Chapter 170

Milin City

The queen nodded.

The Xiczidalā guard, a tall and slender man, looked like he had the bearing of a Ghiscari noble, and also retained the vigor of youth.

Is he still considered a young man?

He at least has a pair of illegitimate son and daughter of moderate age. What's more strange is that he is already the patriarch of the Luolak family; he ought to marry and produce heirs for the family, continuing the bloodline. Here, Danilisi doesn't know what happened that lets him hold a high position yet remain unmarried.

A wealthy and powerful single man either has a dead wife, or is too young or his fiancée is too young, or else, compared to women, he prefers men. Given that he has illegitimate children, he at least does not belong to the last category.

He is young, and his own family is still the wealthiest in the city, while Meereen is merely a node of his vast family; no matter Volantis, Lys, nor Qohor, Toros, Elyria, or New Ghis, he has relatives there; even Astapor and Yunkai are highly regarded, but exactly what these tangled relationships are, Danilisi will never figure out.

Yunkai and the surrounding cities are desperately stirring up surrounding powers to oppose her, and Meereen also has many people opposing her; she will remember this.

What should be worried about is him, not his queen.

"My light, you ought to know......"

She reached out to stop his speech.

"You have annoyed me too many times, and my time is increasingly insufficient; therefore I must demand that you not continue wasting my time. My answer is that I will not allow the arena to be reopened." I know you have already bought most of the arenas in Meereen; that's good, it saves a lot of trouble. "In order to convey my attitude to you, I have an order specifically for you."

"My light, I listen attentively."

"The arena will be demolished within a deadline."

"Demolition?" He stared at her, then quickly relaxed, "May I know the reason? My light?"

"These useless arenas occupy too much of the city's land, while my people are crammed under narrow eaves; their lives seem worse than when I had not freed them. This is not my intention. I will build housing on the original sites and sell it to civilians in need of shelter. My admiral says building ships needs wood, not stone, which is a pity—we have too much stone and not enough wood. If so, let us make use of this stone, wouldn't that be good?"

"Your Highness, my light, I notice your wording is 'sell'? I don't think those civilians have money to buy houses."

I don't care. "I cannot give them away for free; that would be unsustainable. But as long as they have jobs, they will eventually be able to afford them. I am willing to sell slowly, and I can also lend them money."

"Why must the arena be demolished?" This is his main concern.

"Former slaves have petitioned me, hoping I will resell them to their former slave masters or allow them to leave. They say that under slave masters they can display exceptional skills, enjoy delicious meals, use luxurious utensils, and receive good service, but when unemployed they cannot even fill their stomachs. Moreover, one or two fighters, like your petition, demand the arena be reopened so they can display their skills."

"They speak truly well." Xiczidalā clapped his hands. "You should heed their petition and respect their demands."

"Many call me 'mother'; a mother's duty is not to indulge her children, but to guide them to do what is right. I believe I am now teaching them to do what is right. If they want to compete, they can leave Meereen and go to any other city—Qohor, New Ghis, anywhere—but not here."

"Those places you mentioned are too far from here; Meereen is their homeland—how could you make them leave their homeland?"

"They are only a minority among the slaves; let me answer your question. Demolishing the arena to build housing requires many people, which can give many of them work, letting them earn income through labor to support themselves and their children and families. Of course, I won't be too demanding; if they are unwilling to do such labor, they can join my army; if they are unwilling to do anything, let them starve. The things a mother cannot educate—hunger, cold, and fear—can."

I understand, Mingguang. But many people's houses are alongside the arena; if it's torn down, where would they live? Besides, those houses belong to them.

Just like the arena belongs to you.

"They can live inside the pyramids," Daenerys told Xitzdala. "If all goes well, I can seize the Daznak and Rehada pyramids today, where we can house enough people. In short, I tell you, the arena is a foolish Ghiscari toy, along with many other foolish toys. In my view, there's no place for it."

How could that be? Since Milin City was founded, the arena has been part of the city; such contests are supremely exalted, a blood sacrifice to the Ghiscari gods… Reopening the arena would show your respect for Milin customs, while destroying it, tearing it down…

"Let me make myself clear," Daenerys pulled off the rabbit ears on her head and threw them at his feet, "I don't care at all about the customs of the Milin people or the habits of the Ghiscari, nor do I care about the preferences of the Ghiscari gods. This city is mine, taken from the Ghiscari spirits. From today on, those who follow my preferences can live peacefully in the city; those who oppose me will be killed and thrown into the bay to feed the fish." She stared into his eyes, feeling she would gain another enemy, "Let's start with the arena I hate."

Your Highness, you don't know your own enemy…

No one knows my enemies better than I do. Also, no one knows my allies better than I do: "They are cowardly, pitiful slave masters who think they can live another thousand years in this scenario, but they are merely dry kindling; a single torch can ignite them, burning them to ashes." Moreover, now it is a dragon, dragonfire, that sets them alight.

Yes, Your Highness. He wiped the smile from his face, bowed, stepped back, and turned to leave.

Ser Barristan stepped forward at that moment.

Your Highness, Lord Skahaz has taken the Dahzak pyramid; half of his forces are besieging the Harada pyramid, the other half…

She gave him a questioning look.

Perhaps they're counting, or maybe they're hanging people.

Not bad. She nodded; deciding on the slaughter isn't that difficult, is it?

Qexi didn't mention that shadows can raise one's spirits.

The worm and the hero have already led the Unsullied throughout the city, closely monitoring the other pyramids' movements. Your Highness, I suggest you not receive any more guests tonight; I fear there may be unrest.

No, the queen should embrace turmoil. The queen should embrace every challenge.

The knight nodded and stepped back.

Your Highness, will you meet Grázdan kalár?

The Green Woman arrived so late, it was truly unexpected. She is the advisor she hired to rule the castle, but aside from advising her to wear the clumsy, unchanging Ghiscari tokot robe and to rule Milin according to ancient Ghiscari tradition, she only advised her to marry Xitzdala to secure peace for Milin. As for quelling Milin's turmoil, she had no effect whatsoever.

Really stupid.

"Your Highness, how could you!" Daenerys heard her panicked voice. This isn't something to blame her for; a few days ago she had almost agreed to follow her advice and consider marrying a Milin noble, but after just two nights everything changed.

"My lord, I didn't catch that—are you talking about clothing? Yes, I'm not wearing the tokot robe today, and I never will again. As for the rabbit ears, I just realized I am the dragon queen, not the rabbit queen, and I don't need to wear those ugly ears."

She seemed to be getting to know Daenerys anew.

"Ugly? That's a noble expression. The Mother of Dragons must wear the tokot robe, or she will forever be hated; whether lace, woolen clothes, or anything else, none of it can blend with us, and people will see you as an absurd foreigner and barbaric conqueror. The queen of Milin must be an ancient Ghiscari lady." She lectured her in the usual way, "But I'm not here to say those things. How could you attack the noble Dahzak family's pyramid without warning? This is an offensive and discourteous act; the gods will not tolerate such impropriety. I beg you, stop your blade at once, go to the temple to repent, make reparations…"

"You're wrong, my lord." Daenerys couldn't help but interrupt her; originally her lecture could have served as guidance for her learning, but now every word she utters seems absurd: "I didn't storm the Dahzak pyramid; I was merely responding to its challenge. And now, Lord Yunhu is attacking the Harada pyramid for me, because," you have utterly enraged me, "they are sheltering the offspring of harpies, or they themselves are harpy offspring."

"This is baseless slander! Your Majesty, because of this slander, how many innocent girls and children will suffer disaster?" She knows she loves those children, "How many innocent women will weep for their dead kin? Moreover, how can you prove they are harboring or are themselves harpy offspring?"

I don't need to prove who my enemies are. "The Unsullied were ambushed by harpy offspring on Silk Street and Freedom Avenue," she repeated Lord Yunhu's words, "That place is nearest to the Dahzak pyramid, and the closest to the dead workers' pyramid is the Harada pyramid; besides them, who else could be responsible?" The queen's tone lacks Lord Yunhu's force, but her judgment is more dangerous.

You will be hated! the Green Woman said.

I'm not wearing the tokot robe, and you say I'll be forever hated; I don't know which is worse. She felt no tremor in her voice, only a hidden satisfaction: "Perhaps you'll also say that I've done all this and will never belong to you—I must admit, you're right, I can't belong to you, not because of the robe or the ears, but because you are merely lowly rabbits while I am a dragon." She felt her whole body tremble, wanting to roar like a newborn bursting from the womb: "I am a conqueror with dragons—I am the dragon, and dragons won't play petty house‑games with lowly rabbits." Speaking with long‑repressed hatred, she said, "I truly despise you for turning ugliness into beauty and acting proud; I loathe you for disguising cruelty as kindness and putting on a pious show."

You will be cursed.

"I will be cursed by many, but I know I will be blessed by even more." She sat down again, turning her gaze toward the outside of the great hall, "Mílin is my Mílin, its rules will be my rules. Those who follow my rules I can tolerate; those who do not— I don't care how many years your lowly bloodline has, I will burn them all to ashes and flush them into the bay from the sewers." She turned her gaze back to the Green Saintess, "Tell them you know who it is, tell them from now on Mílin has changed," like me, "Those who follow me prosper, those who oppose me perish."