2

Daenerys

Daenerys didn't know what to think.

Her burnt and tired legs followed closely behind the man called Loki as he led them towards the city, and she wanted to cringe at how she must have looked in comparison to him.

The desert had been a cruel master, one she had barely survived. It had tested the limits of her strength all while taunting her with promises of refreshment. The façade of regality that she had been clinging to was barely in place towards the end of the journey and she knew her desperation had shown before the Qartheen nobility.

She didn't know if they would have been turned away, but her refusal to show them the dragons was as good as guaranteeing a dismissal. Their interest had faded to near scorn when she wouldn't reveal them.

Still…she had protected what was hers.

And then….he had come.

She fixed his back with a keen look as she trailed him, taking in the tall stature and lean form, the dark garments and the shadows that almost seemed to be attached to him. They elongated on the ground behind him, casting strange wispy vapors into the air and curling about his silhouette like they knew him intimately.

Daenerys was no stranger to magic. The last words of the witch she had enlisted to help save Drogo's life played through her mind on a near nightly basis.

In the end, whatever sorcery the woman had professed to possess hadn't worked.

It had made her distrustful of magic and wary of those who claimed to have it.

But the man Loki…his sorcery had been real.

She had seen the bird circling during the Copper King's long-winded speech and was drawn by its size. It had swooped above them many times as if searching for prey before diving towards the sand.

When its shape had fallen away to reveal a tall man, Dany had been hard pressed to keep her gasp quiet.

Fortunately the surprise of everyone else had overtaken hers.

She didn't know why she had agreed to follow him into the city. Everything about him screamed danger, from his eyes that were green as poison to his near ghostly countenance, to the too dark hair and his entire quiet but intense presence.

A part of her screamed that she was being willingly led to her demise.

But no one else had stepped forward to offer her shelter. If she had been turned away, it would most certainly have meant her death and the deaths of her people.

After everything that had happened and all that she had lost, the last thing she wanted was more blood on her hands.

What other choice did she have?

The great doors of Qarth suddenly flew open before her and she blinked with shock upon realizing that their movement had been the result of the stranger waving his hand.

Dany swallowed hard but otherwise made not a sound, even though she could hear the murmurs of her people and the grumblings of the Pureborn.

But then she got her first glimpse of the city that the Qartheen claimed was, "the greatest that ever was," and all those of her strange host fled her mind.

The buildings were a warm golden sandstone and there were pillars lining the street as far as the eye could see. If she peered off in the distance, she could see the glimmer of a manmade lake. The street before her was wide and currently occupied with chariots and horses. In the distance, she could hear shouts from what must have been a marketplace.

Shrubs and flowers were hanging from the roof of every building and their fragrance was heady and sweet, nearly giving Dany a headache.

The entire façade of the city screamed of opulence and wealth, making Dany feel even more like a peasant in her shabby and dirty clothes. Her skin itched and she longed for a bath to soak into.

She didn't stop to look for too long however, not wanting to lose track of her host and had to hurry to catch up with his long loping stride.

"It's…very grand," she said uncertainly and then wanted to smack her head at how unbelievably asinine that sounded.

The stranger spared a glance in her direction and there was a flash of something in his eyes that was either amusement or thinly veiled condescension. "For a city of men…I suppose it is."

Dany blinked and was momentarily caught off guard by the odd statement. After a moment, she shook her head and hurried to keep up with his long steps. It was yet one more reason to think of this Loki as something….other.

She kept silent but otherwise kept up her observations about him and the city as he led them through it.

Finally, they turned down a quiet street and she was relieved when she could hear the ocean in the distance. Living so close to the water had been her favorite thing about Myr. She hadn't seen it since her wedding night and even hearing that constant presence caused a lump to form in her throat.

She would later blame it on exhaustion.

They stopped at a pair of tall black wrought iron gates and Daenerys blinked when she caught sight of the house through the bars. It was easily three stories and seemed much larger than the other houses she had seen thus far.

She supposed she shouldn't be surprised, everyone in Qarth seemed to live in a palace. It was by far the richest city she had ever seen.

Loki opened the gates with a wave of his hands and the other members of her retinue jumped back, staring at their host in trepidation. She heard the mix of Dothraki and caught snatches of the conversation.

As she looked back at their host, a smirk flashed like lightning across his face before disappearing into expressionlessness once more.

"Come along," he said simply and then without waiting, led them into the house.

Ω

Dany's room was enormous.

She had been given chambers on the third floor of the house with a large bed on the left side space. There was a small pool built into the floor and straight ahead curtains blew before opening up onto a large balcony that overlooked the Jade Sea, highlighting just what a beautiful day it was.

The air smelled fresh and clean, with a hint of spices. The colors of the chamber were warm amber tones mixed with brilliant whites and sandy browns. When she stepped into it, it reminded her of the room in Myr where she had spent much of her life.

A longing for simpler times filled Daenerys and she swallowed around the lump in her throat. Now was not the time for reminiscing, she was liable to end up depressing herself.

The bath in the middle of the room looked too divine to waste and she let out an audible sigh when she contemplated being able to wash herself after wandering the desert for weeks.

Doreah and her other two handmaidens helped her into the bath and Dany sank down up to her shoulders and closed her eyes.

The water pouring over her skin was sheer bliss and for a moment the queen to be thought she might fall asleep right then.

"I feel we must be careful your grace," Doreah said in a low voice. She was glancing towards the balcony where the makeshift crate where the dragons were being housed had been placed. "I don't like the look of this man."

Daenerys raised an eyebrow at the friend that her late husband had bought for her. Normally she valued her counsel, but at the moment she was almost too tired to care. "What do you mean Doreah?"

"Did you not see his sorcery your grace?" the girl said in a low voice. "Magic is never a good omen."

"What about the night I disappeared into Drogo's pyre and remained there until dawn and then emerged without a single burn?" Dany asked with one eyebrow raised. "Was that not magic of a sort?"

The girl had the good grace to look somewhat abashed. "Forgive me your grace, I didn't mean to speak out of turn. You are a Targaryen, therefore whatever magic you possess is in your blood and is defensive rather than overt. It protects you."

"Does that make it good magic then?" Dany asked. She wasn't sure why she was feeling amused at Doreah's bluster, having similar distrustful thoughts about magic herself.

"If magic protects, then it must be a good thing," Doreah said sounding adamant. "It is magic that takes that must be avoided."

Daenerys fought back a grimace, thinking of the magic that had taken Rhaego from her. That had been dark magic.

"I think it wouldn't do for us to go making assumptions about things we don't understand," she said tipping her head back so that one of the other girls could wash her hair. "Whatever his motivations or abilities, the Lord Loki has offered us shelter when no one else did. Without his aid, it is likely that we all would have died."

At her words, Doreah fell silent and Dany knew she had won the argument. Despite her earlier distrust, she was beginning to feel more generous toward her host the longer that she stayed in the bath.

After she had lingered in the warm water to her satisfaction, Daenerys rose and put on the garments that had been put aside for her. It was a simple blue sleeveless gown with a gossamer like skirt that was light and airy, perfect for the heat of Qarth.

Once she had dressed, she walked out onto the balcony and opened the small cage doors so that the dragons could have some air.

Almost immediately, Drogon leapt up and onto the balcony railing, emitting several indignant squeaks at his mother. He had clearly detested being locked up.

"Yes my love, I'm sorry," Dany murmured stroking his head as Viserion and Rhaegal joined their brother. "I promise that I will not keep you cooped up for so long again."

The larger of the three creatures nipped her finger gently as if in admonishment and Dany laughed softly.

"We should request some food for them your grace," Doreah said coming up behind her. "They must be hungry."

"Yes, I think I'll do that," Dany said absently, more preoccupied with Drogon who was still nuzzling her hand, looking satisfied with himself. They had begun to flap about a little and fly short distances, though they couldn't do so for long.

She worried for the day when they would begin to fly consistently. They were still so small and their vulnerability would be apparent for all who saw them.

Daenerys quelled her worries for the moment by basking in the warm sun, a sun she was now glad to feel on her face. They had been enemies for weeks and she was glad that they could be friends once more.

She might have carried on like that for another hour or so had Drogon not uttered a particularly odd noise. It seemed as if he were trying to roar and failing at it.

It would have been endearing had he not done what he did next.

Spreading his small wings, the little dragon leapt off the ledge of the balcony and somehow caught an updraft of warm air, allowing him to coast down towards the ground below.

Dany was so shocked at the act that it took her a second to realize that Viserion and Rhaegal had followed their brother in doing the same thing.

Doreah gasped beside her and Dany let out a rather unladylike curse before leaning over the ledge to see if she could see them.

What would possess them to do something like that?!

She wasn't panicked, not yet but she would devolve into something similar to that if she wasn't able to catch sight of her children.

After a few seconds, Dany turned and without a word, hurried from the room.

Somehow, she managed to find her way to the bottom floor of the house, passing indoor fountains and tall plants and skidding around corners in her haste to locate her wayward dragons.

It wasn't until she dashed out one of the side entrances and found herself in an unfamiliar garden that she slid to a halt.

Gods, this was not what I needed to happen right now!

Feeling a bit like an intruder, Dany walked slowly down the path, deeper into the garden and her found herself surrounded by shrubs and blooms that she had never seen before.

A veritable smorgasbord of scents all but assaulted her as she wandered deeper in and she took a deep breath to clear her head.

Dany could tell right away that this garden seemed to be a very intimate place and she couldn't help but feeling a bit like an intruder into it. But nor did she find that she could turn back.

Tall trees lined the marble pathway, some bearing red blooms, others bearing no buds at all, their leaves sharp and a poisonous green. There were a few trees that bore white leaves and even stranger still, white branches with wicked looking spikes on them.

She avoided that one.

What is this place?

A part of her wanted to reach out and touch deep purple blooms and silver berries hanging from vines, but a cautionary voice in the back of her mind told her to keep her hands to herself.

And so she passed more and more shrubs, bushes and trees, each stranger and more beautiful than the last, all without touching them.

It wasn't until she had ventured into what she was certain was the center of the garden that that constancy was tested.

Dany found herself face to face with the tree that was no taller than she was and was dwarfed by all the other trees in the garden. Despite its stature, it was truly the most mesmerizing.

It appeared to be made of solid gold, for everything from its trunk to its branches to its leaves and finally the fruit hanging from its boughs was very nearly the color of the sun at dusk.

Magic, Dany thought to herself in a bit of a daze. That is the only way such a phenomenon is possible.

The trees that surrounded this one on the garden path seemed to tower over it like sentries and Dany knew instantly that this was the most important plant in the garden by far.

Almost as if she were a moth drawn to a flame, Dany's hand slowly rose, reaching towards the golden fruit.

"If I were you, I would be careful about touching that one."

Dany was very glad that she had not jumped from the shock of hearing that smooth voice.

She slowly turned around and found herself face to face with her host who had an unreadable expression on his face. He had changed his garments from when she had seen him earlier and was now attired in a loose fitting green tunic and dark trousers with a thin silver belt at his waist.

Green and black seemed to be his signature colors.

Standing here, in front of him, Dany was finally able to grasp just how tall he was. His heigh lent him an air of intimidation and she could see from his manner and his presence why he made the Pureborn nervous.

But she was more shocked than anything to see her dragons sitting on Loki's person. All three of them had made themselves a perch on his shoulders and even more astonishingly, they were nuzzling at the sides of his neck and ears as if they were entirely familiar and content with him.

She had never seen anything like it.

Besides herself, her dragons had only been warm with Doreah and her other servants had only treated them with great deference.

Her face must have betrayed her shock because her host raised one eyebrow at her and turned his head slightly so he could glance at Drogon. "Curious creatures aren't they?"

"How did you-" Dany found that she couldn't quite speak, so great was her surprise. "They've never taken to anyone so fast before save me!"

"Dragons are creatures of magic," the tall man said simply. "It is only natural that they are drawn to similar individuals. Our language and manner of speaking is similar after all."

Daenerys felt as if she had been knocked in the back of the head and all she could do was blink at the tall man. "Speech? You….You can communicate with them?"

He arched one dark brow as if it should have been immediately obvious to her. "All beasts have their own form of speech and communication. These creatures are no different."

"But how?" she burst out. "How can you speak with them?"

He almost seemed amused by her question. "Magic of course. Dragons have a deep seated connection to it. Any individual that possesses a modicum of magic may converse with them. Even you."

If she hadn't been so shocked, Dany might have been offended by the cursory inclusion of her person. In the face of her surprise however, it was summarily ignored.

"Can I?" she asked, certain that her eyes had grown enormous. A small part of her was whispering that she was hardly acting like the queen and Khaleesi that she was supposed to be. At the moment, that hardly seemed to matter. Loki was continuing to surprise her, as was no doubt his intention.

"It will take time," he said casually, turning his head to the other side to regard Viserion who had nipped the side of his ear affectionately.

As if time would be enough of a deterrent for her.

Dany raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring his stance. "You'll find sir that I can be very patient when I wish to be. Everything worth doing requires effort."

Something flashed in his green eyes, something that she couldn't quite catch before his expression quickly returned to neutral once more. "I suppose that is true."

They lapsed into silence for a moment and Dany scrambled to find something else to say. It was unnerving the way the man seemed so comfortable with the silence.

"Why exactly shouldn't I be touching the tree?" she asked finally because she had never received an answer earlier.

He moved closer until they were standing side by side and his height allowed him to cast a shadow that covered her utterly. It fell across her like a large wing, nearly blocking out the sun.

"It's apples are invaluable," he said mildly. "And the tree itself is charmed with a spell so that only the one that planted it can pick from its branches. Any others who try are….met with painful death."

If he was seeking to scare her, Daenerys found she wasn't all that impressed. However his deadly earnest expression convinced her she should remain cautious. "I take it this tree is a source of your magic?"

He laughed softly and Dany decided that she liked the sound, even if something told her that she shouldn't.

"Not exactly," he replied. "But in part you are correct."

Gods, everything about this man is frustratingly cryptic.

Dany opened her mouth to ask more questions when all of a sudden, Drogon leapt from Loki's shoulder to land on her own. Viserion and Rhaegal quickly followed their brother and she released a small sigh, glad that they were once more within reach.

Loki followed them with his eyes, his gaze blank but she thought she saw a hint of curiosity in those green depths. "It has been a long time since I have seen dragons. Tell me, how did you acquire them?"

Dany blinked again, once more feeling like she had been knocked sideways. "You've seen dragons before my lord?"

"Yes," he said shortly as he began to lead her back through the garden. "A very long time ago in a land much different from this one. There were many dragons there."

His tone had taken on a faraway note and Dany wondered what memory he had slipped into. "I imagine it was a wondrous place."

His expression instantly shuttered and she felt as if she had missed something. "It was."

"Is that where you learned to speak to dragons?" she asked, and found she wasn't quite willing to give up on the conversation. No one else in this land had seen dragons before and so were as obtuse about how to handle them as she had first been. The fact that he seemed as familiar with the creatures as they were comfortable with him was somehow pleasing and worry inducing.

Dany couldn't help the feeling that her dragons might wish to stay with this Loki, more than they would want to be by her side. It was a foolish notion but she couldn't help feeling the small tendril of jealousy that curled through her.

Therefore she decided that she had to know what he knew.

"Among other things," he said mildly and his reticence caused her hands to curl into fists. She had a feeling the more that she pressed the less she would learn.

Patience would have to be the thing she would need to exercise with him. His outward shell seemed incredibly hard which only made her more curious about his mind and magic worked because she had no doubt that the two were connected.

She also had a feeling that it was more than sheer goodwill that had prompted him to offer his home for her to stay in. Everything came with a price after all.

The fact that she didn't know what Loki's was, made her wary.

She opened her mouth to hedge another question but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps hurrying towards them.

She blinked when she realized that they had made it back to the mouth of the garden and she was once more in sight of the house. The sun appeared lower in the sky than when she went in, making her wonder if it wasn't only the man that was magical.

Her host had turned towards the sound and his expression was once more blank.

An unfamiliar servant hurried up to them. He was dressed in plain but fine clothes and Daenerys noted with relief that he didn't wear the same awful collar that other slaves she had seen wore.

Now is he benevolent, or all these people under the spell of his magic? Either option has merit.

The servant had hurried up to them and bowed low before Loki in a gesture of deep respect. He even closed his eyes as he did so.

Now she had even more questions.

"Yes Delfus? What is it?" Loki asked in his smooth voice.

"Forgive me for interrupting my lord but a raven has just come from the home of Xaro Xoan Daxos. It is for the lady Daenerys."

One of Loki's eyebrows twitched in response and he held out his hand for the message his servant had brought. "It seems you've caused quite the stir in the city."

"You mean they have," Daenerys said, gesturing absently to her dragons. Viserion had climbed up to rest on her hair, creating what she was certain was a humorous picture.

Loki regarded the message for a moment before snorting slightly and handing it to her. "You've created so much of a stir as to merit an invitation to one of Daxos' legendary parties. How wonderful."

There was no veil over the condescension and Dany raised an eyebrow at him as she took the message. "I take it you don't like Xaro Daxos."

"I dislike any who claim to be other than what they are."

Yet another cryptic statement.

"And what exactly does Daxos claim to be?" she asked, amused.

He didn't return her laughter, or even the smile. In fact his face grew stormy at he gazed down at her and she almost expected clouds to begin gathering. At that moment the wind picked up and she shivered slightly.

"A king," he said in a voice so low and soft it was like velvet. "But he is a fraud."

He glanced down at the invitation in her hands. "Will you attend?"

Dany still hadn't looked at the words on the page, her attention completely taken up by the man in front of her. "Will you come?"

He arched an eyebrow at her and she blinked, wondering where on earth the request had come from. They barely knew each other. She scrambled to cover up the forward statement with etiquette. "It would be unseemly to show up without a chaperone."

The amusement was back. He regarded her for a long time, looking intently into her eyes as if he were searching for something important.

Though her skin began to prickly beneath the intensity, she refused to look away, sensing that he was testing her.

"I suppose I could make the event my purpose for the evening," he said without looking away. "Who knows, it might even turn out to be glorious."

Dany released a breath and glanced down at the parchment, noting the time of the party to be for the following evening. "Excellent. Thank you."

He inclined his head briefly and then turned to walk away. Before he had gone more than a few feet however, he called back over his shoulder. "If you wish to enjoy the garden, feel free my lady. But I would caution against leaving the garden path. Not every plant in there has blooms."

Before Dany could reply, he had turned the corner and disappeared, not making a sound as he glided across the ground.

She shook her head to herself and released another breath. The more she saw of him, the more questions she had.

The former Khaleesi glanced down at the invitation and exhaled sharply through her nose. She felt like she had just been through a strange test. Whether or not she had passed was still up for debate.

As Daenerys looked down at the invitation, she had a feeling that tomorrow night would see her faced with another one.

Ω

Keep an eye on the garden. It's going to be important later. Coming up next, Dany and Loki make an appearance at Daxos' party, some other very familiar faces show up to cause trouble and more important conversations are had, along with some surprising revelations. Don't forget to review!