“dany smiled shyly. it was sweet to laugh. she felt half a girl again„

you know how i loathe the summer here.

i would break my fast. good morrow.

you're plainly a fool, and i have no interest in befriending fools.

you can be very wise, my friend.

as you decree, your majesty.

you look radiant.

there are shadows under your eyes.

my soul is touched.

come forth and face your enemy of old, or watch your city burn.

you have been forced to join me in my exile, and i've been poor company.

if i should hear of any whispers, i will bring them to your door.

i have no love for your queen. in fact, i roundly despise her.

you presume too much. far too much.

i am not yet recovered enough from seeing a corpse by my bed to discuss its use for childing.

i know we planned to go together, and perhaps you will hate me for the rest of our lives, but it is better this way.

you took him somewhere safe. what happens now is up to him.

trust me. you can do nothing here but die.

i strongly dislike visitors at this hour. or any hour.

you show an innocent face to the court, but i believe you have another one.

all the world is a cage in a young girl's eyes.

sleep has eluded me of late.

what do you think of his eyes?

they will hail us as legends one day.

you stand on equal ground with whatever i am.

now i know your secret, and it reeks far worse than mine.

i see what's in your heart. it's the same as what's in mine. ambition.

i have no interest in why you are here.

you seem devout. i suggest you pray.

you dare judge me for seeking help elsewhere?

her pride would never allow her to ask for aid.

did the bells wake you?

i shall not speak another word.

do you have any notion of what they do to outsiders here?

she may be sick in love, as young maids often are.

i don't think i'm at all well, you know.

you are a witch. you practice sorcery. i saw it.

you know why this is happening. everyone tried to warn you.

here. i will give you the rest if you behave.

you don't really believe in talk of alchemy and sorcery.

only a soulless husk could hate poetry.

i've always rather fancied an adventure.

all stories grow from a seed of truth. they are knowledge after figuration.

you have a quick tongue as well as light feet.

not all dreams should be pursued, especially not dreams conceived on the featherbed of love.

he must have escaped while the sentinels were distracted.

how does his royal highness mean to forge such an alliance?

i have had precious little entertainment in this place.

i come to give you warning.

better a mouse than some louder beast.

this is not courteous speech. who are you?

i am no green child to believe what i am told without proof.

i do not fear you. your threats have as much weight as smoke.

they say he was in love with her.

my word, but you are a lucky wretch.

fear will make you fight.

this may be too bold, but you seem not to be in high spirits today.

i have no desire to condemn him to death.

do you think me a halfwit?

oh, do shut up.

this mission may not seem survivable, but you never know. we may return from it as princes of the world.

we must do to our enemies what they would do to us.

fire has no power over me.

something is afoot.

you had better start praying for salvation.

i possess sufficient wit to dress myself.

spare me from baseless gossip.

flattered as i am, i seem to remember you are already wed.

stop involving yourself in matters that could undo you.

it will be a pleasure to fight against a warrior of your skill.

i have an interest in survival. i recommend you nurture one, too.

you have been a loyal servant at court.

i would sooner plunge my sword into my own heart than see thy blood water the earth.

i hope all goes as you desire.

i am unworthy of her love, but love her i do. it hurts my soul.

may i ask your name, since i have you to thank for sheltering me?

pray continue.

if her majesty was displeased, i am sorry for it.

remember, no matter how far you travel, i will always be your friend.

he is comely enough.

i doubt he liked her overmuch.

a risk is needful if we are to know the truth.

no duty comes above our service to the crown.

your plot is heresy.

i beseech you, do not expose our transgression.

he should speak to you with more respect.

you know a secret of mine. we are bound by a vow of silence.

wherever i am, i am with you.

you're not in love, then.

i pray she understands. that she forgives me.

this is a mission of the utmost importance.

i will not hear of him.

i took the same oath.

we ought to speak about our… situation.

how are you always so wise?

i know you are mocking me, sir.

please don't tell anyone, or i shall be ruined.

i meant no such insult.

apologies. a poor choice of words.

as i said, i have no interest in your mission.

i confess my mind has been elsewhere.

i have been too forgiving.

she is someone for whom i would die a thousand times, whose name i cannot tell. someone who is the light in my life, the breath in my breast.

what an honour it is to be received once more at your court.

i will always keep you safe.

we have tarried here for long enough.

let us pray that, someday, she weds someone with a backbone.

i shall not involve you any further.

that is the problem with stories. the truth in them cannot be weighed.

i see through your mask. i see what's in your heart.

your pardon, my lady. it was a jest.

Alexia Giordano

fire & blood.

the following prompts were taken from fire & blood by george r. r. martin, a history of the targaryen family of a song of ice & fire as told by historians within the setting, with various accounts being given in order to tell the tales of aegon’s conquest, the reigns of maegor the cruel & jahaerys the wise, the dance of the dragons, & more. some prompts have been lightly edited for roleplaying suitability. please note ― these prompts may include mentions of blood, violence, war, death, mutilation & other things some might find upsetting. feel free to change pronouns & prompts as you see fit !

❛ those who took up arms against me will be thrown down, & humbled, & destroyed. ❜

❛ some say that you play with poisons & dabble in dark sorceries. ❜

❛ when the sun sets, your line shall end. ❜

❛ you may take my castle, but you will win only bones & blood & ashes. ❜

❛ i will come again, [ name ], & the next time i shall come with fire & blood. ❜

❛ you are not wanted here. return at your peril. ❜

❛ it was said that the waters between the islands were so choked with corpses that krakens appeared by the hundreds, drawn by the blood. ❜

❛ you have come as an envoy under a banner of peace & will suffer no harm under my roof. ❜

❛ a [ lord / lady ] should know the land [ he / she ] rules. ❜

❛ even with that sword in your hand, you are only one person, & i cannot always be with you. ❜

❛ your guards are slow & lazy. i could have killed you as easily as i cut you. you require better protection. ❜

❛ you will not disgrace yourself in battle, but no songs will ever be sung about your prowess. ❜

❛ [ name ], you need never kneel to me again. we shall rule this realm together, you & i. ❜

❛ you are more fit to bear this blade than me. ❜

❛ i remember the days when one with a sword & a horse & a suit of armour could slash their way to riches & glory. ❜

❛ we can win our freedoms back, but now is the time to strike, for this new [ king / queen / title ] is weak. ❜

❛ a more unwelcome wedding guest can scarce be imagined. ❜

❛ the smallfolk love [ me / you ], do they not ? ❜

❛ if [ they / you ] had grievances, why not bring them to me ? i would have heard [ them / you ] out. ❜

❛ sword & lance have lost whatever appeal they ever had for me. ❜

❛ your savagery in the field & your harshness toward defeated foes is oft remarked upon. ❜

❛ the warning signs have been plain enough for those with the wit to read them. ❜

❛ you are a fool & a weakling, [ name. ] ❜

❛ the throne will go to the one who has the strength to seize it. ❜

❛ this is a night for song & sin & drink, for come the morrow, the virtuous & the vile burn together. ❜

❛ i do not have the time for tears. ❜

❛ you were foolish to think you could hide this from me. ❜

❛ this place has its secrets, known only to the dead. ❜

❛ it would be a bloody business, one that might harden hearts against us. ❜

❛ i shall not begin my reign by bathing in blood. ❜

❛ it would make [ you / me ] seem weak, & [ you / i ] must never seem weak. ❜

❛ i will have no oathbreakers at my court. ❜

❛ a touch of these talismans is believed to bestow prosperity & good fortune. ❜

❛ like as not, we will win, but not without cost. ❜

❛ those who would do harm to their [ king / queen / title ] seldom attack on horseback with lance in hand. ❜

❛ i’ve fought in a hundred battles, & never you mind on what side, that’s for me & the gods to know. ❜

❛ i have seen your [ daughters / sisters / women. ] they have no chins, no teats, & no sense. ❜

❛ in many a sad song, maidens forced to wed against their will throw themselves from tall towers to their deaths. ❜

❛ they will be making wedding plans for me as well, i do not doubt. ❜

❛ you have sworn me your sword & your obedience. remember those vows, & speak no word of my departure. ❜

❛ you foolish child, you know not what you’ve done. ❜

❛ if another word passes your lips, i will have them sewn shut. ❜

❛ what is done is done, & now we all must needs live with it. ❜

❛ do not think that you shall unmake this marriage. we are one now, & neither gods nor men shall part us. ❜

❛ in songs, as ever, love conquers all. the truth, we submit, is a deal less simple. ❜

❛ you will come to your senses & repent this folly. ❜

❛ [ you / they ] have put [ your / their ] own desires ahead of the good of the realm, & that cannot be allowed. ❜

❛ [ i / you ] desire above all to be loved, admired, & praised. ❜

❛ when we go back, i shall be fortunate to snatch an hour with you, for everyone in the realm will want a piece of you. ❜

❛ many years from now when we are old & grey, we shall look back upon these days & smile, remembering how happy we were. ❜

❛ [ name ], why do you punish yourself so harshly ? ❜

❛ there can be no question of marriage, of course, but you would have jewels, servants, whatever you might want. ❜

❛ there are rich rewards in being a [ king’s / queen’s / title’s ] bedwarmer. ❜

❛ feeding a growing dragon is no small thing. ❜

❛ they would cut [ you / me ] to pieces, my love. ❜

❛ do you mean to claim the throne for yourself, then ? ❜

❛ a shiver of fear went through me when i saw that sword. is there a warning there ? ❜

❛ [ your / my ] pride is well - known to [ me / you. ] ❜

❛ i have no wish to wound you further by forcing you to humble yourself before the entire court. ❜

❛ some say that we are now enemies. i would sooner think of us as friends who disagreed. ❜

❛ i would not sit upon this throne if not for you, all the realm knows that. & i still have need of you. ❜

❛ words are wind, but wind can fan a fire. ❜

❛ everywhere you go, it is said, you perform miracles. ❜

❛ what [ they / i ] do is what [ they / i ] have always done, & it is not for [ us / you ] to judge [ them / me. ] ❜

❛ [ they / i ] lust for dragons of [ their / my ] own. ❜

❛ i need a seat of my own. a place where none may threaten me, banish me, or trouble those i have taken under my protection. ❜

❛ are you so uncertain of that throne that you must needs have your own blood bend the knee to you, [ name ] ? ❜

❛ i cannot suffer that again. it would rip my heart apart. ❜

❛ would that i could empty the city, knock it down, & build it all anew. ❜

❛ why should i steal from you ? i am twice as rich as you are. ❜

❛ i could not bear for you to leave me. ❜

❛ i have heard the sea calling. it is time for me to take my leave. ❜

❛ i have asked you to stay. i will not beg. if you would go, go. ❜

❛ they may not hatch. it is known, some dragon eggs simply turn to stone. ❜

❛ they do not mock [ me / you ] to [ my / your ] face for [ your / my ] sake, but they titter at [ me / you ] behind [ your / my ] back. ❜

❛ you weep for [ them / name ], but would you weep for me ? ❜

❛ sickness ? this is no sickness. a weasel in the guts, dead in a day … this is poison. ❜

❛ i could have done a lot of things. i could have been a [ title. ] ❜

❛ i could have killed your enemies, as easily as i killed your friends. ❜

❛ they look at [ me / you ] & see a villain. [ i / you ] can serve [ you / me ] better from the shadows. ❜

❛ why should i care if they’re all dead ? ❜

❛ you’ll find someone new ; you always do. ❜

❛ why should you be [ title ] ? i should be [ title ], not you. ❜

❛ i want to come back to court, with the singers & the fools & all the lords & knights. please take me with you. ❜

❛ let us put our sorrows behind us & begin the new year with pageantry & celebration. ❜

❛ what did i give birth to ? what kind of beast ? i ask you, what did i give birth to ? ❜

❛ it is a poor ruler who wages battle against their own lords & leaves their own kingdom burned, bloody, & strewn with corpses. ❜

❛ are you mad, to speak so to me in my own hall ? ❜

❛ speak openly of burning down their halls, boast of how you fed their own kin to your dragons, & you will only inflame them & set their hearts against you. ❜

❛ if [ name / they ] were dead, i would know it. they are still alive. i feel it. ❜

❛ i may have seen a dragon. or something big, with wings. ❜

❛ go with care, [ name ], but go. they are hunting you, all up & down the country. questions are being asked, rewards are being offered. ❜

❛ strange beasts, aye, & like as not, you’ll end up in the belly of one. ❜

❛ the sound of it ran down my spine like a cold knife, though i could not have said why. ❜

❛ you do not want to see [ me / them ] like this, & i would be remiss if i allowed you any closer. ❜

❛ how could the gods be so blind or so uncaring as to permit such horror ? ❜

❛ i cannot forget how oft [ they / name ] begged for death. ❜

❛ it is one thing to leap upon a dragon & quite another to bend him to your will. ❜

❛ there is much & more of the nature of the world that we do not understand, & may never understand. mayhaps that is a mercy. ❜

❛ it is my own abiding sin that whenever i come upon a door i must needs see what lies upon the farther side. ❜

❛ it would seem that i am doomed to always come too late. ❜

❛ there is nothing there for me now but grief & ghosts. ❜

❛ i fed my last [ husband / wife ] to my [ dragon / dogs. ] if you make me take another, i may eat them myself. ❜

❛ i was made to sit a horse, not a cushion. ❜

❛ the veiled threat. you’re most adroit at that. ❜

❛ [ i am / you are ] well respected here, but not loved. ❜

❛ i hope you brought something warmer than that. ❜

❛ if you are expecting balls & masques & dances, you have come to the wrong place. ❜

❛ here the world ends. ❜

❛ were it me, i might pray that [ name ] fell off of their horse & broke their neck coming home. ❜

❛ there are fortunes to be had there, & i am not blind to that. ❜

❛ drinking salt water will make a man mad, every sailor knows that, but the freshwater is no safer in that place. ❜

❛ speak now, & you will be well rewarded. hold your tongue, & you will lose it. ❜

❛ i am a [ man / woman ] of honour, & you are lower than rats. ❜

❛ there is a place for you in the castle, if you want it. ❜

❛ mayhaps [ you / they ] are not so close to gods as [ you / they ] had believed. mayhaps, in the end, [ you / they ] too are only mortal. ❜

❛ i would not sleep away what life remains to me.❜

❛ when i die, i want to die with my axe in my hand, screaming a curse. ❜

❛ it is for you to determine what becomes of you. ❜

❛ i would sooner you wed a [ lord / lady ], but if you prefer a hedge knight or a merchant or a commoner, even, i am past the point of caring, so long as you pick someone. ❜

❛ life is slower there, & quieter. you will like that. i swear to you, [ name ], you will be safe & happy. ❜

❛ the gods hold us all in their hands, & life & death are theirs to give & take away, but men in their pride look for others to blame. ❜

❛ what mischief can i get up to with so many eyes around me ? ❜

❛ the boys train at fighting every morning, why shouldn’t we train at kissing ? that’s what girls are meant to do, isn’t it ? ❜

❛ lie to me again, & it will go very much the worse for you. ❜

❛ you can prove your innocence at the hazard of your body. ❜

❛ forgive me, but i have a [ husband / wife / partner ], & no taste for paramours. ❜

❛ i came back from the ends of the earth for you. ❜

❛ in [ place ], the men fuck sheep. you cannot fault them. their sheep are prettier than their women. ❜

❛ the sins of the fathers are oft visited on the sons, wise men have said ; & so it is for the sins of mothers as well. ❜

❛ who can know the mind of such a beast ? ❜

❛ if we do this, it must surely lead to war. ❜

❛ what sort of [ brother / sister ] steals their [ sister’s / brother’s ] birthright ? ❜

❛ am i a [ king / queen ] or no ? if i am, then crown me. ❜

❛ if you go, you go as a messenger, not as a knight. you must take no part in any fighting. ❜

❛ tell [ name ] that i will have my throne, or i will have their head. ❜

❛ i offered you an honourable peace, & you spat in my face. what happens next is on your own head. ❜

❛ i swore you my sword. i’m older now, but not so old that i’ve forgotten the words i said, & it happens i still have the sword. ❜

❛ in this world of men, we women must band together. ❜

❛ you are wet, [ name. ] is it raining or did you piss yourself in fear ? ❜

❛ put out your eye, & i will let you leave. one will serve. i would not blind you. ❜

❛ it is not for me to tell you what to do when you are not beneath my roof. ❜

❛ if you thought to receive a hero’s welcome, you will be disappointed. ❜

❛ i have danced with dragons before. i would sooner sleep with scorpions. ❜

❛ thrones are won with swords, not quills. spill blood, not ink. ❜

❛ you are the lawful [ king / queen ], & those who deny it are traitors. it is past time they learned the price of treason. ❜

❛ it looks better on me than it ever did on [ them / you. ] ❜

❛ would - be dragontamers have made attempts to ride this one a dozen times ; its lair is littered with their bones. ❜

❛ if this be victory, i pray i never win another. ❜

❛ i am determined that this should be my victory ; i have no wish to share the glory with my family, nor any other. ❜

❛ the throne has spurned [ you / me ], & [ your / my ] days upon it will be few. ❜

❛ let the gods decide if you speak truly. if you are innocent, they will give you the strength to defeat me. ❜

❛ the gods will curse us all for this. ❜

❛ one who gathers whispers can spread them just as well. ❜

❛ no castle can be held against a dragon. ❜

❛ if i strike my banners, do you promise me my life ? ❜

❛ i told you i would build a castle out of traitors’ bones. i don’t have near enough bones yet, so … ❜

❛ i’ll have no songs about how brave you died, [ name. ] ❜

❛ today was butchery, not battle. ❜

❛ half the lords of the realm will turn against us if we are so cruel as to destroy such ancient & noble houses. ❜

❛ how many more must die to slake your thirst for vengeance ? ❜

❛ speak again of bastardy, & i will have your tongue out. ❜

❛ honour means little & less to [ them / you ] ; it’s wealth & power [ they / you ] lust for. ❜

❛ some will say the dead are the fortunate ones, for no mercy will be shown to the survivors. ❜

❛ the power young maidens exert over older men is well - known. ❜

❛ [ you’re / i’m ] hardly a likely paramour for a [ title ], one would think. ❜

❛ [ you / they ] are overly fond of [ gender / name ], & should be married soon, lest you surrender [ your / their ] virtue to someone unworthy of [ you / them. ] ❜

❛ all you have sowed, now shall you reap. ❜

❛ treachery no longer has the power to surprise me. i have come to expect it, even from those i love the most. ❜

❛ you are a common thing, with the stink of sorcery upon you. ❜

❛ i do not think you would lie to my face, but i cannot have those around me that i do not trust implicitly. ❜

❛ without a strong hand to restrain them, even good men can turn to beasts. ❜

❛ once a turncloak, ever a turncloak. ❜

❛ why be a [ lord / lady ] when you can be a [ king / queen ] ? ❜

❛ would that i had never read this letter. ❜

❛ such stories make for charming songs, but poor history. ❜

❛ on a dark horse with burning eyes they come, a scourge of fire in their hands to cleanse this pit of sin of demons & all who bow before them. ❜

❛ prayers cannot stay their wroth, no more than tears can quench the flame of dragons. only blood can do that. your blood, my blood, their blood. ❜

❛ this is their city. if you would make it yours, first must you destroy them. ❜

❛ they are vermin. drunks & fools & gutter rats. one taste of dragonflame & they will run. ❜

❛ though i cannot doubt your courage, your act was one of folly. ❜

❛ never have i seen a sight more terrible, more glorious. ❜

❛ i think your parents did not beat you often enough. take care i do not make up for their lack. ❜

❛ you may plot & plan & scheme, but you had best pray as well, for no plan made by mortals has ever withstood the whims of the gods above. ❜

❛ who can know the heart of a dragon ? ❜

❛ they will come for [ you / me ], & [ i / you ] do not have the power to resist them. ❜

❛ dear [ name. ] i had hoped that you were dead. ❜

❛ it would seem i am your prisoner … but do not think that you will hold me long. ❜

❛ we shall meet in hell before this year is done. ❜

❛ the realm has been split asunder. we must needs join it back together. ❜

❛ the sooner [ they / you ] are dead, the sooner this rebellion will end. ❜

❛ words dripped from [ your / their ] lips like honey from a comb, & never did poison taste so sweet. ❜

❛ i’d sooner dance in hell than wear your chains. ❜

❛ you must surrender. the city cannot endure another sack. save your people & save yourself. ❜

❛ perhaps you sense your end is near, & wish to pray for forgiveness for your sins. ❜

❛ the killing has gone on too long. ❜

❛ finish these foes now, or those of us not in our graves in twenty years will rue our folly when their babes strap on their father’s swords & come seeking after vengeance. ❜

❛ are you a babe in swaddling clothes, to be cozened by flowers & feasts & soft words ? ❜

❛ there are liars, turncloaks, & poisoners in this court who would murder you as quick as anything to secure their own power. ❜

❛ i want no part of this, but i will not have it said that i stood in the way of justice. ❜

❛ the realm will be a better place without you. ❜

❛ you smell of woodsmoke, not of flowers. ❜

❛ there are worse ways to die. winter has come, [ name. ] ❜

❛ do this, & i shall know that you are as wise as you are strong, as kind as you are fierce. ❜

❛ give me this, & i shall give you whatever you may choose to ask of me. ❜

❛ all i ask is all of you, forever. ❜

❛ with winter at hand, strong backs & willing hands would be welcome in many a hearth & home. ❜

❛ [ they / i ] will warm your bed in winter, & gnaw your bones come spring. ❜

❛ it’s a gentle imprisonment, but imprisonment nonetheless. ❜

❛ should the dead come rising back up from beneath the sea, i shall gladly give them back what once was theirs. ❜

❛ if [ they / i / you ] die without an heir, we shall dance again, however much we may mislike the music. ❜

❛ how can you rule the realm when you cannot rule yourself ? ❜

❛ crown [ them / me ] & we will rip all the old wounds open once again. ❜

❛ i’ve bedded two of them, i think it was. not both at once, that would have been improper. ❜

❛ you are wild, willful, & wanton, as i feared. ❜

❛ so long as [ they / you ] are kind & gentle & noble, i know that i shall love [ them / you. ] ❜

❛ soon i will be dead, & i would not die without ever knowing love. ❜

❛ whenever i see someone put to death, i like to have a flagon & a [ woman / man ] afterward, to remind myself that i am still alive. ❜

❛ you fool, you thrice - damned fool. if i dared, i would have your bloody head off. ❜

❛ i am not one who likes to laugh, & i like being laughed at even less. ❜

❛ all young men suspect they are immortal, & whenever a young warrior tastes the heady wine of victory, suspicion becomes certainty. ❜

❛ you might smile at their rebukes, but you will soon be given good reason to dread their rewards. ❜

❛ you do not need to like them, you need only wed them, bed them, & get a child from them. ❜

❛ it would be hard to picture anything more beautiful, unless perhaps all of them had arrived naked. ❜

❛ i shot them with an arrow in the arse. ❜

❛ like all such tales, they have some truth to them, well mixed with fear and falsehood. ❜

❛ you have twice [ name’s ] ambition & half of their ability. ❜

❛ it was a fool’s scheme, & it will be quickly undone. ❜

❛ begone, or i promise you, every one of you shall die here. ❜

❛ i acted only to protect you from false friends & traitors. ❜

❛ [ i do / they did ] not deserve such a death, at the hands of such a beast. ❜

❛ i swear upon my sword in the sight of gods & men that none shall do you harm whilst i stand beside you. ❜

❛ the court roared with laughter, but as i look back upon it now, i blush for shame. ❜

❛ you always were a bloody fool, [ name. ] ❜

❛ the gods chose our new regents, & it would seem that gods are just as thick as lords. ❜

❛ one who knows how to ease pain will also know how to inflict it. ❜

little fists opening and closing and opening again as it grasped at nothing, hoping, she thinks, for a familiar presence, a familiar heart that beat beneath it's ear, and there were times when it did not cry ( those imaginings always made something grow tight in her chest, as if the moorings that held her bones in place had pulled taut to the point of pain - as if she was making room within her breast to breathe for the child that was not, not yet ) she leans her head back, an inhalation of breath taken in through her nose and loosened in a soft, near inaudible exhale through lips that remained parted for seconds more, so she might take another breath, to steady herself further, a motion that allows the persistent stiff set of her spine to ease, and the beginning to pain pinch of tension to smoothe from between her shoulder blades as she settles against her husband.

he is warm, she thinks, and solid. his hand is gentle where it rests upon her belly ( where stood infront of the mirror she can almost see the beginning of the curvature that would become the solid curve of their child, growing beneath the skin ) the leftward turn of her chin is accompanied by the raise of her eyes, running in a tender assessment across the expanse of his features, " i am well, " she promised, words quiet and firm, an immediacy meant to ease before all else, " i do not feel ill, " a pause, " no more then that which the maesters tell me i should. there is the nausea in the morning, and the tenderness in my breasts. but other then that... physically, i am well. "