Prologue – The Prince that was Promised

Essos – Meereen
The Fighting Pits of Meereen

Scarlett stood on the top of the arena stands, watching the chaos below as the Sons of the Harpy were fighting like mad. Their ambush had started well… until the Dragon had shown up. Drogon might be a menace on the city, but he had certainly made a mess of their assassination attempt on the Breaker of Chains.

Up in the shadows, her dark red robe made her nearly invisible… certainly none of the combatants were paying attention to her. She watched dozens and dozens die, masked fights, freed slaves, and soldiers all. It wasn’t that she especially minding seeing people die… she didn’t have any particular malice, but growing up a slave had made her hard. It was them dying for nothing that bothered the Red Priestess.

She had been so sure, following the blond woman since Quarth. The fire in her veins. The dragons she had hatched. She knew that the darkness was rising in the world. Daenerys was the prince who was promises, the hero that was going to save the world from the dark… who would raise the fire into the world and cast out the unending night.

And then she had just run off. Rode away on a dragon’s back and left them all behind. The prince who was promised wouldn’t run away from a fight. Wouldn’t free when she could fight for what she believed in. Daenerys either was a coward, or she believed in nothing. In either case, it wasn’t her.

But him…

She watched the handsome man standing in the midst of the fire, fighting off a pair of masked assassins with a broken gladiator’s sword. She knew him… had traveled with him for more than a year. Jorah Mormont… First Sword of Daenerys, and the first of her Queensguard, until Daenerys had cast him away. He had returned a slave, just earlier today.

That didn’t bother her. She was a slave too… not that it bothered her. The Temple was her owner and master. Daenerys probably would have broken her chain, too, if she had made it known. It wouldn’t have mattered. She was bound to the Lord of Light by chains far stronger than the blonde woman could have broken.

Scarlett brushed her red hair out of her eyes as she watched him fight. His muscles shining with sweat, she watched the strong man fought… every bit as invincible as he had been in as a gladiator for their amusement just minutes before. The man had saved her before, from slavers in Quarth, when he had stopped her from being raped by one of the Wise Masters… it wouldn’t have been the first time that she had been so used, pretty slave that the Red Priestess was, but she still was grateful for avoiding it. She had to make sure it didn’t cloud her judgment.

The darkness was rising, and everyone knew it. Every single priest and priestess of R’hllor was looking for Azor Ahai, and she was so positive that she had found her. She knew others that believed they had found the Child of Ice and Fire… She had even written to Tabis in Old Town, Melisandra in Dragonstone, and Uriah south of the ruins of Valeria to convince them that they were wasting their time. She had been so sure… and now she was just as sure that she had been wrong. It wasn’t Daenerys.

That should have devastated her… but her hope in the blonde woman had almost immediately been superseded by her faith in the knight, born at almost the same time. He fit the prophecy as well as Daenerys did… she didn’t know why she hadn’t seen it before. He was of noble blood from the north, one of the Andals and the First Men. He had Stark blood… all of those families did. The blood of fire was a bit more tricky… but he had been at Daenerys’ side during all the events that had convinced her that the other woman was the Prince who was Promised. He fit just as well… and he wasn’t a coward.

She watched as the fighting slowly died out. Jorah didn’t stop. He immediately began leading men to fight elsewhere, to stop the riots in the streets and bring down the assassins. Effortlessly leading them, despite his lack of authority. Men followed him. They would follow him into darkness.

Jorah was Azor Ahai. She was sure of it. Now she would just have to prove it… to him, and the world.