Pre-Chapter A/N:Another chapter on time? Guess my lock-in is going pretty well. If you haven't already, I recommend turning on notifications for my stuff so you can see when new stuff drops right as it drops. More chapters on my patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)— same username as here and link in bio.
"The Master of Whispers, my Lord," she said, while I kept a careful listen on her heartbeat and took a sniff of her as she spoke. I was still pulling on Igneel's senses, and they told me she was telling the truth, but there was something off.
"But that is not the whole story, is it, girl? Remember what I can do to you if you fail to obey."
"The Lord Hand, my Lord. 'Tis the Master of Whispers that gives me my orders, but they come from the Lord Hand himself."
"And you know this how?" I asked, curious. Enhanced senses said she was telling the truth as she knew it. Her head turned to the side, leaving my gaze as she kicked one foot against the other.
"You've been spying on him, haven't you?" I asked, and there it was again, the not-so-subtle abashed smile.
"Yes, my Lord."
"Now my question is: why?"
"I was curious, my Lord," she said.
"You wanted to know why he was asking you to find certain bits of information," I surmised. She nodded.
"And what did he ask you to find out about me?" I asked.
"He didn't ask me to," she whispered, but I still caught it with dragon-enhanced hearing.
"Speak louder, girl. Has your voice suddenly left you?" I asked, feigning that I hadn't been able to catch every word she spoke.
"He did not ask me to," she said.
"I see. So you saw me leave the hall and got curious, so you came down to the secret passage to find something to see if you could use it." I stated my deduction, and she nodded. Okay, that was something I could work with.
"I assume that the Master of Whispers pays you for your work," I said.
"A secret's worth a Stag if it's good, and a Star if it's not," she said.
I reached into my coin pouch and pressed five dragons into her palm.
"You are no longer Darklyn's tool. Or Otto's. You are now mine," I said. She looked down at the amount before she gasped.
"Yes, my Lord."
"And you might be feeling the temptation to play both sides, but I am as dangerous as I am generous. And I am far more generous than both Otto and Darklyn combined," I said.
"I'll tell you anything you need to know for that kind of pay, my Lord," she said.
"Good. I have some questions. Return to the passage in front of my chambers tonight and we will discuss it then. For now, get going. I need to see to it that my mother hasn't torn down half the Keep looking for me," I said before leaving.
—
"Seven above, where have you been?" she gasped as I walked through the door. I noted that Ser Ben was bent around the hidden passage and Laena was next to him.
"Chased down the spy as far as I could, but it's really dark in there so I got lost at some point. Barely managed to get out at one hallway on the East Wing, not too far from the King's Study," I said. Mother nodded before scoffing.
"Otto Hightower has gone too far. Much too far. To house you in a room with a hidden passage? What audacity!" she said.
"You think the King's Hand did this?"
"Who else? I grew up in this castle, son. The passages in the Holdfast were basically all sealed for the most part. Any passages that remain, remain for a reason, and the Hand of all people would know where they are located."
"And so you think he did this to spy on me?" I asked.
"He did. Viserys will never hear the end of this," she scoffed.
"Would he remove Otto for it?" I asked.
"As Hand? No. He values his counsel too much. I doubt even murder would be enough," she said.
"So what will reporting it do? It might cause Otto to lose some face, but he would deny it assuredly and then it becomes he-said-she-said," I said.
"You would let this lie?" She was aghast.
"You trust me, don't you, Mother? Trust me to handle this. Making this an issue now won't work well with my plans," I said.
"Speaking of making things an issue, did you sound the alarm?" I asked.
"I would have. But your sister and sworn shield convinced me otherwise. They have an astounding amount of faith in you," she said.
"There's no way he hasn't explored those passages himself," Laena scoffed. "If I had to put any money on it, I'd bet that half the reason he doesn't want you to make it an issue is because it leads somewhere interesting and he doesn't want to lose access. Laenor uses everything to his advantage. Everything."
"Oh, you wound me so, Sister," I said.
"Even if that was the case, I do hope you understand that a way outside is also a way inside," Mother shot in.
"As you just saw, I know when anyone gets even slightly close to this entrance. And then Ser Ben is right outside the door if I need anything. I'm safe, Mother. Safe as can be, trust me," I said.
"There are a few ways I think you could be safer," she groused as she finally closed the distance between us and wrapped me in her arms.
"I have no idea where you got this risk-taking behaviour from," she whispered.
—
"So tell me about yourself," I asked the woman once she took a seat after no small amount of hesitation.
"Myself, my Lord?"
"Yes, yourself. I want to know what about you made Darklyn decide you would be a good spy, what made you choose to betray him, and whether I can expect the same to happen to me when you think I don't expect it," I said, gesturing for her to begin speaking.
"My name is Mesilla, my Lord," she said, and then stopped.
"I know that much, at least. Tell me more. Tell me things I do not expect to hear, and for each time you surprise me, I will give you a gold dragon," I said, and as expected, there was the predictable flash of greed in her eyes.
"Of course, if you lie to me then it doesn't count and I take all my money back," I said, before dropping my coin purse on the table between us.
"Yes, my Lord. My name is Mesilla. I am the daughter of a serving girl and who I suspect to be one of the Knights of the Kingsguard," she said. I nodded, and took out one coin from my purse, stretching it in her direction.
"I don't know which one, but I do remember being visited by a man who wore a white cloak when I was but a babe. My mother has forbidden me to talk of it, but one day I will find out what his name was."
"Was?"
"He has to be dead. None of the present members fit with the profile," she said. I nodded.
"I grew up in the Red Keep itself. Usually, when a serving girl finds herself with child, she quickly finds herself out of the castle and searching for alternate employment. For some reason, my mother was allowed to stay. I suspect because of who my father was. She grew heavy with child and then one day birthed me. I was raised in this castle, baking in the kitchens when I had to, and adventuring in the passageways when I knew I would not be missed. One day, Lord Darklyn noticed me within them. He found that I knew them better than he did, and so he offered to pay me to spy for him. I did," she said. I nodded, taking out one dragon and placing it on top of the one already pushed towards her.
"I know my letters and numbers," she added, looking at the coins. I didn't move.
"You speak too well for someone who cannot read. If you were planning to surprise me with that, then maybe you should have toned it down a bit in your explanation," I said with a smirk. She nodded, accepting her lot in good spirit. At least that was better than I could say for most.
"And now you can earn more if you tell me some secrets I would not otherwise know," I said.
"I think Ser Criston was sharing a bed with the Princess," she said.
"No way these passages would stretch to the Princess' rooms," I said. "Any passageways like that would have definitely been blocked decades ago for the security risks they could pose."
"Yes, my Lord. But the passages to the White Sword Tower are open still. I have heard Ser Cole say the Princess' name in his sleep many a time. Or even groan her name while he…" she waved her hands to allude to just what I imagined she was talking about. I nodded. That was fair enough.
"And something else?" I asked.
"Nothing you would care about, my Lord," she said.
"Oh really? Try me."
"The Captain of the Royal Guard, Ser Gerold, has slept with three noblewomen who are not his wife since the beginning of the tournament, the Lords Fell and Caron have spent multiple nights in each other's presence having conversations of more than swordplay, and Lord Baratheon is sleeping with five serving girls, and two of them are convinced that they somehow will become the next Lady Baratheon." At that one, I actually broke and had to cough out a laugh.
"Are they mad?" I asked with a chuckle. A serving girl? Lady to a Great House? It would have been easier for them to aim to learn how to turn into pigs with wings and then start flying.
"They are hopeful. Even we smallfolk can dare to dream," she said, with a hint of testiness in her voice. I smiled and took another coin from my purse.
"What surprised you, my Lord?"
"You are one of the few who seem willing to admit dissatisfaction with the lot you have in life," I said.
"The Princess Rhaenyra is no better than I. And yet she will one day become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and I am doomed to be nothing more than a baker until I am too old to be useful and then I will be tossed on the streets and left to fend for myself. Better said, left to die. And all because I fell out from one pair of legs and she fell from another," she said. I chuckled and she froze.
"I'd advise you to not go around speaking that sentiment where many can hear. While I understand your frustrations, most would shorten you by a head for it. And just so you know, there are many differences between you and Rhaenyra. She is the blood of the dragon, just like I am. You can say it in a million ways, but the incontrovertible truth is that we are made for glorious purpose, a purpose beyond you and your ilk," I said. She turned her head off to the side. Good.
"However, I do agree with you that in another world, you could have been so much more than what you are here. So I will make you this offer. Ten years," I said.
"My Lord, I fear I do not understand."
"Serve me as a spy here for ten years. I will see you removed from here and brought to the Stepstones. I assume you have heard of it," I said.
"Yes, my Lord. There are whispers there. Opportunity to rise, they say. To own land," she said.
"If you perform as admirably as I suspect you will, then you will get to own land of your own with a manse the size of the Lannister manse for you and yourself alone. You will get the one thing you have never had and always wanted," I said.
"And what is that, my Lord?"
"Freedom, of course." I smiled.
— —
With the tourney over and done with, I began to make provisions for my time in King's Landing to come to an end. Unlike before when I had come alone, I was not going to be leaving in the same way. Both Mother and Laena would be coming along. And for another, we were not heading straight back to whence we had come. The Stepstones had missed me sorely, I suspected, but they would have to do without me for some time longer.
Mother had made the point, and quite accurately, that I had not been to Driftmark since I had become her Lord. While there was little chance of the people forgetting who their Lord was, there was a chance I could forget who my people were. Driftmark was important. While I considered it the past and the Stepstones as the future of our House, Driftmark was still a very important place for now.
And even when the Stepstones came into their fullness of splendor, I doubted that Driftmark would ever be completely abandoned and put to the side. I was still her Lord, after all. And there were quite a few people who would remain there for not wanting to move away from the only home they had ever known. So, I prepared for a journey that ended at Driftmark for a medium-length stop and then would continue to the Stepstones. I had even sent a messenger in advance back to the Stepstones to inform my people of the change and see to it that the Maester saw all messages meant for me diverted to Driftmark for the time being.
While I had refused to receive mail through the ravens while in the capital, I was much more willing to take that risk in Driftmark, a city I controlled and a castle I ruled. That was not the only thing I was working on, however. Now that the tourney had come to an end, I found myself inundated with meeting requests as people made attempts to purchase some of the goods I had displayed in the form of gifts. Of course, most of them quickly found that they had other places to be once I began quoting prices, but that was par for the course. One that I had not expected at all was the Master of Ships himself.
"Well met, my Lord," I had said to him as we met on a hallway. I was on my way back from the practice yard, and he seemed to have set out to come meet me in particular.
"Well met, my Lord," he had returned, and then after minutes of grueling small talk and pleasantries where he asked after every single one of my uncles and cousins and whoever else existed while I did the same, he got to the point of the meeting.
"I am told the shipyards of Driftmark produce as many and even better quality ships than the Arsenal of Braavos itself," he began.
"You have been told correctly," I said, not even trying to be humble. The work I had done to lift our industrial capacity to a certain level had taken years of me designing and fine-tuning while the hired builders added their own suggestions and improvements, and Corlys watched the whole process with an eagle-eyed gaze.
"Good. I wish to purchase some ships," he said.
"House Velaryon does not sell ships, my Lord," I said.
"You produce dozens a year, at the latest count. Surely you do not set the old ones on fire? At current production levels and using what is known about the Velaryon fleet from when your father was alive, then I calculate that you have enough ships to outnumber every fleet in Westeros bar the Royal Fleet combined," he said. I just smirked in response. I did not mention that even adding the Royal Fleet to that calculation would not change the assertion any. My fleet was a source of pride. It always would be. It was my oldest industry and was a demonstration of the trust that both Corlys and Rhaenys had put in me even before he died.
"That would be enough if we were competing with the Seven Kingdoms, but we are not. The Stepstones are massive and my charge is to hold them in the name of the King. I need ships on patrol, I need a standing force large enough to compete with any of the City-States of Essos, and sometimes more than one at the same time, while still having enough left to protect House Velaryon's own interest. I haven't enough ships for all of that, my Lord. But I will in a matter of years," I said.
"And even paying above the market value for them will not be enough to tempt you to an agreement, my Lord?"
"No. I need the ships, my Lord."
"Not even the need of your King is enough? To tell it true, the Royal Fleet is in disrepair and disarray. Houses Redwyne, Hightower, and Manderly are all producing ships as quickly as they can manage for the Fleet but that is proving insufficient. If you would sell us a dozen ships at half again the going rate, it would go a long way," he said.
"I am sure it would. But like I said earlier, I need those ships."
"Are you doing this because I was appointed to the role instead of a Velaryon like you would have wanted?" he asked finally.
I turned to him then. I gave the man a long look. Rickard Redwyne. A man that was a name and nothing more as far as I was concerned. That was the only thing of note about him.
"Even if my Uncle Vaemond stood where you stood and asked of me the same thing you just did, my answer would be the same," I said, and then I left.
A/N: Another one bites the dust, innit. Back to Driftmark and then back to the Stepstones after that. Next five chapters up on patreon(https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga) (same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early.