CHAPTER THREE
Varys stared hard at him as the carriage creaked and rolled through the countryside, heading towards the King's Road. Tyrion tried to ignore him, watching Winterfell and her ruined walls shrink further and further into the distance. The curl of smoke still rose from the piles of burning dead, reminding them of what they'd survived here. What they'd endured. An unusual stillness had settled into his thoughts, and a sorrow quietly pulsed in his heart like the last refrain of Podrick's song before the battle.
Varys was hard to ignore.
"What?" he finally snapped after a moment, shooting a glare at the too-familiar face of the eunuch.
Varys shrugged and shook his head. "Oh, nothing. I'm just wondering why a man who loves luxury and comfort seems so reluctant to leave the hostile world of the North."
It was possible that Varys already knew something of what transpired last night between Tyrion and Sansa Stark, but he wasn't about to give him the pleasure of confirming it.
Instead, he shook his head. "Are you really so devoid of feelings that you can't take a moment to mourn for the price that was paid here? Leaving in the middle of the recovery feels like abandonment. They have so much to do."
"I would have thought you'd be more eager to see your sister unseated than perform the tedious working of cleaning up corpses and rebuilding walls." Varys lifted a brow.
Tyrion sighed. He should be more eager for this, it was true.
But things were different now. So very different. The night of the battle had changed everything. He didn't care about Cersei's war anymore. He didn't care about the prestige and power of being Daenerys' Hand. He just wanted to settle down somewhere and finally make something meaningful of his life, since he had been granted a gift few who fought that night had. And it was worse now, after last night.
No one in his life had ever wanted him. Only Jaime, really. But no woman had ever looked at him and seen a man worthy of being a husband, or a lover. Shae had probably been the closest, but he didn't trust any of his memories with her anymore. Even Daenerys herself had said he wasn't enough man for her. But Sansa…beautiful, broken, aloof, strong Sansa, she had fought beside him in the crypt, and she had asked him to stay with her. He was enough for her.
His heart begged him to abandon everything and remain at her side.
The pin on his coat had never felt so heavy.
Waking up with Sansa had been one of the best moments of his life. The night before too, but there was something even sweeter upon the waking. She'd kissed his cheek and charged him to survive, whatever the odds, and then she'd slipped out and he'd glimpsed her glorious body once more before she disappeared into her dressing room. Saying goodbye with everyone else there later was impossibly difficult, knowing what she'd said about never seeing each other again.
Tyrion knew he didn't deserve her. His whole miserable life held no accomplishments worthy of such a queen. He didn't even deserve to pine for her now, his once-wife. But she had given him access to that which he did not deserve, and he was thoroughly destroyed from within now because of it.
He would convince Daenerys to give Sansa the North. It was the least he could do for her. Jon could marry Dany and they could give the North their independence. Who needed seven kingdoms anyway. Six would be plenty to keep Dany on her toes.
"Two queens," Tyrion mused aloud. "One of ice, one of fire."
One who looked as if she were made of ice, but had fire inside her. And one who was kissed by fire on the outside, but had winter storming in her heart.
"Lady Stark isn't a queen, Tyrion," Varys reminded him, clear warning in his voice.
"She should be. And she could be." He turned to his companion. Varys would need to be an ally in this. "It should be the thanks that all of Westeros give to the North for their sacrifice, don't you think? Their freedom?"
"Oh, my poor friend," chided Varys. "You're smarter than that. Or have you really grown so foolish? If we let one kingdom go, soon Dorne will want to go next, and eventually, all of them."
"Almost none of the great houses are left anyway," Tyrion argued. "The Tyrells are dead. The Martells, nearly dead. The Tullys, the Aerons —"
"The Starks," Varys mused.
"The Starks are very much alive, or have you forgotten that we left two behind and we travel with two right now?"
"If Jon has children with Daenerys, they will be her heirs, not theirs. And you saw the boy. He won't be siring any heirs either. That leaves the daughters, and neither of them have marriage prospects in their future. This could be their final generation."
"Then the Lannisters are finished too, by that measure," Tyrion snapped. "We're here to dethrone my sister. You think Daenerys will let her live?"
"Have you and Jaime become eunuchs now, then?" Varys said, amused. "Both of you could still marry and have children."
Tyrion wondered very much if that were even possible for him. All the many, many women he'd been with, and none had ever gotten a bastard from him. Besides, it felt entirely possible that Cersei would find a way to kill him before this was all over. And as for Jaime… well, maybe there was still hope for Jaime.
"The Baratheons are gone," Varys mused to himself, still listing houses who were no longer. "The Greyjoys, unless Yara marries and produces an heir."
Tyrion thought of Gendry, and what Bran had said. The Baratheons might not be gone after all. If Dany felt so inclined, in gratitude for his service during both wars she could grant him his father's name and inherited lands. Though given her personal vendetta against that house, it might not be a prospect she'd consider. And Gendry was a smith. He didn't know the first thing about being a lord. But he might have a little she-wolf of his own to get him some pups, so maybe there was yet hope for that house.
And as for Jon and Daenerys...well, Tyrion knew what she'd said about never having any children but her dragons. It was a big concern regarding succession of the throne. But Varys didn't need to know that right now. Getting Cersei out mattered more at this point.
The game of politics had never felt so tiresome as it did to him right now. Houses and lords and titles and inheritances. None of it mattered.
By the Seven, he had to get it together before they got to King's Landing. He had to set aside his feelings for the Lady of Winterfell and try to forget the surreal, perfect dream of spending the night at her side.
No matter what happened, he had to help Daenerys get her throne. Cersei had to die. The North must be given its independence. After those three tasks, he could try to get back to the North, somehow…and to Sansa.
A/N: Well guys, that's it! Just a quick little fic that will most certainly be made irrelevant by next Sunday when this all goes in a different direction. Hope you enjoyed!
Comments:
lonelyshipper- I really loved writing them, and now I'm tempted to keep going too. I think you're right, it could be expanded! Thanks for reading!
mp523- Ohhh! I forgot about that prophecy! It has been so long since I read the books. That would be fantastic to weave in. I think I will continue, after I see how things shake out at King's Landing. I have no idea how they're going to defeat Cersei. But you can bet that if Bronn gets Tyrion with that crossbow or he dies another way, I'll for sure be writing my own version of events here for satisfaction sake.
Maestro89 - I think I will do 3 more chapters! But I'll wait until Sunday to see which direction it goes. Thanks for reading!
mfaerie32- That's certainly what Dany believes, but the prophecy given by the maegi Mirri Maz Duur was that: "When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east. When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child..."
Most of these conditions have been fulfilled in the books, though the show hasn't dealt with this prophecy the same way. Still, the fact that she is so convinced that her dragons are the only children she will ever have makes me believe she will turn out to be wrong about that. I actually think Jon will probably die, but Dany will find out she's got his kid cooking in there, defying her expectations. But we'll see, I could be very wrong about that.
Nevertheless, you raise an important point. She told Tyrion about that. A line has been added to reflect this knowledge!
Anahia - I think more is coming! Haha I don't feel like I'm done with them yet. Thanks for your love!