48 Chapter 47: Excahnging gifts P1

Daeron thought back on the week that passed by and felt it passed by far too quickly, in his opinion. Last week was the only week he had the time to relax a little bit ever since he woke up in Castle Black. Ever since he rode out from the Wall, he had been fighting battle after battle or scheming. It was not as if there was nothing that required his attention in the past week. It was just that his wife had issued orders not to disturb their time together for a week. He had tried to circumvent that particular wish from his newly wedded wife, but she always carefully pulled him into bed with her and rode him till exhaustion. As a result, he missed out on the opportunity to adequately respond to the slew of ravens that came from the Westerland lords of their immediate surrender or even the raven from the Wall about Bran's arrival escorted by surviving Free Folk, Giants and Children of the Forest. There was the issue of forging Dragonglass weapons in the capital city and having them transported to the North for the war. The Golden Company and the Blackfyre boy were still at large and needed to be dealt with quickly.

With his little arrangement with the Darkstar, he had already managed to sow some discord among the Dornish lords. Ser Gerold Dayne of High Hermitage had managed to imprison Obara Sand and Teyne Sand, but the knight won't be able to keep them in his custody indefinitely.

'I need to destroy the Golden Company and break the Dornish forces mustered along the Marches.' he thought.

Then there was a new arrival in his court whom he was eager to meet as his plans surrounding the Golden Company needed this man's cooperation. However, tonight evening he'd be otherwise engaged as the end of the first week into the marriage was a special occasion in First Men culture. The husband and wife usually exchanged gifts after one week of marriage as per custom. Most First Men houses in the North typically conduct this tradition as a private affair. For some reason, Arya blabbed about this tradition to his wife, and she decided to make a huge event out of it. Now, he was required to pass along a gift to his wife in a public ceremony, much to his chagrin.

As a result, he was forced to conduct certain affairs of the court in a speedy manner from early in the morning. He was quite not in the mood to hold a small council meeting first thing in the morning right after a session of vigorous lovemaking with his beautiful nympho wife last night, but as Uncle Ben said to Peter Parker,

'With great power comes great responsibilities.'

It was an overused dramatic one-liner, but it summed up his current position. He was in a position to move against some of his major enemies. The Golden Company, the Ironborn, the Lannisters, the Tyrells, the Dornish lords and finally, the Others. Out of all these major enemies, he considered the Others the primary threat. Therefore, his planning was based on tackling that particular threat as the prime objective. Keeping this in mind, he knew the dragons were the game changer when culling the wights should the Night King breach the Wall.

This was why Daeron would not face the Ironborn in the field. He didn't know what sort of power Euron's magic horn was supposed to have, but he was not eager to find out and lose control over the dragons. He was content to let the bulk of the Reach clash with the Ironborn. It made things easy for him as the Reachmen and Ironborn weakened themselves by fighting each other, leaving him in a strong position. It also gave him the freedom to rewrite the borders of the Reach and unseat the Tyrells from Highgarden.

The small council chambers opened, gaining his attention. Daeron was seated at the head of the table, staring at the council members filling in one after the other. Since he had not exactly constituted an official small council yet, he chose to invite all the principal figures supporting him and his wife. As the occupants quickly took all the chairs, he eyed the lone chair beside him that was left vacant. It was also interesting to note that all his supporters took their seats on his right side while his wife's supporters took seats on his left side.

"Does the Queen plan to attend the council meeting, your grace?" Tyrion Lannister asked.

"I hope so. Let's wait a few minutes for her sake." said Daeron, even though he doubted Dany would attend the meeting.

Minutes ticked by, and he saw no sign of his wife's arrival.

"Perhaps we might start the discussion on the important matters, your grace. The Queen might be otherwise engaged." Lord Gerold Grafton suggested softly.

"The Queen…" Ser Jorah started to defend the Queen,

"…will arrive when she wills it. The matters concerning the stability of the realm must be discussed promptly, as Lord Grafton suggested." Daeron smoothly cut off whatever idiocy Jorah Mormont would spin without even looking in the knight's direction. "The topic of discussion is the Reach. On the Marches, we have the Dornish army, which is a concern, and then there is the Golden Company led by the Blackfyre boy. They must be dealt with."

"If your grace allows it, I'd like to lead the knights of the Vale against these sellswords and put an end to them for good." Harrold Hardyng offered quite eagerly.

"While I'm sure Lord Hardyng is capable, this is the Golden Company, and they are some three thousand strong by our lowest estimates. These sellswords are battle-hardened and have some support from Dorne and Stormlands. I suggest we give the overall command to Lord Tarly, who had fought them in the field and managed to keep them contained in the Stormlands." Ser Edwyn Manderly suggested.

"I do not doubt Lord Tarly's ability. But I ask you this, Ser. Is it wise to trust a man with the command of his grace's armies who fought for the Lannisters till now?" Lord Hardyng asked, gaining some smattering whispers of agreement.

Daeron looked at the far end of the table to his right side, where Lord Randyll Tarly was seated. He could see the man was less than pleased to have his previous allegiance become the topic of discussion.

"If we are to cast doubt on lords and knights with different loyalties in the past, then I'm afraid it'd be improper to give the command to you, Lord Hardyng. After all, last year, the knights of the Vale were trying to invade the North on the orders of Lysa Tully's bastard boy and Petyr Baelish." Ser Edwyn smoothly cut in, bringing down the Hardyng knight from his high horse.

Before this meeting dissolved into mud-slinging, Daeron intervened.

"I'll hear Lord Tarly's opinion on the matter before we decide on anything specific." said Daeron, nodding at the Lord of Horn Hill.

All eyes turned to the Lord of Horn Hill to see what the elderly man had to say.

"If your grace hopes to draw out the Golden Company and force them to a pitched battle and destroy them completely, then sending the knights of the Vale can be advantageous. My forces are scattered in different pockets along the western parts of the Stormlands. I can gather those men and disrupt their supplies while also tightening the noose on the head of their army." said Randyll Tarly, surprising many at the table as the Marcher lord was essentially ceding command of the army.

"I like that plan." said Daeron, nodding in agreement with Lord Tarly's suggestion before turning to Lord Harrold Hardyng. "You'll have the chance to take the Golden Company head-on. It'd be better if the word reaches the sellswords about the knights of the Vale while Lord Tarly gets some reinforcements from the capital and increase his presence in the Stormlands. I want the Golden Company to feel our presence and gather in one area where we can destroy them for good."

"We can do that, your grace. The Golden Company will meet its end in the Stormlands." Harrold boasted.

Daeron barely managed to hold himself back from rolling his eyes. His eyes strayed from Harrold Hardyng to Randyll Tarly with a small quirk of his lips. It was most likely that Randyll Tarly realised that his true plan was for the Golden Company to gather in one place because of the threat of two armies coming against them in one direction. Wherever the sellswords choose as the battlefield, he could fly above the field with Rhaegal and destroy them. Lord Hardyng was not going to get much glory as he was only a distraction for the Golden Company.

"We'll discuss the specifics of the campaign later in a closed meeting between myself, Lord Tarly and Lord Harrold." Daeron said, closing that particular chapter for the time being. "Now, there is the matter of Highgarden we need to discuss."

"The matter of Highgarden, your grace?" Varys asked in faux surprise.

"Yes. The Tyrells cannot be allowed to hold the castle any longer. They were given the castle by Aegon the Conqueror. By right of conquest, the castle was Aegon's to give after the Field of Fire, but now House Tyrell has lost the trust of the Iron Throne to serve as lords of Highgarden or even as warden of the South."  said Daeron.

"This is highly irregular. Not in the history of the Seven Kingdoms has any king attempted to usurp a lordship. It'd amount to…" Tyrion trailed off at a sharp look from Varys.

"Tyranny. That's the word you are searching for, Lord Tyrion." Daeron supplied, far more amused rather than offended, as he was expecting this sort of reaction from his wife's supporters.

"I was going to say it'd amount to folly." Tyrion hastily said.

"Sure, you were." Daeron scoffed. "Anyway, I'll not be the first Targaryen king to do something like this. In fact, what I'm doing is far too mild compared to the decision taken by Jaehaerys, the Conciliator and the Good Queen Alysanne Targaryen. Or my namesake's actions to those who supported Daemon Blackfyre."

"Those of the South might not remember, but the Gift was once under the dominion of the North, with many lords calling the land their home. There were many castles along the Gift working in tandem with the Night's Watch when the wildlings gathered beyond the Wall. And yet, King Jaehaerys drew an arbitrary line on the map of the North, carving out a sizeable plot of land and handed it over to the Night's Watch without any consultation with Northern lords."

The silence that prevailed in the small council chambers was deafening.

"What? No witty comebacks from you, my lords?" Daeron asked, looking straight at Tyrion and Varys.

"His grace is right. The construction of Summerhall was also a similar act by the Iron Throne. There is ample precedence supporting the king's suggestion. It must be kept in mind that the Tyrells are a threat and cannot be allowed to hold a powerful seat like Highgarden, as Lady Margery's husband is Tommen Waters. The boy might be a bastard, but he was crowned king and sat on the Iron Throne before his grace took the throne." Ser Edwyn Manderly pointed out.

"Aye. Ser Edwyn speaks the truth. The boy Tommen is a threat to the king's peace." Lord Gerold Grafton nodded with a thoughtful look. "Which makes me wonder, your grace. Would it not be better to have the boy get the rope or even the headsman's sword?"

Naturally, Tyrion objected to Lord Grafton's suggestion quite vocally. Daeron leaned back in his seat and watched the Lannister dwarf jump through hooves to keep little Tommen's head on his shoulders. Then his eyes found the pudgy eyes of Varys being trained on him. He could not help but smirk as the game started, and he was already winning over the board.

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It was with a foul mood that Tyrion exited the small council chambers. He spent the better part of two hours engaged in a contentious council that was hell-bent on uprooting the Tyrells and installing a steward to look after Highgarden. He was frustrated because the king framed the whole issue by bringing up precedence in the era of King Jaehaerys and the continued existence of his nephew. In hindsight, he should've seen this coming. He now realised why his nephew was treated well and alive in the Red Keep.

"You should not have argued fiercely for Tommen's sake, my friend. It was a trap set by the king to expend all your political capital on a boy the king was not going to touch anyway." said Varys, quickly catching up with Tyrion with his plump hands folded securely inside his sleeves.

"I don't think his grace has any aversion to killing children. He has promised death to all Lannisters, women and children included." Tyrion grumbled.

"And yet the king did not kill you, Tommen, Jaime or even Cersei. It seems you're only seeing what you want to see, my friend. That is a dangerous inadequacy when playing the game." Varys warned, looking at Tyrion with disappointed eyes.

Tyrion paused in the hallway and thought it through in his mind.

"Yes. I can see what you're saying. King Daeron never intended to threaten Tommen's life. He just wanted me to think Tommen's life is in danger if he does not get Highgarden." Tyrion muttered.

"Astute observation, Lord Tyrion."

It was as if a jolt of fear travelled from the base of his spine to his head. He slowly turned around to see none other than the king standing a few paces behind him.

"Lord Varys is right to assume I have no intention of killing Tommen. Why would I? The child did no wrong against House Stark. For sure, his continued existence might pose a threat in the future, but I suspect little Tommen will have more things to worry about other than plotting against the Iron Throne."

"What do you mean?" Tyrion frowned, trying to understand whether the king was issuing a direct threat or alluding to something else.

"Lord Varys. Lord Tyrion. Come, walk with me." said Daeron, walking ahead without answering.

While it was worded as an invitation, Tyrion knew a command when he heard one. Exchanging a worried look with Varys, he followed the young king.

"When Aegon constituted the Crownlands after the Field of Fire, he carved out small areas from the Reach, Stormlands and Riverlands. In the Stormlands, a new House was in charge, displacing House Durrandon. The same happened to the Reach and the Riverlands. Houses Tully, House Baratheon and House Tyrell depended on Aegon's goodwill to keep their fiefdom under control. This allowed the Iron Throne to keep the old kingdoms surrounding the Crownlands in check."

"More than 300 years have passed since Aegon's Conquest. What do you see when you look at the Crownlands, Stormlands, Reach and Riverlands?" Daeron asked, walking through the long corridors of the Red Keep.

Tyrion belatedly realised the path the young king was taking was leading them towards the outer yard.

"The Riverlands and the Stormlands are a spent force lacking proper leadership. The Crownlands have also suffered from the war, but the Iron Throne is now a dominant force thanks to the Unsullied, a substantial fleet and three large dragons. The Reach, on the other hand, remains a powerful kingdom under the Tyrells." Tyrion slowly answered after gathering his thoughts.

"Yes. The Tyrells are no longer just an upstart house of stewards lucky enough to get King Aegon's backing to claim Highgarden. They are married into House Hightower, House Redwyne and House Fossoway. If I let the Tyrells keep Highgarden in one generation, they'd be the most powerful House in southern Westeros after House Targaryen."

"And you'll suffer no challenge to the power of House Targaryen?" asked Varys with a raised eyebrow.

Daeron just shrugged instead of giving a verbal answer.

"If you were to attain lands and castles of every House that poses a threat to you, I'm afraid there will be no noble houses left in Westeros." said Tyrion, eyeing the king, who just smiled amusedly at him as they finally reached the outer yard.

"The system of noble lords and knights might one day come to an end. This system has survived for eight thousand years. Do you think it can survive another eight thousand?" Daeron asked, a lopsided smirk on his face. "Besides, you two are being overly dramatic."

At that moment, Tyrion saw a couple of Unsullied soldiers bring forth a very familiar man in chains along the walkway of the castle wall on the other side of the outer yard.

"Bronn?" Tyrion muttered, staring at the sight of his former sellsword companion.

The Unsullied soldiers quickly put a rope around Bronn's neck and pushed the sellsword from the walkway. He flinched as he heard Bronn's neck break as the former sellsword hung from the walls of the Red Keep for all to see.

"I have no problem in hearing dissenting opinions. A healthy political discourse requires dissent. But I won't tolerate the game of thrones in my council or court, my lords. If you stand against the interests of House Targaryen, then your positions in court are at peril. Keep that in mind before you play the game."

With that warning delivered, the king walked away into the castle, leaving Tyrion and Varys to stare at the hanging body of Bronn.

"So ends the tale of Ser Bronn of Blackwater. I thought Ser Bronn was a survivor. I guess I was wrong." Varys commented airily.

Tyrion couldn't help but shiver at the sight of Bronn hanging on a rope. The warning was quite clear. The game was not going to be played with the usual stakes. The state of the royal court had been such that the king was always the most vulnerable piece on the board. But that situation was no longer applicable to the current king. It was to be expected, though. A Targaryen with a huge army and giant dragons would not behave like the previous kings. Only another dragon rider could contend with King Daeron on equal footing, but unfortunately, that other dragon rider happened to be the queen.

"The planned expansion of the Crownlands is going to be troublesome." Tyrion commented thoughtfully.

"Not exactly. The Stormlords are too weak. Banditry and crime are on the rise because of the weakening of Stormlords. They might whine and groan, but they'll behave under the threat of dragonfire. The Stormlands will cease to exist, and I must say it might just stabilise the situation at the Dornish border." said Varys, showing his approval for the proposal brought forth by the king in the small council.

"I suppose you are also happy to see the office of Master of Whispers getting dissolved to create two separate positions to be shared between you and Qyburn?" Tyrion deadpanned.

"No more than your happiness when you heard the king's decision to attain all the lands and mines belonging to House Lannister in the Westerlands." Varys snipped back.

Tyrion closed his eyes and lamented at the fact that he'd end up losing Casterly Rock. He was not hoping to gain the castle in the aftermath of the war, but he had hoped the Queen would be amicable to leave him the castle until a worthy successor could be found. He supposed it was better this way. The legacy of Tywin Lannister would end with the attaining of Casterly Rock.

"I'm going to vote in favour of attaining the Rock into the Royal holdings. Let's focus on keeping the expansion of Crownlands a smooth process. The last thing we need is a rebellion in the Reach." Tyrion said.

"I concur. I suppose there is one good thing that comes with the attaining of Highgarden and Casterly Rock." said Varys, his bald head shining under the morning light.

"What's that?" Tyrion asked curiously.

"The millions of dragons of debt the Iron Throne owes to Houses Tyrell and Lannister will get wiped off."

"That's quite convenient." Tyrion muttered softly.