BLOOD WARS | XVI.
SELENA BARATHEON
Blackwater Bay | 300 a.c.
SELENA PULLS AWAY FROM DAENERYS'S hug smiles at her. Making sure that Daenerys had her dragon eggs was the least that she could do after Daenerys's crazy sacrifices for her plan.
"You're bleeding," Daenerys points out as she looks at the blood that was trailing down Selena's arm. Rhaegar had cut her after Daenerys had shot him with the first arrow, but it hadn't been too deep, so at the moment, she didn't really worry about it.
"I'm fine," Selena insists, but Daenerys ignores her as she tears off part of her dress and uses it to wrap Selena's arm. Daenerys looks up at her and blushes before quickly focusing on her arm. Selena is thankful because she can feel herself blushing as well.
"So, um you're actually really good at archery," Selena says as she looks away from Daenerys, "I don't think you ever needed my help."
"I didn't," Daenerys confesses, "I've been taking lessons since I was five, with the best archers in Westeros. I just asked you because I wanted to spend time with you."
"Oh," Selena says slightly speechless.
"Done," Daenerys says as she pulls away, "But I know nothing about wrapping wounds so you might want to get a maester to look at that."
"Noted," Selena says.
They fall into silence, but Selena can tell that there's something weighing on Daenerys's mind as she stares off at the ocean beneath them.
"Why did you come back?" Daenerys asks suddenly, her head turning to look at Selena.
Selena laughs, "Why wouldn't I come back? You told me your plan and all I heard in my head was a scream for help because you seem to have lost all self-preservation."
"I did not," Daenerys answers quickly, "I just really wanted to save Viserys and I didn't want Rhaegar to hurt you."
"Well I didn't want him to hurt you either," Selena answers, "Why did you choose me?"
"What?" Daenerys asks and Selena smiles.
"You heard me. Rhaegar's become the very thing he fears. There's still some humanity in him, didn't you want to see if you could save him?" Selena asks genuinely. Daenerys could fill Rhaegar with as many arrows as she wanted, that still didn't change the fact that she loved him.
"Despite what you think, choosing you wasn't a hard decision to make, Selena. I trust you, more than I trust Rhaegar. If I had to make the decision again, I'd choose you," Daenerys says with a shrug, "That's what we do now, right? Protect each other?"
Selena nods slowly, somehow unable to fathom the idea that Daenerys would choose her over Rhaegar, "Yeah, I guess so."
"So, you're finally going home. Nervous?" Daenerys asked her. The truth was that Selena hadn't had much time to think about going home.
"Selena. Daenerys. It's Viserys," Larrisa says walking toward them. The two of them stand and make their way below deck where Viserys is lying on a cot clearly in pain. There was blood seeping through his bandages and Selena could tell that his wound had reopened.
"Can anyone help him?" Jessamyn asked as she looked around, but none of them knew what to do or had the equipment to do so.
"I can," Ashara said as she kneeled down beside him, "But I'm going to need to clear the room out."
Selena nods at the door and the room clears out quickly, leaving only Ashara, Jessamyn, Daenerys, and Selena. Ashara looks at them with a hard look, "What I'm about to do doesn't leave this room."
"What are you about to do?" Daenerys asks as she looks at Ashara skeptically. Ashara removes Viserys's bandages, showing off the gruesome stab wound that made Selena wince slightly.
"Magic," Ashara says with a smirk, "Jessamyn, can you hand me that candle?"
Jessamyn takes the candle that had been sitting beside her and hands it to Ashara. She places it down beside her and closes her eyes tightly, muttering a few words before opening her eyes and placing her hands in the flame. Selena's eyes widen when she notices that Ashara picks up the flame without it burning her.
She rubs her hands together, the flame spreading to her other hand and not burning it. Ashara places her hands over Viserys wounds and mutters a couple more words. Selena watches with great interest as the wound slowly began to close up.
Once it was fully closed, the flames died out on their own and Ashara let out a shaky breath. The room was silent and Viserys chest rose and fell slowly, symbolizing that he was asleep. Jessamyn clutched his hand tightly as she looked over him.
"We'll stay with him," Daenerys said and Ashara nodded as she stood up from beside the cot. She grabbed the candle and placed it where it had formerly been before she made her way out of the room, Selena hot on her trail.
Ashara made her way back to the top deck, over to the side of the ship that didn't have many people. Selena stood beside her, still trying to figure out what she had just witnessed.
"I know you have questions," Ashara says with a smile, "Ask them."
"Are you a witch?" Selena asks, which earns a laugh in response.
"No," Ashara answers, "Truthfully, my ability was a complete accident. It's a long story."
Selena shrugs, "Allara says we won't be at Storm's End for a week or so. I have time."
Ashara chuckles as she looks at the ocean, the breeze tousling her black hair about, "I was really sick when I was a baby. My father says I caught some fever or something. My parents thought I was going to die, so they searched for help anywhere they could get it. Have you ever heard of R'hllor?"
"The Lord of Light, right? It's what they worship in Essos," Selena answers, and Ashara nods.
"My father found a priest, Thoros of Myr. He saved me somehow, magic, prayer, I don't know, I never really asked. Anyway, when I was around nine, I accidentally burned my hand and it healed immediately. I started to play with fire a lot and learned I could heal things."
"How'd your parents react?" Selena asks.
"My mother was horrified. If anyone knew, she feared that they would use me," Ashara tells her, "So she made me promise to never do it."
"Why use it now?" Selena asks.
Ashara looks at her, a small smile on her lips, "I couldn't let Viserys suffer when I knew there was something I could do. Besides, you, Jessamyn, Larrisa, Allara, you're all my friends. I trust you."
Selena glances down at the water below them, "Seems like everyone is trusting me recently."
"Because you're worthy of our trust. You saved us, your plan may have been a bit faulty, but you pulled it off," Ashara rests a hand on her shoulder, "Don't doubt yourself. None of us doubted you."
Selena nods slowly.
"So, Daenerys," Ashara says, looking up at her.
"What about her?" Selena asks.
Ashara chuckles as she looks out at the bay, "You hated her less than a moon ago. Now you're willing to risk your life for her?"
"I wasn't risking my life."
"You had no way of knowing that Rhaegar wasn't going to kill you and yet you rushed to aid her," Ashara looks at her intently, violet eyes seemingly staring into Selena's soul, "You care for her."
"In the sense that I don't want her to die," Selena says looking at Ashara.
"Right," Ashara says with a small smile.
"You don't believe me?" Selena asks and Ashara simply shrugs.
"I think that you care more than you're willing to admit," Ashara tells her, "But then again, what do I know?"
"Nothing," Selena says quickly, "You know nothing."
Allara comes over, putting an end to all conversation, "What's the plan once we get to Storm's End? We're only a week's sailing away. Rhaegar could come after us with ease."
"Storm's End is one of the hardest castles to siege. We should be safe there, at least for the time being. Besides, Rhaegar's going to have his hands full soon enough."
"What do you mean?" Ashara asks.
Selena smiles as she looks at her two ladies, "I left Aegon a letter, telling him the truth."
"Really?" Allara asks.
"I had planned on telling him before Daenerys planned on confronting Rhaegar. There was no way Elia was going to tell him. Besides, the Tyrells deserved to know the truth."
Ashara sighs beside her, "Well if Westeros wasn't going to war before, it certainly is now."
"Good," Selena says, "War gets kings deposed and no one needs to be deposed more than Rhaegar."
"What about Jon?" Allara asks, "Where does he stand in all of this?"
"Depends on whether or not Jon wants the throne. If he does, then he stands with his father. If he doesn't, then he'll stand with Aegon. Either way, Jon forces the North to get involved."
Ashara stares at her, awe on her face, "You've clearly thought this through."
Selena laughs, "I've had ten years to plot my revenge. I've thought out every scenario possible and even though this is the last one I expected, it's turning out quite well."
"I'll say," Allara says, "First move when you get home?"
"I find my brother."
"I thought they were dead," Allara asks.
"Not all of them," Selena looks at Ashara, "Someone told me Renly might not be dead. Ashara says she knows this woman, so I trust her."
"You do know this means that you won't be the Lady of Storm's End? That you can't make political decisions, right?" Allara asks.
Selena honestly doesn't like the sound of that, but she wants her brother to be alive, she hopes that he's alive. Besides, Selena had been making political moves in the background for the past few months. She didn't need a position of power to do anything, just her name.
"I don't need to be Lady of Storm's End. I've already set this war in motion," Selena says with a shrug, "Everything else I do is extra."
"Cocky," Allara says with a smile.
"Confident," Selena corrects, "Where are we?"
"Still in the Blackwater," Allara answers, "You'll know when we get closer to the Stormlands. The water gets clearer."
"Very true," Ashara answers, "The water around King's Landing is so murky."
Selena smiles at the idea of seeing something other than the castle she had been locked in for the last seventeen years.
"Well I should get back to steering the ship," Allara says, offering the two of them a salute.
"I'm going to go check on Viserys," Ashara says walking backward, "Should I send Daenerys to you?"
"No," Selena answers.
Ashara chuckles, "You're right, she'll come to find you all on her own."
Selena rolls her eyes but looks back out over the edge of the boat. She was hiding it well, but she was extremely anxious to return home. Ashara said that people were eager for her return, but what if that wasn't true? What if they saw her as a traitor or someone that had abandoned her people?
"Whatever Ashara did, it's working," Daenerys says as she practically prances toward her. Seems Ashara had been right about Daenerys coming to find her. She smiles gleefully and Selena is unsure where her mood was coming from.
"You seem extremely cheerful," Selena notes.
"My brother is alive, I'm free from my home, and you and I – we're friends," Daenerys says with a grin.
"Yes, but war is about to plague Westeros, your other brother may return to kill you, and I never said that we were friends."
"We're friends," Daenerys answers, completely ignoring everything else Selena had just said, "Do you want to know how I know?"
Selena sighs as she looks at violet eyes, "How?"
"Because you saved me," Daenerys says leaning closer to her, "And the dragon eggs."
"Yes, well dragons would be hard to defeat in the hands of Rhaegar," Selena says, but Daenerys simply laughs.
"You said you thought they wouldn't hatch!"
"And they won't," Selena tells her, "But if they do happen to magically crack open, then I'd rather you have them. You said you'd prevent the world from going to shit, then I'm going to trust you on that."
"That's another thing," Daenerys says, "You trust me. Friends trust each other."
"Why do you want to be my friend?" Selena can't help but ask, "I've been awful to you, rightfully so, but that doesn't change the fact that you should hate me."
"I've never hated you," Daenerys says softly, as she looks over the edge of the ship, "And I don't know, I guess I've always wanted you to like me. I just never knew the right words to say."
Selena stares at Daenerys, prompting her to look up and meet her gaze, "I was using you."
There's a small smile on Daenerys's lips, "I figured."
"I'm sorry," Selena apologizes, "I know it was wrong, but I didn't care at the time, but now. Now I don't want to hurt you, so will you forgive me?"
"You're already forgiven," Daenerys tells her, "Besides I love a good Baratheon apology."
Selena laughs, "Well it's the last time you'll be receiving an apology from me."
"That's fine," Daenerys says as she taps her head, "I'll never forget this. Or the fact that you came to my rescue."
"Please forget it," Selena begs, "If you're going to constantly bring it up, I'm going to drop you off back at the castle."
"No, you won't," Daenerys tells her, "Especially since you went through all that trouble to save me."
"Daenerys," Selena says firmly, but she can't remain serious for long as she looks at the breath-taking smile on the younger girl's face.
"Yes?" she asks.
"Nothing," Selena says, looking back at the water.
"Did you know that the water gets clearer as you sail away from King's Landing?" Daenerys asks her with a wide grin.
"No," Selena answers, despite juts learning the fact. She leans closer to Daenerys, "Why don't you tell me more?"
Daenerys smiles before launching into an eager rant, "Well, did you know..."