The Chronicles of Valyria,
Book 1 Resurrection
Chapter 7
Aurora and Gabrielle both nodded sadly until their solemn mood was broken by an amazed voice belonging to Silvana, "Wow, so our new parents are gods, that is so cool."
They couldn't help it, all three women burst out laughing at the amazement of the two girls whom they had nearly forgotten were with them.
When they had finished laughing, Aurora turned serious and kneeling down on one knee she looked both girls in the eyes and said, "Now listen very carefully. It is of the utmost importance, that no one else knows this okay, I want both of you to swear an oath, to never mention it to anyone, unless you have the express permission of either me, or Gabrielle. Do you understand?"
Both girls nodded with a equally serious face and Silvana said softly, "Yes mom." Aurora again got a fond smile on her face when she heard the girl calling her, 'mom'.
"Well then," sighed Rhaella, "I believe that we should leave here. Although I do not know how we are going to keep everyone away from here, now that the door is broken."
Gabrielle just shrugged and replied, "We could just take everything with us. I have a spare pouch which you could borrow if you'd like. Until you have found a more permanent place for everything."
Rhaella nodded relieved at this and once Gabrielle had spread her second pouch, which was empty, out on the ground, they carefully put everything into it. They locked the chests with gold, put the gems in large bags, and gathered all the jewelry and wrapped it carefully in the silk robes they had found in a locked chest. All the weapons and the remaining four sets of armor were also carefully put away until all that remained were the four eggs that still lay in the Valyrian steel nest.
While they stood before the nest and pondered what to do with them, they suddenly heard a sound coming from the stairs. With their enthusiasm and amazement at everything they had found, they had completely forgotten about the forty guardsmen that had been waiting for them.
They had been in the treasure trove for more than an hour, and the captain had become worried, so he had sent four of his men to investigate. One of the men had fallen on a broken step, and that was the sound they heard coming from the stairs.
Gabrielle quickly folded the pouch that lay on the ground and hung it on her belt, while Aurora took a similar one from her own belt and quickly, though carefully, picked up the entire nest, eggs and all, and put it in the pouch.
She had just folded it again and was standing up, when the four guards arrived on the ledge. The four men stared wide-eyed at their surroundings until Rhaella cleared her throat and the men quickly sprung to attention.
"I do believe I had told you to stay in the courtyard until I sent for you, or do I remember incorrectly?" Rhaella's words were icy and the men fidgeted with their halberds, just to not have to look her in the eyes.
"N… n… no Your Grace," One of the men finally said, "but the captain grew concerned when we didn't hear anything from you, it has been over an hour, so he sent us to investigate. And when we saw the hole in the door, we decided to go and look for you, in case you had fallen or something and were unable to return."
Rhaella softly shook her head and muttered, "Unbelievable, I'm in the company of two dragon riders, and they are worried that I might fall." Looking up at the men she added, "Just get the hell out of here and forget that you were ever here." The men quickly bowed before running back up the stairs.
Rhaella turned back to the others and sighed, "Luckily we had everything cleared out before they came in."
The others nodded, and Gabrielle asked, "Shall we go back upstairs then? We still have to get to Dorne today, and it is at least a couple of hours flying."
The Queen nodded and taking a last look around, to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything, made their way back up the stairs. During the trip up, Gabrielle handed Rhaella and the twins each a fur, which she removed from the partially opened foldable pouch, and told them to wrap their eggs into it, both to keep them warm, and to keep them away from prying eyes. The wrapped eggs were then carefully held under their cloaks, so they weren't in sight of anyone.
When they came upon the massive Valyrian steel door, Aurora asked, "Do you want us to put the piece back in the door, or should we leave it like this. We could also just remove it entirely and take the steel with us. I heard there is a blacksmith in King's Landing who knows how to rework Valyrian steel. Gabrielle and I don't have the time at the moment and the sooner we get him working on it, the sooner he can make something useful out of it."
Rhaella looked a little confused as to what Aurora meant, until said woman continued. "We have about 250 cubic feet of Valyrian Steel just hanging there being useless. Do you have any idea how many swords or suits of armor you can make from that?"
It finally downed to Rhaella what Aurora was talking about and she replied, "If you can remove it that would be great, but I think we should return later to do that. We really need to get to Sunspear before the end the afternoon, or else I fear the ravens will beat us there. I promised Rhaegar that I would personally inform Doran and Oberyn of Elia's death, and I intend to keep that promise. Is it easy to set the piece back in the door or would it take more than half an hour?"
Aurora went back into the hole and lifted the massive piece of steel. Even with her nearly god-like strength, it took her considerable effort to even lift it. Gabrielle quickly went through as well and together they managed to push the piece through the hole and to the other side.
After they rejoined the others on the other side, they again lifted it together and carefully slid it back into the hole. It rested on the bottom, so there was a trench of about two inches wide on the top and one-inch-wide on both sides.
They once again joined their hands and melted the edges of the trench, before taking one of their knives and using it to join the red hot metal together, so it cooled off as one solid piece. When the door was whole and closed again, they left the dungeons and made their way back to the courtyard.
When they reappeared in the light of the midday sun, they were met by the captain of the guard, the castellan and the maester. All three were obviously burning with anticipation to hear what they had found, as the news of the Valyrian steel door had quickly made its way through the fortress.
Stopping any questions from being asked, Rhaella spoke up on a firm tone. "I want ten guards stationed at that door at all times. No one gets near it, except the ladies Aurora and Gabrielle here. Anyone else who is found near it, will be fed to one of the dragons. Is that understood?"
Everyone quickly indicated their understanding and Rhaella continued. "Very good. Then I wish you all a good day, as we have other places to go." She walked into the direction of the gates and the other four followed her, with Aurora and Gabrielle as last, after throwing a warning look at the maester, while swinging their axes loosely in their hands.
When they arrived back at the place where they had landed, Aurora once again changed to her dragon form and with the help of the twins, Gabrielle put the saddle on her shoulders. Once they were all securely strapped in, she stretched her wings and jumped into the sky before flying of southwards.
It took them four hours until they could see Sunspear in the distance. The distinctive shape of the Sandship, the ancient citadel of the Martells, was clearly visible from the altitude on which they were flying.
To avoid a repeat of the first reaction of Dragonstone, Gabrielle told Aurora to fly low and clearly in sight, while landing roughly a mile before the gates of Sunspear.
When Aurora had settled herself next to the road, Gabrielle, Rhaella and the twins used the rope to descend from the saddle and awaited the arrival of an envoy from the city. They knew it was coming because they had seen the gates open and a detachment of riders were making their way towards them.
At the head of the group of 25 riders, was a young man of not 30 name-days old. He could be considered as quite handsome, it was obvious from his posture that he thought himself to be so, and he was riding a beautiful black stallion with a tail and mane the color of fire.
He stopped his horse abruptly when Gabrielle went to stand before Rhaella and the twins and prepared her axe to strike. "That's close enough pretty-boy, I can hear you from where you stand, come closer on your own peril."
The man was obviously surprised by the armored behemoth, but didn't seem that dismissive to accepting the challenge. He was already on the ground and twirling an 8-foot-long spear around his head, when Rhaella stepped from behind Gabrielle's massive armored shoulders.
"Put down that spear Prince Oberyn, you'll only get hurt if you continue this folly." Turning to Gabrielle she said, "Please lower your axe, this is Prince Oberyn Martell, the younger brother of Prince Doran, the ruler of Dorne."
Gabrielle nodded silently and stabbed her axe into the ground before removing her helmet. The by now familiar gasps when others realized they were dealing with a woman were heard, and the now named Prince Oberyn got a look that screamed, 'I want you in my bed'.
Prince Oberyn made to kiss Gabrielle's armored hand but before he moved more than three inches, he found the very sharp top-spike of Gabrielle's battle axe pressed firmly into his chest. "Any part of your body that you use to touch me, will be removed from your body."
The snarled warning was received by a loud, 'gulp', from Oberyn and some soft sniggering from the other men who had come with him.
"That will be enough of this." Rhaella said curtly. "My lady, remove your axe, Prince Oberyn, take us to your brother right now. We are not here on an idle visit and it would be best if you and Doran heard what I have to say at the same time."
Now Oberyn turned very serious and with a short nod, he ran back to his horse and said, "Wait till I have warned the guards not to shoot you. When you hear three horn blasts, fly towards the courtyard of the Old Palace, Doran and I will await you there."
He and his men swiftly rode back towards the gates and disappeared in the city. It took maybe fifteen minutes until they heard the three horn blasts Oberyn told them to wait for. They retook their place on Aurora and she followed Rhaella's directions to the courtyard of the Old Palace.
It was only two minutes later when Aurora carefully landed in the courtyard before Doran and Oberyn. Doran looked like his brother about as much as you could expect, but his posture and the calm intellect that shone behind his eyes told them that he was a different man altogether. Oberyn might be considered a great warrior, but Doran was the mastermind of the Martells.
As soon as they landed, the courtyard shaking by the weight of Aurora, Gabrielle threw out the rope and slid down it, landing in front of Doran and Oberyn. Her emerald green eyes stared intently into Doran's black ones until her mental power overwhelmed his mind. She made a quick copy of everything of importance, so she could make an accurate guess of his personality and what they could expect from him. Normally she wouldn't have had to resort to such drastic measures, but where Oberyn had been easy to read, Doran was not.
Meanwhile Rhaella and the twins had also descended from the saddle and Rhaella stepped forward past Gabrielle. "Prince Doran," she greeted the ruler of Dorne with a small nod of her head.
"Your Grace," was Doran's reply, while both he and his brother bowed to her. "To what does Dorne owe the Pleasure of your company my Queen?"
Rhaella sighed and said, "Not a pleasure I'm afraid. I bring grave news concerning the Rebellion of Robert Baratheon."
Before she could continue, Doran raised his hand and said, "Apologies Your Grace, but maybe it would be wise to relocate to a more shaded area, the Dornish sun can be unforgiving to those who are not accustomed to it."
Rhaella nodded to indicate her consent and Doran led them towards a corner of the courtyard where a large screen was hung between four pillars to create a shaded area with several seats and a table.
Once they had sat down Aurora lifted her head and dropped it between the chairs of Gabrielle and Silvana. The little girl immediately left her chair and climbed onto her head before setting herself comfortably on her temple with her back resting on a large horn. It wasn't long before her sister joined her and Doran and Oberyn looked amazed at the easy way the two girls acted around the fearsome beast.
Doran's personal guard, a Bearded Priest of Norvos called Areo Hotha, came walking towards them with a guarded look toward Aurora's massive form until he stood before them and bowed to prince Doran. "My Prince, a raven has come from King's Landing."
He held the scroll out to Doran but after a small nod from Rhaella, Gabrielle's hand shot out and she snatched the scroll out of Areo's hand, before Doran could accept it.
Raising her hands to stop any comments, Rhaella said. "My apologies, but I know what is in that scroll. The reason we are here is that I wanted to tell you in person, before a raven could reach you."
Doran dismissed Areo with a motion of his hand, and the Norvoshi left without a word. Turning back to his guests, Doran spoke, "Then please get to the matter at hand Your Grace."
Rhaella nodded sadly before speaking up. "Very well, then I shall.
6 days ago, Robert Baratheon was defeated on the banks of the Trident. The Lords Eddard Stark, Jon Arryn, and Hoster Tully, left the rebel cause and joined Rhaegar, when Princess Lyanna spoke with them about the circumstances surrounding her supposed, 'abduction'."
Doran nodded and replied, "Elia had written us about that. She told us she had urged Rhaegar to find a second wife to give him an heir, and she later wrote that Rhaegar had chosen Lyanna."
Rhaella accepted his words with a small nod, Elia had also written to her about it and said she had written her brothers as well. "Well, once Robert was removed from the picture, Rhaegar hurried back to King's Landing, as his scouts had informed him that Tywin Lannister had broken the Tyrell host, and was marching on the city."
Judging by their looks, both Doran and Oberyn had an inkling of what she was headed to, but they kept their peace and let her continue.
When Rhaegar reached the city, it was already too late. The Mad King had opened the gates for Tywin, and the Lannister army was in the middle of sacking the city. Flea Bottom has been completely destroyed, and the rest of the city had been pillaged. We don't know exactly how many lives were lost, but our estimates are more than a quarter of the population of King's Landing."
Oberyn gasped in shock and Doran said softly, "But that's…"
Rhaella nodded sadly and completed his sentence, "Yes Doran, that's over 125,000 people. But how terrible that is, it is not the reason we are here. That reason is this, during the sack two of Tywin's bannermen, Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch, managed to make their way into the Red Keep, and…"
"What about Elia," Oberyn interrupted her, but the look on Rhaella's face told him everything he needed to know. "No… no… no, this, this cannot be."
Rhaella nodded sadly and said, "I'm so very sorry, but Elia was murdered by Gregor Clegane and Amory Lorch, along with Aegon and my son Viserys. The Mad King was stabbed in the back by Jaime Lannister."
Doran was visibly having trouble holding in his tears, but Oberyn was seething in anger and growled out, "Where are the monsters that killed our sister. I demand that they be handed over to us."
Doran tried to put a calming hand on his brother's shoulder, but was interrupted by Rhaella who answered Oberyn's question.
"We do not know where they are. We have captured the entire Lannister army, or at least the part that wasn't killed by them," at this she pointed to Gabrielle and Aurora, "but those two were not amongst them. We have 15,000 men searching the countryside for them, and Rhaegar has put a lordship and 20,000 Gold Dragons on both their heads, so it will only be a matter of time before we find them. And yes Oberyn, when they are found, you can have them."
Oberyn was pleased by her consent that he could cool his anger on the murderers of his sister, but he still had too much anger in his body to think straight. He sprung up from his chair and grabbing his spear, he marched off to parts unknown.
When he was gone, Rhaella threw a questioning look at Doran and said man replied, "He has a harder time dealing with this than me. I prefer to grieve in silence, but he needs to let his anger out and rage for a while."
Gabrielle casually spoke up and said, "Do you think he requires something to hit? I has been a while since I had a proper spar with someone other than my wife."
Doran slightly raised his eyebrows and asked, "Wife?"
Gabrielle nodded and replied, "Yea, I know it isn't done in Westeros, but we honestly don't give a shit, as we come from Essos. We have lived in the ruins of Valyria for a very long time."
Doran nodded understandingly before adding, "And to answer your question, yes I do believe he would appreciate it. Just be careful, in his anger he might lash out more than he intends."
Gabrielle just gave him a toothy grin and Rhaella said, "Please don't harm him too much, we still need him to be able to ride if we want to reach the capital before nightfall" Gabrielle gave her a non-committal shrug before she walked in the direction in which Oberyn had left.
Softly shaking her head, Rhaella turned back to Doran and said, "We will be leaving again in an hour, if you want, you, Oberyn and one or two others can fly with us. It would save you a long journey by land or sea."
Doran nodded thoughtfully and said, "I think we will, thank you for the offer Your Grace. If you would excuse me, I will make preparations for our departure in an hour." Doran stood up, made a small bow, and walked away.
Turning to Aurora and the twins, who she saw had fallen asleep, she said softly, "Will you be fine here, I think I'll go and see what Oberyn and your wife are up to."
Aurora blinked one time with her visible eye, which Rhaella took as confirmation, before closing her eye again and dozing off in the comfortably scorching sun.
Rhaella stood up and walked in the same direction as Oberyn and Gabrielle had left. After passing a few courtyards and several gardens, she could hear the distinctive sounds of metal on metal and metal on wood. Following the sounds, she quickly reached the sparring ground.
When Gabrielle had followed Oberyn, she found him stabbing his spear into a dead tree stump that had obviously been put there for that precise purpose, judging by the state of the stump. After watching him for a minute Gabrielle cleared her throat and said loudly, "Care for an opponent who can fight back?"
Oberyn was slightly startled by her sudden voice, she stood barely three paces behind him, and when he realized who his company was, he actually managed a small smirk and said, "Please, if you're not afraid to break a nail."
Gabrielle huffed and stabbing her axe in the ground, she removed the rest of her weapons before stepping towards a weapon rack on the side of the sparring ground. Taking two spears from the rack she gave them a casual swirl above her head and behind her back to judge their balance.
Both spears were similar to the one Oberyn was wielding. A wooden shaft of 7 feet long, on top a metal blade of 1 foot long with two long tails that wound around the wooden shaft to reinforce it and keep the tip and shaft connected.
Being surprised by the apparent ease with which Gabrielle used the spears, Oberyn took a ready stance and waited for Gabrielle to go and stand opposite him. When she did, he immediately charged and aimed a stab at her side.
With an almost careless flick, the spear in her right hand intercepted Oberyn's and nearly knocked it from his grip. Bringing her left spear around, she slammed it into Oberyn's knees, causing him to lose his balance and fall on the ground.
It was obvious by his state of disbelief, that it had been a very long time since anyone had managed to floor him during a fight or spar. Gabrielle grinned and said, "It would seem that your reputation is greatly exaggerated. I want you to go all out against me, don't be afraid to harm me, that spear of yours could never penetrate my breastplate."
Seeing Oberyn's disbelieving look, she added, "My armor is made of Dragonforged Steel, which is about twice as strong as ordinary Valyrian steel. And my breastplate is an inch thick on most places."
Seemingly forgetting everything else Oberyn stared in disbelief until he asked, "How can you even move in such heavy armor?"
Gabrielle grinned softly and stabbing one spear into the ground, she grabbed the tip of the other in both hands. Taking the blade between thumb and forefinger in each hand, she easily bent the castle-forged steel as if it was sheet tin. "I'm a lot stronger than normal people Oberyn. So please, do both of us a favor and let it all out. Unleash all of your anger and actually try to harm me. It will do us both some good."
Gabrielle threw the bent spear to the side and picked up the other one in both hands. Oberyn seemed to think for a moment, before something changed in his eyes. They got harder and his face took up a look of utmost concentration.
He started to slowly circle Gabrielle, while occasionally lashing out with his spear. Gabrielle allowed him to move around and blocked a few of his stabs, whilst letting most others glance harmlessly from her armor.
After maybe three minutes, Oberyn had apparently discovered what he wanted to know, as he suddenly started lashing out with a speed he hadn't shown before. He stabbed left and right, aiming at the joints of Gabrielle's armor, which was smart as those were the weakest points.
Over the next few minutes they traded a flurry of blows with a speed that would seem impossible for most men, but to Gabrielle's delight, Oberyn was an excellent and very fast fighter.
Their little spar lasted for fifteen minutes' total, and ended with Gabrielle holding her spear with the tip at Oberyn's throat and Oberyn holding his spear with the tip trapped between the upper-and under arm plates of her left arm.
When Gabrielle released Oberyn, a loud applause suddenly arose and looking around, the two saw that the entire courtyard was filled with people, first and foremost were Rhaella and Doran, who was accompanied by his daughter Arianne, and Oberyn's daughters, Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene. Dozens of others also stood around the edges of the sparring ground, guards, servants and several nobles.
Gabrielle made a small bow before returning her spear to the rack from which it came and picking up her own weapons again. She went back to Rhaella's side and asked softly, "Where are the girls?"
Rhaella replied equally soft, "They had fallen asleep, so I left them with Aurora, I'm sure she'll look after them."
Gabrielle nodded and together the two women returned to where Aurora and the twins were still dozing comfortably.
