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[Goat Field near EREEN]
[A GOATHERD and GOATHERD'S SON tend their flock. The GOATHERD'S SON throws stones in the river to amuse himself. He looks down, and suddenly Drogon flies overhead. He spits fire, takes a goat and flies off screeching]
"Dragons are no pets. They are expected to go and hunt. Although so beco accustod to being brought food, most prefer to hunt" Rhaegar explained.
"How do you know?" Daenerys asked. "Dragons were not there when you were alive."
"I read about them. The Dragonstone library is full of such books, on Dragonlore and accounts of Dragonriders, Dragonkeepers previous Lords of Dragonstone" Rhaegar answered, before turning to Stannis. "At least, I hope it is."
Stannis grunted.
"Yes. Though I cannot assure you of what quality they are. None of them have been touched in years."
Rhaegar nods. A reasonable explanation.
Robert gave his brother a side look.
"I rember telling you to rid of all things Targaryen" he muttered.
Stannis grunted in reply. He was not going to destroy years of accounts from people who lived on Dragonstone. There may yet be things in there that could help him run the castle. It certainly has when he first took the seat.
[EREEN; Throne Room]
[The GOATHERD stands before DAENERYS. JORAH, BARRISTAN SELMY and MISSANDEI stand with her, while GREY WORM stands guard. The GOATHERD speaks and Missandei translates]
"He is a goatherd. He says he prayed for your victory against the slave masters"
[The GOATHERD places his bundle on the ground and reveals the charred bones of his goat.]
"It was your dragons, he says. They ca this morning for his flock. He hopes he has not offended Your Grace, but now he has nothing."
"Tell this man I am sorry for his hardship. I cannot bring back his goats, but I will see he is paid their value three tis over."
"That is not a good thing to promise," Rhaegar said softly, kindly even.
"The man has lost everything and you wish for to abandon him in his ti of need?" Daenerys asked, aghast.
"I say no such thing, sister," Rhaegar said placatingly. "This incident with the sheep won't be the last ti that your dragons will go out to hunt. And if you pay one herder for the loss, let alone thrice of what he lost, you set a precedence. How long until more herders co forward with similar stories? And how many of their sheep would be killed by your dragon, and how many by the greed of the herders?" Rhaegar questioned.
"And you have yet a war on the horizon" Ned spoke, to the surprise of many at the fact he'd agree with Rhaegar. But then again, with how things have gone, this shouldn't be a surprise. "You can't send gold to every man or woman your dragons are a problem to. You won't have enough to finance your war then."
"Instead you should do what our ancestors did when they rode dragons. A tithe where they will send a portion of their livestock to feed your dragons. Should any dragon still go to hunt and their livestock is taken, you can pay them for it. The right amount and not an inflated number" Rhaegar added.
Daenerys nods. She made a ntal note of it. Elia was right, her brother knew more than she did, and she could learn a lot from him.
[The GOATHERD gathers his bundle and exits. DAENERYS is pleased.]
"Send the next one in."
[HIZDAHR ZO LORAQ and his MANSERVANT enter. They converse in Valyrian]
"The noble Hizdahr zo Loraq begs an audience with the Queen."
"The noble Hizdahr zo Loraq can speak to himself."
[The MANSERVANT retreats and HIZDAHR cos forward and bows.]
Jon held back the smirk Robb and Arya were not shy to hold back. Good, stamp this habit out of them. It would be slow, Jon knew. But she had to start.
"Queen Daenerys. Tales of your beauty were not exaggerated."
"I thank you."
"Mine is one of the oldest and proudest families in ereen."
"Then it is my honour to receive you."
"My father, one of ereen's most respected and beloved citizens, oversaw the restoration and maintenance of its greatest landmarks. This pyramid included."
"For that, he has my gratitude. I should be honoured to et him."
"You have, Your Grace. You crucified him. I pray you'll never live to see a mber of your family treated so cruelly."
"So he was a slaver then," Daenerys said dryly.
"Your father crucified innocent children."
"My father spoke out against crucifying those children. He decried it as a criminal act but was overruled. Is it justice to answer one cri with another?"
Daenerys tasted ash in her mouth. If the man spoke the truth... she had crucified innocents. No, they wouldn't be innocents. She crucified slavers, and slavers were not innocents.
"Perhaps, so could have been swayed to release their slaves" Elia spoke as if reading the girl's mind. She did not, but Daenerys' conflict was clear on her face. "So of them have been born into a tradition and are rely doing so to not bring sha to their family. Maybe given the opportunity, they would release their slaves and agree with your rule.
"How do I know whether they an it?" Daenerys questioned. "What If in doing so they plot to kill and reclaim their traditions?"
"You have n with you, do you not? Utilize them, have them get to know the n before you punish them. Know the kind of people they are from their slaves. No doubt the slaves will give you a purer verdict than anyone else."
Or they could be biased and vengeful and want their masters dead regardless of the circumstances of their enslavent. No, she'd need soone who can get her what she needs without any bias in their information.
Her eyes went to Lord Varys, who was staring at the vision wall.
"I am sorry you no longer have a father, but my treatnt of the masters was no cri. You'd be wise to rember that."
"What's done is done. You are the queen and I am a servant of ereen. A servant who does not wish to see its traditions eradicated."
"And what traditions do you speak of?"
"The tradition of funeral rite. Proper burial in the Temple of the Graces. My father and 162 noble ereenese are still nailed to those posts, carrion for vultures, rotting in the sun. Your Grace, I ask that you order these n taken down so that they might receive proper burials."
"And what of the slave children these noble ereenese crucified? They were rotting in the sun as well. Would you have begged for their right to a proper burial?"
"You will not find anyone who would do that for people who worked for them, let alone people who are slaves" Renly stated calmly. "People are not so good at heart to care about others when they need caring."
"I would have," Daenerys said indignantly.
"Had you when you lived with Illyrio? He has slaves, what happens to them when they die? What happens to them when they live? Do you know it?"
Daenerys was silent because she did not. She knew the girls that served her at Illyrio's orders. The ones that had served her in the past and had to be replaced, she never asked why. She was happy with herself and looking out for herself and the girls that served her then.
"I comnd you for the change you have gone through, Princess. But not everyone has faced the hardship you have, so they have no idea what their slaves go through. Expecting them to do so is foolishness. Sothing admirable, but foolishness."
"What Lord Renly wishes to say," Elia spoke up, "is that you are on the right path, but you must be patient with the people and let them reach you."
"Daenerys knows what I an" Renly shrugged.
Daenerys did...
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