Chapter Sixty-Seven

…

On the Road to King's Landing

It is a somber and subdued Royal Party now heading back to King's Landing. One cannot blame them. The sudden attack of the Painted Men had claimed the lives of almost twenty knights and forty men at arms. That is not counting the wounded of course. Even Robert is counted with that, courtesy of one of the bandits taking a bite off his ear. It is not their demise however that makes the party turn into this current mood, no. Rather it is because of the death of the Queen.

"This is not how I would imagine my tenure as Hand of the King would be," Ned morosely thought to himself as he gloomily rides his horse beside a silent Robert who has his right ear covered in bandages.

Many of Ned's men are already muttering to themselves about how justified the Northern superstition is that those of the North should not meddle with the affairs of the South. None of them originally want to agree that Ned head down South of course but they are loyal men of House Stark and thus unquestioningly followed him.

Even Ned personally is already feeling as if he has made a wrong decision on accepting Robert's offer of being Hand. Every inch of Ned feels itchy the more they head South, the warm weather, the lack of snow and ice, the way the people move and interact with one another. It makes Ned think that he is a bear put into too much little space. Plus his son is in trouble up North and Ned can't help but worry about him. So far this trip has been dogged by trouble ever since they left Winterfell and if not for the value he is placing on his honor about keeping his word to his friend, Ned might have happily bolted and returned back North.

"I never want her dead you know Ned," the rather sad voice of Robert snaps Ned out of his morose thoughts as he turns to the glum looking King of Westeros. Immediately Ned kicks himself for being insensitive. He has been daydreaming of a possibility where he might return home while his friend has just lost his wife, his queen.

The attack after all took the lives of many. When the head count however started to distinguish the living, wounded and the dead, there and they realized that the queen was gone. Suffice it to say that an immediate search had been done by the survivors. Very few people liked Cersei but the fact remained however that she was the queen. No amount of arguing can change that and it was their responsibility to find her.

It took almost the entirety of the night and near morning before they managed to find any clues. Said clue was no one else but a knocked out Jaimie Lannister with his armor rent and caved in. He had been near incoherent when they asked him about his sister's whereabouts due to fever and blood loss. Suffice it to say that between the ramblings of incoherence, they managed to piece enough to find out that she had run off to the woods.

Long story short, they easily managed to find her tracks, and whatever that was left of her. The painted men apparently got to her first and well, Eddard Stark would not wish for any woman to befell what happened to her. Delianah Tully volunteered with the Watcher of Osgiliath to find the perpetrators with their massive beasts finally returning.

It has been two days since they left with no word of them returning.

"She and I never get along, hell we hated each other Ned and I more than once want her gone from my presence but I never wanted her dead. The woman is my wife for gods' sake and the mother of my children. Now she's gone forever,"

"I'm sorry," Ned simply replies earning him a barked laugh full of sarcasm from Robert who takes a giant swig out of his wineskin.

"I am a horrible person Ned. While I know that I should be sorrowful for my wife; a part of me is glad that she isn't here anymore. It tells what kind of person I am eh? Yes, a horrible one, a horrible one Ned, he sighs deeply, unshed years of sadness weighing down on his shoulders.

"I am a free spirit Ned, this crown, this throne all these damned responsibilities. I should never have taken the throne," he sniffs.

Ned just nods silently in agreement. For the first time he wonders if the deceased Jon Arryn has made a horrible mistake placing the crown on Robert's head.

…

Lannister Entourage

Tywin sits gloomily atop his horse, his face as hard as stone despite the lingering pains of his body. During the ambush by those painted men, he has taken two arrows; one on the shoulder and the other near his belly. He is just lucky that both ended up on non-lethal parts of his good self despite the fact that both are still painful as hell.

It is not the pain however that is the cause of his surly mood, no. Rather it is because of the humiliation and the rather precarious position that his House is finding itself in.

House Lannister's main political sphere of influence comes first and foremost of course to its direct connections with the Royal Family. With his daughter sitting as Queen, and having an heir, House Lannister is basically half of the royal decisions of the kingdom. Add the fact that Robert has literally zero ideas in ruling and with Tywin's outmaneuvering of the court, and they sit as the dominant half.

Now with his daughter dead and having an heir who is not exactly kingly material, Tywin has right cause to worry. Robert is a drunkard and a complete womanizer. Tywin would bet the hairs on his scalp that the death of the queen would already be running around like wildfire throughout Westeros. Already he bets that people would be adjusting their plans at the sudden vacancy of power. While he is positively sure that none is as cunning as him, he bets that certain people, like that Queen of Thorns of the Reach would put their moves in play to fill the vacancy. No, what Tywin needs is to hold out until Robert kicks the bucket. Pycelle has informed him through his letters that the King's health is at an all time low and he would not last the next two years if he continues his lifestyle. By then, Joffrey would be king and House Lannister's future secured.

Once more Tywin curses Robert and also his deceased daughter. Cersei has made little effort on making Robert fell in love with her. The enmity between the two is so obvious that even the blind and deaf can see. Unfortunately these enmity stretches also to their children. Robert has little to no affection with his children due to his lack of presence and his whoring. Thus Tywin is not sure that Robert would not be swayed once some pretty little tramp with ambitions of being the new queen catches his fancy from a Great House. Everyone can still recall the disaster that is the Dance of Dragons due to that. Two separate lines vying for the throne having the same father but different mothers.

First things first however; Tywin would need to set an example on those murderers who dared lay hands on his daughter. Let it not be said that House Lannister does not pay its debts and Tywin would pay those murderers tenfold. If only the Lady of Rivendell could….

A large piercing cry startles the entirety of the traveling entourage as out of the forest beside them appears in a symphony of cries and squawks two Gryphons emerge and landing gracefully near the Lannister party. The regal beings look none the worse for wear with their red, gold and black plumages as pristine as ever. It is their riders however who looks like they have gone ten rounds with a bear with all the scratches and twigs clinging to them and their armor.

"Lady Delianah," Tywin acknowledges as the one riding the red and gold colored Gryphon steps down with an unsteady waddle before she manages to right herself, the Black Guard armor she has borrowed covered with dirt and traces of sword scratches. Tywin does not miss that Myrcella is at his side immediately looking at the other woman with concern. He makes a mental note to tell her not to show her emotions on the sleeve in public.

"Lord Tywin," she simply nods in reply taking off her helmet, her hair askew and all over the place. She stares fondly at his granddaughter for a moment though before turning back to him. "Apologies for the delay but it took us a while to find all the perpetrators my lord,"

"All of the perpetrators? How many are they?" asks Tywin taking notice of the Lady of Rivendell's companion coming down from his saddle carrying a large sack of leather colored red.

"Thirty in all Lord Tywin," answers Delianah as the man carrying the sack turns it upside down causing a cascade of rolling severed heads near Tywin's feet.

Tywin simply grimaces as he looks at the dirty heads, their expressions still containing the last visages of agony before their final moments.

"I caught one of them running somewhere heading North. He was so kind on sharing the information with me about his other compatriots after my friend Godric here bore a hole through his stomach and ate one of his livers before his very eyes. It took a while for me and Watcher Draco here to track down and find all of them,"

"They should have been brought to me alive," he mutters beneath his breathe though he retracts it immediately as the Lady of Rivendell frowns. "But dead is dead and justice is done. You have my thanks Lady Delianah and that of House Lannister also,"

"Of course Lord Tywin, as always it is our pleasure. Now please excuse us Lord Tywin, but I believe that my companion and I are in dire need of a wash," she nods once more which Tywin reciprocates before leaving the Old Lion staring at the heads of the cause of his daughter's demise.

He has to admit that his future "Daughter-in-law" is rather capable. While a rather large part of him is rather displeased that she is not in any subservient to him, the opposite portion feels rather pleased. Delianah Tully is no pushover and very capable. Unlike him though, it seems that she is well-balanced on being ruthless and loved. It is an admiring trait Tywin has to admit. She would make a good partner for Myrcella. He mentally grimaces inside though. Despite the logic and practicability that his brain reasons out; part of him is still rather in disagreement about Myrcella's choice of partner. It would be a scandal throughout the continent and beyond. It is a scandal that they would endure though thanks to Delianah Tully's wealth and reputation.

Speaking of which, Tywin forces his attention back at the heads before whistling to his personal guard to round them up.

"Put them on spikes all across the Golden Road," he barks out to the silent affirmation of his men. No one would dare come across House Lannister and not pay the price for their actions.

Tywin would be deviating from his original plan on heading down to King's Landing and making sure that his grandson learns how to be a king properly and prevent The Mad King version 2.0. He would instead be heading back at Casterly Rock where the remains of Cersei would be put to rest. Cersei might have failed him in many ways but she is still his daughter and more importantly she is a Lannister. She would be laid down to rest beside his sweet Joanna. There Tywin would consolidate his power before he pushes back to the capital. The last thing that he needs right now is for House Lannister to be in division of itself in their precarious position. Kevan is a good administrator but he lacks the fear component that Tywin has been using to keep his bannermen in line.

He grimaces as he realizes that the only people keeping an eye on his grandson and House Lannister's future is a drunkard king and his son(who has no sense of responsibility in Tywin's opinion. Still this is the piece of cyvasse he has been dealt with and Tywin would make sure that he emerged the victor.

….

Rivendell Column of the Caravan, Up in the Air

The screeching of Godric can be heard as his mighty wings flaps in powerful gusts of wind that embodies his entire strength and power. At his back, his two riders only laughs at his antics before settling down as he levels out. Normally Godric would never let anyone dare ride him other than his rider. However the other fleshy two legs smells a lot like his rider that he allows it…for now. Anyone else trying this with him and they would go splat before they can even scream out in fear.

Black and dark red hair flying behind her, Delianah smiles as Myrcella wraps her arms around her waist. Despite the coats they are wearing, she can sense her warmth fully like a fluffy blanket. She can feel her chin resting on her shoulders as the other young woman gives off a sigh of content.

"You know I can stay this way forever you Know Delia. The freedom of the sky where no one can touch us and we can be ourselves where we don't have to put on masks to portray ourselves on the world,"

"I'm pretty sure that we can be ourselves at Rivendell no problem Cella," points out Delianah before yelping as the other girl pokes her at the side of her hip.

"You could have fooled me more. Don't forget that when you are walking on your precious halls, you are strutting like a male peacock in full display," accuses Myrcella.

"I do not strut!"

"Oh yes you do," Myrcella simply laughs at the offended tone that Delianah is using. "You are all prime and proper as your subjects kow-towed to you oh chosen one,"

Delianah simply huffs. In a way she knows Myrcella is right. She lives for the praise. That is why she tends to tour around Rivendell and its occupied territories. She has not forgotten her original purpose after all, that the name of Delianah the Great be heard from one end of Planetos to the other.

"Maybe, a little bit," she finally admits much to the amusement of her companion who settles on making use of Delianah's body like a comfortable pillow as they fly in companionable silence.

"You know, Cella. We never talked about your mother you know," Delianah finally points out. She can feel the tightening on her hips though which speaks much about the opinion of Myrcella on the subject. "Are you….alright with her passing?"

For a minute Myrcella does not answer before she finally sighs in sad resignation placing her head sideward at the flat of Delianah's back.

"She does not care for me you know. Not in the way that I would have wanted at least," Delianah does not need to turn to see the tears coming from her eyes.

"It is always Joffrey this, Joffrey that. Did you know that during the Grand Tourney when I was shot, she didn't even visit me once? What kind of mother would not visit her daughter who had a crossbow bolt somewhere near her jugular? So when Amelia managed to bandage me up enough, I tried to find her and there I see her cooing over the fingers of my brother who shot the very arrow at me," Delianah listens as she gives off a mirthless laugh.

"Apparently he manages to get a splinter from his crossbow bolt on his thumb and there she is, attending to him as if he has won some great battle and returned the conquering hero. I might have been happy to ignore her and them the rest of my life, but then their actions hurt Yasmina. Her, you, Amelia and Rae-Rae I have always viewed as family. You're all my best friends and you cared for me. I would sacrifice the world to protect all of you if it comes to it, so the answer to your question is yes and no Delia. I am saddened by the fact that I indeed lost the woman who gave birth to me. At the same time I am glad that she has passed away. Whoever my mother is fucking with, I know that she would rather keep it secret and the fastest way that she can do that is getting rid of Yasmina once she hears that she manages to recover. You've already heard the news from the North Delia, about the attempted assassination of Bran. It might have succeeded if not for the presence of Rae-Rae there. So while I'm sad, a part of me is also relieved. I know my mother best of all and I know that she would not stop until she achieved her goals,"

"I see," Delianah simply sighs before leaning back to Myrcella fully, closing her eyes in the process. "Remind me to pay more attention to you in the next few days,"

Myrcella only laughs at that as she coils her fingers on the long hair of her lover. "Of course I will. You are my betrothed after all. It is your solemn duty to attend to the needs of your future wife,"

"I'm pretty sure that I have been attending to your…..needs very well my princess," Delianah purrs in response quite glad as she turns to see the cherry red face of Myrcella.

"Oh shut it you!"

Even as she laughs, Delianah can't help but feel excitement as they draw near to the capital. She's pretty sure that she would be in the center of the chaos. Robert after all would go on with his plan to make Myrcella queen.

What a glorious opportunity it would be for Delianah the Great.

…..

Lannister Wagon

Joffrey Baratheon has always lived a sheltered life. Being the Crown Prince of the Seven Kingdoms, he has been living in luxury and plenty. Ever since he can remember, his mother has always been there to watch over him, to repeatedly tell him that he would be king and that he would do great things. Now for the first time in his life, his mother is absent, killed by brigands and bandits, the peasants that they are.

Now he is unsure about what he is supposed to do, what direction to take. His mother has always been there to tell him and Joffrey obediently followed. Now with her gone, the stern but powerful guide of his life are gone. Normally Joffrey would have wept for her absence but he is a Lion as his mother always said and a future king. Lions don't cry for dead women, not even for his mother.

Still, with a lack of options Joffrey turned to the only source he can, his father.

And of course Robert being Robert, he is happily snubbed in favor of that barbarian in the North he has named as Hand. Joffrey has never felt so humiliated being tossed off like a sack of unwanted manure.

Personally he does not like the new Hand. He is from the North and mother has always told him that those that call that bleak cold wasteland home are barbarians and savages who cannot pinpoint one end of the sword to another. While he does hear a lot about stories of the Northeners fighting with his father, nothing suggests of their greatness according to the tales he hears when he was there. They have no knights or great palaces and castles. Instead they all lived in hovels of wood, mud and stone, unlike the Red Keep.

"Joffrey," the pained and tired voice of his uncle brought Joffrey to the present as he looks at the Kingsguard covered in bandages.

Joffrey has mixed feelings about his uncle Jaimie. On one hand he personally dislikes him since he apparently failed to protect his mother against thirty peasants. On the other hand his mother always told him that he should trust his Uncle. He is also the best swordsman at Westeros and he has proven that time and time again at the training yards as far as Joffrey can see.

"Uncle," Joffrey simply replies in neutral recognition as he sits beside the bandaged knight.

For a moment the two of them are simply silent as if each is trying to find the words to speak to one another. It is Jaimie however who broke it first.

"Your mother might be gone Joffrey but her dream for you is not. I swear to you with my life. I will do whatever it takes to make you king of Westeros,"

….

The Master of Coin's Chambers

Petyr laughs out loud ignoring the fact that some of the servants outside can hear him. The potential for destruction that Westeros currently in is so potent and none of the fools can see it. There is so much catalysts that he can use for making the realm implode on itself that it is almost a gift from the gods themselves (not that Petyr believes them).

His original plan is to slowly lead along the naïve wolf lord with crumbs upon crumbs with the investigation of the death of Jon Arryn and slowly leading to the illegitimate children of the king. Poor honorable Ned Stark would be pushed by his beloved honor to tell the king and the king would be furious and voila, a war between kingdoms that Baelish would extend by aiding one side or the other.

Now however this new golden opportunity is something that Baelish would fully take advantage of for this is better than anything he can dare conceive. Tywin Lannister for all his paranoia and guile never expected that one of his Personal Red Cloaks is an informant who owes a lot of money to one of Baelish's brothels. In return for his information, a little information here and there is all that Baelish asked. Lo and behold, a scandal between the Lady of Rivendell and the Princess of the Realm. Something that would definitely reignite the War of the Faith the third time if Baelish leaks it out. It would be disastrous for the recovering House Lannister and the vaunted newest kingdom of Westeros.

On the other hand, the King is a lot easier to glean information from. Robert is a happy talker once he is sloshed and fully satisfied of a good fucking. The whores at the Crossroads Inn belongs to Baelish and they have reported that the king apparently plans to put his daughter instead of his son at the throne. It is a recipe for trouble that would surely tear the realm apart.

For Baelish it is a golden opportunity. Both scenarios revolve around the Crown Princess and due to the "relationship" of hers to the Lady of Rivendell. Baelish is sure that Rivendell would also be involved. It would be killing two birds with one stone. One, Baelish can ascend the ladder of Chaos and secondly, it would fulfill the desires of his beloved Cat about finally getting rid of that bastard sister of hers. Either way, in the end, Baelish would just be the winner. For now though, he would start making some moves on the North and it all starts with a rather small scheme that revolves around the trusted House of House Stark at the moment, the House of Bolton.

What Petyr needs now is a letter.

…

Author's Note: Hope ya like this chapter. There, whispers and secrets in the Dark. The stage setting up once more. Don't worry, Oberyn would be pivotal here in this scenario.