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Daenerys, bottom growing slightly sore on the throne as she and Jon listened to petitioners for the third hour that day, smoothed her hand gently over the growing roundness of her belly, smiling softly as she felt an answering kick against her fingers. Normally, every ounce of her attention would be on the people coming before them with their concerns, hoping their monarchs could resolve their issues, but today Daenerys found her mind wandering.
It still shocked her, how she had come to be there, pregnant and nearing her time, when she thought she would never have another child again; she always wondered what would have happened if she had never wrested Kings Landing from Cersei’s cruel grasp, so soon after her arrival in Westeros, taking the capital with as little bloodshed as possible; what if Jon Snow had never come to kneel before her, petitioning her to save the realm from a dire threat brewing just beyond The Wall, one that would apparently threaten the lives of every one of people under her care? What if she had never flown with him to see these whitewalkers with her own eyes, her skepticism bleeding away and dread filling heart once she realized they weren’t just creatures from a dark fairytale—they were real. She now knew her true test as the new guardian of Westeros had come, issuing a terrifying challenge; she rose to meet it head on, with her children and the now combined armies of the whole seven kingdoms at her back, and Jon Snow by her side.
They had marched on The Wall and decimated the undead armies with dragon glass weapons and dragon fire; Daenerys on Drogon, directing Rhaegal and Viserion to burn swaths of wights to ash, and Jon finally defeating the Night King in combat, Longclaw delivering the killing blow that put an end to the war for good.
It almost seemed fairytale like, what came afterwards, and Dany, for one, refused to question it, as life had been neither very kind nor very fair to any of them: not to her or Jon, nor their friends or family, and they deserved to find happiness after such hardship.
Her dear Missandei had decided to stay in King’s Landing instead of sailing to back to Naath, and though Dany would have readily provided her with anything she needed to aid her on her journey home, the relief she felt at Missandei’s choice nearly crippled her with its strength; she could not imagine a day passing without her friend and sister and advisor in all things by her side, which is why making her their Hand was the easiest decision she had ever made. And Grey Worm, who would follow Missandei wherever she decided to go, remained in King’s Landing as well, to Dany’s joy, and honored her by becoming Lord Commander of her Queensguard.
The peace Dany saw on their faces each day had her thanking the gods that their paths had crossed in Astapor, and she swore that no one else would feel the cruel weight of a slave collar around their neck ever again; which is why they had sent a contingency of Unsullied and Dothraki to support Daario and the Second Sons to quell any uprisings by masters that thought they could return Essos to what it once was. The periodic visits that she and Jon made on dragon back helped to remind them what would happen to those who couldn’t live in this new world they had built.
Thinking of Jon, and how much they had been through to get to where they were now, brought a gentle and contented smile to her face. They had grown close after long days debating strategy and long nights sharing dreams and warm beds. And after surviving the Battle for the Dawn, and the reveal of Jon’s parentage by Bran once the war was over, they could not bear to be parted…and so, they married under a heart tree to honor the gods Jon followed, and then once more in the newly rebuilt sept, with what seemed like the whole of the seven kingdoms watching the proceedings.
Not long after, to Daenerys and Jon’s tearful and delightful surprise, they learned she was with child, and welcomed their son Jaehaerys into their loving arms. Gazing down into his violet eyes, tears of happiness and relief slipping down her cheeks, Daenerys finally felt complete and utter peace; she had a devoted and loving husband in Jon, she had restored her family’s legacy and brought dragons back into the world, and now…now the best of her and Jon was bundled in her arms, sleeping contentedly against her chest.
And even though she still ached from the hours of labor that it took to bring her son into the world, she knew she wanted more, to fill the halls of the Red Keep with the sound of their laughter and excitable voices. Her wish would be granted, for as the years passed, she bore two more beautiful children—twins Aemon and Rhaella, who were night and day in looks and personalities—while her scaly offspring would lay four eggs of their own. When Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion proudly showed them to her, their chirps and low pleased growls filling the open dragon pit where they had nested, her fingers had lovingly caressed the hard, rough shells, the heat of them warming her skin; she knew that when the time came, Jaehaerys, Aemon and Rhaella would bond with their own dragons, and one day, they would all soar through the skies together.
And if she had worried that the fourth dragon yet to hatch would not find a rider, her fears melted away as her sickness during the mornings, and her growing belly, made it quite apparent that another prince or princess was on the way.
Coming back to herself, Daenerys surreptitiously adjusted her position on the throne, trying to find a comfortable spot without calling attention to herself, but she must have failed, because she felt Jon’s eyes on her, his hand coming to grasp one of her own in his reassuring grip. One of his brows rose softly in question, and Daenerys merely curved her lips in the merest hint of a smile, a minute shake of her head signifying that she was all right.
The slight tension in his frame relaxed, and Jon turned back to the petitioner, gesturing for them to continue. Daenerys fondly studied her husband’s profile for a moment more, her love for him making her heart stutter like it always did when they were together. She doubted the feeling would ever stop.
Looking back out over the Great Hall, with one hand holding her husband’s, and her other hand cradling the newest Targaryen yet to enter the world, Daenerys felt peace settle over her heart once more.
She was where she was meant to be. She was home.