Even while it was happening, she wasn't quite sure what was going on after she and her men surrendered. She could tell her men couldn't either. They had seen it too, the way Euron had avoided their missiles, as if by fate.
'no' some traitorous part of her psyche whispered 'by fate.'
It was a bitter idea and one that made her want to rage with defiance. The idea that what her uncle said was true, that he was destined for greatness and protected by the Gods.
If that was true then what was she? A pawn? No more than an ant? A salt wife like he said?
She would rather die.
That thought brought a bit of strength back to her, waking her from her walking stupor. She had been brought aboard the enormous white ship and stripped of her weapons, but not locked in a cell, just guarded on deck by a pair of men in ornate Greenlander clothing and polished steel breastplates. They carried odd spears with holes at their top but did not speak to her aside from ordering her around. The rest of her crew had been taken on board as well, but they put up no more resistance than she did.
She only truly woke up even as they were brought into port, realizing that there was no ship such as this in the Redwyne fleet.
She turned to one of the guards, trying to remember how Greenlanders talked. "Who is your lord Ser?" she asked, though the words seemed foreign to her, and came out awkwardly, she had only left the Islands twice before, even her experience sailing had all been between them prior to this journey.
The guard looked at her and chuckled. "We're no knights Lady Greyjoy. Though I thank you for the compliment, our Lord is Prince Arthur Baratheon, as you might see by the flag hanging up there above the raven's-nest."
She glanced up and noted that indeed, the royal crest was hanging from the top of one of the ship's enormous masts. 'Arthur… which one is that a- oh, that was the one we sent that betrothal letter too, Lord Stannis son.'
She had agreed to it at the Reader's behest, mostly because he had said it would get her ships, but she had never really thought about the boy much at all past that. Still, he was supposed to be in Dragonstone from her memory.
"What's he doing here then?"
"Have you not heard? He's having us sail all across the coast to visit his potential betrothed, He's here to visit with Desmera Redwyne."
"What, like some sort of bride picking pleasure cruise?" the idea of it was ridiculous, well, real ravers took salt wives, but that was about claiming them, not diddling about wasting food and men.
"I'm not quite sure I would call it that Lady Greyjoy, but if you must describe it as such it is close enough to the Truth." She turned, seeing a group of men had walked onto the deck via a gangplank. "That said, I'm sure Lord Paxter here is far more interested in why you are here than I, and likely even more so in why you were fighting another Ironborn ship in his Bay."
She looked to regard the boy who was obviously the Young Prince. Black hair and blue eyes, like his whole family from what she had heard, but a high collar to hide greyscale along the side of his face. He wore a strange white outfit, with black embroidery and a golden stag knit upon his breast. He was not as tall as her, but obviously a fair bit younger as well, and large enough given his age. Beside him was the man she presumed to be Lord Paxter of the arbor, who like the prince's father had fought in the battle that killed her brothers. Middle-aged, but surprisingly skinny, and dressed in red and purple finery.
"Euron is a kinslayer, he killed my Uncle lord Harlaw, I am merely pursuing justice against him."
The young prince narrowed his eyes at that, while the Lord proper nodded. "Yes, I had thought it was something like that, from what the prince had said. That doesn't change the question though. Why were you doing it in my bay?"
"My Uncle has been leaving a trail of gruesome mangled corpses down the coast of Westeros, I knew he would try to raid the arbor and cut him off."
"And didn't let me know?" The Lord glared at her balefully. "We would have his head on a plate right now if you had alerted my fleet, girl. You have failed in your vengeance and let him get away besides. Not to mention breaking the king's peace in my waters."
"I… I doubt it. Did you not see bow the wind left his sails? All our arrows missed. My uncle has bought his safety from us with bloody sacrifices."
"I doubt that very-" Lord Paxter went to continue but the prince cut in quickly.
"The gods you say. Not just the drowned God then?"
"He did not seem to worship the Drowned God anymore no, he spoke with madness, but all missiles we threw against him missed as if fate itself was turning them back."
"Hmmm." The prince held a hand to his chin. "Can you tell me anything else about him?"
"He said that he was invincible right now and that he would return to Westeros when there were bronze titans and eyes and God's and the like."
"Hmmm. If you don't mind I'll have you and your crew write down exactly what he said." he turned to his men. "The Ironborn are free to go, presuming they stay on this ship and their own, and do not try to leave port. If they do you have my permission to train your gunnery on them. Seven know you need it after missing that kinslayer today."
She could swear the boy seemed two feet taller when he was talking to his men. "As for you Lady Asha, I would ask you to stay here and not attempt to leave for now. You will be able to pursue your Uncle soon enough, but I must speak to Lord Paxter first."
She thought she heard the old lord grumble something like "precocious brat" but the Prince didn't seem to mind so she paid it little thought, instead she began to asses the value of pursuing her treacherous uncle.
Was it even worth it, now he seemed such a monster?
Was it worth the risk?
She thought of her uncle the reader, how he had taught her and been pleasant to her throughout her early years.
Yes.
God-champion or not she would have Euron's head on a stake, and the God's too if they tried to get in her way.
'Well,' she chuckled bitterly to herself, 'maybe not that last bit.'