~~~Dock of Kings Landing~~~
Artys Arryn POV
"Artys, take care of yourself. Behave yourself in the Vale and listen to the advice of Lord Royce and Ser Nestor Royce," Jon Arryn said to me. Both his hands were on my shoulders.
Oh, sometimes I forget he is my father, and my face reminds him of his late wife.
I wonder why it's so difficult for men to forget the love of their life. I have never gotten into a serious relationship—all were just one-night or short terms.
But then again, there were few friends back in my world who never had a love story to begin with.
Their beloved burned bright in another's hold—lips pressed to lips that weren't theirs, while their own heart broke clean in two and turned to frost no tears could ever melt.
Such pity. I know even you had to go through this once too.
"For the Seven's sake, father, you are embarrassing me in front of everyone," I said, trying to get Jon back to reality. We were at the docks of King's Landing. There was Yohn and his men, Arryn knights, and the sailors who would accompany me.
The only bad thing was that the Tully bitch had come to say goodbye too.
"Lord Royce, Please make sure you keep an eye of him," Jon looked at Lord Royce while straightening his back, and the two of them hugged again.
"Of course, my lord. I would always protect and guide him. I give you my word," Yohn swore.
"Artys, take care of yourself," Lysa Tully, who was behind Jon, spoke, her hand trying to reach my head.
Oh, enough of that crap. I know you women. You Tully women are up to no good, always bring trouble. I slapped her hand away before it could reach me.
"Lord Royce, I will be waiting for you on the ship. As soon as you are done, we can leave," I said as I made my way through the wooden boards toward the deck of the ships.
The salty sea breeze hit my face as I stepped onto the massive deck. This thing was a monster even bigger than Robert's Hammer. Robert's ship was an oar-driven beast; mine was a carrack. It wasn't built for war, but for luxury and comfort.
"Master, it's not wise to show such disrespect towards Lady Arryn. After all, she is from House Tully. They are the Lords Paramount of the Riverlands," Soryn, who was walking behind me, commented.
"Lords Paramount, my ass. They have very little control over their lords. Many of them have more men than they do. Not to mention, it's the marriage between House Arryn and House Stark that has given them their current influence. Worry not, having the Riverlands as an ally is a liability, not a strength," I explained to Soryn about House Tully's might.
Making an alliance with them is no good. The Riverlands are strategically bad to defend, with little to no natural barriers except for rivers.
Not to mention, Tywin and his men would burn the Riverlands to the ground when the War of the Five Kings begins.
Dorne is the only ally I would make or perhaps the Reach, if they are willing. Otherwise, the Moon Door or dragonfire would be their fate.
Besides, Margaery is hot. She sure is a price worth the trouble.
Still, she and Daenerys might make a good pair. The propaganda would be the second coming of Aegon the Conqueror and his two wives—smallfolk might actually buy it.
POV ends.
Cersei POV.
Finally, that boy is leaving. I looked at the sight of those disgusting lowborns mingling among each other. They looked so tiny from here. That's what they are—little ants in front of my house.
I took another sip of wine from my cup. Ahh… I don't know what I would do without it. It keeps me sane. Pity. If the gods had given me a cock, I would have ensured that House Lannister became the royal house, not the Baratheons.
Father should have taken the crown after the Sack of King's Landing.
"Tyrion, where do y—" I heard my brother's voice. He was talking to that little demon who took our mother.
"Ahhh… that. Well, let's just say the whores of King's Landing are very…" the little demon spoke while trying to reach the wine goblet with his tiny little fingers.
Seven forgive us. How did Mother ever give birth to such a monster? A shame to our house.
"Entertaining," Jaime guessed, trying to complete the little monster's words.
"Yes, you can say that. But my dear sister, what do I tell our father when I meet him? That House Arryn now possesses two Valyrian steel swords, and you let them have it. Not to mention the news that the Arryn boy has inherited the wealth of a great merchant family of Volantis," Tyrion asked me.
It's not my fault. I told Jaime to sabotage and even had one of our men put damage in Artys' bow, but somehow the boy won.
"What? It was not my fault that boy won the tourney. Do you know Robert was going to let the boy have the sword just like that? It was me who pushed forward for it. And who would have thought an eight-year-old boy would beat all the best archers in the Seven Kingdoms?" I defended myself and walked toward my brother and that little monster, then took a seat beside them.
"Sure. If that's what you want me to tell him. But House Arryn has now got such wealth that would bring many changes to the power dynamics of seven kingdoms," Tyrion dismissed me and drank a full cup in one go.
These savages would never understand that the best way to taste wine is slowly.
"What wealth? The Arryns sure have a few ships now, but we Lannisters have gold mines. The Arryns can have their little merchant fleet nothing compares to real gold," I tried to explain to this little monster that the last thing our house cares about is gold.
"Yes, perhaps. Have you heard about Corlys Velaryon and his Nine Great Voyages? It was when House Targaryen was at the peak of its power. They ruled the sky, and Velaryon ruled the sea. It was said that the coffers from those nine voyages brought so much wealth that House Velaryon even surpassed House Lannister in terms of wealth," Tyrion spoke as if he were a wise man giving a lecture.
Lies. All lies. No one could ever surpass House Lannister in wealth. Those were nothing but stories spread by other houses who are jealous of our wealth.
"And you believe that?" I asked him.
"There is nothing to doubt, my dear sister. It's a fact. It's written in the history books," Tyrion said, trying to make me look like a fool.
He doesn't know I am much smarter than he could ever hope to be.
All lies. Besides, it doesn't matter. When Joffrey is king, House Lannister will rule the Seven Kingdoms, and I will be the Queen Mother. Then I will have the maesters correct this lie in history books.
"You think that boy is smart enough to do all those voyages?" I asked him, trying to make this fool understand his worries were useless.
"He might be. He is smart—smart enough to outsmart you, dear sister. Do you realize how big of a problem it would be if the men you sent to tamper with Artys' bow were caught?" Tyrion changed the topic, once again doubting my plans.
How did he know I sent a few men to do this? It was supposed to be a secret. No one in the world is smart enough to stop me. That was just a fluke.
"For the Seven's sake, you are not as smart as you think. I already sent those men back to Westerlands far away from the city. You should be thanking me it didn't reach the wrong ears; otherwise, the repercussions would have been severe for you and our house." Tyrion said as he got up from his seat and walked toward the door.
"I must hurry and tell Father about this new development, especially the merchant business Artys Arryn has inherited," he said before leaving me alone with my brother.
"What do you think?" I asked my brother, seeking his view on Artys developing his merchant business. He's just a boy of eight years—he can't do anything.
"About what?" Jaime asked, clearly confused.
Sometimes I forget my brother is only good with a sword, not intelligence.
"Never mind. Today is a day of celebration. We are finally free from that bastard who was overshadowing our son, my love." I said. My dear Joffrey is about to rise in fame in the city as the most intelligent and powerful prince.
"Cersei, we've talked about this. You can't say openly about us." Jaime interrupted, cutting short my beautiful daydream.
"Don't worry. No one will hear us. And even if they do, what are they going to do? The Lannister army backs us. We don't need to fear that boar," I said, trying to reassure my brother.
With Father, the Lannister army, and our gold, we are strongest in Seven kingdom.
We only need to wait until Joffrey grows up. Then I will have that fat oaf killed.
Joffrey will be crowned without issue and the first thing we will do is take Dragonstone back from Stannis and put that Arryn shit in his place and take those two swords too.
POV ends
Artys POV
"Emperor, the ravens and nearby birds have been brought into your service. They will do as you command. There were a few who resisted—do not worry, we had them killed. Caw… caw," the one-eyed crow reported, delivering the current affairs of FBI and Luftwaffe to me.
"How was the feast?" I asked him. Over the past two days, I had instructed them to have no contact with me.
I cannot be seen talking to birds, but right now I am surrounded by Unsullied—they won't spread false rumors. The Faith would be a pain in the ass if they saw me speaking to birds.
"The morale of your servants is high. We thank the Emperor for his generosity," the one-eyed crow said without thinking, showing his loyalty toward me.
"Good. Make sure to spread your men across the realm and recruit more birds. Leave the bigger birds, eagles and falcons to me; I will take care of them. I want full surveillance of the realm first, then expansion into Essos. Go now and arrange this. Once it is done, report to me at the Eyrie in three months," I instructed the one-eyed crow about his future task.
"Your wish is my command, my Emperor."
The one-eyed crow saluted me with his right wing and flew away.
These birds are rather easier to control than I expected. Besides, I should get him a small eyepatch—like a pirate, or Nick Fury.
"My lord, what were you talking with the bird about?" I heard Noll's voice.
I kept the two brothers with me as my little minions now. Not because I was feeling generous—it was just good PR, showing the smallfolk that I cared about them, which I absolutely did not.
"Oh, that? Nothing. I was feeding the bird some grains," I replied, trying to hide the fact that I could talk to birds.
"Alright. Lord Soyrn is waiting for you in the room. He requested your presence," Noll said, but his facial expression said something else—that he didn't believe my words to be true.
Yeah… I almost forgot. I needed to assign him a few tasks related to business.
"Yes, I'll be on my way. Where is Lord Royce?" I asked Noll as I made my way toward the entrance door to the cabins inside the ship.
"He is resting in his cabin, my lord," Noll replied quickly, following behind me.
He would do a good job as a cupbearer. As for his older brother, he might be useful leading a mercenary group. I would back him from the shadows, and he would form his own mercenary company in Essos.
These two think of me as their savior—which, technically, I am, since I saved them from slavers and helped them get revenge for their deceased parents. Still, they would make excellent pawns in the game. Used well, they would yield excellent results.
POV ends