King Jon I Baratheon
The sound of the dying echoed in his mind, it didn't stop, it never stopped. The screams, the images of blood, bodies being carved. Good men had died for the hubris of two men claiming the throne. He was one of them. That thought would remain with him for the rest of his days. He did not know how else to handle what had happened. It was something that did not make much sense to him. They'd defeated the Dothraki and the rebellious Riverlords, but at such cost. Harrenhal was drenched in the blood of the foes who had fought and died outside its walls. And with the blood of Lady Whent who had not bent the knee, she had been slain by his own hand.
He rubbed his beard and said. "We all know that the Dothraki remain encamped in Saltpans, trying to take that town now would be madness. We hold Harrenhal, and the Dothraki have lost a good portion of their men. We must make sure that they come to us, this is something that my uncle failed to understand when he made his camp at the base of the Hook." Word of his uncle's death had come after the fight, Tommen was safe, which was the main thing that concerned him, but his uncle's death weighed on him. Loras Tyrell had died also, and he knew that Margaery would be grieving, he had written to her, offering condolences. He missed his wife. "We cannot sit here indefinitely, though, winter is coming as the Starks like to say. With my brother, Prince Tommen in Storm's End, it is only right that some of the lords of the Reach defend their prince." Lord Mace bowed his head, the man's son Ser Garlan was riding out with some twenty thousand to protect Tommen from the atrocities that the savages would commit. "Ser Brynden what is your prediction?" the old knight had been quiet since their defeat of the rebellious Riverlords, his nephew, Lord Edmure was at his side, bearing the scars of the battle. The man had fought bravely.
Ser Brynden had only one eye, one of the Dothraki had tried to kill him and instead had taken his eye. The knight had laughed about it afterwards. "I believe Sire, that the men are prepared to march to wherever you wish them to. They will march to the Stormlands if you so wish. But I would advise sending some of them out to bait the Dothraki. Unlike the situation in the Stormlands, the Dothraki now do not have any one to advise them on how to navigate the lands in which they find themselves. They will be vulnerable and scared and they will make mistakes."
Lord Mace spoke then. "The Dothraki still have Ser Cox, and whilst he is a coward, he does still know the Riverlands. He will no doubt want them out of his city though. Speaking of which, what will happen with the Saltpans once the Dothraki have been defeated? Will you have Cox keep the city?"
Jon knew the man wanted to take the city for himself, or for Margaery, or to install a cousin or an ally there. Jon sighed. "It will become part of the crown's domains, just as Harrenhal and Maidenpool now are." Jon knew that some of the lords gathered around him grumbled at that, that they did not approve of such seizures. But frankly he did not care, he knew that these were things that needed to be done and they needed to be done quickly. He'd already had the writs sent out and confirmed via his own seal. Things were completed. "Very well, Lord Mace, you shall take five thousand of your best men and ride out toward the Saltpans, tempt them and draw them out. Do not engage until you get to Widow's Reap. We shall be waiting there, prepared to take over. They shall break."
Lord Mace nodded his consent, his chest puffing out. Jon got up and the meeting ended, once he was back in his own rooms though, he sat down, took off the crown and spoke. "Quentyn do you think I have made the right choice?" Quentyn who had fought at his side throughout the fighting, was one of his closest friends and his most trusted advisor on this damned campaign.
"I think you are doing the best you can Sire. There are things that need to be done and then there are things that should be done. Prince Tommen has some of the soundest minds about him. They will ensure he is protected. Storm's End has never fallen either, so if it comes to a siege he should be safe." Quentyn replied, leaving out the fact that the castle had nearly fallen during the rebellion.
"And what of your father and uncle, will they remain neutral and continue allowing Dornishmen to side with me, or will they side with Viserys?" Jon asked, that had been a serious concern for him when the war had started.
"I believe he will remain neutral. There is no benefit to them fighting against you, Sire. They know that we are friends and that they can gain more from this friendship of ours than from fighting for someone who has brought savages into the realm." Quentyn said.
Jon laughed. "This is true. And of course my own grandsire remains neutral in the fighting. No doubt keeping an eye out on who and what will triumph. I believe he is trying to prevent my uncle Tyrion from marrying Asha Greyjoy." Jon laughed again, the thought of that was somewhat hysterical. "I do wonder if he will actually achieve that or not. I know Lord Theon has brought some sense to the islands. I am tempted to arrange his marriage to Sansa Stark, but I feel that would be too risky."
Quentyn laughed. "I agree, Sire. Better to isolate the Ironborn than let them back with such a prestigious marriage."
Queen Dowager Cersei Baratheon
Cersei draped the shawl over her shoulder, and read through the letters before her. Jaime stood guard behind her. She knew he was deeply concerned about Tommen and not being out there to fight. But the King, her son had not given him any orders to fight, and therefore he was stuck in the city, guarding her. Not for the first time, she wondered how the distance between them had opened, and how to close it. Cersei sighed, there was no point thinking about it, her time in the sun had ended, now it was the time of her son and his wife. Margaery who was sat next to her looking over different letters. She liked the girl, she had brains and something else, a charm that made her too serious son smile.
The door opened and an attendant said. "Archmaester Marwyn is without, Your Majesties."
"Show him in." Cersei said. She'd known the Archmaester for nearly twenty years, she'd first met him as a young girl when she'd served as a lady in waiting for Princess Elia. He'd always been a bit eccentric and had run with Prince Rhaegar and his interest in magic. Things had been much different then. But now the man could be of use. The Archmaester entered, bowing before them. "Marwyn. You have maintained close ties with Petyr Baelish and the deceased Jon Arryn, have you not?"
"I have, Your Majesty." The man replied. Cersei had never quite trusted Marwyn, seeing him as more of a snake than reliable source of information, but Robert had entrusted him with some very dangerous tasks, and so she was willing to allow him some leeway.
"Tell us what sort of dealings you had with them both." Cersei commanded. She had some idea of what sort of things Marwyn might have done with the two, but she wanted her gooddaughter to hear them from the man first-hand.
Marwyn nodded. "I befriended Petyr Baelish shortly after he was sent out of Riverrun for reasons unknown. At the time, I was working on a book and was resident on his father's lands. As such we got speaking and I saw that Baelish had a hunger for knowledge. So, I trained him. I taught him almost everything I knew about accounts and finance and how to play politics. When the time came for me to return to the Citadel, I took him with me, and he became my scribe, writing down everything I dictated to him and ensuring that everything was in order. I met Jon Arryn during this time, and told him that Petyr Baelish would make a fine collector of coin in Gulltown. And so, the man was appointed there. I kept in touch with both of them. We started discussing politics, the realm and the reforms that the King was implementing." Marwyn paused then continued. "Jon Arryn though he was Hand of the King and saw King Robert as a son, seriously disapproved of those reforms, believing that they were infringing on the rights of the kingdoms to their own ways and traditions. He wished to change that and make things more fair as he saw it. I under advisement, told the man that perhaps he should use Baelish as a means of siphon off money from the crown to fund rebel groups. Arryn did so and with each rebellion, things got clearer. Baelish grew in power, but remained loyal to me. I told him I wished for us to get revenge on those who had insulted us, and he followed me loyally. Under advisement I gave him and Lord Arryn every plan and strategy that could be used to further their own gains. When Arryn became useless to me, and to my advisors, I left a vile of the Tears of Lys in Lysa Arryn's draws and ensured that she would use it. Arryn died. Baelish however has continued siphoning off money from the realm for his own purposes." Cersei gestured for the man to continue. "He wishes to remove Lord Eddard Stark from this world and take Catelyn Stark as his wife. He also wishes to remove the current structure to which we all adhere to and take power for himself. He wishes for revenge. I had sensed this from the beginning and have used that for my own ends, for the ends of the Kingdom."
Cersei nodded, she had suspected as much, Robert had told her some of his plans and his suspicions and now to have it confirmed, well that was another bonus. "And would you be willing to confirm this before the court if so summoned?"
"I would, Your Majesty. The realm is all, and Petyr Baelish is a danger to the realm." Marwyn replied.
"Thank you. You may go." Cersei said, Marwyn bowed and left. Once he was gone, Cersei turned to her gooddaughter and asked. "So, what did you make of that?"
"I think that it was most interesting, and I do believe that Marwyn was working for your late husband, my husband's father, King Robert. I believe that he was doing all of this with your knowledge and understanding for you did not trust Jon Arryn to remain true to what King Robert wanted to achieve and so you planned and plotted to remove the threats to the reforms you had planned." Margaery said.
Cersei smiled. "You would be right." It had taken a long time but finally it had happened, now the mockingbird would fall.
"Why? Did you not trust Jon Arryn?" Margaery asked.
"The man had always felt that the passing over of his cousin for the throne was a grievous insult that meant bringing down the line that had replaced him. My husband and son were part of that line though their names are Baratheon not Targaryen. Therefore, I needed to make sure that Robert saw this for himself. He did. We then worked together to ensure that Arryn and Baelish would fall together. Baelish was always a threat, he has far too many radical ideas." Cersei answered.