Rego glanced out the window again. There was no threats outside… none he could see, at least.
The Unsullied turned away from the study room's window to see the three monsters. Amelia was pacing back and forth, Elise was checking her bracelet and Colette was wringing her hands, but all were worried.
"How could this happen…?" Colette murmured. "Did we make a mistake?"
"No, that can't be!" Errol exclaimed. He hadn't come to the breakfast today, for reasons that Rego could easily guess, but he was present now. "I'm sure you'd never make any mistake, Lady Colette!"
"Thank you for your faith in us," Elise said with a false-seeming smile. "But we're not infallible. We… We can't afford to think of ourselves as infallible. We have to consider the possibility—"
"I don't think you made any mistake."
Rego was surprised at the words that slipped from his lips. His training should have prevented him from interrupting anyone superior to him. Yet he could not stop.
"My ladies, you… none of you worked alone. You worked with each other, checked each others' work. And you had our help as well!"
"That's right!" Quhuru, who was standing at Rego's side, added. "If any of your produce was poisonous, we would have died long ago, when we were testing it! This can only be sabotage!"
Though, Rego thought, there had never been any chance of us dying. Lady Wilmarina would have healed us if we'd been poisoned. But I'm hardly going to correct Quhuru here. I know that these ladies would never have made such a mistake.
Others in the room joined in reassuring the monsters. Eventually, they had calmed down to the point of no longer blaming themselves.
"Doesn't sound like my sisters' fault, sure," Amelia said. "But then, whose fault is it? Why would anyone want to poison the food we came up with?"
That was a very good question. The monsters hadn't even been in Meereen for a full month yet, but they were already beloved by the city's people. The most famous monarchs in history and the holiest of saints in legends could not match the monsters in reputation.
"The Sons of the Harpy come to mind," Alatto said. "They've shown they have no qualms against murder."
"But the Sons have not committed any known crimes for weeks," Quhuru said. "And would they do this? They serve the interests of the Great Masters, but our ladies have never caused offence to the Great Masters."
Rego shared a glance with his fellow Unsullied shared a glance. While none of the others in the room knew, they had another reason to believe the Sons of the Harpy weren't involved. Wilmarina had secretly told them that the Sons would not cause trouble again; the implications of that were obvious even to a simple soldier like Rego.
But who is the culprit, or culprits? Why would anyone poison food from Meereen's saviours? There's no rational reason for it…
Rational?
"What if this is being done by… fanatics, of the religious kind?" Rego suggested. "Like that priest on the Iron Fleet who tried to kill your mother."
The monsters all looked unnerved by the mention of this incident. Amelia was the first to recover, saying, "Maybe… What religion was that guy in, again?"
"He was a red priest, one of the faithful of R'hllor," Zerah said. He was an Unsullied of Lhazareen descent and also the oldest of the Unsullied assigned to guard the monsters. "Their god is one of fire… from what the Royal Sorceress said earlier, her inhuman nature and ice magic caused her to be mistaken for an enemy of the red god."
"I know there are some worshippers of R'hllor in Meereen," Merrabor said, cupping his chin in thought. "But they hadn't caused any trouble so far… and the red priests aren't the only ones who might have a grudge against monsters. There's the Ironborn too, and the Volantenes… they started out as enemies, and our Royal Sorceress helped defeat them. They might have decided to take revenge."
Fieron scratched his head. "Good point. And we can't completely rule out the possibility that the Sons of the Harpy are involved, either..."
The discussion continued for a few more minutes. Then Rego and several of the other Unsullied scattered to patrol the rest of the manse.
Just an hour ago, the manse had had a relaxed atmosphere. Now it was in a state of maximum security, with armed Unsullied patrolling the corridors and looking out from the windows. The front door—the only one capable of being opened—was to remain shut and locked until Wilmarina returned. Nobody was permitted to enter or leave otherwise.
And her return would not be for quite some time. Wilmarina had gone out earlier with the twin goals of healing those who'd been poisoned and investigating who was responsible. The first should not take more than a few hours, but the second could potentially take multiple days.
She has only responded twice, despite constant calls from her daughters. She must be both busy and have found no leads yet.
Rego continued his patrol of the manse. While others might have considered the duty tedious, it was a comfortable routine for him, thanks to his training. But as he walked around, he kept being reminded of the monsters' presence: passing by their bedrooms, the rooms that Elise and Colette did their research in, and the room Amelia did her beauty treatments in.
He thought back to his earliest days of serving the monsters. He'd expected to simply stand guard over them, being treated with no more regard than a piece of furniture. Yet from the very first day, they'd started talking to him. Even with the substantial differences in appearances and capabilities and upbringings, they'd only ever seen him as an equal.
Rego shook his head. He had to focus on his duties, he couldn't afford to get distracted.
I am Unsullied. I am good only for fighting. I should not… hope for anything more...
The Unsullied continued patrolling the manse. He checked in on the monsters at one point, learned that they had yet to hear anything new from their mother, then resumed his patrols.
At about the fourth hour after sunrise, he heard a loud knocking from the direction of the front door, accompanied by desperate calls for help.
Have our foes finally taken advantage of this situation!?
Rego hurried towards the front door. He arrived to find two other Unsullied—Zerah as well as Potho, a Dothraki—already gathered there, pointing their spears towards the door.
Without needing to exchange words, the two other Unsullied shifted to create space for Rego. The three of them kept their spears aimed at the door and listened intently.
"Please, we only want help!" "My daughter has fallen ill!" "My young brother, he's only six, and he… he can't stand up!"
The voices sounded sincerely desperate. And it was certainly possible for desperate people to come to this manse seeking aid.
Rego and the others did not open the door or respond to those on the other side. Their duty was to guard the young monsters. They would not be taking any chances.
But eventually, Rego heard a cry of "We have to help them!" from behind and from above.
Rego whirled around to see Elise and Amelia at the top of the stairs, and Colette behind them with her flower closed.
"We cannot let strangers in for any reason!" Rego shouted back. "Nor can you go outside for any reason! It isn't safe!"
"But we can't just leave them out there!" Amelia said.
"This is what your mother ordered!" Zerah said insistently.
The three monsters looked conflicted. If they'd been anyone else, they might have tried to give the Unsullied a new order. But they could not do that—they hadn't given any orders for as long as Rego had known them.
"…Then please move away from the door, at least!" Elise insisted. "We can cast magic on them through the door! That should be safe!"
Rego and his fellows looked at each other.
"You may do that," Rego said cautiously.
"But as soon as you're finished, you must go back inside again," Zerah said. "That is as far as we can compromise!"
Of the monsters, only Elise and Amelia came downstairs and approached the door. Rego hesitated slightly as they approached, but he stood aside in the end.
"Please don't approach any closer than you must," Rego advised.
"We'll be alright," Elise said. She faced the door cleared her throat. "Listen, we're now going to—"
There was a tremendous bang, one that caused the monsters to scream and the Unsullied to immediately pull them away from the front door. But the sound had not come from this door. It, Rego realised, had come from the opposite direction.
So they were just a diversion! The true attack is coming from the back door!
And now there was a loud banging coming from the front door. It seemed that the false supplicants here had given up on the act and were attempting to break the door down.
"We'll stay guard here!" Potho said. "Rego, escort them to safety!"
So while the other two Unsullied remained by the door, Rego hurried up the stairs with the two succubi. They joined Colette at the top and all four hurried back into the study.
"W-Why are people trying to hurt us!?" Colette asked.
"That's still uncertain," Rego replied. "Now, everyone should stay in here and lock the door. For good measure," he pointed at the multitude of chairs in the room, "stack chairs up against the door once we leave, so it's even more secure. And whatever you do, don't look out the windows!"
"How many enemies are there?" Quhuru asked, his voice tense.
"Three or four at the front, unknown number at the back," Rego answered.
"And there could be more attacking the sides… then we must reinforce the others!"
Rego, Quhuru and the other two Unsullied in the room held a quick discussion. Two of them would remain in the room as a last line of defence in case enemies breached the manse. The other two would go out to reduce the likelihood of a breach happening at all. The door to the room would be locked after the second pair left, and not unlocked until the danger was gone.
I wish we had more numbers. But the Royal Sorceress didn't want to deal with too many strangers… We must simply work with what we have.
"Rego and I are heading out now," Quhuru said. "Do not open the door until we returrrn!?"
Elise had suddenly thrown her arms around the two Unsullied. Her face was now pressed right up against their necks.
"L-L-Lady Elise!?" "Why—!?"
"Do you two have to go out?" Elise asked, her face stricken with fear. "What if… What if you just tell everyone to gather up here? They—whoever's out there—shouldn't be able to get past the defences, I'm sure they'll be stuck outside until Mother gets back…"
Rego wasn't able to think of a reply. While it wasn't actually the first time he'd been hugged by the succubus, he still couldn't think straight when experiencing this softness, this warmth…
"Okay, back up a bit, sis," Amelia said, pulling her twin sister away. "I think we should trust 'em to do their jobs."
"Th-Thank you, Lady Amelia," Rego said. "We won't disappoint you."
The two Unsullied left the room and picked up shields from a storage room—they hadn't been carrying shields until now because the weight was excessive for routine patrolling, but now the shields would prove useful. Then they began running towards the stairs. They still felt a sense of tension, but it was now mixed with something else.
"…That didn't mean anything," Rego said.
"Of course, it's not even the first time she's done that," Quhuru added. "We're not even the only ones she's… embraced…"
"Don't say it that way!"
The two Unsullied reached the ground floor. The front door was still holding with no signs of damage, and a table had been moved up against it for reinforcement. While from the direction of the back door, they could hear the sound of crackling flames.
Rego and Quhuru looked at each other. Right now, they were experiencing emotions atypical for Unsullied. But they couldn't let those emotions hinder them.
We now fight out of our own will, not for a master. We cannot, and will not, fail.
With spears and shields in hand, they reached the back door. This had boards nailed around the perimeter, a measure put in place when they'd first moved in here, and a cabinet had been moved up against it for additional reinforcement. There were four Unsullied already present at this door: Beroq of Ib, Fieron of Volantis, Merrabor of Naath and Jassen of Lhazar.
As Rego neared the back door, he could feel heat emanating from it.
"How did they start the fire?" Rego asked, as he and Quhuru took up positions.
"It began before any of us came, but it seems they scattered oil!" Beroq replied. As an Ibbenese, he was shorter than any of the other Unsullied, and also hairier and far stronger. "And it's no ordinary fire! It's burning against just the door, and nothing else, from what we can tell!"
Our foes can use magic? I suppose that is increasingly common in the present era…
But that is no reason for us to hesitate. We serve beings who use magic as readily as humans blink and breathe.
The group of Unsullied continued watching the door. Rego, and no doubt his comrades as well, also remained vigilant for any sounds of the manse being attacked elsewhere.
After eight or nine seconds, the crackling of flames subsided. Roughly three seconds after that, there was a loud bang on the door, soon followed by another.
Now attempting to batter down the door…
And they began a very short time after the fire stopped. They must have magic to withstand the lingering heat.
Or, they may be able to fight regardless of pain, similar to we Unsullied. But if that's the case, they would still be weakened by the burns they receive.
Rego calmly performed this analysis while continuing to keep his spear trained on the door. Other soldiers might have panicked in this situation, but he and his comrades did not so much as shiver. That was what it meant to be Unsullied.
The banging continued for perhaps thirty or forty seconds. Then the door suddenly gave off countless motes of blue light, accompanied by a sound like cracking glass.
A shrill sound pierced the air—the alarm spell which Wilmarina had set up to trigger if intruders entered. Of course, that was redundant now.
After a few more bangs, the boards around the door popped out of place. Then, after one last attack, the door's lock was shattered.
The door began to move inward, albeit slowly due to the cabinet behind the door.
Rego and his comrades exchanged glances. They could have tried pushing back to keep the door closed.
However, if our foes took this long to breach the door, they clearly do not have the strength of monsters. It would be better for us to end their threat by slaying them, rather than merely keeping them out for as long as our strength lasts.
As soon as there was a significant gap between the door and its frame, one of Rego's comrades thrust his spear through the gap. The spear was then withdrawn, blood now staining its tip.
But there was no cry of pain…
There was a loud roar of effort, then the door opened with such force that it sent the cabinet flying away, forcing Rego's group to dodge it.
Standing in the doorway was a man carrying a large warhammer. He was dressed in a simple brown tunic and trousers, though the muscles bulging beneath his clothing indicated a life of intense training.
The man charged forth, swinging his hammer furiously despite the blood gushing from his right arm. He was stopped by three spears impaling him: two in the stomach, one in the chest.
He fell to reveal nine men a short distance behind him in the back garden. One was holding up a staff tipped with a large red gemstone, one glowing as brightly as the sun. Furthermore, there was a burning puddle in front of him.
"Burn, slaves of demons!"
The fire leaped up from the puddle and shot forward, as if it were a living thing.
Rego and two other Unsullied jumped to the left, while the others jumped to the right. The fire spell shot between them and struck a wall within the manse.
In the past, Rego's next move would have been to emotionlessly kill his enemies. His current self felt an incandescent rage.
For damaging our mistresses' home… they shall pay for this!
Two of the Unsullied threw their spears. In response, two men standing on either side of the sorcerer moved in front of him and raised their own shields. The spears thudded into solid wood.
As the shields were now too heavy to continue using, their bearers dropped them. They, accompanied by six other men, charged forward while brandishing short swords.
Well-trained, Rego thought. In the corner of his eye, he glimpsed two of his comrades picking up new spears from a rack near the door. But there are none who can match our training!
The next few moments were a chaotic blur of movement, as combat generally was. The enemies continued trying to invade the manse, using their own comrades' bodies as shields. Rego let his training take over, methodically blocking his opponents' attacks with his shield, then countering with precise spear thrusts that struck vital organs and opened up arteries.
Rego and the other Unsullied were silent as they fought. Their opponents did not share this habit.
"For the Lord of Light!"
"Evil must be vanquished!"
Eventually, they slew all eight of the melee fighters, leaving only the firemage outside the manse. He cast another fire spell at them, and this time a couple of Unsullied failed to dodge it completely, suffering burns. The others closed in on the firemage.
Rego had been suppressing his rage until now, not wanting it to affect his fighting skills. But now he let it run free.
"We are slaves no longer!" Rego yelled as he stabbed the firemage in the belly.
Quhuru was similarly enraged. He stabbed the firemage in the groin and declared, "Our mistresses are better than any god of yours!"
The other Unsullied did the same. By the time they were done, the firemage's body was so mangled that his own family could not have recognised him.
Rego panted. Physical fatigue was something he was very familiar with, and in the distant past he'd even felt anger about the suffering he'd been put through. But it had been many years since he'd felt anger on behalf of another.
I wish they had not died so quickly… I wish we could exact vengeance on them for hours, days, as punishment for slandering our mistresses…
But our mistresses would not want that. Rego glanced at two of his comrades, Beroq and Fieron, who had burns on their upper bodies. And above all, they would want us to prioritise our own safety.
Rego only now realised that he had a wound as well: a small cut on his left arm, in a place where his armour was relatively thin. A wound of little import for typical men, and meaningless to Unsullied.
"We should go to the front," Quhuru reminded them all. "Those other enemies may still be there."
"We can't leave this door open, either," Merrabor said.
They quickly decided on their roles. Beroq and Fieron, the two who'd been burned, would stay to guard the back door, which they hastily propped up and kept in place by moving the cabinet against it again. The rest hurried around the side of the manse towards the front door.
During this, Rego noticed his body moving slightly slower than expected, and his vision being faintly blurry.
I should not be so tired from that quick battle… is it a lingering curse from that mage? We should consult the monsters once we go back inside…
When they reached the front door, they found no more enemies in sight. The footprints in the front yard indicated that they'd beaten a hasty retreat.
"Gone," Rego spat.
"I'm sure the Royal Sorceress can track them down," Quhuru said. "For daring to harm our mistresses, they should be… should be tied up amidst ant nests, left to be devoured slowly by a million tiny mouths."
"No, that is too good for them," Merrabor said. "They should have their every bone broken, then healed, and then they should have all their skin burned, then healed, followed by—"
Rego and his companions re-entered the manse via the front door, being allowed in by the Unsullied who'd been guarding this door. Then, while they continued discussing various harsh punishments, they headed towards the back of the manse to check on Beroq and Fieron.
Here, they found their two comrades lying on the floor.
"Beroq, Fieron!?" Quhuru exclaimed. "What is the matter!?"
"Were your burns severe!?" Jassen asked. He went to Beroq and lifted the Ibbenese into a sitting position. "You should… have… told… us..."
Then Jassen collapsed as well. Unlike Beroq but like Rego, Jassen had only minor wounds, not enough to explain this.
"I'll fetch help!" Rego said. "Just hold positions!"
Rego ran to the stairs and climbed up two at a time. His vision grew even blurrier and he needed to hold the handrail as he climbed.
Our foes used poisoned weapons! Rego realised. To ensure death from the slightest of wounds!
When Rego finally came face to face with the monsters, he had to lean against a wall to stay upright.
"Rego!?" Elise said, hurrying over to support the Unsullied under the arms. "What happened to you!?"
"We drove off the attackers, but some of us have been poisoned," Rego said. "Please… inform your mother."
Elise looked over towards her sisters with a horribly conflicted expression.
"We… We can," Amelia said, looking like a rabbit caught between a lion and a cliff. "But our Mom is… the guys who attacked her blew up the place! The building was packed, more than a hundred people got hurt… she still wanted to come here right away, but we… said she should help them instead…"
"I-I'm sure she must be almost done healing them!" Colette said. "We'll call her right now!"
Rego, for the first time in over a decade, was afraid to die. He wanted to continue seeing the wonders the monsters brought to Meereen. And he didn't want to be separated from… from someone he'd grown to care for.
"That's not necessary," Rego said firmly. "We Unsullied are resilient… we'll all survive until your mother is finished. You may hold off on calling her… I'm sure she'll return of her own volition, when she's done…"
"Are you sure of this?" Elise asked.
When he saw those beautiful azure eyes, full of concern for his wellbeing, from such close range, Rego's resolve nearly broke. Still, he forced himself to say yes.
"We can still try and help," Amelia said. "C'mon, let's go!"
They left the room and then flew towards the back door, Elise carrying Rego in her arms. Rego would have felt both embarrassment and happiness if the situation hadn't been so dire.
They landed to find five Unsullied in varying states of distress. Beroq, Fieron and Jassen were lying down and breathing irregularly, while even Quhuru and Merrabor were now forced to sit.
Elise set down Rego and ran to each of the Unsullied, shaking them and calling out their names.
"Calm down, sis!" Amelia said, grabbing her twin by the tail. "Panicking's not going to help 'em! Now, I'll see if I can heal them properly…"
Amelia knelt down beside Beroq and placed both hands on his chest. However, even she was trembling with nervousness. Rego had a bad premonition.
"Here goes…"
The succubus' hands glowed with white light. After a few seconds, Beroq coughed, and a few drops of red splashed over him and Amelia.
"Stop, you're hurting him!" Elise screamed. She pulled Amelia away.
"I-I'm sorry, I thought it'd work!" Amelia said.
Rego grasped both of the succubi's hands, ignoring propriety for the moment. "Both of you… calm down. And Lady Amelia, you've done nothing wrong."
"Nothing wrong!?"
"Yes. Without intense training such as ours, it's all too easy to make mistakes in an emergency."
Amelia bit her fingernails nervously. "But you six are still dying in front of us… dammit, I'm calling Mom after all!"
But when Amelia grasped her bracelet, Elise held up a hand. "Wait… I have another idea."
"What're you—"
Elise bent down and pressed her lips against Beroq's.
Rego couldn't help but let out a gasp. And he couldn't help but feel the painful bite of envy. Beroq might be one of his brothers in arms, but it was infuriating, maddening to see him in such intimate contact with… someone he'd grown to care for.
After a few seconds, Elise pulled away, her cheeks now flushed red. As for Beroq, he was now twisting and turning restlessly.
"A-Are you feeling any better?" Elise asked. She now sounded exhausted.
"If you gave him as much mana as I think you did, then he's definitely feeling better," Amelia said, raising an eyebrow. "Mom's not going to be happy about this… but she can't complain if it's saving lives."
"Wait… I don't quite... understand," Quhuru said from one corner, echoing Rego's thoughts.
"She's trying to heal him by turning him into an incubus," Amelia explained. "We never properly explained how that's done, come to think of it. Anyway, this is one of the ways…" she smiled half-heartedly, "not the usual way, though. The usual way is slower and, well, would be kinda difficult in this situation."
They continued watching Beroq for a few more moments, during which Elise nervously glanced at the other Unsullied. Eventually, the Ibbenese was able to sit up on his own.
"I… I just had the strangest dream…" Beroq groaned.
""It worked!""
Elise and Amelia both hugged Beroq at once, causing Rego to feel another pang of envy. Beroq started blabbering in confusion.
"We know it works now!" Elise said as she pulled away. "Alright, I'll convert the rest of you as well. And you don't have to worry about doing it too, Amelia, just donate your mana to me as I go."
"Y-You do not need to go so far," Rego said weakly. "We will surely survive until…"
"I'm not taking any chances," Elise insisted. "And I have no o-objections, to doing this."
The succubi went around turning the rest of the Unsullied as well, Amelia keeping one hand on Elise's back to transfer mana. Rego felt an acidic mix of envy and anticipation as he watched Elise kiss one man after another.
People from elsewhere in the mansion came to see what was happening. The humans were shocked even after Amelia explained everything to them. Colette was horrified at the wounds and the poisonings, but she didn't seem surprised by what Elise was doing to heal them, and she eventually helped supply Elise with mana.
Then it was Rego's turn. He was leaning against a wall as he watched Elise draw closer.
Beroq was right… this must be a dream…
Otherwise, there's no way a boy sold by his parents… forged into a weapon… could ever be blessed with…
When she made contact, Rego stopped being able to think.
Warmth. An infinitely comforting warmth, spreading from his lips to every part of his body. It seemed to lift him up gently, freeing him from the shackles of gravity.
Since being emancipated by Daenerys, Rego had picked up the hobby of sitting outside to watch the ever-changing sky. Since he'd started living in this manse, he'd also started to enjoy taking hot baths, a luxury he'd never had even before being sold into slavery.
If he summed up all the hours of pleasure experienced from those activities… it would not equal a single second of this kiss.
When she eventually pulled away, Rego still felt the warmth filling his body. If he were to die this very instant, he would die a contented man, able to greet the god of death without fear.
"That's all six of you," Elise said, softly and happily. Then she swayed on the spot, and would have collapsed if Amelia and Colette didn't catch her. "Now, you should all be safe."
"Not sure if you'll be safe from Mom, though," Amelia said, looking like she was both tired and amused. It was quite a contrast from her previous demeanour—but then, just a few minutes ago, she'd been surrounded by people dying of poison.
Rego unsteadily moved away from the wall to stand on his own two feet. The other once-poisoned Unsullied were already standing. They were clenching and unclenching their fists or doing similar things to test their conditions.
"I can sense mana from all of you now…" Colette said, her eyes wide. "It's my first time actually seeing incubi being made… How do you feel now?"
Jassen cleared his throat. "I was never a poet, but…" the Lhazareen man said. "I feel full of life—overflowing with life, as if the Great Shepherd himself blessed me…"
"I feel like I could fight for days without sleep, and slay a thousand foes…" Merrabor said. He looked at Elise and then blushed.
"You have saved us," Rego said. "How can we ever repay you?"
Elise's expression changed. Rego had seen a similar expression on the faces of masters, usually when they spotted a bed slave they considered attractive. He'd also seen it on the face of Mhysa when she'd looked at Daario, her former paramour.
Amelia now laughed in earnest. "Did you forget—hah—what we taught you before? If you meet a succubus—who's not a lesbian, just to be clear—and you're a guy without a wife, never say something like 'How can I repay you'? 'Cause most succubi… are going to take that as an invitation."
"Th-This doesn't matter right now," Elise said, slapping herself on the cheeks. "You brave men were defending us, healing you is the least we can do… For now… we should just wait for Mother to return!"
"U-Understood," Quhuru said, no longer able to look Elise in the eye. "And while we await her, let us clean up the mess…"
They split up. Rego and a few other Unsullied went outside again to gather up the dead bodies into a pile, to be disposed of later.
It was at this point that Rego could get a good look at the back door. It and the surrounding door frame were charred, but the wall around the door frame and the ground in front of the door were completely unscathed.
The firemage must have focused the heat of the flames on the door alone… even then, it took additional strikes with that hammer to bring the door down. Perhaps they thought the fire wasn't working and decided to switch tactics. Either way, it's proof the Royal Sorceress' defensive enchantments are mighty indeed.
Moving the bodies was much easier than expected. Unsullied had less strength than typical men, due to being castrated in their youth, yet Rego was now able to pick up a body using a single arm.
Only just transformed, and already so strong… is it because I've done strenuous training in the past, and that's now reflected here?
They also examined the bodies. It turned out that these men had painted their faces to conceal tattoos. Specifically, tattoos modelled after billowing flames.
"The Fiery Hand…" Fieron muttered. "In Volantis, where I was born, they are spoken of with fear and reverence. The Temple of the Lord of Light maintains one thousand slave soldiers, trained from childhood to be fearless warriors."
"Similar to we Unsullied…" Rego said. "But how did they get into Meereen? And with their weapons?"
"Did their mage help them get in?" Beroq speculated. To emphasise his point, he kicked the head of said mage.
"They might not have needed any magic," Fieron said. "Last month, that fleet from Volantis tried to invade. The dragons crushed them, and most surrendered…" He kicked the mage's head as well. "These ones must have simply feigned surrender."
"And they could have acquired weapons after slipping into the city," Quhuru added.
While the Unsullied piled up bodies in the back garden of the manse, they heard the sound of flapping wings. But it was not the sound produced by a succubus in flight, but by a dragon.
"You alright down here!?" Rhaegal said as she landed in the garden. "Mother sent me to help!"
Rego looked at the dragon and immediately noticed something different about her. It was almost as if she was shrouded in green flames, burning brightly. Yet when he blinked, he could no longer see that fiery shroud.
Have I become sensitive to magical energies now…? I could not see anything like this around the monsters inside… is it because I am more used to their presence? Or are dragons unique in some way?
Rhaegal gazed intently at Rego's group. "Wait, what happened to you? You're… different now, from all the other Unsullied I've seen…"
Knowing that the incubus transformation would be a complex topic, Rego decided to give a very brief explanation. "We were given some sort of magic to help in our fight, even we are not sure of the details. Also, to answer your first question, Lady Rhaegal, enemies tried to break into this manse, but we slew them all."
"Already!? Dammit!" Rhaegal whipped her tail, cutting a deep gouge in the ground. "Sorry for being late!"
"Please do not blame yourself, it happened too quickly for help to arrive," Merrabor said.
"If you still wish to help, then tell Her Grace that it was the Fiery Hand who attacked here," Fieron said. "Tell her that we killed ten of them, including one mage who could control fire… oh, and tell her that there was a second group who tried to break through the front door, and ran like cowards when the first group failed."
"'It was the Fiery Hand who attacked here'," Rhaegal recited. "'The Unsullied killed ten of them, including one mage who could control fire. There was a second group who tried to break through the front door, and ran like cowards when the first group failed.'"
Rego blinked in surprise. As far as he could tell, Rhaegal hadn't gotten a single detail incorrect. Many humans wouldn't be able to do the same after hearing something only once.
Just as we Unsullied are learning to be people, it is clear that the dragons, too, are learning...
"If there's anything else I can do—oh, I know." Rhaegal bent down, transformed one wing into an arm and tore off a piece of fabric from one of the Fiery Hand corpses. She held this piece under her nose. "Got their scent now. If any of that first group have the same scent, I'll find them!"
"That is a clever idea, Lady Rhaegal," Rego said.
Rhaegal jumped on the spot. She hid her face behind a wing. However, Rego had caught a brief glimpse of her reddened cheeks.
"I-I-It was just a simple idea!" Rhaegal said. She dropped the piece of fabric and reverted her arm to a wing. "A-Anyway, time for hunting!"
The green-scaled dragon took flight, soon disappearing from view.
"...Just now, was she…?" Rego said.
"Was she acting like Elise and Colette often act, you mean?" Fieron said. "Well, she is a monster too. It's not really a concern for us, but I wonder about the Unsullied stationed in the Great Pyramid…"
Unsurprisingly, that reminded Rego of his current situation. He thought back what he'd been told about incubi.
Human in external appearance, yet in all other aspects, we are now effectively monsters… Or rather, we have been altered to be… ideal… m-mates to monsters...
To try to distract themselves, the Unsullied resumed the work of cleaning up the bodies of the Fiery Hand. They moved the remaining bodies to the pile, then placed a sheet over them so that their mistresses wouldn't have to see this grisly sight.
Next, they dealt with the curious crowd that had gathered in front of the manse. There were over forty of them already, all jostling to see what had happened.
"Was there fighting earlier!?" "Who would do such a thing!?" "Are the holy monsters safe!?"
"The monsters are perfectly safe!" Rego said. "We will never let any harm come to them!"
Quhuru slammed the butt of his spear on the ground. "So kindly depart! Our mistresses would like peace and quiet!"
The crowd eventually and reluctantly dispersed. The Unsullied returned to the manse.
I never expected to give a speech, even one as brief as that, Rego thought. I suppose that our education has borne fruit.
Once inside again, the atmosphere became awkward since they no longer had work to distract them.
"We are incubi now…" Rego said. "What does this mean for us?"
"Erm… it means we no longer have limits on our strength," said Beroq, who could be literal-minded at times. "If we train hard enough, we could eventually match the Royal Sorceress or the dragons. Eventually. And we can now learn to use magic."
"Not what he meant, Beroq!" Quhuru said. "While that is important… What does this mean for our personal situations!?"
The six Unsullied looked at each other uncertainly. While their mistresses had been talking about such an outcome, it wasn't meant to happen so soon.
"I… my mother, when I still had one, taught me that if a girl's willing to kiss," Fieron said, "I ought to marry her. I was still young back then, so thinking about it now, she might've actually meant more than kissing…"
Rego blushed. He was far from alone in doing that.
"We've all heard about how monster culture is… different from any of our human cultures," Merrabor said. "But they… traditionally… have one man with one monster, or one man with many monsters."
"Because they have to," Beroq said. "Because they can't birth boys, so they have more monsters than men."
"Only…" Jassen swallowed. "That's not true here, the second part at least."
The six Unsullied were silent for a while after that. This silence was broken only when they began to feel hungry, so they moved to the kitchen to have snacks. Not an unusual occurrence for people who'd expended energy in life-and-death combat. It was even more justified in their case since, as Rego now noticed, their wounds were half-healed. They'd gained improved regeneration thanks to becoming incubi, so their bodies demanded nourishment to fuel this.
While in the kitchen, Rego started feeling an odd sensation in a certain part of his body. It was mild at first, growing more intense with time. And it spiked whenever he walked around.
Rego tried not to give into the urge to inspect that part visually. This was eventually rendered meaningless when Fieron said out loud, "Is… anyone else starting to feel… itchy down below?"
The atmosphere grew more awkward still. None of the Unsullied could meet each other's eyes.
"Now that you mention it… perhaps?" Jassen said, looking like he wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.
"Some weeks ago… didn't the Royal Sorceress talk about this?" Rego said. "About how our… particular injury… could be healed by certain means?"
"By being kissed!?" Beroq exclaimed.
More accurately, by being transformed into an incubus. Rego now understood why the monsters considered the state of Unsullied to be irrelevant.
I… I can hardly remember possessing this organ… It won't have fully regrown yet… but when it does… will it properly… function?
The Unsullied's ruminations were interrupted by a loud sound several rooms away: the sound of the manse's front door being opened with a slam.
"GIRLS, ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"
AN: I name a huge amount of Unsullied in this and the previous chapter. To help readers keep track:
Rego – originally Pentoshi – introduced back in Chapter 6
Quhuru – Summer Islander – Chapter 6
Merrabor – Naathi – Chapter 23
Fieron – Volantene – Chapter 23
Beroq – Ibbenese – Chapter 24
Jassen – Lhazareen – Chapter 24
Zerah – Lhazareen (not a coincidence, Lhazareen are often targeted to be slaves) – Chapter 24
Potho – Dothraki – Chapter 24
Not all of them will play prominent roles in the story, but I needed to name them regardless. In chapters featuring Unsullied and characters familiar with them, it would look strange for only some to be named.