The group broke apart and each went along to do their duties. Ned Stark took his family to the privacy of their chambers to help her calm down. The Targaryens and the Martells plotted, as they often did, while the Baratheons and Jon Arryn spoke about their own thing, bringing Varys into the mix. Theon and Yara did not speak, nor did Olenna and Margaery. But each pair had different reasons for not doing so.
It was only the conversation between Tyrion and Joanna that was of any interest.
Tyrion Lannister approached his mother with an extra chalice in hand. He held it out for the woman, who took it without prompt.
"They refill whenever you wish, alas they do not get you drunk."
"Takes the fun out of drinking entirely doesn't it."
Mother and son shared a laugh.
"You were too harsh on Jaime" Tyrion cut right to the chase and continued without letting his mother speak. "Cersei does not allow Jaime anywhere near their children, nor does she allow Robert to be closer than he has to be. Everything you see Joffrey doing, every cruel little thing, it is all Cersei. Cersei would have turned out exactly like that, had it not been for Father's stern ways that cowed her."
"It does not help" Joanna muttered.
"It doesn't" Tyrion conceded.
Joanna looked at her youngest before looking at her older son. The boy, no… not a boy, a man… he was a man now. Perhaps she had hit him as she did because she saw him as a boy. The Same boy she'd been told was doing naughty things with his sister.
"I will… apologize to him. But not yet. I'm not ready to do so yet."
"Understandable" Tyrion nodded.
"But I am ready to apologize to you."
"What for?"
"For judging you based on your looks" Joanna smiled. "I will not lie to you and tell you what you're not. You're a dwarf, you're deformed and you're not pleasant to the eyes."
"As far as apologies go, that is a shit one" Tyrion muttered, each word like a stab in the heart.
"But," Joanna continued, "you are brilliant. You are smart, you're sharp, and you have a far better mind than your siblings. You stand up for what is right, for your brother who you clearly love dearly. I'd even go as far as saying you're most like your father between the three of you."
"The horror" Tyrion joked.
"I am sorry I judged you for your looks, my son" She reached out and ruffled his hair, something Tyrion felt himself melting because of. "I may not support all your decisions, Tyrion, but never doubt that I am not proud of the positive traits you wield."
"Only the positive ones?"
"You want me to love you for being a whore?"
The two shared a chuckle.
Slowly the Starks filtered back in after what could have been hours. They all took their seats again and began to watch the events unfold before them.
[STORMLANDS, RENLY'S CAMP]
[RENLY's war camp is bustling. He walks up to LORD PETYR "LITTLEFINGER" BAELISH, who awaits him.]
"Him again" Renly groaned softly. He expected he'd be free of that rat.
"Well, if it isn't my favourite whoremonger. Pray I haven't kept you waiting long."
"Your Grace."
"Now you do the Lannisters' bidding, is that it? Tell me, was my brother's body even cold before you secured your newest patron?"
"Probably never served me loyally, to begin with," Robert grunted.
"Maybe" Renly muttered.
"I'm a practical man."
"Just not a loyal one."
"And who would you have me be loyal to? Your brother's corpse?"
"I don't like you, Lord Baelish. I don't like your face. I don't like the words that come oozing out of your mouth. I don't want you in my tent one minute more than necessary. So tell me, why are you here?"
[LITTLEFINGER's eyes shift to LADY BRIENNE OF TARTH.]
"You can trust Brienne. Her loyalty comes without charge."
"You still have many friends at court, Your Grace, many who believe Ned Stark erred by not supporting your claim."
"Sure I do" Renly muttered. No doubt he had those, but he knew Littlefinger was buttering him up.
[RENLY takes an apple and sits down.]
"Now I understand. You know I have the numbers. You know I'm marching on King's Landing. When I take the throne, you hope to retain your position. And your head."
"That fucking rat" Catelyn snarled under her breath. But her children had heard her, and they all looked at her in shock. Even Sansa, puffy-eyed and now sitting between her parents. Bran was sitting on his mother's other side, between her and Arya.
"I would give priority to my head."
[RENLY snorts]
"I understand that you don't like me, and while that saddens me greatly, I did not come here today seeking your affection. When you march on King's Landing, you may find yourself facing a protracted siege or open gates."
"Tell me you're not buying into his act" Robert whispered to his brother.
"Littlefinger is many things, brother, including an opportunist. I have the numbers, he will support me for it. And after I take King Landing, I will behead him and rid this world of his treachery."
"You have not won yet, Renly" Stannis reminded him.
"Respectfully, Stannis, you do not have the numbers to take me down" Renly replied with a drawl.
Stannis pursed his lips and set his jaw in anger.
[RENLY ponders LITTLEFINGER's implications.]
[RENLY'S CAMP, NIGHT]
[LITTLEFINGER stands by a fire, warming himself. SER LORAS TYRELL and QUEEN MARGAERY TYRELL approach. LORAS peels off into a nearby tent while MARGAERY walks past LITTLEFINGER. He follows her.]
"And that's the real reason that weasel is there" Olenna Tyrell chuckled. "If Renly doesn't work out, he'll steal away the South through other promises no doubt."
Renly looked miffed at the revelation.
[EXT. STORMLANDS, RENLY'S CAMP]
[CATELYN sits in her tent. LITTLEFINGER enters, and she rises.]
"How dare you?"
"You may have heard false reports."
"False reports" Catelyn scoffed.
"You betrayed Ned!"
"Betrayed? I wanted him to serve as Protector of the Realm. I begged him to seize the moment."
"I trusted you. My husband trusted you. And you repaid our faith with treachery."
"No, my lady."
"Get out!"
"Cat, I've I've loved you since I was a boy. It seems to me that fate has given us this chance"
Ned bristled in agitation.
[CATELYN draws a knife, threateningly. LITTLEFINGER pauses, thinking.]
Olenna Tyrell barked out a laugh.
"He really thought that would work?" Gendry turned to the Spider.
"Lord Baelish walks many paths, and not every path is so clean. But every path leads him to what he wishes for, in one way or the other" Varys answered, "he is a smart player."
"But a shit man."
"But a shit man" Varys chuckled.
"Have you lost your mind? Get out!"
"Do you want to see your girls again? Sansa, more beautiful than ever? And Arya, just as wild as ever? Both girls are healthy and safe. For now. But you know the Queen and you know Joffrey. I fear for their longevity if they remain in the capital."
[CATELYN ponders, then lowers the knife and places it down.]
"They don't have Arya" Lyanna muttered.
"That still wouldn't stop them from using her. Especially since the Northern armies don't know it" Rickard explained to his daughter.
"The Lannisters will trade your daughters for the Kingslayer."
"Of course they will. Jaime Lannister for two girls? Robb will never agree to those terms."
"I'm not bringing these terms to him. I'm bringing them to you."
"He means to use your emotions as a mother against you" Ned whispered to his wife.
"I don't think I am strong enough to not give into that, Ned" Catelyn muttered.
Ned reached around Sansa and gently rubbed his wife's shoulder.
Catelyn smiled at him for it.
[Two servants enter and place down something heavy. The servants bow and leave. CATELYN looks at LITTLEFINGER and her face goes ashen as she realizes what is in the chest before her.]
"What's this?"
[CATELYN kneels slowly over the chest and opens it. She looks down, sadly.]
"Your husband was an honourable man. He should rest beside his family in the crypts beneath Winterfell. You may not believe—"
"Get out."
[Speechless, LITTLEFINGER leaves. CATELYN begins to cry. She slams the chest closed.]
Ned's grip on his wife's shoulder tightened just a little and Catelyn gripped her husband's hand tightly.
[HARRENHAL, PRISONER ENCAMPMENT]
[ARYA sleeps on the cold, wet ground. Soldiers wake up the prisoners with banging and shouting.]
Ned, Catelyn and the Starks inhale sharply. They remembered Arya getting captured… this could mean only one thing…
[The recruits stand up as the soldiers move through the camp. SER GREGOR "THE MOUNTAIN" CLEGANE strides into camp.]
Elia's hands gripped her knees tightly, so tight that her knuckles were going white. She felt a hand over hers and looked up to see Oberyn. He looked equally tensed. She quickly grabbed his hand and held it firmly.
Neither of them saw it, but even Doran looked tighter around the mouth and face than usual.
"That's him, the one who picks."
"The Mountain. What are you doing?"
"He told me he stares at him every day. That's why he doesn't get picked."
"That idiot!" Gendry snapped. How could the fat one be this dense?!
[THE MOUNTAIN looks over the crowd. Most people look down, but HOT PIE meets his gaze, as does another PRISONER. The MOUNTAIN picks that PRISONER.]
"Move, boy! Move!"
[HOT PIE is shocked and pisses himself for having listened to the other man.]
"He got lucky" Gendry let out a sigh of relief.
[HARRENHAL, PRISONER ENCAMPMENT]
[ARYA lies in the dark as rain falls.]
"Joffrey. Cersei. llyn Payne. The Hound... Polliver. The Mountain"
"Didn't Yoren tell Arya something about repeating the names of the one he wanted to kill over and over again?" Bran asked Jon, who nodded.
"Aye, he did."
Ned and Catelyn both looked nervous. Hey knew their daughter, and they knew just how violent she could become.
[ESSOS, THE GATES OF QARTH]
[DAENERYS and her Dothraki sit outside the gates of Qarth. The gates are closed.]
"I suppose as far as places for shelter goes, that isn't so bad" Varys commented.
"You know the place then?" Rhaegar asked.
"Qarth, my Prince. You can expect politeness from them."
"Politeness can also mean they throw her out" Elia pointed out.
"Rather be told no politely than be insulted in your face, no?" Varys smiled.
"I thought we were welcome."
"If you heard a Dothraki horde was approaching your city, you might do the same, Khaleesi."
[Qartheen soldiers line up outside the gate, at attention. A group of thirteen emissaries from the city walk forward from the gates. The plump SPICE KING leads the group.]
"No credit in guessing that's the leader?" Robb questioned.
"The Qartheen are ruled by Pureborn who are seated in the Hall of a Thousand Thrones. But guilds like the Thirteen, the Tourmaline Brotherhood and the Ancient Guild of Spicers all contend endlessly with the Pureborn. The man may be the one elected to speak for them, not the leader exactly" Varys explained.
"My name is Daenerys-"
"Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen."
"I never asked, why Stormborn?" Rhaegar asked.
"I was born during a storm" Daenerys answered.
"You know me, my lord?"
"Only by reputation, Khaleesi. And I'm no lord, merely a humble merchant."
"Must be part of the Guild of Spicers" Robb whispered to Jon, who nodded.
"They call you the Mother of Dragons."
"And what should I call you?"
"Oh, my name is quite long and quite impossible for foreigners to pronounce. I am simply a trader of spices. But we are the Thirteen, charged with the governance and protection of Qarth, the greatest city that ever was or will be."
"The beauty of Quarth is legendary-"
"Qarth."
"Proud people" Yara clicked her tongue. Her eyes drifted to Theon, who was still silent and drawn into himself. Yara wouldn't admit it yet, but she was worried.
"Might we see the dragons?"
"Everyone wants to see the dragons" Rhaegar clicked his tongue. "You would need to be cautious around him."
Daenerys did not point out that her future self couldn't hear him.
[DAENERYS looks back to the woven chest that holds the dragons on top of one of their horses. She is nervous and a bit desperate.]
"My friend, we have travelled very far. We have no food, no water. Once I see my people fed, I will be honoured"
"Forgive me, Mother of Dragons, but no man alive has seen a living dragon. Some of my more sceptical friends refuse to believe your children even exist. All we ask is the chance to see for ourselves."
"I am not a liar."
"Oh, I don't think you are. But as I've never met you before, my opinion on the matter is of limited value."
"Where I come from, guests are treated with respect, not insulted at the gates."
"Then perhaps you should return to where you come from. We wish you well."
"Polite," Elia said dryly.
Varys chuckled behind his sleeve.
[The SPICE KING turns and walks away. DAENERYS steps follow with indignation, and he turns back around.]
"What are you doing? You promised to receive me."
"I believe they have received you, Princess. What they haven't promised was welcoming you" Oberyn pointed out.
"I see" Daenerys pursed her lips. There was a lot to these word politics that she did not yet understand.
"We have received you. Here we are, and here you are."
"If you do not let us in, all of us will die."
"Which we shall deeply regret. But Qarth did not become the greatest city that ever was or will be by letting Dothraki savages through its gates."
"They can't just let those people die!" Tommen argued, wide-eyed and horrified.
"And what if those among them try to harm them?" Tyrion asked.
"They won't! Daenerys is nice, she wouldn't let them."
"They don't know that, do they?"
"I guess not" Tommen frowned. He turned to Daenerys, who was looking at him.
She had heard his exclamation and argument.
[The SPICE KING continues to the rest of the thirteen, and they begin their walk back into Qarth. DAENERYS finds her resolve and steps forward. The soldiers react by leaning their spears forward in unison, clearly a warning.]
"Thirteen! When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who have wronged me. We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground. Turn us away and we will burn you first."
"Daenerys, you do not threaten someone who has the means to end you on the spot" Elia smiled. "You may have dragons, but they are babies and they can't protect you. Nor can you small Khalasar full of women and children."
"They were not helping!" Daenerys argued, not with much heat.
"And you think threats will help you?" Elia raised a brow.
"… No."
"You have a head, I suggest you use it. Your brother didn't and look what happened to him."
"Hey—"
"Am I wrong?"
"…No dear."
[The SPICE KING steps forward from the thirteen.]
"Ah. You are a true Targaryen. Only, as you said a moment ago, if we don't let you into the city, you will all die. And so-"
[XARO XHOAN DAXOS steps out from the back of the Thirteen.]
"Retreating in fear from a little girl is unbecoming of the greatest city that ever was or will be."
"The discussion is over, Xaro Xhoan Daxos. The Thirteen have spoken."
"What an odd name" Tyrion muttered.
"The girl threatens to burn our city to the ground and you would invite her in for a cup of wine? She is the Mother of Dragons."
"Do you expect her to watch her people starve without breathing fire? I believe we can allow a few Dothraki through our gates without dooming our city. After all, here I am, a savage from the Summer Isles, and Qarth still stands."
"Not the same kind" Oberyn chuckled.
[DAENERYS recognizes that XARO is a potential ally, but the SPICE KING remains resolute.]
"Our decision is final."
"Very well. I invoke soumai."
[The Thirteen react, looking between themselves. XARO draws his dagger, pointing downward and grabs the blade with his left hand. DAENERYS looks to JORAH for council.]
"I will vouch for her, her people, and her dragons, in accordance with the law."
[XARO pulls the dagger up, slicing his palm deeply. He displays the wound to the Thirteen.]
"Be it on your head."
"Welcome to Qarth, my lady."
[The SPICE KING rejoins the Thirteen in frustration. XARO gestures a welcome to DAENERYS, and the gates open, noisily. DAENERYS and JORAH share a glance before the Dothraki band walks through the city gates. XARO joins her side.]
"And now you're indebted to someone" Oberyn clicked his tongue, "messy messy messy."
Daenerys heaved a sigh. At least the people would be looked after. Her people.
[HARRENHAL, COURTYARD]
[LORD TYWIN LANNISTER rides in, astride a white horse and flanked by gold coats. He looks around in disappointment. He is greeted by THE MOUNTAIN.]
"He's displeased. Your daughter may yet be saved, Lord Stark" Tyrion stated.
Ned Stark was not sure if he wanted to thank Tywin Lannister.
[TYWIN dismounts while a soldier takes the reigns of his horse. He then walks forward, inspecting the prisoners and their condition.]
"We weren't expecting you till tomorrow, Lord Tywin."
"Evidently not. Why are these prisoners not in their cells?"
"Cells are overflowing, my lord."
"This lot won't be here long. Don't need no permanent place. After we interrogate 'em, we usually just-"
"Are we so well-manned that we can afford to discard able young bodies and skilled labourers?"
[He gets no response.]
"All brute and no brain" Doran spat viciously, shocking even his siblings. They had never heard such venom from their usually mild brother.
[TYWIN continues to inspect the prisoners, and addresses GENDRY.]
"You, do you have a trade?"
[ARYA sits, expressionless, trying not to be noticed.]
"Smith, my lord."
"You have been saved" Varys whispers.
"I don't know how I feel being saved by him" Gendry muttered.
"Relief. Feel relief" Varys patted the boy on the shoulder.
[POLLIVER notices ARYA's attention and feels slighted. He draws his sword to threaten her.]
"What are you looking at? Kneel! Kneel or I'll carve your lungs out, boy."
[ARYA backs away, and TYWIN intervenes.]
"He'll do no such thing. This one's a girl, you idiot, dressed as a boy."
"He notices" Tyrion blinked in surprise. Not even he would have noticed it, and he prided himself in being able to read people better than his father.
"Cersei used to pretend to be me when we were younger, to join in training in my stead" Jaime whispered, no strength in his voice. "He knows the signs."
Tyrion patted his brother's knee.
"Why?"
"Safer to travel, my lord."
"Smart. More than I can say for this lot. Get these prisoners to work. Bring the girl. I need a new cupbearer."
Catelyn swallowed hard. Arya would be directly in Tywin Lannister's eyes. The danger that puts her in… Catelyn couldn't even bear to imagine it.
[THE STORMLANDS SEA, NIGHT]
[A boat with a stag figurehead rocks on the calm seas. DAVOS approaches STANNIS on the deck.]
"Do your knuckle bones bring you luck?"
"Perhaps if you were more lenient on others, brother, you'd have a few more friends at Court" Renly snarked.
"I punish people for the crimes they commit and reward them for the good they do," Stannis said tensely. "I may have hacked his fingers for smuggling, but I have bestowed a knighthood on him for his help during the siege."
"Well, life's been good since you hacked them off, Your Grace. And it's four less fingernails to clean."
"Fewer."
Renly snorted.
"Pardon?"
"Four fewer fingernails to clean. Never understood why you had to wear them."
"It reminds me of where I come from and where I am now. It reminds me of your justice. It was an honest punishment and you were good with the cleaver."
"You were a hero and a smuggler. A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad the good."
"Father says things similar sometimes" Robb said to his uncle, who had not been around his brother for a long time.
"Sounds like something Ned would say," Brandon the Elder said fondly.
"A lesson I've tried to teach my son."
"Does he listen?"
"To me? Gods, no. But if your Red Woman told him to leap from the crow's nest"
"He doesn't like her," Shireen said to her Father. "Ser Davos isn't a bad judge of a person either."
"Aye… he isn't" Stannis muttered.
"They why not listen to him?"
"I… don't know" Stannis muttered.
"She has a name. I trust you've not forgotten your smuggler's tricks."
"I've lived within the law for seventeen-"
"I want you to be a smuggler this time."
"Any shore, any night. What am I bringing ashore?"
"The Red Woman. No one must know what you do and we'll not speak of this again."
"I am true to Your Grace and always will be, but surely there are other ways, cleaner ways."
"Cleaner ways don't win wars."
"That is rare of you, Stannis" Robert stated curiously.
"A clean war resulted in a siege last time… And the Targaryens running away" Stannis sighed. "I may not wish to repeat those instances.
Robert's face grew serious, looking away from his brother. The man was too hard on himself… and Robert couldn't help but feel responsible for it to some extent.
[DAVOS nods and walks away. STANNIS stares into the distance.]
[STORMLANDS, SHORELINE]
[DAVOS rows a boat into the shallows. MELISANDRE sits patiently.]
"Are you afraid, Onion Knight?"
"Someone once told me the night is dark and full of terrors."
"You've carried more unpleasant cargo in your time. Are you a good man, Ser Davos Seaworth?"
"I'd say my parts are mixed, my lady, good and bad."
"If half an onion is black with rot, it's a rotten onion. A man is good or he is evil."
"Onions and men can't be compared. A man had choices. He can choose to redeem himself after committing a sin, or he might choose to dig himself deeper into his sins" Jon Arryn spoke loud so everyone could hear him, especially those who might need to hear it. "A man's worth rests in the choices he makes."
All heard him, and many took his words to heart.
[DAVOS stows the oars and enters the water to lead the boat to shore. He pulls it onto the shore.]
"Do you love your wife?"
"I do."
"Yet you have known other women."
"Don't talk about my wife."
[DAVOS secures the boat on the shore.]
"I'm not. I'm talking about other women. Like me, Ser Davos. You want me. You want to see what's beneath this robe."
[DAVOS does not respond.]
Renly snorts.
"A man through and through."
"You speak as if you want something different, brother" Stannis threw out almost defensively… almost.
Renly's face sobered at that.
"And you will."
[MELISANDRE turns to grab something from the boat. DAVOS leads MELISANDRE through a cave, bearing a lantern.]
"Strange that this Lord of Light asks you to work in the shadows."
"Shadows cannot live in the dark, Ser Davos. They are servants of light, the children of fire. And the brighter the flame, the darker they are."
"Wouldn't shadows be the reason for darkness, other than a lack of light?" Myrcella asked her uncle Tyrion.
"They would be" Tyrion answered.
"Then why does she think otherwise?"
"A fanatic often seeks comfort in their beliefs by seeing a reason that does not exist. They are crazy like that."
Myrcella nodded, lips pursed in thought.
[DAVOS holds up the lantern to bars that obstruct their way.]
"These weren't here before. They've barred the passage."
"They can't bar our passage."
[MELISANDRE has disrobed, arms outstretched, revealing a swollen, fully pregnant belly. DAVOS is shocked at this sudden change.]
"She wasn't pregnant last we saw her… She shouldn't be this far along after that one time with Stannis" Renly commented, his tone dry.
Stannis' eyes narrowed at the wall.
"Gods protect us."
"There's only one god, Ser Davos, and he only protects those who serve him."
[The lantern flares suddenly, surprising DAVOS, who retreats. MELISANDRE sits down behind him and assumes a birthing position. She moans in pain as she gives birth. DAVOS watches in apprehension. MELISANDRE screams, and a foul spirit crawls from between her legs. It gathers strength and roars as it expands and takes to the air.]
"Seven save us all! A demon!"