Natasha

"I hope this is to your liking, Ser Kevan," Natasha said with a smile as she led him and his wife, Dorna, towards the small chamber she had selected for the evening. It was one of the more private feasting areas, set up to allow young princes to hold parties amongst good friends, back when the Red Keep had been filled with Royal Family members. In those days it wouldn't have been uncommon for four different feasts to be occurring at the same time, with brothers and sisters throwing competing meals to see who could impress their friends with the most rich and decadent food available. Now, however, it was rarely used and Natasha had needed to get several maids to see it cleaned of dust and debris in order to make use of it. Thankfully being the wife of the Hand of the King and having a sweet little relationship with the King ensured that the servants didn't stand around grumbling when she issues such orders. No, they instead snapped right to work and now the room was ready for what she had planned.

It wasn't at all like one of the large family dining hall, or the Great Dining Hall. Rather it was just a small place where one might have a more intimate meal. A round table, rather than the standard long ones; one that gave one a perfect view of every member of the party. A few paintings of great moments in Westeros history that, thankfully, wouldn't offend a soul. No images of Lannisters being marched out to the headsman or the North rampaging through the field of battle or anything of the like. It was all designed to be comfortable and cozy, just as Natasha wanted.

"We thought, with our three pairings being the only married couples part of the Small Council, that it would be nice for all of us to dine together. We after all view things a bit different from everyone else."

"Of course," Ser Kevan said with a soft smile, holding his wife's hand. "It is a wonderful gesture."

"And far better than one of those large drafty halls," Dorna said softly. Natasha knew that the woman was out of her depths in King's Landing; her spies told her that she far preferred her household in Lannisport to Casterly Rock… and certainly more than King's Landing. She wasn't one to ever draw attention at parties, easily overshadowed by her niece Cersei and her goodsister Genma; both of them could command a room with a few words and some well chosen looks but Dorna Lannister would never be able to have that power. Life had blessed her with a weak chin and a plain face. Had she not been born into a family that the Lannisters needed to keep happy she would have most likely have ended up with a reluctant knight as her husband. She was smart enough, Natasha supposed, but not someone overly clever either. All of which meant that the Capital was a poor place for her, unless she was kept in a single room and with the people of her choosing that she wanted to spend time with.

But with Ser Kevan staying far longer in the Capital than any had imagined it had been decided by the couple that she would give life in the Red Keep a chance.

'Something I will take advantage of,' Natasha thought. 'It would pay to have a friend amongst the Lannisters.' Even with Jon having secured the loyalty of Tommen through, the admittedly sad, act of actually showing the boy a touch of attention she knew that there were plenty in the family that would want to try and convince the boy king to listen to them rather than Jon and would see the best way to achieve that as getting rid of her husband.

That wasn't something Natasha was going to allow and making deeper connections to the Lannisters would only serve to protect him all the more.

'Tyrion will be the Lord of Casterly Rock… with Tommen as King and Tywin having not named another heir it must fall to him. Had Joffrey lived he would have denied Tyrion such an honor but Tommen loves his uncle and he will not move to stripe Tyrion of the Rock. Thanks to Tony that means that Tyrion will have Jon's side and with Ser Kevan that will give him another ally should things become… messy.'

"I very much agree," Natasha said. She had dressed very conservatively for dinner, thankful that a fall wind had lowered the temperatures in King's Landing so she could get away with some thin furs. Jon had been shocked by the numerous outfits she had, not used to having that many garments to his name and even more not used to just how many dresses a woman could have.

Natasha was glad she had selected such an outfit, as the last thing she wanted to do was shock Ser Kevan's ladywife. Dorna was very religious, again according to her spies. It was known that she prayed seven times a day, as it wasn't a secret, but what wasn't known was that she also made it a project to make copies of the Seven Pointed Star, the holy text of the Faith. Such a woman wouldn't have taken kindly to a plunging neckline and a hem that showed off much of Natasha's legs and thighs. She also knew that she was already working with one black mark against her by being a bastard… and another for being married into Antony Stark's family. "I have found that I much prefer small gatherings… the clatter of large feasts is so distracting."

"I quite agree," Dorna said. "It is why I asked Cersei not to throw a feast welcoming us."

'And I doubt she was going to do so anyway,' Natasha thought. 'She seems far more occupied with other things nowadays.' She was still trying to figure out what was going on with the Queen Mother, as Cersei wasn't acting like herself. She wasn't attending Small Council meetings as she used to, nor was she haunting the throne room as she had with Joffrey. Natasha had assumed that Cersei would begin to gravitate towards Tommen much as she had Joffrey and been rather surprised when Cersei hadn't, ignoring him as she always had. If it weren't for the fact that the Queen Mother seemed forever distant and quiet she would have just assumed it was still grief over Joffrey's death. But no… Cersei wasn't acting like herself… and Natasha hated that. She wanted her enemies to be predictable. While there was something to be said to challenges, spicing up life as it were, when they were threats to her husband she wanted them to always act as she expected so she might make them suffer the moment she needed them to.

"You did make a mistake though," Ser Kevan said as they arrived at the small chamber, the doors already open and two servants waiting to greet them "Lord Tyrell is married."

"Yes and I did want him to come but I am afraid he has had other matters to attend to. He sends his apologizes." In actuality Mace was having dinner with a Braavosi merchant interested in setting up a deal with the Reach for some trade… all arranged by Natasha, of course. Nothing would come of the deal but it would distract the Tyrells and keep them from attending her dinner. Even with the power they had gained by marrying Margaery to Tommen they still craved more wealth and influence and such a deal would provide that… assuming, again, that it was real. The merchant owed Natasha a favor and he was getting a free meal out of it so all were happy. Especially Natasha as she wanted the Tyrells far away from the evening she had planned. "And Jiffsum Davus is doing inspections of the evening patrols but promised he and Rio would attend the next dinner…should we all decide to have another one." Again, that one had been by choice though more because of a lack of knowledge…

"That is too bad," Dorna said. "Rio Davus brought me a lovely basket of fruits when I arrived. Such a pleasant woman."

…and Natasha now knew that Dorna Lannister was no bigot who would have become flustered by a dark skinned man and his dornish wife sitting at the same table as her.

But with them gone that just left her and Jon, Kevan and Dorna, and the final part of their group-

"One does have to wonder how she got into the North. If she did so while pregnant with your direwolf and his siblings then it must have happened when they were still quite small. Because the swim would have been hard on her otherwise."

-Lord Otto Octavius and his wife Rosalie.

Jon was already seated at the table, giving the new Master of Coin his full focus. And Otto was being quite animated in their discussion, much to the amusement of his wife who had to keep moving his wine glass to keep it from being hit by his hands.

"You believe that she swam?" Jon asked.

"Well, I certainly doubt she scaled the Wall!" Otto joked, shaking his head at the thought. "I suppose there may be a tunnel or two… one hears about such things from time to time but usually it is because of wildlings being rather ambitious. No… I think your direwolf's poor mother did as most wildlings do: took to the sea." He shrugged. "It is the obvious weakness of the Wall, after all: you can't have it across the ocean."

Jon nodded. "Do you believe she swam or that she was brought down by a wildling?"

"That is an interesting question. And I think it depends on when she mated with your direwolf's father."

"What do you mean?"

"Well-"

"Otto," Rosalie said, placing a hand on his shoulder. She nodded towards Natasha and the Lannisters and at once Otto leapt to his feet.

"Ser Kevan! My apologizes, I didn't realize you had arrived."

Ser Kevan waved him off. "It is perfectly alright. It was an interesting conversation. I certainly have never discussed the travel movements of animals thought ancient."

Introductions were quickly made and everyone settled down as the servants brought out the first courses. Natasha had been careful in selecting the food that would be served. People who knew of the training her father had put her through thought all she had learned was how to fight. But her instructors had taught her every method of warfare. How to kill with any weapon, yes, but also how to seduce. How to use her body to milk a man or a woman of their secrets and leave them willing to betray all they cared for if it meant they pleased her. How to research and discover things that were hidden within the annals of history. How to create spy networks. And just as important as all that was how to use the most common of things to achieve her end goals… including meals.

Enough courses that people would need to stay but not so many that they would grow tired. Filling enough that it made people want to return but not so much that it lay heavy on their stomachs. And they needed to be tasty enough to keep people in a good mood but not so much they became distracted by the dishes. She had been to feasts where the meals were so disgusting that it led to revolts and had seen people become so obsessed with what was on their plate that they refused to speak to anyone seated next to them. Natasha wished to avoid all that.

'And there is the matter of the seasoning,' she thought. 'Just salty and spicy enough that everyone eating needs to drink the watered down wine I am providing… something to loosen tongues.'

Natasha had decided to stick with Westerland dishes, to make everyone feel comfortable. But she had gotten the cooks to try a few unique things, to make the meal a bit more interesting.

"How are you liking the capital, Lady Octavius?" Ser Kevan asked as he selected one of the small bread loaves from the basket on the table. He looked it over carefully, not used to his bread being so small. It was coated in butter and garlic and inside had fresh garlic-infused cheese. "I imagine it is quite different from what you are used it."

"It is," Rosalie stated, thankfully not taking any offense to what could have been seen as an insulting question. "Far different from Oldtown."

"Oh," Ser Kevan said, suddenly looking bashful. "I wasn't-"

She waved him off with a pleasant smile. "Its fine. People assume because of where our lands are that I must have come from some settled little piece of Westeros where there are more sheep and cattle than people. Where when you look out all you see is endless plain, perhaps a mountain or two in the far distance. Where the biggest body of water is a stream that you can't quite jump over and seeing another person who isn't a blood relative is alarming."

"So the North," Jon japed and that got chuckles out of everyone, helping to ease the mood even more. Natasha was so utterly proud of him for that and planned to give him a nice mouth hug later for his work.

"But I spent my youth in Oldtown," Rosalia commented. "That's actually how I came to meet Otto." She took her husband's hand and the Master of Coin at once turned to her, a soft smile on his lips.

'You make it sound like you were just some common girl who spent her days idly within the city,' Natasha thought to herself, hiding her smirk.

Rosalia Octavius had once been Rosalia Smalltower, part of an offshoot of the Hightower Line; in fact there were many who had come to believe that had Oldtown not bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror he would have wiped out the Hightowers as he had the Gardner Kings and placed the Smalltowers as the rulers of Oldtown much as he had placed the Tyrells in charge of the Reach. While only a 3rd cousin to the Hightowers Rosalia had still led a charmed life… and her disappearance 25 years prior had been a source of terror for Oldtown.

When it had been discovered that she was gone, with only a quickly jotted note stating she was okay and would return soon, that should have been the end of it. While not common plenty of highborn girls disappeared from home. Sometimes it was innocent… going off to see family or, if one believed in fairytales, to be with the love of their lives and they would return home Princesses. More often than not they returned with bastards… or left them behind, having been sent off by their parents to have their sinful child under the guise of running away. It wasn't openly discussed but it happened.

But Rosalia was known for not being that kind of girl and the fact that there had been no reports of her leaving the city, even in the gossip groups that all cities had, sent the entire city into a worrying frenzy. Had the Ironborn snuck in and taken her? Was it Dornish invaders seeking Sand Brides? Could she have been killed and the note a fake? The Tyrells had called for investigations (and that just so happened to allow them to replace the head of the City Watch with one of their own…), the Faith had claimed it was yet more proof that the seat of their religion should be in Oldtown once more (no one… quite understood how that logic worked), and the highborn girls of the city all were given guards to watch over them.

When she had returned several years later on the arm of Otto Octavius, now the Lord of Sunflash after the death of his elder brother during the Defiance of Duskendale, all had been relieved and seen it as something out of a fairytale. She had claimed that she had no memory of what had happened and that had been accepted as the truth of the matter. Everyone was just happy that she was alive… not because they honestly cared but because the people of Westeros hated mysteries that were never solved.

'If only they knew the truth,' Natasha thought as Rosalia and Dorna discussed the goods and bads of King's Landing. 'She never left Oldtown… she was in the Citadel, pretending to be a bastard boy named Robar Flowers.' It had been Otto who had discovered the truth about her and rather than reveal the truth to the Archmaesters had helped her in her deception. That had led to a friendship and later love. 'The true fairytale, though none would admit it. A young woman daring to enter the Citadel and learning their ways would be horrifying to far too many…'

The only other to know the truth, though neither Otto or Rosalia knew it, was Natasha's own father. Oberyn had been interested in both of them, gone to seduce them both, and discovered the truth and decided it was more fun to remain silent.

The first course came and went and then the second. The conversations continued to be light and fresh, much to Natasha's pleasure. While she was a spy (among many other things) the dinner hadn't been set up with any true goal in mind when it came to secret knowledge she wished to gain. Rather it was all about building alliances. Jon was Hand of the King and from the way Tommen was…

"Tommen… his grace…" Kevan made a face.

"He is your nephew," Jon said. "I doubt he'll mind if you wave away the honorifics."

"It isn't proper," Kevan said before letting out a sigh. "But… I suppose you are right."

"I won't mention it to him," Jon said and Natasha knew if it were anyone else in King's Landing that would have been a mocking threat. A challenge to get Ser Kevan to offer Jon up something to stay his tongue. But her husband was just a 'frank and straight to the point Northerner' and people had come to understand that when he said something… well, he meant it.

"Tommen told me that you are showing him how to use his left hand when swinging a sword."

Jon nodded. "I have my suspicions…" He paused.

"Oh, you can't keep quiet now," Otto said. "Not when you told Ser Kevan to speak frankly."

Jon nodded at that, accepting the gentle rebuke for what it was. "Aye. I don't want to speak ill of those that have taught him but I believe that Tommen might be left handed."

"Are you sure?" Ser Kevan said. "At meals he eats with his right…"

"But that is to be expected," Dorna commented, surprising Natasha that she had spoken up at all. "Everything at a feast is set up with the idea that you will be using your right hand. Even conversation is supposed to be with someone on a particular side, based on the right hand."

"Exactly," Jon said. "I think someone began to force it into Tommen's head that he must use his right hand."

Ser Kevan frowned at that. "It would explain his clumsiness. Robert was a skilled warrior and Jaime was as well… and even Tyrion has shown skill with an axe. Tywin was quite well versed in how to use a blade." He leaned forward. "You truly believe that Tommen is left handed?"

"I do. I had him swing two swords today and every strike with his left was far more true than the ones with his right, despite the practice we've put in." Jon took a moment to dip his spoon into his soup, sampling a bit before continuing. "They weren't as strong as they should be but that is because he hasn't been using the arm the way he should."

Kevan nodded at that. "Then you must see to it he is trained. It is a crime that we didn't notice."

"One would have thought Cersei would have seen him moving towards his left and said something…" Dorna said.

Natasha fought the urge to roll her eyes at that. She couldn't determine what was more likely: that Cersei had seen Tommen using his left hand and demanded he stopped out of some misguided belief that it was 'wrong' or 'evil' or 'unbefitting a prince'… or that she just hadn't noticed because seeing Tommen use his left hand would have required her to actually pay attention to her son for more than twenty seconds.

"It is good that you noticed," Otto stated. "The boy doesn't deserve to be hobbled just because someone is utterly foolish about such things." He shook his head, looking at Rosalia. "I sometimes wonder if things will ever get better…"

"Oh hush, none of that talk here."

"What talk?" Natasha asked, intrigued. Servants moved about to take their bowls, Nat sure that at least three of them with spies of Olenna Tyrell, one a spy of Cersei, and all of them already brought into HER services, and the smell of braised beef filled the air as the next course was brought into the room.

Rosalia looked at Otto and shook her head. "Oh no… don't you dare."

"But she asked," he said with a smirk. "It would be rude not to answer."

"And what is this all about?" Kevan asked and Rosalia, clearing seeing she wasn't going to win the argument now that the couple had everyone's attention, let out a bemused sigh and motioned for Otto to continue.

"One of the links I managed to forge at the Citadel-"

"Managed, my husband says," Rosalia said, cutting him off. "As if you weren't one of the greatest minds there. You could have been an archmasester, master of the Citadel, had you completed your studies."

"I merely wished to be humble."

"The only reason you never forged a full chain was that you couldn't decide which links to connect to each other."

Otto merely smiled at that, taking her hand and kissing the back of it before he began to speak once more. "One of the links I forged at the Citadel concerned the studies of history. A rather common one, as I am sure you can understand. Every maester should know the history of Westeros, after all."

"Of course," Kevan stated. "Tywin was fond of saying that only by understand history are we able to see how it affects the present."

Natasha wasn't for sure if 'fond' was a word she would ever use to describe Tywin and how he lived his life but she kept that quip to herself.

"I have found that the world tends to move in cycles of roughly 43 years. You have a time of great upheaval and war. This is followed by a time of great prosperity and development. We then have the stagnation which ends the cycle. There are other parts to it-"

"But those three are the only ones you need to know," Rosalia said, cutting him off.

"Oh, but they can't understand the full flavor and complexity of the cycle if they don't…" he trailed off as his wife shot a look at him and he finally nodded. "Of course you are right that some times are better left for deeper examinations. Now then… there is some variation in the length of the cycle, as sometimes it runs a bit long and other times a bit short but the fact remains that it does exist. In fact it has existed for thousands of years. I actually wrote an entire book about it…"

"Explain more about the cycle," Jon said, interested in what Otto was getting at. "You said it starts with upheaval…"

"Indeed," Otto said, clearly growing excited that he had an audience interested in his passion project. "Now, while it would be rather easy to use the rule of the Targaryens that is rather… well, to be honest I think that too many maesters overuse the House of the Dragon when it comes to explaining things. They represent such a small fraction of the history of Westeros, after all. Let's go with the rule of the Lannisters when they were kings, shall we?

"We'll use the timeframe of 872 BC to 731 BC. That gives us three runs of the cycles. We have the Coal Wars, the Scarred Lion Rebellion, and the Iron Born attack of 777. Moments each of great upheaval that changed the rule of the Westerlands forever. This was then followed by periods of great advancement. The Reigns of King Tykek II, King Henrik and then his son King Harvik, and finally the reign of King Melgin." He paused. "Though of course everyone knows that Queen Seara, Melgin's wife, was the true power behind the throne. In fact I have reason to believe that Melgin was dead ten years before the maesters put his death but that Queen Seara…" He waved off whatever he was going to say. "I suppose it doesn't matter. What does is that the Westerlands in those times saw not merely peace but also advancement." Otto began to tick off the points. "The development of better mining bracers for the tunnels, which of course allowed for deeper and safer mining. The Fair Isle Method for cleansing crabs, which at once solved the hunger issues, especially during winter. And of course we can't forget the development of the Lannister Method for producing more durable scrolls."

"Of course," Natasha said, only following about a tenth of what Otto was talking about.

"But all good things must come to an end. Summer gives way to fall which gives way to Winter, after all. These periods of growth begin to slow until, finally, there is the stagnation. Sometimes it is a case of the nobles becoming to fat and lazy to properly rule. Other times it is a simple matter of peace allowing problems to bubble up… after all, it is easy to unite a house against a common foe but when there is nothing to battle you will only have the annoyances of your siblings that begin to fester into feuds. Eventually though the stagnation comes to a head and, well…" he pressing his hands together before suddenly jerking them apart, splaying his fingers out wide.

"I admit that is interesting," Ser Kevan said and Natasha almost believed the man. Almost. "But I'm not quite sure what brought this on.

"It must be clear to you though where we are, currently," Otto said. When Ser Kevan merely stared at him, confused, the Master of Coin sighed. "We have seen our great upheaval. Robert's Rebellion brought about great change. The House of the Dragon is no more, the last embers of it in Essos."

'And sitting at this table cutting into his meat,' Natasha thought.

"Robert's reign should have been the start of the Great Progress." Otto sighed. "And yet… nothing. Worse than nothing. It feels as if we skipped past our chance to see improvements in the way we live our lives and moved right into the stagnation.

"I do not wish to speak ill of the dead but… King Robert had such a grand opportunity to take Westeros into a new age. To push us forward to our next evolution. We could have explored unknown lands!" Otto threw his arm out wide. "The Sunset Sea has been ignored for over a century because Alyssa Farman tried to sail it and never returned. But we have learned so much when it comes to mastering the waves… why not try again? Seek out House Velyrion and give them a chance to make a place for themselves once more in Westeros after they fell from power thanks to Aerys. Or the Iron Born… not the Greyjoys but there surely are those on the Iron Islands who would love to put their names in the history books.

"And then there is the North." And there he turned to Jon. "Robert was friends with your father, to the point that they were nearly brothers. Robert could have commanded an army to begin marching beyond the Wall and discover what lays in the Lands of Always Winter. What secrets do they hold?"

"Somehow I don't see Robert as an explorer," Kevan commented.

Otto dismissed that with a wave of his hand. "Then there are other things he could have done. Sought ways to aid the smallfolk to raise them up, so that they might in turn help improve Westeros. Or seek to improve our laws… such a task has not been done since Jaehaerys the Wise." And then Otto's smile fell. "But no. Robert decided to hold countless feasts and tourneys and do nothing of importance. His name will be remembered for winning one rebellion and stopping another. A waste!" He slammed his fist onto the table, causing the dishes to rattle. "The might of the Baratheons and the genius of the Lannisters! Your two families, merged together? It should have meant something! And then there were his allies. Lord Stark might not be the most daring man but there are others in the North with strong minds… why did Robert not select one of them for his Small Council?"

"He probably believed that Ned would take offense to it," Natasha commented. "And he didn't want to be part of the Court… Robert had to drag him to the Capital."

"Jon Arryn did offer," Kevan said, causing Natasha to nearly pull a muscle whipping her head in his direction. "And my brother agreed. Jon Arryn suggested Master of Laws while my brother felt that a new position could have been created, one focused on the very smallfolk you spoke of, Otto."

That left Natasha utterly floored and she could tell Jon was just as shocked. 'I doubt he is making it up. Ser Kevan has no need to try and please Jon with such words… he has been quite clear on his loyalty to the crown, or believed loyalty I suppose I should say. So… Jon Arryn and Tywn MUST have considered that.' Master of Laws would have been… interesting… with Ned in that position, as she knew that he would have been rather like Cregan Stark in seeking justice after the Rebellion. Many in the South saw him as seeking blood for blood but Natasha knew the Maesters (or at least the ones with an open mind) saw that Cregan's actions did allow for peace to return to Westeros, far stronger than it had been before the Dance. Ned would have done the same thing, putting to the block many and truly removing the overgrowth and dead brush that had gathered in the Kingdom.

But… that was why Tywin would have never allowed it. He would have lost half his commanders to Ned's justice.

'But a Master of Smallfolk…' she thought, 'that might have worked out well…'

"What could have been!" Otto bemoaned. "And with the Tullys as well… oh, the Age we could be living in right now had Robert simply had the same and drive and ambition that he had during the Rebellion. But instead… instead we skipped right through the Age of Evolution and went right into sloth. And with the War of the Five Crowns we move right into upheaval again." Otto shook his head. "We should have been on the cusp of greatness and instead nothing has changed."

"I don't know about that," Jon stated. "Perhaps you are just looking in the wrong spots."

"Oh?" Otto said, raising an eyebrow. "And what do you mean by that?"

"We live in an era where men can fly," Jon pointed out with a small smile.

Rosalia chuckled at that, shooting her husband a victorious little smile. "I keep bringing up the Iron Man and the Centurion but Otto always dismisses me."

Otto folded his arms over his chest like a petulant child told it was time to go to bed. "Because it is supposed to be great development and change for all of humanity, not a single person."

"Who is to say though that the Iron Man won't lead to improvements for all?" Jon asked. He glanced at Ser Kevan. "Of course it is terrible that he targeted Joffrey-"

The knight though held up a hand. "It is fine, Jon, it's fine. I understand what you were trying to get across." He let out a sigh. "It is too bad that the Iron Man is against us… even if he would refuse to fight for us he has won over many of the smallfolk. Joffrey's reign was affected by his words against him… I suppose the fact that he only set his anger upon him, rather than our family, is a blessing."

"He could still return," Dorna said in a worried tone. "Poor Tommen… I hope that he can avoid that."

"I won't let any harm come to him," Jon said and Natasha rubbed her mouth so she might hide the smirk that was threatening to blossom on her lips; oh, how she loved it when Jon said one thing and meant another. Him being cunning was such a treat.

"There may not be any need to worry," Rosalia spoke up. "After all, the Iron Man hasn't inserted himself into the War of the Five Crowns, has he?"

"You are right, Lady Octavius," Kevan stated. "I suppose we can be grateful that he hasn't actually turned his attention towards King's Landing. Many of us feared when he rescued Ned Stark that the North would be fighting with a man could fly and send out beams of magic that would reduce their foes to atoms. But honestly the Iron Man had done more to defend the Westerlands than he has the North… I sometimes wonder if it had been Tommen there that day, rather than Joffrey, if things might have been different."

"Come now," Dorna said, patting Ser Kevan on the arm, "Joffrey was but a boy-"

"Who was also a king," Kevan stated firmly. "One who broke his word and plunged us into war." He let out a huff of annoyance. "The Maesters will not be kind Joffrey when his history is written, we must all accept that. He did nothing in his reign that brought glory to Westeros, his family, or even himself. Stannis was driven back by Tyrion and Tywin. The Tyrells were brought into the fold by Tywin as well. When battle came to King's Landing he fled. He never attempted to win his spurs and did not compete in a single tournament."

"One could argue that Natasha here bathed herself in more glory than our king," Otto said causing Natasha to smile… even as she mentally wondered if she could get away with slicing the new Master of Coin's tongue out of his mouth before he revealed more than she desired. Even if it was a jest she didn't need people looking into her history.

"But Joffrey's errors were great and one could say that much of the problems that we have faced during his reign can be traced back to him." Ser Kevan rubbed his forehead at that, as if he were trying to pluck the thoughts out of his head concerning his great nephew. "I'm sorry, this is the proper conversation to have."

"Well…" Otto said slowly, clearing trying to think of something he could say that would clear the air after what Ser Kevan had just said to all of them, "I suppose then we can at least drink to King Tommen's health."

"Yes, I believe we can," Dorna said quickly and she waved for a servant to bring more wine.

'So, there are some Lannisters that see through the rosy picture Cersei tried to paint of Joffrey and understand just how badly she failed to bring up a proper king.' She lifted her glass so a servant could fill it up. 'Now the question becomes if they will be able to learn from their mistakes.'

Because for the good of all of Westeros… she prayed that they did.

'Because Thanos will not care about our petty squabbles. He will not pause his march upon us all just because we are feuding and fighting amongst each other. If we wish to survive the Long Night that is coming for us all we must unite… or we will die.'