THE PROPHETESS

Kaeshai's chambers were in absolute chaos. She stood in the entryway to the room, gaping at the sight. After a moment, she stepped through the door and slammed it behind her. It looked as if a windstorm had gone through the space. Kaeshai cursed under her breath in several languages.

In the back room, a shrill, lilting voice sang on, oblivious to the fact she was no longer alone. Kaeshai pressed fingers into her eyes to stave off the migraine that was coming on. "Lidiya."

The girl's voice cut off immediately, as it did a glass jar fell out of the air. Kaeshai barely caught it before it could crash to the ground and shatter, spilling the priceless herbs inside.

"I am afraid I got a bit carried away." Lidiya was younger than Kaeshai by at least half a decade, and it was clear in her unpredictability. The girl's enslavement had only lasted a few years. She hadn't yet learned to rein herself in, make herself smaller, safer. Nor had she had the opportunity to explore the full extent of the magic she apparently possessed.

"Over and over, I've told you that we must start from the beginning," Kaeshai scolded, as calmly as she could manage, given the state of her living quarters. "Aeromancers are rare, especially outside of Asshai, I've only ever read of your kind in books." She spared a glance at her overturned bookshelf. "Very rare, expensive, books."

Lidiya rushed toward the shelf and immediately began setting it to rights by hand. "You see, I was studying, but it is so stuffy in these rooms. I thought a bit of breeze was called for."

"And so you let loose a tornado in my home..." Kaeshai finished.

Lidiya's golden skin flushed. "I tried to sing it all to rights, as you saw. But I was not quick enough." Her Ghiscari accent peppered her words. She'd been born and raised in Meereen, but when her family had realized what she was capable of, they'd sold her to the highest bidder. But it wasn't the greed that bothered Lidiya, it was the fear she'd seen in their eyes when they cursed her and called her witch.

Kaeshai fought back a sigh. Years she'd worked to keep her emotions in check, only to be cursed with an inept apprentice who tried her patience every day. "See that it is set to rights." Then quickly added, "By hand." Lidiya began to protest. "What we do requires devotion. Your strength in ability is a curse. You have leapt too quickly and learned there is no ground below to stop your fall. But there will be if you work for it."

Lidiya dipped her head in acquiescence. "Yes, mistress."

Kaeshai retrieved the notebook she was searching for. "Now, if you will excuse me, Her Grace has summoned me to hear the Dreams."

The energy of the pyramid was almost as chaotic as the state of her rooms. Nearly every day the city of Meereen saw more blood. The Sons of the Harpy did their best to terrorize Daenerys into abdicating or at the least giving in to their copious demands. Kaeshai had to admire the sheer stubbornness that kept the Queen from capitulating. But she couldn't help wondering if they would all be better off if Daenerys continued west.

She arrived outside the Queen's chambers and put aside the thought. No matter where Daenerys Targaryen was, Kaeshai would serve her with loyalty. The Queen summoned her for the dreams, not for opinions.

Missandei announced Kaeshai, and the maegi joined the Queen on the terrace. Daenerys motioned for her to take a seat. "You had a dream?" Kaeshai nodded, but before she could reveal her latest vision, she was interrupted by the appearance of another.

Daenerys stood, nearly crashing into the woman. "Amina! Gods, I was so worried." The dark-haired girl hugged her sister back with a fierce intensity. "We heard rumors from the west. I thought..."

It took Kaeshai a moment to realize Amina was crying, silently against Daenerys' shoulder. "The feast of corpses," she choked out. "I couldn't stop it."

"I'm so sorry," Daenerys murmured. Kaeshai stood quietly to excuse herself. This moment was not meant for an audience, and she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

Amina glanced over, her eyes widening in shock. "Gods, sorry, I was interrupting. I just thought I should try to see you since..."

Daenerys waved her off. "You weren't interrupting, you could never interrupt. I'm glad you came. Kaeshai was about to tell me of her latest dream."

Amina looked at the maegi for a long moment. Kaeshai recalled when the dark-haired Targaryen had been in her tent, searching for a way to prevent exactly the thing that had happened. Though she'd tried her best, Kaeshai still felt as if she'd failed. If it hadn't been for that insufferable light, the one she still couldn't place... "My sincerest apologies for your loss, your grace. I wish I could have been of more help to you. I hope in the future there will be something I can do to make it up to you."

Amina nodded. "It was not your fault. You offered what you could." She motioned toward the chair Kaeshai had vacated. "Please, continue."

Kaeshai looked between the twin queens, before resuming her report. "I saw an army of scorpions marching through the desert, consuming each other as they went." Amina and Daenerys shared confused looks. "The Cannibals are on their way."

"Well, that sounds ominous," Amina muttered.

Daenerys walked back into her chambers, toward the painted map of Essos. She ran her fingers over the continent, finally landing on the city at the foot of the Bone Mountains. "Adakhakileki," she murmured. "What could they want?" Her fingers continued down the Skahazadhan to Meereen. "The river is their only port of trade and the slavers have blocked it. Perhaps they've come to lend their aide..."

"I would be warry of trusting the Adakhakileki, your grace. Their reputation among the Dothraki is not unwarranted, and their current king is said to be a tyrant."

Daenerys sighed. "Well, I will make no judgements until I meet this party. The Dothraki were always wary of them, but they have always been superstitious. Many of their stories seem larger than life. I've seen how rumors can grow, perhaps the Cannibals have only used that to their advantage."

"Is the city truly in such dire straits?" Amina asked. She approached the map, glancing over the notes that had been pinned to the canvas. "The river and sea blockaded; the crops burned. There are far too many people here to sustain for long. How many of them can even fight?"

Daenerys sighed. "Not nearly enough."

"Why haven't you moved on?" Amina's eyes traced a path from Meereen across the continent, across the sea.

"My council in Astapor was overthrown, Yunkai has returned to slaving. I cannot allow Meereen to suffer the same fate. What good is a conqueror if I cannot rule the land I've conquered? You've been able to learn what it really means to be Queen, I haven't."

"What good is a ruler without a kingdom?" Amina countered. "Come to Westeros as we planned. You don't need to learn everything in one day. We were meant to help each other; we can't do that from half a world away."

Daenerys tried to take Amina's hands, but she pulled away. "I'm sorry, this is something I need to do. We've waited our whole lives, what's a little more time?"

"I lost my army, my home, my family. I'm out of time, Daenerys." Amina took a step back. "Things here are being set in motion. There are things I need to do to save those I have left. I do not know how much longer I can wait for you."

"Amina, wait-" She grasped at the air where her sister had been a moment before. She stood there, arm half outstretched. "Am I doing the right thing?"

It took a moment for Kaeshai to realize the Queen was speaking to her, and that she expected an answer. "I can't answer that question for you, your grace. We do what we feel we must."

Daenerys looked up. "Can you read the answer in my blood? How will this end?"

Kaeshai shook her head. "I offered it to you once before, and you swore you would never resort to blood magic again. Perhaps I could see the answer in your future, perhaps not. But I will not allow you to break your vow, not with me."

The maegi expected an argument. She was half ready to give in and give the Queen what she wanted. But Daenerys just nodded and turned away.

As Kaeshai stepped into thehall, she realized maybe she had been the one to learn something from Lidiya.For years Kaeshai had made herself small, but now she had a voice even queenswould listen to. She was done appeasing those with power for powers sake. She nolonger had to be small, she could be a storm too.