Thump
Thump
Thump
Ohhh her head. Ranta moaned in pain at the angry banging against her skull. It felt like she had taken at least ten hits to her head with her war mace. Fluttering her eyes open, Ranta was greeted with darkness - hardly able to see a few feet in front of her and unable to determine the sweet smell lofting in the air. Considering the rough texture against the backs of her arms, the faint sound of dripping water somewhere off to her left and the chill set in her bones - the woman could only come to the conclusion that either she had been captured and was in a cell, or she was on a cave floor.
With a grimace the woman slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position, her back protesting the whole time as she did so. "Rhaegal?" Ranta called carefully, listening to her weak voice echo in the darkness. No roar. No cry. No nothing. Frowning in displeasure the young liberator pushed herself to her feet with small grunts of pain, not registering the jingling sounding from her own person.
"Okay, this isn't ominous or creepy at all." the blue haired woman mumbled to herself as she took a few cautious steps forward, "Rhaegal?" Ranta dared to call louder than last time but was met with the same silence. "The flames of the fire do not lie." a feminine voice suddenly spoke, causing the young queen to let out a shout of fright and instinctively retreat from the source of the voice. The woman's rush away from who ever had spoken to her was cut short when something cold and steel like wrapped around her ankle and stopped Ranta in her tracks, sending her sprawling to the ground.
"Ouch." the Naylor hissed lowly, pushing herself back into a sitting position and this time registering the jingling that occurred with every one of her movements. "What?" using her fingers, Ranta felt cool thick metal wrapped around each one of her wrists and the chains dangling from them. Giving her foot an experimental tug she felt the same metal wrapped around her ankle and the chain that would not give another inch to increase distance away from her apparent companion.
Chains.
Her captors bound her in chains?!
...Now that was ironic. A chuckle of laughter escaped Ranta's frame at this, this was very ironic indeed. The sound of soft footsteps reminded the young queen that she actually wasn't alone. Cutting her laughter off, the young woman tried to find where the other occupant was hiding in the darkness using her ears and straining her sky blue eyes to see more than a foot in front of her. All of a sudden, the moment she blinked, there was a woman a few years older kneeling in front of the exotic woman with a lit torch in hand. Ranta jerked her head back to regain some space between the two and glared lightly at her apparent captor.
" Can I be of service to you?" she asked sarcastically to the black haired, dark skinned woman dressed in a maroon and grey colored dress decorated with hexagons with a similar necklace around her slender throat. Brown eyes narrowed on the young queen in return but it wasn't in distaste, the other woman had seemed to simply been trying to look for something specific in the Naylor. Sighing heavily at this Ranta forced herself to relax and offered a hand to shake, "I am Ranta Naylor, and you are?"
The browned eyed beauty blinked at this and pulled her head back slightly in surprise, the young queen's chained hand dropped back to her side. "Many a men in your position would believe introductions are the last thing to concern themselves with when being captured by an unknown identity." The Naylor quirked a brow, "Would you rather I curse at you and demand to be set free? Or do you want to talk about what you so desperately need from me?" she returned.
"And what makes you think that I need something from you?"
"You and whatever accomplices you associate yourself with shot me and my dragon down in the middle of the night when flying over the lake...why else would you do so if you did not need anything from me?"
"Has the thought ever occurred to you that it is not me that needs something from you, but you who needs something from me?" at this, Ranta had no qualms over looking at the woman as if she had lost her mind. "My dear friend you must be terribly confused but at the same time I ask you to forgive me if my words cause offense. I have no idea who you are and I do not need anything from you. What I need is Rhaegal released safely, the people of Mereen liberated, and peace to return to Westeros." the blue eyed woman stated plainly.
A smile spread across the maroon wearing woman's lips at this, "The flames of the fire do not lie." she parroted again, much to Ranta's confusion. "You may not know me, my dear girl but I know you and soon so will every other soul in all four corners of the earth." the woman turned her dark eyes onto the torch in her hand, staring into the dancing red orange flames.
"One will betray and the beast will return." the woman spoke in a distant voice, " A red lion will forever be lost to the storm and a feared snow will destroy all. Only when the people of the world look to the eye of the storm will they forget what fear is and under the storm's watchful eye will they prosper and survive..." Ranta looked between the torch in her hand and what she determined to be a priestess a few times in disbelief.
"You got all of that from staring at a torch?" she asked dubiously much to the other woman's amusement. "The Lord of Light works in mysterious ways and it is his will that I carry out in his name." she stood, walking to the center of the cave and dropped the torch. But instead of the portable source of light falling to the ground and flickering out like it should have- only the metal shelling clattered to the ground, leaving the flame hovering in the air.
The priestess began to chant lowly under her breath in a language Ranta was unable to understand, the singular flame duplicating its self two times over until there were twelve floating flames circling the chanting ravenette. The shackles around the queen's wrists suddenly began tugging her in the direction of her captor, causing Ranta to instinctively dig her heels into the ground in resistance. Though the woman was well aware that she would sooner end up ripping her arms out of her sockets than actually break free of the pull.
The chains around Ranta's ankles suddenly gave a tug and sent the Naylor falling onto her back before continuing to drag her towards the now fluctuating flames that finally settled to remain medium sized. The priestess continued her chanting, digging a silver dagger out of her sleeves and slowly lowering herself down onto her knees with the twelve flames following her every move. "What do you think you're doing?!" the blue eyed woman demanded, uselessly struggling against the chains that held her down.
Ignoring the inquiry, the ravenette efficiently cut into Ranta's dress an inch below her private area and exposed her lower half to the chilly air. "Hey, hey, hey! Get your hands off of me-!" the Naylorian noble's protest was cut off by her own agonizing scream, searing pain erupting from her thigh. The hexagon clad priestess had jammed her dagger into her prisoner's thigh and began carving into the pale skin, uncaring of the pain she was causing. After finishing her work of carving a ruin into the queen's thigh, the priestess lifted the blood stained blade and stuck it into the closest floating flame- fiery orange turning to blue.
Taking the dagger from the flame the brown eyed woman continued carving ruins into Ranta's thighs, down her legs and on the outside the lengths of her arms and then sticking the blade into an orange flame to turn it blue like she had before. Once the last ruin had been drawn on her arm and the last flame turned blue, the young queen was numb and hardly conscious. The one thought plaguing her hazy mind was why hadn't her powers come to her aid when she was in danger? Her powers always came to the rescue when she was in danger, so why not now? Was it because of what the witch had done? Was the sweet smell some kind of incense made to keep her calm?
"All know of the gifts the Naylor family have been given," the priestess spoke even though there was a good possibility her prisoner wasn't listening, " all know that they are activated only when distress, or anger fills their frame... but now, no more. For one who fights to free those with a chain around their neck, it is about time your own chain was broken, Storm Queen." and with that, one final ruin was carved into the center of Ranta's collar bone though the woman could hardly feel it when she had finally given into the darkness calling her.
Wiping her blade clean with a spare piece of cloth tucked into one of her sleeves the priestess began chanting once more, causing the blue flames to lower onto each of the ruins- sinking into her frame and cauterizing the bleeding wounds at the same time. The fresh scars burned bright blue for a few moments before fading into a duller blue with angry red skin surrounding the ruin.
Before the ravenette priestess could utter one last spell, a horrifying growl sounded no more than a handful of feet away from her. With a gasp, the woman turned towards the cave tunnel that lead to the entrance but could not see anything except for two pairs of furious glowing tan eyes with slits down the middle. Hissing filled the air as the pairs of eyes rose as high as the cave ceiling would allow them to. It was the young Naylor's beasts, how could it be anything but? The priestess's men though, what had happened to her men that were to raise alarm if the queen's men found them?
Before the maroon clad witch could further contemplate the men under her service, she seen green and blue lights suddenly appear - outlining the frame of the serpents and allowing the priestess a brief glance at Vaemarr and Laemyx before the exotic colored fires pouring out of their mouths engulfed her frame. The two night and day brothers watched the woman who had dared ensnare their winged brother and steal their mother away in the middle of the night burn to death within moments passively, her screams only lasting a few seconds before her vocal cords were burned to a crisp and sound could no longer escape past her charred lips.
Vaemarr snorted in distaste at the small pile of ash and bones left behind before lowering his head to nose his stationary mother that may have been covered in her own blood but was not bleeding. Laemyx on the other hand turned his head towards the cave ceiling and began letting loose short barking calls to be heard by his other siblings and wandering company near by. The eggshell colored snake had not been calling for long until the roof of the cave started shaking as something was struck against it, followed by familiar roars and heat beginning to seep through the rock and fill the air.
Laemyx added to the fray by breathing his own fire, taking short breaks to bash his head and or tail against the roof. Vaemarr carefully scooped an unconscious Ranta into his mouth- snapping the chains around her ankles and wrists and set her down against a cave wall. Safely set aside, the snake lunged forward and rammed his hard armored head against the roof one final time, successfully breaking a hole through the stone. Sunlight streamed through the cave as a result and allowed fresh air to pour in. The trio of dragons who had scattered at the initial break through peered into the hole expectantly, Rhaegal a bit more visibly beat up than the others but that was to be expected considering what he went through.
The tan dragon was keeping one eye covered with blood shut, scales from his chest were missing, gashes here and there along his body and it was easy to see that there was something wrong with his foot from the way he kept it elevated above the ground. It was a miracle the dragon survived the fall at all and only obtained non life threatening injuries in return. "Ranta!" Daario's voice suddenly echoed along with his rapid approaching footsteps and the steps of others as well.
Running into the room where they heard the roars of the five beasts and the sound of the cave roof caving in was Daario, Jorah, Barristan and Missandei along with Unsullied and Dothraki warriors alike. Slamming his tail down purposely, Laemyx cut the group of humans off from reaching his mother. They would sooner trample her than actually help from the rate they were going at, though sunlight had considerably made things easier to see - the blue haired woman was still hiding in the shadows and the search party wasn't effectively looking at where they were going.
Skidding to a halt, Daario nearly landed on his backside had it not been for his companions steadying him. Composing himself, the lead sell sword looked up at the over grown snake incredulously and earned a meaningful stare back that captured all of the two legged creature's attention. Snorting, the eggshell snake lifted his tail and showed just how close the men were to their queen. "Your grace!" Missandei gasped worriedly, skirting forward and falling to her knees at Ranta's side.
Unclipping the cloak around her neck, the translator used it to cover the blue queen's legs as the others dropped to their knees as well to fret over the top half of the injured woman. "These marks...I've never seen them before and I can't read them." Missandei frowned heavily, fingers dusting over the burned flesh. "And it's not like we can question who ever did this either. The dragons and snakes seen to that." Jorah noted a bit dryly, referring to the bodies outside the cave being torn apart limb by limb by the dragon triplets and the smoldering body in the room curtesy of the other two creatures.
"Doesn't matter who did this or why - the men who did this are dead, our focus needs to be on the recovery of our queen and her dragon." Ser Barristan spoke breaking his stare away from the unconscious monarch and up to the tan dragon who was peeking his head into the exposed cave with his other siblings. "Mereen is only two weeks away." a Dothraki screamer spoke, catching the group's attention.
"Word that we were on the move was spread the day before we left the yellow city. They will be waiting for us, if we take longer than two weeks to arrive then they will think something is wrong. That we've crossed an enemy that couldn't be taken care of in a timely manner, they will think lowly of Little Sister- a small whelp of a girl marching around with empty headed men wielding swords. Unworthy of their time and respect. Her reputation will be trashed far more than it is now, we cannot stay here."
Jorah sighed heavily at the horse lord's logic, maneuvering his arms around the unconscious woman and lifted her up as carefully as possible. "He's right. We must keep going, with any luck our lady will still have the medicine that helped save Daenerys' life stored away in her supplies. We can give that to her, stick her in a cart to travel in until she wakes, and use what medicine we have to treat Rhaegal and prays that it works to heal and fight off infection." Jorah decided, heading back the way he came with the rest of the group trailing after him as Vaemarr and Laemyx decided to use the hole in the roof to get out of the cave and meet up with the humans and other mystical creatures at the entrance.
"And how do you propose to give the dragon such treatment? They do not allow anyone besides our queen within ten feet of them" Daario questioned as they sped walked back towards where their horses were a few leagues away. Jorah adjusted the woman in his arms, "The dragons are not dumb, Rhaegal understands that he is hurt - they all do. Ideally we will wait to let our queen give the dragon the medicine, but if Rhaegal's wounds prove to be too great and he cannot move - then one of us will have to approach and treat his wounds."
The group came to a stop at their horses and all mounted up, Grey Worm and Daario helping lift the limp queen up into the saddle in front of Jorah before hoping on top of their own horses. Spurring his horse into action, the Mormont lead a fast paced trek back to camp - not wanting to waste anymore time in getting his queen better. He was admittedly worried about if Rhaegal could fly after obtaining the injuries he did, his heart squeezing in pain at the sight of the visibly struggling dragon when he turned his head to check on the group.
The tan dragon was forced to take on a painful hobble to keep up with the others, using his wings as a substitute for his injured foot. Drogon and Viserion were running on both sides of Rhaegal, helping him keep pace with the group while Vaemarr and Laemyx took up the rear to make sure the dragon did not lag behind. Drogon let out a cry, pushing off the ground half heartedly and flapped his wings once to mimic flying as a solution to spare his brother pain.
Taking the hint, Rhaegal tried to do as his elder brother suggested but with him using his wings to help propel himself off the ground- the dragon was unable to get his wings out in time to propel himself into the sky. Rhaegal tried this a few more times and on the third try, Vaemarr snuck under the injured dragon mid jump and used his head as a spring board to push Rhaegal higher into the sky to get the air he so desperately needed to take off properly.
Seeing their tan colored brother successfully flying in the sky, Drogon and Viserion took off as well with a chorus of cries much to Jorah and the others relief - glad to see that Rhaegal was capable of flight even if it did take some assistance.
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0.o0o.0o..0oo0. .0
Much to everyone's pleasure, their blue queen was up and moving after two days of receiving the medicine Missandei managed to track down in the depths of Ranta's chests. "My dragon, where is Rhaegal?" Ranta panicked after opening her eyes and registering that she was back in the safety of her army and currently riding in a cart with Missandei by her side, Grey Worm and his horse pulling them both along. "Where he always is, your grace, flying up above." Missandei replied gently, dabbing at Ranta's forehead with a wet cloth before turning her head upwards with her queen.
"Is he okay?" Ranta fretted, seeing the three familiar trio of dragons flying side by side high in the sky. The young translator shifted from side to side, " When we found him, Drogon and Viserion were pulling netting off of his body. There is a gash over his eye, along with several others over his body, he has missing scales on his chest, and his foot is injured and therefore struggles with taking flight. Vaemarr and Laemyx have to help him get into the sky if he intends to fly anywhere. We have not yet tried to approach him to administrate medicine in fear that he or his brothers would lash out. We were hoping that you would wake up soon so you could do it yourself before his wounds get infected but if you hadn't then we would of had to decide who would be best to try and get close to Rhaegal."
Okay, so work on people skills with the dragons. Got it. "If I may, your grace, what happened two nights ago? We were all worried when the Unsullied guards had said that you had not returned from your midnight stroll." Missandei asked. "I was out flying with Viserion and Rhaegal." Ranta revealed, "The flight with Viserion went by fine, it was when Rhaegal and I were flying over the lake were we captured with nets. I don't know by who though."
"Mercenaries, men of the Golden company if their uniforms were to be held true." Grey Worm suddenly spoke before going back to being silent and focusing on the ride. "Grey Worm is right, your grace." Missandei nodded," They are one of the largest and most skilled sell sword companies in the Free Cities, consisting of 10,000 infantry, cavalry, and war elephants. They have the reputation of never breaking a contract, which is quite uncommon among mercenary organizations."
Ranta pursed her lips at this bit of information and made a mental note to stay clear of said company for now, they were not her concern. If she understood right then they were only doing the job they had been paid to do- she doubted they acted against her personally, though such leniency wasn't likely to be shown again if they crossed paths with her again.
"Were they the ones to brand and chain you?" the translator asked gently. Ranta though shook her head, "It was a priestess I believe. One dressed in dark red robes and had hexagons all over it, she worshipped the Lord of Light."
"A red priestess." Missandei informed with a frown, "Did she say what she wanted from you, what she did?" motioning to the visible blue ruin engraved on her chest covered with burn ointment. Ranta thought hard about what had happened but ultimately shook her head, "Everything is still kind of hazy, all I remember is her telling me that I was the one who needed something from her and then she did this" she lightly motioned to her burn with a nod of her head.
"Do they cause any unnatural pain outside of burn repercussions or any nightmares?"
"No."
The two women then let out sighs of displeasure at the mystery before them. All they wanted to do was liberate Mereen, not have all this extra stuff happen during their journey, but Ranta supposed it would make one hell of a story when she was old and grey. "Stop the horse Grey Worm." Ranta requested much to the Unsullied captain's confusion but did as she commanded, causing the train of over twelve thousand behind them to do the same. "My lady, what are you doing?" Missandei tried as she watched Ranta slowly stand with a grimace.
"The medicine, Missandei. Give me the medicine you gave me and then some along with bandages. Rhaegal needs to be tended to." she explained, letting out a weak call that was still audible to said dragon at the center of her concern at the moment. Reaching back to grab the medicinal storage bag, the translator did as requested and handed her queen the few items, along with the whole bag incase she needed anything else before turning her head towards Rhaegal who landed cautiously a small distance away.
"Hello, my darling." Ranta smiled warmly towards her son who seemed to be dealing with as much pain as she was. Shifting the supplies into one arm, Ranta took the tan dragon's chin in hand, gently tugging his head down and rested her forehead against Rhaegal's own. "I'm sorry you were hurt, I wouldn't have taken you or your brother out if I had known what was hiding in the shadows. Thank you for coming to my rescue" she honestly whispered to the dragon.
Rhaegal let out a throaty purr in response, pushing his snout into her frame in response. Pulling back, Ranta looked to the gash over his left eye and frowned in worry. It didn't look particularly deep but it would definitely need to be cleaned and covered as the dragon's own body sealed the wound. Setting her supplies down, Ranta began to get to work - digging out a spare water canteen and cloth and began addressing the open wounds over the dragon. Once the injuries were cleaned, Ranta plastered thick ointments over the cuts before moving onto his foot seeing as she could do nothing about the missing scales on his chest.
With careful poking and prodding, Ranta deduced that she could put more pressure to the appendage and give it an actual feel to try and see if she could feel any broken bones. "Is it just sore?" Ranta frowned in worry and confusion, unable to feel anything a miss with the bones of the foot. Rhaegal groaned, lifting his foot as high as he could and out of his mother's grasp. Ranta was about to question his actions but suddenly felt something wet on her hand, looking down, the woman seen it was fresh blood and flakes of dried blood combined on her hand.
Peeking under his foot, Ranta gaped at the gash on the underside of his foot that ran toe to heel. His foot must have been wrapped up in the netting and been sliced on a rock during his crash landing to get such a cut, " Well now that makes sense." she muttered to herself before tending to the newly discovered wound on the bottom of the dragon's foot. It truly was a miracle that Rhaegal was only experiencing manageable cuts and not broken bones, Ranta had no idea how to set a dragon bone or if it was even possible to do so.
Taking a few minutes to address his final wound, Ranta finished the patch job and sent Rhaegal on his way with a kiss and loving pat. With the all but immediate numbing and pain relieving properties of the medicine, the tan dragon was able to take flight on his own after a few experimental tests of walking on his foot though it was plain to see that he still wasn't comfortable about it.
"It's good to see him able to take flight on his own, I truly was worried for him these last few days." Jorah's voice sounded. Turning her head, Ranta smiled, welcoming of the knight's presence. "He'll have to take it easy during these next few weeks during our travels. There's only so much the ointment can do to keep his wounds from bleeding if he's up and moving too much." she gathered the medicine supplies and stored it back into the bag.
"And the same goes to you," Jorah stroked the neck of his black stallion, " Though burns may not be the same as open wounds, they are just as susceptible to infection if you do not give your body time to rest and recover. Even if it is good to see you up and moving as well, my queen, you need to be healthy by the time we arrive at Mereen." he informed her. "Worry, worry, worry. You'll give yourself worry lines and grey hair if you keep worrying so much." Ranta playfully scolded, moving back towards the cart she had been riding in.
Jorah snorted, " My old age will do that to me before my fretting over you does." he rode after his queen. "Oh good, you're in the clear for a good forty years then." Ranta smirked, causing Jorah to chuckle lightly - both of them knew that the former knight did not have such time on his hands before he began to grey. "More like ten years, possibly. If I make it that long anyways." he simpered. "Well of course you will, you've got no choice but to. You cannot die unless I command it." Ranta declared playfully but with a hint of seriousness in her voice.
"I need your permission to die?"
"Yes. You aren't leaving me alone with Daario, the man is like a bitch in heat. Someone's got to chase him away and it can't be Grey Worm because he'll be too busy serenading Missandei and Barristan has a soft spot for our head sell sword, if anything, he'll be helping Daario in his endeavor to bed me. So no Jorah, you cannot leave my side until I say so."
"As you wish, my queen." Jorah smiled amused, Ranta returned the smile before throwing the medicine bag back into the cart and pulled herself into it with the help of Missandei before giving Grey Worm the command to get the army going again. Grabbing the pillow Ranta had apparently been using these last two days while she was unconscious, she placed it down in an open spot and laid down, using a spare blanket to cover herself with for the nap she was about to take. But not before she pulled Missandei down with her and forced the translator to lay down as well, stating that she had no intentions on looking at the bags under her eyes for the rest of the ride to Mereen.
After about three days, Ranta had taken to riding her own horse and Rhaegal's wound over his eye no longer needed care for. After an additional four days her burns finally stopped agonizing the queen when her body moved with every step the horse took and the lacerations on her injured dragon's torso were healed too. On this day as well, it just so happened that Daario and Grey Worm decided to hold up their progress to Mereen by competing in some silly competition.
Apparently by seeing who could balance a sword placed in between their extended arms the longest, they would earn the reward of riding beside Ranta for the day. Why they felt the need to spend 6 hours competing over the spot instead of just asking her, she'll never know. But it was to say the least that she was not amused and ordered Daario to ride at the back of the train to watch over the livestock and Grey Worm to transport catapults with the rest of the Unsullied.
Midway through the second week, four days away from Mereen, Rhaegal's foot no longer needed to be bandaged and could put his full weight on the appendage to get to where he needed to be without a problem. It was on this day that Ranta and Missandei had pulled off to the side to over took Slaver's Bay as their army marched on behind them. "I do not think he is a bad choice, your grace. He certainly is devoted enough." Missandei mused, fighting the smile trying to appear on her lips. And the topic just so happened to be of Daario Naharis and his advances lately.
"He is devoted to getting in between my legs." Ranta corrected fighting her own smile, " He always has, he's told me himself blatantly on the day we met. All of these flirtatious talks and attempts to woo me makes me wonder if he is trying to compensate for something. He talks a big game, but can he even back it up is the real question." A scandalized gasp emitted from the young queen's friend before laughter took its place, "Your grace!" Missandei attempted to cover her smile with her hand. Ranta however, had no intentions on covering her amusement.
"What? You know it's true, he's compensating for something...a rather unimpressive something most likely." she smiled coyly. "...His back side alone is rather small, maybe you have a point." Missandei granted, throwing the both of them openly into fits of feminine laughter. It was the sound of footsteps approaching that sobered the two women up, turning in synch with each other they seen that it was the man of the hour himself with his hands held behind his back.
It took all of their self control to not burst out into laughter once more at the sight of the man. Clearing her throat, Ranta managed to compose herself. "Can I help you with something, Daario? Because unless all of the livestock were snatched away by wolves or keeled over from sickness, then that's where you should be." she pointed out. Daario nodded in acknowledgement of this and came to a stop before the two women, "Yes, your grace, but I'm afraid there is something I must speak to you about." he informed her.
Ranta quirked a brow expectantly. "A matter of strategy as we grow closer to Mereen." the brunette male assured, eyes flickering to Missandei for a split second before returning to his queen. A moment of silence enveloped the trio before Ranta's amused eyed met Missandei's equally amused ones as she silently dismissed her. "Your grace." the translator bowed her head before heading back to her horse.
Ranta turned back to her male companion and looked at him expectantly but soon frowned when she realized something. " Your eyes are brown now, and your hair is darker." the woman pointed out confused. "Ah, yes." Daario nodded, fingering locks of his bangs before pushing them back once more, "My hair and eye color changes with the seasons." he revealed.
"During the very end of the winter months and until the middle of summer will my hair be light brown and eyes blue. But during the remaining months of summer and majority of winter, my hair will darken along with my eyes." Daario explained. The blue eyed woman nodded understandingly, "I have to admit Daario, that has to be the most interesting thing you ever told me." Ranta admitted truthfully, " A human chameleon then." she grinned before getting serious once more.
"Now what's this matter of strategy, you wanted to speak about?" Ranta inquired of her Second Son captain, placing her own hands behind her back. Pulling one hand out from behind him, Daario presented his queen with a blue flower to match her hair, "A dusk rose." he informed her. The Naylor gave the man a flat stare and began walking back to her horse but not without taking the flower from his grasp.
"I take back everything I just said, now go back to the end of the train." Ranta ordered half heartedly, fingering the rose gently. Daario quickly followed after and appeared by her side, " This one is Lady's lace." the man handed her a cluster of white flowers, ignoring the dismissal. " Mhm." Ranta hummed interestedly, taking the flowers and giving a sniff.
"You know you can make tea out of those flowers." Daario pointed out, "very common around here. However, you cannot in fact make tea with this flower." he then pulled out a red flower with thin curved petals, "This is Harpy's gold. Deadly little thing despite its beauty...much like its recipient." the brunette grinned wolfishly. Ranta snorted with a grin on her face and shook her head incredulously at the man in front of her. Gathering the flowers into one hand, Ranta used her free hand to grab Daario by his bearded chin.
"Daario." she purred, dragging out the 'o' in his name and pulling him in far closer than he should be. "Yes?" the man whispered against her lips with a smirk, thinking that the woman in his arms had intentions on having their lips meet but at the last second Ranta diverted her own and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Go take care of the livestock."
Ranta then pulled away with a hearty laugh, leaving Daario there stunned and bewildered as she strolled back up to her horse. Right as she mounted a sudden shout echoed through the air - sending the Unsullied train into an abrupt halt. "I did not command a stop, what is the matter?" The Naylor asked riding her horse up to a nearby masked soldier, confused. "You are needed at the front of the train, my queen." he answered dutifully "Thank you." she managed to get to the man before spurring her horse into a canter to get to where she was needed quickly.
The soldiers words had rang true because when Ranta's horse careened around the corner of the stony path her men outlined, she could see Jorah, Barristan, Missandei and Grey Worm gathered and looking at something with great intent. Riding her horse up to the group, Ranta pulled him to a stop. "What is the matter, what are you all looking-" the Naylor cut herself off when her eyes landed on the atrocity before her. On a wooden post had been a small dead slave girl no older than ten crucified to it by nails, skin grey and slowly rotting under the hot sun - her thin and bony finger pointing in the direction of Mereen with the aid of a few ropes.
Ranta's stomach dropped, her insides twisting uncomfortably and bile rising in her throat at the sight. This was sick. Sick and unforgiveable. What could of the girl possibly have done to deserve such a fate? "There's one for every mile marker between us and Mereen." Jorah informed regretfully. "And how many miles are between us and the city?" Ranta asked quietly.
"One hundred and sixty-three, your grace." the Mormont answered with a frown. Ranta finally tore her eyes off of the girl and to the ground below her and her horse, "One hundred and sixty-three miles. Forty miles a day. So this will be my sight for approximately the next four days..." she trailed off with a heavy sigh, dismounting and walking up to the crucifixion post. Much to the queen's advisors surprise, Ranta began pulling the nails out of the girls' feet. "Your grace!" Missandei cried, rushing forwards with the men of the group to stop their queen.
Jorah snatched her hand up and shook the bloodied nails out of her grasp, "Gloves, my queen! By all means take her down if that is what you want but at least use gloves!" the Mormont insisted panicked, rubbing his fingers over her hands as Missandei poured water from her canteen over Ranta's hands for sanitary reasons. "Then get me gloves, she can't stay up there and neither can the other one hundred and sixty two children." the blue haired queen said unfazed by her follower's actions.
"What about burning them? Technically they are on a wooden pyre, you would be sending them off with respect and integrity in Dothraki terms." Ser Barristan suggested. Well that would work, it would make things easier for everyone involved. "Vaemarr! Laemyx!" Ranta abruptly yelled out, eyes turning upwards towards the cliffs above where she knew they were traveling.
It didn't take long until the heads of the black and white behemoths appeared over the cliff's edge and then made their way down, sending rocks and dust flying as they slid down the cliff's side. Ignoring the coughs that erupted because of the dust as they landed, the two brothers slithered forwards and looked to Ranta expectantly. With a nod of her head towards the fate of the slave girl, "Ignite." she commanded softly, not caring which did it.
Vaemarr took the honors and set the poor girl free of her fate with a pretty blue flame. "There are many more ahead of us, one for every mile marker. I don't care if you take your other brothers or not, but light fire to each of the bodies. We are sending them off in the Dothraki fashion, there are four days between us and our destination. Four days of having to burn bodies, can you handle it if I send you on your way?" Ranta asked.
The duo nodded their heads before nuzzling the upset woman and turned tail to do as she requested, sending short beckoning calls into the sky to summon their winged siblings to follow. Turning her head back towards the burning wooden pyre, Ranta knelt and placed her Dusk Rose at the base of the post and placed a rock on it so the wind would not blow it away.
"Shall we get going then? It's going to be a long four days." Ranta said to no one in particular, sighing heavily as she mounted her horse and gave a light kick to start the long walk to Mereen.
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.
The Lady's Lace went to a boy at the half way marker to the city and the Harpy's gold went to another small girl at the final mile marker when Ranta asked her sons of the children's gender at those two particular spots. Least to say, the blue queen did not have much to say about what had to be done. All Ranta was focused on was the towering city in front of them responsible for the unacceptable treatment of their slaves.
Pyramid after pyramid. Harpy after Harpy. There were even two giant harpies designed into the city's stone walls, but that did not matter. All of it would come crashing down one way or another. No matter how long it took. Marching her army before the gates, Ranta diverted and maneuvered her horse and advisors to stand in between the walls of Mereen and the twelve thousand plus soldiers behind her.
Along the length of the wall suddenly appeared brightly dressed masters and their dully dressed slaves bound in signature leather collars, city guards appearing as well to look at the threat standing at their gate. Dismounting, Ranta handed her horse off to a Second son along with Jorah, Barristan and Missandei before walking forwards to observe the specks of people watching her every movement. During her observation though, the city gates suddenly squeaked open and a man on a horse with a long yellow and blue javelin under his arm came charging out.
"A single rider?" Ranta quirked a brow. "A champion." Jorah corrected, "A champion of Mereen is sent out to do battle with a champion of your own choosing." cheering erupted from above as the man on his horse galloped directly across from the foreign threat in the distance and jerked his horse to a stop, forcing the poor steed to rear up in protest. Once his mount had calmed, the Mereen champion dismounted and began shouting at them in a dialect Ranta couldn't place.
But what he did next, was disturbing to Ranta, she really hoped he wasn't going to do what she thought he was going to do. "Please tell me he's not untying his pant strings." she grimaced. "Well I could, your grace, but I would be-" laughter from the masters soon cut off Ser Barristan, and the faint sound of him urinating filled the air. "Lying." the Selmy finished with his own grimace.
A large visible shiver worked its way through Ranta at the display, " You know I really must be blessed to be graced with the presence of Mereen's best and his wonderful charm." she commented sarcastically. Missandei stepped forward with her hands folded in front of her respectfully when the man began speaking once more, "He says that we are an army of men without man parts and that you are no woman at all. You are...a man who hides is cock in his own asshole." she finished with her own small sigh though the champion continued.
"Well at least my cock would be bigger than his." Ranta shrugged, a smirk gracing her lips and the lips of her advisors. The young queen's smirk slipped from her lips as a thought occurred to her, "It is a champion you said they wanted?" she asked, watching Missandei nod in confirmation. "Allow me this honor, Storm Queen, and I will not disappoint you." Grey Worm spoke up.
"Your grace, I have won more single combats than any man alive."
"I've been by your side for years, my queen, let me stand for you today as well."
"I was the last to join your cause, and I haven't known you as long but allow me to prove myself...let me kill this man for you."
To be honest, Ranta was not expecting all of them to be throwing out offers to kill the Meeranese champion so quickly. It was sweet. "The captain of my Unsullied, the leader of my Queens Guard, my most trusted General and the captain of my Second Sons all coming together to kill this man. It's rather touching, but unfortunately for you I will be declining all of your requests to meet the champion in battle." Ranta told the men, unwrapping a leather band from around her wrist and tying her hair up.
"Y-you have someone else in mind, you grace?" Missandei asked for the men stunned into silence. "Of course I do." the blue eyed woman picked up the lower half of her golden colored dress and tucked it into her black trousers she wore underneath, and unclipped her war mace from her hip meaningfully. Realization hit the group like a ton of bricks once they seen Ranta do this, "Your grace, I beg you to reconsider!" Missandei cried desperately in a loud voice but then realized what she had done and bowed her head in apology, taking a step backwards as she did so.
"Reconsider indeed, you cannot go out there." Jorah shook his head with a large frown upon his face. "And why not?" Ranta returned affronted. " You know why," the Mormont hissed, " they have called for a champion to fight. Not a queen, you have only just gotten better." the man argued pointedly. "Jorah's right." Daario agreed, "You literally have the pick of the litter here and you decide you want to go out there yourself?!"
"Umm yeah, pretty much." Ranta admitted, " the next person to open their mouth will find a new queen to fight for!" she added on hastily after feeling another argument about to come forward. "I am not doubting any of you. I know that each of you could kill this man in your sleep." the queen looked to the group with a soft look on her face.
"But a battle between champions is what these people are expecting. A queen sending her soldiers to do her dirty work. What they won't be expecting, is a queen that will go above and beyond to win the hearts of her subjects. A queen that will fight for her future people...I suggest you make peace with what I'm about to do. I'm not just doing this for the slaves of Mereen, I'm doing it for you guys as well. Just trust me." Ranta finished with a smile before walking out into the makeshift battle field.
The sudden approach caused the boasting man in the distance to finally silence himself, allowing for the surprised murmuring of the slaves and masters to be heard from up above. "What are you waiting for?" Ranta questioned loudly, her feminine voice echoing for all to hear when the champion did not move for a few seconds, "Afraid to lose to someone who hides their own cock in their asshole?" when the queen received no reply from the champion, Ranta motioned for Missandei to translate with a pointed look.
At the sound of the man shouting again after hearing the translation, Ranta smirked in amusement, watching as he mounted the white horse then rammed his heels into his sides and sent it galloping forwards at a rapid pace. With the distance between her and the horse riding man rapidly coming to a close, Ranta could practically feel the nerves and anxiety rolling off of her people behind her - not that she wasn't nervous herself and the pain that all of a sudden emerged from her branding on her collar bone did not help any.
Rubbing the burn absently, Ranta was suddenly hit with a memory from her short time with the priestess in the cave, "The Lord of light works in mysterious ways and it is his will that I carry out in his name...All know of the gifts the Naylor family have been given, all know that they are only activated when distress of anger fills their frame...but now no more. For one who fights to free those with a chain around their neck, it is about time your own chain was broken, Storm Queen."
It was time to break her own chain... Naylor powers only being activated by emotions but now no more...the superior being that the witch worships... the ruins burned into her skin...
Ranta was abruptly brought out of her thoughts when the increasing sound of the horse's pounding hooves met her ear drums, looking up the woman seen that the champion was not that far away. Steeling her nerves, Ranta raced out into the field herself when she could wait no longer, quickly sending up a prayer and at the same time keeping in mind that she would have to maneuver herself to the opposite side of the javelin before she could strike him down.
Jorah felt his heart stop the moment he watched his blue haired queen race out into the dirt to meet the Meeranese champion in battle, it was if time slowed down enough for him to watch her every move but in reality what he seen happened in a matter of seconds. With speed no one knew the young woman had, she skirted to her right and jumped into the air - Jorah could have sworn he seen the earth beneath her feet propel her upwards like Vaemarr had done for Rhaegal before when she jumped.
Swinging her heavy war mace back, Ranta sent it crashing into the helmeted head of the rider - knocking him from his horse and careening to the ground unceremoniously compared to the practice summersault roll Ranta completed to break her fall. Without wasting time, the woman was back on her feet and booked it to the fallen man's body before slamming her weapon down onto his face just to confirm the kill like Ser Barristan had taught her.
At the bloody and grotesque sight before her, Ranta shivered again and turned her back on the dead man. There was a reason Ranta was not a soldier, she did not like to see such sights and promised herself to leave the fighting to her men if she could help it. Turning back towards the stunned crowd of slaves and masters alike Ranta released a heavy breath of air, slamming her bloodied war mace into the ground next to her.
"My name is Ranta Naylor, and I have something to say to the citizens of Mereen." she started off strongly, "Perhaps you have heard of me from visitors of Mereen or maybe you haven't. Perhaps your masters have told you lies about me, or perhaps they haven't. It matters little either way. I am here now and I ask you to listen to what I have to offer." Ranta undid her hair tie and shook her hair loose, freeing her dress from the confined of her pants.
"First I went to Astapor, those in Astapor were given a choice. The slaves there could choose to either be free and leave with money, provisions, and their families to start a new life somewhere else... or be free and fight for me and my cause. What exactly is my cause, you all may be wondering. My cause is to make sure that no child born anywhere near Slaver's Bay would know what it's like to wear a chain around their neck. To feel a whip crack against their back. Freedom belongs to all, it is not the right of any man to come and take it from you because of your family status. With that being said, the men you see before you are from Astapor, they choose to fight for freedom. Then I went to Yunkai, I offered the slaves there the same choice that Astapor received and the men you see before you are from Yunkai as well. All of them are free to leave whenever they want, I am not forcing anyone to remain by my side."
"And now here I stand in Mereen..." from her spot on the ground below Ranta could see a few masters leaving and others shifting uneasily, "Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages - I am not your enemy! I am not here to bark orders at you, I am not here to force you to obey. I am here to give you the choice that no one else will. Your enemy is in front of your very eyes, your enemy steals and murders your children while you sleep! So now I ask you this...will you join me and the fight for my cause or will you take the provisions I offer you and your family to start a new?"
A moment of silence filled the air before it was filled with the whispers of the slaves, much to the queen's satisfaction. "Forward!" Ranta suddenly ordered her Unsullied, hearing the telltale signs of her catapults being moved forward and into position and watching as the crowd grew apprehensive and wary. "Fire." Ranta commanded darkly after another moment and watched as multiple barrels be launched towards the mighty walls of Mereen, causing screams to erupt from the crowd and sending the people tripping over themselves as they backed away in fright to avoid being hit.
The barrels however, they found, broke harmlessly against the stone walls and dropped its contents into the streets and onto the people below much to their confusion. After the twelfth barrel broke against a wall specifically above the slaves and masters, Ranta waited patiently for their response though she had a good feeling as to what it would be.