章 167: Chapter 167 - Artican Trade in Essos 22 (Cersei's Ambitions.).
[Chapter Size: 3200 Words.]
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Thrid Person POV
Essos, 296 AC.
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The ships continued sailing south of Essos, heading east, as they would have a few days before approaching Volantis.
"So you're making maps like this... very well drawn..." Jon heard a voice approaching as she sat down beside him while he was in his cabin, drawing with his eagles in the sky capturing the perfect details of the coastlines for him to represent on paper.
"Yes..." Jon muttered softly as he continued drawing the precise curves on his paper, his mind split between focusing on the drawing and the eagle's eyes in the sky.
"..." She looked at Jon, a little curious about his curt demeanor.
"Don't look at him like that..." Ygritte spoke near them, drawing a landscape. "He always gets so focused when he's making these drawings, since he needs every little detail." The second queen commented, and Rhaenys nodded, trying to understand as her gaze returned to Jon, concentrating on the drawing.
"Alright." She said eventually, sitting beside him admiring her husband there, making his drawings. They had married three days ago and spent most of their time together without Jon consummating the marriage due to her pregnancy.
Still, they spent every night together with Ygritte, though none of them did anything in front of Rhaenys. She knew what they did when alone, not that Rhaenys could complain about it.
Jon continued with his drawings, and even Daenerys joined them in the cabin, accustomed to entering there with Ygritte on the days Jon was away.
Jon spent a while focused on his maps until he finally finished, blinking as he noticed Rhaenys was no longer beside him but rather with Daenerys, looking at a drawing made by Ygritte. It was none other than Eragon himself, with Ygritte finishing the coloring as she outlined his features—white skin with green spots.
"You're certainly getting really good at these drawings, Ygritte..." Jon approached after finally completing his part of the continent, his eagle still on watch, gathering memories for Jon to review later.
"I know." Ygritte smiled with an arrogant response, as she had been improving quite quickly, and soon enough, she'd be able to make realistic drawings.
"This is your dragon, Jon? How big is he? Dany told me you've had him since you were nine or ten years old." Rhaenys looked at Jon, her eyes full of excitement.
"He's about fifteen meters long... he's growing much faster thanks to the sacred tree in the city... if the other dragons have the same effect from the Great Weirwood, then Artica will be blessed with many dragons flying its skies in just a few years."
"So beautiful... I didn't know dragons had four legs..." Daenerys commented in admiration.
"He's unique. I'll be off to handle some matters; stay as long as you need." Jon said in the end, and they nodded as he left the cabin.
Outside, he found his men calmly doing some tasks, but nothing urgent as they sailed with nothing else on the sea but themselves. As he walked among his men, greeting them, he went to the edge of the ship, where Arya and Wind were tossing something into the water.
"What are you doing?" Jon asked, seeing them throw food.
"We're trying to see if we can call Serume!" Arya answered with a smile, making Jon roll his eyes.
"He's not likely to come like this, considering he's got a huge shark in his mouth now... a piece of meat doesn't seem very tempting for him at the moment." Jon said, observing where his people were still following the fleet underwater.
"Tsk." Arya pouted, having nothing more to do but try these sorts of things.
"If you're bored, you should study." Jon advised.
"I already studied... I want to do something else." She demanded, knowing Jon would understand.
"Alright... grab your sword; we have some time before the sun sets completely." Jon said in the end, and the girl nodded excitedly, running off to get Dark Sister.
Jon had some orders to pass along, but he could train for a while, which was better for him than focusing on drawings—something he honestly didn't enjoy as much as the three women inside the cabin did.
In the end, they kept training while the ship continued heading east. There were the Summer Isles to the south of Westeros, an area in the sea the size of one of the seven kingdoms, where pirate activity was quite strong, along with the slave trade.
But Jon wasn't very interested at the moment, thinking he might go there on his return trip to Artica. And so the days passed, with the Articans continuing their routines while Volantis drew closer to them and their pursuers.
The activities in Dorne were passed on to the king's spies, while council meetings were held about it in recent days as well. But there wasn't much they could do, so they always ended up trying to find useless methods to deal with the Articans, since political games didn't work, and trying to defeat them by force was suicidal while they were at sea with a fleet larger than the one that had faced and decimated almost all of Westeros' naval power.
The Artican king seemed to mock them; after all, they were gathering a group at the Wall to invade the North beyond it, but while that was happening, it seemed the Articans were enjoying their "vacation," passing through the entire Essos region without caring about the increasing numbers of soldiers concentrating at the Wall to invade their kingdom. The longer time passed, the more news of their activities was heard by all.
Varys was careful to erase anything that could be heard about Daenerys Targaryen, due to Jon's threat. Varys and Illyrio had no choice now; they had to obey Artica, as he was so dangerous that he could kill them at any moment. This made Varys constantly worried about keeping this secret, even keeping an eye on the other council members, so no one there would have any rumor about it.
Thus, no one there knew about Daenerys' existence, not even Viserys, to avoid speaking out and putting his friend Illyrio in a position of being an enemy to the crown as well.
Illyrio in Pentos had also dealt with the mercenaries who survived, assassinating them a little later to keep everyone's mouth shut.
"What should we do about the soldiers at the Wall?" Stannis suddenly asked.
"We shouldn't do anything but wait." Jon Arryn began in the middle of today's meeting. "We've already sent them there, and we're not going to bring them back, wasting resources. We want to know more about this kingdom, Artica; let's take advantage of the king's absence to verify its location and structure before making any other real decision on how the Seven Kingdoms should deal with them."
"And the marriage between my niece and Jon Artica? Is the proposal still on the table?" Renly asked, not seeming very much in favor of it.
"We should cancel it!" Cersei immediately exclaimed, as she always did when the subject was raised.
"That was an agreement between the king and your father. I don't think it would be wise for us to make a decision here without their presence." Pycelle pondered, while Cersei glared at him, appearing to growl at him. The man lowered his head, wanting to avoid her fury, though he was more loyal to Tywin than to Cersei.
"Exactly, Pycelle is right. We shouldn't decide anything yet." Jon Arryn said, trying to pacify Cersei.
Baelish was the only one who didn't seem to voice his opinions, remaining silent the entire time, avoiding saying too much about his views. He had developed a certain trauma and didn't want to contradict the Articans openly in the council again, although everyone knew he would do anything to destroy them. So much so that he would soon go to Braavos, to the House of Black and White.
"Well, we can't do anything." Renly said in the end. "I know it's concerning that the Articans keep in contact with some Dornish people, namely the Martell family, but I don't think there's anything we can do."
"Summon the Dornish." Cersei spoke immediately. "Ask them to come here and swear they won't betray us. They're plotting something; we can't let that happen." She said angrily.
"Unfortunately, we can't do that without an exchange. Perhaps we should promise your youngest son to Arianne Martell." Jon Arryn commented.
"You must be joking!" Cersei exploded, not liking any of it either. "I won't do it! You already want to send my daughter to the savages in the North, and now you want to send another to the midst of the snakes in the desert!? Arianne Martell is much older than Tommen, and I know she's one of those Dornish sluts who sleeps even with her guards! I will not allow this to happen, and I will do everything to prevent my daughter from going beyond the Wall!" She declared, growling, while the others could only sigh, knowing how difficult it was to deal with her.
As everything went silent, someone decided to break the atmosphere. "I heard something curious that happened in Dorne after the Artican ships fled..." Varys began, gaining everyone's attention. "I don't know the details, but my little birds told me about dozens of Dornish soldiers fallen at Sunspear Palace, ending with the sudden disappearance of Doran's bastard, while no other Martell was targeted. Doran seemed quite concerned with her disappearance..." He finished.
"I remember he had a bastard... Is that true?" Jon Arryn murmured, knowing of Nyra's existence but without many details about the girl. After all, he had never seen her, only heard some rumors and reports about the houses, as he always needed to stay informed about the main families in his current position.
"Yes, it's very likely that the Articans kidnapped her from Dorne, which makes one think that Jon Artica has some strange interest in the bastard, as he had contact with ladies of high nobility but only acted this way with her. And, at the same time, this kind of interest undoubtedly led to enmity with Dorne. I believe their agreement ended there." Varys spoke, reasoning while the others saw a certain opportunity in this, finally finding a solution to their problems so far... Varys could even have said this before they began the discussion, but they nodded in satisfaction in the end. After all, if Jon Artica was at odds with the Martells, it meant one less enemy ally against them, and they could even sway Dorne to their side as well.
"I knew bastards attract each other... bunch of filthy beings..." Cersei said with a venomous tone, and Jon would have used a bird if he were there to harm that woman's face, for Jon wouldn't dare listen to insults against Rhaenys. But he didn't care about Westeros anymore, treating them like wind.
"I heard she's pregnant... so there's no doubt the child could be the Artican king's, considering her pregnancy aligns with his visit to Dorne..." Varys deduced soon after.
"So this sinner is having a bunch of children around..." Pycelle said with disdain.
"..." Ser Barristan Selmy remained silent, having his own thoughts.
"This is bad..." Jon Arryn said. "As much as it breaks a bridge between Dorne and Artica... if Doran's daughter has an heir with Ned's bastard son... this could make Dorne our official enemy... I can't even see a marriage between Princess Myrcella and Jon Artica..." He voiced his concerns while many saw the situation turning grim.
"In any case... let the bastards breed more bastards... I hope it happens. The Dornish will learn not to meddle with savages who steal women. So I will never give my daughter to them, and I won't give my son to the Dornish either!" Cersei said again, and the meeting continued with only dialogues lacking feasible solutions, even with this information.
Thus it continued for the next few hours, with some raising suggestions and others dismissing them with counterarguments. No one could quite figure out how to deal with the Articans, after all, they were a fleet that didn't leave the sea, and no one could bring them down in naval combat.
"What if we try to turn to the ironborn?" Renly suggested, while the others raised their eyebrows at this possibility.
"It's possible... we can use Balon Greyjoy, but I'm sure he'll want to raise a fleet again..." Stannis said with a somber tone.
"Even so, it could be a solution... This might be interesting. We can send a message to Balon Greyjoy and negotiate." Jon Arryn admitted it was a good idea and continued.
"Anyway, let's end this meeting. We will revisit this the next time we gather, which will be tomorrow." He said with authority, while everyone nodded and quickly left.
Cersei quickly left with her brother behind her, who had remained silent the entire meeting. Varys and Baelish also left together, with Pycelle following shortly after, with Ser Barristan passing by him. Two people remained there, Jon Arryn and Stannis Baratheon.
Stannis looked at him seriously. "Did you get the book?" He asked, seeing that there was no one else around.
"Yes, I've started reading it, but I need you to help me. I saw some children in the city of King's Landing, and I need to see more of them..." Jon Arryn said to Stannis, who nodded.
They were investigating a very serious case before the court, which would bring even more discord among them amidst a crisis in the kingdom. This matter involved the royal children, but they needed to investigate it in any case before deciding anything, and even if they found the truth of their suspicions, they would still have to see if they would do anything while there could be a war against Artica.
Meanwhile, at one of the windows in the tallest towers of the Red Keep, a girl with golden hair and bright green eyes, as beautiful as her mother but with a very different personality, looked at the city with suspicion. She wasn't aware that once again, she was the subject of the royal council. She already knew that she was being talked about a lot at court.
Some nobles looked at her curiously, others with pity. It seemed that everyone knew she could be sent to the North and married off to the bastard son of the Lord of Winterfell, who had traveled beyond the Wall and become a king, rich and powerful.
As she thought about this, it was then that the door to her room opened, and she looked in surprise, seeing her mother entering, while the Kingsguard closed the door, leaving the two of them alone.
"Mother?!" She stepped away from the window, surprised, looking at the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
"My sweet daughter." Cersei said, approaching as she touched her face with some affection. Her mother had not visited her much throughout her life, as she had been doing lately, after her grandfather had suggested to her father that they arrange a betrothal, still without a response from the King beyond the Wall.
"Is there a problem... my daughter?" She saw the look of concern on Myrcella's face.
"It's... difficult to explain..." Myrcella didn't know how to express what she had been thinking.
"You are going to marry. I imagine you are scared by your grandfather's and the king's ideas." She said.
It was strange for Myrcella, as her mother never referred to her father as "your father." It was always something like "your king" or "he," with a tone of disdain, but never "father." In any case, her mother seemed to look at her with pity and even contempt. In fact, Pycelle thought it was like she was an object to her mother, one that she didn't want to lose... it was strange.
"It's okay, Mother." Myrcella tried to end the subject.
"No, it's not okay!" Cersei growled for a moment, catching Myrcella by surprise. "Listen, daughter..." Cersei resumed with her loving tone. "I have heard terrible things, very terrible, about the Articans, the savages of the North." She said, and Myrcella's eyes showed some tremors, after all, she was just a girl, and her mother always insisted on this, even though she always tried to change the subject, because she knew her mother would say how horrible they were and how she would suffer.
Seeing her daughter looking at her with a certain fear, Cersei continued. "I heard they went to Dorne and kidnapped a woman, a bastard daughter of Doran Martell. I heard that this bastard daughter caught the eye of the Artican king the moment he saw her when he visited Dorne." Cersei began to deduce what had happened, even though she wasn't sure. She knew her lie would work on her fragile daughter.
"Really?" Myrcella murmured with some doubt.
"Yes, I heard that she was very beautiful, known even beyond the borders of Dorne. But the Artican king wasn't satisfied with just looking. He sent his men, who entered the palace at night, killing all the guards and even threatening the Martell family, kidnapping the girl while she was dragged by her hair out of the city and taken back to the ship." She said in a serious tone, as Myrcella grew paler and paler.
"And that same night, the Artican king had his fun with her and didn't stop for a moment, despite her screams. On the contrary, he enjoyed hearing her suffering even more. And after satisfying himself, he gave her to all of his men, and each one used her. I don't know what happened to her, but she can't be in a good state. If she was kept captive, it would be better if she were dead, as she will be used over and over by the savages..." Cersei spoke, trying to instill as much fear as possible in her daughter, who trembled, looking with vacant eyes.
Cersei seemed to enjoy this before continuing, as she was succeeding in conveying exactly what she wanted. "I don't want to scare you, my daughter, but what your king and your grandfather want is madness, and this will be your fate. I don't want my daughter to be a broodmare or even a pleasure object for the Artican king and his men. Very bad things will happen to you, so we must fight to ensure this marriage doesn't happen, do you understand?" She said, while Myrcella couldn't even answer, still trembling.
"Anyway, I'm leaving. Think long and hard about this, daughter. As your mother, I want the best for you." She said, standing up and leaving, leaving the girl there, starting to cry.
Cersei was a narcissistic woman, preferring even that her daughter die rather than marry the Artican king as his wife, lying blatantly by saying they were horrible savages so that Myrcella herself would try to reject the marriage.
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