randomosity | [For Jorah/Hannibal] Homecoming

[For Jorah/Hannibal] Homecoming

In Essos, Daenerys had given birth to a healthy and lively baby girl. She had her father's dark eyes but the light hair and full face of her mother. It was shortly after her birth that a letter arrived from across the Shivering Sea - too far for a raven to fly. It came from King's Landing and bared the Bolton seal. The letter invited Daenerys back to Westeros, but not to reclaim the Iron Throne. Apparently, Hannibal Bolton had taken control of King'sLanding, and the Starks had all but been demolished. The Lannisters, in turn, had also been eradicated.

Daenerys was shocked. But more than that, she suspected treason. As did Tyrion Lannister. With her newborn daughter to her breast, Daenerys took council with Jorah, Grey Worm, Missandei and Tyrion.

"Who does this Bolton think he is?" She snapped. "Inviting me back without promising to relinquish the throne to me? It is mine by birthright, I will not allow some savage northman to take what is mine."

Lannister, Baratheon, Bolton - the name didn't matter. A thief was a thief.

"If he took King's Landing and defeated the Lannister army, my queen, then we can conclude that he indeed has a powerful army of his own," Tyrion pointed out.

****

A few weeks had gone by, and Margaery's belly had begun to swell only slightly with their fourth child. Of course Olenna could spot this a mile away and was already declaring name options. Aenar was with the pair of them while they took tea in the gardens overlooking the ocean. The boy was now sitting up on his own in his mother's lap, but still feed from her breast. The twins were studying with their tutors.

"So tell me child," Olenna sipped her tea. "What is your husband's intention by inviting the Targaryen girl back here?"

Aenar cooed when Roose came close and he patted his hands over the dragon's nose. Margaery glanced up to her grandmother, who added more to her question.

"Don't tell me he means to surrender his throne to her, now that they have a confirmed common lineage?" Olenna scoffed.

"Certainly not, grandmother," Margaery replied sharply. "Do you honestly think my husband is the type of man to relinquish power? No. But if you're so curious, all him yourself, he should be joining us shortly."

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Daenerys smiled and reached for his hand, leaning into him and cuddling beneath his cloak a bit. She chuckled softly upon feeling his heat. "I don't like this cold weather. I miss the desert," she kissed his jaw.

Margaery smiled at his words and kissed him softly. "I know you are right...but these are not Lannisters. These are not Freys. These are White Walkers."

The threat was significantly larger than any other enemy. For the first time, Margaery worried that her husband might not be able to win. But facing the consequences of a defeat in this battle was not something she could deal with. Margaery nuzzled him again. "I love you."

Jorah smiled as he held up his arm so that she could curl in closer to him. He chuckled at her words. "Don't say that too loud." He teased with a wink. He waited for the carriage to open. Honestly, he was very worried about this battle. He was uncertain how it would end. However, he did have a plan to make an attempt at killing Hannibal when an opportunity presented itself in battle.

Hannibal looked deep into her eyes. "I will not lose." He swore before kissing her deeply. As he pulled back, he opened the door so that they could step out and discuss their battle strategy. He knew the white walkers were going to attack soon. They needed to discuss strategy together and begin the battle.

Daenerys smiled and kissed him again. She looked to the carriage and waited for it to open. Daenerys kept her arm wrapped around Jorah's waist to keep him, and his heat, close. The air was cold, and she had a sense of dread, waiting for the inevitable. The calm before the storm.

Margaery smiled as she kissed him back. She knew he would keep that promise. When the door was opened, she stepped out with Hannibal.

"Lady Daenerys, I'm glad to see you have not frozen solid," Margaery paid her the sincere compliment.

"Glad you could join us," Daenerys countered. "Shall we go inside and discuss the details of battle?" She was not interested in their recently-born child. In fact, she was a bit jealous that Margaery already seemed to have lost the baby weight.

Jorah have a nod to the Bolton's as they arrived. He did note that Margaery seemed to have returned to her natural figure already. He then focused upon Hannibal's face. "The Lord Commander should return from his inspection of the wall shortly to join us in our deliberations." He said before turning to lead them all to the Lord Commander's office.

Hannibal nodded as he led Margaery inside of Castle Black. He took his seat with Margaery next to him. He then turned to look at Danaerys directly. "Now is not the time for us to disagree over titles. We are simply the living versus the dead. I will command my men, you will command yours, and the Lord Commander will command his." He said as Jon Snow walked into the room.

He had a white dire wolf at his side. He nodded at what he heard. "That is true, it will either be us or them with the final victory." He said as he took his seat.

Daenerys sat beside Jorah as they entered the Lord Commander's office. She pursed her lips at Hannibal's words, but nodded slowly. "The Dothraki have adjusted well enough to the cold, and the tunnel is nearly complete."

She turned her attention to Jon Snow. "How long do you think it will be before the White Walkers attack?"

Margaery looked to the white direwolf as it walked in with Jon Snow. She silently cursed herself for not bringing Moanna. The pups that the two wolves could have bred would likely have been very strong.

But now was not the time to focus on such issues.

"Let us be frank, shall we?" Margaery looked to Jon Snow. "You're the only one of the five of us who has encountered the White Walkers. Do you truly think we are prepared to face them in battle?"

Jorah found himself nodding in agreement with Hannibal. That was a valid point and would make their combined effort much stronger.

Jon Snow thoughtfully considered the question. "We know fire will kill them. Dragonfire should make the job quicker. We have made good sets of thick padding that protect from getting scratched or bitten, but are flexible enough to still fight. This padding does not do much against steel, but a quick hand and strong shield can be enough for a strong warrior."

Jorah spoke up then, "The Dothraki have trained well with the shield. They will fight fiercely."

Jon nodded, "That is a fine enough thing, but any man who has been scratched or bitten must throw himself into the fire." His face grew grave. "We have lost many brothers who were toched or scratched by white walkers. They changed in their sleep and we had to kill them. I have not seen a single man to not turn after being scratched or bitten."

Hannibal listened carefully and his face was like stone. He had not heard of this before and was frustrated that the Lord Commander had not passed this information along. "I will set up an inspection unit to check the men. I will assign a special team to take care of any infected troops within my ranks." He turned to look at Danaerys. "I know your Unsullied have the discipline necessary to sacrifice themselves should they pose a danger to you. However, do your Dothraki have the same restraint?" He asked.

Daenerys listened carefully and understood as Jon Snow explained the abilities of the White Walkers. She pursed her lips at Hannibal's question.

"...understand that the Dothraki are a strong, stubborn people," she began. "Yielding to bite or scratch will be nearly impossible for them." She didn't want to admit it, but she had to.

That would be a problem. She looked to Jorah, silently asking his help in suggesting a solution before the others could. She didn't want her men being undermined and controlled by someone else.

Margaery considered the facts, and all the resources they had available to them.

"Perhaps the Dothraki should not be on the front lines, then," she suggested. "This will also keep them far from the dragon fire."

"If you put them anywhere where they cannot fight, it's a waste of their abilities," Daenerys pointed out. "And they will be insulted, restless in camp - they will likely pick a fight with their comrades."

"That is your problem to handle," Margaery replied sharply. "If we cannot count on them to do what is right and yield to the sword when they are scratched or bitten, then they cannot be trusted in close-quarters combat. It's a risk we cannot take. Andal men as White Walkers are strong enough, a Dothraki White Walker would likely be even more powerful."

Jorah frowned when his wife was spoken to so harshly. "Our men fight for us out of respect, not fear." He then looked to Danaerys. "We could tell them that being scratched or bitten means they must cut their braids." He offered as a suggestion.

Jon shifted in his seat, "The wildlings are experts in identifying those marks versus battle wounds. I think they should be the ones to check the soldiers. I also think that we should quarantine them overnight before choosing their final fate." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I have been scratched by a blade of theirs, but never turned. I think the danger is their teeth and claws." He said.

Hannibal listened carefully, but had no opinion one way or the other on how they kept control of their forces. He did focus in on Jon Snow and considered the warning. "That is true enough. Your wildlings don't take commands from you. They would be impartial in identifying those who could be dangerous and those who aren't. We should have two areas. They can send allnwith scratches to one area and the rest to the other. We can monitor and have the dragons surrounding them to keep them in place." He suggested.

Daenerys smiled when Jorah defended her. Her hand rested over his when he made his suggestion, and despite her smile, she shook her head. "They would never believe such a thing, you know this."

When the Wildlings were suggested to oversee those who had been bitten or scratched, Daenerys nodded slowly. "Fair enough. They are objective enough, I could accept that."

She didn't want an envoy of Hannibal's claiming that her men had been bit or scratched when they hadn't been just to leave her with minimal troops when this was all over.

Margaery nodded before glancing up to Jon Snow with fear in her eyes. "Lord Commander. This Night King, the leader of the White Walkers...do you think we have much to fear from him? Will he charge in with the others and be caught in our trap, or will we have to pursue him?"

She suspected it would be the latter, and she did not like the idea, not one bit.

Jorah smiled and gave her hand a tender squeeze back. He then nodded in agreement and also frowned when he heard Margaery's question. The answer would determine quite a few things that could potentially happen and possible opportunities.

Jon hesitated at the last question. He frowned before looking up to answer. "He will not run, nor will his officers. They are mounted on horseback. I don't know how he commands 'em, but they know his orders. My men have killed one of his officers...it took far more effort than with the main group of white walkers." He explained.

Hannibal listened carefully. "The main soldiers just move and use no structure of any sort? The officers have tactics and fighting technique. Is that the difference between the two?" He asked. Jon nodded. "We will need to lure these officers into smaller traps or have the dragons target them." He said.

Daenerys looked between the men with wide eyes. "These officers...they are significantly stronger than the masses, perhaps we should target them first. I mean...the legion is strong enough to keep us away from the officers, as is their purpose, I'm sure."

She paused, considering how to continue her proposal. "...but if we kill the officers first, the White Walkers will have no one to lead them. They could be trapped easier that way."

"Or it could make them wild and uncontrollable." Margaery pointed out. "I am not tying to poke holes in your argument, Lady Daenerys. But we need to consider every possibility. There are no rules here. We're treading in shadow here."

Margaery considered the situation for a long while. "We should proceed with the plan. Trap the masses and kill them with dragonfire." She looked to Jon Snow then. "How many officers are there that we know of? Are there few enough that we could send a single dragon to cut them off if they try to escape?"

Jorah looked at his wife with slight worry at her suggestion. He shook his head, "No, these are mindless monsters that can only be controlled by them. Without them the main army won't move in a pack that will be easier to kill. We need to attack their leaders after the foot soldiers are in the trap." He said.

Jon Snow nodded in agreement, "I think the original plan is best. I have never seen more than four officers other than the leader." He said.

Hannibal listened carefully as he considered the problem. "Is there a way for us to make a trench to fill with oil and leave a 20 foot gap from the base of the wall? We can have the dragons light those and establish a ring of fire surrounding the battlefield." He suggested. It could be camouflaged with snow to prevent being seen.

Daenerys' eyes lit at Hannibal's suggestion. "That could work - but would the White Walkers be able to smell or sense the oil?" Daenerys looked to Jon Snow. He was evidently the designated expert on White Walkers.

"We need to make certain they're contained - we can't let them get away or this will all have been for nothing," Daenerys looked between them all.

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