If you want to support me, check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions on them, so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
[---]
124 AC, King's Landing
Mysaria had learned long ago that the world was unfair. She had learned it in her youth when she was still in chains in the city of Lys, a city that hid its ugliness with false beauty and pleasure. She had seen it all during her time as a dancer in the wretched city; she had seen kin poisoning one another, enemies being secretly lovers in private, corruption between Magisters, who sought to destroy alliances for personal gain, and so much more.
People often dismissed the dancers that they brought to their manors, and Mysaria had learned as much as she could from them and did nothing with the secrets that she unearthed, for she did not know their true value. Life had been simpler then, at least, it had until she uncovered a small plot that would have seen her mistress dead. She had fled then, the city, knowing that she would likely perish should she be discovered, and took a ship using stolen silver to get as quickly as possible from Lys. She arrived in King's Landing, lost and alone, and, unknowing of what to do with her newfound freedom, she continued her life as a dancer.
It was only then that the world had changed, that she had met Daemon Targaryen, who had taken her as a paramour, and once more, Mysaria was reminded that the world was cruel. It had taken her more time than she would have liked to realise that she had been nought but a passing distraction, a way to spite his brother, rather than an object of any form of affection, especially as he sent her back to Lys, while knowing what would have likely awaited her there.
She had escaped once more, having gone on another trip, this time back to King's Landing. Perhaps it was foolish of her, perhaps it was complete and utter folly that pushed her to do this, but she had tasted the power as a prince's paramour, outgrown the brothel where she operated, and it had not taken long to regain what she had lost.
Her rise was not a clean one (after all, she had received the moniker of Lady Misery for a reason), but she quickly became the matron of the brothel, and then she bought another one, and so on, until nought remained.
Her girls were well taken care of, and any violence committed on their persons was repaid tenfold. She had taught them the arts that she had learned in Lys, in ways that elevated them to becoming more than they once were and paid them more than any whore in the Crownlands.
In return, she used the secrets of the men who were weak to her girls to earn herself more power. It started with a corrupt guard confessing to stealing gold from his lord, and it slowly spiralled to lords and ladies trying to pass illegitimate children as their own. Knowledge was more powerful than gold, and she had used this knowledge to expand her influence across the city and into the very heart of the Red Keep itself.
For a moment, she had been more powerful than most of the lords in the city, though she had a rival, the rat, who worked to stifle her expansion. And yet, now, even with the rat dead, her empire crumbled before her eyes, and she did not know who was responsible.
At first, it had been her little eyes and ears, which disappeared soon after the Shadowbinders' attack. Then it was her control over the Gold Cloaks, where those under her influence had been assigned to do the most menial tasks, enough that paying them was all but a waste of gold. Of course, that was followed by the fighting pits, the gambling dens, and some criminal elements in Flea Bottom, all of whom were places where she often hired her enforcers or expanded much of her influence by buying debts and the like.
Even these debts were strangely repaid out of nowhere, through apparent strokes of good fortune. Lords and Ladies under her control were caught in one scandal or another, being banished from the Capital back to their homes, through pure chance, and a pattern quickly began to form. She had another enemy, one that was greater and more effective than the Rat had ever been, and one that knew of her agents and her strength.
Slowly and surely, Mysaria saw her work crumbling down, though strangely, the brothels remained quite untouched. She still remained a wealthy woman, likely with enough gold to travel to a free city and live as a queen, but she could not leave, not as she felt her power drain away, power that she craved, power that she felt empty without. She refused to go easily, to lose without a fight, though she did not know who her enemy was in the first place.
She could not ask Daemon for aid, not anymore. He was more likely to kill her than she was to somehow convince him of anything. Whatever influence she held over him was long gone, and he would not risk it, not with finally being in the good graces of his brother, and his son becoming the next king of the Seven Kingdoms.
No, Mysaria needed to handle it herself, and she did not know where to begin. It was akin to trying to find a ghost that left no traces of influence, no gold being exchanged, no witnesses being offered, and just as a part of her was elated by the challenge, she would admit that it was terrifying. But that did not stop her, not when she fought against the Master of Whisperers himself, and not now.
A brief gust of wind suddenly broke her from her thoughts, and Mysaria felt a presence behind her. It was an instinct that had not failed her yet in the games of King's Landing. She quickly turned, having slipped a small knife into her hand, one that she always held on to her person, ready to face her attacker.
She threw the knife, a motion that she had practised many times, and was very useful when someone foolishly attempted to kill her, only for the figure to move to the side, casually dodging the projectile.
It was then that Mysaria finally saw the intruder to her home, a woman wearing a black silk hood, which hid her features. The outfit alone was likely worth more than most smallfolk made in a decade, which quickly elevated the nature of this threat, though she did not know who it was. But how did she come here? She would have needed to go past dozens of guards, the Gold Cloaks that she had paid to patrol in that street, especially, and yet, none had even noticed what happened. She must have snuck out, somehow. An assassin, maybe?
The intruder spoke in a soft voice, ignoring Mysaria's best effort to compose herself: "Misery, the White Worm, I have come to speak with you."
Mysaria calmly walked to the table next to her and poured herself a goblet of wine, trying to gain any advantage in this conversation, "It was a mistake to come here. I could call the guards at any moment, and your chances at leaving this room alive would quickly dwindle."
"You could call the guards, but you'll then see that they are… indisposed," the figure quickly spoke up as if she were speaking of the weather.
She might have been bluffing, but Mysaria did not think so. If someone could sneak past their security, then they could kill them. In fact, it would be the easiest way to do it, especially given the skillset as an assassin: "Have you come to kill me, then? Or did you come all this way to declare war?"
Mysaria spoke calmly, but she could feel her heart thundering in her chest. This was it, her enemy, the one who had so easily dismantled her influence over King's Landing, who had robbed her of her power, and who was likely now working to take everything that she had worked so hard to build, everything that she had earned, that she deserved.
This was likely the final strike, but Mysaria would not have it; she would not wait idly by watching her work be destroyed. In the blink of an eye, just as the figure approached her, the White Worm threw her goblet towards her enemy, retrieved a hidden dagger from the table, and slashed blindly in that direction, only to freeze as she realised that nothing was there. It was only then that she felt pain in her hand, her dagger clattering on the ground, which was followed by a precise hit to the chest in an area that forced her to fall to her knees, with every breath becoming more difficult than the last. She could feel blood dripping from her mouth as she coughed, staining her perfectly smooth and pale skin.
When she looked up, she saw the figure sitting there calmly, as if nothing had happened, and suddenly things made sense. She never stood a chance, did she? For she knew what the woman was now, a mage. She remembered her days in Lys, where slaves disappeared after being bought by strange men, who felt eerily to her, or were resold, with haunted looks in their faces, letting themselves wither away at what they had witnessed, sometimes even returning mutilated.
It was an open secret that the Magisters of Lys let them do what they wished, so long as it was only the slaves who suffered their deeds, likely out of fear of being targeted as well. There were also the sorcerers from the Red Temple, though that had gone up in flames after the Faith's High Priest died alongside much of their leadership. A good riddance, if Mysaria could choose.
But who was this woman? Westerosi were not kind to mages, especially after the recent attack on the Capital. Was the woman one of the Shadowbinders who escaped the purge in the Dragonpit? If so, then what was she planning with King's Landing, and why was she opposing Mysaria in the first place?
Unfortunately, this was not the time to answer this question, given the pain that she felt and how vulnerable she was in front of the other woman, who could kill her with a thought.
The intruder spoke up softly, "I had to debate a lot regarding whether I should kill you or not. In… In another time, you would have played a part in something abominable, something that I have spent much of my life fearing. And yet, I chose not to punish the others, who played a much greater role, and so I refrained."
Mysaria was in too much pain to think of the nonsense that the other woman uttered, but she clung to a very important fact that she was likely not to die this day. That was… good. She could rebuild what she had lost, just as she had before, though that would be troubling.
And yet, she couldn't help but gasp out, "What do you want from me?"
"I came here to talk, as I have said before," the woman asked dispassionately, "Specifically, I have an offer for you."
"What offer?" Mysaria asked, this time, standing up, her breath becoming easier to manage.
"I quite like this city, you know. Oh, there is so much ugliness that exists for anyone who would try to make it their home, but the potential within these walls is breathtaking, radiant even. Of course, that potential has yet to be unearthed. I wish to see it happen. After all, no city is without its underworld, and I would rather things remain… organised and civilised under only certain rules."
Mysaria gaped at the intruder, "You wish for us to join hands, why? You have weakened my influence, my base of power. Why did you do all of this?"
"Because this is the best path forward," the intruder answered with a certainty that should not have been in her tone, "But let me correct you. This will not be us joining hands. Should you agree with my offer, you shall be my subordinate. You shall serve under me. You shall enforce my rules, follow my will, and should you disobey me, and I will always know when you do, then you shall have to face the consequences of your failures. But if you follow my orders, you shall command more power than you ever had before, power within this city that would become the jewel of the Seven Kingdoms. So, tell me, Mysaria of Lys, do you agree to my terms?"
The offer was intriguing, to say the least. She hated the idea of serving anyone, as she had since the moment her chains were broken when she left Lys, but this seemed somewhat promising. After all, it was an opportunity, and like any opportunity, Mysaria planned to take advantage of it. And yet, she found herself asking, "And if I don't, will you kill me?"
"Oh, I wouldn't. I would simply leave you be, but I do not foresee you lasting long in this city, and you know this."
She was right. Mysaria knew that with her recent weakening, she was in a precarious position. Many of her girls were becoming more ambitious, and she knew that many of the new upstarts who thought themselves her 'rivals' plotted against her, as if smelling her weakness… Which was exactly what the woman before her had plotted.
It was well-played… Very well-played. Mysaria would have been glad to see such a scheme unfold if she were not its victim. She truly had no other choice but to accept, for it was a threat, though quite unspoken. "Very well. I agree to your terms. However, I wish to see the woman that I am to serve."
For a moment, the intruder did not speak before she slowly removed her cloak, and Mysaria gasped as she recognised this face. "Helaena Targaryen."
The simpleton princess, they had called her. Mysaria had long-since dismissed her as a threat, beyond the mild curiosity about her being the target of Rhaenyra when the former Crown Princess went mad and was banished later. But whoever had told her of the girl's temperament was either lying or a fool, for it seemed that Mysaria was outplayed by a player that she did not ever consider.
The princess nodded, as if listening to her thoughts, "Why?"
Why did she do this? Why did she even concern herself with the parts of the city that she found unsavoury? But most importantly, why did she even come to see her instead of getting the Gold Cloaks to swarm this place and kill her? Why even try to ally herself with Mysaria?
All of these questions were combined in this single question, and yet, it seemed like the princess impossibly knew of them, given that she answered softly, "I felt that this affair required a more… personal touch. As for why I chose you… Well, I believe it is the path forward for both of us, and as a dear friend of mine once said, 'Why have enemies when you have friends,' and it would be for your benefit that we remain… friends. Farewell, Mysaria. I will be in contact soon."
And so, Helaena Targaryen stood up and slowly walked out of the room, all but disappearing the moment she left it. In the meantime, Mysaria found herself gasping, and yet remaining speechless, shivering in terror that she did not even know why she felt.
It was later, after she regained enough control of herself to stand up, that Mysaria realised that the Gold Cloaks had been routed from their patrol because of an unrelated incident on the other side of the city, and that her guards had all fallen asleep all at once, that she realised that Helaena Targaryen was likely one of the most dangerous persons in this city, one who most seemed completely unaware from.
[---]
King's Landing: From a Capital to the Jewel of the Seven Kingdoms
By Archmaester Baelor of King's Landing
King's Landing is known to this day as the jewel of the Seven Kingdoms, but the path that the city took diverged greatly from the results that we see today, through a series of decisions and events that greatly affected the Capital of the Seven Kingdoms. These decisions likely came to be after the infamous Darkest Day in 123 AC, when the Shadowbinders caused a great amount of damage to the city.
King Viserys the Peaceful decided after the attack that it would be the crown that would bear the costs of rebuilding, and it was said that his children, Helaena Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen, alongside Lyman Beesbury, worked on many of the changes. Much of the city's infrastructure was rebuilt, alongside an intricate sewage system, as well as a project to slowly rebuild Flea Bottom, the slums of the city, making it quite the eyesore.
Princess Helaena seemed to be particularly invested in the welfare of the children, especially in the slums, hence her sponsorship of orphanages across the many districts of the city. Any child with no caretaker, until the age of four to ten, was allowed into the orphanage, provided a room, a warm bed, and regular healthy meals, as well as the possibility to apprentice to a master. In fact, she had even invited tax cuts for guilds that chose apprentices from the orphanages, which helped things greatly.
Queen Jaehaera, then Princess Jaehaera, was said to join her mother in many of her projects in the city, starting a tradition where Queens would work on projects that would help the people of King's Landing.
These projects, while helping much in the morale of the smallfolk, also noticeably decreased the rate of crimes in the city, which were said to have risen to a very disturbing level during King Viserys's illness. Whilst a great part of the reduction in crimes can be attributed to the increasing welfare of children, it is also noted that the criminal elements in the city had regulated themselves in some way.
Certain crimes, such as those involving children in particular, became exceedingly rare, alongside a marked decline in theft, unlawful violence, and even certain forms of extortion that had once been commonplace in the poorer districts. It was further noted that particular streets and districts, especially those near orphanages and newly restored markets, were far safer than one would expect, with disturbances swiftly dealt with by individuals who held no official authority. Many scholars have since described this phenomenon as a form of self-policing within the criminal underworld, though its consistency and effectiveness seemed to align far too neatly with the Crown's own reforms to be dismissed as a coincidence.
[---]
AN: I wasn't sure about this chapter. I had a few plans involving Mysaria that I ended up scrapping, and I suppose that I felt a bit nostalgic about it, and decided to use this to show a bit of what Helaena has been up to in her spare time in King's Landing, while also showing how terrifying she would look to someone who has no idea what she can do, to which she would look more like a boogeyman.
As most of you probably noticed, we're nearing the end of the story, so if you want to see some other loose ends being tied up or any particular chapters for this story, please let me know in the comments. I already started working on a sequel, which will take place in the Star Wars universe, which I'm very excited about. As usual, please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.
[---]
If you want to support me, check out my patréon at https://www.patréon.com/athassprkr
I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions on them, so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.