Beskha couldn't believe it had taken this long to track down their wayward Khaleesi. If she still held the title of Khaleesi that is. It had taken her, Asher and the wolves almost 2 months to get to Vaes Dothrak. This was mostly due to the fact that with Khal Drogo dead, every Khal was eager to become top dog. They had had one too many close calls in her mind, but the wolves were a gift from the Gods.
They could smell the Khalasar coming and with hackles raised they were able to evade them until they reached the safety of the inns and Vaes Dothrak. When they were here the first time, everyone loved the silver-haired Khaleesi, now it appeared she was public enemy #1. Something regarding the death of the Khal and blood magic if the rumors were to be believed.
It took several days, but they were able to track down a few of the men and women who went with her once the Khalasar horde left her and Khal Drogo to their fate. Once they had the right information, they didn't linger any longer in this place than necessary. Making all haste for the last place the girl was scene.
Everyday Beskha and Asher both thought that the wolves would leave one morning. They would run off every now and then, sometimes coming right back, sometimes they would be gone for several hours. But still, they kept coming back. Beskha didn't know what to do about them, they were not pets, and they had their own reasons for doing things. For now, they were welcome to follow her and Asher in doing something new.
"Well I guess we found the pyre." Asher joked quietly. Even after several months of weather, the giant black scorch mark upon the earth was still visible. The wolves were busy sniffing around the area, trying to find some scent of their quarry. Beskha and Asher were looking for tracks, but that was near impossible after so much time had passed.
Kneeling down on the ground, Beskha pulled out a map and laid it along the ground. Asher came over and looked as well. From where they were, they could only go so many places to survive. The only question left was which way did they go now?
"They could have made for Meereen?" Asher commented on it, while pointing to it on the map.
"Maybe," Beskha replied "but they would have nothing of value to trade as far as I know, she would have to sell the slaves and everything she owns just to make sure she could walk openly through the city and not be sold as property. With the Dothraki hating her guts now, going back north would be suicide."
Asher nodded at her and stretched for a moment, looking back and forth across the horizon. North was a death trap, west would mean slavery, and east was too unexplored to be of any help. So that left south as the only path left open to them. But even still where could they go, the Red Waste was a very dangerous place. Looking down at the map he turned to Beskha.
"Do you think they would have gone to this….Quarth or Qarth or whatever this fucking place is?" He asked while he pointed to the southernmost tip of the continent.
Beskha looked at where he was pointing and thought about it for a moment. Everywhere else was a dead city or enemy territory. However, the only thing she had ever heard of in regards to the place was called the Garden of Bones. Hopefully they wouldn't be adding to the garden. Nodding to Asher, she rolled up the map and prepared to get underway. They would have to find someplace along the way to fill up on more water.
"It's the only place that makes sense for her to go. So we have our destination, and it's going to be rough getting there. Let's get a move on, Little Brother."
Here they were several months later, sitting atop their horses next to the wolves, tired and thirsty and very dirty. Only problem was that salvation was only 50 feet away and they couldn't get in. They could possibly last one more day in the desert without more water. Currently they were still waiting for someone to receive them.
From their spot outside of the city, they had yelled up at the guards and one of them left. The wolves were pacing back and forth in agitation. A sudden cry from deep within the city got all of their attention. Beskha couldn't tell whether it was one of misery or elation. The gates gave a sudden groan as hundreds of people began to pour out of the city and away from the city, not far but definitely away from the city.
Shadow stopped pacing and sniffed the air, giving a bark before charging head first into the escaping masses with her sisters trailing right after her. Beskha and Asher drew weapons and kicked their horses into a gallop to chase after the wolves. Thankfully people were still observant enough to get out of the way of 3 direwolves and the horse.
They had almost made it to the docks before the wolves turned to the left sharply and tackling a figure down onto the floor. Several shrieks sounded before there was a crash and a cry for help before laughter was heard coming from inside. Dismounting the horses almost without stopping, Beskha and Asher rushed inside to a very curious scene.
The sellswords had found Daenerys being savagely licked to death by the wolves who had tackled her. Ser Jorah was right there about to attack before the Khaleesi waved him off and pushed the three away so she could get up and straighten up. She noticed the two sellswords as they came up to her and was about to offer a greeting when more chirps were heard and three small bodies landed on her.
Beskha and Asher were slacked-jawed when dragons landed on her shoulders and in her arms. Granted, they were only the size of about a cat, they were still a creature that had been gone for hundreds of years. Both tried to find the words to say but nothing would come out. Their speechlessness was ended when the small black dragon began to sniff at Shadow and her back at him. Jumping onto the unsuspecting wolf, the black dragon found the spot between wolf's shoulder blades and lay down for a nap.
"Seems like Drogon has made a friend. You two were with Lyanna when she saved my life. Where is she?" Daenerys talked to Beskha and looked around with hopeful eyes. Beskha looked down for a moment before she began the story of what happened.
The first slaver never knew what happened as an arrow buried its way in one side of his neck and out the other. He fell to the ground and tried to say something and soon stopped moving. The slave who he had been leading stopped until another voice yelled for him to keep going, not yet realizing that his companion had already died. Laying down her bow quietly and drawing her sword, Lyanna began a wide circle around the clearing.
She knew every inch of this area, having slept here and trained here for the last several weeks. The slavers obviously didn't want to do this slow chore and were barely paying any attention to their surroundings. By the time the second slaver had discovered the first body, the third had already lost his head when Lyanna got behind him. Two down and one to go.
Now there was panic amongst the slaves and the slaver was starting to feel it, he was calling for help, but nothing was responding. While they were all chained together, the slaves moved away from the slaver and the body and cowered down together. Drawing his sword, the slaver looked left and right trying desperately to find his attacker. Just as the sun peaked over the horizon, he felt something hit him in the back and looked down as a blood soaked tip of a spear protruded from his chest.
Running up to the slavers body, she made sure both were dead before turning to the slaves and looking them over. They backed away at the sight of her sword, wiping it off on the slavers cloths she sheathed it and spoke softly.
"Does anyone of you speak my language?" Lyanna waited for a moment before a hand rose up. It was an older gentleman, maybe 50 years old. Probably an old hand meant to show the newer ones what needed to be done. Lyanna smiled at him and bend down to search for the keys to his chains. She held them out to him.
"Now you can take these and free yourselves and live out all the rest of your days here. Or, you can help me take their ship." Every man here was free to choose his own fate. She waited why they talked amongst themselves. When the man came back over to her he nodded to her.
"Okay, here is my plan." Lyanna told them while drawing it out in the dirt.
The slaves rowed back to the ship with all the strength they had. They had pulled one of the slaver's bodies into the boat under the guise that he had died while they rowed back. When they got close enough to the ship, one of the younger one started to shout at them in Valyrian. The men on the ship immediately got to work to let down ropes to carry their wounded friend aboard.
So preoccupied with getting the wounded and merchandise back onto the ship they didn't notice a dark form in the water swim underneath the ship to the other side. Coming up slowly, Lyanna started to slowly climb up the side of the ship as quietly as she could. Moving nimbly from the side and around the back, peaking over the edge at the deck.
Perfect she thought, she was right behind the wheel. Normally she was sure there would be a lookout watching their rear, but with the slaves making such a fuse about the dead slaver everyone's attention was focused elsewhere. She had to act fast before things calmed down, right now they were disorganized and unprepared.
Climbing over the rail and pulling out her small knife, she moved on cat's paws and stabbed the helmsman in the back of the neck before he could do anything. Leaving the knife where it was, she pulled off her bow and notched an arrow. Pulling back on the arrow, she stood up and looked down at the crowd.
"Alright everyone, I'd like everyone to keep their weapons away for the time being. First man to draw one gets an arrow in him." Lyanna yelled at them. One slaver thought he was faster on the draw then she was and was rewarded with an arrow in the chest. She already had another arrow ready by the time they looked back at her.
"Benam," she called to the slave she spoke with on the island "free your group and relieve them of their weapons. We'll tie them up before we free the others." They made short work of the chains before putting the former slavers in them. While most of the time, the slaves wouldn't put up a fight while in chains and unarmed, with a full cargo hold, the slavers were outmatched 3 to 1.
Lyanna looked at the captive men appraisingly. How could men choose such a profession, she supposed the money would be the first point. She shook her head at the thought, being rich was fine, but to do so by selling your fellow men was too steep a price for her.
"Which one of you is the Captain?" she asked pointedly. When no answer was forth coming she turned to Benam. Watching his gaze turn to a man with a neatly trimmed graying beard, she walked over to him and looked down at him. Lyanna asked for him to be unchained and had two slaves bring him with her to the rail.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense Captain? You bought and sold men for nothing more than the coin in your purse it seems." He growled at her and spit in her face while the slaves held him back. Calmly wiping it off her face, she waited until he calmed down and when she was sure he wouldn't lash out, had him released. She pointed to the two dead men, pulling the arrow and knife out, before having their bodies thrown overboard in front of the captain.
A few minutes later, there were several splashed in the water and Lyanna looked down to see a shark in the water the size of a horse. Moving back to the captain, she again addressed the captured men under his command.
"You men have done an atrocious thing with your lives. But I'm going to give you an option that you don't deserve. You can live for as many days as you have left or," she turned to the captain and kicked him over the side into the water with the shark "you can join your captain."
A bloodcurdling scream was heard from over the side of the ship. Lyanna's point was further illustrated when it was cut off suddenly and everything went quiet. Looking down at them, she raised her eyebrows in question. The rest of the men were quick to not want to die yet and swore their fealty to her.
The slaves and Benam in particular were not happy with this arrangement and Lyanna just nodded to them. Motioning for them to bring the captives to the small boat that was used to go ashore. Gathering a small assortment of daggers, one for each captive, she dropped them into the boat and looked at them. She unchained the first men and at knife point pushed him over and into the boat.
"I told you that you could live out your days, I never said it would under my command." She told them as Benam as his fellows herded the rest of them into the boat one at a time. She ignored their pleas for leniency with a mask of indifference. With all of them in the boat, she called for the men to get the ship moving. Benam took the helm with a look of exhilaration, smiling so big that his eyes were closed.
While the former slaves got underway and celebrated their freedom, Lyanna moved off to the bow of the ship and looked ahead. She was off of the island and moving towards her future. Pulling out her sword, she looked down at it in sadness.
"I'm sorry father," she spoke to herself "when you gave this sword a name, I was a different girl then. I've had to change and adapt to a harsher world than you ever wanted for me. I can no longer keep this Winter's Rose as you gave me. I will probably have to continue fighting for a very long time and so I will need a name that will help me do that." Holding the sword up in front of her she spoke.
"I, Lyanna of the House Stark, name you Frostbite. Just as deadly as the cold and takes far more from men than they prefer. May my enemies see me coming and not be able to do anything about it." She sheathed her sword and look forward towards the horizon again. She had a promise to keep with herself, to find a silver headed Targaryen. Oh the imagery.
A/N: There ya have it, another chapter done. I really hope people still like this, and I always love to hear from you guys, so please send a PM shout out, or a review. Later guys.
