The Dragon and the Hawke 24
"Your brother was a gentle man," Barristan smiles as he thinks of his old friend Rhaegar, "He would travel through the streets of King's Landing, find a good spot, and sing like a common minstrel. He like to see how much money he could make, had a hat and everything."
"Did he make much?" Dany asks, trying to picture the brother she had never met
"Absolutely," The old knight nods, "Prince Rhaegar had a beautiful voice, and he would make more than most in a good afternoon."
"What did you do with the money?" Dany asks, wondering what a man who did not want for anything would do with money from singing
"Sometimes we would pass it on, sometimes we would donate it," Barristan laughed, "And sometimes we just got drunk with it."
"He sounds like a good man," Dany's smile is wistful, a wishing one that regretted days never to come and faces never to see.
"One of the best," Barristan nods, "Not without his faults, but a good one nonetheless."
"His faults?"
"Well, not to speak ill of the dead, but much like your father, he was touched with the madness that can infect your family," Barristan sighed
"What did he do?" Dany asked, fearful
"Well for one, he stole Lyanna Stark, which was one of the inciting incidents for Robert Baratheon's rebellion," Barristan twitched his fingers, then also added, "And he was a believer in the veracity of dreams."
"What?"
"He told me once that his dreams were visions of things to come," Barristan tells her, "That he always did as he did because he felt that the future he made was the better of the choices."
"Even taking the Stark girl after he was married?"
"Oh, the married issue is never as large a one as most believe," Barristan rolls his eyes, "Ellia Martell was a lovely woman, and a loving one, but she was Dornish as they come."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that she shared Lyanna Stark's bed as often as your brother did," Barristan tells her with a smirk, "I should know, I had to stand outside the door often enough."
Dany shudders at the thought of her brother and sex in the same sentence. Even if he had never met the man, she had never been a fan of the Targaryen Incest deal that Viserys always crowed about. She did not want her then still living brother anywhere near her, and so the very thought of what her family did repulsed her to such a grand extent.
"I did not need to hear that," Dany shakes her head as Barristan laughs
"It feels good to finally get him back for all the grief he put me through," The old knight smiles again
Before more can be said, Daario enters the room with Marian. Dany and Barristan stand and look to him. The Guard Captain bows his head, "Your grace, Ser Selmy, the day's first supplicants are here."
Dany nods, and steps past Daario. Before she exits the room she turns back, "Ser Barristan."
"Your grace?"
"Take the day off, please. Bring some music to the city."
"It will be my pleasure, your grace," Barristan smiles, bowing his head.
The queen then sweeps from the room, Daario trailing her. Marian falls in step with Barristan instead of her friend as the old knight leaves, "What did Dany mean?"
"I was telling her of my days in King's Landing with her brother, Prince Rhaegar," Barristan tells her, "He would often journey into the city and sing on street corners for the people's enjoyment."
"Oh, hey! That sounds way more fun than listening to people moan about random stuff they want Dany to fix for them! Can I come?"
Barristan smirks, "Could I stop you?"
"Not at all, but I'd like you to say yes anyway," Marian's return smile is sweet, bright, and mischievous.
Barristan chuckles, and nods, "Very well, you can juggle while I sing."
"Yes!" Marian pumps her fist as they set off down the pyramid and out into the city.
While the old knight and the new god walked out into the city of Meereen for a fun afternoon of juggling, singing, and entertaining, Dany was stuck sitting in her throne. The seat of her power wasn't so bad, really, as it now had cushions and a back so that she could actually relax while sitting in it. But the tedious thing was that she had to listen to a lot of nonsense from a lot of people.
It wasn't that she didn't care about her people, or thought that there problems were anything to laugh at; she just thought that two people arguing over who had rights to the pups of a dog was an issue that the new city guard should deal with, not her. In point of fact, she had begun shunting those supplicants over to Daario some time in the last week, and on the whole, she had received far less of them begging for her time as a result.
Her lover hadn't been very grateful, but that was very easily fixed after only the first night, and after that they had set up a reward system for the former mercenary. After all, even retired mercenaries had a love of reimbursement. It didn't hurt that what he wanted in exchange she was more than willing to give.
But!
The details of her sex life could wait until later, and Dany took a breath and nodded for the guards to let in her first supplicant. She was surprised to see that it was Hizdahr that was her first visitor of the day. Her advisor stepped to the lowest platform, and bowed low, giving a respectful, "Your grace."
"Hizdahr, what brings you to my throne room this afternoon?" She asks
"I have come to beg for the reopening of the fighting pits," Hizdahr tells her
She blinks at this, and leans forward, "You would have me reinstate one of the darkest symbols of the former oppression of Slaver's Bay?"
"No, your grace," Hizdahr shakes his head, "I beg you to reopen one of the few activities that brought both the slaves and the masters together before your rule, and now might bring them together again."
Dany leaned back in her throne, raising an eyebrow. She was very grateful for Marian teaching her the power of such simple gestures. The mage had told her that there were so many activities that went on in the face that could tell people so much. One of the most important lessons she taught was the art of the raised eyebrow.
Raising an eyebrow told a great deal about what you were thinking, but also nothing at all. It told the speaker that you were listening, but not much else. The beauty of the raised eyebrow was in the many mixed messages contained within; you could be asking for more information, daring them to continue, or showing that you know all of their arguments already but you want to hear them say what they meant to say anyway. Though only a few examples Marian had mentioned, she had assured Dany that there were many other things in an eyebrow raise, and as a Queen, it could be her greatest weapon when she didn't actually want anyone dead.
Hizdahr took the eyebrow to mean that she wanted to know more, but that he should watch his tongue lest it be removed. That last one was a consequence of growing up amongst bloodthirsty slavers, but it did help him make his point as politely as possible, "Your grace, when the fighting pits were open, they attracted the slaves and the slave masters alike in mutual entertainment. Men could fight and die and earn more than they could outside the walls of the arena. They could earn freedom."
"I have already given them freedom," Dany challenged, "What more is there to win?"
"Glory, adoration, money, what they win does not matter," Hizdahr tells her, "What matters is that the fights could bring together the city once more. I will not claim that it would repair the damage, but it would be a step to mending it."
"And does your family hold substantial holdings in the Fighting Pits, Hizdahr?"
"Yes, your grace," Hizdahr admits, "But I would gladly surrender my family's holdings in the arena to bring this about."
"Do you have that authority in your house?" Dany asks, thinking of the man's father, still very much alive, and very much a bitter grump at Dany taking over the city.
"Since your ascension, my father has declared me head of my household," Hizdahr tells her, "Believing that you would be less likely to strike against a member of your council."
"And what do you believe?"
"That should I prove unreliable, you would dismiss me with respect and find another man to represent the former masters."
Dany nods, "A wise perspective, and do you believe that opening the fighting pits would truly be helping your remain reliable?"
"I do, your grace," Hizdahr nods, head bowing.
"I will think on it, and you will have your answer by the next meeting of the council," Dany tells him.