Chapter 1
He finally got out from the inferno of fire and blood where the good masters of Astapor were all dead. Some were riddled with spears, some were decapitated but all of them were burned to a crisp. He tried climbing out through a collapsed section of the wall but as he stood up to lift himself over the wall he slipped and fell, hitting his knee on a jagged edge of a limestone, the pain was excruciating yet he got up and went out through an opening instead and as he did, he saw the young black dragon fly over him and the 8 000 unsullied soldiers marching out of the destroyed city of Astapor and was in awe of their shiny armor and the fact that they will fight even if they were in pain. For this, he admired them.
As he started walking out his leg gave way and he fell flat on his face, but he got up and limped away from his city of bondage.
"You there who are you?" a voice called out to him somewhere in the desert but as the dragons were shrieking and the soldiers were marching he could not immediately make out its source, so he called out "I am here, where are you?" Nothing. He was worried some of the slave masters of Astapor had survived and was waiting until the invaders had left so that they would find all the slaves that made it out and put them in bondage once again and so this made him extra cautious at first but he remembered all the slave masters were dead, he had seen it himself and as he made it further away from the city he heard it again and thought the voice must come from one of the invaders.
He heard nothing no matter how hard he listened, so he kept on limping but then heard the voice again. "I am here walk to the sound of my voice".
He was looking around everywhere but as there was a sandstorm coming it was even harder to make out.
He closed his eyes, dug down deep and really listened for it but barely heard the man coming up behind him and so when he put his hand on his right shoulder, he was so startled he fell on his back and saw a swarthy and balding and muscular man he believed was a knight reaching out a hand to him.
He accepted the help and stood up and the pain in his knee made itself clear and he grimaced. The man said his name was Ser Jorah Mormont and he must have read his mind since he said that he was not a knight but could still fight very well. He listened with appreciation for his help. They made it to a horse and he thought he was supposed to limp along with the horse while the man sat on it but Ser Jorah held him by his waist and lifted him up on the horse and later got up himself and they were going to, for him, an as of yet, undisclosed location. "So, what is your name Ser Jorah asked him," "My name is Arnette I don't have a last name he said which was true for since he was sold into slavery at a very young age he had never known family life and therefore, never knew his surname. He heard another voice. Looked around but got sand in his eyes so did not notice a silver haired woman riding up beside him and Ser Jorah and she looked at him and asked his name, he answered his name was Arnette with the strength he had which was fading, Ser Jorah held him up and told him that he was in presence of Daenerys Targaryen the true heir of the iron throne, the mother of dragons, , the unburnt, khaleesi of the great grass sea, queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First men, and Daenerys stormborn. He understood that she was the queen that had burnt Astapor to a crisp and who was the direct reason for him being free and he bowed his head in revere and was at a loss for words until he noticed Drogon, the black dragon that flew above her and she threw him a piece of uncooked meat which the dragon quickly barbequed and swallowed. His day had started early and getting out of the city had taken all his strength so now he felt how tired he was, and he fell asleep on the horse and Ser Jorah had to keep him from falling off.
When he woke they were outside another city called Yunkai and he wondered when he would get some help with his leg but made no attempt to let his rescuers know. He lay on a blanket inside Daenerys's tent and he asks for some water and gets some from a black-haired woman he saw in Astapor before, but he never caught her name. He thanks her and gulps it down. "Thank you misses?" Missandei she says quietly in almost a whisper. He nods and repeats, thank you Missandei. She tells him not to mention it and goes to take her place by Daenerys's side. He heaves himself up and rests against the wall of the tent. He sees in the distance a caravan coming with slaves carrying a crowned seat with a person inside. Probably a slave master he spits in the sand at the notion of another slave master coming to this place to talk to his queen. When the caravan comes to a halt Daenerys just sits there waiting as the notable, rich, all important snot-nosed wise master of Yunkai steps out of the crowned seat and comes directly up to Daenerys and begins his smooching. "This is what we offer you, Gold, jewels and ships which you can use to sail back to Westeros and leave us to our business of slave owning". At first, Arnette was worried she will accept these gifts but then hears Daenerys say that she will not sail back to Westeros. But she will take their gold. He makes a threat to her about making her a slave as well and Drogon, seeing someone coming up to his mother in a threatening manner hisses at him and flaps his wings. The notable egg-head is scared and trembles and with worry says, "You told me they would not raise a tooth to us" Yes, I did, but you threatened me, their mother and they made no such promise. The man steps away and angrily sit back in the crowned seat and the poor slaves must carry him the long way back to the city.
After he had left, and all the chests of gold and jewels had been taken care off, he looked in the direction of the horses, he did not know why but after a time he saw the most beautiful girl tending them. She had long black hair and was of modest height at 165 cm. she looked to be about 16 or 17 years old. He wished he could see her eyes, but he was too far away to make them out. She must be Daeneryss handmaiden he thought and kept looking in her direction, he could not stop looking at her. Where was she from? What was her name? they were questions he needed answered but sadly, had to wait for. He wanted to ask Daenerys about her, but he was worried of what she might say if she knew about him wanting to talk to this girl, so he kept his mouth shut. He noticed Ser Jorah talking with his queen along with another man he did not know yet, he had seen him in Astapor. A man he knew could fight ferociously was he only asked to do so.He could not make out what they were talking about, but they weren't speaking loudly, and they weren't hushed either. Then he heard the words "…. how many men?" … impossible, might just work and he saw Daenerys give an approval nod and he understood they were talking about taking the city. What was going to be done to take it? Going through the front door was probably out of the question so was there a secret passageway? He understood that because they hadn't told him about it, it was not for him to worry about. He continued to look in the direction of the Dothraki girl, but she was nowhere to be seen. He closed his eyes and decided to catch some well needed rest. While sleeping he dreamt about a bird he had helped earlier in life. He was 12 years old and still a slave and he had been denied food for not being helpful enough. He laid there on the cold hard floor in a room that was damp and had only one window with bars. Suddenly, he heard a bird singing outside the window. He got up and looked out to see a white dove sitting on a tree stump that had once held up a majestic tree but which his master had cut down for it obstructed his view of his rival's daughter undressing in her bedchamber. He was mesmerized by her songs and felt a connection with her and he wanted to be lying down next to her and hearing her sing all day and all night long. He fell asleep hearing her sing and was briskly awoken by his master shaking him and demanding his help with the next day's festivities he could feel his stomach rumbling and the sure feeling of hunger making its presence known. So he asked that if he did a good job could he perhaps be given some food. The answer was given swiftly and unapologetically – you will eat when you are done, and he was briskly taken to the kitchens to prepare food along with the other 50 workers at least he did not feel alone here but the other difference between him and the other people working there was that they were no slaves, where as he was. He could not recall how many times he had cut himself on the sharp cutlery or how many times he had tried to cover it up by wrapping his hands in cloth and carrying on with work knowing that if he slipped up or was slow he would most certainly not have any food for the rest of the day. While he was working he heard the bird singing again and he stopped for a split second, mesmerized by the sounds. But then quickly found himself again and continued with his work. After a while he did not hear the bird singing anymore it was as if she had been taken or left the area but then after 3 minutes he heard her again but this time it was more in a distress kind of way as she did not sing her beautiful song. No this was a sound of fear. He started to look around for her and after a while he saw her curled up in a medium sized cage in the corner and he instantly felt for her and was in a battle of decisions in his mind. He could release her from her cage and she would thank him for the rest of her life, but he would go hungry for how long only the Gods knew. However, after some time, he decided she would be better off free. So when no one saw, he quickly and quietly tiptoed to the cage and when he was sure no one was watching he took the cage , opened it and took the bird in his hands and ran like the wind to the window and opened his hands so she would fly out and boy did she fly he had barely opened his hands before she was on top of the tree stump again, he would go hungry but at least she was free. He had gone back to work and he managed to eat some food when the day of work was over. And before he fell asleep, he heard the all too familiar sound of Anna as he had come to calling her, singing on his master's windowsill.
When he awoke next it was night-time and he seemed to be the only one there safe for a pair of horses making their presence known in their stable nearby, or maybe they were just talking to themselves, who knows? He thought about sleeping again but he wasn't tired, so he just lay awake listening to the sounds of the night. "Are you in alot of pain?" he heard someone ask him and he looked up and saw the girl from before standing there infront of him. He answered that no it only hurt when he touched it, moved it or try to stand on it so basically all the time. "I did not want to lie to you". "I hope I am not asking too much but I saw you yesterday out with the horses, do you work for the queen"? "Khaleesi, she corrected him and yes I do" Then she asked, "Why did you notice me around all the other people"? He smiled at her saying "I don't know, I just kinda zeroed in on you, I wish I had a better explanation, but I don't. Well it is getting late I should see to my khaleesi". Of course,". She gave him one last look and then hurried off to her Khaleesi's chamber and he watched her disappear into the night, realising that he had forgotten to ask her for her name.