"Are all the White Walkers just human children?!"
Nobody had an answer for that, not even Brynden who had the most knowledge about the White Walkers amongst the people watching.
"My worry is who that White Walker was. The one that turned the child" Jon muttered. The look in its eyes was chilling, sending shivers down his spine.
That one Brynden knew.
"He's called the Night King. He is the leader of the White Walkers, their King" Brynden explained.
"The Night's King?" Bran asked, recognizing the name from one of the tales Old Nan had told him.
"Night King" Brynden corrected. "The Night's King was a different entity altogether. The Night King is older, a force of nature in his own right and a bigger threat than what the Night's King and his Corpse Queen were."
The Northerners shifted in discomfort. They'd heard about the Night's King, who had to be taken down by an alliance between A King of Winter and A King Beyond The Wall.
And this Night King was even more powerful than him…
"How do we stop him?" Robb asked as fear crept into him.
"The same way we stop the White Walkers I'm guessing" Jon answered, turning to Brynden for answers.
Brynden had none.
Jon's hopes were dashed.
"I think we are here to learn just that" Tyrion spoke, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. "I'm sure we're either going to be shown it or told how to do it after we're done watching."
"I suppose" Jon muttered, but he was not as confident as he was feeling moments ago.
[KING'S LANDING, THE THRONE ROOM]
[TOMMEN sits on the Iron Throne, with TYWIN LANNISTER beside him.]
"Oh, he's been coronated" Joanna muttered.
"With how things are, time is of the essence" Jaime muttered his reasoning.
"I'm King" Tommen whispered with a grin.
Myrcella, who heard her brother, took his hand and gave him a comforting squeeze and a smile.
Tommen returned it with a grin and his hand holding hers tightly.
[CERSEI approaches MARGAERY in the crowd.]
"There he is."
"Do you think Mother is happy I'm King?" Tommen asked his sister.
Myrcella wanted to say she was, but that would be a lie. In all honesty, Myrcella had no idea what their mother was feeling. Joffrey was her favourite, nobody could doubt that. The other two she did not give the most attention to, especially Tommen. Would she be happy that the son she loved more was dead and the son she didn't love nearly as much was now the King?
"I think" Myrcella smiled, "that you're going to be the best King Westeros has ever seen and mother will be happy with that."
Tommen nodded with a smile.
"He sits the throne like he was born to it."
"He does look at ease on the thing" Jaime nodded.
"The innocence of youth, I suppose. He has no idea of the things he'll need to do" Tyrion reasoned.
"Neither did Joffrey, and he looked as ill fit on that thing as water to fire" Jaime countered.
"Mayhaps we're going to get a good King after many years."
"You still mourn for Joffrey?"
"He was my husband. My king."
"He would have been your nightmare."
"At least she admits it" Sansa muttered. But then again, she admitted it multiple times that Joffrey was a monster.
"Your Grace, I feel..."
"You knew exactly what he was. I did, too. You never love anything in the world the way you love your first child. Doesn't matter what they do. And what he did, it shocked me. The things he did shocked me. He's only a boy. A good boy. A decent boy. He always has been. Who was the last decent king, I wonder? He could be the first man who sits on that throne in fifty years to actually deserve it."
Tommen smiled. His mother thought he could be a good King, someone who deserved the throne.
"It would be some consolation, wouldn't it? For all the horror that put him there."
"He will need help... if he's going to rule well."
"He has you."
"A mother is not enough. You're still interested in being queen, I take it?"
"Oh. After all that's happened... It sounds strange, I know, but I am... I haven't even given any thought to it, what comes next. It would be a great honour, of course. But I will have to speak to my father about it."
"Yes, speak to your father. I'll speak to mine."
"It's odd to see Cersei approaching someone for help like this. Especially someone who she does not approve of" Jaime frowned.
"She could be looking out for Tommen here" Tyrion reasoned, "or she could be keeping her enemies close so she could strike when they least expect it."
"Probably the latter" Jaime snorted.
[MEEREEN COUNCIL ROOM, DAY]
[DAENERYS TARGARYEN, BARRISTAN SELMY, DAARIO NAHARIS, SER JORAH MORMONT, MISSANDEI, and GREY WORM are meeting.]
"The Second Sons took the Meereenese Navy."
"Who told you to take the Navy?
"I heard you liked ships."
"He's an excitable one" Oberyn mused, "so very excited to get Daenerys whatever she desires."
"He's made it known that he desires Daenerys. Perhaps he's showing just how much by getting her what she desires and needs" Elia pointed out.
Doran hums in thought but does not add to this conversation.
Daenerys on the other hand was all smiles and blush.
"How many ships?"
"Ninety-three, Your Grace."
"How many men can they carry?"
"Ninety-three hundred, not counting sailors."
"Would that be enough to take King's Landing?"
"The Lannisters have more."
"They've been fighting Joffrey's wars for years. They're tired, dispersed. And now their king is dead. Eight thousand Unsullied, two thousand Second Sons sailing into Blackwater Bay and storming the gates without warning."
"They may yet succeed in taking it" Tyrion said thoughtfully.
"But we're not fighting to make you Queen of King's Landing. Ten thousand men can't conquer Westeros."
"The old houses will flock to our queen when she crosses the Narrow Sea."
"The Valyrian houses, perhaps. Their loyalties run deep, it's a blood loyalty. The other houses?" Elia muttered with a frown.
"I will not make false promises. Dorne will back Daenerys should she come to claim the throne" Oberyn declared. "For Elia and her children."
"Other than that the rest of the houses are not a certainty. They would back whoever is more favourable to them" Doran added.
The Dornish conversation had most of the rest shift in discomfort. Especially those who knew House Targaryen still had their supporters. And any more would flock to her because she has dragons.
The sooner they got Daenerys on their side the better, that was the prevalent thoughts of Robert, Ned and Jon Arryn.
"There's other news. From Yunkai. Without the Unsullied to enforce your rule, the Wise Masters have retaken control of the city. They've re-enslaved the freedmen who stayed behind and sworn to take revenge against you."
"It was a mistake, not leaving anyone to enforce your rules there. When you conquer lands, you must always leave behind people you trust and men to defend your rule. Otherwise, the old order would rise and reclaim what you took from them" Doran explained to Daenerys. "As Queen, you must keep that in mind. It's easier to conquer than to hold on to those conquered lands."
Daenerys nods at his words.
But she was not the only one learning.
Tommen listened to the Prince of Dorne intently. If he was to be King in the future, he must learn this.
Little did the boy remember that he would not have such an opportunity this time.
"And in Astapor, the council you installed to rule over the city has been overthrown by a butcher named Cleon who's declared himself 'His Imperial Majesty'."
Oberyn snorted at the nickname but was overall displeased by the turn of events.
All that Daenerys had worked on, gone.
Daenerys herself was cursing herself for being so stupid and making such mistakes. She did not pay heed to the voice in her head that reasoned that she did not learn these things to be mindful of them.
"Please leave me. Not you, Jorah."
[GREY WORM, MISSANDEI, DAARIO, and BARRISTAN exit.]
"It appears my liberation of Slaver's Bay isn't going quite as planned."
"You could sail for Westeros and leave it all behind. A boy sits on the Iron Throne. A boy many believe to be a bastard with no right to it. They've never been more vulnerable."
"You counselled me against rashness once in Qarth. I didn't listen. That all worked out well. How can I rule seven kingdoms if I can't control Slaver's Bay? Why should anyone trust me? Why should anyone follow me?"
"There's more power in your name in Westeros than in Essos. Those that flock to you will keep your rule, if not to gain your favour than to avoid being burned to ash. You will have an easier time conquering Westeros than Essos" Elia reasoned.
Daenerys frowned at that. If she focused on Westeros only… who would free the slaves?
[THE EYRIE, THRONE ROOM]
[ROBIN ARRYN sits on LYSA ARRYN's lap on the throne. A door opens and LITTLEFINGER and SANSA enter. LYSA descends to greet her visitors.]
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Arryn. My name is Al..."
"Oh, do take down that hood, child. Don't you think I know who you are? You think I'd let my intended leave the Eyrie on urgent business without knowing what that business was? I let him go so he could bring you here to me."
[LYSA walks to SANSA, lowers her hood and caresses her face, smiling warmly. They hug.]
Catelyn smiled slightly. She may hate Petyr with a passion now, and hold it against Lysa that she would marry him, but she knew her sister would not forget her words so soon. And seeing her hand in Sansa's rescue only strengthened that belief.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Aunt Lysa."
"You mustn't call me that in front of anyone else. No one can know you're here. It would put us in a very precarious position. The Lannisters want to destroy us. They've been trying for years. Now they know what it feels like."
"She says that… but why do I feel like there's more to this than just that?" Robb whispered to Jon.
"There probably is" Jon muttered back. "Baelish running away with Sansa frames her for Joffrey's murder. Meaning she has nowhere else to go but to Baelish and the Eyrie. There's definitely something more here."
Both boys frowned deeply and continued to watch.
"And on top of everything else, they made you marry that filthy troll."
"They did. They made us both. Lord Tyrion didn't want to."
"Thank you for defending this filthy troll, Lady Sansa" Tyrion raised his chalice before downing its contents.
Sansa held back a snort and shook her head.
"I don't believe that for a moment. Did he force himself on you?"
"No. We never..."
"Good. Robin, this is your cousin Sansa. But you're not to call her Sansa in front of anyone but Uncle Petyr and myself. Do you understand? Sansa, this is my son Robin."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Robin."
"Robin, show Sansa to her chamber. Take the back stairs."
[ROBIN leads SANSA out by the hand. LYSA kisses LITTLEFINGER hungrily.]
"What took you so long?"
"Arranging for the ascension of King Tommen I, extricating Sansa, getting her here alive."
"She's here. We've spent more than enough time on her for one evening."
Catelyn's smile faltered. No, Lysa did not mean much by it.
"Let's get married tonight."
"Ought we not... inform the Lords of the Vale about the ceremony?"
"There's only one Lord of the Vale. The others can all hang. Lurking and simpering on the stairs like buzzards the moment my husband died, trying to get their claws in me."
Jon Arryn frowned at his wife's behaviour. She seemed eager to marry Petyr… a little too eager.
"I do think that we could wait until..."
"I'm done waiting, Petyr. We had our wedding night many years ago. Or don't you remember?"
"Like it was yesterday."
Jon Arryn sighed. He knew already, of course, he did. But they were at war and they needed the Tully forces and the Riverlands on their side.
He was not ashamed to admit that Ned had come out better from that pact.
"What wife would do for you the things I've done for you? What wife would trust you the way I've trusted you? When you gave me those drops and told me to pour them into Jon's wine, my husband's wine... when you told me to write a letter to Cat telling her it was the Lannisters..."
Eyes widened at the confession. No, it couldn't be. Surely Lysa was speaking nonsense like she always had. It couldn't be.
Catelyn turned to Jon Arryn, possibly to assure him as much.
But her voice died away seeing the fury on the man's face.
"To think they were all looking for the snake when she was in his home from the beginning" Oberyn smirked.
Tyrion snorted. All of them were so eager to pin that blame on him and his family. One word, all it took was one word.
"Will you punish her the same way you intend to punish so many else who have wronged you?" Jaime asked, easing forward to get a better look at them all. "Banishing me to the Wall for fucking my sister and making bastards, punishing Cersei for bearing these bastards, banishing Joffrey for being a bastard, banishing the Greyjoy boy for things he has yet to commit. Would you do it to Lysa Arryn too? Would you do it to your family?"
For Robert, the answer was easy, death to all those who did him and his people wrong. But he knew at the same time that this one was not so simple. Lysa Arryn was Jon's wife and the mother of his child. She was also Catelyn's sister and Ned's good sister. This one was not so simple for him.
Luckily, the decision was taken from him.
"She has caused the realm to break into chaos and war. It is because of her that all this has happened. If it stops a war, she will be stopped before she does all of this. Both her and her 'love'."
Catelyn wanted to fight Jon's words here. Lysa was always easy to sway, no doubt Petyr having done it. If they stopped Petyr, that would be enough. Lysa would do none of what she'd done if Petyr was dead.
But she couldn't.
Not when everyone here was set against her.
"Oh Lysa…" Catelyn thought sadly. Why was her sister so easy to sway?
[EYRIE DINING ROOM, NIGHT]
[LYSA serves SANSA a pastry]
"Your mother always had a sweet tooth, you know?"
"Really?"
"You do?" Sansa asked.
"Many years ago" Catelyn answered with a smile. Better times…
"Oh, yes. At suppertime, she would go straight for honey cakes, candied almonds, and custard. Anything sweet. Eventually, your grandfather had to assign a septa to watch her at meals. Cat was the firstborn daughter after all. It was important that she remain desirable so Father could arrange a good match for her and she was starting to get fat."
Catelyn blushed. That was unnecessary from Lysa…
"My mother, fat? She never let me have my pudding until I'd finished all my proper food."
"This is before she married your father and moved to the North. By the time you were born, your father's austerity had become hers. Marriage changes people."
"Evidently, not always" Robert snorted. If it were the case, Lysa would have been a lot better than she was. Jon's presence should have done a world better if that were the case.
Catelyn held her tongue. Marriage had changed Lysa. Not for the best, but it had.
"I didn't mean for you to stop. Go on, enjoy them. How do you like them?"
"They're delicious. Where did you get the lemons? You can't grow them up here."
[SANSA eats another. LYSA takes her hand.]
"Oh, gods, no. Petyr had three crates brought all the way from King's Landing. He knew you liked lemon cakes. He's so kind. He really cares for you. Think where you'd be without him. In their clutches and tried for murder. He feels responsible for you. Why? Why does he feel responsible for you?"
"Well, I'm half Tully. He loved your family so much."
"Loved your mother. That's what you wanted to say."
"She didn't" Arya muttered darkly. Her aunt did not cut a good picture for Arya. First, she refused to help Robb to free her father, then she refused to ally with them when the war broke out, and now it was revealed she was the reason the war happened at all.
She was the reason her family was broken and separated.
It was all her and her stupid rat's fault!
"Your mother never loved him. Never. Cat always went straight for the sweetest thing. The most obvious thing. Your Uncle Brandon. Your handsome, arrogant, cruel Uncle Brandon."
Brandon snorted.
"You can be cruel from time to time" Lyanna pointed out.
"I'm never unnecessarily cruel" Brandon scoffed. He was insulted that she'd think he would be.
"He almost killed Petyr in a duel. And your mother loved him anyway."
Catelyn blushed at the part where Lysa spoke of her being in love with Brandon.
But the rest were focused on the other part.
"Baelish challenged me," Brandon said harshly. "Had he not overstepped, he'd be uncut and unharmed."
"Should have killed him there and saved us all this" Jon muttered.
Brandon snorted.
"And now Petyr is risking his life to save you, the daughter of a woman who didn't love him no more than those whores in his brothels. Has he told you about them?"
[LYSA holds SANSA's hands firmly and won't let go.]
"He hasn't told you about the vile things they do with their bodies? The vile things they let him do with their bodies?"
"They get paid for those things" Oberyn defended with a snort. "Is that what she's angry about? Women getting paid for selling themselves to Baelish?"
"She's jealous that Baelish has not done those things to her" Elia snorted. This was the Lady of the Vale…
"Are you pregnant?"
"What? No, I told you. Lord Tyrion and I never-"
"I wasn't asking about Tyrion. What have you let Petyr do with your body? Your young, pretty body."
"Is she jealous of Sansa?" Jon raised a brow.
"Surely not" Sansa's brows furrowed.
"You look most like Mother, so maybe that's why" Robb reasoned with a shrug.
Sansa looked disgusted. She did not want to be with Baelish and to know he was interested in her… She was disgusted.
[LYSA grips harder.]
"You're hurting me."
"I'll know if you lie."
"I'm a virgin, I swear it. He loves you, Aunt Lysa. All he says is that I'm stupid. I'm a stupid little girl with stupid dreams who never learns and I'm a terrible liar, so I should always tell the truth. And I swear to you that he has never touched me. Not once, not ever."
[LYSA stands up and hugs SANSA to her breast.]
"Shh. Shh. Shh. It's all right. It will all be all right. You'll be a widow soon. They'll execute that dwarf for murdering the king and you'll be free to marry Robin. You'll be the Lady of the Vale. Hmm."
"That's why she saved her" Catelyn muttered in shock. Lysa did not save Sansa because she was family, she saved her so the North was hers as well. No, not hers… the North would be Baelish's.
Bile rose as the realisation set in. How could she have become this? How could her sister become so disgusting?