Choices Chapter 4

Choices   Chapter 4

The council meeting was wrapping up, finally. The horde was currently encamped outside Pentos, and had been for several weeks, preparing for the trip across the Narrow Sea. This meeting like many before it was about where to make landfall in Westeros, and which noble families, if any, would be receptive to Daenerys. They were dismissed, everyone made their way towards the exit.

"Jorah, can you stay behind for a moment' asked Daenerys. They waited patiently for the others to depart.

"Jorah, what are you thinking?"

'I actually think Tyrion's idea has merit. Landing near Storm's End makes the most sense given the amount of people we need to transport. Plus, without Stannis or Renly the Stormlands are week and leaderless."

"Thank you for the advice on strategy, but that is not what I meant. You seem distracted lately. Is there something disturbing you? A problem I need to be aware of?" He was about to tell her no, when she asked "Is it Karcia?" He was surprised. He had never told Daenerys about his relationship with Karcia. The shock must have shown on his face, because she smiled at him.

"Come now Jorah,you of all people should know it is almost impossible to to keep such a secret in the Khalasar. She sleeps in your tent every night. It seems some of the men have taken to calling her 'Jorah's Khaleesi'."

"I'll see that it is stopped."

"Why? She may not be the Khaleesi, but she earned her title as much as I did. So, is she the problem?"

"She's not a problem Khaleesi, but there is a decision I have been wrestling with."

"If you share it with me perhaps I can help you with it." It felt strange discussing Karcia with Daenerys. It was like Karcia had been his special secret, but he guessed she had never been a secret at all.

"Karcia is pregnant with my child."

"Congratulations." He let himself smile.

"I had all but given up on having a child of my own. Imagine a son to carry on the Mormont name."

"Or a daughter, another she-bear of the the north."

Or beautiful like her mother." he said, more to himself than Daenerys, but she heard him none the less.

"So, I assume this decision concerns the child."

"Yes. I am thinking of leaving Karcia here, in Pentos. The child and her will be safer here, and when the war is won I'll send for her" Daenerys furrowed her brow "You disagree?"

"It is not my place, but there are a few things to consider, she will not receive a such a warm welcome here, and may in fact be resented. I am not blind to fact that my giant Khalasar, as it has traveled across Essos, scoured the land, and the dragons hunt far and wide. Many will be glad to see the back of us. If Karcia stays behind she may bear the brunt of that anger. Secondly, we don't know how long this war will last, it could be years. Are you willing to wait three, four, even five years to see your child for the first time? Jorah, I intend to win this war, but there is a possibility that I won't, so we should all grab what little happiness we can, while we can." She had given him a lot to think about.

"What does Karcia think about this?"

"I haven't discussed it with her yet."

"Well, that should probably be your first course of action." He nodded his head in agreement. As he turned to leave.

"Jorah" she called softly. He turned "Do you love her?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"I think you know why" he said, staring at her intently.

"Jorah, you're my dear friend, and consider you almost like my family. That is a kind of love, but not the love you need." He could see she was sad that she couldn't be what he needed. It was in that moment that the scales fell from his eyes, and the image of his silver queen faded. In her place was Dany, his friend, and a girl he once loved.

"I think she loves you."

"How do you know?"

"Because, she looks at you like you are her sun and stars." This brought a smile to his face.

"Thank you, Daenerys" he said as he exited the tent.

(chapter 1) (chapter 2) (chapter 3)

Girls like her were born in a storm, they have lightning in their souls, thunder in their hearts and chaos in their bones. - Nikita Gill

(insp)

Change   Chapter 5

After his meeting with Gwen Merlin walked the castle grounds for a time, thinking about all she said, before returning to Gaius. Gaius was seated, supposedly reading, but he looked up as soon as Merlin entered.

"How did it go?" Gaius inquired.

"You were right. She noticed my strange behaviour, and the magic I thought I had hidden so well." Merlin told Gaius everything they had discussed, Gaius nodded frequently, but did not interrupt until he was finished.

"Gwen is turning out to be an astute Queen for one so young and with all the trails she has had to face."

"But, is she right?"

"About Sir Leon or Arthur?"

"Either." Gaius sighed.

"Merlin death is never an easy thing. When someone dies it can feel like the world should stop, but life continues, the crops must be harvested, animals need to be feed, the sick must be tended to, and finding love is part of life."

"But, Arthur isn't dead, not in the true sense."

"We are all aware of the dragon's prophesy, but we can not suspend our lives waiting for it to occur. Arthur himself had to deal with death, he had to continue on after his father passed, he had to adapt to a new life. Do you really think that if Arthur came back today that he would be angry at Gwen for living?" Merlin didn't answer Gaius, but he thought long and hard about what he said. That night when they were preparing for bed Merlin asked

"How are you so wise?" Gaius allowed himself a small smile.

"Wisdom comes from age and experience. You are a great deal wiser than when we first met, and someday when you are my age you will know things beyond my comprehension." He gave Merlin's shoulder a squeeze, and headed to his bed. Merlin walked towards his room, but stopped on the threshold and turned.

"Thank you, Gaius."

"For what?"

"For always being there for me."

"It's been an honour Merlin, it truly has."

From that day forth Merlin no longer interfered between Gwen and Sir Leon. Actually, he made sure that the servants and members of the court gave them the privacy they required. It was not always easy, he often doubted himself, but then he would think back to that conversation with Gaius. He knew the answer to Gaius' question, Arthur would not be angry at Gwen, he would want her to live and find joy. Also, by helping Gwen he came to realize he himself wasn't living a full life, he had been living a partial life, a suspended life, waiting on Arthur's return. It was time for him to make some changes, if Arthur would want happiness for Gwen, he would want the same thing for Merlin too.

The End

(chapter 1) (chapter 2) (chapter 3) (chapter 4)

AFFECTION AND PANCAKES Daryl and Carol

Daryl was sitting on the porch, eating the pancakes Carol made him. Michonne came out onto the porch, then she just stared at him, with her shit eating grin.

"What?"

"So," she asked, crossing her arms and leaning up against the house "what was that about?" Daryl raised an eyebrow in question.

"You kissed Carol on the neck."

"Shit" he huffed under his breath, "I didn't think anybody was looking."

"Hey, this many people sharing a house somebody was bound to notice."

Things had changed last night between Carol and him. They had been laying on the bed, fully clothed, holding each other, trying to provide solace and comfort to one another, but then things changed. The touches became more like caresses, and she kissed him. Just a brief meeting of the mouths at first, then it deepened. They hadn't had sex, but they came pretty damn close, he eventually put a stop to it, and they slept intertwined for the rest of the night.

He slept in for the first time in a long time . When he woke up in the morning, she was gone. He found her downstairs at the stove making breakfast for everyone. She had smiled at him, a happy smile he thought, and told him there was a plate for him on the counter. Carol acted like it was any other day, he found it was he himself who was having trouble acting normal, he wanted to touch her. So, when he was sure no one was paying attention, he had gone over to the stove, placed his hand on her lower back and kissed her gently on the neck. Then he grabbed his plate and escaped to the porch.

"You gonna explain?" asked Michonne, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Nope."

"Explain what?" asked Glen, as he came bounding up the front steps. Michonne gave Daryl a mischievous smile.

"Daryl kissed Carol."

"Well, that was a long time coming" replied Glen. Glen looked to Daryl, who gave him a 'don't ask' look in return, so he addressed Michonne.

"Hey, you remember the prison, and that bet we all had going."

"What bet?" growled Daryl, not liking the sound of that.

"It wasn't a bet exactly" explained Michonne "more like an inside joke, trying to guess when you guys were going to come out as a couple."

"Man, half the people from Woodbury already thought you two were an old married couple. Although I guess I lost. I said by summer you guys would be hot and heavy, but then that summer went to shit."

"What about you?" Daryl asked Michonne.

"Me? Well, I think I won. I said it was going to take a long time, but I don't think I thought it would be this long." Daryl didn't comment, and the three of them stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Is Carol still making pancakes?" asked Glen spying Daryl's half eaten plate.

"Yeah" Michonne said, as she indicated that he should enter the house. After Glen shut the door behind him Michonne stared at Daryl, giving him a half smile.

"What now?"

"Nothing. It's just good to see her happy" she said, straightening herself up from the wall and turning towards the door "and you too" she added over her shoulder, before crossing the threshold and closing the door with a soft click.

(A03)

Realization   Daryl & Carol

Note: This is my first attempt at a Daryl/Carol fic. This takes place sometime after 6x08. 

His feet pounded up the stairs, but as he approaches her room he slows, takes a moment to breathe, and opens the door. She is on the bed, laying on her side, facing away from him.

"Rossita," she calls over her shoulder "did you bring another pain pill?" He doesn't respond, just walks around the bed so he can be in her field of vision. She intakes a deep breath of air, but it must of been painful because she winces, after a moment she gives him a weak smile.

"You're back."

"Yeah" he says as he sits in a chair beside her bed. She reaches her hand out and he grabs it, so glad to feel her touch.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but your'e not."

"I'm better than I was, but it looks like I am going to be pretty useless for a few days. I know there are still walkers out there, that the place needs to be cleared out and the walls repaired."

"You don't need to worry about any of that." Suddenly Daryl felt an overwhelming urge to cry, but he holds it in. Something must have shown on his face, because Carol covered their entwined fingers with her other hand.

"Hey, I'm alright."

"But, you almost weren't, and I wasn't here."

"Daryl you couldn't have known what was going to happen, none of us could."

"If you were gone ..." he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"I've got nine lives remember" he nodded. They stayed in the same position, hands clasped, for a long time, at one point he thought Carol drifted off, but couldn't bring himself to release her hand. Later she opened her eyes. She stared at him for a long time, as if she was looking for something.

"Daryl, you know I've loved you for a long time right?" Shock coursed through his system, but he manged to shake his head no.

"I should have told you a long time ago."

"Why didn't ...?"

"Because the people I love end up dead, and I guess I foolishly thought that if I never said it you'd be safe, but that's not how this world works."

"How long?" he croaked out.

"What?"

"You said you've loved me for a long time, how long?" She took a moment to think.

"Since Cherokee Rose." The tears did flow then, he couldn't hold them in. She caressed his hair, and when he was spent, she wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. Than he got down on his knees beside the bed, and he leaned into kiss her. Just a gentle meeting of the mouths, but when he tried to embrace her, she yelped out in pain, and he pulled back.

"I'm sorry" she said "I know my timing sucks."

"It's perfect" he replied, as he touched her face, than he gave her a smile, the biggest smile she had ever seen on Daryl Dixon's face.

(A03)

Change   Chapter 3

Merlin stayed close to Gwen for the next little while. He interrupted any interactions between Gwen and Sir Leon, sometimes using magic, but sometimes his presence was enough to stop any romantic interludes. They were obviously not ready to share their affections in public, and Merlin was now sure there was an attraction between them. They would often seek each other out to converse privately, Leon would often try to touch Gwen, but Merlin found ways of preventing him. Merlin knew this wasn't a long term solution to the problem, but it was all he could come up with at the moment. Merlin had tried studying the old books to see if there was any spell that would make two people dislike each other, but the only ones he could find were to break an existing curse, which he didn't think they were under, or for them to feel disgusted and repelled, which he didn't want want either, it would look most strange if the Queen and one of her trusted advisers suddenly feel out.

On Friday morning Merlin exited his room, tried from another long night studying the books.

"Merlin" called Gaius " can you do something for me today?"

"Depends."

"I need you collect feverfew for me, my supply is running dangerously low." Merlin sighed.

"Can't David do it for you?"

"David's mother is ill, nothing serious, but she needs his care. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't been around for the last few days?" To tell the truth he hadn't noticed.

"I'm sorry Gaius I can't today, Gwen needs me."

"Does Gwen need you or do you need to be around Gwen?" Merlin fidgeted.

"I don't know what you mean."

"What I mean is every day you leave here early in the morning and spend your day by Gwen's side or close by, and don't come back until she has retired for the evening. Do you realize it has been almost two weeks since you visited your cottage? This is the longest you have gone without visiting it since you made it your home. In the past if I asked you to collect herbs you would have done so happily, so that afterwards you could spend the night at your home, than bring me the herbs the next day."

"Well, I don't know if I'd say happily" Gaius raised an eyebrow. "Look Gaius, I understand what you are saying. I will visit the cottage, and collect your herbs, but not today."

"When? Merlin you can't continue to follow Gwen around like a lost dog, others will begin to notice, if they haven't already." At that moment a knock sounded at the door. Gaius bid them enter. The door opened revealing one of Camelot's guards.

"Good morning gentlemen, Merlin the Queen would like a word with you in her private chambers." Merlin and Gaius exchanged a look.

"Of course" said Merlin as he followed the guard out of the room.

(chapter 1) (chapter 2)