Fatebringer | Viserys Targaryen

Chapter 9

Quentyn returned two days later with no good news.

The Golden Company had raised their price because they, too, had heard of the dragons and thought the transport of more precious cargo merited greater security. Ysira told him not to worry— at least now they knew how much it would really cost. She knew Tywin Lannister would never be able to afford it and neither would Stannis Baratheon. The Golden Company may not have been theirs but it was unlikely they would be a problem.

It was fine to Ysira, who knew they could buy soldiers in Astapor for less with the looming threat of destruction. She planned to first gather a navy and much coin in Meereen, continue through Yunkai to acquire the Second Sons, then use their navy to transport their mercenaries and the Unsullied they might buy in Astapor to Sunspear directly from Slaver's Bay.

More letters came in the days that they spent feeding the dragons and measuring their growth. Daenerys had confirmed that their wingspan had lengthened exponentially since beginning to feed off of the carcasses that lined every street in Qohor, a great meal that would help them be stronger.

On top of this, being free to fly around gave the dragons room to spread said wings, and Ysira hoped that by the end of their month-long stay in Qohor preparing their move for Slaver's Bay and the two months it would take to journey from Qohor to Meereen, the dragons would at least be large enough for them to start designing saddles to their unique shape.

Ysira watched them as she tore open each letter, smiling over at the dragons then glancing down worriedly at the pages. Her uncle informed her that Renly Baratheon had been murdered mysteriously, his army now following Stannis and the Tyrells having done exactly what she thought they would– flock over to the Lannisters. He'd heard rumor that the Tyrells would aid the Crownlands and Tywin's army in resisting a planned attack from Stannis on Blackwater Bay, and both he and Ysira expected the outcome to be a wedding between Margaery and King Joffrey, who'd have need for heirs.

It would be difficult to oppose the Lannister force now that they had access to the Tyrell harvest and all their men and gold. Still, it came with the elimination of one of the five kings on the mainland. Robb could hold the North, Balon would soon be dead with the fault attributed to Tywin, and either the Lannisters would fall under Stannis or Stannis would fall under them. One way or another their armies would be crippled. At this point, it was better for Stannis's fleet to suffer and knowing Tywin's desperation to crush this advance and focus his efforts on getting his son back, it was likely he'd find a way to come out on top.

Unfortunately, acknowledging Tywin's cleverness was not the thing she wished to do that day. Another letter had come, forwarded by her uncle after being received in Sunspear. The same script had been given to other houses in the Realm, denouncing Viserys's claim. Undoubtedly, the words were crafted by Tywin himself but released as if by King Joffrey.

"This is absurd," said Viserys as he read the letter. "'Ysira the Heartless is guiding The Beggar King and his heir toward a throne their father sat on to burn men and laugh at their corpses. They claim in Essos to have acquired three dragons through blood magic and human sacrifices, and will lay waste to our lands with foreign armies. The Dornish Puppetmaster encourages them down a path of bloodthirstiness and cruelty, and has even been heard to say that she cares not about the occurrence of slavery in Essos. She would use this to her advantage and bring these practices back to Westeros, enslaving the people she believes took the throne from the Targaryens. Her only motive is revenge, and her word means little when she claims honor in any of them.'"

Ysira remained stone-faced as Daenerys grimaced and Viserys sneered at the page. "Well," said Ysira, "this tells us someone has been listening to the things we say. It could be someone in this household, someone who overheard us in Norvos or on the path to Qohor, perhaps someone within our group. Someone let Tywin learn of our movements, our dragons, and my apparently 'heartless' beliefs on slavery. It's all taken entirely out of context but what do the lords of Westeros know?"