While visiting the Wolf Court, Lord Hugo Florent brought along his two daughters. Sixteen-year-old Lady Lyla, with her red hair and blue eyes, resembled the late queen, while her fifteen-year-old sister, Lady Lara, had inherited their father's black hair and purple eyes. It was likely that Lord Florent hoped one of the girls would catch the eye of the aging king.

When King Eddard I realized this intrigue, he became furious. Not only did he expel Lord Florent from the court, but he also banned him from ever entering again. Ironically, during her brief time at court, Lady Lyla met the king's grandson, Cregan. The two married a few years later. Lady Lyla returned to court as a prince's wife and would later become queen.

Lord Hugo Florent lived long enough to see his daughter crowned queen. However, the ban on entering the court was never lifted. Queen Lyla kept her children carefully away from their grandfather, and King Cregan never allowed Lord Florent to benefit in any way from being the queen's father.

— From "The History of the Kings of House Stark" by Maester Cillian.

One of the nobles from Tyrosh said, "They have started to reunite Westeros again. We cannot allow this process to be completed, otherwise it will become a bite we cannot chew."

As the debates inside the room flared up, one of the nobles from Essos asked in surprise, "How can they unite so smoothly? Westerland and the Reach—both are fire pits."

"Westerland didn't have much military strength left anyway. Although there was some resistance, in the end they all knelt before King Eddard. The king sent all the nobles responsible for the Red Wedding to the Wall."

"And what about the Reach?" another asked. "They must have put up serious resistance, right?"

"King Robert married Lady Margaery Tyrell to his heir," said a noble, smiling bitterly. "And he announced he would grant amnesty to all the Reach lords who pledged allegiance. Needless to say, they swarmed like fleas and became his most loyal subjects."

"The easy reunification of Westeros is quite unfortunate, but both Westerland and the Reach are regions that have been heavily looted and ravaged," said one of the elderly lords "It will take a long time for the kings to improve those areas, and we will arrive before they finish."

"You seem overly unconcerned, my lord," said one of the nobles from Lys. "I must remind you that the Sealord of Braavos met with alliance leaders in White Harbor. If they attempt an invasion against Essos, Norvos will be their first target."

"The three cities of the Valyrian alliance alone can gather 120,000 soldiers..." A nobleman tried to interrupt, saying.

"That number means nothing. The Northern Kingdom can muster at least 80,000, even 100,000 if pushed. The Vale can field between 30,000 and 50,000, and Stormlands similarly have the capacity for 50,000 to 70,000 soldiers. Do you think those men are fools? I'm telling you, they already expect an invasion, and when we stand at their gates with 120,000 soldiers, they will respond with all their armies. First they will drive us out, then they will come to our doorsteps for revenge, and our neighbors in Essos will certainly take advantage of our cities being undefended. I'm not even mentioning those damn Dothraki."

"When did the heir of the glorious Nasarin family become so cowardly? We are the noble blood of Valyria, those vile Westerosi creatures cannot stand against us."

"ENOUGH!" Shouted Lord Nasarin, her mother's new husband, pounding his hand on the table. "For an hour, all I've heard are your meaningless babblings, and now you insult my heir in my own house. Everyone except family members, leave. We will meet again tomorrow."

The disgruntled murmurs of the Valyrian nobles in the region were heard, but no one wanted to oppose the head of the Nasarin house, who had a fearsome reputation. After a while, everyone left the room.

"Father, no matter how you look at it, this is madness," said the old lord's son. "We will be at war not with a country or a kingdom, but with an entire people. The Westerosi will never allow the Valyrian peoples to rule over them."

"I am aware of that," Lord Nasarin brushed off the matter. "You know I won't move until our preparations are complete and I am certain of victory. Relax."

"Have you spoken with the council of sorcerers, father?" one of the daughters asked. "Can they help us in any way?"

"They rambled nonsense about Westeros being foreign lands where other gods rule," Lord Nasarin said through clenched teeth. Qohor was known as a city of sorcerers, but magic had died with the last dragon. "We can produce wildfire, but we will need dragon bones."

"Dragon bones shouldn't be too hard to find; we have a few skulls in our exhibit room," said one of the household members. The Nasarin house was of Valyrian descent; they had never been dragonriders, but they had long served as governors for the ancient empire. Because of this, they possessed a few dragon bones. "Even if not from here, the largest dragon bones in the world are found in the Dothraki Sea. It would be difficult to bring them, but not impossible."

"If we are going to invade Westeros, we can't rely on wildfire or magic that's long dead."

"We're not doing that," Lord Nasarin said firmly. "The nobles I just drove out were not the leaders of the Valyrian alliance, only a few pests. We have been speaking with the leaders for a long time, and our preparations will be extensive."

"Well, if we push ourselves, we can raise 200,000 soldiers," said the military governor Tillius. "But if we do that, we are gambling with all our cards. As the heir said, the Valyrian cities are undefended, and Braavos, Lorath, Ibben, and the Dothraki will definitely see this as an opportunity. Damn it, even the slave bay cities might make a move—those bastards are never reliable allies."

"I'm not even talking about the minor nobles and wealthy merchants who will remain in the city," the heir continued. "They will surely take advantage of our absence to increase their authority, and if we lose the war, they will swarm over our corpses like ravens. Just like Tyrosh and Myr did to Lys."

"The other city leaders are not fools; they are well aware of this and will be quite reluctant to take risks as great as ours."

Daenerys looked at her mother in surprise. She knew there were some voices within the alliance opposing the invasion of Westeros, but this was the first time she heard them so loudly.

"Lorath and Ibben will likely be content with looting rather than a real attack," said Lord Nasarin. "The slave bay cities are not foolish enough to move against Volantis; they know the Valyrian cities are their biggest market buyers and that Westeros is a large agricultural region to expand their stores. We told them they could practice their own form of slavery there." He lightly smiled as he struck his hand on the table. "Braavos might be a problem, but they will be busy with the rebellion Pentos has caused. Tyrosh and Myr will support Pentos anyway; they never got along well with Braavos."

"All of that is fine and good, but it doesn't eliminate the biggest threat," said the heir. "The Dothraki are still to our east, and Khal Barbo's son Drogo has moved quickly to inherit his father's legacy. Already all the Dothraki are uniting under his command, and soon he will be a great khal like his father."

"Ah, the Dothraki," Lord Nasarin said, laughing strangely. "The way the world works can surprise you in many ways, my son. Today's enemies may be tomorrow's friends." He looked at Daenerys with a strange expression.

"I'm so sorry, my daughter," said Queen Rhaella, tears streaming down her face as she embraced Daenerys. "All of this is because of my weakness."

"Mother... you," Daenerys tried to calm her.

"No, Aerys was right, he was right," the queen said, shaking her head. "I am not a true dragon. If I were a true Targaryen woman, I would never have allowed what Aerys did to me. Princess Rhaenyra, the Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys, my aunt Rhaella—they would never have accepted such a man and would have slit Aerys's throat in bed. I should have done the same." She held Daenerys's face. "And now you are being married to a wild Dothraki khal, and I am still weak, still unable to do anything."

"Mother, please don't speak like that," Daenerys tried to smile. "I will fulfill my duty to our house."

"You are just a little girl; these worries shouldn't be yours," the former queen said through tears.

As she hugged her mother, Daenerys closed her eyes. She pressed the rapid beating of her heart against her mother's chest. Whenever she was scared, whenever she was cold, she always held onto her like this. At that moment, she felt that everything would pass. Maybe the world was still in chaos, maybe the answers were still far away, but her mother's scent, the warmth of her hands... everything was right where it should be. They stayed like that for a while, quietly. Then Daenerys gently lifted her head. "Everything will be alright," she whispered—and in that moment, she truly believed it.