HELAENA
"You have done your duty well," Helaena said to Wat the Whistler,"I have not seen a rat in any of my quarters since you were named Lord Catcher of the Red Keep."
"I am pleased that Yer Grace thinks so," Wat the Whistler said. The ratcatcher was slightly built, with a mane of bleached golden hair and rusty brown eyes that shone beneath thick brows. "It is my dearest wish to serve the king," Wat said,"There are many who would condemn us ratcatchers as filthy savages crawling in the Red Keep's tunnels, but we are the ones who keep 'em from croaking."
"Truly?" Helaena asked,"How so?"
"Would Yer Grace eat or drink from food or wine spoiled by rats?" Wat answered,"As much as Ser Otto's quartermaster would love to boast that 'is granary is safe from any intruder, what can he do to the intruders that're invisible to man's eye and scamper only in the shadows? And yer Grand Maester Orwyle held to a belief that might well be true, that it was rats that caused the Shivers during the reign of the Old King, sneaking into the Red Keep with death on their paws even as the gates were barred."
"You are saying that Princess Daenerys died because of rats," Helaena said.
"Aye," Wat answered,"When we looked through the princess's old room, Fire-Eyes spotted a tiny hole in the hall behind one o' of the legs o' the princess's ol' bed."
"That chamber had been given over to the servants for decades," Helaena said,"Good Queen Alysanne could not bear any more of her children sleeping in the chamber where her first child died, but she would never let a warm chamber go to waste. Lord Wat, you have saved many lives by finding the hole."
"There are many more o' the holes in Maegor's Holdfast," Wat said,"but we could not get to them, for common-born ratcatchers were not to be allowed in royal chambers. We cannot do our duty beneath the old laws of King Viserys, and we hope that your husband may be better."
"Is that why you have come seeking an audience with me, Lord Wat?" Helaena asked.
"I wish to do my duty to His Grace," Wat answered.
Helaena thought for a moment, then answered: "Very well. I shall bring the matter up with my husband."
"You have the thanks of every humble catcher in this castle," Wat said, but he did not beg his leave. He waited as he knelt there before Helaena, and she knew what his silence asked for. The true reason for which he is here.
"Wait a moment, Lord Wat," Helaena said,"I have one more matter to settle with you."
"I am at yer service, Yer Grace," Wat answered.
Helaena waved her hand, and eight servants appeared bearing two chests carved of cedar, four lifting each one. "It has come to my knowledge," Helaena said,"that the salary Ser Otto's quartermaster gives to the Catchers of the Red Keep is all too meagre. I shall speak with the king and Ser Otto about it, and in the meanwhile, a fitting gift shall need be made to reward your services." Helaena waved her hand, and the two servants lifted the lids of the wooden chests to reveal the shining gleam of silver within. "In those two chests are a thousand silver stags," Helaena said,"There are a hundred Catchers in the Red Keep. Each of them should receive ten for their loyal services. I hope it is a worthy gift."
"It is, Yer Grace," Wat answered, his eyes widening,"I do not know how to thank Yer Grace."
"Thank me by doing your duty to the realm as you had already done," Helaena said.
"Aye," Wat answered,"Meself was always at the prow of our quests to rid the Red Keep of its infestations. We shall do our duty, for our queen."
"Not for me," Helaena said for the walls that were listening,"For the king."
"Aye," Wat said,"and the boys will be loyal to who gave them what they have."
There, Helaena knew. There was one more matter she had to seek before she gave Wat his leave. "I wonder," Helaena asked,"Why do they call you Wat the Whistler?"
"Because my whistles can mimic the mating call of any rat," Wat answered,"and draw them in Net's traps."
"Curious," Helaena said,"Are there any other quaint abilities amongst the Red Keep's Catchers?"
"Well, Fire-eyes can spot a rat in a pitch-black room," Wat said,"but the rest are all clever tricks. Cheese knows the Red Keep better than the shape of his own cock, pardon me, and Net can craft anything, even a stick, into a deadly trap for those little pests."
"I am glad that there are such capable men in His Grace's service," Helaena said,"Deserving of every boon I could think to give."
"I am glad that I am," Wat said,"May I beg my leave?"
"I grant it," she turned to her Kingsguard,"Ser Arryk. When Lord Wat and the servants depart, accompany him to make certain that the silver reaches the Catchers, protecting it from any thief in the shadows." Including Wat.
"But Your Grace," Ser Arryk said,"You would not have any Kingsguard on you."
"I have Renfred," Helaena looked at the other knight who stood in the room, a tall man with six seashells on his surcoat,"and besides, it is soon evening and my visit to Mother. I will have the three Kingsguard my husband gave to my children."
Ser Arryk nodded, and departed the chamber with the Lord Catcher.
Evening came as she watched the sun set through the windows of her chamber. Her husband had still not returned, and she was not surprised. He had not returned to his bed for over a moon. She wondered which was the lady who kept Aegon company this night, whether it was a merchant's daughter or a lowborn whore. He kept three Kingsguard with him, and it was the three loyal to him. Ser Gyles, Ser Lamont, and Ser Gastion had been instructed by Ser Otto to never question Aegon's acts. Helaena was only glad that she had secured the Kingsguard true to the vows of a knight for her children.
Lord Commander Criston had once objected to Aegon's dalliances, and Aegon had never again let the Lord Commander on his nightly tirades. Helaena was glad that Ser Criston's sword would instead guarded Jaehaerys, the future king which Ser Criston would serve much better than his father. Ser Willis Fell and Ser Rickard Thorne were both good men, and Helaena trusted them with Jaehaera and Maelor. Fell saw Jaehaera as his daughter, and Thorne treated Maelor like his own babe son.
As the sun began to dip behind the western horizon, the red door to her chamber opened with a shadow rushing through. Jaehaerys flung himself at Helaena, and swift on Jaehaerys's heels was the Lord Commander himself with sweat on his brow.
"Mother," Jaehaerys said,"Can I take Shrykos today?"
"Not today, Jay," Helaena said,"You know how much dragons frighten your grandmother."
Jaehaera and Maelor soon arrived with their Kingsguard on their tails, and Helaena bade the Kingsguard escort them to the Tower of the Hand where Queen Alicent made her present chambers. Ser Criston and Renfred marched ahead of them, their pearlescent cloaks coated in the shadows that began to sprout as night came, whilst Ser Willis and Ser Rickard brought up the rear.
When Helaena was about to cross the drawbridge from Maegor's Holdfast to the outer Red Keep, Ser Criston turned with a shadow on his face. Helaena knew in an instant to dread his coming words.
"This is as far as we can take Your Grace and the children," Ser Criston said,"The king has commanded that this night, all Kingsguard are not to pass the confines of Maegor's Holdfast."
"Ser Criston," Helaena answered,"Your three white cloaks are needed about the sides of my children. My husband will understand, for you have always escorted us to the Tower of the Hand every night."
"But not this night, I am afraid," Ser Criston said,"The Kingsguard obey the king, first and foremost. If he commands that we remain in Maegor's Holdfast, we must remain in Maegor's Holdfast."
"Then who shall protect my children as they tread in the outer reaches of the Red Keep?" Helaena asked.
"Here is my counsel, Your Grace," Ser Criston said,"Forgo tonight's visit to Queen Alicent. Without the Kingsguard at your sides, the Red Keep is a very dangerous place. Scoundrels, murderers, thieves, and all the filth of the earth the Stranger has not taken lurk in the darkest corners of the castle, and you will not be safe alone."
"Mother," Jaehaerys tugged at Helaena's cloak,"Are we going now?"
"I cannot," Helaena answered Ser Criston,"My children want to see their grandmother. The white cloaks are not the only guards in the Red Keep. Dispatch some of your guards to escort us, and we shall be safe."
"Aye," Ser Criston stepped back,"If that is what Your Grace wishes."
The guards Ser Criston sent Helaena were not fond of. Though all ten of the men draped themselves in Targaryen surcoats and swore their spears at Helaena's feet, but Helaena knew none of them and hugged her children close to her dress. She was all too glad to arrive at the Tower of the Hand, where she bade the guards Ser Criston sent her to wait outside. Helaena only trusted Renfred to enter Queen Alicent's chamber with her.
The children played upon the red brick floor of the Tower of the Hand whilst Queen Alicent's bedmaid poured wine for Helaena and her mother. Helaena's mother was beautiful even as she aged, with a smooth serene face and not even one grey hair in her brown locks. It was only in her mother's blue eyes where Helaena saw her mother age. They were fading, the colour growing duller by the year.
"The days are growing shorter," Helaena said to her mother,"A moon ago, the sun set after we left your chamber. Now, it dipped beneath the western sky before I even left my own. It seems that winter is coming."
"The white raven has not arrived from the Citadel yet," Queen Alicent said,"I say that we still have a few more years."
"I pray that in those few years, the war will be done," Helaena said,"The realm must be at peace to face the winter."
"Have no fear of that, daughter," Queen Alicent smiled,"The days of traitors are always numbered, and Rhaenyra shall fall in the end. Such is the will of the gods who punish the wicked."
"The traitors will fall," Helaena said,"Aye, but what shall we do of them after the war. Princess Rhaenyra has children. Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Strong are bastards born of high treason and must be put down, what of Aegon and Viserys? They are silver-haired and purple-eyed, clear to be blood of the dragon through and through." "Much like my children," Helaena looked the direction of Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor playing a game on the stone floor,"but with the misfortune of being born on the wrong side."
"Curious little things, are they not?" Queen Alicent said, then called: "Jaehaerys, come here." Helaena's eldest son came over his game where he impersonated a dragon, and sat on Queen Alicent's lap. The older queen kissed his cheek, but Jaehaerys responded by trying to squirm out of her grip and return to his game. Eventually, Queen Alicent let him go, and she turned to face Helaena again. "Your little boy is stout and strong," she said,"Much like your husband was when he was a boy. I remember the day he crawled from my womb with a proud fire in his eyes, and I knew that he was fated to be a great king."
"He is a great king," Helaena said, but a horrid husband.
"Unlike his brother Aemond," Queen Alicent's voice grew cold,"who crawled from my womb lean and sickly. A wilted boy, who grew into a wilted man." Queen Alicent leaned close to Helaena, her blue eyes shimmering with an eerie light: "What madness possessed you, daughter, to name Aemond to the Small Council?"
"He is the hero of the city after he brought Aegon Storm's End," Helaena answered,"It is a popular choice."
"It is a foolish choice," her mother snarled,"Aemond is a wretch, all who have seen him know that to be undeniably true. He barged into the Tower of the Hand and threatened your grandfather the Hand of the King in the eyes of all the Small Council, and that is not to even speak of all his mad words that your grandfather had spent the council rebuking in the stead of the war." "Take him off the council, daughter," Queen Alicent said,"That is the wisest course for all of us."
"No," Helaena shook her head,"Aemond is my brother, and he shall receive what he deserves." She leaned in close to her mother, who retreated with a frown on her face. "Mother, have you stewed so much in your hatred of Aemond that you forget that he is one of House Targaryen?" Helaena said,"He rides a dragon, and he is your son. Even the whore Rhaenyra knew to love her children."
"Do not speak to me of Rhaenyra," her mother answered icily,"I tire of pretending to love Aemond in front of that whore." "A true son would listen," Queen Alicent sneered,"and Aegon does. I know all of your little game, daughter - in a day you pushed Aemond into the Small Council and bought the loyalties of the ratcatchers. I had hoped that you, daughter, would recognize the warning as the Kingsguard departed your side as you left Maegor's Holdfast. You shall never win, for your husband the king stands with me on this. Let me give you some sage counsel, daughter. Never fight the king. Do as he wills. To begin, remove Aemond from the Small Council."
"If you want Aemond gone," Helaena said,"Remove him yourself, or have my husband do so. I thought these matters would fall to your father, the Hand who speaks with the king's voice, or the king himself." When her mother did not answer, Helaena knew the truth. "Oh," she said,"Ser Otto cannot, and my husband will not. If both of them do not take the matter of the Small Council into their hands, then I will. Aemond will stay."
"Careful, daughter," Queen Alicent said,"Two dragons are nothing against the realm."
"Children," Helaena called and rose to her feet,"We are leaving. Come and bid your grandmother good night."
"Remember this, Helaena," Queen Alicent said,"I am the queen, and you are my daughter."
"Whom you made a queen," Helaena answered.