The Dragon and the Hawke 40
There was a tense silence between the two parties under the tent. It had, as Dany demanded, been set up where Jon Connington and Aegon Targaryen had stopped their horses near on two hours now. The newcomers had been the ones to erect the tent as Dany made her way down to the city gates, which was why she had needed the two hour time frame.
She had slung herself onto a prepared horse alongside most of her advisors, with the exceptions of Missandei and Grey Worm. They had ridden to the newly constructed tent, set themselves in offered chairs, then silence had fallen as wine was poured into goblets sitting on a table between the parties and Dany stared at Aegon. She was looking the man, a year or so older than her, trying to find some familiar visual cues to back up Varys's story.
So far, she had found Viserys's jaw, her hairline, and both of their eyes. On the other hand, here in Essos, that could mean just as little as nothing. The blood of old Valyria still ran hot through some veins, and some families tried to keep it pure in hopes that some form of magic would surface.
She stares at the would-be prince with quiet intensity for five minutes before he breaks, and then she knows that he is related to her. He slams his hand into the armrest of his own chair and demands, "Well!? We're here to speak!"
"Yes, and you have yet to do so," Dany points out. He reminded her so much of her fallen brother in that moment; an impatient child wreathed in the form of a man.
Aegon narrows his eyes, his fist clenches against his armrest, and then releases as he takes a breath, "You are correct. I am sorry. I have been told that I act like my grand… well, your father, I guess… and that doing so is not in my best interests."
"And who informed you of this?" Dany asks, curious, "Marian knows that Viserys could have used a man willing to do so for him."
"I do?" Marian asks, sharing a look with the confused Jon Connington. The man who had gone by Old Griff for half his life shrugs, he hadn't had many dealings with Marian worshipers, and so the nuances of exclamation were lost to him.
"I never learnt her name," Aegon shakes his head, "She wore robes like a red priestess, but was kinder than any holy woman I'd ever met. This was years ago, when I was near sixteen, mind you."
Doing a margin of mental math, that put the unknown woman telling the Targaryen prince to shove a sock in it about a year before Marian had wandered into Qarth, and about when she was being sold to Drogo.
"Did you take this woman's advice?" Dany asks
"I have been trying," Aegon nods, "She wasn't long for the world, sad to say, but a good woman nonetheless. To good women."
He reaches forward to take his wine, raises it, and then takes a sip before leaning back. He blinks slowly, then looks up at Dany, who had taken a sip of her own wine as she toasted with him, "I think I need to apologize again, actually."
Dany only raises an eyebrow as she sets the wine on the table.
"I come to your gates, ask to meet, and all the while I speak of another woman," Aegon snarks depreciative, "That was not my intention. My intention was to bring my army to you, and offer it."
"You wish to offer me the swords of the Golden Company?" Dany asks in surprise. Jon had said as much when they had ridden in front of the gates, but she had honestly thought he was just saying that so they could meet in person.
"I do," Aegon nods, "The Company first learnt of your conquest of Astapor from Illryio Mopatis, who we had been hired by. His intention was to purchase us enough ships to sail to you, but… I will be kind and call them internal conflicts… led to his premature expiration."
"You killed him?" Marian asks
"We did," Aegon looks fairly repentant about that
"And you didn't get the ships?"
"We did not."
"Did you at least loot his place to the bedrock?"
"I'm… sorry?"
"Dany told me the guy was loaded."
"He was."
"Did you loot after you killed him?"
Aegon looks to Dany in disbelief, "I would have thought the fact I killed a man who had given you shelter for years would cause… some kind of reaction?"
"This is a reaction," Marian tells him before Dany can respond, "It just isn't the one you expected."
"Illyrio Mopatis was kind to my brother," Dany tells Aegon after silencing Marian with a glare, "To me, he was merely tolerant. I did not like the man, as he put it into Viserys's head to marry me to Drogo."
"I had heard you were content as Khaleesi?" Aegon asks, shocked
Dany raises an eyebrow, wondering how he came by his information for a moment, and then the answer drifts into her brain; Jorah was still Varys, and probably Illyrio's spy for some time before he had stopped. Her condition while married to Drogo would have been in his letters. She did not like the harsh reminder that one of her favored advisors was not as honest as she had always believed.
As a result, he withering glare directed at nothing landed on Aegon, who thought it was at his insinuation that she had enjoyed her first marriage, "Moving on… Yes, my Company looted his palace to the… bedrock, as you call it."
Marian nods in approval, "Good job! Never leave a slaver unlooted."
Aegon nods slowly, taking care to note that he would have to make sure the Company members had all freed their slaves before they entered the city… if they were allowed. Deciding to move on, he continues his tale, "After Master Mopatis's death, we were unwelcome in Pentos. They asked us to leave."
"Violently," Jon adds, his mouth twisting
"Yes, they attempted to destroy the Company," Aegon nods, then shrugs, "it seems they had forgotten that most of the masters of the city had hired Company men as guards."
"Ooh, did you loot all of Pentos?" Marian rubs her hands together in excitement
"We did not," Aegon shakes his head
Marian's hands droop, "Then what the hell did you do?"
"We conquered the city," Aegon tells her, "And looting a city you own seems to be in bad taste."
"True," Marian nods, "That was one of the problems with Astapor, I had to give back most of my loot in order to get them solvent, and then some of the stuff I'd stolen from Qarth to help them actually pay for stuff they needed."
"I do not think we need another speech about loot economics, Marian," Tyrion notes from beside Dany. After a quick look to the Empress's distant expression, he adds, "Let's let the prince finish his tale."
Aegon nods in thanks to the Dwarf, he may not know the man, but he apparently had Daenrys's ear, so he should be taken seriously, "After the conquest of Pentos, I decided that we would make for Slaver's Bay and join you here."
Dany, having finally dispelled the macabre feelings running through her head, asks, "And you treked to Meereen on foot?"
Aegon nods, then tilts it, "Well, first we made for Astapor, but we learnt from traders that you had already taken Meereen, so we made our way here."
"And you arrived today."
"Yes," Aegon nods
"And you wish to join my Empire?" Dany raises an eyebrow
The prince swallows, straightens, and nods, "Yes."
Dany leans back in her chair, and her eyes stay on Aegon. Once more she assesses him, looking him up and down. She can see her own confidence in his stance, her brother's nose on his face, his curves around the figure, and several other, smaller details that told her that he was family.
And just as before, when the five minute marker passed, he demanded an answer, "Well!?"
She smiles, knowing exactly what she is going to tell him