Aegon took his eyes off the comical, milky-white ball and turned to Daenerys beside him.
"Tell me," he said. "What situation are you in now?"
Daenerys fell silent for a moment, then told him every detail of the predicament she had faced over the past two months.
The Great Masters acknowledged her as queen in public, but in truth, they had stripped her of all power and confined her to the Great Pyramid.
More than twenty smaller pyramids had sealed their gates. The nobles had taken large numbers of slaves inside with them, blocked the exits, and even piled up flammable materials within-a seemingly mad and foolish act that, in fact, exploited Daenerys's weakness perfectly.
They were betting that Daenerys would not burn the slaves alive along with them, that this would keep her from daring to set the pyramids ablaze with dragonfire.
And events had proved them right. That only emboldened them further.
Some of the envoys and negotiators Daenerys sent were driven back. Others simply "disappeared."
Her commands could not even leave the Great Pyramid.
She had only two thousand soldiers and three small dragons. Without her dragons, she was merely a frail young girl.
And so she was trapped here.
After hearing her out, Aegon offered no judgment. Instead, he asked, "Do you know which noble families of Great Masters are in Meereen now?"
Though puzzled by his question, Daenerys nodded and listed them one by one. "House Pal, House Dhaznak, House Loraq, House Ghazrak, House Kandaq, House Rhaeznak..."
Aegon listened quietly. When she finished, he asked, "Can you still speak with these nobles of Meereen?"
Daenerys had no idea what he intended, but answered honestly. "Barely. Some pyramids have sent lesser nobles or their children as representatives to negotiate. My title of 'Queen of Meereen' was