This choice: Something a bit more Nefarious. • Go Back... Daenerys froze in her steps and stared open mouthed at the girl in front of her. Her name was Shilvani zo Rhazdar, a twelve year old daughter of the ancient House of Rhazdar, taken hostage to ensure their loyalty. Black haired and olive skinned, with eyes of dry soil, Shilvani had already begun her budding into a woman, the beginnings of a feminine body apparent. But her aesthetics weren't what was on Daenerys' mind when she looked at her. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled as she looked her servant up and down.
An idea came to her; an idea that every rational portion of her mind screamed out against, but not her more bestial thoughts. Her mind floated to the bag of a boy's charred bones a farmer had brought to her, talking of dragons. She could recall the guilt she had felt that day, but couldn't recreate it. A frail, venom-spiked voice spoke to her once again: "...But you are a Dragon."
"My Queen?" Shilvani spoke in High Valyrian. "What is your bidding?" Daenerys' eyes quickly snapped back from the girl's body to her eyes as one side of her mind won out over the other.
"Ah, Shilvani, would you accompany me into my chamber for a moment? I have need of you." she said as sweetly as possible, putting a welcoming smile on her face.
"Of course, Your Grace." she replied with a bow of her head. The two left the servant's corridors and took a short walk back to Daenerys' room, skirting along the edge of the great pyramid. Two Unsullied stood at attention as Daenerys threw open the doors and entered her quarters, the Rhazdar girl in tow. She sat down at a table and called for Shilvani to bring wine for both of them, and invited her to take a seat next to her.
"What did you need me for, Your Grace?" Shilvani asked, taking the seat offered to her.
"I wanted to ask you some questions. And answer candidly, it is a great crime to lie to your Queen." Daenerys spoke, bringing the cup of wine to her lips, her eyes transfixed on the girl before her.
"I'm not in trouble, are I?! I haven't done anything My Queen, I swear it!" Shilvani quickly spoke.
"No, no, you aren't in any trouble." Daenerys lied. "I just wanted to ask some questions."
"Of course, My Queen." Shilvani replied incredulously, "Ask away."
"How do you find serving me here?" Shilvani paused a second and took a sip of wine before answering.
"It is more difficult then the life I had before you took the city, but it is not terrible. I miss my own slave servants, at my family's Great Yellow and Green Pyramid, but I get to speak with many more people, with the other servants here."
"Do you wish there was still slavery in Meereen?" Once more Shilvani took a sip of wine before answering.
"I don't think so. It definitely made my life easier, but sometimes I saw horrible things happen because of the slavers. Tongues torn out, eyes plucked, mothers and daughters raped by the same man, babe's heads dashed against walls. I think Meereen is much better now that you have come."
"How has your family fared since the abolition of slavery?" Shilvani looked away and couldn't meet Daenerys' eyes.
"Speak, Shilvani." Daenerys commanded after several long seconds. She quickly jerked her eyes back to The Mother of Dragons before looking away again. She sighed, took a deep gulp of wine, and looked back to Daenerys.
"We are ruined. Our trade involved buying slaves from the Dothraki Khals, training them into soldiers, and selling them to Pirate Warlords, Exiled Lords, or Volantini Lords stupid enough to try to fight the Dothraki, rather than paying them tribute. We have tried to take up the spice trade, selling saffron from Asshai By-The-Shadow to the Free Cities, but all cargo ships we send are lost either to pirates or to the Smoking Sea, and all caravans are either taken by marauders or lost along the Demon Road. My mother has sold her jewels, my brothers have fled from the city, my sisters try to marry into the other Houses before they discover the depths of our poverty."
"And your father?" Shilvani's face twisted in anger.
"You crucified him after taking the city." Daenerys once more brought her cup to her lips and drank deeply.
"Do you hate me?" The girl's face froze.
"I - I..."
"Truthfully, Shilvani."
"...Yes. You've ruined my life. I have no family, no wealth, and no future. Every night I lay in bed awake, my father's agonized face plastered to my mind's eye. I fantasize about the day I can do the same to you." The two sat in silence for a seemingly long time, before the tension was cut by the growling of Daenerys' stomach. A moment afterwards, the Queen of Meereen spoke;   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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