Back on the deck of the ship, his men were in the final rounds of their preparations. The rest of his fleet had joined in formation and were waiting on his instructions.
Mago and Elaenys waited outside of his door, both equipped for battle. Mago, the hulking giant, wore new plate and on his shoulder he casually rested a warhammer. He dawned a hungry grin when he locked eyes with Laevon. One Laevon matched with enthusiasm.
Elaenys on the other hand only wore padded leathers and held a thin sword on her waist. Her silver hair was braided and tucked neatly into the padded leather. Her face was neutral, only offering a small smile when she noticed them. Her gaze lingered on the horizon as she fidgeted with the thin sword strapped to her side.
He grimaced at the sight of her, he truly did not want her fighting, but he had been forced to give up on that option. The woman had been adamant about 'doing her part' and wouldn't take no for an answer. It had taken him all but ordering her to get her to wear padded leathers. She had been trained in the style of the water dancers and was vehement that she wear as little armor as possible.
Her sword was deadly and his worry was unwarranted. She had been through more true battles than he and yet the worry for her never ceased.
"Stop starrin' at me like a naked whore capin'. No time for ya fucking eyes right now." she said
He rolled his eyes at the woman, "How are the preparations? Is the crew ready?" he asked Mago as he walked to the hull of the ship.
"Men are ready, my lord. Ready to show the Whores of Valyria what a Sea Dragon truly is!" the man boasted, clapping his chest piece proudly.
Laevon nodded and turned to his Sailing Master "You know the path? Or will you need the map?"
"I know the fucking way. Don't need your sodding map." she said he eyes narrowing at his offence.
Laevon eyed her for a few moments before slowly nodding his head, "Lets get going then. Syrio signal the retreat and hurry. The whoremongers have a date with death and we don't want them being late."
"Yes, my lord" Syrio said before rushing off to the flag post.
The captains of the other ships had been notified of the plan beforehand and would due their part.
"You two get to your positions" he said, dismissing the other.
Mago nodded and stalked of to his position near the front of the ship, he was to make sure his men stayed in their positions in the battle. Elaenys did not move, she stared and looked at him in a moment of hesitation.
"You not getting cold feet now are you?"
She looked indignant at his suggestion and spat on the ground " I was worried about ya, now I'm not. You sure know how to dry a ladies loins, my lord. Must be a trait amongst ye lords."
He laughed at her statement "How would you know how 'ye lords' are? I'm the only lord you've met."
"If you are like the rest of em, than I got a good idea about what you lot are like."
"I guess" he shrugged, and he couldn't really say otherwise, most of the other nobles were far worse than him, but she did not need to know that. He didn't plan on introducing her to court nor did she want that. "What was it you were going to say?"
She did not reply, instead only looked him in the eyes. Her eyes bored deep into him, searching desperately for something within him.
It was as if he was being silently interrogated. Not knowing what to do, he chose to be honest and gave himself true to her. He did not speak but only let his true emotions flood as much as possible through his gaze. All the love, the trepidation, anger, fear, annoyance and anything and everything else he felt or had felt for her, he laid bare. Hoping that she would find what she was looking for. In turn he searched her eyes.
The outside world bled away as two vibrant and beautiful amethyst orbs overtook his vision. Trepidation, uncertainty, love, and hope floated to the surface under his scrutiny. There were more, many more, below in depths that he could not yet dive. But a challenge he looked forward to beating.
Those amethyst orbs are- just as she is- balls of contradictions and frustrations; and they are the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
If he had been blessed with the skills of a painter, he would have made it his life's work to replicate them on canvas for future generations to behold. It would be man's greatest accomplishment, surpassing even Aegon's Conquest in his mind.
The more he looked into them the more he smiled.
Under his intense gaze, her face began to brighten a lovely shade of crimson. She held his gaze for a moment longer as the blush seeped down to her neck and stretched to her ears. Eventually, just as he started to get worried, she looked away. Pulling him out of his daze he let out a small chuckle.
"Look at you, blushing like a maiden. Am I truly so handsome?"
She scoffed at his statement and stepped closer to him, the red slowly fading away, "Don't get ahead of yourself lordling. Your face may be pretty, but I'm more fond of your cock." she said. She made to cup his crotch but only grabbed a hand full of metal.
She didn't seem to mind, as she caressed the metal gently. He could almost feel her hands touching his manhood. He could feel her hot breath on his face. With a smirk she leaned in close and whispered,
"Be a shame if it left me, I enjoy it much. Keep it safe will you? I got plans wit it later." she patted the metal protecting his nethers.
Before he could reply she gave him a peck on the lips and sauntered off to her station. Which happened to be right next to him at the helm, where she would help guide him.
His groin grew tight and let out a groan of his own as he shifted awkwardly to adjust his nethers. He took a deep breath to stabilize himself, he would deal with her later he had a battle to win.
"Ready the sails men and lets get her moving, we gotta whore to deliver!" he shouted as he made his way to helm. The men who could hear him responded with a cheer and got to work spreading his orders.
Syrio and Elaenys had already taken up their positions on either side of the wooden helm when he arrived. He nodded to Syrio and noted that the retreat flag had been raised. He could see his ships already begin to make their turns. With the retreat flag raise all that was left was for the Lyseni to get a closer before the race truly began.
In the distance, about south east, he could see specks of ships on the horizon. A thin line of them dotting the distance growing slightly closer every second.
"My far eye?" he asked with an outstretched hand.
A moment later something metal and slightly warm was drop into his hands. He twisted it until it was extended to its full length and then brought it to his eye. It was blurry at first until his vision cleared and he could see each ship as if it was floating right next to him. He observed them for some time, adjusting the zoom as they grew closer.
They were much smaller ships than his *Sea Dragon*, though most were. They were mostly galleys, with a few cogs interspersed. No longships, they weren't very useful in open water like this.
From what he could see each ship seemed to hold about fifty men give or take, but they did not see the best equipped. He grinned at that.
The triarchy had sent majority of the good and wealthy sellsails and swords to engage his father and Daemon. Seeing them as a far bigger threat than he. What all the Lyseni had been able to gather was the dregs, those sell sails who did not have the coin to equip their men with the best gear.
All the sellswords on this side of the Essos had already been bought. Majority by the triarchy and Daemon. A small amount had been bought by the old-blood Volantis to spite the Triarchy and a few more by the other Free Cities to keep their cities protected. Any that they could manage to pull from afar, unlikely given that work in Slaver's bay was very lucrative, would take too long to arrive. So it was the bottom of an already scrapped barrel that the Lyseni pulled from. Men that had more akin with pirates than decent sellsails.
Laevon knew they were still deadly, maybe even moreso in some ways, but they were far more desperate to prove themselves and earn their coin and far less skilled than the men he had with him. It was just this combination he planned to use to his benefit. He handed the far-eye back to Syrio who would hold onto it until he needed again.
His fleet while smaller was much better trained and armed than his opponents. His own *Sea Dragon*
had a crew of about a hundred and fifty people, but it could hold almost triple that amount at full capacity, a hundred of those were fit and equipped for combat. The rest of the ships in his fleet, galleys that have been improved to be slightly faster, each held fifty men who were in fighting conditions and well equipped.
Satisfied with what he'd seen, he turned away from the coming ships. They had reached close enough for them to begin a proper chase. By now the sails of the ships could start to be seen with some clarity. It was time to leave.
"Let's go." he said as he gripped the helm and began to turn it. He sent a mental command to Seafoam, who was waiting under the ship, to follow them but to stay deep in the ocean.
Her white and blue scales could blend in with the water with ease, but even then she was large and easy to spot when close to the surface. He did not want his enemies to get spooked by her and flee before the battle could truly begin.
With his ships fleeing, the Lyseni smelt blood in the water and hastily gave chase, just as he wanted.
He had made sure the rumor had spread through the triarchy that he was in charge of this fleet, and with his head came a hefty price. One that the beggared sellswords would foam at the mouth for. He had even done them the favor of spreading the personal banner a white Sea Dragon on a Velaryon blue field. The same image that was vividly painted on his main sail.
The turn took time giving the Lyseni more time to close the gap. Before long his ship had straightened out and they were on the move. The smaller ships fell in formation with his. He kept the speed of his ships at a moderate pace slowing the galleys down to just slightly below normal. His own ship had not even lifted all three of its sails, having only two of them raised. He did not want to outpace his enemy by too much, he needed them at the right distance.
After around a half hour he looked over his shoulder to see his foes had gained distance and were only about four or five ship lengths behind his furthest back ships. He could almost hear the jeers and bloodthirsty howls from the slavers. It only made the reaping he was about to inflict even better.
Although the situation was meant to be a tense one, he could not help but feel relaxed. The sound of the waves lapping against his ships as they cut through the waves, the salty taste of the sea, the breeze on the wind, and the piercing heat of the sun. It all calmed his mind. It felt just like any other day on the sea. He was at home on the waves, this was his territory, one that no one could deny or control him in.
It was moments of peace like this were he understood his fathers restlessness so much. The man had spent most of his life like this, free on the waves only the vast expanse of waves to greet him every moment. It was a freedom most couldn't understand, but he did.
He got so comfortable he started to whistle as he steered, using the directions Elaenys was providing from his side.
"You'd think we weren't about to slaughter men the way he's acting" Eleanys said from his side. She was constantly switching between looking ahead where they were going and glancing over her shoulder at the closing Lyseni fleet.
Syrio did not respond, but Laveon could see a small smile on his face out his sideye. The man had his hand resting on the hilt of his blade tense since they had set sail. It was the most they were going to get out him for now.
"I swear Syrio, you act more like a Kingsgaurd than then the Kingsgaurd themselves" Laevon said
"He's got a stick the size a tree up his ass, that why he's so stiff. Maybe one o' them Lyseni whores on the ship will pull it out for him." Eleanys joked
"I do not thin-"
"Land Ahead!" a few of his men began to shout, the sound just barely making it over the lapping of the seas. Laevon held out his hand and the far-eye was handed to him. He peaked through it and adjusted the magnification decreasing it slightly to get a better visual.
Land did come into view. Two decently size islands only about a few hundred meters of water separating them, making a small straight. Just enough room two and a half galleys to pass through at once. The strait was about a half mile in length and the land on either side was jagged an high cliffs. It was just the place they were looking for, The Merchant's Grave. A former merchant's shortcut turned pirate ambush spot and used for more than a hundred years before a Tyroshi-Myr alliance cleansed the island about fifty odd years ago. Now it was no more than smugglers shortcut through the stepstones. It had been mostly forgotten over the last few years, lost in the hundreds of islands, big and small, that made up the stepstones. Now, it would become the beginning of his legend.
He handed the far-eye back to whoever had given it to him and looked behind them. The Lyseni were still zealously following them, having no clue what awaited them, they had closed the distance even further. In another hour or so they might have caught up to the their furthest back ship. Now they were far too close to turn around.
He fixed their course to head to the strait, it would be the grave of these sellsails and the end of the Lyseni fleet in the southern Stepstones.
"If this goes well, we might be able to take the city." Syrio said from the side
Laevon and Elaenys laughed at the comment "Just focus on killing sword fucker, leave the thinking to us."
"What she means is that it would be folly to attack the city. We could sack the harbor, *maybe*, but anymore than that would probably be a fools errand. The Lyseni almost assuredly have men stationed on that Island." Laevon interrupted before Syrio could reply. "Let us focus on the present for nor, my good man. We can think about spoils and plunder later."
"Yes, my lord. But I will address the title Eleanys said earlier when we are done" Syrio said
Laevon only shrugged, not bothering to interfere, nor would his companion want him to. Elaenys only scoffed at the challenge but did not reply.
"Let us go the Merchants Grave and bury some whoremongers!" he shouted, and it was followed by the cheers of his men, at least those who could hear him!
"Raise the Sail!" he commanded and the command was repeated more than a dozen times before it reached the front and the last sail rose. The flag was changed from the yellow retreat flag, to the orange full speed flag. His ships rapidly began to pick up pace as they cut through the sea towards the straight.