How About No? 7 (Patreon)

How About No?

Chapter 7

-VB-

Shiera Seastar

“... No?” she repeated in honest surprise.

Not many dared to tell her no, never mind even entertaining the idea of refusing her. She was Shiera Seastar, one of the Targaryens. She was one of the most powerful people in the world, perhaps its most powerful woman!

And he just said no to her? In such … blase manner?

“What do you think you are doing?” the knight ground out from behind the man.

“Alan” looked over his shoulder.

“Look,” he began with a tired sigh as if all of this was a boring affair. As if her offer was boring. As if she was boring. “I think you have to consider this from where I stand. Why would I involve myself in the affairs of the royals, nobles, and the court when I have nothing to gain?”

“Nothing to gain? Nothing to gain?! You would have the favor of the Targaryens!” the knight retorted. “You would be working from the center of the Seven Kingdoms -!”

“And be poisoned when I piss off the wrong person,” Alan drawled, and that brought up the knight short as it did for Shiera. “Sure, most poisons won’t work on me but it’s a matter of time until someone did find that poison that did work on me.”

“You claim immunity to poison?” Shiera asked, trying to distract the man so that he would not be focused on not wanting to go to King’s Landing.

Alan looked back at her. “I spoke too much,” he replied as he closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again and looking at her in the eyes.

She shivered. She saw no fear in those eyes. Was it refreshing or irksome to encounter that in someone she did not yet see as her peer?

… No, that thought stemmed from her upbringing. It was wrong. This man was not her peer. He was her superior in magic, which was a power that was innate to the user and thus not reliant on politics and influence. He was as much a knight as the knight behind her was a warrior; she had to treat and consider him with respect lest she angers him.

“A talent like yours could save many people, especially in the capital,” she said, this time trying for a compassion route. “Would you not join me for their sake then?”

“No.”

Again, no. Rejected, again.

“What can you possibly find outside of King’s Landing that is not already there?”

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Decency, innovation, and peace. As long as I stay there, I will find none of it.”

Now, she felt attacked. “You dare call King’s Landing, a city founded by my ancestors, to be useless?” What else was a city without peace and innovation? Decency was a matter of subjective, so she wouldn’t even bother.

He raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring her roiling outrage. “Nothing has changed in the way people live in these lands for the past two thousand years,” he replied. “The plow a farmer uses, the material a blacksmith uses to make swords, the style of fighting used by knights, the commerce that occurs, and the like.”

She blinked. He … wasn’t a peasant. He wasn’t just a magician but also a scholar.

It was here that she realized where she went wrong. She expected a magician like any other she encountered and conversed with in the past month. If it was simply that, then they would have joined her after her first offer. Reluctance would have given away to the temptation of power and importance.

A scholar, a true scholar, didn’t care for power, especially when it interfered with their search for knowledge. It was why there was a distinct lack of maesters in numbers necessary for the operation of the Red Keep; there was only one Maester but he only ever participated in the Small Council! Even a handful would not be enough!

“So you want to go to the Citadel, I see,” she hummed. If that wa-.

“No. Where did you get that idea?”

She stopped.

So he wasn’t a maester or seeking to become one but a magician. He knew things just like a scholar would but didn’t care to join the Citadel, the largest repository of knowledge.

“Then what are you going to be doing?” she asked in confusion.

-VB-

Alan Marris

This girl had way too many questions.

But I also had taken the time so far to assess the situation. I needed just one more push to see where I stood.

I took a swivel from one of my potion gourds, the Elixir of Defense.

“None of your business.”

It was a rude rejection that would see exactly how she perceived me and what she would do.

It, apparently, was too much for the knight. There was a scrap of metal and a hiss. Shiera looked surprised with wide eyes and the blade struck my neck … and failed to do anything more than bounce off.

Yeah, I did the right thing in drinking that potion. I would be dead otherwise.

I looked over my shoulder and glared at the knight. He looked stunned for a second before a horrifying realization set in.

He just attacked a magician.

I looked back at Shiera. She too looked horrified.

“I think … I’ve stayed my welcome,” I said with an exaggerated sigh. It was necessary, however, because my heart was pounding inside my chest.

I almost just died! For verbally pushing a little!

“Y-Yes…” she muttered but didn’t do anything else. The knight too stutter-stepped aside.

It was a good shock factor, though. Hopefully, it’ll keep her and whoever else was interested in me away for some time. Hopefully, long enough for me to leave Westeros and not get involved in its shenanigans.