Days were rapidly turning colder, even in the south. Winter was approaching quickly and everyone knew it. They also knew that if war kept going through crueler weather, the chances of innocent people surviving would be slimmer. The supplies would be given to soldiers and warriors, rebels and deserters would steal what was left. It was stupid that war could leave the lords with no commoners to rule, but that had always been the case.
Dany wanted nothing more than to put an end to war as fast as they could. This was not only because they wanted to go back home and raise their child together, with Robb, or because she wanted a crown on her head. She generally disliked seeing innocent people dying over things that were not under their control; it pained her to see mothers losing children, to watch sons seeing their parents die right before their eyes.
She couldn't help but to think about her children; about the pain she had gone through when she lost one.
But at that moment she was smiling as Arya blew on the steaming hot soup in front of her. The girl was eagerly eating bread, just like her companions, and enjoying a proper meal among friends.
"This is so good," Arya mumbled around the food, a far image of what Sansa might have done even if starving.
Daenerys did not find it in her to scold her. She only laughed and nodded, watching as Gendry and Hot Pie bickered over a piece of jerky that apparently the younger boy had wrongly taken from his more muscular friend. Gendry slapped Hot Pie's hand away and that was it.
Meanwhile, Robb was once again discussing plans with his banners. Apparently that was all he did whenever he wasn't on the battlefield, and now that his leg was mostly healed, he refused to take more time off his duties.
"Do you wish to join me later for my training practice with Dacey?" Dany asked as she also ate, at a more appropriate pace if she was being honest.
"Sure!"
"We are going to be joined by Ser Barristan this afternoon, since he has made abundantly clear we are in dire need of proper training."
Arya's eyes were full of mirth. She had become friends with Ser Barristan quite quickly, despite Robb's reservations after their encounter in the forest. Ser Barristan had also welcomed the questions of the young girl, and heard her stories about her unusual training. They both shared moments and the old man provided advice, training her in the arts of war both with a weapon and in a more tactical aspect.
"He's a good teacher." The corner of Arya's mouth was stained by the soup but she wiped it away with the back of her hand, receiving a reproving look from Dany, at which the girl only shrugged. "I like him."
"I like him too," Dany confessed. This was even if the man's eyes looked so sad at times; she wondered how hard his life had been.
"What about us?" Hot Pie asked, earning himself a punch in the arm from Arya, scolding him for talking with his mouth full; quite hypocritical of hers, actually.
Gendry lifted his gaze and Dany locked eyes with him for a moment before shaking her head.
There were stories around the Seven Kingdoms that said the Usurper had left behind dozens of bastards, that he was a frequent visitor of whore houses and loved them as much as his precious wine. She couldn't imagine what Cersei felt regarding that but Dany guessed it did not sit well with her. After all, there were some bastards that had been recognized by Robert Baratheon, just not boys who could threaten the place of Joffrey.
It was not Gendry Waters' fault to have been product of the seed of such man. To Danerys' knowledge, the boy did not even know who his father was, even if according to Robb he looked just like him during his young years.
"Jaime will try to teach you something," Dany replied coldly before tearing her eyes away.
Perhaps she couldn't blame him, but that did not mean she had lost her hate for the blood that ran through his veins. She could not have him near without the wishes of screaming at him. And she knew Jaime Lannister well enough to know he wouldn't go easy on the boys.
Arya frowned. "You can't do that! He is a Lannister. How can you trust him?"
Dany met those wolf eyes with a steely gaze. "How can I not when he defended Winterfell while I was giving birth to the heir of the North and the Seven Kingdoms?" Both girls looked at each other with fire in their eyes, anger but also fear buried deep inside; they were so much alike. "He owes me and now he is paying his debt. Besides, he wouldn't dare to do anything with my dragons and Grey Wind watching."
"He better."
"Do I really need to learn to fight?" Hot Pie asked. "I'm much better at preparing food than at holding a sword."
"And at eating it too," Jaime interrupted, accompanying his words with a rather forceful slap to the boy's head. "You need it, Maggot Pie." The boy glared at him but Jaime seemed unaffected by it. "Now hurry up before I lose my good humor and use you as targets."
Both Gendry and Hot Pie looked at him with blank stares, as if they were expecting something or not really believing him and his threats. In reality, Jaime Lannister looked scarier now that he only had one hand; the grueling training he had done to master the art of fighting one-handed had made him look tougher and less like the careless knight Dany had met once upon a time.
"Now!" Jaime shouted and both boys scrambled to their feet, even if Gendry looked a bit upset about it.
"Kingslayer," Dany warned.
"Stop looking at them as if they were just boys. Waters is almost the same age as your husband and the other… Ser Barristan was fighting tournaments at his age." He smirked. "You're soft, and you better not be, Your Grace."
"You confuse weakness and compassion."
"They are the same," Jaime replied, his hand on the handle of his sheathed sword.
"No. Weakness is your sister's thirst for power, her fear to be defeated. Compassion is what is making people love me and Robb, what makes them want to join us." Dany stood up, smoothing her skirts. She felt quite happy to leave a speechless Jaime behind. "Follow me, Arya. We have many things to learn today. Don't we, Young Lion?"
"Don't try your luck."
She grinned. "Why not? Am I not who your family is afraid of? Is not Robb the reason your nephew cannot sleep at night? Believe me, I am grateful for your services but that doesn't erase your family's disrespect and dishonor." She squared her shoulders. "I try my luck every day you are here, every time I take a step in Westeros. One word will not cost me more than it has already had."
She had already taken a few steps away when she heard him say, "Maybe the unspoken words are the most dangerous ones, Your Grace. Secrets are usually what cost more. I should know."
For the rest of the afternoon those words swam in her head, making her clumsy while practicing with Dacey and Ser Barristan.
What had he meant with that? She knew then that Jaime had learnt something she ignored and that was driving her mad.
-o-
When she asked for Robb to his squire, he nervously replied that he was having a talk with the Kingslayer and politely advised her not to interrupt. It was all she needed to know that said talk was more like a quarrel and that something must have been done to trigger such reaction in her Wolf .
"What happened?" She asked without fear as she found both man in the middle of a screaming match. Of course Jaime had no qualms about screaming to his captor and current King, the leader of thousands of troops, as long as she was there to save him one more time.
She could see Robb's veins pulsing on his neck, his eyes wild and teeth showing when he spoke, a telltale of his fury.
"He injured the bastard. He," he motioned rather rudely towards Jaime, "wants to get rid of the boy apparently. Easier for his own bastard to claim the crown."
Jaime made a noise that was quite disrespectful and provoked Robb to lift a menacing hand.
"Stop it. Both of you." Daenerys walked closer and stepped between them, trying to diffuse some of the tension. She knew it was bad when Robb started pacing to calm himself down. "Now, speak. How bad is his injury?"
"It's just a cut on his right forearm. It will barely leave a scar," Jaime responded nonchalantly.
Robb groaned and snorted with disdain.
"I don't understand why he wants to keep him in one piece, honestly. He could be a threat for your plans, as well."
Daenerys looked at Robb, also asking for an explanation. She did not want the boy dead but she did not have any interest in him either.
"He will delegitimize Cersei's claims. Baratheons' traits are strong, strong enough to erase others. All the bastards Robert left look like him. Is it not strange his children do not?" He heaved a sigh. "Besides, he's a blacksmith. We could use him. And I owe it to my father."
Turning to Jaime, Dany nodded. "You cannot go near him again."
"I thought you wanted me to train him." He looked over her shoulder at Robb and snorted a sarcastic laugh. "Besides, why would I want him dead? He is no one, even if he looks like Robert. There are no proofs, no witnesses. Can you say the same, Young Wolf?"
Robb shot him a murderous look and was about to open his mouth to answer when Dany interrupted him.
"Go. I do not want to hear any more of this. And if it is necessary, Ser Barristan will train Gendry. Now, I'll go check on him and try to convince Arya not to murder anyone over this," she ended as she spoke to Jaime.
She quickly started her search for Gendry and Arya, promptly finding them outside, where a woman was tending Gendry's wound. Arya was standing a few feet away glaring at the beautiful nurse who seemed to be making small talk with the young man.
Now Dany could see that Gendry was not just a boy by the way he looked at the woman in front of him.
"Is he all right?" Daenerys asked and saw with mild amusement as Arya folded her arms over her chest.
She scoffed. "Yes, he is. He's stubborn, with skin as thick as a pig's."
"Are you all right?" Dany asked and Arya finally turned to face her, her eyes narrowed and her lips pressed in a tight line before she blew a breath.
"I think so. I just don't like her." It was clear who she was referring to, and it was even clearer for Dany now that her first impression had not been wrong; Arya had feelings for the boy, no matter if he was older or rather brutish, much less if he did not feel the same in return. She was jealous.
But Dany stared at the woman and she felt something pricking her side, a bad feeling.
"I don't know why, but I might share the sentiment. I do not like her either."
It was moments later, when Gendry's wound was cleaned and he donned a patch on it, that Daenerys finally approached the nurse whose name she learned was Talisa. Firstly, Dany asked about how she had joined the North's party and why she had chosen such a hard job. She heard the story and her interest only grew when Talisa told her she had been the one tending her husband's wounds, that he had personally asked her to join them.
"He is a great leader, someone who earns the respect his people gives him."
"Yes, he is," Dany agreed.
"And you are as beautiful as he said you were." Talisa was openly looking at her until that point, in which she stared at her hands, folded on her lap. She smiled forlornly. "I'd never met a man so… devoted to his wife. I'm sure you've heard all about the sordid stories most lords have, about mistresses and children born outside marriage."
"Did you two share a bed?"
The question was so sudden, so brusque, Talisa's eyes widened as they felt upon Dany's cold ones, as she saw the heir of the Targaryen's blood being eerily calm despite what she was asking.
"No. No!" Talisa replied in alarm but gave up under the pressure. "We kissed but it meant nothing for him. Nor me. It was a mistake and we both know that. He never insinuated anything."
Standing up, Danerys avoided eye contact, speaking as if the woman near her meant so little she did not deserved her respect. "I'm sure you know who I am, and are aware that I do not have sympathy for liars. If I find out you've not told me the truth, you'll regret it. You'll pay for it."
"It was just a brief moment of weakness. He was in pain and felt betrayed-" Talisa tried to explain further, to reason why everything had happened.
"It's not your duty to offer him comfort." Daenerys' glance fell on the other woman like a lashing, even if her tone was flat and void of emotion.
"You blame this all on me?"
"No. Of course not."
-o-
That night, Daenerys returned to their bed, waiting for Robb like every time they had together. She had ordered Irri to prepare her a bath, to put scented oils on her skin, to brush her hair until it shined and leave her ready for a night with her Wolf.
He was pleasantly surprised to see her naked form lying on the furs of his bed, her platinum hair fanned over the pillows, and wasted no time before joining her.
They had shared the bed countless times before, even when they did not share the feelings of mutual love and respect, and each time they were able to express different emotions. She saw it in his eyes when he knew something was wrong, when her aggressive nature told him what she was not saying.
It was almost violent how she treated him, how she demanded more from him as if to proving a point. It was animalistic. She was being possessive in a way he had not seen before.
And so he just followed her unspoken orders, and let her take whatever she was looking for.
She was atop of him, still joining him in what for the first time neither of them could describe as love making, when one of her hands closed on his throat. His blue eyes turned gray as the sea after a violent storm as he held her gaze.
"How many women have you bedded while away from me?"
"None," he responded in a soft voice.
"Liar," she growled and her eyes watered. "How could you? Am I not enough?"
He grabbed her by the hips and stared into her eyes. "None. None, my sweet Queen."
She shook her head as she scratched his chest with her free hand until he hissed, until she drew blood.
"Do you understand the pain? You're mine. Mine!" She tightened her grip and his hands only lifted to caress her back, softly, lovingly.
"Yours. Your Wolf," Robb whispered.
"My King," she muttered and a tear rolled down her cheek to land on his chest.
"You are my Queen and only woman." They locked eyes but she never let go of his throat. "Do you remember I love you? No other but you. No other woman is you."
"What if I don't believe you?"
"Sink your claws deeper in my chest and you'll know. My heart is yours already."
She let go of him and moved away, trying to escape him but not quickly enough for him not to embrace her from behind. He kissed her shoulder.
"Dany," Robb muttered pleadingly. He pulled her tighter against him. "I'm sorry."
"A king does not apologize! I did not apologize."
"I do." He buried his nose in the spot her shoulder met her neck. "I do because I'm not any king, because unlike others, my Queen is my strength."
"Did you ever doubt I loved you?" She asked in a much softer voice.
"I just forgot, foolish me. But I will never do it again."
"I'd kill you."
"I know."
"Never again, swear it on our son's life, just like I swear never to betray you again."
"I swear."