A rescue mission which wasn't meant to be a long chapter. Oops.
Brienne
Brienne, Pod and Bronn had been in Kings Landing for a sennight, planning the abduction of Queen Margaery. The capital which had always been a shithole, had deteriorated into being run by the tyrannical Faith Militant. The place was so bad, Brienne almost believed Cersei had the right of it by blowing them up. These people weren't innocent, in fact they were torturing the entire city in the name of religion. They helped feed the poor, but it was a form of bribery. Once in power, Brienne doubted they would continue with their pious endeavours. These people wanted to make slaves of the people of Westeros, and Cersei was declaring war on them. This was not Brienne's battle, her mission was to save the one person Olenna Tyrell cared about the most, the one who would help save the north from the ravages of winter and hopefully fight against Daenerys when the time came.
The rescue mission had been planned meticulously. First they had inspected the chambers underneath the Sept and discovered there were passageways and rooms, all filled with large bottles of wildfire, confirming Brienne's story. Once Bronn knew she wasn't lying, he had become far more helpful than Brienne could have ever imagined. He had contacts in the capital of the most dubious nature, but they turned out to be useful in the planning of such an important task. He'd assembled everything required to rescue Margaery, however the powers of persuasion would be his downfall, or so Brienne thought, until two nights before the mission, which would take place the night before the trial.
Bronn was a man who liked money, wine and brothels. Ever since they arrived in Kings Landing, he'd spent every night at one of the remaining two brothels in the city. These were controlled by the Faith Militant, ensuring only basic services and to prevent full rioting. The rest had been closed down; which worried Brienne as she knew it would hurt Littlefinger's business and would make him even more dangerous. That evening, he returned to the small apartment they were renting; with a smile on his face and a small bottle of liquid, which Brienne assumed was some kind of alcohol.
"I've solved the problem of sweet talking the Queen." Bronn grinned, holding up the small brown bottle.
"By getting her drunk?" Brienne raised a sceptical eyebrow.
Bronn laughed. "Why waste good alcohol on a kidnapping?" he shook his head. "No, this will send the Queen into a temporary sleep, allowing us to take her from the castle without putting up a fight."
"Doesn't she have tasters?" Pod asked.
"We don't put this in her food." Bronn said smugly as he took a piece of linen from his pocket, opened the bottle and dabbed some of the liquid onto the cloth. "Podrick, let me show your Lady how this works."
"Podrick." Brienne warned. "You don't..." she started, but it was too late. Bronn had placed the cloth over Pod's mouth and nose from behind, and her squire had immediately fallen to the ground, his eyes closed. Brienne stared at Bronn in anger. "What have you done?" she asked.
"He'll be alright." Bronn grinned. "Give him six hours or so, he'll be wide awake and none the fucking wiser. I've used it meself on occasion. Has interesting side effects on a man when he wakes, although it doesn't work the same on a woman."
Brienne rolled her eyes. "And how do you plan to use this?" she asked.
"At night, the Queen has two Kingsguard, one Septa and two ladies in waiting. "I'll sort out the guards, then we sneak into her rooms. Take out the Septa, then the Queen and her ladies in waiting. By the time they've woken up, the Sept will be filling up and the Queen will be on a ship somewhere. Speaking of which, have you heard from your smuggler friend?" Bronn asked.
While Bronn had been out enjoying himself, Brienne had received a raven from Ser Davos that he would be meeting with her the following morning at high tide. They needed to go through the plans together so Ser Davos knew where to meet them with his small boat.
"We are to meet with Ser Davos on the morrow." Brienne told him. "You need to show him where the exit from the Keep is, so that he can meet us there when we rescue the Queen."
"And where is this boat of his anchored?" Bronn asked.
Brienne shrugged. "He didn't say. Do you want to return to Kings Landing and ride north from there, or as Ser Davos offered, he'll take you to Maidenpool, from where you can return to Ser Jaime. Unless you want to join us in Winterfell." she added sarcastically.
"Why the fuck would I want to freeze my balls off in Winterfell?" Bronn frowned.
"Point taken." Brienne nodded. "Right, I'm going to get some sleep. Let us hope for your sake, Pod wakes up before we go to see Ser Davos."
"Why, what are you going to do about it?" Bronn laughed.
"Kill you in your sleep." Brienne smiled sweetly.
"Bitch!" Bronn rolled his eyes and headed for his chambers, leaving Brienne alone with Pod still out cold on the floor.
The greying skies were turning orange when Brienne, Pod and Bronn met with Ser Davos on a small inlet just outside the walls of Kings Landing. Davos told her this was a place he'd often used back in his smuggling days. The Onion Knight looked tired, Brienne observed, it being the first time she'd seen him since she last saw him at Castle Black. Granted, they'd only spent two days in each other's company before he left for Dragonstone, but that had been moons ago, and much had happened since. For one, Ser Davos was completely unaware of who Jon really was, and although Brienne knew it wasn't her place to tell him, Davos was going to find out before he reached Winterfell.
"Ser Davos." Brienne nodded to the older man.
"Lady Brienne." Ser Davos smiled.
"You already know Podrick. This is Ser Bronn of the Blackwater." she introduced the cut throat
"How'd you do." Davos smiled awkwardly.
"I'll be better once I've left this place. Too many religious fuckers, if you ask me." Bronn shuddered.
"I take no stock in religion." Davos shrugged.
"It didn't help Stannis." Brienne raised an eyebrow.
"No, but it did help the Lord Commander." Davos reminded her.
"Lord Commander." Bronn laughed. "I thought he was a Prince, or King. I've lost track." Brienne rolled her eyes.
"What's going on with Jon?" Davos asked.
"Jon isn't Ned Stark's bastard." Brienne sighed. "He's the trueborn son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen."
"Aye, he's called Aegon Targaryen." Bronn added.
Davos frowned. "How long has he known?"
"I don't know." Brienne said truthfully. She suspected he knew before Davos left for Eastwatch, but Sansa gone into that much detail. "Jon and Sansa have been keeping it to themselves for as long as necessary. I only found out just before I departed for the south. I think I was only told because it was necessary. We have been spreading rumours of Jon's adventures and his identity."
"I trust Jon knows what he's doing." Davos simply said. "Right then, where are we going to rescue the Queen?" he asked.
They climbed into the small boat, although there was still room for another three people. Bronn guided them to a tiny cove, where about twenty feet up, Bronn pointed to a hole in the rocks. "Is this also the way in?" Brienne frowned.
"No." Bronn shook his head. "You don't want to get in this way if you are trying to avoid attention."
"Why?" Pod asked.
"Because you might smell like shit." Bronn replied. "It's the sewers, although rarely used. It was being built by Tyrion but ended up being abandoned when he poisoned that little fucker Joffrey and pissed off east." Bronn pointed to a larger cave. "No, we go in that way. It leads us to the catacombs where the dragon skulls are kept. Nobody goes down there these days." he looked at Brienne. "I wouldn't wear that armour. If anyone did decide to pay their respects to Balerion the Dread, you'd be heard clanking around a mile off. It's a right echo chamber that place."
The plan was agreed, they would meet in the same place they'd met Davos earlier. They were to meet him at sundown and make their way through to the dragon skull catacombs. There they would wait until the guards changed their shifts, so that the Kingsguard around Margaery's chambers were there for the night.
Eventually the night before the trial arrived and Brienne, Pod and Bronn readied themselves before finally leaving the apartments they'd been renting. Pod was in charge of the bag, which carried the ropes, linen cloths, the sleeping draught, fancy box and a sack to cover the Queen. He was also the one who was to make sure the ladies in waiting stayed asleep for the rest of the night. Bronn and Brienne would deal with the Kingsguard and the Septa who was in charge of Margaery, as she was rumoured to be a large fearsome woman. Brienne had pondered as to whether to write to Jon and Sansa to tell them they were about to rescue the Queen, but she'd already written to them a sennight earlier and decided it would be best to wait until the rescue mission had been successful before sending a raven.
The three of them met with Ser Davos at sundown, as they'd arranged, and rowed the boat around the coast until they came to the entrance of the cave where they were to make their way into the castle. Pod carried the bag and Bronn carried a torch leading the way. Brienne was going to be the one to carry the Queen as Bronn couldn't lead the route and carry, or so he claimed. The entrance to the cave was large and cavernous, which with her height, Brienne was glad of. However as the three of them descended deep into the underbelly of the Red Keep, the walls and ceiling closed in. eventually Brienne was on all fours, glad of Bronn's advice in regards to wearing armour; it would have been most unsuitable for this endeavour. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, they made it into the catacombs which housed the dragon skulls.
Brienne had never seen a dragon before, although Sansa had made her aware that there was a good chance she would meet at least one. However, when Brienne saw the enormous skull of Balerion the Black Dread, she froze, it was absolutely enormous. It was then she understood why Sansa was so concerned with the threat of the dragon Queen. Bronn placed the torch in a nearby sconce while they all climbed into Balerion's skull.
"Gods, I hope I never encounter one of these things. Imagine the damage they could do." Brienne whispered as Bronn grabbed the bag from Pod and began to rummage around in it.
"Lucky for you the fuckers are all dead." Bronn said.
"There are three across the Narrow Sea, and considering the owner, I suspect they will be making their way to our shores quite soon."
"If you say." Bronn sighed, and they were silent for a moment.
"How do you know when it's time for the guards to be changed?" Pod asked.
"Wait and you'll find out." Bronn said cryptically.
They waited, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Bronn was fiddling with something in the dark, but Brienne didn't want to ask what it was. And despite the size of Balerion's massive skull, it was still cramped inside and Brienne's foot had gone to sleep. She just hoped they wouldn't need to run any time soon. Eventually, they heard voices echoing from the walls and what sounded like boots descending descending steps. The footsteps stopped and the sound of the rattling of metal, possibly a gate, then a chain, rang through the chamber. Brienne could hardly breathe, hoping they wouldn't venture into the catacombs itself.
"I heard Cersei wants to grow the collection." one of the men said.
"It's a load of crap. There's no dragons in the east." another voice argued.
"Tell that to them slavers." the first man said, his voice becoming distant as they climbed the stairs, leaving the three of them sat in silence for a few more minutes.
"This is the last room the check before the guards are changed." Bronn whispered. "Follow me."
"How, I can't see you?" Pod asked as suddenly the torch Bronn was carrying earlier was lifted from its sconce.
"Can you see me now?" Bronn asked. "Now come on, the sooner we get the Queen out, the further we can get her before anyone knows she's gone." he whispered.
More passageways later and Bronn came to another stop at what looked to be a door. "Hold this." he passed a box to Pod. "And whatever you do, don't sniff it, unless you fancy another kip."
"Don't worry, I'll keep well away." Pod whispered as Bronn opened the door slightly, a strip of light entered the passage.
"There's two of em." Bronn whispered. "Brienne, come with me, we are delivering a gift from Lord Jaime Lannister to his nephew. Pod, you stay here." he placed the torch on the floor and eased himself out of the passage, Brienne followed. In Bronn's hand, he carried the beautiful wooden box, made from walnut and ivory inlay. He handed the box over to Brienne and led her to the guards who were stood outside the Queen's chambers and smiled.
"Evenin' fellas." he grinned.
"Ser Bronn of the Blackwater." said a guard Brienne didn't recognise. "What are you doing here?"
"I've been sent by Lord Lannister with a gift for his nephew and the Queen." Bronn replied.
"But these are the Queen's chambers." the other guard said.
"And the King is not in his chambers, which is why I assumed the King would be here. No matter, I can give them to the Queen." Bronn shrugged.
"I'm afraid nobody can enter the Queen's chambers. Not even the King himself. She is resting as she will be attending tomorrows trial." the first guard told them.
"Pass me the box." Bronn sighed as Brienne passed the box in the most formal way she could.
"Who are you?" the first guard asked Brienne.
"Lady Brienne of Tarth. Loyal servant of Ser Jaime Lannister." she bowed her head.
"Nice sword." the guard nodded. "I heard he gave you that himself."
Brienne blushed. "That he did."
"Can you give this to the Queen?" Bronn interrupted. "It's some bath scent from the Riverlands." he said, opening the box. "Smells nice." he sniffed it and passed it to the first guard who took a sniff and nodded, before letting the second guard have a smell. Bronn took a handkerchief and wiped his nose. "Gives me the sneezes." he laughed.
"I'm sure her grace will..." the first guard started, but never got to finish as he fell to the floor. Before the second guard was able to say a word, he joined him.
"How did that not work on you?" Brienne asked.
"There's an antidote. Sniff it before and right afterwards and it won't take effect. Told you I'd used it before." he smirked as he looked around. "Go get those chairs." he ordered. "We need to get these two sat down. Them lying down on the floor will look more suspicious." he said. Brienne did as he asked and rushed over to grab two chairs which were by one of the windows. They placed the guards on the chairs before Bronn ran back to the passageway and brought Pod. "Now follow me." Bronn said.
"Aren't we going through the door?" Pod asked.
Bronn shook his head. "We need to deal with the Septa first." Bronn whispered as he slipped behind a tapestry and pressed his fingers to his lips.
The tapestry hid an entrance to what turned out to be the chamber for a woman who Bronn called Septa Unella. The woman was the Queen's personal Septa and, according to Bronn, even more terrifying the Cersei. When Cersei had made her walk of shame through the streets of Kings Landing, Septa Unella was the one ringing the bell calling out 'Shame' as she went. Out of decency, Brienne was the one who would deal with the Septa, as she was a woman and a religious one at that. Bronn didn't care about religion, but if 'shit went wrong', as he said, then he wanted to make sure he wasn't the one to attack one of the Faith Militant. However, nothing went wrong. Brienne placed the linen cloth over the mouth of the already sleeping woman for a few moments and crept away, until they reached the chambers of Queen Margaery's ladies in waiting slept. Once again, they were quiet enough to place the linen cloths over the mouths of the sleeping women before they could wake and make a noise.
The last chamber was that of the Queen. Slowly, Bronn opened the door, peeking through the crack to ensure the Queen was in her bed. Looking back towards them, he nodded, gave them a thumbs up and beckoned them to go with him as he quietly opened the door and silently crept inside. The Queen's chambers were huge. Beautiful tapestries depicting roses, adorned the walls while an enormous four poster bed dominated the room. The window was open, letting a small breeze blow into the room. Using his hand, Bronn commanded them to get on their knees, which Brienne and Pod did while he crept towards the bed. The Queen was facing towards the window, which was on the opposite side to them, and it was unclear as to whether she was asleep or not, which was why Bronn had told them to hold back. With a cloth in his hand, Bronn went to the bed, but the Queen was awake. She turned over, and even from a distance, Brienne could see the terrified look in her eyes as Bronn lunged at her with the cloth in his hand. She tried to scream, but the linen smothered her cries. Moments later, her body stilled and she was asleep.
"Quick, ropes and sack." Bronn shouted in a whisper.
Pod and Brienne ran over towards the bed and pulled out a large sack and a short rope. Brienne looked at Bronn in shock. "You want to tie her up?" she was disgusted.
"If she wakes up on that little rowing boat before we board the ship, then she'll struggle. Now I can put her back to sleep again, but that might kill her, or we tie her up. If not, she might tip the boat over and we'll all be fucked. So fucking tie her up." he turned to Pod. "\get her something warm. We don't want her to catch her death. That old bitch, the Queen of Thorns would want my cock if a pretty hair on her granddaughter's head was damaged."
"Alright." Pod agreed and made his way to the Queen's dressing room to find something suitable.
"Why the sack?" Brienne asked.
"Easier to carry her." Bronn grinned. "I was thinking about you." he shrugged as Pod returned with a cloak.
"That should do for the time being." he nodded. "Right let's get her out of here." Brienne picked Margaery up; who was now covered in a large sack, and slung her over her shoulder and turned to leave for the route they came, but Bronn shook his head. Bronn took one of the torches from a sconce and cocked his head, "This way." he said, leading them towards another door which turned out to be the entrance to the privy. Once inside, he moved a large wooden cabinet, which turned out to be a secret door and all three of them filed through it, Pod with his bag, Bronn with his torch and Brienne with Margaery. Brienne hoped the exit would be quicker than the way in as carrying Lady Margaery was no easy task.
Fortunately for Brienne, the way out was far easier and quicker than the way in. despite being laden with a woman over her shoulder, it only took fifteen minutes to reach the outside world. Despite the purpose of the tunnel being a sewer, it had never been completed as Lord Tyrion had been arrested for the murder of King Joffrey. It seemed the old sewers were still in use. When they reached the exit, Ser Davos was at the bottom waiting for them in a rowing boat. Despite the dark, Brienne could make out small foot-holes which they would be able to use to climb down, unless they were carrying someone else. There was no chance of being able to carry the Queen down.
"How are we going to get the Queen on to the boat?" Brienne asked.
Bronn removed the sack from Margaery and began to tie the long rope under her arms. "Put her arms around your neck to support her, Pod and I will hold her weight with the rope as you climb down." he grinned. "Then we can put the sack back on her, just in case anyone wants to check the boat."
Once they'd finished tightening the rope around the Queen, the hands, which were tied, were placed around Brienne's neck. She climbed out of the hole and put her foot into the first hold, checking it was strong enough to carry her weight. "Come on then, let's get this over with." she sighed, as she stepped down onto another step. Brienne had to be careful as there was very little light. The torch Bronn had only lit so far down, and the one below, which Ser Davos held, didn't throw out much light either. To make matters worse, as she made her way down, each foot-hold got slippier from sea and slime. Fortunately, Bronn and Pod worked well and held most of the weight of the Queen, allowing Brienne to eventually make it to the small rowing boat with no issues.
When all three of them had made it to the boat, the Queen was covered up and they began to row for their lives.
"How long before she wakes?" Davos asked.
"Five hours or so." Bronn replied.
"Good, the ship is two hours from here. Then we sail for Dragonstone." Davos grinned.
"I thought we were sailing north." Brienne frowned.
"You are, I'm not." Davos told them. "I've got one more shipment of dragonglass to move after this, so I'm staying behind on Dragonstone. They'll drop me off, take you to Maidenpool." he told Bronn before turning to Brienne. "Then you to White Harbor. You can write to Jon and Sansa when you get to Dragonstone. And I'm sure we can find something a little more...appropriate for the Queen to wear on the island."
"How long do you think it will be before they notice she's gone?" Pod asked.
"When she doesn't turn up for her brother's trial." Brienne shrugged as they continued to row, wondering whether Cersei would still blow up the Sept if Margaery wasn't in it.
It was later that morning when they got their answer. The Queen had been in a bed on board the ship for three hours before she woke. Kings Landing was still within sight as the ship, which had once belonged to Stannis, pulled out of Blackwater bay and headed north towards Dragonstone. Brienne, Pod, Davos and Bronn were watching on in anticipation of either someone following them or for the Sept to blow up. Eventually Margaery left out of her cabin and stormed out on deck.
"What is the meaning of this?" she shouted. "I am the Queen. Take me back! My brother is to stand trial today." she frowned at Brienne. "Lady Brienne, what is this nonsense?"
"Your grace." Brienne bowed her head. "We have reason to believe your life was in danger."
"And what makes you think..." Margaery started, but never got the chance to finish, as an enormous explosion rang out from the city. In the distance, green smoke filled the air, where the Great Sept of Baelor once stood.
"We discovered Cersei was going to blow up the Sept your grace." Brienne told her. "You are safe now, but I'm afraid we couldn't rescue your brother."
"Noooo!" Margaery screamed, falling to to the floor. "Loras." she cried. "Why?" she looked at Brienne.
"Because he was too well guarded, and you weren't." Brienne said as Margaery put her head in her hands and began to weep uncontrollably.
"Come on young Lady, let's get you to bed." Ser Davos said kindly as he and Pod lifted Margaery up and escorted her back to her cabin.
"Well fuck me!" Bronn said. "You were right. Cersei's gone mad."