"Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?"

[thebrideoffire]

WHO: Daenerys Targaryen and OTA!
WHEN: As nobles and merchants return to the Citadel
WHERE: Merchant Square, the gates Taravast, and Palace of the Doxe
WHAT: Arrival of the Mother of Dragons
WARNINGS:


I. Arrival to the Citadel

The welcome has been overwhelming, to say the least. A far better sight than Khal Jhaqo and his khalasar. Though when she had first come to in the Stairs of Sighs and was spotted by the band of minor nobles and merchants, it wasn't much of a different feeling than seeing the Dothraki. In both situations, it was simply Dany with Drogon, now it seemed, he was the size he had been in Astapor. There was no riding him now, instead he curled around her shoulders and neck. His serpentine body and black scales startling against the canyon and harsh sun.

She would have to reflect on the magic of it later and how someone had managed to change her child. The moment the men and women saw Drogon, they crowded around Daenerys eagerly. For the few daring to touch her dragon, she quickly pushed their hands away, sensing Drogon's agitation as his claws dug into her skin. She attempted to communicate with them, not recognizing their language. First in the Old Ghiscari/High Valyrian blend of the Meereenese. Next trying simple High Valyrian. When that didn't work, she hoped and prayed the Commmon Tongue would be understood, but that was much like the rest. The most she tried finding their language, the more the pressed in around her and stared at her with wonder. Finally, in desperation, she tried Dothraki, but that was a lost cause.

So here she was, tattered, burned and dirty, looking more like she crawled from the bowels of the Seven Hells, following a large group of people and relying on their gestures to understand them. It didn't help that as they reached the entrance to their city, others started to flock around her as well. She wasn't feeling nearly as regal or majestic as the people were treating her. The more they crowded in, the more agitated Drogon started to become. She kept her hand on him, but soon he was launching himself from her shoulders, taking to the sky and flying across the Citadel.

"Drogon!"

II. Merchant Square

It's becoming more and more obvious that something was being planned when Daenerys was ushered into the Merchant's Square. The man that repeatedly called himself "Rosso Capello" had stayed with her up until the square. Only then did the merchants take control of her. Some stood on crates or boxes, spouting lofty speeches and stories, that while Dany couldn't understand, recognized as some extoling of virtues. She wasn't exactly a glorious sight, but people still stared in awe at her. There was no real room to escape, and for better or worse, she was relying on the people that found her to take her somewhere safe.

She just didn't expect to become a side show at the same time, no different than the mummers and slave auctions in Essos.

Drogon returned, perching on one of the stalls and staring down with his red eyes, no different than the blood red of his horns and back plates. He was terrifying, but that seemed to please the people. They turned away from Dany towards her dragon, still not looking overly pleased with the attention.

'How long before he retaliates? I need something to hold him, to keep him in check.'

The whip she acquired in Daznak's Pit was gone now, but there were so many stalls and so much merchandise, there had to be a whip somewhere. She touched the shoulders of people, repeating the request again and again. "Please, I need a whip." Only to be met once again with the blank (but mesmerized) stares of the people.

"Please can someone understand me?" She shouted in common tongue.

III. Palace of the Doxe

By the end of it all, Dany is exhausted. There was a grim realization of what was happening when money exchanged hands and she was lead away by...some noble household. The way the merchants responded to them, it was someone influential and of high standing. There was no gold collar, at least. No brand on her face denoting what she was slated for (which thank the Gods didn't seem to be a pleasure house.) It was possible to escape all of this as she had helped the others in Astapor. True, there was no army, but there was Drogon.

Yet...the idea of more charred bones at her feet, chaos in the city and looks of anger made her feel sick to her stomach. Where was she supposed to go? What should she even do? This place was foreign to her and she was starting to realize it wasn't Essos. So, without much objection, she followed to the Palace of the Doxe.

Along the way, a sorceress named Karsa offered her a communication and translation device. It was such a relief that Dany started to cry in gratitude. At least she wouldn't be lost in both language and world. There was information, stories about others who were newcomers to the world, which cleared up how she got here. Knowing there were others also was a comfort, though she didn't ask if they were bought and sold as well. She'd find out soon enough.

Reaching the Palace, Dany took a seat on the marble floor, not responding to any further attempts to move her. They brought her here, but they couldn't make her budge. Not until she was ready and had some energy. There were others, people who appeared a bit out of place compared to the rest.

Hoping they might understand her now, she called over, "Are you a newcomer as well?"

Comments

Citadel!

[sergeant_slick]

The city was a damned mess. He was a mess. Some of the canals were dry, which was the only reason why the ones still frozen solid weren't flooding right now. Some horrible naked lady on a horse had made organic droidekas. His skeleton got rearranged last week. He didn't even want to know what had happened to his brain in the midst of that mess.

He hadn't slept or shaved in a couple days, too busy hunting down straggler critters from the attack. He might not remember being one very well, but he'd learned enough to find and kill them.

Now, though? Now he needed a break. Fall back to the palace and pass out for a few hours.

But of course there was something blocking his way back. A dense crowd, gathered around a human. Or was that an Arkanian? They had silver hair, right?

Whatever the hells they were, they didn't look pleased to be there. Neither did their pet.

This was getting out of hand. He started pushing through the crowd, not bothering to be kind about it. He wished he had his helmet, the amplifier in it would be useful right now.

But he still had the sergeant voice. It was harsh, loud, precise, and expertly crafted to jolt every shiny little bugger in a fifty meter radius.

"Citizens! Step away from the white-haired woman!" That got their attention. "Give her space! And give her animal room to land, unless you want it to get those claws on you instead!"

He turned to the closest, fanciest-looking local. "Do you want that?" He didn't give the civvie a chance to respond beyond a stammer. "I said, Do you want that?"

He heard the beginning of a No, and cut them off again before they could follow it with a but. "Then everyone get back, now!"

It worked, at least for the moment. The local joined in the call, and that helped convince the rest to pull back.

Now he could finally talk to the person at the center of all this. "You alright? You don't look it."

He was going to regret talking like this later, but that was a problem for tomorrow's Slick. Today's Slick was exhausted and had no brain-to-mouth filter anymore.

[thebrideoffire]

In the midst of the crowd was a sudden barking of orders, much like a soldiers. For a moment, it sounded foreign to her ears, but perhaps that was because she was used to the different language for so many hours. Suddenly, the words started to fall into place in her mind, her heart rising to her throat. She nearly toppled, ready to embrace whoever the person was overjoyed to hear something similar to the Common Tongue.

Drogon gave a screech, but continued circling in the sky. At the very least, people moved away, granting her a bit of air and space. This wasn't a new experience for her, but it didn't make it easier to manage, especially after such a difficult arrival and journey. Even with her hair singed, it was still a noticeably white buzz. Apparently it was significant enough for others to notice, now referring to her by the name.

She touched her scalp, some of the burns having healed over. Still, whatever her state, whatever her exhaustion, she was thrilled to see this stranger. "I'm as well as I can be." Given...well, everything. "Can you understand me?"

[sergeant_slick]

"Yeah. Got a translator... thing taking care of that. It's magic, that's all I know." Was this another offworlder? She didn't seem to be speaking any of the local languages he'd heard so far, though it was always hard to tell. You had to concentrate to hear past the translation. Squint your ears.

That wasn't a phrase people said, but they should. Anyway, better to get her out of here before asking those sorts of questions.

"We've got some healers that can patch you up." He glanced toward the critter circling above, tracking its flight path. "Is that thing going to follow if you start moving, or are we waiting for it to come down?"

[thebrideoffire]

She looked back towards the merchants that had saved her. Despite granting space, they were still watching her intently. Astapor, Yunkai, and apparently here, men would always be possessive of their "property". Dany leaned closer to him, despite the others not being able to understand her. "I don't think these men will want to let me out of their sight." No one has collared her or treated her as a slave, but it's a distinct feeling she remembers. A certain look, certain behavior another would have. She would always remember.

Her lavender eyes followed Drogon's circling, waiting for him to disappear behind the buildings, but he seemed willing to stay close. "I don't know. I thought that I had him better trained, but he sometimes goes where he pleases." He had followed her in the Dothraki Sea, but that was land he knew and not a crowd of people swarming around him.

"It would be safer to get him somewhere else."

[sergeant_slick]

"Yeah, well, they're going to have to deal with it." Screw the politics of this city, they weren't going to stop him.

Although, actually--

"Good," he said, more loudly. "Then we can head for the Palace. Get you announced to the court after you're healed up," he glared at the local bigwigs in attendance. That'd keep them off for a bit.

"Or whatever the hells you want," he drops back down to a mutter. "If you're looking to make a run for it, I'll help."

[thebrideoffire]

His gesture made her smile. That overwhelming sensation hadn't disappeared. Drops of kindness were rain in the desert. However small it might seem to him, it was ocean for her. "Running wouldn't do very much good." She had already flown off on her dragon before coming here and that had left her lost and vulnerable. That was a world she knew. Here? What was beyond that canyon? "I have no food or water and this place is unknown to me. It would be like running blind, don't you agree?"

The palace caught her notice, as well as the reaction it gave those merchants. Some of the people were murmuring with interest, others were still consumed by the sight of Drogon. "The palace? Is it yours?" He didn't seem like a prince, more of a soldier than anything.

"What is this place called? This city?"

III. Palace of the Doxe

[glorioussong]

Stubbornness called to him above every fancy flourish of etiquette. Achilles appreciated anyone who knew their mind and when Daenerys refused to move, he started to hone in on her. He was dressed like a noble, all shiny and golden, his hair brushed until it gleamed like his helmet. But there was a sword at his waist and a lyre in his arms. Settling himself before the maiden, he plucked the strings of said lyre, humming a few notes.

Those notes were in perfect pitch and haunting in a way a normal bard couldn't manage. No matter how skilled.

"Does it matter?"

[thebrideoffire]

He's familiar in a way, both beautiful and luxurious. His fine clothes, lyre and gleaming hair stood in contrast to what Dany had seen and experienced this day. Next to him, set against the marble pillars and floor, she could imagine herself back in Qarth. There hadn't been many she had met that seemed to have stepped out of her world, though she doubted he had.

"Perhaps not," she answered with a bemused smile. "Though you seem to be well treated." He was largely left alone, as far as she could see. His clothes were very fine and he was well fed. If he was a slave, then the owner of this palace was very kind to those they bought and sold. "I ask only because you seem different from the rest."

Beyond looks and mannerism, he was still set apart from the merchants and nobles. His calm was slightly unsettling after such a trying day. "The Sorceress Karsa said there were others brought here as well."

[glorioussong]

Westeros was not his world, unfortunately, but there were similarities between the East, Greece and Troy. He might be able to set the Mother of Dragons at ease for a moment or two, though was that his intention? It was difficult to tell with Achilles. He danced on the fringes, untouched by blade or blemish, unafraid of hardship or toil.

"I treat myself." which wasn't entirely fair considering his circumstances had been blessed since his arrival, "I am a purveyor of wine. Who could resist seeking my wares?" but his hard gaze said he was more than that. Much, much more.

A prince. A warrior. A general. A demigod.

While he spoke, his fingers continued to move over the strings, mindless and yet beautiful.

"I am Achilles." he inclined his golden head, "Have you eaten?"

[thebrideoffire]

There was that moment of relief, but the more he spoke, the longer she spent in his company, the more unsettled she became. It was difficult to pinpoint what it was. There were glimmers of something close to home. Some magic, some air of Essos...or was it Valyrian? Had he purple eyes, she might believe him one of her own. A dragon lord. Though there was no dragon present, save for hers, and no magic that she could see, save for his musical abilities.

"Merchants are granted rooms in this palace?" It certainly is a mark of respect for him. "Your stock must be sweeter than honeyed wine." The offer is met with one of hesitation. She longed for something to eat, something to drink, but it was difficult to know who to trust. Too many poisoning attempts had her wary.

"I'm sure they meant to feed me," likely to drag her to the kitchens or something of that nature. "I'd rather stay here." It might be her only free choice. "My dragon can always bring something, if need be. Unless they decide to cage him."

[glorioussong]

"Your -"

Dragon. That did it. If only he had purple eyes then perhaps his eccentricities might make sense to her. Alas, Achilles had green and his eccentricities were all thanks to his goddess mother. When you have to dive into the sea on mother's day, well, you're bound to be a bit strange.

"Foreigners are granted rooms. You have your own if you care to leave the floor." he spoke quickly and placed his lyre on his back. Rising onto his feet, he left her.

Without word. Without explanation.

Only to return with a platter of food and yes, some of his wine too. He set it all before her and started to eat too. See? It wasn't poisoned.

"What is your dragon's name?"

II

[wooden_one]

Chu Wanning could understand this woman though he had noticed that not everyone else could. He wondered what that meant but perhaps that wasn't important at the moment.

The man she approached was dressed in all white, strangely clean for all the city had just gone through. He'd opted for his cultivator's robes after recent disasters, realizing that he'd failed to blend in so it was more important to be prepared. The overall effect gave him a sort of otherworldly look.

Except his expression which looked pinched in a frown since he has a rather terrible case of resting bitch face.

"Why do you need a whip?"

He had noticed the dragon (though he didn't recognize it as one. Dragons, where he's from do not look like that) but he didn't realize yet that it had come with this woman he was speaking to.

[thebrideoffire]

He seemed stern and serious, but that didn't matter so much in the moment. Simply having someone who understood her was a blessed relief. He could be sharp and harsh and she would still be grateful for his presence. While he seemed to frown, she grinned, silently thanking him for being here.

She pointed towards her dragon, his red eyes watching the crowd below. His back was haunch and his two legs gripped the stall, fabric tearing under his claws. "He's becoming aggressive. If I have a whip, I can keep him from burning this part of town." She ran a hand over her head, forgetting for a moment that her hair was burned down to a peach fuzz.

"He might hurt someone if I can't control him."

[wooden_one]

He looked towards the dragon (still without realizing it was a dragon), then looked back at her, his frown deepening.

"Does it have to be you?"

He's concerned but his concern could, on first glance, seem more like annoyance. A creature like that...should the responsibility of keeping it in check be left to just one person?

[thebrideoffire]

That question never even occurred to her.

"Of course," she answered. "I brought him into the world, I raised him. He's as much a child to me as anyone could be. I must take responsibility for him if something happens." And Gods, let her keep him in check before that something was another pile of charred bones.

"Please, will you help me find one?"

[wooden_one]

When she put it like that, he could understand a little. If it were one of his disciples, his feelings would probably be similar.

...not that any of his three disciples were dragons or anything but very ordinarily human. But if they ever took the wrong path, if they were ever in a situation where they'd hurt someone...it'd be his responsibility.

So he nods, as if agreeing to help look. Except, then he takes a step back, his expression as before.

"Hold out your hand."

That's all the explanation she gets before he holds out his own arm. "Tianwen, come forth."

And there's a flash of light golden light at his fingertips that reforms itself into a whip. Well, sort of a whip. It looks like a willow vine, with leaves and all, but it has a handle and it's shaped like a whip. It also feels distinctly magical (to those who can sense such things) and not only that, but quite powerfully so at the same time. He closes his fingers around the handle.

Then he looks at her expectantly.

Perhaps, if he were less socially inept he may have asked her to hold out her hand now rather than before. He may have explained what he's actually holding, maybe. But he really isn't very good at talking to people so this is what she gets.

merchant square

[elfuego]

Like the rest of the crowd, Zuko spent a good few minutes standing still as a stone while he gaped at the small dragon perched on a nearby stall. This one, like the one that idiot Macaluso tried to give as a gift to the Bessis, was wholly unlike the ones he had seen back home, but that didn't make it any less sacred in his mind.

On the verge of stepping forward to join the masses in gawking, the young woman's pleas finally hit him and he tore his focus away from the dragon, frowning in concern as she called first for a whip, and then, more perplexed than before, for someone who understood her.

Sparing a brief, uncertain glance down at the pendant he had been given by Karsa he stepped forward, the awe on his face replaced by concern. "I understand you," his eyes narrowed. "Are you okay?"

[thebrideoffire]

Finally, words she knew. She felt close to collapse from relief. It only occurred to her minutes later that this was a boy her age. The scar on his face caught her notice. She knew such scars, having seen it on others, among the former slaves. It was likely she would be scarred as well after Drogon's outburst before. She was still for a moment, as surprised as the boy had been towards her dragon. He was almost a miracle set against so much chaos.

Was she all right? No, yes. How could she say? This was a strange world and she was surrounded by so many people that wouldn't grant her space and air. She felt near desperate, shook by these events and what might come. Drogon could react at any moment and she had no means to keep him in mind. "I need a whip," she answered, glancing up at her child perched on the stall. His serpentine body curled, hunched in warning for others not to come close. "If he is pushed too much, he might burn this market. The whip will help me keep him under control."

She rubbed her scalp self consciously, conspicuously aware that her hair was nearly burned off, leaving only a bit of white fuzz. Scars were there as well, not as bad as his own, but still from fire. "Are you...are you a native?"

[elfuego]

For a moment Zuko set aside the immediacy of her situation and studied her, intently curious, his eyes following her hand as she rubbed it over the pale fuzz on her head. "Uh."

He caught the movement of the dragon out of the corner of his eye and the sight brought Zuko back down to earth, and he shook his head as if to clear it stepping back as he pulled off the coat he had found during the siege, holding it out to her.

"Will he follow you? We can probably find one at the stables." He almost wanted to offer to try and help soothe the dragon, but like the ice dragon from the tower, he feared this one was also too different from the ones home to understanding bending like the dragons from his world had. He wasn't going to start dancing at it in front of the entire marketplace.

[thebrideoffire]

He's a bit awkward but that isn't very off-putting. It could either be this situation or that she was a bit strange to see. She could believe both easily. There are still a number of people pushing in around her, as though she were some sort of mythical being or savior. It was suffocating.

When he offered the coat, she managed to push her way free from the people surrounding her closely. "He might, but it's hard to say. He's a bit rebellious." She slapped away a hand that tried to touch her hair. "I would rather try than stay here any longer." Just save her, Zuko. She can't take this anymore.

"Drogon," she called to her dragon, hoping that would be enough. He seemed to perk up a little. His head turned towards her, watching her intently with his blood red eyes. "Show me the way."

[elfuego]

His eyes cut towards the person touching her and he stuck his arm out with a scowl, pushing people back away from her as he listened to her speak to the dragon, mystified.

He had no time to question what was going to happen, Zuko instead stayed busy keeping people back as the girl followed her dragon, and he walked after them both, hovering protectively while trying to keep their path clear.

III!

[airbender]

The palace entrance basically clears out as Aang comes wandering through not too long after Dany settles into her new spot. The fact that Dany hasn't also vacated the area is what makes Aang stop to regard her even before she addresses him, and when she does he grins. "Sorta! I've been here for weeks." Weeks seem like a terribly long time, when you're Aang's age. And as bored as Aang has been even with all the excitement going on: being seen as a bad omen has really taken the wind out of his sails, when it comes to the mischief and trickery he'd normally be getting up to in an excitingly strange new place. He doesn't want to encourage the idea that he actually is bad luck personified, after all! "But I'm not from around here, if that's what you mean."

He doesn't really look like he belongs, with the shaved head and bright and conspicuous blue arrow tattoo that points downwards on his forehead, matching the one that runs along the arm he's got uncovered by his robes, but all the places where he looks like he fits in are long gone so he's used to it. Dany doesn't really look like she's from around here either—he's pretty sure he'd recognize her if she'd been wandering around, not much older than him but with hair as bright as the moon, just like Princess Yue.

He inches closer, curious. "I'm Aang! What's your name?"

[thebrideoffire]

His appearance is both strange and familiar all at once. While she hadn't seen an arrow like that before, face paintings or tattoos weren't uncommon in Essos. His robes as well were reminiscent of something she might have seen among traders, even if she couldn't pinpoint which ones. Here, he stands out more blatantly, but that is almost a relief. Another one that she could clearly see is an outsider.

He's her age, as far as she can tell. While she has a bit more hair than him, it's still singed down to a white fuzz. There are a spattering of burn marks on her. Arms, hands, and scalp. It would be strange if she heard he was an embodiment of a bad omen. Given her current state, she would think he was far better off than her.

"Daenerys of House Targaryen." It seems more formal than she should offer someone so exuberant and cheerful. She laughed, realizing the air she had grown used to assuming around older, more severe men. "Daenerys. Call me Daenerys."

[airbender]

Aang plops right down onto the ground with her, legs crossed. He hadn't seen the commotion of people trying to move her earlier, but he totally gets taking a stubborn stance out of sheer exhaustion, and Dany is really giving off that vibe right now.

"It's nice to meet you, Daenerys." He does a polite little bow, which looks very silly while he's sitting down, and then promptly casts around them at the now empty foyer area like he just noticed that's where they are, leaning back onto his hands like he's gonna get a better view that way. He mostly does it so he doesn't just sit there staring at her, which she probably doesn't need right now. In his experience of Taravast, people stare enough already. "This place can be pretty crazy, huh?" Aang's been a lot of places, as a nomad, but not places like this. "I was just taking a nap and boom, I'm in this weird city!"

[thebrideoffire]

He's young and isn't ashamed to act as such. It's refreshing. How many times had she seen children playing when she was younger and wished she could join them? Being next to someone her age, open and carefree, it lightens the weight on her stomach. The tension from earlier begins to melt away and she feels herself becoming comfortable in his presence. There was something calming about him as well, a natural skill that she couldn't exactly explain.

It was the sort that belonged to true leaders and those who knew themselves.

"It's very strange," she agreed, letting her amethyst eyes drift over the ceiling. It was almost a mix of Qarth and a dream. Awe and dread accompanied that thought, uncertain what was going to be ahead.

"I must have fallen asleep where I was. The next I knew, I was in the canyon." Had she been asleep? The last she remembered was the Dothraki horde. After that, searing heat from the canyon and the sun, the sudden awareness that she was even further from home.

"Were you here during the attack?"