Tyrion Lannister strode across the deck of Daenerys' flagship, pondering his new position. From Acting Hand of the King to real Hand of the... Queen. From serving a gutless psychopath to a wise, rational- but dangerous- Queen. Late King Robert was probably rolling in his grave thinking about how a Targaryen was sailing over to reclaim the Iron Throne. No- actually, he had been rolling in his grave years before, with Cersei's bastard Joffrey on the throne, Cersei's blatant defiance of his last orders, the beheading of Ned Stark, and his brothers fighting each other. The Baratheon line extinguished, if tales of Stannis' defeat in the North were true. To think that-
A commotion ahead distracted him and he looked up. The three dragons had come to a stop and were hovering for some reason. The ships in front of them were frantically waving flags, trying to get their attention.
Tyrion saw an Unsullied soldier and yelled to him. "Get the Queen! Something's happening!" Was there an enemy attack? More slavers? Volantis? Yara's demented uncle? No way the Iron Throne could have gotten ships for an attack after Stannis made off with half the fleet...
As the Unsullied raced for the Queen's cabin, Tyrion saw what had drawn the dragons- a single light ship- probably a merchant vessel. "House Redwyne of the Arbor," Tyrion murmured to himself. The huge Redwyne fleet had merchant ships sailing regularly to half the known world… but… it looked like the Redwyne sailors were waving flags, trying to hail them.
"What is it, Tyrion?" Queen Daenerys walked out on deck, flanked by Unsullied, the Greyjoy siblings in tow.
"A ship- House Redwyne of the Arbor, from the Reach. A merchant ship, by the looks of it, and they're trying to hail us."
"Wine merchants, perhaps. What do you think they want?"
"I honestly don't know. Could be they just want to talk or trade. But we need to be careful. Redwynes, like their Tyrell overlords, are a reasonable, relatively-amicable people, but currently, they are aligned with the Lannisters and the current regime on the Iron Throne."
"Well, I'll hear them out." Queen Daenerys ordered. "We way outnumber them anyway." She waved to a sailor, who waved flags indicating their peaceful intentions.
Moments later, a small rowboat departed the Redwyne ship, carrying five people- two appeared to be sailors, two armored soldiers, and a man in fine clothes, possibly a rich merchant or a noble.
When the tiny vessel reached Daenerys' flagship, sh indicated for her Unsullied to lower ladders to the rowboat, allowing them to climb aboard. She noted the soldiers came aboard first.
When the well-dressed man stepped aboard, he smiled wryly. "If it isn't Princess Daenerys Targaryen of House Targaryen. Lord Tyrion Lannister, Lady Yara Greyjoy, Lord Theon Greyjoy."
"It's Queen Daenerys Targaryen I," Tyrion asserted. "And I am her Hand."
"And it's Queen Yara Greyjoy, the rightful Queen of the Iron Islands."
"If you say so," the man nodded his head slightly. "There have been so many claimants to the Iron Throne these past years that I've lost count. And so many Hands. I am kind of surprised that a Targaryen would let the Iron Islands go independent. But I suppose you needed ships…"
"Who are you anyway, to question us?" Tyrion asked indignantly.
"I am Lord Brooker Redwyne of House Redwyne of the Arbor," The man introduced. "A nephew of Lord Paxter Redwyne, a bit of a distant relation."
"And why are you here, anyway? In the Narrow Sea, so far from home?"
"I decided to use my wealth to travel a bit. It's quite boring staying in the same corner of the world all the time. After leaving the Arbor, I stopped at Oldtown for awhile, then sailed to the Sunspear, Tarth, King's Landing, Maidenpool, Gulltown, White Harbor, Braavos, Lys, Volantis. Now I am traveling toward Elyria and Meereen." He turned to Daenerys and gave a small bow. "Queen Daenerys- the Mother of Dragons- I had hoped to meet you when I traveled to Meereen. But it looks like you're sailing, aren't you, your Grace? And I have fulfilled my wish to see those dragons- fascinating."
"So you stopped us on the high seas just for niceties and small talk?" Daenerys demanded. "What do you want, really?"
"Honestly, I wanted to talk, your Grace. Tell you a bit what's happening in the Seven Kingdoms before you think to invade."
"Why would you do that?" Daenerys demanded warily. "Last I know, your House and your overlords are sworn to my enemy and allies of the Lannisters."
"Well, you can be sure that is no longer the case," Brooker raised his eyebrows. "House Tyrell is no longer sworn to House Baratheon of King's Landing, nor allies of the Lannisters."
"Really? What happened?" Tyrion demanded.
"There is a lot of news you have yet to hear, your Grace. Hand. Be patient and I'll tell you the whole story." He paused, and when no one interrupted, Brooker continued. "When we were at White Harbor, we we learned of astonishing news," Brooker reported. "House Stark had recaptured Winterfell from House Bolton and Lord Ramsay Bolton has been killed, as well as Lord Smalljon Umber, who fought with the Boltons."
"What about Roose Bolton?" Tyrion inquired.
"We heard he had been poisoned by 'his enemies'." Yara answered instead. "Rumor is, that enemy was Ramsay. Go on, Brooker. I wasn't aware there were many Starks left."
"I- I didn't kill Bran or Rickon…" Theon murmured a reminder.
"It was Ned Stark's bastard, Jon Snow, and Tyrion's former wife, Lady Sansa Stark, who led the recapture of Winterfell. "What's more- "
Tyrion took a deep breath, and cut in incisively. "I recall Jon Snow- a fine lad- and a member of the Night's Watch. I heard he became Lord Commander too. And the Night's Watch is not supposed to take part in Westeros politics. What happened?"
"They say he was killed by mutineers, including an Allister of House Thorne in the Crownlands, but he was resurrected by a red priestess of the Lord of Light. Melisandre, the former priestess for Stannis Baratheon. Since the oath says 'until my death', Jon thought he was justified in leaving the Night's Watch. That's the tale anyway, and no one has tried to question him for it."
"With what army?" Yara questioned. "Last I heard, the major Northern Houses were sworn to Bolton, and the minor ones are not enough, and likely unwilling to get involved in a risky, suicidal maneuver."
"House Mormont, House Hornwood, House Mazin," Brooker began, and Daenerys shifted uncomfortably upon hearing the name of the first house. "Stannis Baratheon's remaining bannermen, and a force of around 2,000 wildlings from beyond the wall. And the Knights of the Vale. Together, they defeated Houses Bolton, Karstark, and Umber."
"The Vale?!" Tyrion exclaimed. "What the- but- why would they get involved- "
"Under the orders of Lord Robin Arryn, Lord Regent of the Vale, Petyr Baelish, and Lord Yohn Royce led the Knights of the Vale to help House Stark recapture Winterfell."
"What game are you playing at, Littlefinger…" Tyrion muttered under his breath.
"What's more, the Northern and Vale houses have declared for Jon Snow- Jon Stark, that is, of House Stark, and King in the North!"
"Oh no, this- this is bad," Tyrion bit his lip and curled his left hand into a fist. "Really, really, bad."
"There has also been trouble in the Riverlands."
"Do say…" Tyrion raised an eyebrow.
"As you recall, the Blackfish- Lord Brynden Tully of House Tully recently recaptured Riverrun from House Frey."
"No, I did not know," Tyrion spoke up. "This Blackfish is quite the character, to retake Riverrun in the face of such resistance. I expect then, he has allied with the North and Vale? Or soon to do so?"
"No, it was a futile attempt and didn't last long. A force of Lannisters and Freys led by your brother, Ser Jaime Lannister recaptured the castle with little resistance, and the Blackfish was killed."
"A sad end," Tyrion shook his head.
"Shortly after, though, Lord Walder Frey was found dead, his throat slit, and Lord Stevron Frey succeeded him. Rumors are abound- some say it was his impatient son, some say it was the Brotherhood of Light, even claims of the Faceless of Braavos.
"Can't say I am too upset," Tyrion remarked.
"At any rate, that was why Jaime Lannister was not in King's Landing during the catastrophe there."
"Catastrophe? King's Landing- what?"
"I suppose you haven't heard," Brooker shook his head grimly. "A tremendous explosion of wildfire destroyed the Sept of Baelor. Among those killed were the High Septon- also called the High Sparrow by many- my liege lord, Lord Mace Tyrell, Queen Margery Tyrell, Ser Loras Tyrell, Hand of the King Lord Kevan Lannister, and Lancel Lannister. Grand Maester Pycelle was assassinated the same day. Officially, it was carried out by unspecified 'enemies of the crown'- unofficially, rumors say your sister, Queen Cersei Lannister…" Brooker trailed off.
"Cersei- Cersei? But even she wouldn't- " Tyrion looked flabbergasted. "The Tyrells are gone. The other Lannister line gone- the closest, anyway. The Sept of Baelor and all the tombs- What did Tommen say?"
"King Tommen Baratheon, first of name, allegedly threw himself from the walls of the Red Keep at grief of his wife's death when he heard off the disaster- that is, if he wasn't murdered by Cersei."
"Cersei wouldn't murder her son!" Tyrion exclaimed. "If there is one redeeming quality she has, it's love for her children." He turned to Daenerys. "Looks like your job might have become a lot easier. No King sits on the Iron Throne anymore."
"No King- but a Queen," Brooker interrupted darkly. "Queen Cersei Lannister, first of her name, now sits on the Iron Throne, reigning as Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm."
Tyrion froze, looking completely stricken.
"Only Daenerys responded, hissing, "A false Queen."
"This- this is the War of Five Kings all over again," Tyrion bit his lip. "Mad King Euron Greyjoy in the Iron Islands, a Stark King in the North, and a maniac on the Iron Throne all over again! All we need is another Baratheon or two…"
"The Reach is an uproar over the death of the Tyrells. They say the Queen of THorns calls the Tyrell bannermen. The Dornish believe the new Queen means to make war on them for the death of her daughter Myrcella. And war with the Vale and the North is all but certain. Cersei blames Sansa Stark for the death of her son Joffrey, after all. And Cersei can only rely on the Crownlands, Freys of the Riverlands, and Lannisters of the West to support her regime, and who knows how long the Freys can even hold the Riverlands."
Tyrion shook his head in shock. "My god, what has become of Westeros now? Cersei without her children will be more insane than ever before." He turned to Daenerys. "As your Hand, I say we make full haste for King's Landing. My sister will unleash war and a reign of terror across the Seven Kingdoms unless we can stop her."
"You are willing to kill your own sister?" Daenerys questioned.
Tyrion swallowed hard and brandished his hands. "I killed my father because he tried to kill me. My sister also tried to kill me. But this isn't just personal. My sister is a ruthless, power-hungry psychopath. Her redeeming quality. Now that she has nothing to lose, there's nothing she won't do, and she'll be sure to turn most of the Great Houses of Westeros against her- I see war on the horizon- a lot of it."
"Thank you for your counsel," Daenerys nodded to Tyrion. She turned to Lord Redwyne. "Do you have more to discuss, or are we finished here? We have a kingdom to conquer with haste."
"Do spare House Tyrell and my House, your Grace. We are more useful alive than dead. Give the Lannisters- and most importantly Cersei- hell." As an afterthought, he looked to Tyrion. "No insult meant about the Lannisters."
"I will take that into account," Daenerys stated stiffly. "Provided they do not oppose me, I will have no reason to harm House Tyrell or Redwyne."
"That is all I ask," Brooker assured. "Now, I have held you up long enough. Please, by all means, continue your journey. I must really continue to Elyria and Meereen- must see the sights, try the food, trade exotic good. Good luck to you all."