Wealth and Fame
Theon POV
Not even a creak under my foot could be heard as I walked onto the ship. It was one of the finest I had ever seen. Meticulous workmanship that left nothing to chance. Masters of the craft had done their best on this one.
I was a bit jealous of it, too. Not only was it built by the finest craftsmen, but with the best materials one could buy. Big and sturdy, yet the design still allowed it to reach quite high speeds at sea. A perfect pirate ship, something only someone named the Pirate Empress would have.
It would be such a shame to burn it. So hopefully they would not test my patience, since I had none. Though looking at all those big guys around the deck, I knew it would be a bit difficult to pull anything off.
Those men weren't normal. The scars on their bodies weren't all made by blades. Former slaves, probably. Their loyalty to that woman was likely unbreakable since, from what I'd heard, she had saved them from a cruel fate.
Their strength couldn't be underestimated either. Well, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. But I would rather have such people on my side when the time came. As much as I wanted the Stepstones, I wanted them because of people like them. So killing them all would be quite problematic.
"It hasn't even begun, and you are already testing my patience?" I asked, looking up at a giant of a man who blocked my path.
"Horace, let him in," a melodic voice called, and the giant moved and opened the doors to the cabin. "You are late."
"No," I replied. "Time set by others doesn't matter to me. I come and go as I wish. I'm neither late nor early. I arrive when I must."
Even I didn't know what I was talking about. But I just didn't like it when others set a time for me. Like I had any inclination to listen to anyone. They should be happy that I decided to come tonight and not a week later.
"A king listens to no one," the Silverhand said, looking a bit too relaxed.
"A king who doesn't listen might as well be deaf," I replied. "A king shouldn't be the one to follow. It's his job to lead, after all."
Big Mom, an old and ugly woman who had spent her whole life at sea, stayed silent. Axe-hand Morgan, another giant, grunted something and also stayed quiet. But the Pirate Empress seemed to have a whole lot to say.
She was a woman getting on in years, but still possessed a beauty of roughness and elegance. It wouldn't surprise me if she had been a bed slave before she'd had enough of it all and took her fate into her own hands. Groomed to please men, but born to kill.
And then there was the Silverhand. Not much was known about him. Nobody even knew if his silver gauntlets had really melted into his hands or if he simply never removed them. It was probably quite hard living with lumps of metal on your hands, but then again, I wouldn't know.
"Since everyone is here, let's begin. I won't repeat myself twice," I said. I didn't want to waste any more time. "Come under me, and I promise you wealth and fame."
"And if we don't?" Morgan asked, showing off his axe.
"You will." Did they really think they could test me? "It will be under me, or under my blade. I am a generous king, but I am also a merciless one. It's up to you to choose which side you want to see."
"As much as you are known in the Seven Kingdoms, those things matter little to us," Big Mom said. "We were always under the blades of highborn and kings. It is a life we already chose."
"Yes, but wasn't that choice made under the expectation of receiving wealth and fame?" I asked. "You can continue to rob some hapless merchant until a sword of justice comes to take your head. Or you can come with me, topple a kingdom or two, have your names sung by every mistral there is while you drown in gold for the rest of your lives. Isn't that the kind of life you want?"
"It is a beautiful dream you paint for us," the Silverhand said. "But you're forgetting something. Not everything is about fame and wealth. Well, most things are, but not everything. The problem with you is that you propose we would have to kneel to you. And that just isn't right. I don't think any of our knees can bend that way."
Were they wildlings or something? Where did that pride come from? Well, I could respect it, but then again, they were all just idiots who thought they were free and clung to that feeling, unable to understand that to be free, you needed power over others.
And even then, a man was bound to something. Even I was bound by my sense of revenge. A memory of a friend that, even after so long, hadn't faded. I could never rest until I brought those responsible for taking Jalabhar away from me and our dream.
There were also my people who worshipped me like I was a god. I wasn't heartless enough to abandon them to their demise. And it would probably be bad if I left Dany, too, especially when she had only just started to step into the final stage. There were quite a few things binding me.
"I don't need you on your knees." Still, I saw no reason to deny them their pride. "How are you going to kill for me on your knees? I am not asking for your servitude, your loyalty, and all that shit. I have a lot of people I need killed. As long as you do it for me, you get as much gold as you can carry. But if you betray me, if you try to stab me in the back, I will leave nothing of you behind."
"How scary," Axe-hand Morgan said. "Pretty words, but all I hear is that you want us to die. I've been hired by people like you before. Worst mistake of my life. In the hell that is a battlefield, I was used as a sacrifice. It doesn't sit well with me to fight in someone else's war. A war that has nothing to do with me. I'd rather stick up for some rich merchant."
"As crude as that idiot is," Big Mom added, "I've lived long enough to know it's better not to interfere in someone else's war. Especially in the mess that is the Seven Kingdoms. No amount of gold can buy a man's life."
"In the end, you're just going to use us and then dispose of us," the Pirate Empress agreed. "If any of us wanted to be sellsails, we would be. We are pirates for a reason. We are petty and we are cowardly, but we aren't ashamed of it. You simply can't buy us. Nobody can."
"Well, unlike those proud assholes, I don't have any pretty words to add," the Silverhand said. "I just like to go where the wind takes me. It just happens that most of the time it brings me to rich merchants. And who am I to defy the will of the wind?"
So they had already decided to deny me before I even came. Their show of unity was nothing but a lie. They only wanted to make sure I wouldn't try anything. To show why, alone, they might not be much, but together, I wouldn't stand a chance right now.
What could I expect from them? It wasn't like they would ever, for any reason, want to work for their keep. It was an easy way with them, or no way at all. None of them would risk their lives for anyone, no matter how tantalizing the reward was.
"Hahaha." What a mess I'd gotten myself into. "It's so funny. Fuck, you really are something. You want an easy life, so just say it. I'll throw you all into the frontlines? Of course I will. Do you think I'll give you gold for nothing? Enough of this play. I gave you a choice. And if this is your choice, who am I to disagree?"
"At least you're sensible enough to know it," the Pirate Empress replied.
I was wrong. I thought they were similar to us, similar to me. That they'd risen from nothing to take everything into their own hands. But in the end, they were just little fish satisfied with scraps sometimes thrown to them. And they were supposed to be the biggest and strongest crews?
The pirates who ruled the Narrow Sea? What a joke. Every single one of them wasn't worth a penny I was offering them. They were all cowards hiding on this little island. Playing kings without knowing anything.
"It is unexpected, but thank you for your time." Well, if it comes to it, it seems I had no other choice. "I now know it won't be too difficult to burn you all down and take everything for myself. I will go, but I will come back. Wait for me and at least try to put up a fight."
At least that's what I wished to do. But once I stood, the big guy from before was once again blocking my path. Seriously, did they really think that going after my bounty would be an easier job? That was quite insulting.
Then again, I had put myself on their laps, hadn't I? I was alone, and there were quite a few of them. In their turf. Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. I suppose I could thank them for at least listening to me before doing this.
"Wealth and fame, you said," the Pirate Empress spoke. "Why go anywhere to achieve it when it comes right up to us? There was no notice saying we should kill you for the reward, and it would be troublesome bringing your dead body all the way to King's Landing. So just surrender, will you? I promise to at least leave your men alive."
"Kids these days." It was hard to control myself, I just laughed. "They do not understand when they should stop messing around. You think you can kill me? You? The best swordsman of the known world, the Kingslayer himself, failed to do so. The Mountain that Rides got his eye ripped out by me for trying to kill me. My own father drowned because he tried to kill me. You don't even imagine the mountains of corpses I left behind of the people who tried to kill me. And yet you dare make such a claim?"
They probably sent people to my ship, too. Well, even if they did, I knew very well how skilled my men were. If it is a defensive battle on our ship, it won't be too difficult for them. I should probably be more worried about myself. But I just can't help it, I kind of like this kind of shitty mess I got myself into.
They probably thought it was luck that let us beat that Blackbeard or whatever. They can't comprehend that there are people who can kill anyone who comes for them, no matter how many they bring.
In the end, they are just little kids playing a game, thinking they are better than others because they spent their lives picking on the weak. They can play the game as much as they want, but they will never be able to make the rules. I am the only rule in this game.
What I say and do is all that matters. Nothing else, no one else. If they don't want to follow that rule, they will be destroyed by it. There's nothing else to it. It is time they learned. They have lived their lives in ignorance for far too long.
Since they refused wealth and fame, I will give them blood and fire. Let them choke on it until they realize how big of mistake they made by standing in my way.
A.N. Sorry for not posting this story for a while. While writing my other ASOIAF fanfic, I just couldn't stop thinking of this one, and it just didn't sit well with me not to finish it. So I will focus on this one for a while before returning to the other fanfic.
As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to 7 more chapters and 28 chapters in total with all my other stories, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.