead, how much worse could it get?
Daenerys looked up. "I am Daenerys Targaryen. Queen of the Seven Kingdoms."
Oh, seven hells. She shouldn't have said anything.
"I was born on Dragonstone. Fled to Essos with my older brother while the Usurper murdered the rest of our family. My brother died, leaving me as the last of our house. I hatched my dragons, got an army of Unsullied, I took…" She paused for a moment. "I united the Dothraki and sailed for Westeros to take back my father's throne. Your throne. The Iron Islands, Dorne, the Reach and the North declared for me. I learned of the White Walkers and took my army north."
Once again, Rhaenyra just stared at her. She felt as if in a strange loop. The girl was insane. Worse than before, actually. As if the dead walking wasn't crazy enough. Instead of backing down, she just added more.
"I know how it sounds," Daenerys conceded, obviously very aware of her thoughts. Or rather the expression on her face. She stayed quiet while Rhaenyra tried to sift through this new amount of madness.
"Why did you change your story?" She asked eventually. Yes, she would tell the same insane thing to her father, yes, she should get ahead of it, but… gods, she just didn't want to think about crazy for a day.
"I did not. I do not. I did not know who you are. Did not think introducing myself was necessary at this point."
Why even entertain her? Rhaenyra shook her head and turned to leave.
"Laena Velaryon will die soon. Maybe is dead already. She dies during childbirth. Aemond will claim Vhagar afterwards."
She stopped mid-room and turned to stare at her. What?
"He will kill Lucerys. Laenor will die too. He gets murdered."
To think she thought she was insane prior. This was getting to whole new levels. Rhaenyra continued on.
"You slept with a Kingsguard."
She froze, a chill running down her spine, and turned to her again. "What?"
"You did. For a while. I think he proposed to you as well. Before you married Laenor."
Rhaenyra just stared at her, for once lost for words. How… how could she know? She had never told anyone about Cole. Might some people had seen or overheard his horrible proposal, but… no one had ever dared to bring it up.
Part of her wanted to ask. More than anything. How do you know? How could she know?! But she didn't. Asking would mean admitting that something had happened. Daenerys was insane. Simple. Only her knowing of Cole…
"I was born in 284," the insane girl carried on.
Rhaenyra shook her head and walked on towards the door.
Just a lucky guess. Had to be.
But a lucky guess wouldn't know when it was, nor the proposal.
---
Alone in her room again, Daenerys sighed. That had gone about exactly how she feared it would. Horrible. She should have started softer. Easier. Maybe… maybe claim she had seen it in a dream. Her dreams usually came true – this time she knew what would happen either way. Gods, why hadn't she…
Well. She had hoped Rhaerya would... just go along with it? Maybe she was insane after all. First talk about the dead, now this. She sighed weakly. Why bother with even more crazy? No one would.
"What a start," Daenerys whispered and lay down, closing her eyes, trying not to replay her horrible try at convincing Rhaenyra. Her head obviously did nothing else. Soon enough, she sat up again and brooded over her parchment. What else could she know? Things that would happen soon or had happened recently, preferably, things she could use to convince Rhaenyra, but she couldn't think of anything. Viserys had glossed over lots of "boring" parts. She'd be able to recite any battle during the dance, but silly politics before that? She sighed again. Her brother really had been useless.
---
Back in her private chambers, Rhaenyra stared at the fireplace, watching the flames dance. The girl had gone from crazy to insane beyond reason. She hadn't turned to a screaming crazy yet, but a desperate one. Easier to dismiss. Scarier, in a way. She'd talk to her father once he got here and warn him. Prepare him. He could listen to her and ask his questions, but he wouldn't get anywhere. The girl had lost her mind.
Still, she uniting the kingdoms, she knowing about Cole… it was driving her crazy in its own right.
The doors opened. "What did she want?" Laenor asked.
"Nothing useful. I really thought I was getting somewhere with her, but…" she sighed and shook her head.
"What did she say this time?"
"Claims Laena will die. You are getting murdered."
"Oh." Laenor hesitated. "Maybe a dream after all?"
"I very much doubt it."
Laenor hummed. "And here I am, hoping to get details on my death."
Rhaenyra snorted and glanced at him. How could the idiot always make her smile?
She tried to push it away. Just ignore it. For two days, she returned to her reading lessons with Jace, much to his dismay by the looks of it, watched her boys spar with Laenor's knight in the yard. Read some herself, went about things. Life turned normal. She could ignore all the crazy insinuations.
Only she was really bad at it.
---
Daenerys somewhat woke up when the door to her room opened and light flickered through the darkness. She blinked confused.
"Leave us alone."
The door closed.
"How did you know?" A voice asked. "About Criston Cole."
"What?"
She blinked and finally saw Rhaenyra, standing in a nightgown in front of her bed, holding a candle.
"I just… I knew. I know."
"How?" She asked, waiting for a reply, which Daenerys didn't give. She shook her head and sighed again.
"I told you," Daenerys said.
Oh, certainly. That it was her past. Rhaenyra wanted to leave again. No matter, she was not getting anywhere with this woman. Yet…
Uniting the kingdoms against the dead…
"One question," Rhaenyra said.
"Yes?"
"Are we related?"
"Yes. Through your fifth son."
Once again, Rhaenyra stared at her. She had hoped for any other answer.
"You are off my blood, united the Kingdoms and took your army north to fight the dead."
"The Lannisters interfered with the Tyrells and..." Daenerys fell quiet. "Yes."
Placing the candle aside, Rhaenyra sat down beside the girl, staring at the flickering flame. "You really believe this?"
"Look at my dragon. He would not have injured himself, would he?"
Supposedly not. The wings, maybe, but not the tail. Rhaenyra nodded somewhat and rested her head on her hands. She knew what it sounded like. Of course, she knew. Her knowing secrets she had never told a living soul just made it all the stranger.
"You really believe it? That all of them are dead?" She just couldn't…
"Yes. The wights caught us three times before the Night King came for us. I think… I think everybody is dead by now. He would have taken Kings Landing and overrun the rest. Hells, everything before Kings Landing would be enough."
They fell quiet. Rhaenyra still stared at the candle. From my blood…
Daenerys chuckled joylessly.
"Hm?" Rhaenyra glanced at her.
"Oh, just…" Daenerys smiled wryly. "The prince that was promised will bring the dawn. But no one can bring the dawn. They are all dead." It did not matter anymore whether or not it was her. Prince or Princess. Jon was dead too.
Rhaenyra's blood ran cold. "You know of the prophecy?"
Daenerys somehow managed not to frown. What? What prophecy? "Yes."
Silence.
Rhaenyra needed a few moments. Hells, probably minutes. She stared at the girl. Eventually, she turned to look at the ground. If she was not the heir, she would not know. No one would know but them. Most likely, her brother had told her while he was dying.
"Why didn't you say earlier?"
"When I did not know who you were, defending the island was more important. Once I knew… How do you even start this conversation?"
Rhaenyra smiled weakly. It was insane. All of it, everything. But it was what it was. She knew of the song.
Notes:
Things started out terrible, but here we go!
Dany referencing the prophecy was the best way, I think. Her being somewhat gleefully happy about it makes sense, after all. If I can't be the prince(ess), no one else will be either. Or can. Because they are dead. Ha! (More titles!)
I had a lil hard time deciding when right now was in the story. Went with 124, which is in between book and show, I guess. All a bit muddy.
For the beginning, I go with the show. Which makes the timeline even worse, to be honest. Feels like everything happens at the same time - Rhaenyra and her family moving to Dragonstone, the Strongs burning, Laena burning.
Thank you lots for the kudos and comments! I'll finally get to replying to all of them!
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