A Court of Thrones | Game of Thrones

A Favour

-King's Landing-
Arabella Baratheon.

She stood with Jon on the terrace, overlooking Blackwater Bay.

The ship loomed further out in the bay, a shadow given solid shape upon the water. Its hull, painted an unrelenting black, seemed to swallow the light around it, a dark void that drew the eye. From the deck rose three towering masts, their half-furled, dark sails giving the vessel a tense, watchful air—like a predator poised to pounce. The rigging stretched in taut, orderly lines, woven with precision across the vessel. Larger and grander than anything around her, the ship dwarfed even her father's flagship, casting it in shadow and asserting its quiet dominance.

Tucked into the shadows of open ports, the Valyrian cannons lay in wait—weapons capable of launching massive steel projectiles at devastating speeds. The ship's stern was fitted with narrow, barred windows peering into the captain's quarters. Above, a tattered flag flapped in the wind, devoid of crest or emblem, a simple black shroud that proclaimed the vessel's ruthless anonymity.

This was the kind of ship whose name would be spoken in low, fearful tones in dimly lit taverns, a new legend drifting from port to port. It felt almost alive, a spectre bound to the sea. It seemed to breathe with the rhythm of the waves, as if each rise and fall fed its hunger for battle. The cannons seemed to yearn to release their wrath on any fool daring enough to challenge her.

Arabella muttered under her breath, "By the gods... the squids would need new knickers if they ever laid eyes on her."

"Cass calls her the Black Pearl," Jon replied.

Arabella looked at him, eyes wide. "That brother of yours is terrifying."

"Aye," Jon agreed, a faint smile in lips. "Cassian never believed in half measures. Once, when I was so ill I could scarce leave my bed, Cass read about some plant capable of curing me. Only, the plant had gone extinct south of the Wall centuries ago. So he sneaked beyond the Wall, nearly froze to death, but he brought that flower back."

She would have replied, but something else drew her attention.

The ring of boots echoed through the stone hall. With her wolf at her side, she turned to see Eddard Stark striding briskly down the corridor, Cassian close behind. Bella gasped, remembering suddenly, and hurried forward, calling back to Jon about a council meeting she'd forgotten about. Jon quickened his pace to catch up, then matched her stride, walking calmly by her side. Cassian glanced back over his shoulder with a smile before turning back to Stark.

The chamber was lavishly furnished. Myrish carpets spread across the floor in place of rushes. In one corner, a hundred beasts cavorted in bright paints on a carved screen from the Summer Isles. Tapestries from Norvos, Qohor, and Lys hung on the walls. By the doorway, two Valyrian sphinxes stood vigil, their polished garnet eyes glowing with a faint inner fire, set into solemn faces of black marble.

The counsellor Arabella liked least, the eunuch Varys, accosted the Hand the moment he entered.

"Lord Stark, I was grievous sad to hear about your troubles on the kingsroad. We have all been visiting the sept to light candles for Prince Joffrey. I pray for his recovery." His hand left powder stains on the lord's sleeve.

"Your gods have heard you," Ned Stark replied coolly. "The prince grows stronger every day." Eddard disentangled himself from the man's grip and crossed the room to where Lord Renly stood by the screen, talking quietly with a tiny man who could only be Littlefinger.

Arabella looked at Jon, noticing him taking in everything with that calculating look he sometimes got. She had been briefing him on the who's who of the Red Keep for months, just so he wouldn't be going in blind. Her wolf pulled out a chair for his princess, Bella smiling as she sat down.