A Holiday by Decree

~~ Day 2 ~~

As usual, it wasn't long before Tyrion located the nearest collection of books. Obviously, his Queen knew him well. The rooms selected for him were conveniently right next to the library.

For at least an hour, Tyrion perused the shelves, which he did appreciatively note were recently dusted. The portion of the collection he viewed was decent, if dated. He probably would have taken longer to look, except while it was clear that Daenerys had realized her Lord Hand would appreciate the library, like many others before in his life, she nor the servants had thought of the fact that most items in this room would be well out of his reach.

From where Tyrion stood next to a library table topped with richly treated leather, he wondered about the books he hadn't seen yet on the upper shelves. After a few minutes of indecision and mild annoyance passed, he decided he felt too lazy to call a servant to assist him just then. Instead, he made mental notes of a few titles on the lower shelves; perhaps he would call someone or climb a chair later to check out more of the others…

From the library, he next found that the corridor widened into a serene open air courtyard. The floor was tiled, but potted plants and ornamental trees, the branches of which had grown and crisscrossed parts of the walls, had transformed this internal area. Cool, marble benches and a burbling fountain looked inviting. He also noticed a simple, well-kept aviary: a few small decorative bird cages held brightly-colored, tiny birds, while a larger cage housed at least ten pigeons, many in colorations he had never before seen. The birds sang contentedly, and he made a note to learn who their keeper was.

As he entered the next hall, Tyrion learned it was time for lunch. A young maid, who had been searching for him, led him to a sunroom set with a table and chairs. Another meal, this time a type of fried fish served with vegetables, remoulade and more delicious bread came and went.

While the plates were cleared, Tyrion quietly watched the waves roll in and out below. Out on the horizon above the glistening water, a few clouds had gathered, and he idly wondered how the weather patterns here would be.

He supposed he would find out in time.

Time. Something I am going to have a lot of here, it would seem, he thought to himself, a little less happily.

How had he frittered away the hours in his past?

Food, booze, books, whores, and gambling.

Food was fine. Gambling was alright - he guessed he could find some if he went out. He had found the books, and whores had been out of the question for a while…

That left only booze.

It had been some time since he had last been unapologetically drunk–

When the maid came back, he requested a carafe of wine.