||No one||
"In the last fortnight since our pact with the masters, how many killings have been carried out by the Sons of the Harpy?" Varys asked as he, Tyrion, Missandei, Grey Worm and Zephyr found themselves in the small council chambers.
Tyrion poured himself and his niece some wine, who looked worse and worse as the days went on. He worried for her, and he didn't know what Varys had told her that night, but since then she hasn't been the same sweet young woman he knew.
Zephyr became vengeful, full of hate. Like her mother. Tyrion didn't want her to become that, not if he could help it.
"Thank you." Zephyr said as she took the glass of wine and drank.
"None." Grey worm stated.
"And how many Masters have been butchered by the free men?" Varys asked.
"Two, but that was the day of the pact." Grey worm admitted. "Since then, nothing."
"So, it's safe to say that a fragile peace has taken hold." Varys confirmed, very pleased with the situation at hand.
"For now." Grey worm spoke.
"For now is the best we get in our profession." Varys stated.
"It's not enough." Zephyr told them, pacing.
"Considering the city was on the brink of civil war, I'd say it's a good start." Varys frowned.
"It's not enough for Meereen to have peace." Zephyr said as she took another sip of her wine. "They need to know Daenerys is responsible for it. The Sons of the Harpy have a good story. Resist the foreign invaders. Daenerys has an even better story. Mother od Dragons, Breaker of Chains and all that."
"The people know who brought them freedom." Missandei said, wearing a confused look on her pretty face.
"Yes, but do they know who brought them security? Who brought about an end to the violence? We need someone the people trust, someone they know cannot be bought or influenced." Zephyr rambled, seeming to be deep in thought.
"Sounds like quite the hero. Where would we find him?" Varys asked.
"Who said anything about 'him'?" Tyrion asked, his gaze on Zephyr.
The young Queen, Tyrion and Varys stood in the throne room of the great Pyramid, "Ao nykeōragon isse se presence hen Kinvara, eglie voktys hen mele temple hen volantis, se perzys hen truth, se ōños hen wisdom, se ēlī servant hen āeksio hen ōños." 'You stand in the presence of Kinvara, High Priestess of the Red Temple of Volantis, the Flame of Truth, the Light of Wisdom, The first servant of the Lord of Light.' said the man who introduced the three to the High Priestess.
They bowed before the man left and the High Priestess took a few steps up towards them, "Welcome naejot meereen" Tyrion welcomed the elegant woman, "That's about the extent of my Valyrian."
There was a moment of silence as the woman simply stared, so Zephyr chose to speak up. "Thank you for travelling all this way. I know from personal experience how uncomfortably the journey can be."
Another silent moment.
Zephyr sighed, "The truth is, we need your help. We had hoped that we could somehow persuade you to-"
"You don't need to persuade me." Kinvara spoke. "I ame to help. Daenerys Stormborn and Zephyr Baratheon were the ones promised. From the fire she was reborn to remake the world and from the gentle breeze that led you to help her in doing so."
"Yes." Zephyr said.
"She has freed the slaves from their chains and crucified the masters for their sins." Kinvara recalled.
"She did indeed." Zephyr confirmed.
"Her dragons are fire made flesh, a gift from the Lord of Light." The High Priestess told the younger Queen, "But you've heard this before, haven't you? On the Long bridge of Volantis."
"The dragons will purify nonbelievers by the thousands, burning their sins and their flesh away." Kinvara said with an odd smile on her lips.
Zephyr narrowed her eyes in distrust, "Ideally, we'd avoid purifying too many nonbelievers. The Mother of Dragons has followers of many different faiths."
"You want your Queen to be worshipped and obeyed. And while she's gone, you want her advisors to be worshipped and obeyed. " Kinvara stated.
"I'd settle for Obeyed." Zephyr clarified.
"I will summon my most eloquent priests. They will spread the word. Daenerys and Zephyr have been sent to lead the people against the darkness in this war and in the great war still to come." Kinvara told the trio, which pleased them.
"That sounds most excellent." Tyrion stated with a grin. However Varys wasn't done.
"A man named Stannis Baratheon was anointed as the chosen one by one of your priestesses. He, too, had a glorious destiny. He attacked King's Landing and was soundly defeated by the two very people standing beside me. Last I heard, he had been defeated again, this time for good." Varys explained.
"We'd be most grateful for any support you could provide our Queens." Tyrion nervously tried to shut Varys up.
"I suppose it's hard for a fanatic to admit a mistake." Varys sneered, "Isn't that the whole point of being a fanatic? You're always right. Everything is the Lord's will."
"Everything is the Lord's will." Kinvara said, honestly. "But men and women make mistakes. Even honest servants of the Lord."
"And you, an honest servant of the Lord," Varys started, "why should I trust you to know any more than the priestess who counseled Stannis?"
"My friend has a healthy skepticism of religion, but we are all loyal supporters of the Queens." Tyrion quickly cut in, again.
The High Priestess smiled. "Everyone is what they are and where they are for a reason." She said as she took several steps closer to Zephyr, "Terrible things happen for a reason, Take what happened to you, Lord Varys, when you were a child. If not for your mutilation at the hand of a second-rate sorcerer, you wouldn't be here helping the Lord's chosen bring his light into the world."
"Knowledge ahs made you powerful. But there's still so much you don't know." Kinvara sneered, "Do you remember what you heard that night when the sorcerer tossed your parts in the fire? You heard a voice call out from the flames. Do you remember?"
Varys looked absolutely horrified of how she knew all of this, "Should I tell you what the voice said? Should I tell you the name of the one who spoke? "
She smiled when Varys shook his head no. "We serve the same Queens. If you are their true friend, you have nothing to fear from me. "
Then she was gone after that. Just like Varys' dignity.
~Game of Thrones~
"I'd call that a successful gambit." Tyrion said smiling as he, Zephyr and Varys strode along the streets of Meereen as one of the Priestesses recited exactly what Kinvara had said to them only a couple of days ago.
Even the people began acknowledging Zephyr's presence in the city, waving and saying hello every chance they got, thanks to the pact she made with the masters.
"Would you?" Varys questioned.
"Look around, Varys." Zephyr said, feeling welcomed for the first time. Not even the people in King's Landing would've treated her so. "The city has come back to life."
"You made a pact with fanatics." Varys reminded the young Queen.
"I did and it worked." Zephyr frowned, not really seeing the problem.
"If Tyrion shaved his beard with a straight razor, you'd say the razor worked." Varys said as an example, "That doesn't mean it won't cut your throat."
"Spoken like a man who has never had to shave." Tyrion commented. They then stopped at a fleet.
"I'm going to miss you." Zephyr admitted. "I know." Varys said, knowing.
"I hope you're right about this expedition of yours." Tyrion stated.
"If I don't return, you'll know I was wrong." Varys said, to put it simply.
"If you don't return, they'll be wrong to think they could get away with it." Zephyr added.
"We need friends in Westeros." Varys admitted after a short moment of silence. "And we need ships."
"Most of all, we need Daenerys." Zephyr spoke.
"She'll come back. She has to." Varys comforted the pair, who were filled with anxiety. Daenerys still hadn't returned and Zephyr feared the worst that she'd been stabbed and left for dead somewhere. "My heart's been broken too many times already."
Zephyr raised her eyebrows almost as if she was saying, 'You want to test that theory, buddy?'.
"I'll walk the rest of the way myself." Varys said, putting a hand on the young Queen's shoulder."I can't go off on a secret mission in the company of the Queen and the most famous dwarf in the city."
Varys then walked off, but not before long, Tyrion called out to him. "Varys."
"The most famous dwarf in the world." Tyrion corrected. Varys cracked a smile before he turned and left once and for all.
"Come, uncle." Zephyr sighed.
~~~
"You seem happy." Missandei said as she watched Tyrion drink his wine in content.
"I am happy." Tyrion admitted, "You should all be happy as well. Not so long ago the city was ready to devour itself." He spoke as he poured another glass of wine.
"Now it's like a man reborn." Tyrion stated, "It is." Zephyr agreed.
"I will be happy when Queen Daenerys returns." Missandei spoke.
"Alright then, when will you start to be happy, my dear niece. You've been wasting away and barely eating anything at all the last few weeks." Tyrion spoke his mind, something that he's been curious about ever since Varys spilled his little secrets to her.
"I don't know." Zephyr simply said as she too drank her wine. All signs were pointing in the direction of crippling depression. And alcoholism.
"Why don't you drink?" Tyrion asked, letting this slide just this once, "Why don't either of you ever drink?"
"Unsullied never drink." Grey worm stated.
"Why not?" Tyrion asked.
"Rules." Grey worm said.
"And who made these rules?" Tyrion questioned. "Your former masters?"
That was dirty as fuck.
"Tyrion, don't force them to drink if they don't want to drink. There'd be more wine left for you anyway." Zephyr stated as she put her glass of wine down, having lost her appetite for that as well.
"What? Those miserable old shits didn't want you to be human." Tyrion reasoned, "Have a drink with me." Tyrion brought over two more glasses for Grey worm and Missandei to drink wine for the first time.
Grey worm finally gave in and took a sip, "And you? What's your excuse?" Tyrion asked the woman.
Zephyr sniggered at Grey worm's disgusted face after, holding back on gagging.
"I have tried wine before. It made me feel funny." Missandei admitted.
"That's how you know it's working." Tyrion said cheerfully.
"Here's to our Queens." Tyrion said as he held up his glass of wine. "Anyone not drinking is disrespecting our Queens." He quickly added just to make the other two drink.
Zephyr chuckled as she slowly held her glass up as well.
"To Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, long may she reign." Tyrion said as he drank before rising his glass again, "And to Zephyr Baratheon, A great warrior Queen with the willpower of a million soldiers, and the heart of a thousand Mothers. Long may she reign." They all drank again.
"Do you like it?" Tyrion asked.
"Tastes like it has turned." Grey worm admitted, absolutely disgusted with the beverage.
"Yes, yes. Fermentation." Tyrion stood to pour himself more wine. "One day, after our Queens have taken the Seven Kingdoms, I'd like to have my own vineyard. Make my own wine. 'The Imp's Delight'. Only my close friends could drink it."
Zephyr doesn't know why but that speech just hit her in her feelings. She felt tears brimming in her eyes, "Tyrion.." She started as she smiled, adoring his idea.
"Your wine will be better than any of the Dornish wine combined." Zephyr smiled as she quickly got rid of the tears. "Tell me a joke, Missandei of Naath." She said swiftly changing the subject.
"I do not know any jokes." Missandei told her, mildly shocked.
"Grey worm?" Zephyr turned to the commander of the Unsullied. He was silent.
"Right." She said, taking the defeat.
"Three lords walk into a tavern." Tyrion started, causing Zephyr's eyes to widden immediately. "Oh, Gods no, stop this man." She chuckled.
"No, no, no. Three lords walk into a tavern. A Stark, a Martell and a Lannister. They order ale, but when the barkeep brings them over, each of them finds a fly in his cup. The Lannister, outraged, shoves the cup aside and demands another. The Martell plucks the fly out and swallows it whole. The Stark reaches into his cup, pulls out the fly and shouts, 'Spit it out you wee shit, spit it out.' "
Missandei and Grey worm were silent, not quite getting the joke. Zephyr had her face covered in second-hand embarrassment, giggling to herself.
"It's funnier in Westeros." Tyrion admitted.
"You're just awful with jokes." Zephyr said.
"The Starks and Lannisters, I thought these were enemies." Grey worm said.
"Yes." Tyrion said.
"A joke is like a story, Torgo Nudho. Not a true story necessarily." Missandei explained.
"A story that's supposed to make you laugh, ideally. Not at the moment, perhaps." Tyrion stated. "Missandei, do you like the wine?" he then asked.
"I do" She answered as she took another sip.
"Tell a joke." Tyrion encouraged.
"Two translators are on a sinking ship." Missandei began, "The first says, 'Do you know how to swim?', the second says 'No but I can shout for help in 19 languages.' "
Zephyr and Tyrion the broke out in a fit of giggles while Grey Worm wore a deadpanned expression, "That is the worst joke I ever heard." He said which made Zephyr's lungs collapse as she wheezed.
"You don't even know what a joke is." Missandei told him, mildly offended. Zephyr had to cover her mouth now to stop herself from dying even more.
"I am soldier all my life. You think i never hear joke?" Grey worm stated.
"You lied to us." Tyrion pointed out.
"I make joke." Grey worm said. Missandei and Tyrion broke out in laughter while Zephyr continued dying and sounded like a tea kettle.
"More jokes." Missandei said with a large smile.
"I once walked into a brothel with a honeycomb and a jackass. The madam says..." Tyrion was cut off by the bells tolling.
"What's going on?" Zephyr asked confued as she quickly stood up. Grey worm ran out, yelling commands while the other three went outside to watch hundreds of ships maybe arriving in Meereen.
"The Masters have come for their property." Missandei spoke.
~~~
"I was wrong. I admit it." Zephyr said as she was back in the Pyramid with Missandei and Tyrion. "That changes nothing." Missandei said as they entered the small council chamber.
By nightfall, the masters were setting the great City of Meereen on fire with bomb, it didn't look good. At all.
"The Unsullied could mount a defense off the beachhead. If the slavers'..." Tyrion was cut off by Grey worm, "No more talking from you."
"Your talking gave us this." Grey worm stated, clearly angry with both Westerosi.
"And we have acknowledged that. We're trying.." Zephyr tried to reason but was also cut off.
"You're trying to tell me what the army should do." Grey worm stated, "You do not know what the army should do."
Zephyr took in a deep breath to calm her nerves before she started talking again.
"Alright, what should the army do?" The young Queen asked.
"We'll not go to the beach. If we go to the beach, the masters will take the Pyramid. The Pyramid is the only place in the city we can defend. We stay here." Grey worm stated.
"And then?" Zephyr asked.
"We wait for them to come to us. Then we fight them." He answered.
It sounded like something crashed on top of the Pyramid. The Unsullied guards got into position, but it sounded like foot steps on the roof. They opened the Balcony door and in came Daenerys.
Daenerys Targaryen was back, and she didn't seem too happy. The Unsullied, welcoming her.
"Daenerys.." Zephyr started.
"Hush, now." Daenerys said as she embraced the younger woman.
Zephyr was surprised, she expected her to get her dragon and burn her to crisps right then and there for doing such a horrible job.
"It will be alright."