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***
The Iron Throne is just around the corner. Just reach out your hand.
Light's chair is to the right and just a little lower. The throne is only for the royalty and his (or her) right hand - in other words, for Myrcella and Kivan. And Lyte is just the Prince Consort.
The Tyrells' departure from the capital brought another reshuffle in the Small Council. Keevan Lannister became Hand instead of Mace Tyrell, and the vacated position of regent went to Light.
In principle, they could have insisted on the royal title. But Light decided it would be more advantageous to feign modesty. He's already considered an upstart. He's risen too high, and too fast. That's the kind of man to be feared. If he is to win the Great Council, he must allay those fears. Let Daenerys be feared. Targaryen is all pride and pathos, prophecy and magic, flame and blood. And he is an accidental compromise figure, only coincidentally placed near the throne. A king comfortable in his weakness, under whom the vassals will be at ease. By the time the lords realise how wrong they've been, it will be too late.
It's all happened too quickly. There's no new army, the Church hasn't been reformed, the Ironborn haven't been destroyed. The Tyrells were more cunning than I realised. They could have clung to Tommen to the last man, fought the dragons, tried to kill me when they realised I was dangerous... but they chose to stand aside. And wait. Daenerys will be here soon. With dragons, shadow slayers, and a legitimate claim to the throne. Myrcella is doomed. Either she's killed by me, or she'll be overthrown and executed by a Tyrell alliance with Daenerys. Damned Daenerys! She's ruined my plans. She's made me improvise.
Light looked at the man standing in front of the empty throne. Myrcella has already left Storm's End, but she hasn't reached the capital yet. The Sunspear is much further, but Oberyn Martell travelled while his uncle was still alive, so he had made it sooner. Younger brother of the Prince of Dornish, nicknamed the Red Serpent for his habit of fighting with poisoned weapons. Lord Tywin had invited the Prince himself, but Doran Martell was ill and sent a substitute.
- Lord Lancel, I demand justice. Your Uncle Tywin, God rest his sinful soul, promised to give us Elia's killers in exchange for Dorne's oath to King Tommen. My sister,' he added, as if Light might not be aware of the family ties of Rhaegar Targaryen's wife, murdered by Lannister men seventeen years ago.
- While you were travelling, Tommen passed away. Queen Myrcella is his heir. She should be sworn to.
- Surprising death rate among the Baratheons, isn't it? Kings are dying so fast lately, we don't have time to swear them in. The last time we swore to Robert and before him, the Targaryens. We skipped Joffrey, Stannis and Tommen.
- Just don't miss my wife.
- That depends on you. Who killed Elia?
Grigor Clegane. He also smashed baby Aegon's head against the wall. And Amory Lorch stabbed two-year-old Raenys. It would have cost Light nothing to hand them both over to the Dornish, justice demanded it, and his father thought that good relations with Dorne were more important than the lives of two scumbags, but....
Except that Myrcella would soon be dead and Dorne's oath would be useless.
But it'll be hard to explain the rejection. Kivan and Tyrion will be angry with him, and the lords will find him irrational and irrational. Not the kind of reputation a pretender to the throne needs.
A duel, that's the way out. Pride will not allow the Red Serpent to refuse. Pride and a hot temper. The Dornian will fight Clegane and die, it cannot be otherwise, only the Hound can defeat the Mountain. Oberyn Martell's death will ignite a thirst for revenge in the Dornish of his retinue, which can be used to take out Myrcella by other hands. Nymeria Sand, one of Oberyn's illegitimate daughters (they were called 'sand snakes'), came with him. Light had heard something about these snakes: they hated the Lannisters even more than their snake daddy did.
One problem: Light is a Lannister, too. We can only hope that even a rage-fuelled Nymeria has the sense not to kill the Lannister who came to help them.
- Prince Oberyn, I was only a few months old when your sister was killed. I have only hearsay for what happened. My family say Grigor Clegane is responsible, but he denies it.
If Gora is so stupid that he won't deny it himself, I'll have to tell him.
The Dornian's eyes narrowed.
- Of course they will.
- As Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, it is my duty to uphold justice. Who can say with certainty what happened seventeen years ago? There is only one way to establish the truth. A trial by combat.
- Fight the Mountain? To prove his guilt, which not even your relatives doubt?
- I doubt it. My family could have been mistaken. They could have been deceived by someone else's slander. Ser Grigor's reputation is unfortunately conducive to such rumours. But that doesn't mean he's guilty.
The Red Serpent didn't think for long.
- Very well. I will fight the Mountain and kill him.
***
To make it easier for the spectators to watch the fight, stands were set up in the courtyard of the Red Castle. Light sat in the centre, with Myrcella to his left and Ser Kiwan to his right. His father whispered anxiously in his son's ear:
- I hope Oberyn wins. His death will turn all of Dorne against us. You should never have suggested this duel. You should have given them the Mountain, it wasn't worth so much.
- I could not do otherwise, Father. I must protect my men. Ser Grigor's guilt is far from proven.
- Bloody Horus is guilty,' Tyrion interjected, 'and because he is our vassal, the shadow of his crimes falls on us as well. By turning him in, we can kill two birds with one stone: appease the Martells and get rid of a troublesome subordinate. That's what I told my father. The Mountain is more beast than man.
- Beast or no beast, he's entitled to a fair trial. If Lysa Arryn had the same principles as you, you would have been thrown out the Moon Door.
Tyrion bit his tongue. Just yesterday he had been heartily rejoicing at the news of Lysa Arryn's death. Lady Catelyn's sister had been pushed through the Moon Door by some singer among her cronies. If even Lady Lysa, who hated Tyrion, gave him the opportunity to vindicate himself in a court duel - could he deny the same right to the Mountain?
The duel had begun. At first it seemed that his father's hopes were being fulfilled: The Red Serpent fought coolly and skilfully. The Dornian circled around his opponent, striking with his spear and dodging his lunges. The tip of the spear was smeared with something dark and shiny. Obviously poison. If Oberyn won, Light would have to poison Myrcella. Sweet dreams are best.
- You killed her. You raped her. You killed her children.
Oberyn said it over and over again. Myrcella sat pale, green eyes fixed on the Dornish. She's rooting for him, Light realised. She wants the Mountain to get what he deserves.
Just when it seemed that the young queen's wish was about to come true - the Dornian had taken the enemy down, all that was left for Gora to do was to finish him off - a miracle happened. The Red Serpent managed to turn victory into defeat. Hora confessed, he roared about it to the whole castle, the triumphant prince put his foot on his torso and bent down to his face. That's when Hora grabbed him by the throat. Steel-gloved fingers stabbed into his eyes. Myrcella cried out sorrowfully.
***
Hora's death was slow. The Dornish waited patiently; they wanted his skull to take to the Sunspear with the embalmed body of their prince. Light was waiting, too. Tyrion's spies reported that Nymeria Sand was furious and threatening the Lannisters with terrible punishments. Tyrion offered to have her arrested, but Light and his father objected. This is no time to spoil relations with Dorne, they said. When news of Tommen's death and the breakdown of the Lannister-Tyrell alliance reaches Volantis, Daenerys and the Golden Swords will surely decide their time has come. They cannot be allowed to be joined by the Dornish as well. That was Ser Kiwan's opinion. Light, on the other hand, saw the Martells' defection to the enemy as inevitable and was simply stalling for time. When the Mountain was dead, the Dornish would leave the capital. Why not let Oberyn's daughter do one last good deed and kill Myrcella?
- She's here,' Tyrion said.
It was three in the morning. Apart from Light and Tyrion, only Kiwan and Pycelle were in the Small Council Chamber. The maester had brought a letter from the raven tower half an hour ago, woke the Hand, and told him to wake the Regent and the Master of the Whisperers. The letter with the broken dragon seal lay in the middle of the table.
- The Dornish could find out about this at any moment,' Light said. - We need to hold them off before they get away.
Tyrion nodded. The dwarf had much to be proud of. Thanks to his spies, the Iron Throne learned of Daenerys's arrival at the Sunspear before anyone else.
Father, meanwhile, was perplexed:
- Why so soon? I thought we had a couple of months to spare, at least. Before the news of Tommen's death reached Volantis, before the Golden Swords had travelled, before they had sailed to Westeros... How could she convince the mercenaries to support her if the Tyrells were still with us? She couldn't have known beforehand, could she?
- Actually, she could. Marvin the Mage claimed that some of the priests of Rglor could see the future in the flames. Perhaps Melisandre is one of them.
- Ser Davos was seen in Daenerys's retinue,' Tyrion noted. - So she has Shireen Baratheon and Edric Storm, too. She can use them to bring the Storm Lords to her side. If they don't like Stannis's daughter, they can legitimise a bastard. The boy gives up all rights to the Iron Throne and gets the Storm's End as compensation. That's what I'd do if I were Daenerys.
- So we could lose not only Dorne, but the Stormlands as well? - Ser Kiwan said worriedly.
- Only part of it,' Light said. - I know my vassals, I know their sins and weaknesses. Many of them we can buy or intimidate. But not all of them. I don't think I'd be wrong to say that about half of them will go after Edric Storm-Baratheon. The other half, if we do it right, won't defect to him until our position is hopeless.
- And the riverlands? - Kiwan exclaimed. - Cersei has no love there. If they sense our weakness, the River Lords might revolt!
- The North and the Iron Islands might take a chance, too,' Tyrion added. - And I wouldn't count on the Vale. Baelish is not a man to turn his back on.
There was a dull silence.
- Tyrells,' Kiwan said. - We need the Tyrells. Without them, we will lose.
Tyrion squinted.
- 'Lancel and Margaery seem to get along well. I've seen them play kaiwassa more than once. And Lancel was the first person Margaery turned to after Tommen died. What did she say to you, cousin? I was standing far away and couldn't hear.
Light sighed. Margaery had been careless that time and said too much. Yes, she spoke quietly and there was no one else around - but what if someone standing nearby could read lips? Margaery is clever, but she still has a lot of learning to do.
- Lady Margaery was very worried about what had happened. She needed someone to share her grief with.
- And she chose you.
- Yes. And?
- Nothing. Just thinking out loud. If you weren't married to Myrcella, you could have married Margaery and solved our problem.
- If I wasn't married to Myrcella, I'd just be one of the Lannisters. Why would Margaery, who was recently queen, marry me?
It was only when he saw Tyrion's wide grin that Light realised his mistake. By denying his and Margaery's collusion, he had unwittingly played into the dwarf's hands.
- You're quite right, cousin - there's no need. Myrcella is our queen, and she should marry Tyrell. Myrcella's husband and our new regent will be Willas, Margaery's older brother. And Myrcella's marriage to Lancel must be dissolved. As unfulfilled. You didn't consummate the marriage, did you, cousin?
- No, I had to tell Light.
- Good. In the morning I'll talk to the High Septon - there's no need to disturb the venerable old man's sleep - and in the afternoon Myrcella will be free. Lancel will go to Highgarden to negotiate his ex-wife's new marriage. A very important matter on which our family's survival depends. There's no-one else to do it but you, Lancel. I'm sure you'll do a fine job.
- Yes,' said Light. - Of course.
***
The Dornish girl shook her head dazedly, shaking off the remnants of sleep.
- Say that again.
- You must run. Dorne has aligned itself with Daenerys, so the Dornish are no longer to be trusted. Soon the guards will come here and arrest you. My father ordered it.
- You're supposed to be the Regent. I mean, in charge. If you don't like your father's orders, you should rescind them.
- It's not that simple. I can't risk helping you openly.
- Why are you helping us at all? You, Lannister?
- Your father is dead because of me,' Light sighed. - If I'd believed the Mountain was guilty in the first place and hadn't arranged the duel, Oberyn Martell would still be alive. To make it up to you, I'll get you out of the castle.
- How? There's no way through the gates. The sentries will make a noise and we'll be captured.
- There's a secret passage to the river. It's barred, but it's easy to break through from the inside. It's still an hour before dawn. We'll make it!
***
Light led the Dornish through confusing corridors, staircases, cellars. As he had hoped, his charges quickly lost track of where they were. The encounter with the two guards was an unpleasant surprise to them, but not to Light. He was well aware of the location of all the posts and their numbers.
- Halt! - shouted the soldier. - Don't go any further! This is the Queen's quarters!
Thank you for telling me. It'll be even easier now.
Light pulled his hood back from his face.
- My Lord Lancel! - the guard marvelled. - What are you doing here at this hour? And who is that with you?
Steel gleamed in Nymeria Sand's hand. The guard collapsed to the floor. The knife handle was sticking out of his throat.
- Dornish! - screamed the other. - Seven save us, they've taken the Regent hostage!
The second knife finished him off as quickly as the first. The assassin's dark eyes came to rest beside Light.
- I think I heard something about the Queen's chambers,' the Dornish woman whispered. Light feigned fright:
- No! Not Myrcella!
- I swore I wouldn't hurt you, but there was no deal about Myrcella. The girl will die. That's for your father.
- What if I change my mind and refuse to take you out of the castle?
I have to say so. It would be very suspicious if I didn't even try to protect Myrcella.
- We'll be caught. And everyone will know you were helping us. Without Myrcella, you're nothing, so you'll go to prison with us.
Light pretended to resign himself to his fate.
- You're paying for the good,' he said reproachfully. - By killing my wife.
- Chin up, Lannister. When Daenerys sits on the Iron Throne, I will personally ask her to execute every Lannister in line of succession before you. You'll be Lord of the Cliff - not every fool gets to rise that high.