107 Most wonderful gift

Most wonderful gift

Theon POV

I wasn't in the greatest of moods as we returned to Meereen. My victory in Yunkai should be celebrated, but I could only focus on Euron. I was interested in what was his grand plan. Yet, watching him gain popularity with the rest of the Ironborn made it difficult for me to do anything. With my status in the Iron Islands, my words were final, but even I couldn't brush off sins like kinslaying.

Throughout the Seven Kingdoms, there were only a few traditions that everyone agreed to. Nobody could tolerate someone who broke guest rights, and kinslaying was an even more vile sin. It didn't matter what religion or custom one followed. Those two things were sacred. Even if I kind of broke quest rights in Golden Tooth, I at least could argue that I didn't take the bread and salt. But there was no way out from killing your own kin.

"Lord Theon Greyjoy," A man I didn't recognize, stopped me at the harbor as I was getting on my horse to ride to the Great Pyramid. "If I may have a few words with you."

"Kill him," A sword quickly pierced the man's chest, and he slowly bled out and died with fear etched in his eyes. "Aim at the heart next time, Bronn. I am starting to dislike the sound as they choke on their blood before dying. But good job, take as much gold as you need and check what happened to the city while I was gone."

"With pleasure," Bronn replied as he cleaned his sword.

I barely set my feet on the ground and already felt something was wrong. Not only was I approached so carelessly, but I was even called a lord. I could take most insults thrown at my face, but I was no lord. The man clearly was a fool, and arrogant at that, to do something like that. Seeing that there weren't any Unsullied to stop them put me on alert.

"Asha, take five of your most trusted men; you will be coming with me," I said as the rest of my guard was already on horses and waiting for my command. "The rest of you take as much gold as you can carry and drink and whore yourselves. I don't want to see any of you sober by the nightfall."

"What about me, dear nephew?" Euron asked as he slowly walked up to me.

"Do as you wish," I replied. "I will summon you if I need anything."

I had to draw a clear line. Not only was it for him to see that I trusted Asha more than him, but it was also for the rest of the men. They needed to know a clear hierarchy in Greyjoy House. Euron might earn their favor, but I will not let him earn their trust and loyalty. Because I knew once he got that, Euron would try to get rid of me.

But for now, I can't concentrate on Euron. Why wasn't anyone there to meet us? Surely, by now, word should have reached Dany of my arrival; if even that fool from before managed to find me, how could she not send any of her Unsullied? What about Oberyn or Jorah? Wouldn't they come to me if something was going on?

"King Theon!" I looked in front of me and saw Prince Frog riding toward me. I shouldn't have called him that, but I had forgotten his name.

"You late, boy," I said as he rode beside me. "I am already halfway to the Great Pyramid."

"I'm sorry, Your Grace," Prince Frog replied through hard breathing; it looked like he rushed to meet me. "The word of your arrival was delayed. And even Queen Daenerys hasn't heard of your arrival yet. As I wasn't as preoccupied as she was, I rushed to meet you."

"What is the situation?" Asha asked as she, too, felt that this course of action was out of the norm.

"I'm sorry. Who are you?" Prince Frog didn't seem to be able to think straight as he gathered his breath.

"She is Princess Asha Greyjoy," Anguy introduced Asha, as it was beneath me and her to do so. "She is the sister of the Black King, the Undead, King of the Iron Islands, Theon Greyjoy."

Anguy fell from his horse as I hit him in the head with the sheat of my sword. Anguy had too much fun introducing me. And I could tell he would go on with various titles he could come up for Asha, too, if I didn't stop him. It was burdensome to listen to these stupid titles. As long as people knew how to address me, I didn't care for anything else.

"So? What's going on?" Asha asked again as the conversation seemed to take a different turn.

"Many things," Prince Frog replied. "First, the Red Priests showed up and started to preach their ideology."

"They are common in Essos but more in Volantis than Meereen," Thoros commented. "Still, it shouldn't be concerning. Unless…"

"Unless they start preaching outside temples that don't belong to them," I replied, knowing well how it worked.

"That's not the end, though," Prince Frog said. "There are a hundred soldiers in the order called Fire Hand. They wear orange cloaks, so they are easily spotted. And they are brutal and loyal to the Red Priests. They don't care for anything or anyone and would even kill those who disturb the Red Priest. And so it happened that they killed one member from the Temple of the Graces. From then on, there was infighting between them, and it only worsened since then."

"Religion fanatics, they will cause trouble wherever you go," Anguy added. "Still, shouldn't the Unsullied stopped them if it got that bad?"

"They did at first," Prince Frog explained as we reached the Great Pyramid. "But Grey Worm and half of the Unsullied were sent out to suppress Dothraki groups that were burning villages and farms around Meereen and taking people into slavery."

Khal Motho shouldn't have been faster than I, so it probably wasn't him. But he did say that Yunkai was looking to gift them gold and slaves if they came to help them. So, it wouldn't be surprising that Volantis did the same. And those priests were probably also sent by Volantis to disturb Meereen. They were crafty, knowing they didn't stand a chance in direct battle; they were trying to weaken us politically.

Before entering the Great Pyramid, it was hard not to notice people protesting. No matter what, the Temple of the Graces was respected and loved by all the people of Meereen. To harm them, it was to harm Meereen itself. So, of course, people want justice done to the Fire Priests. But R'hllor is a prominent god in Essos. Harming the followers of R'hllor would not look good for Dany.

"Don't do anything reckless, Theon," Thoros said as we quickly dismounted our horses and walked to the courtroom.

"Don't worry, I am not a fool," I replied, annoyed that Thoros would think of me so badly. "You better watch your step. I don't want you to fall and then complain about how your leg hurtting."

The courtroom was filled with people, and yelling was deafening. I could feel the floor shake as the masses banged their fist at walls and feet at the floor so they would be heard. Seeing such a scene, I backed away and told the guards to close the doors. If I felt pain, my head would probably feel like it was splitting apart. I could only imagine how Dany must be feeling in this situation.

Taking a deep breath and fastening my sword belt before I lifted my leg. As my companions watched me in confusion, I kicked open the massive double doors to the courtroom. The hit sounded like thunder, and as the doors swung open, everyone inside the courtroom quieted down and looked at me. With a smile, I stepped forward and walked to Dany's throne.

"I have returned!" I said, unsheathing my sword and stabbing it into the floor. "Yunkai is now yours, your Grace. The Wise Masters are dead, apart from those who have surrendered."

"The warrior of the light, chosen by the God of the Light, R'hllor, Theon Greyjoy, has returned victorious. It only shows how the brilliant light of the God of Flame and Shadow is protecting its champions and believers." A man with a potty belly and red robes came before everyone, stood before Dany and me, and started babbling nonsense. "How can anyone disrespect the great R'hllor when one of his champions is standing before your eyes?"

"Hah," I didn't know how to react and could only let out a sound between a sigh and a laugh. I could tell how absurd the situation was and hold my laugh back. But I also knew that my next action would only prove Thoros' words about me true, and I couldn't help but sigh in defeat. As the man in red robes didn't want to stop his raving, I punched him in the face, knocking him down.

Dany didn't even look surprised and only smiled at me as a man in red robes fell to the ground with a bleeding nose. The sound of swords unsheathing came from all around. Men in orange cloaks pointed their swords at me, and my guards pointed their swords back at them. It was a tense silence for a moment before I used the belly of the man I knocked down as a cushion to kneel before Dany.

"With this victory, I gift you countless gold coins and other treasure, your Grace," I said, ignoring the tense silence as everyone prepared for a bloodbath. "But this victory is the symbol of my love for you. Please accept my feelings and proposal for marriage. Your enemies shall be my enemies. My allies shall be your allies."

If it were Oberyn or Daario, the words would have sounded better. And I didn't come here prepared with a speech or anything like that. I just thought it was the best moment for the world to know what kind of relationship I had with Dany. With this, anyone wanting to harm Dany will know they will incur my wrath. And if they aren't stupid, they know what it meant to piss me off.

"You have fought for me, protected me, and killed for me," Dany said as he stood from her throne and stepped towards me. "You have gifted me many wonderful things, but nothing is as wonderful as your love. I shall accept your love, and you shall stand next to me as King Consort of the Seven Kingdoms. Please stand up, my King. You shall not kneel to anyone else, neither in this life nor another one."

"Drop your weapons, you fools!" Thoros stood between the ironborn and the Fire Hands. "Don't you know who you are pointing your swords at?"

"He harmed Honorable Vogarro," One of the Fire Hands replied.

"Stand down," A monster of a man, huge, over six feet tall, and as wide as two men, with a belly like a boulder. And his skin was blacker than coal. "The Lord of Light has shown me your worth, King Theon. Every night in my fires, I glimpse the glory that awaits you. No man that serves the Lord of Light shall raise their hand against you. I apologize for their behavior. Some of us are conceited and cannot see past their shadows."

The Fire Hands lowered their swords and bowed their heads, ashamed of their actions before this man. I could tell that the Fire Hands held greater reverence for this man than the man groaning on the ground. But before I could even have his name, the Green Grace stepped forward. She was as elegant as ever.

"No matter what your reasons might been, I still demand justice for killing one of our Graces," She said, holding no fear before the pitch-black monster of a man.

 I was so frustrated with these people. I thought they would realize when to back off, but it felt like they ignored my wishes on purpose. I had just engaged Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons. They should congratulate me and then disperse. Instead, they continued their bickering. Dany was too soft. Sometimes, blood must be shed to understand where they stand.

"Who is the murderer?" I asked, wanting to deal with this now.

"It is me," One of the Fire Hands stepped in. "I have killed the bold girl who stepped over the boundaries. My actions were justified and righteous."

"I heard enough," I said, raising my sword and cutting my palm, letting the blood coat the blade before it burst into flames. "None of you seem to realize what stands before you. I have burned Yunkai, and neither their armies of slaves nor the Iron Legions from New Ghis or men of Volantis couldn't stop me. And you, boy, who so eagerly boast about murdering innocent, shall face true justice. Not because Meereen asks you to, but because you dared to use the name of the Lord of the Light for your misdeeds. You shall burn with your sins."

The Fire Hand couldn't even defend himself as I stabbed my flaming sword through his chest. He screamed as he burned from the inside. Slowly and painfully, he fell to the ground before losing his voice and finally his life. Nobody said anything or tried to do anything, even when I removed the sword and the flames went out.

"Now, if you aren't here to congratulate my victory over Yunkai or my victory over Queen Daenerys' heart, leave."

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.