STRANGER ━ Jon Snow

SIXTY

Tyrion sighed. "Call Greyworm and the Unsullied back. We still have enough ships to carry the Dothraki to the mainland. Commit to the blockade of King's Landing. We have a plan. It's still the right plan."

"The right plan!" Daenerys spun on her heel, halting all their movements. "Your strategy has lost us Dorne, the Iron Islands, and the Reach."

Maia laid her hands on Jon's shoulder. Daenerys' anger was terrifying, but when she really thought of it, she had to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. Despite Maia's suspicions, despite everything – Daenerys had been planning her conquest for many years. Now that it was finally coming to fruition, she needed success; she needed plans to work. This didn't mean that Tyrion wasn't great with strategies, for Maia could tell he was from a moment of speaking with him. If she remembered correctly, Aegon's Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms didn't receive victory after victory. He worked hard for it, but he didn't exactly seem like a role model, from what Maia read.

Tyrion paused. "If I've underestimated our enemies –"

"Our enemies?!" Daenerys snapped. "Your family, you mean. Perhaps you don't want to hurt them after all."

"Not cool," Maia whispered under her breath, causing Jon to look away so he could release a soft laugh.

Daenerys turned to the sea washing over the shore. Her dragons flew over the waves, enjoying the windy ocean air. The open air was glorious, but they would never flee without their mother. Daenerys lofted a brow as she stared at her children. "Enough with the clever plans," she muttered. "I have three large dragons. I'm going to fly them to the Red Keep."

Maia's eyes went wide. "You'll be killing a multitude of innocent people if you fly them to King's Landing! The smallfolk aren't your target."

"We've discussed this –" Tyrion added, but was cut off.

"Our enemies are in the Red Keep." Daenerys scoffed. "What kind of a queen am I if I'm not willing to risk my life to fight them?"

Tyrion's brow furrowed. "A smart one."

She shook her head, and then her eyes landed on Jon. She lifted her chin high. "What do you think I should do?"

Jon shook his head. "I would never presume to –"

"I'm at war. I'm losing." She stepped closer, so that she was inches from him. Maia slowly lowered her hands from his shoulder. "What do you think I should do?"

Jon swallowed hard, looking to Maia for a moment. "I never thought that dragons would exist again. No one did. The people who follow you know that you made something impossible happen. Maybe that helps them believe that you can make other impossible things happen. Build a world that is different from the shit world they've always known." He explained, allowing Davos to nod in approval. "But if you use them to melt castles and burn cities, you're not different. You're just more of the same."

Daenerys took in his words, knowing he was right. She looked across the dancing waves to her dragons once more. As she looked near the horizon, all heads turned the same way. A large, war ship began rolling in with the tide. It was bigger than any ship they ever had, with a several-headed serpent carved into the front of the boat.

"What is that?" Missandei exclaimed.

"Someone coming to treat with us, I presume," Daenerys' teeth grit. She turned to Tyrion. "Wait for them to appear on shores and welcome them to court. With a ship that big, I would like to hear what they have to say."

•••

Tyrion and Varys had informed Daenerys before she held court that Jaime Lannister was commanding his army South to bring stolen gold and food back to the Red Keep. Daenerys already had a plan in mind, but an important meeting came first, as said by Varys.