From the Ashes (ASOIAF) (Sandor Clegane x OC)

Chapter 5: Tess

"It's your move." Said Tyrion waving a hand in front of Tess's face. She jumped, her mind had been wandering again.

"Sorry," she said, she looked at the board and moved her dragon tile two squares diagonally towards his horseman.

"You're too aggressive with your use of that dragon." Tyrion pointed out, positioning his spearman for a counter attack.

"Isn't that sort of point of a dragon?" She said, "Why have one if you can't use it to get things done?"

"Spoken like someone who has never actually been in the presence of a real dragon." Said Tyrion pressing his fingertips together and tapping them against his lips as he examined the board.

Tess leaned back in her seat and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oooo look at me, I'm Lord Tyrion Lannister I was the Hand of the Dragon Queen and saw dragons daily." She mocked.

Tyrion sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Don't be like that. I'm just saying....dragons aren't tools you use. I'm not even sure how often the Targaryens were in control of them, if I'm honest. It may have been that the riders desires just simply aligned with their dragons in most cases. I can tell you this for certain, there's not a man or woman living or dead that could have forced a dragon to do something they didn't want to do. It's your move again." Tyrion leaned to the left and grabbed his cup of wine.

Tess moved another of her tiles and then shot a quick glance at the empty gateway.

"No one's come through the gate in the thirty seconds since you last looked." Tyrion said.

Tess felt her cheeks grow warm.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said, but when she met his eye he had a smug smirk,"shut up and make your move." She snapped, he chuckled, but obliged. A moment later Brienne sunk heavily into the seat beside him.

"If I have to hear one more word about this damned festival." She grumbled.

"Leave it to you to be cross about something that is by design, supposed to make you happy." Said Tyrion, refilling his wine glass.

"It may make the common folk happy. But to me it's been an endless line of my men asking for a night off from their posts." Said Brienne, she pressed her palms to her face and sighed, "They're men of the Kings Guard! Last I checked that was a solemn duty that one put above all else."

"Yes, but they're also young men." Said Tyrion, "and it's not as if they're abandoning their vows to go fuck half the whores on the street of silk. They want to go drink wine and dance with pretty girls. All in all not the worst thing in the world."

"Which is why I let them go." Sighed Brienne, "but the sooner this whole thing is over the happier I'll be."

"What's the celebration even for?" Tyrion asked.

"It's a new moon festival." Said Tess, "they're very popular in Volantis, which is where that ship with the mummers came from." She casually flicked one of Tyrion's foot soldier tiles off the board with her dragon piece. He frowned at her.

"My dragon desired him," she quipped, "what was I to do?"

Tyrion gave her a unwilling smile.

"Hang on though." He said sitting up and looking over her shoulder towards the bar, "if you gave all the young King's guards the night off to go make merry, why is Pod still here?"

Tess turned around to confirm that Pod was indeed sitting at the bar having a discussion with a middle aged knight who'd taken a room in the inn earlier in the day.