DANCING WITH DRAGONS | XVI.
"TRUST ME ALYSANNE"
( 'VAES DOTHRAK' )
Alysanne paced back and forth in front of the throne. Jorah, Tyrion, and Daario sat on the stairs below in silence. It had been hours since the attack in the pit and Daenerys had yet to return. They had laid Ser Barristan to rest and Alysanne felt the need to satisfy his wish, except she couldn't because no one knew where Daenerys was.
"Are we just going to sit here?" Alysanne asked as she stopped pacing. Daario and Jorah looked up at her, seemingly relaxed. How could they be relaxed? Daenerys was missing!
"You're in love with her," Tyrion stated and Alysanne rolled her eyes, but he couldn't see since he wasn't facing her, "Each of you is, yet none of you are fit for her. The runaway daughter, a sellsword, and a disgraced knight."
"Does he always talk so much?" Daario asked.
"I wished he talked less," Alysanne muttered, walking down the stairs past the men.
Grey Worm entered the room, accompanied by Missandei his gaze focusing on Jorah, "Jorah of the Andals. You should not be here."
"Yet he is," Daario said.
"Our queen ordered him exiled from the city," Grey Worm responded.
"Our queen would be dead without him," Daario stated and Missandei nodded. Speaking to Grey Worm in High Valyrian.
"I'm sorry I was not there to fight with you," Grey Worm said, almost sounding ashamed.
"You missed a good scrap," Daario told him and Alysanne sighed.
"Now isn't the time for banter, we need to find Daenerys," Alysanne stated, "Drogon flew north so that's where we should begin looking."
"That's an excellent idea," Tyrion said, "We-"
"We? You're a Lannister. She's working to uproot your family," Jorah stated, "I fought for Daenerys for years-"
"And you betrayed her," Alysanne deadpanned, "You may have served her the longest, but you've caused her the most pain."
Jorah's eyes narrowed at her, "As though you came here with good intentions."
"I came here to forge an alliance with Daenerys," Alysanne said taking a step toward Jorah, "Robb was losing a war and I wanted her help."
"You wanted to use her," Jorah said, looking down at Alysanne, "Just like everyone else."
Alysanne's jaw twitched, "You're looking down at me? At least I didn't betray her. Which you were exiled for! Twice! Yet you keep coming back. Do you want to know something? Daenerys will never love you the way you love her."
"Why? Because she's in love with you?" Jorah asked.
"That's exactly why!" Alysanne exclaimed, her breath coming out in heavy pants. Her brown eyes were hard as they stared at Jorah, "She's in love with me."
Everyone stared at Alysanne, but she kept her eyes on Jorah who stared back at her with a similar intensity.
"Okay," Daario said stepping between the two, "Alysanne has made a point. We need to find Daenerys."
"Excellent," Tyrion said, "I suppose Jorah can come with us,"
"Pardon, but why would we bring you along?" Daario asked, "Have you any skill in hunting? Tracking?"
"Well no," Tyrion said.
"Do you know how to fight?" Daario followed up with.
"I have fought before," Tyrion said unconvincingly. Alysanne rolls her eyes. The last thing they needed was Tyrion slowing them down.
"He's staying here," she states bluntly.
"And who are you to make that decision?" Tyrion asks and Alysanne swears she's seconds away from killing Tyrion Lannister.
"Don't provoke her," Daario says, "And she is the honorable leader of the save Daenerys expedition, being the Queen's lover and all."
"Shut up," Alysanne says hitting Daario's shoulder.
"Sorry," Daario says, before looking back at Tyrion, "It's best if you stay here and help govern Meereen. None of us have that experience."
"He's a foreign dwarf. No one will listen to him," Jorah says and Alysanne can't help but nod in agreement.
"No," Daario agrees, "But they'll listen to Grey Worm and Missandei."
"I'm coming with you. To find our Queen," Grey Worm says taking a step forward. Missandei places a hand on his shoulder.
"You're not strong enough."
"He is," Daario says, "But he's much more needed here. The people trust and believe in him. They trust you as well Missandei. You two are the closest to the Queen. The people will know that you both speak for her."
"I agree," Alysanne says looking over at Daario surprised at his strategic planning, "Did you finally decide to go read a book?"
Daario grins, "Not the best of your insults."
"Sorry to disappoint."
Daario takes a step forward and wraps an arm around Alysanne's shoulder, "Looks like it's you, me, and Jorah of the Andals."
Alysanne forces a smile at the thought of traveling with Jorah, "Sounds exciting."
"And exciting it will be," Daario says, "I'm going to go grab the horses."
Alysanne pulls Grey Worm and Missandei to the side, away from the listening ears of Jorah and Tyrion. They both look at her curiously but don't say anything.
"Look, I know Tyrion and I don't trust him. If he does anything questionable, don't hesitate to kill him," Alysanne tells them, mainly speaking to Grey Worm. The Unsullied leader nods.
"Take care of yourself," Missandei tells her and Alysanne nods.
"I promise I'll bring Daenerys back."
Grey Worm nods his head, "We know you will."
Unsure of what lies ahead, Alysanne wraps Missandei in an embrace which the translator returns, smiling into Alysanne's shoulder.
"What's that for?" Missandei asks.
"Just in case I die," Alysanne says, "I'm grateful to have met you," she looks over to Grey Worm, "Both of you."
"You will return," Grey Worm says, and Alysanne smiles knowing it's the most emotion she'll be getting out of the Unsullied leader.
"I will," Alysanne confirms. She sighs and looks over her shoulder at Jorah, "Shall we go?"
___
"Deer?"
"I say it's goat."
"It's actually ram," Jorah corrects them both.
Daario looks over at Alysanne with a humored expression, "Deer?"
Beside Alysanne, Rhaenys whines as though disappointed in her answer as well.
"Drogon has a diverse diet," she says with a shrug, "It's not like you were right either."
"We're heading in the right direction," Jorah says standing up and tossing the burnt ram skull to the ground. Alysanne glances around at the mountains. There seems to be nothing.
"Do we believe that Daenerys is in trouble? And if we do, who could have her?" Alysanne says trying to think of where they could be looking. Drogon had left behind a clue, but what if they ran out of clues? They seemed to be getting further and further from the city and Alysanne was growing worried.
"Our Queen has many enemies," Daario says, "There are multiple people that could have her."
Alysanne scoffs, "Great."
Jorah gets back on his horse and they continue riding north. Alysanne can feel her frustrations growing as they continue riding, seeing nothing but grass and mountains. In front of her, Jorah slows down as does Daario. Alysanne follows in the suit and sees what they're staring at. The grass ahead had been destroyed, almost as if someone had been marching in it.
"An army?" Alysanne asks, feeling her heart drop.
"No," Jorah says, "A horde."
The only group Alysanne knew to travel in hordes was the Dothraki. If that was who had captured Daenerys, then they were going to have a hell of a time getting her back.
Alysanne got off of her horse and ran over to the center of the destroyed grass with Rhaenys trailing behind her. It hadn't been marched on, which meant that they must have surrounded Daenerys when they took her. Alysanne searched the ground for a clue, for anything really. Rhaenys did the same, sniffing around. She let out a loud whine, nudging something with her nose.
Alysanne bent down and picked up the ring that Daenerys had been wearing. A ring that she had seen her wear so many times before. She inhaled a shaky breath and squeezed the ring tightly in the palm of her hand.
"They have her," Alysanne said, her voice cracking. She wasn't going to cry, not in front of men. She took a moment to recompose herself as she walked over to Jorah and Daario and showed them the ring, "She dropped this."
"She knew we'd come after her," Daario said his eyes moving from the ring to Alysanne, "She knew you'd come to find her."
"This doesn't tell us where she is," Alysanne says, "She could be anywhere! The Dothraki don't stop moving, it could be forever before we find her."
"I know someplace she might be," Jorah says, causing both Alysanne and Daario to look at him.
"Where?" Alysanne asks, not missing a beat. When Jorah doesn't give her an immediate answer, Alysanne repeats her question, "Jorah, where is she?"
"Vaes Dothrak. It's near here," Jorah says. Alysanne didn't know what Vaes Dothrak was, her knowledge on the Dothraki was limited.
"Of course," Daario says, "The Khalasars gather there for trade."
"Would they hurt Daenerys?" Alysanne asks and Jorah shrugs.
"It depends. She was married to Khal Drogo which could gain her some protection," Jorah sighs, "I'm not too sure."
"Do you know how to get there?" Alysanne asks and Jorah nods.
"It shouldn't be too far from here, but we're going to have to lose the horses. They'll draw too much attention. And we'll have to leave Rhaenys behind as well."
The wolf growls, not liking the idea, but Alysanne knows that she would draw too much attention.
"Fine," Alysanne said. She looks over at her wolf and sighs, "Go back to Meereen. Find Grey Worm and Missandei."
Rhaenys stares at her, not moving. Alysanne sighs, knowing that Rhaenys wouldn't abandon her, especially when they were going to find Daenerys.
"Rhaenys," Alysanne says more firmly, "Go."
Rhaenys growls at her making o effort to move. Alysanne looks up at Jorah and Daario who are watching them. Her eyes flicker back to Rhaenys and violet eyes stare at her, determined.
"You're stubborn," Alysanne mutters, she looks up at Jorah, "The wolf stays."
"As long as she stays hidden," Daario says.
From there they march toward Vaes Dothrak. The lush green fields soon transform into sand hills. Jorah begins to lag behind and Alysanne slows down, as does Daario.
"Are you alright?" Alysanne asks him.
"I'm fine," Jorah says, "Let's keep moving."
They continue walking and soon they're overlooking the city. It was far too sandy for Alysanne's tastes.
"Widows of Khals come here to join the Dosh Khaleen. If they took Daenerys and she told them who she is, then she'll be there."
"And if she didn't?" Alysanne asks.
Jorah glances over at her, "Then she might be marrying a Khal again."
Jorah stands up immediately and Alysanne and Daario both watch as he takes off the belt that he used to hold his sword.
"What are you doing?" Daario wonders.
"Weapons aren't allowed in the city," Jorah said, "You both need to get rid of your swords."
Alysanne stands up and takes off her sword belt, tossing it on the ground. Daario is hesitant to follow suit. He removes his belt and tosses it on top of Alysanne's. Jorah holds a hand out expectantly and Daario sighs as he pulls out his dagger.
"I'm very attached," Daario said placing a kiss on to the dagger.
Daario's about to give the dagger to Jorah when he seems to notice something. Alysanne looks as well and sees the scales on Jorah's wrist. He had Greyscale.
"Don't worry, I didn't touch either of you," Jorah says.
"You know what happens?" Daario asked and Jorah nodded.
"You're so stupid," Alysanne says calmly, "You're putting us all in danger. What if you accidentally touch one of us?"
"Alysanne-"
"She exiled you and you came back, even with Greyscale," Alysanne says with a scoff, "You sure picked the wrong time to be loyal."
Jorah doesn't say anything, and Daario takes the opportunity to ease the building tension, "We should wait till nightfall to enter the city."
Alysanne nods in agreement and walks away from the two men and sat beside her direwolf. It seemed that she would be getting her wish, that Jorah would die, but she didn't like the terms. Jorah should go out with a sword through the heart, preferably hers.
Eventually, it grew dark and they began to sneak into the city. Rhaenys stuck to the shadows, deluding in perfectly side from her violet eyes. Despite hiding well, Jorah gives away their spot by coming out of the shadows and approaching two Dothraki guards.
Jorah approaches them and begins to speak in fluent Dothraki. Alysanne looks over to Daario who simply shrugs. Whatever lie Jorah was trying to give them, they were buying because Alysanne watched as the other man took off in a sprint.
"Rhaenys!" she whisper-yelled to the wolf who took off after one of the Dothraki guards. Alysanne runs after her, making sure her wolf finished the job before anyone saw them. When she caught up to them, Rhaenys had taken a bite out of the man's throat. Alysanne grimaced at the sight but smiled at her wolf.
"Good girl," Alysanne said.
They made their way back to Jorah and Daario and Alysanne watched as Jorah wiped the blood from his mouth. Daario turned around and Alysanne saw the dagger in his hand.
"You cheated," Alysanne told him.
"So did you," Daario said pointing to her wolf.
They made it to the temple of Dosh Khaleen and to their surprise, Daenerys was walking with another Dothraki girl. A feeling of relief fell over her as she saw the Targaryen. She wanted nothing more than to run out and hug her, but she knew she couldn't do that.
Daario took the first step and grabbed the woman accompanying her and Daenerys shouted out, "Don't hurt her!"
Daario lowered the knife he was holding at her throat but kept a hand over her mouth.
"We need to go. Now," Alysanne said firmly. Daenerys's eyes shot over to her and she watched her gaze soften immediately.
"You came," Daenerys said, almost sounding surprised, which Alysanne found a little insulting.
"Of course I did," Alysanne told her.
Daenerys smiles at her and Alysanne returns the gesture.
"This is sweet and all, but we really need to go," Daario says.
"We'll never get out of Vaes Dothrak alive," Daenerys says.
"We can try," Jorah says.
Suddenly a look of realization comes over Daenerys's face, "We can actually do more than that. And you all are going to help me."
"I don't like where this is going," Alysanne says, but Daenerys ignores her as she takes her hand and begins to drag her in the city.
"Trust me Alysanne," Daenerys told her with a gentle smile.
"You know I do," Alysanne responded.