The Dragon and the Hawke 28
The wedding may have been a surprise for Marian, but it seemed that it had been planned for close to an entire month before she had even been asked. Missandei had gotten Dany to officiate, Trod Underfoot to act as Best Man, Barristan Selmy to act as her 'Father,' and Grey Worm to play the instruments.
It really was surprising how good the Unsullied Commander had become at the fields of entertainment. Ever since Marian had shown him to juggle before the conquering of Yunkai, Grey Worm had been obsessed with the modes of escapism present in the theatrical arts. So far he had not found a single one that he did not enjoy, or do at least passably well in.
He had even learnt the traditional wedding song of Westeros, where slavery had been illegal for entire lifetimes, and was playing it as Missandei walked down the aisle in the biggest house of worship that Meereen had. Marian did not know that it was a temple devoted to her, and any evidence that pointed at that she determinedly ignored in favor of staring at her bride.
Missandei was garbed in one of her usual dresses that wrapped around her breasts and exposed a great deal of stomach, but in a pure white that did amazing things to her coloring. The center piece of her outfit was a beautiful medalion that the mage had made for her months ago, when they had first began to share a bed. Marian smiled wide as her soon to be wife reached her, and received a grand smile in return.
Dany began to speak, but Marian barely heard her, eyes raking over every line of Missandei's face. The two stared at one another, eyes locking every so often as they traced over the rest of their figures, and finally they heard Dany say, "This ceremony shall be done in a way that Marian has chosen. Will the partners of this matrimony clasp their hands?"
Marian and Missandei do so, and Daario Naharis steps up, and twines a length of white silk line across their hands and arms, tying them together. Marian looks down at the silk, and raises Missandei's hands to kiss them as Dany again starts to talk. There is a general 'awe' at the display, and then they kissed for real.
As the two women locked lips at the front of the temple, at the very back, Varys and Tyrion Lannister watched with interest. If it were not for the fact that half of Meereen had shoved themselves into the temple to watch the ceremony, their presence may have attracted unwanted attention.
"A beautiful ceremony," Varys notes with a small smile
Tyrion, who had been forced to go without a goblet of wine, shrugs and looked around with the perceptiveness of a man who had two eyes open while drunk and now seemed to have nearly tripple that. He sighed, "It was, but it seems that it will soon be at an end."
Varys looks down at his small companion, and then follows the dwarf's pointing fingers to a man hidden high, near an opening at the top of the wall. He wore a golden mask, and carried a bow. Varys's eyes widen and he turns his gaze to where the assassin is aiming, and it seems to be the three women at the front.
He thinks quickly, tries to think if he should shout, when Tyrion beats him to it, "Assassin!"
Eyes fly in his direction, including the assassin's. Seeing he has been made, he lets fly.
There are many ways that this could have ended. It could have ended with the death of Daenerys Targaryen, or could have ended in the death of Missandei, and both would have ended in the destruction of Meereen in the Thunder God's anger. But it did neither of those things. Instead, the arrow struck through the heart of Marian Hawke.
There is a hushed silence as the assassin laughs in triumph, seeing the god struck after having leapt in front of the other women. And arrow from one of Daario's men quickly ends the laughing, and his life, but the damage is already done.
Marian falls to her knees, looking down at the arrow stuck through her chest. She stares at it, uncomprehending. There is an arrow in her chest, some confusion is to be expected.
What is not expected is the lack of pain, or blood. There should be blood for a wound like an arrow to the heart. There should be a lot of blood. Instead, there wasn't any. She could see the pale skin of her breast and the arrow stuck in it, and she had seen a lot of arrow wounds while in Kirkwall, there was always blood around the entry, and a lot around the exit. Instead, there is nothing but shock that somebody had managed to almost shoot Missandei or Dany.
Wait.
Somebody had almost shot Missandei.
Marian's eyes open, glowing an electric blue as she surges to her feet and her sight locks on the assassin, his corpse seeming to slowly fall to the ground. Without even one of her usual gestures, the man's fall is stopped, and he is dragged through the air towards her.
The people of Meereen watch in terrified awe as the corpse is dragged to the angry god, and in the far back, a believer is made of Tyrion Lannister, who in his shock ends up making the gesture that would be later associated with Marian Hawke the Thunder God, a splayed hand on the chest. Even closer to Marian, Missandei steps to her wife, and with horror runs her hand over the arrow wound sticking out of her back, and she knew with certainty that it had been meant for her.
The corpse reaches Marian, and then it jerks awake. The assassin, torn from the ether, looks around in terror. He sees the god he had not believed in glaring at him, "You shot me."
Compelled to speak, the assassin agrees, "I did, I enjoyed doing it."
"Who was the target?"
"Any of you three foreign whores."
The casual nature with which her responds to Marian's questions horrifies most, but not the mage, and she asks, "Were you hired?"
"I was."
"Who hired you?"
"Drazik zo Loraq."
"Did Hizdahr zo Loraq know?"
"Hizdahr zo Loraq is a weak willed simpleton who encourages peace rather than taking our rightful places as masters over the cattle that crowd this city."
"Did he know?"
"No."
"Am I cattle?"
"You are God."
Marian huffs, and the corpse dissolves in a cloud of ash.
The silence that follows is terrible. Nobody speaks, nobody breaths, nobody even moves. But then it is broken when Marian asks, "Hey, who shouted about the assassin?"
There is a collective turn, and an avenue is opened to reveal Tyrion standing next to Varys. The Dwarf blinks, then waves, "I did."
Marian smiles, and in that strange way that she has, diffuses the tension from the temple with it. She waves him forward, and watches as he and Varys make their way through the crowd until they stand before them.
Tyrion and Varys exchange glances as Marian looks between them, not sure if they should speak. They do not have long to wait before their course of action is given, as Marian extends her left hand, "Marian Hawke, nice to meet you!"
Tyrion smiles, noticing that the woman's right hand is still twined with her wife's, and extends his own left. They shake each other's hands and he introduces himself, "Tyrion Lannister. You still have an arrow in your chest."
Marian blinks, and looks down. She frowns, "You know, I forgot about that."
She looks back up at Tyrion and tells him, "I don't think people should be able to forget if they have sharp objects stuck in their chests."
"Well then, you are clearly better than people," Tyrion points out
Marian furrows her brow, then shrugs and lets of Tyrion's hand to grab the arrow. Everyone watches is fascinated horror as she pulls the arrow from her chest. After it is all the way out, she notes, "It's weird, I can feel it, but it doesn't hurt."
"Well count yourself lucky," Tyrion tells her, then indicates a terrible scar across his face, "I have first hand knowledge of wounds, and they are far from enjoyable."
"True enough," Marian laughs, then she perks up, and pulls Missandei towards her, her wife slides easily into her arms and she tells Tyrion, "Tryion Lannister, allow me to introduce my beautiful wife, Missandei Hawke."
"A pleasure, my lady," Tyrion gives a respectful bow, and then to Dany, who had stepped around Marian on the other side, he bows even lower and greets, "Your Grace."
"Do you two know each other?" Marian asks
"Close enough," Tyrion tells her, "My father tried to see both of us dead at one point or another."
Marian blinks, "Wow, your dad must suck."
"He did," Tyrion nods, frowning. He then shakes his head and smiles, "But I did see to return the favor."
"You killed your dad?"
"In the privy," Tyrion smirks
"Oh dear," Barristan Selmy notes with some amusement, knowing how much it would have rankled Tywin Lannister as he died, to be killed in such an undignified manner.
"It seems, Tyrion Lannister, that we have much to speak about," Dany notes, here eyes far from narrowed, but her tone far from friendly.
"Of course, your grace," Tyrion nods
"You guys can talk," Marian assures them, then she raises her and Missandei's hands and declares, "After the party!"
There is a cheer from the crowd