-Chapter 169-
-Chapter 169-
-POV Illyrio Mopatis-
'It's already been a whole week since we should have received news of the impostor's death,' I thought, feeling an unpleasant sensation that I hadn't felt in many years.
DRAGON ROAR
DRAGON ROAR
DRAGON ROAR
I left my room upon hearing the roar, and what I saw through the window of my manor left me speechless.
Meereen was in flames, mainly its walls and defenses; three dragons were setting the city ablaze without any distinction.
'He's insane. What to do when a man is mad enough to attack and burn a city of several million inhabitants to kill just one person?' I thought, watching the destruction engulf the city of Meereen, home to millions.
I was about to give up, but I finally pulled myself together and gave orders to the 200 mercenaries under my command:
"We must evacuate the city quickly. Prepare the horses, and let's go through the underground tunnels."
"Very well, your..."
The sentence of the Blood Crow commander wasn't finished before he was reduced to ashes along with twenty of his men by a giant green dragon breathing fire the same color as its scales.
Shocked, I quickly backed away, but I stumbled over a man's leg and then saw a man fall from the sky and land right in front of me.
I didn't know him, but judging by his hungry and angry look, I could guess who he was.
He drew his sword, and before I could say anything, before I could express all the contempt, anger, resentment, disgust, and hatred I felt towards him, he cleanly decapitated me.
'How could it end like this? He was supposed... to die.'
---
-POV MC-
"Aegon."
I turned to Bellegere, who had just landed on her dragon, now about 20 feet in size, and she said, "We've spilled enough blood, that's enough."
I frowned and said, "It's enough when I say it's enough."
"She wants war, so she will have it. She sent assassins to kill me and my children, so now I will kill all who call her Mother," I said, taking my place on the back of Rhaegal, who kept growing.
"Aegon," Bellegere said, this time louder.
Seeing that she had captured my attention, she continued:
"We've burned almost half the city, destroyed their defenses. The fire and smoke will kill many people; it's enough. Syrax can't keep fighting this long; she's exhausted. We've been flying for an entire week."
I growled and nodded. I was about to leave but then remembered something. I picked up the head of that pig Illyrio Mopatis and said, "Let's go home."
---
-5 days later-
-POV Tyrion Lannister-
Hearing the news of the sudden destruction of Meereen chilled my blood, but seeing the direct consequences of this destruction paralyzed me and everyone traveling with the queen.
The streets were all littered with bodies, some charred and others intact.
Whether by smoke, fire, or simply the crowds' movements, the death toll from this surprise attack was not in the thousands, or even tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands.
'Hundreds of thousands of people who don't even know why they died,' I thought, genuinely distressed by the death of so many innocent people.
'I knew he was extreme, but I could never have imagined he could kill so many people.'
"Why?" said the queen in a broken voice, looking at the charred body of a child in his mother's arms.
I didn't have the heart to answer her, but she asked again, "Why did he do this?"
I turned my eyes away from this dreadful sight that made me nauseous and then said:
"I don't know."
"You're telling me you don't know why all these people died?" said the queen, shocked and furious at her nephew's sudden massacre.
"No, but we haven't taken any action..."
"Illyrio Mopatis," said Ellaria, in a shocked state at this horrifying sight.
The queen turned to Ellaria abruptly and asked, furious but in a calm, low, and very dangerous tone, a tone I had not heard since I started serving her:
"What did he do?"
"He sent assassins to kill Aegon Targaryen."
"They obviously failed," I said, before being silently reprimanded by my queen's gaze, who didn't seem amused at all by my very inappropriate attempt at humor, if I had to admit.
"Sorry," I said, lowering my head.
"Bring him to me," said the queen.
"Who?" I asked, confused.
"Illyrio Mopatis," the queen said as if it was supposed to be obvious.
"He was still residing in Meereen, Your Grace," said Ellaria, reminding the queen that the former Prince of Pentos resided there.
'That's probably why he attacked Meereen and not another city.'
Her response triggered something in me, and I said to the beautiful woman:
"How could you know that Illyrio Mopatis had sent assassins?"
She lowered her head and then said:
"I must regretfully admit to you, my queen, that I participated in this, but simply to avoid having to put yourself in danger in a battle that would oppose you to three dragonriders."
"What role did you play exactly?" I asked without giving the queen time to say anything, as I could see she was trying to slip through the net by placing all the responsibility for Aegon's reaction on the deceased former Prince of Pentos.
"I provided names within the Emperor's entourage who would be ready to betray him for gold, as well as Tyene's help."
By saying her name, I could see sincere pain for the daughter of her deceased lover, and I said, "You have my condolences."
'Aegon will never let this woman live if she participated in the assassination.'
The two other Sand Snakes, who were obviously not aware of this, got angry, and it was Obara who spoke first:
"How could you? He will kill her without a doubt, and you forget the others, Sarella, Dorea, Elia, Obella, and even Loreza."
Ellaria had the decency not to add anything and fell silent, awaiting the judgment of our queen, who was still focused on the corpse of the little boy and his mother.
After a few moments, she got up and then said, "Send a message to Westeros."
"To declare war?" I asked, praying with all my might that this was not the case.
"To ask for peace," she said in a defeated tone.
'It's hard for a monarch to admit defeat, but I admire her for that. She knows that, whatever happens, she can't always be present to defend Astapor, Meereen, and Yunkai at the same time. This attack proved it; all it takes is knowing where she is to then burn the cities not under her protection.'
---
-22nd day of the 9th moon of the year 300 AC-
-POV Viserys Targaryen-
'Finally,' I thought, seeing Dragonstone castle.
I ordered Viserion to follow Rhaegal, my nephew's dragon, and we landed below the castle in the cave that once served as a landing spot for dragonriders.
'Something my mother had told me when Daenerys and I were still children, one of the few memories I still have of her,' I thought.
Aegon jumped off Rhaegal's back, then landed calmly on the stone walkway. He left without looking back, but we needed to talk. I had kept quiet the whole way because he was brooding, but he was going too far.
"Aegon," I said, trying to detach the straps that held me to my saddle.
He stopped and then said, "What do you want from me?"
"We need to talk," I insisted.
He removed his gloves and started walking again:
"I don't have time to talk; I have three beautiful little ones waiting for their father, whom they haven't seen in several weeks."
"AEGON," I said this time much louder, in a tone I only used on my men.
This time, he stopped but sighed, surely annoyed because he was far from stupid and knew what I was going to talk about.
I finally managed to free myself from Viserion's saddle and then quickly approached and said, "I won't blame you for wanting revenge, but you promised me you wouldn't kill my sister."
"That was before she decided to send assassins after me and my descendants," shouted an enraged Aegon, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.
"It wasn't her who ordered it," I said, certain that Dany had nothing to do with it.
Aegon smiled and, while getting closer to me, said in a low, dangerous tone:
"Then who? You, maybe? You might have wanted my crown, which pushed you to side with that madman Illyrio Mopatis. Is that what you're trying to tell me, Viserys?"
"You're going completely mad. Do you hear yourself? I'm more loyal than any of your suitors. I'll never forget everything you've done for me; you've saved my life many times, and even though I won't deny that your crown is attractive, I'd never become a Kinslayer for it," I said, furious that he could even doubt my loyalty when I was completely faithful to him and had never shown the slightest sign of disloyalty.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before he looked away and said:
"Don't worry, I know that very well. I'm not in the right state of mind, and don't worry, I won't kill her. I might kill her dragon, but I won't kill her."
'That's something, at least. We'll resume this discussion when he's in a better state of mind,' I thought, watching him walk away.
'They've awakened the dragon that lay dormant in him. Let's hope the fire and blood this enraged dragon will unleash will be minimal,' I thought.
---
-POV Arianne Targaryen-
"Aegon will be furious about the decision you made, trust me on that. Although my nephew grew up far from me, it's a trait of his character that has never changed, no matter his age," said Benjen Stark, shaking his head at my decision.
I lifted my head and said as dignified as possible in a haughty tone:
"I am the Empress, and in my husband's absence, I act as regent, which gives me the right to grant a royal pardon to whomever I see fit."
Benjen Stark, the Hand of the Emperor, said disapprovingly:
"You didn't have the necessary authority, and you know it perfectly well. Without the Dragon Guard, you wouldn't have been able to get Tyene out of prison."
"You got Tyene out of prison while I was away?" asked a voice I would recognize among a thousand.
I looked at Aegon entering the Painted Chamber, and then I took a small breath before saying, "Tyene was manipulated by others to do their dirty work; she didn't want to..."
"What? Threaten my descendants, kill my son before my eyes, or kill me?" asked Aegon, visibly harboring a deep anger.
"You killed her father, it's normal..." I said, trying to make him understand things from Tyene's point of view before being brutally interrupted by my husband, who shouted while hitting the Painted Table of Westeros: "WHAT?"
I jumped, seeing my husband's anger and the hatred marked on his face, and then I said, trying to persuade him from a different angle, using a practically pleading tone:
"They manipulated her using the sense of vengeance she harbored deep inside, but she would never, and I mean never, have harmed our son."
'She wanted revenge; she would never have killed my son,' I thought.
"She placed a knife to his throat. What more do you need to understand that this whore," said Aegon, looking at me as if I were stupid.
'She's my cousin. No, she's so much more than that; she could never have killed her nephew, much less in front of me,' I thought.
"She didn't want to kill me; it was you she wanted, I'm sure," I said before being interrupted again by Aegon, who said, spreading his arms: "And you don't see the problem?"
I didn't want to enter into a sterile debate, so I continued to speak:
"She lost her way, but she's my sister. No, she's even more than that; she's more than a sister to me."
'She's the only one who didn't abandon me, even when you killed her father,' I thought, inwardly understanding why Tyene did what she did.
"So you forgave her," said Aegon.
"Yes."
"No, I will never forgive her. I simply spared her the torture and decapitation," I said, mixing lies and truth in my words.
Aegon shook his head and said: "In sum, you spared her a punishment, my punishment, the punishment of your lord husband, and the punishment of your Emperor."
"You would have had her tortured," I said, thinking this could help justify my act in his eyes, but looking into his eyes, I could see it was a lost cause.
"Of course, I would have, and without any regret. No one attacks me, and even less my descendants, whether with or without murderous thoughts. Tyene, whether you like it or not, is already dead. I'm going to place a contract on her head; I'll offer 100,000 gold dragons for the head of this whore."
"I refuse to..."
"You don't have the power to refuse me," said Aegon, interrupting me once again.
These abrupt interruptions irritated me until I exploded and said:
"Don't forget that you still need me to take control of Dorne. Without me and without my claims to the throne of Dorne, you'll never bring Dorne under the control of House Targaryen. If you want it to stay that way, you'll have to overlook Tyene."
Aegon was stunned by my statement, then burst out laughing before shaking his head and saying in a defeated tone:
"I'm defeated by you and your stupidity, Arianne. I admit defeat and lay down my arms. I guess the different changes you've shown these past moons came from Tyene's instructions and advice, but deep down, you're still the same airhead from our early days."
He smiled again before saying:
"Come to think of it, it's not the first time you've pleaded for this bitch's life. That's how it all started between us, and you ascended to the position of queen and then empress."
He approached me slowly and said, shaking his head in a disappointed tone:
"You thought that because you gave birth to two children for me, I would become your obedient slave to your every whim?"
A small disdainful smile took over his face, and then he said less than a meter from me:
"I guess you won't tell me where you sent her?"
I didn't respond, and then he nodded before saying:
"I had decided to play a little with Tyene by pretending to torture her sisters, but now I've changed my mind. I think I'll actually torture them, and we'll see if she stays hidden for long."
He looked at me for a few seconds before turning to Sandor and saying:
"From this day forward, I hereby declare that Empress Arianne Martell is repudiated and that all the children I had with her are disinherited. She is banished from the capital and will spend her days in the order of the Silent Sisters. Until she is sent there, she will be confined to a room and placed under your guard."
I didn't quite understand what he said and found myself staring stupidly at his face, not understanding what was happening while I saw everyone's faces, shocked and incredulous.
'Did he just say the Silent Sisters?'
"Aegon, she's your empress."
"Take her away," said Aegon.
"Aegon..."
"IMMEDIATELY," he shouted, forcing his protesting uncle and all the Kingsguards present in the room to fall silent and comply.
"Let go of me," I said, feeling a hand on my arm.
"I am your empress," I said to Sandor Clegane, who was pushing me toward my apartments.
I felt another hand and turned to see Gerold Dayne.
'Traitor,' I thought, seeing the new Sword of the Morning drag me with his comrade to my apartments.