Chapter 35: Brown Eyed Girl

Nettles

Volantis was oddly quiet without her husband and the soldiers. Usually the streets of the city would be tingling with noise and action, as men called to each other and spoke in Valyrian, the dialect of the empire her husband was bringing back. Of course her husband and she spoke in the common tongue when alone, though her husband as a royal bastard had learnt Valyrian on Dragonstone, she had not. She knew not whom her father was, or could have been, some Targaryen Princeling perhaps who had too much energy and not enough sense. That was how her mother had always described her, and yet here she was Queen of an ever growing empire, it was something the singers would love.

Her husband had left Volantis some days ago taking with him 15,000 men made up of Westerosi who had come with them, Volanteene Tiger cloaks and slaves. Leaving behind some 2,000 men as he sailed for the Three Daughters to take advantage of the chaos that the divisions amongst that Triarchy were occurring. Her husband was ambitious certainly, Nettles knew that better than most, he was an old man King Baelon, seventy one on his last nameday some three moons past, but still strong and brave, and an excellent lover. Many of her handmaidens would often ask her how she could stand being married to such an old man, someone who was old enough to be her grandfather, and Nettles would simply look at them, the simpleminded girls, and say that her husband understood her in ways nobody else ever had, not even Daemon. Baelon knew what she liked, that she liked being part of councils, and that she did not like being treated like a simple minded girl.

It helped as well that Baelon truly seemed to be a doting father Rhaenys, Aenar and even their new born son Daegon. He spent a lot of time with the children playing with them and listening to their days, and their activities. She knew he missed his first born son, Ser Lewyn deeply, but she also knew he saw their family as a second chance, another chance given to him by the gods to right the wrongs he had made in his life. She loved him for the attention he paid to their children and to Rhaenys in particular, for the detail he gave to their education and making sure they never felt left out or lonely. Most of all she loved him because he was innately a good man, with a kind heart.

Her children occupied much of Nettles time though when Baelon was present, so she did not have to worry overtly about the council, though with him gone she was balancing her time between being with her children and overseeing the smooth running of the city and the kingdom so far. At least her children were not as much a handful as she had been as a child. Rhaenys, her and Daemon's daughter, was a peacefully quiet child who enjoyed embroidery and all the things that Nettles had never truly had time for, she was the perfect lady and would make the perfect queen either here or in Westeros when she grew up Nettles knew, she was deeply proud of her daughter. Aenar, the heir to the kingdom Baelon was building, was five years old, and a boisterous lad, though not as boisterous as Baelon had told her Lewyn had been as a child. He had an active imagination and was constantly playing close toward the lair that Sheepstealer and the Cannibal had made for themselves atop the hill of the Temple of Light, close to the palace. Then there was Daegon, who had turned a year old just a moon ago, he was a inquisitive child, always trying to pick at things and figure out what they did, his violet eyes would often glisten with pride when he learnt a new word or was able to catch up with his elder siblings. He had just learnt to walk and talk by the time Baelon had had to depart. And she knew her husband would miss them all fiercely.

It was not all light hearted entertainment though for Nettles, for as Queen of the Kingdom of Volantis she did have her duties to perform. Not duties that one would expect a normal queen to do though, for as Baelon had set sail for the Three Daughters he had taken much of his council with him including the hand Maegyr, and so Nettles was left to rule and oversee court. Which had meant that she been the one holding court the day Ser Boremund Storm had come to present his case for help. Ser Boremund the bastard of the Dornish Marches, had been a friend of hers whilst she had lived at court following the Dance, but she had heard rumours about him, from both Sylvia and Baela, unsavoury rumours. She knew he had a crush on Sylvia, thought himself in love with her, and she knew that had caused him problems at court, had led to the deaths of Lords Corbray, Grafton and Melcolm and the near end of Houses Grafton and Melcolm. And now he had brought his troubles to her home, and her court.

"Your Grace." Ser Boremund had said bowing low before her as she sat atop the dragon throne.

"Rise Ser Boremund." Nettles had said keeping her voice neutral. "What is it that you wish from the Kingdom of Volantis?"

"Safety, Your Grace." Ser Boremund had replied.

"Safety? From what good ser?" Nettles had asked.

"From the dragonlords across the narrow sea. From the Targaryens and their mad wrath." Ser Boremund had replied.

Nettles had stared hard at the man then, the person who had once been her friend, and all she had heard of him came flooding back to her. "What have you done, that would incur the wrath of the Targaryens?"

Ser Boremund had straightened up then, standing tall and proud and had said. "I spoke only the truth Your Grace. I spoke true that myself and Queen Sylvia were to have wed before King Valarr forcibly wed her, and that she confessed to me that she wished for her marriage to the king to be annulled."

There had been a lot of muttering at that, Ser Boremund might not have known or he might have known full well, that many of the ladies of the court who had been present that day were from Westeros and had been fully aware of whom Ser Boremund was. Undoubtedly he had spoken that lie to cause such a reaction. Nettles had merely stared at the man for a long, long time before eventually speaking. "What proof do you have of these accusations Ser?"

Ser Boremund smiled smugly then, and Nettles knew he thought he'd won her over. She looked at Ser Dorros Meadows a knight of her husband's moonlight guard and inclined her head slightly, Ser Dorros walked out of the room his cloak billowing behind him. Ser Boremund was not aware of the movement and held out a piece of paper from which he read. "My love, my dearest love. I do not wish for this marriage to the King to go on. He treats me shamefully and is a heathen and savage to boot. Please my love, speak with the High Septon, please." Ser Boremund stopped reading then and looked up at her, his eyes full of triumph. "That letter came from Queen Sylvia herself Your Grace. Writ in her own hand. It is my proof that I did not lie, and the King Valarr is trying to wrongfully imprison me."

Nettles had looked at the man then and had said in a cold voice. "What concern is this of the Kingdom of Volantis?"

Ser Boremund had seemed outraged then and had said in a blustering tone. "It is a concern because your husband and I were allies. We worked together to see Valarr undermined. We worked together to make sure Volantis fell, it is a concern of Volantis because, Volantis is not Westeros and King Baelon is not King Valarr."

By this point Ser Dorros had re-entered the room, and had merely nodded in her direction. Nettles stood up then and in a loud clear voice had said. "You are correct in one thing Ser Boremund. Volantis is not Westeros and Baelon is not Valarr. However, Baelon is kin to Valarr and so your accusations are an insult to the King of Volantis. And as such you must be punished. Ser Dorros, Ser Gormund see this man to the cells."

Boremund Storm had gone to the cells protesting the whole way there. Nettles had left him to rot in the dungeons since then a good moon and a half now. She knew she would eventually have to deal with the man, but for the time being she was content to let him rot in the cells. She knew how fondly Baelon thought of Valarr, it was the same way Daemon had thought of Valarr as well, it was as if both men thought Valarr to be some kind of saviour, a man more morally bound than his two elder brothers. Personally Nettles did not know what was so special about the man, he seemed just like any other man she had met before, just like any other Targaryen, the only difference being that he wore a crown atop his head.

Nettles shook her head slightly at the memory of her friend rotting in the dungeon, and brought her back to the present where both her son and her daughter were recalling what they had learnt in their lessons. It seemed fascinating to Nettles, who had never really had a proper education bastard as she was, Daemon had never tried to educate her preferring her fiery spirit, she suspected that was because his past wife had been so learned, Baelon on the other hand insisted she learn about Westeros, and Essos, and so she had for a year and a half she had studied the histories of the known world. Yet there were some things she did not learn, things Baelon did not want her to learn, such as the history of Valyria, when she had asked him why, he had simply said. "The new Valyria will far outstrip the old. Why learn the dusty old fairy tales of the cockiness of past Dragonlords, when we shall be only lords to rule the new dynasty and new empire?" And so she had acquiesced., Rhaenys and Aenar were reciting what they had learnt of dragon lore, especially how to hatch dragon eggs, something that fascinated Nettles considering that there would be maeges coming from Asshai soon enough with eggs and other such wonders, as homage to the new dragonlords.

Eventually her children went off to have yet another set of lessons and Nettles decided that she would visit her dragon. She walked out of the room and down the steps towards the stables, Ser Dorros and Ser Lancel accompanying her, their black cloaks billowing behind them. She was helped onto her horse by Ser Dorros and then they rode out of the gate and down the hill toward the lair of the dragons, Ser Dorros and Ser Lancel riding a respectful distance behind her, but with their hands on the hilt of their swords. Eventually they reached the lair of the dragons, where the former Temple had been, and Nettles dismounted, and walked into the cavernous structure, that seemed to be constantly in the dark. She heard a thud and soon enough her dragon, Sheepstealer was stood in front of her, his brown eyes staring at her intently. Nettles reached out and stroked his neck, feeling him thrum with happiness. "Have you been hunting my sweetling?" she asked. She knew he had fed on sheep before, before her, but now there was more game for him to have, sheep, cows, oxen, more meat than he could have possibly thought. She had been worried at first that perhaps the people of Volantis would not like having the dragons back, but it seemed they were too in awe of them to really voice their complaints if they had any.

That was how Nettle spent her days leading up to the visit from the maeges from Asshai, with her children playing with them and watching them grow, holding court and listening to the grievances of the nobles and slaves alike, and trying to solve the disputes that often came from such things in a peaceful manner and finally down in the dragon's lair with Sheepstealer, feeding him sheep as of old, and speaking with him and learning new things. Reports of her husband's campaign in the Three Daughters came sporadically, two moons after he had set out, word came that Lys had fallen to their forces bloodlessly, the ruler of Lys one Morko Vor Lys, surrendering peacefully in exchange for keeping his head and his ruler ship. Another two moons passed and then word came of the fall of Myr, this time a war was fought, the ships of Myr commanded by one Sharko con Lys, burnt at anchor, by the Cannibal, and aided surprisingly by Rhaenys Velaryon atop Meleys the Red Queen, it seemed as though Valarr wished to repay Baelon and Nettles for imprisoning Ser Boremund.

Finally six moons after he had set out for the Three Daughters, the maeges from Asshai beyond the Shadow came. They were men and women alike, two men and two women, who glittered in the sun and whose clothes bore the rubies of the order of R'Hllor, though they spoke not a word of the Lord of Light nor what had been done to the Temple of Light when Baelon had taken the city. Instead they congratulated Nettles on her husband's success and her healthy children, before they finally stated their reasons for coming. "We have come from Asshai, from the eldest of our order, bearing gifts and homage for his Grace King Baelon Volcarys. We bring swords from Valyria, saved from the wreckage, and we bring dragon eggs."

Nettles nodded accepting their words, then she said. "I welcome you to the court of King Baelon Volcarys. We have bread and wine here for you to eat before a feast is held. Please do sit down and rest." Whilst they were doing that, Nettles beckoned Ser Dorros up and whispered in his ear. "Make sure Prince Aenar and Prince Daegon and Princess Rhaenys stay in their room until this meeting is over." Ser Dorros nodded and spoke with Ser Lancel to see the deed done. Nettles turned back to find the maeges seated before her, their bags taken to their rooms. "Now my friends, I know your journey has been long and tiresome. But I must ask, what has brought you so far from home?"

One of the male maeges spoke then. His voice deep and rich sounding. "We have come to pledge the fealty of Asshai and the lands beyond the Shadow to King Baelon Volcarys. In the days of Old Valryia, the shadow lands helped hold the empire together, our order and our rulers wish for this to be the case once more. We see no point there being fighting between our two kingdoms. Let us merge into one and Asshai and all its power shall belong to Volantis."

Nettles was shocked by so open a display of fealty, and she looked towards Tycho Bravo, who simply shrugged. Nettles swallowed once and then said. "And what would Asshai wish in return?"

The man spoke once more. "The chance to practice our religion freely, and the chance to study the dragons freely once more. We have brought eggs from before the doom with us, that our seers have said shall hatch for your children." At that a small squat man stepped forward and opened up a chest, which had eight eggs in it, the biggest one had swirls of green, red and black on it, the next two biggest eggs were purple and orange.

Nettles stepped down from the throne and spoke once. "Your oath has been accepted."

The maeges spent a moon in Volantis, speaking with Nettles about Asshai and confirming the rumours that there were still wild dragons living within the domes of the mountains and volcanoes of surrounding the mythical city. Moqorro whom Nettles learnt was the big man whom had spoken to her that first day in court said of the dragons. "Some of the dragons who exist in Asshai and the lands surrounding the city, are bigger than Balerion the Black Dread, the oldest two are said to be five thousand years old from the dawn of the Valyrian Freehold. They are the parents of the eggs we have given Your Grace."

Nettles found her fascinated by the stories and legends the maeges told her, and the advice they gave. And found her strangely sad when she saw them off at the docks at the time of their leaving. Eventually four moons after the maeges left, word came from Baelon, the Three Daughters now belonged to the Kingdom of Volantis Tyrosh had been conquered at last. Her husband was coming home, the Kingdom of Volantis was now becoming like Valyria. House Volcarys would see to it.