CHAPTER 3

When the ship had arrived, fourteen days later, she went to an inn in King's Landing and got a room. Ivy settled into an inn. Ivy began inquiring subtly about Petyr Baelish. She found out that he owned a brothel in the city and was the new Master Of Coin. She figured he hadn't got big enough to own them all yet.

Ivy had dressed as a squire with a young man's face on to gain entry into the Red Keep. The Faceless Men used faces, shadow magic and glamor magic to change and look so realistic. She had followed Petyr Baelish around, found him to be a very daring manipulative scheming liar and he had a red aura around him. She thought that was strange. She carried out the execution he so justly deserves.

Ivy went back to her room at the inn and changed disguises to a very pretty red haired girl in a simple dress. She followed him around stealthy. He was out on the docks looking out to sea thinking.

She sat down on the dock and said in the character of a naive girl, "Are you wondering where they are going too?"

He turned and looked at the girl, noticing how pretty she was and young. He said smirking, "I was thinking that very thing." Placating the girl's question.

Ivy said, smiling up at him, "I play a little game and think up the most far-fetched place they are going and why." He smiled at the girl who looked no older than sixteen.

He said smoothly, "What is your name, little flower, and what are you doing out here on the dock"

She said smiling, "My name is Alea. I am just relaxing and spending time. My father left to negotiate a price for some goods." Littlefinger moved closer to her.

He asked with a smirk, "What is your surname, Alea?" He was wondering what house she came from.

She looked up smiling at him and said, "Alea Sweet." He knew she was an unknown. He could possibly manipulate the child sexually because she was so naive. Ivy reminded him of Catelyn.

He said, slyly putting out his hand, "Why don't you come with me and let me show you where I work?" She stood up smiling, took his hand and let him lead her into the city.

He took her to his best brothel through the back way. He took her to his rooms on the second floor. Ivy watched everything and calculated where everything was for exits. Even on her way there she saw the routes, corners and windows.

Baelish said, taking off his cloak and pouring two cups of wine. He slipped a drop of a sedative in hers to make her more compliant. She saw what he did. He handed her the cup of wine. She smiled, taking it from him like the naive child she was acting like. He sat down next to her and was acting smooth and charming trying to seduce the girl.

He said subtly, smiling, "You are a very pretty young woman." He put his hand into her hair.

A woman with very little clothes and bare breasts came into the room and said, "My Lord, a patron is not willing to pay in full." Baelish sighed and said he would be right back sitting down his wine. He left the room.

Ivy got up, dumped her cup out the window. She noticed a terracotta tiled roof she could climb down onto easily. She added the same vial with a few drops to his cup. Ivy refilled her cup, dumped it and refilled it again with wine. She sat back down on the sofa sipping her wine and waited for him to return. When he did, he sat back down next to her a bit aggravated and drank all of his wine down.

He deeply inhaled and said smirking, "I'm sorry about that. Did you miss me?" He started getting a little more aggressive, lifting her chin to kiss her and his hands were roaming. She let him.

After a few moments he began feeling woozy and said, "I am sorry but something is wrong." He put his hand to his head.

Ivy stood up and said softly, "It's alright. I am the Harbinger, I bring you your death to The God Of Many Faces, Petyr Baelish."

He looked up at her blinking his eyes and asked, "What did you say?"

She walked behind him, quick as a flash slit his throat and proceeded to cut off his face. She put the face in a waxed canvas bag rolled up and wiped her dagger off on him. Ivy wiped her hands off and went out the window onto the roof and waited until it was clear of people, jumped down, started walking and blending into the people on the street. Ivy walked around a corner and changed faces to a different woman. She went to her room packed up, dressed as a man with a man's face, purchased food and went to the docks.

She showed her coin to the Braavosi captain and said, "Valar Morghulis."

He nodded, replying, "Valar Dohaeris" and gave her a small room with a cot. It took a month to return to Braavos.

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When she got off the ship in Braavos, she went directly to The House Of Black And White. Ivy removed her face and pulled out her long thick dark chocolate braid. She dropped off her belongings in her room. She entered The Hall Of Faces and placed the face of Petyr Baelish rolled out on the stone head in the alcove to cure. The man in the cowl hood that talked so smoothly in Lorathi came into the hall and smiled upon seeing her.

He said softly, "The lovely girl has returned."

Ivy knelt and looked up at him smiling and said, "A girl has returned as promised."

The cowl hooded man said smirking subtly, "A girl is very reliable. A girl has completed her hundredth task and has served The Many Faced God and made him happy. The leaders will offer her a position with her oath."

She looked him in the eyes and asked, "Can a girl ask, that if this girl has performed the service adequately, can a girl leave to follow this girl's destiny? This girl needs to travel, but amicably with The House Of Black And White."

He said somberly, "When a girl first came here as a small child, a girl impressed this man in the speed the girl learned her skills. A girl has completed many tasks for The God Of Many Faces. A girl learned so quickly that the other masters were impressed also. A girl became no one quickly because a girl said she was no one from the beginning. The lovely girl will be missed by this man. A girl can leave with good standing with this man and The House Of Black And White at this time because a girl has given no oath until now."

Ivy asked, cocking her head to the side, "What can a girl call a man after she leaves?"

The man said subtly, smiling, "Jaqen H'ghar." She stood up, stepped forward, kissed his lips softly and caressed his face with her hand. He was startled and had not been expecting her to do that. He had always thought this young woman was extremely beautiful and special since he had been in The House Of Black And White. She was always respectful, always a perfectionist in training, logic and always completed her tasks. Ivy was one of his best students and trained assassins. He was always attracted to her beauty, honesty and talents as she got older. He found his hands moving over her back as he wrapped his arms around her.

She said, looking into his startled gray eyes full of desire and said, "A girl thanks this man for everything he has done to guide this girl, Jaqen H'ghar. This girl hopes to see Jaqen again one day because a man is the only one she has trusted so far." She caressed his cheek and smiled kindly.

He cleared his throat while looking in her eyes and rubbing her back. He asked softly, "What can a man call a girl?"

Ivy whispered with her lips touching his ear making him close his eyes, "Ivy. I made it up."

Jaqen said softly, "If a girl, Ivy, ever needs a man, come find this man. Keep the coin and use it." He smiled and kissed her forehead. She hugged him, stepped away with water in her eyes. She retrieved her baggage and all of her belongings, put on her cowl cloak then walked out the front door. Jaqen opened the main door behind her and watched her walking away with her baggage down the street. Ivy stopped a little down the street, turned looking back at the doorway and at him. She smiled, turned, changed her face to a young man, looked back and turned walking away. He closed the door and hoped to see her again.

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She went to an inn and got a room for a few days and bought several bags and started removing the gold dragons, gold honors and silver moons from her necklace. Ivy opened an account with the Iron Bank as Ivy Brightflame from a vision she had saying her last name was Brightflame. She then went through the grueling process of separating the gold and silver nuggets from the ore into the bags. She then did the same with the uncut and cut gemstones. It took her a couple weeks to get the gems sold and the gold and silver to the smelter for processing.

By the time she had liquidated it all into vouchers deposited she had 5,700,000 gold dragons in the bank and 69,542 dragons in her necklace.

She went to the docks and booked a ship going to Pentos, Tyrosh and Volantis. Once she boarded the ship she sat on her cot in a tiny room and looked at the coin from the Faceless Men. Ivy was rubbing it with her finger thinking of how soft Jaqen H'ghar's lips were and his handsome face. He was a secretive Lorathi man. She could read it in his eyes. She sailed all the way to Asshai in the Shadowlands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~296AC

Eight years had passed and a twenty four year old Ivy had learned many different kinds of magics and learned many things about her own abilities. Ivy learned skin changing (warging), divination, illusion, elemental manipulation (fire, water and wind), including fire immunity and conjuration, transmutation and abjuration magics. She had already known shadow magic (manipulate shadows, shapeshift, glamor and even control the minds of others) from being taught by the Faceless Men.

One day in her past during her time there in the Shadowlands, she had traveled up the Mountains of Morn. She went to Stygai, also known as the City of the Night. It is a ruined city in the mountainous Shadowlands of eastern Essos. The city lies on the Ash River in the Vale of Shadows, a river valley northeast of Asshai.

Stygai is said to be a haunted corpse city. Twisted creatures, such as demons and dragons, are said to live in its vicinity, and even shadowbinders fear it. Little is known of Stygai, other than that its name comes from the fact it only sees the light of the sun for a brief period of time each day, around noon. It is also said to be a nesting place for dragons.

The region is inhabited by a people known as "Shadow Men", who are tattooed and hide their faces behind red lacquer masks. Shadow Men have occasionally gone as far to trade at Vaes Dothrak with the Dothraki.

It is said that the region is barren of all benign life. Ghost grass is the only plant that grows there, monsters are said to lurk everywhere, and the fish of the river Ash (whose waters are black during the day and glow green at night) are so poisonous that nothing is edible there.

Ivy had been careful while traveling bringing her own food and water. She had killed many creatures along the way to protect herself. When she got to Stygai she realized that the 'shadow men' were just tattooed people who wore the red mask on their faces of the Red Faced God, R'hllor or The Lord of Light. They survived isolated in the mountains but they knew where food and water was in the mountains. They lived off of spring water and food grown and harvested in caves inside the mountains like mushrooms, lichen and algae, ect. She got to know them a bit and had a friendly amical experience though it was hard to earn their trust.

After she had left, she had climbed up into the mountain side where there were caves like a rough honeycomb. Ivy repelled down to enter each one until she found dragon eggs. There were several kinds and colors. She hurried, collected about six different colored eggs in a bag, tied it shut and climbed back up the cliff. She came up to the horses and took them by the leads and tied the bag to the one.

Ivy proceeded on to The City of Winged Men. This was where she learned levitation from them for herself. She was able to learn to fly if needed. There was plenty of water, food and animals to eat around The Hidden Sea. She journeyed back to Asshai and bought a galley ship.

A nice old man that was a healer in Asshai practiced different types of healing. He passed away after a year with him and he left her everything in his library of books and all of his ingredients supplied for his medicinal healing. Ivy had her own collection and a hutch where she stored most of her ingredients, oils and tinctures with a bookcase next to it with all her books in her cabin.