Chapter 31: Act III: Chapter 12

Hello everyone,

At this point in the story, you will begin to see more time skips. The last chapter established how the city was recovering while going through another transition period. There will obviously be more

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Robert POV

"What does it bloody mean, you fool!?"

"We are missing a million gold dragons, Robert!" Jon Arynn answered. He was angry, he always used that tone when he was angry. I was beginning to become that way too, it had been a long time since I had a proper fight and a headache from the Seven Hells wasn't helping things either.

By the Gods that woman was fun last night.

"How does one misplace a million gold dragons!?" I roared at my council. I should replace every single one of the bastards. If only there were more capable men I could find.

"If I may, Your Grace." The small voice of the Spider touched my ears. I, and the rest of the small council, turned to him.

"Myr's economy should have collapsed a mere few days into King Petyr's reign. He freed the slaves in one night, and yet there are no reports of starvation amongst the freedmen population." The Spider stopped there, and I could have strangled him.

King Petyr is it?

"What does Petyr have to do with this?!" My blood was practically boiling under my skin. I needed a hammer in my hands and an enemy in front of me. It felt like I was on the fields of the Stormlands again.

"Are you implying that Littlefinger managed to smuggle, not only Princess Elia with her children, but three wagons full of gold on a small smugglers ship the night before we took the city? With one other man?" Tywin did not speak often during these council meetings, but when he did the rest of them stared at him in awe.

I turned to Jon Arryn as The Spider answered. "It seems like the most obvious answer. He could have done it in a series of nights. Although it would still be an impossible feat."

"He has a habit of accomplishing impossible feats." Tywin retorted quickly as he leaned back in his chair and took on a thinking pose. "Anything else we should know, from across the Narrow Sea?"

Jon had yet to look back at me. A million gold dragons was exactly what we had promised Petyr for taking the city. He had provided, but we had labeled him a traitor and thought we wouldn't have to pay him.

You always were a step ahead of everyone else, Petyr.

"Just that there is a line of wagons and ships constantly entering and leaving the city. Lys and Tyrosh have lost near five thousand slaves in the last few months to Myr." Varys answered, causing me to break away from my thoughts.

"Five thousand?!" I asked incredulously. Everyone stared at the eunuch as if he had grown a second head.

"How is that possible?" Tywin asked, his interest piqued again at the information.

"Petyr has claimed the Disputed Lands. His dragons patrol it. All a slave has to do is make it ashore, and they will not be pursued on the route to Myr. Petyr has sent innumerable ships to wait in the bays outside of the cities. His man Ben is always mounted on his red dragon, a constant threat to any who would pursue the ships." Varys answered the lion quickly.

"How does he afford to feed them? How does he house them?" The questions came from all over the small council table.

"The Disputed Lands were once barren and unpopulated. Very few crops grew there. Now it seems everything takes root in the soil, even weirwood trees. Their yield is higher than even the Reach. Myr's people continue to spread away from the city, claiming land and farming it. As for housing, well I doubt the validity of my reports." Varys answered the questions quickly.

"Tell them all the same." Tywin commanded, as he leaned forward on the table.

"Structures made with blocks of, pardon me if I get the pronunciation incorrect my lords, hemp and limestone, five stories tall inside the city. Structures, three stories tall, are being built outside the walls. During Petyr's address, he described this building material as fire resistant and the preferred building material used by the Valyrians." Varys told the council as he read down a sheet of parchment he had prepared.

There was silence among the council for a good time after that.

Petyr POV

"Prince Oberyn Martell, Your Grace."

Had I not already heard of his presence in the city, I would have been surprised at the sudden arrival of the Red Viper. He already had a deadly reputation in Essos. I believe he's been with the Second Sons for a while, but I wasn't positive about that. Nor was I particularly motivated to watch the past few years of his life in the astral plane.

That was something I was trying to balance properly. If I spent all day roaming my lands, past and present in the astral plane, I lost time to properly rule or spend time with my family. I was learning to only use it when it was needed, although I still managed to fly over my lands to make sure nobody was ruling against me.

I stood up from my chair, behind my desk and turned to the man walking into my solar. He was about as tall as me, and had the similar swimmers build. He was a handsome man with dark hair, skin, and eyes that watched the world with confidence born from battle. Unsurprisingly, he wore a yellow silk outfit that made me want to know his seamstress.

What did surprise me was the white wooden rectangular case in his hands.

"Another Martell. It is a pleasure, Prince Oberyn." I quipped with a smile, thinking back fondly on my time in Dorne and the little minx that kept my bed warm. I didn't bring up the obvious gift he had brought.

"The pleasure is all mine, Your Grace." He said with a short bow in my direction. I didn't blame him for not dropping to a knee, I was not his King. Another part of my mind told me that he was inside my kingdom all the same.

He walked straight up to my desk and placed the wooden case on it. With dexterous hands he opened the case quickly and stepped back so that I could look inside. I was not expecting what I found.

A weirwood bow, of the highest craft that I had ever laid eyes upon sat inside the case, unstrung. It was a simple design, but the white weirwood made it beautiful to look at. The handle did have a type of black bone material with gold accents around it, but that was the only variation away from the weirwood.

"A weirwood bow made from the most skilled bowmaker in the Dornish Marches, from a tree on your lands. My brother had it specially made for you. The handle is dragonbone and gold, as you can see." Oberyn told me. "My uncle told us of how he lost to you at the Tourney of Harrenhal. A gift for the safe passage of my sister, and the true tale of my Uncle."

I was shocked, and I found myself walking towards possibly one of the most insightful and valuable gifts I had received in this life. With a moment I had the bow in my hand, and another moment I had it strung with the string in the case. I pulled it back, and relished in the feel of my muscles straining to hold it. It was powerful, and a bow fit for a king.

"This will be one of my most cherished possessions from now on, Prince Oberyn. How is your brother doing?" I asked. I knew the answer of course, I made it a point to observe Westeros every once in a while. I still had many enemies across the narrow sea.

I unstrung the bow, and placed it back into the beautiful case.

"Very well, along with my sister, I'm sure you'll be happy to know." Oberyn answered, with the seductive voice that nearly all Dornish carried.

"I am, thank you. But I hope you know your uncle was the hero of that story, Prince Oberyn. I merely played my part." I told him, thinking back to the day that I had escaped Kings Landing with Elia and her children. "I'm not sure I am worthy of this gift."

His head tilted at that, but a smile graced his face. "You are, of that there is no doubt. Lewyn died a truly noble death. However, he had no other choice but to die that day. You, on the other hand, had many choices. You could have returned Elia to the hands of the Usurper, to be killed along with my niece and nephew. You chose to return her home, to your eternal shame and our eternal gratitude." He reasoned.

I would have been shunned regardless of the outcome of that day.

"It worked out best this way." I said as I spread my arms wide, gesturing to the city around us. Myr was mine to rule, as it would be my childrens.

"Yes. Your legend is already established in both Westeros and Essos. King of Myr, Breaker of chains, Great General, Green Hand, the True Conqueror of Westeros. What can't you do?" Oberyn asked. His tone made it seem like he was speaking genuinely, but I got the faint hint of him mocking me for a moment.

Never heard the True Conqueror of Westeros before…

"I cannot help Ashara give birth, as she is soon to do any day now." I answered quickly. It had been on my mind for the past few days, and I had become nearly useless because of my anxiety for her and my child. It was an odd feeling considering that I am not an anxious person.

"Ahh I have felt that pain only once, and from a distance. I was with the Second Sons when I heard of the successful delivery." Oberyn commented graciously.

I caught on to how he said that sentence quickly. "Was?" I asked with a frown. The entire conversation had just changed. Why had he really brought me that bow, a weapon of war.

"Ah, I revealed my hand too early. I had hoped to make more pleasantries." He said as he looked away from me. His demeanor told me that he did not, in fact, plan to make more pleasantries. The Red Viper already had his reputation. He did not mince words for any man.

"I suppose you're not here to ask me to harbor Elia for you, then?" I asked, rhetorically. That had been my first thought when I heard of Oberyn's presence in the city. It is what I would do, if I were him and his brother. Months had come and gone since the Great Fire, and the city was stable, if not booming.

"No I have not, although I am glad to hear it is an option for you. I am here for the same reason that I am leaving the Second Sons. They have accepted a contract from Lys and Tyrosh to attack the city." Oberyn revealed nonchalantly.

I didn't answer for a while. I was too lost in my thoughts. How had I missed that? There was no major movement of troops around any of the cities yet. I knew that for a fact. Either the contract was accepted today, or they had somehow escaped my gaze.

After a good while, I decided it was time to press him for answers. "My spies haven't reported any martial activity in those cities." I told him confidently, almost as if I didn't believe him.

"Well it has only been a week since the contract was accepted. It takes more than a night to make preparations." Oberyn answered with a shrug, uncaring if I believed him or not.

"How many men can the Second Sons call upon?" I asked. I was not particularly afraid of them. I had already destroyed the Golden Company, which was the peak of mercenary companies in this world. What did the Second Sons have to offer?

"Two thousand normally, but after you destroyed the Golden Company, they quickly began trying to fill the power vacuum. A loan from the Iron Bank secured enough equipment for another five thousand men." Oberyn answered quickly. "But you should not worry about ten thousand men. No, the contract is for the Second Sons to train, and lead armies from both Lys and Tyrosh against Myr."

That changes everything. I realized as I understood what he was telling me.

"They are raising an army." I said aloud, deducing what he was telling me. "Possibly a large one." I added as I began thinking of the situation.

"Yes. You should expect no less than seventy thousand, I believe." Oberyn told me. That was a valuable piece of information, and one that I doubted the validity of. How did he know that? The two cities hadn't raised an army in recent memory.

"It will not matter." I told him as I pondered the situation I would soon find myself in. The dragons kept growing and growing. Soon they would be too big to stop without other dragons. Not to mention the population that I could pull from now that I had freed my slaves. A population that was growing rapidly with the addition of runaway slaves from the very cities that were attacking me.

This will be the perfect opportunity to expand. Assuming I win, of course.

"They will fall, just like the rest."

"Your son, your grace."

I held my arms out in front of me and cradled the tiny human as if it would just break apart at the slightest bit of mishandling. It was screaming its little head off and I couldn't help but love the sound of it. There was hardly any hair on top of its head, but what I could see was dark brown just like mine.

There was the sound of another shout from Ashara, but it was a strained one, almost exactly like earlier. I frowned as I would have thought the pain to be lessening.

"There is another!"

Another!?

"Alexander and Arthur Baelish."

I said holding Alexander in my arms while facing the council. Ashara stood beside me holding Arthur. That was an unspoken arrangement we had made between ourselves. I would hold Alexander while we went on our walks for most of the time, and she would hold Arthur. The babe reminded her of her brother, not only for his name but also because of the matching eye colors.

Alexander had my blood red eyes, a staple of Greenseers. Arthur had the purple eyes of Ashara and her brother.

That did not mean that I never played with or held Arthur, because that would be incorrect. I made sure to give all of the children equal attention, even Vorian who had begun to act out because of his new siblings and natural jealousy. The past few weeks had been hard on us, but with wet nurses and scheduled time with my children it was getting better.

Davos leapt from his seat and practically ran over to the two babes in our arms. Lena and Arton approached as well, but much slower. It took a while, but eventually the babes had been passed around and fawned over for a while.

Ben was much more reserved in handling the children. He had next to no experience with them. He was a warrior, and a military man. He had yet to learn the skill of fatherhood. I was worried that he would never learn it.

The babies were given to the wet nurses to take care of and put down for a nap.

"Now that the good news is over and done with. We can get on to the topic of this emergency meeting." I said, getting everyone's attention as we sat down and got serious.

"I was visited by Oberyn Martell earlier this week, just before Ashara gave birth. That was when I sent for you to return, Ben." I explained, as he had been wondering why I had pulled him off of patrolling the coastlines.

"As some of you may know, The Martells supply sand, and limestone in massive quantities for our industries. They are extremely valuable trade partners. I also happened to save Elia during the Sack of King's Landing, and they have been grateful ever since. I believe this is why I was given the warning that I received." I told them, laying out the events that would make this conversation important.

"Oberyn is no longer with the Second Sons, because as of the last moon, the Second Sons accepted a contract from Lys and Tyrosh. Any guesses as to the terms of this contract?" I asked. I wasn't sure why I did, but I needed them engaged.

"War." Ben answered swiftly.

It was obvious I suppose. I would never bring up the topic of war, without Ben here to contribute. He had stood beside me in every military campaign that I had been in. From the very first, where I had killed my first man on the way to Harrenhal, to Robert's Rebellion, to destroying the Golden Company. The memory of my first kill, his knighthood, and Harrenhal seemed so long ago, and yet it hadn't even been four years yet. I have killed, directly or indirectly, tens of thousands of men since then.

"Yes. The Second Sons number close to ten thousand now." I said, only to be interrupted.

"How is that? They used to only boast two thousand men." Davos asked with his hands clasped in front of him. His demeanor had completely changed since he had been handling the twins.

"The destruction of the Golden Company created a power vacuum amongst the mercenary companies. Someone had to fill that void." I answered quickly. I didn't feel the need to mention the involvement of the Iron Bank.

"Ten thousand is not a number we cannot defeat. I have no doubt we could recruit that many if we needed to. There are plenty of freedmen willing to fight for you." Ben told me with a serious look on his face. This was one of the only council meetings we had held that he was this involved in.

"I'm glad you think so, because we will need at least that many very soon." I told them before launching into another explanation.

"The contract is not for them to assault Myr with just the Second Sons. The contract is for the Second Sons to train, and lead an army from both Lys and Tyrosh." I finally told them, getting down to the heart of the matter.

That caused a pause in our meeting, almost exactly as it had when Oberyn had presented the information to me. It was big news, and a daunting prospect. The cities were of equal size to Myr, and this was a two on one scenario. A year ago, Myr would have surrendered without a fight.

"Prince Oberyn seems to think seventy thousand will be the final number." I added, once it became obvious that nobody would speak anytime soon.

"That is a daunting number." Davos mumbled as he continued frowning at me.

"I have yet to see them arrive or even begin preparing. How early have we been given this information?" Ben asked. I could see the wheels turning in his head and I believed he was approaching the same thought process that I was.

"Oberyn departed the night he was told. They have been planning the assault for about two weeks I would guess." I answered with a grin.

"Why are you smiling?" Davos asked with a serious voice.

"Because Oberyn has given us the information needed to end this war before it truly begins. Tyrosh and Lys will have to take months to prepare and outfit this army of theirs." I answered before Ben could, but during my pause he took over.

"And from the remains of the Golden Company, along with our own preparations. We can have ten thousand men with the best armaments money can buy ready within a month if we start tonight. We can assault Tyrosh before they have time to prepare. If we take the city, the war will be over before it ever begins." Ben told the rest of us with an intense look on his face.

"That is exactly what I was thinking, Ben." I told him with a smile. "I need you at the fort tonight, because tomorrow you will begin getting recruits to train. We will train them harshly for the next month, just like we did with the Stormlanders. There will be a public message when the sun rises." I told him before moving on to the next person.

"Ser Davos, I need ships. We will have to commandeer the ships that we have been renting out. How long will it take and will we have enough to transport our men?" I asked, trusting the man in all things naval.

"Yes, your grace. We'll have plenty of ships. We outnumber the Royal Fleet by ten already." He said with a deadly serious look on his face. He was not ready for the coming war it seemed. He never struck me as a man that liked war or death.

"Good. Arton, I need you on logistics for this." I said, surprising the man.

He frowned, unprepared for the sentence. "I'm sorry Your Grace, but I am inexperienced in the art of war. I have no idea what I could contribute."

"On any given day, you manage around five thousand workers who all need raw materials to build a final product. This will hardly be different. I need food, water, tents, and other materials ready to be funneled to my army during our campaign. You will work heavily with Ser Davos to accomplish these goals. You will not see a battlefield and you don't have to leave this city." I told the man, lining out what I wanted accomplished.

"Lena." I got her attention, and she paled at the prospect of helping during the war. This was a far cry from the girl that wanted me to teach her how to wield a sword.

"I need a man good with numbers to be my paymaster. I assume you can find someone at the bank who can perform this task. You will stay and continue doing what you're doing. Ashara will take over for me while I'm away." I said, while watching the color return to her face as she realized she wasn't going to have any interaction with the coming conflict.

"You cannot leave to war my love." Ashara said with a frown. "You are a King now, send Ben to accomplish this, he is more than capable." Worry seeped into her voice.

"You're right, Ben could accomplish this. But I am no coward King and Weirña will be invaluable for this war. I will ride her into battle, and lead my people to victory." I told her with no room for argument.

I knew she was just worried about me. She had just given birth to two twins, our children. She didn't want them to lose their father before they ever got a chance to really know him. She didn't want them to go through what Vorian had. I couldn't blame her.

"Good, let's get ready for war."

POV Belar Bahin

"People of Myr!

I have heard of your good wishes towards my two sons, Alexander and Arthur and I thank you for it. They are healthy children, a gift from the Gods!

Unfortunately, today is not all good news. It seems that our hard times are not behind us just yet. I have received word that Lys and Tyrosh, as recompense for us claiming the Disputed Lands, and freeing our slaves, have entered into a contract with the Second Sons. They plan to raise an army to come and sack our great city. They plan to put us back into slavery, and end our freedoms.

They crossed the line, when they conspired with the masters during the Betrayal. I should have demanded recompense for such a deed. Now they think us weak and ripe for the taking.

Well I know in my heart, as all of you do as well, WE ARE NOT WEAK!

…and we will prove it. I am calling on you, people of Myr. Join me and Commander Ben at the fort east of Myr. We will take any and all willing volunteers to fight for our freedoms. You will be given food, and paid handsomely for your service. We will clothe you, we will train you, and we will feed you.

Any man over the age of 18 may enlist. I ask this of you all, not for me or my family but for your own. I ask this so that we can protect our grand city. But there is more to it than that.

When we win this war, we will bring freedom to the treacherous Tyrosh, and Lys.

Did you leave family behind when you fled from your former masters? Did you leave a sister? Brother? Mother? Father? Do you feel the sense of duty to free your brothers and sisters in chains in Tyrosh and Lys as I do?

I know you do, because like me, you value freedom more than your own life.

Join me, and we will fight!"

A/N: Boom!

I gave y'all the POV some have been asking for. I've done this for a couple of reasons. Mainly to show the incompetency and slow nature of Westeros politics and bureaucracy, compared to Myr and Petyr's new system of governance. They are just now putting the pieces together that Petyr took the gold he was promised by Jon Arynn. They are just now realizing how much he is prospering across the Narrow Sea.

And it also allowed me to tell you of a new building material that has been introduced in the last few months since the Great Fire, and also the population growth from runaway slaves.

BABIES ARE BORN AND THEY ARE TWINS! WWWWHHHHAAAAAATTTTT!? Good luck Petyr.

And finally, Oberyn brings gifts, and news of war.

Predictions for the War of the Three Sisters?

Let's talk about it in the reviews!