"There it is... the lovely Lys or Lys the Lovely." Rhaenyra, the Princess of Westeros, muttered as she rode with Syrax high in the sky. Through the warmth of the Summer Sea.
The island city spread out beneath her.
From above, it really did look beautiful.
White marble towers. Wide harbors. Green fields and vineyards stretching inland. Even the breeze carried the smell of fruit and sea salt up toward the sky.
It was easy to see why people called it that.
Lys the Lovely.
But the beauty of it only made her think more about the current circumstances.
Three cities.
Three of the famous Free Cities that had stood for centuries.
And now all of them were under bronze rule.
First Tyrosh.
Then Myr.
And now Lys.
Rhaenyra leaned forward slightly on Syrax's saddle as the dragon glided lower.
She still found it hard to wrap her mind around the fastness and effectiveness of it all.
The Triarchy had existed for generations. Powerful merchant cities with fleets, armies, coin, and influence across Essos and the seas.
Even Volantis, the oldest and strongest of the Free Cities, had once tried to bring them under its control.
The Volantenes with their tigers and elephants had nearly succeeded too, from what the histories said.... but they failed eventually.
That should have been the closest anyone came.
Until Ronan.
Her husband had broken them in just a few years.
The thought made her smile a little.
Ronan Royce may seem intimidating and outright monstrous to many, but she knew him better.
He joked too much, talked too casually, even strangely... and had the strange habit of explaining ideas no one else had even thought of yet.
But beneath all of that was something else entirely.
Planning.
Preparation.
And the strange abilities that seemed to grow stronger every year.
Kraken fleets, bronze-armored knights, dragons, runed weapons… new methods and tactics that no Essosi army had seen before.
The Triarchy never really stood a chance.
And Rhaenyra could only offer them condolences once again.
Of course, as Ronan projected his monstrous intimidation... she had her own role to play.
While the wars were fought and the cities taken, she handled what came after.
As the Princess and heir to Westeros, she had taken it upon herself to represent the realm in these new territories. Someone had to smooth things over with the locals, calm some of the unrest, and make sure that the transition was seen somewhat favorably.
And as Ronan's wife, she oversaw how his policies were also carried out.
His ideas were… thorough.
Sometimes a little too thorough.
Slavery had already been abolished in the cities they took. That alone had caused chaos... but what can the defeated slave owners even do about it?
Especially when their own state is shaky enough as it is, with many of them losing the status they once had.
With Rhaenyra herself being someone who brought down decisive verdicts.
In any case, the freed slaves needed work, food, and places to live. Entire systems of labor had to be replaced almost overnight.
Ronan had plans for that too.
He always did.
In Tyrosh, he had focused on the famous dye trade. The snails used for their purple dyes were being reorganized into proper farming operations instead of slave pits.
Incorporating the pearl farms he's set up back at Runestone.
In Myr, the focus was different. Their glassmakers, artisans, and inventors were already being put to work. With the famous Myrish eye about to be renamed as telescopes and binoculars.
Ronan also happened to have taken particular interest in something they called Myrish fire, a medicinal herb that the city's healers valued.
Granted, his aspirations also involved the selfish renaming of Tyrosh into Bronzosh and Myr into Bronzyr... and Rhaenyra could only let out a sigh just as everyone else who heard the proposal did.
And no doubt Lys was about to get a taste of that peculiarity.
So, the Princess looked down again at the city growing larger beneath her.
For she still didn't know what Ronan planned for this place. Aside from how he probably is considering to rename it as Bronzys.
With that in mind, wine should be easy enough to manage. Trade too.
But Lys had built much of its wealth on something else entirely.
Pleasure houses.
Bedslaves.
Generations of people bred and trained to be sold across Essos.
What Ronan intended to do with that system after freeing them all… she honestly had no idea.
Which was part of why she was here. Looking down and gazing at the small device strapped near the saddle.
A strange compass-like tool Ronan had made.
For instead of North, it pointed toward one thing.
Their dear son.
As a precaution in case that lively boy gets lost and for the worrying her to always find a way to get to the princeling.
Navigation-wise... the needle shifted slightly... and she simply guided Syrax in the direction it was pointing at.
With the pale gold dragon folding her wings… to begin their queen-ly landing towards the conquered city of Lys.
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Soon enough, the Princess settled in this newly owned city as well.
Taking her own part in the annexation and consolidation like she had done with the former ones.
It was quite the task but she's learnt more than enough to be quite experienced already.
In all honesty, she felt that this was a better way of preparing herself for Queenhood than being a cupbearer in the Small Council ever could.
Of course, with Ronan being there to supplement with his wide array of governing knowledge. Because, as covered, he was a master of that as well.
Accordingly, throughout these proceedings, a certain event stood out to her... which was when a certain bedslave clamored and made an extensive effort to have an audience.
With this bedslave being someone who had the name of Johanna Swann.
Which triggered a certain memory for the Princess at that moment.
When she tried to mingle in the royal tent during Aegon's Hunt.
Where she overheard the grouped Ladies gossiping about how a Lady Johanna was reported to have been abducted... when one of Lord Swann's ships sailed through the Stepstones.
What will happen to Lady Johanna? That Queen had asked.
And a grim answer was replied... wherein the poor girl was to be sold to a pillow house in the Free Cities.
If rumors are to be believed, the unfortunate Lady Swann could have been ransomed back but the stingy Lord Swann apparently didn't want to.
And to think that the gossiped girl was here in Lys all these years.
So, Rhaenyra could only sympathize and listened to the pleas and story of the enslaved girl...
Her fate during her stay here and how thankful she is to finally be saved.
Then and there, Rhaenyra decided to be even stricter in her judging of the formerly ruling Lyseni... to not be as lenient as she had been with the Tyroshi and Myrmen.
Consequently, she planned to appoint the rescued Lady to be one of her ladies-in-waiting...
Which was an admittedly bold choice... but Rhaenyra could care less about the accompanying stigma as she was just feeling quite magnanimous.
Especially when all things considered, Johanna could very well be one of the few tragic victims in this contest with the Triarchy.
For Ronan was just too impressive that the Westerosi casualties of this attrition might actually just have stemmed from when Daemon and the Sea Snake unfortunately helmed the whole thing.
Embarassingly enough... Ronan was also getting too impressive in bed... so the shame-filled Princess believed that asking advice directly from a trained courtesan-to-be could help her in the long run.
Hopefully...