Under the shining rays of the midday sun, a mighty galleon, large enough that it could rank among the 20 largest seafaring vessels in the world, was smoothly cutting its way through the rough waves of the ocean with nary a shudder.
Four other vessels, similar in make and carrying the same white wolf flags at the top, surrounded the luxurious ship on its three sides, leading its way and acting as its protectors; only these had much thinner bodies and fewer sails, making them faster and more responsive in case of a fight.
The rooms inside the great Galleon were also much larger than the ones that were usually available because, unlike other ships that were made with the idea of stuffing as many men as they could inside their holds, this ship seemed to have been created purely for the purpose of making sure that its inhabitants had all the creature comforts that they would have normally enjoyed on land.
And these included comfortable beds, large baths, and food ingredients that could remain fresh for months on end, and which a cook could use to deliver warm dishes whenever desired.
Even amongst the Old Noble families of the Free Cities, few would travel with such extravagances, not because they don't have the gold for this; they do, but because even the wealthiest would consider making vessels like this with pure luxury in mind to be a waste of money and time.
After all, in their opinions, a ship was either a means of travel or a vessel of war, nothing more...
One would need to have a special kind of thinking (probably from the future) to know how leisurely sea travel could be, and as it stood, the wealthy people of this world were still a little inexperienced in the art of spending their gold compared to their billionaire counterparts.
Anyway, back to Galleon, inside the biggest room in its hold, which was even larger than most top rooms at famous inns on land, there was a lively gathering going on.
Three cosy cots had been lined up against the wall, and on the middle cot, two young girls sat cross-legged with smiles on their faces, whispering to each other and surrounding them on all sides were a sea of colourful dresses, dozens of beautiful trinkets, and lots and lots of gold and silver jewellery.
The whole place looked as if it were the home of a thief who had raided all the street stalls catering to the female population in an entire city.
"Hehe, you look so ugly in this, Sansa," Arya snickered with a delighted grin on her face as she pushed her shiny new Far-eyes right up against her sister's face, making her face grow large enough that it even made the prettiest girl in the North look like a toad.
"Go away, Arya!" Sansa said as she irritatedly swiped her hand at the new toy he little sister had begged their father to buy back in Myr, "Bother me again, and I will break it," she warned with a glare before she immediately turned back to the dresses in her hand and smiled, "So which one do you think is better? This one or this one?" she asked expectantly as she raised one pink and one red dress in her hands.
"Did you not already have two matching pink ones that you brought back in Tyrosh last time?" Daenerys answered without looking up as she focused on threading the needle through the seams of the yellow skirt in her hand.
Somehow, even though it fit her perfectly just a month ago, the dress had now become unbearably tight.
She didn't know if it was because she had grown up too much in a matter of a month, or if it was because she was with the Starks now, and was following them in eating a healthy, balanced diet and had just filled up naturally.
"So why not give the pink one to your friend Jeyne, and keep the red one for yourself? After all, having three similar dresses would be a bit too wasteful, wouldn't it?" Daenerys said, amusedly as her eyes moved along the mountain of dresses thrown haphazardly around them on the bed.
"...do you think that I brought too many of them?" Sansa asked with a hint of embarrassment on her face.
"Just a little," Daenerys answered with a wry smile on her face.
"But... you know I had no choice, right?" Sansa beseeched with a desperate expression on her face, as if she were a criminal explaining her reasons, "There were just so many of them, and they all came in so many wonderful colours that I had never seen before. Not to mention that each city had their own unique designs and material, and who knows if we will ever get a chance to come here again, a-and I couldn't have just brought clothes for myself, right? I also had to buy gifts for others s-so..." The girl went on and on before she eventually ran out of words, and just raised her hands in frustration, "If anything, it's all Jon's fault."
"And how would it be his fault?" Daenerys asked with a roll of her eyes, "He is not even here," she muttered as she pulled the thread tight, and after smoothing the fabric in her palm, she bit off the excess part with her teeth, revealing a smooth stitch that seemed almost invisible, leaving her very satisfied with her work.
It had taken her many a long night spent doing hard labour under the tutelage of the Lady Stark during their voyage before she had become this skilled in the art of sewing.
And while she could not yet do anything resembling the absurdly intricate designs that Sansa and her mother were capable of, she was at least now competent enough that she wouldn't be stumped by little tears in her dresses.
"Because he made it all free," Sansa uttered with a desperate look on her face, "Do you know how tempting it for someone to tell a young girl that she can buy everything she wants from all the shops in all the free cities with no limit, and without anyone having to pay a single coin... how is anyone even supposed to resist something like that?" she said with a wronged expression.
"It wasn't exactly free, you know," Daenerys murmured in a small voice, but Sansa was not completely wrong either, as at least it was all 'free' for all of them.
The reason being that most of the small and big Merchants selling in the Free Cities, at least the ones they had visited until now, had in one way or another a good business relationship with Jon's Northern Wolf Company, either as a supplier or as importers.
And almost every one of them seemed to have been familiar with Merchant Sam, who was somewhat of the Company's face.
This essentially meant that they were greeted enthusiastically whenever they entered a shop, and that was not all, as they found out Jon had open accounts with almost every single one of these shops.
And according to Merchant Sam, Jon had already told him very explicitly that his family was to have complete free rein to buy whatever they pleased on this trip, no matter how expensive it was, as he would happily foot the bill later.
So all in all, they could enter any shop, pick up any dress they fancy, and walk out openly without having any gold exchanged hands, and the shopkeepers would even happily escort them out, as if they had done them a favour by freeloading off of them... it was a very surreal experience for them all.
Even Daenerys had been extended that generous offer, and while she had been reluctant at first, her hesitation didn't last too long under the persuasion of the Stark females which even included Lady Stark, whose exact words were, 'The brat's has too much gold on his hands as it is, so there is no need for you to worry him becoming destitute,' and so the Targaeryen princess decided to go with the flow, and buy whatever she desired along the way with no inhibition whatsoever.
'It was all... a very liberating experience,'
But even with this free rein and her extravagant spending spree, Daenerys' pile of stuff was nowhere near as big as Sansa's was, who truly had given up all sorts of restraints and let herself go completely.
'But then again, he was her brother, so it is her right to spend his money freely,' Daenerys thought enviously as the image of her arrogant brother appeared in her mind before she shook it off.
"Stop it! Arya!" Sansa snapped again as she slapped her hand at her annoying sister who was once again at her face with that blasted far-eye.
"Haha, your nose looks so big in this," Arya teased as she jumped back, easily evading her sisters arm, all while keeping her focus on Sansa's face through her far-eye, "You should be called big-nose Sansa from now," she jibed gleefully, and then to add to the insult she began singing, "Sansa has a big nose! Sansa has a big nose!"
"You little—Come back here!" Sansa growled as she was finally provoked.
Throwing away the dress in her hand, the girl jumped up from her bed and lunged for the little brat, but just as it looked as if another one of their chase sequence was about to commence, where Daenerys would have to work hard to eventually mediate, the door to their cabin slammed open.
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