Rhaella Targaryen watched as Tywin's retinue cleared out the tower of the hand of his posessions and his household. Tywin had been her husband's friend since the war of the ninepenny kings and even before, knighting the old lion himself when Tywin had been but a cub. However, she knew of just what her husband had done to finally push his once friend into resigning. Jamie Lannister had arrived a fortnight prior to Tywin, clad in a white cloak he was far too young for. She felt sorry for the boy, though she knew that feeling would not last long. He was too young to understand just what being a kingsguard under Aerys meant, she wondered if her brother and husband would come to her on the nights ser Jamie was to guard her, just to torture the boy. No doubt time would see him just as broken down as the others in the face of the cruelty that her king bestowed upon her and the people of his kingdom.
An interesting addition though to Tywin's entourage was the lord Kurt Ambrose of house Terra, as well as his subordinates. She had heard from court gossip over the last three days that two of them, ser Robert and lady Jane, had won the melee and archery respectively in the tourney they had arrived from. Ser Robert's victory was not too farfetched, given his size and apparent strength. More than one scullery maid had spoken of sneaking into the rooms of both ser Robert and ser Shane, a sentiment echoed for all three male members of house Terra.
Where Rhaella found the most interest was in lady Jane. A woman who had not only competed in, but won a competition in such a large tourney was surely an oddity. That her face was one of beauty, even with her short cut hair, was even more surprising considering she seemed to prefer wearing clothing far closer to men's than women's. She still ocasionally wore the dresses that noble women were expected to wear, but those instances where she wore men's clothing were common enough that they were talked about by servants and the nobles alike.
Even with the new curiosities abound in her castle, Rhaella was most focused on trying to find some way to keep the lord of Casterly Rock from leaving court, especially when he was the only man who could in any way control her husband.
"Tywin please, King's Landing needs you. Who but you can rule two realms at once, and manage all the others?" She beseeched her friend's husband as he sat behind a desk in the tower of the hand. His badge was gone, returned to her as the king was not in the city, lagging behind the lord of the Rock.
"Aerys has spurned my advice more and more as his madness has deeped, but to take such liberties with my own heir, I will not allow this insult to stand and meekly serve to keep his power while he holds my son hostage."
"And if you leave, Aerys will have free reign with Jamie." She pleaded. "You are the only man who can cow him. Without you, what is to stop him from abusing your child."
"Aerys is not so mad as to begin killing his own kingsguard." Tywin said, though Rhaella could see a twitch in his normally stoic face. "Even if he was, I have provided protections."
"And what protections can keep him safe against the king?" Rhaella asked. Part of her wanted to show the man how reckless it was to leave the city with his son in it, while the other was honestly curious about what it was that Tywin had that he felt it could cow her husband.
Tywin raised an eyebrow, as if he found it odd that she would ask.
"Why should I give such information to Aerys' own queen?" He asked.
Rhaella suddenly felt fury overtake her as she watched Tywin doubt her.
"If you really think I'm so loyal to Aerys, why tell me he would be protected at all, but fine then, if you really think so little of me, truly my friendship with Joanna must have meant little to you."
Perhaps she should not have brought up his deceased wife as she saw Tywin's eyes blaze with a fury that he would normally have kept repressed. picking up a bell and ringing it a pair of guards entered the room.
"The queen has requested that she be escorted back to prince Viserys. See to it that she is led from the tower."
Rhaella could have fought the two men who now stood on either side of her, but it would do her no good and Tywin's anger had shut down any further conversation. She followed the guards as they led her from the tower of the hand, leaving her out in the corridors of the Red Keep. She had little to do during the day save for watch over Viserys and attend whatever gatherings she could amongst her ladies. Not for the first time she reminised about the time when she had had true friends amongst those who attended her. Joanna Lannister and Princess Martell who now ruled the land of Dorne. Elia Martell had been the closest thing she could count as a friend since she had married her eldest son Rhaegar, and with her had come Ashara Dayne, who while not a true friend, was at least honest and had no ill will nor designs to harm her.
She wandered the halls for a time before she noticed several servants rushing around her, a pair of women moved past and one accidentally brushed shoulders with her. The woman turned and paled when she noticed who she had collided with, stammering out apologies.
"My- your grace, please forgive me, I was not watching where I was going."
Aerys would have had the girl imprisoned for touching his royal person so, likely he would even have her burned to death by the fire. Many had since begun to be careful with the whole of her family, fearing that they too might be so harsh. She disliked that caution more and more as time went on. People who did not know her began to assume that she was as as cruel and viscious as Aerys and made sure to avoid insulting her. In fact they avoided her altogether.
"Never mind girl, it was a mistake. Where are you off to in such a hurry?"
The girl's face flowered in relief and she seemed far more open to speaking.
"The lord Ambrose is facing off against his three warriors in the training yard. We were going to watch." She turned to her companions, who had left her to rush down the hall.
Rhaella smiled.
"Let us be off then, this sounds interesting."
Rhaella followed the girl, and the two found themselves watching overhead as a quartet of people held long metal staffs. The staffs were all at least two meters long, and had some material at the ends of them that made them thicker at each end.
On one side lord Ambrose stood tall, incredibly tall. Rhaella had only ever seen the man at a distance, and though she was still watching from above, she was close enough that she could see just how tall the man was.
On the other side there were three figures that while not as tall as their commander, were still massive. Rhaella would guess they were at least six and a half feet tall each, and corded with muscle. Even lady Jane, who she could see was one of the participants, had a defined physique that matched her two male counterparts. What Rhaella found off was that none of the four were armoured. In fact, ser Robert and ser Shane, who she recognised from court gossip, were without shirts while lady jane wore only a grey tight garment that held her bust in place. Their lord was similarly unarmoured, but at least he was wearing what looked like a long grey shirt, though it was tight fitting and showed off the thick corded muscle that he possessed even from the distance Rhaella was watching from. She felt her cheeks flush as she saw the barely clothed combatants, something she noticed was shared by every woman around her. The men were little better, as they leered at lady Jane and her near naked upper body.
"Alright." Rhaella almost shivered at lord Ambrose's tone. She had not yet heard the man speak. "You three know the rules, four rounds, or unconsciousness."
"Yes sir." The three answered back to him.
"Ready... Begin!"
All three of the combatants on one side rushed at lord Ambrose, who merely settled into a defensive posture. Ser Robert reached his lord first, and opened with a series of swings with his staff. Lord Kurt countered deftly, and when a swing was blocked and pushed back, Robert attacked with the other end. Still, he was pushed back for a moment, before lady Jane entered the fray.
She was perhaps even faster than ser Robert, and attacked with a flurry of blows so quick that with Robert's aid, they began to push back their lord. Lord Ambrose was not one to allow such a thing though, and holding his own staff in one hand instead of two he launched a blow at Jane. She responded by intercepting the strike, but in doing so she was locked in place. Kurt's other hand struck out, grabbing Robert's staff where there was a gap between his own hands. All of this took place in the time it took ser Shane to run around them and attack lord Ambrose from behind. Instead of taking the blow, Kurt hauled Robet by his staff and pulled him in between himself and Shane's strike. Shane hesitated and retreated as Robert was pulled in front of him but it was only an instant before he was ready to strike again. Once his captain had pulled him into range, rather than fight it Robert had allowed himself to be pulled further, locking his hands on Kurt's and holding him in place for Shane to attack again.
Shane's blow struck the older man in the abdomen, and had the staff been wood, it would likely have broken before causing real injury to Spartan muscles. As their weapons were made of solid steel instead they actually caused some discomfort. Kurt took his staff back into both hands and launched a series of blows to ward off Jane and Shane, who were now in front of him. However, good as he was, he was facing three Spartans, even if they were half his age.
The battle still lasted nearly ten minutes before Kurt was overwhealmed and forced to surrender. Up on the stands, Rhaella watched in shock at the display of sheer power that was the Spartans. Lord Ambrose and his warriors had more than once taken strikes across the body by what looked like steel staffs, lord Kurt had even taken one across the face at one point, yet they seemed little worse for wear. She could have sworn that when ser Shane had stuck his lord across the stomach, there had been a gonging sound like the metal had slammed against more metal rather than flesh. Still, she shook away that thought. All around her her fellow spectators were shocked silent at the display.
None even made a sound as Lord Ambrose began to fight each of the three one on one. Against them individually, the fights lasted far longer, the first lasting nearly half an hour before the captain emerged victorious. The following two fights were similarly long and also ended with the lord's victory, and after each he would offer critique on each of their forms. Over the course of that hour and a half, many had come out of their stupors, chattering amongst each other or watching silently. She saw that many of the guards and male onlookers watched lady Jane with a mix of curiosity, scorn and lust as she battled against her lord. Her body was drenched with sweat, which soaked her garments and made them cling even more tightly to her body. Likewise, ser Robert and ser Shane's chests shined and gleamed in the sun as they too worked up a sweat battling against lord Kurt.
Rhaella's eyes turned to the aformentioned lord and found that like lady Jane, his grey shirt had been soaked through with sweat, making the muscles underneath even more visible and defined. She saw at least one woman swoon as ser Shane discarded his staff and engaged in wrestling with lord Ambrose during his bout. Ser Shane had found no luck in such an exercise, ending up pinned beneath his lord within minutes.
Lord Ambrose looked more winded than his subordinates, not surprising since he had faced all three without rest. He waved for the three to go at it amonst themselves and retreated to the side of the ring. She was unsure about what caused it, but she found herself walking down the stairs and making her way over to the man as he watched ser Shane and ser Robert begin to spar. His eyes flickered over to her and he stopped watching his warriors to bow to her instead.
"Your grace." He said, and once again Rhaella was shocked by just how authoritative his voice sounded. Only Tywin's voice had ever come close, and even then, the was a deepness to lord Ambrose's words that outshone even the old lion's.
She curtsied in response, as was appropriate, though propriety might have been unnecessary given that she was down in the training yard standing with a sweatsoaked lord who, had she not been married, could have swept her off her feet without complaint.
"I have not been given the chance to welcome you to King's Landing. I hope your time here has not been unsatisfying."
Lord Ambrose offered her a smile, one Rhaella could not find any deceit in. It was a rare thing in King's Landing to meet a person with even a hint of honesty, even more so to find one in the Red Keep. Rhaella found she enjoyed it.
"Not so far your grace, though the smell in some parts of the city is disconcerting."
Rhaella almost laughed. Few spoke openly about how badly the city smelled. Most put up with it and only complained in the safety of their own rooms. To insult the city was somewhat dangerous as the city itself was often associated with the royal family.
"I'm afraid even our greatest kings could do nothing about the smell, though I hear it was even worse in the times before king Jaehaerys I."
"A hard thing to imagine, given how Flea Bottom smelled when we passed through on he way he-" He stopped briefly. "Shane. Let Robert up, it's your win. Jane, you and Shane start up the next round after some water."
Rhaella's head snapped over to see that ser Shane had pinned ser Robert into the dirt, holding him in such a way so as the other man's face was beginning to turn purple from lack of air.
The two men got up off the ground and walked over to lady Jane, who was lounging in a shaded pavilion and drinking from a waterskin. She tossed two more to the two men as they approached, which both caught and began to drink heavily from. Rhaella noticed a few groaned from above and saw that the women who had been watching looked disappointed as the two men walked out of their direct sight.
"Your men seem to be drawing a crowd." She nodded to the audience, which lord Ambrose with his own gaze. He chuckled.
"We're used to it, back on the Plataea we got a lot of the off duty naval personel watching the training matches."
'The Plataea'. Rhaella had heard rumours about the great seat of house Terra, which was said to reach into the sky and be so massive it took up the whole of Fair Isle.
"I've heard of your seat." She said, watching the lord again. "But I have only really heard rumours. What is it like."
Kurt hesitated for a moment and Rhaella was nervous that she might have touched a sore subject. She was unsure how, most noble men loved to talk about their homes, either the greatness of their castles and the vastness of their lands, or about how unique they were in comparison to others. Even the smallest keeps, they would say, held something that made them special and superior to those of other lords.
"It's big, as you said. It's not so large that it takes up the whole Island though. Our predecessors desined and built it to be one of the greatest of its kind, and it holds a special place for me as it has let me care for so many of my Spartans, more than I could have otherwise."
Rhaella nodded entranced by his words. He was giving nothing truly informative about the place, but hearing him speak about his home with such fondness was something she found endearing.
"I would enjoy seeing it, perhaps one day, we might visit."
Lord Ambrose offered her another smile and Rhaella found herself engrossed in conversation with the man. There were a few brief pauses when he had to attend to his soldiers, but Rhaella was more shocked when lady Jane emerged victorious over both of her male opponents. That had not gone over well it seemed with the city watchmen who were guarding the Red Keep, who arrived for their daily training. More than one man had mocked ser Shane and ser Robert for losing, only to be subject of ridicule from their own fellows as lady Jane proceeded to lay each of them out in match after match. None of which lasted as long, nor tired her nearly as much as her bouts with her two companions.
With the end of their training and the arrival of the city watch, house Terra retreated into the keep to clean themselves after their long training. Rhaella was offered an apology by lord Kurt as he followed his subordinates into the keep itself but Rhaella waved him off with a smile and an offer for his entourage to dine with her and her household.
Kurt followed team wolf pack into the castle, having broken off from conversation with Queen Rhaella. He was mulling over something when Jane turned to look at her captain.
"Something wrong sir?" She asked. "Besides having so many civis staring at us?"
"Just something about the queen." Kurt said.
"She was a bit... attentive of you." Jane said, though her face twisted into a smirk. "Maybe she wants a piece of Spartan meat?"
Shane and Robert rolled their eyes at their teammate's crassness, nudging her as she chuckled.
"Don't say things like that in the open." Kurt warned her. "The walls have ears here, almost as many as an ONI blacksite."
Suitable reprimanded, Jane shut her mouth as Kurt led the way to their quarters. As they entered, they saw Tywin standing behind Kurt's desk, waiting for them.
"Ambrose." He said, keeping a neutral face.
Kurt turned to the three Alpha company Spartans.
"Head off to your rooms, I want you all preped and ready to move if the need comes."
"Right." They all answered, saluting and leaving.
Closing the door behind him, he waited for whatever it was Tywin wanted to say to come out.
"I've been informed that queen Rhaella accompanied you during your training with your squad."
"She arrived after we started and wanted to ask about our stay my lord." Kurt tried to explain.
"Regardless, her attention on you has not escaped me, and so it will not escape those with less savoury intentions. You will do well to make sure that there is not a wiff of ill conduct in proximity to the queen. Aerys is a mad fool, but any accusations of infidelity can be acted on and used to harm the reputation of the Westerlands as a whole, and that of house Lannister specifically as we raised up your own house."
"Understood lord Tywin." Kurt said. "I'll make sure that all of my men are on their best behaviours, and we will make sure to keep our distance from the royal family."
Tywin nodded.
"Good, tonight you will dine with me, we will be holding a public feast for the next two days in preparation for our departure. We should leave a week before the royal column is set to arrive."
Tywin left Kurt's rooms with those final words and the Spartan captain was left to prepare for his mandated appearance at the night's dinner.
Spartans are basically the ultimate sex objects as far as I can tell. Tall, ripped with muscle, at the peak of human physicallity, and from the few faces we've seen, absolutely gorgeous. It's honestly kind of funny just writing about how people can fall all over themselves lusting after them. I didn't really write it when they were at the tourney because the idea hadn't fully dawned on me but it did in this chapter and I kind of wanted to run with it and add a bit of humour. So yeah, Rhaella and just about every man and woman in the Red Keep has a bit of a crush. I wanted to write about how the Spartans might react to someone sneaking into their rooms Margery style but I felt that was a bit too far and decided against it.