The gardens were as quiet as ever, but they were far from empty. It was almost as full as the early days, when Daenerys had finally been given freedom to walk the Red Keep and nobles and courtiers were all around the place, seeking first King Robert's and then King Joffrey's favour. But no longer, now it wasn't nobles who were in the gardens, lying on the ground or sitting back on benches, breathing in the flowers, now it was officials. Scribes and keykeepers of the king's treasury, watchmen of granaries and stores, smiths' guilds negotiators and harbourmasters, hetmen of lodge towns in the Kingswood and bailiffs from merchant towns along the Blackwater Rush and Roseroad. And unlike before, none of them were here for pleasure, they came here for a moment's peace in the toil of their lives before returning to work. Daenerys and Sansa enjoyed walking and trying to listen in, no one told them anything, so it was all they could do to learn what was happening in the wider world of war.
Today she was listening to two haggard looking officials who were sat on a bench nearby, she had taken a sewing kit out and was pretending to be invested in that while listening intently to the conversation, or what she could grasp of it.
"I heard those meetings lasted for the whole day," one of them said to the other.
"Near as makes no difference, I stuffed in breakfast just before they started, and went straight to bed when they were done."
"Did it work?"
"No, not one thing," the second man growled, angry, tired, common expressions these days. "They absolutely refused to allow the crown to set up a supply base in their town. The bailiff wouldn't have it."
"Did you bribe or threaten?"
"Both. We offered promises of money in return for housing the supplies, and they said nothing. I spent three hours trying to speak to the various masters, I thought maybe the Lannisters or Tyrells could provide the money directly, but all the Tyrells were busy. In the end I got through to Lord Tyrion, who couldn't provide anything either."
"But he's master of coin!"
"Aye, and a stingy one at that, not that he has much to be playing with. In the end we finally got the merchant's guild to coff up the dragons to offer the bailiff, only after Lord Tyrion got the Lord Hand to agree to put up some of the King's jewels as collateral for them."
The first man whistled. "That bad?"
The second man laughed, a dark, dry bark that lacked all mirth. "I hear the queen doesn't have any more to put up as collateral herself, may well be if we're talking about the king's jewels."
"But at least you got the money."
"Yes, but we didn't need it in the end."
"The town accepted without it?"
"No, they refused. They said that they were too close to the front lines, accepting our supplies just makes them a target, they would agree only if they got the money and a garrison of soldiers. So then I had to find the Lord Marshall's representatives. But Lord Loren refuses to part with any of his soldiers, he said they would take the supplies themselves."
"Oh for the love of the bloody gods," the first man spat. "Is that why I've been in negotiations with the carpenters' guilds to get them to speed up repairs on the wagons?"
"Probably."
Daenerys kept listening for another few minutes, but when the men got up and left she sat back and set aside her shoddy attempt at needlework.
"You're not really getting any better."
Daenerys glanced over at her shoulder at Sansa who was walking over and smiled. "I'm not really trying," she said, as Sansa folded her dress beneath her and sat down.
"It must have been a thrilling conversation you were listening to then," Sansa said. The two of them split up to try and listen to the men in the gardens. Two women sat in silence drew attention, one was much easier to pass off, there was no reason for a single woman to be talking. And half of the thrill was passing what they had heard on to the other. She hadn't appreciated gossip before this, but it whiled away many hours as they talked about it and wondered openly what it meant.
She told Sansa what she had heard from the two men. "What about you, what did you hear?"
Sansa leant in. "I overheard a conversation between three of the Most Devout. They were discussing who will become the next High Septon."
"Do they know who?"
"Apparently, everyone is trying to avoid the job," Sansa whispered conspiratorially. "No one wants to be the High Septon right now."
"Did they say why?" Was it because of her, did they think that she would come after them too? Well, if they were nice…
"No," Sansa admitted, clearly a little disappointed. "But they did say that Lord Tywin has been trying to push them to make a choice. I think no one wants to be the Lannisters' High Septon."
Dany nodded. "It would be a bad look if Stannis' armies march into the city and find a High Septon crowned by Tywin Lannister." What had happened to the High Septon who had served the Mad King, she wondered. Robert had kept Varys the Spider, so surely the High Septon remained. But Stannis was not Robert, everyone knew that, if Robert showed mercy they probably expected Stannis not to just to be different.
She thought back to Stannis and his children. They especially didn't strike Daenerys as the kind to engage in murder by association. But then look at what she had done. She shivered. She hadn't gone into the tunnels for a while now, but soon she would again, if she was to find a way for her and Sansa to escape this wretched place.
Sansa let out a breath of disappointment. "There's not much more to say really, is there?"
Dany shook her head. The gossip was drying up, what they learned today was nothing compared to the kinds of rumours that had circulated the gardens when she and Sansa had started doing this. Most of it turned out to be untrue, but it was still far more entertaining than some nameless town refusing to hold supplies for the war. At least that was what Dany thought, but Sansa much preferred a little boring truth, and so Dany sought it out for her, wherever she could find it. "A walk?" She asked.
"Please," Sansa replied, giving her a grateful smile.
As they walked through the gardens they drew many looks from the officials lounging around. Not only were they noble women, a rare sight in the Red Keep's gardens these days, but they were the infamous daughters of a traitor and a madman. But these were looks of curiosity, not malice, the officials didn't have time in their working day for that, and now that the noble courtiers were spending every free moment locked in their rooms or in manors in the city, Dany and Sansa could enjoy their walk far more than they could before.
They passed a fountain topped by a youthful Robert Baratheon, standing triumphant, his great warhammer resting over one shoulder while his other hand was held towards a plain knight he had clearly just bested. It was remarkable statuary, even if the image didn't match what Daenerys had seen of the old king.
As they passed the fountain and moved into a more secluded area of the garden, Dany heard a voice coming from not far away, a young voice by the sounds of it. "Do you hear that?"
Sansa frowned. "I do." They followed the voice around a row of hedges and were shocked to see the Prince and Princess sitting together on a small bench. Myrcella was fumbling with a scarf tied around Tommen's head, covering his eyes.
"Nearly done," Myrcella said, before pulling the scarf off with a flourish. "Got it." Tommen blinked in the new light. "It's my turn now," Myrcella began, raising the scarf to her own head.
"I don't want to," Tommen said, kicking the ground moodily.
"Okay, we can do something else," Myrcella said, very quickly, putting the scarf down and trying to take her brother's hand, but he pulled away.
Dany looked around, trying to find the prince and princess' handlers, but there was no one there, no governess, no tutors, no septa, it was just the two of them. There wasn't even a guard, just two royal children.
"What do you want to do?" Myrcella asked.
"I don't know," Tommen replied.
Sansa stepped forwards before Dany could stop her. "Is everything alright Princess Myrcella, Prince Tommen?"
The two of them jumped and spun to face Dany and Sansa. "Lady Sansa, Lady Daenerys!" Myrcella jumped to her feet, looking equal parts shocked and relieved. "Yes, everything's fine."
"No it isn't, I'm bored, there's nothing to do, everything's changing and no one is telling us anything!"
"Tommen," Myrcella began.
But Tommen whirled on her. "Don't talk to me like that!"
"Prince Tommen," Sansa said, stepping forward assertively, "such language is unbecoming for a prince, you should apologise to your sister."
Tommen matched Sansa's stare, and Dany wondered who would break first. Myrcella edged closer to Daenerys, watching with a concerned eye. In the end, Tommen broke first, looking down at the floor. "Sorry Myrcella," he muttered.
"It's okay Tommen," Myrcella replied, relieved.
"Are you alone, is it just the two of you?"
Myrcella nodded. "Yes, they need everyone who can write and read to help the government right now, so our septa and tutors are helping them out."
"And you don't have any guards?"
Myrcella smiled wryly at her. "I think they need fighters even more than they need writers at the moment."
That made Dany smile. But she heard something in Myrcella's voice, something she hadn't heard in a long time, a lifetime ago. "Are you alright, princess?"
"Yes," Myrcella said quickly.
Dany nodded, but watched as Myrcella saw Sansa take Tommen to the side and talk to him, laugh with him, brighten his world. She saw the relief come to the princess in the slightly slackening of the neck and face, how she settled back into her gait. "Princess, if I may ask, how long ago did they take your attendants away?"
"About two weeks now." Her voice was fatigue heavy. "They still wake us and come and get us for meals, but other than that, it's just been me and Tommen."
"Is your mother aware?"
Myrcella's face hardened. "She knows, but she's too busy to see us these days." As Dany suspected. She had seen these expressions before. They had been on a harder face, a crueler face, but she knew them nonetheless. Myrcella was not Viserys, although perhaps if Stannis took King's Landing she may well have to take the same path. She hoped not, the princess was too kind for that, although perhaps it would do good to have an older sister taking the younger brother rather than the other way around.
"So it's just been you and Tommen?" Dany asked quietly, ensuring that Tommen didn't hear. The prince had asked about Sansa's arm and Sansa had obliged and showed him the ruined limb.
The princess' face softened and she nodded. "Yes, just the two of us."
"How have you been coping?"
"I try to distract Tommen with games and stories. It works most of the time, but sometimes he has moments of…" she trailed off.
"That's not what I asked, princess," Daenerys replied softly. "How are you coping?"
Myrcella looked at her, confused, as though she understood Daenerys' words but couldn't quite work out the sentence. "I…" She bit her lip. "I try," she finished. But she bit harder, her eyes started to water.
Oh gods. Daenerys quickly came to Myrcella's side and turned her away from Tommen. Hurriedly, she gestured to Sansa who's eyes went wide for a moment before she asked Tommen to look at her dress and see if there was a tear in it that she couldn't see. With Tommen distracted Daenerys helped Myrcella wipe her tears away, gently leading her just far enough away that Tommen couldn't hear her stifled sobs. "Thank you," Myrcella whispered. She'd wiped her tears on the inside of her sleeve so that they didn't stain the fabric. "I'm sorry about this, I just-"
"It's alright, princess," Daenerys said. "These last weeks have been tough on all of us."
"Yes… weeks," Myrcella muttered. Then she forced a smile on her face. "Thank you for coming."
"It's nothing," Daenerys replied.
They watched Sansa and Tommen in silence for a little while before Myrcella broke the silence again. "I admire you, Daenerys."
"You what?" Dany asked, not sure she had heard properly.
"I admire you," Myrcella repeated. "The way you've been looking after lady Sansa, even standing up to my brother. You're a good person."
"I don't know about that," Daenerys replied quietly, remembering the boy in the tunnel, the knights, the High Septon. "I just try to help Sansa, she's helped me so much since I got here."
Myrcella looked curious but didn't ask any further, only saying. "I don't believe that, I think you are a good person. After all, you didn't have to help me with Tommen."
Dany didn't say anything, but she fought to keep her face passive. Why had she helped? It wasn't like Myrcella had done anything for her, or Tommen. Not that she held it against them, they were children. They weren't part of this whole rotten edifice that was hurting Sansa and other good people. They were stuck inside it, and if the edifice fell to Stannis they would be crushed. Would anyone even care?
"Would you like to meet again tomorrow?" Myrcella asked softly, turning to her with a hopeful look.
"I don't think your mother would like you cavorting with traitors' daughters," Daenerys pointed out.
"I won't tell her, and there's no one else who would, they're all too busy with matters more important than us."
Dany returned Myrcella's look, staring into the emerald green eyes that looked just like her mother's but lacked all the malice of Cersei Lannister. She could care. That was something she could do. She fixed a smile on her face. "It would be a pleasure."
