𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 | Pyres

{ Daenerys }

✧✦✧

𝕯aenerys did not know for how long she had been asleep. Every muscle in her body ached, protesting against her movements as she opened her eyes slowly. Above her was the familiar canvas covering of a yurt hut, though it was more bare than the one that she was used to. Beside her, Coren was sitting, his head bowed until it almost touched his knees.

"Coren..." The man's head snapped up, brown eyes wide as he grabbed a flask from beside him. Carefully, he helped her up, letting her sip at the water. "What...?"

"Gently. Do not strain yourself." Coren muttered, as Daenerys gulped down the water. She rested her hand on her stomach, before pausing. There was no swell to her belly, and her eyes went wide with fear. 

"My son, where is he?" She turned to Coren, tears forming in her eyes as she did not hear the sound of a baby's wail. "I want him. Where is he?"

Coren stumbled over his words for a moment, before sighing. She sent him another pleading look, tears forming in her eyes.

"The boy did not live, Khaleesi."

"What?" Daenerys felt like her heart was cracking in her chest. This could not be true. "Tell me."

"Tell you?"

"How did my son die?" Daenerys demanded, taking in a long breath to try and keep her emotions in check. Coren must be lying. Maybe now he would laugh and tell her that it was all a cruel prank and her son was outside with a midwife, but deep down she knew that Coren would not make that sort of joke.

"He never lived, Khaleesi." Coren shook his head, looking back down at the floor. "The women say-"

"What do the women say?" Daenerys demanded, anger growing in her chest.

"They say the child was..." Coren trailed off, shaking his head. He didn't want to tell her, but Daenerys had to know. This was her son! "The child was..."

"Monstrous. Twisted. I pulled him out myself." Mirri Maz Duur stood in the doorway, as Coren's glare grew, his face twisting into an anger that Daenerys had not seen before. "He was scaled like a lizard, blind, with leather wings like the wings of a bat. When I touched him the skin fell from his bones..."

"That's enough, witch." Coren spat, standing up and starting to draw a dagger. "Take another step closer and I will remove your hands, like I promised to do earlier."

"Coren." Daenerys grabbed onto his arm, trying to pull herself to her feet, though her muscles trembled. "Where is Khal Drogo? Take me to him. Show me what I bought with my son's life."

Coren turned around, a horrified look on his expression. Daenerys couldn't bare look at it, turning to Mirri Maz Duur instead and demanding it again.

"Take me to my husband."

"As you command, Lady. Come." She smiled. "I will take you to him."

"I want to see him now." Daenerys clutched tighter onto Coren's hand, as the man shook his personal feelings aside and allowed her to use him as a crutch.

They followed Mirri Maz Duur from the tent, heading towards a motionless lump that Jorah was standing guard next to, though there was no one else. Daenerys looked around in shock, searching for her husband's Blood Riders.

"The khalasar is gone."

"A Khal who cannot ride is no Khal that a khalasar will follow. They look for strength." Coren muttered, shooting her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry."

Daenerys tried not to let that shake her, calling for her husband. He would get up, tell her that all was well and that he would get the Khalasar back.

"Drogo! My sun and stars!" The Khal did not respond, causing Daenerys to panic and turn back to Coren. "Why is he out here alone?"

"He seems to like the warmth, Princess." Jorah muttered, having approached as Mirri Maz Duur smiled.

"He lives." She beamed like she had done something truly incredible. "You asked for life, you paid for life."

Daenerys turned back to look at Drogo's vacant expression, shaking her head in horror. "This is not life. When will he be as he was?"

"When the sun rises in the west, sets in the east," Mirri Maz Duur cackled, as Daenerys and Jorah grabbed onto Coren's arm as he made to lunge at the woman. "When the seas go dry. When the mountains blow in the wind like leaves."

"Leave us." She dropped Coren's arm as the two Westerosi soldiers turned to look at her.

"I will no-"

"I do not fear this woman, not anymore." Daenerys snapped, cutting Jorah off. "Go."

Reluctantly, both of them backed away, looking annoyed at the thought of leaving her alone. Daenerys watched them go, before turning back to Mirri Maz Duur.

"You knew what I was buying and you knew the price." She spat.

"It was wrong of them to burn my temple," The witch spat back. "It angered the Great Shepherd."

"This is not the gods work." Daenerys shook her head, touching her stomach gently . "My child was innocent."

"Innocent? He would have been the Stallion who mounts the world." She laughed, shaking her head as Daenerys felt anger grow inside of her. "Now he will burn no cities. Now his khalasar will trample no nations into dust."

"I spoke for you. I saved you." Daenerys growled, wishing that she could go back to that day and stop herself.

"Saved me? Three of those riders had already raped me before you saved me, girl." Mirri Maz Duur spat the word out, as Daenerys reared her head back as if slapped. Visions of Viserys spitting the word girl at her flashed through her head. "I saw my god's house burn, there where I had healed men and women beyond counting. In the streets, I saw piles of heads. The head of the baker who makes my bread, the head of a young boy that I had cured of fever just three moons past. So tell me again exactly what it was that you saved?"

"Your life."

"Why don't you take a look at your Khal?" She gestured to the prone figure on the floor. "Then you will see exactly what life is worth when all the rest has gone."

✧✦✧

{ Coren}

"Khaleesi?" Coren's eyebrows furrowed, picking up the largest dragon egg into his hands. Even through his gloves, the warmth of the red shell was scorching, as he pondered the Targaryen's strange request. "Is this your command?"

Daenerys nodded, her eyes rimmed red. Coren shared a look with Rakharo, before grabbing another of the eggs and setting them beside Drogo's funeral pyre. Daenerys had decided that the best way to send Drogo off to the Night Lands, was to burn him with Mirri Maz Duur and the dragon eggs.

Coren didn't like the idea.

"Drogo will have no use for dragon eggs in the Night Lands." Jorah called. "Sell them. You can return to the Free Cities and live as a wealthy woman for all your days."

"They were not given to me to sell." Daenerys shook her head.

"Khaleesi, my Queen, I vow to serve you, obey you, to die for you if need be," Coren returned to Daenerys' side as Jorah spoke, "but let him go, Khaleesi. I know what you intend. Do not do it."

"You can not be serious." Coren spun to look at her, eyes wide with fear as Daenerys didn't answer. He hated the idea even more so now. "You asked me to be brutally honest with you, Khaleesi, so I shall. This is an absolutely terrible idea."

"I must." She shot Coren a glare. "You do not understand."

"Do not request for me to stand aside whilst you endanger yourself like this." Coren pleaded, eyebrows furrowed in worry as he looked down at the woman. "I do not want to watch you burn alive."

"Is that what you fear will happen?" Daenerys sighed, before standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Coren's cheek. The teenager's eyes fluttered close, relishing in the feeling of Daenerys' lips on his cheek and the comfort it provided. She pulled away, and his fear returned to him as she turned back to her people and began to shout over the din. 

Coren caught sight of Jorah's glare and narrowed his eyes in response. He was not in the mood for an argument.

"Ser Jorah," The man turned away at Daenerys' command, "bind this woman to the pyre. You swore to obey me."

He reluctantly walked off to grab the bound Mirri Maz Duur.

"I am Daenerys Stormborn, of House Targaryen, of the blood of old Valyria." Daenerys' voice was far more powerful than Coren had heard it. "I am the Dragon's daughter. And I swear to you that those who would harm you will die screaming."

"You will not hear me scream." Mirri Maz Duur protested.

"I will." Daenerys' violet eyes were narrowed, a foul glare on her face. "But it is not your screams I want. Only your life."

Coren struck a flint against a torch, watching it light up before hesitantly handing it to Daenerys. She shot him one last reassuring nod before turning to light the pyre. It took mere moments for it to light up in flames, flickering as the witch began to utter incantations though they quickly turned to screams as the flames began to eat at her body.

Again, Daenerys shot Jorah and Coren a calming look, before she began to walk into the flames. They seemed not to affect her even as her dress began to smoulder, erupting into flames, and the smell of burning flesh overtook them. 

Coren backed away in horror, not wanting to watch any of this. He could not stand to watch her burn.

✧✦✧

The next morning, Coren finally decided that it would be safe to venture back outside, his cloak wrapped around him like a blanket. He had tried not to think of Daenerys burning to death, but it did little to help. His sleep had been anything but peaceful, the smell of burning in his nose and the horror that he would feel to find her bones.

The pyre still smouldered, smoke rising from the ashes, as Coren found Jorah already at the scene. The man seemed stunned, and Coren hurried closer in confusion, finding that Jorah was looking at Daenerys who was somehow alive. Then, Coren saw them, curling around her body like jewellery were dragons. Four of them. His eyes went wide as Jorah fell to his knees, the others following suit as Daenerys stood up slowly. 

But Coren was unable to move. He lost himself, before finally regaining his senses.

Quickly, he hurried to pull his cloak off of his shoulders. Shooting Jorah a glare, he rushed forward to help Daenerys hide her body from prying eyes, not daring to look anywhere below her neck.

"Khaleesi." He helped pull it around her, trying to be careful of the dragons, that were hissing and growling. "What...How?"

He winced in pain, looking down at his finger. His eyes narrowed, as he found a red coloured dragon gnawing at his nail. The bite brought him back to reality, and Coren fell to his knees in front of Daenerys, the dragon still clamped onto his finger, eyes wide. 

Finally, the dragon unlatched and screeched loudly into the sky, announcing it's presence to the world. The eggs had hatched.

𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐌

Hiya,

We are now about to see my favourite relationship I've written for this entire series - Coren and the dragons. Let me tell you, they are chaos reincarnate. Also, you get to meet my lovely fourth dragon that has been added in, Falkor (who's such a sweetheart) and we're moving onto book 2.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx