CHAPTER 2.

❞𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐒...❞

THE SOUND OF RUSTLING CHAINS embarked the sound of episodic waves, against the hull. Golden threads of morning light glisten through the deck's floorboards above, occupied by busy men. A bitter fog clung to the bounteous waters of the sea. Gentle rays cascaded amongst her porcelain cheeks. Celeste's eyes gently fluttered open, and her hand shaded the warm rays that kissed her eyelids. She inhaled deeply, her opposite hand brushed over a bristle-like material; straw.

Celeste ignored the small, translucent, droplets that trickled through the floorboards above. She propped herself up, using her elbows. Slow and shallow breaths exited her nostrils, as her eyes adjusted to the cramped cell she sat in.

Other women, both in different variations of sizes, and shapes, accompanied her in a cell opposite side of the room. She jumped to her feet, aproximently almost losing her balance.

Her head felt heavy, and her eyes momentarily closed. Celeste's hand gripped onto a cool, metal, bar. She kept her palm rested against her forehead until that heavy feeling retreated. A piercing cry startled her, making her heart skip a beat. Across the room, was a cell with four other women and a young boy. The child was aproximently four years of age, his shallow wails made her mind finally comprehend her whereabouts.

Unease swelled inside her chest, like a pathogen amongst a healthy tree. Celeste could feel the rhythm of her heart exceed its speed. Her palms gripped the bars, and panic settled within her chest. She couldn't recall her last desperate attempt to hold onto her freedom. In wine there was wisdom, and the sweet fragrance carried freedom amongst Westeros. In a strange paradox, she despised the saying. Henceforth, she no longer had faith in the saying her father; Corlys, once told her when she was young.

"Where are we heading?" the words spilled from Celeste's lips, as she replayed the thin thread of events she could recall.

"We're on the Albatross, en route to Mereen. Where we'll be serving our new masters. I didn't think you were going to make it when you arrived." a dark-haired woman confessed. 

By appearance, she was younger than Celeste perceived. Only a teenager, she clutched onto the young boy, who was easily intimidated by the slightest sound or the sight of the men on board.

Obsidian waves draped over the sides of her face, concealing the beautiful features of her face. Her golden-hued skin was coated in a small layer of grime. The woman kept her eyes lowered to the straw below her, hoping she didn't upset Celeste with her confession. Celeste rubbed her raw wrists from the cuffs that kept her wrists bound.

Her eyes shone with fear, "How long have I been out for?" Celeste exclaimed, alarmed. Her gaze withdrew from the bars and to the bowl of spoiled food in her cell. Celeste crinkled her nose to the disgusting smell the bottom of the ship possessed.

The women's eyes raised in thought, "Around two and a half days," she concluded, in a serene voice.

In the distance, a pinprick of torchlight bobbed down the stairs. Dense thuds of footsteps silenced Celeste and the brunette's conversation. The man was dressed in silver-plated armour, darker than most armours she's laid eyes on. His eyes were cold and deprived. The man's features were encrypted by a helmet and a dark purple cloth that hung over his nose.

"Elkhah Ohrijah!" the man's voice boomed down upon the room, in an unfamiliar language.

Celeste flinched at the tone of his voice. She forced her grip away from the bars and took a seat on the empty barrel in her cell. He drew closer to her cell and came to a halt. The man pulled his sabre free and primed it. Despite her rank, she knew she wasn't getting off this boat, even with a bribe. The impression given told her these men held no honour, and any form of bargains remained unlikely.

Celeste's mind couldn't comprehend their language, and her mouth parted in hesitation before speaking, "What does he say?" she demanded.

"He told us to shut up." the brunette replied, simply.

Her thoughts juddered to a halt, she stood up. A small store of courage evaporated from her chest, as the man hammered his fist against her cell.

"I acquire to speak with your Captain," Celeste demanded, unwilling to allow the nascent hope to retreat from her gut. A second man followed behind the man with the sabre, holding a bowl of food and a wooden spoon.

"Elcha sokhan. Ghele'am vallarh, quar verrethe ner." the man's companion coughed, reedy, and hallow as if he was deprived of sleep.

"Quiet dog, if it were up to me you would be dead." the brunette translated, fluently.

Celeste's nostrils flared to the insult, her fingers curled into tight fists. Her eyebrows creased, and her lip twitched in aggravation. Celeste's gaze snapped to the women in the opposite cell.

"Tell me how to say: I acquire to speak with your Captain?" Celeste asked the brunette, praying she wouldn't be punished for speaking.

"Vhaljth alle'khe uhl eghullath-" the brunette raised her voice.

"Eckhah!"
"Back!" the man threatened. His yell was raspy and broad, forcing the woman to retreat to the farthest part of her cell. Obediently, she sat quietly, her legs crossed, and her fist pressed against her cheek.

Celeste fought back the escalating quail that bubbled within her breast. Her flint-like gaze pierced the men that retreated to the main deck, full of regret, and frustration. She rubbed her raw eyes, and she fought to regain her composure.

"I'm sorry, I-I tried..." the woman murmured under her breath, loud enough for Celeste to catch onto. Celeste remained silent, she took a seat on the makeshift bed of hay. Her back rested against the bars on her left. 

Within those indefinable moments, she couldn't comprehend what she felt. It burrowed into her flesh and bones. She sat up in a comfortable position, her heart trembling to the thought of arriving upon Mareen's retched and dry terrain.

"Give it a rest. No point talkin' a lot. All you'll get is angry gurgles. And they puff up, you notice? Like fish...what are they called?" the woman pondered in thought.

A faint sigh escapes Celeste's nostrils before replying, "No, you don't understand who I am. Easily, these men could blackmail anyone in Westeros with my head. I am the firstborn daughter of the Master of Ships. If my father discovers my whereabouts and anything these men have done to me, no one is getting off this ship alive." Celeste scowled, resting the choice and the urge to threaten the men who retreated to the deck.

With a suppressed curse, the brunette quietly mumbled Celeste's name. Her eyes narrowed to a pinprick after quietly listening to Celeste's given point.

"Lady Velaryon, if I were you I would catch some shut-eye. We've got a long voyage ahead." the brunette suggested.

"You can lose the formalities, please call me Celeste." Celeste insisted. The brunette smiled sweetly and nodded as a form of acknowledgment.

"And what may I call you?" Celeste added.

"Jade Gui and this is my brother Brandon Gui. We were the first to settle upon the Albatros, were from Yi-Ti." Jade yawned. Her brother rested his head against the cool bars of their cell door. Jade folded herself onto her side, propping her elbow beneath her head.

Celeste's mouth parted to the ominous silence. She refused to believe the city of the Golden Age held its ground to this day. Only a story, once told by her mother during her youth. An ancient city, dating back beyond the Age of the First Men. 

Corlys spoke minor detail about the city of Yi-Ti, reminding her how her family built their opposition and rank through trading spices. Earning the biggest Navy of the Seven Kingdoms came to a cost, and certainly, it wasn't cheap.

Celeste stared at the bowl of crimson-coloured slop. Her nose crinkled in disgust, and she remained with caution. She fought the urge to fill her empty stomach, even if it was poison. And her stomach ached to the thought. She straightened the discoloured white, calico, partly ripped dress, she wore before retreating to her thin line of thoughts.

****

The hour was late, and the slaves rested, quietly. Delicate silhouettes of moonlight amidst of dreamy and silver hues reflected through the thin cracks of the deck. Offering a comfortable beauty to the graphite night.

"Sleep is not what I need. Someone I could communicate with, that's what I want." Celeste muttered. Momentarily, her eyelids retreated close to the soft sounds of snoring, that echoed throughout the bottom level of the ship. Her eyes were moulded to the wooden wall, unseeing, and agitated, as she remained in the tainted shadows.

The cinnamon-coloured floorboards faintly creaked. Continuously, shaping over time by the soles of a visitor. A man slowly stalked out from the shadows, from beneath the stairs, his gaze fixated on her.

"Greetings, Lady Velaryon. Remember me?" the man remarked, proudly. The man was tall and he remained on the heavier side. His beard was neatly kept and his auburn hair was kept short. He wore a yellow and black doublet, complementing the look with a pair of black pants. 

A cloak delicately draped over his broad shoulders, gracefully. Two leather straps intersected across his chest, consisting of two swords that were concealed beneath his cloak. Firmly, he crossed his arms, patiently awaiting her answer.

She remained silent, her gaze was blank like a sheet of paper. She was bewildered and puzzled.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've properly met," Celeste answered, cluelessly.

"Oh, but we have. Only, you were an infant." the man concluded with a cunning smile

"You're-"

"Malik O'Dimmn, known as the Master of Mirrors. I brought you across the narrow seas to the Velaryon family. We meet again and it seems you need my help. Again. I heard work awaits you in Mereen." Malik educated Celeste, while he drew closer to her cell. He crouched down and stared at the bowl of given supper they offered her.

"That's if this slop doesn't kill you first," Malik added, pointing to the the bowl of prepared summer the guards rationed for her.

"Haven't tried it yet." Celeste's brought up, earning a chuckle from Malik.

With a half-promised smile, he shook his head before speaking, "Hm. This doesn't look promising. Not unlike your situation. I could try to extract you from here." Malik paused, he shifted his head over his shoulder to the sound of footsteps on the main deck.

With caution, he lowered his voice when he spoke to her.

"Because you wish to disembark, do you not?"

"Yeah, but...what can you do-"

With a sly grin, he arose from his crouched position, he straightened his shoulders, proudly.

"Oh, more than you'd ever expect. I shall help you, Lady Velaryon. But I must know if you'll return the favour?" Malik rudely interrupted her, offering her his service in return for a favour.

Celeste hoisted herself up by holding onto a bar. 

She inhaled wearily, she understood nothing was reliant. Her heart sunk to the thought of returning a favour that might be costly, or a deed she will refuse to pursue. Celeste acknowledged her choices were scarce and rather irrational.

"Right. Can't possibly get something for nothing," she commented, disappointment embarking the melody of her voice. Malik knelt down and picked up the wooden spoon and began to fiddle with it.

He snapped his fingers and smiled, "Indeed. You're smarter than I took you for. When all's said and done, I am a merchant. So, do you accept my aid?" he pondered. They both knew he wasn't  a merchant, and something about him intrigued her.

"Yes," she answered, shallow. She neglected the uneasy feeling that rippled through her breast. Perhaps it was a foolish mistake, but it was one that would ensure her escape.

"It's a deal, my dear. Once it's all over, we shall meet at the crossroads of Kingslanding, near the broken pines. Ah, and I must give you something to remember me by." Malik snickered. With a wave of his hand. Heat rippled from the back of her left shoulder. 

She gripped onto the bars and her eyes squeezed shut. The pain was unbearable, a piercing wail escapes her lips before raw pressure crawls around the surface of her shoulder. Small embers cascaded into the air, and slowly erased into the oxygen.

She panted, wild, and conflicted with pain, as it blistered a path of aching clarity. Shame flooded her heels for showing weakness to the man who offered his service. Celeste pushed a stray tendril behind her ear before regaining her composure.

Her guilt was oppressive, a weight of Mereen's jagged mountains. Fragments of the past pierced her mind, while the scolding pain sizzled into silence. Reminding her to fulfill her side of the bargain.

"What was that?!" she scolded Malik for his manipulative tactics, he could have chosen not to give her the mark. But it was clear, he wanted to remind her of her favour.

Her gaze casted over her shoulder. A small, crimson, marking of a dragon was engraved into the flesh of her skin.

"A mark to show we're associates," Malik concluded. He snapped the spine of the spoon and his presence was erased like the embers that boiled from her back.

"Who are you off with?" Jade groaned.

Celeste rubbed her eyes and her brows creased in confusion, as he was nowhere to be seen.
A bubble of amusement trickled through her chest. She was convinced Malik was a mirage of her mind, a painted reminder of hope.

"Wh- no one." Celeste sighed.

Jade carefully navigated through her cell, over the slaves that rested on the floor. She gripped the rusted bars and commented, "Ah, I never liked boats. Not one bit." Jade concluded, with exhaustion.

A wild, airborne, lace, of strength crackled throughout the sky. Flashes of vibrant white accompanied the crackles of lightning. Crates began to shift to one side, tumbling against the gale. Beneath the Albatros the sea rises, anger in the form of water, acting as shields against intruders, turbulent and unforgiving.

Celeste's eyes were glued to the ceiling above her. Jade ignored the wrath of the storm, she turned her focus to the slaves that slept.

"They heave like devils, it makes my stomach churn each time. Ah, it would be prime through to sleep through the whole thing." Jade concluded, resting her arms through the bars. Celeste cast a weary look at the deck above.

A nocturnal screech made Celeste's heart stagger and tremble. The once feared screech she trembled to during her youth, after an accident that was caused earlier in her youth by a dragon. She feared Westros's mightiest creatures for what they were capable of doing.

"DRAGON!" the men on the deck hollered.

An impact of the dragon's body rocked the boat, creating an earsplitting crack. Celeste neglected the splinters of wood that cracked nearby her. She held onto the bars with an iron grip, attempting to stabilize herself. Pieces of wood shot across the bottom of the boat as water began to pool in, forcing her across her cell, knocking an exceeding amount of oxygen from her lungs. She fought to not swallow more water into her lungs, instead she continued force out the liquid. 

Celeste's limbs thrashed against the water, attempting to stabalise herself for the second attempt. Celeste's limbs and muscles felt like a feather. She clunged to her the walls of her cell, as her life depended on it. 

Screams and cries were made by the slaves who replicated Celeste's intentions of survival. Her cell door was forced open by a crate, and the edge collided against the side of her head. Her ears began to ring, rapidly. Darkness and light, fighting for dominance. Her vision fogged to the sight of a second large object drew towards her.

___________________

A/note: YAY! Another chapter is finally up! I am so pleased to hear you guys enjoyed the first chapter of A DANCE OF DRAGONS AND MORTALITY! This chapter I really adored creating, with the meeting of Malik O'Dimmn aka Master of Mirrors, a very intriguing character. I am so happy I made it to 14k so far! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I love pleasing my readers with an intriguing chapter, so I hope there wasn't any disappointments.

Creating a different language in this story was deffidently a challenge, but it was overally enjoyable. Daemon and a couple more characters are coming up in the next chapter that should be out soon. 

And I am sorry if it seemed like the update took forever, I really like perfecting my chapters, with edits, and changes if I don't like the first written draft. Also thank you so much for dedicating your valuable time to read my story, it means so much to me as an author.

Feel free to leave a vote or even a comment! Or even a theory what you might think happen. I love hearing from you guys!

-Hayley.