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~~~Third Person, Eighth Moon, 277 AC~~~
~~~Tournament Grounds, Westerland~~~
The betting contest was over, the crowd buzzing with palpable excitement due to the glorious sight they had caught a glimpse of just a few hours ago. To be able to watch head-on as two beasts the size of carriages engaged in an aerial fight to bring the other down was something too strong to overcome at a moment's notice.
Not to mention the amount of gold many managed to win by betting well, which added to the festive and enjoyable atmosphere. After the event, the lords retired to their tents or resting places to prepare for the day's banquet, instead, Azrael and Valka stayed on the platform of the place along with the royal family, both conversed on topics of interest and seemed to get along well.
"Are they the famous Unsullied?" Rhaegar asked curiously, seeing four of Azrael's guards standing like statues, in position with circular shields strapped to their backs, and long spears. "Yes, the Unsullied, former slaves like many in Xandar, but now free men in service to their home," Valka replied with a modest smile.
"It must be difficult," Rhaegar expostulated, looking at the Unsullied with a complicated look, 'Difficult?' Valka questioned, as he passed a bowl full of goat cheese to Azrael. "Emm yes, well, they have been soldiers all their lives, and now, though they are free men, they will be able to have no family, no legacy, that is a man's greatest regret."
"Legacy, family? They can get that," at this point, Valka was confused, not understanding what Rhaegar was referring to, "well, they are... you know."
"Eunuchs," Aerys finished for him, annoyed at Rhaegar's ineptitude to get to the point" Oh, that, hahaha, no, they're forgetting about Xandarian potions, they're capable of achieving... That. And much more." He made his point clear, referring to the growth of the Unsullied members.
"Ohh, I understand," Rhaegar said, his face showing shame. He looked back down at his food. And Azrael, these... Wyverns... Are they from Valyria?" Aerys asked, interested in the winged beasts, especially after seeing the great performance they had put on hours before.
"No, they are not from Valyria, wyverns originate from Sothoryos, the great continent full of jungles and deadly diseases," Azrael replied smoothly, finding the conversation enjoyable, if the term was the right one.
.
.
.
.
.
"Varys, it is good to see you after several months," the greeting reached Varys the moment he entered the room Azrael had been given, finding the latter sitting behind an oak desk as he read some documents. Varys bent his back to the point where Azrael managed to see the back of his neck, "My king."
"Inform me of what you have done here," was all Azrael said, without even looking up, "King Aerys is delighted with everything to do with Xandar, my king, I have managed to make the king listen more to me than to his own family, e stopped Lord Tywin's attempts to marry his daughter to Prince Rhaegar, that has created a division between the two men, which will end in a confrontation between the two, Lord Tywin may end up being removed from his position as the king's hand, and I could manage to reach that position if I set my mind to it."
"Not only that my king, but I have managed to create a spy network in all the kingdoms, thanks to this network, knowing people's secrets will be simple," Varys finished telling what he had achieved, but for some reason, Azrael did not like it, judging by how he continued with his frown.
"And this... information network, how is it made?" Azrael asked, and for the first time since Varys entered, Azrael looked up and looked at Varys, "Well, umm, this network, it's reliable and very secure, Your Majesty, you have nothing to worry about," beads of sweat were starting to fall Varys's temple, while Azrael was about to explode with fury.
"Yes... Very sure."
"Ahh" Varys let out a cry of pain as a witch appeared behind him and kicked both hind parts of his knees, getting him to fall on his joints, with a sharp thud hearing, at the same time, two witches appeared on both sides of Varys, and in fluid and accurate movements, developed their whips and each one grabbed an arm of Varys, to then pull and force him to sob due to the intense pain that the enchantments on the whips produced in him.
"My king, why? I have done everything you commanded, I have not let you down at any time, please." Azrael silenced Varys as he reached him, and gripping his face tightly, he looked at Varys with fury in his eyes.
"Oh, but you have, you know very well that on Xandar, under no circumstances, slavery can be used, none of its presentations are legal, and any Xandarian caught doing this will be punished," Azrael beckoned to Valery, the witch who had struck Varys seconds before and made him kneel.
The psychopathic witch smiled cruelly, and taking a brown-looking potion, made Varys swallow it, "You will release all those children you have under your control, you will take them to the Bank located in King's Landing, there they will make sure they are restored to their former glory, twenty witches will be working from now on with you, they will be in charge of getting information for you, but at the same time, they will be your controllers, now go."
The witches retracted their whips, giving Varys room to rise, bow, and begin walking towards the exit. "Varys," Azrael called to him one last time, and Varys turned around with difficulty, "be thankful you are useful, otherwise, I would cut out your tongue just as you did with those children and send you immediately to Xandar to work in the Mines," with those last words, Azrael threw him a health potion, which would help him heal the burns produced by the whips, though it would not cure him of the potion Valery made him take.
Valery and the other two witches took their places again, with Azrael returning to his desk to continue tending to Xandar's business. "Love, I just saw Varys come out with puffy eyes, has it passed?" Valka's voice snapped Azrael out of his thoughts.
Looking up, he saw that Valka had entered the room, "yes, it was time to set him straight, I will not allow him to keep children as slaves, because that is what he does."
"As far as I know, he had already been using those children since his time in Pentos, and seeing that you didn't put up a problem with that when you sent him here to Westeros, he sensed that it was okay," Valka explained modestly, approaching Azrael and kissing him.
"Well, I've been very busy, I have a lot on my mind, our wedding, the building of a new Vaes Dothrak, a city for the Jogos Nhai, the Jhogwins, the issue with the Wither's black rose problem, sigh, it's a lot of things," Azrael finished rubbing his forehead. The amount of work ahead of him was vast.
"We would have stayed on Xandar then, but no, the lord wanted to take his long journey to the other side of the known world," Valka said by way of mockery, earning an angry look from Azrael. "Though I do know of something that can help you get all those troubles off your chest, if only for a few hours."
This attracted Azrael's attention, who looked at Valka with a complicit look and lustful eyes, "is that so?" Azrael took Valka's hand and pulled her close to him, bringing their mouths together in a passionate kiss that lasted seconds, seconds that would have followed had it not been for the interruption.
"My king, an emissary from the camp, he says he brings urgent news," Gezro's voice came loudly through the wooden door, causing Valka and Azrael to break away reluctantly. "Come in."
"My king, I hope you have a good evening," a thin man with an elongated face and sunken eyes entered the room a short time later, accompanied by Qrano. "Tell me what happened, I was on to something important."
"Ehh, yes, Your Majesty," the man looked fearful, "there was an altercation in the camp, and three Westerosi men were killed, apparently they were men of House Frey, of the Twins, and they sought to make their way to your dragon Endoxes, my king."
This earned a sigh of frustration from Azrael, who thought his day would get better. Which it would not.