After dinner was closed, the queen politely asked Athena to follow her to one of the meeting rooms, little used and often forgotten by the palace servants and soldiers. Daenerys reassured her by explaining that she would like to have a very important conversation with the woman and that she would not like other people to snoop on what she would talk about, in particular with Athena, because it was a subject that was important only for the two women and for no one else, so she would rather have a little privacy than let other people spoil such an important moment for her.
"Athena, we have to talk. After today and during the two days you had left, I realized some very important things in my life. Do not be afraid, because in my heart there is no feeling contrary to you; this meeting is not about politics." Daenerys reassured her once again by noticing the woman's restlessness with her words, certainly fearing that the queen had changed her mind and thought about discarding her.
"About what could this conversation be? Although I am apprehensive, I also needed to talk about some very important things with you—things that I unfortunately only realized when I was almost dying in Valyria," the woman replied, caressing her hands with tenderness and a certain sadness, fearing the words that would come out of her own mouth.
Athena was fearing rejection more than anything; she would not know how to look Daenerys in the face knowing that she was rejected. She would never betray her queen, but she would always mentally remember this embarrassing situation. The woman was very reluctant in the last week to declare herself to the queen, knowing that this union at the time would not bring many political benefits and that she was no longer one of the most beautiful women. Although the queen has always reassured her, there was still a pinch of insecurity that tormented her mind. After all, she still listened to the evil whispers of the nobles as she walked through the corridors of the palace.
"I found out that I have very strong feelings for you; these feelings go far beyond friendship, but I only realized this when you had gone so far and my heart had been flooded with fear of losing you. I really felt the purest fear when I admitted my own feelings and realized that I had the chance of never talking to you again or being able to say goodbye in an honorable way." Daenerys confessed her own feelings that were locked in her own mind since the woman had returned to the palace: "I don't know if you feel the same for me, if you like me romantically, but if you give me a chance to win your heart, I promise to make you the happiest woman in Essos!"
"Dany...."
"Thena, the main thing is that I don't want you to feel pressured to accept my feelings just because I'm the queen. You have always been and will always be free to decide things in your life. If you can't return my feelings for you, the only thing I ask you is not to exclude me from your life. I can handle rejection very well, but I won't get over the fact of losing your friendship; after all, I've already lost so many important and valuable things for me."
Athena would say almost the same thing to the queen, but instead of repeating almost the same thing, a thought occurred in the woman's mind, and she thought that there would be no better way to demonstrate her own feelings than a physical demonstration of affection, now that she was fully sure that the feelings were reciprocal. What was missing for the beginning of something much bigger and lasting was that one of the two women had the courage to take the next step—something that, to Athena's joy, had happened today—and she, without thinking twice, kissed Daenerys, running her hands through her platinum hair while the queen held her waist firmly. The kiss had started in a calm and soft way, but soon that had changed, and Daenerys intensified the kiss, feeling brave to move forward, and soon the kiss was interrupted by the need for oxygen.
"I think that for now should be enough to answer the question if I also feel the same way you do. I don't have much to offer you, but I can offer the most valuable and precious thing I have." Athena replied by touching her own forehead on Daenerys' forehead, with a stupid smile on her lips. "I can offer my heart to you."
There was no greater feeling to describe the happiness in Daenerys' chest. She gave several tender kisses on the priestess' face, loosening her waist to hold her face with both hands and look directly into the eyes of the woman her heart had chosen to love. The queen did not need much to know that it was this woman to whom her heart also belonged to the last fiber; it was she, it was Athena, who held the title of first great love and who would hold the world in her hands if she wished.
The Targaryen loved intensely and were very protective of those they loved. By losing someone very loved, this could totally unbalance the person, and knowing this, the queen feared for Athena's safety. She knew she had potential enemies from under her own ceiling and how not to distrust her own shadow. Daenerys had a very great fear, but it was not about trying to attack her; her fear was attacking Athena to hit her. The queen had a spirit, a dragon, and it would rain fire on Westeros if someone raised a hand or a blade in the direction of her beloved, and that was not a threat; it was a promise.
"Thena, I will keep this precious gift until my last breath. I will take care of this gift as no one has ever taken care of it, and I will make you the happiest woman in this world. You are my beloved, and no one will be able to change it," the queen promised by hugging the woman protectively. "I will not hide you from anyone. When I sit on the throne, you will have a chair next to me. The history books will not camouflage your name; they will tell about our history and about my love for you."
As soon as she assumed the iron throne, one of her first measures as queen was to repair all the flaws in the stories narrated about the women of her family and about the women of the other families. She would give them the due prominence that many of them deserved. This was a frequent thought in her head since Athena narrated with sadness how the usurpation of the throne of Rhaenyra Targaryen occurred. She would tell the true story and repair some mistakes older than her own dragons. Daenerys would not be known as the first woman to reign over the seven kingdoms; she would erase the reign of Aegon II and place Rhaenyra as the queen who ruled the seven kingdoms during the war period, in addition to making serious changes to the law of succession.
Giving Rhaenyra the title of first reigning queen and including her in the historical records in addition to excluding Aegon II and giving the real name to the false king, so that he is known as a usurper, was a debt and also a way to do justice for all those women who had their rights stolen by the greed of the man. Wearing Rhaenyra's crown was a huge burden. In addition to being a great emotion and a reminder of what she was fighting for, she swore that there would be justice for all the women in her family who were wronged.
"You are a surprising, Princess of Reach; you are splendidly surprising my beloved companion," Daenerys replied before giving her another kiss to the woman, a good night kiss and the promise of a tomorrow. "As much as I'm enjoying kissing you, we need to rest; tomorrow will be a very exhausting day; we will have a meeting with everyone, including the entourage from the North!"
Athena rolled her eyes when she noticed that she could not escape forever from the meeting with Jon Snow and his entourage, knowing that at one time or another she would have to negotiate with them, and she knew that sooner or later he would turn against the queen. The woman's biggest problem was not even him exactly; since the man was just a highly manipulable spinning being worn by his own brother, who wore a mask that was not compatible with him, she knew that the Three-Eyed Crow was already keeping an eye on her movement, and the meeting between the two was highly inevitable because she did not intend to ignore the threat beyond the wall.
Athena's priority was to establish Daenerys as ruler of the seven kingdoms and ensure the stability of her reign, because the king of the night would only cross the wall if he had a dragon, which she intended to avoid as well. They can call her petty because they don't know what she knows, because she had read and seen with her own eyes the Dragon Queen lose a dragon and more than half of her own army for people who hated her, and when Daenerys needed it, the Stark family stabbed her in the back, plotted her death, and favored a person who would never be a legitimate heir, even though he was the son of Rhaegar Targaryen.
Giving him this title would never happen in the real world since it would imply serious diplomatic crises with one of the queen's greatest allies, in addition to being able to generate another war because of what this would imply. This would insult the memory of the most beloved woman in Dorne. Athena was only blind in one eye; she would still be able to see the damage and wear and tear that would come after the revelation of Jon Snow's affiliation. She will talk about this subject with Daenerys before traveling to Westeros; she knew very well the importance of this subject and that information like this should not be hidden for so long.
"We can help them, but before that, we will conquer their throne first. Let's fortify ourselves first so that we can march towards the danger in the north. We cannot have our structural bases so weak if we are going to face two battles in a row." Athena answered her sighing as she imagined how encouragingthe meeting would be with the deposed council, the nobles, and the entourage coming from the north. "This meeting will look like a burial; I will even prepare my funeral clothes."
"Your sense of humor is unique," Daenerys laughed when she realized Athena's sarcasm and her good mood with the long-awaited meeting. "It's a subject we can't postpone anymore; I count on your presence tomorrow. A good night, princess," the queen said when she said goodbye, but she didn't leave the room without giving a last kiss to Athena, who was calmer and smiled.
The queen walked through the corridors of the palace with a smile that could illuminate every corner of the place, her good mood being noticed by all the soldiers who saw her pass by. She thanked them for being very loyal and not gossiping like the soldiers of other nobles or other kingdoms, because she appreciated the privacy of simple moments with the people she liked, and her soldiers never spread information to anyone. Daenerys was smiling non-stop even after she entered her room, deciding that she would not sleep now but dedicate some of her time to read the books that Athena had brought from Valyria, in addition to other gifts that came from the Valyrian peninsula.
The books were still very well wrapped after she managed to take out the things that were stuck in her dragon's sadle, and for the first time, she would see what surprises these books could have. She had selected the titles that she had found most interesting to be able to gift the queen, and as expected, her choices had greatly pleased the dragon queen, who could now know a little more about her origin and culture from known and extremely reliable sources. A specific title caught the queen's attention, and soon she began to read the book, laughing when she realized that the book was a romantic comedy where a princess fell in love with a commoner in the middle of a war.
〘 ——✯——〙
Hello!
What did you think of today's chapter?.
We finally had our star couple formed! May the gods protect them!
Queen Daenerys, the queen of the seven kingdoms and Athena Tyrell, Princess of Reach.
Daenerys will make Rhaenyra happy, being the queen she was destined to be.
172 years after Rhaenyra Targaryen, a reigning queen returns to sit on the Iron Throne.
Justice will be done and the story of House Targaryen will be rewritten.
What are your theories for the next chapters?
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Please, if you can, don't forget to leave comments and vote.
Your comments on this chapter are important!
Thank you for reading my story, your support is very important to me.
An observation: I'm not the fastest person in the world but I'm working to correct all possible spelling mistakes! Thank you for your patience and understanding.
SEE YOU SOON