It was all a blur. Shona could hardly believe the turn of events on Margaery and Joffrey's wedding day. Truly she could not have prepared herself for the turmoil to come. The ceremony had been in itself dull. A typical and stuffy service with the septon blessing the newly joined couple, a bit of prayer, and the claps of higher borns all packed like sardines into The Sept of Baelor to bear witness to the holy union of Tyrell and Baratheon. Margaery had been a sight to behold as they stood before the septon with her pale back exposed to the crowd behind her wearing a gown embellished with a train of fabric roses. Shona's cousin was cloaked then and the couple descended down amongst them down the aisle. Lady Olenna led the party exiting the sept after the newlyweds, and Shona had found herself clutching Sansa's hand in fear of becoming lost in the monstrous crowd.
The more she thought about it, the more she knew something had been wrong. Shona almost hated herself for not seeing what was right in front of her face the entire time. When Sansa had confided in her Petyr Baelish's plan it had been hard to keep a straight face. Lord Baelish seemed the least likely of persons to rush to her side for aid. He was paid handsomely for his services towards the crown. Why risk his head for an outcasted Stark? It made Shona wonder what the smirking Riverland native had planned for Sansa, and the thought frightened her. When Sansa came up missing after Joffrey's public poisoning Shona understood immediately who was behind the events. The young Hightower had rushed for Sansa and Tyrion amidst the madness, but had been swept away by her brothers and father in urgency. Her mother had been hysterical crying into a perfumed handkerchief as they covered the boy king's body with a pristine King's Guard cloak. All around the king stood solemn faces. Not even they could have protected the king from Lord Baelish's hand.
In her chambers Shona finally wept. A scroll arrived at her window carried by an off colored raven with stark white tail feathers mixed amongst the coal black. This was not a bird from the rookery. The bird squawked and bit at her fingers as she tugged the scroll from between it's grasping talons. It hopped on the sill momentarily before taking off in flight once more. The script racing across the paper was loopy and feminine. The script of no one she knew of, but she continued to read its offerings regardless.
"Shona,
I urgently request a private audience with you concerning Lord Lannister. Time is of the essence. Come alone, and come quickly. I will be waiting where we discussed the spiders."
Shona knew immediately whom the vague message was from and donned her velvet blue cloak, rushing for the doors of her balcony. She could not risk walking from her chamber through the keep without being spotted by one of the Lannisters, so she grabbed a hold of the trellis and scurried down it's vine covered railings. Message pocketed, she began the trek towards the River Mud Gate with the hood of her cloak blocking any direct view of her tell tale curls or face. The fisherman's market was oddly empty. All the stands had been cleared out for the wedding, and Shona assumed the men were in their homes shocked by the death of their king. The people had not been fond of King Joffrey, she knew, but a poisoning would lead to all sorts of rumors amongst the peasant people who occupied the banks of Blackwater Marsh where she was now meeting the Spider himself.
Varys was disguised much like herself. Instead of perfumed silks he wore the common drab clothing of the average Flea Bottomer. His bare head was covered by a thick knitted cap, and on his face a false beard made the usually pristinely primped man look no different than any other fishermen that passed through the square on his way home from a long voyage at sea. By his side was a bay gelding with a shaggy mane who stomped his feet periodically leaving hoof prints the size of saucers amongst the sandy shore. Come morning they would disappear from sight with the coming tide.
"Lord Varys."
Shona did not bother to curtesy as usual. She lowered her hood and gathered her skirts as the man she knew so little gestured to the shadows alongside two stalls and the charred remains of a thatched roof. The pair stood in silence for a long moment until Varys finally spoke, "We have not much time to discuss the issue at hand, so I will come straight to the point: Sansa Stark is gone, and Cersei is holding her personally responsible for the death of her son. I admit that her disappearance is very peculiar indeed. Even my little birds have seen no sign of her, and it's hard to hide someone like Sansa Stark."
"I have no idea where she is, but I think I know who took her. Why, however, I do not know. Sansa confided in me that Lord Baelish had offered to help her escape to The North. To Winterfell. Sansa is going home."
"Baelish would never risk that move," Varys pursed his lips in irritation, "He is motivated somehow to get her back to Winterfell. I'm afraid it is no safer there than it is here. At least if she had remained we could have protected her. Lord Tyrion, on the other hand, is beyond a shadow of a doubt innocent, but will be prosecuted all the same. Cersei wants blood and she will get it regardless of the price. Tyrion will die at her hand if we do not interfere."
"But how? There is nothing I can do to persuade her to let him go or stop pursuing Sansa. Cersei barely knows me. We are not exactly friends." Shona voiced her concerns lowly, but she need not worry about being overheard. The banks were a fantastic place for a secret meeting. In the darkness with the waves rushing over the sand she was deafened to anything but the Spider's words in her ear.
"Your grandfather and I have many mutual friends, and also many mutual enemies. The Lannisters want your family on their side, and there is no mistake about it. Lord Hightower and his men are vastly wanted by Cersei. She is planning on marrying off Tommen and it will be to you unless we make our move now and leave King's Landing."
Shona blinked at the words and shook her head, "If I leave now she will know."
"Not if you have a reason to leave, Lady Hightower, and you will," Varys looked beyond the young girl before him for a moment studying the waves on the banks. The stalls surrounding them. He listened momentarily to make sure they were still fully alone, "because your grandfather's funeral will be much more important than being by Cersei's side."
"Grandfather is going to die?" She asked in horror. Shona was not necessarily close to her grandfather, but she did not wish for him to die just so she could escape the city with reason, "Are you going to kill him?"
Varys chuckled under his breath, "Lord Leyton is way too valuable to kill off. He is not involved that directly in the game of thrones: but you are. He is faking his death for a valuable cause. You will attend this false funeral, gather coinage, and make your way to the docks of Oldtown where I will meet you there. You see, your grandfather is a very wise man, and we share some mutual alliances."
"The Targaryens." Shona stated in realization. It all made sense now. People assumed the older Lord of Hightower was frail, and ailing, but he was really smarter than them all. All this time he had been keeping his alliances secret. She thought back to the months previous: the displeasure of her father sending her to King's Landing, the book Lord Leyton had sent Margaery for her wedding baring the Targaryen name, and mostly his need to stay out of the business of Westeros. All this time he had been playing the game of thrones better than anyone else in the Seven Kingdoms.
Varys smiled at the statement and his eyes crinkled as he spoke once more, "Just one in particular," he paused for emphasis, "Daenerys Targaryen. The true queen of Westeros, and the mother of dragons."
"I want to see him. I want to see Tyrion first before I make any decisions." Shona was shocked at the serious tone her voice had taken, but she was serious indeed and Varys could sense it. He was momentarily shocked by her demand, but agreed all the same. Shona was helped onto the gelding by a crouching Varys and the bald eunuch joined her on the bay reining him in and urging the equine forward along the cobblestones towards the keep perched high above the peasant town below.
Shona was almost startled by the man's ability to maneuver around the city. He seemed to know every alley, crevice, and nook like the back of his hand. They took a series of turns down narrow alleys that smelled like feces and wet animal which made Shona gag into Varys' cloak. The ride paused outside a quaint building not much bigger than a storage room. The gelding was tied outside and the duo entered the damp interior of the four walls. There was a bed in the corner of the room holding a thin straw mattress and tattered sheets. A leak had sprung through the thatched roof and Shona watched a bead of rainwater drip from the low ceiling down into a half full and dented soup pot sitting on a large wooden table that seemed to take up most of the space. There was a chill in the room that made her shake.
"Welcome to my home away from home." Varys chuckled and gestured grandly around the cramped space. He led her to a door that led outside the back of the cottage, if it could be called as such, where she was greeted by a thick cluster of rose bushes that were in dire need of a pruning. Varys stepped into the bushes and instructed the young girl to follow behind. His leather gloved hands held thorny branches back from their faces and Shona was shocked when they came face to face with a very small crawlspace.
"Now, it's very tight and cramped. I do hope you are not claustrophobic."
"I'm fine." Shona stated in almost a snap. In all actuality she was terrified of going into there. What would she do if she got stuck halfway? She'd die deep under the keep trying to rescue a man she had known for barely a month's time. She almost gave up, but followed Varys anyway. The crawlspace was just as damp as the house they had previously walked through. Moss grew in the gaps of stone work and the wet slimy feel of it under her palms made her skin crawl. She breathed in heavily through her nose and out from her mouth trying to remain calm. They had not crawled long when an opening came into sight in the distance. The pair crawled towards the gap, and Varys stepped down the stone ladder built into the side of the wall helping Shona down afterwards.
"That was the hardest part. Come, this way." Varys spoke taking the nearest lit torch and dragging the girl along down the dark walkway. It smelled of earth down here. Shona wondered momentarily if they were in a crypt and her suspicions were confirmed when she came face to face with a stone sarcophagus. They must be deep in the tombs below the city. She vaguely wondered how deep, but kept the thoughts at bay. The walk through the underground tunnels took longer than she anticipated, but when they came to a new tunnel with lit torches and stone steps that went down even farther she was thrilled.
"This is a series of tunnels built during the Targaryen dynasty as a means of escape. They never were used, however, and the plans for them were lost to fire so very few know of their locations in relation to the castle. It's filled with secret passages and tunnels. I've spent the past 20 years learning most of them, and I still get scared trying new pathways. I never know where I will end up. This is the way to the dungeons."
Shona took the stairs as quietly as possible in her boots. With every tap of the low heel she grimaced. The last thing she wanted was to give them away. They reached a trap door covered in spider webs and dust. Varys opened the trap door and peeked down into the cavern space below. He helped her down as gracefully as possible, and tumbled to the paved floor himself grimacing all the while.
"I am growing much too old for this." He complained as they made their way to a familiar sight: the Targaryen dragon skulls Tommen had shown her not so long before. Her heart hurt momentarily thinking of the sullen blonde boy taking the death of his brother and father so hard. Barely dealing with his sister leaving him all alone with his mother. Shona wondered if she could leave the boy here behind when she left. Cersei wouldn't let Tommen out of her sights. She was startled by the thought that Tommen was next in line to be king. She shook her head at the thought. Tommen was not ready to be king.
"Tommen is to be king." She stated gruffly. Varys peered at her puzzled by the sudden words, "Yes, he is. I'm sure Cersei has his coronation planned already. They will grieve for a week or two before Tommen is crowned. She won't have the Iron Throne empty for long. She'll want to make a point that it still belongs to her."
"And she'll make Tommen miserable in the process." Shona spat bitterly. She was just now beginning to see the true monster beneath Cersei Lannister's false exterior. It was hard to believe that not so long ago the young Hightower woman respected the Queen, and admired her with blinded eyes.
How blind she had been.
"That is the game of thrones, I am afraid." Varys said softly hoping to ease the tension radiating from his counterpart. He shouldered a door open and they finally entered the dungeons. There was no guard which had her surprised.
"Why not just help him escape now while there is no guard around?" She spoke lowly, but her voice still echoed ever so slightly from the walls surrounding them.
"Even I need time to get my ducks in line, I'm afraid. I had not planned to proceed with my mission so soon, but the turn of events just sped up the process. Lord Leyton has been ready for the past decade. I, however, need to acquire a ship and that takes time. We don't have much to spare."
On the last row towards the back of his cell sat Tyrion Lannister. The dwarf was covered in grime. On the straw floor sat a battered platter that had seen better days and a water pitcher turned onto its side. It was bone dry.
"My lord!" Shona said startled by the conditions she saw before her. She knew he wouldn't be treated well, but this was a step backward from what she expected from Cersei.
"Shona Hightower?" Tyrion blinked in surprise before eyeing the eunuch behind her, "Good god, and I thought trolls were just in story books."
"Don't make me cut off your food supply, my lord." Varys glared at the man inside the cage who shut his mouth as soon as he realized who was standing in the shadows behind Shona.
"Varys. So good of you to stop by and see me. I do admit that I was a little unprepared for guests. I'd get you a drink but chains, you know?" Tyrion rattled his metal clad wrists in mockery. His words dripped with sarcasm.
"We are here to help you, my lord." Shona whispered, looking back to make sure the guard was still gone from his watch post by the doors.
"Are we making an escape?" Tyrion whispered eagerly, hands clutching the bars separating himself and Lady Hightower, "Is Sansa with you or does Cersei have her?"
Varys and Shona shared a look that concerned the youngest Lannister lord, "Sansa is still alive, is she not?"
"We do not know of Sansa's whereabouts, my lord. She disappeared right after the poisoning occurred which is why Cersei assumes you are the ones who did it. Killed Joffrey, I mean." Shona stated softly looking into Tyrion's eyes and studying his dirty and scarred face.
"So what is the plan, Varys? I'm living on borrowed time here." Tyrion snapped shoving the metal posts hard in irritation jingling his shackles causing Shona to back away in fear.
"We are working as quickly as possible, I assure you. It all depends on one person." Varys looked pointedly at Lady Hightower who looked startled by the pointed finger.
"Alright," she snapped glaring at the eunuch whose eyes glistened in the torch light, "I will help you. My only condition is that we have to find Sansa. We need to rescue her, too. She is my friend."
"Considering this," Tyrion drawled out slowly twisting his hand around to point vaguely around the cells surrounding, "I might be the one in need of more urgent rescuing."
"Right." Shona said, "So the plan is-"
Lady Hightower was cut off by the sound of distant footsteps and whistling down the corridor. Varys grabbed at her hand briskly, "We have no time to explain. We will be back, my lord, just be patient."
With that the two started back down the hall they had come briskly. Tyrion laughed as they disappeared and he shouted down the line of cells into the quietness, "Don't worry, I'll be here."
Tyrion dropped to his knees into the coarse straw and stuck his face to the bars imprisoning him. He took a shallow breath trying not to gag on the smell of his unbathed flesh. He closed his eyes and felt his stomach churn. He glanced towards the corner where he had been depositing waste all week and grimaced. With his eyes towards the damp ceiling of the dungeon prison he let out a quick curse. His gaze went back to where golden haired Shona of Hightower had disappeared into the darkness, "Hurry."