The three dragons were now heading for the central old town center of Volantis, surrounded by the Black Wall and in which stood many palaces, each more magnificent than the next. The mightiest of them was taller than Winterfell, maybe even as tall as Harrenhal. It had numerous towers, domes, courtyards and terraces. Drogon flew to the largest of these terraces. When the dragon started to land, a crowd of servants and guards, Chancellor Doniphos Paenymion and Grey Worm, were already waiting there.
"Your Imperial Majesty, I hope you had a pleasant journey", said Doniphos with a slight bow as Daenerys slid out of the saddle. "Were the negotiations successful?"
The Empress allowed herself a slight grin. "The trip was pleasant, thanks for asking. As for the negotiations..."
"What is this traitor doing here?", Grey Wurm wanted to know and pierced Jon, who was now also climbing down from Drogon, with a hard look.
"You forget yourself, Field Marshal", Daenerys rebuked him. "Your future Emperor stands before you."
Daenerys smirked at the perplexed expressions around her. "This is my nephew Aegon Targaryen, better known as Jon Snow", she explained, as only Grey Worm knew him. "I got engaged to him in Braavos." She gave Chancellor Paenymion a bright smile. "Since you have insisted so much that I should get married, you should be satisfied now."
"Um...", said Doniphos. "You certainly have a lot to tell us, Your Majesty."
"Yeah, but let me have a few hours with my family first, okay?"
Rhaegar and Viserys had now also dismounted from their dragons and looked curiously at Jon.
"Lord Snow", said the Chancellor, a thin man with gray hair, a neatly trimmed beard and dark blue silk robe, with a fine smile. "I've heard so much about you."
"Pleased to meet you", Jon replied coolly. He was sweating on his forehead, not because he was nervous, but because the heat plagued him. "And you are...?"
"Doniphos Paenymion, Her Majesty's Imperial Chancellor", he introduced himself. "You already know Field Marshal Gray Worm. This lady here", he pointed to a woman with curly hair and a piercing look, "is Dimazza Yhae, the Secretary of State for Intelligence..."
"We can all introduce ourselves later", interrupted the Empress.
"As you wish, Your Majesty." The Chancellor, Grey Worm and the others left the terrace.
"Rhaegar, Viserys", Daenerys said gently to her sons, indicating Jon. "This is your father."
"We know that", said Viserys.
"He must be our father", Rhaegar added firmly. "Unless you have a second nephew who is also called Jon Snow, Mom."
Jon laughed at Dany's expression and then turned to his sons. They had their mother's purple eyes, but otherwise they were younger versions of their father. Standing in front of them now was an indescribable feeling.
"Hello", he said hesitantly and crouched down. "I wish we could have met earlier."
One of the boys nodded wisely. "Yes. But it couldn't be earlier. At first mom was so angry with you that she would have fed you to Drogon, then the war came."
"Rhaegar!", said Dany sharply. "Be polite to your father!"
Jon just laughed. "But he's telling the truth, isn't he?"
"He will be the Emperor one day", said Dany. "It is time he learned to be diplomatic..."
There was an impatient bark from the box attached to Drogon's saddle and Jon jumped up.
"I had completely forgotten about Ghost." He set about removing the net from the transport box and opening it.
"The fact that Braavos wants to join us could help smooth things over in the Imperial Parliament", said Doniphos when he, the Empress and the State Secretaries were sitting at the council table.
Daenerys raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"As you know, Your Majesty, many citizens feel that we are too lenient towards the Westerosi", said Oraya Valeris. "Some members of Parliament have outbid each other by making increasingly ludicrous demands in order to look better with the electorate. People are upset that we are paying compensation for the destruction of King's Landing instead of collecting tribute from Bran and Sansa ourselves. There are allegations that you would rather give money to the enemy than use it to rebuild areas devastated by the war."
"That is nonsense!", protested the Empress. "A lot of funds have been made available for reconstruction. Nobody is neglected because of the reparation payment."
"That may be so", said Doniphos. "But the fact is that we have achieved a military victory against the Westerosi and their allies at great sacrifice and it now looks as if we are making far too little profit from it."
Dany sighed. "But Parliament will still approve the treaty, right?"
"Yes, even if the majority will be closer than we'd like", nodded the Chancellor. "I'll have to buy one or two votes to make sure there won't be any nasty surprises. And then there is Jon Snow. He is the man who deviously betrayed and murdered you, Your Majesty. And you want to marry him. It will be very difficult to explain this to the public ... sorry, but I have to be honest: I seriously doubt your judgment on this matter. With all due respect."
Daenerys sighed, took a deep breath and then slowly and patiently explained to the Chancellor and the others why she had forgiven Jon and trusted him.
"It is still difficult to make this understandable to the citizens", Doniphos said afterwards.
"I'll leave that to Kinvara and her priests", Daenerys said. "They will preach that this was all part of R'hllor's plan."
"That could actually work", grinned the Chancellor. "But I would be in favor of waiting a little longer before you drop the bomb. At least until Parliament has approved the treaty."
"Agreed", Daenerys nodded.
DimazzaYhae later asked to speak to the Empress alone. So they stayed in the room when the others left.
"It's about Jon, right?", Dany sighed.
"Yes, Your Majesty", said Dimazza. "You said he stabbed you to protect the Starks from you. That means he decided for the Starks and against you. Jon Snow will always be a wolf. Don't expect him to turn into a dragon, even if you gave him two sons."
"I know", said Dany. "He's a wolf. But it was also the wolf that I fell in love with. I'll take Jon for who he is and be happy with it."
"What if there is another... conflict of interest between you and the Starks? Which side will Snow then choose?"
"There won't be another 'conflict of interest', Dimazza. The Starks just want independence, and I've given up all claims on Westeros. So what should I get into conflict with Bran or Sansa about? Promise me one thing: watch over Jon as you watch over me and the children."
"You can rely on that, Majesty", said Dimazza, and her look showed that she would always keep an eye on Jon.
The protective shield of the head of the Imperial Secret Service had failed only four times: First, when an assassin from the warlocks of Qarth was able to smuggle a manticore into the Imperial Palace, which then stung Danys and required a second resurrection from the dead; later, Alliance assassins were in sneaked into the Imperial Camp and badly injured Grey Worm, and Arya Stark, using her skills learned from the Faceless Men, had managed to break into the Imperial Palace and only the intervention of Jaqen alias Rhaegar prevented her from killing Dany. And then there was Kenzai's attack in Braavos.
On the other hand, there was an overwhelming track record. At no point did the Alliance succeed in building a network of 'little birds' in Volantis or other important cities of the Empire. Several attempts had been made to poison Drogon, but no enemy agent had ever got far enough to poison Drogon's food (and that of the other dragons) before he was exposed.
Dimazza's own spies, on the other hand, had not been very successful in Westeros because of King Bran's clairvoyant abilities, but they had been able to set up a network in the League of Free Cities that enabled the Imperials to keep an eye on the plans and troop movements of the Alliance.
And of course there were the conspiracies and intrigues with which the powerful of the Empire loved to pass the time. In this regard, too, Dimazza successfully ensured that this did not pose a threat to the imperial family.
It was clear to Dany that Jon would face much resentment from the noble families of Volantis, after all they had hoped to be able to marry one of their own sons to the Empress. So it was very comforting to know that Dimazza was taking care of his safety...