Thank you for all the feedback and in the words of the Khaleesi
"I will ask more of you than any Khal have asked his Khalassar!"
Last year was a mess; severely affected by the pandemic although I and my family remained safe from the virus. Many weren't lucky and I thank whatever power was on our side. But economically we were nearly collapsed and I had to face UPSC, one of the toughest exams in the world. So I am sorry for the long delay and hopefully this chapter will give you some entertainment during these tough times.
Chapter 9: Prince's, Cult's and Westeros
There was a time in the ravines of history where all manners of beasts and men roamed throughout Essos and Westeros without fear of reproach or reprimand. Ancient creatures ruled the skies and seas, while the humans and other smaller beings on land struggled as best they could to survive and making livings for themselves. Somewhere along the thousands of years a kink in the history changed the fate of the World forever. A few shepherds who decided the grass atop the mountains are sweeter and their herd's milk will be so if provided.
But what they found wasn't sweet grass, rather charred soil with ashen trees and volcanic lands, also eggs…
And like that, the beasts who ruled the skies suddenly found themselves in the servitude of their prey. With their magnificent powers, an empire was carved out. It was said the blood of these beasts that represent a natural catastrophe now flowed through the veins of the people who tamed them, the ancient magic seeped deep, changing their very flesh and hair, giving them appearance to be of the Gods. Valyrians.
It was said when the Valyrian Empire stopped expanding, it wasn't because of an opposition army putting a limit to it, rather they have deemed that everything worth knowing and powerful were under their control and what they didn't conquer was not worth knowing at all. During the Great Valyrian expansion, the Ghiscaris thought little of their neighbor to the south for they believed their Harpy to protect them against the Dragons that spewed fire from the heavens, pathetically stupid of such intellectually advanced race of humans. It was that very belief that cost them everything; total annihilation. The Dragons razed down their pyramids, took their wealth and slaves in a matter of few days. But such an invasion should have taken more time to be completed...unless there were traitors. The Masters who bent their knees and betrayed their culture, pride and gods.
"It is time my children." A feminine voice broke out the silence in a crypt hidden away in a great forest. "The Scarlet Dragoness has perished, the gates of chaos have breached and our powers are returning." A single candle came to life. "The Winds of Destiny are speaking; lend me your ears to hear the Harpy's Siren, thy body to serve the Harpy and our soul to follow the Harpy." Candles lit all across the chamber, hundreds of them. The speaker, a woman who seems to be exiting her prime, with dry brownish blonde hair and a red robe wrapped around a white silk under shirt spoke.
"Lady Ishtar. When shall we reclaim what was taken from us?" A masculine voice asked in fervor, a tall man in similar attire, his face covered by a golden Harpy mask.
"Our Order has remained in the shadows throughout the Valyrian Conquest of our Kingdom. Now is a better time than any, the Harpy rises from the Dragon's ashes." The woman said, a smile broadening her features. "Krug, prepare the Ravens. Our brethren hiding around Ghiscar must know of the last Valyrian's demise." Ishtar directed the large man who gave a bow and left.
"Lady Ishtar, what of the man who defeated her?" A young woman asked from the crowd.
There was a pause from the boss woman's part. "The Harpy has been kind enough to pit our enemies;" She gave a reassuring nod. "She will most certainly reveal her plan to eliminate him as well." The cult leader assured the youngster. "For now we must gain control and bring our Order back to power. Mareen, Yunkai and many cities cry for our return." Her voice rouse as she spoke each name, earning cheers.
"As you say mi'Lady." The younger woman nodded.
Early-Evening – Stygai, Vale of Shadows
Evening sun did little to illuminate the dark city as strange beasts continued to roam. "Eight thousand years ago, darkness so powerful, it clocked the very sun, fell over the mortal realm. A long winter." Barbatos spoke as he took a swig of rum he summoned. Acnologia continued to sit with his back to the demon on a stone bench, one of the few things left for better by time in the abandoned city. He hadn't moved nor spoken a word since he felt the Fire Demon's death and sudden return. But the Demon King continued anyway. "They used to call them all these names; Others, White-Walkers, Frozen ones you get the gist, right? Well they came from another realm, something similar to mine but no fun and games."
"How long before that bitch give me what I want?" Acnologia interrupted him sharply. The Demon King didn't need the Dragon to look at him to know the waning patience of the latter.
"What, an heir?" The demon chuckled but the sudden influx of darkness in the air radiating from the blue haired Dragon froze him. He cleared his throat before quickly speaking. "It will take some time, as gathering all that essence into a single object is truly a gargantuan task." For a moment he thought the monster would turn violent but sighed when he saw the Dragon rise and walk out of the ruins and into the streets that were under the constant surveillance of dark creatures. The Demon King didn't bother following him and simply observed his disappearance into the cold darkness.
"He is truly the one from Legends, is he not?" Barbatos turned to the spot the Dragon sat moments ago and found the Princess of the Night sitting with her legs crossed and leaning back on one arm.
The Demon King shrugged. "That would be one way of phrasing it." He spoke in a distasteful manner.
She raised an elegant eyebrow and uncrossed her legs. "Oh? You don't seem too pleased with him." She taunted and he didn't bother responding to it. "The World is changing, I hear the tales of the man who my beloved fears coming from the east." After a small pause the Demoness spoke.
The Demon King snorted. "Your beloved?" He spoke between his laughter.
The woman gave him a flat look. "I do not find your laughter amusing."
"Well there is nothing you can do about it." The Demon continued to laugh at her expense until he stopped to wipe away a tear. "He is never going to acknowledge your existence much less indulge in feelings. There is nothing in that monster but revenge and carnage."
Ignoring the taunt, she let out a sigh and looked towards the ashen sky. "Something I find very arousing in a potential consort. Besides I have ample time to seduce him and drive some of that raw strength on to my treacherous brother." A cruel smile fell upon her lips. "Revenge will be mine Demon; he stole what was rightfully mine!" She snarled, her eyes drifting to the darkness of the sky.
"Still on that are we?" The Demon King sighed. "When are you going to tell him the essence is going to take as long as your gestation period?"
"Soon I suppose," The Demoness shrugged. "I realize he may need me, but he is still willing to fight without my help." Folded her arms she leaned ack. "But I am more interested in what you were telling him."
Barbatos remained silent, his eyes were lost in thought and when he finally spoke, the tone was coarse. "When the Long Night happened, the world was encased in darkness, all but one place. Valyria. It shined through the cold like a warm city blessed by the sun itself." He then looked to where the Dragon disappeared. "And he destroyed it in the blink of an eye." His eyes darkened. "Not even the Dragon Queen was able to stand up to him." He then looked at her pointedly. "So tread carefully when you try to win over a monster who will wipe out the continent you stand for nothing."
"I will." There was a smile that hid so much behind it. "But the tale of this Monster even Acnologia fears interests me." She looked at him expectantly. "Not that I've ever came face to face with the Walkers, I feel like this one would be more fascinating."
Barbatos sighed. "It is terrifying when you have lived as long as I have and see someone who's probably around five-hundred years old obtain power such as these dead humans." He said before taking another swig.
The Princess let out a bored yawn. "All this effort is making me tired and bored. I think I should take a peek into the human world?" A mischievous smile came over.
"The Magic in this world is ancient and asleep, but it is still there. With all of you super beings getting out, your presence…things could change drastically." Barbatos warned her.
"These beings have come from a world not ours. Why should we simply bear our necks when things could be much more entertaining if we are also part of it?" The Princess smiled as she began to leave.
Late-Morning – East-coast – Near Sunspear, Drone
*Children Giggling*
'What the hell...? Why do I feel so itchy? And who's laughing?' Natsu opened his eyes slowly to assess the situation and the first thing that caught his eyes was a towering building built right near his...nose? He blinked a few times to see if it was real and since the castle made of sand didn't go away, he knew it was real. 'But where are the sounds coming- oh my god! People are living in the house they built on me!' With shock he jumped up and his shock would have turned to horror were it not for seeing children around him as he was about to cry over the people he killed whom he thought lived inside the sand castle.
"Ahhh!" The children squealed as they scrambled away while laughing and squealing in childish exuberance.
Dusting his mostly naked body he watched the kids scram and climb up the rocks to get a better vision. "Yea you better run!" He angrily exclaimed before letting out a huff and turn to take in his surroundings. Golden sands covered the empty beaches. He could still hear the sounds of those critters as they ran in the direction of a settlement. The sound of a neigh brought his gaze towards the other side of the rock. His trusty steed, upon seeing his master rise alerted him of his presence and stopped munching on the seaweed.
"Marty!" Natsu excitedly jumped off the rock and landed next to the horse. He rubbed the beast's forehead affectionately. "How ya doing bud?" Marty let out a pleasant neigh and pressed his head against the Slayer's body. Giving his friend a few more rubs, he looked around. "Where are we man? I mean you brought us here, so...?" He looked back at the horse. "Is this a safe house of yours? Are you a fugitive? Are people looking for us now?" The horse snorted before continuing to munch on the weed.
He sat down on the bed of seaweed and folded his arms over his chest and shut his eyes in thought. He wasn't in his turf. He just had a bit of his trousers covering his dignity. His horse was eating while he remained starving. Then his eyes snapped open. "Why the fuck am I sitting here and thinking when I could follow those twerps to wherever the heck they ran off to?" The next second he was on the mighty steed that raised his front legs in surprise before taking his friend towards the settlement.
"I need to find some new threads." Natsu let out a tired sigh as he looks on what left of his clothes once again.
The previous battle wasn't one he was worried about anymore. It was long gone and was fading from his memory. No grudges and no resentments. That's his nature. He folded his arms and let the beast bring him to civilization, which was quite an odd sight if it were to be seen by anyone and it was. All around him, the bushes, the trees and the rocks; men and women hid. And what made the situation more interesting was that, he didn't know about the observers.
But it didn't take long before his instinct kicked in. Firstly, he couldn't hear the children anymore or any settlement near by. Next, the air was quiet. Too quiet that not even critters made noise and that feeling which he honed over the years told him there was an invisible enemy without a scent or movement hidden around him.
SWISH!
The dart that he caught mere inches from his eyes was the last clue he needed to prove his gut right. Dozens followed, all shot from corners no one will be able to detect them visually from. But all a Dragon needed was the uneven breath to track down the source. He jumped off from Marty in a series of spins and swings, dodging and grabbing the darts aimed at him. With his fist connecting the ground first, a shockwave ran around him knocking the hollow wooded thin trees and plant life out in a circular manner as the ground cratered beneath him.
Once the tremors stopped, the son of Igneel straightened up and dusted his hands while observing his work of destruction. It looked like a large alien loop made in the middle of a field. "Alright, show yourselves." He could hear moans and groans from the people hiding and went to the one closest to him.
He pulled some of the fallen plant debrief and reached into the mess and pulled out a scentless woman with large breasts. Her sun kissed skin was covered by camouflaged robes except for her palms and eyes. "Do your worst...but I won't speak." He almost didn't understand her accented words.
A few seconds passed and the two stared at each other, one with mirth and the other dispassionate. "But you just spoke to me." He blinked at her with doubt.
The woman, still disoriented, couldn't see anything other than a pink blur. "That's not-"
"Ha! You doin'it again pal!" Natsu laughed but abruptly stopped and spun with the girl to avoid a dagger to the back. "Whoo! Close!" The attacker closed in for another strike, this time a swipe to the right. "Gee that dagger look real sharp..." The Dragon commented as he looked at the weapon wryly. It was black and curved with reddish markings all over it.
The man didn't respond, at least not through words. He swiped to the right, jibed and swung, making the Dragon Slayer side step and duck through the combat. In all other case he would have been more than likely to have just let the dagger break on his skin, but something about this odd black metaled one warned him of consequences.
"Ok, I think that's enough fighting for-" He ducked at the last moment to avoid the head of a long axe but the same couldn't be said for a few strands of his hair. "Holy shit! What the-" He rolled over the side as the weapon embedded on the ground he was. Still on his knees, he turned to see his attacker, who was the girl he argued with moments ago. "Where the heck did you get that from!" The weapon was clearly six feet, towering the girl yet seemed to be far easily handled as she spun it with such ease to the point he was searching for red hair on her but knew from the lack of familiar style, it wasn't his friend. He clawed back so as to move from the slashes on the ground that almost grazed his torn pants crouch.
The other attackers pulled their own main weapons, ranging from spears to swords to join the fray and they weren't giving him the gap to get off his bum, which was now exposed with constant backward drag that took what left of his trousers back. Then he felt the fine dry sand underneath his bum and palms as he was now off the pathway and at the forest line. Without thinking any further, he unleashed a barrage of sand using his exhausted but still very capable strength.
He rolled back to gain some distance and scurried away from between the group. There were a total of six, men and women included but hard to differentiate between with the lack of scents and clothing which oddly reminded him of someone else he met earlier into his journey in this world. "You guys are SLAVERS!" He yelled in shock, connecting the similar outfits. "I thought I warned you about crossing me!" He yelled, now his mind fixed on fighting them.
"What-" One of the still disoriented attackers tried to counter the accusations while choking on some of the sand that got in his mouth.
Natsu brought his hands to the side, conjuring his magic to finish off the people he now deemed 'evil'. "Dragon Slayer-aack!" Just as the magic circle glowed faintly, he choked and spat blood. He clutched where his heart was as he felt a grenade explode in his chest before being hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. He stumbled his way to the horse who met him halfway and leaned down to let him get on but was too late as he fell on the sand like a dead carcass and rolled to the small dip he created from the initial strike on the ground when the fight started.
By now the 'slavers' managed to get their vision in order and rushed to the strange man. They gathered around him, weapons pointed down. One of the men raised his spear to finish the unconscious Dragon Slayer but the woman who was the Dragon's first victim stopped her compatriot.
"What are you doing?!" The man hissed, although complied nonetheless.
Her reply was short but firm. "This one is not with the Dragonlords." There were questioning looks but none spoke, allowing the woman, who seemed to hold some power over them. "He's not of this land; the horse bears a Dothraki Arakh and an Essossie saddle. If nothing else, he's a sellsword who might have got caught up in the storm last night." It was true; the previous night's storms tenacity forced even Aegon to ground his dragons.
"More the reason to kill him. He's most likely to join the Dragon bastard's army." The man readied his sword again.
"Then what about his last line? He thought we were slavers and was going to fight on." She argued. "This is my will; we shall take him to camp." There was silence. "Tie him up." She ordered, sheathing her weapon and moving towards the...horse? "Where is the horse?" Like her question, Marty has made himself scarce, not even leaving tracks to follow.
"Nothing about this seems right, Princess..." The man muttered as he tied up the stranger.
The group soon navigated through the jungle, the ground was already parched, leaving little to no signs of the downpour and storm from the previous night. They pulled their horses from the camouflaged sheds they built under the ground and slung the body over, exposing his tanned bum to the gathered. None were fazed; this wasn't a sight they were insecure about. In fact one of the males who leaned both ways even gave a quick comment.
Noon – Temple of Meraxes, Isle of Cedars
Once a part of the Valyrian Freehold, the landmass now separated from the chunk like many others sat with cloudless skies and the blazing sun beating down on whoever reaches its shores, forcing the stranded men, pirates and treasure hunters to tempt fate and seek the shade of the thick jungle and ruins where untold horrors lurked amongst its broken palaces and shattered statues of the drowned city of Velos.
Meraxes laid in front of the remains of the Goddess she was named after, the great beast's eyes occasionally focused on the rider who was busy rummaging through the stones and walls of a small archive building. Rhaenys Targaryen believed her search would bring some closure to her present condition. Her right arm burned from within and in a similar fashion to greyscale, her once tender skin was partitioned unevenly, but this was no infection disease. Between two separate pieces a line of molten yellow was present and if she kept her arm down or lost concentration, the lines would overflow the cervices and fall down, burning everything like hot magma. The only ones that knew about such were her husband, sister and maester. The latter who was convinced it was a mutated form of greyscale and was infection until he found the only contagious factor from her infected arm was heat that destroyed all it touched.
It wasn't just her arm, it spread to her right breast and slowly conquering her body. The only clothing she was able to wear was a Valyrian breast plate. If it wasn't for the fact that her sister nurtured her son along with hers, he would have been deprived of mother's milk also. Rhaenys growled, it wasn't fair, she tried reaching for Eurus who she was sure was responsible for whatever was happening but it ended up being a chase for fool's gold. Between the war for Drone and internal rebellions she couldn't personally search for answers without having a definite lead. That was how she ran across an Ironborn ship which was destroyed near Kings Landing and the captain of the vessel offered his loot which consisted of a golden artifact that resembled the seal from the book she possessed, which was also lost to her as Aegon had it destroyed.
"Ah a traveller…"
Rhaenys whipped around, her short-sword poised to strike. "Who are you?" She demanded as she looked at the intruder who stood calmly between her and Meraxes, who did not react at all. He wasn't wearing anything that revealed his features other than a long beard as the large black ragged cloak covered his whole body. But there was something strange and otherworldly of this character as he seemed to be floating and fluttering with nonexistent wind.
He calmly took a step forward letting light into the hood of his cloak. He was tall, although she wasn't sure if he was floating or not; an elderly man with long slicked back, silvery white hair and a large forehead. He also had a mustache, matching the long yet mildly thin and curly beard, reaching down to his lower chest. He had some wrinkles on his face, an evidence of his extremely advanced age yet his figure was broad and his stance high. His right eye was covered by an eye-patch but the one good eye was enough to send shivers down her spines as cold green penetrated her soul.
"I am Hades, the Cryptkeeper and you my dear girl are very near to the gate." The smile he gave with his worn out face terrified her; the second person to do so after the golden toad of Drone.
Underground Caves – Sunspear, Drone
"The Keep has fallen!"
Loud cries of soldiers rang in his ears as he walked through the thick crowds in a city he has never been before. There was smoke and ash everywhere as fire spewed from the skies in scarlet red color and into the crowd he walked. People turned to ash in seconds, their screams only but a moment. His eyes fell on a castle atop a hill. It was large and red, behind it was a dark storm that approached above the sea.
"Natsu!" Someone grabbed him. It was a woman he knew but a hood covered her face. "Don't give in! We have faith in you!" She screamed into his face just before a large shadow fell above him, covering the whole city. He shifted his focus to the sky and found Igneel fighting a red Dragon with pink markings that looked like the Dragon King. But all around the skies there were Dragons fighting, a hand full were the size of the two giants while the rest were smaller and had riders above. The roar of water further shifted his attention to the red castle which was enveloped by a large tidal wave, crushing it under the water's awesome power before it a large blue Dragon with webbed features fell atop it.
"Natsu! Focus!" The woman once again shouted. "You have to fight the Darkness inside you!"
Natsu didn't know how long he was out but as soon as he regained consciousness, he was once again incapacitated by his one true infernal weakness, motion-sickness. He could only assume he was in some sort of jail cell before from the hazy images of dull lit corridors.
"Geez...wouldcha stop dragging me?!" The result was another tug as the Dragon Slayer tried to focus his strength back on his feet. But to no avail his motion sickness allowed it.How about I rip your head off and reach down and rip your intestine and use it as a garrote to strangle your wife and children. "Whoa!" Natsu snapped at the thoughts that suddenly infested him. "What was that?" He mumbled t himself. For a moment he felt like he was ready to fight the physical handicap; the rage suddenly coursed through him burned his veins like when Jellal attempted to kill Erza. Only this time it felt uncalled for. He felt a rough tug that snapped him of his thoughts.
The guard snarled into his face. "Try anything with Princess Meria and it will be your end." By now Natsu's whole face turned green and whatever meal he had, god knows when, was coming back up. And just when he was going to make a mess on the Dornish hideout the tugging stopped and he rolled over to get up and analyze his surrounding. It was dark, but not a cave. The ceiling was made of wooden planks, above which he could smell the soil. This was under the ground, yet the temperature was only moderate. His eyes soon fell on the end of the room where someone sat on a large chair with two guards with spears on either side.
"You must be a HUNDRED!" Natsu exclaimed, jumping up. The two guards tensed while the one that dragged him here struggled with the reins.
The person was an old woman, fat and balding with eyes that seemed to stare off into nothingness yet held so much power. And on hearing the pinkheaded man's outburst, the woman chuckled lowly. "Eighty three to be precise."
"Really?" Natsu blinked. "My Gramps eighty too but he's still so strong!" He proudly declared before looking on either side. There were guards hidden in all the corners dark and lighted ones. "So where's this princess you wanted to see me?"
"That would be me." The old woman amusedly answered earning a look of surprise from the Dragon. "I am Princess Meria Martell of Dorne."
He didn't make any princess remark and rather jumped to introduction. "Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Slayer." He boasted.
"I know." The old woman spoke stoically. "When my granddaughter told me she found a man riding a great stallion fought off her company-"
"So you know the chatterbox!" He interrupted, not at all caring the annoyance visible on the guardsmen's faces. "She said she won't speak and thereby contradicted her own words. It was pretty funny trying to act all tough...oh yea, you were saying something right? Was it important?" He rubbed his cheek in thought.
The old princess simply sighed and nodded. "I was-"
"Great!" He clasped his hands together and pointed it at her direction. "You have my undivided attention now! Starting...now! No more speaking. Last words. Sorta hungry but I will listen."
The guardsman next to the princess tightened his grip on his spear and readied himself to move forward and silence the insolent man. "You are the one they call King Beyond the Sea, are you not? But the last information I had on you told me you were invading Mantarys-" There were looks of surprise on the man holding the chain and on some of the ones standing hidden.
"I was not." Natsu interrupted again, his eyes narrowed. "She destroyed so many lives...and would've continued..." The sudden turn in the Dragon's gullible attitude even drew the powerful woman to a grim silence. He let out a tired sigh and looked at the Princess calmly. "Look, I'm not here to pick a fight. Actually I don't know where 'here' is either. I'm tired, hungry and sorta lost." He added the last part under his breath. "Also, are you guys slavers?"
"Hmm." The old woman didn't respond immediately. "Natsu Dragneel, as I have told you, I am Princess Meria Martell of Dorne and this is Westeros." The old woman once again repeated. "You are far away from your Kingdom." Those words, even though came from a normal human, made the hair on his neck stand. "And no, we are not slavers, but our wardrobe is quite tactical so other groups use them."
He suddenly didn't feel like staying in this weird underground crack den any longer. "So...uh how do I get back? Is there like a road or something... I mean me and Marty can totally hit up the forest and desert-"
"By ship only will you be able to go." There was silence after that.
"You know what?" A sudden nervous smile came over his face. "I have heard so much about Darn."
"Dorne." A voice he remembered all too well growled sternly from the side.
"Dorne!" Shamelessly he corrected and continued. "About it's...uh...it's food...and uh...yellow bulky clothes... and food and uh...lemonade?"
"Grandmother, this man is trying to avoid leaving." One of the hidden court men came out.
Dark eyes glistening in sync with the fire lamp stared into his obsidian ones. She wasn't in the same clothing as before, and chose to wear less bulky ones that closely resembled that of the guard, no doubt to accommodate a cooler body heat. Her face wasn't veiled and let her raven hair that reached till her lower back fall freely.
The Yellow Toad of Dorne simple stared off. "Deria, my heart, what do you make of his words?"
"His words confirm the rumors of him being vulnerable to motion sickness." There was the twitch of amusement no one's saw on the old woman's face.
"What?" Natsu snapped. "No!" He exclaimed in horror before shrugging it off trying to play cool. "No. Motion sickness? Pfft, yea right. As if." He folded his arm boldly and made the best Laxus smirk. "Please don't put me on a ship." But it faltered and he added in a harsh whisper.
Deria shook her head and said. "Worry not; we did not have any intention to let you leave...not yet."
"Ah great then. Wait...you didn't?" Natsu raised a brow after understanding her words. "Am I in one of those situations where uh kept against will?" He tried to come up with the word, snapping his fingers to the side.
"Hostage?" Deria supplied.
"Yes!" He triumphantly pointed at her. "Hostage! So am I one?" He blinked inquisitively.
Deria suppressed her annoyed growl. "Call it what you may, but is it not true you are very familiar with Orys Baratheon?" Her accusatory tone brought an end to his jabbering.
"Oh yea. Great guy. We had some great startup ideas but can't remember a thing now." He recalled the fond encounter. "Did something happen to him?"
The events explained to him by Deria, the chatterbox he met in the field crunched his innards. Wars weren't his thing, of course he would fight if what he cared for was threatened but this war and it seemed to have only costs and no victories. The losses were heavy on either side and far brutal. Rape, torture and death seemed to shadow the land wholly. And from them he now knew Orys lost his hand.
Now he sat in a cell, his arms folded and his legs crossed. The only light was the strange fireflies as lamps were used to a minimum for ensuring a smooth supply of oxygen. The tales have become so severe that he was now toying with the bread and meat. "My father, he wants my Grandmother to sue for peace." Deria's voice interrupted his musings.
"Huh?" Natsu blinked and looked up and found his captor stepping out of the shadows. She motioned with her arm to follow her and the Dragon Slayer did so silently.
She led him through a series of tunnel system, each turning having incense that kept his nose from picking up any trail of exit. Lighting the path was the same beetle like insects that were kept in glass lamps. He locked his arms behind his head and continued to observe the path. There were occasional areas where wooden planks were used as support and then some damp areas which he figured was close to a water body but at every dark corner, he saw a man or woman standing with their weapon at holster and their eyes trained on him. Some however flinched when the understood he made eye contact. After another minutes worth walking they stopped in front of a door, behind which he could smell water, a natural underground spring. "Bending the knee would have saved many lives..." She continued.
Natsu folded his arms over his chest. "Yea well, they were the ones who wanted your home..."
The princess opened the door and true to his sense, there was a huge chamber with ten feet high platform from which water flowed down to many pools; some went through tunnels that disappeared into walls while others filled bathing ponds. "It isn't as simple as that, you being a King should know."
Natsu shrugged and followed the girl in. "Not really...I'm not a real King. The people who I help just gave me that name. I don't do with any titles..."
Deria let out a sigh understanding that she was in the presence of another pious fool. "The seven Kingdoms in Westeros existed for thousands of years yet none have thought the possibility of uniting. The only thing they all have had in mind was reign power over the other."
"How is this Argon any different?" Natsu asked with a questioning raise of brow.
Ignoring the error in saying the King's name, the young Princess spoke. "Aegon is a conqueror, true, but he does not wish to influence our culture or way of life. Of course his intentions aren't entirely for the benefit of the people but majority of it does not affect us."
Natsu shrugged. "I seriously can't help you on any of this. From where I come, the King doesn't go to war for no reason, he only defends against attackers. Besides that, I don't deal with politics and king-things." Without any warning, the Dragon Slayer stripped himself of the tethers of clothing he had bring color to the young princess' face.
Although her mind still revolved around the objective, her eyes were lost. "So you only seek battle?" She watched him step towards the pond, his back specifically that was chiseled to the point that she had to remind herself that this was a living creature and not a statue of god.
"Not exactly." Natsu sighed as he stepped into a bathing pond. "Sure I like to fight around, just not for riches and glory." He closed his eyes as he sat down. He heard the rustle of clothes but didn't bother turning to get a peek, even when she circled the pond and entered the water from his opposite side.
"You seem not interested in my body? Am I not attractive enough or is it that you are a eunuch or prefer the other gender?" She asked as she sat down, letting the warm water cover her large bosom till only the upper part was visible. Deria was no ordinary woman, she was gifted by gods in ways only a few are. Although of average height, her curvaceous figure and large breasts along with her sun-kissed fairness made her a beauty in both clothes and in the nude.
Natsu shook his head and leaned back to look up into the dark ceiling. "Don't know what my neck has to do with our body, but I am definitely not gay. Maybe the stripper's a close one, also Master Bob. But he's cool." He said. "And you are pretty hot I mean, Gildarts and the old man did teach me the birds and the bees and I used to get really worked up after that, but with a guild full of women who dresses the way they please, you get used to such things. No offence." He raised his arms. Deria did not understand much of what he said, but she figured out gay was slang for people interested in the same sex and birds and bees were one for intercourse. But what she was more interested was about this guild he mentioned.
"Tell me Natsu Dragneel, what does this guild mean? The mark on your shoulder, does it signify you allegiance?" She leaned to the side, placing her arm on the side wall and leaning her head on it as she stared at him look at his shoulder and caress the mark. "Was it an assassin's guild?"
"Fairy Tail? Heh, no." He scoffed "We are a legal guild, sorry," He raised his palm in apology. "The kick-ass guild of all. We did jobs for locals, governments and merchants. We weren't just strong though, we cared for the other no matter how strong and smart, rich or poor they were. Cus being one of us is an adventure altogether, one to find your own and one with the guild." Natsu said and as he began to recall more and more adventures of his time with the guild, Deria began to smile and laugh; a rare sight for anyone who knew the princess.
The young princess was quick to realize one thing from his action packed stories; he wasn't a self-praising man. Without embarrassment he spoke of the feats his friends have accomplished and the times they helped him overcome his limits. But she was no fool; she could see the storminess of his obsidian orbs; something that was hidden beneath all that honesty and optimism. It was dark and sinister.
With their bath concluded, the Dragon Slayer was surprised when fresh dronish clothes were kept waiting for him even more when it was his correct size. The meal was quiet and soon he was escorted to his cell on his own feet.
Late Night – Sunspear, Dorne
A guard stood near a lamp inside the underground tunnel. He felt a little bit of dirt falling from the ceiling and looked up. There was nothing and he shrugged and focused back down only to come face to face with the pink haired prisoner who dislocated his jaw in a single blow, making him loose consciousness immediately. Natsu was quick in catching the guard before he fell on the ground and alerted the one standing ten meters away after the curve. He sat him down before moving to the next guard. There was only four minutes left before the people in the guard station realize why their two patrolmen(whom he knocked out earlier) hasn't come back and why there was six bodies lying unconscious.
His destination wasn't a cave opening. It was the place where he took the bath. Next to the underground spring, he scented the river water. It was behind a thin wall and it most probably came from the surface. There were no guards present in front of the bath house and he quickly entered the room. Crossing the watery portion of the cave, he reached the wall which hid the river. There it was the faint hiss of the raging water. Natsu cocked his fist back to blow a hole before pausing and placing his palm against the surface and he summoned his magic. His palm glowed red like hot iron and the walls melted like a cheese. Now the hissing of the river became loud and he finally found what was behind it; a huge trench to which the water fell aggressively from the top tunnels.
Natsu took a step back. "No way am I jumping…." Suddenly his vision grew blurry and his palm burned. His body swayed as it detached from his mind.
The silver scales of the mighty Targaryen Dragon shined with the moon on the cloudless night. It was the quickest route with little turbulence in the air, but also the most dangerous. The clear skies of the sand kingdom made it easy for the huge beast to be spotted but enemy arrows may not reach her although the information about the development of Dragon Slaying machines in Drone was well known. Rhaenys mind was in shambles and did not care about this piece of information, after all someone needed to get near her and Meraxes to do such a feat. Her mind repeatedly went back to her conversation with the strange old man.
"What do you mean I am close to the gate? What gate?"
"The gate that everyone must cross."
"I have enough of these riddles."
"Rhaenys Targaryen of Dragonstone, daughter of Aerion Targaryen and Valaena Velaryon, the Demon's host, your time in this world will be coming to an end soon; I hope you can remember your child's face and his scent as you will not be able to see him or any of your loved ones again."
Without thinking the Dragon Queen yelled. "Meraxes! Dracarys!" But nothing happened. The Dragon simply stayed where it was, dead to her command.
Hades chuckled and shook his head. "I bear no ill intention, neither am I your executioner for I am just a messenger in this world."
The Mother of Dragons gritted her teeth and walked up to the old man and stared into his eyes before demanding. "How?! How will I die?!"
Hades lips drew into a thin line as he gazed into her eyes. "Fate shall decide it, but your part in this world hasn't come to an end. You will return when fate decides the time is right, a storm so powerful, it will drown he dragon's roar will proclaim your birth, and when this world will face its darkest hour you will fight for its survival."
The sound of the wind splitting came too late and Rhaenys was brought out of her thoughts by the sudden jerk of her dragon and the rapid descend into the forest line as a missile struck them. The Queen tried to regain the control on her Dragon but the galloping of her dragon's neck upwards let her know what happened. A large spear was fixed through the skull. The lifeless beast and the Queen crashed into the forest line uprooting trees.
A little away from the crash site was the cavern where a stream flowed out and by its banks was the unconscious body of the Dragon Slayer who was clad in Dornish grab on his belly. The sudden tremor from the massive beast's crash made the pinkhead squirm and slowly raise his head that was half covered in mud. "Wha…thehell…" He murmured trying to make sense of the world around him but a sudden shift in the wind that came towards him made him blink and stagger to his feet. It was the scent of blood. Dragon's blood. He stumbled towards the forest and quickly began to pick up pace.
Natsu soon emerged into the clearing that was created by uprooted trees and sulfur from the Dragon's bowels. His eyes grew wide on finding the Dragon he met a few years ago lying mangled with her master stuck to a fallen branch that was through her chest. "Rhaenys!" He shouted and went through the acidic juices and fell to his knees next to her. "No...Rhaenys." Natsu gathered her in his arms gently and gave an anguished glance to Meraxes whose mangled body laid a few paces away.
Surprisingly the woman had a little life that was not extinguished in her."...Natsu...Dragneel?" She looked at him through her one good eye. "...what...are you... doing-" She gasped in pain as the branch struck her inards when she shifted.
"Shh!" He stopped her. "Don't talk! I heard you don't talk when you get injured!" He said with innocent worry.
For the love of old and new gods, Rhaenys did not know why this man was concerned over her wellbeing. Her. A stranger, whom he only met once in his life, but she was grateful for she expected the faces of enemies who would slay her or worse even though she was already at death's door and something about the concern in his face that reflected the genuineness of his heart, warmed her dying one. At that moment she once more wished for a bit more time, to see her child, to know her family was safe and maybe know this man a bit more.
Rhaenys raised her arm to his face, her three fingers missing, but continued to the destination. She touches his cheek, messing them with blood and grime, he didn't mind and didn't even bother asking why her arms felt like his demonic power and shared a similar appearance. Something sparked in her eyes and for a moment Natsu saw someone looking through her orbs like from a window. "So that's why you turned away that day…" She spoke. "Eurus was a part of you…" She whispered. "Etherious…" Natsu's eyes widened. "Natsu...Dragneel." She smiled, at having solved the mystery of the spirit that was living with her. "E.N.D." There the youngest Targaryen sibling took her last breath, leaving a very confused and saddened Dragon Slayer to his thoughts as he continued to hold her broken body.
"Humans have mastered chaos more than any Dragon or Demon ever could, aren't I right brother?" Natsu whipped his head up, subconsciously holding the lifeless body of the woman closer. It was a man with well-cut muscles with several red tattoos on his upper body, including one on his face that gave the appearance of raging flames while a red sun covered much of his left pectoral and a tribal design that ran down his left arm while bandages covered his left forearm. His dark orange hair stood partially defying gravity just like his pink locks, with the tips somewhat tinged and two strands framing the sides of his head while three triangular dangling earrings hung on each ear, and a large gold chain with a cross pendant around his neck. He donned a pair of loose pants with a fur lining in the middle and a wrap around his waist bearing diamond shapes.
The stranger continued as he circled the sitting Dragon-Slayer. "First they fight those who don't look like them, then they fight what they consider abnormal and when all else is done, they fight each other." There was a smug smirk on his face. Over that Natsu seemed to be at a loss of words as he felt the raw power afting off this person. It was dangerous. That's when it hit him, a scent long embedded in his blood awoke, familiar yet different. Natsu snapped when his eyes met the stranger's golden gaze that looked like the core of the sun, burning all that his eyes fell on. There was no mistaking the few physical attributes he felt.
"Igneel?"
That's a wrap!
Also I figured out why I don't update frequently. It's my phone. It lags soo much that if I have a doubt and want to check the internet, I need to press the home button to exit the WPS office and stare at a white screen for ten to fifteen seconds and then open a browser and wait another fifteen seconds to open and then keep on correcting a laggy keyboard. So usually I close it and do something else...
