The Age of Daenerys Targaryen

Part 7: Grief

When the ships of the Unsullied entered the port of Meereen and Grey Worm saw the great pyramids of the city, the largest of which had resided his dead Queen Daenerys Targaryen, his heart broke another time. This place brought back painful memories of a better time. A time when Missandei and the Queen were still alive.

After Daenerys Targaryen's killer was sentenced to exile to the north, Grey Worm first sailed with the surviving Unsullied to Naath Island to protect Missandei's homeland from further attacks by slave hunters. Once there, however, the islanders had warned the Unsullied of a deadly disease, butterfly fever. Although the islanders were immune to this, strangers who stayed too long on Naath died horribly from it. Missandei hadn't been aware of this since she had been abducted by slave hunters as a child.

So Grey Worm had quickly left the island and headed for Meereen instead, to continue the fight against the slavers from there.

When the Queen left Meereen to conquer Westeros, she had left Daario Naharis and the Second Sons behind to keep order. That the guards at the harbor wore the armor of the Second Sons meant that Naharis still held the city. That was the first good news in a long time.

Grey Worm wasted no time and went to the Great Pyramid. Along the way he saw how much the city mourned Daenerys. The vast majority of the population consisted of ex-slaves who owed their freedom to the queen. Most of the people Grey Worm met on the streets wore the colors of mourning. Makeshift shrines had been erected at the intersections, with candles burning in front of them and flowers and other gifts piled up. Weeping men, women and children knelt on the floor. Occasional cries of complaint could be heard. The word "Mhysa", mother in the language of the Ghiscari, was used very often. This was the name given to the queen by the freed slaves.

Finally Grey Worm reached the pyramid and let a guard lead him to Daario Naharis. He resided in the apartment at the top where Daenerys had lived and the Great Masters of Meereen before her.                

The governor and former lover of the queen received the newcomer in the room where Daenerys used to hold her council meetings. He looked terrible. And stank.

Naharis, who had once always been well-groomed, obviously hadn't washed or changed clothes in days. His eyes were red and empty wine bottles lay all over the floor.

"There you are", he grumbled in greeting. "Says how did Jon Snow die? Did you have him cut into four? Stripped his skin alive? Maybe burned? Crucified?"

"He was punished for the murder of our queen", replied Grey Worm.

Daario rose slowly and approached the eunuch until the tips of the two men's noses were almost touching. His breath reeked of wine and his eyes were bloodshot.

"You left him alive", he snapped. "I see it in your eyes. How could you do that?!"

"The new King of Westeros has banished him to the North to the Night's Watch," replied Grey Worm. "This is an appropriate punishment under the laws of the West."

"So you think this piece of shit has been punished appropriately, right? A thousand agonizing deaths wouldn't be punishment enough, damn it!"

Grey Worm didn't flinch when Daario's saliva flew in his face. He himself had now come to the conclusion that Jon Snow had indeed been punished enough. Whatever had driven him to kill Daenerys, he truly loved her. The Unsullied commander had seen the pain in his eyes the last time he and Snow had met at King's Landing harbor. The same pain Grey Worm himself felt whenever he thought of Missandei. The pain that would accompany him until his death. Therefore, the eunuch no longer wanted to see his queen's murderer dead - because death would have been a mercy for him that he did not grant him.

"What's the situation?", Grey Wurm changed the subject. "Was there trouble in Meereen or the other towns on the Bay of Dragons?"

Daario snorted. "A couple of fools wanted to revive the Sons of the Harpy. Their heads now adorn the city walls. However, Yunkai and Astapor are getting bolder every day. They know we won't have enough men to stop them when they start slavery again. And we have received reports that New Ghis is raising new legions."

"My Unsullied are ready", said Gray Worm. "If the Ghiscari want to challenge us, we'll teach them a lesson."

"You are finally saying something sensible", said Daario. "We're still talking about Jon Snow. For now, however, let's continue the Queen's work here." His grin was bloodthirsty. He wanted to kill. Grey Worm knew this feeling too.