Battle of Mantarys 307 AC.
Jorah.
He had almost expected it to remain this easy, that they'd just have to turn up and they'd take the city without a fight. Astapor and Yunkai had been so keen to fall to their knees for his queen and king that he'd thought when they headed here it would be the same thing. The first sign it would not be was when the princess was left with Ser Jaime and Ser Brienne on the ship. Jorah then realizing that unlike in the other two cities, this one actually wished to face the dragons.
It made him consider whether or not they would be facing men or those things they'd faced in Qarth. Only for the king to tell him, Jaime, Qhono, and Grey Worm that it would indeed be men that they fought here today. Riding with the Dothraki he could see their own eagerness for the fight ahead. How long it had been since they had actually sacked a city, he knew not, perhaps the closest they'd come in years was Meereen the first time his queen had taken it back.
As they surrounded the city he awaited his signal eagerly. Battle may not be something he enjoyed as much as the Dothraki or was an artist in like the Unsullied, but it was something he was good at. Some way off in the distance, Grey Worm and the Dothraki had formed up and the city was now surrounded. Daario led a small group of horsemen who rode with the Unsullied and he would lead a larger group of Dothraki in case the Mantaryan's had cavalry, something the king believed they did not. He heard Tormund laughing along with the Dothraki behind him and he was soon joined by the red-headed wilding.
"You know these fools Bear Knight?" Tormund asked pointing to the city below them.
"I never had many dealings with them. People say Mantarys is a cursed city." he replied to a loud laugh.
"You and I have both seen true curses, whatever is down there holds no fear for us." Tormund said and Jorah couldn't but agree.
They'd faced wights and things made of ice, fought a snow bear that had been brought back from the dead, and an undead dragon. Men from Mantarys who had created a reputation for themselves as monsters and monstrosities were poor opponents after that. He heard the dragons roar and the cheer that went up when they did so, Jorah, Tormund, and Qhono amongst those who looked to the sky. All three of them were in the air, the king, the queen, and the princess would all be taking part in this battle and he and the others looked on as they descended on the city.
The gates, the walls, the docks, they flew together towards Mantarys but separated once they drew closer to it. Soon the sky was lit up in flames and then the queen was flying over their heads once more. Jorah turning to Tormund and to Qhono who both wore almost the exact same eager look on their faces. With a loud shout, the horses began to move and within a moment he held Heartsbane in his hand and was ready to wield the greatsword at whatever or whoever stood in his way.
No arrows flew their way, no riders rode out to engage them and as they closed in on the city he could see the damage the dragons had done. No city could stand up to them, not truly. The defenses they would use to withstand an attack from other foes were useless once a dragon came their way. Gates burned, archers were not safe on their walls and so the city was open to them. As he rode through the burned gate, Heartsbane swung and took the head of a man who had raised his spear towards him. Beside him, Arakh's cut down the few other defenders who tried to stop them, and Jorah despite what he'd said to Tormund, was very much relieved.
"Men, they're just men." he said, his voice not carrying over the sound of the horses riding hard or the men they rode over.
When the first set of arrows came they caught him by surprise and was it not for Tormund, one may have hit home. As it was, it was his horse and not he that took the hit and Jorah crashed to the ground and for a moment was swordless. He grabbed his dagger as he rose to his feet, winded and confused he looked around for his sword and saw it a few yards away and moved to it. Soon he was joined by Tormund and some others, though whether they'd lost their own mounts or had given them up he couldn't tell. With Heartsbane in hand, he looked around and saw Tormund point to a building some distance away. Nodding, he and the others began to move towards it and were soon fighting against those inside.
Quickly it became clear that Heartsbane was useless in such tight cramped conditions. Jorah resorting to his dagger again until they reached the open room and then once again he could swing his sword. A dozen men faced the seven he had with him and that dozen was outmatched. Tormund was like four or five men, his ax cutting through them as if they were merely meat on his plate. While now once again with Heartsbane in hand, Jorah fought just as fiercely. When they were done he moved to the edge of the room and with a nod to the Dothraki that were with him, he pointed out some other men on roofs nearby. His archers soon taking care of theirs and once done they then moved from the building and headed to the center of town.
There was some fierce fighting along the way, some of the Mantaryans had been clever enough to realize that the streets were a death trap and so had hidden in buildings to ambush them as they moved through the town. Others had sought roofs to fire down arrows upon any who passed them. Jorah then hearing a loud roar and looking to the sky to see Rhaegal lay down his flames on some of those roofs. Beside him, he didn't need to look to see the smile on Tormund's face. The wilding was perhaps the closest friend the king had and the one man that he trusted above all others and the feeling was mutual he reckoned.
"Fools, you don't take on a fucking dragon." Tormund said loudly.
"They perhaps didn't realize they weren't safe there from Rhaegal's flames." Jorah said to another loud laugh.
"I was talking about King Crow." Tormund said laughing even louder as they moved further into the city.
Rhaenys.
The fight was truly upon her now, Rhaenys leading Balerion in the air and towards those she felt were their enemies on the ground. She had told her dragon to only use his flames against those who meant them harm. That she wished only they to pay the price today and that any who didn't fight, who offered surrender or were not bearing weapons should be left alone. How much of what she said to the dragon he understood, she knew not. Aegon though seemed to believe them to be cleverer than they and so she deferred to him on this.
Whatever the truth of things, she directed and Balerion followed those directions. If she went too far, if she burned people that didn't deserve it, then that was on her and not the dragon. She'd been asked to see to the docks, to clear the way for some of their men to land and so that's what she did. Some ships she left alone, others she and Balerion burned. Rhaenys looking back at them to see there were indeed armed men ready to attack their own onboard them.
There were other men lined up ready to repel any who landed, but they too were not ready for a dragon's flames. In one swoop she and Balerion ended them and she felt no wrongness in her actions and no guilt at what she was doing. Had these people knelt willingly they would have avoided this, they'd have been welcomed into the empire that her brother and niece were building. Though some would say they shouldn't be forced into that empire, they were fools and their opinions didn't matter. Not only was the world that Aegon and Dany intended to build a better one, but the alternative was to stay as they were and live in a worse one. One way or another the people of Mantarys would have to kneel, willingly, by force, to them or to Belicho, and given what he had done in Qarth, it was far better it was them they knelt to.
"Dracarys." she said when some arrows flew at her from a nearby roof, Balerion not needing a second-order or invitation.
She looked around for more enemies, her eyes seeking them out through the smoke and fire. Not seeing any she then flew to the ships and saw the red dragon as she flew protectively over the ship her niece was housed on. Looking down she could see the white fur of Ghost and it relieved her to see it was only their own ships nearby. The thoughts of Rhaella in danger were ones that she knew both Aegon and Dany couldn't or wouldn't bear. With a roar from Balerion that was answered by the red dragon, she then flew back to the docks and the city.
Ahead of her, she could see Drogon flying over what she assumed was the center of the city while Rhaegal flew further away. The green dragon seeming to fly in circles as it occasionally let loose its flames. For the next hour or so she did the same. Balerion flying around the docks while Rhaenys looked for any further threats and then the first of their ships and men docked and unloaded. When they moved, so did she, Balerion guiding them through the streets and searching out for any threats that needed a dragon's intervention.
They were skirmishes below her, nothing that Balerion's flames would be useful against and so she let the dragon roar and used its threat to clear the way. Only once did she have to bring her dragon to bear again that day. Some archers were hiding in a building that she sensed almost rather than saw. The flames soon ending their threat as more and more of their men had landed and now joined those ahead of them. Seeing they were safe and her work here was done, Rhaenys went in search of a place where she could be more useful.
As she looked at the streets beneath her she could find no real need for Balerion's presence any longer. The Dothraki and the Unsullied had taken most of the city and had converged on the center. Neither Rhaegal nor Drogon seemed to have let loose their flames in hours and so with one last flight back over the ships, a flight she was joined by Rhaegal on, Rhaenys made ready to fly to Dany and to land as had been agreed.
"It's done." she heard Aegon shout loudly and she smiled as Rhaegal flew close before dropping down so that he flew just above the ship that Rhaella was on.
Ghost was soon running down below deck and as Rhaegal flew back up to join the circling Balerion, she saw Ser Jaime and Ser Brienne along with Arya, Gendry, Missandei, and the babes. Rhaegal then let out a roar that was more a call than a challenge. Then she and her brother flew their dragons to the city once more. They flew slowly over it, Aegon giving it one last look before they then joined Drogon and Dany and all three dragons landed in the central square. With a look to her brother, both she and Dany climbed down of their dragon's backs and she moved hurriedly to thank Balerion and praise him for what he'd done.
"Kirimvose, Balerion, īlē sīr sȳz, Kirimvose." (Thank you, Balerion, you were so good, Thank you.) she said happily, Balerion trilling at her words.
She saw Aegon kiss Dany deeply before he then moved to her, her brother hugging her tightly to him which she welcomed greatly.
"You are well? Unhurt?" he asked concernedly.
"I am well, little brother." she said smiling as he kissed her cheek and then he took her by the hand to lead her to Dany who she then embraced just as warmly as Aegon had her.
"The city is ours." Dany said loudly to cheers from the Dothraki and the Unsullied nearby, Rhaenys looking to see Ser Jorah, Qhono, Grey Worm, Daario, and Tormund move to them and she felt relieved that none of them had been harmed.
Mantarys 307 AC.
Aegon.
He'd been fearful for the first time since Rhaella was born, fearful not for himself, Dany, or their men but for Rhaenys. She had never flown in battle before, had never had men try to kill her as she flew on a dragon's back. Aegon and Dany had, and it was almost second nature to them both now. Their men had fought everything from the living to the dead and they knew what risks they should and should not take. He had no doubt that Rhaenys had faced danger in her life. She'd done so from pretty much when she was a little girl who should have known naught but peace, but war was different than anything else. It took a different type of concentration, a different kind of focus and so he'd worried.
He had no need to, she had been incredible and though he gave most of his attention to his own tasks, Aegon had seen enough of her on Balerion to put most of his fears to rest. When they'd landed and the fight was done he'd shared his relief, joy, and pride with both his wife and his sister. The small whispers he'd spoken in Rhaenys's ear were for her and her alone and he hoped his words showed her just how very proud of her that he was.
" You're a dragon, Rhae, a true dragon." he said softly.
With the city taken, Jorah, Daario, and Grey Worm had their men secure it, and Dany and Rhaenys were led to what would serve as their base for now. The large manse was soon surrounded and with their guards and the dragons close by, he felt secure enough in his wife and sister's safety that he made his way to the docks to greet Arya, Rhaella, and the others. He was not alone in his journey to the docks, the Unsullied guards joined by Tormund who bore a large grin and was thankfully unharmed.
"Will the Horselords celebrate tonight King Crow?" Tormund asked more than eagerly.
"Thirsty my friend?" he asked to a laugh from Tormund.
"Always." Tormund said making him smirk.
"The Dothraki achieved a great victory today, Mantarys has fallen for the first time ever. Even were I to demand it of them, they'd not forgo their celebration this night." he said and saw how Tormund looked worriedly at him.
"You'd demand it of them?" Tormund asked, his concern clear.
"To stop you getting drunk and making a fool of yourself, Aye." he said smirking and then he was in the air, Tormund holding him in a bear hug as he kissed his cheek.
"I knew you fucking loved me, Jon Snow." Tormund said as Aegon broke free from him.
"See, a fucking fool, and you're not even drunk yet." he japed to a booming laugh from his friend.
"Come around and see me later tonight and I'll show you a true fool." Tormund said making Aegon laugh as they reached the docks.
It had become a more regular occurrence, the japing he and Tormund got up to. His friend had been able to bring out this side of him more and more and it had spilled into his interactions with others now too. With Dany and Arya, Rhaella and Rhaenys, even with Jaime Lannister and some of the Dothraki. From the moment he'd wed his wife, mayhap even a little before then, but certainly from that moment on he'd felt a lightness about him that hadn't been there before.
Why it came out even more with Tormund had taken him some time to understand. Aegon at first thinking it was because he was his truest friend, which did play its part in it. More so though he believed that it was actually because of the life he'd lived with the man beyond the Wall. He'd been a miserable, dour fucker and now he no longer was. That Tormund appreciated this side of him was something that only made him keener to try to be this way more often.
The ship soon docked and he looked to see Arya carrying Robb while Gendry helped her down the gangplank, their guards moving ahead of them just in case. Ghost soon raced past them and the red dragon once she saw he was there, quickly flew to her brothers. Ser Jaime, Ser Brienne, and Missandei all walked down the gangplank a moment later. Aegon wearing an even truer smile once he saw his daughter in Missandei's arms.
"Your grace, all is well?" Missandei asked with some concern as she handed him Rhaella.
"All is well, Missandei. Her grace and Grey Worm both await us at the manse and we suffered few losses today." he said seeing the relieved breath she took.
After he then assured Jaime, Brienne and Gendry it was safe, they began to walk back to the manse and he felt it long before it happened. It wasn't his senses that told him they were to be attacked, it was Ghost and Aegon would thank him profusely later. Moving quickly he handed Rhaella to Missandei and told her, Gendry, and Arya to get low. The Unsullied with him quickly covered them with their bodies and shields and when he moved from them Tormund moved with him.
"Ser Jaime, Ser Brienne. Protect the princess." he said loudly, not needing to say anymore than that.
While Rhaella's life was the most precious thing in the world to him, he wasn't telling them to ignore his sister, nephew, goodbrother, and Dany's closest friend. He was simplifying the order so that he, Tormund, and Ghost could deal with the threat. A threat that turned out to be six men bearing spears and shields.
"Cut them down." he shouted to Tormund as he drew Lightbringer and though it didn't shine, he didn't need it to.
The first man was cut from chest to balls, Aegon slashing the sword down from high and the shield the man had used to protect his head soon crashed to the ground, allowing his slash to end him. So angered was he by them putting his family at risk that had the man been twice the size he'd still not have the strength to block the blow he'd aimed at him. Just like the next man wasn't able to as Aegon spun and caught him across the throat, the blood spurting out and covering him as he moved on to the next one.
Tormund beat down a man with his ax, the broken shaft of his useless spear laying beside him and while the man held his shield to block the blows, Aegon wasn't the only one whose anger was furious. Dodging a spear strike, he drew his dagger and moved inside another man's guard and pierced him under the chin. The dagger pushed so hard that it came out the top of the man's head as he fell dead to the ground. He heard the sound of an ax flying through the air and saw one of the men who'd attacked them fall as he'd tried to run away. As for the last one, he'd not get off that easy and after he'd taken his hand and watched it and the shield fall to the ground, it was with a head butt rather than a sword thrust that the man himself followed.
"Kill the fucker." Tormund asked and Aegon shook his head.
"He's going to lead me to the rest of them. No matter what I have to do to him for that to be so." Aegon said and he looked to see Ghost running to him, the wolf thankfully unharmed and the blood that he was covered in was soon revealed to be from two more men who'd lain in wait, both bearing bows they'd never fire.
When they arrived back at the manse and Dany saw him covered in blood, Aegon shook his head to let her know he was unharmed. His wife then moving to Rhaella and Missandei to make sure they were too. Once inside the building itself, he felt more able to relax, and after changing and assuring Rhaenys that he was unhurt. He then made doubly sure that Arya, Gendry, and Robb were as well. After he'd done so he made his way to the prisoner and spent the next hour alone with him and Ghost as he got the answers that he sought.
There was no celebration to be held that night, instead, he, Ghost, Qhono, Grey Worm, Daario, Ser Jaime, and Tormund along with two hundred men spent the night cleansing the city. By the next morning, they'd killed more than a thousand men. Aegon himself had lost count of the lives he took and not one of them did he mourn or feel guilty about. These men would not kneel and posed a threat to his family, so they'd not see the morrow, and then and only then would he rest, and would the celebrations begin.
King's Landing 307 AC.
Varys.
His little birds had kept him informed from the moment they'd left Storm's End. Edric's treason reaching new bounds and was doomed to failure right from the start. The boy was no great player of the game, had he been then this would cause him and their graces a much larger problem. Oh, he'd never be able to topple them as his fat oaf of a father had been so lucky to do. Unlike in the Rebellion, the circumstances were very much different this time around.
There was no mad king, no cause to rally around and no hurt feelings and grudges to be given in to. The Crown wasn't built on rocky foundations and just waiting for someone to give it a nudge and see it fall. Nor was it a realm that had an appetite for war after many years of peace. People, both the Lords and the Smallfolk had no will to fight. Certainly not to fight against House Targaryen and why Edric Baratheon believed they had, was beyond him.
Why he believed that in Sansa Stark he'd find a queen to rival the one the realm already had, baffled him even more so. Varys found himself wondering if the Stag was reliving some fantasy that he was his father reborn or if it was just simply that he had no idea of the things the girl had done. Were it not for the note that he held in his hand, the note he now rushed to share with the Hand of the King, he'd think the girl to be as stupid as Edric Storm was. Yet clearly she was not and it seemed that she had learned the lesson the king had sought to teach her. Or perhaps she was a far more astute player of the game, now that she'd lost it more than once.
"Is the Lord Hand at rest?" he asked the guard who shook his head, Varys then waiting to be called in to see him.
Inside the room he found Davos sitting at his desk, the papers were already strewn across it and it was clear that he had not slept the night before. He waited until he was noticed and then took his seat when he was bid, Varys deciding to speak on what concerned the Hand before he spoke on his own reasons for being up this early and for coming to the Hand's Solar.
"What concerns you, Lord Hand?" he asked as he looked to the papers.
"Trying to decide where best to use the coin their graces sent. What the priorities are and where best it can be spent." Davos replied.
"Would that not be best suited to the Mistress of Coin?" he asked.
"Aye, these are her recommendations." Davos said sighing as he then poured himself a mug of water, Varys accepting one when it was offered to him as well.
"Our food stocks are good are they not? We've seen it shared out equally?" Varys asked and Davos nodded.
"And the extra stored. It's this the building work. Keeps that were damaged or better conditions for those who live in King's Landing, I know their graces would seek both, but…"
"You wish to concentrate on one more than the other?" Varys asked to yet another nod from the tired-looking Davos.
"I believe you're missing our king and queen, Davos, as am I." Varys said to a look that told him he was right "You know what it is you must do, but you miss our king and queen and so an easy choice is becoming a more difficult one than it should be." he added and Davos looked curiously at him.
"And what is the easy choice?" Davos asked.
"The North and Flea Bottom. Then in time the other keeps." Varys said and Davos looked at him silently for a few moments before nodding his agreement.
"I thank you for your counsel, Lord Varys. Now mind telling me what really brought you here, much as I'd like to think it was to help an old smuggler get some sleep." Davos said with a smirk on his face.
"From Sansa Stark." Varys said handing him the note.
He waited until Davos had read the entire note, not that it would take him long. The words had surprised him when he'd seen them, Varys was sure he'd caught her in yet another plot only for it to be made clear that Sansa Stark was plotting something very different than what he had believed. Even after Davos had finished reading the note it still took some time for him to speak on its contents. Varys sitting and waiting patiently while the Hand of the King gathered his thoughts.
"You believe her?" Davos asked and this time it was Varys who needed to gather his thoughts before answering.
"In so much as what it says, I do." he answered.
"So she's seen the light and now wishes to be in their grace's good favor, this is what we're to believe?" Davos asked, his doubtfulness clear.
"In some ways, we are. I've no doubt she sees the folly of what Edric Baratheon wishes to do and that she can see his plan even more clearly than I." Varys said.
"I find that surprising." Davos said with a small chuckle.
"Those who conspire can see what conspirators want, Lord Hand. Edric Baratheon wants what Sansa Stark herself wants, or if this is to be believed, wanted. I've no doubt she sees all the steps he will seek to take because they are steps that she herself has planned out." Varys said before taking a swallow from the mug of water "What I am not so certain about are certain elements of the lady's plan."
"Such as?" Davos asked curiously.
"This could be a mummery. Sansa Stark knowing that she'd be watched and trying to get ahead of the game, so then making it seem as if she's on one side while truly she's on the other. It could be somewhat the truth, only for her to then turn if she believed that this could lead to her gaining a crown. Or the one that concerns me more than either of those." Varys said softly.
"That it's the truth?" Davos asked and Varys shook his head.
"That it is what it says, and I've not yet seen the next step in this game." Varys said, his worry a true one.
Once again it was silence and he found he quite enjoyed it. Davos contemplated things, he wasn't slow or dim-witted, he was considered. Exactly the type of man that the realm needed as it had suffered through those who acted without thinking far too many times before.
"It seems we have two choices. We can either end this and lose men in the process or let it play out and see where it takes us. My first instinct is the former." Davos said and then shook his head when Varys went to speak "But I know I'm wrong and it's the latter we must do." he said and Varys breathed relievedly "You'll give this your full attention?"
"My little birds and I will be watching most carefully." Varys said and Davos looked at him and smiled.
"Then let's see if the wolf feasts on the stag or if both are to fall prey to dragons." Davos said and Varys tittered as he rose to his feet.
He walked back to his rooms eager to send out his messages to his little birds and to make them ready to sing their songs. In Wintertown he'd put some of them on Sansa Stark as per the king's request. Each step she'd taken had been one that he'd known about almost as soon as she'd taken it and for moons, they were steps that had meant he had no need for a second glance her way. This one would require more than one and he smiled despite all it could mean.
She had sent the girl to Winterfell and had her deliver the note to the Castellan who'd then sent it on to him in the way they'd agreed to communicate. The man's loyalty to the king was absolute and Varys had because of that let him in on things that he'd not let many know about. A way to get word to him quickly being just one of those things. With Edd and his own little birds he'd never needed to worry about Sansa Stark, the fact she'd used a girl to send her message though concerned him somewhat. He worried she was playing the game a little too well now, and that it was not simply the easiest way to get a message to him. Young Mara had not been one of his little birds and the thoughts that Sansa Stark had some of her own were discomfiting.
"The game begins anew." he said with a sigh as he took his seat in his room and began about his work.
Tyrosh 307 AC.
Kinvara.
She had asked for and being given twenty ships and they'd then set sail a little ahead of the rest of the fleet. While a part of her wished to travel to Mantarys and see that city fall, their next destination demanded of her to do what she must. So it was to Tyrosh and not Mantarys that Kinvara sailed. By the time they joined back up with the rest of the fleet, it would be Volantis that the king and queen had set their sights on. Something that Kinvara had wished and hoped for would soon be coming true and she had her own part to play in it, as did the Fiery Hand.
R'hllor had sent her from the temple with them for this very purpose. Even at the cost of so many of her fellow priests and priestesses, he'd sent her and them away and at times she'd questioned it. Not in regards to the King and Queen or that she was to serve them. Nor even because of the lives that would be and were lost in the temple. More so because she feared that they'd never set foot in Volantis again and even if they did, it would be too late. That rather than R'hllor freeing the city, it would be held in thrall to the man who thought himself the Bloodstone Emperor reborn.
So when the vision came in the flames and she saw that the time was at hand for the former and that the latter would never come to pass, Kinvara had felt her faith in her god renewed. He had a plan, just as he always had and she and the Fiery Hand would play their part in that plan. Making her way onto the deck of the ship, she looked to the Greyjoy boy who captained it. Theon seemed more at ease, more content, and she wondered if their talks on this journey had been the reason for that. She hoped so, for rarely had she seen a man that both suffered and caused such suffering in equal amounts.
"We'll be docking within the hour, my lady." Theon said when he saw her and Kinvara nodded to the younger man, keen to see her people once more.
"We must be ready to leave by the morrow, Lord Greyjoy. Their graces will await us at Volantis." she said.
"Can your men board that quickly?" he asked curiously and she smiled, there was little the Fiery Hand couldn't do when motivated.
His assessment of their arrival was spot on a and a little over an hour later, Kinvara was walking the streets of Tyrosh along with the six Unsullied that the king had made her take with her as guards. At first, she had refused them telling Aegon that she walked in her god's grace, but in the end he had convinced her that her mission was all that was important and that perhaps her god was working through him. It had brought a smile to her face as she knew that he was.
When she reached the temple, one of the acolytes noticed her immediately and set off to find the high priest, Rahernon arriving a few moments after she'd entered the temple itself. The young man was more than pleased to see her and perhaps relieved too. For while Kinvara may be somewhat aware of her god's plans, he was very much not, in this regard at least.
"Lady Kinvara, it's time?" he asked eagerly and she smiled and nodded at him, Rahernon turning to the two priestesses that were with him and sending them off to find Virys the commander of the Fiery Hand "I had worried I'd not see you again." Rahernon said, his words not a slight against R'hllor but more ones of concern.
"I walk in R'hllor's light, Rahernon." she said as she saw Virys move her way.
She knew the truth of the younger man's concerns, with both Benerro and Moqorro now in R'hllor's embrace it was to her that the priests and priestesses would look for guidance. Kinvara had because of events in Volantis become the High Priestess of R'hllor, the one that all others sought to lead. It was a responsibility she had been born for, one that she had always known was coming and one that she hoped would have come about far differently.
"My lady." Virys said with a polite bow.
"It is time, my friend, Volantis calls out for us once more and his chosen make their way to it as we speak." she said and saw the smile on Virys's face, it was a slight brief thing but a true smile all the same.
Accepting the offer of some refreshments, she then spoke to Rahernon about events in Tyrosh on beyond. Kinvara soon finding his information to be more outdated than her own. He did tell her though that the red priests in Norvos had left and moved on to Lorath, something which caught her by surprise and made her consider what it meant.
"All or some?" she asked worriedly.
"All, Lady Kinvara." Rahernon replied.
In truth, it could only mean one thing and she wondered if Aegon and Daenerys were already aware of it. They traveled with the Old God's servant and Lady Malora was as gifted by her gods as Kinvara was by R'hllor.
"Have there been any other departures from Norvos or any other of the Free Cities?" she asked to a shake of Rahernon's head "I must look into the flames." she said rising from the table and Rahernon led her to the room where the braziers were kept alight.
To her further concern she found no answers in the fires and so hurrying Virys along she and the Fiery Hand were all boarded on the ships before morning broke. They set off at first tide and she was happy to see they had favorable winds. Yet it was not until Tyrosh was long behind them and they were out in the open sea that she felt herself relax once more. It would take them more than a week to reach Volantis and she was hopeful when they got there they'd not be the only ones who had arrived.
Putting the city to rights was something she very much looked forward to, repopulating the temple and bringing R'hllor's light back to the people of Volantis something she was keen to do. To see the fires for true once more was also something she looked forward to. So while she worried about Norvos and those from Westeros who had gone to protect that city, it was with thoughts of going home that she took to her bed that night.
Mantarys 307 AC.
Gendry.
He looked down at them both as they slept, his wife and son looked so at peace and he tried to allow that image to wipe away the others that had filled his head for the last few days. Images of Arya filled with arrows, of watching her and Robb be cut down and being powerless to stop it. Of himself being cut apart while Arya screamed as some nameless faceless man took their son from her arms before then stabbing her through the heart.
They were safe now, he knew that and the king had seen to it. Aegon had brought swift and bloody retribution to those who'd threatened to harm not just Rhaella, but Arya, him, Robb, and Missandei too. There was a time when what Aegon had done would give him pause and made him question the actions someone had taken. This was not that time and he reveled in it, welcomed it, and wished he could have taken a part in it.
These men had tried to harm his family, they'd dared try to take his wife and child from him and he hated them more than he had ever hated anyone before because of it. At times since, he had come close to screaming out loudly, such was his anger, Gendry for once feeling like the son of the man who'd sired him. Ours is the Fury were his house words and by the gods did he feel furious ever since they'd been attacked. Would that it was only that he felt.
For lying not too far beneath the fury, hidden amongst the angry feelings were ones that were far more worrisome. He was afraid, deathly so, not for himself, and it was not a fear he'd known before he had been wed and become a father. Gendry was afraid for them both and he worried that he could not protect them. Were he to share that fear fully with Arya then she'd hit him upside the head. His wife though fearful too after the attack was not someone who gave into fear and was not a woman who needed protection. Yet was it not a husband's job to protect his wife or a father's to protect his son? And if he could not do so here, then what was he to do?.
"I hate that face." Arya said catching him by surprise as he thought her asleep.
"Just what a husband hopes to hear when his wife awakens." he said with a chuckle as he leaned down to place a kiss on her cheek.
"You're doing it again." she said annoyedly.
"Am I?" he replied, wondering if she could indeed know what it was he was thinking about.
"Worrying over things we have no control over." she said not answering his question and yet answering it all the same.
"I…" he said and felt her rise from the bed, her fingers brushing over his cheek and Gendry leaning into them.
"As do I, but we are safe, Gendry, with Jon we're always safe." she said softly and though she meant them to comfort him, her words had the opposite effect.
"Arya, I… I don't believe we are." he said and she moved from him, the look of anger in her eyes thankfully only lasting briefly.
Robb waking up stopped the conversation from going any further, Arya moving to feed their son and Gendry rising from the bed to get dressed for the day ahead. They broke their fast with Aegon, Dany, and Rhaella, Missandei sharing her time with both the princess and Robb and while he ate heartily his heart wasn't in it. He spent his day working in a forge they'd set up. Mending armor and weapons and more to keep busy than anything else.
It was while he was working there that he saw the white wolf and he turned expecting to see the queen and the princess only for it to be the king instead that was with Ghost today. How long Aegon had been standing there he knew not, only that he had and that he said no words to him. The king turning and walking away from him and then not speaking to him at dinner that night either. He didn't ignore him so much, more he looked at him curiously without speaking to him and when he went to his bed that night, Gendry wasn't sure if he should bring it up with his wife or not.
One feel of Arya's lips on his own, her hand then moving over his chest and her brother became the last thing on his mind. They'd not lain together as regularly as they had before Robb was born, both to allow Arya to recover and the reality of having a newborn babe meaning that opportunities to do so were fewer combining to see it so. He welcomed it greatly tonight and his worries quickly faded away as his wife and he explored each other's bodies as if they were lands that they'd not yet set foot on. Afterward, she slept with her head on his chest and Gendry found himself convinced that the growing thoughts in his head were the right ones.
Resolving to speak to her on the morrow, he woke to find her already up and having left the room. He broke his fast alone, spent the day working, and by midday he found out they were leaving once more. Volantis was next on this journey and while the thoughts of more fighting raised his worries, they were at least sailing in a direction that he wished to. After dinner, he was surprised when Arya dragged him back to their room and more so when Robb wasn't there. Though his hope that it would be more of what they had shared the night before was soon shattered and it was instead an argument that he was to face.
"What did you say to my brother?" Arya asked angrily.
"Arya?"
"What did you say to Jon?" she demanded.
"I've not spoken to your brother, not in days." he said and he found the look she gave him one that annoyed him greatly "You're fucking playing the game of faces with me? For fuck's sake, Arya, I'm your husband, I'd not bloody lie to you." he said his own annoyance clear.
She looked at him a little shamefacedly and he was both glad to see it and wished he had not to. He didn't want her to feel shamed with him, there was no need to and he knew she'd not meant it how she did with others. It was just a part of her now and so he moved to her and was happy when she allowed him to take her into his arms. Moving to the bed, he sat them both down and turned to look at her.
"I didn't speak to your brother, Arya, I can barely do so remember." he said with a small chuckle which brought a smirk to her face "He did come by the forge but he never spoke to me and he's been given me odd looks." he said honestly.
"He spoke to me today, said that you were right and it was time." Arya said softly, her words confusing him.
"I was right and it was time for what?" he asked and was relieved to see that she now believed him completely.
"For us to go home." Arya whispered, her words barely heard and yet the import of them not lost on him.
"I.."
"You want us to leave, don't you?" Arya asked.
"I want us to be safe, Arya, you, me, and Robb, I want our family to be safe." he said determinedly.
"Jon is our family, Dany, Rhaella, Rhaenys. They are our family too." she said her voice pleading and he took her into his arms once more and whispered into her ear.
"They are, but they'll not be safe for a long time to come, I wish for us to be safe now." he said and she didn't reply.
They spoke no more about it, Missandei brought Robb to the room a few hours later and over the next few days, they made ready to set sail for Volantis. It was on the third night at sea that she came to speak to him. Arya finally explaining why they weren't on the same ship as the king and queen and Gendry felt his heart soar at the words she spoke, even if she spoke them with tears in her eyes.
"We're not going to Volantis." she said as she looked to him "We're going home, to Winterfell." Arya said and though she cried against his chest that night, it wasn't for as long as he feared and both she and he slept more peacefully than they had in moons.
Mantarys 307 AC.
Dany.
Her husband's anger was a curious thing to watch, he didn't rage or rant, and other than his eyes you'd not even know it was there, but looking into those eyes you'd see it clearly. It made her wonder what people felt when that anger was directed at them, what they thought when they saw him bearing down upon them. As it made her happy that his anger truly came to the fore when those he loved were threatened.
She'd seen the blood on him when he'd come back, feared he or Rhaella had been harmed and was relieved to find that neither they nor Arya, Gendry, Robb or Missandei had been and the blood belonged to those who'd dared to try to do so. With a kiss to her forehead and one to Rhaella he was gone and the wrath and anger he'd brought to those who lay in wait for them in the city was righteous. A whole night he'd spent killing people that lay in wait, he, Tormund, Grey Worm, and Ghost had rooted out each and every single one of them and those who'd ordered them to do so, and none now lived by the time he came back to her and their daughter.
"It's done, the city is ours." he said as he removed his blood-stained armor and clothing.
"How many?" she asked expecting a figure.
"All of them, not one who dares to stand in our way breathes still." Aegon said and by the gods did it excite her to hear both his words and how he said it.
It wasn't that she was bloodthirsty or that she reveled in death, it was the protectiveness of it that excited her. The security and safety that his words brought to her. Moving to him she dipped a cloth in the water and began to wash him. Aegon looking deep into her eyes as she moved the cloth over the scars on his chest, her eyes looking to see if there were any new ones and she was happy to see there were not. By the time she got to his britches and had him undo the laces, it had become less about washing and more a foreplay of sorts.
"I believe this is in need of extra attention." she said as she wrapped the cloth and her hand around his hardening manhood, the closing of his eyes and the contented sigh he made showing he agreed with her completely.
"Dany…" he said after a few moments and when she didn't answer and he opened his eyes, she knew she'd woken the dragon for true.
Later when she woke it was to find him standing there naked as he looked down on Rhaella while she slept. His arse looking like a gift from the gods themselves as it was bathed in the moonlight from the open window. Climbing out of the bed she moved to join him and as she reached him she smiled when he held out his hand and pulled her closer to him. Both of them then spending gods knew how long just staring down quietly at their daughter.
The next day she took the vows of fealty from the elders of the city, those who lived still that was. They were only too happy to do so, but she still had the dragons fly over and roar loudly when they were on their knees and the words she spoke to them were not idle threats either.
"You have been welcomed into our empire and like any other part of it you'll follow the rules we set forth. For now, you have time to begin the changes from a place where slavery is tolerated to one where it is not. Those you once saw as slaves are now to be freed, but we shall not force it upon you in one swoop. A year, a year you have to change things, to move from slavery to paying those who do the work you dare not." she said and the dragons roared once more.
"My wife speaks true, and you should mark her words and mark them well. Those who fail to do so will suffer the same fate as those who dared to ambush my family yesterday. Though unlike the blood I brought to them, to you I'll bring fire as well." Aegon said and all four dragons let loose their flames on cue.
"From here on, no woman or girl is to be forced to lay with a man, not of her choosing. No man, woman, or child is to be forced to fight to the death for the amusement of any other. No whips, beatings, or withdrawal of food or shelter is to allowed and any that dares to do so will find themselves unwelcome in our empire or the world we build. "Dany said and after the men and women on their knees then swore their fealty once more, she bid them rise to their feet and she, Aegon, and Rhaenys turned and walked back into their manse.
Less than a week later they left the city in the charge of a council, Aegon reiterating the words they'd spoken and Lady Malora telling them that for now and the foreseeable future they would be listened to. It had been hard to compromise, to realize that she had been wrong in Meereen and had created as many problems as she had solved. That it was Rhaenys who made her see it and who had come to suggest this way of doing things was something that she welcomed. Her niece was becoming more like a sister to her and each day they spent together she not only learned more about the woman that Rhaenys was but the asset that she could be too.
She had been surprised when Arya, Gendry, and Robb were placed on another ship, a part of her worrying that something had happened between Aegon and his sister and that they'd fallen out over something. Though Rhaenys said they had very much not and that it was something else entirely that was going on. What that was took far longer for Aegon to speak about than she expected. Her husband instead spending the first couple of days at sea japing with Rhaenys and Tormund or speaking to Rhaella while the Red Dragon flew over both their heads. It was only when she saw the ships that Arya was on and those closest to them split off that she found out the reason why, and she had needed to be the one to bring it up to do so.
"Arya, Aegon, what's going on?" She asked as he held Rhaella and was now carrying her down to their cabin.
"She's going home." Aegon said softly.
"Your choice or hers?" she asked worriedly and saw him smile as he then kissed her cheek before they entered their cabin.
"Gendry's." he said and she was happy to see him smiling still.
He placed Rhaella in her crib and then took her hand to lead her to the bed, both of them sitting down as he explained what was going on with his sister and her husband.
"After the attack in Mantarys I think he felt it, the same as I did but Gendry is not me." Aegon began "Our path is not theirs, Dany. I wish my family safe and so I'll do what is needed to make them so and know my wife is with me on this." Aegon said and she nodded "Gendry wished to do the same, but he worried that Arya would not be. War is what we are faced with, Dany, we fight not just to stop Belicho from doing what he intends, but so that our daughter, our children don't have to. Robb doesn't have to even now." Aegon said smiling once again.
"She's gone to Winterfell?" she asked and Aegon nodded.
"To take up her place as Warden of the North and Lady of Winterfell." Aegon said proudly.
"And Edd?" she asked.
"Is to be the Lord of the Dreadfort and has been given a sum of gold to see it and its lands are built back up to what they need to be."
"You gave Arya coin too?" she asked curiously.
"For the North, Winterfell, and Wintertown and to begin the works that are needed. Two of the other ships carry coin to King's Landing as well."
"You've been busy." she said with a chuckle.
"As has my wife in seeing Mantarys brought to heel. Ready for Volantis, my love?" Aegon asked.
"Aye, I am." she said making him laugh at her attempt at a Northern accent, her own laughs ringing out when he pushed her to the bed and began to tickle her, Aegon interrupting her laughter with kisses to her face and neck.
Volantis 307 AC.
Aegon.
They were not stopped from docking, no men fired upon their own or were there to greet them. In the sky, he, Dany, and Rhaenys flew over the city and while they saw soldiers, they didn't see any who dared to aim their bows their way. With a look to his wife and sister, they turned and flew back to the docks and looked for somewhere to land. Aegon finally finding a place and almost welcoming that it would only fit one dragon at a time.
He landed first and was soon joined by Ser Jorah and Grey Worm, Dany and Rhaenys then landing a few moments after he did. Soon enough they were walking through the city, Tormund by his side and looking around with a disbelieving look on his face. Lady Malora had said the fight they'd face here would be of a different sort and yet she'd not elaborated. She'd said no more other than telling them they'd not need to use the dragons or the armies for more than show, much to his annoyance. Though a few moments after they'd begun to walk through the city, it then became clear as to why this was partly so.
"Aegon, Lady Kinvara." Dany whispered and he looked to see the lady and the men of the Fiery Hand were lined up ahead of them.
"I though we'd beat her here." he said to a laugh from Rhaenys which had him pretending to glare at his sister, something she saw right through.
"I told you we should have flown here." Rhaenys said smugly and he stuck his tongue out at her making her laugh, his sister having truly become accustomed to flight now had found any other form of transport to be dull and boring, not to mention so very slow.
As they moved to Lady Kinvara he saw how she looked at him and Dany, a relieved and welcoming smile on her face as she stepped forward to greet them.
"Your graces, welcome to Volantis." she said with a polite bow of her head.
"It is most pleasing to be welcomed so, most surprising as well." he said and she nodded.
"The Fiery Hand and I arrived a day ago, your grace. Word has spread of your graces since then and while those Beyond the Black Walls may not welcome you so, they know better than to go against R'hllor's wishes." Kinvara said and Aegon didn't think it the time to bring up what they'd done to her fellow priests and priestesses, though perhaps Belicho had acted alone in that.
"Is there anything that we need to know?" he asked and Kinvara nodded.
"The girl, Gilly, she and her babes are guests in Belicho's palace." Kinvara said and Aegon looked to Tormund who nodded. Her letter had said as much but he was relieved to know she was here still, especially given what Malora had said Sam had faced.
Over the next few hours the Dothraki encircled the city, the Unsullied docked and marched and the dragons flew overhead. They made their way to the Red Temple to find it empty and cleaned of all trace of the carnage that Kinvara had taken place and yet Aegon never doubted that it had. Kinvara saw that rooms were set aside for their use and once he knew they were settled and the Unsullied had arrived to ensure they were safe, he, Rhaenys, Tormund, and Jaime along with Kinvara made their way to the dragons and while Rhaenys flew alone, he did not.
The Black Walls were impressive things, larger than the Wall itself in thickness if not in height, and flying over them he would reckon that an army could march more than thirty men abreast on top of the walls easily. He saw the guards, the Tiger Cloaks were slave soldiers and he wondered who they'd fight for if push came to shove. As they flew over the walls not one of them made a threatening move and he didn't need to look behind him to see Kinvara smile. The city behind those walls was one that took his breath away, the sheer wealth that it must have taken to build it was beyond anything he could imagine.
Lannister's Tyrells, Hightowers, even his own family's wealth was inconsequential compared to what lay beyond the Black Walls. No wonder they cared not about what happened in Westeros or had offered not to aid his wife when she and Viserys had sought them out. Wealth or no though, dragons drew their attention, and as he saw Kinvara point down below and bid Rhaegal land, more and more people had come out to see a dragon in the flesh. With a roar from both Rhaegal and Balerion, the streets soon cleared and after his dragon had landed and Rhaenys's had not, Aegon and those with him climbed down off Rhaegal's back.
"Be ready." he said and both Jaime and Tormund moved their hands to their weapons as one, and then he looked and saw a palanquin making its way to them.
The man inside didn't step out of it, instead, the curtains were opened to reveal an older grey-haired man who looked at him curiously. Aegon was armored but uncrowned, Blackfyre was on his back and the Three-Headed Dragon was clearly marked out on his breastplate. Beside him, Kinvara stepped forward and looked at the man with a look of disgust, one the man was taken aback by.
"You dare sit." she spat and the man hurriedly climbed out of the Palanquin "You are in the presence of His Grace, King Aegon Targaryen the Sixth of his name, King of the Andals, Rhoynar and The First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realms of Men and the First High Emperor of Essos. The Resurrected, the Prince that was Promised, The Song of Ice of Fire, Slayer of the Great Other, Father of Dragons, Azor Ahai Reborn."
He looked to Tormund who wiggled his eyebrows, Aegon managing not to laugh, somehow. As for the man in front of him, he at least seemed impressed by Kinvara's words even if Aegon was very much not.
"Your Grace, I am Doniphos Paenymion and on behalf of the Triarchy and the Elephants I welcome you to Volantis." the man said with a bow that almost took him to the ground.
"I am happy to be welcomed so. My wife and I will seek a meeting with the Triarchs, Doniphos a proposal we intend to bring to them and one they would be wise not just to listen to, but to accept." he said and the man nodded "However for now I am here on other business, Belicho Staegone, you know him?" he asked and Doniphos nodded and then spat on the ground.
"A vile man, your grace."
"Indeed, this is his residence is it not?" he asked and Doniphos nodded once more.
"A friend of mine and her children are his guests, I'd like them escorted from this place to the Red Temple, you will see it done." he said and Doniphos nodded again, Aegon wondering if that was all the man could or was willing to do "This woman is someone I care for, Doniphos, she and her children are to be treated as if they were me, is that that clear?" he said.
"It is your grace, I'll see it so myself." Doniphos said and Aegon looked at the man curiously, he was hard to get a read on, his fear of him, Kinvara, or the dragons not allowing him to judge him for true.
"The meeting with the Triarchs Doniphos, arrange it quickly, I'm not a patient man." he said which wasn't entirely true.
With that, he turned to Jaime and Tormund, and together with Lady Kinvara they made their way back to Rhaegal and were soon back in the sky. A nod to Rhaenys soon had both dragons letting out their flames, a warning for now and then they flew to the Red Temple, or that was where he had wished to fly to. Seeing Rhaenys fly past it, he followed after her, his sister wearing a look on her face that said it was Balerion and not her who'd decided to do this.
When he saw the ships, he smiled, the entire Dornish Fleet or to be more precise the ships he'd given over to the Dornish fleet under Aurane's Waters command were now readying to sail into Volantis's harbor. Turning back he saw Balerion do the same reluctantly and then they were flying back to the Red Temple, Aegon was eager to get back to his wife and daughter and to make ready for Princess Arianne's arrival. He looked forward to seeing Ned Dayne again. The young man was one of the few that he considered a friend and as he looked to Rhaenys he tried to clear the thought from his head, he tried and he failed.