[KING'S LANDING, GARDENS]
"Growing up at Winterfell, all I ever wanted was to escape, to come here to the capital. See the southern knights and their painted armor and King's Landing after dark- all the candles burning in all those windows."
A stupid dream, Sansa thought to herself. She was a stupid girl who had too many stupid dreams. The South of the songs and stories were nothing but a myth! All stories to glorify that pit of vipers and scorpions.
She would not make the mistake of dreaming the same thing again.
[LADY MARGAERY TYRELL and LADY SANSA STARK stand and walk.]
"I remember the first time I saw you in the throne room. I'd never seen anyone who looked so unhappy. I want very much for you to be happy, Sansa, and so does my grandmother. You would have been happy at Highgarden. But women in our position must make the best of our circumstances."
"Perhaps this time around she can be" Margaery said softly.
"Perhaps" Lady Olenna muttered back.
The North as an ally bound by marriage would be ideal. Even with the Lannisters outnumbering them, they have shown how formidable they can be. Without certain people freing prisoners and certain oathbreakings, the North was formiddable.
"How do I make the best of my circumstances? I have to marry him."
"Has Lord Tyrion mistreated you?"
"No."
"Has he been kind to you?"
"He's tried."
"You don't want him, though."
"I do not blame you. Nobody would want this" he motioned to himself. There was only one. At least, he thought there was. Nobody truly wanted him.
Sansa felt slight shame in how she had reacted to the news. There was no excusing that she had reacted a ssuch because of how he looks as well as who his family were. The former thought made her feel guilt, not the latter.
"I'm sorry. Here I am complaining to you."
"My son will be king. Sons learn from their mothers."
"Clearly" someone said.
"I plan to teach mine a great deal. And your son, if I'm not mistaken, your son might be the Lord of Casterly Rock and the North someday. What?"
"If she has more than one, the eldest would have Casterly Rock, and the second Winterfell. Though whether Winterfell would be the capital of the North and seat of the Warden by then…" Doran left the thoughts hanging. No need to elaborate on things these people already suspected.
"We lost our rule the moment we lost our home" Rickard added with a broken sigh. Winterfell has been the seat of the Warden of The North since Aegon the Conqueror's time. Rickard had sat the seat, as had his father, his grandfather and his forefathers. It pained him to see it all go from his grasp, from his family's grasp.
Robb lowered his head in shame. He was the King in the North and it was his foolishness that had led to the loss of Winterfell. Had he heeded his mother's words and not sent Theon…
Catelyn lowered her head in shame. Had she not taken Tyrion Lannister, or eve freed Jaime Lannister, their position would have been better.
"My son with him. I'll have to- we'll have to-"
Sansa blushed, knowing well enough what her future self was worried about.
"If it's the pain you're worried about-"
"I'm not afraid of the pain. Not after what Joffrey's done to me."
The blush faded and she looked confused. If not the pain then…
"He's a dwarf. And Loras- Loras."
Ah, of course. The blush was back and she was too embarrassed to even think about looking at Tyrion Lannister.
If she had, she'd notice that Tyrion did not give a shit.
"Some women like tall men. Some like short men. Some like hairy men. Some like bald men. Gentle men, rough men, ugly men, pretty men, pretty girls."
"Pretty girls?" Sansa squeaked out, desperate to not let the talk of taste in men linger for long.
Margaery saw the desperation and took pity on her.
"Some girls like girls, like some boys like boys" Margaery shrugged.
"Are you…"
"No no. I prefer men. I simply know girls who like girls" Margaery explained with a smile.
Joanna rolled her eyes. Typical of Highgarden to be this liberal.
"Most women don't know what they like until they've tried it. And, sadly, so many of us get to try so little before we're old and gray. Tyrion may surprise you. From what I've heard, he's quite experienced."
"And that's a good thing?"
"It can be. We're very complicated, you know. Pleasing us takes practice."
Tyrion snorted, raising his cups to Margaery with a smirk.
Margaery smiled back.
[KING'S LANDING, TYRION'S CHAMBERS]
[LORD TYRION LANNISTER and SER BRONN OF THE BLACKWATER sit, drinking wine.]
"She's a child."
"Well it's good to know there are certain limits even you wouldn't cross" Jaime said teasingly. He had heard accounts of how… perverse his brother could be.
"I'm not an animal" Tyrion rolled his eyes.
"What's the youngest you've ever had?"
"Not that young."
"How much older?"
"Older."
"Never below eighteen" Tyrion answered for his future self before anyone could question it.
"Any older and people might think he has issues stemming from his mother" Oberyn whispered to his sister, earning a slap for his efforts.
"Eighteen is not too old" she said in a chastizing tone.
"You're a lord, she's a lady. And a beauty at that. I don't see the problem."
"Shae isn't going to like it."
"Shae is a whore. Are you gonna marry her? Eh? How did marrying a whore work out for you the first time?"
Tyrion's countenance grew stone-like.
Jaime sighed. He knew he would regret this conversation right after he was going to have it. But he had no choice. Tyrion deserved to know.
"I need to speak to you about something important. Not now, after we are done watching this particular sequence of events."
Tyrion nods, unsure about the topic.
"You want Shae, keep her. Wed one and bed the other. All you have to do is get a son in the Stark girl. He'll be Lord of Winterfell one day. You can rule the North in his name. You'll have two women and a whole kingdom of your own."
"Two women to despise me and a whole kingdom to join them."
[BRONN pours more wine for them both.]
"You waste time trying to get people to love you, you'll end up the most popular dead man in town."
"It's a Lannister trait, I'm afraid" Tyrion smiled dramatically.
"One only you and your brother seem to share?" Oberyn inquired.
"We are the best of the family, so it's a given" the Imp grinned.
"You get that from your grandfather" Joanna explained with a smile and a playful roll of his eyes. "He too wished for his people to love him."
"The very same grandfather who our father deems weak?" Tyrion questioned. "Good" he nods when his mother nods in answer.
Joanna shook her head with a small smile. They may carry the same trait, but Tywin had surely wiped out the extremeness of it. Tytos Lannister was a good man, but he was a pushover. Joanna wanted her sons to be good men but not pushovers.
[KING'S LANDING, THRONE ROOM]
[TYWIN enters the vast throne room. KING JOFFREY BARATHEON sits on the Iron Throne.]
"I wonder how he deals with father, and how father would deal with him" Tyrion leaned forward with interest.
"You wanted to speak to me?"
"Yes. I'd like a report on the meetings of my small council."
"You're welcome to attend the meetings of your small council, Your Grace. Any or all of them."
"He's… tame" Shireen commented with a frown. What she had seen of the man so far, she expected him to deal with Joffrey harshly.
"Joffrey is still King, so the matter needs to be handled delicately" Stannis explained. But knowing the man, he would pounce when he found Joffrey's weakness.
"You've been holding the council meetings in the Tower of the Hand instead of the small council chamber. May I ask why?"
"The Tower of the Hand is where I work. To walk from there to here would take time, time I could otherwise spend productively."
"So if I wanted to attend a council meeting, I would now have to climb all the stairs in the Tower of the Hand?"
[TYWIN approaches and stands over JOFFREY.]
"We could arrange to have you carried."
Stannis hid a smirk. There it was, the lion's fang. He may not have respect for Tywin Lannister as a man, but he will respect the man's crisis management skills. One does not serve the Mad King and walk out unscathed. A lot of burnt Hands would attest to that.
"Tell me about the Targaryen girl in the east and her dragons. Is it true?"
"Apparently so."
"Don't you think we ought to do something about it?"
"When I was Hand of the King under your father's predecessor, the skulls of all the Targaryen dragons were kept in this room. The skull of the last of them was right here. It was the size of an apple."
"And the biggest was the size of a carriage."
"Yes, and the creature to whom it belonged died 300 years ago. Curiosities on the far side of the world are no threat to us."
"Your father does not seem to believe these dragons exist" noted Oberyn.
"Father is a practical man. Not until the problem is in his face and ready to shoot him in the ass, he will not believe in its existence. Much like how Jaime and Cersei's incest has not fazed him. He denies its existence" Tyrion explained.
"But how do we know these dragons are just curiosities and not the beasts that brought the whole world to heel?"
"Because we have been told as much by the many experts who serve the realm by counselling the king on matters about which he knows nothing."
"But I haven't been counselled."
"You are being counselled at this very moment."
"I should be consulted about such things."
"From now on, I will see to it that you are appropriately consulted on important matters whenever necessary. Your Grace."
"Meaning, you will only know things of little importance while the rest of us try to clean the mess you began when you headed Ned Stark" Jaime muttered. "Father does not trust him."
"No man with a brain would" Tyrion added.
[ESSOS, OUTSIDE YUNKAI]
[DAENERYS TARGARYEN, SER JORAH MORMONT, SER BARRISTAN SELMY, and GREY WORM walk across the rocky and arid landscape. An impressive city lies in the distance among the mountains.]
"The Yunkish train bed slaves, not soldiers. We can defeat them."
"Yunkai? An odd place to go" Varys noted with a frown. "Westeros is on the other side."
"Perhaps she's looking for more men for her army. And more ships" Rhaegar suggested, though it was more hope than anything. That would be the ideal situation. She would need more than just eight thousand Unsullied, most of which were yet untrained.
"On the field, with ease. But they won't meet us on the field. They have provisions, patience, and strong walls. If they're wise, they'll hide behind those walls and chip away at us, man by man."
"She has three dragons. Young as they might be, they can fly high and swoop down to kill" Gendry pointed out.
"Dragons are magnificent magical creatures, my boy, but they are not infallible," Varys said to him gently. "Meraxes was shot out of the sky by House Uller of Helholt during the conquest."
Gendry grumbled at that information.
"That's not something just anyone knows, so it makes sense that Gendry wouldn't know it" Rhaegar spoke.
"Anyone with a book would know," Varys said with a smile. "But seeing as Gendry wouldn't know how to read… you are correct."
Varys smiled and looked away.
But Rhaegar had not.
"We don't need Yunkai, Khaleesi. Taking this city will not bring you any closer to Westeros or the Iron Throne."
"How many slaves are there in Yunkai?"
"Two hundred thousand if not more."
"Then we have Two hundred thousand reasons to take the city."
Rhaegar clicked his tongue in distaste. While most agreed and applauded Daenerys for thinking about the slaves and wanting to free them, Rhaegar found it a waste of time. Once Daenerys returned to Westeros, these slavers would rise again and reclaim their slaves. There was no use in doing this.
[ROAD TO YUNKAI]
[The Unsullied come to attention. Led by a drummer and flanked by guards, a brightly coloured palanquin carrying RADZAL MO ERAZ passes through. He surveys the Unsullied who speckle the rough landscape. The chains of the slaves who bear his load rattle as they walk.]
"And I thought I was getting lazy" Robert muttered with a snort.
"You are lazy" Renly pointed out. "That man is just extremely self-important and rich enough to afford a slave for everything" he adds seeing his brother turn to him.
"And they make it a custom to never let a slaver walk on their feet" Stannis added.
"Yeah? Well, he's still fucking lazy" Robert grunted.
Both younger Baratheon brothers rolled their eyes.
[More slaves bear ornate chests as they walk. They reach the camp where DAENERYS waits to receive them, with BARRISTAN, JORAH, and her dragons at her side. The slaves lower the palanquin. RADZAL MO ERAZ steps out and is greeted by MISSANDEI.]
"Now comes the noble Razdal mo Eraz of that ancient and honourable house, master of men and speaker to savages, to offer terms of peace."
"Speaker to savages?" Margaery questioned.
"Refers to someone who speaks the common tongue… I think. They don't hold the common tongue in as much of a high regard as they do Valyrian" Varys explained.
"You think?" Margaerys questioned.
"I am unsure, which is why I think" Varys explains with a smile.
[The dragons screech in warning as RAZDAL MO ERAZ approaches nervously.]
"Noble lord, you are in the presence of Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains, and Mother of Dragons."
"You are the Khaleesi of a small Khalsar, Princess. Mayhaps the title is a little obnoxious?" Oberyn suggested.
"I didn't come up with it… I think" Daenerys muttered with a blush.
[A Dothraki woman presents a chair for RADZAL MO ERAZ, and he sits. MISSANDEI pours him some wine after he nods to wanting some refreshments. RADZAL MO ERAZ drinks, never taking his eyes from DAENERYS.]
"Ancient and glorious is Yunkai. Our empire was old before dragons stirred in old Valyria. Many an army has broken against our walls. You shall find no easy conquest here, Khaleesi."
[DAENERYS tosses a raw steak in the air. The three dragons launch after it, screeching as they jockey and circle in flight. RADZAL MO ERAZ recoils in trepidation.]
Oberyn smirked. A good show of power from the girl for sure.
"Good. My Unsullied need practice. I was told to blood them early."
"If blood is your desire, blood shall flow. But why? 'Tis true you have committed savageries in Astapor. But the Yunkai are a forgiving and generous people."
"Freeing slaves is Savagery" Daenerys rolled her eyes. She brought to those Masters what they deserved and was not shy about claiming it.
[He claps twice to signal his slaves. They bring forth the two chests.]
"The wise masters of Yunkai have sent a gift for the silver queen."
[The slaves place the chests before DAENERYS and open their lids. The chests are filled with gold ingots. The slaves retreat and bow deeply before her in reverence.]
Rhaegar's eyes lit up with interest. Perhaps it was not a waste. With that amount of gold, Daenerys could buy ships and even hire a Sellsword Company to assist her in her conquest.
"There is far more than this awaiting you on the deck of your ship."
And they were giving her a ship! She would be a fool to not accept this.
"You shall have as many ships as you require."
"And what do you ask in return?"
"All we ask is that you make use of these ships. Sail them back to Westeros where you belong and leave us to conduct our affairs in peace."
That was understandable. Rather it was a steal! Again Rhaegar thought that his sister would be a fool to resist. She'd have her ships and enough gold to hire more than one Sellsword Company.
"I have a gift for you as well. Your life. And the lives of your wise masters. But I also want something in return. You will release every slave in Yunkai. Every man, woman, and child shall be given as much food, clothing, and property as they can carry as payment for their years of servitude. Reject this gift, and I shall show you no mercy."
"Gods" Rhaegar buried his face in his hands and then ran them over his face and through his hair. His sister was an imbecile! Her purpose was retaking the Iron Throne, she said so herself. And with her dragons, Westeros will need them when the White Walkers come. For her to spit on such… gifts and make threats!
He was utterly disappointed.
[BLACKWATER BAY]
[A two-masted ship sails amongst the wreckage of sunken ships. MELISANDRE and GENDRY walk its deck.]
Renly whistled at the sight. They had not seen the aftermath of the wreckage Wildfire had created.
"What happened?"
"Wildfire. I should have been here."
"After all the running and fighting, here I am, back where I started."
"Do you miss it? Your father's house."
"Never had a father. Never wanted one."
Robert frowned, turning his head to look at his son. Gendry was frowning too, a small crease in his brows. The boy was displeased, Robert could tell. Renly did something similar when he was displeased. Now that he thought about it, Gendry looked much like Renly, except with a square jaw, bushier brows, and tangled hair.
"Haven't you ever wondered where your strength came from? Your talent for fighting?"
"I'm lowborn. As low as can be. My mother was a tavern wench."
"Mine was a slave. So was I. Bought and sold, scourged and branded, until the Lord of Light reached down, took me in his hand and raised me up."
"That would explain why she is as devoted as she is" Jon Arryn spoke. "She probably feels she has a debt to repay that would not be easily repaid."
"It still gives her no right to be doing what she does" Robert grunted.
[RIVERLANDS, WOODS, NIGHT]
[ARYA runs through the woods. She crosses a stream and keeps running. She crouches in the woods, looking back at the Brotherhood's torches.]
"You ran from them" Catelyn stated in disappointment.
"I guess" Arya shrugged uncaringly.
"They would have taken you to Riverrun" the mother pointed out sternly.
"Like they promised Gendry how they were brotherhood and that he was welcome to join them before selling him?" Arya challenged. "They are liars and I probably ran because I thought they'd sell me too."
Catelyn lost her fight. She had nothing to argue against that notion.
Arya looked away with a huff.
[She takes flight again and is grabbed by THE HOUND.]
"Kick all you like, wolf girl. Won't do you no good."
"Fuck sake" Arya muttered with a sigh. Of all people to grab her…
[HARRENHALL COURTYARD, DAY]
[The courtyard is busy as the men are ready to depart. JAIME struggles to saddle his horse one-handed. QYBURN buckles the saddle for JAIME instead.]
Jaime clicked his tongue in distaste. He hated seeing himself so useless. Can't even saddle his horse anymore…
[QYBURN exits and ROOSE BOLTON approaches.]
"Qyburn hopes your father will force the Citadel to give him back his chain.'
"My father will make him Grand Maester if he grows me a new hand."
"You will give my regards to Lord Tywin, I trust?"
[JAIME nods.]
"Tell Robb Stark I'm sorry I couldn't make his uncle's wedding. The Lannisters send their regards."
Joanna was certain now. Tywin had planned something with Roose Bolton, and it was not going to be a pretty sight for certain.
A similar thought passed through Ned, Brandon and Rickard's minds.