Over the weeks since Dominic had opened Daenerys' eyes to what might be happening around them, Daenerys had been teaching herself how to sneak around. She found she was actually good at it. So long as she didn't actually look like she was trying to sneak around, people in the mansion automatically overlooked her. As such, she had found the magister's treasure room but it was always locked, leaving her no clue as to what they could be using as barter to the Dothraki. She had also followed the two men around the mansion, trying to find out what kind of deal they were trying to make with the horselords. Despite this, she was no closer now to figuring that out than she had been when Dominic discussed it with her.
Finally, she had to concede she was getting nowhere by herself and went to Dominic for more advice. The Northerner had become something of a true friend to her, despite his reservations about sharing information about the North with them. They had actually had a bit of an argument about that because, until she had learned the truth about how the old Lord Stark had died along with his heir, she had never seen a real difference between the Starks or the Lannisters. Both of them, in her opinion, had been dogs of the usurper Baratheon, both equally at fault for what happened to the King, her older brother's wife and his children.
Dominic had described how the two had died in detail, his voice calm from beginning to end, then asked her simply, "What would you have done?" He then went on to tell her about the days after the sacking of Kings Landing, when as a young squire he heard that Ned wanted Tywin and his family punished for their sack of the city. Lord Stark thought the sack went well beyond what should've occurred, as well as what happened to the children, calling for the head of Gregor Clegane at the very least. It was the only time that Lord Stark and Lord Baratheon had argued. It could have led to their friendship being forever derailed if not for their shared grief over Lyanna bringing them back together a few months later.
She found Dominic in the solar, strumming on his balalaika while gazing soulfully at one of the maids of the house, who was gazing back rapturously at him. Daenerys rolled her eyes. Dominic had been cutting quite a swath through the female servant population here, with his 'not from around here looks' and his dashing manner they were easily able to look past his maimed hand. The music apparently helped quite a bit as well.
She coughed to get his attention and Dominic looked up in surprise before rising from his chair. He bowed pleasantly to the maid, gesturing grandly with one hand. "I believe I am needed, we should try this some other time, yes?"
The maid blushed prettily, then moved towards the doorway, bowing to Daenerys before exiting. She nodded at the servant before turning back to Dominic, shaking her head. "I do hope you're being careful. I don't think magister Illyrio would take it kindly if you put half of his staff in the family way."
"Oh, I'm quite careful and there are certain concoctions that can help prevent such which I make certain that all of my dalliances take the next morning." As Daenerys laughed and moved towards the now vacant seat across from him, Dominic took a moment to look at her. Despite her womanhood coming rather later to her than was sometimes the case, she was definitely showing signs now of growing into a radiant beauty. Sixteen now, she was slowly losing that rangy, gangly look that girls of that age sometimes went through and was putting on pounds, gaining curves in all the right places. Even from when he first saw her until now, which was only a bare six months, the difference was apparent.
What wasn't apparent at first glance, was the inner strength of the girl coming to the fore. Now safe and with the ability to learn from the magister's library, Daenerys' intelligence and knowledge was growing daily. Helped, Dominic was certain, by the fact that Viserys was only rarely around to breathe down her neck, out and about as he was with Illyrio. She was also quietly charismatic. There was just something about the Targaryen girl that drew people to her, seen in the servants that had at first been supposed to watch her now looking to her as their mistress. Moreover, she seemed to be able to stare straight through you. Those eyes, those violet eyes of the Targaryen line, seemed to gaze into your soul.
"Now, what can I do for you, princess?" He asked, bringing his mind back to the present as she sat across from him.
She sighed. "I've tried following my brother around. I've tried following the magister around. I have tried asking the servants. I've tried getting into his vault to see if he's got some sort of relic or something that he's going to trade to the Dothraki for their aid. I have found nothing. I can't get into his treasure room. It's always locked and I think the magister keeps the key on him at all times. I don't know what else to do. Have you found out how they are trying to get the Dothraki to aid us and, more importantly, how they intend to get them across to Westeros?"
Dominic frowned now, wondering how to break the news to her. After a moment, he decided for the truth, the girl would make her own decision after that. "I can actually help you there. You see, I wandered about the town as a bard today, just to keep my hand in, you understand?" He waggled the fingers of his non-mangled hand at her. Daenerys rolled her eyes, making a 'get on with it' gesture with her own hand. "Anyway, I asked a lot of questions about the Dothraki and about their leaders. I found no way anyone could convince the Dothraki to go on the ocean and there have been no hints of grand alliances or treasure being handed over to them, beyond the normal tribute the city gives them to stop them from sacking it, of course. One the other hand, apparently one Khal, that is what they call a leader, is in the city. His name is Khal Drogo. There is some kind of prophecy detailing the coming of a figure out of Dothraki legend, 'he who mounts the world'. They say it may be Drogo's son, born of a union between himself and a woman from another land. What is known as fact, however, is that Khal Drogo is the most powerful Dothraki warlord around. He leads an army of forty thousand horse, an impressive horde to be sure."
He watched as it sank into his listeners mind. Nothing happened for a moment, then Daenerys' violet eyes widened in shock and horror. "You mean me! They, they mean to, to sell me off to some, some horse riding barbarian! That is the totality of their scheme? To simply sell me off to this Khal and he'll give us his troops! That's beyond ridiculous!"
"I thought as much," Dominic said mildly, waving one hand in the air as if to calm her down, but this didn't work.
Daenerys stood up in a fury, for the first time feeling that boiling, all-encompassing rage that Viserys thought came from their Targaryen blood. She stood up abruptly and stalked around the room, waving her hands in the air. "Even if I become this Drogo's wife, it's not like I'll be his equal or anything. I know enough about the Dothraki to know that their womenfolk do have rights of a sort but they can't lead a horde! That doesn't even consider how the hell we're going to convince them to cross the sea, which you said they're scared of!"
"I never said it was a smart plan." the bard protested. "I only mentioned that it was a possibility. Possibly, there could be more to it that hasn't reached the rumor mill. For anything else, you'll have to go to your brother or the magister."
"I will." Daenerys said firmly. "I'll go to Viserys this very night!" That line froze Dominic's blood, but before he could say anything Daenerys stormed out heading back towards her rooms.
That very evening, as she said she would, Daenerys confronted her brother. For the first time in their lives she stood up to him, angrily, "So, I have heard some rumors about how you are planning to get the Dothraki to agree to back us. Selling me off to one of their Khals? Is it true?"
Viserys calmly sipped at his wine smirking at her, somewhat drunk and therefore a little more coarse than he would have been otherwise. "Yes, that's the general plan, we have to use what we can, after all, and you," he said leering at her looking at her from head to toe, "are a very valuable commodity. Why do you think I never married you, myself? Your brides-head is worth far more than anything else about you, that's for certain."
This calm response did nothing to quiet Daenerys' rage and she replied scathingly. "And you think we can just march in with an army of forty thousand barbarians, barbarians who have no ability at siege warfare, against Westeros, a land that has dozens of castles that we would have to take by storm and with terrain far more varied and mountainous than that of most here in Essos? What about the barbarian's fear of the sea? How are you going to get them to go with you at all?"
"That's just a silly myth." Viserys said with an airy wave of his hand. "The promise of loot, pillage, and a return to the old ways of sacking cities rather than being paid tribute by them will garner enough interest from the Dothraki to offset their fears. All the cities are willingly paying them tribute rather than fighting them. That removes most of the worthy enemies, save for one another."
"As for aid in sieges, I have a certain alliance in hand already and with Illyrio's help we have allies elsewhere in Westeros. Trust your brother." he said, smirking and patting her cheek like a little girl. "With the barbarians as our manifold fist and our agents aid elsewhere, we will regain the Iron Throne." His eyes burned with a fervent light.
Yet, Daenerys did not share his optimism. "I think you're underestimating the fear of the ocean that the Dothraki feel and, unless this alliance you speak of is with a strong enough nation, we don't have enough people! What about a fleet? We would need to protect the ships the Dothraki are on until we land, and Dominic said that Stannis Baratheon is very dangerous at sea."
Now, Viserys was becoming angry at her questioning him. "If you must know, it is with Dorne that I have an agreement." he snapped, ignoring her rather pertinent point about needing a fleet. "I am to wed Prince Doran Martell's daughter thus once more binding the House of Martell and the House of the Dragon together once more!"
"That's all well and good in the south," Daenerys said, "but the rest of the nations won't just fall in line, we'll have to conquer them. We won't be seen as their rightful rulers returned, we will be seen as conquerors and we can't do that! Have our readings and Dominic's retelling of Robert's Rebellion taught you nothing?!"
Her brother snarled in anger at the mention of the rebellion but Daenerys forged on. "A King cannot simply run rampant over the land, wielding the sword to keep himself on his throne, because the moment the sword fails, he dies! We need to subvert them from within, garner public support, not barge in like, like a rampaging dragon! We don't have to just take back the throne, we have to rule from it!"
She was interrupted as Viserys slapped her across the face. Her head jerked back with the power of the slap. She could feel blood running down her from her lips for a moment but she glared back defiantly. That deep well of anger Daenerys had felt since realizing what Viserys and Illyrio intended sustained her where before she would have meekly given in at the first hint of her brother's rage.
"You will do is you are ordered." Viserys growled at her, grasping her around the throat with one hand. "I will reclaim our throne, whatever I must do, whatever price we must pay, however we can do it! If I have to wade through an ocean of blood to the Iron Throne, then I will do it. Remember your place, you are my younger sister, I am the head of the family, you will do what you are told!"
"Never!" she gasped. "We can't rule like that. We can't just rely on the Dothraki and Dornish swords. We need…" she was interrupted again by a slap, but she still glared back defiantly.
That look seemed to goad her brother and when next Viserys hit her, it was with his fist, not within open palm. Daenerys reeled, but she still stared defiantly at him "You can't silence me by…"
That was as far as she got before he again had her by the throat and his fist smashed into her stomach. Again and again, Viserys hit her, now in full 'Targaryen rage' as he called it, not even noticing when Daenerys' eyes lids shut and she slumped into unconsciousness. He hit her again and again in the face, on the chest, on the arms, and the stomach.
Viserys only stopped her when Dominic raced in along with Illyrio, wanting to see what all the noise was about and the bard pulled Viserys off his bloody, beaten, sister.
OOOOOOO
Ranma and the King's party had been traveling for about a month after they left the wharf at the end of the Neck and they were now near enough to a river to hear it from the road, if faintly, due to the noise of their passage. The Green Fork it was called, one of the three major rivers that gave the Riverlands its name. It flowed out of the Neck elsewhere on the Neck's length and, up ahead, merged with the Blue Fork and the Red Fork before traveling out to sea.
The King had called a halt early today for this reason, since the stream would allow the servants to wash the dirty clothing that had accumulated and this area was a good hunting ground, as well. "You want to come with us, lad?" he asked gaily, looking down at Ranma where he was helping Tommen down from his horse. That horse, Robert reflected with amusement, is probably the envy of the rest of the four legged bastards in the party, only having Tommen to carry day after day. He had invited Ranma along ever since they had left the Neck behind, hoping always in a rather loud voice that the boy's luck would rub off on them and they'd find some good sport for a change.
Ranma shook his head. He had come to somewhat like the King. He did have a sort of rough and ready humor and magnetism to him but he wasn't Ranma's favorite person in the world. Plus, hunting when he wasn't warging with Fenris didn't really interest him. "Not this time, your majesty, I think I'm going to swim for a bit. Do you have any idea how rare it is to be able to swim in the North without danger of frostbite?"
He looked over at his little sister, who had just exited the carriage. "I think you should come swimming, too, dear sister. You haven't had any proper exercise since this trip began." The girl raised her nose up haughtily but Ranma continued his needling of her before she could reply. "I don't think the Prince would like you so much if you became overweight, do you? And that's what you're going to do if you don't exercise after all that eating and sitting in one place for so long."
That seemed to settle the matter for Sansa, who nodded in agreement. Robert rode off with a booming laugh as Ned simply shook his head and chuckled, reaching down to ruffle Sansa's hair before he rode off after the King.
The trio of young girls, along with Cersei surprisingly, went off to change, coming back in the short pantaloons and loose shirts that passed for swimming clothing for women here.
Looking at the Queen, Ranma groaned a little internally, turning away quickly. Cersei had been acting strangely since they had left the Neck behind. She was almost always semi-friendly to him now, which made him even more suspicious of her. She was also always finding some reason to bend over or flip her hair back in such a way that the scent of her perfume hit him, always touching his hand after he brought Tommen back after exercising at their stops.
There was no denying the woman was gorgeous: blonde hair, green eyes, fair skin, and a figure that was one of the best Ranma had ever seen. However, her attentions toward him were freaking Ranma out! It was like she was flirting with him, but that couldn't be right, could it? Why him, especially considering, you know, the whole married to the King thing!?
While Cersei had gone into this little bit of seduction with the hope that she could eventually wear Ranma down and begin to control him using the oldest way imaginable, after a few days she had actually begun to enjoy it, and not just because her evil little brother Tyrion wasn't around. Despite the fact that, according to Jeyne, at least, Ranma was no virgin and, in fact, had been in a long-standing relationship with Dacey Mormont, the warrior woman Cersei had noticed a time or two at Winterfell, he tended to flush and look away, blushing like a little boy at the merest hint of flirtation from her. It fed her ego a little but it also was just so intensely amusing to her.
Beyond that, she had realized that Ranma was more dangerous as a rallying point than she had thought. He had an easy going charisma, an energy, a power to him, which seemed to ensnare anyone nearby, even some of the southern men-at-arms. When he spoke, people listened, even those nominally his superior, and when he was around he grabbed people's attention. He was at times stern like his father, such as when he was training Tommen, but the warmth underneath was visible in those deep blue eyes for any to see, unlike with Eddard, who only let his warmth show with family and friends.
Luckily for Cersei, her twin had been too busy 'guarding' the King to notice her interest in Ranma. Two of the Kingsguard had come down with the flu a little while after they left the Neck and were unable to do their duties. Jaime had been forced to follow the King around in their stead and the King always went hunting the moment they stopped for the midday or evening meal. Even once the King returned, Jaime had to stay with him. Jaime had become a little irritated by it but Cersei was rather thankful for it, since her twin would never have understood what she was up to with her mild flirtations, if he saw it. Oh, Cersei was subtle, but Jaime would have noticed something.
As would Tyrion of course, though what he would have done about it, that she didn't know. She hated the little dwarf, had hated him since she had heard a prophecy from a wise woman in Lanisport that both she would outlive her children would be slain and that her life would be ended by the 'valonqar', which was Valyrian for 'little brother'. She had feared Tyrion for years as being the object of that prophecy, especially since everything else the woman had told her had come true.
That was unimportant right now however. Now, they were coming to the halfway point of the trip and there hadn't truly been a lot of progress with her little project. Ranma still didn't seem to look at her as a woman when she wasn't outright flirting with him and it didn't seem as if she was getting through to him. Today's venture into flirtation also failed, because Ranma took one look at her and the girls, flushed, and moved off down the Green Fork, swimming away with the ease of an athlete through the water. When Tommen made to follow, the Queen brought him up sharply, ordering him to stay in the shallows with the rest of them, though her eyes tracked Ranma as he moved off.
At this point, Joffrey joined them, more to show off his physique to Sansa than anything else. To his dismay, however, Sansa merely glanced at him then away with a faint blush on her face while her friend Jeyne stared with a rather critical expression on her face. She turned away to whisper something into Sansa's ear, which caused Sansa to blush brightly and push her friend into the water with a giggle. Myrcella laughed and jumped in too, splashing them both. The young girl had been having a lot of fun on this trip, able to get away from the court and all its rules. Even her mother had allowed her to have some fun, though only under supervision of course.
The Queen allowed her legs to soak in the cold water of the river for a few moments, then, as Ranma showed no sign of coming back while she was here, sighed and stood up. She left septa Mordane in charge of the girls, knowing that nothing would happen under her watch. Instead, Cersei went back to change and talk to a few of the Knights who were loyal to her family, to see who had been behind the rather stupid attack on Ranma the night after they left the Neck, which was still being talked about in amused tones by many.
Cersei felt such assaults were premature, at best. She needed some way to figure out how Ranma was going to react to the cesspool that was politics in Kings Landing. If he was unable to navigate it without making enemies, that too would be information she could use and could give her pawns to use against him in the future, if need be. She also needed to learn his father's intentions when they arrived, which could be a much more immediate problem.
Back at the stream, Joffrey had begun to practice his swordplay, flicking his sword here, there, and everywhere, showing off in front of Sansa. This effort however, failed. Sansa had seen her father, both of her older brothers, as well as a few of the wolf-sworn at work, and knew true prowess with the blade when she saw it. So she merely smiled rather wanly. "You, um, you look magnificent, my Prince. Surely your prowess in battle matches that of your prowess on the hunt." Her face and tone however gave her away.
Joffrey scowled at her before stalking off angrily. Soon his angry walk brought him near Tommen, who was playing with Lady and Fenris further down the riverbank, splashing them and being splashed in turn. The sight of his younger brother brought an all-too-familiar rage surging through Joffrey's mind.
He hated the fact that Tommen had been getting so much attention lately, not just from Ranma, who he could care less about, but from the King, their father! While fearing Robert, the one thing Joffrey wanted above even the crown was his father acknowledging him, seeing him as his true heir! The fact that Tommen seemed to gain their father's approval after a few weeks of working with Ranma, made Joffrey's anger boil over. He conveniently neglected to think that he had had the chance early on to learn from Ranma, and possibly gain Robert's regard in turn, but such people never realize that they are their own worst enemies.
He charged his younger brother, his sword raised. He had just enough presence of mind to try and cover his act by saying, "Let's play brother, sneak attack!" He brought his sword down and Tommen, thanks only to his training with Ranma, was fast enough to dive out of the way, just in time.
Joffrey's sword wasn't a practice sword, it was a real one, which he had convinced his mother to let him carry a few days ago. If that blow had connected Tommen might've been maimed for life, at best. Tommy ducked back again, moving deeper into the water, his eyes wide and afraid at this sudden assault.
The 'civilized' Lady simply sat there in the shallows, looking on in confusion, but Fenris came to his rescue, bounding out of the deeper water. Joffrey tried to protect himself, slashing at the wolf, but Fenris was too fast and he slammed into Joffrey bodily with a shoulder, smashing back-first into the shallows. He leaned down, growling low in the prince's ear, and Joffrey stilled, something in his monkey brain telling him that death was very near indeed.
Ranma, warned by his bonded wolf's anger came swimming back up river in time to catch a bit of the action. Once there, he came forward motioning Fenris off. "What the hells were you playing at?" His voice was coldly angry as he knelt beside the prince, picking up his sword, which had fallen into the water when Fenris hit him. This isn't a toy, your highness." and instead of saying the words with any sense of respect, there was only derision and contempt in his voice. "You could have killed Tommen with that stunt. If you want to spar with someone, you ask, you don't just charge at your younger brother with a real weapon like that!"
His sister came running up at that point, pulling Ranma away, while behind her Myrcella went to Tommen, cursing herself for not having anticipated this kind of thing. Joffrey can't really hurt Tommen 'by accident' while in the carriage thanks to Tommen traveling on horseback most of the time, now. I should've thought he would look for some other way to hurt Tommy, but attacking him like this?
Sansa, however, knew nothing about Myrcella's thoughts or Joffrey's growing darker desires. "R-Ranma! He was only playing, your wolf overreacted. Are you all right, my prince?"
Joffrey scowled but allowed the girl to help him up, staring hard at Ranma. "Your wolf hurt me, if you can't control it, I'll have it put down!"
Fenris growled at him, but Ranma laid a gentle hand on his head and he calmed down quickly. "I have Fenris in complete control, my prince, which is something I can't say about you or whatever the hell drove you to try and attack your younger brother like this. I'll say again, if you want to spar, go to one of the men-at-arms, don't attack someone out of the blue like this."
Joffrey glared at him and stalked away, exaggerating his wounds where Fenris's claws had nicked him on the shoulder and chest, wincing occasionally for the look of the thing. "I'll have that beast put down for this, you'll see!"
After that, Joffrey ran to his mother, who overreacted, and when Robert and Ned came back from hunting, she accosted them with Joffrey at her side. After Joffrey told his version of the tale, he demanded that Fenris be put down.
However Ranma quickly countered that, informing them of what had really happened, with Tommen and Myrcella backing him up. When they were asked their opinions Jeyne simply said she hadn't seen anything and Sansa, much to the ire of both her father and Ranma, took the prince's side.
Robert looked disgusted. "So someone here is lying and I think I've got a good idea who," he said glaring at his oldest son. The useless waste of cum had never amounted to anything, yet, and this was just one more in a long line of disappointments that began with that damn pregnant cat he had butchered. Then the boy had the nerve to come and show me the babies, expecting me to be proud of him!
That thought never failed to infuriate Robert, but even so, he turned back to Ranma. "Still, we can't have an animal attacking the Crown Prince like that, even if it was warranted. It's almost as if it had attacked the King. Besides which, look at the size of Fenris, he's what, a tail longer and a head taller at least than the other one. The bigger that wolf grows the more dangerous he's going to be and the less you'll be able to control him. Best to put him down now."
Ned frowned and looked at his son, who he could tell from the tense way he stood, was about an inch away from committing violence. This was proven when he said grimly, "Your majesty, Fenris is only as dangerous as I am myself, something I will prove if anyone tries to 'put him down'."
Robert's eyes drew together angrily, unused to being talked to like that, but the Queen surprisingly came down on Ranma side. The last thing Cersei wanted to do was to drive a further wedge between him and her family. It looked as if Joffrey was doing all he could to widen that riff and she determined to take him strongly to task for that. For now, however, Cersei spoke calmly. "I think this has been blown out of all proportion. It's true that my son was only playing but he should have remembered that his sword wasn't a practice sword, while, at the same time, Fenris should've been gentler about taking him down. There is wrong enough to go around and Fenris has never acted violent before this. He interacts well with Tommen and with Myrcella and hasn't attacked anyone else, either. I will admit its size is off-putting and can make it dangerous but it seems well-controlled."
For some reason that made Robert bark out a laugh, although Ranma couldn't say he got the joke. Yet even his father's lips twitched in amusement, at the way that line could've been taken. The Queen went on, ignoring them with ease. "When we get to King's Landing, we might need to think of how to corral both wolves, simply for the safety of others. Right now, have Fenris and Lady steer clear of Joffrey, who it seems Fenris, at least, doesn't like, and we will speak no more about this incident."
She ignored the look of surprised betrayal on her oldest son's face. They would be having words later. This would put Ranma somewhat in her debt, as it was well within the King's power to order Fenris be put down and his own father would've had to obey.
The King laughed again, good humor restored by his bitch of a wife saying a double entendre like that without even realizing it. "Fine, but if it happens again lad, your wolf will be put down."
Ranma's glared at the King but didn't say anything, merely stalking away. That almost brought the King's bad mood back but he only had to look at the constipated expression on his eldest brat's face to get it back. Ranma also glared at his own sister and then shook his head, as if gravely disappointed in her, which he was. He then walked away without a word, followed by Ned, who didn't even look at her.
That made Sansa feel about 4 inches tall for a moment, but what was she supposed to do? She was to wed Joffrey. She couldn't go against his word, certainly not for a mere pet.
That evening, Ranma cornered Sansa after dinner before she could retreat into the children's tent and laid into her in no uncertain fashion. His voice lacked the usual warmth it held when he talked to family and his face was set in the 'Stark mask', as his friends often called it. "You took the Prince's side over that of your own brother and what you knew was right? What possible reason could you have for lying like that, Sansa?"
"Ranma," Sansa whispered urgently, "he's my fiancée! This is what I've been dreaming about for years! To wed the Prince!"
"So that is more important than the truth? What if it had been Lady who had jumped on top of Joffrey, would you have stood up for your own wolf if he and the Queen called for her to be put down, or stood by and watched Lady get her head chopped off?"
"No! But it's not that simple!"
Ranma held up a hand, far too angry right now to continue this. "I think you need to rethink about your priorities, Sansa, or you might lose something important while chasing after something that might not even exist." With that he walked off.
Sansa stared after him for several moments before ducking inside the tent, wondering why Ranma couldn't see, couldn't see that she loved Joffrey, that they belonged together! Sure, Joffrey had an anger issue but so did his father! Sure, he wasn't the warrior that Ranma was but he was also untried and a man didn't have to be a warrior to be a good king or husband. Marrying Joffrey was her dream and she would do anything to see it come about.
While Jeyne commiserated with her friend, Myrcella looked at her sadly, wondering if it was too late to open Sansa's eyes to the truth about her brother. If something like today couldn't do it, I'm almost afraid of what could… Instead of saying anything she turned away on her cot as if already falling asleep, vowing internally once more to protect Tommen from Joffrey as much as she could.
As he stalked away, Ranma paused looking at the Queen who was about to enter her own tent. Ranma nodded his head at her and the Queen responded with her own nod of the head before moving inside, where she let a small smirk of triumph appear on her face. A crack has appeared, now all I need is to find some way to capitalize on it.
Ranma groaned, running one hand through his hair as he moved off to where he would sleep up in one of the trees near the camp, with Fenris on the ground below them. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened after they left the Neck and with Joffrey on a tear that was more likely than anything else. This isn't my kind of fight. he thought to himself There isn't anything I can grab here, anything I can see to turn my skills on. It's all just words, trickery, backstabbing, and hidden agendas. Damn it, I need to be on guard all the time. It's like being back in Nerima only instead of physical attacks I need to be ready for political ones.
In the tent he shared with his uncle Joffrey was trembling with rage, while Jaime simply lay there, lost in his own thoughts as to what his sister was playing at. For the first time, Joffrey had felt the barbed edge of his mother's tongue and it had been unpleasant to say the least. She had taken him to task for endangering his sibling, for then lying to her, and, worst of all, for making her have to make peace with the King. She ordered him, ordered! Him! To stop looking for ways to attack Ranma, that the Stark boy's physical skills made him a weapon she wanted to turn to their use but that she couldn't do that when he was making every effort to alienate Ranma.
All this made Joffrey's hate for Ranma even stronger and for Tommen as well. He couldn't understand what was so special about the Stark boy. Oh, he was quick and had endurance but who cared about that in relation to Joffrey being the Crown Prince! That meant he was much more important than some wild boy from the North, so why was everyone acting as if the Stark freak was special? And as for Tommen, he was now getting even more of their mother's attention as well as their father's, something Joffrey could not abide. Yet, that was Ranma's fault more than anything. There must be something I can do to him, something he won't see coming. He thought for a long time then smiled. I can stomach this a while longer but the moment we get back to King's Landing, I must seek out the alchemists' hall...
OOOOOOO
She dreamed of the fire of dragons, raining down from the sky. Only their targets weren't normal, they didn't seem to move as humans should, nor did they seem to feel pain they only died silently under the breath of the dragons. She dreamed of a man made of blue-gold fire leading a charge but against whom she couldn't make out. She dreamed again of blue eyes, warm and expressive, a face that somehow was kind yet stern. She dreamed of cold, cold creeping across the ground like fingers of death, coming closer and closer only to be halted by the fire of dragons and the feel of a wolf pelt draped across her body.
Daenerys woke up but found she couldn't gather enough energy to move or even open her eyes. What had awoken her was an argument going on nearby, the noise of which drove what little memory she had of her dreams out of Daenerys' mind. "What! You said it yourself, we need their troops! Why the delay?"
"Not even a Dothraki barbarian would agree to marry a woman who has been beaten bloody, my prince! What on earth were you thinking?" There was something to the magister's tone that had never been there before when he addressed either of the Targaryen siblings, cold harshness and condemnation rather than obsequiousness.
That, possibly more than the words themselves, brought Viserys up short. He glared at the magister then asked abruptly, "Are the barbarians really afraid of the ocean? If we can't use them in Westeros then what is the point of this arrangement at all!"
The magister waved one hand dismissively. "That fear can be overcome with enough treasure promised to them, if…"
"You sound remarkably blasé about it, but this is putting all our eggs into one basket. What if we can't? What if this marriage doesn't do anything for our cause? We will have gambled away one of our most important pieces for nothing!"
"Do not concern yourself about that, the barbarians will play their part. You will have your army eventually. If not from the Dothraki, the threat of them might force a few of the free cities to pony up enough money for us to raise a mercenary army."
"And thus he would be seen as just an invader, just another claimant to the throne with no more right to it than any other. Worse, you would be seen as a foreigner and that would rally the people against you like nothing else." That was Dominic's voice, calm and almost analytical.
Viserys turned on him. "I heard that same argument from Daenerys. What have you been telling her?! She should know not to question me or my decisions! I should have your head for your part in this!" Viserys, of course, didn't think he was in the wrong at all, it was merely his sister questioning him that was wrong.
"I merely answered her questions, your grace, that's all. She was the one who asked them in the first place. Yet, that does not mean that her questions are invalid, does it? If you get them across the ocean, over their fears and Stannis and his fleet, the Dothraki might be able to win you the throne, but your own actions before, after, and especially during that invasion will make it so you keep it. If you simply threaten anyone who's wants to stand against you or questions you with your horde of foreign troops, you will never be able to live without them. You, your children, your line will always be forced to rely on the sword to keep your throne."
"If that is the way I must take back my crown from the usurper then so be it!" Viserys said coldly. "Those people should all have been loyal to my family in the first place, now they have made their beds and I will happily kill them all in them."
"This is all of no consequence, really." the magister said waving one hand airily, unseen by Daenerys. "My healers say that Daenerys will be able to move in a few days but it will be months before her bruises and cuts heal enough for her to be seen in public, let alone be married off to Khal Drogo. I can postpone the wedding for that long. Postpone, not get out of. The barbarians are death on pact breakers and the city itself could be made to pay for the price of any such broken deal."
In actuality, the Dothraki were really not a threat to the main free cities themselves these days. Their defense was too strong for the Dothraki, who had no siege knowledge, to break through. But the Dothraki could put the lands all around the main city to the torch. Of course, none of the other cities would come to one another's aid, which, even with the sea trade untouched, would allow the Dothraki to slowly but surely choke the life out of any one of them.
Viserys nodded grimly. "Daenerys will do her duty and we will have their blades."
The two of them left, leaving only Dominic and the healer, an elderly woman who puttered around the room making certain that the two of them were not left alone, acting more as chaperone at the moment then a healer.
Dominic took no notice of that, simply sitting in the chair next to Daenerys and shaking his head. "You silly girl, what in the world possessed you to actually confront your brother in such a manner? You should've gone to the magister rather than your brother, at least the magister wouldn't have assaulted you like this."
"Had to." Daenerys whispered, her voice coming out hoarse thanks to the damage to her throat and mouth area as well as disuse. "How long?"
"You've been out of it for four days now. And what exactly did you mean, you had to?" Dominic asked, not showing any surprise at her answering him.
"Had to confront him, had to show, not a little girl anymore."
"He seems to already think you aren't a little girl, that is in fact the problem at present. So what will you do now that you have confirmed their rather simpleminded plan?"
"Don't know, rest, heal first. You, you look around? Search. Illyrio hiding something, the treasure room."
"Simplicity, the hallmark of any good plan, and yes, I'll hunt around see what I can find."
Daenerys tried to nod her head but couldn't move her neck. She simply blinked at him with her one open eye. "Thank you."
Dominic shook his head, moving away from the bed as the healer moved in to give the girl some medicine that would knock her out, letting her body heal. He chuckled quietly, looking down at his un-maimed hand, wiggling his fingers. "Well, I suppose I can see if these old fingers still remember how to pickpocket."
OOOOOOO
The King's party continued down the Kingsroad, which in turn followed the Blue Fork. At this point, they were in the Riverlands proper, the more settled region of this kingdom rather than the less populated border region between the Kingsroad entering the Neck and entering the Riverlands. As such, there were more people and many more dwellings along the road. Farmsteads now appeared practically every two or three leagues, but they looked rather strange to Sansa and Ranma. The Northerners had gotten used to farmsteads in the North, which were always heavy stone buildings, designed to hold a large extended family and to serve as a defense stronghold as well, in a pinch. But the houses were also built heavy to keep in the warmth and keep out the cold. Here, buildings had many more windows with much more glass. Most of the structures were made from wood rather than stone and mortar with thatched roofs rather than the heavy wooden roofs found in the North.
The two siblings were now talking again, though only haphazardly. Sansa had not yet apologized for taking the Prince's side in the argument about Fenris nor had she really thought about what she might be giving up in chasing her dream that Joffrey had come to represent, that of marrying a prince and living in the center of things, in King's Landing. However, Ranma had cooled down a little from his anger at that but was even more determined than ever to find real proof to show Joffrey wasn't what Sansa thought he was. Unfortunately for him, Joffrey had made himself scarce since that incident, sticking to his mother's side at stops, and staying in the carriage when he could, from wherever Ranma and Tommen went.
Two things had changed though. The first was that Robert occasionally forced Ranma and Tommen to ride up front with him, where he regaled them with his own stories. He seemed to be, in his own rather ham-handed way, to be showing approval for Tommen, whose lessons Ranma had stepped up. Along with the ones made to build up strength and speed, Ranma had begun to give him lessons on self-defense, unarmed for now. Robert had seen them at it, and his approval for his youngest child had risen a bit more.
Now, while Ranma enjoyed the stories that Robert could tell from his youth, at least the ones that were about battles and fights rather than wenching, he preferred to spend time with the youngsters at the back or talking to the men-at-arms from Winterfell. By this point he had exercised with all of them, even the ones he haven't exercised with before this journey began and all of them had gained a bit more skill because of it. Nothing like Ser Jory or the others he had trained with back in Winterfell but enough to make them a little more dangerous than your run of the mill swordsman. At every stop, he could be found giving pointers of stance and style even as he kept training Tommen, though his own sword had not been replaced.
The other change was that the leader of the White Cloaks, Ser Barristan, had taken to spending more time by the carriage and talking quietly to Ranma and Tommen when Ranma wasn't regaling the younger boy with stories. He did this randomly and never seemed to spend much time with them but he plied Tommen with questions about leadership and what he would do in any given situation, like the sort of question Ned plied his son with at times, but Ranma was left to wonder what the older man was thinking. Nor was he alone in this, Cersei too noticed, both this and Robert's attempt at reaching out to Tommen. She noticed, wondered, and worried.
Despite this minor mystery, nothing else occurred for the next week or so until they came upon a large inn set on the side of the road that was large enough for the Baratheon and Stark households, although not their troops. Most of the men-at-arms kept going and would make camp in a large clearing at the other side of this tiny village, though the Kingsguard stayed with the two families.
The inn's second floor was organized around a small central seating area, with six rooms of varying size down two hallways on either side. Two large rooms were first, with several beds apiece, for normal guests. Then there were two more rooms, each of better quality than the last.
After a very decent meal, dominated by Robert talking excitedly about what kind of hunting they could do on the next day of the trip, as well as Ned quizzing Ranma on his knowledge of the Riverlands geography, the group retired. Ranma first went outside to check on Fenris, who had been put in the inn's kennel for the night. His wild looks and size frightened the innkeeper so much that he was shaking like a leaf despite the amount of money that the eunuch handed over for their night's stay.
Still, Fenris seemed happy enough and the other dogs in the kennel certainly weren't going to bother him. They were all away well from him except for two. One was a large hunting dog that Ranma thought looked sort of like a Rottweiler but with a basset hound's ears. He had seen both often enough in his travels to make that comparison, though the combination was new. It was lying down near Fenris, its eyes on the direwolf, although it didn't seem to Ranma that it was thinking of attacking him. The second dog that didn't seem wary of Fenris was a tiny toy dog that was yapping at the large direwolf pup. The direwolf, however, was ignoring it with ease. Ranma chuckled reaching through the bars to rub Fenris's ears, causing the large pup to rumble deep in his throat and wag his tail. "Try not to eat that one, okay? I don't know whose it is but that can only cause trouble and, more importantly, it might upset your stomach. Then where would ya be."
Fenris chuffed, amused at his masters words, then looked over at the yappy dog with one eye. The tiny dog whimpered a little and backed away, it's tail between its legs, but the moment Fenris looked away shook itself and came back yapping even louder. The other dogs however continued to stay silent and as far away from Fenris as possible. Even though he was only barely seven months old, Fenris was larger and more powerful than any of them. Unlike the yappy dog, all of the others knew this. Ranma chuckled again and headed back into the inn.
When he got up to the second story, he noticed Ned waving to him from one doorway, near the far end of the leftmost hall. On the other side of Ned, Robert could be seen entering the last room on that side of the inn. Giggling laughter of some woman or other reached Ranma's ear as he walked toward his father causing Ranma to sigh, shaking his head, noticing the Queen entering the second room on the other side with her handmaiden, while the girls entered the one beyond that.