Daenerys Targaryen.
One month later.
- Wrong! One more time! - said the woman sitting across from me in a stern voice - That look on your face shows weakness in front of your opponent, and he's bound to take advantage of it. More confidence, girl!
- Yes, Your Majesty! - I answered loudly and tried to do as she asked.
- I am a teacher now, girl. It's time to remember that.
- I apologize! - I apologized and bowed my head.
- Don't bow your head to others, even if that 'someone' is the ruler!
- I apologize! - I apologized again and somehow managed to stop my head from bowing.
- Hmmm," she hummed, which I was used to seeing and hearing by now.
Me and the teacher were having a lesson sitting on the veranda of the master's villa. This had already become a routine in my life. A month ago, when I still failed to draw my sword as Lord Solomon had requested and I thought my brother's life was lost, he only smiled and gently stroked my sweat-wet face.
He said that was enough and I could relax and let me choose my brother's fate. But in doing so, gave me the choice to either banish or kill. Seeing no opportunity to offer my option or no option at all, with a heavy heart, I chose the former.
After Lord Solomon's words, certain thoughts crept into my head. Thoughts of how right he was. I had seen with my own eyes how my brother treated everyone. Including me. But deep down, a tiny part of me still wanted him to stay, even though I knew it was impossible.
He was insane, just as my father had been before he died. And the time before the exile revealed that to me in full. My brother screamed and demanded to be released and to bow down before him. Each time he added "dragon" and "king". Once I looked into his eyes, I saw how brightly the flames of madness burned in them. And I just accepted it. Eventually, my brother was banished from the city with a small bag of golden dragons.
The Magister, after the events at his villa, simply bowed before me and swore allegiance to me. Just as he had done to my brother years before. And I, not knowing what to do, simply accepted his oath. I understood his actions, for he had no other choice. And he was still loyal to the Targaryens. So I put the matter aside, since nothing had changed.
For the first week after my brother's banishment, nothing happened. Lord Solomon became a frequent visitor here at the Master's villa and just talked about various things.
One day I asked why he was so interested in me, to which I received, "I've mentioned it before, haven't I?". At first I didn't understand what he meant, and it wasn't until later the very next day that it came to me, "He wants to make a queen out of me." Which I questioned him about afterwards.
But Lord Solomon corrected my guess. He doesn't want me to be a queen, but that I MAY become one, and then reminded me of that awkward attempt to pull out the sword. As it turned out, the sword had moved a bit, which confirmed his hunch. I just stared at him uncertainly, because I couldn't understand how any sword, even an unusual one, could do such a thing, even though I had heard the description of this piece of iron.
Then he asked me the same questions he had asked my brother, and asked me to answer them honestly, which I did. And after the questions, Lord Solomon asked me, with a slight smile on his face, "Do I want to be queen?" to which I nodded uncertainly, for a Targaryen should be on the throne, not some usurper.
After that conversation, he didn't visit me for a week. I thought his interest in me was over, but after a week of silence, he came back, saying I needed training if I was to be queen. And he didn't come back alone, but with a man and a woman.
The man had youthful facial features, white hair, yellow eyes, and a dark skin tone. The clothes he was wearing were strange. He wore a shirt, pants, and boots of the same color - black. And around his neck was some sort of cross on a chain. The man introduced himself as "Amakusa Shiro Tokisada" and was also modest and accommodating. A rather odd name and hard to pronounce, besides. And, all in all, he looked ordinary if it wasn't for his clothes, name, and hair, but the woman...
When I first saw her, envy flared up in my heart. The woman's appearance was perfect. Breasts, waist, face, hair, outfit, everything.
Long, sleek and black as night, her hair flowed behind her. Golden eyes showing confidence and mystery. Her refined and well-groomed skin seemed to glow in the sun, and her black, majestic and extremely beautiful dress created a contrast to her pale skin that was simply eye-catching.
Also, there was one oddity about her appearance - her ears. They were long, pointed, and definitely inhuman. But this did not spoil the beauty of the woman in any way, but only added to her image of mystery and enigma.
My envy was not only directed at the woman's appearance, but also her presence. Just looking at her, my mind firmly believed that in front of me stood a queen. Wise, majestic, and unbridled. Lord Solomon's presence inspired roughly the same feeling, but weaker and more insignificant than his. If he was a majestic dragon, then she was, how shall I put it, a baby dragon? Something like that, I suppose.
She called herself Semiramis, Queen of Assyria, which I instantly believed, though I didn't know the land by that name, or what she was doing here in Essos. And now, the queen of lands unfamiliar to me was teaching me how to behave in front of my subjects.
Though she was sarcastic, arrogant, and petulant, she made a teacher out of her... quite a pleasant one. Her Majesty was strict but fair. She would make snide comments towards me, thus encouraging me to learn. A strange method of teaching, but effective, I'd say.
Shiro, Queen Semiramis, and Lord Solomon alternated between teaching me several subjects I didn't know the names of initially. They taught me math, science, psychology, art, military tactics and strategy, philosophy, and economics. They even included exercise in the, as they put it, curriculum, which came as a surprise to me.
When you add it all up, I had virtually no free time, which is disintegrating to say the least. Although I do understand the benefit and necessity of their training.
- Your attention is scattered," my teacher interrupted my thoughts, "It's only noon and you're already tired?
- No," I shook my head, "It's just... memories coming back.
- Hmm," she chuckled again, "So there won't be a next time, okay?
I nodded quickly and went back to my lesson, trying not to make her unhappy.
- Uh-uh. Go easy on her, Semi," Shiro said in a soothing tone from a chair inside the room, "Not even a month into her training and you're already cutting her without a knife.
- Shut up, Shiro," the teacher waved her off, "She wants to be a queen, and I'm teaching her to be one. Besides, we don't have as much time as we'd like, as the ring bearer told us. Where is he, by the way? He didn't just dump all his work on us and now he's doing nothing, did he?
- Lord Solomon is visiting his friend, Semi. And please don't speak ill of him. He's older than you and deserves the respect inherent in his figure.
- Tsk. That doesn't make my words any less right," she said with a cluck of her tongue and squinted her eyes, "And you called me old, Shiro? You want to try my poisons again, hmm?
- No, no," Shiro wrapped his head quickly, "I mean, he lived before you, my love. And you're still as beautiful as ever, even at your age.
- You're sleeping separately for the next week," the teacher said quickly, and the man grimaced. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but giggle, and I got a squint from Her Majesty - And I'll extend our lesson, girl. You can't make fun of the queen, you understand?
At her words, I huffed as much as Shiro and nodded defeatedly.
Sometimes a teacher can be overly vindictive.
-0-
Eddard Stark. Winterfell.
- Are you sure about this, Jon? - I asked, rubbing my temples.
- Yes, Lord Stark," he nodded, "I think the time has come, and I know where I should go.
I sighed tiredly.
The entire Stark family had come out to see Jon off, since he had decided to go to the Wall and, as I understand it, not to join the Night's Watch, but for something else. I already knew this was going to happen, since Solomon had hinted at it, but it's still pretty hard to accept, given my promise to Lyanna.
And even Cat, who kept a neutral expression on her face, came out to see him off, which I was surprised at, to say the least.
Lady Kinvara visited her from time to time and had long conversations with her. Occasionally my ears would pick up cries of outrage from my wife, but later they would subside into silence. To my questioning glance, both Cat and Lady Kinvara either answered nothing or said it was girl talk.
But I did notice a change after these "girlie" conversations. The amount of ravens that Cat sent to Eagle's Nest and King's Landing decreased by leaps and bounds. She became more reserved and sometimes a bit thoughtful, and her typical attitude towards Jon turned into a neutral one.
Cat even began to actively socialize with the other inhabitants of Winterfell, either just chatting about this and that or just observing them. In other words, she began to act more openly. The changes I've noticed include a break in the distance between her and the septa Mordain, who was already disliked by practically the entire castle. I wonder what her conversations with Lady Kinvara consisted of?
About ten months ago, when I needed to deal with a deserter who had escaped from the Night's Watch, we came across a clutch of direwolf pups on our way back to Winterfell. Their mother had been killed and was lying breathless in front of the shelter where the pups were hiding. She was most likely protecting them with her life, but unfortunately she failed.
There was an oddity about the puppies. The number of puppies, to be exact. There were exactly six of them. Exactly the same number as the children. Of course, the children took them with them, one for each of them. A sign from the gods, I suppose, since the symbol of House Stark is the direwolf.
There have been many changes in the last year. My men managed to infiltrate King's Landing and take over a small tavern. And the news they brought me was not happy.
First, the debt of the crown. It is exorbitant and continues to grow. I know how extravagant Robert can be, but I doubt it's that much. Six million gold dragons, for crying out loud! And as it turns out, he's not the only one contributing to this crisis.
As it turns out, the money is indeed allocated by order of the king, but how much is another matter. The tournament that Robert had organized relatively recently was definitely not worth thirty thousand dragons. Its maximum cost is fifteen thousand, which is half of the allocated amount. Someone steals and appropriates the excess, using only the bare minimum.
And as if that weren't enough, word comes of John Arryn's death. I understand the assassination attempt was a success, with the Lannisters the only suspects on my mind.
This is confirmed by information from the Red Servants who managed to get into the ranks of the servants of the Red Keep. According to them, the Queen and her brother were not surprised by the news. Robert was surprised, but not them. And now, the King is coming here to Winterfell to offer me the position of Hand, apparently.
I understand his motives. He wants to bring those he trusts closer to him, but the problem is where. Even before I met Solomon and was told what a den of snakes the capital is, and now I think it's even worse. The funny thing is, I can't refuse Robert's call. He is, after all, the king.
Really, I'm relieved at the thought that I won't be blind in that unfortunate place. After all, both the Red Men and my own will give me support.
But it's time to get back to the present.
All the children took turns coming up to Jon and hugging him goodbye, wishing him a good journey and a return. Arya, with Fou sitting on her head, took a particularly long time to say goodbye to her brother, which is understandable as Jon was the closest of siblings to her. Robb was the last of the children to go to say goodbye.
- When you come back, we'll cross swords again," Robb said with a smile on his face and hugged Jon, "and I'll win.
- I'm sure you will. - Jon smiled back.
When Robb moved away, I came over and put my hand on his shoulder and smiled softly.
- Be careful, Jon. The Night's Watch isn't what it used to be. Murderers, rapists, traitors, and a lot of other people like that are sent there.
- Okay," he nodded.
I wrapped my arms around him, and after a while I let him go and stepped back:
- "Go on, Jon. I hope you'll send letters at least once in a while.
He nodded once more and, after giving us all a parting glance, walked out of the castle gates, followed by the now matured lute wolf pup, who was the size of a large dog. My eyes followed his figure for a while longer, and when it was out of sight, I sighed and looked up at the sky.
I should get ready, too. It's not good to keep the king waiting, even if he definitely decides to stay a day or two.
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