✓ | POOR JUDGMENT (A.FORRESTER)

Finally Arrived. Chapter Nineteen.

The sun's bright glow rained down upon the outstretch of sand, illuminating the land like gold, contrasting with the tropical, blue sea that lapped at the coast. From all the stories, that Mira had read to her whilst growing up, of adventures in Essos, Cynthia had never imagined that Slaver's Bay was so beautiful. And now, with the wooden vessel, that of which she had shared this long journey with, slowly approaching the docks, Cynthia spared a moment to enjoy the view while it lasted it. She tried her hardest to ignore what was beyond the horizon, because in all honesty it frightened her, and instead she chose to think of home; she wondered how Rodrik and Talia had been since she left, or how Arthur fared on his journey home, or how Mira was in King's Landing, as it had been so long since they'd last met, and how Gared was now that he was North of the Wall. She cared for her family, and hoped they were well while she was so far away, though truthfully, this was the only time she spared to think of them, as there was only one Forrester her thoughts resided on. He was so close she could almost see him, the moment almost upon them, yet somehow that failed to diminish the nerves that fell in her stomach. She'd come too far to give up, but could not prevent the ever-growing fear of what awaited her in Meereen. And for a split second of doubt, it wasn't just the Forrester that had her contemplating the journey home.

She'd almost forgotten the other reason she had faced such a vast distance, her sister. She had not thought much of the Mother of Dragons since Jon had enlightened her, except on the odd occasion she spoke with Rodrik on the matter, and now suddenly the thoughts resurfaced. She was here to meet her sister. The only flesh and blood she still had on this Earth. That was the scariest thought, wondering whether Daenerys would actually believe her claim, or if she'd just wave her off like any other accusation. And then it really hit; if Daenerys didn't believe her, there was no way she'd help Asher in anyway, if she knew he was connected to Cynthia.

Trying her best to shake off the potential outcomes, Cynthia paid more attention to the land that was now so much closer. The boat had stopped. She was here, after 2 long weeks of being at sea, and 2 further weeks of travelling across the North, she'd made it. It almost didn't feel real, as though she walked in a dream, and was about to wake up. One step off the boat and she'd be back at Ironrath. When considering such an idea, Cynthia could not deny that being back home, in the comfort of Ironrath, with her family, once more didn't sound too bad to her currently - as she found herself still contemplating getting off of the boat at all. If she stepped forward, allowing her fate to be confirmed, who knew what would happen. She couldn't be sure that this was what she wanted, if she was ready to face Asher again, after so long. All she could hear was Rodrik's voice, from the evening Asher had been sent away, saying 'If you don't tell him now, you'll lose your chance,' for a long time she believed that, and was sure that now was far too late to tell him how she'd felt for so long, when presumably all he thought of, when away, was Gwyn. If she showed up now, she wondered what his reaction would be to her appearance, would he be happy or annoyed? If it were the latter, she was not sure how she'd handle it. And if stepping of the boat conjured the possibility of rejection from him, Cynthia was sure she'd much prefer to go back to Westeros there and then.

As all this sailed through her complex mind, Cynthia found the familiar, quivering of the boat to have vanished, and was instead met by the solid, stone harbour. Somehow, through her daze of thought, her feet had made her decision for her. She was doing this. She was going to find Asher if it was the last thing she did - she'd spent too long waiting for the day he finally came back to her, that she'd wasted away time that could have been better spent. Before, she'd taken family for granted, thinking they'd all be there when he finally showed up, only now she understood how naive that had been. Ethan was gone, Rodrik had stared death in the face and somehow come home, Lord Gregor had not been so lucky; Talia held herself together, with a strength Cynthia could never comprehend, Mira was far south, as Gared was far north, and all the while Asher had been all she'd cared about. And if there were ever a time for those wasted years to pay off, now would be it, as Cynthia was not prepared to tell Elyssa of the loss of another son. Not anytime soon.

Treading carefully across the harbour, Cynthia found herself stopping again, this time with her eyes fixed on the horizon. She'd been scared before, but now she fell simply breath-taken. Meereen, it's lands and scenery had been beautiful, but the sight of the city itself, with the golden sun setting over it's shoulder, was far more beautiful than words could explain. In awe of the sight, Cynthia found herself waning with a strange sense of pride - this was what her sister, her true family, had accomplished alone. If that wasn't something you should be proud of, Cynthia was unknown to what was. Her sister was a queen, a Khaleesi, and the Mother of Dragons, titles gained being without a man at her side. Just hearing of her actions in Essos had given Cynthia hope, hope that one day the young Targaryen would return to Westeros. Why she wished for Daenerys to be home she wasn't sure, perhaps it was the sense of having the final member of her family around that filled her with a potential comfortness, she wasn't sure. What she did, however, know, was that a mere few leagues away remained the love of her life, a realistic goal that was barely out of her grasp; a goal she was determine to reach before the sun arose the next day.

Setting off across the large desert plain, Cynthia began to focus on where she was going; she'd heard people on the ship talk of Daenerys being located on a ridge to the south of Meereen, which is where she aimed to reach. No doubt Malcolm had already reached Asher, and had begun on their trek there - or with any luck, had already reached the camp. It was only when thinking of Malcolm then that Cynthia realised something - he didn't know. Malcolm, nor Asher, knew of her travelling to Essos, and if Cynthia knew Elyssa's brother as well she thought she did, he was going to go mad at the sight of her, alone, in Essos of all places. It amused Cynthia at this thought, but the knowledge that he would not even be looking for her made her feel slightly uneasy; the possibility of her not making it on time, and that when she finally arrived they might already be gone, bound for home without her, scared her more than she cared to admit. This only sourcing her motivation to reach the camp as soon as possible.