The Dragon and the Hawke 52

Dany and Marian exchanged confused looks, then turned back to the spymaster and the Empress asks, "Could you repeat that?"

Varys bows his head, "Cersei Lannister has seized control of King's Landing, along with the Crownlands, by destroying the Sept of Baelor in the city."

"Okay, we got that bit, but how does that mean she seized power?" Marian asks

"The Queen saw fit to destroy the sept while it was packed, for her trial," Varys tells her, "Inside were Queen Margaery, her entire family, as well as most of the Queen's political opponents. Her son, the King Tommen, threw himself from a window in grief upon seeing the sept destroyed. From what my little birds have told me he was both a pious lad, and deeply in love with his queen. With no true heir to the crown, it returned to the Queen."

Dany frowns and leans back in her throne, rubbing her brow, "There is nothing we can do in regards to that, so let us move on. How fares King Stannis in his campaign?"

This time it is Shireen who speaks, "Father has not left the North."

Dany raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Apparently, the Boltons fled to the Dreadfort after their defeat at Winterfell, and he has decided that he will rid the North of them and the Karstarks to pay the debt that he owes Lady Sansa," Barristan tells her, "Ser Davos told me that father regarded her calling the Northern Banners to him as a service, so he is going to rid the realm of traitors for her."

"Not to mention it will free him from an attack from his rear once his forces move south," Daario notes.

Shireen nods in agreement, having seen her father at work many times.

Dany turns to Varys again, "Anything else of note?"

"Several things, your grace," Varys nods, "Most pressing is that Lord Walder Frey, and it seems most of the Frey line alongside him, were assassinated by an unknown assailant."

"The entire House of Frey?" Barristan asks, surprised.

"Indeed, Ser Barristan. It seems that after Ser Jaime Lannister helped reclaim Riverrun from the Blackfish, he returned to the Twins to celebrate with the Freys, and when he had left, all of the Freys were murdered in various horrific ways."

"What was the worst?" Marian asks, having heard of some gruesome ways to kill people, and done several of them.

"It seems that Black Walder and Lothar Frey were butchered and then cooked into a pie, which the Late Lord Frey then ate before being killed."

"Oh, wow, that's fucked up," Marian shivers, "Do not want to meet the guy that thought that up."

"Let us move away from the destruction of an entire House," Dany decides, "Varys?"

"Next we have an interesting bit of information from the south," Varys tells her, "It seems that both Dorne and the Reach are willing to declare their loyalty to you and Stannis."

"Why would they declare for me?"

"Well, in the case of Dorne, Ellaria Sand has taken control of the country after she assassination of Prince Doran, and she despises the Lannisters for what happened to Prince Oberyn. Your alliance with King Stannis is common knowledge, I have ensured that, so she is willing to submit to your alliance and join it."

He pauses and rifles through his thoughts before telling her, "As for the Reach, Lady Olenna Tyrell and her daughter in Law are the last of the Tyrells after Cersei destroyed the Sept of Baelor, and so she is willing to join any side that ends with Cersei's death."

"So they are willing to swear to me for the sake of vengeance?" Dany asks.

"They are," Varys nods, "As are the Stormlands. In fact, the only Kingdoms not willing to swear to you are the Crownlands, the Westerlands, and the Vale."

"I thought the Lord Paramount of the Vale was a relative of Sansa's?" The Empress asks.

"Yes, but also no," Varys tells her, "Petyr Baelish is Lord Paramount to the Vale until young Lord Robin is of a reasonable age, and he remains both out of the conflict and more dangerous than a pit of vipers."

"Wow, this guy a badass or something?" Marian asks

"No, he is in fact a rather frail man," Varys tells her, "but his skills in the Game are great, and I have long suspected that he seeks the Iron Throne for himself."

"Does he have any claim to it?" Dany asks

"None, he is the lesser son of a lesser house from a territory in the Vale that none remember," Varys tells her, "In fact, it is only because it is where he is from, that the Fingers are known at all outside of the Vale."

"Then he has propelled himself on groundless ambition?" Dany probes.

"That, and being a whoremonger, betrayer, and several other unseemly things," the spymaster counts, then he looks at her and tells her, "Including selling Lady Sansa to the Boltons."

Dany, who had learnt long ago of the terror that Sansa suffered, recalled that she had told her much the same. The Empress was resolved to see the man Petyr Baelish face some form of justice when the time came. Dealing with him would come later, though, as she had no real interest in getting the man herself.

She nods in understanding to show that she had heard her spymaster, then asks, "And is there anything else you wish to tell me, Varys?"

He thinks for a few seconds, then looks to Marian before turning his attention back to the Empress, "There is one last thing, your grace, about the former priests of the Red God that you told Lady Hawke to bind."

"Yes, is there something wrong with them?" Dany asks

"Aside from the deep despair and near constant raving about not hearing the voice anymore from most of them?" Varys asks, "One, a woman who I believe is the highest ranking priestess of the religion, has begged for an audience, and requested… quite respectfully… to be shown the light of the Storm God."

"And this is significant, how?" Dany asks, "I declared their magic be bound, and Marian did it. I will not go back on my word."

"And they should be glad that they didn't turn into emotionless husks!" Marian points out, "Cause that's what happens when your magic gets bound back where I come from."

Varys smiles a fair bit more maliciously than they are used to as he bows and tells them, "Then I shall happily inform the priestess that she has already been shown the light."

The Spider then steps away from the throne and starts to shuffle out of the chamber. After he is gone, Marian frowns and tells her companions, "That guy scares me sometimes."

"Only sometimes?" Barristan asks, "You are braver than I."

"What's so scary about him?" Yara, who had remained silent until this point, asks, "He doesn't seem too bad."

"It isn't that he's bad," Shireen tells her, having heard from her father enough stories about Varys to know to fear the man, "It's that he is an enigma, plus he has so many spies that you could be pouring your heart out to one of them and never even know it… and then they'll kill you."

Yara shrugs, "I dunno, that sounds like an average day on the Islands to me."

"Well we can't all be pirates," Marian notes.

"True, who could we take from if that were the case?" Yara snorts, but breaks off into a cough at Dany's raised eyebrow, "I mean… who would we have taken from!"

"Ah, young love," Marian smiles sardonically, then looks to her own wife, "Isn't it romantic?"

Missandei rolls her eyes but says nothing.