House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Chapter 115: Chapter 114 – The Burning of Myr (II)

Melinda, covered in soot, helped a woman walk toward the exit of Jewel Street. The woman was limping, so she needed help walking.

The little girl showed a determined look and moved quickly as she made her way through streets still relatively intact. The flames were already spreading, and if not stopped, it wouldn’t be just Jewel Street that would burn but the entire city.

Suddenly, Melinda felt the ground beneath her shake; she lost her balance for a moment, but soon steadied herself because of the woman. Hearing heavy sounds behind her, as if something enormous were walking, the little girl swallowed hard.

Looking back, she saw the enormous dragon walking calmly, as if he owned the entire city. The platinum scales shone faintly under the sun, making the dragon look sacred, but Melinda knew there was nothing sacred about this being that had destroyed the entire government of Myr, as well as others who could have taken up that role.

Then, Melinda saw the dragon rider under the saddle. He wore black armor with a three-headed dragon on his chest. The first thing one noticed about him was his beauty, but, just like the dragon, that beautiful appearance hid a man capable of burning a city to win the war.

Of course, Melinda didn’t think the dragon rider was wrong. In her eyes, Maekar had even been kind enough to burn only the center of Myr and not the whole city. She didn’t doubt for even a moment that the dragon was capable of doing something like that.

The little girl, seeing the dragon rider looking at her, didn’t hesitate and knelt, forcing the woman beside her to kneel as well. Melinda didn’t raise her head or try to look at Maekar again. However, she saw the dragon’s enormous feet stop in front of her.

Making the dragon lie down in the street, Maekar looked at the kneeling girl with a touch of interest. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

He spoke in High Valyrian, and although the Bastard Valyrian of Myr was different, the difference wasn’t that great.

“Yes, my prince.” Melinda spoke in pure High Valyrian but kept her head lowered. Her voice was sweet and strong.

“Raise your head and look at me,” Maekar ordered in a calm tone. Then, when he saw the girl raise her head and stare at him with those striking golden eyes, he couldn’t help admiring the beauty of those golden eyes. They looked like two pools of molten gold.

“You have beautiful eyes,” Maekar remarked with a smile. “Since you know High Valyrian, you must be intelligent.”

“Do you want to come work for me, golden-eyed girl?” Maekar asked, looking at the girl with an amused look.

Perhaps from building a spy organization, Maekar had developed the habit of adopting children. Yes, Maekar was aware it was a strange habit, but he didn’t mind much.

Melinda looked at Maekar, surprised by those words, and, seeing those violet eyes staring at her with amusement and a touch of appreciation, understood that he was serious.

“I will be your slave, my prince.” Melinda said solemnly, looking at Maekar with her golden eyes. In her eyes, it was just changing masters and nothing more. Although she felt that serving Maekar was more interesting than spending her whole life in a bar.

“You’re wrong about something, golden-eyed girl,” Maekar said with a laugh. “Although I’m a cruel and even cold man, I would never take away someone’s freedom. I can take your life, but not your freedom.”

Maekar wasn’t a hypocrite claiming to be a good man; he lied, killed, and conspired to achieve his goals. But if there was one thing he would never do, it was enslave another person or rape a woman. He could be a cruel man, but never an animal that followed only instincts.

“Go take this woman and come back.” Maekar looked at the woman beside the golden-eyed girl and said in a calm tone. He could see that the woman was terrified of Bahamut. Which was no surprise.

Although he had kept Bahamut from killing all the slaves, the dragon had still incinerated hundreds or thousands of slaves. With a population of one free man for every three slaves, one could imagine how many slaves there were on Jewel Street.

The woman had seen what Bahamut did and was terrified of the dragon.

Melinda looked at Maekar for a moment and nodded. She helped the woman up and quickly walked off.

Maekar looked at the girl and smiled; he waited patiently. He was genuinely interested in this girl who dared to help people, even in such a dangerous environment. At the same time, the girl reminded him of another remarkable girl who followed Daenerys in the future.

Bahamut, who was lying down, let out a long, high-pitched guttural sound, as if expressing his dissatisfaction at not burning anything. Maekar rolled his eyes and couldn’t help giving the dragon’s neck a slap. “Don’t get addicted to burning things, you stupid dragon.”

Bahamut let out a growl at being called stupid and shook his body, making Maekar sway from side to side.

Feeling dizzy from the swaying, Maekar glared furiously at the dragon. The stronger the bond between him and the dragon grew, the smarter Bahamut became, or rather, the more he made use of his own intelligence.

While Maekar and Bahamut had a little argument, Melinda had already come back and was watching the scene with an expressionless look. She couldn’t believe that the beings who had destroyed the government of Myr could be so… playful?

Noticing the girl, Maekar stopped arguing with Bahamut and held out his hand toward the golden-eyed girl. “Come, let’s fly.”

Melinda looked at the dragon and then at Maekar; she took a step back and shook her head. “Humans weren’t made to fly.” She said in a solemn tone.

Maekar’s smile grew. He undid the belt that held him to the saddle and dismounted the dragon. The prince walked over to the girl, picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and carried her like a sack of potatoes. Melinda tried to escape, but how could a ten-year-old girl escape?

“No one can refuse me, golden-eyed girl.” Maekar said with a laugh as he sat back in the saddle. He set the girl in front of him and fastened the belt around both their waists.

“Sovegon, Bahamut,” Maekar shouted, and the dragon rose from the ground, lifting above the houses and mansions around them.

Melinda flinched when the dragon flew; she gripped Maekar’s arm tightly and showed a horrified expression. Just as she had imagined, humans weren’t made to fly. The feeling of not sensing the ground beneath her was simply terrifying.

The girl closed her eyes and refused to look down or in any direction.

“Relax and enjoy it; this world is too beautiful to be seen only from the ground.” Maekar, feeling the girl’s trembling body, couldn’t help speaking in a softer tone.

With Maekar’s encouragement, Melinda reluctantly opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was the dragon’s neck. It was enormous and thick; she could see the platinum scales contracting gently as it moved around.

Then, she looked down. Melinda’s eyes widened seeing Myr from that point of view. It was enormous, but a long layer of flames covered the center of the city and seemed to be slowly spreading.

“Having fun?” Touching the girl’s head, Maekar asked with a smile. At this moment, he wished his sons and daughters were already the age of the girl before him.

“No.” Melinda shook her head and continued speaking. “I still think humans shouldn’t fly.”

Maekar just let out a loud laugh and made Bahamut advance toward the center of the city for the third time. He had to destroy the magistrates’ palace before waiting for the fleet of House Velaryon.

——

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard

At the Port of Myr.

Bahamut lay in the harbor, his head resting on stone. The dragon was being served large quantities of fish. He only needed to open his jaws, and a group of slaves would throw fish into his mouth.

Sitting by the sea, Maekar looked at the scene with a look full of envy. He too wanted to be served that way. Unfortunately, as a grown man, he couldn’t show such incompetence and hedonism, especially being the future emperor of Westeros.

Looking to the side, Melinda could be seen eating a grilled fish while watching the sea with her striking golden eyes. She had a rather stoic expression.

Suddenly, Maekar spotted a fleet of ships approaching. The crest of House Velaryon looked particularly imposing.

It didn’t take long for Maekar to see Corlys approaching him. The prince noticed that the Lord of Driftmark’s armor was dirty and scorched. Seeing his tired expression, he knew the man had gone through a fierce battle.

Especially noticing that the warship called Sea Snake was no longer in sight, showing that it had truly been a ferocious battle.

“I’ve already taken care of the entire center of Myr; the city is still in anarchy, and it’s perfect to start the sacking.” Maekar said in a calm tone. Yes, they were going to sack the city. It hadn’t originally been part of the plan, but, given how easy it had been to destroy Myr’s government, he had changed his mind.

The council of magistrates donated great riches to the Dothraki so the horselords wouldn’t sack the city, and even so, Myr was a very wealthy city. Just from that, one could tell these slavers had made a great deal of money from the slave trade and other things.

Corlys’s eyes lit up at Maekar’s words. This was great news. It also showed that Tyrosh hadn’t attacked; otherwise, Maekar wouldn’t be sitting there enjoying the sea breeze.

“By the way, let’s split it half and half,” Maekar added. As a decent prince, he knew he couldn’t monopolize the spoils of war. No one likes a greedy, petty leader.

Corlys nodded and found it fair. Maekar had burned the city, and he would be the one transporting the gold back to Dragonstone. At the same time, he couldn’t help looking at the prince with a strange look. He had originally been prepared to give Maekar some advice about the distribution of war spoils, but the boy had already thought of it.

The Lord of Driftmark sometimes thought Maekar was a thirty-year-old man. When he had been Maekar’s age, he had wanted to keep all the treasure he found for himself. It was only years later, after facing a mutiny, that he learned he had to reward his own sailors, or their discontent would grow quickly.

“Who would this be?” Corlys noticed the dark-skinned girl beside Maekar; he couldn’t help asking in a curious tone.

“Melinda, my new cupbearer,” Maekar said in a calm tone. “A very clever girl.”

“Serve your lord well and don’t disappoint the trust he has placed in you.” Corlys didn’t know why Maekar had taken in such a small child as a cupbearer, but he spoke to the child in a calm tone.

Then, he saw the girl look at him with those striking golden eyes and nod, as if agreeing with his words.

Corlys looked at the girl’s features and knew she was from Naath. There was only one reason for a child from Naath to be in Myr. She was a slave. However, the Sea Snake didn’t comment on it and quickly had his own sailors advance into the city. They had to sack the city and return to Dragonstone.

“What do you think of him?” Maekar asked with a smile.

“He has wolf eyes. ” Melinda answered, finishing eating her fish. She threw the bones into the sea below her. “They look like they’re sizing up prey, wondering if the meat is good enough to bite through her throat.”

“Good analogy.” Maekar laughed and agreed with Melinda’s words. “He’s Corlys Velaryon; you’ve probably heard of him. He’s a greedy man who wants his own blood on the Iron Throne. He’s an extremely proud man and thinks he can change the world because of a few ships.”

Melinda was surprised; she never thought the man she had just exchanged a few words with was none other than the legendary Corlys Velaryon, the man who had sailed waters no one else had ever dared to sail.

However, hearing Maekar’s assessment of Corlys, Melinda concluded that they were enemies but had been forced to ally for some reason.

“You should be careful with him, my prince,” Melinda said in a stoic tone. “I’ve seen this kind of man before; he won’t hesitate to stab you in the back at the smallest opportunity.”

“I know, but you have to understand that I’m a prince who wants to be king. A king doesn’t mind using his friends or his enemies. Just as he’s using me, I’m also using him.” Maekar certainly knew he couldn’t trust his back to a man like Corlys.

“That’s strange; I was taught to stay away from my enemies.” Melinda didn’t quite understand what Maekar had said but felt it was too complicated and stopped thinking about it.

Maekar just laughed and found her words adorable. Unfortunately, this world was a great game of chess in which every piece could be used. Melinda would come to recognize this cruel truth as time passed.

“My prince, is Westeros very beautiful?” Suddenly, Melinda asked, still in a stoic tone, but tinged with a touch of curiosity.

“Yes, especially my castle near the God’s Eye, the largest lake on the continent. There are black swans on the lake and a beautiful forest.” Maekar looked surprised at the question but answered patiently.

“Is the castle big?” Tilting her head to the side, the girl asked again. Anyone could see the girl was curious and loved knowledge.

“Harren Hoare, the Black, built the castle to giant proportions. Everything about it is big; it looks like a black monster with gigantic towers piercing the sky.” Maekar said with a smile. “Although the castle is in ruins, I’m going to rebuild it later.”

Melinda tried to imagine a castle built to giant proportions, but the only thing that came to her mind was the Great Red Temple of Volantis. It was the biggest structure she had seen in her short ten years of life. For some reason, Melinda felt eager to see the castle she would come to live in.

–

The sack of Myr lasted about four hours. Large quantities of gold and precious stones filled the ships’ holds. There was so much gold that it didn’t all fit in the ships. Remembering the substantial amount he’d had to leave behind in the ruins of the mansions, Corlys felt extremely sad.

Knowing that the king would swallow up a large amount of House Velaryon’s gold, he wanted more gold than ever.

“Stop looking like a wronged woman and let’s go.” Maekar rolled his eyes at Corlys’s pained expression and said in a teasing tone.

Corlys let out a sigh and knew Maekar was right, but this gold was enough to keep House Velaryon from falling into decline, even after paying compensation to the king.

“Let’s go, boys.” Corlys shouted out loud and the ships’ sails were lowered in an instant.

Maekar also climbed onto Bahamut with Melinda and followed behind the ships, leaving a city in complete chaos and anarchy. Without governmental power, Myr fell into total collapse. Theft, rape, and murder. This beautiful city became a hell on earth.

However, whether Maekar or Corlys, they remained indifferent to this.

They had accomplished their goal and destroyed Myr. Consequently, they had also destroyed the Triarchy. Individually, these free cities didn’t pose much danger, of course, Volantis and Braavos weren’t included in that weakness.

——-

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard