At the feast Joffrey was evidently paying extra attention to Baelor and his men, clearly impressed by what he had seen. Kestrel was sitting between Sansa and Balon Swann, Margaery sitting opposite with her mother and Rhonda.
Balon filled Kestrel's glass with more wine 'you look like you could do with a drink my Lady'.
'Call me Kestrel, please'.
'Very well, Kestrel. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman'. Kestrel blushed slightly and sipped her drink 'thank you Ser'.
'Call me Balon'.
She nodded and glanced up, seeing Rhonda looking at her closely, an eyebrow raised. Kestrel frowned, wondering why she being given the slightly accusatory look by her own mother, and saw as the older woman glanced down the table and Kestrel followed her gaze down to where Sandor was looking pointedly at his food in silence.
She felt confused and started speaking to Sansa about nothing in particular, not sure if she had offended Sandor somehow. All she was doing was talking to Balon Swann, it was hardly as if she had slept with him.
Feeling grumpy, Kestrel left the feast when the last of the food was cleared away, saying she had a few things to sort out. The sun was starting to come down and most of the servants were in the castle clearing the food, preparing for the next day, or pouring wine for everyone left in the feast, as it was only going to end with everyone fairly drunk.
Because of that the Castle was fairly quiet and Kestrel walked down to the main stables in the large courtyard, no one around but the horses.
She wandered in to the sheltered stable and felt at ease there, no one there as she wandered to the end stall, where her horse Mikkera was eating some hay left by the stable boys earlier.
The horse snuffled into her hand and she felt a nudge at her arm and saw that Sandor's horse Stranger had put his head over the next stall and nudged her until she stroked his face gently.
There was a noise behind her and Kestrel turned, seeing Sandor standing just inside the barn, looking at her warily.
'Tellen was going to follow you but I said I would come…'.
There was a long pause between them as Kestrel continued to stroke Stranger before Sandor broke the silence.
'Congratulations on the tournament, you were very impressive today' he paused for a second 'As was Swann'.
Kestrel looked up sharply, eyes narrowed 'what are you trying to say?'.
'Nothing'. Sandor's response wasn't at all convincing and Kestrel looked a little hurt 'Sorry, are you jealous? Fucking hell Sandor, I don't even know why I bother. I'm not going to apologise for Balon Swann paying me a compliment'.
Sandor exhaled deeply, looking away slightly, his voice quiet 'you're right. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything'.
Kestrel looked appeased for a fleeting moment before turning back to Stranger who was nuzzling her. Sandor saw the sadness in her eyes as she took an apple from the basket to one side, feeding it to his horse.
'What's wrong?'.
Kestrel looked around quickly and Sandor realised she was checking to see they were alone and he closed the barn door and moved down until he was next to her.
'What is it?'.
She swallowed and looked down at the floor until Sandor put a hand on her shoulder making her look up, her voice quiet.
'Varys, my father and Mace Tyrell have all said that they want me to do something I… I don't think I can do it'.
Sandor saw how sad she looked and moved his hand from her shoulder up to her face, resting it gently on her cheek.
He didn't know why he'd done it but Kestrel met his eyes and suddenly from nowhere they were kissing.
Kestrel had her back against the barn wall, Sandor's hands wandering over her as they kissed as if life depended on it.
After a few minutes Kestrel pulled back and they were both gasping for breath 'they- they want me to take the throne. If Robb will still only take the North then they want me to take the middle lands and the South...'.
Sandor blinked in surprise and spoke before considering his words 'I'm a fighter Kestrel, a soldier. I'm not going to be married to a Queen, that isn't who I am'.
Kestrel faltered and pushed him away from her 'well if I mean that little to you then I guess I can fight my own battles'.
She moved past him, clearly livid as he called after her 'Kestrel- Kestrel!'.
She ignored him and Sandor grabbed her hand and forcibly made her turn around and look at him 'Kestrel, I didn't-'.
'No, don't fucking bother. I don't want this but I have family that are depending upon me. You've made your position clear. Goodnight and goodbye'.
Kestrel wrenched her hand out of his grasp and stormed out of the barn, hitting the door so hard thati t swung back with a loud bang, leaving Sandor looking lost and confused..
Kestrel didn't know what she was more annoyed about, Sandor's reaction, or the fact that it had even bothered her.
She had forgotten that she was wearing such a revealing dress when she was storming through the practically empty castle, walking into an empty corridor and seeing Balon Swann heading towards her, clearly surprised to see her.
'Kestrel, I thought you'd left a while ago?'.
'I did… I just had some…business… to attend to'.
He looked over her quickly 'you look sad? What's happened?'.
'It's no matter, I think I'm quite relieved really. I am no longer marrying Sandor Clegane, the agreement has been called off'.
Balon looked surprised 'why would any man ever let a woman like you go Kestrel? The man must be a fool'.
She laughed slightly, seeing the way Balon was looking over her appreciatively 'you're too kind. I do not think Cersei Lannister will take the news well however… It was her idea in the first place'.
He shook his head 'Every man at Court will be clamoring for your hand now, and any man from Pentos to the Wall would be lucky to have you'.
She looked a little taken aback and Balon took her hand and kissed it gently 'Until we meet again'.
He gave her a quick bow before continuing down the corridor, leaving her looking perplexed for a few seconds, before continuing on to her rooms.
Kestrel wasn't paying much attention as she closed her door behind her and threw the knife in her pocket onto the bed 'Sansa, Sansa are you here?'.
From the shadows where the door had been Bronn appeared as if from nowhere, pushing her roughly up against the wall behind her, and she looked worried and confused as he placed his sword across her neck, holding her in the corner of the room,
She looked confused and it was only then that she saw Tyrion, watching her closely 'you must forgive us my Lady, Bronn was not happy when I told him what I wanted him to do, but you must understand that he is doing this at my behest, not his own'.
'Where's Sansa?'.
'Oh she is fine, she is still enjoying the festivities I believe'.
She was looking quickly between the two of them and Tyrion walked over to them 'I noticed in the Archery competition that all of the Greencloaks prick their fingers on the end of the arrow before it is fired, a sign of good luck, am I correct?'.
Kestrel nodded but remained silent, Tyrion continuing 'when you all fired the arrows into the lanterns, why did you use an arrow from one of the Greencloaks, when you had some of your own left?'.
'Are you really going to break into a Lady's room and hold her at sword point to find out why she is using a different arrow in a competition... I thought you were meant to be the smart Lannister'. Tyrion chuckled slightly 'wildfire, do you know what colour it burns with?'.
'Green'.
'Do you know why the original Alchemists had it burn green?'. Kestrel shook her head truthfully and Tyrion sat down, their eyes never breaking contact.
'Because the Dragon Blood of the Targeryn's burned with a purple flame, did you know that? They tried hard to find a compound that could make it burn like Targeryn blood, but they could only manage green'.
Kestrel's jaw was clenched tightly but she said nothing still, eyes dark.
'Even if they cannot withstand the heat and fire of some of the family, their blood always seems to burn a colour, curious, don't you think?'.
'What has this got to do with me?'.
'I was wondering why a young Lady of such a prominent house would have been sent to Braavos and taught to fight and fire arrows... Then I began to wonder, and do you want to know what I was wondering Kestrel?'.
'Enlighten me, my lord' her voice was cold and so were her eyes, Bronn tightening his grip slightly so as to keep her in place.
'You didn't want your blood on that arrow as it would burn and give you away. You know Kestrel, there is no one at court who saw Rhonda Hightower during the months of the rebellion, she was kept in the Oldtown along with the rest of the family- to keep them safe. Maybe she was pregnant, but I'm not so sure, I've always asked myself the same question- why were there three guards at the Tower of Joy? The Targeryn forces wouldn't have harmed Lyanna Stark, and Robert and Ned's men certainly wouldn't have, so why three guards?'.
Kestrel was still silent and Bronn could feel her shaking slightly against him, whether through fear or anger he couldn't tell. Tyrion steepled his fingers together, looking at her closely
'Three guards because she had a child with her. Ned's men would never harm the child, but what about Robert? He might have been driven to harm it in a fit of jealousy. Rhaegar wanted to protect Lyanna and his child, and if I am right, that child was a daughter. After the Rebellion the Hightower's and the Stark's were relatively friendly, which seems odd for a family that were previously warring on different sides. A Hightower was one of the guards wasn't he, Ned realised that they were not holding her captive, they were keeping her alive and safe. Ned wanted to repent for what he had done, and he knew that the girl would give herself away as a Targeryn some day and would probably be killed by Robert… so he went to Baelor Hightower who had no heir…and he asked the man to raise his niece as his own… Baelor was on the Targeryn side during the Rebellion wasn't he, so he accepted. And you were raised to fight, to protect yourself'.
Kestrel's eyes were dark and narrowed 'You can take your foolish stories to the King if you want but I demand that you let me go now'.
'Foolish stories? Come now Kestrel, we both know that I am right, I can only assume that you were the one to kill Magir and not Bronn here, you took in Lady Stark not because you wanted to keep an eye on her, but because you wanted to protect her, she is your cousin after all. When you arrived at the Keep you had just come from Dorne, there is no reason for a southerner to travel all that way unless of course, they are also seeking revenge for the lives lost in the Rebellion. Oberyn and Doran Martell want their revenge for Elia's death, even to this day, and if you are who I believe you are, then you are also hoping for the same thing, they gave you that horse didn't they? Only Martell's have horses that large and that powerful'.
Kestrel looked pale and as if she was about to be sick, Bronn glanced at Tyrion and saw the brief nod before turning back to Kestrel and muttering 'I'm so sorry'.
Before she had had a chance to react, Bronn had cut her hand with his sword and pulled it roughly over the fire, holding her wrist in a vice like grip.
The three of them all looked intently in silence as the blood slowly dribbled down Kestrel's hand and slowly several drops fell onto the small, dying fire.
It leapt up suddenly, the flames an angry, twisted mess of purple and green flames, the whole room suddenly impossibly hot before the fire died down again, returning to the way they had been before.
Tyrion raised his eyebrows 'well, well, well, I didn't expect that to happen'.
Kestrel's eyes were practically black with anger, her jaw clenched as tightly as her hands, the knuckles white.
'You realise I can kill you both before you can get as far as the Court?'.
Tyrion blinked 'Ah, Kestrel my dear girl, you mistake me. You think I want to take this information to Joffrey?'.
'You'd rather give it to your Father then? Watch as he tries to use me as a weapon against my own family? I would rather burn alive than swear fealty to that 'man' you call your father'.
Tyrion's mouth twisted into a half smile 'Except you cannot burn alive Kestrel, you have the dragon blood'.
'It's an expression you fool'.
'And what is your problem with my father? He has done less to your family than Joffrey has'.
Kestrel let out a low, emotionless laugh 'Done less? Your father ordered Elia dead, and the two children were simply 'collateral damage'. My sister was stabbed so many times they could barely recognise who she was. Your father rewarded the men that did that! He rewarded them. The same man who is blinded to the truth about his son and daughter, and fails to notice that his youngest is smarter than anyone else in the whole fucking City!'.
Tyrion looked surprised for a second before nodding 'Well, that is enough talk of my father. I did not intend to 'share' this information Kestrel, why reward the people who tried to kill me by giving them a golden coin- their worst nightmare in the flesh. No, you will have your vengeance Kestrel, and so will I'.
'I don't understand…?'.
'We are all playing a Game here Kestrel, and you are my golden token, I do not wish to lose the game and lose my head with it. Neither I nor Bronn will reveal who you are to a soul, you have my word. Instead, I want a chance for my own line of vengeance, and for that I need you- here'.
Kestrel was silent for a long time before Tyrion broke it again 'do we have an agreement Lady Hightower?'.
