bakerstreet | (no subject)

[Even queens who are so often supervised, who have few opportunities not to be, have their few moments alone, and Daenerys demands it. Having time to collect her thoughts is important, and though she so often has guards to watch for her, she is aware enough of her surroundings that the slightest abnormality catches her attention.

What this means is the second she hears a rustling in this still-largely-unknown forest, she's whirling around in its direction.]

Hello? Reveal yourself.

[Jeyne had not intended to sneak up on the queen while she was alone, but the gods had seemingly planned it that way without telling her. She found the queen fascinating - both beautiful and strong, and perhaps the answer to a prayer Jeyne whispered every night before falling asleep. At Daenerys's call she steps out from behind the tree, a sheepish expression on her face, and drops to her knees.]

Please forgive me, your grace.

[Once Daenerys sees who it is, she feels immediately that she overreacted. She still does not know the other woman very well, which means that she still does not particularly trust her (no reflection on Jeyne, but every reflection on Daenerys' own position and the world they live in), but she does not mean to take offense at her presence.]

Rise. [As she lifts her hand.] It's not of concern, it's just that one can never be too careful.

[Jeyne does as she is bid, rising to her feet but with her eyes still down in deference. She has only spoken with Daenerys once, when she was introduced to her. They'd exchanged few words, though Jeyne felt that if given the opportunity they would have much to talk about. They shared the grief felt by one who loses their love.]

I would never harm you, your grace. You... you are my last hope.

[Daenerys studies Jeyne for a moment, careful to appear as nonthreatening as she can (of course she is nonthreatening, at least now, but she is still careful, there is no telling about such things) and genuinely curious. She has heard such things, and she can suspect the motivation behind them, but she wants to hear Jeyne's from her own mouth.]

What do you mean, my lady?

[Jeyne sighs, then takes several deep breaths. She has rehearsed what she is about to say dozens of times, in her mind. She's changed it and revised it and tried to talk herself out of saying it at all, but the moment has come and there is no going back.]

Revenge, your grace. Nothing would make me happier than to see you succeed in regaining your throne - because those you would kill in the process are the same who murdered my husband and took my happiness from me.

I have little to offer you, but I promise you I will do everything and anything I can to help you. All I ask in return is that you allow me to present when justice is dealt to the Lannisters.

[For true, she understands everything that the other woman says. She listens with no small amount of interest, and she's glad to hear it, for the most part. She's glad to hear when someone has personal reasons for their loyalty; she hopes that will make it stronger.]

And I, in return, make that promise to you. It is only fair.

Quietly, though, she has to add:] It may not solve everything, but it is a balm of sorts.

[Her response is more than Jeyne had dared hope for. She smiles widely despite the tears in her eyes. If Daenerys were not the queen, but just another woman, she would have hugged her.]

Words cannot express my gratitude, your grace. You may already know, but I have extensive knowledge of the healing arts. Everything I know I lay at your feet. Use me as you will.

[Perhaps it's for the better that propriety stands in the way of that gesture; Daenerys has been so rarely embraced that she might not know quite what to do with it, but in all honesty she would rather welcome it. Affectionate shows of gratitude were something she could always use more of.

As it was, she offered a slightly wider smile and nod to Jeyne.]

I have heard this, and I'm sure we will have need of your knowledge someday soon.

I do hope so.

[Jeyne did not expect charity or kindness from others without paying for it - at least not any more. She'd grown up so naive and trusting, so sweet and kind-hearted. Now her heart was shattered into a million pieces, each too small to hold an ounce of anything but hatred.]

May I also express my condolences, your grace, on the death of your husband. From all accounts he was a fine warrior.

[In many ways, Daenerys could say the same: naive, certainly, though it was possible she had never known truly what trust meant, only following out of a lack of other options. Her own heartbreak had been long enough ago that she knew how to cope with it somewhat, but it still had a way of causing her to falter if alluded to.]

Thank you, my lady. [A long, long pause, then, under her breath.] May he ride through the Night Lands forever.

We have even more in common, your grace. I too have lost a brother. He was killed in the same slaughter that took my husband. It comforts me to know that you might be able to understand my pain.

[Jeyne mourned her elder brother Raynald nearly as much as she did Robb. They had not been extremely close, but she had relied on him for advice and protection more than once. She could not have asked for a better brother.]

I have heard. [A respectful nod.] My deepest condolences, the loss of family is -- is difficult.

[She didn't speak of her own brother at all; the circumstances were hardly the same. Viserys was cruel, he had sold her for the promise of something he wasn't fit to have, his death was far from noble and indeed because he had threatened her own life. But still she had mourned for him as well. The idea of him, perhaps.]

Indeed it is.

[Jeyne's hands shook with the effort it took for her not to cry. The Queen was always so strong - she needed to be too if she was going to impress her.]

May I escort you on your walk, your grace? It seems silly for us both to go walking through these woods alone.

[Oftentimes, it wasn't strength so much as a sort of fear of its own: a fear that any crack in her facade would discredit her in others' eyes. She didn't let people see her cry because it was more trouble than it was worth, really.

The question made her smile, though, more genuinely.]

I would like that very much, my lady.

[Jeyne positively beamed with pride. She, Jeyne Stark, would be accompanying the Queen herself!]

This place is quite lovely. It is very different from Westeros, but it holds its own unique beauty. When I left there I did not know if I would ever return. Now I find that I do not miss it.

[Daenerys' own smile stayed still a bit small, but it was sincere. She meant it wholly. She did not truly have friends anymore (had only done for the briefest of times) but friendly moments were appreciated.]

There are times when I wonder, I admit. [Before she could think better of it.] About my designs on a place I've never known. Would you humor me with a story?

Of course, your grace. On anything in particular?

If it would not be too much trouble, a pleasant one, rich with details. I wish to know more of the land I'm to return to.

Oh. Alright, your grace. Though I must confess I have not seen much of Westeros other than my own home.

[Jeyne sighed, already feeling like a disappointment to the queen. The Crag was such a pathetic place. She wished she had been to the capital at least once, so that she could describe it even in moderate detail.]

I hail from The Crag, along the western coast, just north of Casterly Rock. It was once large and grand, but the gold mines that funded my family ran dry, and the castle fell into disrepair by the time I was born. I... I wish I had something grander to tell you. Something about The Wall or King's Landing or even the riverlands.

[A slight frown, though mostly because she could assume the other woman's second-guessing.]

There is no need to apologize. I wish to learn of all of the country, of all of its people and their lands. Go on, if you wish to.

Alright. Umm...

Our castle was by the shore. It was very rocky and the beach was narrow. You had to know just the right path to get down to the shore, and of course my older brother showed it to me as soon as I was old enough to walk. I then in turn taught it to my younger sister. Every day when our lessons with the septa were over we would go down and watch the waves coming in and collect seashells. She said it was our duty to have all the shells in the whole world, because it's the sigyl of our house.

One day when she was about 10, she insisted we bring a wheelbarrow down to the beach with us. She spent all afternoon filling it up, and by the time the sun went down she was too tired to walk back up to the castle. I had to put her on top of her hoard and push them both back up the path. I almost spilled them both several times, but we made it.

A few weeks later she gave me a crown she had painstakingly made from those shells, and she declared me queen of the shore. I thought at the time that being it would be the only time anyone would ever call me a queen. I guess I was wrong about that.

[Daenerys was quiet as she listened, nibbling her lip and nodding in the right moments. It was a simple story, true, but full of many things that she herself had never properly known -- sisterhood, even just innocent familial bonds, playful domesticity.]

Do you miss it? [Her home, the title, anything Jeyne wished to answer.]

The Crag? Oh, not in the least. It was gray and dreary and often the weather was poor. I love it here, the sun is nearly always shining. It's as if my blood knows that it's come home. My great-grandmother on my mother's side was from the Summer Isles.

[Jeyne paused, thinking again on her sister, Eleyna.]

I do miss my sister. I wanted to bring her with me but it was not possible. I pray every day that she does not fall victim to our mother's treachery, as I did.

Re: Daenerys Targaryen || GoT/ASOIAF

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