Hello my dear readers, sorry for the delay but here is the chapter, tell me what you think in the comments, enjoy it.
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Titus POV (random NPC created by imagination ;) )
The bustle of the camp grew fainter with each step I took, climbing a nearby hill to where I headed to take some time alone with my stormy thoughts.
'Legatus… Commander of a legion… what are you thinking about, Your Grace? Hunting, striking, cutting down, defending, those were the things I was good at. Not commanding, let alone leading a horde of barbarians, haa…'.
My mind returned to last week's battle. We had been far outnumbered, but we caught them off guard and at night, a cowardly move, some said, but one that narrowed the gap in the number of fighters.
But although we had won, yes, we had also lost.
I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering the faces of those who fought beside me that day, their desperate struggle when we found ourselves surrounded while defending the slaves we were retrieving from different areas of the enemy camp. How some, despite losing their arms and receiving deep cuts, threw themselves against the enemy Dothraki without regard for their own lives. But I understood them, I truly did, and my heart felt heavy for it.
They fought fervently to maintain their new way of life, their freedom, and that of others. They fought as Septimontians, without regard for their own lives, because they fought for something greater, an ideal.
'Their flame burned brightly but briefly.'
'In the end, I was only the one who told them to stand up and fight, not the one who actually saved them. Those were the ones who fought fervently, the ones who gave their lives for theirs, the ones who gave them the spark to stand up and fight for their own lives, their true saviors, their heroes.' I clenched my fists in annoyance, because I didn't think I deserved this 'promotion,' not when I failed to protect those under my command.
"… So… How do you feel about your new position?", came a familiar female voice from beside me.
"… Sister, what brings you here?" I asked her in a low voice, but she didn't answer. She simply sat beside me as always, as we always did when something went wrong, that silent companionship, but one that made you feel you weren't alone.
We sat there on the hill overlooking the camp, which had now tripled in size, a view I had to get used to and be on my guard against. I believed without a doubt that the same thing would happen again as when we conquered the first time: violence and rape.
'It might be necessary for Your Excellency to carry out another purge'.
"… You know… Your Grace asked me what would bring you out of your melancholy…", she said suddenly, causing my head to turn towards her, staring in disbelief.
"… You didn't do it… Tell me you didn't do it, Cornelia," I asked her to clarify through gritted teeth.
"Well… It wasn't like I told her to make you a Legatus along with the others, but you know how it is. Avidius, despite his bearing and charisma, has taken over the—how did he put it?—"a sense of community through co-teaching", political stuff, urg… but at least he takes care of the children with care", she said with a sly smile on her face, clearly enjoying my frustration.
"And Claudius is sort of the general of them all, but he seems more like the general instructor for the time being. And aside from Gaius, Julius, and me, none of the others are qualified to serve under Claudius as the leader of anything, especially the Dothraki, who make up the majority of the people in the camp".
She was right in her words, but there were still several names in my mind who could take over my position.
"But they're still…" I had to stop mid-sentence when I sensed the change in my sister's expression.
"They can't right now, and you know why, Titus," she said sharply, and I had to agree with her. They were all going through a rough time, and we were worried about their mental health, even though they tried to put up a strong front and help in any way they could.
"Yes… You're right, we have to let them recover first…" I had to remain silent for a moment after that, mostly out of my own embarrassment at trying to name them, because their situation made my dilemma and guilt seem minuscule compared to what they were going through.
"… No one knows what it's like to lose their children like they did, brother, knowing they're alive, but not being able to reach them and see with their own eyes how they are… It fills them with agonizing worry." She clearly expressed Felix and Aurora's feelings. Although I hadn't experienced parenthood, I thought I could understand the feeling of uncertainty of not being able to see a loved one.
Thinking about them only made my already guilty feelings even more intense, but she continued talking, this time about the other two who were missing and the ones we could fully empathize with.
"And the other two seem to be battling their own demons, too".
"… The Bloody Agon… That's something we can relate to… the battle felt very similar to that too… Human against human, Tacet Discord against human… It was almost the same, only this time we were fighting for what was right and not for the lords' entertainment." The comparison brought back memories of that bloody time, the violence, blood, and death of Septimontian gladiators, used as playthings only to entertain the nobles and merchants, glamorizing the massacre and calling it "tradition."
"… Of all that Your Grace has achieved, ending that barbarity has been the highlight. No one should enjoy seeing their people being slaughtered by beasts and fellow countrymen…".
"… She's been the best thing that's happened to Septimont in a long time…and here…here everything keeps getting better too".
Finally, a heavy silence fell, both of us thinking about what we had left behind and what the future might hold, the good and the bad. But whatever the case, we were fighters, warriors, who preferred the struggle to comfort, and for the moment I had to focus on the struggle and the difficulty of the leadership that Her Excellency had given me.
"… As for the other thing…", Cornelia began, but I already knew what she meant.
"Yes, I understand… but it's still a bitter pill to swallow… haa… I'm not qualified for this, sister… but you're right… for now, Her Grace needs me to control the chaos in the Khalasar. I'll help however I can… but… I may need help…" I'd tried to sound serious, but the weight of leadership had still taken a small toll on my confidence.
'Haa… how embarrassing… thirty-five years and still having to ask for help…', But despite my shortcomings, I knew in my heart I could ask her for help.
A pat on the back and a sideways hug were my response, and the weight on my shoulders eased.
"That's what your big sister is for. I still have to take care of the girls who want to fight, but if anything happens, I'm here. We have each other, little brother. Ha ha ha! Now! Let's go back to camp. I'm hungry, and I don't want the little lioness to eat all the rabbits", she said, patting me again and getting up to head back to camp.
"Sister!" I called after she'd walked a few feet away.
"Yes?!"
"Thank you!"
"Of course, little brother, that's what we're here for. I'll watch your back!"
"And I'll watch yours, sis!"
I stayed a while longer on the hill, watching the sun set over the horizon, with my thoughts calmer and my resolve firmer, now without a doubt in my heart. I would do it, I would make mistakes, for sure, but I had people to lean on, and above all…
'I will do the best I can, in your name, heroes for freedom…'.
The faces of those who fought alongside me appeared in my mind: Yitish, Westerosi, Myrish, all from different parts of this cruel world, all fighting under Her Grace's sun for their blood-won freedom. Now I could see their faces with peace, because I would do everything possible to preserve that freedom for those they fought for.
'Good… Let's see how I can tame these savages without Her Grace having to do another cleanup,' I thought as I headed toward the camp.
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The Jade Sea, near Manticore Isles.
-whispers-
"Mmm?…damn…again, haa…this is going to drive me crazy." We hadn't stopped hearing voices for three weeks now, even if there was no one around. They came out of nowhere. Strange noises, mingled voices, and sometimes, just sometimes, a name, a name I'd never heard before, it was…
"… I'm telling you, the treasure is cursed! We shouldn't have accepted the deal!"
"Tsh! You want the captain to hear you? I don't like this any more than you do, but it's easy money. Hang in there until we get to Asshai, then we won't have to worry about anything".
And this was the other thing—I'd almost had a mutiny a week into the voyage when the voices started.
Sailors were superstitious by nature, and the constant sounds were making us paranoid.
'I just hope it stops when we get rid of those damn things.'
-whispers-
'Shit!'
"Stop gossiping like women! Sea rats! Move it! Row it! Three days to Asshai! And pray we get there before I throw you overboard!".
They moved quickly alongside the others, and the continuous clattering silenced the whispers for a moment.
'Just be quiet, damn it!'.
-whispers-
-A…-
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Vaqalo POV (Augusta's Bloodrider)
"Stop! Pull yourselves together, you bastards! You're not animals to be rolling on the ground over a piece of chicken! Get up quickly!"
The shouts I heard came from an older Dothraki in charge of order in the rest area of the training area. Everyone there was new, some of them young, like me, eager for battle, but still rooted in the old ways.
I saw them out of the corner of my eye, some acquaintances, others old friends, but I didn't go toward them. I was going where necessary for the moment, because I had been given a responsibility. Our khaleesi had honored me more than others, and I had to prove I could do it. And what better way to prove it than by convincing my stubborn brothers to follow me as their leader.
'...although it might be necessary to beat them to make them understand', the thought made me form a small smile. In the end, I passed the area and continued walking for a while longer until I reached a remote tent where they had my brothers, after I sent for them. They were there so they wouldn't bother us, even if there were shouting and fighting. Because I was honest with myself, there was going to be a fight.
I arrived near the tent entrance to greet one of my friends and now subordinate, although I saw my new position more as being a Ko, despite the foreign name Khaleesi had given me.
"...Centurion Vaqalo, your brothers are inside," he told me with clear mockery as he mentioned the "title" I now had, which made me raise an eyebrow and smile equally mockingly.
"Just call me Ko or Vaqalo, Karao. Centurion is for foreigners. Khaleesi won't mind", That was the truth. She had said it, that the title was only so we could maintain a unified order and that if we wanted, we could give our people the word that most closely resembled it in our language so they could more easily associate it.
"Okay, Vaqalo, but you should get in there soon. Your brothers have been a pain in the ass and wouldn't listen to us. Ten of us had to drag them here".
"Haa... I'm not surprised. They've always been more violent than thoughtful... What do you think? Will they let themselves be convinced?", It was more of a question with a clear answer, but it was still worth hearing another opinion.
"...they're stubborn, Vaqalo. I don't think they'll listen to you without proof... although that proof would mean you wouldn't have any more siblings... the Khaleesi might be merciful, but she only forgives once", I felt a little chill run down my spine at his words. He was right. Khaleesi was like that, kind, but clear with her orders, and if you disobeyed, well... her battle against more than a hundred men without even using her "powers" was enough to make you listen without question.
"You're right... but I'll do it anyway. Either way, we were born from the same mother. I owe her that much, at least. See you later".
"Try not to get killed there, Vaqalo. Otherwise, Khaleesi will have to find another Ko", I just laughed in response and approached the tent.
I opened the flap of the tent and there they were, my brothers. It looked like they really had been dragged here, torn clothes, bruises, and small cuts. That was proof enough.
"Well... it looks like you had fun", I said when I saw them, only for them to give me looks of pure anger. "You look like you want to eat my insides, brother".
The oldest of us was the first to speak.
"…damn traitor…who do you think you are to order us here? We're not your dogs," he said through gritted teeth.
"…Did the maegi send you? Does she want us to lick her feet like you?", my other brother asked. It was a funny sight, but he didn't have that kind of taste, and Khaleesi didn't seem to either, if her lack of loving companionship was any indication.
"If she wanted that, I think she'd choose someone prettier than you, Bako, and I'm no more of a traitor than any Dothraki, Pakqo. It's a well-known fact that the victor takes all."
They didn't seem to like the truth, because they immediately stood up.
"You think you're better when you attacked us at night like cowards!" Pakqo shouted angrily.
"...just like any brother, it doesn't matter if it's day or night, winning is winning, you're just a sore loser," I shrugged at his words. 'Fool, you fight to win, strategy is just another weapon, so said Ko Claudius'.
He was about to lunge at me, but was stopped by Bako, who gave me a suspicious look, while I held my hand on my arakh.
"...it seems you've already chosen a side, Vaqalo. What did you come for?"
I slowly released the grip of my arakh, while looking at Pakqo, who realized he would have died had he come any closer.
'Okay, time for the truth'.
"...I came to tell you to willingly join me and the people I will command. Khaleesi has named me Ko, and I serve as her Bloodraider".
"...Puff...hahaha! Bloodraider of a maegi woman, hahahaha!" my older brother burst out laughing. While it bothered me, I wasn't going to do anything about it.
'If only they knew... if only they knew that no khal was comparable to Khaleesi, they'd be green with envy of the position she gave me'.
I waited a moment to see if my other brother would join in the laughter, but he didn't. He had a strange expression, a hint of mockery showing on his lips, but his brow furrowed.
As if my words had amused him, but there was something about them that bothered him.
'Well... It seems at least one of them is getting some traction'.
"...anything to say, brother?", I asked Bako, who just looked back at me.
"...tell me, Vaqalo, is there any truth to what they're saying?".
'Hmm?'.
"What exactly? Everyone around here says things", he hesitated for a moment before answering.
"...that your Khaleesi is more than a maegi, more…more than a woman".
'a…that was what made him hesitant…but where did he know about that? No Dothraki would say she was more than a woman, maegi perhaps. We respected her fighting ability greatly, but we didn't worship her like some freedmen, and I don't think he heard it from them. He wouldn't have gotten close enough to them to know. Did he overhear any conversations? Strange, almost everyone speaks to each other in their own language and tries to use the language Avidius teaches us when talking to someone outside of their compatriots, and he doesn't know it…unless…he didn't know it here…but before… Damn Bako… Let it not be what I'm thinking'.
"...where did you hear that, Bako?" I almost had to bite my tongue to speak casually, but he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"...you didn't deny it…" he said with something in his voice, perhaps astonishment. "You didn't deny that she's more than a woman, the others are like her too?" Now there was a hint of urgency in his questions.
'What the hell was going through her head?', I wondered.
"...first of all, where did you hear that, Bako?", My voice was steely, because if he'd heard that from the group that went missing, it meant he was among the torturers, and Khaleesi would demand his head.
'They were the reason for the battle, and we had all fought to avenge them'.
"...What's going on, Vaqalo? You're no one to demand anything of me", He realized he had said something dangerous, and his expression immediately closed, leaving any emotion other than annoyance off his face.
"I won't repeat myself, brother. Where did you hear of my Khaleesi as anything more than human? Last chance", It was no longer a question of whether or not they would join me, under Khaleesi, whether he was part of their assassins... I would have to hand them over to Khaleesi, otherwise it would be my neck if she found out about this later from someone else.
"Tch. Well, damn it, it was a slave we caught. He kept babbling about how his goddess had descended and would help him, and that she was coming with her half-lion daughter. I didn't believe a word of it until I saw the creature running around the camp the other day. Okay, you're happy", he replied, leaving Paqko lost on the subject and me as still as a stone.
I stared at him for a moment, unable to digest his words, hoping I'd heard wrong.
'…shit…shit…shit…haa…I'm sorry, Mother, but my life comes first'.
"I feared it would be like this… For what it's worth, I hoped you had nothing to do with them, brother… may the great stallion welcome you to the Starry Khalasar," I said nothing more and left the tent.
"Wait…wait! Vaqalo!..."
When I left, I was greeted by Karao, who understood with just a glance that I hadn't done well.
"So they won't join you?".
I remained silent for a moment, feeling the weight of what I was about to order next.
"...arrest Bako, send him to the rapists and murderers, and I'll go to the Khaleesi to inform her of this", Bile tasted in my mouth when I finally spoke.
"Vaqalo!", Karao spoke as I retreated toward the camp, making me stop.
"What happened in there?" I didn't turn around, but I knew what I would see on his face, and I didn't feel at peace enough to welcome him when I felt like scum, even though I thought I was doing the right thing.
"...he was one of those who killed the hunting party".
And I walked back with heavy steps in the direction of Khaleesi's tent.
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Red Keep, Kingslanding, Westeros.
The air in the godswood felt especially cool this afternoon, which made me snuggle a little closer to my mother's side, basking in her warmth, but my peace of mind was shattered by a small, misbehaving individual who kicked me in the head.
"Muña! The baby kicked me!" I said to my mother in surprise. The baby always kicked a little, but I'd never felt it so hard.
"Urgh, yes, it seems the baby is upset today. Let me settle in a bit, honey." I moved away from my mother for a moment, giving her space to move.
"...Does it hurt?" I asked worriedly. For as long as I could remember, every time she was pregnant, she'd have pain.
My mother made a complicated face, a look somewhere between tired and in pain, but she still gave me a smile that made me feel happy and stroked my head.
"It hurts a little, but you have to worry. Every mother goes through this." That made me tremble a little with fear. I didn't want to go through the same thing as my mother.
"...but I don't like the pain, muña", I snuggled into her again and buried my face in her chest.
"Oh, honey, you don't have to worry about this yet. You'll be much older when it happens."
"No! I don't want to! I want to travel and eat cake!".
"...of course, Rhaenyra, you'll eat all the cake you can. You still have time to do everything you want…" I barely heard her soft words, but it was good. Muña said she had plenty of time to travel by Syrax and eat cake.
"I miss Kepus… he hasn't visited me in weeks… is he mad at me?"
"Of course not, darling. Daemon is busy with his new position. He's protecting the city, you know?"
"Mmmh… but he doesn't come to see me".
"You'll have to tell your father about that. He might be able to get him to come see you."
"You're right! I'll tell him to bring Kepus, so he can accompany me on the flight with Caraxes! Right, muña?", Mother frowned, and I thought for a moment she wouldn't let me fly, but she sighed and smiled at me.
"...You know what? You're right. We should tell Viserys to have Daemon fly with you, so your mother won't worry so much."
"Good! Thank you, muña! Let's go! Let's go!" I said as I ran toward the exit of the godswood.
'Yes! I could finally fly like I wanted! It's been days since I've been allowed to!'
"Calm down, dear. Let's slow down. Your mother has your little brother in her belly," muña said. She was right, so I turned to her and took her hand.
"I'm sorry, Muña… I just want to fly Syrax… and you know what?".
"Yes, honey?"
"I think I'll have a little sister, not a little brother!" I said with a smile, but I saw the mother's smile shrink a little.
"Muña? Did I say something wrong?" I asked quietly. She had just given me permission to fly Syrax. I didn't want to make her feel sad.
"No, Rhaenyra, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just that your father wants you to have a little brother, that's all," Mother told me, smiling back at me and stroking my head.
"Well…but I still want a little sister to play with."
'That way I won't be alone…'
"…it doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, my child. You're going to take care of the baby, right?".
"Of course! I'll be a big sister. I'll take the baby riding Syrax, teach her all about dragons, and even take her to get one!"
"Thank you, dear. You'll be the best big sister." Muña's smile grew even bigger, and so did mine.
"I hope the baby comes soon…".