Weiss

The Lords and Ladies of the Westerlands left King's Landing in a grand train of wheelhouses, wagons, and horses that had all but blocked up the Lion Gate for a couple of days. The original retinue had grown much larger, with the addition of the queen and her entourage, which included at least two members of the Kingsguard. Weiss hadn't seen any of them, since she was busy managing the departure of her own household, but if the rumors were true, the two knights were Ser Preston Greenfield and Ser Mandon Moore. At least a hundred other servants and guards joined them, all members of the Queen's household, and their assorted luggage as well. With the ostentatious wheelhouse that Queen Cersei used, Weiss wouldn't be surprised if she managed to return to the Westerlands faster, even with the much longer detour she planned on taking. Hell, she could probably walk back and still outpace that house on wheels, it was a massive and gaudy display of her wealth.

She would break off from the Westerland convoy once they reached where the Kingsroad met the Goldroad, and continue North. From there, Weiss and her own party would reach the Riverroad, passing by Riverrun on the way back to Lannisport. Even with all of her servants on wagons, and with her men-at-arms mounted on horses, it would take a while for her trip to be completed. The road would be packed with other carriages, so she was forced to take a detour to ensure a fairly speedy return. At least, that was going to be her argument to her father when asked why she didn't follow the main convoy. In reality, she just wanted to take some time on the road, and clear her head, while also seeing another Kingdom. After a quick goodbye to Alysanne, who was stuck in the Lefford wheelhouse, Weiss and her servants were now finally heading up the Kingsroad.

"Have you ever been to the Riverlands?" Weiss asked Ser Cedric, who rode beside her on his own steed. Directly behind them was her own smaller wheelhouse, and then the wagons that carried her luggage, servants, and the fifteen thousand gold dragons she had won from the melee. That wagon had half of their guards all but glued to it, and their eyes constantly were looking around for someone to try something. She didn't need to discover, Brothers forbid, Raven had come through somehow. It would just be her luck to have the crazy slattern ambush them and steal her gold, somehow.

"Aye, my Lady." Ser Cedric nodded. He wore his lighter leather armor, with his longsword strapped to the mare he rode. "Lord Bracken and Lord Blackwood are always hiring sellswords and knights to spite the other, burning a field or so, or stealing some sheep."

"So you burnt a field." Weiss said dryly in response to that, well, not all that surprising fact. Ever since he came into her service, Cedric became a constant in her life, her shadow. And Pod served as his shadow, serving her idiot knight as a squire, the poor lad. The younger Payne was likely snacking on one of her secret lemoncakes, hidden in her wheelhouse. At least he wasn't getting into any real trouble there.

"Technically, Rod was the one who lit the fire before we were even hired." Cedric's eyes turned away at the mention of his dead cousin and former squire. Either he was trying to shift blame for their arson, or he was telling the truth about the matter.

Weiss sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm not surprised."

She had never gotten the chance to meet Podrick's Father, and Cedric rarely spoke of him, even after he bought that manse in Lannisport that mostly went unused. Cedric and Pod both had rooms in the Gold Keep, and always ate at the table of Father's household knights. They had a rather good life now, especially compared to most hedge knights. Steady pay, food and board they didn't need to pay for, and a chance to make all the connections with a rich family one could ask for.

Cedric gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck, using his other hand to keep hold of his mare's reins. "Pod's just like his Father, my Lady. We best keep an eye on him should we see any fields."

Weiss laughed and nodded her head slowly. "Of course, I didn't win all those coins just to reimburse a lord or landed knight because you or your squire burnt his hunting grounds."

Cedric allowed himself to laugh along.

"Cause then you'll have to pay me back." Weiss' laughter turned into a giggle as Cedric started to choke on air. Even Coachman Figgin, the driver of the wheelhouse, joined in with his own laughter. Weiss wasn't joking though. Paying off a innkeeper's tab was one thing, she wasn't paying for arson. Of course, she was one to talk, given she'd burned down Brunswick Farms, but do as she said, not as she did. "A Lannister always pays her debts, Ser Cedric."

While Weiss wouldn't be the ruthless businessman that Jacques was, nor would she be a haughty and ruthless politician like Lord Tywin. She also wasn't going to allow herself to get taken advantage of, like Willow had been. She would do her best to rule justly and fairly once she was the Lady of Lannisport, to help improve the lives of the smallfolk while also being successful in her own right. The white haired girl had plenty of business ideas and improvements to organize and adapt. All she needed was enough time and coin. Lannisport would be reborn in her image, with modern ideas, though some would no doubt have to change depending on the facts and politics. Weiss wasn't here to make any major social changes, no, the culture here was too ingrained and would face major pushback from smallfolk and nobles alike, especially from her Liegelord, Tywin. But even something small could turn into a mountain, after she eventually passed. A rather morbid thought, but the truth.

"My Lady!" Pod's yell caused Weiss to turn her head to give the wheelhouse a glance. What was the matter now?

"Yes, Podrick?" Weiss asked while trying to hide a sigh. His chubby cheeks were covered in crumbs, Weiss' cake supply most likely. That boy at least would burn off the energy in a short amount of time.

"The cakes are all gone!" He said loudly, earning a wince from Coachman Figgin. One of her men-at-arms in hearing range, Jorek, laughed, his plate armor shaking with a clattering.

Weiss gave him a small smile and nodded. He was just a boy, hardly to blame for this. Lesson learned, it seemed. "We'll get more when we find a village."

Pod nodded with determined eyes and retreated back into her wheelhouse. Continuing north on the Kingsroad would lead them to the Crossroad Inn, if the map that they were using was accurate. There they would be able to rest and resupply before taking the Riverroad that ran alongside the Red Fork of the Trident. From there they would pass by Riverrun, the Golden Tooth and Sarsfield on the way to Lannisport. It would be a wonderful sidetrip, and she could pick up Alysanne on the way if she managed to beat Weiss back to the Westerlands.

"You are very kind, my Lady Lannister." Cedric said. His eyes were scanning the wagons in front of them, likely smallfolk since they didn't carry any banners. A wise move, given how much gold was in the convoy, all it would take is some clever bandits to try something, and they'd be in trouble.

"Nonsense." Weiss waved him off with a sly grin. "You'll be the one paying for them, to reimburse my poor sweet tooth." Cedric nearly fell off his horse, which made Weiss smile and the others present to burst out laughing once more.

She already missed Blake.

Blake

Jon Arryn died a fortnight after the departure of the Lannisters, in his bed. It was slow and painful, with the treatments provided by the Grand Maester doing little to ease the Hand's pain. Uncle Robert was inconsolable for days, locked in his room, with the doors only opening for food, wine, and new whores. Yet, life continued as usual since their King never did any actual ruling, leaving that to the now dead Lord Arryn and the Small Council. It should be an indictment that the death of the second most powerful man in the Kingdoms didn't impact the current state of affairs in the least. There was only so much Father could do with Littlefinger, Uncle Renly, and the Spider on the council. Littlefinger was busy filling his own pockets, which was easy to do when he was the Master-of-Coin and owned nearly every brothel in King's Landing. Blake wouldn't be surprised if all of the women that were sent into Royal Chambers were from the brothels he owned. Earning money coming and going, it would seem.

Uncle Renly was no better as the Master-of-Laws, preferring to prance and spend his days feasting with Loras Tyrell and other lords of the Reach and Stormlands, all while the Law was disrespected by almost anyone in King's Landing. Wylde, Caron, Buckler, Fossoway, Oakheart and more often broke their fast with him. Despite being the Lord Paramount of the Stormlands, her Uncle was starting to look more like a Tyrell with the amount of green he wore, and the whispers were starting to gather about him. It made him stand out from his Stormlords, but allowed him to blend in with his Reach friends.

"I hate politics." Blake sighed as she leaned against the railing of the Lady Marya, the ship captained by Allard Seaworth, Ser Davos second-eldest son. Allard was occupied with inspecting some of the repairs to the pinrails that had been done, due to wear and tear.

"You're talking to the wrong Seaworth then." Allard shrugged as he inspected the wood, ensuring the tar would prevent any rotting. They'd been cheated in the past when docking at King's Landing, there were too many dishonest carpenters lying about their skills. "Dale perhaps? Or Devan? He is serving as your Lord Father's squire."

Blake had grown up with the Seaworth boys, and they often ferried her from Dragonstone to King's Landing, or even Storm's End whenever Uncle Renly invited her to visit. They were the closest she had to brothers, as they spent most of their time with the Royal Fleet based on Dragonstone. She had expected them to spend time instead at Cape Wrath, where their Mother stayed with her youngest at the keep Father had gifted the Seaworth family after Uncle Robert's Rebellion.

"Dale's with your Father, is he not? And Devan is a boy." Blake raised an eyebrow in response to her surrogate brother's words. "Do you not enjoy my company anymore, Al?"

Allard shrugged as he plucked a splinter from his calloused and weathered hand, tossing it overboard. "I tolerate you because you remind me of a cat, and I need cats to keep rats out of the hold."

"So all I'm good for is to scare the rats away?" Blake pouted and tried not to think too hard about how the comment was oddly fitting, and how much she missed her ears. She was messing with her old friend to distract herself from Weiss' absence. By the time Blake arrived at the Lion Gate, the white haired Lannister was already gone, along with the rest of the Westerlords. She was too late, and Weiss likely wouldn't receive any ravens until she arrived in Lannisport.

"Of course not, my Lady." Allard turned and leaned against the railing, his eyes scanning the rest of his crew who rapidly discovered they had jobs they should be doing and not just eavesdropping Sailors gossiped worse than fishmongers, in her experience. "You're also a wonderful view that distracts all of my men."

Blake shot him a sharp glare. He was the womanizer who had a girlfriend in every port, not her. Despite her reputation as the 'Black Beauty' of Dragonstone, marriage offers were often far and in between. Many lords were scared of the rumors that circulated about her, especially due to the color of her eyes, and Mother and Father's reputation. No one wanted the daughter of the 'Mad Hightower' as the gooddaughter, even one related to the King. Still, a part of her felt that something was amiss, such as Father declining most offers that never reached her ears. Not that she could blame him for filtering them out, but it could feel cluttering knowing he was probably denying them all, sight unseen.

"It is not my fault you haven't disciplined them properly." Blake shrugged in a rather unladylike manner. She didn't really care, it was Allard's crew and not hers, and more to the point, this was a different time and place. Not that Blake was the most disciplined member of Team RWBY, that position belonged to Weiss, and Ruby in their weaponry class back at Beacon. The younger girl took anything related to weapons and engineering very seriously, it had been kinda scary at times. Even Weiss in her earlier, brattier days, had listened when Ruby was speaking in the weaponry classes.

"Your Father would attest that they have." Allard fired back, much like the near siblings they were. He had been the second of the Seaworth brothers to earn the right to captain a galley in the Royal Fleet, with Dale being the first. His younger brothers were serving about the Black Bertha with their Father or aboard the Fury, Father's flagship. "They served well in the Stepstones."

Likely during one of Father's campaigns to stamp out piracy and give the new recruits some experience against minor foes. Blake's eyes drifted towards the Red Keep, the top of which was still visible from even the harbor. The former faunus had a feeling that just as the Stepstones would never truly be rid of pirates, the Royal Court would never be able to rid itself of all the corruption that had been deeply rooted for decades. She tightened her grip on the railing as she narrowed her eyes at the sight.

Such corruption could only be removed with fire.

A/N

A slower arc, the calm before the storm that will eventually turn into a hurricane.