Chapter 155 – Artican Trade in Essos 10 (Daenerys Targaryen 02).
[Chapter Size: 3200 Words.]
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Thrid Person POV
Essos, 296 AC.
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Daenerys was forced to rise from her bed and search for some handkerchiefs on top of her desk, swiftly wiping her sweaty face before the servants arrived with her first meal of the day.
She was still pondering the dream she had just experienced. She questioned whether what she had seen was truly a figment of her imagination. She recalled the children, all bearing Targaryen-like features, even though the most restless boy, the eldest of the three, had dark hair but still eyes identical to hers.
She could not help but be enchanted by the memory of that dream. Although it was just a dream, it felt so real that it almost seemed like her own fantasy. After cleaning up, she looked out the window to see the morning sun, the Articans had already left, but now she felt a slight emptiness thinking about the Artican king and how he had left, leaving her speechless without a chance for her to speak or question him.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened, and a servant of Illyrio entered, not with her meal as she imagined.
"Daenerys, your presence is summoned in the main hall, to have breakfast with your brother and Magister Illyrio," she said. Daenerys simply nodded, changing into something more presentable.
Upon arriving at the location, she was surprised to find her brother laughing animatedly at one side of the table. He seemed to have been conversing with Magister Illyrio for some time.
Her brother had dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he had spent the entire night drinking, as he sometimes did. However, unlike other times, his mood was not as usual, stressed and grumpy. But now, he was laughing energetically.
Daenerys cautiously approached her brother, who quickly noticed her presence and raised his arm. "Good morning, my dear Dany! Come, join us!" he said, quite excited.
Daenerys could not fathom the reason for the occasion and his mood. She sat down calmly at the table, unsure of what to ask.
"Dany," Viserys continued, before she could inquire about anything. "Illyrio spoke to me about advancing your marriage," he said, and Daenerys immediately froze in place upon hearing this.
"What do you mean?" she murmured timidly.
"Illyrio said that a powerful Khal has been rising greatly in recent years; he calls him Khal Drogo. He has over 100,000 men under his command and is ready to help me by putting all his warriors to conquer Westeros. He will give me a golden crown in exchange for handing you over to him, isn't that fantastic, sister? 100,000 men fighting for me! The Seven Kingdoms will be crushed!" he exclaimed, showing why he was in a good mood, looking like a psychopath, expecting Daenerys to also be happy for him, while she would be treated like a prostitute and a trading tool.
This left Daenerys paralyzed. 'Even if he gets the army, and they can cross the sea, which I don't believe all the Dothraki together could fight against the Seven Kingdoms. The Dothraki are great warriors for shooting from horseback and for open-field battles in the desert, but they are still unprotected. Fighting against cavalry with thousands of men with spears and armor like the soldiers of Westeros would be devastating for them who do not even wear armor to protect themselves... Moreover, they are not prepared for long sieges in the great castles of Westeros. Such an army would be decimated, since the 7 kingdoms could still gather more than 200 or even 300 thousand men. And no one will want her brother on the throne, he reminds too much of their father, and he has already fallen once.' These thoughts began to echo in Daenerys's head.
Despite her brother's words, they did not match what she had heard from the green-eyed Artican. She always heard from her father that he was a great man and a king everyone admired, according to her brother, their family only fell because their father was betrayed by his own subjects.
But she also couldn't help thinking logically; after all, if he really was a good king, why did no one come looking for us? Why did she always have to flee and never saw anyone from Westeros offering her help? Again, Jon's words contradicted this, referring to the king, her father, as a bad king, even calling him the "Mad King." Daenerys began to plant this doubt in her mind as she thought about it.
This also reminded her somewhat of that night, not only because of those children and that woman but also about that city, wondering where such beauty came from, which she had never seen in any other place, with that giant tree.
Arya hadn't mentioned a tree in Artica, but she did mention that the place was very beautiful, full of pastures, as she saw. Daenerys wondered if that was really Artica from where the northern group came.
'Mommy, let's go see the ancient dragon!!' The boy's voice emerged in her mind, which made her shudder a bit.
"Dany?" She suddenly heard a voice. Viserys was looking at her intently, making her feel uncomfortable.
"Yes..." She murmured timidly.
"I'm trying to talk to you, but you seem to be in another world. Are you not happy that you can serve our house?" He said, and she, out of fear, just nodded.
"I am happy that I can be useful," She murmured, although her body language showed nothing but the fear she tried to hide.
"Good, anyway, think about packing your things in your suitcase when you get to your room. After all, we are leaving Pentos today," He said, making Daenerys look stunned.
"What do you mean, brother?" She murmured, disbelieving what she was hearing.
"Illyrio has moved up your wedding. The sooner I get my army, the sooner I will have the throne. So, I want you to take the best clothes, and the shortest, ones that show off your body, and put them in your suitcase to seduce Khal Drogo, because we are leaving for the desert," He said, returning to his smile.
Daenerys just lowered her head, returning to her food. She was quite disturbed by all of this, with so many things happening at once shortly after being beaten.
She just stayed silent, lost in her thoughts, while Viserys continued laughing and talking with Illyrio, as if he had made the deal of the century.
Thus, time passed while she barely ate. Soon she was called by a servant. "You have to go back to your room," She said in a harsh tone. Daenerys was already used to dealing with some people who treated her with certain disdain in the house, the servant knew she would not be punished if it was not extreme, so there was no reason to sympathize with her and watched her go to her room like a lifeless doll.
"So it is," She murmured, entering the room, as she began to pick up the clothes. She knew that if she did not do it, the situation would get much worse and she could do nothing but accept her fate being chosen by someone else.
She picked up her ointment, the only thing there that could relieve her pains and bruises a little, though it did not seem to help in her situation, it was all she had.
Her wounds had already improved, and her brother said that by the time she met Khal Drogo, she would be much better after traveling for a long time in the desert. So, she simply put everything in the suitcase and left the room.
The horses and luggage for the journey were already ready, waiting for them for a journey that could last months in the desert. Daenerys found all this very sudden and looked at Illyrio, wondering if he really was who he seemed to be, according to Jon's words, that they were being used and that he wanted to get rid of them.
Sighing, she headed to the wagon as soon as her brother called her. As they began to leave the city, her brother was still quite excited, seeming to dream that he was already king.
"The first thing I will do as king is display the head of that usurper and his family, the Lannisters, and the Starks along with all the other traitors, right in front of me, so I can look at them every day and see them rot, while their flesh is eaten by crows and vultures," Viserys said, like a dreamer.
"And the Articans?" Daenerys suddenly asked, not knowing what her brother thought of them now. Her brother stopped laughing at that moment and looked at her with a strange glance.
"They? They are just another bunch of savages. They might have defeated the Usurper at sea, but I will have 100,000 Dothraki. And I don't care if you have to sleep with each one of those 100,000 savages, as long as they devastate all my enemies," he mocked.
"But they are not as savage as you say," she murmured.
"Are you questioning me, Dany?" Viserys looked at her seriously, disliking her response.
"It's not that, it's just..." she stammered. "I saw that they had Valyrian steel weapons."
"What? Impossible! Illyrio didn't tell me anything about that," Viserys said, surprised and scoffed.
"But I saw... our ancestral sword is with them," she murmured, trying to make an excuse, since there was no point in hiding the information now. Still, she wanted to know if her brother could see some advantage in seeing them as allies, preferring to be on their side, after meeting Arya and that king, rather than alongside Viserys and the Dothraki, who, as far as she knew, lived by raiding cities and committing crimes of plunder and rape.
"What did you say? Are you saying they have our sword?" He immediately raised his voice, and she, having no choice, ended up speaking.
"Dark Sister. I think I saw it on the waist of one of them through the window," she murmured, lying.
"What?" He immediately exploded, slapping her face, making her fall to the side of the wagon, stunned by the blow. "You're saying they had Dark Sister, the sword of our house?" He growled at her. "Why wasn't I informed of this?" He demanded.
"I was in the room. There was no way to notify you, since the door was locked," she said, trembling.
"You fool!" He shouted, kicking her in the chest, making her groan in pain. Her brother was becoming increasingly violent, while she lay on the floor of the wagon, gasping for air.
Viserys clenched his fists and paced as much as he could there. "You're saying those damned savages have my sword? I swear, if they don't hand it over, I'll use my future army to loot, kill all the men, and rape all the women beyond the Wall," he continued to proclaim.
Viserys looked at her once more, blaming her for not knowing about the sword sooner, and then approached before kicking her head, since there was no one else to vent his anger on, her last memories were of that kick before she passed out, still wondering once more if her life would continue like this forever.
When Daenerys woke up, it was already dark, they were in the middle of the desert and she was no longer in the wagon, but in a camp set up by the 500 men that Illyrio had given them for the journey, whether Unsullied or mercenaries from Pentos.
She found herself being cared for by several servants who were placing cloths on her wounds made by Viserys while her body was more sore than ever, after all, it seemed that Viserys had not stopped beating her after she fainted.
"I want you to treat all her wounds and get her ready to be presented to Khal Drogo, understood?" Viserys appeared and demanded, Daenerys shuddered, while the servants nodded quickly and passed more cloths to make sure to clean her.
She immediately placed her hand next to her dress and searched for where she had kept that special ointment, but realized that she had lost it. Daenerys couldn't help but feel a bit depressed upon realizing that she had lost the only thing that could make her feel a bit better at that moment.
She looked at her brother, pacing back and forth, still seeming to be angry and demanding things from everyone there as if he were the king of all. The people, mainly the mercenaries, obeyed him, but soon they had a look of anger towards him, seeming like they would betray him at the first opportunity they had.
'So, now he is this...' Daenerys thought, watching her brother. Viserys, who once had been kind, had long since turned into a sort of crazed beast, seeing only the Iron Throne before him, even if it seemed he would have to sell his very soul to achieve it.
'As mad as his father...' Jon's voice echoed again in her mind.
She just waited for her wounds to be treated by those women in silence, then sat up, hoping they would bring some food. While eating a mutton stew, Daenerys just wanted to be at peace with her pain and frustration, hoping her brother would not return to torment her. But that was too much to ask, for she heard Viserys walking towards her at that moment.
He stared at her for a while before approaching. "You know, Daenerys, I didn't want to do this to you, sister, but you forced my hand. I am too disappointed in you. I only hold back my rage because I do not want to spoil you for Khal Drogo, but it cannot be avoided at the wedding. After all, Khal Drogo won't mind getting rid of his wife along with her brother, will he? I will be your king," he spoke maliciously.
Daenerys trembled. All of this made her feel empty. Her brother was wicked, and she wondered if her fate was truly such a thing without her being able to do anything about it.
"Now go to sleep. I will talk to you tomorrow," he said sternly, and she just nodded, heading to a tent prepared for her. She lay down on her bed, staring at the white tent. She did not know how much time had passed, but she stayed awake for hours, sad, as if she were a lifeless shell.
It was then that a red line appeared to her and transformed into a point in the sky through the white tent, raising an eyebrow as she watched the red line begin to rise and fall, seeming like something coming from outside, cutting through the dark night. The line fell somewhere in the camp, and a few seconds later, she heard screams.
Daenerys stood up, surprised, as cries of "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" began to rise.
She could not help but feel fear, thinking it was an attack from outside on the very first night. She began to hear the shouts and people screaming at their enemies and terrified servants, while also hearing the groans of dying men. She was terrified by all of it and could not even move, as she hugged herself, with flames throughout the camp burning other tents.
This lasted a while, as no one seemed to come to her tent, with men appearing in the gap of the entrance running back and forth, her not seeing clearly what was happening, but no one came close, until suddenly, everything went silent, and she just stared at the entrance of the tent, trembling with fear.
It was then that someone approached, and at the height of her fear with the person entering, she saw a woman completely dressed in armor, but knowing it was a woman due to the curve of her body.
Daenerys still looked at her with fear and trembling, while she could not see who was behind that helmet, but noticed the woman's red hair, a shade redder than she had ever seen on a person.
This stranger looked at Daenerys with a suspicious gaze, seeming to examine her deeply, as if looking for something more than a frightened girl in the tent.
"I know you have a lot of questions, but I am not here to hurt you. Come out now, my husband wants to talk to you," said the woman in a stern tone.
Daenerys was surprised by this, but nodded, stepping carefully while the woman seemed to wait for her, she was so afraid she did not even notice her armor, just stepped out of the tent hoping not to die just like that.
Daenerys found a devastated area, full of bodies of those who accompanied them, most of the tents destroyed and burning. Men in armor different from what she thought would be Dothraki or bandits were holding position in the area, detaining those who survived; all the Unsullied had been killed, after all, they would fight to the end, but many mercenaries had surrendered.
"Come on, follow me," she heard the woman calling her again, and she just nodded, following her carefully. Ahead of them, in the middle of the camp, Daenerys looked at a man without a helmet and immediately recognized him, surprised to see the Artican king again. After all, she expected that he would have already left.
Before him, Viserys was kneeling, his eyes glaring with rage at Jon. "You will regret this, you bastard! I will kill you, mark my words!" Viserys shouted at Jon, before receiving a punch from him that sent him flying several meters back, as he began to cough and bleed with a broken nose. But Jon did not stop there.
Daenerys was stunned, watching Jon Artica walk up to her brother and start punching him as her brother continued to be beaten even more.
"You said you were going to kill me, you bastard? You are one of the most unpleasant people I have ever encountered in my life! You truly are scum, threatening your sister and making senseless threats, demanding things beyond your reality. Making threats you cannot fulfill! You're just a rat that likes to roar, but does nothing but hide in a hole!" Jon continued hitting him until Viserys's face looked like a bloody pulp.
Daenerys was trembling watching this. "Jon, you're scaring her," said the red-haired woman, approaching, as Jon stopped beating him and looked at her and then at Daenerys, seeing her tremble.
Jon sighed before getting up and leaving Viserys aside. "I didn't want you to see this, despite what he has done to you," Jon said, as he took a step forward, but Daenerys immediately stepped back, frightened. He fell silent after that, realizing he had frightened her too much while Viserys was already unconscious.
Jon then adopted a more serious and direct tone. "I know I might not seem like the most pleasant person after what you've seen, but it's time for you to choose, Daenerys. If you want to continue with your brother or accept my help and go to Artica, along with the other Targaryens. After all, your brother will not be welcome there, so I want you to really decide what to do." Jon spoke in a serious tone, while Daenerys looked at him, still afraid, but also nervous, as now she had a choice to make.
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