Chapter VIII ~ A Dowry & an Army

(KLAUS)

I watched her as she walked away from me…again. I wanted so badly, I needed so much to follow her and press my case. All of my instincts were screaming at me to go after her and to bite her and have my way, whether she gave her consent or not. That was what my nature and brain was telling me, but my heart – my newly-found heart – was telling me something quite different. I would give her the space she needed to make her mind up and decide what was best for her khalasar.

Once she had walked into the camp and out of my sight, I headed back to the camp myself, but not to Daenerys. I walked around the camp and was greeted by the occasional person, but most of the Dothraki hurried into their tents at the sight of me prowling around their homes. I recognized most of them, either because I had let them drink from me to save them from certain starvation or from the fear that held them as I gorged my thirst on Doreah. They were irrelevant to me now, as all I had to do was have patience – a virtue I had never prided myself on acquiring until now – and hope that the Khaleesi would give in to her good judgment and permit me to turn her.

While I wandered aimlessly round the encampment, I noticed a tent set aside from the rest and heard a faint chanting emanating from its wispy cloths. As I headed towards it to investigate this new oddity, I felt a warm, calloused hand on my shoulder. I was about to turn and rip the offending and intrusive limb from its body, but upon seeing that it was one of Daenerys' handmaidens (Irri, I believe her name was) I reconsidered.

"That is the tent of a maegi," she said tentatively.

"Maegi?"

"She is a witch-woman, deals in black magic and death. Her sister-witch murdered our Khal, but the Khaleesi keeps this one living in solitude as a long punishment for the murder of her beloved Khal."

So, this is the woman whom Carmen must have seen. I recalled the witch's name from the first time I was told news of her existence, "She is Shurti Sheb Kuûm?" I asked.

Surprise pervaded Irri's small face as it appeared I already knew of the witch, "Yes, my lord, that is how she is called."

With that I stalked away from Irri without another word and strode forward on my desire to make the acquaintance of the woman who had made my journey here possible through her exploration of other worlds and her discovery of Carmen's presence.

Witches in America were mostly hippy sorts in society, with seemingly unhealthy interests in nature and homeopathy. My interest was fully peaked with the desire to investigate what witches in this land were like, though I had already heard the tales of the maegi who caused the deaths of the Khal and the unborn child of Khal Drogo and Daenerys.

As I stepped into the maegi's tent, the pungent, heady smog of incense was a direct blow to the senses. Even my heightened hybrid vision was impaired by the sea of smoke not allowing me to see anything further than my own nose. The grumbling chants of the maegi stopped once I set foot into her tent and silence now was as thick in the air as the smoke from the many incense burners.

"Witch, I wish to see your face. Make yourself known."

An almost shrill and breathy voice responded, "Lord Niklaus Mikaelson, wondrous it is that you have come from Old Valyria into this wasteland to shield and protect us from our mistress' dangerous will. By tempering her yourself, by making her yours will she become a true ruler of men and of her khalasar. How goes the effort, my lord?"

Her knowledge of what had only just past stunned me, "I believe the Khaleesi will be persuaded but she is still deliberating," I very rarely disclosed my innermost opinions and thoughts to strangers, but the maegi's words told me she was an ally and might very well be in a position to help my cause, "she thinks her people would not accept her as Khaleesi if she were no longer a creature from this world, yet I am of the belief that the Dothraki would support her were she to offer a more efficient means of protecting them from the hunger, the rogue khalasars and the armies of Westeros who will endeavour to halt her coming invasion at all costs. Her being a hybrid would no doubt save exponential lives." I sighed; frustrated at how Daenerys was unable to see clearly that the positives of letting me change her far outweighed any hypothetical negatives.

"The Khaleesi will never risk losing what little she has left of her husband's people. The Bear, though he has lost much influence since your arrival here, will always caution her against taking the counsel of any man who is not him. He is still a danger to your cause."

"Tell me, why are you so eager to help my cause? The Khaleesi is punishing you for your kinswoman's treachery, yet you still wish to be of assistance to her in her great quest for her homeland." I asked.

The witch chuckled, "The Khaleesi will reward those who help her in her efforts to once again be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. I did not commit any crime, other than that of association to Mirri, so once I have aided the Targaryen girl in her push for power, she will give me my freedom," she smiled a smile that meant no good, "or I'm sure that once she has conceded to your will, you will reward me for my involvement."

Now it was my turn to laugh, for I had encountered a kindred spirit in this maegi. She was acting for her own good and was helping me into the seat of power beside Daenerys so that I could better her situation and offer her what she desired in return for her favours to me. Clever, witch…

I looked her directly in her deep hazelnut eyes, "If my efforts are successful and I do indeed change Daenerys into a hybrid, you can be assured of my generosity."

But I can be cleverer still…

"However, to be successful in this task, I first need you to contact Carmen, the witch from my world whom you achieved communication with to transport me here initially." I demanded with the smug smile that could charm any witch to do my bidding.

"Very well, my lord," she said as she drew a rugged blade from her robes, "then, hand me your wrist and we shall begin."

She took some of my blood to use in a blood ritual to conduct her magic through to Carmen who would respond on the other end. The preparations were swift and she was an impressive witch, who confidently set about using her powers. Surviving in this world with this witch as an ally would be entirely tolerable.

"My king? Klaus? Speak to me, my lord, I can hear you," Carmen's bold American accent spoke through the brown, chapped lips of Shurti Sheb Kuûm. The witch had made contact through to Carmen and was now a medium for my own witch back home to communicate with me.

"Carmen, love, good to hear from someone from good old Uncle Sam. How's everything holding up?"

"Well, your siblings are proving adequate rulers and have maintained control of the hybrid nation with iron fists – Rebekah in particular is most feared – and Caroline,"

"Yes?" I interrupted, most desirous to learn of my wife's condition in my absence.

"Caroline has retreated from her duties and now fights constantly against your sister for the humans and the vampires of Mystic Falls. Rebekah has not yet killed her, as Elijah keeps Caroline firmly under his protection, as per your orders. She will be safeguarded at all costs." Carmen reported.

It did not surprise me that some dissent between my sister and my wife, yet I was satisfied that under the watchful gaze of my eldest brother, their bickering and strife would never escalate resulting in Caroline's death.

"Carmen, dear, I need to ask whether it is viable to transport a large number of my hybrids here in the same manner as I travelled here." I inquired.

Silence once again laid waste to the interior of the tent and though worlds divided us, I could almost hear the cogs whirring in Carmen's head as she pondered the logistics of the task I had just asked her to facilitate.

"I believe it can be done. That is, with the cooperation of your family and you yourself would also be required to utter a blessing over them before they travelled, much like Caroline did during the blood ritual that allowed you to travel to another world," she drew a long breath, "so, I take it, that you are planning on remaining with your new queen and your plans have come to fruition?"

I chuckled, "Very astute, but no, as of yet Daenerys is still in the contemplative stages of deciding whether to permit me to make her a hybrid, but I believe that when I can present an army of hybrids that would help her cause and protect her and the Dothraki people, she will finally be persuaded to be mine."

"A sound plan, my king. I shall make all preparations necessary for the blood ritual. It will take at least until tomorrow, but I will inform Shurti Sheb Kuûm when the time comes to take your blessing and to send through the army."

"Thank you, Carmen, much appreciated." I said contentedly.

With that, the maegi slumped down, gasping for air and blinking as she resumed control over her own body. Once I was assured of her wellbeing – wouldn't do me any good if she expired before I had my forces brought here – I went away from the tent and back out into the humid desert.

The rest of the day was spent waiting around the camp in a complete state of apathy, for I could not act or do anything until either Daenerys reached the correct conclusion of her own musings or until Carmen and Shurti Sheb Kuûm could between them arrange the blood ritual and send my army of hybrids here.

In the extremely early hours of the morning, I was roused by a small Dothraki girl who beckoned for me to follow her into the maegi's tent, where the witch sat cross-legged and encircled deep in a purple-hued smoke cloud.

"Witch, is everything made ready for the ritual?" I asked.

She merely nodded her head and beckoned me to approach her, whereupon she took my wrist and cut it, wiping the red liquid across her forehead, in what I took to be the "blessing" which the witches had informed me would be necessary in conducting my army here. Then, the hypnotic chanting began and the maegi bounced on her haunches as if dancing to the rhythm of the music she felt internally.

All of a sudden, she ceased her singing and her movements and her eyes shot up, black as the coal from a dying fire and she spoke faintly, so much so that had I not been gifted with hybrid senses, I would not have heard her say, "They have arrived."

I knew the number of my forces which Carmen had succeeded in sending to me, so I sped out of the tent to search for my army, who would act on their own dangerous impulses were I not before them to issue commands and thus wreak havoc on the Dothraki people and their queen, but I would reach them before that…

I saw them before my eyes, just standing, waiting for my impending orders. After a time away from my own people and those who I felt at ease and familiar with, I felt a great surge of relief at their recent arrival, "Hello, friends," I smiled, "and welcome to a new world."

I stayed in the wilderness with them whilst I explained the situation here and why I felt it necessary to have them by my side. As the first light of dawn peeked over the golden horizon, we left the lonely outback of Daenerys' camp and headed towards the village of tents and faced the scouts and sentinels that protectively encircled the camp. Once we came into their line of sight, I made out one of Daenerys' riders heading towards the main tent to fetch his revered leader and apprise her of the approaching horde of hybrids.

She met us with all the grace and dignity her position entailed, "Klaus, I thought I had your word that you would not pressure me into conceding to your requests?" The anger hidden in her voice was subtle yet I could sense its rising potency.

"You mistake me, Khaleesi, my intent in bringing my hybrid warriors," I saw her eyes widen and survey those standing behind me, "to your encampment was not to intimidate you or force your hand in any way, merely to demonstrate to you the sheer force I can provide to you and your people, and more importantly, your cause, should you decide to allow me to make you their queen as well as mine."

I could see her resolve to delay her final decision diminishing as she observed my hybrids' number and force, so I pressed my point, "Think, Daenerys, of how effective an attack on the Seven Kingdoms to reclaim your rightful throne would be were both you empowered by hybrid abilities in every way. If, by your own decision, you choose not to accept my troth or my army, we will simply depart this world and return to our own," I took a long breath, "but, my queen, I would far prefer to remain at your side and have you at mine and rule Westeros together than return to Old Valyria without your gracious company."

She looked at the dusty desert floor in a rare moment of indecisiveness, but after a few moments when her deep blue eyes met mine, strength oozing through them, she spoke words which I felt blest to hear, "I consent to be your queen and to join our two races in the common goal of the Iron Throne of Westeros."