The Dragon and the Hawke 18
Building a proper policing force was never easy. There had to be an equal degree of fervor for justice, spite for crime, and a baffling ability to throw both of those away for the right amount of coin. Marian had to find the proper amount of coin before she could turn the Second Sons into the guard force for Dany's new empire.
Her job wasn't helped by the fact that Daario was just feeling way too smug to do any actual work for most of the day. She would send him the occasional glare, but she couldn't really say much on the subject for fear of learning too many details about her best friend's sex life. So she pressed on, and made use of ten years worth of boring lectures from Aveline to work on turning the mercenaries into a new force.
Once she was done, she handed the list of details she had written down and took her own turn to relax. She lay down on a comfortable chair and melted into the seat with a sigh as Daario read through three pages of notes.
After a while, he put them down and nods, "I like it."
"Really?" Marian perks up, "You don't think it's too much?"
Daario shakes his head, "Not at all, it's nice to see somebody with proper respect for a few crooked sellswords."
"Well I thought it was a nice compromise," Marian nods
"And it has nothing to do with your own habit of looting corpses?" Daario asks with a smirk
"Hey, I think if anyone deserves a little loot, it's the guys trying to protect it," Marian shrugs
"Of course, that is only when we have legal recourse."
"Absolutely! We can't have you guys being the ones to start riots!"
Daario snorts and sets the pages down, "I'll start work immediately."
Marian claps her hands and gets to her feet, "Great! I'm going out, later!"
He raises a hand in goodbye as she exits the room, mind already on how to get his company to conform to the relatively easy rules of being a guard. His favorite part of the rules had to be that he and his men had the right to outright kill someone who they thought broke the law badly enough to warrant it. Certainly they had to explain why they did it, but it gave them so much more leeway than they would have had in town if they had just been regular old mercenaries.
Marian, for her part, didn't think on what impact her concession would no doubt have on bar fights as she skipped out of the palace towards the market district. She never had been one to get introspective on her decisions. Her philosophy always had her looking to the future and living in the present, after all, you couldn't change the past. Maker knew how much she wished that last bit wasn't as true as it was, but there was no going back for anyone.
The mage shakes her head to get it off bad thoughts and smiles at the vendor she's bought apples from since she buried the slave masters. The man, now used to the god visiting him for trade, smiled back and handed her a nice green apple. Marian drops coins into his hand and takes the fruit, biting into it as she walks to the other end of the market.
Standing there, as he always is, is Trod Underfoot. The Unsullied smiled at her, and asked, "Are you well, today?"
"I am!" Marian nods, smiling at him as she pats his shoulder, "How are your language lessons going?"
"Well," He tells her.
"Good, good," Marian nods, then she asks, "Hey, awkward question, but, when they cut your dick off, did they actually cut your dick off, or just your balls?"
Trod turned and looked at her, and asked, "Dick?"
"You know," Marian runs her hand back and forth in front of her crotch.
Her unsullied friend gives no indication towards his amusement other than a raised eyebrow and tells her, "They leave shaft. Easier for peeing."
"Ah!" Marian nods, "Makes sense."
"Why? Not happy with Missandei?"
"Oh, no! I am very happy, very, very happy," Marian assures him, waving her free hand, "I'm asking cause Grey Worm was staring at her earlier, and we're trying to figure out if he's still got the necessary equipment to be thinking of sex."
Trod blinked at her, "Sex? Why would he… think of sex with Missandei?"
"Well Missy is a pretty lady," Marian shrugs, then a thought occurs, "Do you think of sex?"
"Yes," Trod nods
"Who do you think of it with?"
"You, and Fera."
"Oh," Marian nods, surprised but not judgemental. She also appreciated his honesty. After a second she asks, "Who's Fera?"
"Teacher," He tells her
"Ah, she pretty?"
"Yes," Trod nods, then adds, "He is."
Marian's eyebrows shoot up, and her head whips around to stare up at Trod, asking, "Really?"
Trod merely nods
"Hm, never would have guessed."
The Unsullied smirks under his helmet.
Back in the palace, a similar conversation was taking place between Dany and Missandei. The pair had worked on the three books of laws for most of the day, and as an afternoon snack was carried into Dany's chamber, they started talking about other things.
The first subject brought up was Daario. Dany was wistful, a bit shy, but most of all she was very satisfied and unafraid to share details with Missandei. In fact, it wasn't until the subject was changed to Missandei and Marian's encounter with Grey Worm at the river that Dany even thought of how uncomfortable that must have been for Missandei.
"Dothraki culture has no taboos against nudity or public displays of affection," She noted of her adopted culture, "You can be taken anywhere, at anytime, for anyone to see."
"I know, your grace," Missandei nods
"But you are not Dothraki," Dany frowns, as realization as to what he talking about Daario and her having sex must have been like for her.
"No, your grace," Missandei nods again, ever the proper woman.
"Should I tell him not to look?" The queen asked
"No," Missandei tells her, "Marian and I agreed that we would try and speak with him as one."
"Speaking of, how did she take his staring?" Dany asks
"Not as terribly as I have seen some men," Missandei tells her, "She neither lept up in rage, nor started to spit terrible words at me for being looked at."
"What did she do?"
Missandei smiled in that way that warmed Dany's heart. It told her so much and so little, and reminded her of Drogo and the love they shared so long ago. The queen did not press for answers, knowing that to do so would be impolite and invasive. Instead she decides to ask, "Do you know if the masters take all of it when they make the cut?"
"It?"
"The pillar and the stones."
"I do not know, your grace."
"Have you ever wondered?"
"Yes."
They stay silent for a moment, then Missandei realizes exactly how what she said could be misconstrued and adds, "but no more than a passing wonder."
Dany nods in understanding, "We should drop this topic."
"Please."