Asha Greyjoy
For the Kraken's daughter, the Iron Islands felt more like home now than it ever had before. Children ran and laughed, some fought over who caught the biggest fish while others played among them.
"I AM THE STRAW HAT'S CAPTAIN! WE WILL SAIL FOR THE ONE PIECE!" shouted a little boy, innocence and confidence ringing in his voice.
"NO, I AM THE STRAW HAT'S CAPTAIN!" shouted another.
"But you were him yesterday, it's not fair!" a third pleaded.
"There is only one way to decide…" said an ominous looking kid.
"Axes, nets, and ships!" he proclaimed.
Asha stifled a chuckle.
Whether it was nostalgia or happiness didn't matter, for she had been part of the Straw Hats once, as had many other children now grown into adults.
She could see the usefulness of it in retrospect.
What had started as children's games had allowed them to survive. They had stolen food and protected children, women, and the elderly. They had fought horrible men while yearning for a better future.
Now those kids had become men, good men, iron price be damned.
The Iron Islands were changing, the feeling of dread and doom was growing scarce, storms had become less frequent and even whales had been sighted after so long.
She entered the Ten Towers to meet her favorite uncle, who, to no one's surprise, was locked in his library.
She stood behind the door, and while politeness dictated a knock, she could offer something much better.
*BAM!*
She entered like a cat about to play with her favorite toy.
Her uncle sat looking in her direction with as much fondness as exasperation.
"A knock would have sufficed" Lord Rodrik Harlaw complained.
"Would you have heard me, or would you have ignored me like last time?" she offered with a smirk, positioning herself in the opposite chair.
"That was one time…" Harlaw smiled.
"One of many times that you've been lost in this sea of words, nuncle," she rebuked.
"Any news from those troublemakers?" he asked.
"Not anymore, nuncle. I sent them to reunite with their dead god," she said.
"Good." Relief was now in his eyes.
"We don't want another fanatic attack. Not after we worked so hard to stabilize the islands."
"How are the Damphair and Uncle Victarion? Amicable and civil as always?" she asked with mirth.
He rolled his eyes.
"If you are sick and feverish, there is a bed upstairs-"
he offered
"- Aeron… has been quite useful as of late. He has been the one to squash the more hidden believers of the drowned god. The stupid Kennings tried to look to him for support to make Victarion their lord," he said, smiling.
"And?"
"And I had to restrain him and his followers from killing the Kennings. Storm God or not, he is still waiting for his champion to rule us all." Lord Harlaw got up and drank some water, offering his niece some wine.
"Uncle Victarion is still chasing after Euron?" she asked with dread.
Harlaw nodded. He tasted the water on his lips before answering. "He is. He comes back from time to time in search of provisions, but he has had no luck eliminating that kinslayer."
"As long as he lives, Father will not rest easy. But, alas, I will not be the one to do it," she sighed with a tired smile.
"My niece? matured? Not what I expected, but I shall rejoice in that" he said, emptying his cup as if he were drinking a strong wine.
She shrugged.
"What can I say? My journeys through the islands made me grow up, like it or not."
"Yes, that and surely not because of a little crush on your dear Straw Hat?" he said, searching for the shy girl he had once met.
But she was no longer there.
"Keep talking, and I will drag him in front of you and ride him until his dick falls off, just to spite you" she offered, laughing.
She had experienced many men along her travels.
"And here I thought you still resented him for helping our 'King,' " he asked her.
"Maybe… once… he used us, that is true, but our islands have never been more peaceful since then. He even traveled with Theon to take care of him, and that's more than I could ask." She shared her thoughts freely, as the rain and sea had tempered her heart.
"And you? Still curious about his identity?" she asked with schadenfreude, curious about her nuncle's reaction.
"Sadly, nothing at all. He appeared out of nowhere and left out of nowhere. My only clues are a straw hat and a mask. A bastard, whore's kid, doesn't matter. From what he wrote, first letter since they left, mind you. He is making allies for Theon for when he takes his place as Lord."
"Oh" she said.
He sighed.
"Dear niece, you have to accept that you will not be chosen. Even if my sister was older and had a claim, the Ten Towers have been left to me once" he said in a pleading tone.
She tried to drink more, but her cup was empty.
She clicked her tongue in annoyance. She got up and left in frustration, leaving her uncle behind.
"So much for maturing" he said to no one.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Illyrio Mopatis
Extravagance surrounded the Magister like filth encroaches on Flea Bottom. He drank his wine and ate his cheese while looking at the small child sitting in front of him. The boy looked no older than six, but his eyes, his eyes looked so familiar.
The tongueless child spoke.
"To what do I owe such a hasty summons, old friend? You and I both know how taxing this will be on my poor little mice" the 'child' spoke with regret, tears accumulating in his eyes, threatening to fall.
Illyrio did not fall for his old friend's tricks.
Once a mummer, always a mummer.
"News comes from the Dothraki Sea, old friend. The Dothraki claim that the 'Poisoned Sea' is no longer poisoned, and they are preparing for your new home" explained Illyrio while munching on a grape, its juice dripping onto his oiled beard.
"I can see your urgency, my friend, and dare I say that young Griff is not ready?" he asked an answerless question.
Illyrio looked into his eyes and nodded.
"Concerning news indeed. I seem to recall an old song I heard once, a requiem for a drowned god. I admit that the consequences of that event had eluded me. Until now, it seems" the Spider's voice flowed from the child's mouth in a smooth, silky way, a stark contrast to the shape of the little mouse in front of him.
"I will stall them as much as I can. I have our princes in my grasp, and the Khal will need a wife to match his conquest. That can buy at least three years" Illyrio offered.
"That would be most wonderful. My little birds have informed me of a song being sung in the North beyond the North. By my estimations, the Starks will have its hands occupied while the Dothraki advance in the South in three years' time. A shame that the Iron Islands have become more stable, but we have worked with much less" said Varys's voice, while the child's body devoured the cheese and bread it hungered for.
The kid's body started to shiver.
Blood drained from his face, but his expression showed nothing.
"Any news worth noting before I leave?" asked the Spider, as the shivering intensified.
"A blind mercenary has been the talk of Essos as of late. I will see to it to recruit him" Illyrio said with curiosity.
"Goodbye, old friend" the Spider said, and the child collapsed, shivering in pain.
Then he stopped.
And his body grew cold by the second.
Illyrio glimpsed at the body and ordered some servants to clean the dirty floor.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Author thoughts:
The band of thieves that our Sebastian led was the strawhats (sue me, I love one piece). Only the name mind you.