The Mother Of Dragons. (Celebstars & DeRe)

[celebstars]

It was scorching hot in the desert. The sun was up in the cloudless sky beaming down on Daenerys and her eight thousand strong army of Unsullied. The white horse which she was riding pressed it's hoofs in to the sand below, creating an in print of it's foot before making another as it walked on and marched towards another enslaved city. The Mother of Dragons had already freed two cities, earning the name, 'Breaker of Chains' and intended on making a third victory for the freedom of people. Looking up in to the sky, she held one hand above her forehead to keep the sun from getting in to her eyes. Up above were her three dragons, wings spread wide and flying through the air. Giving a smirk to herself she couldn't believe her luck, knowing that not so long ago she had nothing.

Freeing slaves wasn't her goal though. Not in the long term anyway. Daenerys wanted what was hers by birthright, the iron throne. She had to wait though, bide her time and make no rash decisions. For now, she was determined to conquer the east and everything that came with it.

As they marched onwards, they came to the edge of the cliff with the Kingdom below it. It's walls looked very high and it's defences very strong. Turning her head to a member of her army, Daenerys ordered the man to scout ahead, to see if there was any weak points which could fall under attack. For now though, they set up camp out of sight on top of the cliff which helped most of the men get out of the boiling heat.

Tents were set up and by nightfall camp fires were lit to help keep warm. The sudden change in temperature during the night was enough to make someone freeze to death if very weak and ill. It had been twelve hours so far, and the man Daenerys had sent to scout hadn't arrived back as of yet.

 

[DeRe]

The news had traveled fast along the sunbleached shores of Essos. An army was on the march, set to end the reign of the slaver-masters that had dominated the Free Cities for centuries. Not just any army either - every last member of the fearsome Unsullied walked in the train. The force which had once protected the order in the land was no bent on destroyed it. At its head rode one of the renowned Targaryens, and like her ancestral forebears she seemed to control three dragons. Their fearsome wrath had reduced the rulers of the Slaver's Bay to ash, and her crusade of liberation seemed as unstoppable and inescapable as their stone-melting breath. Already Yunkai and Astapor - once considered unbeatable and eternal - had fallen to her. Now the last and greatest city of the Bay, Meereen, had been besieged.

From their vantage point upon the Great Pyramid, the rulers of Meereen - the Wise Masters - looked out at the countless campfire of Daenerys' army. Their multi-coloured brick walls seemed to provide little protection when faced with a foe like this. What good were their crumbling and date defences against dragonfire? Defeat stared them coldly in the face, and the sensation was wholly new and unpleasant to the city's arrogant lords.

There was one among them, however, who did not resource to panic or confusion. He was known only as the Harpy, his real identity kept a close secret. However it was known that be descended from one of the city's most ancient families, which could trace it's bloodline right back to the Ghiscari. The idea of a foreigner harming his home was bad enough, but that fact it came in the form of a foreign woman was beyond insulting. He called upon his hidden army, the Sons of the Harpy, to undo her attack before it has even began. A covert group of them intended to infiltrate the camp to either kill or capture Daenerys. Without her, he speculated, the army would evaporate. Taking five of his most elite, the Harpy and his men cloaked themselves in their dark-green robes and slunk like shadows into the besieger's camp.

 

[celebstars]

The cliff side was kept alight by the orange glows of fire scattered around the plains. There were so many Unsullied that the harsh yellow sand below wasn't visible, instead hidden under flesh and armour of every man. It wasn't hard to situate where Daenerys was as a large white structure, almost like a tent, was sat in the middle of the large group. Inside were only two people, the Queen herself and her handmaiden Missandei.

The blonde ruler looked at her aid whilst she sat down drinking some wine. "You can sit as well, it has been a long day. Please, make yourself comfortable." That was one thing Missandei liked about Daenerys, she was always caring and considerate and only harsh when she needed to be.

"What is wrong? You looked worried?"

Missandei then turned to her Queen and spoke openly. "I don't like Meereen. It has a fierce reputation towards it's slaves. It even has an arena for it's slaves and they make them do horrible things. Things like..." Missandei was interrupted by the scout who came bursting in. "I'm sorry your grace for the intrusion but I have found a way. The west side has a opening in to the sewers."

Daenerys stood up immediately and sanctioned him to order troops ready to march towards it.

 

[DeRe]

Nightbirds screeched in the velvet dark. The sun sunk quickly as a heavy musk of leather and animal droppings hung heavy over the camp. Their was an air of steady order as the business of the day began to draw to a close. Soldiers and servants bustled about with purpose, moving between the many multi-coloured tents that dotted the plain like exotic mushrooms. The Harpy and his men move among them like ghosts, as unnoticed as the flickering shadows that ran along the canvas walls of the camp.

As a boy, the Harpy had enjoyed hunting and killing snakes. He had learned very young that even the most deadliest creature was useless without a head. No matter what its cunning or bravery, it only took a single swift firm stroke to kill it. That same logic had occurred to him here. Without their revered Mother and Queen, this fearsome besieging army would curl up and die in the dust.

While he assured himself - and his peers - that the safety of the city was his main motivator, the Harpy had his own darker and more carnal concerns. Defeating the 'Mother of Dragons' was not enough for him. He intended to have her enslaved and chained, a fitting and degrading punishment for one who had scorned the ancient customs of this land. Moreover, it would please him and the Masters immeasurably to have her used in a fashion that would appall the basest Braavosi whore. Her beauty would become his property and her body his plaything. This was what truly drove him on such a dangerous mission.

There was no mistaking Daenerys' tent, standing out extravagantly in the center of the camp. To the Harpy's great surprise it was barely guarded, only a pair of Unsullied standing by their door. With their vision and hearing obscured by their clunky antique helmets, they never even sensed the men creeping up on them until they felt the knives open their throats. Quickly the bodies were dragged into the darkness as the Harpy and his men surrounded the capacious pavilion. With a pair of them at his back, he stalked swiftly into the tent with a determined stride, looking a lot more confident then he felt.

 

[celebstars]

Each of the three Dragons she loved were up in the sky flying off somewhere. Given their size and temperament Daenerys could hardly keep them on a leash. The mother wasn't worried though, she knew they would come back, they always had and always would she thought.

After learning of the entrance in to Meereen, the Queen knew this was going to be easier than she first thought. Returning to her seat, she gazed at her handmaiden and gave a warm smile. "Well Meereen will not exist any more after tonight, you have my word" A hand wondered over to rest on top of Missandei's to help reassure her.

Nearly four thousand men moved through the sand outside, their armour clinking together and their spears banging against their shields, creating a noise just loud enough to help some intruders bypass the sleeping. It may have sounded hard, sneaking across another four thousand men, surely one must of been awake and would of seen shadows moving but the wind carried the light of the flames back towards them, creating an ever darker distance.

Each guard standing in front of the tent was killed hidden before Daenerys saw a man enter her tent.

"Who are you?!" She said in a steady tone, trying to hide some or most of her fear. "You have some nerve."

 

[DeRe]

The flickering light in the tent blinded the Harpy for a few moments, but once his vision cleared the sight he saw was even more stunning. Stories of Daenerys' beauty were as widely spread as tales of her dragons, and they were clearly just as real. Certainly her nubile figure was readily apparent between her sheer cyan dress. She was much younger than he expected, pouting at him with a youthful petulance cloaked in royal arrogance. To his immediate relief and pleasure she was accompanied only by a maidservant - a comely one at that. It was certainly comforting to see her notorious dragons were absent, even as much as the Harpy was intrigued by them. Exhaling slowly, he allowed himself a wicked grin as introduced himself.

"They call me the Harpy," he oozed. "I came here to find a queen, and instead I find a find a girl playing dress-up." He held up his scimitar, the white steel blade glinting in the dancing firelight, keeping the tip just beneath Missandrei's quivering chin. "Now if you make a single noise, I will gut your lovely little pet here." Keeping his cruel smile fixed on Daenerys, his two men swiftly moved behind both women, binding their slender wrists tight with coarse rope, then shoving them to their knees and tying their ankles. They worked with the skill of men long practiced in restraining and capturing people.

With a mocking little laugh he sneered at Daenerys. "Shall we take a nice walk and savour the night air?" His guards roughly gagged both women forcefully, before sliding black sacks over their heads. "You shall get too see Meereen after all, my queen," -he dropped the last two words venomously- "although I think you shall not enjoy your stay, yes?" As his soldiers hefted both their captives over their shoulders like sacks, an urgent whisper came from outside.

"The army is moving, milord! We have to get going!"

The Harpy kicked over one the candlestands, allowing the flame to catch on a silken curtain. The pavilion began to burn fast in a wall of green licking fire. He and his men then quickly but calmly moved off into the chaos of the milling camp, the burning tent serving as a distraction for their escape. No-one one around them noticed the sinister figures or the loads they were bearing, being two distracted by the mounting confusion. The small group headed back towards the city, adrenalin pounding as they bore their prizes away.