ENCHANTED, robb stark

(19) Death Sentence

ENCHANTED

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THE DAYS FOLLOWING ROBERT'S ATTACK AND VISERYS' DEATH SLOWLY began to turn into weeks. Those weeks had began to turn into months, and now it had officially been three months since everything had happened.

Three months since Rhaenerys had heard anything from or about Robb. Three months she had been left in pain and a pit of anxiety, looking for ravens or Direwolf sigils that just weren't there. Three months of sickness, though the Maester said it was normal since Rhaenerys had literally been worrying herself sick.

She sent countless of Raven's to King's Landing and even Winterfell, but it seemed Robb wasn't at either of those as no ravens ever came back.

Rhaenerys had cried endlessly but for the past months, Ser Barris was the only one present enough to ever comfort her during the nights she'd wake up crying.

Daenerys loved her niece, but ever since the death of her brother that meant she was now Queen of the Kingdoms. A rightful title, but a stressful one considering how much her brother left messed up.

There was the matter of their finances, the matter of their relationship with their people, but most importantly there was the matter of their allies.

With Viserys gone many rejoiced, but also many had disdain to see a woman on the throne.

Some of the houses that pledged themselves loyal because of Rhaenerys also left during her absence and her withdrawal when she came back.

Their armies had shrunk, their dragons were depressed like Rhaenerys, and most of all the Dothraki were now threatening to separate, seeing Daenerys' stress at being pulled in a million different directions and Rhaenerys' depression for losing her lover.

They were weak, they had whispered. The Dragon girls who they followed because let's face it—what was stronger than five fire breathing dragons?—were now losing their grip.

They had fallen off of the horse much like Daenerys' late husband. And any Dothraki Khal or Khaleesi that couldn't ride, was no Dothraki in their eyes.

Daenerys was worried one day when she was approached by their commander, Zhilli Haggo.

He spoke to her of their people's thoughts and said they demanded a way the girls prove themselves not to be weak.

He demanded it, or else he had the power to take the Dothraki back over the seas from whence they came.

That is how all three of them—Rhaenerys, Daenerys and Zhilli Haggo found themselves all sitting together one day.

Daenerys looked at her niece nervously as the girl of six-and-ten looked void of any emotion. When she looked at her aunt, Daenerys saw nothing behind her eyes.

This worry added to the already guilt in her stomach. The guilt of basically doing the exact same thing Viserys did to her once, the guilt of breaking her promise to Rhaenerys and herself. The guilt of now being Queen and having to tell her niece—

"Zhilli Haggo has made a request," Daenerys started, "A request that he believes will strengthen our position with the Dothraki. He..."

She took pause as bile rose in her throat. Daenerys was barely even able to get the words out and she avoided Rhaenerys' eyes as she continued.

"He has requested that the two of you marry, Rhaenerys." Daenerys told her, finally causing the young girl to look at her.

"And I have agreed."

After months, Daenerys finally saw some emotion in her eyes. Fear flooded into them first, followed by slight anger and then betrayal.

A scoff left Rhaenerys' lips but Zhili Haggo seemed pleased that the arrangement had been complete.

"You will be a good wife, little Dragon," He told her in English, chuckling.

Rhaenerys flinched as his hand landed on hers. Yanking it away, tears pricked her eyes as she felt like she was betraying Robb by even having another man touch her.

'I'll kill any man that dares to touch you like this,' She remembered Robb telling her one night as he made love to her.

Did that mean he'd kill Zhili Haggo as well? she wondered. She hoped so.

And without knowing it, Daenerys had sentenced a man to his death.

When the grinning commander left the meeting table, the only one satisfied by the arrangement, she turned to Daenerys who could not find it in herself to even look at her.

"How could you?" Rhaenerys' voice wasn't even sad. It was the utter betrayal in it that made Daenerys flinch, a sigh leaving her pink lips.

"I had no choice," She tried to reason with her niece, "The Dothraki were going to leave if I did not do something. They were going to—"

"The Dothraki follow your commands," Rhaenerys spit at her aunt, slowing rising from the table. "They call you their leader, but yet you let some man talk you into giving away your only niece? I am human, not some goat you can just give away!"

"Zhilli Haggo has more power than you know," Daenerys snapped, standing up to match Rhaenerys, "I did what I had to do to protect our people. To protect our legacy—"

"Your legacy," Rhaenerys corrected her, fire burning her gaze. "You are the one that wants the Targaryen name to go down in history again, not me! In fact, it's never been me that has wanted the throne! It's always been you and Viserys, ever since I was young! Every since you were the one sold off like cattle, you've both been going at each other's throats for it! Nevermind the people that get caught up in it," Rhaenerys said, hurt in her features.

Daenerys' gaze softened at her niece and she broke as she said her next words.

"You are becoming no better than him," Rhaenerys whispered, causing Daenerys' eyes widen.

She was speechless as her niece simply shook her head and stormed off with tears in her eyes.

Daenerys could feel her own welling up and reached up to wipe the liquid off of her cheeks.

The only living family member she now had left thought of her like her brother. Like a monster.

Rhaenerys had compared her to Viscerys and she was right; selling people off to get what he wanted was Viserys' strong suit. Daenerys swore she would never be anything like him, but here she was, following exactly in his footsteps only in smaller shoes.

And that opened up terrifying reality for Daenerys. Because if she truly thought her monster of a brother didn't deserve the Iron Throne, then what did it mean for her?