[ she had wanted to tear him to shreds the first time they had met, somehow still calm in the face of the man who had betrayed her own father and helped the usurper secure the throne for himself while her mother and brother fled as far as they could to escape a worse fate. the throne is mine by right, she had argued, though the words had seemed lodged in her throat the moment the kingslayer had painted a bloody image of the deeds her father had planned, content to burn westeros to the ground in his maddened, fiery fury. how very much like viserys had father had proven himself to be — but it was rhaegar's steps she would hope to follow in to this day, noble and brave ( noble and brave to a fault, perhaps, but she shakes that thought from her mind ).
she does not see a traitor when she looks upon jaime lannister now, attention drawn away from the flames in the distance. even freed of his shackles, he has not betrayed her — not as selmy or jorah had. she wants to ask if he thought her a monster for burning their city; she had presented them and opportunity only for them to so foolishly threaten and disrespect her, as though she were meant to be ashamed of her womanhood ( the same way others had made her feel ashamed from the very start, using the word woman as if it were meant to be a verbal weapon, as if being a woman gave her little right to rule, as if she were weak ).
but she doesn't ask the question that's on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be voiced. would he not have refused to follow her? would he not have stopped her as he had her father, a man who had been poisoned with rage and the thrill of power? and yet here the lion stands by the side of the dragon, faintly smiling in her direction. ]
I fear the stories do not do you any justice. [ she repeats it back to him, the words gentle and genuine. kingslayer, they say with disdain, but she sees a different man before her eyes. she smiles as she observes him, ignoring the sounds of her dragons making their ascent overheard, silver hair billowing in the wind caused by their flight.
she pauses. a hand touches his shoulder to convey what she does not say in this moment — thank you — before she dares to ask the question that has been plaguing her since their eventful evening. ]
Would you return if given the chance?
[ to westeros, she means; would he return to the life he had left behind if an opportunity was presented in front of him? perhaps the answer is not one she would wish to hear, but curiosity has struck down countless men. ]
i'm crying over how beautiful this is already
she does not see a traitor when she looks upon jaime lannister now, attention drawn away from the flames in the distance. even freed of his shackles, he has not betrayed her — not as selmy or jorah had. she wants to ask if he thought her a monster for burning their city; she had presented them and opportunity only for them to so foolishly threaten and disrespect her, as though she were meant to be ashamed of her womanhood ( the same way others had made her feel ashamed from the very start, using the word woman as if it were meant to be a verbal weapon, as if being a woman gave her little right to rule, as if she were weak ).
but she doesn't ask the question that's on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be voiced. would he not have refused to follow her? would he not have stopped her as he had her father, a man who had been poisoned with rage and the thrill of power? and yet here the lion stands by the side of the dragon, faintly smiling in her direction. ]
I fear the stories do not do you any justice. [ she repeats it back to him, the words gentle and genuine. kingslayer, they say with disdain, but she sees a different man before her eyes. she smiles as she observes him, ignoring the sounds of her dragons making their ascent overheard, silver hair billowing in the wind caused by their flight.
she pauses. a hand touches his shoulder to convey what she does not say in this moment — thank you — before she dares to ask the question that has been plaguing her since their eventful evening. ]
Would you return if given the chance?
[ to westeros, she means; would he return to the life he had left behind if an opportunity was presented in front of him? perhaps the answer is not one she would wish to hear, but curiosity has struck down countless men. ]