Chapter 22: Duty
'For a group known for their martial ability, exaggerated to near-mythical levels, and their moral backbone and willingness to challenge even customs and mores that endured for millennia, if we trust the Order's records, as we should, it would seem surprising that they were so restrained in applying their might. Not as surprised, of course, as their contemporaries, who were used to might making right, must have been. But as the records, especially those from court, show, the Ruby Order overwhelmingly acted within the boundaries of the laws and customs of the time, even offering their services to the court to act as its champion. It was only when the law itself failed that they took action outside of it - a tradition upheld by the later incarnations of the order, which caused several crises for both the organisation and the realm and which stood in marked contrast to the Kingsguard, famous for blind obedience to the ruler of the realm. One can but wonder how things would have turned out if King Robert had died before meeting the Ruby Order.'
A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Stay calm. Everything will work out. The Queen will be freed - the Prince would never let his mother be put to trial, much less convicted!
But no matter how often Jocelyn Swyft told herself that, no matter how much she wanted to believe it, she couldn't. She couldn't even calm down enough for needlepoint - she had stuck her own fingers more than when she had started to learn the skill as a child!
The Starks and the Baratheons had arrested the Queen and Ser Jaime, and the Prince had let it happen. The Four Maidens had talked to him - Jocelyn hadn't seen it herself, but everyone agreed on that - and the Prince had returned to his quarters, meek as a lamb, leaving his mother to the indignity of being arrested like a criminal.
And for the most heinous crimes - adultery and incest! How could anyone believe that the Queen would, wîth her own brother…? She shook her head, almost ruining her stitching. Ridiculous! No sane person would believe such an accusation! As the Queen's lady-in-waiting, Joceyln would have noticed if she were having an affair! Of course, the Queen and her brother were close - they were family. Jocelyn was close to her own siblings - who, fortunately, were not in King's Landing but back in the Westerlands, far from the madness that had broken out in the capital. Whatever happened here, they would be safe!
She hissed in pain when she stabbed herself again, but managed to pull her finger away before she left a bloodstain on the fabric. Not again! Frustrated, she put her tools down and sucked on her finger.
"We should be consoling the children," Jana spoke up.
Joceyln glanced at her friend. Jana wasn't doing any better than her - she was wringing the handkerchief she held so much, it was sure to tear if she kept it up. "Lord Tyrion forbade it."
"The Queen wouldn't want him with her children."
Jana was right, of course - the Queen loathed the Imp. And with good reason; everyone knew that the dwarf was a womanising drunkard who spent more gold on whores and wine than entire houses spent on their holdings! Even worse, he had no respect for anyone, not even Lord Tywin, his own father! Jocelyn could only imagine what he was telling the children. But he was Lord Tywin's heir. "Will you tell him that?"
Jana looked away with a frown.
Jocelyn nodded. The Prince had stayed in his chambers since the… since the Queen had been arrested. Not even the Imp had been allowed inside; the Queen's ladies-in-waiting hadn't even tried to ask. They were on their own. "We can't rock the boat, anyway," she said. Who knew what would happen if they earned the ire of the Imp - or the Starks and the Baratheons?
"The Queen will be angry that we let this happen once she returns," Jana said.
If she returns, Jocelyn thought. The Queen had been taken to the dungeons, like a common criminal, and none of her ladies-in-waiting had been allowed to visit her. But yes, should the Queen return, Jocelyn and the others would be punished. Perhaps as bad - or worse - as they had been punished after they had taken the Queen to her chambers upon the King's death. She shivered at the memory. "We couldn't do anything," she said. Not when the Queen herself was rendered powerless. Not when Ser Jaime himself had surrendered without a fight.
"Never stopped her before." Jana scoffed. "She should never have started this feud! Everything started to go wrong because of them!"
Jocelyn agreed. The Queen would never have been arrested if not for the Four Maidens. They had climbed the wall as easily as others stepped over a threshold and made Ser Jaime, the most skilled knight in the realm, surrender without a fight before opening the gate themselves. Who could stand against such power? Not a mere lady-in-waiting. If only the Queen would realise this! If she had managed to befriend Lady Ruby and her friends… "Lord Tywin is coming. He'll sort this out," she said.
Jana snorted. "By the time he arrives, we might be dead - or disappeared like Lyra."
"Lyra hasn't disappeared!" Jocelyn replied. "She went on a task for the Queen!" Both Lyra and the Queen had said so - and to keep it a secret. It was important.
"A task we were never told of and which the Queen never mentioned? Which had her leave in secret?" Jana shook her head. "She is gone for good. If she is not dead, then she has fled."
"Lyra would never desert the Queen!" Jana was a fool to assume that. "She would die for her!" Jocelyn knew that - Lyra had said it often enough. And not merely to appease the Queen's anger. And the Queen had said that Lyra was returning after having completed her mysterious task. Granted, the Queen had said other things, mainly about the Four Maidens, which had turned out not to have been true…
"Then the Queen's enemies had her killed. Either way, she's dead or gone." Jana grabbed her glass and refilled it from the bottle… Wait!
"Is that arbor red?" Jocelyn gasped. They would be punished for taking the Queen's wine without permission!
Jana rolled her eyes at her. "The Queen won't miss a bottle. If she returns at all, she'll have other concerns."
Jocelyn pressed her lips together. "It's still wrong!" The Queen trusted them! This was betraying this trust!
"So? If we're about to die, I don't want to be sober. And if I am getting drunk, I might as well do it with the best wine."
"We're not going to die!" Jocelyn insisted. They were just ladies-in-waiting from minor houses. Surely not important enough to be killed during this!
Not important enough to serve as hostages, she thought with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Not important enough to bother bribing or turning. Not important enough for anyone to care about them should they disappear… She squeezed her eyes shut. She wouldn't cry. The Queen didn't like it if her ladies-in-waiting cried. "Hand that bottle over," she snapped while reaching for a glass for herself.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
Ruby Rose felt kinda bad when she stepped into the training yard. She hadn't done anything wrong, not really - the Queen and Ser Jaime had broken the law. What they had done would have been a crime back home as well. And yucky and disgusting - how could you do that with your own brother or sister? Yuck! But Team RWBY also had, kinda, known that for a long time and hadn't done anything. That wasn't very honest.
Also, they had kinda shown up the Kingsguard, too. The royal family's guards should have noticed this, shouldn't they? Well, it was hard when one of your own betrayed your trust - Ruby would feel devastated if a team member would do that (though they wouldn't!), so she kinda knew how the Kingsguard must be feeling, and even if it wasn't the fault of Team RWBY, she still felt a bit guilty about that as well. And about Prince Joffrey and his siblings, who had to learn such yucky things about their mother.
She shuddered and unfolded Crescent Rose, taking a few swings to warm up - and to shoo away the raven who was sitting on the closest post. The silly bird needed to be more careful! Probably too used to people.
Just as she was ready to start some of her usual routines, she noticed someone approaching the yard as well: Ser Barristan. She winced as all her guilty feelings returned at once. Even though she hadn't done anything wrong - well, not when arresting the Queen and Ser Jaime. They weren't being tortured, and their cells were, well, not fine, but Weiss and Blake had said they were acceptable. Of course, both were a bit biased, Weiss for having to deal with the Queen for so long, and Blake for having to watch and hear them do the dirty, as Yang called (which was yucky - they were siblings!), but they wouldn't be as petty as to let the two suffer in their cells.
She forced herself to smile and called out "Good morning, Ser Barristan!" when he stepped closer.
"Lady Ruby." He nodded at her and stepped into the training yard as well.
He sounded like he usually did, but… he would be angry, wouldn't he? This was a huge scandal! Westeros didn't have TV or radio, or the Net, not even newspapers, but Ruby knew (from their visit to the Great Sept, and Blake had confirmed it) that everyone knew about the arrest. And everyone was talking about it.
None of the other Kingsguard had come with him. That was unusual. Were they angry? She bit her lower lip as Ser Barristan started to take swings at one of the training buddies. "We didn't want this to happen!" she blurted out.
He stopped and turned to face her. He wasn't wearing his helmet, so she could see his eyebrows raise a tiny bit, but the rest of his face didn't show any expression. "The arrest of the Queen?"
"The whole thing," she replied. "But without us, well… there would have been a fight."
He slowly nodded. "Yes, there would have been. Ser Jaime would have never surrendered to anyone else. I am still surprised that he did surrender at all. I would have expected him to fight, if only to preserve his pride. Then again, maybe he thought surrendering was more dignified than being defeated with such ease, he would have looked like a toddler trying to attack a bear. Especially since it all but confirms his guilt in the eyes of many, even amongst his brothers in the Kingsguard."
"Ah…" She winced again. "It wasn't just that." She didn't know if she should tell Ser Barristan that they had a deal with Lord Eddard - wasn't that a rigged trial? On the other hand, limiting the sentence wasn't the same as rigging the trial, was it? "We promised him that the Queen's children wouldn't be punished or suffer for his deeds."
"Ah." Ser Barristan nodded again, though his expression remained hard to read. "It is said that you were witness to the crimes of which Ser Jaime and the Queen are accused."
"Not me personally, but Blake saw them." More than once. Ruby grimaced.
"It's true then, and not a convenient lie." He sighed, sheathing his sword. "Ser Jaime has broken his vows as a brother of the Kingsguard."
"And the law," Ruby added. "Sorry." She winced a little. "Though sleeping with the Queen is probably against your laws, even if it were not incest, right?"
"Our laws? Is adultery allowed in your world, my lady?"
"Well… you shouldn't cheat on your partner, but it's not against the law." She decided that it was best not to use her family as an example. That would be… complicated.
"But…" He shook his head. "Is that why you are so accepting of bastards?"
"Kinda?" She tilted her head. "People shouldn't be judged for being born. That's not their fault. Anyway, I'm sorry if this whole thing embarrassed you. We didn't want to do that."
"We failed in our duty," he said in a grave voice. "That is a stain on our honour."
"But could you have noticed anything anyway? If Ser Jaime went to guard the Queen, he would have been the only Kingsguard with her. At least at night." She blushed a little - she should have worded that better! But it was true - with only seven Kingsguard, they couldn't spare two guards for the Queen - just having one with her and one with the King at all times would take three shifts and leave only one of them in reserve. Ruby knew how difficult it was to plan a good guard schedule. Especially if you also had other stuff to do during the day.
"There is no excuse. One of our own did this, and we all share the blame. As the Commander of the Kingsguard, it is my personal failure. I should have realised Ser Jaime's character."
"Right." She nodded. "You're the leader, you're responsible." Like Ruby was for her team. "I'm still sorry for the trouble it caused you." She frowned, then grimaced again. Almost forgot! "Oh, and something else for which I am also sorry: You probably should guard the Queen and Ser Jaime in their cells so they don't get murdered. The King's murderer is still around - well, we don't know that, but it's better to assume that they are still around. Anyway, it's probably your duty anyway since she's still part of the Royal family, right?"
"No regent has been appointed yet, so no one could have countermanded our last orders," he said. That was agreeing, right? "Although we have a certain leeway in following orders. In this case, I agree that they need to be guarded, though."
"Good!" She smiled. That was one possible problem solved - she felt like a weight was lifted from her chest. A not-so-small weight considering the war that might break out as soon as Lord Tywin heard about this whole thing.
She was about ready to restart her training routine when Ser Barristan spoke up again. "May I ask a question, my lady?"
"Sure!" It was the least she could do.
"Is Lady Blake going to serve as the court's champion, should the Queen or Ser Jaime demand a trial by combat?"
"No. I will do that," Ruby told him. They needed to inform Ser Jaime (and the Queen, though she probably wouldn't listen anyway) of that before the trial.
"Ah." He nodded.
"My team, my responsibility," she said.
He smiled at that. A bit sadly, but it was a smile.
They didn't talk about anything else until the others arrived for the morning training session, but Ruby felt better anyway.
*****
Ruby scowled as she entered the dungeons. The Black Cells were as nasty as they had been when they had first gone to the dungeon. Cold, damp-ish, and the stench… If only Aura helped with that! She made a small retching noise. "Hello?"
The jailer who greeted her looked nervous. "M'lady?"
"We're here to see Ser Jaime," she told him.
"Ah…" he glanced over his shoulder. "Lord Renly said not to let anyone talk to the prisoners."
"I am certain that he didn't mean us," Weiss said with her 'I'm only being polite because whatever angered me isn't your fault, but don't push me' smile.
The man grimaced. "He said no one…"
Weiss glared at him. "Do we have to get him down here to tell you that this doesn't include us? We arrested the prisoners!"
"Ah… yes… But he was very insistent…"
Ruby shook her head. "Tell him you tried to stop us." She walked past him, grabbing his keyring on the way.
He didn't say anything or make a move to stop her.
Weiss snorted and followed her.
Ser Preston Greenfield was standing guard in the hallway behind the jailer.
"We're here to visit Ser Jaime," Ruby told the knight.
Unlike the jailer, Ser Preston didn't try to stop them. "Go ahead. Try not to wake up the Queen - she tends to be loud." He nodded with a smirk and gestured to the hallway behind him, which led to the cells where the Queen and Ser Jaime were imprisoned. He was close enough to watch the doors, not close enough to talk to them. Not without yelling or screaming. Which the Queen apparently did a lot. Well, they already knew that.
Ruby quickly checked both cells. The Queen, still wearing the dress she had been wearing when she was arrested - and probably the same underwear, ew! - was on a cot, seemingly asleep, and half-covered by some scratchy-looking blanket.
Ser Jaime had been stripped of his armour, and unlike his sister, he was manacled to the wall, but he had also gotten a blanket and a cot.
Ruby tried the keys. The third fit the lock, and she carefully turned it..
Ser Jaime had either been woken by the squeaking noise the door made or had been awake already and feigning sleep. Either way, he sat up when they entered.
"Hello, Ser Jaime."
He grinned at them. "My ladies. To what do I owe this visit?"
"We're checking up on you. Making sure you're treated well," Ruby told him.
He made a point of looking around in his small cell and raised his eyebrows at her,
"Reasonably well," she clarified. If he could be snarky, he wasn't doing too badly.
"We would ask the Queen as well, but we doubt she would appreciate our visit," Weiss added.
Ser Jaime laughed. "No, Cersei wouldn't. She has spent hours making her opinion of you and your friends - and of everyone in the Red Keep who didn't save her - very clear."
"Does she also blame you?" Weiss asked.
He shrugged. "While it is nice to have your family trust your skill with a blade, her opinion of my chances against any of you is somewhat exaggerated."
Ruby wouldn't have believed that, but she had seen how the Queen had behaved at the arrest, and Blake had told them what she had overheard. So, it was probably true. "We're sorry about the cells," she said. "But they don't want you to talk to your family guards."
"It was deemed too dangerous to allow you contact with your retainers," Weiss added.
"Anyone who'd be so foolish as to attempt anything would be easily defeated by you," Ser Jaime replied.
"That thought won't stop someone who assumes they won't be caught," Weiss said. "And bribes are often far more dangerous than a blade."
"What use would all the gold in the world be to you if you were too dead to spend it?"
"'If'," Weiss replied. "How many would make such a bet?"
He nodded. "I concede the point. Alas, the Kingsguard has a reputation for not being swayed by bribes."
"He's here so no one will attempt to kill you before your trial," Ruby told him.
Ser Jaime nodded with another smirk. "That would be embarrassing. People's tongues would wag with all sorts of rumours about what the new regent has to hide."
"No regent has been chosen yet," Weiss told him.
"Ah? I thought they would move faster than this. Father must already be calling for his banners, after all."
He sounded completely unconcerned. As if this was a joke. But this was why they were visiting him. "Will he really start a war?" Ruby asked.
"Of course. This whole affair? He'll see it as an attack on his House. An insult to both his honour and reputation that has to be answered. Father will go to great lengths to avenge such a slight, if only to maintain the reputation he worked so hard for." He whistled a few notes that Ruby didn't recognise.
"How can we stop a war?" Ruby asked.
"By crushing the enemy, of course."
"We don't want to crush people! How can we stop the war without crushing anyone?" Ruby glared at him.
He shook his head. "You really care about that. You care about people who will do their best to kill you." He threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, that's too much! If we had known this beforehand…"
"You do not seem to care about the fate of your family's soldiers," Weiss said.
"There's nothing to be done. Father is the only one who could avoid this, and if he were willing to change his views on this, a great many lives would have gone differently." He lay back on his cot and closed his eyes.
Ruby stared. "But… They're your people!"
He didn't react, and Weiss tugged on her hand. "Let's go, Ruby. We can't get any help here."
Ruby clenched her teeth, but Weiss was right. Ser Jaime wouldn't help them. But that wouldn't stop them! They couldn't let this happen!
*****
"Thank you for accepting my invitation, my lady."
Lord Tyrion, using a special chair again so they were of equal height, looked honestly grateful, but then, Weiss Schnee was aware that, as the heir of Lord Tywin and a regular at Court, he would be used to hiding his true sentiments. Better than the Queen, at least.
She bowed her head anyway. "We were hoping to meet with you, actually."
"You were?" His eyes narrowed, and she saw him tense up for a moment.
"Yes. We are concerned about your father's reaction to the arrest of your siblings," Weiss said.
"You are concerned about my father's reaction to imprisoning his favourite son and only daughter? For incest?" He shook his head. "Shouldn't you have considered this before you insulted my father and threatened his legacy, my lady? Or, at least, chosen a less embarrassing pretext?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "This is no pretext. Your siblings have multiple times engaged in incest - we've witnessed it personally."
"You've witnessed it? Multiple times?" His shock seemed genuine - but was he shocked about his siblings' proclivities or about the implication that Team RWBY hadn't intervened after the first time?
Weiss nodded. "Yes."
He frowned before smiling faintly. "And when did you observe such acts for the first time?"
Apparently, it was the latter rather than the former. "Quite some time before Lord Eddard and the others approached us with the same accusations," she replied. That would come out at the trial anyway. "And we only lent a hand for the arrest to ensure it wouldn't come to violence - and only after receiving a promise that neither of your siblings would be put to death for their actions, nor your nephews and niece be punished for their mother's indiscretions with their uncle."
This time, the surprise seemed genuine. So, he must not have spoken to his incarcerated siblings yet. His eyes narrowed again, though. "You are quite the conundrum, my lady. You and your friends. Why would you do this?"
"Because executing people for such crimes is not just," Weiss replied. The death penalty itself was barbaric, but they were in a barbarian kingdom. They might not have the facilities to house prisoners for life - not that such life would last very long in the dungeons. Executing someone might be more humane than letting them die slowly and painfully in such conditions.
Lord Tyrion chuckled. "Ah, a delightfully exotic view. And what if the promise were not to be honoured?"
Weiss raised her eyebrows. "Do you think Lord Eddard will break his word?" Lord Tyrion knew Lord Eddard, after all.
"No, I don't think he would. However, Lord Renly is far more, shall we say, pragmatic, and Lord Stannis far more set in his views. And as second and third sons, they might see this as a unique opportunity to satisfy their ambitions."
"Ruby made her stance clear. She stated her willingness to be the champion of the court in a trial by combat - or the champion of the royal children, should they be charged." And Weiss hated the dolt for doing this! What if she were forced to kill someone, like Blake? Ruby shouldn't shoulder that kind of guilt!
Once again, his surprise was evident, and his brief laugh was tinted with disbelief. "Well, no wonder I can't make sense of you, my lady - I dare say none at court would understand your views."She sniffed in response. "Our views make perfect sense if you consider them with an open mind."
"Then I fear you shall remain misunderstood forever, my lady." He flashed her a wry grin.
She laughed against her will before growing serious. "I hope that our talk here will disprove that. But first, let us address what brought you here. You asked for a meeting."
He nodded. "I suppose that would only be fair. Although some of my concerns were addressed already."
His siblings' actions, Weiss supposed. Though those were a minor matter compared to their consequences.
"Given what my idiot brother and my sister did, I cannot, in good conscience, ask for more clemency than you already granted them. That they will survive their foolishness is already more than anyone would expect and still call themselves sane."
Would he be saying the same if she hadn't told him that they had witnessed their actions? Or would he attempt to convince her that it was but lies made up by rival houses to weaken or destroy his own family's influence at court? She took a sip from her tea instead of replying.
He went on: "And I am very relieved that you will not punish my nephews and niece for their mother's actions and will, instead, protect them against attempts to usurp their birthright." Another wry smile. "I would expect quite transparent attempts to exploit the weakness caused by my siblings' foolishness to remove them from the line of succession."
Weiss nodded. "There were accusations of incest raised already, though they were based upon rather flimsy reasoning. We will not allow such a biased judgment to stand and destroy your nephews and niece's lives."
He didn't seem surprised but satisfied. "I wondered why the arrests were limited to my siblings. Lord Eddard has a reputation as an honourable and also kind man, but he is allied with Lord Renly and Lord Stannis. The former is rather opportunistic - he is a close friend of the Tyrells, whose head laid siege to Storm's End during the Rebellion and almost starved the garrison and Lord Renly himself into surrender. And Lord Stannis' reputation as a hard man who would never let any supposed misdeed go unpunished no matter what else you did."
Weiss hadn't heard that Lord Eddard was supposed to be particularly kind. If this was true, then that said a lot about the standards applied to the local nobility - and nothing good. She didn't know Renly enough to call him opportunistic, though - certainly not when his closeness to the Tyrells was easily explained by his closeness to Loras Tyrell. And Lord Stannis was assuredly a hard man, very inflexible, yet still able to accept a compromise.
Not that it mattered right now - Weiss had to set the record straight before Lord Tyrion made the wrong assumptions. "It's not a question of kindness but justice. The so-called proof against the princes and the princess that we were presented with was nothing but assumptions based on superficial appearances and some superstition. If that would be enough to condemn anyone, no one would be safe from similar accusations." And while Weiss wouldn't call herself an expert on Westeros's noble houses, she was quite certain that many heirs would end up accused of being bastards unless they looked like a clone of their father. In some cases, not even that would help.
"Ah, I see. It's a matter of principles, then." He nodded with a lopsided smile that managed to be both understanding and mocking at the same time.
"And common sense," she added. Westeros's society didn't seem stable enough to weather such a precedent.
"I think that is an argument that even my Father would agree with. And speaking of my father…" He sighed.
Weiss couldn't tell if the pause was just Lord Tyrion being dramatic or if he was trying to find the right words for a sore topic. "Will he start a civil war over this?" she asked.
He snorted. "It seems Lady Ruby and Lady Yang aren't the only ones in your group who are likely to be blunt. Yes, my father will call his banners - he will have started calling them as soon as a notice about Jaime and Cersei's arrest reached him. Which will have happened multiple times already."
That implied that Lord Tyrion's father had even more sources at the Court than Weiss had expected. "With so much information available to him, wouldn't he realise that we can shatter his army and take him prisoner without risk? Your father is known for many things, but being a fool fighting against impossible odds isn't amongst them."
Lord Tyrion laughed, though Weiss couldn't hear even a trace of humour in his tone. "Oh, his pride might push him to fight such odds - it's my family's main weakness, as Cersei so aptly demonstrates whenever she has the opportunity, though others display the same traits. But unless Father thinks all his agents in King's Landing have gone mad or fallen for a Mummer's trick, he will plan accordingly."
"And still face us? We could simply ignore his army and take him prisoner in less than five minutes." Why would anyone still fight them in such circumstances?
"I have no doubt about that. But my father is quite cunning. Blinded by his prejudices, of course, like so many others, but not stupid. He will do his best to find a strategy that would allow him to fight you despite your strength and power." He shrugged.
"And what would such a strategy entail?" Weiss asked.
"Oh, I am not the military leader Father is," Lord Tyrion deflected. Weiss couldn't tell if it was false modesty - Lord Tyrion had the tendency to put himself down - or an honest self-evaluation. "But I would speculate that he would try to exploit the fact that you can't be everywhere at once. Oh, you can't, can you?"
That was… true. Team RWBY might be able to travel faster than most in Westeros, but they were still far too slow by any decent standards. It would take quite some time to catch up with even an army in the field. A smaller warband, moving quickly? Mounted raiding parties?
Weiss wasn't a military strategist either, but she had learned enough history to know about the Great War and the Faunus Revolution. "That would render his force vulnerable to defeat in detail."
"Yes. And if I were in command, that would be the expected outcome. But my sire is more experienced." He shrugged.
That was a rather vague warning. If it was a warning. Weiss cocked he head. "So, since you are no strategist, according to your own words, yet wished to talk to me about this, I assume you have more thoughts on this matter to share."
"Yes. And knowing that you wish to avoid a war - and that you won't punish the children for the sins of their parents - facilitates this somewhat." He nodded and took a sip from his goblet. "I will do my best to convince him not to wage war over this. However, based on my long personal experience, I fear that my best might not be good enough for him. His pride and belief that he knows better than anyone else outstrip his reason at times."
"If your voice isn't enough to convince your father that this course of action would lead to his ruin, is there anyone else whose opinion he trusts?" Weiss asked.
"You flatter me if you assume he trusts me, my lady. Alas, most people at court would be dismissed as trying to manipulate him for their own goals."
"Most but not all, then?" Weiss tilted her head again.
He hesitated a moment, then smiled crookedly. "He might listen to the Grand Maester - or he might consider the man compromised since he has been helping you."
Weiss nodded. So, the Grand Maester was one of Lord Tywin's sources? "Thank you."
"No, thank you. My nephews and niece, and I, are in your debt. Without your presence, I fear all of us would be in prison or dead merely for being Lannisters." He bowed his head.
It was a blatant attempt at manipulation, Weiss was perfectly aware of that, but that didn't change the fact that what Lord Tyrion was bluntly hinting at was true: Team RWBY was the only reason that Prince Joffrey and his siblings had not been named incest children and either killed or otherwise removed from the succession.
It was another problem that Weiss and her friends would have to solve.
*****
Blake Belladonna tilted her head as she listened for any voices from behind the sturdy door. She didn't hear anything but the sound of footsteps and the rustling of papers. Good. She nodded at her friends. The Grand Maester was alone.
Ruby smiled and knocked three times on the door.
Blake could hear the steps approaching the door while they waited. Then the pause while the man tried to listen, followed by a muffled "Who's there?"
"It's us, Grand Maester!" Ruby yelled. "Team RWBY!"
The key in the lock turned, and the door was opened.
"Hello, Grand Maester!" Ruby smiled at him while Blake and the others nodded at the man.
"Ah, greetings, my ladies." The Grand Maester took a step back. "Please come in."
"I hope we're not interrupting," Ruby said as they entered.
"No, no. I was just going over some correspondence." He shook his head. "Please, have a seat." He gestured at the seats arranged in one corner of the room. Four seats, Blake noted, so she stepped past and leaned against the wall behind Yang's seat.
"Ah, thank you. My old bones aren't what they were like in my youth." The Grand Maester sat down with a relieved sigh that seemed a bit exaggerated to Blake.
"You're welcome," Blake told him.
"Are you OK standing there, Blake?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. It's fine." She had listened for any sign of spies around but hadn't caught any hint. They should be safe.
Ruby nodded at the agreed-upon signal and turned to smile at the Grand Maester. "We're here to ask you for a favour, Grand Maester!"
"You have but to ask, and I will attempt to help. That is the duty of our Order."
Blake suppressed a snort. She didn't think he - or anyone in a similar position - would be that altruistic. He would have his own goals. Especially if he was a contact of Lord Tywin, as Lord Tyrion had insinuated. But as long as their interests aligned…
"Great!" Ruby nodded. "We would like you to write to Lord Tywin and advise him that he shouldn't try to start a civil war over his son and daughter being arrested."
The man's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before he coughed. "Ah, I would, of course, write a letter for you, if you wish, though I can't say what good it might do - while Lord Tywin will certainly know me, we were never close."
"Lord Tyrion said he might trust your judgement," Weiss said in a bland voice that didn't quite match the glint in her eyes.
"He did? Ah." The man slowly nodded. "I shall do my best to honour his trust."
"Yes. We really don't want a war," Ruby said.
"We don't want to smash armies or hunt down the commanders and make them stop fighting," Yang added. "It's a chore."
The Grand Maester nodded, though he looked a bit more nervous now. "Of course, senseless violence should be avoided whenever possible."
"Yes." Weiss nodded. "We don't want to get involved in court politics, but we can't stand aside when war threatens innocent lives."
"That is a very merciful stance. However, some might consider this to be a partisan stance," the Grand Maester said. "In light of the arrest of the Queen and her brother with your assistance, some might assume that you have chosen to back the late King's brothers and Lord Eddard in an attempt to usurp the throne."
"We haven't allied with anyone!" Ruby blurted out. "But we don't want people getting killed if we can help it! And Lord Eddard, Lord Stannis and Lord Renly were going to arrest the Queen anyway. Without us, there would have been fighting."
"And we have proof that the Queen did commit incest with her brother," Weiss added.
The Grand Maester winced. "Ah. I… I don't think Lord Tywin will be very receptive to that."
"You mean he'll deny it even if he knew it were true," Yang said.
"Lord Tywin is a very proud man. He would consider this an unbearable stain on his honour."
"And he thinks starting a war will help with that?" Yang scoffed. "They'll call this the Incest War or something." She bared her teeth in an almost feral smile. "Also, the most one-sided war in history."
Blake knew that this was a bit of a boast, of course - it would take time to reach the Westerlands, and even more time to find Lord Tywin, should it come to that. But once they found him, the war would be over. One way or the other.
"We spoke with Lord Eddard and the others about the trial as well," Weiss said. "We have his word that neither the Queen nor Ser Jaime will be executed. Ser Jaime will be sent to the wall, and the Queen to the Silent Sisters. We also made it clear that we won't let them treat the Queen's children as bastards based on appearances," Weiss said.
"I will be their champion if they attempt to bring the children to trial for that," Ruby added with a scowl.
The Grand Maester seemed to perk up at that. "Ah? That does change things. Significantly, I believe. Lord Tywin will want to know this. I hope this will be enough to persuade him not to act rashly," he said with a smile.
"It better be!" Ruby said, pouting. "I'm growing tired of all this stuff."
The man's smile slipped a little, Blake noticed. "I'll do my utmost."
"Thanks!" Ruby smiled at him.
"Since we're already here," Blake spoke up. "Have you found out anything else about the King's murder?"
"Ah." He sighed. "I assume you already know about the nature of the poison?" He glanced at Blake as he spoke. Was he aware of her spying activity? She'd better assume that people at least suspected, once they realised she was the witness.
"Yep. Binary poison. If the two parts combine, it melts your lungs with acid," Yang said while Ruby grimaced.
"Yes. A very rare poison. Few would have known about it, and fewer still would have known how to procure it."
That narrowed the number of suspects down.
"Do you know who would be able to acquire it?" Weiss asked.
"They would have to have extensive contacts in Essos - or a way to hire the Faceless Men."
Right. The Assassins from Braavos.
"Those are the guys who kill not just for money, but for their religion, right?" Yang asked.
"It is said that they demand a price that is expensive but not beyond the ability of whoever is hiring them to pay, and that the price depends on the client's means."
"So… anyone could hire them?" Ruby pouted again. "And they could look like anyone?"
"That is said. And while it sounds preposterous, there are too many independent sources to dismiss it as hyperbole." The Grand Maester spread his hands.
"Do they kill those whom they copy?" Blake asked.
"Some say they literally take someone's face."
"Ew!" Ruby grimaced. "That's awful!"
Blake agreed. But what if someone had killed the handmaiden for her face? It would allow them to get close to the royal family. But none had seen Lady Lyra return since she had left the court… On the other hand, the noblewoman had visited Pentos, not Braavos. And they still didn't know what she had done there, except for purchasing jewellery. Could she have purchased the poison?
*****
"My ladies! Do you bring further good news? Has a certain bloodthirsty lord died from the shock of hearing about his children's crimes, perhaps?"
Yang Xiao Long shook her head at Prince Oberyn's smile. The man was far too happy about this mess, in her opinion. She got where he was coming from, of course, but it was still somewhat disturbing. At least, it made it easier to ignore his flirting. Well, for Yang - Ruby would still be a flustered mess, and Weiss would overcompensate, which was the reason they weren't with them here. Blake, on the other hand, could easily handle his attitude.
"No, we haven't heard anything like that," Blake told him without batting an eye, as cool as ever. "We would like to ask you a few questions about the poison."
"Oh? By all means, come in! I am always willing to educate people on this!"
And the guy was a bit too enthusiastic about poison. Like Ruby was about weapons, only she didn't like to talk about using them on people.
Ellara greeted them, already setting up the table in the guest area. "My ladies."
"Hello!" Yang smiled at her and sat down on the couch facing the woman. She didn't take a sip from the glass until Blake had made a show of inhaling the scent and smiling - Aura would protect against poison, but why risk being weakened? Team RWBY couldn't really trust most people here. But this was nice fruit juice.
"So! You wished to learn about the poison that killed the late King?" Oberyn sat down next to Ellara and placed his hand on her thigh, squeezing it.
"Mostly about its origin - and who might have been able to procure it, my prince," Blake replied.
"We already know how it worked."
"Ah." He nodded. "It's from Essos, probably from the southern parts - most such exotic poisons come from Slaver's Bay since Sothoryos is a known source for some of the most lethal ingredients. And the most likely source of a magic poison would be Asshai, also relatively close to Slaver's Bay."
"Would it be available in Pentos or Braavos?" Blake asked.
Oberyn frowned a little, "For enough gold, yes. Though you'd need to know the right people - most become somewhat suspicious of your intentions if you ask for poisons. They might be the intended target, after all. And few purveyors of poison wish to be bothered by the kin of the victim, so they need to trust in your discretion and ability to avoid getting caught."
That meant Lady Lyra wouldn't have been able to buy the poison unless she had been far smarter and better connected in Essos than a minor noble, as Weiss found out, from the Westerlands would have been. On the other hand, if she had merely served as a courier?
"Thank you, my prince." Blake nodded.
"Was that helpful?"
"It confirmed a few things," Blake said.
Yang nodded.
"Do you have a suspect then? Other than the Lannisters?" Oberyn grinned.
"Do you think the Queen killed the King to hide her cheating on him?" Yang asked.
"It's an obvious motive, isn't it?" He grinned. "Now that we know what she was doing, it's quite obvious that she wouldn't have come to an arrangement with her husband the King about tolerating each other's affairs even if they had not loathed each other."
Yeah, and the fact that you hate the Lannisters doesn't influence your opinion at all, Yang thought with a snort.
"You think they could have come to such an arrangement?" Blake asked. "Despite the suspicions it would throw on their children?"
"People generally wait until they have their heirs before engaging in such affairs - at least the married women. And they tend to take steps to avoid pregnancies," Ellara said.
"But you don't think the Queen did," Yang told Oberyn.
He spread his hands. "The children do look like pure Lannisters. Purer than most Lannisters, actually."
"Yeah, appearances aren't proof," Yang told him. "We explained that to the others already."
"So the rumours were true." He nodded. "*So, you've decided to support Prince Joffrey's claim."
"We've decided not to let the hair colour of children decide their fate," Yang told him. "Hell, Hair's important, but not that important." She ran a hand through her own mane. "After all, if you just looked at the colour, you wouldn't think Ruby and I were sisters."
"I see." Oberyn nodded again, and his grin twisted a bit.
Yang rolled her eyes. "I doubt that. Back home, we can check who's a child's father or mother by testing their blood. Hair colour isn't proof."
Judging by the way he blinked, he hadn't heard that.
Blake leaned forward. "Another question, if we may, my Prince." She had that smooth talking down, like Weiss, but cooler. "Would the Faceless Men use that poison?"
He tensed. "They use a variety of tools. But if this was their work, someone hired them. Someone who can pay their price."
They knew that already. It looked like this visit was a bust. Well, win some, lose some.
Yang just hoped they would start winning some soon.
*****
The Red Keep, King's Landing, Crownlands, Westeros, 298 AC
"Lady Yang?"
Yang stopped stretching - she had been a bit too vigorous in their morning training session, but sue her, she had had some frustration to work out, and her friends could take it - and turned to face Jon. "Yeah?"
He glanced over his shoulder back at the centre of the training yard, where the others were still training with the Kingsguard, Brienne and the kids. Poor boy didn't realise that Blake could hear him perfectly fine at this distance. Apparently satisfied, he faced her again. "I was wondering…"
"Yes?" She started another stretching pose.
"Ah…" He cleared his throat, and she didn't need to look at him to know he was blushing. The boy really needed to get over his crush. It was cute, but hopeless. "I heard a rumour that… that you can find someone's parents."
Oh. Yang winced while her face was hidden from his view by her hair, then forced herself to smile gently. Like Ruby would. Turning to him, she shook her head. "The rumour's wrong. Back home, people - our kind of Maesters - can do that. But we can't do it here. We don't have the tools."
"Oh." He looked crestfallen. "I… I had hoped you could help me find out who my mother was."
Oh, damn! She winced again. She knew how that felt. "Your father's not telling you?"
He shook his head.
She knew how that felt as well. And he wouldn't even have a picture of her.
"I… I asked, but he said he'd tell me later. When I was a man grown." He sighed and looked down at the ground.
Damn! Yang stood. Just like Dad. What were the odds? "Did you ask him again?"
"I did. Just a few days ago."
She clenched her teeth. Maybe she should have a talk with Lord Eddard. Or not - she would probably lose her temper, and things were already a mess, what with the trial coming up, and everyone looking scared of a war. But she couldn't leave Jon hanging like that, either. She clenched her fist. She hated this. Hated this whole mess, this keep, this court, this world…
"My lady?"
She looked at him. "What?"
"You're, ah…" he pointed at her, and she realised she had been about to activate her Semblance.
"Oh."
She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths and forced herself to calm down. Cratering the training yard - again - wouldn't help anyone. "Sorry. I know how you're feeling. I don't know anything about my mother - my birth mother - either." She smiled at his struck expression. "Tell you what, next time you ask your father, ask me and I'll come with you."
"Thank you, my lady!" He smiled at her with so much relief, she felt guilty for not doing anything right now.