Chapter 159 - Artican Trade in Essos 14 (Myr 02).

[Chapter Size: 3500 Words.]

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Thrid Person POV

Essos, 296 AC.

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"Hmmm...?!" Zafir woke up with a pained tone.

"What is this... what happened to me?!" He quickly exclaimed as he tried to move, but the intense pain wouldn't let him do anything.

"Prince Zafir!" His advisor approached at that moment, looking worried.

"Can you tell me what happened to me?!" Zafir exclaimed, clearly unhappy about the situation.

"It seems like you don't remember anything... but it was the Artican king. You have two broken ribs, your right arm, and your shoulder is also dislocated..." he spoke cautiously.

"This...?!" Zafir exclaimed as his memories started coming back, looking seriously at his advisor. Even though his memories were blurred due to his drunkenness, he still remembered being grabbed by that man, who had a look of rage, and being thrown far away before everything went dark.

"That savage did this to me!!" Zafir growled in pure rage, so much so that he already wanted Jon dead for the humiliation.

"My prince... don't act rashly... we are in a very bad position in this city..." The advisor tried to inject some reason into Zafir.

"Like what?! I am the prince of Zafir!" Zafir exclaimed.

"You tried to make advances on a queen from another kingdom... openly... at a party... Lys has become a city in a diplomatic crisis with the Articans at this moment! You shouldn't have done that, and your father won't be pleased to hear about this!" The man said with a tone more severe than usual. The son of the great Magister of Lys had just brought a conflict upon Lys that it didn't ask for.

"What are you saying?! My father will support me in this, he always will, whether it's the Articans or even this Free City... they will all pay!" Zafir growled with so much rage that he couldn't see anything beyond revenge.

"Be careful with your words, my prince... the situation with Myr isn't good either. The Artican king brought proof that you were sleeping with one of the Magisters' women... he got hold of one of your letters, I don't know how... but now they are isolating us from the city... they aren't even sending a healer, and they want you out of the city by the end of the day..." The man spoke with frustration. This spoiled brat had just ruined Lys's relationship with Myr as well. He could already imagine his father not being happy about this, and even he might be punished for it, most likely with his head chopped off...

"He did what?!" Zafir couldn't believe what he was hearing. Jon had become so enraged that even this fury extended to Zafir's accomplices who had let him go to the party right after getting off the boat, letting chaos reign against that man.

"No... I will have my revenge!!" He hadn't given up on his vengeance.

"Either way... let's leave. Our men are already preparing our ship... we need to set sail before the Artican fleet departs tomorrow, from what I've heard... I don't want to deal with them at sea after you enraged their king by trying to seduce his queen." The advisor said to Zafir.

"We can deal with him!" Zafir stubbornly declared, but what he didn't expect next was a slap, hitting him across the face.

"Can you wake up for once, you idiot?!" The advisor exclaimed angrily this time, while Zafir, stunned, stared at him before he continued.

"They have a damn fleet with 450 ships. Tell me, you fool, what will happen to us if they find us at sea?!" He tried to inject some sense into this idiot. What he had just done would have him lose his hand, especially with how vengeful Zafir was, but he knew he would be executed as soon as Zafir's father learned of the situation.

"Get out of here now!!!" Zafir screamed with so much anger that he even wanted to execute him, but it wouldn't be smart until they were at sea. The advisor simply nodded and left.

Zafir saw this and began shouting in the room, furious at everything that was happening, while grabbing his only hand and spotting a piece of paper and a quill with ink beside the bed. He started writing something on it.

"Guards!!" He called, and his father's men approached.

"I want you to do this for me. Find any group in this city that can do it, understood?!" he said, showing the paper, while the man nodded, unable to say anything more, realizing that the prince didn't even want his advisor to know.

Meanwhile, Jon was preparing for another day of negotiations with the Magisters.

"Come on, Arya, it's time to finish this negotiation. And you, take good care of her." Jon turned to his guards as Daenerys also prepared to go into the city.

Both groups were to remain while Ygritte stayed on the ship, drawing alongside Wind, who had also begun sketching after seeing the queen's creations.

Daenerys, once again, wandered the streets as she visited the markets, as she had always wanted to do, wondering how her mother would have felt being there, as she had always heard from Viserys that her mother had longed to be in this place. She was accompanied by six royal Artican guards to attend to her needs during her stay, as well as to keep her safe.

She couldn't help but appear like a naïve girl, freely wandering while she saw various types of goods being sold in the city, with merchants shouting their products and prices, without caring how much she spent. After all, her nephew always gave her enough money to buy whatever she wanted, with plenty to spare. She felt a bit hesitant about spending Jon's money, but he always said something like: 'I'm so rich that you can spend whatever you want, it won't even make a dent in my savings.'

Of course, Jon used his own money, already starting to separate the kingdom's gold from that of his family. He didn't want Artica to find itself in a situation like Westeros, where the king uses tax money for personal benefits, mostly spent on carnal pleasures.

With Daenerys, this was how the entire day passed. She met people, and when she tried to speak in her somewhat broken Valyrian, she would talk about the goods until deciding to buy something. She even had help from the guards and the local people of Myr, who also tended to speak the Common Tongue due to the presence of foreigners from Westeros and other regions that maintained the Common Tongue. Myr was famous for its fabrics and glassworks.

There was also great respect from everyone she spoke to. After all, she was surrounded by Articans, and by now, their reputation was well known. No one dared to challenge such a group, and they knew that Daenerys was important in some way to have so many men in finely crafted armor guarding her life at all times.

Everything seemed like any other normal day, with one of the guards already carrying many of the things she had purchased. It was almost late afternoon, and she wanted to see the sunset from one of the city's spots she had noticed the day before.

"Hey, can we go to that square from yesterday?" Daenerys asked, and the royal guard nodded.

"Yes, you can go as you please. We will protect you, princess," he told the others as she nodded happily.

"Let's go," she said, walking ahead until she turned down one of the streets, walking a certain distance until she suddenly stopped, noticing that the street seemed eerily quiet, with no one around, which was strange.

The men following her also noticed the oddness. Then, in the space above them, a raven began to cry. "That..." They immediately understood that one of their wargs on the ship was signaling danger.

Quickly, they drew their swords. Daenerys was surprised and scared, wondering what was happening, as there was still no one in sight on the street. But then, footsteps began to echo from both sides, and people started to emerge. Both ends of the street were suddenly surrounded by a group of men dressed like mercenaries, wearing leather clothing.

"Finally, we've managed to trap you in one of our ambushes scattered across the city... We thought you wouldn't fall for it anymore..." one of the men in the group said.

"Who are you, and what are your intentions? Do you have any idea of the consequences of messing with someone from Artica?!" the royal guard growled at the man.

"Well, I know you're a dangerous group, but before you can actually do anything, we'll already be far from this city... and you all will be dead. After all, we only need the girl." He spoke, and quickly all the mercenaries drew their swords, preparing to fight.

"I want you to stay by her side the whole time, while three of you cover the south and I, along with another, will protect the north. Don't let them get near the princess, understood?!" The leader commanded as they swiftly positioned themselves to fight, even though it was only five of them against about thirty men. Eleven of the enemies surrounded Daenerys.

"Yes, sir!" The other five responded to their leader.

"Come on, attack!" The mercenary yelled, and quickly the group charged from both sides, while the Articans waited.

In an instant, a fierce battle broke out as swords clashed. But in the next moment, the Articans began to move through the enemy ranks, cutting down their opponents with just two swift motions, immediately moving on to the next attacker.

Daenerys was truly frightened by it all. Chaos surrounded her, with men shouting and blades clashing against one another. Even her thoughts were in disarray, wondering if King Robert had discovered her location and sent assassins after her. But the situation seemed far more complicated than she could have imagined.

"Just a bunch of fools. Don't worry, princess. We'll handle this before you even notice." Beside her, the Artican guard said, standing to protect her as he watched more and more mercenaries fall.

The enemies, who had been confident earlier, began to see their men die in droves. Dozens of them lay dead all around, while not a single Artican had fallen, their finely made armor, sharp and light blades, proving far superior in cutting down their enemies.

After all, what was a mercenary compared to a Royal Artican Guard, equipped with the best gear in the world and years of training in Artica under all kinds of circumstances?

Realizing they wouldn't win, the mercenaries started to flee in fear. However, it was already too late, even for those who tried to escape. As they ran, the Artican soldiers paused their attacks for a moment, watching at least ten men fleeing in all directions. But then, they were surprised by animals emerging from the streets, attacking through the openings in the fugitives' armor.

The mercenaries screamed in terror, not understanding what was happening, until their cries were finally silenced. Quickly, all ten were brutally killed. The animals, with fresh blood still on their bodies, retreated once again, as if they had been controlled for a moment, and in the next second, everything returned to normal, as if they hadn't just transformed into bloodthirsty beasts.

"Are you alright, princess?" the Artican guard asked as Daenerys finally snapped out of her shock. She was trembling slightly, looking at the fallen men on the ground, their bodies severed while they screamed.

"I'm... fine, it's just..." She murmured, unable to finish.

The leader of the royal guard approached and, coldly, ordered:

"Silence them all." He spoke, and quickly his men began to decapitate the bodies until the street fell into complete silence. Daenerys still appeared quite shaken.

"I apologize for this, my princess. But I ended up staining your new clothes with blood," a royal guard murmured, noticing that the luggage they had set aside at the beginning of the fight was now splattered with enemy blood.

"It's fine," she murmured, not knowing what else to say, feeling some fear.

"There's nothing else to do here. Take her to the ship, our king should be on his way by now. I'll stay behind and explain the situation to the city guard," he said.

"Yes, he acted." The royal guards responded, and they all began escorting Daenerys back.

Jon had left the negotiations halfway through, furious at the audacity of that prince. He soon learned that the prince had hired a small mercenary gang in the city to try to capture Daenerys. The fool had not only tried this with Arya and Ygritte before, but now even Daenerys, who had caught his attention from the very first day.

Jon, with his cold fury that only surfaced when something truly infuriated him, eliminated the entire gang. He quickly discovered their hideout and sent hundreds of animals there, taking more than fifty lives. He took the prince's letter and asked a bird to carry it to his ship.

Jon arrived at his ship and spoke briefly with his wife and Arya before entering Daenerys' cabin. He quickly saw his aunt crying on the bed.

"I'm sorry, aunt," he said, approaching and sitting beside her, while the girl was still visibly shaken, trembling after witnessing so much blood and death.

"Was it... was it King Robert...?" she murmured.

"No, it wasn't him. He probably doesn't even know you're with us. But don't worry, whoever did this will pay dearly," Jon spoke in a dangerous tone, while she nestled into his embrace, crying into his chest. Jon, in turn, stroked her head and stared seriously out one of Daenerys' windows, at the setting sun.

Out at sea, a ship sailed away from Myr. It was the ship of the prince of Lys, who had already left the city a few hours earlier. The man was thinking about the girl who interested him more than any other prostitute he had ever seen in Lys. After all, the city had many Valyrian descendants, but seeing someone as beautiful as Daenerys, without knowing her true identity, had caught his attention. He imagined how she was being captured and planned his revenge for what had happened in the city of Myr.

However, he did not know that he wasn't alone in that room, while a few men stood outside. From before he boarded, a small eagle, hidden the entire time, had been placed by Jon to listen to what the prince said and to act if necessary. But now, Jon would use it in another way.

The prince was startled when, suddenly, the same eagle flew out from under the bed and landed on the headboard, staring at him intently.

"What is this?" he murmured.

In the next moment, the eagle spread its wings and flew at him. Startled, he tried to use his only healthy hand to grab it, but the bird swiftly dodged, flapping its wings in his face. He began to scream in pain as its talons slashed across his skin.

The door burst open moments later with the screams, and the Myr soldiers saw their prince being mauled by the eagle's claws, which were digging into various parts of his face. It was a scene of pure terror, and they rushed to act.

To the south of this ship, three Artican ships were anchored in the sea, carrying out Jon's orders to capture the prince of Lys' ship and bring the man known as the "Prince of Lys" to the king. After all, that teenager had a debt to Jon after the banquet.

Terror had struck the prince of Lys. Back in the city, the next day, Jon returned to negotiate. The Magisters were shocked at what had happened to the gang that had tried to attack Jon, especially after realizing that all who had targeted Daenerys were dead, a fact that sent chills down their spines. Yet, none of them complained as the negotiations concluded that day. Daenerys couldn't leave her room, and Jon wasn't happy about it. He had finally managed to make some progress with her, but it all ended in an even more difficult situation for the young woman.

Thus, they returned to the ship at the end of the third day, leaving Lys with all the contracts signed. The Magister, whom Jon had warned about his wife's betrayal, instead of being furious, thanked the Artican king. He isolated his wife and stripped her of her titles, leaving her in a very bad situation after the end of their marriage.

It didn't take long for Jon's ships to find the fleet. The three ships that had attacked the Lys ship were now alongside it, waiting for the return of the king, with the captured ship tethered to them.

"Well, I want you to prepare all the ships for our departure to the next city. In the meantime, let me go talk to that guy," Jon said as he made his way toward the Lys ship, accompanied by his guards.

The men who had survived the fight with the Articans, which had been a one-sided massacre with no surprises, were now prisoners. Jon noticed the man who was likely the prince's advisor watching in fear, but he didn't care and proceeded to the largest room, where the prince of Lys was expected to be.

"How is he?" Jon asked as an Artican guard, who happened to be a dwarf, stood watch.

"He's locked up, my king. The idiot keeps crying nonstop. You really turned him into something else," the dwarf replied with a grumble, looking at Jon with fear after hearing what had happened.

Jon shrugged, and upon entering the room, he found the prince of Lys crying, his face covered in cuts. His wounds had been treated slightly, but fresh blood still trickled, and those cuts would leave him with many scars. One of his eyes was missing, as the eagle's talons had managed to tear it out.

"Well, it seems you can no longer think of yourself as handsome as you once were, can you, prince of Lys?" Jon said, approaching with a smile that almost seemed cruel, noticing the body of the eagle they had managed to kill in a corner. But the damage had already been done.

The prince immediately froze, stopping his crying as he began to tremble. He finally started to grasp the reality of his situation, and the hatred he had once felt for Jon was replaced by fear.

"I doubt you'll be able to charm any woman now, but I'm not satisfied with just that. Drunk or not, I will not allow anyone to try and flirt with my wife... You must think I'm a fool, doing this even when I was present. To make it worse, you didn't learn your lesson and even tried to kidnap my aunt. It's hard to find an idiot like you, it really is. But one thing I'm sure of: your end will be far from enviable," Jon murmured, while the prince, now with only one eye, looked at him trembling, finding no remorse or pity in Jon's gaze.

"Your face might have been marked by the men you sent after Daenerys, but what I'm about to do is something I planned since yesterday when I saw you trying to approach my wife," Jon said in the same tone, as there were three ships waiting further south for one specific reason.

"Don't worry, I'll deliver you to your father, but not before taking care of one last thing. After all, since your father didn't teach you, it's time to show you how the world can educate you," Jon said, drawing his katana from its sheath.

"Did you know that this pure Valyrian steel is worth more money than everything you've ever spent in your life? So, feel privileged. At least, you'll have the honor of feeling such valuable steel on your skin," Jon said calmly, with a dangerous tone, as the prince began to realize where this was heading.

"Either way, this will help you think twice in the future, before getting into a similar situation or even when you try to sleep with a woman again..." Jon continued, and in the next moment, he began to move his weapon toward the prince's body, stopping at a specific point.

"I'll be castrating you," Jon said, as his weapon was pointed between the prince's legs. And, in the next moment, before the prince could say anything with his mouth full of cuts, Jon moved his sword and made the cut, removing the prince's organ.

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