[Daenerys POV]
It has been a little over a month since my brother and I first met Varys, and he revealed that, although he sits on the small council of King Robert Baratheon, his loyalty still lies with us. He had claimed he had been serving Robert against his own desires and had been enduring it only to secure long term benefits for us. That his loyalty was still for us. I was surprised to learn this. I was shocked.
He gave us a few compelling reasons to trust him. He claimed that Magister Illyrio Mopatis took us in because he called in a favor the magister owed him. Furthermore, Lord Varys convinced us by proving that he had foiled numerous assassination attempts on us ordered by the Usurper, Robert Baratheon.
Did I trust him? Not entirely. Did my brother trust him? Probably.
Viserys would fall for the tricks of any man who could paint him a grand vision of invading Westeros and taking back the Iron Throne. And I could tell what little I had seen of Varys that he was a master in these kinds of ploys and manipulation. I was not deemed important enough to be part of all their meetings so I did not know all the details of their conversation but whatever it had been, Viserys had been quite pleased by all of that.
Did I believe Lord Varys was a rat planted by Robert to track and manipulate us? No.
Robert Baratheon is far too brawny to use his brain for such subtle schemes. Besides, we were not worth the effort.
It would be too easy to simply have us killed than to use such a method. Truthfully, we were no longer the most valuable or significant Targaryens in the world. That title belonged to Rhaenys Targaryen.
Apart from our supposedly great name and a few empty promises from men like Varys and Illyrio, we had nothing that could truly threaten Robert Baratheon.
But Rhaenys was different. She was the real deal. She had an army. She had a city under her rule. And most important of all, she had five living, fire-breathing dragons. The very same creatures that had once been the foundation of Targaryen rule. The beasts that had made our name, Targaryen, great.
And she was coming to Pentos. To meet Viserys. And, presumably and probably, me. Or maybe like the most, she would not even put me in her eyes. I would not be really surprised if something like this happened. I was used to this.
Varys had been here when her letter had arrived. He had been desperate, almost anxious, to meet her. But he obviously could not wait long. There had not been any mention of any specific date when she would come. We did not know how much he would have to wait if he had to meet her.
And his extended absence would have drawn suspicion in King's Landing. I also suspected he was not confident in revealing his supposed true allegiance to Rhaenys just yet. What if a spy caught wind of it and the news reached the capital? We could still reveal about Lord Varys to her. But this was just one guess.
From the day her message arrived, a chaotic, nervous energy began to flow through the magister's manse. Despite not knowing exactly when she would arrive, every single day was spent in frantic anticipation. Every couple of days, Magister Illyrio would order the maids and servants to thoroughly clean and scrub the mansion. He would constantly arrange and rearrange the decorations. It was as if he was too enthusiastic to meet Rhaenys or perhaps simply terrified. I mean, who would not be. A massive space had been cleared in the backyard of the mansion where her dragon could land. Well, it was big enough to accommodate only one dragon. And there was a high chance that she would bring all five of them.
Then came the day. Seven days ago, a horde of mercenaries from the Golden Company arrived at the gates of Pentos. Their commander claimed they had been hired by Rhaenys Targaryen and were acting as her advance escort. If there were any doubts about his claim, a letter arrived shortly after from Rhaenys herself, ratifying the Golden Company's presence and stating the exact date of her arrival. That letter triggered utter mayhem in Pentos.
The magisters went into an absolute frenzy. A small mercenary army at their doorsteps. A woman with five dragons arriving in seven days. All they could envision was her conquering their city in fire and blood. Naturally, all the blame fell on Illyrio.
I do not know exactly what happened in those council meetings or how he managed to placate the other Magisters, but it was clear the stress was eating at him. I even heard whispers that many magisters were in favor of evicting my brother and me from the city entirely to avoid her wrath. Probably, the Magister threatened them that if they did so, Rhaenys' wrath would surely fall on them. I mean, we were her relatives. It was not a far-fetched argument, even if it might not be close to reality.
Despite all this, Illyrio's enthusiasm did not diminish. The preparations for Rhaenys's arrival continued at full throttle. Gardens were meticulously trimmed. Flowers were taken care of making sure that they maintained their beauty. Even the obscure nooks and crannies that Rhaenys would never even glance at were polished to a shine.
None of this pleased Viserys. He could not stomach the idea of another Targaryen being more important than him, and he made his displeasure known to Illyrio at every opportunity. Though Illyrio did not outright rebuke Viserys as my brother remained central to whatever plot the magister was spinning, he did not alter a single preparation for Rhaenys' arrival.
And today was the day. Today, she was finally going to arrive in the city.
I was still lost in my thoughts when a deafening chorus of roars shook the entire city. Dragons. Despite having never heard one before, I did not need a second breath to recognize the powerful sound. It was the roar of dragons. I sprang up from my bed and rushed toward the window.
And there I spotted them. Five colossal, magnificent creatures soaring through the skies of Pentos. Their bodies cast shadows so massive it seemed as though they would engulf the entire city.
Then, the dragons unleashed another round of roars. The city trembled and shook once more. They were announcing their arrival. And I knew that at this very moment, every living soul in the city had their neck craned, watching them in absolute awe. In pure wonder.
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