Chapter Thirty Five: Something Eldritch This Way Comes
Twelfth Day of the Eleventh Month, 114 AC.
You never really know what you have until some prick kills you.
...that did not sound right but the sentiment was there.
I never thought that I would miss tropical vacations that much, but as I felt the water rush over my toes, the smell and sound of sea waves and wind passing through me.
I realized how much I had longed for it.
I took in a breath and let another one out before opening my eyes onto the faint blue of the crystal-clear beach.
I could die right now… is what I would say if the world did not seem inclined to take me up on it, I chuckled before sucking in a breath as I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
I grit my teeth and kept my hands out.
That's happening a lot more lately, the pains had started coming and going a few days past but I had gotten used to ignoring it quickly.
I figured that it was just internalizing the trauma of feeling the same thing every single night for so long.
"A-are you feeling well, my prince?" I heard Laena ask behind me.
Don't turn around, "I am well."
There was a moment of silence before she worked up the nerve to speak again.
"You have been-you have been staring at ocean for some time," She tried again. "If there is something displeasing."
It was a devil's bargain. If I did not turn around, there was a chance that Laena would take it the wrong way. Her taking it the wrong way might lead to her recalling she could feed me to Vhagar.
But on the other hand…
I sighed, a bit of awkwardness was no real excuse.
If forced myself to turn from the sea.
The beach was not entirely empty.
It was a small cove which had like as not been the haunt of smugglers for some time, that would explain the absence of people at least.
It was almost too idyllic, dotted with lush greenery and stony outcroppings.
Vhagar's forty-ton bulk even added to the scene as she curled against the tree line, stretching herself out in what I suspected was an attempt to take as much shade as she could.
Four of my Not-White Jaws along with a dozen of my pendants were in the midst of unloading her heavy harness and setting up a cooking pit and setting up a campsite. Ebermen and Nessa were busy overlooking the work with interest, although the former-nanny seemed annoyed to have been dragged from her work for a day.
But they were not the problem.
Laena was gorgeous enough in a dress, more so in leathers.
But at that moment, I could all but feel my face melting from the sight.
I was fond of reading stories in my first life. Stories of people being placed in situations not unlike my own. Great heroes who came upon backward worlds and through great cunning and genius, changed the world.
It was admirable to bring the knowledge of my own world to the nightmare that was Westeros.
My own efforts?
Daily baths had become more common, especially among the high nobility.
A book on good exercise and maternal practices.
And a half-baked printing press which was still being argued by both the Citadel and the Most Devout.
But all of those paled in relative insignificance compared to my latest addition.
I have introduced swimwear to Westeros, I noted sardonically. Truly, I am the Ozymandias of my world.
Laena wore the most barebones swimsuit that one could imagine.
A simple two piece bikini with a bit of a humble cut. The only ornamentations were the padding born from Milton chasing his poor partner around my rooms with a dress and a ball and the silver-thread seahorses and waves which danced along the silken seagreen.
It was conservative and almost boring by the standards of the world that I had left behind.
But her sharp features, flawless skin, supple muscle and even the slight gifts of childbirth.
They created an image that ground the mind to a halt.
"Flurgle?" I tried to speak.
"My Prince?" One of her arms was nervously massaging her other wrist.
I coughed loudly, "It is nothing, my lady."
"Truly?" She asked hesitantly. "You flinched."
I keep forgetting that you are observant.
"Ah!" I nodded. "No need to fear, it was merely a-erm-an-"
"Gaemon!" Arral cheered as he walked over.
Now really do not look.
I did not know what I expected from Arral but his reassurances at possessing his swimwear had somehow turned out even more nightmarish than expected.
I have unleashed the thong upon this poor unsuspecting hellhole, I reflected as the Archmaester ran towards us with a rock in hand.
In the clear light of day Arral's form was even more disturbing. His wiry form was muscle, ink and waxed, smooth skin in equal measure, combined into the most perplexing form I had ever seen.
Tattoos covered his body, from the seven on his belly to the kraken on his chest. The Doom-Drum's name was inscribed onto one shoulder while a dragon spread its wings from either side of the black fabric, Syrax and the Storm-of-Shape ran down the insides of his hips. A butterfly sprouted on his left elbow. Frogs, teeth, the remainder of the Fourteen, the axe, an eight-breasted woman, all had places on the madman's body.
He came to halt before us and laughed, "Behold!" He laughed as he handed me a smooth rock before launching back in the direction he came while shouting."I shall see if I can find more!"
As he vanishing into the treeline again, Laena looked to me and asked, "I-is there a meaning to that rock, My Prince?"
I looked at the smooth, oily black rock, "By Sun Dragon, I hope not."
The stone felt oddly warm in my hand, almost comforting.
So I did the logical thing, and tossed it into the water.
I am not stabbing myself!
…
"I admit," I chuckled as we swam in the warm waters. "I am surprised that you swim so well."
The Lady nodded awkwardly in the water.
"Father- Lord Corlys, he thought that- he wished that his children would have the skill."
"Ah," well there goes the trust-building lessons I had planned.
It made a whole lot of sense that Corlys 'I have lost more people to drowning than battle' Velaryon would be keen on Laena and Laenor not sinking like rocks but it was an inconvenience.
The point of the trip was twofold, noether had to do with my own enjoyment if I was honest.
The first was to let Laena relax and unwind since she seemed to operate under the impression that the moment she displeased me, I would make her life hell.
As to the second, I risked a glance at the girl's stomach and hips as she floated upwards.
Even with the inevitable changes of pregnancy, Laena was a lithe figure.
Which was a problem.
Pregnancies inevitably left stretch marks and unlike a larger or more shapely woman, Laena could hardly use rapid weight shifts or hereditary factors to justify them even if Westerosi were reasonable people.
That would become a serious problem.
Or so I had thought.
Yet as my eyes scanned her, the young woman's skin was almost unmarked.
A mere month and they had almost completely vanished.
If Arral knew the first thing about business, I reflected. He would be one of the wealthiest men on the continent.
I had asked the Archmaester on a whim if anything could be done about Laena's marks. Some sort of waterproof-makeup or alchemical mix to keep the marks from drawing attention in case we were spied on.
The Ironman had called it a ridiculous notion straight-out of the minds of some particularly dimwitted mule.
Then he offered to just make more of the skin-repairing poultice that he used.
Waterproof makeup is absurd but fast, skin-repair and anti-aging cream isn't, apparently.
I could hardly ask Laena to strip for me, largely due to the fear that she actually would.
But now I could not only see how quickly the repairs were underway but so could any spy.
Between that and his apparent possession of sunblock, I was genuinely frightened to ask what else the madman casually used without mention to anyone else.
"I-I am surprised that you know how to swim, M-my Prince," She said while drawing me out of my not-entirely appropriate ogling.
"It is a valuable skill," I smiled while hoping that she would not question it too much. I was deliberately sticking to relatively shallow water since I did not want to have to stress-test 'because Valyria'.
Then an idea struck me.
"I do confess that I am not entirely that strong a swimmer," I smiled. "Might you be willing to teach me."
That had been a been a lie. I had been an extremely strong swimmer in my past life, certainly strong enough to get out of it if she tried to drown me…
I held back a grimace.
She smiled at that, a small and hesitant thing, "I am a ve-very good swimmer, My Prince. If yo-you will forgive the boast."
It was an awkward lesson.
For several reasons, not the least of which was that it is actually rather hard to imitate not knowing how to do something in an obvious way.
If Laena noticed my horrible attempts at looking like a novice, she was kind enough to feign ignorance and offered encouragement to correct my 'mistakes'.
We were paddling around for quite a bit of the day while my pendants seemed content to keep their distance from the deep water. A few of the braver ones were splashing up to their ankles but they largely contented themselves to sit on the beach and enjoy the sun and relatively light workload.
The exceptions being my guards and Nessa. The former roamed around the shore with their weapons as if expecting a horde of mermen to erupt forth and try to kidnap me, although they had also stripped down to swimming trunks I had commissioned and were running in circuits. The former was scribbling away at her ledger using the bulk of Clearsky for shade while said murder-cat tried to use Vhagar's bulk for shade.
There was a strange mood of relaxed lethargy in our party overall.
As the hours passed, even Laena started to ease up a little. Her body grew less tense and her face began to brighten up a little as she chatted in the shallows.
"It is nice here," She said, the lack of hesitation in her speech made me somewhat hopeful. "The water is clearer than in the Blackwater. Sorry-I know that is obvious."
If she would only stop apologizing for a moment, I might even have said that she was actually at ease.
"They do call it the Golden Isle," I shrugged. "I suppose there is something to the name."
The Arbor was actually a fairly massive holding, more akin to Sicily in scale than anything else even before one accounted for the dozen lesser islands and islets that surrounded it.
More than large enough for there to be quite a few unremarked beaches and coves.
I had made certain of that, Westerosi norms and all did not overly incline me to using a well-known location.
It was bad enough that I would have to travel to the main port of the Arbor that night.
"Thank you," Laena commented. "I am pleased to have had the chance to see it."
That seemed as good an opportunity as any, "We have dragons, Laena," I pointed out. "I might still be young and bound to my host," hence why it had taken a month to plan the trip. "But once I am of age, we may go as far as you please. East to Asshai, beyond the jungles of Sothoryos, Tall Trees Town, Ibb, anywhere we wish."
I did not add that if the Dance broke out, it might not be by choice.
She seemed to take my words in stride even if her smile saddened a little.
"That was all I wished to hear for a long time," She shook her head. "If you wish it, I will go."
"It would make things easier if you just told me what you wanted," I half-joked.
The look she gave me was searching, as if looking for a trap.
I held her stare however and let the question hang.
We lapsed into silence while I held her deep violet eyes with my own.
Melodrama has its place, I thought dryly. But this is not a game, I need a straight-answer.
She worked her lips while, seeming to be trying to work up the nerve to answer.
"When I asked for your help," she said tentatively. "You-you said that my d-…"
Seeing her struggle with the word, I sighed. "Would be given a place in my house. That I would see to them as well as I can and secure them favorable matches. I believe that I am already doing that, am I not?"
I left out the bit about giving them dragon eggs once I had some to give.
"Of course," Laena said quickly before collecting herself. "I am not sure what answer I have to give, My Prince."
She looked down as she pulled herself up to sit in the shore.
"I want to be a good wife," She sighed.
I was sad at the answer, it was the one which I could singularly not trust.
"Well," I sighed and flicked one of the steadily growing pile of black stones Arral kept bringing back into the water. "That's something at least."
We lapsed into awkward silence again while I reflected that anything I had known about dating was more or less inapplicable in my circumstances even if I could shake off eight years of rust.
Laena would likely never love me but it would be enough for her to tolerate me without existential dread.
I let out a heavy sigh and Laena snickered. A high sound that caught me so off guard that I almost got whiplash from how quickly my neck turned.
She blushed but I took the opportunity to crack a wide smile.
"Care to share?" I offered. "I promise that I will not bite."
After a moment, she offered me a gentle upturn of the lips, "I have never heard of Asshai being used in such a promise."
My smile froze for long enough for her to become worried before my shoulders started shaking and I broke out into a laugh.
"Oh by the Seven," I said between breaths.
I used discount-Mordor as part of what equated to a pickup line.
"I should have thrown in Yeen and Daes Dothrak!" I kept chuckling. "Maybe even the Twins!"
The last one got Laena laughing too, "The Twins? Why the twins?"
"Because Freys," I responded between breaths which got even more hilarious when she got so caught up laughing at the nonsensical statement by accidentally snorting.
It was hardly a shining moment of victory but it was a start to share a good laugh.
"Shall we also visit the Doom?" She suggested, fear momentarily forgotten in mirth.
"Of course!" I waved. "Should we also go to the Nightfort?!"
"Only if we go to the Lands of Always Winter!"
"The Thousand Isles!"
"Toad Isle!"
"The Red Wastes!"
"The Isle of Butterflies!"
"Gorgossos!"
"Mentarys!"
"The Bloodless Cities!"
"Mossovy!"
"The Pyramid of Ghis!"
"I had thought that one destroyed?!" Laena laughed.
"To the stretch of dirt where it used to be!" I amended.
We were at it for a while as the sun went down, caught up in planning the most horrible travel plan anyone could conceive of.
It was probably strange to see from the outside, I was not completely sure why we were laughing in truth.
But it felt oddly good.
The sort of laughter that came being exhausted and frustrated for years on end.
There was something about hearing that same laughter from someone else.
We passed into another, more comfortable silence after we ran out of fatal locations to visit.
"Is it strange to say that I would not mind seeing those places?" Laena asked.
"No stranger than agreeing," I replied. If nothing else, whatever was in those places would blame me for thinking they wanted to kill me.
I scratched my chest as the pain flared a little.
"I always wanted to travel," Laena commented. "E-even if, even i-if, there are other things. I used to read all about boats, looking for one big enough to ferry Vhagar. I was two and ten when I started thinking of it, but mother had already told me that flying the entire way anywhere could dangerous."
I chuckled at that, "Find the dragon carriers?"
"Dragon carriers?" She chuckled. "No, I like to think I came close a few times. Father bought me any book he could find on boats but he could never find a drawing of a Valyrian ship."
"Really," I supposed it was time to fabricate another book. "I do think that I have seen one."
"I would dearly love to see that," Laena smiled good-naturedly. "I could never quite work out the sails and displacement."
"When we return, I will see if I can find it," I offered.
She nodded.
It was almost a friendly atmosphere as we returned to our makeshift camp.
The staff were already hauling our baggage back onto Vhagar with little in the way of fear or hesitation as the giant watched them with vague interest.
Clearsky for her part, was eagerly shuffling around and expressing her impatience with taking flight towards her dinner.
A fun fact, dragons seemed to actually eat less as they grew larger. Where Clearsky needed a cow twice a day, the dragon ten times her weight was content with one every morning.
"She is an eager one," Laena chuckled as Clearsky prodded at my side for me to mount.
"Please do not encourage her," I rolled my eyes as Clearsky stretched her wings out to preen.