The Unseen Scribe
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The Rebirth of the Dragons - Chapter 7
🕑 Added 2023-05-31 01:07:06 +0000 UTCChapter 7
Rhaella Targaryen. 285AC
The day started in a somber mood for Rhaella, a few minutes after dawn she received word that Elaena Maegyr had died during the night. It didn't came as a surprise, but it was still a difficult bit of news to hear. She broke her fast mostly in silence since neither the children nor Helaena wanted to talk that morning, Maekar obviously because of the news about his mother was a little put out, and Rhaenys was trying to cheer him up. Helaena on the other hand, since she had arrived from her uncle's manse in the previous night, had been showing visible anger but when Rhaella asked if the young woman wanted to talk she just shrugged her shoulders and said that it was something that would be dealt with in the morning.
To compound on a difficult morning, after breaking her fast she went through her letters as she usually did, while doing it she learned, in a letter from Lyanna, that her travels were discovered by Tywin Lannister and now the whoremonger on the iron throne was pressuring Varys into sending assassins after her. It wouldn’t happen while they were still in Volantis but Lyanna said to ‘expect laughably incompetent interruptions while you disembark in Elyria’.
On top of that, while she was preparing herself to the meeting later in the morning with Baelor Varezys she learned from Ser Alliser that a few of the additional guards and sailors they had in their traveling retinue were spies, serving a two trading companies based out of Braavos and Pentos who made their trade out in the Jade Sea. Obviously, they were afraid of the new competition.
A total of five, three sailors and two guards, the sailors were spies for a Pentoshi by the name of Illyrio Mopatis. A Bravo, turned cheesemonger, turned trader and magister of Pentos. Also an old friend of Varys. So Rhaella would wait word from The Spider before she dealt with those three. The two guards were a lot simpler case, both were reporting to a quite wealthy, but politically insignificant man in Braavos. It was a clear case of business espionage, nothing to do with their political moves or their search for military allies, but they were still spies so the two men would suffer an unfortunate ‘accident’ while they sailed through the notoriously dangerous waters near Valyria.
The only bit of good news was the fact that Lyanna was able to contact a man she trusted in The North, Lord Howland Reed. Trough him she would be able to expand her network of informants in The North, something notoriously difficult to do, even Varys had trouble putting his ‘Little Birds’ north of The Neck. She would use that network both in the defense of her brother and his family in Winterfell, and also to gather any relevant information to their eventual return to Westeros.
Northerners were notoriously distrusting of foreigners; that was the true reason why it was so difficult to put spies in The North. Maybe they would be more open to talk to ‘Sarra Snow’; after all, she was one of their own.
While Rhaella moved through the city towards the Varezys manse she also thought about the deal she made the day before.
She was still disgusted about using her body the way she did, but the results were well worth it. She was able to secure shipyards in Volantis for the repair of their fleet for a fraction of the cost they would have elsewhere, and all it took was showing a bit of skin and a promise that she would return for more ‘Personal Talks’ in the future.
A promise she had no intention of fulfilling.
If negotiations went well today, Malaquo Maegyr would find himself in a difficult situation in the near future, a situation that might well be fatal. And if not, he could always suffer an ‘accident’ later down the line, a few whispered words to Larissa and the young woman would be quite happy to quickly take control of her father’s business before her siblings could even think of making a move. Rhaella was even willing to bet that Larissa would take care of any loose ends for her, from what she learned the day before there was no love lost between the young woman and most of her family. The only ones she cared about were her late sister, her disowned uncle, his baseborn wife and their daughter Talisa.
While the deal for the Volantene shipyards was a major win for Rhaella, it also created a difficult situation for when she reach Elyria. She was planning to negotiate the use of the shipyards that Princess Vaella and her husband Aegon Embaryen owned in the island, and now without that option she would need to use the ‘Long Summer’ option, which was the funding of a military campaign to conquer Tolos and Mantarys, a few expeditions and a colonization attempt into the Lands of Long Summer.
She still winced every time she thought about the amount of gold necessary for that endeavor, but that was the decision she made and she would stick with it, there was no point in complaining now.
She arrived at the Varezys manse and was received by Naerys alone. Helaena greeted her mother with a hug and while the mother and daughter talked in hushed tones Rhaella took a moment to look at her surroundings.
The Varezys manse was one of the few inside the densely packed area that was protected by the black walls to have grounds so beautiful and expansive. A long road made out of dragonstone leading from the gate all the way to the manse, denoted it as one of the older buildings in the city, probably a pleasure home to one of the dragonlords in the time of the Freehold.
The hedge maze in the right side of the road was well maintained and quite tall, it didn’t made much sense from this point of view, but Rhaella thought it must make a intricate pattern when viewed from above in one of the balconies in the upper floors of the manse. The rose gardens in the left side of the road were also well maintained, with many fountains, marble statues and a few benches to sit on, they made a relaxing and quite beautiful place.
Rhaella was still distracted admiring her surroundings when she heard the voice of Naerys.
“My brother is ready to see you, your grace.”
“Yes, of course. Lead the way.” Rhaella responded.
She saw a smirk in the face of Helaena; it seemed the young woman realized how distracted she was.
While they moved towards the solar and made small talk, Rhaella realized the tight, forced smile that Naerys always gave her. It was quite similar to the one Helaena had since the night before, so Rhaella once again asked, this time the mother instead of the daughter.
“You seem tense Lady Naerys, is something wrong?”
Naerys looked at her and paused in her walking for a moment, almost crashing into Ser Alliser, who was walking a few steps behind them. Rhaella stopped, turned around and walked towards the woman who she was quickly coming to see as a friend, or as much of a friend as she could have at the moment, seeing the concern in Rhaella’s eyes Naerys sighed and responded:
“It seems that in the last two years that we haven’t seen each other, my brother’s jovial side gave way to his more greedy and cruel one. A side i haven’t seen since when i was a child and my father caught him torturing one of the pleasure slaves.”
Rhaella hid her shock well enough that she didn’t think anyone saw it, while the information she had from Varys and Lyanna stated that Baelor Varezys, unlike his younger brother and sister didn’t take to his mother’s teachings and was in fact a slave owner, one of the biggest in the city. It also stated that he was a quite benevolent one, at no point did they had information about the man torturing slaves.
“He is still your brother, maybe having you and his niece around will turn him into the brother you know and love once again.” Rhaella said while embracing the older woman.
“Maybe, but i fear learning what he did in these last couple of years, my brother has quite a… vivid imagination.” Naerys respond while she broke the hug.
They started moving through the corridors once again, this time in silence as Rhaella thought about what was said. These negotiations might be a lot more difficult than she imagined.
They arrived at an ornate door guarded on both sides by unsullied. Naerys talked briefly with the unsullied to the right in the volantene version of high valyrian, asking to announce their arrival. Rhaella thought that the volantene high valyrian was the closest she ever heard to the true high valyrian her family preserved to this day.
The unsullied moved from his spot, opened the door slightly and entered the room, closing the door behind him, a few moments later the door opened again this time all the way with the unsullied standing at attention after he opened the door. Naerys walked inside with Helaena following her, Rhaella entered the room and when Ser Alliser tried to enter he was stopped by the unsullied inside the room thrusting his spear forward and blocking his path, there were a few tense moments until Baelor Varezys said:
“My unsullied will be leaving the room with your knight; it is in poor taste to discuss business with guards in the room.”
Rhaella looked at Ser Alliser and nodded her acceptance to what was said, the Kingsguard knight saluted her then turned around and left the doorway, the unsullied went after him and closed the door in his way out.
Rhaella looked at her surroundings for a moment, it was a beautiful solar, with high quality furniture, shelves filled with books, marble statues standing between each bookshelf and tapestries depicting volantene history decorating the walls.
She then turned towards the desk to look at the man behind it. Baelor Varezys at the height of his three and sixty years had grey hair, a slight rotund body and bright violet eyes. With his sharp jawline and high cheekbones Rhaella imagined he might have been a good looking man in his youth.
“Sit, share my wine and let us talk business Queen Rhaella. I am a busy man and don’t have time for empty words.” Baelor said while pointing at the chairs in front of his desk.
Rhaella sat in the middle, Naerys seating on her right and Helaena on her left, she then took a sip of the wine in front of her, placing herself under guest right, she put the goblet back on the desk and started her speech.
“As you know, Lord Baelor...”
“I am no lord. My name is Baelor, nothing more, nothing less.”
Rhaella took a breath to calm herself from the slightly annoying interruption.
“As you know, Baelor. My family had our throne recently usurped, as you can also imagine, we don’t plan on accepting this state of affairs. We are currently looking for allies for the future; we are also quite generous to those who are willing to help us in our time of need.”
The man didn’t give her a response; he turned his head towards his sister and asked.
“And what are yours and my goodbrother’s place in this, sister?”
“For support in his election to first magister and a few other concessions, my husband has decided to ally with our kin. The future first magister of Lys is also willing to negotiate more favorable trade deals to sell your wine in Lys, brother. If you join this alliance.”
“An interesting proposal, but one i would already expect from my goodbrother if he became first magister.” Baelor said.
Naerys scowled and Helaena adjusted herself in her seat, but Rhaella saw nothing of it, her eyes firmly planted on the man in front of her, seeing the hint of greed in his eyes.
“And what do you offer Queen Rhaella?” The man asked.
“We are aware that the north of the volantene lands is constantly ravaged by the dothraki, we are willing to fund guard towers and a sellsword company to patrol the lands and help the volantene colonization attempts along the Selhoru River. But we are also aware that those are temporary measures, a large enough khalasar might come one day and overwhelm the defenses. For that reason, we are also willing to fund the construction of a wall between the headwaters of the Volaena River and the lower arm of the Selhoru.”
Rhaella thought her selling point was almost flawless, not only were her terms extremely generous, but they also gave Baelor an immense amount of political capital, if he went to the public with a deal like the one she was proposing, he could easily have himself elected Triarch, the amount of gold Volantis lost every year to dothraki raids in the land between the two rivers was quite large. Not to mention the fact that most of his vineyards were located in the lands between the two rivers and would be protected by the wall.
“And for that quite generous offer, i imagine you would expect military support in a future war in Westeros, a difficult thing to do without the support of the Triarchs.” Baelor said in with a smile and a jovial tone, but Rhaella could clearly see that despite the man trying to pass his comments as a joke, his smile was more cruel than sarcastic; he also couldn’t hide the hint of greed in his eyes.
“We would expect a small measure of military support in the future, no earlier than five and ten years. I imagine some 15.000 men and ships to transport them would be no problem for a city like Volantis in that amount of time.” Rhaella paused her response once she saw the frown on the face of the man in front of her, she decided once it became clear Baelor wouldn’t say anything at that point.
“As for the Triarchs, Malaquo Maegyr is only Triarch because of his military wins against the dothraki. With that threat firmly contained he could suddenly find himself losing a lot of support in the city, enough that someone else might usurp his position.” Rhaella finished her response saying what she thought was also one of her major selling points.
And if Baelor decided to employ a more… permanent solution, to deal with the current Triarch, it would be no problem for Rhaella.
“You present a good offer Queen Rhaella, but it is not enough for the amount of men and ships you want in return. For that amount of men, i would need a more long term and profitable deal for when you reconquer the iron throne.” Baelor responded.
“And what deal would that be?” Rhaella asked in a careful tone, not liking the cruel smile that was once again in the face of the man in front of her.
“I know in Westeros you send your murderers and rapists to The Wall, if you could give me a promise of putting laws in place legalizing the selling of those same criminals to the Free City of Volantis, i could promise you even double the amount of men you want for your military campaign.” Baelor responded; with clear greed in his tone of voice.
Rhaella had to stop herself from showing a reaction; she would never understand how the man could so casually talk about enslaving someone. Sure, in her opinion, murderers and rapists should be executed instead of sent to The Night’s Watch, but even for men as despicable as those she would never support slavery.
Depriving a person from their freedom, treating them as property, was the most heinous crime you could ever commit.
“Brother, we talked about this yesterday…” Naerys started but was interrupted by her brother.
“Silence Naerys, the talks right now are between Queen Rhaella and I.” the man barked in response.
Rhaella saw from the corner of her eye Naerys bowing her head, she turned to her left and saw the clear look of anger in Helaena’s face, the young woman looked ready to stand and give her uncle a piece of her mind but Rhaella responded before she could do it.
“I’m afraid i can’t accept that offer.”
“Then we have nothing else to talk about. Naerys please see Queen Rhaella out and then return here, we have much to talk about.” Baelor said in a low, cold tone.
Rhaella stood from her seat, bowed her head slightly and prepared herself to leave. Naerys was about to respond her brother when she was interrupted by her daughter.
“My mother will be leaving with us; we have to prepare ourselves for our next travel. And i have to say, i’m disappointed in you, uncle.” The young woman said in a sharp tone, standing from her seat and shooting her uncle an angry look.
“Suit yourself; now get out of my home.” The man barked in response.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
They stayed in Volantis for another week to finalize other smaller deals. Rhaella was quite disappointed that she couldn’t secure the support of her volantene kin, but she would never sacrifice her morals, for any price. Her traveling companions on the other hand, were taking the refusal in a different way.
Naerys, the day after the talks, confessed to Rhaella that the day and night she spent in with her brother in her family home reminded her of the days of her youth, before her mother and father interfered in his comportment, when she was scared of her brother. That was the reason why she was so subdued.
Helaena, on the other hand, spent days angrily ranting about ‘stubborn old fools’ and how she would teach them a lesson one day; she spent hours every day sparring with Ser Barristan or teaching Maekar and even Rhaenys one time, how to use a sword. It made for quite a funny sight to see a girl of nearly five holding a sword almost as big as her, that was the first time Rhaella saw the young woman smile since the moment they returned from her uncle’s manse.
The day after that one, was marked by the funeral and opening of the will of Elaena Maegyr, the raised marble tomb in walled and guarded plot of land on the outskirts of the city was plain, with no decorations. Apparently, there was a major fight between Larissa and her father when the man forbade the body of her sister to be laid to rest in the family crypts. Larissa was proclaiming for everyone who wanted to hear how she would build her sister a mausoleum the likes of which the world hadn’t seen in hundreds of years, just to spite her father.
The opening of the will later that same day was quite straightforward; Elaena left all her possessions divided in equal parts to Maekar and Elia. Larissa would administer the wealth for both children until they were of age.
The rest of the week passed quite quickly, Rhaella had a few meetings with Larissa, dealing with how the younger woman would administer the wealth left for Maekar by his mother, those meetings quickly ended when Maekar said one day that his aunt should focus on his sister, and how he might even pass on his part of their inheritance to his sister.
Not long after that, they were back on the ship, this time sailing to Elyria. The spies that Ser Alliser had discovered were dealt with while they passed near Valyria. The men were made to confess their spying in front of the entire crew; they were then thrown overboard with weights attached to their ankles, a ruthless way of dealing with the problem but the story would spread, it would show the danger of spying against them for on willing to try.
The rest of the trip was quite peaceful. Rhaella spent a lot of time talking with Naerys, the older woman was quickly becoming a friend to her. Rhaella was particularly happy every time they talked about what Naerys knew of the old valyrian faith, it was a topic that always fascinated her and Naerys was both a follower of the faith and someone who learned about it from a young age by way of her father and uncle in Volantis.
The moment they arrived in Elyria, Lyanna’s warning about ‘laughably incompetent’ assassins was proven true. They were attacked by three men as they disembarked from the ship, one of the men threw a dagger her way while she was still in the ramp while the other two attacked Ser Barristan were he waited at the foot of the ramp. The dagger went wide and stuck itself into the hull of the ship while Ser Barristan made quick work of the men who even Rhaella, with her minimal knowledge of swordplay, could tell were amateurs in the use of the sword. The third attacker was also quickly dealt with by way of a sword in the back of the skull by a man who came running from the crowd of watchers.
Once they were all safely out of the ship and in firm ground the man who dealt with the third assassin came forward and introduced himself.
“Your grace, i am Jaemar, and i am proud to serve the Embaryen family. My Lord Aegon instructed me to guide you through the city.”
“Thank you for your aid Jaemar, we will be happy to have you guide us through this beautiful city.” Rhaella responded bowing her head slightly in thanks of the aid the man provided, even if it wasn’t necessary.
They quickly hired a couple of oxcarts and were soon moving away from the docks and inside the city.
Rhaella discovered she was right in saying earlier that the city was beautiful, Elyria was a clean city with many fountains and the buildings were heavily influenced by both valyrian and ghiscari building techniques. She wanted to spend some time enjoying the sights as they moved through the city but she couldn’t, she had to prepare herself in case Aegon Embaryen wanted to talk business as soon as she arrived.
She took the letter from Lyanna she was carrying in a hidden pocket within her dress and started reading it again, the letter had information about the people she would meet shortly. Princess Vaella Targaryen, daughter of Daeron ‘The Drunken’ was described in her youth as sweet and simple-minded, these days she was described as a sweet and loving grandmother, not someone who plays political games. Her husband Aegon Embaryen Lyanna had described as an ‘Older version of Ned’ and Rhaella thought that Lyanna couldn't have given the man a better compliment. Eddard Stark was a man of honor and firm morals. Their three children might also be present. Daena and Elaena their daughters, both married within the city and were constant visitors to their parents manse. And their youngest, a son by the name of Matarys, was known as an accomplished warrior, so much so that he was the current elected leader of the Elyrian forces.
The oxcart arrived at the gates of the manse, they were in an older part of the city where there were a lot more buildings in the valyrian style than the newer parts of the city were the ghiscari pyramids dominated landscape.
The gates opened and they moved past them, following a cobblestone road until they were in front of the manse proper, Ser Barristan left the cart first and then helped Rhaella out of it, the Queen adjusted her dress and moved two steps forward when she was attacked by an overly affectionate old lady.
“Oh little Rhaella, you look beautiful all grown up. I haven't seen you since that time in Summerhall when you were the size of the little one behind you.” Vaella said while hugging Rhaella.
Rhaella tried and failed to stop herself from blushing in embarrassment, she could also hear Rhaenys snickering behind her. The little girl was enjoying seeing her grandmother embarrassed.
“It is good to see you again Princess Vaella.” Rhaella responded.
And it was true, one of the first memories Rhaella had of her childhood was meeting Vaella in Summerhall, and how sweet and caring the then young woman was.
They broke the hug and Rhaella finally could see who was there to welcome her.
Vaella was of course in front of her, with her grey hair betraying her age; she did look like a sweet grandmother as Lyanna said. She also had eyes the same shade of violet her uncle Aemon, but while Aemon’s eyes from what Rhaella could remember all those years ago when she visited The Wall, were bright with his hard earned wisdom. Vaella’s eyes were warm and inviting.
A few steps behind them was who Rhaella guessed was Aegon Embaryen.
The man, only one year younger than his wife, stood there with a soft smile on his face, shaking his head slightly from side to side while looking fondly at his wife, his grey hair was shoulder length and his pale blue eyes were quite sharp.
To his right stood their son Matarys.
The man had sandy brown hair the same color his grandfather was said to have, his pale blue eyes, the same as his father, were also quite sharp. He was also quite tall, as tall as Ser Barristan, his arms were quite large, overall he looked like a soldier.
“Is that you Naerys?” Vaella suddenly turned and ran to the side with an agility that was unlike what her age suggested.
“How are you, dear cousin? You never visit me; i haven’t seen you in almost ten years.” Vaella said while hugging Naerys.
“I am well, cousin. Especially now that i am out of the sea and in firm ground again. As for visiting, it is a long trip and i’ve been quite busy in Lys, taking care of my grandchildren.” Naerys responded while breaking the hug.
“Well, what matters is that you are here now.” Vaella said. She was about to turn and hug Helaena when her husband cleared his throat making her stop.
“Vaella dear, why don’t we let the introductions be done with and move inside, the children are waiting for us.”
“Of course, you’re right egg, let us deal with the formalities, i want to go back to the girls and the children.” Vaella responded in a cheerful voice, and returned to her husband’s side.
Rhaella could almost feel the desire the man had to slap his hand on his face, calling her husband by a nickname like that in public was quite disrespectful of Vaella, but she did it in such a way that no one could be angry with her, she was just so happy and honest that anyone would feel bad to correct her.
“Well, i know you all must know Naerys and her daughter Helaena, the little ones here are Rhaenys, my granddaughter and Maekar, my son.” Rhaella said while moving the children in front of her, she wouldn’t explain the whole complicated thing that was her relationship with Maekar right now, she would save it for later.
“To my right is Ser Barristan Selmy and to my left is Ser Alliser Thorne, both of the Kingsguard.” Rhaella finished her introductions.
“I welcome you to my home Queen Rhaella, the man to my right is my son and heir Matarys.” Aegon responded while bowing his head slightly to Rhaella.
“Now come, let us talk business quickly, my daughters are visiting today and i want to go back and play with my grandchildren.” The man said while opening the doors to his house.
Rhaella smiled and nodded towards the older man, she always enjoyed playing with her children and grandchildren as well.
She walked into the palace, placing herself and her traveling companions under guest rights, in Westeros it was bread and salt, in the free cities it was wine, in Elyria you were only under guest right if the host opened the doors to his home with his own hands.
They moved through the palace towards Aegon’s solar with the man himself providing facts about the many tapestries his walls held, and while they moved Rhaella heard the talk a few steps behind her.
“So, you were named after my grandfather. Do you know much about him?” Vaella asked.
“I have his journal with me so i know a little bit, but i would always like to learn from someone who actually knew him.” Maekar responded.
“Then we will talk later, and i will tell you all i remember about him.”
They arrived at a quite simple double door; Aegon opened them for the group and almost all of them walked inside, Ser Barristan and Ser Alliser staying outside to guard the door. Inside there were plenty of chairs for all of them, Rhaella thought they were going towards a solar, but she was wrong, the room they were inside now was obviously a sitting room. With a large fireplace that was currently unlit, decorations mostly in deep reds and gold colors and comfortable looking chairs, the room was quite warm and inviting.
Aegon moved them towards a few chairs around a low table that held drinks and fresh fruits. once they were all seated he said:
“I imagine you are here looking for allies, Queen Rhaella. So let me hear what you have to offer for a potential ally.” Aegon said from the place he sat at the opposite end of the low table.
Rhaella remembered the information from Lyanna and decided she would be direct, as if she was negotiating with Eddard Stark.
“You are correct, Lord Aegon. We are looking for allies for when we decide to retake the iron throne, but that is at least some five and ten years in the future. And while that time doesn’t come, we are quite willing to help our allies with their own issues.” Rhaella said, she took a moment to drink the wine from the goblet in front of her and continued.
“What we offer you is gold for a military campaign against Tolos and Mantarys, as well as enough gold for ten expeditions and one colonization attempt into the Lands of Long Summer.” Rhaella finished, what in her opinion was an irrecusable offer.
“It is a good offer, Queen Rhaella; almost too good to be true.” Aegon responded narrowing his eyes.
“Son, do you think we could wage war in the mainland?” He asked Matarys.
“It might be difficult, father; as you know, my role as the commander of the troops gives me quite a bit of authority when it comes to our military, but it certainly doesn’t allow me to declare any wars. We would need the acceptance of the Lord Freeholder for any declaration of war.” Matarys responded.
There were a couple of minutes of silence while Aegon seemed to think about what his son said. He then finally responded:
“Give me a few days to try to convince the Lord Freeholder and we might accept your offer Queen Rhaella.”
“Sure, Lord Aegon, you will have all the time you need.” Rhaella responded. It was no problem for her, after all, she would be staying in Elyria until the fleet returned from the Jade Sea, so they could all sail home together.
“Of course, just because we are not sealing the deal today doesn’t mean we can’t talk about the details.” Aegon said while giving her a smile.
And talk about details they did, for about half an hour Aegon asked her many questions about the deal, what she was exactly offering and how it would be provided for them. But Rhaella understood why he did it; her offer was good to the point of being suspicious, so it was only right for him to be so.
By the end of the talks, Aegon offered the hospitality of his home for the time Rhaella and her traveling companions stayed in Elyria, she accepted his offer graciously and so they moved towards an indoor garden to relax while a few of the Embaryens servants went back to her ship to bring their belongings, in that indoor garden Rhaella met Daena and Elaena. Daena was only one year younger than Rhaella and she quickly found herself talking with the woman about many things they had in common.
Rhaenys was also quite happy playing with the grandchildren of Vaella and Aegon, all of whom were around her age. Maekar would join the other children on in a while but he stayed mostly with Vaella, talking about his namesake, her grandfather.
Ser Barristan also struck a conversation with Aegon, apparently the knight had met Vaella and her husband the last time they visited King’s Landing, during the reign of Rhaella’s grandfather, Jaehaerys.
Overall, it was quite an enjoyable day and Rhaella went to bed quite happy that night, the day after, Rhaella was once again in talks with Aegon when she learned that the man was not just an older Ned Stark after all and had a bit of ambition in him, they made a few changes to the deal, by offering to lower the number of expeditions to five in return for supporting him in the next election to Lord Freeholder.
Rhaella was quite happy to accept that change.
She spent another two weeks in Elyria, waiting for the trading fleet to arrive. During that time Rhaenys name day came and there was a party for her, the highlight of it was the beautiful necklace that Maekar gave her as a gift, apparently he asked his aunt Larissa for it, it was one of the many pieces of jewelry his mother was given as a child.
Rhaella used the rest of the two weeks to relax from the many weeks of sea travel and meetings she had to endure, she played with the children, spent afternoons talking with Naerys and Daena and some days she just spent an hour walking through the gardens, alone with her thoughts. By the end of the two weeks, when the fleet arrived, she was quite ready to return to Braavos.
She was ready to see her other children again.
