A personal handmaiden couldn't exactly be placed anywhere else. So, as night fell, Illyrio had someone move a small bed into the corner of the guest room where Viserys II stayed, next to the washroom. Then, the servants hastily erected a transparent partition of curtains. That would be the new handmaiden's living space.
That's how it was to be a personal attendant.
In truth, "handmaiden" was just a polite term. The real identity was that of a slave to the Beggar King. The handmaidens around kings across the sea were the real royal handmaidens.
When Illyrio had agreed to Viserys's request, Annie was already nominally Viserys's private property, at his beck and call, to be beaten, scolded, or whatever he wished.
This was the true face of the free trade city-states with their half-veiled slavery.
Viserys, of course, would not forget the handmaiden's other identity: Illyrio's spy.
Eyes watching him, shifting from darkness to light, and he wasn't even sure if there might be another pair of eyes watching in secret. Viserys needed to be even more careful.
But no matter what was happening behind the scenes, sending this handmaiden at least showed that the two sides were in a honeymoon period. Later, when Viserys wanted to ask Illyrio for something, it would be easier to be direct.
Viserys wasn't too worried about his secrets being discovered. He believed that when people lacked the necessary information, it was often difficult for them to piece together the truth. And the secrets he held required imagination. How could people who hadn't seen real magic in a hundred years imagine and believe in such things without seeing it with their own eyes?
They would put their guesses on more practical things.
Like Dorne.
Illyrio's repeated probing, while pressing forward step by step, also exposed information to Viserys. They suspected that Viserys' actions were backed by the Dornish.
Of course, it made sense.
Let them fight wits with the Dornish in the air.
Viserys was sitting at the desk in the room, thinking this. At this moment, he was like a college student pretending to study, looking at the dragon bones under the oil lamp as if he was writing a graduation thesis.
The handmaiden, Annie, seeing that her new master hadn't given any orders since she entered the room, could only try to approach him respectfully, moving with light steps.
"If you have nothing to do, stay out of the way," Viserys finally spoke to her, the first words he'd addressed to her tonight. "Don't come near me while I'm studying the dragon bones."
"Yes, Master," the maid Annie respectfully retreated to her corner and began to quietly tidy her things.
The enormous guest room fell silent. Under the oil lamp, Viserys's shadow cast a huge silhouette across the room. His hands, studying the dragon bones, were close to the lamp's flame, and the shadow cast on the wall resembled a monstrous beast, claws outstretched.
When Viserys, seemingly stymied by the dragon bone study, moved to the third bone, a knock sounded on the door.
Viserys turned his head towards the door, and saw Annie looking at him, as if waiting for his reaction.
Viserys, as a matter of course, instructed her, "Go open the door."
Unexpectedly, Daenerys stood outside.
Daenerys, seeing the maid opening the door, greeted her blankly, "Annie."
Viserys opened his mouth to ask, "What's wrong, Daenerys?"
This was the first time Daenerys had come to him on her own.
"I... I was practicing my archery stance in my room," she began, a little haltingly at first, but soon her words flowed smoothly. "I don't know if I did something wrong. My shoulder hurts a little."
She'd been practicing with great enthusiasm all afternoon. It was no wonder her muscles ached, having been used so intensely for the first time in a while.
But anyone could see that this was Daenerys's excuse. To be honest, Viserys had expected this day to come eventually, but he hadn't thought it would be so soon. After the way the original Viserys had treated her so cruelly, he had only treated her like a normal sister. He had reached out to her a few times, designed some psychological hints to get Daenerys to side with him. Maybe the bridge effect really worked, making Daenerys trust him more. That kind of sibling affection, mixed with something more than just brother-sister love, actually allowed Daenerys to overcome the shadow of the years of cruelty she had suffered from the original Viserys, and be bold enough to come seek him out.
What had stimulated her? Was it the rapidly growing affection of today? Or was it the handmaidens that Illyrio had sent?
Whatever it was, Daenerys's progress was a bit too fast, exceeding Viserys's expectations.
A girl who was just beginning to experience love was always prone to being blinded by emotions. Viserys should have thought of this earlier.
Daenerys was smart, but she was still too young.
Isn't this exactly what he wanted?
Viserys composed himself and beckoned to her, "Come here, let me see."
Daenerys obediently walked into the room, silently passing by her brother's maid, and approached him.
Viserys reached out and pinched Daenerys's shoulder. "Does it hurt here?" This intimate gesture came naturally to him, without any hesitation or embarrassment. Even Daenerys herself didn't find it strange.
The soreness in her shoulder made Daenerys wince slightly. "Yes, what's wrong?"
Viserys replied seriously, "It's normal. It means you're training correctly, and your form is right. Your shoulders are sore because you haven't trained before. You need to prepare yourself; this pain will accompany you for a long time, until your muscles become firm and strong. When I learned archery at the Red Keep, I was younger than you are now. The instructor at the Red Keep was Ser William. He had the king's backing and made me train archery every day. My shoulders would ache so much after each training session that I couldn't even hold a fork. Anyway, I'm saying the pain is normal. Remember to pour hot water on the sore spots when you take a bath."
Daenerys asked again, "Ser William taught you how to shoot a bow?" She remembered that Ser William used to teach Viserys swordsmanship, but he never took it seriously, which often caused Ser William to sigh in private.
"Yes." Viserys realized that Daenerys didn't want to go back to her room yet, so he pulled her to sit beside him and chatted with her. "You should still remember how he taught me swordsmanship, Daenerys. I won't hide it from you; I often regret it later, because I had a deep memory of the hardships Ser William made me endure while shooting arrows at the Red Keep, I didn't take it seriously back then. Now that I think about it, sigh."
Hearing Viserys sigh, Daenerys didn't know how to respond.
Viserys didn't care about Daenerys's reaction. After a few casual remarks, he casually picked up the dragon bone on the table and started studying it under the lamplight again, engrossed in his work.
Daenerys first learned that Viserys would meticulously study the dragon bones in his room. She sat beside him for a while, watching his seemingly fruitless efforts. After repeatedly revising the question in her mind, she finally asked, "Brother, what are you doing?" She thought it best to ask casually, as usual.
"There's magic hidden in the dragon bones," Viserys replied in Valyrian. "I'm studying how to obtain it."
His answer was matter-of-fact, and the fervor in his eyes seemed genuine, which made Daenerys falter. If this was a "secret," why wasn't he concealing it at all?
Daenerys's thoughts wandered for a long time, but in the end, she said nothing, silently accompanying him.
After a while.
Viserys sighed, put down the dragon bone, and covered his face with both hands, his expression showing undisguised disappointment. He rubbed his face, then poured himself a glass of wine and drank it down.
As Daenerys was considering how to speak, Viserys seemed to have recovered his spirits. He looked at Daenerys and said, "It's time for my practice. If you're bored, read the storybooks on the desk. If you're tired, go back and take a bath and sleep."
Then, without waiting for Daenerys to reply, Viserys stood up under her gaze.
He pulled out a dagger and stood in an empty space in the room, focusing intently before beginning to swing it.
Again and again.
The dagger moved through the air in Viserys's hand, the movements unremarkable.
Daenerys sat blankly at the table, momentarily at a loss. Her gaze followed Viserys's oblivious movements, and then she couldn't help but look at Annie, the maidservant, who had been silently waiting in the corner from the beginning.
At first, Daenerys wondered what allowed her brother, Viserys, to ignore others and focus on what he was doing. What was he thinking about at that moment?
But a minute passed, then a quarter of an hour, then an hour.
She watched Viserys, drenched in sweat, the dagger still swinging forward in his hand. Her confusion gradually turned to shock and surprise, and finally to numbness.
When Viserys stopped swinging the dagger, Daenerys realized she had thought about many things, but her mind couldn't connect them in a short amount of time. She had gained a completely new understanding of her brother.
Viserys was very ordinary. He then instructed, "Annie, go and have someone prepare hot water. I want to take a bath."
"Yes, Master." Annie immediately set about doing as she was told.
Viserys looked at Daenerys, who was clearly shocked. "It's late, Daenerys. You should go back and rest. Remember to take a hot bath. Have sweet dreams."
Daenerys had many thoughts swirling in her mind, but only a customary response escaped her lips: "Then, I will go."
She was thinking that becoming the thing Visenya and Rhaenys wanted might require more than she had imagined.
Viserys watched Daenerys leave, feeling that she should have calmed down a bit from her impulsive emotions. Whatever had triggered her, acting rashly wasn't a good habit to encourage.
As for the matter of secretly training, Viserys knew full well. Probably only Daenerys in the courtyard was unaware of this.
.....
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(End of Chapter)