There was a time when I genuinely thought Lady Catelyn had something wrong with her.
Now, I know the truth.
It's not only her.
…What's up with Stark women and kidnapping Lannisters? First it was Lady Stark with Tyrion, and now it was Sansa with Myrcella and Tommen.
"Sansa…" I tried, I really did.
Prison breaking one incredibly important hostage was one thing. Kidnapping royal children straight out of the Red Keep was another.
"Jon…" my sister said with all the calm and authority she could fake.
I looked into the scared eyes of a little blond girl and the tears pooling on her brother's eyes…
"It's the right thing to do," Sansa said. This time firm.
She was right, of course.
If these two stayed here, they would end up rotting their lives away in a gilded cage or dying for the crime of being born in the wrong family. It was unjust. It was wrong.
But sometimes right or wrong shouldn't be part of the decision making.
I spared a look at my companions. They knew we would be running away with my sister in tow, adding two more children to that plan would endanger us all.
Perwyn looked as if made of stone. Dacey had a conflicted look on her.
"You really like to disappoint me, my gloomy friend." And there was Oberyn. "I thought we were going to fight half a castle to rescue a princess, only to find that same princess escaping. And not only that, but the princess has valuable hostages of her own." He let out a dramatic sigh. "I guess we have no option other than escort them to the Stark camp."
"Myrcella is not—"
I put my arm on Sansa's shoulder to stop her.
In classic Oberyn fashion, he said something totally unpredictable, but I knew the prince, even his biggest boasts had a grain of truth in them.
"Oberyn, you have a way out?" Perwyn asked before I could.
"Aye, no one will stop us from leaving. Royal children or not," Oberyn said.
"How—"
"Jon," Sansa interrupted me. "There's something else. We can't leave through Aegon's Hill. Lannister men are guarding it from Lord Stannis' ships."
I knew that, of course. My little helpers found multiple campfires all across the hill. The issue was, how did Sansa knew that?
"Lord Varys told me," she said. "Which reminds me… here—" she gave me a piece of paper "—he gave me that right when I entered the tunnels. He said I could save one more friend if I was quick."
I unfolded the paper and—
"Wait, Varys knows you escaped?" The words escaped me.
"Yes, he… helped… I think," Sansa said. "He said he wants peace for the realm, and I think he knew you were here in the tunnels…"
Well, shit.
If the Master of Whispers was in the Lannister camp and 'helped' my sister, then he'd use this to drag out her supporters to the open and be done with them.
Which meant us. We were her supporters.
My little helpers scattered through the tunnels and I pulled on Cerati's string to wake him. There was a possibility for Oberyn's wishes to come true and we would have to fight our way out of the tunnels.
"The eunuch helped?" Oberyn asked. "He saw you leave with the prince and princess?"
"Yes, Prince Oberyn," Sansa said. "I believe he wanted all of us to escape."
What in the Seven Hells—
Oberyn roared in laughter. I would've slapped him for it, but I knew there was no one in the tunnels to hear.
"I beg your forgiveness, Princess Sansa." Oberyn bowed deeply. "I thought your brothers were the most interesting of the Starks, turns out, you are the one to look out for."
Yeah. That's fair. More than fair even.
What the fuck did my sister did in her time in the Red Keep? A plot to have her 'escape' to find her accomplices in one fell swoop didn't need to risk the royal children.
It seemed Sansa had, at least temporarily, secured the help of the Spider.
Two maids ready to pounce at the slightest provocation could've been attributed to my sister's charisma and noble status. Hells, even the little blonde princess who was hanging on her every word could be explained by that same charisma. But Varys? How to explain that?
…Once this is over I'll need to find every detail.
I unwrapped the paper. A dazed Dacey approached with her torch to read it.
"Oberyn," I said. "It seems we'll need your talents."
"Oh? Good thing I came prepared."
###
If there was one thing I would say Oberyn was the absolute best at, was at being loud and noticeable.
"Thank the Seven," the Dornish prince said as he barged in the brothel. "To find a place with fine wine is a blessing."
We were still around half an hour before dawn and it showed. There were only two other clients inside, both snoring loudly over a table. Not reacting even as Oberyn took their pitcher of wine from them.
"See this Jaren?" said the prince, presenting me the beverage. "This is the kind of quality I yearn for."
He strutted his way to the counter leaving his two 'guards' behind.
"Good man, I'm in a merry mood. Care to bring me more of this refreshing wine?" The man in the counter looked ready to stab Oberyn… or fall asleep, I couldn't really tell from afar.
"We are out of wine, my friend," he said curtly. Misidentifying the prince's status by his scruffy and dirty clothing.
"Ah. I very much think you have wine still." Oberyn took out a few silver stags and put them on the counter. "So… what say you?"
The man put a new pitcher on the counter. "You're right, my lord. I found more wine."
"Ha! It wasn't that hard, was it?" He poured himself a cup. "Now, my friend, there's another problem I find myself in. Do you know what that is?"
"Uhm, I don't know, my lord."
"I can't drink alone! It's no fun. I came to this fine establishment for drink and company. I have my drink, now I just need beautiful company." He put the entire pouch of silver on the counter.
The man blinked owlishly before responding, "Right, I'll get you beautiful girls, my lord. Any preference?"
"Mmh, I was thinking a young Northern girl would suit me, good man," Oberyn said and drank the whole cup. "It's always fun to poke at their cold exterior."
"Unfortunately, we don't have Northern girls, my lord…" the man said. A little too fast in my opinion.
"Ah, that's a shame. Bring me the best next thing then."
The man left at that. If I were Baelish, I would've found myself a better employee. Alas, it worked in our favor.
"Right door," I said. "There's stairs going to the basement."
I brought with me the little scout that found Sansa. The little guy proved its worth already. Now, I just needed confirmation.
So far two points from Varys' little paper were true. Baelish's brothel was close to the opening we used to get into the tunnels, and did, in fact, had a basement.
The door to the right looked thick and heavy, it had iron reinforcements and looked impregnable. Luckily for us, that wasn't the door we needed to go through.
In front of the door, there was a wooden shelf full of vases of Yi Tish porcelain. Carefully, we pushed the shelf away and found a narrow passage.
Three points now.
There was light at the end of the passage. A guard was sitting with his arms crossed and stood up the moment he saw us.
Dacey impaled him in her sword before the man could say a thing. My hand clamped his mouth and finished him with a knife to his neck.
This was not the plan.
We were supposed to tell him Baelish was in need of something to bargain with Tywin Lannister, and quietly bring Jeyne out of here.
But… well…
We left the man on his chair. Dacey looked for his keys while I looked for a cloth to clean the blood off my face. I found some linen and dried my face and turned to Dacey. She had a ring of keys in her hands, her eyes glued to it.
"Here." I handed her the rag. "She won't appreciate being smeared in blood."
"Do you think this is a joke?" she hissed.
"No, of course not," I said with my arms raised. "It's just… I'm sorry. Let me wipe the blood off you."
Her jaws were clenched, but she gave me a small nod.
"I had to kill him," she said.
"Don't sweat it. Let's take Jeyne out of here first."
In all honesty, I think I would've charged the guy if she hadn't. Varys' message had been correct so far, which meant that the other things he described had a high possibility of also happening.
Baelish was lucky he wasn't in my hands.
With a final sigh, Dacey calmed herself and opened the door with the first key she tried.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jeyne was on her knees. Her hair told me she woke up just now. "I'll be good. I won't do it again, please."
The room was bigger than expected. It had enough space for a big featherbed, an oak closet and a small dresser. It smelled of stale perfume and dust.
"Jeyne," I said softly. She flinched but kept her gaze on the floor.
"I'm sorry, please. I'm sorry," she kept repeating.
"Jeyne," Dacey called while crouching. Her hand, ever so slowly, reached for the girl's own. "Jeyne Poole." Her family's name made her pause and opened the door for Dacey to calm her.
Seeing Jeyne, a girl I saw grow up with Sansa, this vulnerable, this defeated… this broken…
I glared at the wall for the minutes it took her to calm herself enough to move.
It was a shame, there weren't any other guards in the basement. I really needed someone to pay for this.
Dacey covered Jeyne from viewing the dead guard and we climbed the stairs. There was music coming from the main hall. Oberyn's a natural at distraction, it seemed.
We reached the main hall and crossed gazes with Oberyn. In an instant he pushed the girl sitting on his legs and made a toast to love or something, I couldn't hear him through the noise. It was distraction enough for Dacey to open the door and leave with Jeyne.
"Girls, I'm sorry, but I didn't bring enough money to treat all of you. I'll be back." He pulled some golden dragons from his coat and put them on the counter. "In the meantime, girls, entertain yourselves while you wait."
He swaggered his way to the door and blew a kiss as he left.
With the door closed, he turned. "How's Jeyne?"
"She's…" Not fine, not by a long mile. "She is with Dacey."
"You found her at least," Oberyn said in a somber tone.
We didn't say anything else until we got to the alley were Perwyn stayed to protect the rest of our party.
Jeyne was melting in my sister's arms. Dawn was close at hand and the weight of it all finally settled on my shoulders.
Sansa was here, and somehow, Jeyne too. We even had important hostages. It was a great success in more ways than one, except for one very important point. We still were inside King's Landing.
I turned to Oberyn. "How long before we can escape?"
He smirked and patted my shoulder. "No worries, my gloomy friend. We just need to wait for Renly's assault. Your sister will be safe out of the city before the day is over."
###
The fresh morrow welcomed Robar with no incidents of note.
He had been worried for nothing it seemed. Other than Renly increasing his patrols, nothing happened during the night.
Truth be told, it was a little disappointing. Stannis Baratheon, one of the most accomplished commanders in the realm, didn't do a thing when his final warning was ignored.
Lucas Blackwood took the last guard and he was already breaking his fast. Nothing wrong with an early start, at least not when the meal was only jerky and hard bread.
"Nothing happened then?" Robar said as a greeting.
"Aye, Renly's knights chased hares all night. Ser Wendel will curse them to the seven hells when he wakes," he said with a chuckle.
"Only him?"
Ser Wendel was the best hunter Robar had ever met. The rotund knight had been the fresh meat provider for their group.
"Heh, true that. I'll curse them as well when our jerky is no more."
Their companions joined them, as well as Lady Stark herself. Unlike the men, she kept her opinions to herself. She had been firm in keeping them attentive to a possible Stannis' night raid. And now, she asked them to keep their wits for the day.
Barely after finishing his meager meal and standing up, some commotion came from Renly's tent.
Knights and common soldiers went from one side to the other while lightly armored riders, messengers most like, ran in direction to the other gate camps.
"Something must've happened," Hallis Mollen said. "Get ready."
He didn't need to tell twice. Robar was already on his armor by the time Lucas Blackwood handed him his horse.
Soon enough, Lady Stark was in her palfrey behind him. The camp was tense, and while no one said a thing, Robar could see everyone was ready for the worst.
After a tense wait, Renly came out of his tent in their direction. The Knight of Flowers and Brienne the Blue flanking him and a score of guards behind. He left his guard behind and approached them only with his Rainbow Guard.
"Lady Stark," Renly greeted. "Good to see you didn't leave."
"Lord Renly." Lady Stark nodded in his direction. "Forgive me the forwardness, but why are you here?"
Renly chuckled. "Nothing to forgive, my lady. In your position, I too would be suspicious of my brother's actions."
It was sincere. As sincere as someone with an army at his back trying to appear harmless could be. The thin veil of politeness of leaving his guards behind was something at least.
"As for your question," Renly continued. "I came here to share the view of Lord Tywin accepting my terms."
That gave Robar pause. Lord Tywin obviously didn't submit to Stannis, but that didn't mean he would submit to Renly.
Lady Stark seemed to share his opinion as she kept quiet.
After a pause, Renly chuckled again. "I see the North made you cautious, my lady. We'll see confirmation any moment now, I'm sure."
After that, Renly kept to himself. He didn't do any direct threat, but he didn't need to. Even a blind man could see they wouldn't be able to leave without his approval.
"I pray you are right," Lady Stark said. "I truly do."
Minutes passed and the morning haze over the Blackwater started its retreat as sunlight warmed up the river and the fields.
The first groups moved closer to resume the slow siege. It looked just like yesterday's morning.
Until the royal banner announced itself over the Lion Gate.
Renly laughed loudly. Brittle. "As expected of Tywin. Loras, you are in charge of the attack."
The knight bowed low. "Yes, Your Grace."
It suddenly made sense. Tywin didn't want to ruin his family's name by surrendering his grandson, and Renly wanted a great victory over King's Landing.
Something twisted in his gut.
He turned to the walls, to where the royal banner was held. He couldn't properly see it from where he was, but he wouldn't be surprised if the boy king had a poor guard.
To the side, Renly was all smiles.
###
A/N: Not much to say.
You can read two chapters ahead: p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / yorud
Anyways, give me your comments (｢๑•₃• )｢