One breath, and then another, and another, and another.
As the clattering of the horses hooves grew duller, she kissed the child one last time before bracing herself for the harsh visages of those onlooking. She wished away the widow's tears forming in her eyes, pursing her lips in order to harden her resolve. She turned, instantly focusing herself on the sheen of the vigorously polished mahogany of the great oval table which so consumed this chamber. Between her and the hazy reflection of herself lay all the curves and shades of the Weeping Lady, that most ubiquitous and ignominious figures.
Broken or not, she was still their Queen, and she'd be damned if she let them forget it.
She held the child closer and kissed his temples tenderly.
"I shall sell the sword."
The two men did not even exchange so much as a look, so united were they in their resolve. The stouter of the two pushed away the lowest-hanging of his red curls to look her straight in the eye.
"We bear the sword."
She stroked her stomach, swollen as it was, placing the plump, rosy boy in his cot. The younger of the brothers preempted her before she could muster a reply.
"We will go to Myr, there is coin to be made in the west... When we have enough coin we'll return for you...you must make do until then."
"And the children?"
He frowned and looked at his brother before conceding. "Aye, them too.."
"You must make do, Serala, that's all there is to it."
She found no security in those words but there was not much else to hold onto in these dark and dangerous times. Few friends were left her, fewer still capable of doing anything for her and her children. In a cave so dark and desolate as the one she found herself in, a mad bat or two was nothing to fear.
Her mouth was all bitter but her resolve was beaten steel. "I will bear a daughter, and she will wed him. From their union the dragons will be reborn and Valyria forged again from flames beyond count. They shall bear the sword, and fire and blood will follow in their wake. Come back or do not come back, I-"
The stouter of the brothers straightened his back, sighing heavily so as to cut her off. "The company can do nothing for you now, and I for one will not be surprised if it is done entirely before this coming war season is through. The monster has left no one to lead us, and each man makes plans of his own for the future, for there is no whoring of yours in the world which will suffice to feed us all."
The two stood and left as she heaped curses upon them in her heart of hearts. The child, already free from the constraints of his cot and set out onto the finely carpeted floor, scampered off after them but turned in shock and sadness as his rotund form crashed against the shut door. Her mother, who had said nothing until now, stood and walked over to him, the boy for his part wrapping his grubby hands around her index finger as she lead him over to the Myrish glass at the far end of the room, where all her concoctions of beauty and apparel lay spread out in display. The two exchanged a meaningful look but said nothing, Serala casting her sights back out the window at the passage-way from whence her husband's messengers of death had so recently made their escape from this hell she called home.