Brandon had a love-hate relationship with the sea. He loved the salty smell and watching the waves break to make way for the ships.
But the crew were sweaty, smelly men. No beautiful maidens to court. Hell, he would have settled for a whore.
"I see you've found a good place next to the prince," and the other reason for his hatred of the sea was his father. Wendel Manderly, the second son of Wyman Manderly. He was a robust man. He never knew him until he was under the prince's care, where his father recognized him as his bastard.
"The prince gave me shelter and food when no one else did," he replied, trying not to sound sharp. "Loyalty is repaid with loyalty."
"We'll be in Pentos soon," his father warned. He seemed to have picked up on the annoyance in his tone.
Brandon sighed. He didn't hate all the Manderlys; his cousins didn't mistreat him, even knowing he was a bastard. But his father, uncle, and grandfather seemed to see him as a connection. There wasn't much affection between them. And Brandon knew that if it weren't for the prince, his father wouldn't have made much effort to get close to him.
Family aside. He remembered that the prince had ordered him to keep his ears open in Pentos. And if possible, to investigate the Golden Company. He wanted information about a young man the same age as Aegon, Rhaegar's son.
They landed in Pentos without incident. A fleet of forty ships attracted a lot of attention, but they were quickly dispatched. He knew the Manderlys were there to trade. They planned to empty their ships before reaching Astapor. The journey was quite long as a result.
It was three moons from Pentos to Astapor. Four, if you counted the stops.
He toured the city with a few men from the north. He was glad to see that he wasn't the only one who found the weather extremely hot. He was close to taking off his shirt and walking around naked.
That was what he missed about the north, the cold and the ice. He already had the snow with him. At least the river tent was cool, and he was able to get used to living there.
In the city, he heard rumors about the Golden Company. Apparently, they had signed a contract with Myr to fight in the disputed lands. The disputed lands were an expanse of land between the three daughters, Myr, Tyrosh, and Lys. The lands were in a constant state of war, claimed by all three cities. They seemed to fight over them more out of pride than anything else, as none of the three cities could ever hold on to the territory for very long.
He's heard that the Golden Company has signed a four-year contract in that territory. The company had a reputation for consistently completing its contracts. He heard mention of a young man of Valyrian appearance among them. He was not the only one with those features, but he was the one they talked about the most.
Aegon Waters.
They said he was one of the bastard sons of the Mad King, although they did not tell the name of his mother. Apparently, he was conceived shortly before the old king died. With Rhaella at Dragonstone, it was normal for Aerys to take lovers to calm his excitement to burn his enemies and allies.
Brandon wasn't entirely convinced. But he also heard that Robert Baratheon was heading to the same lands to fight. Volantis offered him a fleet to take his Dothraki to Westeros.
Apparently, Robert was like a demon. People avoided saying his name, as if they feared his warhammer would fall from the sky to crush them.
The people of Essos hated and feared him. He was a Dothraki savage, but a better one. More methodical and strategic. He demanded more than a lord of horses and took pleasure in death and destruction. Brandon discovered that he destroyed the Company of Roses just because he wanted to take one of its captains as his Khaleesi.
The Company of Roses was from the north, founded by the bastard brother of Torrhen Stark, the king who knelt.
The woman he wanted to take as his wife was named Alyssane Stark. She had the characteristic Stark appearance. It was surprising how far Robert had gone with his obsession with Lyanna. It is said that Robert ended up killing her.
'Then Robert against Aerys' bastard.' Brandon could see them tearing each other apart.
The northerner asked about the Company of Roses. They were near Pentos, to his surprise. But Baratheon had hit them so hard that only about a thousand warrior men and women remained.
With a little effort and help from his father, he managed to arrange a meeting with the leader.
"You're Brandon, right? From which house? I can recognize a Northerner just by looking at him," spat the leader. Direct but not necessarily rude.
"A Snow. My father's sigil hangs from those ships," he pointed to the merman with a trident on the flags.
"I see. You wouldn't be a bastard here; there are no bastards in Essos," said the woman.
Brandon was captivated by her. She was the toughest woman he had ever seen. He felt she could crush his head with the mace next to her seat.
"I didn't have the opportunity to be born here," he said.
The girl's eyes were grayish blue. Her skin was tanned, and her hair was platinum blonde, which didn't match her surname.
"And why have you come to me?" asked the woman.
"I want information about Robert Baratheon. I heard you fought him." His words made the woman tighten her grip on the handle of her mace. "I know it's not pleasant, but I'll pay in gold for that information." He took a heavy bag from her belt.
"He's a beast," the woman began. "The Dothraki are savages. But they're predictable: they always attack head-on. They overwhelm you with their numbers and horses." She looked at the golden glint inside the bag. "The Stag changed that."
"I heard that his Dothraki are more organized," Brandon commented.
"They are. I don't know how he managed to convince and train them, but they changed their strategy. He even got them to use spears in addition to arakhs. They flanked us. My company had nine thousand fighters, men and women." She clenched her teeth with hatred. "He killed and enslaved six thousand. He reduced us to three thousand. Among the wounded, another fifteen hundred died and another five hundred deserted." She had a bandage on her abdomen.
"Did you see him?" He asked. He was curious about the stag.
"Seven Hells! Yes, I did. He was huge, must have been six feet seven or eight inches tall," she closed his eyes, remembering. "His arms were massive. But he moved with incredible agility. He killed six of the generals, sparing only me, and took my sister. He stripped her naked in front of my men and raped her." Brandon looked at the hatred in her eyes, tears spilling from them, and it terrified him a little. "She fought back, and the Stag crushed her head with his hands."
Both fell silent. Brandon was not good at comforting people. Princess Daenerys was a witness to that.
"Do you want revenge?" he asked her.
"I do. Soon we will go to Myr to support the Golden Company," said the woman.
"Your strength is small compared to theirs. They will use you as bait," he had planned something with the woman. "I will give you another option," she questioned him with her gaze.
"What option?"
"Jaehaerys Targaryen," he whispered his lord's name.
"Ah, the prince of scrolls. I've heard of him. They say he has dragons," the woman was not interested in his words.
"He does. Three dragons, the last time I saw them, they were the size of bulls," Brandon said.
"So what? Do you know how the Company of Roses was formed?" the woman asked him.
"They didn't want to submit to the dragons. Robert hates the Targaryens; he'll eventually go against them. When that happens, you can have your revenge," he tempted her, wanting to take her with him to Westeros.
"It's still a dragon."
"And you forget how the Golden Company was founded?" Now she was silent. "The Mad King's son is in the Golden Company. Remember? You trade elephants for dragons. Which would win?" The woman was silent for a few minutes.
"What does your prince offer?" Now Brandon had to improvise. He knew his prince well enough to know that he would agree to the terms.
Jaehaerys needed an army, and Brandon was gathering men for him. And a beautiful woman.
"I'll think about it. I'll give you my answer before you set sail from Pentos." She held out her hand. Brandon took her forearm.
"I heard your surname, but not your name." He knew she was a Stark, but that was all.
"Rowena. Rowena Stark," she said firmly.