Mona II
After a week on the road, Mona, alongside Sandor and the men that were assigned to guard her finally reached the Bloody Gate. Once the party was insight, they were stopped by the knights at the gate, "Halt! Who would pass the Bloody Gate?"
"Princess Mona Baratheon, requesting entry to the Bloody Gate. I'm sure you've been expecting my arrival," Mona answered the knight.
"That we have princess. Open the gate!" the knight ordered. The gate opened slowly and allowed for Mona and her men to enter. Once inside, they dismounted and was met with a knight.
"Princess Mona, my name is Donnel Waynwood, the knight of the gate. You must be tired from your travels, accommodations have been prepared for you and your retinue," he greeted Mona.
"Waynwood? As in Anya Waynwood? So that means you know Harry right?" Mona enquired.
"Of course, we grew up together. To be honest, I had expected him to marry a highborn lady but I never thought I'd see him marry the princess," Ser Donnel said while escorting her to her lodgings.
"Well it's a good thing that Robin isn't Jon Arryn's son. I do feel sorry for the boy but be glad you never had to talk to him or to his bat shit insane mother. Honestly, every time I hear him speak I was tempted to punt him across the Narrow Sea. I pray to whoever is taking care of him now because they're going to need it, that is if his weak constitution doesn't kill him first," Mona ranted to Ser Donnel.
Donnel just snorted out of amusement, "Harry was right about that tongue of yours. Hopefully, I won't be a target of your war path," he jested.
"Stay on my good side and you have nothing to worry about," she replied.
Soon enough, they reached the room where Mona would be staying for the day, "Well here we are. Apologies if the room isn't to your liking," he opened the door to reveal a rather basic room, consisting of a bed, a small dresser and a table and chair.
Mona just shrugged at the sight, "It's alright, I'm only here for a day anyway."
"Very well. If there's nothing else, I bid you a good day, princess," he bid her farewell.
"Good day, Ser Donnel," she replied. Once she entered the room, she removed the hidden blades on her wrists since she highly doubted that anyone would be stupid enough to attack the Bloody Gate. She received them on her twelfth name day from her mother in case she needed to protect herself and apparently Mya and the rest of the Shadows have the same hidden blades although their uses were mostly used for assassinations. She placed the blades on the nightstand and immediately plopped down on the bed, finally able to rest on a soft bed. The Gates of the Moon was about half a day's ride away and she couldn't wait to see Harry again.
When morning finally came, she asked the knight stationed out her door to have a servant prepare a bath and food for her breakfast. It didn't take long for the food to arrive which consisted of bread, a serving of pork and wine to wash it down. As she ate, she recalled her journey here. While she was wary of a possible mountain clansman ambush, the presence of over twenty men probably made them hesitate especially Sandor who's imposing figure would cause almost anyone to stay away. Speaking of Sandor, he took her mother's orders to heart as he rarely left her side. Seriously, she needs to find him a woman.
After breakfast and a bath, she got dressed in her light blue dress with breeches underneath and brought along a fur coat with her as it would get colder the higher up they went. She left her to see Sandor along with the rest of her men at the exit of the Bloody Gate.
"So, is everything ready?" she asked Sandor.
"Just about. Horses are packed, the men are preparing themselves for the cold so we should be ready in a couple of minutes," he answered.
Mona paused a little before addressing Sandor, "Mya and father said the journey from the Bloody Gate to the Gates of the Moon is the easiest part. The real challenge is going up the Giant's Lance," she recalled her sister's and father's time in the Eyrie.
"Lovely. Looks like we're ready," he motioned to the men, ready for the journey. She mounted her horse, joining the retinue.
"Have a safe journey, princess," Ser Donnel said.
"Thank you Ser Donnel," she replied and of they went to the Gates of the Moon.
(A few hours later)
They finally reached the Gates of the Moon. The journey was pretty straight forward and the view was absolutely fantastic. She stopped a few times to admire the scenery, much to Sandor's annoyance.
Once they reached the gates' moat, the drawbridge lowered revealing a large bald man where she assumed was Lord Nestor Royce, "Princess Mona, I'm Nestor Royce, Keeper of the Gates of the Moon. It's an honour to have you at the Eyrie, princess."
"The honour's mine, Lord Nestor. Not trying to sound rude but how long will I be staying here? I would rather go to the Eyrie as soon as possible," she asked Lord Nestor.
"Not to worry, princess. We've prepared a guide and mules for you and your sworn shield. The rest of your men and the horses will remain here however," she expected this to be the case. According to her father and Mya, space was limited in the Eyrie so most of the guards were actually stationed at the Gates of the Moon. Not to mention that the trail here is too narrow for horses so bringing many guards would be dangerous.
"Very well, shall we get going then?" Mona asked, not wanting to delay the journey any longer.
"Of course, princess. Please follow me," he motioned for Mona and Sandor to follow him. They then handed their reins to a stable boy and followed Nestor to the other side of the gates where they were met with three mules and a brown-haired man in his early twenties, "Princess, this is Adley. He'll be guiding the both of you up the Giant's Lance. Adley, this is Princess Mona and the Hound, Ser Sandor Clegane," Nestor introduced themselves to each other.
"It's a pleasure. I hope you're both prepared for this. You just passed the easy part, now it gets real difficult so you better stay close," Adley instructed.
"Don't worry about us. You better not get yourself killed or we'll be fucked otherwise," Sandor said.
"Very well. Get on the mules and we can get going," he told them. Mona and Sandor mounted their mules and began their arduous climb up the mountain.
(Several hours later)
After periodic stops on the waycastles Stone and Snow to switch out mules and a few close calls, they finally reached the final waycastle, Sky which granted them the view of the Eyrie. The castle looked magnificent and the sight of Alyssa's Tears only added to its beauty. Although she could imagine her mother ranting about how inefficient the Eyrie is considering how difficult it would be to transport food up here or how the entire household would have to descend down to the Gates of the Moon every winter unless they want to freeze themselves to death.
When they reached the base of the Eyrie, Adley motioned for them to stop, "Alright, now the basket will carry you up to the Eyrie's winch room. Don't worry, it's big enough to fit both you and your tall companion."
The two of them stepped on the basket, waiting to be pulled up. It didn't take long for the basket to be lifted. She had one arm on the basket and the other on Sandor's arm, worried that she might accidentally fall over to her death due to how much the basket was swaying. After a few nerve-racking minutes, the basket came to a stop and so Mona let go of the basket and Sandor and was greeted by a knight.
"Greetings, Princess Mona. I am Ser Vardis Egan. Lord Jon Arryn and Harrold Hardyng have been waiting for your arrival. If you would follow me," Mona and Sandor followed Vardis through the Eyrie until they reached what she assumed was Jon Arryn's solar. Vardis then knocked on the door, "Lord Arryn, I'm here with Princess Mona."
"Send her in," she heard Jon say. Without much delay, Mona entered the solar while Sandor opted to stand guard outside. Inside, she could see Jon Arryn at his desk with Harry sitting across from him, "Mona, it's good to see you again," Jon came forward and gave her a hug which she reciprocated.
"Good to see you again, Jon. Father sends his regards by the way," Mona informed. Jon had a smile on his face at the mention of Robert. She then turned towards Harry and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek, "It's good to see you again, Harry."
"You as well, Mona," Harry replied.
"So, what were you two discussing about?" Mona asked both of them.
"Mostly teaching Harrold here about the duties the Lord of the Eyrie would have to oversee and also to address the Master of Coin's request. Your uncle wanted the lords that supported Petyr to be fined. We've compiled a list of the lords and the amount that they would have to pay," Jon stated, handing Mona the list.
"Let's see, House Grafton isn't much of a surprise. He probably had connections with them when he was in Gulltown. House Corbray. Wait a minute, is Lyn Corbray involved in this? I know he's a bit of a prick but is he?" Mona asked worried that Baelish had an influence in the Kingsguard.
"I don't think so. Being in the Kingsguard, Lyn would be too close to your parents so he might not want risk Lyn betraying him," Harry answered.
"In any case, you shouldn't worry yourself about this right now. You should get some rest after your journey, you must be exhausted. Harrold, why don't you escort her to her room," Jon told Harry.
"Of course. Let's get you to your room, Mona," Harry said, offering her his arm.
"Let's go," she accepted his arm. Once they left the room, she spotted Sandor still standing out the door, "Sandor, you're dismissed. Go get some sleep."
"About time," he promptly left the two alone.
"You let him talk to you like that?" Harry asked.
"He's not bad once you get to know him. Besides, it's nice having someone around who doesn't feign niceties," she defended Sandor, "So, how have you been?"
"It's been fine I suppose. Had to help Jon with some of his duties. I still think he blames himself for what happened with Baelish. He was the one who recommended Baelish to your mother after all," Harry said.
"He really shouldn't though. If my mother fell for Baelish's ruse, then almost anyone can," she explained.
"He knows that of course but I think losing his wife and finding out his son wasn't actually his took a toll on him," he responded, "He's been preparing me for the lordship ever since and considering his age, it'll probably be sooner rather than later."
"Well if you passed my mother's test, then I think you would be a competent lord at least. Besides, I'll be there to help you," she reassured him.
"Thank you, Mona. I would appreciate the assistance," Harry thanked her.
"Although I should remind you that I won't tolerate any infidelity," Harry looked a bit nervous after she changed the subject, "I'll forgive you for fathering a bastard since we weren't betrothed yet and you needed to release your urges but if I find you in bed with another woman, well my mother's taught me a few tricks and I'd rather not ruin the surprise."
"Yes of course. I would never betray your trust," Harry said hurriedly, clearly a little shaken.
"Of course, if you do need to release your urges just call for me. I may not be able to have sex with you yet but I can figure something out. Besides, I have a few urges that need to be released myself," she then grabbed him by the back of his head and gave him a kiss right on the lips. Harry, stuck between scared and aroused, just stammered, not quite sure what to say so Mona was the one to do so, "So, is this where I'll be staying?"
After she asked this, Harry snapped back to reality to answer, "Yes, this is where your chambers are. Until we get married at least."
"I'll hold you to that," she gave Harry another kiss, "See you tomorrow, Harry," she promptly entered her room and left him outside. She then once again removed her blades and laid down on the bed. Hopefully she wasn't being too forward with him or threatened him too much. She knew that her parents said that communication and sex were key in a healthy relationship, Gods those conversations were embarrassing to sit through. Didn't help that her mother gave rather detailed descriptions about sex which was completely unnecessary. She's a virgin not a child, she knew how sex works.
Granted, maybe asking her parents for relationship advice maybe wasn't the best idea considering she still vaguely remembered them not getting along all that well when she was little but they managed to work things out so maybe their advice may be useful after all. Besides, who else was she supposed to ask? Aunt Genna? She was probably still in King's Landing refusing to return to the Twins. Uncle Stannis was worse as he probably hadn't talked to Lady Selyse in years now. She did feel sorry for Shireen however. Regardless, the only thing she can do is hope she didn't mess up at the first hurdle.
Cedric I
Cedric was on his way to the Tower of the Hand to take Arya to the Red Keep's library for their first lessons with his mother. The man following behind him was his uncle Jaime who was assigned to guard him for the day. Of course, a servant was sent to fetch her but he volunteered to go because he wanted to spend a bit more time with her since they haven't spent much time together since arriving in King's Landing with him busy being a squire and her with her Water Dancing lessons.
After climbing halfway up the stairs of the tower, there he spotted Arya, balancing on one leg, "Arya, what are you doing?" Cedric asked.
"Practicing. Syrio said 'a Water Dancer can stand on one toe for hours'," she answered.
"You'll hurt yourself pretty badly if you fall from here," Cedric pointed out.
"Syrio said 'every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson makes you better'," she then put her foot down, "Tomorrow I'll be catching cats."
"Why cats?" Cedric asked again.
"Syrio said 'every swordsman should study cats. They're as quiet as shadows and as light as feathers. You'll have to be quick to catch them'," she recalled Syrio's lessons.
"Sounds more like an assassin than a swordsman to me," Cedric mumbled under his breath.
"Quiet you," apparently she heard that, "So what brings you here?"
"I wanted to come get you for our lessons with my mother," Cedric said. Arya frowned the moment she heard that she had to take lessons. Cedric saw the expression on her face and addressed it, "Don't give me that look. Remember, you agreed to this."
"I know but I would rather be practicing my Water Dancing than spend hours face deep in a book. To be honest, I still don't know why your mother chose me. Surely there are smarter girls out there," she dejectedly as she took a seat on the steps.
Seeing the look in her eyes, Cedric had to do something, "Uncle Jaime, could you leave us alone for a little bit?"
Jaime looked at the both of them, "Of course but don't take too long. You know your mother doesn't like tardiness," with that, he left them alone.
Cedric took a seat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Listen, I can't really say I know why my mother chose you other than her not liking ladies and you not acting like one is probably a good reason," Arya gave a small chuckle at that before he continued, "But I know she would never choose someone if she doesn't believe they're worthy of something. If she didn't believe in you, then she would've kept on searching for another queen. So the fact that the smartest woman in the Seven Kingdoms believes in you should be enough proof that you're worthy."
Arya just sat there, contemplating on Cedric's words, "You're right. Your mother put a lot of faith in me. If your mother believes in me, then so should I and I'm not about to misplace that faith," Arya declared, the fire in her returning. She then gave Cedric a hug which he reciprocated. Just then, they heard footsteps coming up to reveal the form of Ned Stark. The two immediately let go of each other but Ned already saw them in a hug and decided to address it.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked jokingly, teasing the two children.
"No, we were about to leave for our lessons. Let's go, Cedric," she then grabbed Cedric's hand and practically dragged him away from her father to avoid any further embarrassment. Ned chuckled at the sight, "Ah, to be young again."
The two of them left the tower with Arya still holding Cedric's hand and went to the library, "You're going the wrong way, you know," said Jaime, who didn't bother to move from his spot.
"If you'd kindly let go, I can show you the way," Cedric told her. Seeing that she was still holding his hand she let go, embarrassed for how unnecessarily long she held on to it, "Thank you. Now follow me and you should try to remember the way. You'll be going there a lot," Cedric then led her towards the library with Jaime following closely behind.
They reached the library once they saw the figure of Ser Barristan Selmy guarding the door, "Prince Cedric, Lady Arya. The queen is waiting for you inside."
"Thank you, Ser Barristan. Let's go Arya," he motioned for her to enter. Jaime meanwhile, opted to stay outside with Barristan. Once inside, the two saw Tanya sitting at a desk filled with books and a Cyvasse board oddly enough.
Tanya immediately noticed their presences, "Ah good, you're here. Arya, since today's your first lesson with me, I should tell you this now. We'll have our lessons three days a week for two hours each day, same time and same place. I expect you to attend without having to be told unless the lessons would be cancelled or postponed to another day. Do you understand?"
Arya nodded, "I understand, your grace."
"Good, now let's get started. Today I'll be teaching you about war, more specifically how wars are won. Let me ask you both first, Cedric, how do you think wars are won?" she asked him.
Cedric contemplated for a few seconds before coming up with an answer, "By diplomacy. Where both parties would negotiate their demands and come up with an agreement."
"Not quite," she shot down his answer, "Let me ask you this, if war was on the horizon, wouldn't diplomacy be the first thing both parties had attempted to prevent a war?" she led the statement linger in the air for both children to think about, "Remember, war is the ultimate failure of diplomacy," she then turned her attention towards Arya, "What about you, Arya? How do you think wars are won?"
Arya was a bit nervous, it was like she was back answering the test back in Winterfell, "Uhm, by winning more battles than the enemy?"
"No. Contrary to what many believe, battles don't necessarily determine the outcome of a war," she then brought the Cyvasse board forward, "I want you to think on this a bit. Cyvasse is a game many use to develop strategies and tactics. However, there's one fatal flaw in Cyvasse and I'd like you to tell me what it is," Tanya instructed.
They both looked over the Cyvasse set and tried to find what was wrong with it. After looking at it for a while, he saw Arya widened her eyes a bit and answered first, "In Cyvasse, both sides have the same number of men. That never happens in wars. One side would usually have more troops if this were a real war."
"Correct. Rarely has there ever been a war where both sides have a similar number of manpower. Take here for example, let's say the blacks represent the Reach and the whites," she then proceeded to remove about 6 white pieces from the board, "are us, King's Landing. As you can see, the Reach outnumber us by a rather significant margin. Of course they have the advantage of numbers but one factor would even the playing fields. Could one of you tell me what it is?" she asked once again.
The two racked their brains again but this time, it was Cedric who answered first, "Food. The more men they have, the more food they need to feed the army."
"Correct, having more men means more mouths to feed and to accomplish that requires complex logistics and constant supply lines. An army marches on its stomach and if you disrupt its logistics, they would have to ration food and would lower morale. Take away their food, and they will either starve or start a mutiny, destroying itself from the inside hopefully without you ever having to encounter them in a battle," after that statement, she once again remained silent to let Cedric and Arya to absorb her words.
The lesson of warfare logistics continued for the next two hours, with a few brutal and ruthless strategies to disrupt an enemy's logistics. The strategy of blinding enemy soldiers especially struck a chord with both Cedric and Arya, considering how brutal and efficient the tactic was. It also reminded Cedric that his mother can be cruel and pragmatic despite being a strict but loving mother.
The lesson ended for the day and Tanya was about to take her leave, "So as you can see, soldiers win you battles but logistics wins you wars. Alright, we're done for the day. You two are free to do whatever you want to do so why don't you spend more time together. I know the two of you are already good friends but it wouldn't hurt to know each other better. Trust me on this, good communication is the foundation of a good relationship," she then proceeded to ruffle Cedric's hair before leaving the room.
The two children stayed for a while, still a bit awkward after being given relationship advice before Cedric took it and started talking, "So, what do you think of your first lesson?"
"Personally, I enjoyed it more than I expected. I never thought how important food was to an army. The stories only mention the knights and the glory," she answered, "Although, I'm not sure about the tactics she brought up. They didn't seem very honourable."
"Well, she taught me that honour has its place. Mostly in tourneys, peace agreements and trade deals but not in war," he said, "So, after what she said do you still want to be a warrior?"
"Of course I do. It'll take more than horror stories from your mother to scare me," she declared confidently.
"In that case, we should talk about your sword," he said.
"What's wrong with Needle?" she asked slightly annoyed.
"It's too thin. It won't be able to penetrate armour so it should be better if you have a bigger sword. Thankfully, I know a good blacksmith. If you want, I can take you to him now," Cedric asked.
Arya was a bit conflicted. On one hand, Needle was a gift she treasured from Jon but on the other, Cedric was right, she needed a more practical sword for combat, "Alright, let's go," she accepted, "By the way, do you have any recommendations on my new sword?"
"I'll ask my Uncle Jaime. Come on," Cedric led her outside where Jaime was, "Uncle Jaime, we're going to Tobho Mott's shop to get Arya a new sword. Also, we would like your advice. What sword do you think is good for Arya?" he asked.
Jaime hummed while stroking his chin, "That's a tough question. There aren't that many female fighters that I've met but personally, I would go for a longsword," Jaime said.
"Why a longsword? Wouldn't it be hard for me to use it since it's so heavy?" Arya asked.
"Actually, a longsword is only a little heavier than a regular arming sword like the one I have and longswords are two-handed swords so it's probably easier for you to use two hands for a longsword than for you to use one hand for a slightly lighter sword. Besides, you can ask the smith to make some modifications so that it wouldn't make it awkward for you to swing," Jaime gave his reasoning.
"Alright but how am I supposed to use a longsword for Water Dancing?" she asked, still unconvinced with Jaime's suggestion.
"Maybe you should ask your teacher about it but I think it's a decent choice. From what you've told me, you need to be quick to be a Water Dancer. I don't think it would hurt if you had a bit of a reach advantage with a longsword. Not to mention that you won't be small forever. At least, I hope not," Cedric made a joke of her height which earned him a kick to the shin.
Arya thought on it a bit but then agree to their reasoning, "That's alright I suppose."
"Very well, let's go then," said Jaime as he led the two to the Street of Steel.
(At Tobho Mott's shop)
After a short ride, the three of them arrived at Tobho Mott's shop amidst the many blacksmith shops in the Street of Steel. They stopped in front of the shop and dismounted. They were greeted with an old bald man with a young man behind him busy working on a piece of metal, "My prince, are you here to see Gendry?"
"Master Mott, actually I'm here to buy a sword for this lady right here," he pointed to Arya who had a small scowl on her face because he called her a lady, "But I wouldn't mind if I could see Gendry."
"Of course. Gendry!" once he called for Gendry, the young man stopped and looked at Mott, "Your brother wanted to see you."
Arya was shocked at the revelation, "Brother?" she asked Jaime.
"Bastard brother to be exact. My sister actually came here a few years ago to get her new armour made and spotted a boy who had the spitting image of her husband. Of course she told Robert of this and he wanted his son in the Red Keep but Tanya told him that the boy would be best suited here since he has the potential to be a talented blacksmith," Jaime recounted Gendry's story to Arya.
The two brothers greeted each other with a hug, "So, you came back from the North and the first thing you do coming here is bringing a girl," Gendry joked.
"I'm only here so she can get a new sword. This is my betrothed, Arya Stark. Arya this is my bastard brother Gendry," Cedric introduced Gendry to Arya.
"Good to meet you, my lady," he greeted Arya nervously, possibly worried that she would look down on him for being a bastard.
Arya was once again a bit annoyed when Gendry called her a lady but decided to drop the matter, "You as well, Gendry. Don't worry about you being a bastard, I'm quite close to my own bastard brother," Arya reassured him after seeing how nervous he was.
"So, you're here to have a sword made?" Mott asked Arya.
"Yes, Ser Jaime said I should use a longsword but I've only ever used practice swords before," she told him.
"You're free to test out the swords on display there. If you like a sword then let me know," he showed Arya the swords that were on display. She first picked up a longsword as was recommended and gave a few practice swings. She struggled at first but got used to it rather quick. Satisfied, she put it down and picked up an arming sword next and Cedric noticed that she wasn't really comfortable with it. She gave it a few swings and she looked like she was having some trouble with it but eventually she got the hang of it.
She put down the arming sword and came towards Mott, "I would like the longsword."
"Very well. Do you have any modifications you'd want to make?" Mott asked.
Arya thought about it for a few seconds before responding, "I want a snarling wolf's head on the pummel and if you can, can you make it a bit smaller so that I can swing it easier? Also, can you make it for someone my size?"
"So you want a hybrid between a longsword and arming sword eh? Alright, that will be six gold dragons," he told them. Cedric then pulled out six dragons from his pocket to pay the man.
"What are you doing?" Arya asked Cedric.
"I'm paying him for your sword," he replied.
"Exactly, it's my sword so I should be the one paying for it," she argued back.
"Just think of it as a gift from me," Cedric reasoned.
"You're not even married yet and you're already arguing like an old married couple," Jaime intervened which caused them to blush slightly from his statement, "Just split the payment and pay him three dragons each."
The two looked at each other and just shrugged in acceptance. So they handed Mott three dragons each, "Alright we'll start working on it right away but it might take a while. Thanks to the tourney, we have a backlog of orders to go through so we'll send someone to fetch you when your order is finished. Which reminds me, Gendry, get back to work."
Gendry nodded and head back to the forge but not before giving Cedric a small grin, "Thank you for your service, Master Mott. Good to see you again, Gendry," Cedric bid them farewell and him, Arya, and Jaime mounted their horses to return to the Red Keep.
"You were right, a longsword does feel more comfortable," she told Jaime.
"If you've been fighting for as long as I have, you're bound to know a thing or two about swords," he responded.
"I just hope Syrio can teach me Water Dancing with a longsword," Arya said with a hint of uncertainty.
"Well, you said that Syrio is the best swordsman alive," Cedric saw Jaime roll his eyes at this, "So if he is, then he should be able to teach you Water Dancing with a longsword."
"Thank you, Cedric," she then leaned closer towards him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "And that was a thank you for the sword."
Cedric was once again caught off guard but he wasn't as surprised the first time she kissed him. In fact, he smiled after Arya kissed him. Behind them, Jaime was smiling at the young couple's antics. It reminded him of his relationship with Cersei albeit more appropriate. He had to give it to Tanya, she can be a decent matchmaker.
Mya I
Mya was making her way to the Old Inn on Eel Alley to meet with one of the red priests that work for the queen, Thoros of Myr. She received a coded letter from him stating that he needed to talk in person. She didn't know why he didn't just send a message about it but it must've been important that he needed to talk in person. Or it could also be a trap, a possibility she was prepared for with three Shadows tailing her just in case.
She arrived at the inn and it was packed with visitors, mostly consisting of hedge knights and sellswords looking to make a name for themselves in the tourney. She searched for him and found him relatively quickly. There he was, in his red priest robe enjoying a mug of ale with a man she didn't recognize. Said man was rather tall, in his thirties and had black hair with a stubble.
After getting a look at the man, it didn't look like he was going anywhere since he was occupied chatting with Thoros. Without much options, she decided it was best to go to their tables. It didn't take long for Thoros to notice her, "Lady Mya! Good to see you again. Please take a seat," he pointed to the seat in front of him, "May I introduce you to Bronn, one of the many sellswords looking for glory in the tourney,"
"Nice to meet you. Never thought I'd see any of you noble ladies in an establishment like this," Bronn commented.
"Technically, I'm no lady. Just a bastard," she replied.
"Ahh, makes sense. Your clothes are a dead giveaway. No lady would wear any breeches, willingly or unwillingly. Except for the queen from what I've heard. People say that she's the most beautiful woman in the kingdoms. Although to me, a beauty's a beauty no matter the clothes but I'd much prefer them without any," Bronn said.
"I'll make sure that my stepmother hears of your compliments, Bronn. But don't expect it'll do anything, she doesn't really put much thought about her appearance," Mya teased.
Bronn widened his eyes a bit after hearing that, "So I suppose that means you're the king's bastard. And from the way you talk about her, I can assume you're pretty close with the queen," Bronn asked.
"As close as a woman and her husband's bastard can be I suppose. In fact, she actually sent me here because Thoros had something important to tell me," she informed Bronn.
He looked back at Thoros and probably figured out what was going on, "Oh, alright. Looks like you two have some business to discuss," he then grabbed his drink and got up from his seat, "So I'll leave the both of you to your business. If you need me, I'll be at nearest whore house."
"Interesting choice for a drinking companion you have," Mya commented.
Thoros just shrugged, "He was fun to have a drink with."
"So, what's so important that you can't just send a message for?" Mya asked.
Thoros looked around to make sure no one was looking in their general direction and began to use Morse code by tapping the table, 'There's been some problems with red priests spy network. Not all of them believe that Queen Tanya is Azor Ahai. There are probably twenty red priests who side with Melisandre.'
This was not ideal. The red priests were the queen's only source of information in Essos and to have only twenty of them will limit them. She then began tapping on the desk as well, 'What's the progress of their training? Have they learned how to use Morse code yet?'
Thoros smiled slightly at that, 'Progress has been good. Most of them have memorized the letters.'
That was a positive at least. Tanya didn't need them to be trained as Shadows, she only wanted a spy network in Essos so the red priests would only be used to relay information to Tanya. However, there was something she needed to ask and she hoped Thoros had an answer for that, 'Do you have anything on the Targaryens and the Dothraki?'
Thoros took another sip of his drink before he resumed tapping the desk, 'Sadly no. None of them dared to get close to the Dothraki horde unless they have a death wish or want to be enslaved.'
Mya sighed at that but she couldn't really blame them. Having received all the information she needed,she stopped communicating in Morse code and started talking in a more casual manner, "Well thank you for your time, Thoros. I assume you'll be participating in the melee?"
"Of course I will. I wouldn't miss a good fight," Thoros said happily, looking relieved having no longer have to communicate in Morse.
"Well then, I wish you luck in your combat endeavours," she then left the inn and returned to the Red Keep but not before giving a signal to the Shadows that were tailing her that the situation was under control.
(At the Red Keep)
Mya arrived at the Red Keep through one of its secret entrances. Memorizing the tunnels were a pain, especially with how many of them there were. She remembered when she foolishly wandered these tunnels when she was a child but thankfully, a Shadow found her and brought her to Tanya's study. Being the adventurous girl she was, Tanya actually gave her a map of the tunnels and had her memorized it so she wouldn't get lost again, after being berated by her and her father. Of course at the time, Mya didn't realize that Tanya was slowly training her to be a Shadow. She didn't regret it, of course she could've said no anytime but being a Shadow gave her purpose. Not to mention that she actually enjoyed discovering secrets from the lords and ladies here.
When she arrived at the queen's solar, she saw Tanya sipping her Arbor Gold. Honestly it wouldn't surprise her if Tanya was the Redwyne's best customer with how much of it she has stored for herself. She opened the passage which gained Tanya's attention, "Ah Mya, how goes your mission?"
"As well as it can I suppose," she said as she took her seat, "Not all of the red priests are on Melisandre's side. There are only twenty of them but most of them are able to learn Morse code. Another bad news is that they're not willing to get close to the Dothraki so we're still in the dark on the Targaryens," she recounted Thoros' report. Unlike at the inn or anywhere else really, the solar was more secured from any spies or eavesdroppers so she didn't have to communicate using Morse code.
Tanya sighed lightly, "Well it wasn't like I expected much from a bunch of fanatics. Honestly I respect those that didn't side with her because they have the common sense to believe that I'm not some chosen one that will rid the world of all evil or whatever. At least we've developed a foundation in Essos. Good work, Mya. As a reward you can have the entire week off," she told her.
Mya was suspicious of this so she asked her, "What's the catch?"
"Well, you have done a good job so I'm rewarding you with some paid leave. Also, I need you to work overtime when the guests come for the tourney and my nameday that your father insisted that we celebrate," she said in a rather annoyed tone before continuing, "I need you to be ready for that. So in the meantime, you're free to do whatever you please for the week. Just don't get into any trouble," she warned her.
Of course that was the case. At least she'll be compensated for it, "Very well. Might as well have some fun now I have the opportunity."
"That's the idea. Now go but remember, just because you're on leave doesn't mean you can let your guard down. Understood?" Tanya asked her.
"Perfectly, your grace," with that Mya left through the entrance she came from and emerged out of an empty hallway to get to her room. With nothing else to do, she might as well plan her activities for the week.
AN:
Man, writing Mona was a pain. One day, you think you have a good idea of her character and the next morning, all of the good idea was gone. Eventually, I settled with Mona being a kind yet blunt girl who doesn't take anyone's shit. A bit generic I know so to compensate I made her a bit of a pervert. Apologies if her POV was just her mostly traveling, with Jon Arryn still alive there would be a lot of changes that I haven't thought of yet. Also have to mention that Adley is just some rando I made up to replace Mya since she's not in the Vale anymore and will have no impact in the story.
Speaking of Mya, what do you think of her POV? I imagine most of her POVs in the future would resemble classic Assassin's Creed missions and yes, the hidden blades are from AC.
Lastly what do you guys think of Cedric's POV? I hope the lesson Tanya thought about logistics are somewhat factual. I've never worked in logistics so I might get a few details wrong here and there. Also, I just want to tell you before you ask questions about this or I might've been too vague about this in previous chapters so I apologise for that. Tanya and Robert didn't get along before the Greyjoy Rebellion so Robert was the same as he was in canon during that time period which explains why Gendry exists.
On an unrelated note, does anybody know how to add lines? I made lines in my word document but they didn't show up when I uploaded it to FNN. If anyone knows how to fix it kindly tell me.
Also forgot to mention that I uploaded a Cyberpunk story a few weeks ago and the reception has been non-existent so I don't know if it's any good or not so feel free to check it out.
Wow I ramble a lot in my ANs so I'm just gonna stop here. Hope you'll enjoy and I'll see you guys later.
Edit (6/3/2023) I'm using (dd/mm/yyyy) btw: After reading the review from ElPsyCongroo I can see how ridiculous Arya using a longsword was so I decided to compromise a bit so I kinda imagined her using Zireael, Ciri's sword which kinda looks like a longsword but not at the same time? I don't know, I just want to give her a longsword that she can use so this is the best I can think of. I'm no sword expert so if what I'm thinking of isn't making any sense let me know.