[Daenerys' POV]
The Slaver's Alliance had laid siege from land with a great fleet not too far behind. As of recently, they had begun to throw corpses into the city through their trebuchets. Meereen was to be surrounded from all sides while disease spread through the streets. The situation was getting worse with every passing day.
"I say we ride out and strike at the heart of their force instead of waiting to starve to death." Barristan advised.
"I admire your courage, Ser, but you do know that means abandoning the advantage of these walls. Being outnumbered in the field is an invitation to slaughter." Dorian shook his head. "The only real choices we have are to hold out… or take the fight to the sea and potentially abandon the city."
"Abandon Meereen?" Daenerys raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, temporarily. Regroup with Edric and then retake the city from the sea."
"So… you say our only true options are to rely on Edric Storm?"
"... Quite so. There is far less risk involved."
"I'm certain you can think of something better than that."
"I say it with good reason. If he was with us now, he'd be shooting down a thousand of their men a day from the walls of Meereen."
"If. He isn't, however."
Daenerys wasn't too fond of the idea of relying so heavily on her new ally as it would give him all the leverage in the future.
"Well." Dorian chuckled. "If you can find a way to call on one of your rebellious children to give you a ride to that large Dothraki Khalasar wandering around and somehow convince their riders to your cause… we'd be in quite a wonderful position."
"... Your jests are not leading anywhere," Barristan remarked.
"In a perfect world, it could happen. We don't live in one, I fear… yet you do still have a guaranteed way of winning." Dorian turned to her. "It's right on the table, you just have to swallow your pride. This is not a war you can win on your own."
"It's not about my pride… the second Meereen is taken, everything will be undone."
"Will it?" Dorian questioned. "Putting a chain on a former slave is far more difficult than someone who has never known freedom. Meereen will not break so easily."
"What Queen would I be if I abandoned my people?"
"... Temporarily is the keyword." Dorian sighed. "Would you rather have everyone within these walls die of starvation and disease or make a sacrifice short-term for an even greater victory down the road? Trust me... or, rather, your great ally. Why face the slaver's alliance on your own when you can crush them together?"
"..." Daenerys sighed. "Is it the only way?"
"Well, unless Edric grew wings and is arriving in a few days, I'd imagine so..."
"I would rather trust in the city than some foreign king." Skahaz mo Kandaq spoke. "The Brazen Beasts and Unsullied can hold Meereen for as long as the Slavers stand outside her walls."
"I will need time to think on this."
"Time is of the essence," Dorian remarked. "Once Qarth's fleet arrives, this option will be far more difficult to pursue..."
Once the council meeting came to an end, Daenerys observed the city from her bedchamber. The great army of the Slaver Alliance covered the horizon beyond. Not so long ago, Meereen had just a moment of peace... and they had squandered it. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
But... in the end, all of this was her doing. The great and the terrible.
A shadow loomed over her, the flap of distant wings louder than any other.
Her eyes widened as she saw the black figure with vivid red scales high in the night sky. The red wings, horns, and eyes as red as coals. The largest of his brothers, which was true as ever. She could feel a mutual desire for a reunion. A child will always seek out his mother... even after she had tried to chain him away.
It was one of her great, if not the greatest, regrets. It was as Dorian had once said - she had forgotten who she truly was. She was not just a queen of Meereen, no, she was of the blood of the dragon, the very last Targaryen in the world. The Mother of Dragons, the Dragon Queen.
There was a fire in her eyes.
She made the long descent to the main exit of the Great Pyramid, where Drogon waited - seemingly daring her to approach. Up close, his molten eyes were like the entrance to hell. One step back and she would admit herself unworthy... afraid.
She was not.
"Take me to the skies."
[Dorian's POV]
"She did whaaat?" Dorian almost choked on his own drink.
"Took her dragon for a ride, Captain-General."
"That mad girl..." Dorian sighed, though he couldn't help but smile a little. "I suppose she wouldn't be all that spectacular if she weren't like this."
"Isn't it dangerous outside of Meereen? What if..."
"One should trust his monarch. There is a reason why she's made it so far, and a little dragon ride isn't going to be the end of her. If anything... it is the beginning. The first dragon-rider for over a hundred and fifty years. It is a historic, monumental event that will change this world forever."
...
"Sooo, it's just you and me, Ser. Oh and Dany's ragtag of awful advisors." Dorian met with Barristan shortly after. "Unfortunately, she never elected a Hand of the Queen to rule in her absence… and we are hardly ever on the same page."
"I believe there are matters that even we can agree on."
"I was just about to say that." Dorian grinned slightly. "Truth be told, I did prepare the city for any attack. Although, holding onto the city long enough would be quite the stretch… and I am not too fond of uncertainties. Better yet, if Daenerys had leaned on Edric, it would be a great start to their alliance. Truly, you should've supported me."
"Every action you make has some hidden agenda," Barristan remarked.
"Why, I've made it very much known what I seek. Still… if Daenerys performs another miracle, it would end better than any plan I could come up with." Dorian stroked his chin. "If Edric does everything and she has no leverage, there is little point in the alliance. The need for each other must be mutual."
"And what if she doesn't?"
"There's nothing we can do either way but hope and hold the city for as long as possible." Dorian shrugged. "That means not charging out of the city in some heroic last stand."
"Doing nothing, you mean?"
"Doing nothing sometimes is the best thing…and not necessarily. I have a strategy for Qarth's fleet that will make them regret ever sailing here."
[Aegon's POV]
For the past few days, all he had known was the sound of the waves, the croaking of wood, poor food, mockery and a small beam of light in the day. One day, however, came something new. A giant with long black hair clad in regal clothes. The black stag sigil was all too distinct.
"How is my hospitality, prince... or should I say Blackfyre pretender?" He questioned with a cold look.
"Blackfyre?" Aegon frowned slightly. "That's untrue. Where did you come up with that lie?"
"So even you, yourself, do not know. That is rather cruel. They convinced you for your entire life that you were someone else." Edric chuckled, shaking his head. "And then... they sought to convince the rest of the world. I suppose it would be a more effective lie if you wholeheartedly believed it yourself."
"..." Aegon's eyes widened as he began to question everything.
"You know, if you and the Golden Company minded your own business, we would never have had to fight each other. If anything, I might have even hired you lot myself. It's such a shame you decided to aim for my crown..."
"Are you only here to rub salt in the wound?"
"More than that. In the end, you brought a fine Valyrian Steel bastard sword straight into my treasury... and not just any bastard sword - the Blackfyre. You have my sincerest gratitude."
"..." Aegon clenched his fists, yet they were bound. "Did you control Viserion?"
"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow.
"It can't be a coincidence that Viserion suddenly turned, targeted the Golden Company's highest ranking officers, and threw me onto one of your ships."
"My, you give me too much credit. Mayhaps your dragon just saw the writing on the wall and joined the winning side."
"No... something... someone forced it against me."
"An astute theory," Edric remarked dismissively.
"Is this your way of torturing me?"
"No, I was just curious about how you were holding up. You're remarkably well put together despite all that you've endured. It's admirable, if anything. There is a little bit of dragon in you."
"..." Aegon shook his head. "What does it matter? What even are your plans for me?"
"You have one great purpose left. One of the greatest honours any man could have." His lips curled into a slight, yet malicious grin. "If it succeeds, you would have effectively saved the world through your... fire."
"..."
Aegon knew death was more than likely, but the way he put it was... horrifying.
"There's no use in fearing the inevitable. Eventually, it'll all be over..."
[Edric's POV]
My only company in my Inner World was the Night King... who hadn't even tried to leave. For that matter, he integrated himself deeper, while I could not do anything to stop him. But, strangely enough, he didn't pull any tricks and simply... observed. That was worse, I'd say, as I couldn't predict his next move.
Was he waiting for a moment of weakness?
However, he didn't come out of the integration entirely unscathed. His nature began to be moulded by my own, which raised the fear that it was a mutual thing...
The Plane of Euthymia.
Seeing as I had no sparring partner, I was stuck simply practising on my own. But, with the loss of magic, and my arms being broken, all I could really do was train my legs. So, I did, kicking away.
"So much of your existence revolves around slaying me." The Night King remarked.
"Is it so surprising? You do want to cause an apocalypse and kill all of mankind."
"The word is not kill... it is a rebirth."
"A rebirth?" I raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "That's one way of putting it."
"We do not wage wars against our kind. We understand. We are one." The Night King's eyes remained unmoving. "Your 'mankind' is a seed of destruction, chaos and 'sin'. It has been this way a hundred years ago, a thousand years ago, ten thousand years ago... for as long as 'mankind' exists, it never changes. It is the same cycle."
"You said you were once chained by your purpose... but you've been 'freed' while setting out to do the very same thing you were created for. Are you truly 'free' or are you deluding yourself?" I questioned.
"Our purpose was right from the beginning."
"Is that so? Humans are indeed capable of the worst of sins, but the opposite is just as true. Your 'rebirth' is nothing more than moulding every living being in your shape... hardly any different from being dead. It's no way to exist."
"If you were one of us, would you believe the same?" The Night King pondered.
"Why would that make any difference?-"
"Would your subjects still worship you? If your presence shifted the seasons, bringing them only winter... long nights, no harvests and a freezing cold... what would they think of you?" The Night King questioned further.
"..."
"You begin to doubt. We know the truth: they will fear you. They will curse you. They will turn against you." The Night King looked as if he had seen it all before. "We stay in our cage or claim the world... and we have done the former for too long. Humanity had its time; now it is our age."
"It's not your age so long as I draw breath."
"We are inevitable. You have the horn... but it has only granted you a few more years. With your arms broken and your power faded to the wind, what can you do?"
"My kicking should be good enough by then." I grinned slightly.
"... False confidence and optimism on the surface of an ocean of doubt. It is a favourite of yours."
"I could not care less for your poor attempts at putting me down. You speak of the inevitable? The only inevitable thing in this world is me slaying you." I laughed. "You're just a stepping stone to me. A prerequisite - a checkbox on my list. Nothing more."
"... For the revival of your lover?"
"So you do know. Have you ever wondered where you gained all these abilities from? It's not from training or your own gains. It's because a certain someone didn't want me to steamroll your ass."
"Despite knowing so much, you still know so little."
"Enlighten me."
"There is no use."
"Heh." I chuckled. "Of course."
"One thing we do find contradicting... is a growing openness to becoming one of us. But, you do not wish to be just any Other, you seek to rule us."
"You almost sound interested," I noted.
"You are a strange one."
"You have your way of 'rebirthing' the world... and I have my way of shaping it."
"So we see... chosen hero and king of 'humankind'."
"Now, if you're done talking, I've got some kicks to practice."
"Practice as much as you like. We will be watching."
As soon as I get my power back, I'm purging you...