GoT: The Blessed and the Cursed

The moons following the wedding were quite a busy affair in the Red Manse.

Azaerys and Ashara spent a lot of time in their rooms or on the backs of their Dragons, and they were simply inseparable.

At first, Elia did not think much of it, and she let Ashara spend as much time as she wanted with the Young King, but eventually, she too sensed that the Dragon Queen was deliberately staying by her husband's side so that he would not spend time with her or Arianne.

Uncomfortable as she felt at what was happening, she stayed quiet and was just happy for the nights that Azaerys chose to spend with her.

Things stayed that way until Ashara told everyone that she was carrying a child, bringing another festive atmosphere to their household.

Rhaenys and Daenerys were extremely excited to see the future baby Prince or Princess, and the two had even requested Azaerys and Ashara to let them pick the name, which the latter refused.

As a mother, she was going to be the one to choose the name, and no one in this world could deny her this right especially after Azaerys had given it to her.

Though the two princesses were a little sad, they did not dwell on it for long.

Towards the end of the year, Daenerys' Dragon Egg hatched, and she was amazed to see the Golden Dragon, which was the most beautiful thing she had seen in her life. More than anything, she was happy that it looked just like Aerylyx.

"Xeraxes," she named it after an ancient Valyrian Goddess, sister to Meraxes, and she kept her dragon by her side at every hour of the day.

Even when she had to go on a ride on Aerylyx, she would bring her little dragon along, and it almost looked like she was obsessed with her child.

Yes, everyone had started calling Xeraxes her child. And she loved it whenever they teased her about it.

A few days later, just before the start of the new year, the Naathi mother gave birth to the child she had been carrying.

The two Princesses and Allyria visited her to wish her good health and to give her a gift, but once they saw the baby, whose eyes were molten gold, they immediately took a liking to her.

Her mother named her Missandei, and the Princesses could not wait for her to grow up so that they could play with her. To them, she looked like a pretty little doll, and her dusky skin, bearing a purple tint, was quite intriguing as well.

Rhaenys knew the reason behind their skin and eyes. Azaerys had told her about it, but she did not tell it to anyone else. It was not something that she was comfortable talking about.

Perhaps, the one who was a little dissatisfied with how this year had turned out to be for them was Viserys.

He was forbidden from spending any time with Allyria since she had now flowered, and Ashara had warned him that if he touched her sister before marriage, she would skin him alive.

Given how close they were, everyone knew that if they left them alone, Allyria would be carrying his child before the end of the ongoing moon.

She was only thirteen namedays old, and even though she had flowered, it was way too dangerous for her to bear a child at this age.

Once they had a serious talk about it, even Viserys was scared and promised he would not do anything reckless. He cared for her way too much to risk her life, and now, he spent every day engrossed in books or training with the Knights.

Of course, he had one day expressed his dissatisfaction. He was very blunt with them and asked why they had to worry about a child when there were things like Moon Tea and other potions available that could prevent the birth, and the glare that Azaerys gave him chilled his heart.

That was the only answer he received, and he did not dare to raise another question since that day.

There was another girl who had finally flowered, and it was the Dornish Princess.

It was the happiest day of her life when she woke up and found blood on her sheets, but Elia quickly quashed all her hopes and intentions by asking Nymeria Starlyte to start training her cousin in combat. To sweeten things up, she promised the Dornish Princess that she would receive a Griffin as a reward if she managed to become a good fighter. She promised the same to Nymeria, and unlike Viserys, Arianne was not dissatisfied with her situation.

At least, Azaerys did spend time with her. They kissed, and cuddled, and he brought her to the heights of pleasure without breaking into her.

He made it bearable for her, and even though she could not wait for the day they would finally take the last step, she was content with her current situation.

On 1st day of the 1st moon, 289 AC, Nymeria Starlyte wed Ser Arthur Dayne in the Valyrian Traditions, taking him as her husband and Consort.

And this was the day when Ashara approached Elia and asked her to accompany Azaerys at night since it was no longer possible for her in her current state.

Even though the Dragon Queen admitted when questioned that she had been deliberately keeping her husband from seeing her often, she did not apologise, and neither did Elia ask for an apology.

This helped smooth out the slightly strained relationship between the two, and no one else in the household ever learned about their differences with each other.

Now, today, on Azaerys' 15th Nameday, exactly a year since he wed Ashara, he sat down with his council to discuss the plans for the future.

Week after week, he had asked them about New Ghis, and now they had finally figured a way out to capture the Island City.

"Sleep Powder, Your Grace. The Red Priests use it, and depending on its potency, a healthy man could fall unconscious for an entire day or a few hours," said Ser Willem Darry, and coughed as difficulties of old age caught up with him, "We will have to move the fall of Astapor to 293 AC. Ser Boros, Ser Myles, and Ser Jaremy will by then have a large fleet under their command, and 4500 strong men. More than enough for us to capture the Island City."

"How will it be done?" Lyanna curiously asked.

"Before we get to that, we must understand the military strength of New Ghis," said Ser Gerold. "Two Thousands Unsullied, controlled by one noble family, who is responsible for keeping peace at the port and man the city gates. Other than them, there are also three Iron Legions on active duty, each under the command of a Noble Family that rules the City. These soldiers are extremely well-trained, perhaps, even better trained than the Unsullied, and since they are not gelded, they are physically stronger and bigger. Importantly, they are all Free Men. The young and physically strong men, upon reaching the age of majority at 16, are conscripted for military training to form future Iron Legions. Their training lasts for three years, and then they have to serve the city for another three years or at least until they have enough numbers to form a new Iron Legion. It takes roughly 8 to 9 years for New Ghis to create a new Iron Legion. After their service, they can lead their lives as they please, but in case of War, all off-duty soldiers enter duty again. Sometimes, the City can offer enough incentives to get the off-duty soldiers to form a reserve Iron Legion even if there is no war."

The Stark frowned at his words.

"What are the highest number of Iron Legions that they can afford in case of War?"

"3 Active, 5 Off-Duty Iron Legions, and one more that can be formed with men in their late forties and above, still able to fight. Each Legion is 2500 strong. So, the total military strength of New Ghis is around 25,000 extremely well-trained soldiers. This number includes the Unsullied and those in training, but not the slaves that the Nobles and some free men own. The city's total Population is over 180,000 people."

"25,000?" She looked at him in surprise.

Even if the Starks of Winterfell called their banners and almost all Houses in the North joined their legions together, they would still fail to raise the strength of 25,000 strong. At most, it would be 20,000.

"There are a lot more people in Essos than there are in Westeros, Princess," said Ser Willem, understanding what Lyanna was thinking about, spoke, "And New Ghis truly has formulated a very smart way of militarising the city. Almost every able Free Man is capable of fighting. In Westeros, people are scattered all over the place, and the majority of civilians are just farmers, not soldiers. So, when the time of war comes, they hide, find excuses, and are not even bothered by the Noble Houses."

"Let's listen to your plan now," said Azaerys, and the old man nodded to him.

"Every morning, right after dawn, the active Iron Legions and the soldiers under training, gather in the military district, in the Iron Plaza for their exercises and training. The Gryffonns on their Grrifins, will use their Aeromancy and scatter the Sleep Powder all over the military districts, gates, and major streets in the dark of the night, an hour before dawn. Since the wings of Griffins are silent and they make no noise when flying, this task can easily be achieved without getting detected by the guards on duty. By morning, more than half of the city will be asleep, and our Fleet will reach the City on time, all soldiers having taken the antidote which would prevent them from succumbing to the Sleep Powder. Our people inside the City will open the gates for them. 4,500 Strong men will be more than enough to rush into the Pyramids of Nobles and capture them and their families. We will have an entire day to tie the people up and throw them in the dungeons. And for the soldiers, we will keep administering Sleep Powder until we have the City totally in our control."

"Fine, but how will we maintain control over it? The Unsullied follow their Master who holds the whip, they are easy to control, but the Iron Legions? Free Men? Don't you think they will revolt and grab the first opportunity to try to get back to their families?"

"We will keep them in the dungeons, Your Grace. We will starve them for four or five days. No food, no water. They are trained soldiers, so, they won't die, but they will break and be very weak when we lead them to the Plaza and give them the choice. Death, surrender, or exile."

"There will be blood," Azaerys smiled at the old man.

"There will always be blood in such matters, Your Grace. We will have to cut some heads off to make our point clear. As for the Nobles in captivity, we will kill the Heads of the four Families, and their Heirs who have reached the age of majority, and then we will negotiate the freedom of the rest with their friends and families in Mereen and Yunkai. The port of the city will be sealed off for a few moons until things have calmed down. The slaves will be freed and given the option to join the army. We expect a couple of thousand, at least, to take up our offer. There are more than 80,000 Slaves in New Ghis..."

Azaerys listened to everything carefully and then sank back into his chair to ponder over the plan.

He could tell that Ser Willem had underestimated some things and that there would be quite a lot of bloodshed. However, this plan was surely much better than dousing the city in Drgaonfire and turning it into ruins. In fact, Dragons were not even required.

"Very well, we will do it, but not with 4500 men. We will use 6000." He said.

"Your Grace, gathering men is easy, but gathering a trustworthy force is not that easy. 4500 is already a very optimistic number," said the old Knight.

"Don't worry about it, Ser Willem. I already have the people in mind. Viserys and I will be leaving for Yi Ti for some silk and wine. And then we will head to meet some Warrior Tribes in Ulthos. They are honourable people, much better than Sell Swords and highly skilled. If the right gifts are given and we strike a deal, they will pledge their services to us for 3, 5, or 7 years. There are more than twenty such clans, and each clan can easily lend us 100 men."

"It is better that you are not recognised out of this Town, Your Grace," frowned Ser Gerold.

"We will not be recognised, and we will not take dragons with us to Yi Ti," Azaerys assured him, "as for our hair and eyes, they can easily be disguised with Glamour Magic..."

The Young King did not finish his words and he abruptly stood up.

"The meeting is adjourned." He told them right before he brisked out of the Hall, and confused at what was happening, everyone followed him.

When they closed in on the Royal Chambers, seeing the maids rushing left and right and looking anxious, they understood what was happening, and their hearts tensed up.

Lyanna and Elia entered Ashara's room, and her painful expressions and moans made them wince.

She had entered labour two weeks earlier than she was supposed to, but it was not a dangerous period. They were not too panicked about the situation.

The nurses were already here, and Azaerys was by his wife's side, holding her hand and speaking to her in High Valyrian, comforting her, and though she managed to smile at him and his words, the pain was just starting to gear up.