POV: Danny.
The morning air was cool as I slipped out through the servants' entrance of the manse.
A thick hooded cloak covered me from head to toe, heavy enough to hide my silver hair. Vermax sat on my shoulder beneath the hood.
"Left," he whispered in my ear, his voice barely audible. "Past the fountain, then toward the market square."
I walked carefully, keeping my head down. Guards stood at the main gate, but they paid no attention to a cloaked servant.
As we passed them, Vermax suddenly spoke again, but this time his voice was different. Deeper, rougher.
"Clear morning for a walk," he said, perfectly mimicking one of the guards.
I nearly stumbled. The guards glanced our way, nodded, and turned back to their posts. They thought another guard was inside the hood.
"That was..." I breathed.
"Useful," Vermax finished quietly. "Keep walking."
The market square was already busy despite the early hour. Merchants called out their wares. Children ran between stalls. The smell of cooking meat and fresh bread filled the air.
A small boy approached me, no more than seven years old, carrying wooden skewers of roasted meat. "Fresh goat! Only a copper!"
I stopped and looked at the skewers.
"I will take two," I said softly.
The boy handed them over eagerly. I reached into the small purse I had brought and pulled out the only coin inside. A gold dragon.
"I... I do not have change for this. This is too much."
"Keep it," I started to say.
"No," Vermax whispered sharply in my ear. Then in his normal parrot voice, "Bad idea! Bad idea!"
I froze. "What? Why?"
"If you give him that much," Vermax said quietly, "others will see. They will know he has gold. They will rob him, maybe worse. A child with gold in this part of the city is a target."
My face flushed with shame. I had not thought of that. "But I have no other coin..."
"Wait," Vermax said.
Before I could ask what he meant, he vanished from my shoulder in a blur of motion. He moved so fast I barely saw him leave. One moment he was there, the next he had vanished.
I stood frozen, holding the gold coin, while the boy waited nervously.
Then something pressed into my palm. I looked down. A silver coin sat in my hand, warm as if it had just been held by someone else.
Vermax was back on my shoulder, his talons gripping my cloak. "Silver," he whispered. "Much better."
I stared at the coin, then at the boy. "Here. This is for you."
The boy took the silver coin, grinning widely. "Thank you!" He ran off before I could say more.
I started walking again, heading back toward the manse. My heart was pounding.
"Vermax," I whispered. "Did you... Did you steal that silver?"
"Yes," he said simply.
"That is wrong. You cannot just..."
"I also stole the gold coins in your purse, which you've been spending for the past week." Vermax continued, as if I had not spoken. " Don't worry, I found those gold coins while completing my task, there were plenty of them from where I took them."
I stopped walking. "What task?"
"Finding things," Vermax said. His voice was calm, patient, like a teacher explaining something to a child. "Dragon eggs. And a sword called Blackfyre."
The world seemed to tilt.
"Dragon eggs?" I breathed. "Dragon eggs?"
"Illyrio has them. Three of them, petrified, turned to stone. He keeps them locked away in a vault beneath his manse. Along with the sword of Aegon the Conqueror."
My legs felt weak. I leaned against a nearby wall, my breath coming fast. "Why... why would he have those things?"
Vermax was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was gentler. "Because Illyrio is not what he seems. He is not your friend. He is not helping you out of kindness."
"What do you mean?"
"He wants to sell you to the Dothraki," Vermax said bluntly. "Your brother will agree to it without thinking. They will trade you like a broodmare for horses and swords."
"Why?" I whispered, and my vision started blurring because of tears. "Why would he do this?"
"Because his wife was a Blackfyre," Vermax said. "Serra, her name was. She died years ago, but before she did, she bore Illyrio a son. That son is alive now, pretending to be Aegon Targaryen, your brother's son who died as a baby."
I could not breathe. Could not think.
"Illyrio wants his son on the Iron Throne," Vermax continued. "But he needs the realm destabilized first. He needs Westeros to be weak and broken. So he makes deals with people like your brother. Promises armies that will never come. All so his fake Aegon can swoop in and save the day."
"No," I said, though I did not know what I was denying. "That cannot be true."
"It is true. I have seen the documents. I have heard the conversations through doors and windows. Illyrio is a liar and a schemer, and your brother is too blind with ambition to see it."
We started walking again. I moved numbly, barely aware of where I was going. Vermax guided me with quiet directions.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked. My voice sounded small, broken.
"Because my creator sent me to watch over you," Vermax said. "He knows what is coming. He knows you will suffer if you do not know the truth."
"Your creator. Who is he?"
"He will tell you himself, when the time comes," Vermax said.
We reached the manse. I slipped back through the servants' entrance, my mind spinning with everything Vermax had told me.
Dragon eggs. A false Aegon. Illyrio's scheming and my brother's blindness.
I climbed the stairs to my room, my legs heavy. When I opened the door, I froze.
Viserys stood inside, his back to me. He was looking at my bed, where I had arranged pillows beneath the blanket to make it appear as if I were still sleeping.
He turned as I entered. His expression was... excited. Almost manic?!
"There you are," he said, not seeming to notice my cloak or the fact that I had been sneaking out?
"I have news, sweet sister, wonderful news."
I pulled back my hood slowly. Vermax stayed hidden beneath my cloak. "What news?"
"Illyrio has made a deal with the Dothraki," Viserys said, his eyes bright. "A marriage contract. You will wed Khal Drogo, and in exchange, he will give us an army. Ten thousand screamers! Can you imagine?"
I could not speak.
"We are getting our throne back," Viserys continued. He grabbed my shoulders, shaking me slightly. I could smell wine on his breath; he was too drunk.
"Do you understand? Everything we have suffered, everything we have endured... it was all worth it. We are going home."
Home, I thought. But the house with the red door was gone. Ser Willem was dead. And the only home I had ever truly known had been taken from me years ago.
"When?" I managed to say.
"Soon. Very soon. Illyrio is arranging a feast where you will meet the Khal. You must make a good impression, Dany. You must make him want you."
I nodded numbly.
Viserys smiled and left, practically bouncing with excitement.
I closed the door behind him and leaned against it. My whole body was trembling.
Vermax emerged from beneath my cloak and flew to the windowsill.
"He does not know," the bird said quietly. "He does not see the trap."
"And I do," I whispered. "But what can I do about it?"
"I can help you," Vermax said. "But, you will have to leave your brother behind."
….
(A)N: I will upload extra chapters according to the power stones received.)