Chapter Eleven

A/N: Thank you to Shazza72, DoMaBaMiLaHayffie and GentleHeartKhaleesi for reviewing the last chapter.

It had been nearly three years since the khalasar had been given refuge within the walls of the magnificent Qarth and finally Daenerys had turned her attentions towards Westeros. In those three years, the country had fallen apart. The evil Joffrey had been poisoned and died at his own wedding feast, leaving the throne to his brother, a boy of just ten who would sign any document placed in front of him. Tywin Lannister had been murdered by his dwarf son, Tyrion, while his daughter, Cersei, rotted in a dungeon cell, awaiting trial for adultery and treason. Now was the time to act.

Three years ago, Daenerys Targaryen had been no more than an exile of the old royal bloodline, wed to a dead Dothraki khal, with only a scant hundred women, old men and green boys at her back. Now, as she sailed across the Narrow Sea, she was flanked by three hundred ships, carrying almost fifteen thousand warriors, all of whom hailed her as rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. So much had changed, and yet one thing had remained constant throughout it all; Ser Jorah Mormont still stood by her side.

They landed in Westeros expecting a bloody battle for the throne. The Lannisters remained in power, after all, and their riches were famed throughout all of the known world. But when they cast anchor in Blackwater Bay, they saw the result of what the singers had dubbed 'The War of the Five Kings', and the devastation it had spread across the country.

King's Landing was a city all but reduced to ashes. Even the walls of the Red Keep itself had not remained untouched, the deep red having been charred to black by the flames that had been used to try and break them down. The streets were bare and deserted; those smallfolk who had survived the endless battles had stayed hidden in the homes, fearing that the same fate as their neighbours had suffered when Stannis fought for the throne would come to them. But Stannis Baratheon was dead, as was King Tommen; 'I will not be the one to make them cower in fear for their lives.' she told herself. 'I will be a good and just ruler, and my people will love me for it.'

This was what Ser Jorah had been telling her all this time. Daenerys knew that she could not have accomplished all that she had without his help; unconsciously, she reached out and took the knight's hand in hers. She did not need to face him to know that a beaming smile had illuminated his face.

"You've finally done it." he told her, his voice overflowing with pride and joy. "Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen, First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm. Long may she reign."

Long may she reign. The words had echoed a thousand times over when she finally claimed her crown, yet the only voice she could hear was Jorah's. He was at her side when she sat the throne and her first act as queen was to join their Houses through marriage. There were offers flooding in from every one of the Seven Kingdoms, even from the Free Cities, all of whom protesting that they had assisted her in claiming her birthright and should be rewarded as such by joining the royal line. But Daenerys had known for years on end there was only one man she wanted as her consort.

Of course, the queen knew that Jorah had not truly joined the royal line, as he would be no assistance in furthering it. The words of Mirri Maz Duur still rang true and she knew that her womb would never quicken again. Still, it was no matter. Once Daenerys had been crowned, she had legitimised her brother's son, a boy who had once been named Jon Snow, and named him as her heir. As for her children, they had settled on the island that bore their name, calm and peaceful, as much as their nature would allow them to be. At last, after so long fighting to claim her rights, everything was just as it should be.

As the sun rose across the city of King's Landing, making the walls of the Red Keep gleam and the thread of the Targaryen banners above it shimmer the brightest crimson, Daenerys found herself utterly at peace. It was almost as if that terrible war had been only a nightmare.

The young girl smirked a little as she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, a dark bristly beard tickling her neck.

"What has your mind so occupied, Your Grace?" Jorah questioned, smiling affectionately at his young wife.

"It is of no matter." Daenerys sighed, brushing him off with a shake of her head. However, Jorah was not prepared to take no for an answer.

"It is bothering you." the man observed. "It cannot be of no matter, not to me."

Daenerys chuckled a little at that, but still she took a little while to answer. Eventually, she shrugged her shoulders, a little awkward at the weight of her new Westerosi gowns, and replied.

"I was just thinking of how different everything would have been if the Usurper had never taken the Iron Throne from my father." she told her husband. It was an accurate summation of the many thousands of thoughts in her mind over the past few weeks. "I never would have been queen, I never would have married Drogo nor borne his son. I never would have crossed the Red Waste with the Dothraki. I may never have hatched my dragons."

"And you never would have met me." Jorah pointed out, planting a kiss on her lips.

"And I never would have met you." Dany repeated, before returning the kiss. "So perhaps everything turned out for the best after all."

And so it had. Westeros entered into an age of prosperity, one which lasted winters and summers on end, and for many years afterwards, the singers would make adjustments to a long-beloved song. No longer did they sing of the beast and the maiden, but of the loyal bear and his princess fair.

A/N: Thank you to everyone for supporting this story. I've really enjoyed writing it. Hope you like the ending, and please review!