— meereen —
With the knowledge of her father's passing, Aurora Mormont feels lost, even more so than when she was alone at Castle Black for a year awaiting the return of her father and her friends.
She can't stop the thoughts that tell her she should have pushed harder to go with them. She could have prevented this, if she had only gotten her father to let her come. It's her fault, the thoughts whisper over and over in her head. As she's walking the halls of the Great Pyramid, or trying to go to sleep, 'You could have saved him'.
Deep down she knows it isn't true. But the thoughts prevail despite her best efforts to talk herself out of them.
She goes through her daily routines and duties, but in a ghostly shell of her usual self. Everyone that knows her, knows that she is not alright, but at her request they let her be. They talk to her about normal things, they allow her time and space to recover.
She begins spending more time with Rhaegal and Viserion in the catacombs, Daenerys and Daario both find her there quite a few times. The dragons provide comfort for her as she stands in the dark and cold room with them, the only sound being their occasional little noises of happiness as she pets them gently. It also helps her to get away from the tense atmosphere given by the political situation in Meereen.
She spends meals with Daenerys who helps her to work through her grief, knowing much about loss from her own experiences. Aurora has seldom lost anyone close to her, a few friends among the watch when she was young but not anyone as close as her father. And then, there is the added pain of hearing about Pyp and Grenn as well. She knew those boys for a year and had considered them to be some of her greatest friends.
After a few painful days, she decides she needs to write back to Jon, knowing that every day that he doesn't receive a response from her will be another day that he will worry.
She sits down and carefully pens her response before rolling it up and heading down to the docks to give it to her usual messenger.
—
After Daenerys decides to free all of the heads of families that she imprisoned previously, she declares that she will marry Hizdahr zo Loraq in an attempt to get the people of Meereen to follow her, much to Daario and Aurora's dismay.
"I can't believe that she thinks this is a good idea." Aurora announces angrily, each of her words accompanied and emphasized by a clang of her sword against Daario's.
"I know, I've tried to talk to her about it." he responds, in his usual casual tone.
Since Jorah left, Aurora asked Daario to train with her. They get along well and their sparring sessions are much of an outlet for both of them.
"I mean, really, he's an ass." she responds.
Daario is about to respond when her sparring sword hits him in the chest and knocks him on his ass.
He looks up at her and smiles. "I didn't think anyone was quicker than me." he comments amusedly.
Aurora rolls her eyes and helps him to his feet again, ignoring his compliment as she does with everyone. She turns away and heads over to the rack of weapons to put her sword away.
"Truly, Aurora, I know you don't like to hear it, but you are quite the amazing fighter. Jorah would tell you that too. And your father." he adds the last part softly, as if he is afraid to offend her.
She smiles softly as she stares at the floor in front of her, before deeply inhaling and looking up at her friend. "Thank you." Her voice is sincere, and Daario may not know it but those were the exact words she needed in that moment.
—
Daenerys returns later that day after she attended a fight in one of the smaller fighting pits of Meereen. Hizdahr had insisted that she needed to attend some smaller fights before the Great Games.
Upon her return, she calls for Missandei and Aurora to come to the audience chamber. They arrive soon after and take their places on either side of her.
Aurora is about to ask what is going on when two more people enter the room, two men that she knows.
One is Tyrion Lannister, whom she met on his brief visit to the Wall, what feels to her like a million years ago.
The other, is even more shocking.
Aurora's eyes go wide and she feels her stomach turn. Her brother has returned to Meereen against Daenerys' will.
"Jorah." she whispers.
His eyes travel up to meet hers and she smiles very sadly. He shares the same expression, the kind but tragic smile only Mormonts seem to use.
She desperately wants to run down the steps and embrace him, she wants to cry with him as she informs him of their father's death. But she can't. She has to wait.
There is a long silence. Daenerys stares down at them, they stare up at her, Jorah occasionally glances at his adoptive sister. Aurora glances between Jorah and Daenerys, waiting for the inevitable argument to start.
"Your Grace, I want to say.." Jorah is cut off by Daenarys.
"You will not speak." she pauses, then looks to Tyrion, "How do I know you are who you say you are?"
"My Queen, I know him. I remember him from Castle Black. He visited there two years before I left." Aurora speaks up, and Daenerys turns to her, her eyes softening as she looks at the nervous Mormont girl beside her. Aurora is rarely nervous, but being here with her brother practically standing trial again makes her heart pound in her chest.
Daenerys nods and turns back to Tyrion and Jorah.
"If only I were otherwise." Tyrion jokingly replies. "I remember you too," he responds to Aurora. "You are Jeor Mormont's adopted daughter." She nods in response. Tyrion looks like he wants to say more but seems to think better of it and keeps quiet.
"So you are Tyrion Lannister, why shouldn't I kill you?" the Queen asks. "To pay your family back for what it did to mine."
"You want revenge against the Lannisters?" Tyrion asks, he continues on to say how he killed his mother and his father, "I am the greatest Lannister killer of our time."
"So I should welcome you into my service? Because you killed your own family members."
"Into your service? Your Grace, we have only just met, it's too soon to know if you deserve my service."
"If you'd rather return to the fighting pits, just say the word." Daenerys offers in response.
"When I was a boy I heard a story about a baby born during the worst storm in history. She had no wealth, no lands, no army, only a name and a handful of supporters." he goes on to talk about how a few years ago he learned that this girl without land or wealth or armies had acquired all three along with three dragons. "Thought you were worth meeting, at least."
"And why are you worth meeting? Why should I spend my time listening to you?"
"Because you cannot build a better world on your own. You have no one at your side who understands the land you want to rule. You don't know the strengths and weaknesses of the Houses that will either join or oppose you."
"I will have a very large army, and very large dragons." Daenerys argues.
"Killing and politics aren't always the same thing. When I served as Hand of the King, I did quite well with the latter, considering the king in question preferred torturing animals to leading his people. I could do an even better job advising a ruler worth the name."
"So you want to advise me?" Daenerys asks, there is a silence before she speaks again, "Very well. What would you have me do with him? I swore I would kill him if he ever returned."
Aurora's heart rate picks up at the mention of killing Jorah.
"Whomever Ser Jorah was when he started informing on you, he is no longer that man. I can't remember ever seeing a sane man as devoted to anything as he is to serving you." Tyrion argues on Jorah's behalf, and Aurora lets hope fill her up at his kind words. "And yet he did betray you. Did he have an opportunity to confess his betrayal?"
"Yes." she answers, her expression still unmoving, refusing to show the pain she is feeling inside. Aurora's face drops as she hears her Queen's hard tone. "Many opportunities."
"And did he?"
"No, not until forced to do so."
"He worships you. He is in love with you, I think. But he did not trust you with the truth." Tyrion speaks more, Aurora can't argue with him, she knows he is right. That Jorah was wrong to keep secrets from their Queen. But that doesn't stop her from missing him.
"So I should kill him?" Aurora's head raises again at this question, and her clasped hands tighten.
"A ruler who kills those devoted to her, is not a ruler who inspires devotion. And you're going to need to inspire devotion, a lot of it, if you're ever going to rule across the Narrow Sea. But you cannot have him by your side when you do."
Aurora lets go of the breath she had been holding. He will not be killed, he will be banished again but he will still be alive.
"Remove Ser Jorah from the city." Daenerys orders.
He looks at his sister once more, and their eyes meet for a moment before the soldiers grab onto him. She wishes she could say goodbye, she wishes she could have just a moment with him, but she is afraid to hurt her Queen and she knows Jorah is too.
So they share a look, and speak silently with their eyes, those eyes that remind her of her father, staring up at her full of understanding and of despair.
— castle black —
His sigh of relief when the letter is placed in his hand releases all of the tension he had been holding in his body since he sent her the letter that would tell her of her father's death.
He unrolls it carefully and his eyes scan over the ink slowly, taking in every word.
Jon,
I am heartbroken, but I will be alright. He taught me to be strong, and that is what I will always be, with or without him. I am glad that I heard it from you, even though it's from a letter.
He would be proud of you. When you came to Castle Black, he told me you would be a good leader someday. I suppose that 'someday' has come sooner than we all thought. I wish I could be there to see you in command, I would guess that Ser Alliser isn't too happy, but really when is he?
Lord Commander Jon Snow. I'm proud of you.
- Aurora
Jon puts the letter away when someone knocks on his door, it's time for them to go. He is heading to Hardhome with Tormund to bring the Wildlings back, and to become allies with them for the Great War to come.
The majority of the people at Castle Black think he's crazy. He's beginning to think he is too, but for other reasons. He can't stop thinking about the Mormont girl across the Narrow Sea, and what he would do just to lay eyes on her one more time.