Chapter 83: Not Naive

[ Semiramis POV ]

I could see it, the man in front of me was completely out of my understanding. A sword couldn't kill him, and he was like an illusion. What else could I do but listen to him?

"What do you want from me?" I asked the man, while still keeping my sword ready to strike him. Though in reality, I was going to run away from here as soon as I could.

"Simple, I want information on the dragon," the man smirked as if he had already convinced me. "Daenerys Targaryen, we aren't telling you to kill her, but simply keep tabs on her. The pay is good, and that," he pointed towards my room where Viserys' dead body lay. "We will take care of it. No one in Braavos will notice."

These fuckers. Just saying that was as clear as declaring that they were part of the Redhawk Family. How much damn influence did those guys have? I just killed Viserys and they already know of it. 

Fuck. Is there some kind of spy shack in my room where spies are hidden? It seemed like I had underestimated the Redhawk Family without even meaning to. 

"So, what's your choice?" Asked the man, his voice strange and rough, yet mysteriously hypnotizing.

"I accept," What the fuck? Like there was a choice, to begin with. These guys would slit my throat, encase my feet in cement and drop me at sea. "So, how much are you paying?"

The man started walking away, his footsteps strangely made no sound. "Look at the Iron Bank, you will see that this job is quite profitable. Also if you complete this, I will give you a hint as to who your father is. Not just any man can get a Valyrian steel dagger for their daughter."

As he walked closed my eyes and thought about this, and once I opened them, he was gone. 

So this was what being stuck between a rock and a hard place felt like.

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[ Arthur POV ]

I opened my eyes, just having finished putting my daughter through an illusion and she was talking to herself. It was the same tricks the Warlocks used.

As soon as she touched my red hawk, she was under a short illusion. Though if I continue using it on her then she will build resistance towards it.

Tentative people could also see the unbalances in illusions and notice that the illusion didn't perfectly show everything normally. That was why I had to make a cloaked man with only his mouth showing.

Still, the illusion had done its job and my daughter would look after Daenerys. Semiramis was a smart girl, smart enough to dress like a boy in a man's world. Medieval times weren't a good time to be a woman and my dear daughter understood that.

Though technically she wasn't my daughter anymore and instead had become my sister after I possessed Oliver. As Arthur, I had a lot of children all over the world. Some died and some became useful.

...

Seven years pass and Oliver's territories flourish. The port in the North, the Three Sister Islands, and Carclaw Isle flourished and saw quick prosperity.

This was all due to Oliver publishing the Redhawk Reforms, something that told that only someone competent could become the mayor of a town under his rule and not just because someone was born as the son of the lord, that didn't mean anything.

A lot of well-educated people and even some Maesters left the Citadel and came to assume titles of Mayors and Governors. Tywin Lannister had seen the results these reforms were having but he couldn't put them into practice. Why? Because of something very simple. The name.

The Redhawk Reforms, that name would be quite problematic and if people saw that the mighty Tywin Lannister used the same methods it would be nothing less than showing that the House of Redhawk was better than the Lannisters. 

Oliver was sailing in a boat towards Essos and he had just gotten news of Jon Arryn's death. - 'It was only a matter of time. Jaime and Cersei were becoming too careless. Also, I made sure that Arryn got his hands on the book which showed that all Baratheon children had dark hair and blue eyes.'

Unlike the canon timeline, many things had changed. But Oliver still made sure to stir chaos a little. That would only be beneficial to him as his base of power had stabilized. Though he hadn't seen Braavos, with the help of his hawk he had observed the city's progress even though Oliver's body was on the other side of the world.

...

At the same time, on the North, Ned read a letter and his face paled as he looked at it. He had already gotten news of Jon Arryn's death. Which saddened him, but the old man was quite... old. 

Ned leaned back on his chair in the Lord's room and he couldn't help but sigh. Closing his eyes, he contemplated many things but it felt like another war was coming. The contents of this letter were from Oliver and the message was terrifying. 

'Jon was poisoned.' 

Oliver had no reason to lie. That was what Ned thought, but this made things just so much more complicated. 

Suddenly, his door opened and Maester Luwin came in and Ned could tell that he had more bad news by the look on his face. "My lord, there is news that a man of the Night's Watch has abandoned his post and was captured running away."

Ned clenched his jaws in anger and his eyes turned sharp like a knife. "Ready my blades and gather the boys, Bran too. It's about time he learned of his duty."

Luwin nodded and went off to notify everyone of the Lord's orders. Ned sat there, burning the letter under a candle, and just stared at the message as it was turned into ash. "Just when I thought things were going good."

The port town that was owned by the Redhawks in the North had been very successful and the taxes from it had already been profitable enough to feed the North through the winter. But now that this news came about, there might be a war soon.

...

On Pentos, Semiramis had grown into a beautiful woman and her charms couldn't be hidden even with her men's clothing. She stood with a rapier in her hips and followed Daenerys as the rightful Queen of the seven kingdoms wore a beautiful silver dress. They had both been invited by Illyrio Mopatis, a Merchant Prince of Pentos.

"So, why do you think he invited us?" asked Daenerys, she had a playful smirk on her face while looking at her best friend. 

"Who knows, maybe he wants to marry you," Semiramis' dark eyes met Daenerys' purple and they both smiled at each other sensually. They had known each other for years now and knew each other better than they knew themselves.

"Oh?" Daenerys acted surprised. "And you are okay with that my dear Semiramis?"

"He is... less than aesthetically appealing," the dark-haired and eyed Semiramis said, and pointed towards the entrance of the mansion and they saw Illyrio Mopatis was there waiting for them. He was a man wearing good and expensive clothes and he was overweight, just like most rich people in these lands. 

They stopped speaking badly of their host and as they got closer, Illyrio smiled at them with a happy look and opened his arms as if he was about to engulf someone in a rib-crushing hug. "Daenerys Stormborn, I was overjoyed when I heard that you had blessed our free city with your presence."

"Do you tell that to everyone?" Daenerys inquired with a questioning look on her face. 

Illyrio looked a little awkward at that, but as a skilled Merchant, he immediately tried to change the subject. "Of course not. I heard-"

"Then is this your attempt to seduce me?" she questioned once again. Daenerys wasn't desperate for the man's backing or money as she and Semiramis had built their wealth. But she was going to take Westeros as Queen and not some whore who was only used for her name and then thrown to the side. 

Illyrio had dealt with many kinds of people when he made deals and traded. But never encountered someone quite like Daenerys. She didn't seem to be under any pressure or greedy for the riches he could offer. 

Semiramis stepped forward and she smiled at the chubby merchant. "Excuse us, Lord Mopatis. But might we know why you have summoned us here?"

Illyrio was sweating madly due to being in the sun for too long. He didn't know a lot about Daenerys as even Varys hadn't been able to get a lot of information on her. But that didn't mean that she hadn't shown how she was through her actions. 

One of the plans Illyrio had cooked with Varys was to have the Dothraki get involved. Khal Drogo was known as a mighty Khal with an army of 40,000 at his side. Now though, the plan had changed. 

'Daenerys Targaryen isn't just some naive girl that will follow along with whatever others told her to do. She was someone who could become dangerous ... to little Griff.' - thought Illyrio as a deadly look appeared in his eyes for a split second before it went away, as if it was never there, to begin with. 

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A/N: Well, everyone is moving now and we have caught up with the start of the show. 

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 Don't forget to throw some power stones :)

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