Chapter 38: Juvenile Delinquents
'The Coin Crisis is touted by some scholars of the era as the greatest threat to the realm in its entire existence. That is, of course, factually wrong. Not even if you counted the Succession as part of the Coin Crisis - which would be like counting the keep as part of the drawbridge - would it be true; the Dance of Dragons is but one period that easily eclipses this crisis. In addition to that, the common view of the Coin Crisis misses several crucial factors. Of course, Lord Baelish's embezzlement was of such a scale, it affected the economy of the realm. However, the money he embezzled wasn't, at least for the most part, hidden away in some cave or smuggled to Essos, as some myths that today still see people risk their lives diving into submerged caves in the Fingers searching for Littelfinger's Lost Loot claim. No, the vast majority of the money was invested in the realm itself, turning a profit for Lord Baelish, and, therefore, the realm's economy still benefited from the money - more, some accounts claim, than if it had been left in the treasury, though this remains speculation. So, while the Court was suddenly missing a lot of its treasure, the economy of the realm could absorb higher taxes to recover the missing gold without too much upheaval as a side effect.
Nevertheless, the Coin Crisis had a lasting impact on the Seven Kingdoms in that the scandal's infamy was responsible for the fast adoption of double-entry bookkeeping across all of the Seven Kingdoms', a practice that cut down on such embezzlement and formed the base for later financial reforms that allowed the Seven Kingdoms to achieve its current dominance over Essos.'
A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
It was far too dark in these tunnels. The lanterns they had didn't do much - they just allowed them to see enough to avoid walking into walls or stumbling. But the light didn't reach far - Bryant couldn't even spot the stairs behind them. All he could see were the walls to his sides and a few yards of some rough stone floor ahead and behind him. "Really, we're useless here. We can't see shit," he complained.
"We aren't useless," Harden replied. "No one will be able to sneak past us here."
"Because the tunnel is barely wide enough for us two to stand side by side," Bryant told him. He clenched his teeth, thinking about how deep underneath the Red Keep they were. So much stone and rock and dirt above them. So little space around them. No light at all. If their lanterns went out, they would be left in complete darkness. Like buried alive.
Worse, actually - back in Winterfell, he had visited the crypt there once or twice, and this post here was far worse. If anyone got lost here, who would be able to find them? Hell, who would want to search for them in the bowels of the mountain? He couldn't help shuddering. It was far too dark, far too narrow here. The air was stale as well - even with lanterns instead of torches, the air smelled stale and thin. Oh, how he missed the clean air in Winterfell! What a fool he had been to go south with Lord Eddard!
But he had been so keen on seeing the sights of the South, fool as he had been, and now he was stuck guarding a tunnel darker and deeper than a tomb, feeling as if he had been buried alive. And for nothing - who would be as foolish as to try to sneak through those tunnels, now that the Maidens had revealed them? He'd rather stand guard in the middle of Winter on the ramparts at night; at least there, you had the stars looking down on you and fresh air, even if it made your lungs feel as if you were breathing ice. "I hate it here," he muttered.
"At least the stench from the city isn't reaching down here," Harden the fool commented. "Imagine if we smelt as if we were standing guard in a cesspit?" Bryant glared at him, but his fellow guard laughed. "Cheer up, it's only for an hour or so longer until we're relieved! Soon, we'll…"
"Silence!" Bryant cut him off. "I've heard something!"
"What?" Harden did stop talking and seemed to listen. Finally!
But as the silence continued, Bryant didn't hear anything. No scraping sound that might have been a misstep. No hiss that might have been a stifled gasp. Nothing.
"Nothing," Harden said. "And who would come down here, anyway? We'd see the light of their lanterns from afar!"
"Not if they came without light. They could…"
"...sneak up on us? Through pitch black darkness?" Harden laughed again. "That's…" He jerked with a gasp, turning around himself, and Bryant caught a glimpse of something sticking out of his back.
A moment later, he felt a blow to his breast plate and stumbled back as something hit the wall next to him.
Crossbows, he thought. Someone's shooting at us.
He dropped the lantern on the ground as he ducked. Was that another bolt passing over his head?
"My back! Someone stabbed me!" Harden cried out.
Bryant grabbed him. "Move! They'll reload!" They had to get out of the lantern's light!
"AH!"
Bryant started to pull Harden with him. They had to fall back, get out of the light, hide in the…
Something hit the lantern, and he heard the sounds of something breaking.
Then it seemed that the entire tunnel lit up as flames spread from the lantern over the ground.
"Wildfire!" He froze for a moment. They were doomed! They were dead!
Harden was still screaming. "NO!!!!" He pushed away from Bryant and turned, starting to run.
Bryant reached for him, trying to grab his arm, but missed in the flickering light from the burning oil - oil, not wildfire!
And another bolt took Harden in the back. Bryant saw him freeze and fall with a hissing groan.
"Harden!" Damn! He rushed forward, reaching down, grabbing the manŝ arm to pull him up. "Harden! Come on!"
Harden didn't react. Didn't move.
"Harden!" Bryant bent down, letting go of Harden's arm to raise his head to look at him.
Then he saw the blood flowing from the man's mouth.
No! He let him drop again. He had to get away. Alert the other guards - hadn't they heard? Where were they? Harden and he hadn't been alone here!
His leg gave in, and he fell. Then saw the bolt sticking out of his calf. And felt the pain.
Another bolt missed him - he heard the sound of its passing. He had to get out of the light! "Help!" he screamed. "Help!"
With a working leg and two arms, he started to scramble away. He just had to get away before they could reload. Just had to get out of the light. Just…
A figure rushed towards him, through the fire, a blade in hand. Bryant managed to raise his sword - when had he drawn it - and thrust it forward. It wouldn't have hit anyone or anything, but the figure drew back, hissing, and tried to flank him.
Bryant lashed out with the blade again, swinging it in front and to the side of him, forcing the figure to jump back. "HELP!"
Something - a crossbow bolt! - hit the ground next to him, missing his good leg by inches.
"HELP!"
He heard terrible screaming from afar, echoing through the tunnels, and cursed under his breath. There were more such assassins in the tunnels!
The attacker with a blade tried to circle around him again, and Bryant threw his body to the side so he could force the bastard back with another swing. "HELP!" he screamed as he felt his leg tear up more - the bolt had caught on something. "Argh!"
"Help!"
The figure - smaller than a man, he realised - hissed again and darted forward. How had they managed to get past the flames? Bryant wondered, absurdly, as he lashed out to hold the bastard at bay with wild swings.
But the other would be reloading his crossbow, and Bryant was still exposed and in the light - and even if he managed to crawl away with his leg torn and bleeding, the other would get him.
He would die here, he realised. Alone and in the dark, beneath thousands of tons of rock and dirt.
A garbled sob escaped while he clenched his teeth as he lashed out again, fruitlessly. "Die, bastard!" he screamed as the figure jumped back again.
And to the side.
Bryant froze. The crossbowman! He would have reloaded! No!
In the sudden silence, he heard the sound of a bolt being shot. No!
And then something flashed in front of him, he heard a cracking sound, and a bolt clattered against the wall next to him.
And in front of him, her back to him, stood another, taller figure, the blade that had struck the crossbow bolt in mid-flight still stretched out, its sheath held in a guard position.
Even in the dim, flickering light of the oil fire, he recognised her easily.
Lady Blake. The Dark Maiden.
He was saved! He wouldn't die here! The gods had sent help!
His attacker hissed and darted forward, blade raised.
A moment later, the blade flew through the air, and the figure - a boy, Bryant realised, now that he could finally see him clearly - cradled his hand with another hiss. Lady Blake sent him to the ground with a sweep of her foot, then seemed to vanish. One moment she was there, the next she was gone.
Bryant gasped again.
And then she reappeared, carrying another figure with her. The crossbowman. The one who had killed Harden and had almost killed Bryant.
It was another boy, he saw while Lady Blake tied up both before checking Bryant's wounds.
He couldn't help it - he laughed. Even though it hurt.
But he was alive. He was safe. He wouldn't die in this damned tunnel.
He was still chuckling a bit later, when the tunnel lit up from whatever magic the Maidens used, and more people, guards and Maidens, arrived.
He would have to thank the Old Gods at the Godswood here, he felt. If they had a Godswood here - he would have to ask.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"So, either Varys had standing orders for his spy kids to break him out should he get jailed or they decided to do this themselves," Ruby Rose said. "We captured a dozen of them, but they haven't talked." She blinked, then grimaced. "I mean, they haven't told… written anything. They refuse to cooperate." Damn! She was so bad at this! The poor children couldn't talk even if they wanted to because Varys had had their tongues cut out.
"Does it matter?" Lord Stannis asked.
"It does," Weiss spoke up. "If they were merely following orders, that's certainly a show of loyalty, but if they independently decided to risk their lives in an attempt to free him, that would indicate they are significantly more loyal to him and, therefore, it's going to be much harder to break that."
Lord Stannis looked surprised. Was he going to ask about torture again? "And yet, either way, they are loyal to Varys."
"If they were brainwashed into following his orders, it will be much easier to break that programming than if they actually love him," Blake commented with a scowl.
"'Brainwashed'?" Lord Renly cocked his head to the side.
"Taught and trained to become blindly obedient tools," Blake explained.
Ruby nodded.
"In this context, at least," Weiss added.
Ruby rolled her eyes. This wasn't the time to be pedantic. "Anyway, I think we got all the oldest kids." At least, Blake didn't remember anyone currently missing who had been present in the spies' lair when she had observed it.
She frowned again. Sheesh, the eldest of those kids were just a few years younger, tops, than her! She sounded old.
Lord Stannis was still frowning, though. "And you intend to question them about further plots Varys might have been instigating?"
"Yes." Ruby nodded. "They might not know much, but they were not just his spies, but also his couriers. At least, they would know more of his friends or their contacts."
"So, it seems our cells will be quite crowded for a while," Lord Renly said.
"Not for long," Ruby said. Lord Stannis wasn't the only one who looked surprised this time.
"Only until better accommodations for the children are available," Weiss explained before Ruby had to.
"They attempted to free a prisoner!" Lord Stannis snapped.
"They attacked and murdered guardsmen," Lord Eddard added. "My own amongst them."
Ruby grimaced again. "Right. They did that. But they are still children."
"They are guilty." Lord Stannis scowled. "Whether a child or an old man, they committed crimes."
"And their victims deserve justice," Lord Renly added.
But…
"They are children manipulated by a spymaster - slaves he bought, mutilated and then trained to serve him with blind loyalty! Most of them probably never knew anything else!" Blake all but hissed.
"Are you planning to execute them?" Ruby shook her head. They weren't really planning to… The sudden silence answered her question better than any explanation. "What?" she blurted out.
"You want to kill children?" Yang sounded as sick as Ruby felt.
"They will be offered the opportunity to take the Black," Lord Eddard said. After a moment, he added: "Or join the Silent Sisters in case of the girls amongst them."
"You can't! They didn't know any better!" Ruby protested.
"They attacked the Red Keep - they killed guards. Guards posted there on the orders of the Regent." Lord Stannis glared at her. "They most certainly knew what they were doing."
"That's…" Ruby shook her head again.
"I don't think you can expect children raised like they were to question such orders. Would you punish a guard for following the orders of their liege?" Weiss asked. She sounded calm, but she was as mad as the rest of them. Ruby could tell by how her cheeks were twitching a little. They only did that when her partner was really mad. Not 'I accidentally left crumbs in your bed, which I used for a little nap cause it looked more comfy than my own' mad, but really mad.
"Yes." Lord Stannis nodded quickly.
"It depends on the orders, actually," Lord Renly said. "If they were orders a decent person wouldn't give - say, burn down a Sept or rape a woman - then following them would make the guard a criminal."
"Attacking the Red Keep and its guards and attempting to free a traitor leaves no doubt about that," Lord Stannis said.
They were really going to kill kids. Ruby stared at them. Or send them to the wall or the Silent Sister, where Cersei was. That was… "You can't do that!" she repeated herself.
Lord Stannis opened his mouth, but Lord Renly was quicker. "Are you going to fight for them, then, my lady?"
"They aren't of noble blood and do not have the right to demand a trial by combat," Lord Stannis said.
Ruby didn't know how to answer the question. And she couldn't ignore it, either. "You cannot treat children like adults!"
"And there's precedent for that," Weiss came to her help. "Even when families were punished for crimes against the crown, children were often spared."
"If they had done nothing to support the criminals," Lord Stannis objected. "Anyone who raises arms against the lawful king, no matter their age, deserves punishment."
"So you would execute a toddler for trying to kick you to defend their mother?" Blake asked. Her bow was twitching, Ruby could see that - her friend was tense like… like a drawn bowstring.
"Of course not!" Lord Renly said before his brother could - probably - nod. "But we're faced not merely with a bunch of small children, but also almost-grown boys who were able to, and did, murder guards. There's a difference between a toddler's kick or blow and a crossbow bolt between your ribs. Or a burning flask of oil splattered over you."
Ruby winced. Yeah, she wouldn't easily forget that sight. Or the screams. But… "They're still children, though!" she blurted out. "And they were manipulated by Varys." Blake was right, Varys was responsible for this, not the kids he had raised to work for him!
"He was likely the only parental figure they had, even though he was obviously manipulative and exploitative," Weiss said. "Do you expect children to betray their parents' wishes?"
"If their parents are traitors, yes," Lord Stannis said.
"And we must not forget that while they were children, they were raised and trained and worked as spies. They were roaming freely through the city, they were listening to nobles and smallfolk alike, and were privy to Varys's plans," Lord Renly added. "They had ample opportunities to realise that what they were doing was against the law."
"They were working for the realm's Master of Whispers," Blake retorted. "He had the right to use and command spies."
Ruby nodded.
"Even if we accepted that," Lord Eddard finally spoke up, "they tried to free him after he was arrested on my orders - at which point it was obvious that he was no longer acting in the interest of the realm."
"But…" Ruby bit her lower lip. What could she say against that? She wasn't good with words and stuff.
"Or they assumed he was loyal and the victim of an intrigue, wrongly accused by enemies of the realm," Weiss said.
"That doesn't make their actions legal by any means," Lord Stannis said. "They still broke the law - and murdered people - instead of trusting that the truth would be revealed at his lawful trial."
Blake scoffed at the last word, as did Yang. Ruby agreed with them - they knew how much, or how little in this case, you could trust the law here.
The Grand Maester cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should retire for the evening? We have a great number of problems to tackle and tasks to complete. Varys needs to be interrogated, the realm's finances are still in disarray, we just realised that the Master of Whispers, on whose services we relied for making decisions about the realm itself, was a traitor, and it is getting late while tempers are starting to fray. Surely, it would not do harm to revisit this at a later date?"
"I agree," Lord Eddard said. "There is a lot to consider, indeed." He sighed. "I would have never imagined how many problems plague the realm before I arrived here."
Well, that was (at least partially) his own fault, Ruby found. But they were right that discussing this further wouldn't help anyone - everyone was getting more worked up. "Alright," she said. "As long as the children are treated well."
"Well by the standards for children, not by the standards applied to suspected traitors and other criminals," Weiss added.
"Yes." Ruby nodded. Several times. No damp and dark dungeons for children!
"Of course," Lord Renly said with a smile.
Ruby narrowed her eyes at him. He sounded a bit too smooth for her. But he met her eyes without flinching, and telling him they would check would make her seem petty.
Not that they wouldn't check, of course - Blake was probably already mapping out the best path to spy on the whole thing.
But there was no need to tell the men that.
"Good," she said.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"I've heard you've clashed with the small council over the fate of Varys's spies."
Weiss Schnee turned her head to look at Lady Olenna while the woman stepped out of the hallway. She half-expected her to comment jokingly about ambushing her, likely to see how she would react. "Your grandson must care for you a very great deal," she replied. Weiss was certain that the noblewoman didn't rely exclusively on her grandchildren to gather information about the latest developments at Court, but if she thought that Weiss assumed so, it might gain Team RWBY an advantage should the Tyrells ever decide to make a move against Weiss's friends. And, of course, Ser Loras was the most obvious source of information about the small council - everyone could see how close he and Lord Renly were. Especially those not blinded by the local bigotry towards same-sex relationships, such as Weiss and her friends.
"He is a dutiful grandchild. And unlike other boys, and those who think themselves men, he doesn't think a cock grants someone more wisdom than a woman could ever gain, no matter how long she lives."
"A very foolish stance, indeed, but, as I've come to know, not uncommon in Westeros," Weiss said. Should she mention that the Martells and the Starks did not seem to share that view? It might prick the woman's pride… No. It was better to avoid giving even a minor offence without cause. Weiss generally didn't like to be underestimated, her views dismissed on account of her age, but as a representative of what was undoubtedly the greatest military power on the continent right now, it was more advantageous to be thought naive instead.
"Unlike your homeland." Lady Olenna nodded. Currying favour? Or merely making an obvious observation?
It didn't matter right now. Weiss nodded again as she started walking, a little more slowly than before, to allow the older woman to match her pace. Not as slowly as Lady Olenna liked to walk, though - she didn't fool Weiss with the frailty she affected. "A result of one's attitude and talent, not one's sex, defining one's potential, both on and away from the battlefield," Weiss said.
"Indeed. And yet, despite such a difference, it seems that even in your world, women are still more soft-hearted than men - or so I was told." Lady Olenna chuckled. "By a man, of course."
"You are, of course, referring to our stance against treating children as adults," Weiss said. Of course, some people, Lord Renly in this case, as Lady Olenna seemed to imply, and likely Ser Loras as well, based on Weiss's experience with the knights native to this country, would blame their gender for that.
"Yes." Lady Olenna sighed. "Although it isn't your heart that's ruling your actions in this matter, is it? It's how you were brought up."
"Yes." The old woman was as perceptive as always. Likely more than she let on, Weiss reminded herself. "We do not believe in punishing children as if they were adults."
"A kind-hearted view. A little naive, though."
"In this matter, I do not mind being seen as naive," Weiss replied.
Lady Olenna smiled again. "In other areas, though, you'd mind? I see you have the kind of pride fit for someone raised with the sword in hand."
Weiss shrugged. "That depends on the circumstances. I mind it when such an attitude will cause trouble for my friends and others."
"And what when your attitude is the reason for causing such troubles?"
"You think treating children as they should be treated is a mistake?" Was that a threat?
"Oh, no!" The old woman smiled, showing a hint of teeth. "I merely disagree with your view about how children should be treated."
"Would you see manipulated children executed?" Weiss asked, narrowing her eyes.
Lady Olenna made a point of shrugging. "I've seen it happen too often already - as I grow older, it becomes harder to see the line between a child and a man grown. They all look so young and naive to me. So easily manipulated. Of course, some of them spend great efforts to appear so even well into their own old age."
Weiss snorted. "Age does not necessarily bring wisdom." She flashed a toothy smile of her own.
Lady Olenna cackled. "Those who consider themselves wise are often fools. And yet… have you considered what precedent your stance will set?"
"By not murdering children for the deeds of their elders?"
"How do you think people inclined to break the law will react if they learn that children will be exempt from punishment?"
"By considering that using children in such a manner will be punished more harshly?" Weiss shot back.
"What could be harsher than death or the Wall, now that you've banned torture?" Lady Olenna asked.
"If the threat of death or exile will not frighten someone off committing crimes, then the threat of torture won't do it either," Weiss retorted. "They would have committed the same crimes anyway."
"Some, yes. But those who would have shied away from risking their younger siblings or children for their crimes won't have any reason any more to continue that stance. And some might consider that children are less likely to betray you than men grown - at least amongst those already inclined to break the law." Lady Olenna chuckled again. "And they tend to work for less pay as well."
Weiss glared at the woman. "Do you claim that people like Varys would shy away from using children for their crimes if we let Varys's spies be executed?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Things might be different in your world. But there is one thing I am certain of: That in this world, children will be encouraged to commit crimes if they think they will not suffer any punishment. And that their victims, if they expect the same, will take it upon themselves to mete out such punishment." The old woman nodded,
"That's not a reason to execute them!" Weiss managed to say before the woman took her leave.
Weiss ground her teeth. Lady Olenna might not have gotten the last word, but Weiss still felt as if she had. Her last argument had been very weak as far as rebuttals went - barely more than a stubborn refusal to yield.
And she didn't like it.
*****
"You look annoyed," Ruby commented when Weiss entered their quarters. "More annoyed than usual when some noble pestered you, I mean," she added before Weiss could claim that she was fine.
Her partner had gotten too perceptive, indeed. Although upon briefly considering the issue, Weiss found she didn't want to keep up her facade anyway. "I had another 'coincidental encounter' with Lady Olenna," she said as she sat down.
"Oh? What did the old bat want this time?" Yang asked. "And what did she say she wanted?" she added with a smirk.
"I can only guess at her true motive. Apart from a few disparaging remarks aimed at the patriarchy here, likely to appeal to the fact that we are women, she primarily talked about the children Varys had mutilated and made a case that not punishing them would provide an incentive for others to follow his example and exploit children for criminal actions as well," Weiss replied.
Blake hissed at the last part. "We can discourage that by punishing Vayrs for his crimes."
Weiss nodded. "I said that as well. But she said children would exploit that themselves if they learn they won't be punished due to their age. And that their victims would take the law into their own hands should they feel that they were being denied justice." She took a deep breath. "I fear her arguments have some merit. While vigilantism can be disincentivised by punishments - though there will always be those who will not let that stop them, either because they do not consider the punishment or because they are unable to suffer the thought that those who hurt them will not pay for it - I don't think we can dismiss the idea that children will act on their own."
"Street kids already break the law every day when they steal food," Blake said with a scowl. "And they are punished if caught."
"Not executed, though," Weiss couldn't help retorting.
"It's not the point, anyway," Blake said, pushing off the wall against which she had been leaning and starting to pace. "Those kids didn't decide to steal to survive; they were bought and mutilated, and then indoctrinated to become spies. That's not the same."
Weiss agreed with that in principle, but… "Varys is responsible for that, no doubt. But as Lord Renly said, shouldn't the older children have learned enough through their work to realise that they were breaking the law? At least when it comes to murder?"
Blake scowled at her for that, as expected. And it was a bit of a cheap shot to remind her friend that she had been indoctrinated as well, by Adam, yet decided to leave the White Fang rather than murder helpless workers. But it was true nevertheless. The kids had committed murder.
"Yeah, that's been bugging me as well," Yang said, and Weiss noted the way Blake looked at her, as if she was betrayed. Yang hadn't missed it either. "Hey - I'm not saying that they should be treated as fully responsible, but… they murdered people for Varys. Burned one of them alive."
Weiss winced at that reminder. As did her friends, including Blake.
"So…" Yang shrugged. "There should be a sort of middle ground between letting every kid go unpunished and executing them. You don't kill kids for stealing cookies, but you don't let them eat the cookies and not suffer any punishment, either."
That was a quite specific example, and Weiss raised her eyebrows at her partner, who blushed in response.
"I was a little girl!"
"You were thirteen."
"You weren't sharing!"
"Because those were a gift for me!"
"We aren't talking about cookie thieves," Weiss reminded them.
"We're talking about children who were the victims of trafficking and abuse of the worst sort, and then indoctrinated to become criminals," Blake said. "They need help, not punishment."
If Team RWBY insisted, the kids would go free - at least officially. Unofficially, the threat of their victims, or the relatives of their victims, taking revenge, was not negligible. And there was another potential problem. "Where can they get help? And how do we protect them against revenge from their victims - or against attempts by various nobles to murder them before they escape and continue their work? Or recruiting attempts?" Weiss asked. "It's quite clear that the nobles don't agree with our views."
Blake scowled again.
Weiss felt for her, but that didn't change the fact that despite their power, they couldn't be everywhere. They could not ignore the wishes of the locals.
"The Faith does, though," Ruby said.
"At least, they will if we ask," Yang added.
That was true as well. "But the court won't. The nobles have been spied on and betrayed, and won't let that go," Weiss said.
"That was Varys," Blake retorted.
"Yes, but the children worked for him," Weiss pointed out. "And if the Faith opposes the Court, the situation could escalate beyond our or anyone's control." All it would take was one bad reaction from either side, and a massacre might take place.
Ruby frowned. "So… we need to find a compromise everyone can live with? With the kids' lives at stake?"
Weiss nodded. She looked at her friends. Ruby was biting her lower lip, visibly ill at ease with that. Blake hadn't stopped scowling, and Yang was grimacing.
But none of them disagreed with her take on the problem.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Peering around a corner in the bowels of the rock beneath the Red Keep, Blake Belladonna had to admit that while Varys, likely because of his delusions about her team's supposed magical power and their origin, had been mostly ineffectual as far as any actions he had taken against them were concerned, he had nevertheless managed to succeed, albeit unntentionally in her estimate, in making life harder for Team RWBY.
The revelation of how Varys's spies had been using the network of secret passages inside the Red Keep to spy on others had resulted in every noble being far more conscious about this kind of threat, which in turn meant that Blake couldn't as easily spy on anyone any more, either.
The fact that Lord Tywin had posted guards in the tunnels beneath the part of the keep where he was staying showed that clearly. Of course, it was also obvious that the red cloaks she could see huddled around the dim lanterns ahead of her were not meant to actually stop an assassin but to raise the alarm should they be attacked. And, Blake was certain, to deter attempts to spy on him unseen - such as she was planning to do. And, annoying despite being expected, given Lord Tywin's known temper and intolerance for incompetence among his underlings, the guards had been posted at all entrances to the tunnels and shafts leading to his quarters. Even Blake wouldn't be able to sneak past them without being detected - not without a lot of luck, at least, and she wouldn't count on being lucky.
And yet, as her chosen spot, from where she could watch the guards while they couldn't spot her in the darkness, demonstrated, since no one here except for her team knew about her nature, they had not taken her Faunus senses into account. She might not be able to sneak past those guards, but she could listen in to conversations from a distance none of them would expect.
Of course, she would still need to sneak closer to Lord Tywin's quarters, and unlike others, the guards he had watching the walls and roofs nearby had never relaxed after that particular habit of hers had become widely known at the trial of Cersei and Ser Jaime, so the most obvious alternate route was blocked as well - not that it would have been suitable to use during the day, anyway.
But there were still alternatives. She would have to climb through a chimney or two, and use passages too narrow for anyone but a child or someone as flexible as herself, but Lord Tywin wasn't beyond her reach yet. However, she would have to adjust her timing, of course.
And she wouldn't be able to spy on him, as she had planned, in hindsight, too optimistically, before the meeting with the small council and Lord Tywin later today.
Which meant she could use it to distract herself from… Not brooding; her sometimes too meddling partner's partner's claims to the contrary, she didn't brood, and certainly not like Jon!
…from growing frustrated about the issue with the children Varys had exploited and abused. To think they should be punished for never having known better! It was not the same as her own situation in the White Fang. She had been able to use her scroll, talk to people - in and outside the White Fang - and she had grown up with a loving family and an education that prized critical thinking. If she had taken so long to realise that what the White Fang was doing was wrong, despite all her advantages, how could she expect a couple of children who had never known anything but what their owner had taught them? Who couldn't even talk with each other, much less people not in Varys's employ?
And now they should pay for what wasn't their fault? She clenched her teeth at the thought as she made her way back to her team's quarters to get ready for the meeting.
*****
"So."
If it hadn't been Lord Eddard, Blake would have expected him to follow with a statement or a question. But the man was both, if not quite laconic, so, at least, fond of using fewer words when those would suffice, and from those present - the small council and Lord Tywin, whose presence was owed to both his relation to Prince Tommen and his financial stake in the kingdom - he knew Team RWBY the longest and arguably the best. Including how their leader acted.
"Well…" Ruby bit her lower lip as she took a deep breath before blurting out: "We need to decide what to do with the captured children - those mutilated by Varys and exploited as spies!"
"You mean you will decide," Blake heard Lord Renly mutter under his breath - too softly for anyone else to overhear.
"The law is clear about this," Lord Stannis grumbled.
"The law has a lot of leeway," Weiss corrected him at once. "There are a lot of factors to consider that influence how to handle this. I think the similarities between the situation in which the children find themselves and the one a lord would be in if their liege calls on them to fight a rival, even if that means breaking the King's peace in the process, should be considered."
"Those who break the King's peace are usually sent to the wall," Lord Renly said.
"Really? Even the low-ranking nobles?" Weiss tilted her head to the side. "As I was told when I asked about such cases, it's usually the leaders that get punished in such a manner, or more harshly, and those beneath them were usually let off."
"That depends on their involvement," Lord Eddard said.
"And we're talking about smallfolk children, not nobles sworn to their liege," Lord Renly added, sounding slightly annoyed.
"The principle remains the same. While we concede that those children who assaulted the Keep and killed guards should not get off without punishment…" Weiss glanced at Blake as she spoke, and Blake pressed her lips together. She didn't agree with that. "...sending children to the wall, especially children who were mutilated, seems excessive."
"They burned a guard to death and murdered more!" Lord Stannis snapped.
"They attacked the Court! They were planning to set fire to the Keep to free the traitor - endangering everyone here!" Lord Tywin snapped. "We need to make an example out of them so no one else will dare to even think of doing the same!"
"They're children!" Ruby snapped back, and Blake bit her lower lip so she wouldn't add a few choice insults aimed at Lord Tywin.
"Age aside, I think letting murderers escape justice will set an example for others that we would rather also avoid," Lord Renly said. "Surely we can find a solution that doesn't, ah, set the wrong example in either direction?"
He would have spoken with Lady Olenna. Probably at length, Blake knew. Just as she knew where this was headed. A foul compromise that left no one satisfied. Of course, as her father had once commented, no compromise left anyone completely satisfied; if one did, it was no compromise but the result of one side winning the negotiations.
But this wasn't about trade rights, zoning laws or fishing limits. This was about the lives of mutilated and abused children who had never known freedom. And knowing that the oldest would be sent to the wall just so the court would accept sending the rest to the Faith so they could be raised properly galled. Once they found the rest, of course - many of the kids were still missing; only the youngest and the oldest, those too young to get away in time, and those old enough to assault the Red Keep, had been captured so far.
And that Lord Tywin was apparently feeling even worse while the negotiations continued was not much of a consolation. She still felt as if she were betraying those children. If her team really wanted, they could force the issue… But Blake knew as well as Weiss that such an act would have even worse consequences than this, for everyone, including her team and likely the children in question. If the law - or what passed for it in this world - was revealed to be a facade without any power to restrain the powerful, naked force would decide every conflict.
And not even her team could afford that. Not with so many lives hanging in the balance. And, of course, Team RWBY still needed help from the people here to find a way home. Help that would likely vanish, or become attached to demands they didn't want to or couldn't afford to meet, if everything broke down.
She knew all that and still hissed under her breath as things started to settle. Not even Yang patting her thigh under the table in silent but welcome support helped much.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Blake heard Bran and his beast's footsteps before he turned around the corner in the yard, and she briefly thought about quickly leaving her spot. She wasn't in the mood to talk much, not after abandoning the children Varys had exploited to the tender mercies of the local justice. But she reconsidered. Bran had nothing to do with that, and it would be wrong to blame him for it. And it would be immature as well.
"Lady Blake?"
"Lord Bran." She nodded at him with a smile, then narrowed her eyes at the beast walking at his side. Hunter met her eyes, its large tongue hanging out of its mouth, teeth gleaming in a veiled threat, and barked once.
She didn't jerk and kept staring until Hunter finally looked away and started sniffing the ground.
"So… I've heard you were unhappy about the small council," Bran, ignoring his beast's antics as usual, said.
She didn't ask where he had heard it. Likely Lord Eddard making an idle comment in his son's earshot. Probably without realising it. "Yes." She nodded.
"Why?"
She suppressed a sigh. Hunter barking at a large crow eyeing them from the roof of the stable nearby gave her a few more moments to consider her answer. "I don't think children should be held responsible if they are just obeying their parents because they don't know better."
"Ah." He frowned. "But those children were obeying Varys, not their parents."
"For all that matters, he was their parent. He raised them into who they are now," she explained.
He frowned, apparently thinking about that. "Wouldn't that make Father Theon's father?"
"In some manner, yes," she replied with a nod. The comparison was quite apt, actually.
"I'm not sure Mother would like that," Bran said.
Once more, she reminded herself that Bran might be a small boy, but he was quite smart. Sometimes, at least. She shrugged. "I don't think Theon would like it, either." Nobles here were very proud of their lineage, after all. And Theon was the heir to the Iron Isles. She didn't think he would want to abandon that for being Lord Eddard's fourth or fifth son, depending on how you counted Jon. He certainly didn't show any such humility.
Bran laughed. "No, he wouldn't!" Then he cocked his head to the side, briefly glanced at the beast that was chasing the crow - well, following on the ground while it flew from roof to roof - and asked: "So, how did you manage to find Varys in the secret tunnels? Jory said no one could navigate those mazes without a dozen lanterns."
How to answer that without giving away her Faunus eyesight? "I already knew where he was going," she said. "I just waited until he reached his stash."
"Oh!" He stared at her. "You were already investigating him?"
"We were investigating the children we had seen spying on us," she replied. "It's why we asked the Faith to investigate their origin."
He beamed at her. "Can you show me how you did this? Lady Blake? Like you taught me climbing? I want to be able to hunt like you!"
She blinked. She couldn't show him how to see like a Faunus. And she wasn't a good tracker, at least in the wilderness. But perhaps she could teach him how to investigate people. That would be a useful skill for him - and, she couldn't help thinking, for the realm as well. Someone had to do a better job in the future about uncovering plots and threats.
So she nodded. "I can give it a try."
"Thank you! Lady Blake!" He went to hug her, and she almost jumped when his beast barked again, far too close - how had it gotten so close without her noticing?
*****
Street of Looms, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"...and you will love Mistress Ally's! She's the best tailor in King's Landing. If anyone has the skills to clothe you, Lady Ruby, it's her!" Lady Margaery gushed as they approached the shop in question.
Yang Xiao Long fought the urge to shake her head at the whole display. She still didn't know how Lady Margaery had managed to hear that they were looking for a tailor to get a new outfit for Ruby - or to resize her current one, if the locals could handle that - though she suspected Ruby had been complaining a bit too publicly about her clothes getting too 'tight to fight'. In any case, the noblewoman had approached Ruby earlier today and apparently not only persuaded her to visit this particular tailor but to let her tag along.
Lady Olenna probably was behind that, in Yang's opinion. Or Lady Margaery was trying to mend fences - Blake was still carrying a grudge about the spy compromise.
Of course, Lady Margaery wasn't the only tag-along. Lady Sansa and, to everyone's but Yang's surprise, Lady Arya, had joined them as well, though that was likely just luck on their part.
Yang grinned at the fact that the others didn't know why Arya was tagging along. To her, it was obvious that the little firecracker was hoping she could get an outfit like Ruby's made. A combat outfit.
At least Blake had an excuse for missing that obvious plan. Two excuses, actually. Lady and Nymeria, who shadowed the two girls. Yang's partner was still a bit unnerved by the two furballs, even though they were completely harmless - at least to her. Hell, Zwei was more of a danger, technically, since he had his Aura awakened.
But Ruby and Weiss? Well, Ruby was still being talked at by Lady Margaery and probably couldn't pay attention to anything else, but Weiss really should have seen through Arya's sudden interest in dresses.
"Well, it looks nice," Ruby said when they reached the shop.
"Of course!" Lady Margaery nodded several times.
It looked like every shop in the street to Yang. Maybe a bit spiffier than most - but that was probably just the fresher paint coat.
They entered the shop, leaving the guards who had come with them outside. It did have a few dresses on display - no, Yang corrected herself. Those were working pieces. Of course, in this world, all dresses were tailor-made. They didn't have normed sizes and mass-produced clothes, so there wouldn't be racks of dresses to try. And no chance to tease a little sister by offering dress after dress to try on.
"Mistress Ally!" Lady Margaery called out.
"Lady Margaery! How…" The middle-aged woman stepping into the room from the back gasped as she saw the rest, and Yang flashed a smile at her. "My ladies! The Four Maidens! In my shop!"
It looked like she was about to kneel down, at least Yang had the impression, but Ruby quickly stepped forward, trailing a few petals. "Hello! I need a new combat dress - or my old one altered, whatever works best!"
"And I suggested you, since you're the best tailor in King's Landing, Mistress Ally," Lady Margaery added with a sweet smile.
The woman looked like she was even more overwhelmed now. "Me? Working on Lady Ruby's dress?"
"Yes!" Ruby nodded emphatically. "It has grown a bit tight lately - well, I have grown a bit, so it has become tight. Too tight to fight."
While Ruby turned around in front of the still gaping woman, showing her outfit's 'problem zones', Weiss grumbled something under her breath that had Blake grin, so Yang made a mental note to ask her partner with the best ears in the world later what she had heard.
"And these are Lady Sansa and Lady Arya. Of House Stark." Lady Margaery was perfectly polite, but Yang wondered if mentioning them now, when the tailor was already struggling with keeping her composure, as Weiss would call it, was helping any.
"So… what do you think? Can you, ah, 'loosen' this some?" Ruby asked.
Yang had to bite her lip to keep from making a joke about Ruby loosening up.
"If not," Weiss, smooth as always in such situations, cut in, "a dress in the same style, preferably as durable as you can make it, would be acceptable as well."
"Ah…" Ally nodded several times and finally started calming down as she focused on Ruby's outfit. "Well… maybe if this seam could be moved… but the stitching is so fine! I don't think any mortal could replicate that!"
"Oh, I also need new underwear," Ruby added. "Err, undergarments, you know."
Weiss grumbled something probably amusing again, Yang noted.
Not as amusing as Mistress Ally's reaction (and Lady Magaery and Lady Sansa's reaction) when Ruby showed her what kind of 'undergarments' she wanted. "That's… I don't know, I mean…"
"I want the same!" Arya blurted out.
"Arya! Certainly not! It's…" Lady Sansa trailed off with a gasp.
"If it's good enough for the Four Blessed Maidens, it's good enough for anyone! Surely the Seven wouldn't have you dressed in indecent clothes, right?" Arya beamed at Yang and her friends, and Yang smiled right back, showing her teeth. The girl had guts.
"Err…" Lady Sansa looked at Lady Margaery. Who looked at Mistress Ally. Who was averting her eyes and… was she praying?
Yang narrowed her eyes and stepped a bit closer to Blake. "What's she saying?" she asked in a whisper. If the poor woman was praying, then they had to dial down the antics. And probably send half the group outside before she had a breakdown.
"She's mumbling about cloth and prices," Blake whispered back.
"Ah!" Yang grinned again. That was fine. And, hey, if they managed to get a bra and panties fad going so the girls here didn't have to wear whatever they were currently wearing - at least the noblewomen; Yang didn't know what the smallfolk wore under their dresses - then that was something she could get behind.
"Everyone should be allowed to wear what they want," she said. "Back home, we had to fight a war over that, you know."
"A war, my lady?" Mistress Ally asked, gaping again.
"It wasn't just over clothes. But they were part of the reason, yes," Weiss said.
Lady Sansa looked a bit too surprised for someone who should have remembered that. Lady Margaery as well - she might not have been told that story herself, Yang couldn't recall if it had come up in talks with her, but she surely would have been told by others, right?
Arya, however, had remembered that. At least if you went by the triumphant smile she wore.
*****
Street of Steel, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"Hello!" Yang yelled out as she landed in a crouch on the ground inside Master Mott's yard, close to the smithy's entrance.
"Lady Yang. We have a door." And there was the old smith.
She grinned at him. He might be grumpy, but he certainly didn't kneel to her. "And you have a wall, which I just used."
"Lady Yang!" Gendry appeared next to his master.
"Lady Yang."
Oh? Jon was here as well? "Hi, Gendry. Hi, Jon." She nodded at both. "I thought I'd check up on how things are going with you."
"They're going," Mott grumbled.
"We've been working on the bicycle. Well, a 'redesign', as you called it, my lady," Gendry said.
Right. Because Ruby was a great engineer and weapons designer, but she wasn't that great about designing stuff you could create with the tools here. Yang nodded. "And how is that going?"
Gendry grimaced. "Well…"
"The chain isn't working," Jon said.
Gendry frowned at him. "It's almost working."
"It ripped up my boots when I tested it." Jon frowned right back.
"The scratch in the leather is barely visible!" Gendry protested.
"If I hadn't been wearing my riding boots, my skin would have been ripped off, my lady," Jon said, turning to her.
So, Jon was helping Gendry? Yang hadn't known that. Then again, with the whole mess with Littlefinger and Varys, she hadn't been able to check with everyone. Some days, she had barely managed to get enough training time to stay sharp.
"I just need to make the chain links more precise and match the sprockets better," Gendry said.
"And stop wasting so much steel on this toy!" Mott added.
"It's not a toy - it's a tool that could alter the world," Gendry protested. "The Septon said so as well - called it a blessing from the Smith."
Mott grumbled something Yang didn't quite catch.
Gendry, though, frowned. "My work is honouring the Smith. I will finish this!" He turned to smile at Yang. "Although it would be a great help if you could give me a few more pointers, my lady. You're the only one who has seen such a bicycle before, after all."
Yang and her friends, actually, which Gendry knew. But he also had learned to put on a bit of flattery, she supposed. Not that that was a bad thing. Jon could do with some of that; he was, like his uncle, far too often far too honest. And moody. Like now - he was frowning again at Gendry.
Well, she had come to check up on things, and she could help. "Well… have you thought about building a bike without a chain, first?"
Gendry blinked. "What do you mean, my lady?"
"The earliest bikes didn't have chains - they had the pedals fixed straight to the wheels," she explained. Well, the bikes for toddlers did. Although, speaking of toddlers... "And the very first versions didn't have pedals at all - you used your feet on the ground to push." Ruby's first tricycle had been like that. Best not to mention that she was talking about children's bikes, though - Mott was already calling the bike a toy, and she didn't think either Gendry nor Jon's pride would take that well. "Let me show you what I mean," she said as she entered the smithy proper.
A bit of tinkering would do her good as well. She could worry about Varys, and how her partner was taking the whole mess, later.