The loud clatter of the golden goblet, as it was sent hurling against the stone wall, echoed through the enormous Small Council chamber of King's Landing.
It had been a very peculiar day in the capital. An urgent Small Council meeting had been convened early in the morning. And what was so peculiar about it?
Firstly, the meeting had been summoned by someone from whom you would least expect it. Varys, the Master of Whispers.
And secondly, the King of the Seven Kingdoms himself had been called to the meeting, which was a rare event indeed.
Varys had just informed the council, particularly the King, about the happenings in Qohor. The tale of Rhaenys and her five dragons.
"What did you say?" Robert roared. "Another dragonspawn has emerged out of nowhere in Essos?"
"Yes, Your Grace," Varys said with a tilt of his head. "And with five dragons under her command. Massive Dragons."
Robert smashed his fist onto the large wooden table, which rattled under his strength.
"Are you sure, Lord Varys?" Jon Arryn questioned with a displeased expression.
"Are you sure that this girl is Rhaenys? Rhaegar's daughter? We all know the tale of how Gregor Clegane killed her in a brutal fashion," he added.
"No one is sure if she is truly Rhaenys or not," Varys replied. "But what is certain is that she has five dragons under her control."
"And while we all heard the tale of her being killed, Gregor Clegane's brutality was such that the girl's face had been completely disfigured. No one was actually able to confirm it was her corpse. The only person who had seen her before she died, Gregor Clegane did not recognise the princess."
The expression of every member of the Small Council was one of pure shock; they could barely digest the news they were hearing. It was almost unbelievable. Silence prevailed in the chamber before it was broken by Stannis.
"How is this possible?" The Master of Ships mumbled, a rare look of shock on his usually stiff and expressionless face.
"Whether she is truly Rhaenys Targaryen is not the primary concern. The point is, how does she have dragons? And five at that?"
"If she turns towards Westeros, we are doomed," Renly muttered, sounding almost hopeless. "Aegon only had three dragons, and he forced the entire Seven Kingdoms to its knees."
Enraged, Robert again smashed his massive fist on the table, which creaked under his sheer power. He was furious. He was raging.
"Someone give me some damn wine!" he roared.
A maid hurried over and poured him a cup, which Robert gulped down in one go.
"Varys," he snapped, his anger palpating. "You have been failing me for far too long. First, you were unable to get those two dragonspawns killed, and now another one has emerged—with dragons and you had no idea?"
"Why are you even Master of Spies?" He questioned. "Tell me one good damn reason why I should not have you beheaded for incompetence."
"I am sorry, Your Grace," Varys sighed. This time he was really sorry. Like every other man, he had been caught off guard this time. The majority of the time, he only fooled Robert. He was aware of events, even so, he would delay in bringing it to Robert. And as for getting Viserys and Daenerys killed, he had never tried. Not that Robert had been as desperate as he was now.
"No one was aware that another Targaryen was still living," he continued. "How it all came to this point, we do not yet know. In fact, it is surprising she was able to keep the dragons a secret. My birds say that given their size, they must be at least half a dozen years old. To keep five such creatures hidden for so long is an enormous task she could not have completed without help."
"Dorne?" Robert snapped. "Has Dorne been helping her?"
"No," Varys shook his head. "Not Dorne. They would be as baffled as we are. But I will ask my birds to keep an eye on them. If they were involved, we would know for sure."
"Even if they were not involved, they surely will try to make contact with her now," Jon Arryn sighed, rubbing his temples. Even in his old age, he was not permitted to live comfortably.
"What do we do?" Renly questioned. "We certainly cannot wait for her to consolidate her power and turn against us."
"We must have her killed," Pycelle, the Grand Maester, spoke for the first time. He was rattled. The Citadel did not like dragons or Targaryens, and neither did he. Every last Targaryen should be exterminated. Killed. And so do their dragons.
"And how do we accomplish this?" Robert asked sarcastically. "For years, we could not get two homeless Targaryens killed, and now you want to assassinate a girl who has five dragons and a massive force behind her? She is more than twice as far away as Viserys and Daenerys are! How do we get it done?"
"We cannot do it," Petyr Baelish said, having finally recovered from his shock. "But there is someone who could."
"Who?" Renly asked.
"No one," Baelish replied. Ideally, he should have given air to any flame which could cause chaos in the kingdom but Rhaenys was no simple chaos. She was a storm, a massive tsunami and if this storm struck the coast of Westeros, Petyr was sure that his ladder made of chaos would be completely rattled. Chaos is a ladder. No. Chaos which he could control was a ladder.
"What are you saying?" Renly frowned.
"The Faceless Men," Varys explained. "They are No one."
"But, Lord Baelish," Varys continued, "you are the Master of Coin, and you know better than any of us that we do not have the capacity to pay them."
"Their price for someone like the Queen of Qohor, especially one with five dragons, would be so steep we simply could not pay it."
He did not want Rhaenys to be killed, at least not until her intentions were clear, but he wanted to have an ace in his hand in case she did not suit his plans. However, there was only one person who could bear the expense of the Faceless Men. And that was not the king for sure.
"My father will pay for it," the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms finally spoke. "He will pay the money."
"I want Rhaenys killed as soon as possible," she said. Her face was a mask of terror and fright.
House Lannister was likely the only house that would suffer even more than House Baratheon if Rhaenys was truly who she claimed and made a return to Westeros.
"I am going to write a letter," she mumbled as she got up and strode from the hall.
"Very well," Robert sighed. "Varys, you will personally go to Braavos. Do not disappoint me this time."
"I will go with him," Stannis interjected before Varys could agree.
Robert looked at him for a moment before nodding. "It is finalized, then…"
[1. This chapter should have been part of the previous arc along with the two three other chapters of reaction but it kind of slipped my mind. Only when I saw my notes, I realized. Maybe the vacation I took had a part to play in it too. But better late than forgotten.]
[2. Varys is not sure about Dorne helping Rhaenys. As per chronology, the news of Rhaenys would have reached Sunspear and the King's Landing almost simultaneously. It would take another few days for news to come to King's Landing from Sunspear. So, he is not aware that Oberyn himself is going to Essos to find the truth.]
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter