Of princes and shit

Of princes and shit

Theon POV

The walls of Meereen were tall and sturdy, unlike the unkept walls of Astapor and Yunkai. At first glance, there weren't any weaknesses to take advantage of. But I saw what most didn't. I saw the men on the walls. They were numerous, as expected from a city as massive as Meereen. It was probably twice as big as King's Landing. But it suffered from one crucial thing.

Their command needed to be improved. Even with thousands of men standing on the walls, I could see through my far-eye how inefficient these men were stationed. Archers were scattered too much. There wasn't any concentrated archer company at the gates. Getting close wouldn't be a problem with shield walls and roofs on battering rams.

Even the spearmen were all over the place. I would concentrate melee fighters at the gates and have them in reserve. But I knew why the Good Masters of Meereen decided to do so. They wanted to show their strength. They were flaunting the men, thinking we would fear them. I could count ten to fifteen thousand soldiers guarding the city. But without a proper command, the numbers won't matter much.

After gathering as much information as possible, I returned to our camp. Somehow I became the strategist of the Daenerys' army. It didn't mean she didn't have competent people around her, and she was pretty good herself, but I had fought many battles before coming to her. Most of them were unfavorable to me, so I knew the most about unorthodox tactics.

"Your grace," Anguy greeted me as I returned.

"How are the preparations?" I asked.

"As you can see, the camp was built up and defenses enacted," Anguy replied. "But the lack of wood in the area hinders us quite a bit."

"Have you noticed anything on your scouting?"

"Nothing much. The walls are tall as they are sturdy," Anguy replied. "Still, the way they arranged their archers is quite stupid. There is no way they can fire valleys of arrows with their formation. At best, they seem to want to cover the most area possible."

"Hmm? A good assessment," I said. "Anything else?"

"The city doesn't seem to smell as bad as I expected," Anguy laughed. "At the distance I managed to get, I thought I would smell shit and piss, just like in King's Landing. But I was mistaken. For a city as big as Meereen, they seem to know how to get rid of their shit."

"It was built in the Valyrian Empire time," I said. "The Valyrians knew how to build things."

As we exchanged information we found while scouting the city, we reached the command tent in the center of the camp. Grey Worm, the commander of the Unsullied, awaited us. The wizard and the bear were already inside. We only had to wait for the Viper and his brood to start. I took a map of the area and began to think as I waited.

"Theon, what do you think?" Daenerys asked as Daario and Oberyn came in.

"They have enough men to defend the city," I said. "But we can take it."

"Not without losses and time," The bear added. "We don't have enough supplies for a prolonged siege."

"I agree."

We had too many useless mouths to feed. Of the sixty to seventy thousand freedmen Daenerys picked up, only about ten thousand could fight, and even then, they only knew how to poke with the pointy end. Daenerys' army wasn't functional, and we had no supply lines. At best, only my ships could go to and from Astapor to pick up some supplies, but it would never be enough for everyone.

"Someone should take the refugees and settle them at Astapor," Oberyn said.

"The problem is they only want to follow Daenerys as she is their mother now," I replied. "They don't know how to be independent and could panic and feel abandoned if we do so."

"Then we need a plan to take the city fast," Daenerys said. "To you have any thoughts, Theon?"

"We have numbers," I said. "If you accept a big loss, we can storm the city."

"How big?" Daenerys asked.

"We could send the refugees first to prod the guards and waste their resources and distract them," I could see Dany's face sour with each word I said. "By the time we lose half of the refugees, we will be close to the city and should manage to break the gates."

"Half?" Dany asked.

"Probably more."

"Unacceptable," Dany shot down my plan, and I wasn't surprised.

"Your grace, this is war. Loss of lives is to be expected," The wizard said. "We don't have much other choice if we want to continue on this path."

"Would Rhaegar do it? Sacrifice tens of thousands of men for a chance of victory?" Dany asked.

"No, he wouldn't," The wizard answered without hesitation.

"Ha," I snorted. "But he did, and he did it for a girl."

"Prince Rhaegar was a complex man driven by a deeper purpose than mere personal desires. He was a warrior and a visionary whose actions were shaped by his beliefs," The wizard disagreed with a raised voice. "Rhaegar's legacy is one of passion, sacrifice, and a quest for a better world."

"It is good to have passion and beliefs," I said, slowly turning to the wizard. "But Rhaegar was no saint. He might have been a man that fought for what he believed, but his actions were impulsive and foolish. What kind of a fool would kidnap a highborn girl?"

"Ahem," Anguy turned away and whistled.

"A fool, that isn't me," I corrected myself.

"Enough," Daenerys said before Oberyn could say his piece too. Knowing him, he didn't have anything nice to say about Rhaegar. "I have never met my brother, so all I have to know about him is from the stories people tell. And I refuse to listen to the stories of people who haven't met my brother."

"Then you will only hear from people who love or hate him," I said. "You won't find true Rhaegar because those who knew him and could tell you without bias are already dead. But you are right. We shouldn't talk about the dead, and I apologize if my words were offensive. We still have much shit to do before that."

"So, how do we deal with that shit?" Oberyn asked, amused as he looked at my scribbles on the map, trying to find a way to attack the city.

"Deal with the shit?" I asked, and then an idea lit up in my mind. "The sewers."

"Well, sewers are used to get rid of shit, aren't they?" Daario asked, confused as everyone else.

"Yes, how much shit does Meereen need to get rid of daily?" Theon asked. "I will answer, a shit ton. Where does it all go if the city doesn't pile it somewhere in the city or bury it underground?"

"Into the waters?" Anguy asked, still confused.

"In the fucking waters," I agreed. "And now let's think how big it should be to function probably and not to clog. Does anyone have any idea?"

"Very big?" Jorah asked.

"Very fucking big," I once again agreed. "And I reckon it is big enough to let a group of people get inside it."

"If a hundred or so men sneak into the city without anyone noticing, we could sabotage their defenses and free slaves, causing chaos inside the city," Dany grasped what I was trying to say. "But we need to find it."

"It shouldn't be too much of a problem," I said. "It should be above water. Somewhere it wouldn't be seen. After all, Meereen is a trade city, and merchants coming to the town wouldn't want to see it."

"Meereen has most fighting pits of the sister cities," Daario said. "Not everyone would be willing to be fighting in there. If we can free these fighters, we could cause much damage and maybe even manage to open the gates from within the city."

"There should be some former slaves among the refugees that worked in Meereen," The bear said. "Somebody might know more about the sewer system."

"Then we have a plan," Daenerys said. "We should start building battering rams and ladders."

"With what wood?" Oberyn asked.

"We have ships," Dany answered.

"I will not tear down my precious ships for kindling," I shot down the idea.

"Jorah, tell Captain Groleo to tear down two of his ships for wood," Dany instructed.

"It will be done first thing in the morning," The bear said.

"Good, you are dismissed," Everyone started to leave. "Arstan, Theon, I would like to speak with you."

We listened to Dany and stayed. Yet she had other plans and summoned her little translator, Missandei. Dany tasked her to prepare her silver mare but denied her bloodriders to accompany her. Arstan and I were enough for protection as long as we stayed within the camp. Still, I knew the bear would follow when he heard we were alone with Dany.

At first, we rode in silence. Dany and I were on our horses while the wizard followed on the foot. We didn't ride fast. With a little canter, we passed stakes and pits surrounding the Unsullied camp. I could hear Grey Worm doing some drills. I had to wonder if the man ever got tired. I swear I have not seen him rest once since I met him.

"Tell me, Arstan," Daenerys spoke softly as we rode past the kneeling Unsullied. "Did you love my brother?"

"I did," Arstan confessed. "Many did. He was benevolent, brave, and thoughtful. Prince Rhaegar possessed uncommon grace, wisdom, and a rare combination of martial prowess and intellectual depth, which set him apart from other men in Westeros. It was hard not to have any respect or love for the prince."

"And you, Theon, did you hate my brother?"

"I have not met nor know your brother, Dany," I said. "I have no reason to hate him, but neither do I have any reason to love him. Ultimately, it didn't matter what kind of man he was. His actions spoke louder than his words."

"Did Lord Stark hate him?" Dany asked.

"Maybe once he did," I answered. "Who wouldn't hate a man responsible for most of his family being killed? His father, brother, and sister were ripped out of his life because the benevolent prince couldn't keep his cock in his pants."

"You said that lord Stark only hated him once?" Dany asked before the wizard could comment on my words.

"Lord Stark didn't speak much of the war, and nobody dared to ask him," I replied. "But I never heard him say he hated Prince Rhaegar or Targaryens. Those responsible for the tragedy are long dead. Lord Stark wasn't a person to hold a grudge against the dead."

"Theon words are true," The wizard agreed. "Lord Stark was one of the few who argued with King Robert over the fate of your nephew and niece. Some even thought lord Stark was foolish and naïve, but nobody could deny he was honorable."

"Yet, now I am a lone Targaryen in the world," Dany said. "One man's honor couldn't save my family."

"Well, that's not entirely true," I commented.

"What do you mean?"

"Your great uncle, Aemon Targaryen, lives and serves at the Wall as their Maester," I answered, remembering the old Maester at the Wall. I didn't know how I knew him, but I remember him. "Or is he your great-great uncle?"

"Aemon Targaryen?" Arstan asked. "I have not heard of him."

"Not surprising, not many care about the wall and the night watch nowadays," I said.

"My great uncle is alive?" Dany asked, still surprised at my words.

"From what I heard, he is old and blind but still serves at the Wall."

"I am not alone," I barely could hear Dany mutter, and as I tried to lean towards her to listen to her better, someone grabbed me and wretched me from my horse to the ground.

I hit the ground hard. When I tried to get up and prepare for the next attack, I noticed my leg was stuck in my stirrup. I had to be careful. If I moved too suddenly, I might scare my horse, and he would drag me through the camp, breaking a few bones, or the horse would fall on my leg, without a doubt breaking it with its weight.

I didn't let out a sound nor move as I took out my Valyrian steel dagger and blocked a sword descending at me. Before my attacker could swing it again, a wooden staff knocked the sword from the attacker's hands. With swift moves, the wizard hit the attacker's legs, knocking him to the ground and stabbing him in his throat. I heard a sickening crunch. I knew when I heard death.