Fire And Blood

Westeros II

Varys

With soft-soled slippers making nary a sound in the Red Keep's vast halls, barely even hushing and whispering against the stone floor, Varys ambled his way to another meeting of King Joffrey Baratheon's Small Council.

It was a tiresome affair, without a doubt, and even more so since the young King had decided to join them. Entitled, spoiled, his blatant madness rivalled only by late King Aerys's – who had been a victim of terrible and unfortunate circumstances one might argue – Joffrey Baratheon had certainly proven himself to be unfit for rule. One might have hoped that the Dowager Queen would rein him in, would curb his thirst for violence, would appeal to his senses but she herself was just as cruel to the Stark girls and the Poole girl as her bastard boy. Oh, they rarely, if ever, hit them but words and deeds could be just as painful as a whip and cane.

The poor girls had no friends and only foes in this cursed place and any attempts at fleeing, despite the valiant efforts of their household guards, had been curbed violently if need be…particularly on poor Jeyne Poole. More than once had she been picked to torture until she would reveal any such plots. Whether those plots existed or were nonexistent was of secondary importance. The Dowager Queen wanted to hear something and Jeyne Poole was the, by far, least important hostage they had. Who would care if the soles of her feet had been caned bloody?

Varys suppressed a shudder as he ducked past a corner and towards the meeting chamber down the hall. With everything that he had experienced and…heard…during his lifetime, the sight of blood, of torn skin and flesh made him weak to the stomach still. He had thought for many moons about the girls and he had finally found a solution that would best fit his plans but first, he had a meeting to attend to.

Nodding at Ser Arys Oakheart, who promptly opened the door for him, Varys stepped inside the familiar trappings of the Small Council room. As per usual these days, he was the last to arrive, so busy was he feeding his little birds. He quickly took his seat by the large, intricately carved table, joining the Dowager Queen Cersei, her son, King Joffrey, her brother the Imp and Grand Maester Pycelle. Lord Baelish had other errands to attend to and would not be able to join them today.

Then, as per usual again, the acting Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister, commenced the meeting.

One such topic that had been frequently discussed these days was the unexpected Stark-Frey union. Upon the proposal from Lord Walder Frey, the young Lord Robb had surprisingly and promptly agreed to a marriage with one of his many daughters and, as such, prevented any Lannister attempts at bribery from being successful. Now, the unprecedented alliance between House Stark and House Frey was proving to be a worthy challenge for the Lannister army.

Details about the recent battle that transpired between the forks of the Trident were scarce and too inconsistent for his liking. What little they were able to gather certainly painted a victory for the Northern army, though not without heavy costs on their side. Regardless, Robb Stark had managed to relieve Ser Edmure Tully's beleaguered forces along the banks of the Blue Fork and was now marching to relieve Riverrun – if a little late, the besiegers having already retreated to the Golden Tooth at Lord Tywin's behest. The weirwood banners of House Blackwood were reportedly seen raised along the battlements of Raventree Hall once more. With the Northerners officially entering the fray, this war in the Riverlands didn't appear to be reaching a resolution anytime soon.

Another was Lord Baelish travelling to Highgarden to negotiate a possible marriage between Lady Margaery Tyrell and King Joffrey after Renly Baratheon's rather sudden and surprising death.

So many of those these days, Varys thought. First Eddard Stark, now Renly Baratheon – one has to watch their step, lest something inexplicable befall them…mayhap even quite literally.