Chương 7: Chapter 7

So far, it appeared as though he had managed to do so. Pycelle's death had already been written off as an accident.

Even at the beginning of Robert's reign, he was old and feeble. In addition to that, his lengthy maester's chain would not have been difficult to trip over.

Gregor noted that nobody seemed particularly distraught by the Grand Maester's sudden demise.

Not even Tywin Lannister was moved by the loss of his spy. That gave Gregor some relief; it implied that no one would bother with an investigation.

Pycelle was far from the most despicable character in the franchise, but Gregor had disliked him ever since the first book.

He had known the truth of the parentage of Cersei Lannister's children, yet he had looked the other way when Eddard Stark had confronted Cersei.

Worse yet, he had the gall to call Lord Eddard a traitor.

Gregor would lose no sleep over what he had done to Pycelle. The entire realm would be better off without him.

His only problem was that he had no way of knowing whom the next Grand Maester would be or where his loyalties would lie.

In any case, he would have been content so long as the Conclave picked someone less cowardly, dishonorable, and lecherous than Pycelle.

At any rate, Robert spent a minute reflecting on everything he had heard. Then he let out a sigh and bluntly proclaimed "Rhaegar's heirs are dead. His wife has no claim to the throne, so I suppose there is no need for her to share their fate. Very well. I will allow Elia Martell to return to Dorne."

Eddard Stark, Gregor Clegane, Varys, Jaime Lannister, Jon Arryn, and nearly everyone else in that room were pleased with that decree.

Tywin Lannister was the only one who was somewhat opposed to it, but he held his tongue.

"Where might we find the princess, Ser Gregor?" Varys inquired, "I only ask out of concern for her well-being."

Gregor gave a nod and announced "After my men-at-arms took her out of the city, they brought her to House Clegane's camp.

She is still there, and she's currently under my protection. My men have standing orders to cut down anyone who tries to harm her."

"That won't be necessary for much longer, Ser Gregor," Robert Baratheon declared, "I will commission a ship to transport her to Dorne tomorrow. Since you seem to be so invested in her welfare, I am charging you with bringing her home."

"As you command, Your Grace," Gregor conceded, taking a bow. And thanks for making it a command. You saved me the trouble of asking.

Lord Tywin then looked to Gregor and stated "As 'content' as Princess Elia must be in your camp, she may be more comfortable back here in King's Landing."

"Lord Tywin makes a good point," Jon Arryn agreed, "Perhaps you should send a raven or a rider to invite her back in, Ser Gregor."

"There's no need for either, my lord," Gregor claimed, "When I saw her last, the princess mentioned that she has no desire to set foot in this city ever again. After what happened to her children, I cannot blame her."

"None of us can," Eddard commented.

Robert leaned back in the Iron Throne and muttered "In any case, tell her she's going home. And to show her I mean well, I'll send her a wee peace offering."

I'm not even going to ask what.

Gregor gave a nod of acknowledgement and requested "Have I your leave to depart, Your Grace?"

"Yes, yes, you do," King Robert responded, rather disinterestedly.

The massive knight bowed his head and left the throne room. He waited until he was all the way through the threshold to smile.

His ploy had worked beautifully.

Despite the stern orders he had given to attack no unarmed persons, the Sack of King's Landing still had not been without some innocent bloodshed.

In all fairness, Gregor had been expecting that. As far as he knew, no city had ever been seized by force without incurring at least a few civilian casualties.

That was how it had been both in reality and in fantasy since the days of Troy.

While Gregor was disappointed and upset by this needless loss of life, the victims managed to serve some useful purpose. Albeit a posthumous purpose.

After King's Landing fell, Gregor had all the casualties gathered in one large pile near the Red Keep. There were a few infants and toddlers amongst the casualties.

Gregor had searched through the pile until he found a male babe and a female toddler.

They did not look very much like Aegon and Rhaenys, but only those who had seen the prince and the princess up close could tell the differences.

Still, Gregor had to make a few… alterations.

He was not proud of what he did next. First he took his dagger and stabbed the toddler girl's body over and over until it was a mess of red.

Then he took the babe and dashed his head against a wall until the skull and brains were visible.

The bodies were still warm enough that the blood was fresh. So only a maester would be able to tell that the wounds had been inflicted after death.

Desecrating the dead made Gregor feel nauseous at first.

Then he reminded himself that he was doing it to ensure that two children who still were living would continue to live.

That made the process a little easier to stomach. Only a little though.

Unbeknownst to almost everyone in King's Landing, Elia Martell was not the only guest in Gregor Clegane's camp. Rhaenys and Aegon were there with their mother, as well.

Luckily, Gregor had succeeded in faking their deaths.

He knew Tywin would have killed them to eliminate future contenders for the throne, and for personal reasons, Robert was determined to wipe out the entire Targaryen line.

Gregor had appeased and fooled both of them with a mummer's farce.

--------------

The Diligence was a magnificent vessel. It was originally from the Stormlands, specifically House Estermont of Greenstone.

It was made of ironwood and cedar, and it had three decks. It was relatively small, as it was not meant to accommodate more than fifty individuals.

In spite of its size, it was swift and lithe when at sea.

For his most recent assignment, Gregor had requested the quickest ship that was currently docked in King's Landing.

King Robert had granted his request. He had assumed that Ser Gregor only wished to return Princess Elia to Dorne as quickly as possible.

While that was true, the Mountain had another reason for wanting the fastest ship available.

Princess Elia Martell and her children were not the only people whose deaths he could prevent.

He had a window of opportunity to save a number of knights, noblemen, and a noble lady in Dorne. But he had to move with haste; otherwise he would miss this window.

The previous night, Gregor had sent word to his men that they were leaving the Crownlands.

He informed them that they would be sailing for Sunspear in the early morning. As such, they had to be ready to travel at first light.

Sure enough, at daybreak, the Diligence sailed out of Blackwater Bay. After exiting the harbor through the east, it headed due south.

Gregor was the only Westerlander onboard; every member of the crew was of the Stormlands. All the same, he had command of the vessel for the duration of this voyage.

Gregor had notified the crew that they would be making only one stop until they reached Dorne. The purpose of that stop would be for them to pick up their passengers.

House Clegane's camp was located on the shoreline southeast of King's Landing.

The servants and most of the soldiers would be staying there until Gregor returned.

However, Elia, her children, and Gregor's men-at-arms would all be brought aboard.

Gregor had the crew to go below deck when Elia and the others came on-board. That way, none of them would see Princess Rhaenys or Prince Aegon.

He also had the crew cleared out of the corridors in the lower decks so that Elia and her children could be moved to their quarters.

For lodgings, the three of them were give a private cabin; the crew had strict orders not to disturb Elia under any circumstances.

Two of Elia's ladies-in-waiting had been in King's Landing when it fell.

Gregor had opted to bring both of them aboard, as both of them were Dornish, and their first loyalty was to the princess.

They were two of only three people who were permitted to enter Elia's cabin.

Gregor was the third.

Despite his enormous stature and his intimidating stride, Gregor Clegane did not frighten Elia Martell.

That was not solely because he had saved her and her children from a terrible fate. Even though her opinion of the Westerlords was not especially high due to recent events, he was kind, patient, and sympathetic.

He was able to convince her that at least some of the westermen had honor.

Their only unpleasant encounter occurred when Gregor presented her with Robert's 'peace offering.'

Before Gregor left the city, the stag king had given him a locked chest; Gregor was given the key, but he had instructions not to open the chest until he gave it to Elia.