Pentos, on the continent of Essos.
At the first hint of dawn, Daenerys jolted awake, her small chest rising and falling rapidly.
She stared blankly at the rough, mottled wooden beams overhead, confusion filling her violet eyes.
Daenerys slipped quietly out of bed.
The sky had only just begun to turn pale gray.
Standing on tiptoe, she pushed open one half of the narrow window.
A sea breeze laden with damp, salty air rushed against her face.
From the harbor below came the steady sound of waves breaking against the shore.
Several merchant ships with heavy canvas sails lay quietly moored beside the stone quays, while gray-white gulls wheeled and cried among the towering masts.
Daenerys rested her chin in her hands and watched the sky brighten beyond the window, but the image of the black-haired boy refused to leave her thoughts.
If it really had only been a dream…
Then who was that boy?
Why did he keep appearing in her dreams?
She had never seen him before, yet everything in those dreams felt so real.
Daenerys thought about it for a long while but could make no sense of it.
Perhaps it truly was only a strange dream.
Just then, Ser Willem’s voice came from outside the door.
…
The dining room smelled of toasted bread and hot oatmeal.
Viserys leaned back in his chair, absently stirring the hot soup in his bowl with a wooden spoon while restlessly leafing through a worn, yellowed book.
“It was probably a dragon dream.”
After listening to his sister’s hesitant account, Viserys abruptly stopped stirring.
An almost feverish flush spread across his pale, gaunt face.
“I’ve read about them in ancient books!
Among those of true dragon blood, a very few who are favored by the gods can glimpse the future!”
He slapped one hand down on the book.
A fierce, obsessive fire burned in his violet eyes, and his voice trembled with excitement.
“A dragon!
If you truly dreamed of a dragon, then it means the power of the Targaryen Bloodline was never taken from us!”
“The Usurper will not sit the Iron Throne much longer.
Those lackeys who betrayed the Targaryens will one day be burned to ash in the fire of the true dragon!”
Daenerys said nothing and continued eating her oatmeal in small spoonfuls.
She could not understand her brother’s nearly obsessive longing to restore their dynasty and reclaim the Iron Throne.
Ser Willem Darry pushed a slice of freshly cut warm bread toward her.
His large, weathered hand gently stroked the girl’s long silver-gold hair.
“Fill your belly first, little princess.
As for your dreams, when the proper time comes, the gods will reveal the truth.”
Daenerys nodded, quietly finished her breakfast, and wiped her empty bowl clean.
After that, the dreams of the icy Far North came more and more often.
Each time she entered the dream, the two figures stood closer together amid the endless wind and snow.
At first, she had been able to see only a blurred silhouette.
Later, she could make out the boy’s clothes and features clearly.
And with every passing day, the heat and oppressive presence emanating from the deep, dark cavern at the far end of the snowfield grew stronger.
Until that night.
The wind and snow quietly fell still.
When Daenerys took a step through the soft snow, she suddenly realized that the black-haired, gray-eyed boy was standing only a few paces away.
Before either of them could recover from their surprise, a deep rumbling sound came from within the cavern.
The shadows at the entrance slowly receded, and an enormous white beast, nearly twenty feet long, emerged from the darkness.
Its entire body was covered in snow-white scales, making it almost blend into the surrounding landscape beneath the pale gleam of the snow.
Its powerful hind legs sank into the frozen ground.
Its folded wings rested close against its sides, the edges of the membranes trembling slightly with each step.
The beast emerged from the cavern and raised its head, looking out over the snowy plain.
Its violet slit-pupiled eyes swept across its surroundings with a trace of curiosity.
When its gaze fell upon Jon not far away, it suddenly stopped.
Its eyes fixed firmly on him.
Before Jon could react, Frostflame folded its wings tightly against its body and pushed forward with its hind legs, striding quickly toward him.
Its heavy feet sank into the snow.
One step.
Two steps…
The massive white dragon swiftly reached Jon, lowered its enormous head, and gently pressed its warm snout against his head.
Hot breath washed over his face.
Jon felt an indescribable sense of closeness spread from his palm into his chest, making his heart pound.
The white dragon narrowed its eyes contentedly.
A low rumble came from deep within its throat as it even leaned forward to nuzzle him.
Jon raised a hand and touched the white scales on its brow.
Beneath the cold armor of scales, warm life pulsed steadily.
The dragon seemed to enjoy the closeness just as much.
It lingered beside Jon for quite some time before slowly turning its long neck.
Its violet eyes looked past him and settled curiously on the silver-haired girl standing nearby.
Its nostrils flared again, sending wisps of warm white vapor into the air as though it were carefully trying to identify something.
…
Daenerys stood alone in the snow, her small hands tightly clutching the hem of her pale yellow dress.
She watched timidly as the enormous white dragon lowered its head, gently nuzzled the black-haired boy’s palm, then obediently lay down beside him.
A deep purring sound came from its throat.
It looked as docile as a great cat curled beside a hearth.
Her fear had not yet faded, but her confusion only deepened.
Was this…
truly a dream?
Carefully, she held out one small hand, already reddened by the cold.
A snowflake drifted down from the sky and landed directly in her palm.
It was cold.
She curled her fingers slightly.
The snowflake quickly melted into a tiny drop of water, leaving her palm damp.
Her dreams had never been like this before.
In the past, everything had always been hazy.
She could not clearly see anyone’s face, nor could she properly hear their voices.
By the time she woke in the morning, most of what she had dreamed would already have faded from memory.
But the snow here was genuinely cold, and the wind stung her cheeks.
She could even make out the boy’s face a few paces away and the fine patterns on the white dragon’s scales.
Biting her lip, Daenerys secretly raised her other hand and pinched the back of it hard.
“Hiss…”
It hurt.
She quickly let go and rubbed the sore spot.
If this was a dream, why did it hurt so much?
But if it was not a dream, she had clearly gone to sleep in her bed the night before.
How could she have opened her eyes and suddenly found herself here?
Unable to understand it, she simply stopped trying.
Daenerys stole a glance at the boy, then finally gathered her courage and edged one small step closer.
Crunch.
Her foot left a shallow print in the snow, and she immediately froze in alarm.
The boy was still there.
He had not disappeared.
Daenerys held her breath and cautiously took another step.
He still did not vanish.
Her violet eyes slowly widened.
Questions flooded her mind all at once.
Where was this place?
Why did that enormous white dragon obey him?
And who was he?
There were so many questions that she could not decide which to ask first.
After hesitating for a long moment, she finally whispered,
“Where is this?”
She paused, then asked timidly,
“Are we…
dreaming?”
Jon, who had been with the white dragon, turned toward her when he heard her voice and shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Daenerys froze.
The boy had actually answered her.
“You…
can hear me?” Her eyes opened wide, astonishment filling her voice.
Jon nodded, then finally asked the question that had been on his mind for so long.
“Who are you?”
Daenerys looked at him, and much of her earlier fear immediately faded.
She clenched her fingers and cautiously moved a little closer.
“My name is Daenerys.”
She straightened her small back and quickly added,
“Daenerys Targaryen.”
After saying it, she stole another glance at Jon.
“But…
you can call me Dany.
Ser Willem and my brother usually do.”
“Dany.”
“Targaryen?”
Jon repeated the name softly, and something flickered in his previously calm eyes.
Hearing her own name spoken by him made the corners of Daenerys’s mouth lift despite herself.
“And you?
What’s your name?”
The boy answered without hesitation.
“You can call me Jon.”
“Jon…”
Daenerys softly repeated the name.
She thought it sounded nice.
They were standing quite close now.
Jon withdrew his hand from the white dragon and reached toward her.
Daenerys stared at his hand for a long moment before slowly extending her own.
She wanted to know whether she could actually touch him.
Their hands drew closer, little by little.
Just as their fingertips were about to meet…
Crack!
A sharp fracture suddenly rang out overhead.
Daenerys flinched and jerked her head upward.
Several enormous cracks had appeared in the once white, featureless sky.
Blinding white light poured through them as the fractures continued to spread.
A violent gale suddenly swept across the entire snowfield, hurling clouds of snow into the air.
Daenerys instinctively raised an arm to shield her face.
The white dragon behind them sensed that something was wrong as well.
It abruptly raised its head and began rumbling uneasily.
Yet its enormous body was slowly turning transparent within the white light.
“Jon!”
Daenerys reached for the boy she had only just met, but the gale drove them farther and farther apart.
Jon reached toward her as well and called reassuringly,
“Dany, we’ll see each other again!”
“Really?”
Before Daenerys could say anything more, the dazzling white light erupted.
The snowfield, the white dragon, and both children were swallowed by the light at once.