Y'know...being smuggled by your own parents doesn't generally goes well. It's nightmare fuel, horrible things happen when a father and a mother seal their children tight into a box and toss them into a ship...
Well, not my case!
Being smuggled was awesome.
I was pretty convinced that Daenerys Mom would not sell me, or something like that. She's a pious woman — although i must note that years later I found out that Valyrian Gods have absolutely no chill on slavery and colonization, so yeah, coin toss there —, and would not give her only daughter to some tough sailors. What awaited me instead was much more mindblowing, or would I'd rather say, eye-opening.
She herself unboxed me, just like some instagram goods, and carried me hurriedly upstairs. We were not aboard your regular warship. It was a longship, big and bulky, with cream-colored sails blowing to the winds; its wood was of a neat brown, like chestnuts, with that reddish tint to it, and its planks were sturdy and silent like a castle's walls. At our figurehead was the upper body of a dragon, but not any rando-dragon: it was Meraxes, all made in silver and iron. The figurehead, sadly, was being removed with a shit-ton of care.
Dozens of men and women scurried here and there like cute lil' ants putting things to work, like they were themelves a magical apparatus capable of making a block of wood, steel, and cloth, sail the oceans like a beast of ancient times.
The wind ruffled my cheeks. Every drop of sweat was refreshed by a pure gust. That salty smell of sea rubbed my japanese memories, and I couldn't held a smile; neither my wings that fluttered receiving that gentle breeze, its webbings shaking.
Mother was smiling the whole time, finally freed from the cage I put her at birth.
Maegon glanced at us, he was overseeing the disassemble of his dragoness' bust from that figurehead, and he sighed in relief. I think that suffocating Daenerys was more painful to my father, than it was to her.
We stood there, savoring our freedom, while Meraxes changed the winds simply by beating her wings to keep company with us.
No word came from any inmates, and well, there was a reason that ship was called Quiet Roar.
Populating your ship with mostly mute sailors, of which a crushing majority had their tongue cut, can probably be interpreted as an act of cruelty. I thought so in the first place; that Daddy was showing his true colors, a grey character with a loving facet and ruthless ironfist. That was, disappointingly (and luckly!), not the case. Those were seamen and soldiers, all coming from slavery or captivity, that pledged their loyalty to Maegon — composing most of the 100 arms my father could rise by personal oath alone. This lead me to conclude that daddy was a badass.
The crew being mute and illiterate safeguarded my secret decently. We had a few exceptions, however:
Meister Lucah was coming with us too. The stickman loved sailing, but he didn't stop to mope a second for a good while. This voyage was his punishment for leaking my identity to small, cute and cuddly Aegon, my cousin.
Varys Tyressa, my father 'second-in-command, and a former lieutenant for some valyrian warlord. Whooo, boy! That man was a work of art. His skin was silvery pale, and his hair was straighter than most men, of a striking blonde unlike gold and more akin to an erratic brush of cadmium yellow. For eyes he had a ruby-red colour, that combined with his long eyelashes and heavy eyeshadow that blackened his orbits, he could look grim and sinister; but the Dragonclaw was not.
Salazar and Johanne came next. They were an exquisite couple: a man towering almost 2 meters tall, with coal-black skin and green eyes; paired with a grown woman no bigger than 1,5m, watered down and short white hair, and green irises. They were loyal servants, the first serving as Quiet Roar's captain, and the other as my mother's most trusted handmaid.
These two brought the only other child aboard: an ugly wench, 7 years old, that couldn't resist poking her nose, eating with a wide mouth open, or even took care of a baby as a baby — the first thing she suggested when we met, was that I should be tossed at the sea. She had a good name for such a vile creature: Bryce.
With this whole crew presented, I won't need to speak about the other 5 tongued people in the ship, as they are almost all background characters; one of them aside, but I don't like to remember that cunt.
All of us were there in the so-called command room, with an obvious exception of Bryce. After she spoke about greyjoying me, my mother had no trust in her, so I remained there to hear what they had to say; something so secretive that it couldn't be shared with a crew of mute.
"I will cut things short." Maegon nodded to Varys, that slowly unrolled a big-ass parchment, a beautifully detailed map. To Daenerys' terror the friends exchanged a grin, as little boys enjoying their achivements and secrets. "We embark in this voyage alongside only our most loyal for an already known reason: my daughter.
We are heading towards war, and of that, I imagine, most of you are also already aware. But there's more to it.
Aurion's Ghost persists to curse us, the sons and daughters of Old Valyria. In the far-east, farther than the Sea of Grass of which the barbarian centaurs call home, our enemy tended their wounds to no avail; Eleanor Aurion died by our dragonfire, even if four years too late. But her dragonseed now sprouts, a bastard boy born from that woman's wicked nest of men, threatens to come and set ablaze our Free Cities. Haelys Aurion, is how they call him. He is no true valyrian, neither is him the Emperor of Valyria. There's no more Valyria!"
Maegon almost ended his speech with that shout, a vein popping from on his forehead, his pink-eyes sparking with ire. Everyone, however, was left without answers. He gulped, suddenly losing his grip on the situation.
"go dadi, go." I cheered in whispers, and his enraged expression melt into surprise, then a smile.
"Gghm. Haelys will understand that Valyria is gone, and what's left of our lineage now lies in Pentos, in Dragonstone, in Driftmark, bloodbound by Targaryen, Velaryon, Saerynth and Tyressa. We are the legacy of Valyria, the Nine Cities, and the Black Isles.
But I am only one man.
As Lord of Dragonstone, I must fight Haelys and his godsforsaken brothers, finish once and for all the feud between the dragonlords.
But as a father, however, I...I can not abandon my wife and daughter. They must be protected from Haelys and his bloodmages. As you can all see, my blood and Daenerys' carried far more than Targaryen legacy. It is the Blood of The Dragon in its truest form. Powerful blood that wanes in the Aurion's veins, reddiest blood that seduce the dark people of Asshai, the maegi from West and East, fiery blood that makes tremble things so dark that I dare only call them as the Others.
It will be your duty to protect Aerya. To guard Daenerys. To scout them safely.
We shall part ways as soon as we reach Vosren. I will follow south, to Pentos, recruit my cousin's forces. You, my eight chosen, will follow north, to Braavos. There things will be under your command, Varys."
The Dragonclaw, as he was known, was grinning happily, licking my father's words like honey with his eyes. Well, until that.
"What?" He blinked, his jaw dropping to mommy's amusement.
"There's no sword I trust more in this world than yours, my friend."
"This is why I believe that our paths musn't part, my lord." Varys' accent was a sharp one, elegant, quite exotic, but pleasing to the ears. "I shall always be at your back, sword in hand to defend your heart."
Trusted swords, my lords, defend your heart, that was getting gayer faster than I could swallow my laughter.
"You will be, Varys." Dad glanced at us.
The Dragonclaw shut his eyelids, forcing his will, abandoning his life-long friend and...well, it was clear what else he thought, right when the most dangerous of battles was to come.
"Yes, my lord." The swordsman bowed.
"Alber will be waiting when you all reach Bravos." And who the hell was Alber? "After that Salazar will sail Quit Roar south, across the Summer Sea, and wait for my contact in Volantis."
"Izend ed tu érli tu dispecht ordes, milor?" Holy shit, understanding Salazar was a feat to little.
"No. Daenerys will give you details. After this meeting I will mount Meraxes and go straight to Pentos, then fly my way through Essos rising banners, this will took time. We are trying to...to..."
"Min-Max." I said for the second time. All eyes turned to me.
"What?" Maegon said with his brows high.
"Minimum. Maximum. Min-Max. Do...do the littlest and get the...the...maximum...est?"
A silence befall.
"Yes. We are trying to...min-max our way to Haelys, our movements, and the safety of my family." He clapped his palms, the air around us lighter after I introduced some good gamer slang to a medieval lord. "Understood?"
Everyone nodded with a 'yes, my lord'.
But not Meister Lucah, no, this one raised his shaking hand to surprise us all.
"And...And what is my role here, my lord? I am but a man of paper, books, scrolls...I-I...I serve no purpose for such noble guard." He tried to sweeten his words to get away with cowardice.
But Maegon only laughed respectfully.
"You'll be there to provide the Seven's help, Meister." And next he murmured almost to himself. "for defeating haelys and protecting the west...any god we can get at our side..."
< You have earned 3 Legacy points >
Where words that popped at my vision just as the meeting ended.
"wha?" I said.
"Here, let's go, its time to eat isn't it, smart girl?" Daenerys said thinking that my eloquence was to gain attention, and food. She was half right.
While she carried me away with her, I struggled and touched those letters with my stubby baby fingers (with claws hehe).
Then a small log appeared:
"oh..."
"We're going, we're going...You're such a bottomless pit."
Change the world, huh?
"gehe...geheheeheHeHeHeeeHeeen~!"
"And there she goes laughing at my chest again..."
Thanks for the chapter.