Orwen Harlaw POV
"I want the Queen." The Sell Sail Captain, Jelal Hand-Taker said and he frowned at the price.
"The Queen…?"
"Aye. The Queen. Cersei fucking Lannister." Jelal said with a sick grin. "I heard she's the most beautiful woman in all of Westeros. I want to tie her to my bed and bury my face between her tits before I plow her golden cunt."
"…how many men would you bring to the cause. How many ships do you have?" He asked, even though he already had a good estimate.
"Three." The Sell Sail replied with an arrogant smirk. "Three of the best and swiftest ships you'll find in the entirety of Step Stones. My ships sail faster than the wind. And my men are worth more than ten Unsullied put together. Hire me, and you won't need anything or anyone else."
'I doubt that.' He thought but kept his thought to himself.
In truth, he doubted every word this sell sail captain had said so far. Sure, every captain he'd met so far had bragged about his ships and exaggerated the strength of his men. But there was bragging and there was… this.
He looked outside the window of the old and dingy tavern and saw the three ships waiting at the docks. They looked fast and were built to catch other ships in the sea. But they were also old and in disrepair. 'Fastest ships in the sea my ass. My Sunset Queen will sail circles around this whore.'
He then looked at the various men nursing a headache in the tavern. Their clothes battered and torn, their bodies stinking from having not washed for god knows how many years and their weapons were pieces of rusted crap.
Forget one of them defeating ten Unsullied, ten of them would not last a minute against a proper Ironborn man.
But Euron had asked him to go and hire other Sell Sail captains to regain their strength and get some fodder that they can use for the eventual siege of the Red Keep.
Euron had given him leave to promise anything to the Sell Sails. Even some of the treasures they'd taken from the Arbor. But…
"I can't promise you the Queen." He said and watched as the sell sail's grin dropped into a frown. "Our Captain wants her for himself."
"Your captain… Victorian Greyjoy." The sell sail mused with as he scratched his filthy beard. "I heard that he led the attacks on Lannisport and Arbor himself. Destroying both the Lannister Fleet and the Redwyne Fleet. Is that true?"
"Aye, that he did. But Prince Victorian Greyjoy died in the Battle of the Arbor. Prince Euron Greyjoy now commands the Iron Fleet."
And that was another can of worms altogether. There had been rumours among the men that Euron had killed Victorian Greyjoy during the battle in order to take command of the Iron Fleet. And that he eventually plans to kill King Balon in order to become the King himself.
He personally did not care who sat on the Seastone Chair as long as he was allowed to raid, pillage and rape the Greenlanders with impunity. But the thought of serving Euron Greyjoy…
They say that none is as accursed as a Kinslayer. And the mere thought of even harming his own brother made him ill. To serve someone who killed his own brother curdled his stomach.
But without any solid evidence, he could also do nothing but shut his mouth and do his duty as a captain of the Sunset Queen.
'And even if you did have proof, you still won't do anything against Euron.' A part of him spoke up and he gritted his teeth at the mere thought. Especially because of how true it rang.
He would never admit this to anyone, but that one eyed fucker scared the crap out of him. Euron just had look in his eyes when he looked at people. As if he knew their darkest secrets and could see into their souls. It never failed to unnerve him.
"Euron Greyjoy huh…" The sell sail's frown deepened at his words as he took a long swig from his tankard. "I've heard of him before."
"You have?"
"Dark rumours. Aye. Tell me, is it true that he cuts off the tongues of his men?"
He felt slightly uncomfortable at the query. The thought of harming his own crew mates was also anathema to him. But more men had joined Euron after he took over the Arbor Queen and became the Captain of the Iron Fleet.
All had lost their tongues for joining him. But they all still continued to serve him.
He sometimes wondered if Euron cut off their balls when he cut off their tongues as well.
"It is." He said.
The sell sail raised an eyebrow in suspicious. "And does he cut off their balls as well? And turns them into his eunuch bitches."
He almost laughed at the irony of this Sell sail bastard thinking the same things as him but shook his head. "Not as far as I know."
"They why else do they continue to follow him and not just slit his throat in a dark night?"
He grimaced but had no answer to give so he simply said. "I cannot promise you the queen. But I can promise you gold."
"Gold?" The sell sail asked with amusement. "I heard that the Iron Islands are as dirt poor as these Step Stones. And that you've been hiring all the pirates and sell sails throughout the Step Stones. Seems to me that the gold you're promising is as real as the virginity of an old whore in a brothel.
"The gold is real, I assure you of that." He said with confidence "Iron Islands might not be as bountiful as the rest of the Greenlander lands. But we have Iron, Nickel, Bronze and other metals in plenty. Not to mention, we've taken more gold and treasures from Lannisport and Arbor. Join us, and you'll have all the gold you want and more."
"Would I?" The sell sail asked, still skeptical. "You Ironborn do not seem the kind that would part with their gold freely. In fact, it seems more likely that you'll stab me in the back once we're done sacking Kings Landing. If we even succeed in doing that."
"Sacking Kings Landing will not be hard." He said "The city might have tall walls but the men have all gone off with the King to the Riverlands. It is lightly defended and will fall to an assault from the greatest Fleet in the entire world."
"Greatest Fleet." The Sell Sail said with some amusement. "I heard that you lost a lot of your ships and men in the Battle of Arbor. And then had to run from the Royal Fleet. Why would the greatest fleet in the entire world do that?"
"We did not run from the Royal Fleet." He growled and the Sell Sail captain looked even more amused.
"If you say so. And I guess that you're merely hiring all the pirates and sell sails in the Step Stones because you've got nothing better to do."
"We do not 'need' your men. Having them will just make the future battles easier."
"Oh, I have no doubt that sacrificing my men at the siege would make the battle easier for you. But tell me again, why would I sacrifice my men for you. You cannot even promise me the Queen." The Sell Sail paused at that. "What about the Princess. I heard that you have a golden haired princess as well. Is her cunt as golden as her mother?"
"Princess Myrcella? She's only a girl of 6." He said.
"Only a girl of 6, hah!" The Sell Sail barked a laugh before a sick grin crossed his face. "Let me tell you Harlaw, girls that young are the best there are. They have the tightest cunnies and squeal in the most pleasant ways when I take them. Oh, the helpless look on their faces… it hardens my cock like nothing else. If you ever had one for yourself then you would know."
He did his best to hide the look of disgust from his face. Sure, he had nothing against raping women and taking them as his salt wives. But raping a 6 year old…
He hid his sneer and said. "I cannot promise you any of the Royal Family. For Captain Euron Greyjoy has plans for them. But you can have your pick of any of the other ladies in Kings Landing."
"And what do I care about these other ladies." The Sell Sail said, almost petulantly "It is the Queen I want. Or the Princess."
"Perhaps. But imagine all the gold and treasure you can loot once we breach the walls of Kings Landing. Imagine how rich you'll become once we're done looting and pillaging our way through the eastern shores of Westeros. Join us and by the time we're done with these Greenlanders, you'll be rich beyond your imagination."
The Sell Sail rolled his eyes at his pitch. "Rich beyond my imagination." He scoffed. "You clearly have no idea just how vast my imagination is Harlaw. And all you've given me so far are sweet words and empty promises."
But despite the Sell Sail's words, he could see that the man was already thinking deeply on this. So he decided to remain silent and let the man come to his own conclusions.
There was a long silence between them before the Sell Sail spoke up. "I heard that there is a princess in Dragonstone as well. Is that true?"
"Princess Shireen, aye. She is the daughter of Prince Stannis. The captain of the Royal Fleet."
"Captain of the Royal Fleet, huh." The Sell Sail took another swig from his tankard and looked outside the window at his ships. "Tell me, would your captain still pay me, if I decided to attack Dragonstone and bring him the family of this Prince Stannis."
"And why would he do that?"
"To keep the Royal Fleet away of course!" The Sell Sail said cheerfully. "Why, if you have the family of the captain of the Royal Fleet in your hands, then I dare say that you'll have nothing to fear from them. So what do you say, would your captain pay me to attack Dragonstone."
He frowned and thought on this for a moment. The idea itself wasn't bad. And despite his earlier boasts, he knew that the Royal Fleet was stronger than the currently diminished Iron Fleet.
Plus… what do they have to lose?
He had no doubt that Euron Greyjoy plans to betray these people and take their ships and men once they'd taken Kings Landing. A man who can kill his own kin is never to be trusted.
So after mulling on this for a moment, he spoke up. "Dragonstone will lightly defended since Prince Stannis took most of the men with him. But it will not be easy to take the castle."
The pirate waved his hand negligently at that. "Doesn't matter. It is not the walls I fear. But the men on those walls. And even if I failed, the riches of Dragonstone Port should still be enough to keep me wealthy for the rest of my life."
'Riches of the Dragonstone Port?' He frowned, wondering what the hell this man was talking about. Wasn't Dragonstone Island supposed to be as barren as the Iron Islands and the Step Stones. What riches could that place possible have?
Regardless, while attacking Dragonstone was not optimum, as Euron planned to use these men as fodder in the siege of Kings Landing, he could agree that taking Prince Stannis' family will keep them safe from the Royal Fleet.
"Very well." He said with a nod. "You'll still have to talk with Captain Euron to seal the deal and get the gold you want, but I see no reason why he would decline this idea of yours."
"Perfect." The Sell Sail said with a sick grin and he hoped in his heart that someone would slit Princess Shireen's throat before this monster got his hand on her.
—
Varys POV
"You've failed to find the Iron Fleet. What use are you, if you and your little birds cannot keep track of the second largest largest Fleet in Westeros?" The Queen asked as she stared down at Kings Landing from her balcony.
He bowed politely even though she wasn't looking at him. "I offer my sincerest apologies your grace. But the Ironborn have learned how to sail away from the shores. And I have no birds among these Ironborn."
The Queen remained unaffected by his words. "You failed to report the build up of Iron Fleet. You failed to report the attack on Lannisport. And now, you've failed to find the Iron Fleet." The Queen turned her head to look at him. "At this point, I'm starting to question your loyalty Varys."
He bowed once again but remained silent.
He could feel the stare of the Queen for a good while before she waved her hand. "Leave. And pray for your own safety, that you are able find the Iron Fleet. Or else…"
The Queen trailed off at that and he gave another bow before he quietly walked out of her solar.
He went past a few corridors, entered a secret passage and walked through a few secret tunnels before he arrived at a small dark room that served as his office. A room adjacent to the Black Cells that no one was aware of.
Once there, he looked at the various reports spread throughout his table.
The truth was, he already had a good idea of where the Iron Fleet was at this point.
What he had told the Queen was the truth. For none of his little birds had managed to give him any solid information on the Iron Fleet. But he has not been a Spy Master for over 2 decades for nothing.
He had enough experience by now that he could go through a hundred rumours and with a single glance, tell which ones of them were likely to be true and which ones were mere flights of fancy.
So while he did not know about the movements of the Iron Fleet, he did know about the erratic movements of the Sell Swords and Sell Sails in Step Stones. And how a suspicious number of trade ships passing through that area have gone missing.
At this point, he was sure that the Iron Fleet was hidden in the Archipelago of the Step Stones.
The Ironborn were no doubt gathering pirates sell sails to their cause.
Such men were untrustworthy and would no doubt betray the Ironborns before long. But what if Ironborn made use of them and betrayed them before they could betray them…
He stared at the map of Westeros and at the distance between Step Stones and Kings Landing.
2 weeks. That's how long it'll take for a fleet to cover the distance. 3 or 4 weeks if the winds are unfavourable. And since the Royal Fleet is still waiting at the Arbor, he had no doubt that it'll take them twice as long to reach Kings Landing.
He'll eventually tell the Queen about these Ironborn. But not right now.
Because if he informed her too quickly, then she'll be able to gather enough men to her cause that the Ironborn might not be able to take the city. But if he informed her too late, then they might breach the city and the Red Keep. And that would be a disaster.
This entire thing needed a delicate balance.
For while he did not want them to breach the castle of Red Keep and take the Royal Family (for it was not the time and Aegon was not ready), he did want the Ironborn to take the city.
He wanted them to put the fear of gods into these Crownlanders. To make the world know how a bunch of pirates and sell swords came this close to destroying the Royal Family.
He wanted to Lords and ladies of Westeros to see just how weak the rule of the Baratheon family was.
He wanted to weaken their grasp over the Iron Throne. But not destroy them. No, not right now.
But once Aegon is ready…
Then they'll strike.
It grieved his heart to think about all the innocents that'll die in the upcoming battle. But some sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good of the Kingdom.
Their time will come soon.
Yes, soon.
Though… what is with this report about Prince Stephen's men buying large quantities of Wildfire from the Alchemist Guild?
He wanted to know more about this purchase, as well as the unusual movements in Dragonstone, but all his spies in the Island have recently gone for some reason.
Something else he needed to look into.
—
Melisandre POV
She stared at the levies training near the Dragonstone Port and frowned.
The men had all been given a proper Steel spear. But they still did not have proper armour.
And while they've been drilled relentlessly in the past two moons, they had still yet to be quenched into a real battle and made for a brittle army that might shatter if they came under too much force.
Still, the fact that her lord has managed to gather this many men and train them to this extant in the past 2 moons was rather impressive.
For an army of 7000 men was nothing to scoff at.
About 3000 of these men came from Dragonstone itself. Most of them were the small folk that they'd brought from Kings Landing. But a good deal were part of the guards and knights that did not join the Royal Fleet as well as the old men and young boys that were left behind because they were unfit for war.
2000 more were levies that had been gathered from nearby houses of Velaryon, Bar Emmon, Celtigar, Farring, Massey, Follard, and Chyttering.
And the last 2000 came from sell swords that were brought from Essos as well as the guards and sailors from the merchant ships that have also been forcefully conscripted into her lord's naval force.
All because she saw a vision of Dragonstone Port being attacked by pirates as well as Kings Landing burning under green fire as the Ironborn battered the gate of the Red Keep.
Her visions, have become exceptionally clear and precise ever since she started serving her lord. And her lord has such faith in her that as soon as she told him about those visions, he started to gather this army.
Gathering so many men under the banner of what people saw as a young boy had been an uphill task.
Even if her lord has artificially aged himself to point where he now looked like a 13 year old. People still thought of him as a mere boy. And didn't give him the respect that he so rightly deserved.
But over days and weeks, with a lot of hard work, effort, diplomacy and gold, they'd finally done it.
An army of 7000 men was not needed if Lord Stephen only wanted to protect the Dragonstone Port. For in her visions, she had only seen about half a dozen ships attacking the Port.
1000 men should've been more than enough to defend it.
But her lord did not merely want to protect the Dragonstone Port.
No, after he defeated the pirates and sell swords that'll attack the Port, he planned to sail to Kings Landing and attack the Ironborn while they're busy attacking the city.
A bold plan. And one that'll see the end of the Iron Fleet as well as the Greyjoy Rebellion if it succeeded. As well as bring great honour and renown to her lord.
'If' it succeeded.
She stood and watched as the sun fell in the horizon. At that point, the levies also stopped their drills and retreated back to their tents. Some of them going to the newly built brothels in the port town to get a taste of the whores.
It had taken some time and effort on her lord's part to find the remaining spies in the port town, and in her part to discreetly remove them but they'd eventually succeeded and now she can say with full confidence that there was not a single enemy spy in the entirety of Dragonstone Island.
An evening chill settled in as the world started to grow dark but she remained standing in her place, unbothered by the cold. Waiting.
It took another hour of waiting before her lord eventually returned from Dragonmont, and a large smile formed on her face as he flew over the mountain and landed right front of her.
It has been a few moons since he learned how to fly. But watching him actually do so never got old for her.
It was just another way in which her lord was so much greater than any other mortal man could ever hope to be.
It also made her incredibly wet and made her wish that he would stop holding himself back and just fuck her brains out.
She showed none of her thoughts as she quirked a brow at the unusually excited look on his face and asked. "Did you finally find it my lord?"
Lord Stephen's grin grew larger at her question before he took out the satchel from his back and showed it to her.
Inside the satchel were two dragon eggs. One of them was green with short golden lines on it. While the other was black with blue patterns covering it.
Both looked utterly beautiful. And could be used to hire an entire sell sword army if Lord Stephen decided to sell them.
Except, she knew that he had no interest in selling them. No, he wanted to hatch these dragon eggs.
But there was just a small problem with that idea…
"They're petrified." She said with sadness. She had already expected this to happen but the still filled her heart with disappointment.
"Are they?" Lord Stephen asked, his excitement undiminished, as he brought the satchel close to her face. "Touch them."
She quirked an eyebrow but did as he asked of her.
The Dragon eggs were hard as stone and just as cold and heavy. Her confusion increased.
"Am I supposed to feel something my lord?" She asked.
Her lord's excited grin dimmed at her question and was replaced by a light frown. "You cannot feel anything from them?"
She shook her head, and touched the dragon eggs once again, wondering what she should be feeling. But the eggs remained cold and hard to her touch.
"No my lord." She said after a while. "I'm afraid that these dragon eggs have died and turned to stone. And despite my abilities, I can think of no way to revive and hatch these petrified eggs."
Her lord closed the satchel and rubbed his chin at her words, looking thoughtful. "You really cannot feel anything?" He asked again.
She shook her head but to her confusion, her lord merely smiled at that and put a supporting hand on her shoulder.
"I had thought that you'll be able to feel it, what with you having magic of your own, but never mind. These dragon eggs aren't dead Mel."
She raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what he meant.
"I can feel heat emanating from them whenever if I touch them." Her lord explained and her eyes flew wide open in surprise as he continued. "What's more, my power is telling my exactly how much magic it'll require to hatch them."
She licked her lips as she stared at the satchel with excitement. "Do you truly mean it my lord?"
"Of course, I won't lie to you about something so important Mel."
She nodded, feeling a warmth on her cheeks at the trust he'd put on her and asked. "So, do you need me to prepare the sacrifices my lord."
"Sacrifices?" Her lord asked, confused.
"Yes. Sacrifices to fill these dragon eggs with magic my lord. It might require a lot of people to hatch these eggs but if you captured the pirates that'll attack the port and some of the Ironborn, then we can-eek!"
A hand slapped her ass hard enough to leave fingerprints and she stopped talking in order to pout at her lord as she massaged her ass cheek, ignoring the way her pussy gushed with wetness at the slap.
"We won't sacrifice anyone Mel." Her lord said, looking exasperated. "My own magic should be more than enough to hatch these eggs. And while it'll take a long while to supply it with that much magic, I have time and can wait."
"But my lord-"
"No, Melisandre." Her lord said, looking utterly serious this time. "No human sacrifices." Then he paused and added. "Not unless we're extremely desperate and has no other course of action. And even then, we'll be discreet with any sacrifices we make. Am I clear?"
She nodded.
"Very well." He said the excited grin coming back to his face. "Let's go back to the castle. I can't wait to see if I can speed up the hatching process by putting these eggs in the fire of the hearth. Or by giving them my blood."
She nodded. "So should I stop asking around for any more dragon eggs?"
Her lord paused at that and then shook his head. "No. Keep searching. Find as many dragon eggs as you can. And either buy them. Or if the owner if unwilling to sell, then tell me of their location. Once these dragon eggs hatch, it'll be very important that we have access to all the dragon eggs in existence. Lest someone else succeed in doing so as well."
She nodded. "I'll do so my lord. Though if I may ask. Do you plan to hatch both these dragon eggs?"
Her lord nodded.
"And who will you choose as the rider of the 2nd dragon egg?"
Her lord looked thoughtful for a moment before he shrugged. "We'll see. I want to give it to my sister. But… I'm not sure if the dragon will even bond with her. And if it did, then I'll probably have to marry her."
Her lord looks green at the prospect of marrying his own sister as he continued. "So… I'll probably kidnap Daenerys Targaryen and have her bond with one of the dragons and raise both of them in secret. Only revealing their existence once the King is dead."
"Seems like a good decision." She said and her lord shrugged.
"I suppose. Now let's get back to the castle. Or my mother will started worrying once again."