"So, that happened," Dany mutters, staring up at the canopy of her bed.
She shifts in her sheets so that she is more comfortable, thinking of everything that had happened the day before. The most notable thing, naturally, was the victory against the forces of the Free Cities. Drogon and viserion had made short work of the fleet, a good portion of it being burnt before they started smashing themselves apart in their haste to get to either the shore or out of the Maw.
While her Dragons were having fun with the fleet, her men were making merry work of the last Sons of the Harpy, not to mention whoever managed to get to shore from the invasion fleet. Daario, Barristan, and Grey Worm had all reported a complete victory over the enemy, which was nice, even if her men had also died.
Of her near twenty thousand men, four had perished. Four thousand men would not wake in the morning, merely sleep eternal. It was not a pleasant thought, knowing that she had sent those men to their deaths. She knew that it was for the sake of Meereen and the Dragon's Maw, but every life lost was a tragedy all on its own.
Four thousand men dead, and perhaps even more slaves that had been bought and chained like the unfortunate Trout, who had treated her like he would a Master.
Thinking of Trout also brought to mind the second fleet to come into the Maw, the Greyjoy siblings.
When Marian had told her that they were approaching the Maw, she had thought that the Dragons would deal with them. When that was not the case, more to do with the fact that they hadn't actually approached more than ten leagues from the fallen fleet of the Free Cities than that they were flying the flag of peace, She had sent for an envoy.
She'd received a brother and a sister in her Throne Room, Theon and Yara Greyjoy. She had not expected either, but especially not the first. Sansa had told of her experience in Winterfell with the Boltons several times, and she had told of the broken man who had been her brother's childhood friend and later betrayer.
She had made mention of this, and Theon had not defended himself, merely expressing his gratitude that Sansa was safe in her hands rather than with the man who had destroyed him. She had thought to ask about how he had escaped, but it dawned on her that she already knew the answer. When Stannis and his army had taken the ancestral home of the Stark family, he had found Theon left to the Bolton's hounds. Melisandre had saved him, for what purpose was unknown, but the King had chosen to let the broken man go. Dany had learnt all of this from various conversations with Sansa and Stannis, but had not put them together until now. Theon was not the interesting character presented to her, though; much more interesting was the sister. Yara, from the first words that they spoke to the last, did not hold her in deference as an Empress, but as an equal. She saw Daenerys Stormborn as a woman who took what she wanted, and respected her for it. It was nought to do with lands or titles, for as the Greyjoy saying went, she had paid the Iron Price for everything she possessed.
They had quickly come to an agreement. As they were not enemies and held no quarrel, it was an easy thing to manage. The Greyjoys wanted their home back from their uncle Euron, a man who sounded simply detestable, and Dany had no problem with this. They wanted to rule their own lands, again Dany had no problem with this; from everything that she had heard, the Iron Islands were desolate places good for fishing and mining, but not for much else.
It explained their enthusiasm for reaving, but that was something that she would not allow if she were to come into power in Westeros. She told Yara as much, and though the woman had not seemed pleased, she had understood. The Ironborn were like the Dothraki of the oceans, set in their ways of raiding and raping, but Dany would force a change on them for the betterment of her people.
Those who did the raiding and raping may not enjoy the change, but Dany always felt that a willing bed partner was always better than an unwilling one. She remembered her first marriage well in that regard.
Beside her, the sheets shift and the head of her companion peeks up from a pillow, "Did you say something?"
"Considering yesterday," Dany admits, closing her eyes as hands begin to roam.
"Mm, so do I, care for a repetition?"
Dany rolls her eyes and turns her head to catch her companion's lips, "I cannot believe I converted to the Andrastian side."
"The what?" Yara Greyjoy leans her head back.
"It is a term that Marian brought from her homeland," Dany explains, climbing on top of Yara as she had done to Doreah years ago, and the woman beneath her only hours ago, "She used it to explain her affinity for both men and women."
"Ha, seems fitting a storm god would let her passion be taken like the wind," Yara laughs as she bucks upwards.
Dany laughs, "And why she was so fond of Missandei."
"Aye, storms are calmest in the summer," Yara agrees.
No more words are exchanged, and the morning passes quickly as they entertain themselves. It is only as midday filters in through the windows that they decide that the time has come to climb from the bed.
It is in the middle of dressing that Daario enters the chamber. He stops at the doorway, looks between the two half naked women, and nods in appreciation at them both before he turns his attention fully to Dany, "your Grace, it is time to deal with the prisoners."
Dany turns her gaze to the window and nods, "Of course, tell Marian and Barristan that we shall be down in a few moments."
Daario bows his head and exits. After he is gone, Yara raises her eyebrow at the Empress, "He seemed cavalier towards seeing his Empress in the buff."
Dany shrugs, "He has seen me naked enough to have seen it all by now."
"What, everywhere?" Yara snorts, "Brave of ye."
"You seemed to like it."
"Aye, but I wasn't taking a prick!"
Dany laughs as she finishes tying her dress together, and then steps over to Yara to help her fasten her armor on, "I will tell you that I never intend to do it again."
"I'd have thought your Horselord would have been the one," Yara notes as they leave the chamber
"Drogo was many things, but he was not adventurous," Dany sighs, "I near had to force him to try anything new, once I became comfortable with him."
"I imagine it wasn't easy, being with him," Yara frowns, "My father tried to peddle me off to a favorite captain when I was a lass, I gelded the bastard and threatened to do the same to him. Never tried again."
"I was not so confident," Dany confesses, "It was only from Drogo that I gained my strength."
"Explains why you named the Black One after him," Yara notes
"I named all of them after the men who shaped me," Dany agrees, "Drogo, for what I mentioned, Viserys for teaching me that not even family is sacred, and Rhaegar for plunging the land into civil war and forcing me to live my life in exile."
"You're not to fond of your brothers, are you?" Yara snorts
"You are barely fond of yours, and he did not ruin your life," Dany points out
"Fair enough."
Their conversation drifted across several topics, slowly away from the failings of family and on towards the future. When they exited the Pyramid, climbed their horses, and started their trot towards Marian's prison camp, they were talking of the future, "What do you mean you don't intend to take Westeros? Why'd we make this deal if you're never crossing the Narrow Sea?"
"Stannis has proven himself a man worth at least a chance," Dany tells her, "So I will not rob him of it. And I will keep my word and help you reclaim your home. I have three Dragons and a Goddess on my side, and Marian can travel the length of the world with only a snap of her fingers."
Yara blinks, "The length of the world?"
"Yes, she's set permanent portals to Winterfell and Castle Black in Westeros, not to mention the portals to Astapor and Yunkai," Dany explains, then furrows her brow as she tries to remember if there are any that she had missed.
Yara, meanwhile, was wondering if it was too late to convert. As much as she loved the Drowned God, her deity couldn't act on the mortal realm outside of the oceans. And as far as she could tell, he did not favor her. So the thought running through her head as they approached the prison camp was somewhere along the lines of 'what have you done for me now?'
With this latest conversion to the religion that had sprouted up around Marian Hawke, the goddess in question was standing in front of nearly three thousand poor souls awaiting judgement. At the sound of approaching horses, she turns on her own saddle to see Dany and the self proclaimed Queen of the Iron Islands.
She wondered if there would be a wedding soon, because she could just feel the tension between those two rolling off of them. It was like watching Fenris and Anders again, only without the deep seeded hatred for what each other stood for. Instead, there was only the mutual respect and the willingness to travel along both sides of the road.
Marian smiles at them and waves, "Hey guys!"
Yara raises an eyebrow at the curiously familiar greeting, but nods respectfully.
Dany smiles, knowing that Yara had not gotten a good look at Marian the evening before, so had no clear indication as to who she was now addressing. She took a little petty pleasure in revealing it, "Yara Greyjoy, meet Marian Hawke."
"The Storm God?" Yara's head pops back in shock
"So people keep saying," Marian agrees, smiling self-deprecatingly, then she extends her hand.
Yara takes the hand, and has to contain herself as she gets a feel for the power contained within the creature before her. Looking the goddess over, it was clear that there was something supernatural about her, from the perfect pale skin, to the softly glowing blue eyes, to the traces of red lightning that occasionally crackled between the metal plates of her armor.
"So, tell me what you've found," Dany tells Marian, looking out over the prisoners.
"Well, what we've got her are two thousand, eight hundred, and fifty-six living prisoners. Fifteen of which are Red Priests or Priests of other denominations, two hundred and eighty-nine are Masters from the Free Cities, and the rest are slaves."
Dany nods, looks over the crowd, then orders, "Kill every Master, free every slave, and then bind the magics of the priests and send them home. They will tell of what happened her, and they will warn that when I come, if I find a single slave in the city I visit, I will kill every master."
"You got it," Marian nods, then turns to a Scalebound next to her horse that had been writing everything down, "you got that Trod?"
"I have it," He agrees, then stows the paper and pulls his spear from the ground, "I shall tell the commander of his orders."
"Great, I'll get to binding some magic, then we should be done for the day."
As Dany and Yara turn their horses to leave, they hear Marian ask, "So how's your husband?"
The sound of their chatter dies down, and as the pair of women reach the gates of the city the sounds of the dying masters hits them. Yara looks over to Dany and grunts, "Remind me to stay on your good side."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll manage," Dany tells her with a smirk that promises all the right things.