Born in Flames || Game of Thrones

Chapter XX ''A necklace and a clasp''

She was hoping for a quiet morning right after Daario left. She told him that she would like him to go with the Second Sons to Yunkai and retake the city from the Masters. Then she thought she would have time for herself, she didn't tie her hair up, she just put on a red dress.

She liked this color, perhaps because she could never wear it. Although at the same time she often dressed in white, which surprisingly matched her silver hair and fair skin. Besides, she also looked good in blue and light pink, but she didn't want to see these colors on her, they only reminded her of being under the rule of the Lannisters.

Coming back, the morning was quiet until she heard someone enter her room. She stepped down from the balcony and back to the table where the maps were spread out, and met Arthur's eyes.

"I didn't expect you so early, ser."  she admitted, sitting on a chair at the table.

For a moment he wondered whether to comment on who he bumped into at the door. He would have bitten his tongue if they knew this boy better, but they didn't.

"Some people managed to beat me to it anyway."

"I take it you don't approve of this?" she asked, but she didn't seem offended in any way. She rather understood his lack of confidence in this relationship, but that didn't mean she was going to listen to any advice.

"I just don't understand how you can trust him."

"He would have killed me a long time ago if he wanted to. I don't have to trust him to know he won't hurt me." she pointed out, looking at the place where the flowers stood in the vase. "Anyway..." she cleared her throat. "I sent Daario and the Second Sons to Yunkai to retake the city."

"I'm afraid that as soon as they leave the city, Masters will capture it again. It's a vicious circle."

"That's why I told him to tell them that if they rise up against me again, they all will lose their heads. And Hizdahr zo Loraq - as my ambassador - will tell them that I was also kind in Meereen and the city and the Masters do not suffer at all due to the lack of slavery." she explained slowly, in a confident voice. "They get one last chance. It's none of my business whether they use it or not."

"It looks like you're starting to find your way to rule."

He smiled at her gently. For a brief moment, he feared that perhaps she had already ordered the execution of each of them, and then she would be no better than them. He also knew that the world was brutal and that many people - like Tywin Lannister - would do just that, but it was the easiest way to make dozens of enemies.

Some enjoyed ruling through fear, but in the end they always ended up like their defeated enemies. There will always be someone who eventually will make you pay for your crimes.
Even someone like Tywin Lannister.

"I'm trying to be just." she smiled back. She rose from her chair and gazed on the map, focusing on Essos. "When the situation calms down, we also have to go to Volantis and Lys, slavery is still common there. If I want it to never come back, I have to get rid of it everywhere." she emphasized the last word. "And then to Westeros..."

"Are you afraid of this?" he asked, sensing the uncertainty in her voice when she mentioned returning to Westeros.

"I lived there for seventeen years, and yet I don't know much about these lands, I haven't seen most of the country I want to rule in the future." she sighed quietly. "I'm afraid this fight won't be that easy, no matter how big army I gather. Tywin would rather kill himself than bend the knee to me. My escape humiliated him."

"The old lion isn't so scary in the eyes of the Lords of Westeros anymore, that's only a plus. Dorne will surely support you, for your mother was their princess."