A/N: Here we go, back on track. Looking forward to your feedback~! Every bit helps!
Update schedule might be a little scuffed for a bit; as stated in an earlier post, there will be no updates for the 4th and 5th of November -that is to say Monday and Tuesday- as I'll be taking some planed personal time off those days to recover, detox from a wild work schedule, and decide what I want from writing going forward.But after that, by all means, let me know if you want another early update!
Many thanks once again to newboy (a reviewer) for offering up a font of idea to use in the reviews. They all sound wonderful, and I'll be sure to use them! You rock!
I really, truly, want each chapter of this story to feel like an actual House of the Dragon episode on all fronts. Hopefully I succeeded.
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time. Time and feedback determine the update speed of this story, Simple as that. In other words...its up to YOU, the reader.
A few lines from the Vengeance saga as well, that album is living rent free in my head atm.
I had the privilege of listening to "The Long Farewell" by Ramin Djawadi for this chapter, it really set the scene.
Here we go~!
"Look what you turned me into. Look what I've become. All of the pain I've been through...
"Fool! You cannot hope to stand against the whole of Westeros, let alone the world!"
...yeah, about that. I have a dragon now. Your argument is invalid."
"Even so! You wouldn't dare kill me. You need me alive!
...when did I say that?"
"Wait...WAIT!"
~?
How Does it Feel
Someone was coming.
Mellos heard their footsteps long before he saw them; not that that he could see much of anything in this cell of his.
The Black Cells were truly wretched things, those thrown into them found themselves summarily deprived of everything; no visitors, no food, no light, left to rot until such a time as their trial began.
For a learned man such as himself, there could be no greater torture than such sensory deprivation. He no longer knew how much time had passed since his imprisonment down here in the dark. How many days? One? Three? Five? Nine? It felt like longer. He was forced to lick moisture off the damp cell walls just to survive. Guards checked on him in erratic intervals -likely to make sure he didn't take his own life-and any attempts to barter for his freedom only resulted in a beating.
Now the-former!-grand maester bridled as his cell door swung open with an ominous creak.
The fire of a torch filled the air; after so many days in the dark, it was blinding. Mellos curled into a corner and raised an arm to shield his sunken eyes against it; the moment he did, someone chuckled. It was a cold and mirthless sound, made all the worse by the echoing walls .
"Painful, isn't it?" a familiar voice intoned. "It must be a nightmare down here, spending your days in the dark. And to think you once had the same fate planned for me...
His blood ran cold. How did he know that?! No, wait, that voice...! This wasn't a guard at all. It was...
"Open your eyes, Grand Maester."
Against his better judgement, he did.
Naruto Uzumaki stared back at him, blue eyes blazing, smile sharp.
Something deep inside Grand Maester whimpered.
"Guards!" he cried! "GUARDS! Help me!"
But no one came; none answered.
Silence reigned supreme.
"They aren't coming." Rhaenyra's consort briefly turned away from him, planted a torch into a nearby sconce to hold it. "I've given them the night off. You, on the other hand...
He was going to die here, wasn't he?
'Focus. Calm yourself. Just think, Mellos! He won't kill you here, you know too much! Use that!'
Drawing himself upright, he put on what he hoped was a brave facade. "You've gone too far this time! When the King hears of what you've done-
"The king?" Naruto voice cut into his tirade, smooth as a butterknife. "Who do you think sanctioned all this, hmm?"
"Nonsense!" he sputtered back! "Otto Hightower would never allow a loyal servant of the Citadel to-
"Otto Hightower is dead."
The words hit the Maester's confidence as a warhammer might a window and broke it apart, shattering any hope he might've had alongside it.
No.
No, no.
No, no, no...
"Or he will be, soon," the Lord of the Steptstones amended with a shrug as he reeled from the news. "I think Alicent fed him to Silverwing's hatchlings before our wedding. She won't talk about it, and I don't blame her. Its a terrible thing for a child to watch their parent die, let alone kill them. But you never had children, so I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that now, would you?" almost absentmindedly, he walked his way back to the torch and swept his left hand over it, flicking his fingers across the flame. "You were never a parent, never a father, never a real man, because after all, areal man would never try to kill a mother and her unborn child."
The queen. He was talking about the queen.
Mellos bit his dry lips. Deny! Deflect! "I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean, my lord-
Pain cracked across his face, caught him in the jaw, and bodily hurled him across the room. He felt stone crack against his back as he struck a wall; something popped in his right shoulder and he cried out, only for a hand to clamp down around his mouth, wrench him down to the floor, and hold him there.
Two finger pushed against his left eye with intent. "Lie to me again, and I'll take this. Are we clear?"
He grunted. "Transparently."
"Good man."
Naruto let him up, but made no effort to set his dislocated shoulder; it took him more time than he would've liked to force himself upright with his good arm. Even then he didn't dare take an eye off him for fear of what he might do next.
"This time," he said suddenly," you won't be around to interfere with Aemma's next birth."
Mellos grimaced. "Then she is...?"
"Pregnant?" Naruto tore the torch free from the sconce, sending sinister shadows skittering about the room. "Yes, she is. I looked her over just last night. We think it might be a boy, this time...
And then, with a slow smile, he leaned in and twisted the proverbial knife.
...and Rhaenyra's already carrying a baby in her belly. Betcha didn't know that either, diddya, old man? Alicent insists she is, too...
Mellos spat at him. "Fiend...!"
"Maybe," Naruto shrugged, "But at least I'm a happy one."
The fact that he was telling him this at all didn't bode well for him.
Gods be good. He wasn't going to leave this room alive, was he?
"Now, then. You're going to tell me everything you know about this conspiracy of yours."
Mellos dreaded to think what might happen if he didnt.
As though sensing that though, Naruto snapped his fingers.
On cue door opened behind him, hinges creaking.
"...!"
A man clad in pale, eerie armor shuffled inside, face hidden by an odd cowl that did precious little to hide his fervently bright eyes and bearded visage. He pushed a strange cart before him, a loud noisy thing that rattled and clamored most oddly. Dazed as he was, it took Mellos a moment to realize just what lay atop said cart; to see the telltale gleam of metal, the tools of a craft most familiar.
Torture instruments.
"This is the herectic, then?" his voice was soft, barely a whisper of a rasp.
"Not the word I'd use, but sure, why not?" Naruto nodded. "He's all yours, Inquisitor. Make him sing."
Mellos shrank back as the silent fellow began selecting his tools. "What in the name of the Seven is an Inquisitor?"
A blond brow rose. "You don't know? No, but how could you? Rhaenyra and I were busy in the Stepstones, ya know? Me, especially. I accidentally found religion. Literally." he slapped a palm to his whiskered face to heave a long-suffering sigh, mildly exasperated by the very concept Mellos didn't understand. "As in I founded the damn thing. Apparently when you destroy an island, folks bow down, whether you like it or not."
Mellos spluttered indignantly. "Those are baseless rumors propagated by the Triarchy...!"
Naruto removed his hand to smile his way. "Are they? I'd take you there, but that would be a waste of time. Point is, these guys," he gestured over his shoulder, "Won't stop following me around. Rhae and I had a good long talk about it, and we decided that, like Lorgar, we may as well put them to use...
A rustle of cloth arose behind him, punctuated by the hooded man's voice. "I am ready, my Emperor."
The Lord of the Stepstones rolled his eyes. "I keep tellin' you I aint' an Emperor...
The "Inquisitor" bowed his head. "Not yet, my Emperor."
...tch." Naruto clicked his tongue and looked back toward the cart. "Fine, fine, just get on with it and make him talk. This one's practically soiling his drawers already; we won't even need Corvus at this rate."
Mellos saw his chance and took it to barge past them, lunging for the door!
A hand caught him by his robe and bodily hauled him backward.
"Hold him down."
Strong palms wrestled him to the ground.
"On second thought...
Fire flashed before his face as Naruto took up the torch and pressed it to his right cheek, digging the fire into his face. Mellos shrieked as the impromptu brand scalded his visage. His captors didn't stop there. They rolled him over and the torn came in again, burning his other cheek, followed by his forehead, taking great care to burn, but not set him alight.
"How does it feel to be helpless?" His captor hissed down at him as he screamed. "How does it feel to know pain? How many people did you and Otto dispose of just like this all for going against the grain?"
Mellos gasped as they released him. "Monster...!"
"I am."
The causal admittance shocked him. "What?"
"I'm sorry, did you think I would feel guilty about this?" the blond berserker leaned back, blinking slowly. "The old me might have, but, he's dead. Westeros killed him. You and Otto killed him, with all your shadows and your schemes and your stupidity. You're stuck with the monster now. I don't know you. I don't particuarly care about you. You're...I cant even call you an ant, because that would mean acknowledging your meager existence when I squashed you."
"Madman!"
"Maybe. Look what you turned me into. Look what I've become. All of this is your fault."
Mellos squirmed furiously, to no avail. "Fool! You cannot hope to stand against the whole of Westeros, let alone the world!"
...yeah, about that. I have a dragon now. Your argument is invalid."
"Even so! You wouldn't dare kill me. You need me alive!"
Naruto blinked, just once. "...when did I say that?"
Then the Inquisitor brought out the shackles.
"Wait...WAIT!"
They did not, in short order the once proud grand maester found himself dragged to a wall and chained there. His robes were ripped away, his whimpers ignored as the Inquisitor fetched a hammer and a pair of pliers.
Mellos was most familiar with the procedure; they would be taking his fingernails, next. Breaking his joints would come afterward, and then...!
He cracked.
"W-Wait!" he blubbered out. "Please! There's no need for this!"
"Yes, there is." there it was again, that eerie, inhuman calm. "You see, I'm not emotional about the dragons. You were doing what you thought was right to save the realm. I can't fault you for that one, no matter how much I might want to...
Hope rose in him.
...but I am emotional about what you planned to do to my wives.
Oh, no. He knew.
"MY WIVES!" here at last Naruto raised his voice and it made the whole of the Black Cells tremble, if only for a moment. Just as quick his wrath vanished, reverting to frigid, frozen calm once more. "No amount of money or favors or apologies can make that right, grand maester. No, for that, i'll have your life. After all, you had so many ideas...and you even wrote some of them down."
He unfurled a sheaf of parchment from his sleeve and began to read. Mellos felt his heart sink.
And so he read:
"Alicent would be "sullied" by a certain knight so as to make her unmarriageable, or barring that, sold to a brothel across the Narrow Sea, where she'd never be found again." A soft snarl pervaded his words for a moment before he recovered. "Rhaenyra would be married to Gwayne Hightower, then disposed off once she has a son. Poison is preferable. If amenable to such, she should be "attacked" by intruders, with the incident made to look like an accident."
Blazing blue eyes met his over the parchment.
"Did you think I wouldn't find out?"
Mellos quailed. "My lord, please, mercy-
"Would you have shown them mercy?"
They already knew the answer.
...you may begin."
A nod on Naruto's sent the Inquisitor to work; he began by taking hold of Mellos' right thumb, drew the hammer back and...!
"It matters not to me whether you die in silence or die screaming," Naruto spoke over the subsequent wail of agony. "Cole might be sent to the Wall, if only to spite him, because he so desperately wants to die. But you? You're never leaving this cell. There will be no trial. No execution. You'll spend the rest of your days here, until you vanish, and all the Red Keep will wonder why...because another evil man will be gone."
Mellos tried to snarl, only to shriek as another fingernail was bloodily ripped from his hand. "As though the Targaryens are any better!"
"I will make them better."
Did he truly think he could?
Mellos laughed brokenly. "You poor fool. You cannot change human nature any more than you can make the sun rise in the west and set in the east!"
"Says you. I'm the master of Whispers now. I have friends to protect, loved ones I can't neglect, so I'm not taking chances here. You're done for. And anyone, EVERYONE who comes for them will be as well. If that means dying my hands red? Then so be it."
"Monster! Madman!" Mellos howled at him, doing his best not to scream and failing horribly. "After everything you've done, how will you sleep at night?!
The Master of Whispers leaned in to regard him intently, blue eyes peering back at him through the gloom. Four words were his reward.
"Next to my wives."
A/N: Wedding night coming soon~! Looking forward to your feedback!
Would you like a timeskip? Or would you prefer we remain in the somewhat present moment a little longer?
For that matter, Do you wish for weekly updates to remain? Or would you prefer bi-weekly? I'll leave that to you, the readers. Do let me know! This story hinges on your feedback! Every bit really helps lift my spirits and inspire me in these crazy times. I appreciate you all! More feedback means faster updates! It's especially important, in these, trying times, with the main site notifications down. Every word counts and i appreciate you all! All these reviews really keep me inspired! Looking forward to hearing from you~! I should be able to update Sunday or EARLIER, time and health permitting.
Weeeell? What did you think? Would you like weekly updates? Yay or nay? Really need to hear from you, here. Feedback makes the world go round!
As stated, this has a high chance of being upgraded to M later down the line, but I need to know if folks want to see that.
By all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me.
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas…
...Review...Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the Previews!
As ever:
SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!
PLOT DETAILS AHOY!
YE BE WARNED!
Read at your own risk!
(Previews!)
His throat went dry at the sight before him.
"Come to bed, husband."
"Won't you join us?"
Dang...
Viserys frowned. LThe Long Night? You are certain?"
he spoke of a terrible cold and the darkness to come thereafter.
Aliandra sat beside him. "Might we converse?"
His guard went right up. "That's not a good idea...can't we do this later?
She shook her head, setting her long dark hair swaying. "My father and I will be leaving King's Landing soon, so no, it cannot.
EDIT: Hope you enjoyed! Have a great day!
Warm regards,
~Nz.
~Nz.