Chapter 25: Chapter 22
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***
Damian Blackheart.
In the spacious office where the first persons of state (that is, not the king, but his "ministers") usually sat, there was only me and Ned Stark, who was sitting at a desk reading something intensely.
When he raised his grey eyes at me, I realised that he was, to put it mildly, fed up with everything in King's Landing, and I think he's already regretting that he even came here.
It seems to me that if it wasn't for Jon Arryn's mysterious death, Robert Baratheon wouldn't have been able to get him in here at all, not even on pain of death. Ned Stark, though, is not a coward at all; he doesn't fear death as such, but he doesn't seek it either.
Even in canon he was broken actually because of his stupid daughter Sansa Stark. The juvenile red-haired fool who was born into Catelyn's insane mother henchwoman, confused all the cards for her father at the last moment. Stark's loyal men could have saved Ned Stark's daughters, but the queen, thanks to one fool, sent her men to the Tower of the Hand very successfully and in time, and as a result, Arya was on the run, Ned Stark was executed, and she was a dog on a leash....
But I digress.
- Lord Hand. - I saluted him. - The Captain of your Guard tells me that you wanted to see me on some very important business.
His eyes focused on me, and he leaned in.
- That is so, Lord Blackheart. - He nodded. - I have summoned you to give you an important assignment. In my opinion, you are the perfect person for it.
- I will be glad to serve the Seven Kingdoms. - I answered him courteously.
- That is excellent. A few hours ago, I learnt from Lord Varys at a meeting of the Small Council that in the Riverlands Ser Amory Lorch had broken every possible vow of a knight, as well as a number of laws of the Seven Kingdoms. Moreover, he has spit on the King's Peace, most likely at the behest of his suzerain Tywin Lannister. It's not yet known for certain. But it's a fact. In any case, we must stop the bloodshed that threatens to escalate into a real war between the Riverlands and the Westlands. Your task will be to capture the false knight Amory Lorch, or if you fail to capture him alive, to execute him for the edification of the others, and using the right that I grant you, as executor of the King's will, you may enlist other lords to assist you if necessary. I have already written a message to my brother-in-law, he will help you in any way he can should it be necessary.
It seems a war has broken out in the Riverlands, how interesting. It seems I now have the opportunity to have some fun and profit at the expense of other less aware and informed people.
- The task is clear to me. - I nodded.
- Will you do it? Even though you might incur the wrath of Her Grace? - For a moment I felt the same storm that I'd felt when I'd met Cersei.
- I swore an oath to King Robert. I serve him, not the Queen. And if it's in our king's best interests, then I will do it. I can do it!
- I don't doubt your word. I just wanted to make sure His Majesty was right about you. How many men do you have here?
- Seven dozen that are fit for marching.
- Then I think Lord Berrick Dondarrion's men and some of the knights and lords of the King's Lands will be of use to you. Lord Berrick learnt of this from me a little before you today and was eager to punish the apostate. But as far as I know he has fewer men than you, and you have plenty of experience in punitive campaigns and have shown yourself a skilful commander, so I think you and Lord Berrick will work well together.
- I'm sure you will, too. - I smiled, recalling the canon events of the punitive expedition against the living Mountain, not Lorch. And how that case ended up with poor Dondarrion. - I'll send word to my men in Sorrowful to send a couple of hundred north, just in case, and I'll send word to my father as well, so I'll have plenty of men, don't worry.
Stark was about to say something, but suddenly the Small Council chamber was pierced by a very loud shout from our king.
- Those Targaryen bastards must die!!!
He stormed straight into the chamber, followed by Lord Varys, Petyr Baelish, Ser Baristan, and finally Grand Maester Pycelle.
They were seated next to the King and Ned Stark, while I stood, as I had until then, in front of the King's Hand and kept a low profile. Given Robert's furious state of mind, no one cares about me now and I can listen to what they have to say. Though you can tell from the first sentence that it's about Dany and Drogo's wedding.
- What happened your majesty? - Stark frowned and wondered at the same time.
He also seemed to have forgotten about me at this suddenness.
- That Targaryen wench now bears a child by that unwashed barbarian Khal Drogo. A child! Now she'll bear him a child every year, to infringe on the Seven Kingdoms in the future! She must be killed and her brother as well!
- What? Robert, Stark dropped the formalities and switched to "you". She's an innocent child. She's innocent and her baby hasn't even been born yet! You would kill Aerys' daughter and grandson just for being related to them?
- Have you forgotten what those damned Targaryens did? Have you forgotten Lyanna's death? And your father, your brother and many of our friends and acquaintances? I will not rest until I have destroyed every last one of them! Lord Varys, do your little birds have access to both Targaryens?
- They will, if need be. - Nodded the Spider courteously.
- Assassins? - Ned Stark muttered angrily, and rose from his seat. - The Robert Baratheon I knew would never have feared the shadow of an infant. He would not have soiled his hands with his blood. You will not hold power in the Seven Kingdoms with this death, and there will be no peace and quiet.
- Peace and quiet? - Robert snorted. - You think honour and compassion alone hold the Seven Kingdoms together, Ned? It is fear that holds them together! Fear is how the ruler runs this fucking country.
- I will not get my hands dirty with the blood of a child Robert. Call off the assassins, give up this venture.
- Your Grace, Baristan Selmy has intervened. - Perhaps you should cool down and think things through? Killing innocent children, even Targaryen children, will reflect badly on your reputation.
- R-r-r-r-r! - The direwolves seem to have a rival in the form of Robert, who was angry at everyone and everything. - My orders are clear! Ned, I want them dead! I do! It's out of the question.
He's like a child, "I want" and that's it. Poor Jon Arryn, he must've been a real pain in the arse.
- No! Stark took off the brooch and the pendant of the Hand and threw them on the table. - If you want to do something like that, do it without me. I have not yet lost the honour to kill innocent children. - and walked away from the table.
- Well, get out! I want you out of King's Landing by morning, or I'll have your head on a spike for treason. Get out of here! - With those words, Stark left the room.
Robert sat back down and sighed heavily, and with him the others present.
At some point Robert did notice me, and the others also turned their eyes to me. They had all noticed me when they came in, but they didn't pay much attention to me. They had a different idea.
- Blackheart? What are you doing here?
I pretended to be a jackass and smiled at him:
- My Lord Hand... or rather former Hand Eddard Stark gave me a task, but now I don't know what to do about it?
- What did he want?
- That I go to punish the false knight Amory Lorch for breaking the King's Peace, some of the knight's laws and statutes, and his men.
- Then go, it's a necessary thing to do. - Robert nodded.
- But my authority was given to me by my Hand Eddard Stark, and now he is no longer my Hand, and in fact I have no right to a punitive mission.
- I'll give you the decree and the authority. Pycelle!
- Y-yes, Your Grace! - the Grand Maester has risen to his feet. - I'll make the arrangements now.
- Don't worry, Blackheart. You'll have a piece of paper to prove your authority. You may go.
- Yes, my king. - I bowed and was about to leave, but the king stopped me.
- No, wait!
I looked at him questioningly, and he looked at his hand in concentration before turning his attention to me.
- Do you think I've lost my honour?
- I don't think I have the right to even think about it. - I answered evasively. - Besides, I'm only your standard bearer, not a member of the Small Council.
- I'm ordering you! I order you to think now and tell me the truth, did I lose my honour today or not?
I paused for ten or fifteen seconds, and only then replied with imitation courtesy.
- Not until they send the assassins to Princess Daenerys Targaryen, not yet. But when they take her head off her shoulders or kill an innocent child, your name will be known as Robert the Child Killer.
- So I'm just supposed to sit on my hands until a Dothraki horde led by those bastards lands in the Seven Kingdoms?
- Who's going to lead them here, and under what pretext? - I asked him, putting him in the right frame of mind.
- Khal Drogo, of course, and the banner will be Viserys Targaryen, backed by loyalists!
- Then the main problem is two men, though even one man is Viserys, not a girl who will join Drogo's family and her children will be raised as Dothraki? So if you execute Viserys officially as a "rebel" who gathers banners against you, you don't gain notoriety, and you lose the problem.
Is it just me, or are Varys and Baelish smiling slightly?
- Hmm. Execute only Viserys? - He asked incredulously.
- Yes. Because if I understand Dothraki tradition and law correctly, with Viserys dead, Khal Drogo will have no reason at all to travel across the Narrow Sea to this place. They don't like travelling beyond the Free Cities as it is, and "salt water" is something out of the realm of fairy tales and fear for them.
- So how do I "execute" the bastard officially?
- It's up to you, my case is small. - I shrugged my shoulders. - But if you're interested in my opinion, three or four Kingsguard with a strong detachment of your warriors can get to Targaryen and execute him.
- Why the White Cloaks? - Littlefinger asked with a smirk.
- They are the King's most loyal and trusted men, and they must lead the soldiers into battle and bring justice in such a case. - I grinned in surprise at his words.
- Hm. You have a brain, Ser Damian Blackheart. - Robert smiled and leaned back in his chair.
- 'I'm just thinking rationally.
- Go Blackheart. Prepare your trek to the Riverlands. And we have much to discuss...
And that was the end of that story for the day.
I was incredibly happy to have the chance to be so fortunate as to receive an assignment from Stark and advise on a favourable outcome with Viserys. It would have been nice to get Dany killed, too. But I was lost in speculation about the dragons. In canon they were revived by her, but I have one legitimate Targaryen at my side, so in theory, if I can give him an egg and do something with magic, and my kin are skilled at it, as I understand it, then there's a chance of awakening at least one dragon! But it's not a sure thing. So I decided not to rush things so quickly and give the girl a chance to awaken three eggs from sleep, and then I can kill her, if Spider does not prevent me, to take the three little dragons and present them to John.
But the main achievement, I think, lies in the fact that if Robert goes along with what I say, he will send men to execute Viserys. And given the unsavoury nature of the Mad King's son and his unruly nature, the Spider might as well frame the boy to save his other figure in this Game. Which means Robert will calm down, Viserys will die, Dany will retreat from big politics for the time being, and I will get the opportunity to ask for the hand of Arianna Martell, who will actually lose her secret fiancé, after getting even richer and a bit more famous. And Doran, in turn, will have no choice but to give his daughter the opportunity to finally choose a groom of her own free will, rather than mock her with offers from old men.
My mood has lifted even more. It was a good day, after all.
When I left the Small Council, John and Rex were waiting for me.
- What's the matter? - Rex asked dryly, though he sounded genuinely interested.
- I'll tell you in my room. I'll give you an important assignment in the capital before I leave.
- Are we going somewhere? - John asked.
- Yes, to fight a little. - But not all of us are going, but we'll talk about that later.
When I got to my room, I gathered my officers and explained to them what had happened and where we were going. Nymeria and Obara cheered up when I told them who we were going to punish. So when I ordered them to decide among themselves who would go with one ship to the Sorrowful, to gather their men to help me in the Riverlands, they were on the fence about going with me to get Amory Lorch's head.
But when I threatened to break their contracts with them, they tempered their ardour, and applying the principle of competition, Nymeria was the winner and the snake who would go with me. Obara pouted, but obeyed. I also informed her that she should gather my men in Sorrowful, led by Sigurd Frostbite. He'll lead a couple of hundred foot soldiers. And a hundred or two Myrian crossbowmen in the Riverlands.
When we were alone with Rex, I told him about the possible variations that would happen in the near future. And what we could get out of it. So he's officially staying at the brothel in Katai, covering up the secret goals I've set for him by wanting to have fun and lure more craftsmen to Mourning Town.
I hope it works...
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