Chapter 1: Introduction
The storm clouds above King's Landing howled their resentment at the men and women who scurried like ants, toiling in all hours beneath headaches and hitching skirts.
Daenerys, Stormborn of House Targaryen, the last Dragonslayer they whispered about the streets, wanted nothing more than a few moments of peace with her beloved Kal, her chambers and trusted attendants her fortress against the phantom world outside.
But the gods didn't grant that luxury tonight.
A young page trembled with every fiber of his being.
The girl had stared down the remains of her enemies without batting an eye, so to now find Daenerys mildly curious about the news he bore was nothing short of a miracle.
"I-I apologize, Your Grace, for disturbing you. It's just—there's a woman here, asking to see you, and she won't take no for an answer."
"Who is she? And what business does she have with me?"
"She calls herself The Queen of Stars.
Rarely seen but often spoken of in hushed tones, whispers paint her as a woman of immense power and charm, with dark curls as wild as a cosmic storm and eyes violet like the deepest recesses of the universe."
Daenerys mulled over the words. It wasn't every day the whispers from the street clamored for an audience in the Great Hall.
"Does anyone know who she truly is?" Daenerys asked.
A pause, and the page nervously shook his head.
"No, Your Grace, though I was able to find this."
He offered a small parchment, the ink barely dry. Familiar with the work of the spymasters, Daenerys took the note.
"She has been seen at the Crossroads Inn, dancing alone beneath the moon and the stars. She speaks with no one but the watchers, who damn themselves for having seen her, whispering of her beauty that seduced the light and how her laughter gave the dawn pause.
They say she entrances animals in their cages, and strangers from far-off lands spring to their deaths in the arena, all to witness her dance. The Seven Kingdoms know her only as the Queen of Stars, and none have ever claimed to know her true name.
Daenerys chuckled. "Very well. I suppose anyone powerful enough to entrance wild animals deserves my attention. Lead the way."
Winds howled outside, whipping through the rafters and shaking the very foundation of the Red Keep.
Daenerys, unswayed, strode through the Great Hall, the echoes of her boots upon the marble floor declaring her presence as stars would through the sky.
Guards parted, a sea of tables and chairs obscuring the view before her, and she was finally met with the sight of a lone woman in the center of the room.
"Juliet, the Queen of Stars," Daenerys murmured, taking in the raven locks and haunting violet eyes that seemed to embrace every inch of the hall.
"Your Grace," Juliet curtsied, her long, luxurious cloak shimmering under the flickering torchlight. She raised her head, offering her dearest smile. "It is an honor to finally meet you."
The two women stood locked in each other's gaze, and an undeniable force rippled the air between them. An electric connection arced, uniting the fury of a storm-born dragon and the allure of the night sky.
Stripped from their layers of obligation and expectation, Daenerys Targaryen and Juliet, the Queen of Stars were merely two dancing souls. A single dance was all the world could expect of god and monsters before the hurricane of change reared its ravenous head.
They whirled together, each beat echoing from the walls of the Great Hall, amplifying the magnetic pull between them.
The storm howled and raged, but it couldn't break the sanctuary they'd created in the dance. Slowly, archaic words flowed from Juliet's lips, its enchanting sound weaving a tapestry of mystique and passion as time itself seemed to stop.
"M'lady," Daenerys whispered, scarcely daring to breathe as the energy enveloped her, as though having been transported to a world birthed of stars and fury.
Juliet's incantation continued like an enchanting serenade—one which Daenerys drank of thirstily, her mind and body expanding with the connection.
As the queen of dragons, Daenerys' heart resounded with conquest and retribution. And yet, as the dance progressed, she instinctively knew this exotic creature could very well break down the fortress which had surrounded her very soul.
Juliet broke their embrace, exchanging a purposeful glance with Daenerys in the process.
The intensity swirling in those violet depths bore into her own, striking a chord that reverberated within her—an answering call—and Daenerys could only wonder at this new enigma before her.
"Your Grace, I beg of you," Juliet uttered softly, yet the command in her voice rippled with mystique and power. "Grant me a private audience this eve. I wish to reveal the path that awaits you and my true intentions."
Slowly, deliberately, the corners of Daenerys' lips curled into a knowing smirk.
She knew then and there that Juliet could have plucked the stars from the midnight sky to feed her insatiable hunger for the mystical. This Queen of Stars had an aura that demanded attention, an undeniable presence that simultaneously instigated both wonder and fear.
An audience—words that seemed as common to the queen of dragons as the wind that howled above her castle—took on new meaning in Juliet's presence. Daenerys understood and accepted that she couldn't resist the allure—the sheer command—of this mysterious woman.
With curtains of silver and jade framing her royal features, she bestowed Juliet with a gracious final nod of acceptance. I accept your proposition."
Beneath the storm's ferocity, Daenerys would grant Juliet a chance to reveal her secrets, to spin tales that sensually and carefully unfurled in the quiet corners of the Great Hall. A place where whispers could be shared, secrets exchanged, and hearts could gingerly intertwine.