Queen of the Narrow Seas

The first year they were on Stepstone was hard. 

Looking bad, Rhaenyra wondered how on earth she survived those hard years.

Oh, that's right, she thought as she looked down at the people under her as she flew on Syrax, they cheering in delight at the sight of their beloved ruler, she had the love and the loyalty of her people to thank for.

Her household was made up of maids and servants that served under her mother during her reign as Queen, some even came from Vale and Dragonstone. Alicent had callously fired them when she was Queen, replacing them with servants from Reach, leaving with no pay or place to stay and Rhaenyra had shyly offered them a place in her household in Stepstones, warning them that the first few years would be tough but was touched as most of them (and their families) elected to join her. 

Martyn Beesbury was a godsend as he had taken one look at the paperwork his father had given to him before boarding the Realm Delight and had immediately recognized that they had an important problem that needed solving. 

Namely, housing. 

There were barely any functioning buildings that could be used for dwelling in Bloodstone, the first island they decided to populate, and Rhaenyra refused to let her people stay in the caves in fear of collapses or worse. 

In the end, one of her new companions, Morna Strong, suggested that they use the only viable place on Bloodstone, a dilapidated castle that was once the seat of the famous pirate king Sargoso Saan as home while everyone builds a new settlement. Rhaenyra then expanded the idea by opening the derelict castle for everyone to live in, only claiming one of the towers for herself and her household.

Lady Elyse Massey had came a day after they arrived at Stepstone, Rhaenyra received her at their still weedy courtyard, her dress filthy from the cleaning she did in her new tower (much to her staff’s distress as they begged the princess to stop cleaning but she was adamant to help scrub the floors with them). The Lady of Stonedance and former lady in waiting for the late Queen Aemma was accompanied by her retainers and her only daughter, the six years old Elinda, who peered at the dirty princess from her mother’s skirt.

“My Princess, I have come to ask for permission to serve you in your household.” Lady Elyse curtsied elegantly as if she was meeting a queen.

“Oh. Um, we don’t have a place for you and your servants right now.” Rhaenyra fidgeted, embarrassed the lady had come at a terrible time. 

“I can see that Princess. If you allow me, let me help you, Your Highness.” Lady Elyse said kindly before gesturing to her staff to help everyone with the cleanup. She even grabbed a bucket and helped wash the windows alongside Rhaenyra’s three new companions, little Elinda toddling around with weeds she pulled from the floor.

Thanks to her help, in a sennight, the castle, now renamed Dragon Keep, and its surroundings was mostly fixed and habitable, full of laughter and happiness by its residents. It was becoming a common sight during breaking fast and dinner for the little princess to be sitting amongst her people, sharing the same food as she listened to their stories.

And there were the issues of the influx of young orphans and bastards that had moved to Stepstone. With Martyn’s help, Rhaenyra and Lady Elyse figure out a system where families and people are invited to foster the children and teach them their trade in return for helping out; Martyn himself had taken in three young boys and a girl to be his messengers as he took over the duty as the Isle’s steward. It was helpful especially as their first settlements were ready within a month, followed by two more in Bloodstone Island before everyone was comfortable venturing into surrounding islands and forming new villages there. 

Two months after she had moved to Stepstone, two new arrivals arrived to the island, both with the same purpose.

“Both of you wanted to be my sworn sword?” Rhaenyra asked, confused at the two arrivals. One was Aemon Celtigar, Lord Bartimos Celtigar’s youngest son. She remembered seeing him during one of the tourneys, one of the crowd favorites to win the melee until Ser Arryk of Kingsguard took him out after a grueling duel. 

“I have come to pledge you my service as your sworn sword.” The young man bowed. “It would be a great honor and my father agreed when I petitioned him.”

“And you, my lady?” Lady Elyse asked politely.

“I am Mylessa Darke, a niece of the late Jonquil Darke. My cousin, Ser Steffon Darklyn told me of your plight and I have come to offer you my sword as your scarlet shadow.” The woman with the delicate features and flaxen hair looked as if she would be blown away by a gust of strong wind and yet the way she was standing and her hands resting lightly on the twin scabbard resting on her hips, suggested otherwise.

“Oh, umm. Do I really need a sworn sword?” Rhaenyra asked Martyn and Lady Elyse.

“Of course Your Highness. And in fact you should have not left Kingslanding without a proper bodyguard. Honestly, what was the king thinking, letting you without a King’sguard protecting you!" Everyone in the hall turned away to hide their smiles, by now knew quite well Lady Elyse’s scathing feeling on the king. 

“But I have the Dragon Guards and Syrax to keep me safe?” Rhaenyra hesitantly pointed out. The Dragon Guards were the newly renamed Gold Cloaks with Ser Luthor Largent being named the new commander, tasked in keeping Stepstone and its residents safe.

“They are currently stretched too thin across Bloodstone and Syrax cannot accompany you inside a building, Your Highness.” Martyn politely pointed out. 

“Oh. But how do I choose?” Rhaenyra once again reminds everyone how young she was. 

“We can make them showcase their ability with a duel?” Layla Strong, Rhaenyra’s other handmaiden offered.

Everyone watched wide-eyed as the two competitors circled one another warily in the now clean courtyard. Apparently people had heard about the match and gathered around to watch with bated breath.

After a few moments of sizing each other up, Mylessa made her first move, sweeping her twin swords at him. Aemon responded by blocking her attack with his bastard sword. The swords ground and sparks as they clashed against one another, looking for weaknesses. 

Aemon swung forward, hoping to push her or even nick her with his blade but to his surprise, Mylessa catches his sword between the flat sides of her blades and twists, sending them both tumbling. Aemon pushes off the ground as Mylessa backflips over his head, landing directly behind him, her sword swung down to hit him. He however turned just in time to swing his sword at her at the same time as she swung hers at him, putting both of them in a standstill. 

“It’s a draw!” Everyone cheered as the two opponents moved away from each other and turned to Rhaenyra. 

“Both of you have proven yourselves quite well today. If I may, I want both of you to serve me as my sworn swords, my scarlet shadows. ” Rhaenyra suggested. “This way you can take turns guarding me and won’t be tired.” The two exchanged looks before nodding in agreement. 

With Aemon, also came his cousin Prunella Celtigar, who quickly integrated herself into Rhaenyra’s household as her newest lady in waiting and later her secretary. The seventeen years old was a budding historian and during her free time, would write down the legends and stories about Stepstone Isles and help Martyn with his record keeping. 

Rhaenyra grinned as she patted down the last of the holes she had dug, moving aside so one of the orphans she was helping could water the newly planted seeds. Thanks to Lord Beesbury and a contact he has in Santh, Stepstones are able to dedicate one glasshouse to each of the settlements in the Isles, providing food for its people. 

This was helpful as their initial plans to farm the lands had failed, destroying over half of their seeds; Grey Gallow, Larazor’s Rock and Dustspear were too arid for farming and Serpentholm too dangerous due to its poisonous wildlife. Thankfully their agricultural attempts in Golden Haven and Scarwood were a success but they still needed to figure out a way to farm the lands successfully.

“Rice?” Rhaenyra asked, behind her, Prunella was hurriedly trying to scribble down what Master Han was saying. Both of them, along with Martyn, stared at the golden grain in confusion. 

“Yes, Your Highness.” Master Han Jian was a merchant from Leng looking to find a new trading route when he had heard of the new Lady Paramount and decided to make a gamble. “It is versatile and it can supplement your diet as it can be eaten in different ways, it can be used to thicken broths and stew and even turned into flour and made into desserts.” He bought out a small box containing some dainty white buns. Watching as Martyn and Prunella took a bite of the buns and nothing happened, Rhaenyra finally bit into her bun and almost moaned in delight at the sheer sweetness of its brown red filling. Master Han grinned as he watched them finish that bun and reach for more. 

“What is that filing Master Han?”

“That is red bean paste, made by boiling adzuki beans and sweetened with sugar and honey, Your Highness.” He explained, opening a small pot containing red beans.

“Can we grow them here too?” Rhaenyra was delighted at the idea of a new kind of sweets she can enjoy. 

“Yes, Your Highness, with the right sort of soil, my family can grow rice and adzuki beans along with other types of fruits native to our kingdom like khazi mandarin and sweet melons.”

“What kind of land do you need, Master Han?” Prunella unfurled for a map detailing the Stepstone Isles. “Rice can grow well in boggy areas, one with good access to water so we can water the rice paddies easily.” 

“Scarwood and its marshes would be the ideal place for this project.” Martyn pointed out at the island.. “The fields would need to be built up and the wildlife would be an issue, but it would not be too difficult if we had the people.”

“If Your Highness can spare some men, my family and I can plow the lands. We are not afraid of hard work.” Rhaenyra nodded.

“Would 50 acres be enough?” She asked innocently.

“Fi-Fifty acres?!” Master Han wheezed, surprised at the huge amount of land offered.

“Is it not enough? Lord Martyn, can we give him 100 acres then? We can increase the percentage of land ownership after the first harvest. Master Han, you would need to discuss with Lord Martyn about this but I hope to be able to feed my people without relying on the need to export food from the Reach or Riverland.” Rhaenyra smiled sweetly as Master Han stuttered his thanks, the latter still not believing his good fortune after taking a gamble on the new Lady Paramount of the Narrow Seas.

With Master Han, came his family, which includes his strapping sons and nephews (that sent some of her older ladies fluttering in delight especially when they took off their shirts to work on the fields when Rhaenyra, Martyn and her ladies came to inspect them) and his only daughter, Yanli, who later joined her household as her newest lady in waiting as a favor for the farmer turned lord. 

The young lady was a delightful addition to her household as it turns out she was apt with languages and basic art of healing, and would cheerfully teach them the languages she knew in return for lessons in both Common and High Valyrian. It was becoming a norm for her household to be speaking in different languages at any given time of the day, practicing their pronunciation with one another. 

The rice production was a huge success, the brown grains helped supplement the broths and stews and its rice flour desserts were a popular treat especially with its vibrant colors and designs.

Maybe it’s time to focus on the other islands, Rhaenyra mused.