108 AC - Lys
Johanna Swann POV
The ink wetted the parchment as Johanna's hand moved across from left to right in laces, in bows, and in sharp lines, so swimming was she in her thoughts and in her words that she barely registered the door knocking.
"Come in" she called out absent-mindedly as she continued to write instructions on what to purchase from the trip to Volantis.
With the upcoming Dohaerys festivities, a festivity to which she'd won the rights to provide the entertainment, her very first victory in high society, she needed to make sure that it was a resounding success.
A clearing of throats made Johanna blink out of her thoughts, her quill still in her hands, and she looked up and she saw that it was Kriritte, her assistant in most matters these days. Much needed too, she mused, for her council was the sword of steel she wielded against their foes. She eyed the elder woman for a brief moment.
Kriritte, or Ritte as she liked to call the woman, was a beauty, firm rose petal pink lips that stood out against her pale though marred skin, marred with ancient scars that did not take away from her beauty, a beauty of a kind of wildness emboldened fiery red hair that flowed silk strands of captured fire.
Though, she was far from a delicate thing, aside from the scars that spoke of a difficult past, like so many of the other girls in the pillow houses of Lys. It was in her eyes, you see. Blue eyes that still burned with blue flame even now, even after years Johanna had bought Ritte her freedom.
But then, Johanna considered, it must be the wildling blood in her. Where the other girls chose to set aside their pain, Ritte never forgot. Never forgetting the bite of winter. The bite of hunger. And neither did she forget the freedom taken from her.
Even when she was beaten into seeming submission or when she was tied and forced upon, she never lost that ferocity of her people. Her own. The same kind of ferocity that Johanna thought wolves must feel when they smelled warm blood on snow.
Six and ten years a pillow house slave failed to burn that out.
No, Johanna thought, her ferocity never dimmed, only changed into the patient kind.
The vengeful kind.
She almost pitied Belan Ostos for the fate Ritte had planned for the slaver.
"We have a guest…the chequered kind."
Ah…well, it was about time.
"Uthrik?" she asked and Ritte shook her head.
"No, it's a different one. Brown-haired. Walks like a fighter." Ritte paused for a second as her hand went up to her face "Scarred. If barely" she said as she slid down the right side of her chin with a finger.
She eyed Ritte for a moment which the woman understood and gave her a little nod of assurance which made Johanna relax. Nothing was askew with their guest, she accepted, having successfully given the answers to the security phrases.
So a knight then most likely. Or mayhaps a guard.
She idly wondered if her letter had been too straightforward, too easy to read between the lines of the importance of her request as she expected him to just send a merchant or a sailor like he usually did.
She hadn't thought she needed reinforcements, not for a while at least, but it was certainly welcome if it came sooner.
Johanna placed the quill down and spoke calmly, her face a mask of amiability as she eyed the red-haired woman "Has he been entertained?"
Ritte's lips twisted slightly into a faint sneer "He's fucked out." Ritte said bluntly, like usual. "He got his fill with Mira before I came in." Johanna nodded in understanding, noting the man's choice in a Dornish girl. Aegon's men, sailor, merchant or knight, as respectful as they were, were still that. Men.
"Call him in in ten minutes." Johanna said after a few moments and Ritte's sneer twisted into a faint smirk. She'd make him wait for a little while.
Ritte left and the ten minutes passed by quickly and soon enough her guest was being led into her solar. She eyed the man named Danton carefully.
He was young, she thought, no more than five and twenty. He was fairly average in height and his stature, underneath the barely hidden chainmail underneath his shirt, was nothing impressive either. Even his face, lightly browned by the sun flanked by short strands of brown hair on either side of his head, was forgettable too.
Except for that scar that was a little hard to see even so close.
"Lady Johanna" Danton said with a low dip of the head and she smiled beautifully at the man in seeming gratitude. "I am here on the Prince's behalf."
Johanna took a few moments before she nodded serenely "Thank you for coming. I appreciate the urgency with which the Prince has acted." She paused for a moment before she gestured him inward before she turned towards the table "Would you like a drink, good Ser?" she asked as she glanced over her shoulder.
"No milady" Danton refused and she noted the term he'd used for her. Milady.
She had long since been anything but a lady though Aegon's men unfailingly referred her with such terms. She even thought that some of them even meant it.
Mayhaps, she mused to herself, this one did too given his lack of correction of her calling him a ser. "The Prince" Danton began as she finished pouring herself a glass and he continued when she turned around to face the man.
"The Prince was surprised by your message" Danton said and she could tell that he was being careful with his words. That was good at least. At least the Prince chose smartly…especially given the importance of her request.
"The situation has changed." Johanna told the knight as she walked towards the desk and leaned against it, her glass in both of her hands as she looked at the man.
Her position was not quite precarious but it was also far from secure and with the moves against her by the Lorys family, one of the major families that owned a significant portion of the pillow houses in Lys, she needed his help.
The knight narrowed his eyes and she took it as a prompt to continue "I've made some…ambitious decisions. Decisions that do not sit well with a number of powerful families" she paused for a moment as she eyed the knight, carefully gauging his reactions.
She was impressed, really. His reactions were muted, careful, and she wondering who this knight really was. He looked Westerosi, that was for sure, but she couldn't tell if he was highborn or common.
His accent was common enough but his words, the way he spoke, acted, was not.
"Is your position compromised?" Danton asked, and she hid her surprise at the question before she shook her head.
"No" she answered and it was truthful too. It wasn't anywhere near that but trouble was brewing, and it was brewing hotly. She learnt not to ignore that instinct.
The noble families of Lys were like any other, quick to find insult and quicker still to lash out to threats. They were plotting against her and it would only be a matter of time before they decided they could get rid of her without repercussions.
"But it can quickly turn" she said before she drank of her glass, her eyes always on him. After she stopped drinking, she continued "I will need more support"
There were not many of Aegon's men in Lys, nothing but a dozen guards supplemented with a few dozen more former slave soldiers she'd purchased, and should things get violent, she didn't think they'd be able to put up much resistance.
Normally her men would have been enough but the Lorys family were a wealthy one, and a family that often had a representative in the conclave in the past. She wouldn't be able to get her men in position to cut their throats.
'If only it was a few years later' she thought to herself. She might have been able to poison them instead. As it was, her influence amongst the slaves was nowhere near enough to indirectly attack them and neither was her influence amongst the noble families strong enough to ensure she wouldn't raise their ire should they discover her retributions, however slim that chance was to be.
"How many men did you bring? The men on your ship may be enough."
"If it is bad enough that you need to ask for more help, three score won't help you." Danton answered as he shook his head before meeting her gaze once more.
"You believe they will attack?"
"Yes" she answered easily
"They're unhappy and may be unhappier still should I continue to find favour." And her pillow houses were beginning to eat at the income of a number of pillow houses. Envy was rising as much as resentment was and her rise in the social spheres of Lys was being noted by all. The people and the nobles alike.
They'd always noted that it would, in accordance to their plans, though it was happening faster than they thought, than even she thought. The heir to the Dohaerys family became enamoured with one of her girls, Lora, and through Lora, now his concubine, she was finding more and more favour by the ruling families of Lys.
The plan had always been to do it slowly, to win over the influential families and the people, until the moment was right but when an opportunity arises as it had done now…
It had to be taken if only to solidify her position in the upper echelons of society.
Danton considered for a long few moments until he nodded "Very well. I and the three score of men will remain." Danton halted before he eyed her meaningfully "The Prince has given me authority to do so but do know that searching eyes are aplenty. This is not what the Prince would have wanted. Not at this stage."
Johanna nodded serenely, a mild look of regret on her face. "I know."
The Prince had wanted things to go slowly so that they could avoid attentions until the moment was right, years, decades from now. "I will be more careful next time."
"See that you do." Danton said brusquely "The Prince has put much faith on your shoulders." Danton said with narrowed eyes.
"Faith you think is misplaced?" Johanna prodded as she lifted her glass to her lips even if the thought irked her so.
"It does not matter what I think. I live to serve our Prince."
He was opinionated, she thought to herself, he was finding it all distasteful. 'How hypocritical' she sneered inwardly, given that he'd lain with one of her girls.
"How knightly." Johanna said mockingly before she drank of her glass and after she consumed it, she levelled a look at Danton whose expression had tightened slightly.
"Do not be concerned. Our Prince's faith in me will not be betrayed. I owe him a debt that cannot be repaid." Johanna told the knight with a clipped tone before she stood up away from the desk "The three score will be enough, for now, but I may need more."
Danton shook his head "No more will come. The ship will return to inform our Prince but no more will come. Not for some time."
"Because of the problems with the Pirate King." Johanna lightly probed and she caught the look of alarm on his face before he stared at her piercingly.
"You know?"
"It is known amongst the families of the conclave." Johanna confirmed the man's worries. "It is a sore point for some." The Mopanar family were concerned and by proxy so were their allies. The war in the Stepstones was proving to be costly especially with the involvement of the Braavosi.
Lys was not like Tyrosh, with its formidable trade guilds and their industry, or Myr with its famed artisans and their goods that was sought after as far as Yi-Ti.
Its pleasure houses were its main industry, the port between the East and the West, and it greatly depended on frictionless waters between the East and the West.
And the war with Prince Daemon Targaryen, his conquest funded by Braavosi gold and supported by the Velaryon fleet, was impactful to Lys. Not overly much but enough to be noticed. Westerosi, Braavosi and even Pentosi ships were hardly seen at their ports in the past few moons.
The Qarthene, the Ghiscari, even the Yi-Tish were coming in less numbers with word of the dangerous waters of the Stepstones spreading even to the far east.
Whilst their economy was far from dented, years of this would not be welcomed and she even thought that Lys would be happy enough to concede the Stepstones in return for trade to resume although she doubted they'd ever say as much.
She also didn't think Myr antagonising Prince Aegon would be enough to sour Lys on the Triarchy – the Mopanar family did not have that kind of influence – but she did think it a grating issue for the family given how the Prince was a major income for the family and subsequently a major income for many more minor noble families.
The man's expression darkened even further "Are the Lysene involved?"
Johanna shook her head. "They are not the kind to get involved in spats, especially with the Prince." The Mopanar family was however influential enough in the politics of the city to disallow others to ruin that prosperous relationship with Prince Aegon.
Plus, she had the impression that the Triarchy was merely a means to an end.
And considering the way the Braavosi were supporting Prince Daemon's Conquest, she wasn't sure if that end would last beyond a few more years.
She expected it to all to come to an end sooner rather later, to be truthful.
Mayhaps not in spirit but surely in name, the alliance may remain, but only to sustain cordial relationships with the more powerful Tyrosh and Myr, both of whom would not take betrayal of any kind well.
Mayhaps that would change, when Lys was in a position to seek out other alliances.
"If that changes…" 'If the Lysene disposition to the Prince changes…'
"You will be the first to hear of it."
The Prince had a number of locations in Lys where information could be delivered. With the permanent arrival of Danton and his men, she imagined that a few more would spring up in Lys.
Danton looked at her for a long few moments before nodded "Very well. I will send a few men discretely to bolster your guard. Through them, you may contact me. It would be best that I and my men remain at a large distance."
"You'll reside at one of the shops." Johanna stated more than asked.
Corinth had a few shops that sold their wares, particularly their porcelain wares, one of the more popular wares sold on Lys. Most had only been familiar with the Yi-Tish kinds yet these ones, ones that were very clearly Lysene in design was very popular amongst both the nobility and the freemen.
"Aye." Danton confirmed before he inclined his head "With your leave, milady."
Johanna gave it and she watched the man retreat away, even as she could hear him descend down the steps. Soon enough Ritte walked in. "Did Mira learn anything?"
Ritte shook her head "Who exactly he is? No" she said before she met Johanna's gaze "She did say that he was extremely courteous and even gentle of his own will."
Johanna hummed. How odd. Given the impression she had of the man just from their conversation, she thought that he was the kind not to take to pillow houses.
He was a ball of contradiction and she wondered how he'd come into service for the Prince. And even more so, she wondered why the Prince had to send such a man when before he'd been happy enough to use merchants who, albeit had discretion, were not as…careful as Danton was.
Mayhaps things were changing, she mused to herself and she considered what that would mean for their plans…for her people.
"We can put a man on him?" Ritte suggested, breaking her out of her thoughts.
Johanna shook her head.
"No. It would be unseemly." Plus, she thought it would not go over well at all should it be learned of. She also thought she'd learn enough about the man, and by proxy about his connection to the Prince, in the coming moons given that he was staying.
Johanna met Ritte's gaze. "He is an ally."
Ritte scoffed but she didn't say anything else, knowing better. She'd heard enough from Ritte's scepticism about the Prince and whatever she'd say wouldn't be new.
She knew that Ritte's trust in men was gone, if it had ever been there. To her, the Prince was useful, and only useful until he was no more, which Ritte believed would be when Lys was under their control.
Ritte left shortly afterwards and she returned to her seat though she couldn't find it within her to continue her work for the day and instead, she went towards a hidden part of the desk where she kept but one thing.
She placed the letter on her desk, the words written in Common though to anyone who could read it, it would appear nothing but gibberish.
It was only after she was freed and taught the deciphering keys, had she been able to read the letter that she'd heard that unforgettable evening by Uthrik.
'To Lady Johanna of House Swann.
I am Aegon Targaryen, son of Baelon Targaryen, grandson of King Jaehaerys, first of his name, Prince of the Seven Kingdoms.
I first heard of your plight when word reached Kings Landing that your Lord Uncle refused to pay the ransom for your safe return. I will not mince words.
It was a scandal when the court heard of it but it was soon forgotten as Lords and Ladies lost interest in the story, having already had cast their feeble minds on the next scandal.
To much of my shame, so did my House forget your plight.
However, I have never forgotten. I could not forget. For how could I forget the fate of an innocent fifteen year old child?
You were failed, Johanna of House Swann.
You were failed by your kin. You were failed by your countrymen. You were failed by the Crown. Words cannot express the depths of sorrow I feel at your fate nor how you must feel betrayed by your own people. By your own kin.
I will not try.
Instead, I shall do my best to rectify your fate should you allow me to.
You are now a woman grown. By my estimation, you are nine and ten years of age. Four years you have suffered the indignity of slavery.
And it is now that I finally have the gold and the influence to end that indignity.
I will not lie to you. Your Lord Uncle will not have you back. I believe you understand this. He believes you tarnished goods. He is a fool for believing so and a greater fool for abandoning his brother's daughter on such a matter that was out of your control
So I will leave the choice to you what you wish to happen. In every choice, you will be free. That is and will be unchanged. How you express that freedom, is your choice.
So the choices I present you is thus.
You may join mine and my lady-wife's court.
Or if you desire a place in Kings Landing, I will find you that place.
Or if you wish neither of those choices, I will have you taken to Braavos and given enough gold for you to find your place.
Those are the easiest choices I can give you.
And if you're curious what I mean by easiest choices…well, I have one other choice for you. It is a great challenge and it is a challenge that is mayhaps too much to ask.
But I will ask you to consider it.
I cannot fully detail what this challenge is, even in such secrecy, but I will say this.
There are and will be more like you, innocent girls, and boys, taken from their homes and their families, forced into slavery and indignity.
It is my hope that I can help some of these innocents and that is at the heart of the challenge. I believe you will understand a little what it is I might be asking of you.
And you may wonder 'why do this?'. 'Why go through all this effort?'.
You would be right to wonder and I hope that you do.
Such thinking would serve you well.
My endeavours are not completely pure hearted. I am not that virtuous.
But I believe that people deserve a chance and it is my hope that one day people will receive that chance.
Mayhaps you find yourself in agreement with me when we meet. Think on your choices and if you have another choice you wish to make, I will consider it.
Prince Aegon of House Targaryen.
She remembered how she felt when she was read the letter by Uthrik.
Disbelief. Shock. Anger. Hope.
Her eyes closed as she remembered how rooted she was on the bed when the letter was read out to her. It upended everything. She was forgotten. That is what she ha