pirated content

Taenerys and Viserys were in his room, unchanged and with nothing in there being Viserys property, a statement of decadence and poverty. His and her clothes had been used for years with few times having the privilege of being cleaned, and they were alone, as they had always been when they wanted to discuss.

Taenerys looked at Viserys directly to the eyes, she was far shorter than him but for Viserys it felt like she was seeing an equal, his only equal. She had not always been like this, at first she was shy and would not talk much, more like a passive bystander. But suddenly one day she began to act, to ask, to do.

Her actions did not make sense many times until he was able to see the greater picture, from there came the trust he had in some of her ideas, the respect he gave to her and why sometimes he was willing to hear her even if he wouldn't have heard any other person.

"Tany, this is our opportunity!" Claimed an illusioned Viserys, as if he had to defend his arguments in front of her, as if he had to explain everything he did to her. Such was her authority in the family and such a thing Viserys expected from her too.

He continued talking.

"If it is true that the usurper has ruined Westeros to the point where the peasants are willing to rebel against him? Peasant revolts are very common, they are just an elemental part of how the world works, and when they rise up in rebellion we can use and guide them to victory and recover our kingdom! Imagen, the ending of the suffering and the struggle, the moment we can return to our legitimate place in this world"

Taenerys sighed, she understood the need to recover Westeros at any cost, she also had it. Not because of a desire to govern or have power but because she just wanted an easy life. Such a thing was sadly impossible, she was born in a condition where any other human would break or go mad.

"Essos and Westeros are so near each other… do you really believe that if a peasant revolt to re-establish the Targaryen dynasty was so near to erupt and so clear rumours would not be already here? If it was as clear as the water then so many people would kneel to us trying to gain our good will. But what happened mere days ago? The Golden Company eaten your food and drink your wine, laughing at you"

"But they are fools! They only want the short term benefit, their peasant minds are unable to think at the long term"

"I agree, not because they are peasants but because they lack education. But my point still stands strong and is that if Illyrio's words are true then more rich and noblemen would have come to help or seek our favor. That did not happen, neither we had heard any of these rumours. What if he is lying to us? Wanting to gain some benefit from our desire to recover what is ours?"

"Like which?" Asked angered Viserys, Taenerys could see in his face the anger, such had been his natural state for years, angerment after angerment, like a consuming fuse his once grand patience began to disappear, his kind words became insults and his caring hands became punishing punches.

"I don't know and that is what I fear the most, that I don't know yet which might be his intentions"

"You are overthinking it"

"You are underthinking it!" Raising her voice Taenerys, "You have always underthinked everything and here we are!"

Taenerys was not different from Viserys. Ten years of war had destroyed any patience in her, ten years of war and twenty of extreme poverty had made her someone that could fall into fury in mere seconds, but she, contrary to his brother, hide it, like a monster trying to act as a human she hide herself under the mask of a smile or indifference only to explode in front of the only person she trusted in this her third life.

Viserys Targaryen.

Words became violence, Viserys raised his hand as if he was to punish her and she reacted, punching him as hard as she could in the stomach. He flinched in pain, Taenerys always aimed to the weaker parts, but he was strong and the pain did not stop him from retaliating, pushing his own sister with force against the bed. This was not unilateral violence, both participated in it and none of them were the victims.

They both were the aggressors.

Taenerys left a pitiful scream when her back crashed against the bed, Viserys approached but did not attacked yet, wanting to see if her sister would surrender, but she did not, trying to punch him in the private parts he reacted by taking her from the throat and raising her up to later crash her against the soft part of the bed, making her bounce slightly.

Viserys violence was a controlled one, he did not want to damage her or kill her, probably if that happened he would kill himself too. But they both knew that violence was their form of stress relief, after failing, suffering, begging, starving and suffering the misery there were almost no tears left to cry, they almost never had happy moments, they never had a moment of comfort, they never had a moment where they could rest, they had never succeeded.

When the most normal ways of stress relief were no more accessible, when there was no moment where they could happily sit and debate, they succumbed to the most basic instinct and way of relieving stress.

Violence.

These were not fights, these were arguments made with strength, this was their way to take out the stress of the debates, to take out the stress of failure, to take out the stress of being alive in such a miserable condition.

Viserys' hand approached Taenerys' face with the intention to caress her not knowing if she would fight back, he had to take this risk as the stronger partner, knowing when she could not fight back or if she was too beaten to continue.

She was his only source of happiness, he had to protect her, she was his dragon.

Taenerys bit Viserys fingers and he had to back down from the offer of truce.

A wild dragon she was.

She rose from the bed, trying to punch him in the face, succeeding on hitting his nose and making him fall some steps back, a little trail of blood began to fall from his nose. In pain and violence there was something that made both of them feel the peace they so desperately needed.

Viserys put his fingers on the blood trail and saw the blood, he did not understood why for months he had a dream about islands, fire and blood, Taenerys had said that it was nothing and she was probably right.

"Tany… I am sorry"

These fights were not a need of winning or losing, they had always been about bringing both to the point where they could rest in peace, where they could take the frustration from their insides. No one would be able to understand their relationship, probably not even if they attempted to explain it.

Taenerys who had her hands up lowered them, her back hurt and her head was shaking, the adrenaline was still in her body but it began to disappear. Viserys approached her and sat in the bed where Taenerys was standing up, she looked down at him and then sat also in the bed.

For Taenerys this relationship was the same as it was for Viserys, otherwise she would not be part of such acts or would be by his side. It was a contract of two, a non accorded or spoken contract but a contract where both knew every detail of it.

Slowly like how a flower would unfurl its petals both laid in the bed and hugged each other, they were now resting both physically and mentally. These were the moments where both were in their best form, after violence they became able to be more rational, to have clarity, to see through so many things.

"Why are you sorry brother?"

"For everything, for failing, for making you like this, for all the fights. I was alone… you are the only one I can trust in and yet I do these things to you"

He knew this was wrong, but he sometimes wondered what type of person would have been without Taenerys. Maybe he would be even more violent? Maybe more stupid? Would he make worse or better decisions? He did not know the answer to these questions.

"It is okay" Said Taenerys to him, "Life is very harsh, as long as we keep going it is going to be fine…"

Viserys thought of the words -keep going- and tried to predirect where it would be that would leave him.

He honestly didn't know, he just wanted to rest, he wanted to have a happy life, and the only way to achieve such a thing was to recover what was once theirs.

What was once theirs… The blood of his nose reminded him of the nightmares but he ignored them, putting his head on Taenerys' shoulder.

"If even what he says is real…" Taenerys said, "We should not trust him, because peasant rebellions are rebellion of peasants… What decides a battle is not the amount of peasants with rusty farming tools or spears but the amount of knights… the amount of nobles with good armor and strong horses breed for war. Of course a big enough peasant rebellion could have enough numbers to make an army of knights be defeated, but that only would happen if somehow all the peasants of Westeros decided to ignore their lords… rationally speaking"

"A peasant revolt would always fail" Finished Viserys, to which Taenerys nodded.

"But then what do we do with Illyrio? What if we refuse his help on the idea of taking over Westeros and he then forces us to leave his house? Should we play along with his desire but not take actions on the matter?"

Taenerys nodded.

"That should be the smartest thing to do… I am finalizing my project you have been financing. I am sure that once I have finished I will able to give ourselves enough economic independence to ignore him… but for now we should play his game"

Viserys nodded and as his blood staining Taenerys' clothes he closed his eyes, resting on her shoulder, because for the first time it wasn't he who had to do everything, because for the first time in many years he could depend on someone else instead of having his two sisters depending on him.

The pressure on his shoulders was slightly relieved as he began to dream, dream of an unending fog.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three Targaryen were bathing together, after Viserys had woken up he found that his bleeding nose had made a mess of Taenerys and his clothes. Illyrio was quick to offer his help in both new clothes and a warm bath.

Daenerys was invited by Taenerys to come with them and for the first time in a long time they had a moment of no-stress the three at the same time.

Illyrio had offered, in good will, his servants to clean them but Taenerys had claimed that she preferred that no stranger saw her body naked.

The warm bath was as big as a small swimming pool for Taenerys' first life experiences. It was not deep but it was pretty long. The architecture of it revealed that there was once a time where this bath had been used for social events.

"I wish the water could be warmer" Taenerys said as she relaxed in the water, steam rising from the water as if it was trying to please the Targaryens with its relaxing and comforting dance.

Viserys did not answer or care about what was happening around him, he was half asleep half awake, the warmth of the water reminded him of his infancy, before everything went to hell, when he would not want to bathe because he was too much of an enthusiast kid.

"The water is just mild" Said Daenerys, for the three of them the water temperature felt like a normal summer day, the rays of the sun bathing them with warmth just above the normal.

The welcoming warmth of the bath was the closest thing they had ever experienced to security and safety in years, like nothing bad could happen, like nothing could ruin this moment.

Daenerys saw her sister that tried to swim a little bit in the bath, going from Visery side of the bath to the opposite side many times, her swim was soft and delicate for she had not as much space to do such an action freely and without thought, but it still made her spend energy and allowed her to feel more relaxed.

Slowly Daenerys moved from Viserys side to the other side of the bath, intercepting Taenerys when she came close to her.

"What do you want?" Asked Taenerys, it was not her usually indifferent or angry tone, which made Daenerys happy.

"What have you discussed?" She asked, with shyness pouring in each action and word, as if she feared that this question could cause the fury of her sister. But she did not answered with fury, instead she sat right next to her, the water poured from Taenerys hair like it was a waterfall, making a loud sound that with the seconds eased, passing from a strong flow of water falling from her hair to continuous lines of water advancing across her white skin until they returned to the bath

Taenerys did not know if to trust Daenerys with the plan they had come with, she could trust his brother, could she trust her sister?

She didn't know, honestly she did not. She could try to trust her but what would be the consequences if her trust was misplaced and Daenerys ended up making their plan fail? But she knew that it could be worse if she ended up losing Daenerys trust because of small actions like this.

"Sister, can you promise to keep a secret?"

Daenerys nodded and Taenerys approached her ear, whispering in it.

"We have changed the plan slightly for now. We will no longer seek to reconquer Westeros immediately, instead we will be creating roots in Essos that allow us for a later reconquest"

It was enough information to keep her sister satisfied but without the details that could ruin the plan. It was the perfect balance.

"You have won?" Said Daenerys surprised, "After so many years and discussions brother finally will hear you?" She asked surprised, she had not picked a side in this matter but she had always known that the real problem between the two was not about what should be done but about how it was done.

"Relatively speaking, yes I have won"

Taenerys thought of doing a small gesture of kindness but she did not know how to, her emotional relationship with her brother could not be reenacted on her sister, she thought of what a good sister would do but only the cliche actions of animes and movies came to her mind. With rose her hand, unsure of this action, and then began to caress Daenerys hair with softness.

For the first time Taenerys had shown an actual show of affection to her sister, one that did not require Daenerys active search for it. Fearing breaking the moment she remained silent, enjoying how her sister shared her own warmth in her, giving her a sensation of security she had felt a few times.

"I am not the best sister, I know. But in the end I do it all for our better future, just like Viserys" She said, a lie, if she could Daenerys would be the coin used in an exchange that would give her a better future.

"I am sure sister"

Daenerys dared to hug her sister. Her heart was in confusion, not knowing if this action would break Taenerys' moment of voluntary bonding, but the moment did not break.

It was a happy time, those that happened so few times, one where the whole surviving Targaryen dynasty was happy.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three days had passed since the bath together, Taenerys and Daenerys both had silk clothes that left little to imagination and for the first time in a decade Viserys wore clothes that a King would wear. Illyrio had not pressed the matter of the reconquest of Westeros even if he seemed to have been in so much hurry on the first day.

"I wonder if I will get the bullet right this time" Said Taenerys as she was in the garden of Illyrio's mansion. sitting and looking at Taenerys were her sister and brother, who passed their boring free time seeing their sister talking of alchemy and engineering. She said that she could recreate the power of the dragons with "science" but none of them believed her.

Still, there was some entertainment in seeing her work in her projects, from time to time she would use her knowledge to impress them or to do acts that would gain them some money. Sometimes these attempts of impressing ended up in a complete failure.

Months ago, even years. Neither Daenerys or Viserys remembered, she made a bet with a rich merchant, saying that she could turn the sky blue in the night. She filled strange objects attached to sticks with her recently created gunpowder, something she had been trying to create for years. When the night came she began to put the things she had created on fire, making them fly with thunderous sounds and exploding in the air, turning the night into day and painting the darkness in blue.

As impressive and fascinating as it had been for Daenerys and Viserys at that time the merchant saw it with horror, accusing Taenerys of witchcraft and making the city expel them for alternating the laws of nature, since then she had never repeated such a thing ever.

Viserys remembered with sadness the disillusioned face his sister had at that moment, how she expected praise from the people, how she expected this to bring money to them. Instead it forced them to abandon the city. It was the only moment in his life where he saw her cry, soon her sadness became fury, she insulted them back, she promised them that she would destroy their walls and ignorance with weapons more terrifying than a Dragon. It did not help the situation of exile back then.

Taenerys took from the table in the garden a paper cylinder that had a piece of metal in one end and gunpowder in the other. She explained to them many months ago that the logic is that the explosion would make the bullet move to a speed faster than any arrow, capable of penetrating the strongest of armors.

Viserys would not believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.

"Are you ready?" Said she while putting the paper cylinder in the metal tube sustained by wood. This "weapon" was a small thing, the size of a large knife or there about, she used a little stick to push the paper all the way in, then poured a little bit of the gunpowder on one side of the "weapon", between the moving jaws with a piece of stone between and the little metal plate the stone would hit, she moved the plate of metal to cover the powder and then pulled on the jaws once more. Once the procedure that she repeated like it was a religious thing was finished she moved away from it.

"Is it dangerous?" Asked Viserys, he had seen her do various experiments with the same type of "weapon" and sometimes it made a loud noise, sometimes it did not noise at all but she always moved away from it, not daring to shoot it with her own hands.

"No, not really. If it has worked a hundred times before it will work now, it is just a matter of general safety!" She said, taking the small rope into her hands, being the other end in the trigger of the weapon.

She pulled from it and the trigger was moved, making the mechanism work, Viserys and Taenerys looked with attention at it, expecting the theory Taenerys explained so much to happen.

A loud explosion occurred and the wood parts of the weapon broke down and the metal piece of the weapon shattered, making its components move at incredible speeds everywhere. Viserys protected Daenerys from any damage by putting his back between the weapon and her. It was an act of instinct but Daenerys felt his hug and desired to last long. But as fast as the weapon had destroyed itself the danger passed even faster.

"Tany!" Screamed Viserys as he broke the hug to Daenerys and runned towards her, she was on her knees, her right hand bleeding. Viserys looked worried at her seeing the small stone from the jaws covered in his sister's blood near to her. He rapidly ignored this and instead tried to help his wounded sister who was swearing like she was a commoner.

"Fuck! Fuck this shit! Why is it so difficult to get a fucking functional weapon! Fucking six years to create gunpowder and now this!" She screamed as she tried to cover her wound with her left hand, blood pouring from it like it was a fountain.

Servants came into the garden running as they heard the explosion and the screams. The personal guard also came in expecting a battle but instead they found a brother by her sister's side, using his silk clothes to cover her wound.

"Somebody call a healer!" Screamed one of the guards.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Illyrio looked at the three Targaryens as they ate dinner, their day had been problematic since the weird experiment of the Philosopher Princess. He had heard that she was capable of using magic to change reality, but when he saw what she was creating he only saw a broken stick and some black dust covering the ground.

Whatever experiment it was, it had failed and a healer was needed to save her from losing her hand, not that she had been cooperative at all. Asking constantly for the tools and hands of the healer being cleaned with soap and demanding that warm water be constantly poured on the wound with soup in order to "disinfect it"

She was a weird girl, but he had to keep them by his side so he kept pouring more money and giving what they wanted. It was all worth it.

"Would you mind Princess sharing the intricate mechanism of your invention? I might help you"

"I doubt it" She said before being helped to eat by Daenerys, "What I am creating will revolutionize the world, but every time I fail in making it right… I am trying to make four hundred years of advancement in a few years…"

None present in the table could understand what she was saying, Illyrio, seeing that she was unwilling to explain herself, took his attention to Viserys.

"Your majesty, have you thought about what I said in our first meeting? The Baratheons and their allies had been tyrans to the peasantry and it might be relevant to try and capitalize so far this situation"

Viserys thought of what Illyrio was saying to him, keeping eyes on Taenerys covered wound from time to time.

"I had been thinking about it. It is true that I have had little time to learn about strategy, tactics and war in general, so I should probably trust other people's opinion on the matter. Such as you"

Taenerys and Daenerys paid attention to what Viserys was about to say.

"The situation I have been in is so unfortunate that an education most kings would have access to I did not. But still I remember Robert's rebellion. Knights with good armor are basically unkillable by the peasants. Will we have the support of knights? Either swordsman on foot with armors or chivalry?"

"Well, I am sure that we would have..:" Viserys cut Illyrio before he could finish.

"Which houses support us then?"

Illyrio remained silent and Taenerys smiled to herself.

"I believe" Continued Viserys, "That without armored troops any war against Westeros will be lost and to my knowledge the free city of Essos do not have precisely and abundance of them"

Viserys was fighting against his own desire in trying to convince Illyrio of not jumping straight into Westerors. It felt like he was betraying himself but as the words came in he could not stop.

"Maybe we could gain some sort of tactical advantage over them if we relied on numerical superiority but the logistics of doing such an invasion from Essos would cost more money than I believe you will ever have"

"We could use mercenaries and use the resources of the people in Westeros for logistics."

"Sack the realm I want to govern? Am I not supposed to be a better alternative to the usurper? How would I be any better if I sack my own subjects who are loyal to me?!"

Illyrio understood the situation rapidly, whatever conversation Taenerys and Viserys had they had come to conclusions that worked against his own interest, it seemed that the "dragon" had two heads.

"My lord, it might be that you are right… really war is a problematic matter, numbers many times can confuse me, I thought numerical superiority was enough to win wars"

"Technically speaking…" Taenerys said, surprising her brother and her host that put their attention on her.

"Technically speaking princess?" Insisted Illyrio

"I am creating a weapon that could be capable of making the most famelic peasant be able to kill a knight in the most modern armor"

Illyrio laughed with measure and respect.

"I am sure such a weapon would revolutionize the world, but such a thing is impossible princess, not even the most powerful bows are capable of penetrating an armor"

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Illyrio's servants worked in silence, scrubbing the stone floor of the garden, trying to erase the evidence of what had transpired. Blood mixed with black dust, staining the cracks between the stones. The night loomed at the horizon, deepening the shadows, yet there was still enough light to work without the flicker of torches.

Shattered remnants of Taenerys' experiment lay scattered like the remains of a broken promise. Small, jagged fragments—twisted and charred—were carefully gathered, placed on a table in case she still found use for them.

The servants kept their heads low, hands busy, but their eyes flickered toward the mansion doors as they creaked open.

Taenerys led the way, her steps deliberate, unfaltering. Behind her, Daenerys followed, silent as a shadow, then Viserys, his expression taut, and finally, Illyrio, his usual smugness tempered with something more cautious tonight.

The servants instinctively worked faster. The less attention they drew, the better.

The group moved deeper into the garden, stopping beside a weathered rock column. Taenerys lifted her remaining hand, pointing at something on its surface, her voice measured, her words deliberate.

The servant nearest—one tasked with sweeping the gunpowder into careful piles—risked a glance and, unintentionally, caught her words.

"I need only two things to change this world—money and time."

Illyrio exhaled sharply, shifting his weight. There was something rare in his voice—hesitation, even unease. "How much money?"

"For now, five hundred golden dragons." Taenerys' tone was unnervingly calm for a woman who had nearly lost her hand.

Illyrio's laughter was short, wary. "That is a fortune."

"It is an investment," she corrected smoothly. "One that will put my brother on the throne and make you even richer than you already are. And, of course, it will all be formalized in a contract."

Silence.

Illyrio stroked his thick, bejeweled fingers through his beard, mulling over the proposal. His sharp merchant's mind was at war with something deeper, something instinctual.

Then, finally, he gave a slow nod. "I will invest."

The servant swallowed, his grip tightening around his broom as he dared another look.

Taenerys smiled.

It was not the smile of a merchant striking a bargain, nor a noblewoman sealing an alliance. It was something far colder. Sharper. The kind of smile that belonged to a woman who would kill gods if given the chance.

The servant quickly averted his gaze, pretending not to have seen, not to have heard. He focused on his task, brushing the black dust into his pan, oblivious to the fact that history was being made mere steps away.