Paying Her Debt

Content: Tywin Lannister does the right thing for the (maybe not so) right reason.

Rated M for later chapters

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Chapter 1: The Promotion

Alienor could hear the shouts half way down the stairs that led to the enormous kitchen of the castle. The blue shadows of dawn were just slowly reaching King's Landing, creeping into the chambers of the noble lords and ladies, most of whom were still asleep. But down in the kitchen a small army of cooks, bakers, and servants had been busy since dawn announced its coming through a faint glow at the horizon.

Soon the high-borns residing in the castle would wish to break the fast, some of them in the great hall, some in their solars and some – usually the ladies – still in their beds propped up against cushy pillows. So many people, so many locations, so many tastes…and all the food needed to be prepared swiftly without delays, mistakes, or interruptions.

The angry voice travelling through the whole kitchen area clearly was an interruption. It belonged to Sid Packer, one of the castle's two stewards and in charge of running everything related to the inside of the castle. He had the sole authority over the whole household administration, which gave him power over the lives of more than a hundred cooks, bakers, cleaners, maids, painters, and everybody else employed in the castle, except for the lucky ones that were the personal servant of a lord or lady. Handmaidens, for example, did not have to fear Packer's frequent fits of temper or even more frequent cold calculations about how many workers were truly necessary for efficiently running the household. Usually the result of his calculations were some poor souls, and sometimes whole families, being cast out on the streets after Packer had given them one full day to find employment elsewhere.

An uneasy feeling started to spread through her body while she slowly went closer to the kitchen. The shouting grew louder with every step.

From the day she had arrived at the castle with one sick little sister in tow and asking for work, Packer hadn't even tried to hide the fact that he would rather have her and her sister back where they came from. Luckily for her, the up-coming royal wedding and the pre festivities had significantly increased the workload for the kitchen staff. And even Packer couldn't deny that she was a good worker.

The shouting had stopped. Warily Alienor went around the last corner and nearly bumped into a female figure that dashed past her while sobbing and cursing. It was Ella, a very young, very pretty servant. A few months ago, previously to Alienor`s arrival, she had been promoted to serve food and wine during the many war councils and meetings of the lords and knights. Since then, she hadn't stopped boasting about what important people she saw, how impressive but fearsome Lord Tywin was, how seeing Lord Varys always made her cringe and how handsome all the guards to the council chambers were.

Alienor didn't like her. Ella was vain and took herself to seriously, but at the same time she respected the younger woman for her hard work and clear ambition to make something of herself even if it was only within the restricted world of the castle.

"One day", she had whispered to Alienor a few days ago while arranging Lord Baelish's supper on a tray. "One day, I will become a chamber maid, maybe even a handmaid. Not for a lady, of course, but maybe for a rich merchant's wife." Alienor had just smiled, but it had been an encouraging smile. Ella had already come far. At just 11 years old the daughter of a whore had caught Lord Baelish - who owned the brothel her mother still worked in - in a good mood and successfully pleaded with him to find employment for her as a kitchen maid. Lord Baelish, who had always liked people, who would not let themselves be restricted by the circumstances of their birth, had just written a short letter and sent her straight to Packer. Two days after her bold request, Ella had been scrubbing pots and pans in the kitchens, while her mother mourned the loss of all the money a noble man would undoubtedly have paid for the pretty girl's virginity. Six years later, Ella was serving the noblemen their supper instead of spreading her legs for them.

Alienor`s eyes followed the distressed girl. Something bad had happened. Ella never cried. No matter how often the cooks would snap at her for being too slow or too fast, no matter how often the female overseer – an old, fat woman – would scold her for being too vain, too cheeky or too clumsy, Ella would always just look them in the eye, hold her head even higher and continue her work with iron determination. It was hard work that had brought her that far, not tears. She had learned early in her life that crying would get her nowhere.

"You!" Alienor snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Packer, her eyes wide with fear. He was a tall, bony man with small, pale eyes, a big nose and nearly no hair. Nobody knew how old he was. The old, fat overseer said, he already had been around when she had arrived at King's Landing many years ago. Back then she had been a young woman, eager to support herself after she had left her husband, a drunk she had only married because of the baby in her belly, and whom she had left because he had beaten same baby out of her in one of his drunken states.

"Yes, sir?" Alienor slowly stepped forward, waiting to be scolded once again for having a sister that was too sick to work.

"Look at me." The steward narrowed his already small eyes and let his gaze sweep over her whole body before stopping on her face. "You will do."

"For wha-"

"The stupid girl will leave the castle. Unfortunately, Lord Tywin expects breakfast for him and his lords in exactly 15 minutes." Packer grabbed Alienor by her shoulder and pushed her in the direction of the kitchen. "Someone has to replace her and I can't just send an ugly, dirty kitchen wench up to them."

"But why is…" Alienor was confused. She was even more convinced that something bad had happened to Ella and something was happening to her as well. She just wasn't sure, yet, if it was good or bad.

Packer stopped in his tracks and incredulously looked at her. "Did you just dare to ask me a question?"

"No, sir, of course not. I was just…But I am a kitchen wench."

The steward just grimaced and continued his way. They had reached the main kitchen and he gestured toward the old, fat overseer. "Indeed you are. But you are nice to look at and not dirty, at least not yet. You will resume to your normal duties after serving breakfast, but until I have found a replacement for this whore, you will take care of serving the lords as well. Understood?" He didn't leave her enough time to answer and just vanished in the crowd of busy cooks and frantic kitchen maids.

"Well, girl, it's your lucky day." The overseer slowly heaved her enormous body from the stool she was sitting on and shouted at the cooks that they should hurry with Lord Tywin's breakfast. Except for Packer, she was the only one in the kitchen who was allowed to shout at everybody. There were rumours that sometimes she would even shout at Packer. "You just got promoted."

Alienor blankly stared at her. "But, I don't know how to serve!" She had never been near a high-born. Although being from a far better background than Ella, she had only seen the lords and ladies from a distance. She seldom could escape the kitchen and when she wasn't working she was either catching up sleep or tending to her little sister while girls like Ella and the chambermaids were seeing to the noble's comfort.

"Not much to know about", the overseer said and started assembling several plates on a big tray. "Knock on the door, go in, place everything on the table and go out again. Don't drop anything, don't say anything, don't even make a curtsy. Don't do anything that could get their attention and disturb them. In and out, like a little pretty ghost." The old woman grabbed the tray and pushed it into Alienor's hands. Her words were rough and here expression was stern, but for the first time Alienor could see that she had kind eyes.

The young woman grabbed the wooden tray with sweating hands. It was heavy and with dread she though about the long way up to the Tower of the Hand. Alienor left the kitchen and headed towards the stairs. When she passed the small hall in which the cooks and kitchen maids used to have their meals, she saw Ella sitting at the far end of the table, piercing a big bowl of porridge with red, teary eyes. Knowing Packer, it was probably her last meal in the castle. Alienor hurried past her, crossed the wide courtyard that was just starting to get busy and finally reached the Tower of the Hand.

Four hundred and thirty-five steps later she reached a massive, wooden door that was guarded by two Lannister men, who, in her opinion, were not handsome at all.

"You will get used to the stairs", the younger one reassured her and let his gaze linger on her flushed face long enough to make her flush even more. Alienor felt vulnerable. Being out of breath, carrying a tray that got heavier by the minute, hair strands breaking free of her neatly braided plait and the terrifying prospect of meeting the most powerful men in the Seven Kingdoms made her feel unable to cope with the advances of a young soldier, who probably was too full of himself despite of his only task being to stand still in front of a door all day.

"Are the Lords already waiting?" She deliberately addressed the older guard, who had a wedding band around his finger. Not that this had ever stopped a man, but he paid considerably less attention to her heaving bosom.

The man just shook his head. "They haven't arrived yet. But Lord Tywin is already in the council chamber, so go ahead."

Alienor nodded in thanks and quickly slipped through the door that the soldier kindly had opened for her. The overseer had told her that the council chamber would be on the right hand side of the corridor. While Alienor desperately tried to remember if it was the first or the second door, suddenly the meaning of the guard's words hit her. Lord Baelish and Lord Varys or anybody else hadn't arrived yet. That meant only Lord Tywin would be present. Her hands trembled worse than before when she finally stopped in front of the second door.

Very well. Ella was going to sleep in the streets and Alienor had no intention of joining her. She would be quiet, swift and efficient. She would spill nothing. Lord Tywin wouldn't even notice her and even if he did, he couldn't be worse than Packer. Determined Alienor shifted the tray's weight, supported half of it with her knee and used her free hand to quietly open the door to the spacious council chamber.

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A/N: Apologies for any spelling mistakes and wrong grammar. English is not my native language, and if anybody happens to be interested in beta reading I would be more than happy to hear from you.