They managed to extend the matter by two days, always something. However, Masters did not want to meet Visenya in Meereen, they suggested a place outside the city. During this time, she managed to send a messenger with a letter telling her army to keep quick pace, with a bit of luck they will be just at the time she needs them.

On the same evening that she finally managed to bathe, she went down to the catacombs, all alone. She wanted to see Rhaegal and Viserion, even if Tyrion had already freed them. But after opening the entrance, it turned out that there had been long since they destroyed the outer wall and escaped - something Tyrion didn't bother to tell her, or perhaps he was afraid to do so.
She deserved it, but she hoped they hadn't run away for good and, like Drogon and Maelia, would eventually return.

In the meantime, she had to go to a meeting with the Masters and hope that everything would go her way after all.

"I offered you peace a long time ago." Razdal, whom she once had the pleasure of talking to before she took Yunkai, was the first to speak. "If you weren't so arrogant, you'd be in your homeland right now, rich, with your entire fleet of ships. Instead, you will leave Slaver's Bay on foot, with only what you have on yourself, like the beggar queen you are."

She didn't even hide her annoyance, just rolled her eyes, openly showing what she thought about what he said. Is she arrogant? She would say she's naive rather than arrogant.
And she definitely won't leave this place on foot, they can forget about it. When she does, she will leave the bay on a ship, leading her army to Westeros, most likely to Dragonstone, because they probably won't find a better place for their base.

"We're here to discuss the terms of surrender, not to exchange insults." Tyrion remarked, standing to her right.

They can insult her all they want, she doesn't take any of their insults personally.

"Conditions are simple." began the man standing to Razdal's right. She didn't know him, but apparently he was some Yezzan zo Qaggaz. There was another one, to Razdal's left, she was told that man was Belicho Paenymion. Well, nowadays it doesn't matter what they are called. "You and your friends from across the sea will move out of the Great Pyramid and leave Meereen and all of Slaver's Bay. The Unsullied you stole from Kraznys mo Nakloz will remain, and they will be sold to the highest bidder. The same goes for the translator you also stole from Kraznys. And the dragons you have will be slaughtered." she raised an eyebrow. How are they going to kill the dragons that are capable of devouring them whole?

"Something else?" she asked.

"We show you mercy. If you ever set foot in Slaver's Bay again, you will be crucified."

"Something else?" this time there was impatience in her voice. She didn't look defeated or worried about her life. In the Masters' eyes she must have been crazy, after all, they dictated the conditions, the city was at their mercy.

Or at least that's what they thought.

"No."

"Great." she cleared her throat, looking at all three of them who came to meet her. "I reject your conditions, and here are mine: You can choose the type of death." after these words there was silence. Now they thought she was completely mad and didn't take her words seriously, even though they instilled a bit of fear in them... "I gave you a chance, the opportunity to mend your ways, but you rejected it. This is the last act of mercy I can give you, and only because you brought ships here with you. I really need them. If the crew surrenders, they will be allowed to go."

The men looked at each other. Any sign of fear quickly disappeared and was replaced by amusement.

"I understand, it must be hard for you." said Razdal. "Getting used to a new reality is never easy. So I'll tell you straight... Your reign is over."

There was silence again for a moment before she answered. She looked somewhere behind them, at the view of the sea. She saw something there that she had been waiting for.

"Your reign is over." she emphasized the first word strongly. "My has just began."

She saw that he wanted to deny it, but he fell silent when he heard an inhuman screech in the distance.
Yezzan turned first, followed by the other two men, and finally the soldiers. Several merciless moments of silence passed before they realized what was coming after them - or rather flying at them.

Drogon emerged from behind the rock, and his roar quickly spread through the air. At that moment, none of the Masters were convinced of their dominance over her, and when Drogon - who landed on the top of the rocky structure - was joined by Maelia, landing right next to Vis, fear completely took over their hearts.

They expected a weak city led by a woman with an army too weak to stop them, no ships, and dragons she couldn't control. They were confident of their quick victory and restoring Meereen to its 'former glory', but they had just come face to face with two beasts.

Not for long, though, because as soon as Visenya got on the white dragon's back, both creatures rose back into the air, heading towards the attacking ships, but that didn't make Masters' situation any better.

Vis knew that the situation was already taken care of with them, she gave appropriate orders to Tyrion and Grey Worm, they know what to do. Now it's her turn. From above she could see the entire city and fleet that was attacking it. She also saw two more dragons flying from the left side, from outside the city. Her heart immediately felt warm at the thought that Viserion and Rhaegal had not abandoned her. They were noticeably smaller than Maelia and Drogon, probably because she had left them locked up for so long. But that's nothing, now they are free, they have a whole life to live up to their siblings.

She couldn't burn all the ships if she wanted to take over the fleet. She just had to show who had the real power and she was sure that the ordinary soldiers would surrender, they had homes to which they certainly wanted to return.

The dragons stopped above one of the ships, which was clearly visible to the other attackers. They waited for her signal, not daring to attack without permission. Before she did anything, she held onto the spikes on Maelia's back tightly and looked out towards the city gates, where the Dothraki were approaching.

So we managed to do it...

She smiled to herself and looked back at the ship below them. The cruelty necessary to make the rest surrender.

"Dracarys." she said it in her Valyrian accent, in which the 'r' is pronounced so pleasantly to the ear. Seconds later, she saw how much strength she actually had.

Four dragons breathing fire simultaneously into one ship, sank- No... They completely destroyed it within seconds.
It was a force that everyone had to reckon with, even herself. People will be more afraid of them than of her - unless they consider how she might use them.

Previously, she had not realized how much destruction dragons could cause. Therefore, it was hard for her to imagine how terrible the war between Rhaenyra and Aegon had been, how terrifying was the battle in which Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters used all three dragons, how quickly Aegon and Visenya had been able to burn Dorne after Rhaenys' death...

On the one hand, the flames gave her a kind of strength, self-confidence and a sense of control over everyone, but on the other they terrified her.
It terrified her that she could conquer the Seven Kingdoms as quickly as burn them.

Fire and blood.

A few days have passed since peace finally returned to the city. Tyrion was right, the citizens loved her, even though she was gone for a long time and couldn't defend them. Now everything was back to normal, especially since there was no external threat anymore.

She captured one hundred and ninety-six ships from the fleet that attacked Meereen and an additional one hundred and thirty that were docked in the ports of Yunkai and Astapor. She ordered more ships to be built, but she had no illusions that it would take long to build all the rest she needed. Very long.
But maybe she won't have to build so many of them at all.

"Your Grace." at the sound of ser Arthur's voice, she immediately turned away from the map spread on the table. "Theon and Yara Greyjoy await an audience."

Once again in the pyramid, she abandoned her Dothraki clothes and her body was once again covered with delicate silk, but not in white, but in black and red, Targaryen colours, and besides, somewhere in her new outfit there was always that famous clasp that belonged to a beautiful, blue-eyed boy...

After this change of colors in her style of dressing, she also noticed that the citizens were trying to follow her also in matters of fashion, because they were more and more willing to wear 'her' colors, and only a few people wore white - the Queen despised it, so it was no longer fashionable.

She had observed the same thing once in King's Landing. Women tried to do their hair and dress like Cersei, and when the Tyrells came to the city after the defeat of Stannis at the Blackwater, it was Margaery who began to set the trend.
She never had a chance to talk to her, she guesses they didn't want her to have any contact with the Tyrells as she was Tywin's bargaining chip.

"Greyjoy?" she frowned, remembering what she knew about this family. Rapists, thieves, kidnappers... A bad opinion, but since they traveled all this way to meet her, it's worth listening to them.

"They have ships with them." he shrugged, but it was clear from his smile that he said it just to tease her a little.

"Don't tease me anymore about the ships." she rolled her eyes and left the table, still holding the goblet of wine in her hand. "It'll do you good." she pressed the goblet into his hand even though he had already told her many times that he does not drink.

But can you refuse the Queen?
Just like you couldn't refuse a prince...

"Any word from Varys?" she asked, walking past him and towards the door. He followed her as soon as he drank what was left in the cup.

"Nothing. But I sincerely doubt he would betray you."

"I was told he sailed to Westeros to look for allies for me, but so far there is no them or him. Nor any letter, nothing." she sighed quietly.

She didn't want to believe that he had already betrayed her, it would be stupid. He wouldn't risk his life coming here with Tyrion only to leave and never come back, it wasn't like him. Although she would prefer to hear from him to know what is going on within her own ranks.

"But I think the same way you do." she added quickly. "Has he always been like this? Officially, he serves next and next rulers, but in reality he does whatever he likes. We both want to help people. I won't be able to change their lives if he doesn't trust me and stop doing things behind my back."

"You don't trust him either." he noticed.

"I trust you, Grey Worm, Missandei, Daario... That's enough for me." she smiled. She never thought she would have so many friends in her life. Lo and behold, the card has turned. "I have to think about Tyrion. And Varys still has a long way to go to earn it."

"Funny, I have a feeling you two think the same way about this."

She rolled her eyes. She didn't answer and they walked down the stairs in silence, heading towards the audience hall. Recent events flashed through her thoughts and she began to think about herself: if she had done something differently, would she have avoided certain unpleasantness...?

"Am I naive?" she asked unexpectedly. "Be honest."

"You are young-"

"So yes." she interrupted him. She didn't want to hear the evasive answer she expected. Even though Arthur had something else in mind.

"That's not the point." he started. "You are an idealist, you want to change the world, it's very noble of you and I think you will succeed. But... You tend to see the world as better than it is."

And I'm afraid that in the end it will hurt you so much that you won't be able to recover - he didn't tell her, but thought that.

In his eyes - despite a few deviations - she was too good for this world. He still remembered how she held a man who had lost a child and cried at her feet, and that memory would remain with him for the rest of his life. What ruler would treat his random subject this way?

It was impossible not to respond to her smile, especially since her eyes were smiling too. Eyes that he knew so well, and yet there was something new in them that her father didn't have.

No matter what it was, her whole person made him want to protect her at all costs. He would love to spare her all the sorrows in this world, so that she would remain that joyful, good gi-Woman. Unfortunately, this is not possible, but he will do his best to help her stay on the path she has chosen.

"I am a realist." she disagreed with him.

"You wanted honesty."

"And I appreciate it."

She smiled gently, they were just entering the audience hall. Tyrion and two people whose faces she didn't recognize yet were already there, they were probably Yara and Theon Greyjoy, mentioned by ser Arthur.
She walked up the stairs and sat down in her seat, instinctively keeping her back straight. As you can see, the whole hours of practice paid off, she didn't even have to think about straightening herself and holding her head higher.

"The last time we saw each other was at Winterfell, wasn't it?" she looked out of the corner of her eye at Tyrion, who asked this question while looking at the boy. So they already know each other... "You were joking about my height. At least that's how I remember it." there was irony in this sentence, he remembered perfectly what it was like then. "Anyone who makes a joke about dwarfs thinks he's the only one who did it. 'High Lord', 'Peasant Like an Oak', 'Man of Great House'. You do the same five or six jokes."

"It was a long time ago." Theon replied briefly, but he didn't look as confident as his sister. More like someone... Broken.

She was going to interrupt them, tell them that she didn't come here to listen to them recall their old disputes, but she thought that she might learn something interesting from this exchange.

"Yes. And how has life been for you since then? Not very well, I assume, otherwise you wouldn't have murdered the Stark boys." hearing this accusation, she quickly moved her gaze to Theon.

"I did not do that. But I've done things that are just as bad or worse."

"And he paid for them." his sister finally said.

"Is that so? He's still alive." Tyrion replied to her before turning his gaze back to Theon. "It must have been hard for you, growing up in Winterfell, never really knowing who you are."

Involuntarily she thought about herself. She didn't know this boy, she didn't know what he had done and what he had experienced, whether she should punish him or whether fate had already done that. But she knew something else: on some level, she understood him. Growing up and not knowing who you are, feeling like you don't belong anywhere.
Now she knew how much she was worth and who she was, butback then it wasn't so easy.

"But who among us has an easy life?" Tyrion continued.

"This is not the time or place for such conversations." Visenya finally spoke up. "You came to Meereen and asked to meet me, so I guess you have something to offer?" she asked, even though she had long ago guessed that these were ships, and she certainly wouldn't despise them.

"One hundred ships of the Iron Fleet, with their crews." Yara said.

"What do you want in return?"

"For you to support my claim to the Salt Throne of the Iron Islands."

"Your?" She raised an eyebrow. "Not his?" She nodded at Theon. "No offense, just... I know people tend to think that men have more rights to the throne than women."

"I am not fit to rule." replied the boy. She used to think the same about herself and was about to say it, but again, she noticed what condition he was in.

"At least we agree on that." Tyrion interjected, and she gave him a look that told him to be a little nicer, to put their feud aside until later, because she didn't want to listen to this.

"So the Iron Islands will have a Queen. Has this happened before?"

"And did whole Westeros ever had a Queen?" Vis smiled at this answer.

This point could be argued, as Rhaenyra was called the half-year queen, although in historical books she was called a princess. So she decided to ignore the issue and move on with the conversation.

"Why did you decide to come to me with this?"

"Our uncle, Euron, has returned home after many years of absence. He murdered our father and took the throne from Yara. He would have killed us if we hadn't escaped." Theon explained.

"I'm sorry." she said, referring to the fact that they lost their father. "But I've heard a lot about how your father was a terrible ruler."

"He was." Yara agreed. "Just like the Mad King, like Robert, like Joffrey, and like Tommen. It seems you and I are trying to break this tragic streak."

A smile appeared on her lips again for a moment. Yara was right, in recent history it was difficult to find a ruler who deserved respect and admiration. Change is coming, very quickly.

"Four hundred and twenty-six ships are still not enough to transport my entire army."

"If our friend's expedition is successful, you will be able to transport everyone across the Narrow Sea in two trips." Tyrion replied, making her wince a little when she heard him call Varys 'their friend'. But the truth was that it was better to have a hundred ships than not. "I believe there were more than a hundred ships in the Iron Fleet."

"There is, and Euron is building even more of them. He's going to offer them to you." Theon responded to Tyrion's 'allegation'.

After what she had learned about Euron, she had never thought for a moment that she could wait for his offer, even if it was more advantageous for her.

"What will he want in return?"

"He wants..." the boy started, but didn't finish. He looked down and obviously didn't know how to express what he wanted to say.

"I think he said he wanted to give you his big cock." Yara expressed it directly. So she already knows that this Euron doesn't take her seriously, well, better for her. It's always easier to defeat someone who doesn't see you as a threat. "You see, Euron's offer is also an offer of marriage."

"You don't demand any marriage to strengthen our possible alliance?"

"I never make demands, but I'm open to everything." Visenya had never been attracted to women, but she couldn't help but smile at this answer. She felt that she would get along with Yara without any major problems and was already more willing to agree to this alliance.

"He murdered our father and he would have murdered us too. He would kill you too as soon as he got what he wants: Seven Kingdoms."

She nodded at Theon's additional words. But something didn't quite feel right for her yet. They asked her to support Yara's claim to the throne of the Iron Islands. So this means they don't want all of Westeros?

"You don't want the Seven Kingdoms?" she asked with a note of suspicion in her voice. It's rare to find people who don't want as much power as they can get.

"Your ancestors defeated ours and took the Iron Islands. We are asking you to return them." Theon asked her. He didn't demand, he asked. Usually, only common people asked her for things, and those of higher birth demanded that she give them something, as if it was their right that no one could question.

And he asked her. Humbly, without pride.
She wished she could be guided by her heart, but she had to give way to reason.

"I don't have them yet, I can't give you something I don't have." she explained evasively.

"But you will, even if you look not at the army, but at the dragons, it's obvious." Yara noted, apparently not buying her short answer, which said nothing about whether she would be willing to give up these lands.

"If everyone starts demanding independence, eventually you won't have any land left to rule, Your Grace." Tyrion spoke up again, drawing attention to an important matter.

If she allows one Kingdom to be independent, the others will also make such demands and she will not be able to refuse them, after all, are the Iron Islands better than - let's say - the North, if only they deserved independence?
Visenya would be willing to give these islands to Yara completely, but this was politically impossible.

"They are not demanding, they are asking." she sighed as she said this. She raised her hand to play with the clasp that held the two pieces of fabric together between her breasts. She was looking for a solution that would keep them with her, but at the same time would not force her to give up those lands. "I cannot fulfill your request. At least not now." she got up from her seat and slowly started walking towards Yara. "You will support my claim to the Iron Throne and accept the integrity of the Seven Kingdoms. No more looting, assaulting, robbing and raping."

"It's our way of life."

"Not anymore, if you want to gain independence within two or three years." she stopped in front of her. "We won't build a better world out of bad habits, and that's my goal: Leave world a better place than I found it. If you show that you also strive to change the world for the better, I will allow you to secede from the Crown." when she finished speaking, she held her hand out, waiting to see if Yara would accept her offer.

There was silence for a moment. She was sure that her offer would be rejected and they would go back to square one, but then she felt a grip on her hand.

"Not anymore."

And so she gained another hundred ships for her fleet and the first family to support her claim to the throne.

"Wisely, you gave them something without giving anything."

In the evening she sat with Tyrion, drinking wine in her chamber. Everything had already been repaired and there was no trace of the bullet that fell through the balcony.
From this height, she had a clear view of the harbor where all her ships were docked. She was happy every time she stood on the balcony and looked at the whole city, which finally had no problems. After so many hardships, Meereen was recovering, as were Yunkai and Astapor, from what she heard.

She'll have to think about renaming the bay, after all, it can't be called Slaver's Bay anymore.

"What choice did they really have? I would let them go, but what would they do? Fight against me?" she accepted the goblet from him, but didn't drink anything yet. "If they don't try anything, after some time I will give them the freedom they desire."

"'After some time' is a very general term." he noticed, drinking half of his wine at once, but she didn't say anything about that. Instead, she decided to change the subject, because she felt that if she were completely honest with him, they would quickly start arguing, and she didn't want to ruin her evening.

"Years ago, would you think..." she began, finally dipping her mouth into the alcohol. "Would you think that one day we will land in such a place? With such an attitude towards each other?"

"I expected to end up in some strange place, but you... No. How did you escape? I didn't have a chance to ask."

She didn't like going back to it, but she didn't want to dismiss the question. The biggest problem for her was that she knew what kind of relationship the Lannister brothers had, and she perfidiously took advantage of Jaime. She didn't regret it and would do it again if she had that choice again. She did it for herself and her future, and she won't apologize for something she thinks is - in some way - right.

She wondered how to say it while omitting the uncomfortable part, but then salvation came to her. Missandei entered the chamber and handed her a rolled piece of paper, saying that an anonymous letter had come to her.

She had a feeling she knew who it was from.

She immediately unfolded the small letter and began to read, after a while biting her lower lip slightly, and then even smiling a bit to herself.

"So? What's that?" she could have expected curiosity from Tyrion, after all, he always liked to know what was going on.

"Tell ser Arthur and Grey Worm, that we are starting preparations to sail to Westeros." she said to Missandei before revealing anything. "It seems your friend is finally starting to do something I can like him for."

The letter contained information from Varys, mainly that Dorne and the Tyrells would side with her and were sending ships to Essos. And it's enough that she will be able to transport most of the army in one trip, and the second one will only consist of about three hundred ships.

In addition, she learned the most important news from the country: There are riots in the capital due to the blowing up of the Sept of Baelor - and thus an attack on the faith of the majority of Westeros - and that the Starks have retaken Winterfell and declared the independence of the North.