Daenerys absorbed all that her hand had to share in silence. Lord Royce reminded her of Ser Barristan, in a way: honorable, as every knight of the Seven Kingdoms should be, and the Knights of the Vale more than any. Yet he stood a long way from home in the service of a Northern lady. The years had not diminished the Starks’ friendship with the Vale, it seemed, an alliance forged in the destruction of her own house.
Lord Baelish was a more difficult man to grasp. He spoke courteously enough, though each sentence came laced with a double meaning, each word a careful step in the courtly dance. He must have known the moves by heart, to rise so high, so fast, with such ineptitude. Millions of dragons. Pursing her lips, she left the drink untouched on the table before her, unable to stomach the taste.
“Millions of dragons that will not soon be forgotten, I’m sure, regardless of who sits on the Iron Throne.” Yet it was too soon to begin fretting over the realm’s finances, not when she had her own armies ( not to mention three dragons of fire and flesh, that grew hungrier by the day ) to feed. Perhaps Casterly Rock would aid them there, if all went according to Tyrion’s plans. Waves crashed upon the tower’s base some hundreds of feet below, counting out the moments that passed.
Information could be deadlier than any knife, in the right hands. Ser Jorah traded news of her movements, new of her son, to the Usurper’s countil for a whispered promise of home. No matter how many years passed, the betrayal would still cut at her heart. Once for blood and once for gold and once for love. By her count, one betrayal still remained. Folding her hands in her lap, she glanced at last to her hand, answering in a quiet, assured voice.
“Then I suppose we must do what we can to ensure he learns nothing of any great importance. Particularly if the North refuses to support us.” Easier said than done, with the entirety of their party claiming guest right within their halls…though not, she hoped, impossible. Mulling over his words again, Daenerys came to leaps and bounds in the story that felt too wide to cross. “You say he betrayed Ned Stark.” The act alone was no great concern to her; despite how many times men insisted upon Ned Stark’s honor, it never stopped him from crossing his rightful King. “What, then, is Lord Baelish doing with his daughter…?’
a shrug , and accompanying nods in agreement . the debt will not be forgiven , no , but he is certain his sister has driven far worse . war is never cheap , her majesty already knows this , but if they act on what will cost the least to westeros , they may as well simply stay here and do nothing at all . he has some plans for when the time calls for it , but there are larger issues to concern the queen with for now . that poignant question regarding their new guests for one thing .
❛ to be entirely honest i do not know . lord baelish held a great affinity for catelyn stark . one which , by what she told me , went unreciprocated , and i do feel inclined to believe her word given our short amount of time together . i would not exactly peg baelish as the sort to take one of her children under his wing for the pure charity of it however . to be honest i’m not certain littlefinger knows the definition of the word . . . ❜
tyrion’s fingers tap against the side of his cup , mulling over the possibilities himself . to his great irritation he truly does not know enough about littlefinger to say anything for certain , but there are patterns that can be surmised for any man from the capital , and especially given his nature .
❛ the most obvious answer that comes to mind is power . sansa stark is one of the few living heirs of winterfell . if littlefinger has managed to secure himself a position to manipulate her possibly even marry her himself after placing her back in the north , it would give him a great deal of options for how he might proceed next . far more so should a pact with the dragon queen be negotiated . ❜
his eyes narrow at this , piecing together what he can with what little information he has . sansa is smart . she would not be traveling with the mockingbird if she believed it to be more dangerous than not . whether that is because she has been decisively tucked away into his pocket , or by other means , is something he is quite eager to find out himself .
❛ i did not learn of his involvement in ned stark’s death until my travels with varys , after the death of joffrey . it is very possible that sansa still does not know . surely littlefinger would not confess to it by his own will . ❜
which brings an additional concern to the front of his mind , and tyrion sighs realizing what this actually means for the stark-girl .
❛ if it is acceptable to you , your grace , i should like to inform sansa of this myself . i feel i owe it to her , given that i am , depressingly , the closest to family she has here . ❜
