𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 | Qarth
{ Coren }
✧✦✧
𝕱our days of sun basking down on them had left Coren feeling exhausted. The last of his water had been given to one of the elders of the Khalasar yesterday, and Coren had been running on little sleep and food for far longer than he had thoughts he would.
Daenerys was slumped beside him, her eyes opening and closing slowly and Coren struggled to shake his head. Of all the ways he thought he'd die, this had not been one of them. There was nothing heroic about this death. In fact, it seemed rather pitiful.
So, Coren forced himself to live, even if it was by sheer spite, for as long as possible.
A ragged voice jolted him from his thoughts, and Coren found that he could recognise one word in the language they were speaking. Horse. There was a horse.
Opening his eyes, he brought a hand to his face to shield his eye as he watched the horse come to a stop beside Daenerys. The rider was one he knew, a familiar face, and one that seemed more happy than not.
He held out a leather skin, and Coren stood immediately as Kovarro began to speak. Daenerys nodded, before pausing and handing the pouch to Coren.
"Water."
"No, you should drink first." Coren protested, immediately stepping away as Daenerys offered it to him. She sighed, before grabbing onto his hand and placing the water in. Coren went to protest, but Daenerys was already turning away to talk to Kovarro again. He huffed, before opening it and sniffing suspiciously.
The run in with the wine mercher had not left Coren too trusting of drinking things handed to him.
But it did not smell suspicious, so Coren brought it to his lips and smiled at the feeling of cold water running down his throat. He tried not to take too much, knowing that there were others waiting around him.
Daenerys was still speaking, but she turned to look back at him and Jorah, who was hovering behind the teenager.
"What do you know of this place?" Daenerys cocked an eyebrow.
"What place?" Coren had not been paying attention.
"Qarth." Jorah muttered. "Only that the desert around their walls is called the Garden of Bones. Every time the Qartheen shut their gates on a traveller, the garden grows."
"You are so optimistic." Coren muttered beneath his breath, before handing the leather gourd back to Daenerys so she could drink. "It's a city and we'd be protected."
✧✦✧
Qarth was not a welcoming place. The gates were closed, the walls high and soldiers lining it. It seemed a bit dramatic for a small group of Dothraki, though Coren supposed four dragons probably was not helping them.
"I thought we were welcome." Daenerys' eyebrows furrowed.
"If you heard a Dothraki horde was approaching your city, you might do the same, Khaleesi."
"Horde?" Daenerys and Coren both spluttered the word out in amusement, turning to watch Jorah, before sharing a blank look with each other. Maybe the man had lost his mind in the desert?
There was a commotion from the gates, which were pulled open as soldiers lined up outside with a group of thirteen wildly dressed people. They looked like peacocks.
"My name is Daenerys..." She was cut off.
"Daenerys Stormborn of the house Targaryen." Daenerys seemed a little stunned, but quickly regained her composure.
"You know me, my Lord?"
"Only by reputation, Khaleesi." The man smiled, though it was not a nice one. It told of secrets hiding beneath the surface. "And I'm no lord, merely a humble merchant. They call you the Mother of Dragons."
"And what should I call you?"
"Oh, my name is quite long and quite impossible for foreigners to pronounce. I am simply a trader of spices." Coren just wanted to know what his name was. If you knew a man's name then there was more honour when you killed him off the battlefield. "But we are the Thirteen, charged with the governance and protection of Qarth, the greatest city that ever was or will be."
"The beauty of Quarth is legendary..."
"Qarth." The correction was curt, causing a faint flush to cover Daenerys' sun kissed cheeks.
"Qarth." She corrected herself, smiling gently.
"Might we see the dragons?" Daenerys paused, before turning to look back at the woven chest that held the four dragons. As she turned, Coren could see the nerves and desperation on her face. They needed this to go right. They needed a place to stay.
"My friend, we have travelled very far. We have no food, no water. Once I see my people fed, I would be honoured..." Once more she was cut off, and Coren and Jorah both shifted uneasily.
"Forgive me, Mother of Dragons, but no man alive has seen a living dragon. Some of my more sceptical friends refuse to believe your children even exist. All we ask is the chance to see for ourselves."
"I am not a liar." Daenerys protested, as the emissaries shuffled from one foot to the other.
"Oh, I don't think you are. But as I've never met you before, my opinion on the matter is of limited value."
Coren had never met this man before, but he already had an opinion on him and none of it was good.
"Where I come from, guests are treated with respect, not insulted at the gates."
"Then perhaps you should return to where you came from." He turned, walking away. "We wish you well."
Daenerys spluttered, before walking forward as the man paused.
"What are you doing?" He cocked an eyebrow. "You promised to receive me."
"We have received you. Here we are, and here you are."
"If you do not let us in, all of us will die." The desperation was creeping into her voice as she seemed to try her best not to plead.
"Which we shall deeply regret. But Qarth did not become the greatest city that ever was or will be by letting Dothraki savages through its gates."
The man joined the other emissaries, beginning the walk back to Qarth as Coren stepped towards the girl.
"Khaleesi."
"Please be careful." Jorah's voice joined Coren's as Daenerys seemed to steel her nerves. The soldiers drew their spears as Coren and Jorah reached for their swords.
"Thirteen! When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who have wronged me," That stopped the emissaries in their track. "We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground. Turn us away and we will burn you first."
"Ah. You are a true Targaryen. Only, as you said a moment ago, if we don't let you into the city, you will all die. And so..." Finally someone cut the annoying man off.
"Retreating in fear from a little girl is unbecoming of the greatest city that ever was or will be." He shook his head.
"The discussion is over, Xaro Xhoan Daxos. The Thirteen have spoken."
"I am one of the Thirteen, and I am still speaking." Xaro Xhoan Daxos spoke softly, his face calm despite the situation they were in.
"The girl threatens to burn our city to the ground and you would invite her in for a cup of wine? She is the Mother of Dragons." They spat the words out like an insult, though Coren could not understand why.
"Do you expect her to watch her people starve without breathing fire? I believe we can allow a few Dothraki through our gates without dooming our city," This man seemed sensible, but Coren was still uncertain. A lifetime on the road had taught him to trust very few. "After all, here I am, a savage from the Summer Isles, and Qarth still stands."
"Our decision is final." They were adamant, it seemed, about not letting the Dothraki through the gates.
"Very well. I invoke soumai." Xaro Xhoan Daxos stated, drawing his dagger and pointing it down as the Thirteen all muttered to themselves. "I will vouch for her, her people, and her dragons, in accordance with the law."
He sliced his palm deeply, showing it to the others as Coren caught Daenerys' eyes. She raised an eyebrow but Coren nodded. They needed a place to stay.
"Be it on your head." Xaro Xhoan Daxos nodded at the words, before turning to Daenerys.
"Welcome to Qarth, my Lady."
With that, the gates to Qarth were opened once more and they were let through, into safety and rest.
Hiya,
Have a relatively calm chapter for this one. I love Coren to be honest, and his lack of trust in pretty much everyone. They're just a lot of fun.
Let me know what you think,
Love Li xx