Margeary stared out at the sun drenched city before her. She'd never thought she'd seen Meereen herself, but here she was. Behind her, Septa Lissut and her guards watched silently, along with the slightly built and silent eunuch who had been sent as her attendant.
Not for the first time, Margeary wished her grandmother could have been sent with her. But grandmother was gone. The thought sent a pang of pain through her breast, and she unconsciously frowned, pushing back her tears. Her grandmother would be the first one to tell her to swallow those tears and get to work. The King had given her a task, and her success would not only save her life but possibly get the Tyrell family back in his good graces. Failure was not an option.
"Well, it will be good to have solid ground beneath our feet again," she said, smiling. "Let's get going, shall we?" She would be glad to get off the ship, it had been a long and tedious journey, filled with thick clouds, cold winds and icy rain, although thankfully they hadn't encountered any severe storms.
Finding a place to stay was more difficult than she'd been led to believe, but by nightfall they were ensconced in a small house. The language wasn't all she was expecting either, as she'd assumed they'd speak High Valyrian, but it wasn't true High Valyrian, it was a mix of that with another language that she wasn't familiar with.
"What is this?" she asked, frowning her nose at the platter the servant girl placed on the table. She was grateful the house had come with servants, as she had none. Only the silent eunuch, dour Septa, and the guards.
The girl said something Margeary didn't understand. "I wouldn't question it," the Septa said suddenly. Sharply. "Let's be grateful we have a hot meal and get some rest." Margeary wasn't sure she agreed but remained silent, allowing the girl to serve her some type of candied fruits that looked appealing, and steamed roots of some kind, along with some type of mashed something, and the dark meat. They all picked at the food. Margeary finished the fruits, and the vegetables weren't too bad, along with the mashed mess that tasted almost like stringy potatoes. But the smell of the meat was revolting and she didn't eat any of it, although she noticed the guards did. The Septa ate nothing but the vegetables.
Later, she sat beside the open window, hoping for a breeze. They weren't that far from the water, surely the air shouldn't be so sticky and hot. The scented sticks the girl had set fire to released a steady stream of smoke, tainting the sickly smell of the air with overly sweet flowers. The combination was nauseating. She'd hoped to rest for a few days before sending her message, but having arrived she wanted to get this over with. The sooner she started, the sooner she could go home. She pulled out a scroll and pen and carefully composed her message, sealing it with the wax from the candle and pressing her recently returned signet ring into it firmly, then gave it to the boy and told him to have it delivered in the morning. Hopefully, she'd get a quick response.
The next morning Septa Lussut wouldn't allow her to leave her room, much less the house. "And how am I supposed to achieve the King's objective sitting in this room?" Margeary asked her icily. "I was sent here with a purpose and it cannot be accomplished from here. I must leave." But the Septa was insistent, and the guards obeyed. They finally reached a compromise, and the guards went out into the city with orders to listen to the local gossip and report every word of it back to her, or as much as they understood. She was allowed out of her room for dinner, and saw that all of the guards had returned. No one spoke as they ate. Afterwards, Margeary moved towards the sitting room, expecting to take the guards report, but the Septa waved her back to her room.
"I need to hear the report," Margeary said firmly.
"They've given it to me," the Septa said. "I'll give it to you. In your room."
"Do you even know why I was sent here?" Margeary asked wonderingly. The woman couldn't possibly believe that Margeary could do as the King had requested under these constraints.
"Go to your room, Lady Margeary," the Septa said firmly.
Margeary looked to the broad shouldered Captain of her guard. Lord Connington had called him keen and reliable, and said that she could trust he and his men to assist her in her task. They'd been assembled specifically because they, like her, had been taught High Valyrian. "Captain," she began.
"To your room," the Septa repeated, louder.
"Do you know why I'm here?" she continued. He nodded slowly, his eyes drifting between she and the Septa.
"Guards, escort Lady Margeary to her room," the Septa commanded. But Captain Swyft only raised a hand to stop them.
"I'll hear the girl out," he said.
"What is there to hear?" Margeary demanded. "Do any of you really believe that if we return to King's Landing with this task unaccomplished that my head will be the only one the King asks for? I cannot believe that you and your men haven't been promised handsome compensation for this venture of ours. Are you willing to risk it over her?" she jerked her head towards the fuming Septa. "Or is it your plan that we stay here forever?"
The Septa took a step towards the Captain. "I am in charge here," she said firmly. "I am responsible for her. You follow my orders. Not hers. She is a prisoner of the Faith, and is to be treated as such."
"And will you and the Faith take the responsibility if I fail because you refused to allow me to accomplish my goal?" Margeary snapped. "I have not come all of this way with my head intact to lose it to your foolish sense of superiority!"
Steffon Swyft stood silently, considering the scene before him. Although there wasn't much to consider. Lord Connington and Lord Lannister – his current liege – had indeed promised him handsome rewards if he assisted Lady Margeary. Lands, and a title. Wealth. The Stormlands needed a new liege, and the Southerlands needed a new Warden. He wasn't so foolish to believe he'd be granted either one, but the opportunities were there, wide and obvious, for those who supported the new King. Not for the first time he was grateful that his father had the good sense to never mock or speak ill of Lord Tyrion, who now looked on House Swyft favorable. It was an honor he didn't take lightly, that Lord Tyrion had recommended him personally for this. And if this girl could actually manage what the King asked….
"We'll make our report in the sitting room, my lady," he said, gesturing Margeary to move ahead of him.
"Finally," Margeary sighed in relief. "Someone with sense." She smiled warmly to the Captain as she moved past him, and he gestured the guards to follow as he stayed, watching the angry Septa warily.
"Were you told why the girl was sent here?" he asked quietly. "I'm inclined to believe you were not."
"Of course I was!" she snapped.
"Then how do you expect her to accomplish her goal beneath your constraints?" he asked.
"She is a prisoner of the Faith," the Septa repeated, anger flushing her face. "And I am responsible for her."
"She is a prisoner of the throne," Captain Swyft corrected her. "She was released by the Faith into the King's custody. You were sent here as chaperone, not jailer. You would do well to remember that, because the girl is correct. If she fails in this, her head is not the only one the King will be after. And while you may be comfortable with the thought of losing yours, I will not lose mine because you are misguided. From here on out, my men and I follow Lady Margeary's orders." Turning, he joined the others in the sitting room.
She did choose to stay inside after the guards told her that they weren't comfortable with her going out into the city, especially because of the violence that plagued Meereen after nightfall, violence that the current King and Hand of the Queen had yet to completely get under control. Margeary was intrigued to find out that Queen Danerys was married, no one had mentioned that back in King's Landing. So she stayed in, beneath the baleful eyes of Septa Lissut. It was two days before a messenger knocked on the door. Two days in the sickly smelling, stifling heat.
Lady Baratheon,
I am delighted to find that you are visiting Meereen. I long to hear news of my Queen and my home, and would be delighted to have you join me for the midday meal tomorrow. I look forward to meeting you personally.
Barriston Selmy
Hand of the Queen
Interesting that he'd addressed her as Lady Baratheon, although she'd introduced herself as Lady Tyrell. He was letting her know that he knew who she was. How would that affect their conversation, she wondered.
The boy bathed her in cool, floral scented water, then styled her hair and helped her dress. She waved the pretty fan he'd brought her vigorously in front of her face to keep her skin free of sweat. The temperature was sweltering, and outside was only worse, and although the dress she wore would have been fine in King's Landing, here the material clung damply to her back and fell limply around her legs. Thankfully, the boy had puller her hair up so it didn't stick to her neck. She and Septa Lissut rode silently in the litter Ser Barriston had sent, followed by Captain Swyft and one of his men in another. One of the men recommended keeping the drapes closed, and Margeary hadn't objected when the Septa said firmly that they would. She would need to pick her battles with the woman, she'd realized. She couldn't get rid of her, she needed a female chaperone, as her guard were all male.
The air was cooler after they'd made the long climb up to the Great Pyramid, where Ser Barriston kept rooms in the Queen's residence, and smelled cleaner. She stood for a long moment as the others arrived, eyes closed, taking deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. I can do this, it's just lunch with an old Kingsguard. I am more than capable of this. But nerves still knotted her stomach. It was more than a lunch, much more. It was her life and her family and their future.
The tall knight rose when she entered. His steel gray hair and beard did nothing to distract from his precise bearing, and the keenness in his eyes. "Lady Baratheon," he said, inclining his head slightly. "Welcome to Meereen."
Margeary smiled warmly, extending both of her hands, leaving him no choice to but take them. "Ser Barriston the Bold," she laughed lightly. "You, Ser, are the legend of my childhood. It is an honor to meet you."
"Thank you," he said with a slight smile. "Won't you sit?" He pulled his hands gently from hers and indicated a sofa nearby.
"Of course," she said graciously. "These are lovely rooms." Everything was in shades of soft blue and cream with gold accents. It didn't suit him at all.
"Thank you. I take no credit for them," he smiled fully as one of the brown skinned girls silently appeared and poured them chilled wine.
Margeary laughed lightly. "Well, after being surrounded by white for so long, I would think you'd find it nice to have a little color."
He shrugged. "So, my lady, what news do you bring me from King's Landing?"
"King Aegon has successfully assumed the throne," Margeary said happily. "Although he was slightly dismayed to find his Kingsguard in ruins, and that the legendary Ser Barriston Selmy was no longer his Lord Commander."
Ser Barriston nodded, his expression serious. "The boy was well hidden," he said. "I'd heard whispers – we all had – but when I began to seriously search I found nothing. Prince Viserys and the Queen were easier to locate."
"Well, you did say in open court that you were going to find your true King," she smiled lightly. "And I know he'd love to have you back." She changed the subject then, telling him the fate of Jamie Lannister and Tyrion, and what she'd heard of the Stark children, and others that they knew. They lunched on the balcony, and Margeary managed to enjoy herself as they discussed the work the Queen and Sansa were doing in King's Landing, and how the King was doing. And she also managed to find out more information about Meereen, and the King Hazdhar, and the state of the city. And she was thrilled when he insisted that she and her party take rooms in the pyramid, stating that her current location wasn't in a safe area.
"How long do you plan to stay in Meereen?" he asked as she prepared to leave.
Margeary allowed her expression to become uncertain. "I haven't decided," she forced herself to smile. "Honestly, while the King has graciously allowed me to keep my head, my family has been stripped of their titles and lands, and he has suggested that perhaps I should travel a bit. I'm not exiled," she said hurriedly. "But he thought it would be best for me to be gone for a while, to allow things in King's Landing to settle some. And," she shrugged lightly, "I've always wanted to see the free cities."
Ser Barriston nodded gravely. "The ways of war," he sighed.
"I do hope that I'll see you again, Ser Barriston," she smiled fully.
"I hope so as well, my lady," he said politely.
It was a relief to settle into her beautiful rooms in the Great Pyramid, with its elegant furnishings and cooler temperatures. And the bathing room was exquisite. She often enjoyed breaking her morning fast on the terrace with her Captain and guards – the Septa apparently felt no need to chaperone her from her guards and usually broke her fast alone in her bedroom – all of whom were friendly, and who still went out daily to listen to the people in the markets and streets. From them she learned that King Hizdhar had been imprisoned when the Queen had been carried away on one of her dragons, and that Ser Barriston had ensured the man wasn't harmed, but he was suspected of attempting to poison the Queen, and of coordinating the nightly murders that were committed in the name of the Harpy. When the Queen had returned – still slightly feverish and recovering from an illness – she'd had her King freed, saying that if he'd wanted her dead she would be. Besides, she needed her marriage to help keep the support of the nobles, especially as she'd been besieged by the Yunkai'i army, which hadn't been easy to defeat even with dragons.
"And within days of the defeat, she and her dragons headed west, to the Seven Kingdoms," Captain Swyft said thoughtfully. "The people are uniformly relieved the dragons are gone, but many are hoping to see the last of her, as well."
"King Hizdhar has more and more support here," one of the guards, Ser Rowan said. "Ser Barriston is struggling to keep it all under control. He's a skilled knight, and he's been in service to the throne for many years. But all of this is beyond him."
Margeary nodded thoughtfully. She needed to meet the King, and said so. "Surely we can find a reason," she said. "It would be helpful if I'd known she had a King, and could say that she sent a message for him."
"I never heard it mentioned," Captain Swyft admitted.
"I didn't either, and I've spoken to her personally on several occasions," Margeary said. "And I'm almost certain the King doesn't know."
"Actually, he probably does," the Captain said. "Lord Lannister was here with her, so surely he knew, and he would have told the King."
Margeary grudgingly realized it was true. "Well it would have been nice if I'd been told," she sighed. "Now I have to try to maneuver a way to meet him."
The morning brought a letter for her from Lord Connington. Inside was a rough list of events, and an envelope addressed to Ser Barriston Selmy. She studied the list extensively, considering their consequences, and then invited Ser Barriston to share a midday meal with her a few days later. She known when she arrived that the old knight would be a tough man to sway. He was intensely loyal, and had pledged himself to Queen Danerys. Convincing him to return to King's Landing and resume his duties as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard wouldn't be easy, but she'd give it her best.