"Would like some more stew? A thicker blanket? Some more water?"
"I'm fine, Sam."
Dickon smiled faintly at his older brother's coddling, it was endearing. "My surprise it was to hear you had been found at the door steps." Samwell recalled, " You said that it was who sent you here?" he asked. "Queen Ranta Naylor." Dickon's small smile fell, "Threatened to burn the place down if your maesters didn't take me in." he mused, effectively silencing Samwell.
Exhaling through his nose, Dickon shook his head, scolding himself as he paused in raising the spoonful of soup to his lips. "No that isn't right. I don't believe she would truly do it, her sister on the other hand would." Dickon remembered the detached look in the Targaryen's eye as she gave the dragon the command to burn the humans alive. "No" Dickon repeated with another shake of his head, " Fire is not her thing, but mercy is." he said more to himself than to his brother.
"Dickon…" Samwell trailed off, " What happened?" he asked carefully. "Father made a foolish decision." Dickon said simply. "He chose to betray Lady Olenna...we were hilariously crushed by the Storm Queen's forces outside of High Garden with the Lannisters and when asked what was to be our fate Lady Olenna declared death. Daenerys Targaryen gave the command to one of the dragons there and father and I were nearly burnt alive. Had it not been for the Naylor queen interferring - you, your son, Talla and mother would be what's left of our family because Olenna had every intent on seeing us dead, whether she admits it or not."
The former Night's Watchman took a moment to digest all of this as his brother continued to slowly eat by the fire place. "What happened to father?" he finally asked but Dickon merely shrugged. "He was to be carted off to the Wall." he said simply. "The Wall?" Sam echoed dubiously, he only knew how that must have gone over with his father.
"Father is to wait there until Queen Ranta marches on the North and once there she will offer the Northern men there a chance to bend the knee, in father's case - his last chance. Should they fail to submit then the North will be nothing but ash and blood….just how the lands outside High Garden are now" Dickon finished sullenly. Samwell did his best to maintain his breathing at a reasonable pace. Jon. Jon was a smart man. He knew that. Sam always knew that, ever since he first laid eyes on him at castle black, he knew he was a smart man.
But like all men, they had their pride and honor and Sam was not sure if Jon would be able to get over his in the interest of self preservation not only for himself but for his people.
"Did she say when?" Sam asked suddenly, throwing off Dickon. "What?" the younger of the two asked. "Did she say when...the Storm Queen. Did she say when she was coming to demand fealty?" Samwell expanded. "No…"Dickon trailed off. " She and her army parted ways though and Queen Ranta was not headed back in the direction of Dragonstone last I saw" he forewarned. "Well do you know where was she headed?" Sam asked but Dickon merely shrugged.
"Why are you so worried-" Dickon began to ask but then stopped once he realized his brother's concern. "Your friend from the Night's Watch...Jon Snow...he's King of the North now isn't he? You're worried about him, aren't you?" he asked and watched as Samwell slowly nodded. "Be honest with me Dickon," the elder sibling requested. "What are the odds of Jon and Lady Ranta raging war?" Sam shifted on his feet as he asked this.
"Is he smart?" the younger of the two asked in return. "What?" Sam's brow furrowed. "Your friend. Is he smart?" Dickon repeated, "Or is he prideful?" he questioned.
"..."
"Father was smart and prideful." Dickon smiled though nothing was humorous, " And just look at how well we fared even with a worthy ally backing us." Dickon chuckled darkly, absently bringing another spoonful of stew to his mouth and staring blankly into the crackling fire.
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.
A large yawn escaped passed the pirate lords lips, but to say that she was anything but content would be a lie. Randyll Tarly was no longer her problem, she had been able to get a good rest despite her ever silent and brooding companion's clear disapproval of drawing out their stay, and the pirate lord was bringing the Forrester lord to bend the knee. Everything was all good.
That is of course until the unmistakable cry of a dragon sounded from above many heads, followed by three large shadows soaring by over head. "The queen." Tarla murmured to herself in realization before cupping her hands around her mouth and proceeding to shout as loud as she could. "Hey! Cousin! We're here, come back! Come back!...Damn it." she cursed, shoving fingers into her mouth and whistling with equal effort as she did with her shouting.
Drogon grumbled slightly when a familiar whistle greeted him from somewhere behind, a whistle that only his blue haired caretaker and the ones she surrounded herself with knew. Though said woman was not the one to release the whistle. "Drogon, what are you doing?" Daenerys asked when the dragon suddenly turned around and flew at a slower pace, his brothers having no choice but to follow by example as he searched for the source of the whistle.
"Oh yes," Tarla grinned, "Yes, there we go!" She cheered seeing her plan had worked, snatching up one of the Unsullied shields away from its owner and used the glare of the sun to bounce a beam of light briefly back and forth.
Seeing a faint ray of light being shined past the tree tops, the dark colored dragon glided towards the light that had caught his attention and circled the airspace above it. Upon hearing the whistle again, the dragons descended - reducing their distance to the ground greatly until all three were stalled in the air hovering above a cleverly hidden castle behind strong walls that vegetation had taken over to provide camouflage.
"Oi! Dany!" Tarla hollered, catching sight of the silvery blonde's hair, beckoning the woman down. Carefully latching their clawed feet into the vine and tree root covered wall, the dragons were not exactly perched comfortably and were forced to bend over the top of the blockage preventing enemies from getting in and each placed a solitary wing on the ground - creating a slide of sorts for their riders to take advantage of.
The pirate lord was eager to greet her relative with her usual shadows, but when a trio of men slid down along with the women - a frown appeared on her face and on the face of Grey Worm as well, unsettled by the new development. "Made some new friends along the road did you?" Tarla commented as Missandei slid to her feet and stood up straight, adjusting her dress.
"More or less." she exhaled a puff of air. Grey Worm was quick to separate his lady from the rough looking men that had been sharing Rhaegal with her, giving Beric, Sandor and Thoros a no where near happy look. Seeing this, Sandor was unafraid to return a look to the Unsullied captain, much to Beric and Thoros' amusement. "We don't have to worry about a dog fight breaking out do we, Clegane?" Thoros smirked weakly. "Fuck off, you frozen cunt." Sandor glared at the top knotted man.
"We could say the same to you, Tarla." a paler than usual Ranta commented lightly in order to stop the discussion from furthering, a slight stutter in her voice. "What happened, my queen?" Grey Worm frowned at the state of the noble woman and two out of three of the men with her.
" They fell into a river beyond the Wall. They need a maester to check them over." Daenerys spoke for her, eyes finally roving over where they had landed and noted that they were in a courtyard of sorts with its normal inhabitants plastered against whatever structure they could force themselves onto. "Beyond the Wall?!" Tarla echoed incredulously.
"Beyond it?" She said unable to grasp the concept. "What could you of possibly been doing beyond the boundaries of Westeros?" Tarla wondered. "It is not our place to question it." Grey Worm quipped. "It is when she nearly dies along with our other two leaders." the pirate returned.
" How would we have explained that to the people back home?!" the brunette said incredulously. "A maester, Tarla, we need a maester!" Daenerys cut in sharply. "For fuck's sake!" Tarla exclaimed out of frustration that a healer had not been summoned yet despite the people of the court yard clearly hearing the Targaryen the first time she requested one.
"Someone get me a healer!" she yelled, "Rodrik, Elissa, Asher, Talia!" the pirate continued to bellow for the leaders of the home. Coming to, said Forresters were quick to speed walk over after a cautious glance to the dragons and take in hand the two ailing men while Rodrik gently pressed a hand into the curve of Ranta's back and made to lead them all into the castle.
"Wait a minute," Asher spoke, " What did you bring into our home?" he frowned, looking to the frozen ball of ice Viserion had dropped onto the ground before departing off with his brothers for a rest somewhere else. "The very thing that's coming to kill us all." Beric said bleakley from inside Elissa's arms, there were a few brave souls who dared to approach the frozen ball of wights, but ultimately they all ended up recoiling in the end.
"I recognize those things from a book I read once...Those are soldiers of the Night King." Talia's small frame chimed from besides her mother who cradled the Hound. "Right you are, little one." Beric drolled. "So instead of leaving them where they were, you've brought them into Westeros." Asher stated rhetorically. "Hold your friends close and enemies closer, with them here we'll have every opportunity to study them - learn how to defeat them." Thoros reasoned.
"Fire, you dramatic fucker." Sandor grumbled. "Fire kills them, there's nothing to study about that." he said shortly. "and Valyrian steel….or dragon glass" Thoros chimed. " As such a material that Jon Snow just made off with...a good portion of it anyways though hardly insequential to the total amount left." Ranta noted to herself more than the others.
"Like you I had no interest in bringing them across the wall," the monarch looked to the Forrester, "Though Beric convinced me otherwise and I now see the validity in his reasoning. Would you of believed our word that they were coming if you hadn't seen for yourself?" she asked knowingly and was met with a silence - proving the woman's point.
"The dead can be continued to be spoken about while a maester looks you and your companions over." Rodrik stated pacifyingly, motioning the others to make for the castle as he put a hand of the small of the Naylor monarch's back. "This way, my lady. We can get you and your friends all situated." he said gently. Grey Worm tried to follow after but was stopped by Tarla.
"Let the fancy people talk, dog. Help me keep watch over the frozen corpses so no one gets any ideas." Tarla reasoned, though technically she was a fancy person herself since she was considered a leader. "You have my thanks, good ser" Ranta stated genuinely as they walked. "Lord Rodrik Forrester, my lady." the man introduced, "or rather my queen." he amended.
"Ah, finally a face to the name." the monarch grinned lightly. " The same here, your grace." the lord echoed. "Your home is well hidden." Ranta then commented, inwardly admiring the interior decorations of the castle as they walked into the shelter. "From eyes outside of the Naylor house, it seems".
Not too far from the sheltered castle of the Forresters, was another family up in arms and buzzing around like a swarm of bees. The Starks. Though it's not because most of them wanted too, more like it was because their leader had demanded them too.
"You can't be serious, you only just returned!" Sansa said incredulously at her brother's declaration of once again leaving, collecting fresh clothes from his room to shove on the back of a hose. " You seen the same things I did Sansa. Queen Ranta is in the North with the Forresters, holding a cluster of wights in the center of their home. I wanted to speak with the queen again and now I have my chance." he said plainly before looking to Kinvara. "You, can you find the Forresters once we enter their wood?" Jon asked.
"Yes, your grace." Kinvara bowed her head slightly. "Then go get your things together, because you're coming with us to find them...you are free to leave after that." he instructed the witch and looking to his sister again, "You and Lord Baelish need to be packing as well because you're coming with me and Ser Davos. Arya too. The woods are only a hour away, half that if we are quick. Maester Wolkan will remain behind and watch over Winterfell for the short time we are away." this announcement shocked the youngest wolf present along with the others though Arya had no verbal protest of it.
"We are?" Sansa echoed incredulously. "Yes, you are. Now get going, who knows how long the queen intends on sticking around." Jon ordered shortly. With his instructions barked, it sent the other would be travelers into action - packing a few days clothes at a high rate of velocity and then proceeding to meet the Northern King outside with horses who had been standing at the ready.
Sansa had barely gotten on her horse before Jon had been charging for Winterfell's gates, at the breakneck pace the eldest wolf had set for his traveling companions the distance between them and the notorious wooden area sitting outside of their castle's borders was closed quickly.
Back at the hidden castle where its' occupants were blissfully unaware of the impending visitors, Ranta and Rodrik had been holding conversation in a private room for a while now seeing as the Forrester Lord seen to her desires generously after some color had returned to her skin and the stutter was gone from her voice.
" Compensation my lord, is a necessity." the Naylor monarch had been saying as she sipped at the wine he had dug out from the bowels of his personal stash. "Your ships helped cart my army over the narrow sea - your weapons helped fight the battles won against our enemies….your wine has quenched my thirst- though I never knew a northern man to take to wine over ale." she added off handedly.
Rodrik chuckled from his seat a few feet away from her. "Not many do." he acknowledged, " I can bounce in favor for either one of them but in every situation where there is an option - I will pick wine...harder to get drunk off of and it's richer in taste." the bearded man circled a finger around the rim of his glass. "And compensation is not necessary. Those things were gifts." Rodrik assured though Ranta scoffed.
"I pay my people, Lord Forrester. The Unsullied have been paid in freedom-rightly so. The Dothraki are being paid through battle, the rewards of war that come with it and the horses and gold they desire. The Second Sons and the Pirates will be paid in coin as well. My advisors receive a similar fate and so will you...the moment you name a price that is." she amended. "We can go in circles all day if you really continue to insist my lady," Rodrik hummed amused before sobering up. "But I will ask that you fulfill a favor and I will consider that payment." he then mentioned.
"Of course." Ranta nodded with ease. "Our trees have naturally taken a beating when cultivating them for weapons and ships... but the saplings are not growing and there are signs of decay on some of the older trees." Ranta listened to the dilemma with a concerned frown.
"There is a sickness in our forest and we cannot figure out the cause of it. You do not control vegetation, but if my assumption is correct then I would say that your cousin Tarla does. If I were to give you seeds of our trees, and showed you were the trees ail - could you have Tarla heal and restore health to them?" Rodrik asked pleadingly. "You need not say more, my lord. Your forest will return to its originally healthy state, quite possibly even better than before. You have my word." Ranta extended a hand in offering, smiling gently at the relieved expression the Forrester now bore as he grasped her forearm in his and shook.
A knock at the door sounded before a servant sheepishly poked her head in. "Forgive me, my lord and lady for the interruption" She curtsied in apology, " But there is a matter that needs tending to." the woman declared. "What issue?" Rodrik asked calmly. The servant hesitated slightly, eyes bouncing between the two nobles. "The king of the North has found us and is demanding an audience. He brings with him his sisters and two advisors." Ranta's brow rose into her hairline at this before looking to Rodrik expectantly.
"Very well then." the Forrester took a moment to respond before standing from his seat. "Why don't you show our lady here to her rooms while I deal with the King. Our conversation can continue at a later date." Rodrik finished with a look towards the Naylor who nodded with ease.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, my lord." the servant was met with incredulous looks. "Because Lord Snow is requesting audience with Lady Ranta." she finished. The two nobles then exchanged bewildered looks before the male offered a hand to help the woman up. "Then let us see what our old friend wants then." he looped their arms together and exited the room with the servant leading the way.
"Jon Snow," Grey Worm declared coming out of the crowd of Forrester bannermen and servants that were gathered in the courtyard with Tarla and some Unsullied by her side. Jon turned his head at the accented voice and seen the stern looking captain approaching. "Grey Worm." the Stark returned pleasantly despite his companions bewildered expressions at the mention of his name.
"I'm relieved to see you made it out of the battle okay." he bid the Unsullied man. "You are to be in your own home." Grey Worm ignored his sentiment, "Back home with the weapons and resources my queen has provided you so you can arm your people for the war to come." Arya looked to the man with a careful look, analyzing him from top to bottom.
The northern monarch shifted on his feet at this."Yes, yes I am." he agreed. "You're not here to give them back are ya'? Seems awful ungrateful." Tarla scrutinized. "No my lady, never. I am eternally grateful for what Queen Ranta has given me. The resources are being dispersed as we speak." he assured. "Well that's relief, isn't it Missandei." Daenerys stepped forward with the translator by her side as well.
"Certainly would be a shame should they go to waste." the Targaryen finished. "Indeed it would, my lady." Missandei replied dutifully. " Daenerys, Missandei - glad to see the both of you are alive and well from your journey." Jon nodded his head to the two women. "You as well, my lord." the translator returned genuinely.
"If I may, Daenerys...where is your sister?" Jon asked scanning the crowd and unable to spot the blue haired woman. " Previously engaged, though I see you've brought your own company" The Targaryen noted, stepping closer along with the rest of the Dragonstone party. "These are his sisters, Arya and Sansa Stark." Ser Davos pointed to them respectively.
"The man is Petyr Baelish - Lord protector of the Vale, otherwise known as Littlefinger...he's Sansa's shadow of sorts." at the mention of the Vale, multiple eyes locked onto the man as if a hawk spotting it's next meal. Something that was not missed by any of the Winterfell inhabitants. "Strange for you to cart them out of Winterfell" Daenerys' eyes lingered on the man for a moment longer before returning them to Jon.
"Strange of you to be Khaleesi of Dothraki and yet are surrounded by Unsullied." Arya returned with a small smirk though it disappeared at Sansa's pinching of her arm. A knowing smile worked its way across the Targaryen's lips, her brow quirking. " No worries, young Stark... you and every other northerner will see our Dothraki on the field before this war is done. I can guarantee you that." Daenerys vowed.
Before much else could be said, the unmistakable sound of a heavy wooden door being opened rang throughout the clearing. Subsequently all eyes turned towards the sound came from and from the doorway did the blue head that Jon had been searching for did appear, along with the head of the castle grounds.
"It really is a small world." Ranta commented nonchalantly as she and Rodrik finished closing the distance between themselves and the northern king. "A small world indeed, your grace." Jon agreed. "I'm told that you wanted to talk to me." the monarch stated, Rodrik putting space between them. " You've been told correctly then." Jon nodded his head, but Ranta merely frowned.
"Then I'm sorry to disappoint because I do believe that we've done all the talking necessary on Dragonstone, I don't think we have much else to talk about." she doubted. The dark haired Stark shifted on his feet and moved a step or two closer to the Naylor, " And I say otherwise." Jon murmured thoughtfully. "You and I both know why you're here." a peculiar look in his eyes.
"Yes, to meet with another ally." Ranta said unashamedly but Jon shook his head. "No, that's not why you're here and you know it. You didn't risk your life to go beyond the wall for an ally." the Stark denied. "So says you." Ranta countered. "If that were true then you wouldn't have brought back a souvenir from your travels. You seen what was there. You, your sister and Missandei all seen it. You brought the wights back to prove a point!" he insisted, motioning to the ball of undead soldiers. "And what is your point?" Ranta asked in return.
"The point is, that we must stand together now more than ever." Jon proclaimed. "I try not to get personally close to my enemies, makes it harder to cave their skull in." Ranta's war mace rattled at her hip pointedly. "So you rather face them separately than together...after what you saw and went through?!" the northern king looked to her incredulously.
" I gave you weapons, food, medicine and refuge to sustain the lives of your people. My conscious is clear." Ranta bit back just as passionately. "You know we don't have the numbers!" the wolf continued to argue. "You flew over our lands and what did you see? Nothing. Nothing in comparison in what would be seen over any other kingdom of Westeros, Dragonstone included."
"The wall showed no signs of collapse." Daenerys shot back instantly. "They can't cross over unless physically moved or the wall comes down. What could they do to cause the wall to come down that they couldn't do years ago in the past?" the silvery blonde asked. " You cannot ignore that the Night King's numbers and say that they are not a problem." Jon pointed out, "And what if they have figured out a way to get through that we are unaware of and they are merely biding their time to grow in numbers." he added.
"From what I understand" Ranta cut in, "Is that your emphasis is on the lack of numbers, which is why you come to me. I put forth my armies and let's say I end up losing a large portion of the lives that look up to me….how am I to rage war against Cersei when half my army is gone. How am I to face against enemies both to the north and south of me and I have hardly the numbers to deal with them. By depleting the Martell and Tyrell forces? That's just going to go over swimmingly with Olenna and Oberyn." she scoffed.
"I am not your enemy!" Jon narrowed his eyes. "You are!" Ranta said right back. "As much as neither of us wish it , Jon Snow, you are my enemy. Seven Kingdoms, one ruler. That's how this works. I cannot and will not have an independent unit to the north. If I let you have your independence then what's to stop the others from demanding for theirs as well?"
"Nothing I'm afraid." Lord Baelish suddenly stepped forward, with his hands behind his back. "Forgive me my lord but Queen Ranta's argument is entirely valid." Sansa looked to the man betrayed though he paid no mind to it.
" Figuratively speaking, should both wars be won, the one against the dead and Cersei in our fair lady's favor, thousands of lives will have been lost all for naught if she's allowed you to remain unbent. It will cause great unrest. I am sure the Greyjoys for example would love to jump at the opportunity to reclaim their independence. If people hear that she is granting independence to solely the north there'll be a blade drawn across her throat before the year is over." the man assured. The reasoning of Littlefinger was enough to silence the Stark king effectively.
"However," Petyr then turned to Ranta, " Lord Snow's argument is valid as well, though I reckon such a topic can be discussed privately between you and I. Perhaps I can get his current thought path across to you in a different way then he fails to portray." he offered with a devilish smile. Ranta sucked on the wall of her cheek in thought before caving in to his desires.
"Very well Lord Baelish, come and whisper in my leant ear." the woman slowly turned and walked away with the grinning Vale protector behind her. The journey to the room Ranta previously occupied with Rodrik was a silent one, it wasn't until the door shut behind her did Ranta show any outward signs of exasperation. Ergo, the heavy sigh released through her nose and the rubbing of her temple after plopping down in a cushioned chair.
Littlefinger chuckled at her actions, "Yes, it is in my experience that everyone has that reaction after dealing with the Starks. Hard and slow minded yet quick tempered. Dealings with them head on never do go smoothly when interests clash." he poured wine into her glass and into a fresh cup of his own before taking the seat the Forrester lord used to occupy.
"Allow me to briefly distract you with a question." he begged. "Which is more dangerous? The dagger brandished by an enemy...or the hidden one pressed to your back by someone you never even seen?" Petyr asked. The monarch thought over this for a moment, "The hidden one because what we don't know is what usually gets us killed." she answered.
"Very good. Very good! A smart woman you are, not many would of gotten that correct." Petyr tipped his glass towards her. "And the unknown in the scenario we find ourselves in is-"
"Is the status of the Night King and whether or not the wall will really hold him back." Ranta claimed but it was waved off dismissively. "No not that." he scoffed lightly, "I'm talking about the real threat here. The one that comes after the dead are taken care of." he explained. "Then the unknown factor is Jon snow." Ranta amended and was rewarded with another tip of the glass.
"Precisely." Petyr nodded. "We only make peace with our enemies, my lady, and that's why it's called making peace. Though our ever so honorable King in the North is daring enough to meet you on the fields of battle just as he met Ramsey's forces on the field and not only did he get his men killed, but his brother Rickon and nearly himself had Sansa and I not come to his aid with the knights of the Vale beating back the Bolton forces."
Ranta paid close attention to the man's words. " The past is in the past and while the Vale came to the North's aid once, it will not do so again. Not with you standing on the other side of that field…. Though allow me to caution you, my lady. I am a purveyor of beauty and discretion - both equally important and am a firm believer in that the future is the only thing worth discussing. Given the opportunity, what do we do to those who've hurt the ones we love?" he stated more than questioned.
"Everything we could possibly think of." Ranta murmured. " Do not fight in the North or in the South" Petyr shook his head," Fight. Fight every battle, everywhere, always in your mind and if you want to build a better home, first you'll have to demolish the old one. You do understand that don't you?" the Baelish looked deep into Ranta's blue eyes and for the next couple of hours did the woman allow the fox like man whisper in her ear, the Naylor taking his words for truth up until the point where he had run out of things to whisper that would ultimately be to his benefit.
When this point came, the duo stood from their chairs and made another appearance outside. Walking up to the Northern King, Ranta stared unwaveringly into his eyes as Littlefinger slinked back over to Sansa's side with an unashamed grin. The Naylor monarch said nothing as she peered into Jon's chocolate brown eyes, nothing but stare and abruptly hold out a hand for him to take. It took a moment or two but the Northern King finally responded and wrapped her smaller appendage in his and giving a firm shake, sealing the alliance between the two for the time being that is.
Because in the end, one of two things will happen. Either the dead will defeat the living, in which case all their troubles come to an end, or life will win out.
0o.0o.0o.0o.o.0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.
"Any word on the queen?" Tyrion poured himself a cup of wine. He and Varys had been sitting before the fire place in the war room, conversing. "My little birds lost sight of them after they crossed over the northern mountains though reports say there have been disturbances in Queens crown." Varys mused, " Disturbances much too large to be from any human. It is safe to say that the queen had been there at least for a little while. Where they went from there remains a mystery." Tyrion sighed through his nose at this before sipping at his beverage.
"Well she's made it past Winterfell...we at least know that and there've been no reports about lands ablaze so we so know that nothing's being burned to the ground." the Lannister acknowledged. "Would you like to know what else my birds tell me?" Varys swirled the contents of his cup around. "Hm?" Tyrion hummed, tilting his chin slightly. "Word is that there is a drift forming between your brother and sister." the spy master revealed, much to Tyrion's shock.
"Jamie seeks to end this war after barely coming out of it during the failed sack of High Garden, Cersei says otherwise. She is confident that the Iron bank will see her through this war." Varys shrugged lightly. "Yes, my sister always did have too much respect for money." Tyrion said absently. "Even your friend Bronn has no intentions on fighting any further, advised your brother to get out while he still could. He's demanding your brother his payment for his services." the robed man finished.
"They can't have any money left, not after buying the war elephants" Tyrion shook his head, " And the iron bank does not lend to people who are not likely to pay them back...so how is she getting them to fund her?" he questioned. "Your guess is as good as mine." Varys said simply. "How do you propose on capitalizing on the disunion between your siblings is an even greater question." he sipped his wine. "How indeed." Tyrion moved his jaw from side to side in thought.
"Why not place a bug in his ear?" the spy master suggested. "What kind of bug?" Tyrion asked in return. " A bug who's family has been working in our favor despite us never meeting." the Lannister looked to his friend, confused on who he was referring to.
"The Forresters, Mira Forrester more specifically." Varys revealed, "That poor girl has been working the inner workings of the Red Keep for years now. If anyone is able to spread whispers, it's her...though a little convincing may be necessary. She's only been alive this long while in employment with your sister because she knows how to keep her head down and mind her business, a closed mouth tends to hear many things. People never suspect the quiet ones to eavesdrop and plot schemes."
Tyrion thought over his idea for a few moments, "Even if we get her to agree to this, I doubt my brother would listen to her." he denied lightly. " Perhaps not," Varys agreed, " But he may listen to you." the small curly haired man looked to his companion curiously. " Allow Mira to whisper in your brother's ear, should he not take to the bug then we send you in to King's Landing to speak with him." Varys explained.
Tyrion nodded in understanding of this, not exactly opposed, but before either could continue the conversation - Daario, Cerran and Jorah walked in. "Scheming are we?" Daario wondered innocently. "Trying to at the very least." Varys returned. " Well you may want to hold off on that." the bearded man returned. "We have quite a number of uninvited guests being hauled into the island." the Lannister and spymaster grew tense at this information brought to them and watched as the trio of men turned to address the new addition coming into the room.
" Hello Tyrion, it's good to see you again" a woman with emerald green eyes greeted kindly before scanning the empty room besides the two men and herself inhabiting the place, "...Now where's my daughter?"
0o.0o.0o.0o.0o.
A/N: Extremely short I know, but this was just to push something out since it's been so long. MAJOR DRAMA IN THE NEXT CHAPTER TO COME, PS...Littlefinger whispering in the queen's ear? *hint hint* No good for our favorite fun sized Lannister*