Chapter 69: Healer
Olivia arrived in the Meereen city to find it calm. People woke up and went to work then went back into their homes or stayed in groups conversing while children play outside.
Olivia noticed the city is working as a well oiled machine just as she had suggested that Daario select a group to help him run things with expertise and since they are forced to be loyal to him, he has nothing to worry about.
She slipped into his place but upon arrival she found the man sprawled on the bed out of shape. His lips and finger tips are purple in color. Someone used a potent poison on him.
She put her fingers near his nose to check if he is still breathing only to find a shallow breath. First she manipulated the air in lungs that has been contaminated and pulled it out of him through his nostrils then when he gasped for breath waking up from a forced comatose state.
She stood a small distance from him incase he attacks. "Cough cough.."
He coughed violently until his eyes turned bloodshot. Olivia pulled out the contaminated blood off his chest and he suddenly started spitting large mouthfuls of blood. She stopped when he seemed to be unable to take it and gave him a watered down version of what she had given to Deanerys at that time.
"Swallow it. You're poisoned." She said but Daario swatted her hand away.
"Save your medicine. I am dying I can feel it."
"Shut up! No one dies in my presence unless I want them to. Now eat!" She levitated the pill down his throat forcefully making him choke. Daario coughed violently again but a few moments later felt like puking again.
A large bile came out and he instantly felt better. The room is now covered in filthy smell. Olivia frowned and went out waiting for Daario to finish cleaning up, when he came out he still looked tired and a bit pale.
"You saved me." He took her hand and kissed it making Olivia pull it back remembering what he was puking from his mouth. "Maybe when I have forgotten the image of you wrenching with that same mouth."
"Now what is going on? Who poisoned you?" She asked.
"It was someone disguise as a resident of the city. He tempered with my food." He said sitting down.
"You need to be careful, the next part of the city development is very crucial." She said and saw his seat up straight.
"I thought of you, in my last moments I thought 'I have failed her' and I meant you. When you appeared I thought I had died. Thank you for coming at the right time." He said looking a little lost.
"You're welcome. Your city can now feed itself, now you need to improve the sanitary status of everyone. The first thing to do is to increase the availability of water and then make soap easily accessible. This will allow them better health and reduce the diseases in the city."
"I hate to break it to you but Only you my fair lady has that ability." He chuckled.
"That is why I am here. I will give you an account of all the coins you will owe me after this operation."
"Why are you helping me? Is this about the queen?" He hasn't met a ruler who would help people so much. There must be a reason.
"I need a good neighbor, my kingdom is large enough that I have only developed less than half of it so I don't need this land but I do need allies. Besides if I land you all this money now you will pay it back later and the relationship between our two countries will be good." The real reason is also to show the world that slavery is in fact not as profitable as it seems on the surface.
"What happens if I fail to pay it back?" He asked but knowing the answer. Olivia had not been working and supplying resources out of the goodness of her heart. Each item is well accounted for in a ledger.
"I will enforce the contract." The contract stated a larger stake in the city and if more and more of the instalments are not paid she is allowed to smoothly take over the city.
"Right. I don't have any reason to refuse such help. What do we do next?" He asked looking tired.
"I will sell my products to you at a low price and you will sell it to the outside at a high price, people of this city will buy cheap and sell high making profit for you to pay your debts. The first batch will be sold with food since you wont have coins for now."
"I will build you three shopping centers to allow customers to see the goods and buy them easily behind large indestructible glasses. It's very modern and clean, it will attract more buyers. I have taken care of the packaging with my printing technology."
"I get it now, you are using me to push your products."
"It's a small price to pay for the development of your city. Isn't it?" She smirked. He shook his head with a smile.
"You can go rest. When you wake up everything will be fine."
Olivia build three shopping center buildings complete with bathrooms for the staff to tidy up, floor to ceiling glass and well fitted shelves. These buildings each have 12 floors, and bright lights.
They are on the space that previously had temples and the remain space Olivia decided to make it into fertile land and surrounded it with beautiful glass houses where they can turn it into gorgeous tea houses or something else.
The goal is to replace the empty space with something beautiful and inviting. She drew a few designs for a bustling shopping center just so they don't turn all her efforts into an ugly place. It should be fresh and bright.
Olivia did not forget to leave an account of the costs including labor costs fir herself. Any mishaps and this entire city will fall into her hands. But she doesn't want to seem like someone coveting Deanerys things.
She gave them the first stock of the items to be sold in the shopping center buildings. The recent fights between herself and the men from the free city has reduced her business with them for a while so she will sell to thus city be it at a slightly lower price.
When Daario awoke he found the city transformed. Seeing the glass houses exquisitely designed fir entertainment, he quickly turned two into spirit wine bars.
Only refined men and women may enter and buy from there since it is sold in small glasses charged by a single glass. He quickly ordered well designed drinking glasses exquisite furniture with comfortable processes leather.
This time even Olivia was surprised she didn't think of this. Then she was relieved knowing the fighter is not just brute. She introduced the magic mirror screen and suggested they place one in each of these places allowing the guests to watch paid fights.
He agreed but refused the idea of taking weapons out of the fights saying 'that's a stupid idea blood is what makes the bets worth it' so the previous fighting pits will now be paid fighting pits broadcast on the screens.
The best part is they can also play the previous fights from the recording crystals and charge for it if they want.
The few days he was poisoned the city was on lock down but a little over two weeks the city is bustling again. The wonder in people's eyes when they saw all the new things is worth it.
Olivia has also opened Astapor by now and the two cities radical changes left the world spinning in shock but the future has already started.
The one to suffer is Yunkai. All the merchants are rushing towards their two neighbors leaving them with no choice but to buy at a very high price. The only good thing to come out of this deal is the fact slaves can now only be bought from their city.
Four months later proved they celebrated too early. Slaves began running away but the tens and hundreds almost every week someone went missing. This was not a coincidence.
Olivia and Daario joined hands and launched shadow attacks on Yunkai. Taking notes from Deanerys they sent the best of their people to infiltrate and smuggle slaves through Olivia's unmarked fast ships every nights.
Guards will always be incapacitated during the operations and in less than six months most of the slaves who long for freedom were Rescued into their own kingdom.
Olivia shared the medicine to remove the marks from their slave branding and these people received true freedom. They have income, off days and sick leave with allowance for pensioners and crippled.
Both cities are very clean without any homeless people and no house would dispose of their waste on street since they could be arrested and have to pay with free labor to be released.
The situation stabilized but the iron bank as the most to benefit from slavery couldn't sit still anymore. Olivia got assassination attempts almost every other day and Daario urgently requested the antidote she had given to Deanerys at that time offering to pay a high price for it.
Over this period these business partners had developed a close friendship. Olivia relented acknowledging she doesn't want to hear he is dead.
Olivia decided to fortify her Red land kingdom as well as she had done with the true North. She called upon Aeryn and Morpheus and together they placed similar magic discs deep with in the Red lands that she had used to prevent the undead from approaching Haunted city.
It is a large city but as soon as someone with the magic of the faceless men or with back unclean magic approaches the city their face's will be in the watch mirror screens in Olivia's council room.
Someone will always be assigned guard and to make sure, many screens are still in other locations while non knows of the others existence. Olivia didn't do this fir Daario but the faceless men would normally refuse to take a job if it fails three times or when their agents are killed on three attacks unless the money offered is a lot.
By this logic Daario will die soon.
Olivia moved on to the castles of her Red lands councils after this endeavor and after all the bustling it felt like light work especially since she doesn't even have to build the road since it was built along time along with the heavy wooded railings.
The four were spectacular to say the least. One of them looks like a giant ball seated on a majestic cup. A trophy of sorts. The floor to ceiling glass winds are tinted with a light gold luster making the trophy look golden.
This is the one that is housing the members responsible for development and technology. It is not powered by magic but by science.
Andrio succeed in his initial study and Olivia's primary investment on him. Electricity. It is safe to say all the inventors Olivia had collected in the past are now huddled in this building.
Looking at it she sighed at the ridiculous design but acknowledged he was the one who told them to go wild.
The next one looked to be on a sailing boat it covered a great space lucky the red lands is very accommodating. The main objective is education. They may work closely with the development team. They are responsible for gathering teaching materials and set the direction for education in the kingdom.
The third one is the welfare and wealth of the kingdom. Their job is very crucial to the standards of living for the population. Their design is made with a large structure as well but is it relatively simple.
There is a completely black building with glass tinted black and the frames light gold color with a large white flame outside the building. The black color makes the flame more prominent. It is a simple but beautiful building.
The last one is the one for military power of the kingdom. They recruit, train and ensure the strength of the army never dwindled.
These four giant buildings occupied the four corners of the kingdom to ensure they have enough space. They then each developed their area into a large city. Olivia didn't help with this because each have more than enough funds from the recipe they received from Olivia at that time.
Olivia understood that now is truly time to enjoy her retirement. However, the four new cities called upon their queen to create the underground palace hunting grounds for each of them.
The reason is simple. The resort in the true North has become a sensation ever since a contestant won an enchanted necklace that when worn will heal any ailment with a burst of a white healing flame.
Not just that it gives 20 years to the body on the first use. 10 years on the second and 5 years on the last third use.
Upon hearing about it, it was sold in a high bit auction held in the resort at the request of the owner at an astronomical sum of coins. He was sent to open an account in the iron back and now lives as a wealthy man without any worried for lack of coins.
When the woman who won the auction use the necklace the first time her 79 body was healed of her many sicknesses and her body now looked 50 years old.
Her photo from before and after was published in the news paper and everyone believed it because of the miraculous medicine available in the true North.
Olivia agreed to make the underground hunting grounds and filled them all with all sorts of dangers. The magic cards were created as well. After announcing this news these four large cities quickly overshadowed Olivia's one but she isn't competing.
By the time Olivia resurfaced in Westeros Deanerys had long taken the iron thrown. The story goes that she infiltrated the city and attempted to smuggle the citizens out of the city but we're caught and most of these people were beheaded on top of the wall before the battle started.
It was a heart wrenching sight that almost drove Deanerys to madness. Especially when she saw her men being turned into blank faced undead soldiers taking orders from an alchemist.
Deanerys had ridden her dragon and set Cersei and her men along with the innocent people around them ablaze. After this small episode she burned off the gate and her army proceeded to enter the city.
She had said one statement. "Take no prisoners."
Tyrion had watched with some satisfaction as most people who watch him be accused of murder and laughed at his misfortune turn to ash right there on the spot.
The fight didn't take all day and many people died and were burned to clean the city. The dragon queen had felt underwhelmed by it all.
Looking at the people of kings landing who by all accounts should be considered her people cower and shiver at a mere sight from her, she only wanted her son.
Therefore before even warming the Iron thrown with her bum, she sailed to the true North.
She was left to dine and sleep in the harbor. They said the queen took little prince to the red lands a 8 moths ago and it has been two years since then.
When she heard about Astapor being taken over by Olivia she decided to consolidate her power and wait.
She still had a lot of people to feed and water didn't seem to come to an end soon. The supplies were used up in war and her allies had to save food fir their own people.
Ironic that in this time of dire need non of the people who benefited from her victory had no food to spare. The only other place with an abundance of food in Westeros is the north.
The hand of the queen proposed a marriage alliance with the North but the king in the North is already married and the younger brothers are younger than her.
This is about the time Olivia returned and found whispers about a marriage between Bran Stark and the queen of six kingdom's.
This time she didn't refuse when Robb summoned her.
"Sister, it's been too long. I hear about your exploits in Essos." Robb having matured considerably smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Olivia didn't pay much attention to him and laughed on Bran's expense.
"Oi, when is the big day? My little aunt and Bran the brat are to be Wed. Is your mother thrilled?" Olivia chewed on a piece of dried fruit and waited for a response.
"Olivia even if you are queen in your own right, I am still king and you are being impolite while I am a host." Robb said his voice sounding neutral.
"Ah yes, my apologies king Robb. What is it that you called me here for?" The laughter in her eyes has decreased considerably.
"I was hoping for an advice. Should I send Bran to be the queen's consort or not?" He asked softly.
Olivia knew he is using a roundabout way to ask if I won't feel like they are ganging up to attack her. A Stark and Targaryen joining forces is not a good thing for Olivia.
"How about you ask Bran?"
"He doesn't care. He says he will fulfill his duties as the consort if he must." Olivia looked at Bran. The slim boy is now fully a man, he must have known about this possibility and trained his body.
Otherwise he just wanted to get the voices in his head quiet down during intense training. She narrowed her eyes.
"Deanerys lost the ability to conceive long ago. So if you're hoping for an heir on the iron thrown you can forget about it."
"You have the means to cure her." Bran said and then Olivia realized this is the reason she was called here.
"No I don't. She is not ill, she was cursed by a black magician witch."
"Just say what is it you want." Robb said but Olivia stood up.
"I want there to not be an heir on the iron thrown with Stark blood. If this is all I will be departing. Here you go Bran. Just so you are not poisoned in your wedding. That antidote is an upgraded version, good luck and good bye." She walked out.
Do they think her a fool? That child would have the North rally behind him to take the true North from her. The crazy thing is that she was going to heal Deanerys before this. Bran might have known that and did this to discourage her from doing so. He probably doesn't want to marry Dany.
"Hehe.." What a schemer. No matter, the antidote was a gift for heads up on his brother's plans.
What is Deanerys going to do now? The foreign army is going to starve.
.....