She Can't Sit Still

When the Lannisters were found missing in the morning, the whole of Winterfell turned into a madhouse. Can't say I blame them, because if they were my prisoners, I would probably do the same, but hey, they were not, so…

They also immediately suspected my involvement, but much to their surprise, when they and their men marched to where our tower was, they simply could not find it. The Fidelius charm was seriously the most ridiculous piece of magic I've ever encountered.

Oh, right, I placed my whole island under it, not because I feared retaliation, but because dealing with them now would be extremely annoying, and I might do something rash and ruin Dany's revenge.

So we let them poke around the woods blindly, for however long they wished. It was funny and provided us with great entertainment for a whole week. That's how long they kept this up.

Did I feel bad for Stark, who was caught in the middle of it? Yeah, kinda, but it ultimately didn't matter, because I made him a promise, and I intended to keep it. He and his family would come out of this whole mess alive, even if they didn't want to. 

And what a mess it would be. Robert was immediately calling for war, and it was only thanks to Stark's insistence that he didn't ride out alone. Not that he would be able to do much, given his poor health and general lack of any sort of physical movement. The man would keel over, and probably have a heart attack the moment any real fighting took place.

But in the end, the king, accompanied by Stark, did leave Winterfell about two weeks after all that. They did a whole lot of planning and sending of ravens with boring messages. You know, preparing for war. 

Now that they were gone, though, there was nobody for me to mess with, and that was driving me up the walls.

So I did the unthinkable, I picked up a book, because despite what some people might believe, I can actually read. The one I went with was about the Targaryen conquest, and all in all, it was boring and dry, but there was one piece of information that got stuck in my head.

"HEY GIRLS!" I shouted into the living room excitedly, only to receive concerned glances from all three.

"H–Hey. You okay?" Pyra asked me with concern.

"Huh? Oh yeah, fantastic. Did you know that Dragonstone is a volcanic island?!" 

"...Yes? I've read about it." She replied, unsure where this was going. 

"Me too! Soo~" I plopped down next to them and grinned at them.

"How about we take it?" Pyra just looked at me with a smile tugging at her lips, while Dany tilted her head curiously, as if trying to decipher whether I'm joking or not.

"Take Dragonstone? Like, we walk in, plant a flag, and declare it ours?" She asked disbelievingly. 

"Yeah! But I don't have a flag… hmm~ we can do arts and crafts together. That'll be fun."

"I think she meant that metaphorically, Emmy. Why the sudden interest?" Pyra asked, and I just looked at her like she was the stupid one.

"Lava island."

"Yeah, I should have just guessed that, huh? You do realize that it's in the hands of Stannis, right?" Pyra rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Who?" 

"... The king's brother? Hello?"

"Oh, okay. Why is that a problem though? In fact, isn't that even better?" My question actually made Pyra stop talking, and she fell into thought. 

"It–it might be. It just might be… But you do realize that if you want the lava to stay there, you can't take it with you, right?"

"Bah! Just make me a spell that produces lava. Depending on how cool it looks, I might want to take it with us when we leave the world." I waved my hand dismissively. 

"L–leave? You're leaving???" "My lady?" Dany asked with a hurt expression, and Kinvara sounded alarmed as well. Oops.

"In the future, yeah, but you're coming with us, right?" 

"Emmy… really? 

"It slipped? Hehe~ Sorry." I gave them a sheepish grin.

"*sigh* Yeah, yeah… At least let me do the explaining." She said with a pained sigh. 

"What she meant by that is that we're not exactly… permanent residents of this world. This isn't the first world we've visited, and it certainly won't be the last. But wherever we go next, you're more than welcome to come with us."

"So… you're saying that there is a whole world beyond this one? Multiple ones?" After some time, Dany asked, her eyes searching mine.

"Oh yeah, infinite amount actually. Or at least very close to it. Just think about it, endless possibilities, endless fun, and endless adventure." 

"It sounds… incredible, and terrifying." 

"No worries, we won't leave right away. Think about it, you too, Kinvara."

"What is there to think about? I'd be delighted to follow you on your path." Kinvara gave her response almost instantly. 

"You gave me safety and made my life infinitely more fun than I'd ever thought possible. I want to go as well." Dany said with determination. 

"Great! And uh— sorry for just dumping it on you like this, but you know me…" I grinned at both of them and gave them an apologetic shrug. 

"Well, you really don't do subtle, that's for sure." Dany returned the grin.

"But now onto more important matters! Our lava island!"

"Of course, lava island. More important than the knowledge of other worlds." Pyra said and rolled her eyes. 

"I have nothing else to add to the other world stuff, you know? So why talk in circles? Now let me forcefully change the topic, kay?" 

"*ehm* So. Lava island?" 

"Fine… Lava island. What's the brilliant plan?" Pyra sighed, her amused expression betraying her exasperation.

"We go there, and take it?"

"You can really take Dragonstone from Stannis… just like that?" Dany asked. Oh, right. She has not seen me fight yet.

"Please… If I wanted, I could turn the entire island into a floating fortress…"

"Holy shit. PYRA! Get that lava spell ready. I'm bloody brilliant. Why didn't I do this before?... Am I dumb?" 

"Yes." "Yes." "Yes." All three echoed in unison.

"WOW. I see how it is." I muttered in feigned offence.

"Alright, Emmy, how you gonna do it?" Pyra said and motioned for me to continue.

"Easy! Step one: We show up. Step two: I do magic and maybe set stuff on fire. Step three: Tada! Flying fortress?" I grinned, wiggling three fingers for emphasis.

"Are we really just… ignoring Stannis' forces entirely? I mean, fleets, armies, stubbornness—they're things to consider, even if you're… you." Dany tilted her head thoughtfully. 

"Little dragon, those armies and fleets are nothing. They can be sent away, incinerated, or turned into shoes if I'm feeling particularly whimsical." 

"Let's not incinerate the people if we don't have to, okay?" Dany said uneasily. 

"Meh, it was just an option. I'll probably just send them right up to the wall. It should give us some time before he snitches on us to his brother." I shrugged.

"Hmm~ That would make it impossible for him to join up with his brother quickly." Pyra agreed.

"Not like it matters. The fighting won't start any time soon. We can even add more oil to the fire." 

"How?" Pyra asked.

"Why don't we tell Stannis that we're being paid by the Lannisters? Nobody would ask Tywin if that's true, you know? And once that gets back to Robert, he'll lose his mind." I said mischievously. 

"Won't that just make him give up though?" Dany asked concernedly.

"No. If anything, it'll light a fire under him. He won't back down." Pyra answered.

"And if he somehow does, I'll just kill them both and be done with it." I reassured Dany. 

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A shorter chapter I managed to write in the free time I got this week. There won't be a next one until maybe Friday or Saturday, as I don't exactly have much time to do any serious writing.