The Dragon and the Hawke 39
Word spread quickly that the foreign Princess Shireen Baratheon was staying in Meereen by the grace of Empress Daenerys. If Dany had ever tried to think of a way to show that she could be a merciful ruler, she would have failed in so many ways. But the mere presence of the girl (said to be the niece of the man who slaughtered the Empress's own family), who was neither harmed nor coerced into acting jolly, was proof of her benevolence.
Much like Marian and her growing divinity, Dany was unaware of the magnificent political move she had made, and her advisors were in no hurry to inform her of this development. She proceeded as though the young girl were simply a new member of her court, even going so far as to invite the girl to a few Council Meetings when nothing of true significance was discussed.
Shireen, for her part, greatly enjoyed the new land she found herself in. The smells, sounds, sights, and experiences all wound up inside her and gave her grand new ideas of what the world was really like every day. She learnt that women could work just as hard as men from the sight of the former female slaves of Meereen working alongside the men toiling away at Tyrion's sewage system. She learnt that she needed to speak her mind when she knew other people were wrong when she managed to settle an argument between two nobles who were both so obviously in the wrong that everyone could see it, but nobody else would say it. She learnt this and that, and a dozen other things in only a few short weeks.
By the end of her first month in Meereen, she was as welcome as anyone. She was more welcome than the army at the gates of the city, to be sure.
Dany and Marian stood side by side above the destroyed gates into the city, staring at the army as it poured into the canyon much the same way they had done a bit more than a year past Dany glares at the army, then down at the shattered gate, then to Marian, "Tell me why I didn't have you repair the gate?"
Marian shrugs, "You never asked."
"Your grace," Missandei steps up beside them, "It was because you wanted the Masters to have a constant reminder of the power Marian holds."
"Ah, yes, thank you Missandei," Dany nods, then frowns down at the army again, "I am regretting that decision now."
"Want me to fix the gate?" Marian asks
"If you would?"
Marian nods, and raises her hand, the thousands of shards of gate that had spread and been buried over the last months rise from the ground. They connect in glowing green wires before winding together to form the completed gate. The finished hunk of metal and wood then casually slots into place in the wall.
Dany smirks when she sees that Marian's display of power had stopped the advancing army short. She narrows her eyes and scans the army for some Banner. She sees it after a while, and her eyes narrow at the slight against her.
It seemed that the Targaryens were advancing on her city.
"Your Grace, have you seen the banners?" Ser Barristan asks as he spots them himself.
"I have, and I am not amused," Dany growls, he voice low and angry.
"Perhaps they are loyalists?" The old knight offers
"If they were loyalists, they would have come forth when we first set out to take Slaver's Bay."
"Oh, hey," Marian interrupts, "How are we on renaming the bay, anyway?"
"We're getting there," Missandei tells her, "It is simply taking a while to figure out the message we want to send with the new name."
"We are getting off topic," Dany notes, with a little ice in her voice. Marian and Missandei stop talking as Dany lays her hands on the parapet, "As far as I can tell, they are opportunists, trying to grab what they can now that the fighting is done."
"So we're not going to bother meeting them?" Marian asks
Dany looks at Marian like she's mad, "Of course we're going to meet them, we're just going to do so with care."
"Ah, fair enough," Marian nods
They watch the Targaryen army as it regains momentum, spreading itself out on the sand before Meereen. By the count of them, there were near enough ten thousand to make no difference when they finally stopped coming through the cavern that led to Meereen.
"Marian, do you have any way for me to enhance my voice?" Dany asks, not feeling like shouting down at the army and demanding answers.
"Yeah, sure," Marian steps up to Dany, waves a hand in front of her face, and then splays her fingers out towards the army, "Alright, you should be good."
Dany nods in thanks, then asks, "Identify yourselves, and name why you have come to the gates of Meereen."
The voice of the Empress reverberates through the city, the canyon, and the cavern beyond. It overpowered normal hearing and demanded explanation. Marian endures a slap in the back of the head courtesy of her wife for making Dany's voice too loud, but the effect it undeniable.
A pair of riders break from the Targaryen army and stop halfway between the city and their own forces. The larger of the pair call up, "I am Jon Connington! Come with Prince Aegon Targaryen to meet with the Empress Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. We bring with us ten thousand men, sworn to the Golden Company. They have given their vows to the prince, and would do so for the Empress as well!"
"Did anyone see this coming?" Marian asks, looking around at the shocked faces all around her. Then she sees Varys looking a little guilty, "Varys? What do you know?"
All eyes turn to the Spider, and the fat man sighs, "Years ago, when it seemed that the Targaryens were going to lose the war, I bought a silver haired child from a tanner for a bottle of Arbor Gold. I swapped the boy with the Prince not three nights before the sack of King's Landing. When all had settled, I shipped the real prince off to Illyrio Mopatis. After a few years he was handed off to Connington and I hadn't heard much since. To be honest, it had slipped my mind."
Dany glares at her spy master, who looks more disappointed with himself than anything else. Varys had been handling a lot of things over the years, most trying had been Petyr Baelish. As much as he liked to think he was still as attentive as he once was, the truth was that the Littlefinger had been a damn hard man to pin down, and even harder to find out the truth when dealing with. The pair of them dancing around each other had taken most of the Spider's attention for years, and things had slipped through the cracks. Things like Jon Connington and Aegon Targaryen.
"We'll deal with Varys's mistakes later," Tyrion tells Dany, "For now, we should meet with your nephew and his guardian."
It takes a few seconds for Dany to come to a decision, and then finally she tells the men below, "Very well, we shall speak in the center of the canyon, where you are now, in two hours."
"Thank you, your Grace," The young man beside Jon Connington calls up, and Dany blinks at how much he both does and does not sound like her long dead brother.