"What do you think? A boy or a girl?"
"The realm wants me to push a boy out of me and put a prince in your arms, husband."
"And what do you want? Or what do you feel you'll be putting into my arms, wife?"
"A girl. I have a strong feeling that it'll be a girl."
"A little princess? Oh my, I would need to carry a stick around to beat back any man or boy that lays their eyes on her."
"You're the King, the realm would trip over itself to protect the princess. Just to earn your favour."
"You think I would let the safety of my daughter in the hands of another? I am King, but I will be a father as well. I will protect her with my all."
"Your Grace" the raspy voice of Grandmaester Pycelle snapped the King out of his thoughts. "The Hand requests your attendance for important matters."
"Tell me Grandmaester, what are these important matters the Hand wishes me to attend?" the King's snappish tone made the old man flinch.
"Your Grace, he has not told me"
"Then make yourself useful and find out, before you come to me and relay these messages" he paused a bit, hearing the Maester shuffle behind him. "Wait! Tell him to wait in my chambers. I will meet him there."
"Your Grace" the master spoke softly and Edric heard the sound of feet shuffling and then the movement of the gates. He remained there for a moment longer, reaching out to caress her face one last time before leaving the halls of the Sept.
The Hand of the King waited for the King in the King's Chambers, looking out the window with a chalice of wine in his hand. But he was not alone in the chambers. Winifred was there looking after the child born to the King, the royal Princess and heir to The Iron Throne. She was the only one that Edric allowed to remain near the babe. Others come and go, but she remains.
"Lord Hand, Pycelle tells me that you had matters you wanted my insights on" the King stated.
The old lion turned away from the window, placing his chalice down on the table. He gave Winifred a look and the woman walked out, bowing to both men. But the princess was left behind.
"Small matters, your Grace" the Hand spoke, taking a seat when the King gave his permission. "I wanted to check in on you. To see how you're doing."
There was confusion in Edric at the statement. Tywin Lannister was not known for his care towards anyone, not even his family. He was cold, calculative and worked more from the mind than the heart.
"It's rare to see you care, Lord Grandfather. You have a reputation of being quite cold" Edric commented, leaning back against the chair he had sat on.
"Yes, I believe I earned myself that sort of reputation with my actions" there was a ghost of a smirk on the man's face that made Edric smile as well. "Once upon a time, I too had lost a wife. That too to childbirth as well. I suppose I understand how you feel, and wanted to know how you were dealing with it."
Edric had forgotten about that fact. His maternal grandmother had lost her life birthing his uncle Tyrion. The little monster had clawed himself out of our mother and killed her, his mother had told him once. He was young then and the story was probably so Edric would be too scared to approach his uncle Tyrion and they would have no relation. Once he was old enough, he figured out that his uncle was probably coming out the wrong way and cutting the mother was probably the only way to bring him out.
"It's a tragedy, above anything else" Edric spoke, finding a lack of words to express how exactly he was feeling. "But I suppose death is a part of life. I'm just heartbroken that Joanna won't know her mother."
"Joanna?" Tywin questioned, his fading blonde brows rising.
"I suppose I never got the opportunity to tell anyone" Edric smiled slightly, looking over to his daughter, "We named her after my grandmother. I have heard many good things about her and Desmera liked the name as well" his voice cracked at the last statement. He cleared his throat quickly. Tywin on the other hand looked right at his great-granddaughter, a certain emotion in his eyes that Edric had not seen before. The man quickly closed his eyes and stood. He walked by Edric, stopped, placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze before he walked out of the chambers.
Edric looked out the window before he stood as well, moving to the cot to see his daughter. He had her moved to his chambers after the death of his wife, she was what remained to him of his wife now. The woman he had grown to love. There was a knock on the door just as Edric had picked the babe up. It was Winifred.
"Was she fussing?" the woman asked, a lot more at ease once it was just them in the room.
"No… No, she's still sleeping" the King answered, gently holding his daughter. "She has her hair you know, Desmera's hair. And my eyes."
"I know, your Grace" Winifred smiled slightly. There was hesitation for a moment before she put a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm sorry for your loss, your Grace. It is never easy losing a loved one."
"Thank you, Winifred" the King smiled at his longtime friend and servant. "How are you, by the way? How is your son?"
"I'm doing well, your Grace. And my boy is as well. He's no longer reliant on me to hold him. Nor does he nuzzle by breasts and expects me to breastfeed him" she said with a smirk. Winifred had never married. She was of the same age as Edric and had served him since her teen years. The King had offered to find her a good husband with lands and keeps to his name, but she refused. Yet she did have a son, one she did not birth.
Robert Rivers, formerly Robert Arryn was not wanted by the only family he had, the Tullys. His uncle and aunt had outright refused him while his grandfather's brother showed interest but instead chose to not take him in either. The only option was to send him to The Watch and be done with him. But the boy had formed a bond with Winifred and Winifred with him in the time Edric had given the responsibility of his care to the woman while the boy's mother was tried. So in the end Edric had allowed her to keep him as her own. Lysa Arryn had spoiled him too much, made him too reliant on her and left nothing in him that would make him stand on his own. It was slow work but Robert Rivers was showing signs of improvement.
"Good, that's good" the King shook his head with a smile. "When the time comes, I'll find a suitable place for him. Someplace he can make something of himself."
"I'm eternally grateful for your kindness, your Grace" the woman smiled. The two sank into a comfortable silence, watching the princess as she slept in her father's arms. Neither of them realized just how close they were until there was another knock on the door. Winifred gently pushed away from her position of leaning against the King and blushed slightly. The King gave his consent and the Kingsguard let the man on the other side in. It was Qyburn.
"I apologize for disturbing your Grace, but I have some disturbing news that needed your immediate attention," the Master of Whispers said softly. Edric raised an eyebrow in question and handed his daughter over to Winifred since the babe had begun to fuss. The woman rushed out of the room with the child in hand.
"Speak" Edric motioned for the man to sit as did he.
"There is no easy way to say this your Grace, but I must be blunt with you" the man cleared his throat. "The death of the Queen is not from childbirth. There were signs of poisoning that the Grandmaester has hidden from you."
Just as easily as Qyburn had said it, Edric's entire world was swept from under his feet. He slumped against his chair, staring wide-eyed at the man before him. It took him a moment to collect himself, but once he did there was a fire in his eyes.
"What do you mean?" the King growled. "How long have you known? And why did you wait an entire day to tell me?!"
"I had seen signs during the birthing. At the time I was too focused on the birth to question it. Afterwards, when the Queen rested I took a closer look at the signs. Pinkish fingertips, chapped lips and more blood loss than expected. I asked the Grandmaester whether we should worry but he shrugged it off and said he had seen such things before and to let the Queen rest. But the Queen died and I needed to have a closer look. So when The Grandmaester went to inform you of the meeting with the Lord Hand, I went down to his chambers and took a thorough look through it. I found this" the man pulled out a small vial from his sleeves and placed it on the table between them. "It's a seldom used poison. Not many outside the Citadel know of it. Once ingested it causes the vessels of blood to turn acidic and cause damage from the inside. It has no clue and unless you're looking for the signs, you won't notice it."
"But why?" his words came out choked, staring at the vial before him. "Why did he do it?"
"I confess that I do not know your Grace. Not yet at least" Qyburn spoke.
"Find out," the King said sternly. "If required torture the old man till he spills everything. Be discrete about it. I can bet my crown that he did not do it on his own accord. I don't want the real problem to fly off at the sound of the old man's screams."
"At once your Grace" Qyburn stood, bowed and left. It left Edric alone, to stew in his thoughts about the kind of torture he would inflict on the person responsible.
Late into the evening, a summon was sent for the members of the King's Council and the King's family, to be present at the Throne Room. They were all welcomed by the sight of a red-eyed Edric sitting on the Throne, Qyburn who sported a black eye stood beside of him. Curious looks were thrown at him but nobody commented.
"It is an odd time to summon you all, but the matter is an important one" there was no apologetic tone to his words, instead there was cold indifference. "Bring him in!"
At his words the guards at the door rushed out, coming back after a moment with a badly beaten and bleeding Grandmaester. The guards forced the old man to his knees before the Kind and stood back.
"You know why you are here" the King barked, "now confess once more!"
"The Queen… she did not die from birthing the Princess" the old master wheezed out, immediate shouts of outrage sprung from the throat of one Paxter Redwyne. "I slipped… slipped her a drug that would cause an early labour… and then… and then slipped her a poison that would kill her."
"And why did you do that?" the King hissed, "why did you Kill my wife and your Queen?!"
"I was… I was ordered to. By the Queen's mother. She ordered me to do it. She said… she said that the Queen was not deserving… of you or the Throne. That… she needed to be removed for the better of the King."
Cersei who had been listening in silence and shock was suddenly jolted to react. She stepped back and tried to make a run for it, but found a Kingsguard behind her. Ser Jaime gently grabbed her arm and presented her before the King.
"Pycelle… is he telling the truth? Did you do it? Did you have him murder my wife?" the King asked coldly.
"Edric, he's lying, son. I would never. Why would I kill my own daughter-in-law? And risk the safety of my granddaughter?" the King's mother asked. Edric's eyes narrowed before a light of realization formed in them.
"Qyburn" the King barked the Master of Whispers bowed, leaving the room and coming back with a woman. From how she was dressed, she looked like a pleasure girl.
"Tell the King what you told me dear" the elderly man encouraged.
"I was just leaving the Grandmaester's quarters after our session when I saw the King's mother waiting outside. She went in right after I walked out. I thought she was there to do what I did to the old man."
"And what exactly was it that you did to the old man?" Tyrion questioned.
"I sucked his cock. The old man always gets young women or even girls to do it. He pays us well so none of us says no" the woman shrugged.
"Are you accusing the King's mother of sucking the Grandmaester's cock?" Stannis questioned, his jaw set tightly.
"I said I thought she was going to do it. I never said she did it" the woman answered smoothly, making the Master of Laws' jaw spasm. "I stuck around to see if she would. I heard them talk about something some tear or something."
"So all you heard was tears and thought she'd be sucking cock" Tywin said dryly. "Your Grace, clearly your mother is being framed here. Pycelle has someone else pulling his strings."
"Lord Tywin" Qyburn interrupted the old lion, "the tears she mentions is in fact a Citadel experiment. A few Maesters wanted to try variations of the tears of Lys, undetectable unless you see the signs. It is named the tears because it turns the blood to acid, which tears through the veins and tears your insides. It leaves you to bleed out without anyone realizing."
"So the Grandmaester concocted the thing" Tyrion mused out loud, "but are we really going to pin the blame on my sister on the word of one whore who may or may not have heard right? The tears could mean a lot of things, like an actual tear. Or a tear on the skin she went to the Grandmaester for treatment."
"All valid point, Lord Tyrion. But the whore isn't the only one that has witnessed her going to meet the Grandmaester. My birds tend to see a lot and hear even more. They too report similar things to me, your Grace."
"Mother, tell me if you did this or not" Edric practically begged, wanting his mother to deny it all. Qyburn had presented a similar story to him before coming here, earning the honour of sporting a black eye. "Tell me that Qyburn's sources are wrong and that someone is framing you."
Cersei stumbled on her own words, at a loss of what to say to her son. Pycelle took the opportunity of adding in that gap.
"She killed King Robert as well. Laced his wine with potions to make the man more lethargic. The wine was strong anyways but the potions all but sealed his fate!" the old Maester shouted before he was smacked across the face by a mailed hand.
"Mother, please" Edric begged.
"She didn't deserve you" Cersei spoke softly, but it was loud enough to reach Edric's ears. The King deflated physically while a certain Lord of the Arbor inflated in anger.
"Qyburn… take her away for questioning" the King muttered. The Master of Whispers bowed and walked out, followed by guards who dragged Cersei out, who screamed for her son to save her. The Grandmaester was taken as well, dragged unceremoniously.
"Your Grace" Lord Paxter fumed, "if she did it, she should be punished. If plotting to kill is treasonous, then actually murdering the Queen is more than that" the man spoke, a fire burning in him. "It is hard, she is your mother, but the guilty need to be punished!"
Edric heard it all but said nothing, eyes shut tightly and trying to keep the tears at bay. He even ignored the stabbing pain across his back and hands as he dug into the Throne.