The following morning Ser Barristan found Lyanna already on the deck practicing the same movements he had shown her from before she left Kings Landing. Or at least that's what he thought as he watched her. Taking another few minutes to observe her, the movements had a subtle difference of grace to them. She suddenly turned towards him in surprise and pointed the weapon at him, before recognizing him.
"I'm sorry Ser Barristan, old habit." She told him "I recently spent a lot of time on an island and I really never wanted something sneaking up on me. Although, sometimes I miss it. Not every day was a life or death situation but every day was a challenge."
He watched as she rambled on for a few more minutes, telling him what she did on the island. He still had not told her what had happened to her father after she left. How Eddard Stark had come into the throne room with Robert Baratheon's last command. How he had stood by as Cersei Lannister had torn up the note and presented Eddard to the new king on a platter.
"Ah, there you two are. I was hoping all of us could discuss my plans regarding the Unsullied" Daenerys said as she came out of the cabin with Ser Jorah behind her. She looked cleaned up but Lyanna thought she could see that the fire in taking the Iron Throne was starting to fade. Maybe, just maybe, she was starting to give up on that goal.
Both Lyanna and Ser Barristan nodded at her and followed her off the ship. Despite what Daenerys had asked of them, there was not a lot of talking between the four of them as they walked through the city. Until they came to the place called the Walk of Punishment that brought Daenerys out of her thoughts.
Lyanna watched with a quiet, somber mood as Dany tried to give a slave a drink of water. Looking up and down the Walk, Lyanna was disturbed by the whole idea of Walk of Punishment. It was no better than placing heads on pikes in Kings Landing. All the talk about how this was the greatest age since Old Valryia, all Lyanna saw was how much more brutal the whole world had become.
Following the other three as they continued on their way, she listened in on the conversation. Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan were both right in their own arguments concerning the benefits of buying the Unsullied or raising an army of loyal supporters. She was fine letting them talk about it until the name of Rhaegar Targaryen came up.
"Did you know my brother well, Ser Barristan?" Dany asked as they continued to walk.
"He was one of the finest men I ever knew your Grace." Barristan replied with an honest tone. Lyanna couldn't have stopped the words from coming out of her mouth for all the gold in the world.
"I didn't realize that kidnappers and rapers were amongst the finest people you knew Ser Barristan. You must have questionable taste in friends." Lyanna replied in a casual tone. Ignoring the look of shock on Ser Barristan and Daenerys face, she continued to walk past them.
When they met with the Masters again, Daenerys threw everyone for a loop as she was prepared to offer them one of her dragons. 8000 Unsullied plus the boys who were still in training for when the older ones died in battle for one dragon. While the Unsullied Army at 8,000 would be a force to be reckoned with, a dragon, even still growing, could potentially be bigger.
Both Ser Jorah and Barristan disagreed quite adamantly with her decision, Lyanna choose to hold her tongue and wait to see what would happen. Watching the Masters discuss it quietly, she couldn't help the sudden feeling of dread that something terrible was about to happen. Lyanna narrowed her eyes as the Masters continued.
"The good Masters of Astapor say that for this deal to be made in good conscience that each party should be offer a gift to show goodwill." Missandi said politely. Daenerys was in thought for a moment before replying.
"Then I would like you, someone with your talents would be very nice to have around especially when all parties will be able to communicate with each other." Daenerys told them. Kraznys smiled like an ass and looked directly at Lyanna before speaking. Missandi listened carefully before nodding.
"Master Kraznys understands that the young lady with you is originally from what you Westerosi refer to as The North. He asks if it true that she brought the beast known as Direwolves with her? Gigantic wolves that use to roam Westeros in ages past. It is said that they were almost as feared and revered as the dragons.
Master Kraznys says that he wishes for one of these beasts. A dragon and a direwolf, two ancient and forgotten beasts will make two great additions. Do you accept Lady Daenerys?" Missandi asked. Lyanna was already reaching for the sword on her back as she finished but was stopped by Daenerys words.
"Tell the Good Masters we accept and that everything will be delivered tomorrow when I accept my army." Daenerys told them as Missandi translated and Kraznys nodded. Daenerys turned and left with Missandi catching up and Ser Jorah not far behind. Ser Barristan looked back at Lyanna who hadn't taken her hand off of her sword. It was starting to draw the attention of the Unsullied when he spoke to her.
"Come on, Lady Stark, Her Grace is leaving and I can't be responsible for letting you get yourself killed while she still has no army to call her own." He told her quietly, Lyanna grit her teeth and glared at Kraznys before turning around and walking in the same direction as Daenerys. Ser Barristan watched her leave before turning back to Kraznys.
"You know, the Unsullied probably would have killed her, but I know she would have killed you first." As he followed after everyone with a smile on his face.
Catching up to Daenerys as her and Missandi were talking quietly, Lyanna grabbed her by the elbow much to the protest of Jorah and Barristan and spun her around so they were face to face. Lyanna was so angry at the moment. She thought that Daenerys was different than the others in power.
"Have you lost your mind? Huh?" Lyanna almost shouted at her. "How dare you presume to give away something that doesn't even belong to you, let alone without asking me. Shadow, Lady and Nymeria are my responsibility and my friends. You had no right to agree to that lunatics request." Daenerys wretched her arm out of Lyanna grip.
"I am Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons, and I will the Queen who sits on the Iron Thrones. We need an army and the Unsullied are the best army half a world over. If the price of that is a pet then-" she didn't get a chance to finish as Lyanna slapped her across the face. Shock and surprise covered Daenerys face as she looked back at Lyanna who was just as shocked. Ser Barristan and Jorah moved closer and grabbed Lyanna by the shoulders as she looked down at her hand.
"They are no more my pets then your dragons are to you. If you can't tell the difference between a friend and a pawn, then you're already well on your way to being a Queen deserving of the Iron Throne." Pulling herself from Jorah and Barristan, Lyanna moved past all of them and headed back on her own. Daenerys watched her leave and when she was almost out of sight, she watched as Lyanna wiped her eyes.
"Your Grace?" Missandi asked quietly. "Who was that woman?"
Daenerys looked at her and smiled. "Well…"
Lyanna was making her way back towards the ship. She was hurt and felt betrayed but mostly she was angry. Not since Joffery had killed Little Warrior had she been this full of rage. So out of focus, that she couldn't even hear people calling after her. She almost tripped over a piece of rope that was in her path that made her look up and see where she was.
She had meant to head back towards the dock, but somehow she was deep in the city than she thought she was. She was about to turn back around and figure out where she had taken a wrong turn when a hand touched her shoulder. Not knowing who it was, Lyanna spun around quickly and reached for her sword when the person backed away.
He was dressed much like a native except for a collar around his neck. A slave for one of the richer masters in Astapor, she guessed. He immediately backed away with his hands up in the air. She looked around to see if anyone else was with him before she lowered her hand. He seemed to be running his hands over his robes to smooth them over before looking at her.
"I sorry," he spoke in broken Westerosi "my Master would like to share drink with you." Lyanna looked around but couldn't see anyone else around.
"Tell your Master that I am flatter but,"
"Please," he interrupted with a hint of desperation "my Master would be much be no….biare, no happy." By the he was done speaking desperation was very evident in his voice and his face. Sighing heavily, Lyanna looked down and then back at the man before nodding at him. He was visibly relieved when she told him that and started to guide her off to the side towards a tavern.
Following the young man in through a boarded up front, Lyanna saw that only a few people were in the bar. Two men who were probably the muscle to protect the Master, a few women for his entertainment and the Master himself sitting at a table obviously waiting for her. Probably only a few years older than her, the son of one of the older Masters no doubt.
Apparently he had bought out the place as even the bartender was not there at the moment. He smiled and motioned for her to take a seat across from him. Walking up to the table and slowly sitting down as the man poured her a drink. The slave who escorted her here moved to the side and began to refill his master's drink. One of the slave girls got up and moved next to her master.
"Master has asked that I translate for your conversation." She said from her spot. Listening to him talk for a moment she nodded before she looked at Lyanna. "He says that you are a rare beauty, to find a woman from Westeros who carries such fine weapons. That he is exceptionally lucky." The man nodded and took another drink while Lyanna left her drink alone and watched him with bored eyes.
The man's smile slowly started to slip as he watched her not touch her drink. He spoke to the woman again while starring at her, she couldn't understand the words but she could hear the irritation in his voice. "My Master says that it is very rude to not drink when another party pours you a drink in Astapor. He thought that you would be a lot more grateful than you are."
Lyanna look dully at the man before picking up the cup and dumping the contents onto the floor with a blank look. Both the translator and the young slave man were visibly shocked at her actions. The master was now very angry if the look in his eyes were anything to go by. Pointing an accusing finger at her he began to yell at her in his native tongue. Watching him scream at her and point his finger something snapped inside of her, everything that had happened since her father had been attacked and injured. Everything that she had kept inside of her and held onto until Daenerys' most recent betrayal of her trust, her mind simply snapped and she did the one thing she had gotten good at on that island.
She attacked with all the intensity of the sigil of her house.
Grabbing the young master by his wrist, she pulled him forward across the table and slammed his head down several times. He was severely dazed when she let him go, almost falling down onto the ground. His guards were shocked that she had attacked him before they came rushing at her. She grabbed the bottle of whatever he had been drinking and tossed the small table into their path, surprising them with the sudden obstacle course.
Rushing them, she used the bottle and smashed it against the skull of one of the guards and watched as he appeared dazed for a moment before unconsciousness claimed him and he crumbed onto the floor. The other moved around the table and tried to wrap his arms around her. He was no doubt stronger than her but she was faster, staying just out of reach. That changed when he charged her and grabbed around her midsection and rammed her back against the bar. Starting to beat her stomach repeatedly, she hurt everywhere and looked around the bar for something to use.
Spotting something, she grabbed a handle and stabbed the man in the shoulder with a knife probably used to cut meat. He stopped beating her stomach and let go, but the back of his head came up fast and clipped her jaw painfully. Leaving the knife in his shoulder, she braced herself against the bar and kicked him square in the chest. He backpedal and tripped over the table, falling almost completely head over heels and the resounding thud his head made when it hit the floor was satisfying to Lyanna.
The young slave man was still shocked stiff as he didn't know what to do. The women were equally scared but huddling together gave them some small comfort Lyanna guessed. She grabbed at her sides and wiped at her mouth, surprised by the blood that came away. A groan brought her back to the tavern.
The young master had cleared his senses and looked around angrily before pulling out a dagger and waved it menacingly at her. She thought about pulling her sword but in this small area it might be a hindrance. The master seemed to think he had the upper hand and started talking, lowering the dagger until it was by his side. The fool was so arrogant that Lyanna almost smiled.
She struck like a Direwolf, charging him straight on. The impact was enough to make him let go of the dagger, but it also carried them through the door and out into the street. People scattered in all directions to get away from the fight. Lyanna got up first and walked over to the man, slamming her foot down onto his knee. The crack and resulting scream gave Lyanna the knowledge that she had broken his leg.
Bending down and grabbing him by the front of his robes, Lyanna started to beat at his face repeatedly with her fist. Over and over again. It hurt to pull her arm back after a few moments. While she had taken a small break she heard her name.
"Seven hells Lyanna, what have you done?" Looking up, she could see Asher and Beskha along with Daenerys and her party only a few feet away. Watching her with concerned looks, watching an animal fight. And at that moment, Lyanna felt every bit like a Direwolf.
A/N: Sorry about the delay again. The Callob fic and work and Overwatch took its toll. But also this chapter was very hard for me to write until the very last section. It might just be me, but Lyanna isn't good with the political stuff, can't say the same about the fighting. Well, hope you like it. Please Review.
