[Chapter Size: 3300 Words.]
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Thrid Person POV
Essos, 296 AC.
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"Put about 30 ships with us in total, while the rest wait here," Jon spoke calmly to his captain as they nodded with some fear of Jon, after all, since the day began, he seemed angry.
Some wondered what was happening and looked to the queen for some answer to the king's strange behavior, but she seemed a bit lost, not knowing how to appear calm, while everyone saw that she was not the cause of his fury.
Jon left the captain and went to one of the sides of the ship, keeping a serious gaze out at the sea. Everyone continued with their tasks on the ship, but the Articans still glanced at their king now and then, gossiping among themselves.
"Is he okay?" one dwarf murmured to another while helping to pull a bit of the rope to adjust the sail and assist with the wind.
"I don't know... he might be angry about something," another dwarf responded to his companion, helping on the deck.
"I think he might have a stomach ache or something," the first murmured.
"I don't think that's it... if you're so curious... why don't you go ask him?" the second simply said.
"I think..." The dwarf looked at his king for a moment, before shaking his head as he was surrounded by a rather somber atmosphere. "It's better not to do that..." he concluded in the end.
"Now get back to work then," the second dwarf murmured.
"Alright..." he said before focusing on his work.
However, just 2 minutes passed before the first spoke up again. "Maybe our king needs a cheerful song, I can sing for him, I have a lovely one about my beard and my lice!" he said excitedly as if he had just thought of something of the sort.
"You..." His colleague looked at him strangely as he was about to say something but was interrupted by a huge shadow covering the two.
"Move aside," the giant commented, as the dwarfs moved away with him passing through the deck as his steps thudded against the wood of the ship, sounds highlighting his steps.
As the giant passed, a man with no notion walked up to Jon. "Hey, King, why don't we have a drink?" he asked with a smile, making a racket with his loud voice.
"No... Tormund, not now," Jon spoke indifferently, as everyone looked at them at that moment, looking at Tormund and thinking he would be thrown off the ship the next minute.
"Come on... what's this fuss, let's drink and fight a bit, maybe I can knock you down next time we fight drunk!" he exclaimed, touching Jon's shoulder.
What they expected really happened, after all, Tormund lost his smile as he felt his arm grabbed by Jon and felt his body flying with everything spinning, as he saw himself falling into the water.
"Hm!!" Tormund exclaimed immediately after falling a few meters with the sea water almost completely covering him and looked dazed upward unable to see Jon from that angle.
"Someone get him out of the water," was the only thing Jon said indifferently as people sighed before helping him.
"He seems very angry..." Arya murmured from a distance, as her gaze fell on Ygritte also looking cautiously at Jon.
"What happened to him?" she asked the queen.
"It's hard to explain... let's just say Jon met someone and was very disappointed with him," was all Ygritte said, before walking across the deck and approaching Jon.
"If you throw me into the sea, I swear..." Ygritte began.
"I wouldn't do something like that to you, after all, you hardly annoy me with your presence," Jon commented calmly, and Ygritte, despite hearing gallant words from her husband, Jon still maintained a distant look with a neutral tone.
"Jon..." She then approached closer with slow movements while intertwining her arm with his. "I know you're upset... but your mood is affecting everyone," Ygritte murmured.
"You know why I'm furious... that guy is really as the Sealord told me... He's a violent lunatic and completely unreasonable... He treated his own sister as his personal property, not caring and turning her into a prostitute... That bastard beat her for hours tonight, just doing it for free while the girl begged him to stop, but the bastard kept hitting her, insulting her, saying that she had killed their mother when she was born and it was all their fault." Jon said each of these words with anger, he witnessed it until he could no longer bear it, while he continued beating the girl, his owl simply flew against the bedroom window, startling Viserys on top of his crying sister.
Then the owl began trying to break through his window, hitting it more and more times, until Viserys, even drunk, started to leave the room while the owl kept trying to break the window.
Daenerys didn't even seem to care about the explosions at the window, as she lay there on the floor, crying and trembling with fear for the rest of the night until she fell asleep from exhaustion a few hours later.
Jon was furious, very furious, so much so that he even got out of bed at night and drank a little to try to calm himself with his blood reacting in ice and fire, the feeling he always felt whenever his fury reached the highest level.
"I'm so sorry to see something like that... your uncle is really as crazy as your grandfather's story then..." Ygritte murmured, already familiar with the Targaryen family history even before knowing who Jon was, as she had learned about the seven kingdoms while studying before marrying Jon.
"You know what's funny... is that he calls us savages... that I will accept to follow him and declare him king of Westeros... that I will bow to him just because he was born and believes in this right, that everyone is below him while he rules the world, even treating Pentos as if it were his own kingdom... he still wants to use us for a while, first offering his sister as a prostitute to me, and then planning to kill me if I am no longer useful, since he doesn't want to associate with a savage Stark bastard." Jon spoke each word with a small smile, but it was a smile of discontent with this character who had become his blood uncle, a complete madman whose mere existence began to disgust Jon.
"Well... That's really weird, you should kill him." Ygritte looked at him oddly and did not fail to express her words.
"Maybe I'll do just that, if I see him in front of me..." Jon commented without hiding his intention, even if it was against his own blood.
While Ygritte tried to improve her husband's mood, the ships began to sail, breaking away from the fleet, as 30 ships headed for the mainland, now just a line on the horizon of land.
The ships then headed for the largest city in front of them, while in Pentos, a meeting had been urgently convened by all the Magisters of Pentos, the reason being none other than the Artican fleet being in their waters, after many ships had sighted them and warned about their presence. But of all the cities of Essos, the fight between the two kings was closer to Pentos than any other major city, so they knew very well who Jon Artica was and his strength, causing everyone to have doubts about his intentions as he approached Pentos.
"Well, gentlemen, it seems that the Artican fleet has finally arrived in our waters..." Illyrio Mopatis commented, looking at all his colleagues in one of the city's mansions.
"They traveled only a week from Braavos to here... what kind of madness is this...?" The Magisters could not help but think about the speed of those ships.
"That might be asked of them when they are here, now I see no reason why we should not welcome him respectfully," one of the group spoke up.
"I agree with you," Illyrio said and the others nodded, as none of them would refuse this, since the Articans were negotiating in peace after what happened in Braavos, being a successful negotiation and they did not want to lose this opportunity or worse, offend such a man with such power arriving at their door.
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Braavos was the most powerful city in Essos and they treated the Articans with respect, Pentos would have to make more effort dealing with the most powerful man at sea while he traveled with an army that would handle any city that offended him, and nobody wanted to meet the same fate as Oldtown.
The man continued speaking: "We must be careful with them as well. I don't want to see anyone offending or trying to steal while they are here. I don't want this city to be looted or in flames... If they wanted to do that, we could do nothing." The man spoke precisely what everyone was thinking.
"I completely agree. Let's reinforce the entire city immediately and I want even your guards to help fortify the city. And Illyrio, it's best to leave the main negotiation to you," another magister spoke.
The men continued discussing a few more things and decided in the end to let Illyrio be the spokesperson in the negotiation, as he was the principal magister of Pentos. "All right," Illyrio said in the end. "I'll speak with the Artican King." He said satisfied, after all, he could manage some things that bothered him while leading Pentos.
With this, he could avoid the Articans' contact with the Targaryens, which was what he wanted to avoid most at this moment.
"My lord, my lord!" Suddenly, a man approached the room, entering and apologizing. "They have arrived!"
This made all the Magisters stand up to him. "The Articans? How many ships are coming?" one of them asked.
"Yes, 30 ships are coming here, leaving the fleet and approaching the city," he said.
"Well, it looks like we're going to have to deal with our precious guests..." Illyrio spoke.
The Artican ships continued to approach the port, quickly drawing the attention of the city. The guards tried to calm the population, with additional reinforcements of people going to the city after receiving orders from their superiors, helping the guards by telling them not to treat the fleet with hostility and to try to reinforce total security.
It didn't take long for the Artican ships to finally begin docking at the port. While the prince's ship was the first to lower the gangplank and begin disembarking, with Jon in his armor and some guards.
He had his encounter with the most powerful men of Pentos in front of him, Jon went to greet Illyrio, the magister who had spied for him in front of all the others.
Jon faced the man calmly, this man was strange; Jon hadn't managed to intercept any of his moves yet, but he certainly would with the next. Even so, this man seemed to try to keep them from meeting the Targaryens. What he wanted with this was a question Jon asked himself a few times, this man even told Viserys to sell his sister as a prostitute to the other savage, but not him...
Jon was disgusted by this little fat man, but he tried still to maintain his composure, despite wanting to hit this man, doing the same thing Viserys did to his own sister in such a cowardly way and this Illyrio, knew everything and turned a blind eye. Jon sighed, holding himself back after taking a deep breath.
"Welcome, Artican King. It is an honor to see you here in Pentos after the successful negotiation in Braavos. I've heard rumors that you even deposited a large amount of money in the Iron Bank. You are not only a powerful man but also very wealthy," Illyrio began to speak, flattering him directly.
Jon, who maintained a stern face towards this man, could barely conceal his disgust and anger. "Thank you for the hospitality of Pentos, Illyrio," Jon spoke, mentioning the man's name without him having introduced himself first, letting it slip due to his anger.
"The Artican King knows my name? I am very honored by that," Illyrio spoke, trying to appear excited.
"I know many things, Illyrio... several things, in fact," Jon murmured, looking into the man's eyes, who seemed to tremble a bit upon hearing this, before returning to his usual face as an experienced trader.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're here to negotiate. Why don't we expedite this? After all, I plan to make a trip in the next few days and won't be able to attend as the hospitality someone of your status deserves," he spoke, giving an excuse again to Jon, who wanted to resolve the matter as soon as possible and get him out of Braavos.
"All right. That huge mansion is yours, isn't it? I'm very interested in its structure," Jon said and pointed to the largest mansion in the city, causing the man to be a bit lost for words, after all, he intended to conduct the negotiation elsewhere, not in his house, trying to avoid precisely the contact between those he was trying to avoid.
Illyrio seemed like he was going to refuse, but with Jon making such a direct request, he could not easily deny it. He sighed a bit, but continued trying to muster a smile on his face. "I'm glad you noticed my humble home, but I believe it will not be to your liking. I intended to take you to a private location, where the greatest negotiations of Pentos are usually done," he said, trying to make an excuse.
"So, I am not welcome in your home, Mr. Illyrio? I was expecting a better negotiation, but it seems like you want to drive me away from here," Jon said, as the atmosphere became a bit tense. At this moment, the other magistrates suddenly spoke with a clearly dissatisfied tone, while the other Magisters looked at their colleague strangely, since they did not understand why he was acting like this towards one of the most powerful people in the world.
"Of course not, my lord!" He quickly tried to backtrack on his words. "I do not wish to offend, I apologize if it happened... If it pleases you, let's go to my house, then. I am sure that, although I do not believe it will please you, it will still serve some purpose," he murmured, not pleased with the situation, but having no choice.
Illyrio just looked at a guard and made a hand signal, while the guard simply moved away, already understanding the situation to get to the mansion faster than the group.
"That's good. Now, let's do the introductions," Jon said, as his entourage and the other Articans disembarked from the ship, like his wife, Arya, his minister. They introduced themselves formally, with Jon being known not just to Illyrio but to all the other magistrates who were there to see him.
They quickly proceeded to the mansion, passing through the city, with giants once again performing for all the eyes. Despite the rumors, seeing them in person was quite shocking for many for the first time, while others had already seen them in the port of Dorne or even the Reach, where Jon had been recorded.
They continued until they finally reached the mansion by the sea. Jon saw no sign of the Targaryens at the entrance. "Please, follow me to my mansion. There is a place for your family to wait while we negotiate," Illyrio said.
"It's okay, My love, you can go and stay in this place. And you, Arya, I'm sure you would like to train in the courtyard, as you always do," Jon replied, as some Artican women stayed with Ygritte as ladies-in-waiting.
Arya looked at Jon strangely, as this was not her plan. She even expected to negotiate with Jon, but he seemed to have made this proposal." Quickly, she nodded. "Yes, she would continue training," she said.
Illyrio, seeing nothing amiss, also agreed, as they were quickly led inside the mansion. In the end, Arya stayed with the Articans outside, while Ygritte stayed in one of the openings to the sea, with the Artican women and the royal guards.
While Jon proceeded to the room along with his minister and all the magistrates from Braavos, Arya Illyrio would be the main negotiator.
Meanwhile, Ygritte continued to train. "Why did Jon do that?" she murmured, but he didn't pay much attention.
Some Articans would train among themselves, while the guards, many of them being the famous eunuchs, maintained a serious gaze.
While Jon negotiated, his magical gaze scanned the entire mansion until he finally found what he wanted. Since he couldn't act immediately, he would have Arya pave the way without startling the girl, who must be his aunt, trapped in a corner of the house while he searched for her alone.
It was at that moment that a cat suddenly appeared to Arya while she practiced her fencing. The cat meowed near her. Arya ignored it at first and continued training, but then the cat began to persistently meow, causing Arya to frown.
"What do you want?" she murmured, as the cat turned and meowed at her as if teasing.
"Where are you from?" she asked, puzzled by this, and the cat meowed more, starting to walk away from there. Seeing this, Arya simply ran after the cat, while no guard noticed, as they were more concerned with the large Artican group as a whole, especially the giants.
While Jon talked with his clients, at the same time, he managed to guide the cat, passing all the guards and patrols without Arya being noticed. She continued trying to catch it, and Jon teased her from time to time, leaving Arya frustrated with this. Until the cat finally turned a corner, and she ran as fast as she could, reaching a space near the sea.
"I caught you!" she murmured, happy, while holding the cat. But then, a scream beside her made her look to the side, it was none other than a woman with white hair and purple eyes, a Valyrian through and through.
Arya looked at the scream surprised as she saw the girl surprised, an older girl. Arya still held the animal, almost forgetting it as she looked at the girl with platinum hair, as white as snow, and purple eyes like a true Valyrian.
However, this same girl did not appear to be at the peak of her beauty, as even wearing beautiful and expensive clothes, she had a bruised eye and some marks of injuries on her face. Quickly, she hid, realizing she was all wounded.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Daenerys Targaryen spoke with a tone of urgency, embarrassed by her appearance, after having been beaten so much by her dragon-freed brother, while she was led not to appear in front of the courtyard. Otherwise, clearly, he would beat her even more.
She chose that spot to be alone, silently crying and looking out to sea, wondering if her life was destined to this: being sold as a prostitute, beaten by her brother, with an uncertain future among savages or king's assassins who might come to end her lineage.
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