Chapter 16(a)

It took a few days for Caspian and Daenerys to purge all of the filth from the city and in that time, the Unsullied had gathered up all the masters that had tried to escape and Daenerys had had every single one of them executed and their corpses placed on the crosses on the walk of punishment for the birds to feast on.

She had done this as a testament to all those that had escaped that slavery would no longer be tolerated in her newly ruled Astapor.

The slaves that had been hanging on the walk of punishment and were still alive she had taken down and cared for.

Those maesters that had been in charge of healing only the ill among the elite and tending to them exclusively would now be tending to those former slaves who had been subject to malnutrition and horrible diseases.

Meanwhile, Caspian had taken the liberty of looking into the private stores of money in Astapor to see how much the city had been making and was astonished to see that with the Unsullied that had been sold in the previous years there was quite a good deal of gold and jewels in Kraznys private store.

As a result, there would be enough to build several dozen ships. It would be nowhere near enough to build an entire fleet to carry eight thousand Unsullied plus the untrained ones across the Narrow Seam but it was a start.

Caspian also knew that there was no way to take back the Seven Kingdoms with only an army of eight thousand. The Lannisters themselves had an army of twenty thousand strong all of whom were loyal to his grandfather.

When he had relayed this information to Daenerys, her face had tightened and he could tell that she was irritated.

"We are going to need far more than we have here to take on even the Westerlands your grace," he told her as they strode through the city on the fourth day since they had taken Astapor. "Are there any other cities around here that may employ armies of Unsullied?"

"Perhaps," she said slowly as they paused before the city gates to watch some of the Unsullied patrol past. "But we cannot employ the same tactics that we used to take Astapor. By now word will have spread far and wide because of what happened here. I am certain that we did not catch all of the masters and even if we didn't there are people in the city who would have had connections to other cities and letters will have been written and ravens sent that Kraznys is dead. Drogon was an effective way to gain control of the city but now if we want to take the others, he will need to be bigger and I refuse to waste lives pointlessly on a siege."

She had a point. Unless the dragons were big enough to tear down doors which they weren't yet, the only other way to take the other cities was by a siege. And given the troops they had, eight thousand was not enough. It would also be foolish to waste lives that they needed to take a city when there were other ways to do it that time would afford them.

However, time seemed to be the one thing Daenerys was impatient with. She had a desire to take back the Iron Throne and she wanted to do it soon.

Caspian cautioned her however that a ruler would have to learn a good deal of patience if she wanted to be successful as a king or queen.

He could tell that the information irritated her which was proving to be something interesting that he had learned about her.

While she valued council like his, she had a desire to prove herself and Caspian wondered whether or not that had something to do with her brother and what she had gone through living in exile with him.

He didn't know her well enough to ask questions however but at the same time, he was curious. Like him, she was a very private person and kept her own past and feelings to herself.

It was almost like a mask she wore when she was ruling. Caspian was a little curious as to what sort of vulnerability she was hiding beneath the mask she wore.

But then he knew he had his own flaws and own secret demons as well and he kept those to himself and made no effort to share them. So he didn't have much room to ask about her past.

"Then it seems that we will have to wait to get the troops we need another way," Caspian said. "I know waiting is the least attractive option we have right now, but in the long run it will prove to be the most practical."

She seemed to sag slightly but nodded. "Very well then. I suppose that is all we can do."

"In the meantime," Caspian went on. "We will need to take command of the ships that are already in the harbor so we might use those to our advantage. I counted about fifteen ships that are currently at our disposal."

Daenerys nodded. "It is a start."

"And we may have solved our problems with how to treat the freed slaves, those who chose to remain and serve you, as servants instead of slaves."

The Targaryen raised an eyebrow at him. "And how have you managed that?"

Caspian smirked. "There is a decent amount of timber in the city of Astapor that can be used to build ships. Why do we not put those slaves that we have freed to work building those ships for a wage? That way we achieve our ends and at the same time they are given some of our livelihood back."

Daenerys frowned. "Would they even know how to build ships?"

"I am willing to bet that there are at least one or two people within Astapor's walls who know how a ship is made," Caspian said confidently. "Why don't we put the knowledge of the people to the test? If they feel like they are contributing to your rule, they will be less inclined to have rebellious thoughts and at the same time make them loyal to you because you provided them with some sort of income and their dignity of providing for themselves."

Daenerys looked at him for a long time and he wondered if her expression was wary or impressed.

"You may have the looks of a Baratheon but you have the mind of Lannister," she said finally and Caspian raised an eyebrow. "Is that a compliment your grace?"

She snorted. "I'm not sure yet. At the very least it's benefitting me and helping the city at the same time. The fact that you are handy with a sword as well as a bonus."

Caspian smirked. "Well then if I may make so free, I will take it as a compliment."

"Hmmm."

They continued to stroll about the city and talk about the new forms of government they were establishing. Ser Barristan who was in charge of those who wished to learn to wield a sword was training several recruits who would most likely be added to Daenerys' queen's guard later, nodded to them as they passed.

Caspian and Daenerys passed through the city gates and down onto the walk of punishment where the bodies of the masters and slaves were still hanging.

Unlike before, the walk was now empty and the only consistent patrons were birds of prey and vultures who seemed to be feasting on the dead bodies.

Caspian wrinkled his nose slightly but it was no worse than what he had smelt coming from Flea Bottom or the Blackwater Bay in the heat of summer.

Gods, the stench there had been almost unbearable. You could smell the stink from five miles away.

Daenerys seemed to be slightly more affected by the smell as a grimace twisted her beautiful face. The wind blew in the next instant from the ocean however and the smell vanished replaced by the scent of salt and seaweed.

"What else have you discovered my lord Hand?" the queen asked and Caspian suppressed a smirk. He kind of liked the sound of that title.

"Some of the other ships in the harbor were carrying spices, textiles, minerals as well as fish and animal pelts from places all over Essos. There are also appears to be several ships here from Braavos carrying spices as well as textiles, mineral, and stones. The captains must have been in the city when we took it and are now dead for the ships have been abandoned and we have seized all of the goods inside."

Daenerys pursed her lips. "Braavos is one of the most militaristic of the Free Cities. My brother was fond of telling me that one way he was going to use its Arsenal to sail across the Narrow Sea back to Westeros where he might reclaim his kingdom."

Caspian snorted slightly but disguised it as a cough and wondered just how mad Viserys Targaryen had been to think that he would be able to think that his title was going to earn him the accessibility of the Arsenal of Braavos to use to reclaim Westeros. Braavos was one of their biggest threats at the moment despite its distance from Astapor.

Daenerys seemed to be on the same wavelength as him for she fixed him with a look. "Do you think that Braavos will be eager to reclaim the ships that we have seized?"

Caspian pursed his lips. "There are no more than four ships from Braavos in the harbor and they were all merchant ships carrying fish, textiles, and spices. I would not be so foolish as to think that we would be able to get away with it, but at the same time, I do think it is unlikely for them to act right away. Should they learn of what we have done and choose to act, we will need to be ready."

Daenerys nodded grimly. "We will not have the men to repel an attack if they should choose to send their army here."

Caspian nodded. "I know but it seems as if we have some time before that occurs. Plus if an army is attacking from the sea there are detriments to such military campaigns."

Daenerys frowned at him. "Such as?"

Caspian remembered what Ser Barristan had told him about his uncle Tyrion using wildfire on Stannis Baratheon's fleet. Gods if we only had some of it now. I know I'm being paranoid but if there was some way to get our hands on it now so if something were to occur we would be able to fight fire with fire….

And then he paused for a moment.

Fire with Fire.

We still do have the dragons, he thought to himself. In fact, we have seven of them. Granted four of them aren't very big yet as they are only a few weeks old and have just begun to breathe fire. But give them a few months, they will be unstoppable. And perhaps I am worrying for nothing. We have no guarantee that Braavos will retaliate about their stolen ships. We have four of an entire fleet. For right now we need to focus on organizing this city.

Caspian turned back to the queen. "I don't suppose there are any sorts of guilds here that are in charge of creating explosives are there?"

She saw where he was going right away and one eyebrow rose. "You're not suggesting that we –"

"I'm not suggesting anything at this point," Caspian said. "I'm simply doing what I always do and gathering information. I like to know every aspect of a fight before I go into it."

"Spoken like a Lannister," Daenerys snorted.

Caspian smirked slightly. "Well that your grace is something that I cannot help."

"Believe me, I know."

Ω

Another week went by in which Caspian and Daenerys were kept very busy in the untangling of corruption in the city of Astapor.

Caspian and the rest of the royal company set themselves up in the main building of Astapor and seized all of Kraznys finances before settling themselves into their own chambers and getting to work.

Caspian discovered that while the man had manuscripts of a sort and knew how to read, it was as far from a library as he had ever seen and the business dealings the man had with Mereen and Yunkai as they were the closest cities, were contemptible.

Some of the documents claimed that Astapor had taken more of its fair share of slaves or fudged the number of imports they had received in a given month. Kraznys was a greedy man and would often use the illiteracy of others against them to gain more in imports and make more money in exports.

Thank god the man resembles a roast pig right about now.

Drogon had feasted on Kraznys body right after he had burned him to a crisp in the sight of all of Astapor and while the former slaves were singing the praises of Daenerys and Caspian, some of the ruling elite was a little scared. They had done as Daenerys had requested and freed their own slaves, but some of them had chosen to leave the city and the queen had let them go. She insisted to Caspian that she wasn't about to be a butcher and if people wished to leave Astapor then she wouldn't stop him.

The part of Caspian that was still his grandfather was urging him to kill them all so that word would have less chance of spreading that Astapor had been conquered.

His own bloodthirstiness surprised him and he had to stop and wonder how the deaths of his brother and two uncles had affected him to the point where the killing had become almost nothing to him.

During this time the one person that he missed the most was his uncle Tyrion. He always knew how to cheer Caspian up and what words to say in the time of a crisis. Tyrion also knew how to be brutally honest and had beat Caspian down with his opinion more than once until his nephew had been able to think for himself.

There were times when he wished that he would be able to write to his uncle but if it were ever discovered that he had done so, he was as good as dead.

Daenerys didn't trust the Lannisters as far as she could throw them and he couldn't say he blamed her.

Though she seemed willing to trust him enough to make him her Hand even though he had the misfortune of having Lannister blood, he also knew that she was someone who valued loyalty and wouldn't tolerate treason. Nor for that matter would he.

There would be time to get in touch with Tyrion later when it was appropriate, so he held off on doing that for the time being.

In the meantime, when he wasn't sifting through the corruption that had been left behind by Kraznys Caspian had taken himself back to the times in the Red Keep when he had spent hours training with Ser Barristan.

Barristan had aged slightly since then but he seemed just as determined as Caspian to make something of himself. And so when the former prince came down the stairs of the main building with StormBreaker a week after Astapor had been conquered, the former Lord Commander wasted no time in drawing his own blade.

The two spent almost three hours in the training yard of Astapor going at it hammer and tongs and by the end of it all, Caspian's muscles were burning and they had attracted quite a crowd of people.

While Barristan gently but firmly had them move off, Caspian yanked off his shirt which was practically soaked through, and went to the water basin that one of the servants had set off to the side for them to use.

So perspired was he that he didn't even think before seizing the basin and dumping the whole thing over his head.

He shook the water out of his eyes and ran a hand through his dark curls a few times before he was assured that it was drying.

"You've much improved since the last time we met, you're reflexes are almost twice as fast," Barristan commented and Caspian chuckled, using the end of the shirt that was still dry to wipe the water from his face. "I don't know how that's possible given that the only other person I practiced with was Ser Cortnay Penrose before the shipwreck. I suppose that my being shipwrecked and having to use every muscle to the full to survive might have had something to do with it, but who can say?"

"Your father would have been proud of you your grace," Ser Barristan said quietly and an unexpected lump gathered in Caspian's throat.

He tried not to think about Robert too much. He still remembered the words he had said to him as he lay dying and wished with everything in him that he could go back in time and take them back. Robert hadn't been a perfect father by any means and he had all but ignored Caspian, something that Tyrion had taken advantage of, but the prince had never been abused by him and he even had memories of Robert when he was a little boy teaching him how to pick up a sword and use it for the first time.

The truth was…there were times when Caspian missed his father.

Sure Robert hadn't been the greatest king or father figure and Caspian had let his bitterness about his father's ignorance of him blind him with anger but Robert hadn't been an altogether bad man.

Robert had been a man stuck in the past but sometimes Caspian wondered that if he actually tried more and wasn't put off when Robert shouted at him in drunken that he might have had a relationship with his father that he might have been proud of.

And the fact that he didn't fill him with regret.

He was only now beginning to feel the full depth of it and he had a feeling he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Yes well," he said quietly. "We'll never know that for certain now will we?"

Barristan opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by the arrival of the queen who was followed by a member of the Unsullied who was tasked with guarding her for the day. She was dressed in pale blue which complemented her pale skin very well and her long silvery blonde hair was back and braided to keep it out of her eyes.

For a moment he felt a small smile touch his mouth.

She certainly was a beautiful queen.

My father will probably roll over in his grave if he were here to hear me admit that too.

"Ser Barristan, there you are," she said. Her eyes landed on Caspian then who was only half-clothed and she blinked for a moment before focusing her attention on him. "And

Lord Caspian, good, you're both in the same place. I wished to inquire how the training of the recruits was progressing Ser Barristan."

"It is going well your grace," the knight said. "Ser Jorah has opted to train them today and I will return tomorrow."

"Very good," the queen said and then turned her eyes on the still half-clothed Caspian who had turned his attention away from her and was now using the sleeve of his somewhat grimy tunic to wipe the water from his chest and arms. "My lord Hand."

"Yes your grace?" he asked turning to face her and slinging the shirt that was now in need of a wash over his shoulder.

"Have you anything further to report about Kraznys effects?" she asked.

"No your grace," he replied. "Still the same level of corruption. Still the same level of greed and sadism."

Daenerys muttered a curse under her breath and Caspian exchanged glances with Ser Barristan.

Something he had learned from being around the Targaryen queen for the last two weeks or so was that she sometimes tended to be somewhat impatient. He understood her desire to return to Westeros but this sort of thing was going to take time. He couldn't help but be a little impatient to return either, however.

There were a lot of things he had to do once he returned.

The queen regarded her Hand for a long moment before she saw. "Come walk with me, my lord. There is something I wish to discuss with you."

He nodded before pulling the shirt that he had slung over his shoulder back over his head and grimacing beneath the fabric.

Once that was done, he strapped StormBreaker to his back once more as the sword hardly left his side and followed the queen down the straight and out through the gates of Astapor to the Walk of Punishment.

Lately, since they had taken the city, Daenerys had taken to talking with him a lot more since she was now more in the capacity of ruling than she had ever had before.

Plus there were times when he wondered whether or not she was simply hungry to speak to someone her own age. They were both six and ten, incredibly young to be ruling a city, and yet that was what they were doing.

Again, life didn't take its time, it came at you and expected you to do something with it.

Ω