Visiting the market
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or Game of Thrones characters seen, mentioned or used.
Before coming to Pentos roughly a year ago come next month, Daenerys, her brother and Peter had never seen cheese all that much. To them, cheese was a rare treat, even slightly molded cheese already being eaten by rats and other vermin. But since the young Targaryen and her small family have lived in the Free City of Pentos, even if free is up for debate, she had quite honestly grown tired of the sight, the smell and the taste of Petos's main export.
Daenerys thought it was a miracle the city wasn't overly infested with mice and rats because of it.
"Peter, would you please stop buying so much" Daenerys said with a strained grin on her face that could just barely cover up the annoyance she was feeling at the sight of Peter, standing before another stand selling cheese, offering its merchant several copper pieces for a wheel.
"Why?" Peter said as he glanced at Daenerys as he was handed the cheese wheel by the amused merchant as he observed the two teens "The cooks are making my favorite stew again tonight and they need cheese, this one in particular"
Daenerys took a deep inhale though her nose before she exhaled with a sigh and folded her arms and watched as Peter placed the cheese in a bag he brought with him before nodding towards the merchant and made his way to his platinum blonde haired companion.
"I don't get why you hate cheese" Peter said as the two, with two of the magister's guards a few meters behind, headed deeper into Petos's market "You used to love having it when we could get it"
"That was before we came here and had cheese with every single meal every other day of the week" Daenerys said dryly.
"We didn't have it every other day" Peter said with a frown.
"Your right, it was every day" Daenerys said with a small grin as she looped her arm through Peter's who looked at her with an odd look on his face.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Walking with you" Daenerys responded as she scanned the various stalls they were passing for anything that might catch her interests.
"But why are you holding my arm like this?" Peter asked with even more confusion, unaware of the look his and Daenerys's guards shared.
"Because it's proper and if I allow you to wander about by yourself, you're likely to be scammed or cheated again" Daenerys said as she reached down with her other hand and snatched the small pouch of gold coins from Peter's waist before he could say or do anything.
"I don't get cheated" Peter said with a scowl.
Daenerys stopped dead in her tracks and slowly looked towards Peter with a dry look "Yes... you do"
"No I don't" Peter replied with growing annoyance.
"Peter when we were living in Myr, you spent all the gold coins that we were able to gather and spent it on a lens that a merchant missing half his teeth and one of his eyes said would allow you to 'see the paths to riches'" Daenerys said with a hint of anger at memory of the incident.
Peter, unaware of the ire she felt towards that moment, even more so than her brother did, scoffed "Well if it wasn't for that lens, we wouldn't be here now, would we?"
"Excuse me?" Daenerys said as she turned towards Peter with a frown.
The guards shared another look as Peter, seemingly oblivious to the tone he was spoken in continued on with a self-assured smirk "If I didn't decide to use that lens that night I bought it, we wouldn't have been discovered by those guards who saw the glare from our small fire on it and then proceeded to arrest us and ask us who we are. And if it wasn't for your brother loudly proclaiming who you and he were, then the guards wouldn't have talked to their captain who then talked to his commander who then talked to the council who then had one of its members mention it to magister Illryios in passing at a dinner party they both attended and magister Illryios who then might I add came all the way to Myr to see you two for himself before freeing you, and by proxy me, and bringing us here where we now live in a modest sized estate with more money than we've ever seen!"
Daenerys stated at Peter with a look of disbelief as the young man grinned in triumph at proving to his friend that he hadn't been cheated that day and that the shady merchant was indeed correct in that the lens would light their path to riches. Before Peter could say anything however, Daenerys turned on her heel and began to walk away, leaving Peter standing there with a confused look on his face.
"Where are you going?"
"To clear my head" she snapped with annoyance, leaving Peter standing there in confusion before he turned towards the two guards with him.
"What'd I do?" he asked.
The two armored men shared a look before one of them answered.
"You tried to justify your idiotic spending my lord"
The other guard nodded "Even if you are in the right, someway, somehow, your still wrong"
Peter blinked at this before he frowned "That makes no sense"
"It's not supposed to make sense to us men. Just accept it"
Peter stared at the two men for a few seconds before he sighed and rubbed his temples "Why are women so complicated?"
"Tis a question for the Gods my lord"
...
Daenerys loudly exhaled through her nose when she was far enough away from Peter, towards the outer edge of the market and placed a hand on her forehead to try and sooth the growing headache that boy gave her. As smart as he thought he was, and often proved, he could be absolutely clueless on things, be it politics, money-
'Or women' Daenerys thought with a sigh as she looked around to see that she was in a section of the market that sold books, scrolls and other tomes of knowledge.
She wandered over to a stand that was occupied by a man, at least she thought they were. The owner was completely covered in robes and no skin was visible. Daenerys gave the person a small smile as she glanced at the items he had displayed while he seemed to watch her and the area in front of him at the same time. Just as the young Targaryen was about to move on to another stand, the man finally turned and looked right at her with a weighted gaze before he gave her a small bow.
"Your majesty…"
"I'm sorry?" Daenerys said with surprise on her face as the person straightened himself.
The man said nothing, he merely reached down and pulled a small cover back to reveal several books and grabbed them before handing them to Daenerys with a small bow. She looked at the books with curiosity before her eyes widened as she read the title of the first book on top.
"This... this is..." she said as she looked up at the man with wide eyes.
"The history of House Targaryen before it conquered Westeros after the Doom of Valyria" the man said as Daenerys took the books in her hands and looked at the others handed to her "The others, on the various houses that have survived it's destruction, as your family did"
Daenerys paused in her examination of the books and slowly looked up towards the man as he stared at her with his hidden face "What do you mean?"
"I recognize a Targaryen when I see one" the man said with a faint chuckle as he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a very pale arm with a very dark tattoo in the shape of a dragon's head just above his wrist that extended all the way up to his elbow.
Daenerys frowned at the tattoo, having never seen anything quite like it
"Who are you?" she asked carefully "Are... are you a supporter of my house?"
"I was... before your family conquered Westeros and left me and others who had stood by them to rot in the ruins of this land" the man said as he pulled his sleeve back down, a hint of bitterness in his muffled voice.
"But... that would make you hundreds of years old by now" Daenerys said with a mixture of confusion and weariness.
"I aged well... and it helps that I curry favor with the Lord of Light, your Grace" the man chuckled dryly as he reached down and pulled out a small satchel and handed to Daenerys "For your books. It wouldn't do for a lady to carry things like that out in the open"
"Thank you" Daenerys said as she took the bag carefully and examined it, it was made of good quality leather despite its rather plain appearance.
She made to reach for the coin pouch she had when the man held up his hand and shook his head "There is no need my lady. They are yours by right, well the books at least. The bag is a gift... and a request"
"A request?" Daenerys asked with a small amount of amusement "What is this request?"
"That when you've retaken the throne, it will not be to restore your house's well-earned place over them, but as a steppingstone in rebuilding our home" the man said.
"What do you mean rebuild our home?" Daenerys asked.
"Valyria"
Daenerys blinked at the name of the ancient Empire's name, the empire her house hailed from "Valyria?"
The man bowed before a gust of cool wind washed over them and shook some of the wears on display in the other stands.
"Winter is coming..." the man said as he looked up towards the sky with a hidden look under his robes, causing Daenerys to look towards him "And when it does..."
Daenerys frowned at the pause as the man looked down towards the ground "What? What happens when it gets here?"
The man said nothing before he glanced back up at Daenerys with a haunted look under his robes "Death shall come with it"
Daenerys was taken back by this as the man turned and made his way to the back of his stand and pulled the cloak closed, leaving the young Targaryen to stare at an empty stand, the items that once decorated it's counter and shelves now mysteriously gone. After a few seconds of standing there, Daenerys slid the books into the small bag she was given and closed the flap before she began to make her way farther down the street towards a ledge that would give her a view of the port below as ships from all over Essos, the Summer Islands and even the far distant and mysterious continent of Sothoryos. She stopped and gazed at the ships with longing, wishing that she, her brother and Peter could jump on one of them and be taken away from this land to somewhere else, where no one would possibly recognize them.
'I just want to live somewhere away from all these politics, deals, promises, odd warnings from strange men and thrones across seas and oceans... ' Daenerys thought tiredly as she turned and made her way up a set of stone stairs to the next level of the market and was just about to turn a corner only to walk right into a man that was coming the other way.
"I'm sorry-" Daenerys began as she looked up to the man she bumped into before stopping as she took in his appearance.
He was tall, a good foot taller than she was and far broader than most of the man that Magister Illyrios employed. His hair, a dark red, was styled in a way that reminded the young Targaryen of rows of crops such as corn or wheat. But the most distinguishing feature about the man wasn't how big he was, nor was it the armor he wore, the design clearly Westeros in design with a hand a half sword attached to his side. No, it was the man's cold green eyes that caught demanded her attention.
When she looked into them, she felt a shiver crawl up her spine as the man stared down at her with a hard look on his face.
The man sneered at Daenerys as he brushed past her "Stay out of the way stupid tart"
"Y-Yes my l-lord" Daenerys said as she bowed her head and struggled to keep the tremor in her voice from growing as she heard the man make his way down the staircase and towards the docks where the ships lay.
She heard the man take several steps before he stopped and glanced back at her with a curious expression on his face "Girl, what's your name?"
Daenerys felt dread build in the pit of her stomach as the man slowly walked back in front of her and stopped.
"M-My lord?" Daenerys said in a low, fearful tone as her eyes flickered to the man's arms, seeing if his hands were close to his sword's handle or were about to reach out and grab her.
"You heard me" the man said in a brisk tone as he quirked his head to the side "You seem... familiar"
"I... I believe your mistaken Ser..." Daenerys said as she felt her mouth go dry and heartbeat echoing in her ears like thunder.
"Maybe, or maybe not. Which is why I wish to know your name" the man said, his tone growing impatient and angry with each passing second.
"My name... my name..." Daenerys said as she tried to think of an appropriate name to give the man "It's... It's Gwendolyn my lord"
"Gwendolyn?" the man said with a hum "That's not a name common in any part of Essos I've been to"
"My f-father, he's from Westeros" Daenerys said as she tried to think of a convincing story, it was often said that the best lies were those with grains of truth in them "He didn't l-like the names my m-mother picked. Said half of them he couldn't pronounce"
The man said nothing as he stared down at Daenerys with an unreadable expression. Daenerys was doing her best to not look up at the man's face, terrified that he may have somehow recognized her for what she was, who she was. The Usurper, according to magister Illyrios was still hunting for her and her brother, sending men to the Free Cities to find them and kill them and end the Targaryen House once and for all.
'Not that he needs to tell us, a few of them nearly killed me and my brother once' Daenerys thought as the man before her made some sort of grunt before he pushed past her and headed for the stairs.
Daenerys slowly turned her head in the direction the man went and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw that he too had stopped to look back at her one last time with narrowed eyes, as if something had occurred to him and he looked back to be sure. Neither said anything as they held one another's gaze before she saw the man had muttered something under his breath, shake his head, and then turn and continued on his way without a second glance to her.
The young Targaryen didn't release the breath she was holding until the red-haired man in the armor was out of her sight. She leaned against the wall and took a few deep breaths before she heard Peter's voice.
"Dany... Dany where'd you go?" she could hear her friend's call.
Suddenly Peter ran up the steps and towards her with the two guards right behind him.
Peter was about to ask what Daenerys was doing before he frowned as he noticed that she looked a little shaken, almost as much when her brother yells at her "Dany, what's wrong?"
"..."
"Dany?" Peter said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping it'd comfort her.
"I'm fine..." she said in a quiet voice "Just..."
Daenerys didn't finish her response, instead she turned towards Peter and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his torso as she buried her face into Peter's chest.
"I just... I just want to go home Peter"
"Okay, I got what we needed anyway" Peter said with a nod as he patted his friend on the back while glancing at the two guards "Let's head back to the estate. I'm sure Viserys is wondering where we went by now and is on the verge of a complete breakdown"
"Of course, my lord" one of the guards said with a bow as they stepped aside to allow Peter and Daenerys through.
"Come on Dany, we're going home now, see?" Peter said as he nodded in the direction of the estate.
"It's not our home though Peter..." Daenerys muttered quietly.
Peter frowned at this "What are you talking about?"
He received no response as Daenerys continued to hold him, causing Peter to sigh as he wrapped an arm around her and led her back towards the estate before her brother wondered where they went. The man was starting to get very unreasonable in Peter and Daenerys's outings, claiming they were too dangerous for his sister.
'Why'd he care?' Peter thought with a troubled look on his face as he and Daenerys slowly descended the staircase 'He used to always complain about how me and Dany never leave the estate, now it's like he doesn't want her out of his sight for even a second!'
And then there was the way that Peter has caught Viserys looking at Daenerys when he thought no one was looking. It unnerved Peter because the look that Viserys gave his sister was the same one that the Targaryen gave the pleasure slave Doreah that he 'acquired' to serve as Daenerys's handmaiden. Peter wasn't ignorant of what such stares meant, the Targaryen's incestuous relations over the years, sisters marrying brothers or cousins, uncles wedding nieces or aunts breeding with nephews and so on was quite known amongst just about every corner of either Westeros or Essos.
'Well... long as he doesn't try anything, not much I can do' Peter thought with a sigh.
As Peter and Daenerys returned to Illryios's estate with their guards, the man that the young Targaryen woman bumped into earlier was approaching a large ship with the Sigil of the current ruling family of Westeros, the Baratheons. The man stopped and glanced back towards the market that was just barely visible from the port with a frown on his face. One of the soldiers from Westeros that the man came to Petos with noticed the knight and approached him and was about to speak before he noticed his lord's expression.
"Lord Osborn?"
"What?" the man asked with a growl as he continued to stare towards the market where he saw the strange girl.
"The ship is ready to depart" the soldier said with tremor of fear in his voice.
"So it is..." Osborn said with a mummer with a frown as he tried to recall where he saw that girl's face before.
He didn't believe her when she said her name was 'Gwendolyn', her voice didn't carry that accent that all half Westeros, half Essos swine carried no matter how good they spoke the common tongue. Then there was her hair... her very familiar shade of hair color. After a few minutes of silence as the man's mind raced, her turned back towards the messenger and threw him a small pouch of gold coins he retrieved from his belt "Change of plans, we'll be staying a few more days"
"My lord?" the soldier said with visible confusion as he fumbled to catch the pouch "But the King as requested that we join him in traveling to-"
"He'll understand" Osborn said as he turned back towards the soldier with a hard look in his eye "Especially if the girl I saw earlier today is who I think it is"
"And who is that my lord?" the solider asked as Osborn turned away from him and began to make his way back towards the city.
"A little lizard that should have stayed in whatever hole she and her brother have been hiding in all these years"
...
And done.
Next chapter, A Dwarf and his Red headed Shield Maidan...