STORMBORN

12 | THE LAND OF ALWAYS WINTER Part Two

_______12/02/2016_______

"Don't worry, you'll see him at dinner." He hid his smirk from her line of vision.

Daenerys kept her eyesight and retention sharp as she absorbed all the important details the immense cave has to offer. It was used as a vast port zone for all aerial, aquatic and snow vehicles that the former men of the Night's Watch arrive in or deploy to travel around the world. All were disguised or unnamed to keep their deliveries of ammunition and their identities hidden.

The men never laid eyes on her nor even acknowledged her presence as Edd Tollet escorted her into a bridge corridor made out of glass that showed the blues of the ice as cracks of light get trapped within and deep dark waters flowed rapidly below.

A series of hallways, stairs and double doors then followed and she lost her sense of direction from numerous turns and stops.

One hallway was covered with lush crimson carpets under its black marble floors and white paneled walls intricately designed. Another was all carved dark wooden walls with complex angular patterns that stood on the gloomy forest green carpets which resembled a familiar room in Kings Landing. Everything else jumbled up in her mind that some key things only marked her memory such as various rare creatures preserved in glass tanks, a grand chandelier surrounded by angels on clouds painted on the the high ceiling and a lastly, a full glass wall against the freezing open water where all the living creatures swim which includes a pack of enormously beautiful orcas.

"Is this all real?" She asked, eyes full of wonder.

"A sweet sight isn't it?" Edd would be pleased to tell Jon how the tour went. Jon specifically instructed him to get her puzzled in the labyrinth first before taking her to her room.

"He sure had his spare of time for all this grandeur." She laughed harmoniously that it echoed throughout the black tunnel leading to a hallway with an ordinary but modern interior.

"Yeah, well, boss likes to replicate or collect the things he's seen around the world." Edd reasoned.

Her eyes widened with the innocence of a child, tiptoeing to be heard of what discovery she had to share.  "Correct me if I am wrong but I swear to the Old Gods and the New that that wooden room resembled the Red Keep's dance hall."

"I haven't been, miss. I was but a farmer's boy." Edd smiled sheepishly.
"Have you lived there?"

"No," she giggled at his unknowingness to the aristocracy of Westeros. "I used to go there when I was young."

"All you prince and princesses love to dance too much, eh?" Attempting to sway his hips awkwardly, he comically laughed at himself.

Daenerys almost lost it — leaning on the wall for support. The laughter died down eventually and Dany contemplated on how this man ended up in the antagonist side of the story. "Edd, I don't mean to pry but why have you joined him?"

"Jon? He is my brother." They continued walking then. Edd's face genuinely lit as he spoke about Jon Snow. The love in his eyes was apparent. "And I won't turn my back on him. He's a good man."

"A good man?" She repeated incredulously. "Towards his men and his customers I presume but I am interested on why you say so."