Chapter 12

The afternoon's blazing sun beat down on Mi lin's great pyramid, the walls gleaming, the Unsullied atop the summit did not shy from the direct sunlight, standing guard meticulously, this scene put her at ease.

The top of the tower originally held a huge bronze harpy statue; after she took Mi lin, she toppled the statue and built a beacon tower on its site, with her Unsullied soldiers keeping watch to warn her of enemies from all directions.

The old nobility of Mi lin naturally resented this, but as the conquered they had no say; moreover, as the conqueror, she needed to do something to assert her rule, and toppling the ugly, useless harpy was clearly the most fitting.

Anyway, it wasn't the first time it had been insulted; not being dragged to the Dothraki plains to rust was its good fortune.

Accept death peacefully, Dan ni li si thought.

It is said that atop the harpy stood a smaller golden harpy, which had already been stolen before Dan ni li si arrived in Slaver's Bay; the master had made a larger golden harpy for this purpose, but its colour did not match the bronze harpy, looking like a rash on its head, unpleasant.

After toppling the statue, she had the Unsullied throw the statue together with the gold on top into the mint. She felt the Unsullied should weigh the total weight before delivering the statue, and the mint should report to her how many copper and gold coins her delivered material had been coined into. But months passed with no report, and she resolved to ask about it the next time she heard the mint's report.

Under the sun, Mi lin was bustling yet peaceful, seeming a city far from war, but at night it became a city of endless murder, a den of iniquity.

Meanwhile, farther off, plots against her alliance would necessarily be carried out in the sunlight.

Perhaps I should end my rule here, following Yi li li ou's advice, accept the Golden Company's fealty, march on the troubled Seven Kingdoms, and assert my father's and ancestors' rights.

"If Yi geng were alive, what would he do?" she asked the old man beside her.

In the afternoon's blazing sun, the old man wore a white robe beneath polished armor, like a proud lion, but his voice was soft and melodious, his movements graceful yet not lacking strength; Dan ni li si trusted her captain of the guard.

"Yi geng, Conqueror Yi geng?" the old man said after seeing the queen nod, "He was a great and wise man, both stern and merciful; he had also faced setbacks, suffered humiliation, but he did not let anger control him."

Yes, I know. "If he were in my situation now, what would he do, ser?"

"Your Grace, you put me in a difficult position. Conqueror Aegon is a great man; I cannot guess how he would handle this." Seeing the queen dissatisfied with his reply, he continued, "But he would surely not let conspiracies play out under his nose, let murder run rampant in his own city, and let those who opposed him gather allies everywhere."

"So he is a great man. I too would not, but I do not know how to respond; I have only loyal Unsullied, and the Brazen Beasts who serve me. The Unsullied might defeat their enemies on the battlefield, but they are not suited for city patrols, while sellswords only steal gold and women's chastity in the streets. As long as such murder continues, my Unsullied will all end up dead in Mi lin's gutters, and the whole city will be overrun with Brazen Bastards. Perhaps Da ri ao's approach is the right one. I should take up the butcher's knife and slaughter every Mi lin master and harpy's son who refuses to submit to my rule." Including the cute boys and girls who serve her at the great pyramid.

"Your Highness, I understand your feelings, but this is not the way a king rules." The old man spoke humbly; although his rebuttal displeased her, he knew he was offering loyal counsel, "You just mentioned Conqueror Aegon; I think he is great, not because the conqueror was harsh and merciless toward enemies and generous and faithful to friends, but because when his rule faced serious setbacks he did not let anger take over. During the First Dornish War, Your Highness, you should know: when his sister Lei ni si died in Dorne, he took revenge, but when the Dornish sent a peace proposal, he still held back his vengeful will and agreed."

This did not comfort me at all, and they had also not sent me a peace proposal, Dan ni li si thought; his brother Weisailiang had once commented on the Conqueror—although he admired him, he looked down on him for giving up on completely conquering Dorne and thought him too weak in that regard.

Ser Barristan

"Your Grace, you need not do this. Your marriage should be used in Westeros; the Seven Kingdoms are in utter chaos, and if you appear in time, you will surely gain the support of lords weary of war. Believe that the people of Dorne and the Riverlands will rejoice at this."

Rejoice? They are busy sewing the true dragon's banner, praying that Wei sa li si will lead an army across the sea to liberate them. Only fools would believe that.

"The common folk pray for favorable weather, healthy children, and an endless summer." This again made her think of her Da Xiong. Da Xiong is dull and tasteless, aside from his sturdy build just plain sweat, but he occasionally offers true insight; perhaps he too should give her counsel here.

Misangdai

"Tell me, ser, what do the lords of the Seven Kingdoms now want?"

"This is not hard to guess, Your Grace. The Prince of Dorne, though gravely ill and unable to walk, has even bowed to Robert's Iron Throne, but never abandoned avenging his sister and Rhaegar's children; the Tyrells are dukes raised by the Targaryens, their status not higher than their various bannermen, they hope to infuse their blood into the Iron Throne to strengthen its base; the Stormlands and the West are continually wrangling over allegiance to the Iron Throne; the Three Rivers hope only for peace and nothing else; the Iron Islands strive to restore the old ways; the Vale keeps to itself, perhaps hoping you stay away; the North, awash in blood from war, likely hopes for peace over revenge. I dare not propose a specific marriage match, but with careful consideration, your name and status alone are enough to secure a foothold in Westeros; then you need only wait for the dragons to grow, to conquer the Seven Kingdoms for you." This might be good advice, but have you seen the ruin of A si ta bo?

"You want me to bring a new war to Westeros?" She is not her brother Weisailiang; Westeros does not hold that much allure for her; if she could, she would rather return to the Red Door courtyard in Pan tuo si. But this tiny wish she does not want to reveal to the kindly old man before her, for it might hurt his feelings, or perhaps make him think less of her.

She had already sat down at the gambling table; she would not leave it until she either lost everything or won a complete victory over her opponent.

Robert

"Your Grace, the Seven Kingdoms are already a mess over the Iron Throne; you are merely going back to clean up the chaos."

"I will. But now someone has launched an attack and challenge against me. Ser, I have spent my life fleeing," before driving them back into the sea, head on a spear, knees bending for me, "I swear, this time, never again."

Ser Sai er mi did not force her, striking a good balance between the duties of guard and counsel. Perhaps Da Xiong would give him more direct advice, a more meaningful course of action, but on this matter she knows Mo er meng would agree with Ser Sai er mi equally. They both dearly want to go home.

They all have homes in Westeros, but she alone has none. In Westeros she has not a single relative, a completely solitary lone woman, she is merely drifting alone through the world.

Stormlands

Evening clouds drifted over the lofty pyramid, only thin wisps of cloud high on the horizon; at this moment Mi lin grew more beautiful, bathed in gold and red by sunlight shining through the clouds, even the distant sea was dyed.

Riverlands

She finished her dinner in the evening glow: a cup of red wine, a bit of grilled beef and thin slices of bread, with a little butter and cheese and sour lemon. The wine made her feel warm, Yi Li teased her, saying the alcohol made her more beautiful.

Perhaps? As a child she followed Weisailiang through the streets of the Free Cities, being teased as the "barefoot" princess. For a long time she did not know what beauty was, what ugliness was, nor what she looked like in others' eyes. When she began to understand a little, she could only discern her weight in people's eyes from their gazes. But this did not help her judge her own beauty, for she could never tell how much of that weight was beauty and how much was her name.

"If I married Xi ci da la, would you say it could quell Mi lin's turmoil and murder?" She felt she should not ask Yi Li these questions; they might be versed in courtly arts, but know nothing of the temple.

Yi Li widened her eyes, this adorable look almost making her laugh, "Ka li xi, I don't know. Are you really going to make this decision? His hairstyle is truly ugly, his beard laughable, and he is weak; he would certainly not serve you well, you'd be better off marrying me."

She finally laughed out loud. "This little fool," she thought.

Xi ci da la perhaps lacks outward distinction, but Dan ni li si believes he possesses the wisdom of rule, a compliant nature. Thinking of his many petitions to open the arena, she also believes he has tenacity and a touch of humor. He is not someone unpleasant, nor someone she would instinctively avoid.

If marriage could end the murder, perhaps I should marry, but it's best not to let Daario know.

Thinking of Daario she feels troubled, chaotic emotions entwining, making her feel weary.

As a lover he is adequate; as a lover he is sufficiently wild and unconstrained, but this can be tolerated; these traits would be the spice of life—perhaps an ordinary Daenerys would suit him, but the Stormborn Mother of Dragons cannot.

She feels guilty about this thought, perhaps she is not faithful to her feelings, valuing power more. If Ser Barristan were here, he would comfort her, she is born a ruler, not an ordinary woman, and perhaps he would also comfort her, that she values duty more than her own needs.

No, she thought to reply, her choice is not based on duty nor on need. She initially merely thought he lacked a proper name—a name valued by Westerosi and a Westerosi face—but now she feels he simply cannot fill her void, which leaves her disinterested and listless.

This emotion, Yi Li and Ji Qi could not possibly understand; perhaps standing behind them, Missandei would understand.

Missandei is only ten years old now; Daenerys occasionally feels that this little person has the bearing of her older sister, although most of the time she treats her as a younger sister. A clever and kind little sister.

The little sister's brother died at the hands of a harpy's son. Daenerys feels her life has been full of hardship and setbacks, but compared to the little one it's not much, and perhaps not much compared to most slaves either.

"Missandei," she hoped Missandei would recover from her brother's death; she knew Missandei had been anxious for a long time, and Daenerys had also comforted her for a long time, "Do you often see your brothers? Tell me about their deeds."

Your humble servant, I—how can I let them waste Your Majesty's time?

"Perhaps we could talk about them? They are also my warriors, and when they were murdered in the shadows, I realized I knew far too little about them; perhaps you could give me a chance to make amends." After the liberation, almost every Unsullied chose to stay, and Daenerys spent much effort confirming that those who remained did so voluntarily. She did not want them to be bound by gratitude.

Perhaps I can understand their hopes and dreams while under my command, as well as their visions for the future; this too is the queen's duty.

Your humble servant, I—before Your Majesty arrived, I rarely saw the brothers, only occasionally stealing a glance; they also tried to let me know they had seen me. After Your Majesty liberated the slaves, we met more often, we could talk a bit, but not much; they are not good at speaking. Moreover, they each have their own duties, needing patrol, training, and many other things. Daenerys wanted to hold her, but the guards were at her side, so she could only take her slender shoulders in her arms.

When I was in Naath, your humble servant, I was still too young to remember much; I only recall the island's flowers and butterflies, and my brother Mi Sang De teaching me to climb trees.

"How pleasant," she thought. Her brother taught her the Sleeping Dragon's Fury.

On the second day the sun rose over the sea, Mi Lin returned to the sunlight.

Today she needs to accept petitions, she thought.

The commoners' petitions are varied; she feels such matters should not be handled directly by the ruler. She is not a deity, cannot bypass investigation to judge whether the petitioners' stories are factual, nor can she make a thorough judgment when not all parties are present. 'Your dispute should be handled by a judge. Go on.' She would repeat.

Many are requests for her to grant various privileges—wine taxes, goat meat taxes, silk monopolies. For most she can only smile and say we'll discuss it later; for a few she can refuse outright. But she believes a good ruler should not be too heartless, so she tries to avoid such language unless the petitioner is utterly unreasonable or has a hateful appearance.

When she finally saw off the last petitioner, she felt relieved, hurriedly stepped down from the platform, and relaxed her stiff buttocks.

"Grey Worm, report to me what happened last night." This is the most sorrowful part. Every night there are patrollers found dead in the streets.

"Your Highness, ten people were murdered last night. One innocent was injured, no innocents died." The increase in murders and decrease in innocent casualties is good news: "We have increased the number of patrols, which has thwarted the Harpy's son's plot."

"Very good. I do not wish to see any casualties among my innocents."

"Your Highness, this is probably difficult," Dario stroked his beard, "the Harpy's son will soon plot against larger patrols; if we don't wipe them out completely, Your Majesty will only see more eunuch corpses. In my view, even if hundreds of Harpy's sons die, we must keep the precious eunuchs, for they are sons of the battlefield, not peacekeepers."

"They aren't, are the Stormcrows then?" He was right; their training is entirely geared toward the battlefield, not city watch.

"The Stormcrows are even further behind, but compared to spears, a curved blade cuts off heads faster." He gave a lascivious smile, "My good queen, give me an order, and I guarantee that from tonight onward there will be no more murders."

"Then I will rule an empty city." "Save your strength; this city has shed too much blood, I don't want to see more." She said calmly, "Perhaps there will be a peaceful way to rule. Then we can try your curved blade."

"That would waste a lot of food. We have more gold and silver than we can spend, but food is scarce." Daenerys noticed him stroking the naked woman on the dagger, "The meat of these Ghiscari nobles is also not tasty."

"Strong men don't eat human flesh." Belwas stuck out his big belly, speaking awkwardly. This left Daenerys speechless for a moment.

"Since we lack food, let's buy food, believing that gold and silver still hold appeal for traders." Daenerys did not want to tell him the harsh truth.

"Your Majesty, we are not lacking food, but we do not know how long the war will last, nor when the grain-producing city-states and Meereen will be able to resume planting; stockpiling more is always good, our warehouses are huge and would need many ships to fill." The White Knight added, "What's more, winter is coming."

"Then let's buy more food. We should reward all merchants who can bring grain to Meereen, so that they know our needs; I intend to receive the captains who dock at Meereen."

Thus the next day's petitions were almost entirely taken up by captains and crew. They presented her with various gifts: exquisite blankets from Meereen, combs made from dragon bone from Astapor, lacquerware from Pentos, and a miniature warship forged from gold from Braavos. Daenerys ordered Missandei to arrange return gifts for the captains.

She gave each captain a gift, explained her city's needs to each, and as the city's ruler she understood that the city needed almost everything, while food was only a small part. The lack of slaves, a key product, had significantly shrunk Meereen's commerce, making it hard to say whether this was due to the coalition opposing her.

The captains showed her utmost courtesy (except for a few), willing to answer any of her questions.

Someone boasted to her about things he didn't know how many people had boasted about, for example he claimed he had once ventured deep into the lost land of Valyria, bringing back countless dragon eggs; when Daenerys asked him where the eggs were, he replied that the storm had confiscated them all at sea, otherwise he might have been the father of dragons; others claimed to have seen mermaids in the Three Sisters Islands, though the mermaids had long black beards that almost reached their waists. The mermaids robbed his ship, took the women aboard, and inadvertently said that women should not be allowed on ships. Still other captains were even more outrageous, saying they had sailed past Astapor to the farthest east, where the king had built a chambers of gold for his favorite concubine, erected beams and pillars of bronze from entire ships, and stacked stone walls stretching ten thousand li. But the captain was too young, and Daenerys found it hard to believe him. Daenerys had Missandei give each of them a gold coin stamped with a jester's head.

Someone else brought her news from various quarters. For example, the northern savages breached the Wall, riding mammoth elephants to seize Winterfell, giants stood in the Eastern Sea blowing giant horns at passing ships; the Golden Company secretly abrogated its accord with the city-state of Meereen and marched east; the pirates of the Stone Steps Islands were slain by an unknown hero, who claimed the hero was the resurrected Rhaegar, and he impaled the pirates' heads on the shore, encircling the whole island; Braavosi brigands stole a great number of books about dragons from the School City, merely because the Sea King's son had become enamored of dragons; many Lysene prostitutes dyed their hair white, packaging themselves as Valyrian remnants to please their clients. Daenerys knew why this was.

She felt disgusted, but the captain had no manners, kept boasting about his spoils, his vile gaze making her want to subject him to fire punishment; when he was finally driven out by Ser Barristan, Daenerys let out a great sigh of relief.

Among the countless secondhand rumors the captains relayed, the two things that most astonished Daenerys were:

One was that Prince Doran of Dorne, because of his disability, envied his healthy daughter and locked her in a tower, forbidding her to go out to find men; previously, Prince Doran had only arranged for her to marry nobles on their deathbeds or various morally corrupt bastards.

Daenerys thought such a father was truly hateful, and she had always believed as a child that if her father were alive he would surely love her dearly, but this fact clearly shattered her expectation—her father was cruel to people, and he would be no kinder to her.

She noticed Barristan's troubled, doubtful gaze; he clearly could not believe that Prince Doran was such a person.

The second was that the Lannister imp, after killing the king of King's Landing, broke out of prison and then killed his own father; now he is gathering a stonefolk army in the ruins of Valyria, preparing to march back to Westeros to seize his father's stone castle.

Daenerys thought the latter was surely false, but the former was shocking: a man who had murdered a king could actually break out of prison and kill his own father; perhaps he really is the demon people say he is.

The one who murdered king and father was evidently a hundred times more vicious than his notoriously wicked father. She had asked Ser Barristan about him, but the knight said that the imp Tyrion is just an ordinary man, merely a small-statured dwarf, nothing more.

She knew much of the information was false, perhaps the captains were just making up stories to see her surprised expression, but she would not indulge them. No matter how outrageous the tale, she always responded with a smile—whether it was amused or mocking, only the speaker could guess. She wished to hear from an honest person who had witnessed it firsthand, not merely hearsay exaggerations.

She felt that one captain might be bringing true news, for in his story he rarely used "allegedly," "heard," or "rumor," instead saying "I saw," "I discovered," "my son saw," "my daughter said," "my crew saw," "the orphans I rescued said."

What moved her was "the orphans I rescued said." If this is a good person, his story would be credible.

This captain wore a large beard, was a Braavosi, and spoke fluent Common Tongue.

"Your Majesty, we transport goods from Braavos to Gulltown, there we unload the merchandise. When I heard that the Riverlands were at war, I bought grain in the Vale and, on the way, transported it to Saltpans to sell to the combatants there."

"Your Majesty, you have not seen its dreadful state; it is a small port, not comparable to Gulltown near old King's Landing. The last time I was there I could get clean water, stay in a comfortable inn, and eat delicious food, but now it has become a hell, everywhere dead bodies and burnt houses—you surely have never witnessed such a scene, those crimes are certainly not something humans could commit."

"Our drinking water ran out, so we had to stay in the port for two days, but every well was filled with corpses, and the river kept washing down all kinds of bodies."

"There I rescued several still‑alive orphans, who personally witnessed the town's destruction: a band of bandits looted the town, slaughtered all the inhabitants outside the castle, raped every woman, cut off or gnawed off…… the castle's lord refused to give us any aid, so my son and the sailors had to go upstream to look for water; along the way he saw a gigantic direwolf head, sewn onto the neck of the King of the North, displayed by the Freys' soldiers to the people of the three river regions."

"My son didn't dare go far in, for wolves and bandits roamed there, attacking any lone traveler even in daylight—it was simply too dangerous."

"The next day, after replenishing our water, we saw the army bearing the flayed man's flag move in; we promptly put out to sea, watching as they inflicted terrible punishments on the sailors and dockworkers ashore and on the women emerging from the castle. They impressed passing ships into service at Saltpans, but we escaped quickly, racing swiftly to the opposite shore of the Narrow Sea."

Daenerys knew what war looked like; she had seen how the Dothraki treat the vanquished.

"You are a Braavosi—how did you cross the sea to come to Slaver's Bay?"

"Your Majesty, we encountered a storm and could not stop at a suitable port. When the storm ended we had already crossed the entire Narrow Sea and reached the Stone Steps Islands. There the pirates are extremely fierce; to stay away from their ships we kept sailing east, we stopped at Valyris to resupply. Your Majesty, there the Ghiscari nobles of Yunkai, allied with the Valyris forces, are preparing to launch a challenge against you, intending to drive you out of Slaver's Bay. On the high causeway of Valyris I saw the combined army, and in the inland water's military harbor I saw many warships. I think the coalition may set out soon."

"Yes, although the information is of no use, at least the captain didn't mention mermaids. "Thank you, sir, for the information. We also appreciate your risking to bring us supplies. I am sure the grain from the Vale will feel especially fresh and delicious. I am willing to pay seven times the market price for it, as a reward for your loyalty, bravery, and kindness."

"Your Majesty the Dragon Queen, thank you for your generosity." He hesitated a little, "My daughter in Valyris told me she had personally seen, outside the city, on Blackteeth Mountain, a dragon seize an elephant. She said it was you who let her see a true dragon; she is now pregnant, convinced that her child has absorbed the dragon's aura, and wishes to name her child after you or your brother."

"Is it Drogon? Can it already seize an elephant?" Daenerys was uncertain, but she was glad someone could bring news of dragons. "If it's a girl, call her Daenerys; if it's a boy, call him Rhaegar." She took off the armband on her person, a silver three‑headed dragon shape, exquisite and lifelike. "This is a gift for your grandchild."

After seeing off all the captains, she turned to the White Knight beside her with a puzzled look, "Do dragons always grow this fast?" They could already feed on elephants.

"Compared to humans, perhaps very fast," the old man hesitated, "but I don't know whether a dragon can grow from the size of a chick to a beast capable of swallowing an elephant in two years; I've heard they never stop growing."

"Perhaps I can rely on the dragons to defeat the coalition."

"Dragons are not entirely reliable. The sister of the Conqueror rode on Meraxes, second only to the Black Dread, yet she still fell to a ballista bolt and sank in the sand; the coalition knows you have dragons, they will not be unprepared, and for now we must rely on ourselves."

"They will grow up and become my important strength." She silently called their names in her heart.

Then she heard a lofty, mysterious dragon's roar echoing through the entire pyramid, shaking people's hearts.

They had finally returned. Daenerys hurriedly rushed out of the pyramid.

No wonder the guards were shocked. She saw the old knight beside her likewise lose color.

Black Drogon, gold Viserion, green Rhaegal. And the red one…

Four dragons danced in the sky, chasing each other, and only the red one could truly be called a dragon, for it was larger than the three combined.