As usual, I want to thank you for your reviews. I'm shocked to see so many of you like the Robb x Dany pairing, given that there aren't many stories about them.
Also I want to point out that this chapter is not about Robb or Dany per se but about what's going on around them.
(And it seems that there are foreseers among you, and I'm sure you'll see it).
Chapter 12 : Interlude I, King's Landing
There wasn't much love in him for the woman sat at his left. In all honesty, it was difficult for him to believe she had any kind of love for him despite being her brother but if life and love were simple, he wouldn't have been who he was. Most people were attracted to all things shiny and pretty – category in which his sister fell, sadly. He had morbid interest in all those dark secrets and ugly things that were hidden or broken – some people might say he was fond of those of his kind.
Never had he imagined himself in the position he was currently in. His father wasn't fond of him either but he respected blood ties and so he had given him a task he could only trust in the hands of his kin.
The only one in his family who ever showed some kind of affection to him was his brother – and he wasn't very good at it to begin with.
He grabbed the goblet with wine in front of him and then took a mouthful of the sweet liquor. He eyed his sister at his side and huffed. She was such an obstinate woman, one who only wanted power and her wishes made reality.
It seemed awful of him but a part of him believed she had been praying to the Gods for the death of her husband for years. It was as if she had been freed from a curse but during those long years she had become a bitter and conniving woman.
Cersei wasn't happy with his arrival; that was for certain. She didn't even have the decency to hide it, to pretend.
"If I were capable of tricking Father, I'd be Emperor of the world by now. You brought this on yourself." She had because she had lost control of her son, the new King of the Seven Kingdoms – a boy who had no respect for anyone and was amused by the heads of people rolling at his feet. A sadist and a coward – and he was saying it despite being family but he was allowed because there was no love or respect to reciprocate.
"I've done nothing!" she snapped at him.
"Quite right, you did nothing when your son called for Ned Stark's head! Now the entire North has risen up against us!"
The North. It was not an easy place to live in and he only was there for a few weeks. The weather created men who were hard and resilient, not like in the South and much less like his arrogant and pompous nephew.
He knew the chances of victory diminished with each enemy his dear nephew, Joffrey, made.
"I tried to stop it!" she said but her tone gave her away. She had no control over the situation and she probably did want to get rid of the last tie to her late husband.
"Did you? You failed. That bit of theatre will haunt our family for a generation."
"Robb Stark is a child," she spat like an insult, like she couldn't care less about what Robb Stark was doing with his army. But she should have been scared of that child because her oldest son wouldn't even wield a sword without his knees trembling.
He had already spoken to Lord Varys that morning. The damn Spider didn't even conceal his pleased smile when he mentioned the news he had heard – the rumors that were now running freely across Westeros. Perhaps if this had been known at the time, it would've cost Eddard Stark his head – or perhaps it would've been his way to get freedom.
"Who's won every battle he's fought! Do you understand we're losing the war?!" The imperious need of slapping her to force her to face reality invaded him.
"What do you know about warfare?" It was as if his height was an impediment for his wit in her eyes.
"Nothing," he replied. And it felt like he knew nothing. "But I know people, and I know that our enemies hate each other almost as much as they hate us." He looked at her in the eye and sighed heavily before adding the piece of information that was the most dangerous one so far. "But Robb Stark, the child," he emphasized to make fun of her ignorance and naivety. "He has one very important ally. Another child. A girl." Cersei's eyebrows knitted together in a silent question. "Daenerys Targaryen."
"Impossible," she babbled before he could even finish the name.
"And their pets, of course," he quipped but even he knew there was nothing funny about it. "Very close to their sigils, it seems."
His sister eyes widened. "It can't be."
"If you had only heard Ned Stark. Sensible man, I might add." Tyrion mocked her because there was nothing else to do and because if she thought he knew nothing about warfare, then she must have realized she was no knight. "Two dragons the girl has. And Robb Stark's direwolf is more lethal than any soldier."
"Joffrey is King." She was in denial.
"Joffrey is King," he repeated because he had no choice but to agree because he might have been anything but he would always be loyal to his family. "But Dorne has joined them and there are rumors House Tarly has sent a raven today. They might become overlords of The Reach in return while the Tyrells support Renly."
"You're speaking nonsense." Cersei clenched her jaw and added, "You are here to advise the King."
"Only here to advise him. And if the King listens to what I say, the King might just get his uncle Jaime back," Tyrion offered kindly. He wanted Jamie back as well because he was the only one who made him feel part of the family and if there was no connection to them, then why help them? He would need to search deeper for more reasons because he doubted this war would end soon.
"How?" she asks eagerly.
"You love your children. It's your one redeeming quality. That and your cheekbones. The Starks love their children as well, and we have two of them." Tyrion might have been overlooked most of the time but he knew how to fight his battles. He was confident that if the Starks got at least their children back, they would spare them… something. But this exchange had to be done before the Young Wolf comprehended the power he had and the one Daenerys had.
"One," Cersei interjected as she looked at him.
"One!" He slammed the goblet with wine against the table.
"Arya, that little animal, she disappeared." It was astounding how such a beautiful woman could be full of so much hatred.
"Disappeared? What, in a puff of smoke? We had three Starks to trade. You chopped one's head off and let another escape. Father would be furious." He paused and brethed slowly to calm himself enough to begin to plan again. "Must be odd for you, to be the disappointing child."
She shot him a look that spoke louder than words.
Should have he told her about the other Stark, the new one growing inside the Mother of Dragons? No. That would have only put Sansa in risk and Sansa was the only thing they had to trade for Jamie.
For a woman who claimed to be so smart, his sister was sorely inept.
And meanwhile, the Spider enjoyed mocking them, knowing everything and confessing it to him because he knew. Far before they could hear the gossip, the bloody eunuch knew they were doomed.
Dragons and Wolves had never been allies luckily for all of them. But now they were fighting together with a thirst for vengeance and there was nothing that could stop them… or was it? That was his duty now, to find out their weakness but he would need to be secretive about it. Who knew what stupid act his nephew would do if he had another tantrum.
King's Landing was a big city and the dream of many at the time. Many wanted to reach the city and sit at the Iron Throne. For the rest of people, King's Landing was dirty and immoral but a haven from war and famine – though the new King was not doing a good job at keeping his people happy or fed.
He had never liked the city, even if he himself had dirtied his hands. All for the love he had had for his wife. And here he was again because of the same reason but this time for another woman. A woman who had left him to marry another man.
She couldn't be happy with him and he hadn't been able to go with her because the father of that boy she was supposed to marry had condemned him to death. He could have joined his father and the Night's Watch but he doubted Lord Jeor Mormont would have been happy to see his face every day after everything he had done for him. He felt ashamed but he had loved so much and at the end he lost anyway.
Painfully for him, the royal pardon he had obtained from Varys was for doing something he regretted. He had betrayed his khaleesi. And now, after waiting for his feelings to die without her and go back to his life as a sellsword, he had realized he'd rather be by her side and suffer than to not have her at all.
He would no longer give information to Varys. Jorah only needed to find his way to Daenerys and offer her his services.
"You do know she is happy, right?" Lord Varys said with that smile apparently innocent but maleficent at the same time. The Master of Whisperers looked after only himself and for that he never shared all his secrets and never took a side. "So much she followed him to the battlefield."
"He shouldn't have let her."
"Should he not?" The bald man hummed as if weighing the options. "He's winning and a hero. He's young and the new King in the North. I believe she's gotten a slice of her dreams. She's queen."
Jorah clenched his jaw. "She's in danger. And if he can't see that, then Robb Stark is a fool. He shouldn't let her do as she pleases."
"Yes, they say people tend to behave foolishly when in love." Varys shook his head disapprovingly before looking at him with fake pity. "But you know that, don't you?"
There was no reply that would have left his mouth without venom. Jorah had no empty promises to make to threaten Varys because the man had not much to lose – all things considered.
"I just need to know where she is. And I believe it's the least you could after all I've done for you."
"Right, right. I might be no Lannister but I pay my debts." Varys sighed and took his time to study him for a while, as if reading his mind. "But I could give you more than her location – details about her new life for a very reasonable price."
"I'm not going to work for you again."
"Pity." Varys smiled and handed him a rolled map. "It was a pleasure to do business with you. And if you happen to regret your decision, I'm not resentful."
There was a secret Varys was hiding from him and Jorah doubted it would be something that could give him hope but at that point he only wanted to see Daenerys once again, that she could forgive him about letting her go alone. Besides, how long would Robb Stark be around if he was still a boy, inexperienced in the art of war and fighting much more seasoned warriors? He would be there for her again, to be her only one.