What is dead may never die (Theon SI)

The price of the city

Theon POV

As gold coins fell through my fingers, I knew I should be smiling silly. I have won. It was a complete victory. Yet I wasn't too happy about it. Looking at the thin red priest Benerro, I could tell that he wasn't a simple man. Even Moqorro looked at the priest with respect, and the Fiery Hands around him looked dangerous, too.

He was using me, that much I was sure of. After all, he was buying me by offering this vault with gold coins from various places. And it wasn't just coins, eggs made of gold, various statues, and precious stones that were orderly placed and locked in various large closets. Anyone else would be in ecstasy while looking at this treasure. But I didn't feel anything at the sight.

How many millions did I already have? I didn't even know. Three? Five? Maybe the number of gold coins has already reached ten million? I didn't really care, though. I had a fortune that would last for generations. My house could live on from that much gold for hundreds of years to come without doing anything. The gold in front of me was worthless to me. Just cold metal.

"Once Triarch Malaquo Maegyr tried to hire the Golden Company to kill me and clean up the red temple," Priest Benerro said. "He offered them the same gold you are looking at right now. Of course, they refused, as they knew better. But action was taken, and consequences followed. The Lord of Light, benevolent god, but that comes with a price."

"Everything comes with a price in this world," I replied. "Would it be gold, iron, or blood, it doesn't matter. Everyone has to pay the price. And so, to keep their city from you, they paid in gold."

"I have no right to the city," Priest Benerro said. "And no wish to rule it. This gold was offered not to me to safeguard, but to the Lord of the Light, to show their trust in one and true god."

"And yet it was so easily offered to me."

"And why it shouldn't be?" The Priest asked. "You are the chosen champion of the Lord of the Light. It is your gold to safeguard as it was my Lord's. How you do it or from who you safeguard the gold, it is to your will, though."

"All of it is worth at least ten million gold dragons," Thoros commented. "It is no wonder the triarchs could hire so many assassins without a worry. Even the Faceless men might not be able to refuse such a price."

"Shit," Bronn played with heavy golden eggs. "I wonder if golden chicken will hatch from them. Oh, look, there is already a golden chicken. Hahaha."

"A golden sword, a golden shield, a golden bow," Anguy looked around, too. "Everything in here is made of gold. The price for angering the Lord of the Light is truly impressive."

Ridiculous. The temple itself was like a massive castle. If Benerro wanted to defend it, he could have easily done so. The Fiery Hand wasn't a small army either. Everything indeed had its price. But ten million wasn't worth anything to me. Even a hundred million wouldn't be able to move me. For I took action only when I knew I would be paid in iron.

"I don't know about gods and whatnot," I said. "But there is also a price in angering me. So before I demand the price for it, tell me why you are thinking that you are offering this gold to me. Why are you giving me something that is already mine?"

My sword was by Benerro's neck. The Golden Company might be wise not to choose the followers of R'hllor as their enemy. But I didn't care. Like everyone else, they were just men. And like every other god, R'hllor didn't care about men. I could color this temple in red, and nothing would have changed. And yet, Priest Benerro seemed to have different thoughts as he just smiled at my blade and the Fiery Hand didn't do anything to stop me.

"Of course, I would not dare to offer something that is already yours," Priest Benerro replied, making up for his mistake. "I am offering this vault."

"Clean this vault; don't leave even a speck of dust in it," I told my men. "And now you are offering me an empty vault. A worthless room that I won't ever enter or use again. Do you want to see the color of your blood, priest?"

"King Theon, we offer you the iron and blood of the Fiery Hand," Finally, Moqorro realized their mistake. "It is yours to command. And so, I am, too, my king."

"That's more like," I smiled, as even Benerro looked a bit surprised by my actions but not displeased, though. "Tell me, Priest. Is this much gold enough to buy this city?"

What was a city? The walls surrounding it? The buildings? Are the men ruling it? No, it was people living in it. The beggars, the priests, the artisans, the whores, the soldiers, and everyone else. And all of them had a common want. A want for a better life. And for that life, they needed gold. I wonder how many lives I could buy with this much gold.

…

As I came to find out, life was a cheap thing. Looking at Volantis groveling at Dany's feet after receiving a few gold coins shaped a clear picture to me of how cheap life was. And there I was, ready to spend a valuable iron on them. To truly take this city, I was ready to make the streets drown in hot blood. But a few glimmering coins were enough to do the same thing.

"This is ridiculous," Daario wasn't the only one dissatisfied with my actions. "The city was already ours. Why did we need to spend this enormous wealth? Your Grace. The armies that would have joined you at the sight of that wealth would have been more valuable."

He was getting annoying. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't have Dany that made him quite rude. I was starting to dislike a measly man who only commanded five hundred men and daring talk like he had some say in our matters. If he didn't have the experience and the insight in the world of sellswords, I would have crushed his pretty face already.

"To me, that much gold seems quite cheap for the freedom of these people," Dany replied as she rode through the streets looking at her people. "What kind of worth does an army of men who would betray me at the slightest disadvantage have over the men who would follow me of their own free will."

We already had an army bigger than anyone else. We had enough gold to invest in anything we wanted. And now we had land larger than some of the kingdoms in Westeros. Astapor, Yunkai, Meereen, New Ghis, Volantis. They all belonged to us right now. The only thing left for us was to finish the Triarchs and wait for the return of the Volantis fleet.

We stood on the Long Bridge that connected the black walls of the Old Volantis. Dany already confirmed that even her dragons couldn't destroy those walls. But it mattered little. Without the support of the rest of Volantis, the people hiding behind those walls wouldn't be able to survive for long. And with most of their wealth now gone, what could they do?

I didn't need to spy on them to tell how nervous they were now. Fear runs through their hearts as they desperately try to cling to their confidence in the old blood flowing through them. They were running out of options. The only hope they were clinging to was the fleet they had sent out to get rid of my ships.

Flipping the only gold dragon coin I took from the vault into the air, I let out a hearty laugh. With tens of thousands of men behind us, my laugh shouldn't have reached out far, but the silence of everyone else made my laugh echo. Why was I laughing? It was simple: I was enjoying seeing those arrogant fools despair.

"Give them a knock," I said, and my men brought out a ram.

It wouldn't break the gates. Nothing could break it. I have looked at every crevice and corner of the gates, and they were sturdy, massive, and thick gates that could be only opened from the inside. The wooden ram hit the gates, sending out vibrations and loud sounds through the bridge, but it left no marking on the gates.

"Will they answer?" Dany asked.

"Of course, they will not," I replied. "They know what is waiting for them behind those gates. All I wanted was to show that I was here, for them to hear that I was here. Waiting. They won't sleep, they won't rest. Because they will know I am here. Their minds that have never experienced so much stress will break. And when they break, they will open the gates to end this nightmare."

"Why are you so sure about it?" Dany asked.

"Because there is nothing else they can do."

After that, we returned, and Dany started managing the city. From then on, I would come back every day, laugh, and knock at their doors. Every night, I would spy on them as they desperately tried to think of something and failed miserably. They clung to the hope of their fleet saving them. Day after day, they fell deeper into the abyss, hoping their fleet would return and save them.

And the fleet returned. Four to five hundred ships, full of soldiers, stretched in the sea for all to see. It was about time, as I was getting bored. The Dothraki were the first to wait for them to land. They wanted the battle. But as I had expected, the fleet looked tattered and severely damaged. They went through a long voyage and, from the look of it, have failed to catch Euron.

Tired and probably hungry, the fleet could only gaze upon us, waiting for them. So, it wasn't a surprise to me when I saw the ships turn around. I thought that letting the Triarchs see their only hope getting crushed by me would be the final nail that would seal their fate. But seeing their only hope abandoning them. That pushed them into the abyss.

…

The Old Volantis burned. Smoke and ashes rose into the air, yet the gates were still closed. I was ashamed of myself. He said so confidently that they would not be able to hold on and would surrender to their fate, that they would open the gates and beg for forgiveness. But no, they went mad.

It was dangerous to fly over the Old Volantis as the sky was filled with black smoke and ashes that would kill any breathing being. But from what I managed to gather, the Triarch went mad. Some, as I wanted, tried to open the gates, but others disagreed. And from there on, they started fighting each other. Making their guards fight each other to claim the Old Volantis for themselves.

The soldiers and the rest of the citizens were caught in between, and the bloodbath began with most of them not even knowing what they were killing each other for. The screams coming from Old Volantis said enough for people to realize the fate of those within the Black Walls. Not many dared to get close, but curiosity in the end won, and people started to gather around the Black Walls to hear something that would explain what was happening.

"Hah," I let out a loud sigh.

Why? Just why does nothing go as I planned? It was getting annoying how the pieces I picked up so carefully fell so chaotically. Looking at the gates before me, I walked to them. Dany looked at me with what I could only imagine: a mocking gaze. I was sure she was delighted to see me fail sometimes. My men surrounded me quickly and came to the gates, too.

I wasn't in the mood to laugh anymore. I can hear the screams. But I wanted to see those fools die with my own eyes. I wanted to see their despair as the last moments of their lives ended before me. Yet everything was taken from me. My pleasure was taken from me, and I wanted to kill someone out of frustration. So, I just kicked those fucking gates with all my might.

The sound of my shoe hitting the gates was quite loud. But it was soon drowned by the mechanisms inside the gates coming to life. And then the gates started opening inwards. Slowly, they revealed the carnage behind the gates, and as soon as a small gap appeared, people started rushing out through it. Pushing each other away. They weren't the Triarchs but citizens fleeing horrors inside the Old Volantis.

Their eyes, haunted and empty, made even me step aside and let them pass through as they were reaching out for their salvation. My men seeing my action, let them also pass. And they only stopped before Dany on her white horse. They knelt and cried. Hundreds and then thousands of men and women cried for her forgiveness as they presented the heads of the Triarchs that ruled them.

A.N. Sorry for the long wait. I am trying my best to write the chapters, but I just don't have time or energy. Sorry for some grammar mistakes, I am rushing those chapters as fast as I can. Hope you enjoy reading the new chapters as much as I enjoy writing them. Hopefully more will be coming soon.