The Northern Dragon

CH 43: THE LION AND THE ROSE (1/2)

– Meereen –

As night approached, the gathering of the Great Masters in the Great Pyramid of Meereen showed no signs of nearing an end any time soon. Instead, the arguing voices grew louder together with the growing darkness.

"A few of us have been killed already by their own slaves! Even after they've been severely punished, the killings haven't stopped!"

"We've already dispatched troops. This chaos will end soon."

"Will it? We had to close our gates because they were taking any chance they found to escape!"

"I can't send my slaves to the ports or outside the city anymore."

"Even if they escape, so what? We can just get them back. Yunkai will dry up soon enough."

"I don't know about that. I heard merchant ships were sailing to Yunkai. Lhazar has also begun trading with that Targaryen girl."

"What could they possibly be getting out of this?"

The other party could not answer. They hadn't given much attention to Yunkai and Rhaenys at the beginning, so they didn't have any spies inside the city. They only knew about the merchant ships because Meereen's own ships had sighted them. As for Lhazar, the Lhazareen had to pass close to Meereen to get to Yunkai.

One of the Great Masters unconsciously sweated as he turned to a young man. "Hizdahr, because of that women, even mere slaves think they can stand against us. We cannot remain like this."

Hizdahr zo Loraq lowered his head as if pondering something. "What does Your Benevolence, the High Priestess, think?"

His sight moved to an old woman, already past 80, yet remaining as graceful as in her younger years. Her tokar was fully made of different shades of green and her white hair was barely visible from underneath her veil. She wore a distinct, nearly transparent silk veil on the lower half of her face. It didn't do much to hide her features, only making her green eyes contrast more.

Despite belonging to the House of Galare, one of the stronger families in Meereen, the woman had joined the Temple of Graces. After many years, she had reached the highest position in the city's temple and became the High Priestess.

When the attention was directed at her, Galazza Galare, as she was called, remained unperturbed and took her time to let her soft voice drift into the hall. "When a tree is allowed to grow, its roots and branches will find where to go. You can put stone on the earth around it, but the tree's roots will continue growing and the streets made of stone will crack. It is only when you leave it with no path to go through, when you block it from the sun and the air, when you prevent its roots from expanding and obtaining nutrients, that the tree will die on its own. A tree should not be allowed to grow uncontrollably in the middle of our city. Hizdahr, I will leave it to you."

"I understand, Your Benevolence." Hizdahr zo Loraq slightly bowed in her direction. "I will personally arrange it. What happened here, I doubt it hasn't affected the other cities as well."

– Yunkai –

"At ken dalen... dothrak... karlina yomme... Havazh Dothraki."

"Very close, Your Grace." Missandei sat facing Rhaenys and Daenerys, a smile decorating her face. "I am impressed. It is usually much harder to learn a new language as one grows older."

Rhaenys dramatically gasped. "I am not that old."

Missandei knew she wasn't actually offended, so she ignored it. "If you keep practicing, you will be a natural in no time."