Chapter 61: Duck and Ducklings

Hearing his compliments made me raise a brow. This body had no accomplishments to speak of, most people still knew me only because I was Arthur's son.

So Will was obviously being a kissass, trying to get in my good graces. Oh he sure as hell doesn't seem to like me, I can see it in his eyes and body language. But he was trying to be careful and mindful around me. 

Finally being at a stage where people try to get in your good graces felt nice. But that wasn't enough, I knew what Jon Connington wanted. He wanted me to put dear Aegon on the throne, which I would never do. What benefits would someone like me get from it? Nothing. 

Oh, get the 'rightful' king on the throne? Hell, I couldn't care less who sat down on the iron throne. It could be a squirrel that the king fucked and I wouldn't bat an eye.

Daenerys would be the better choice, especially if she decided to marry me. If she doesn't marry me, then the best she will get is neutrality in the war, because if I wasn't gaining something from the war then I also wasn't fighting in it.

Wars were dangerous, and people died endlessly. Thousands of arrows would fill the sky, if my body was destroyed before my hawk could pick my soul then I would be dead. If my hawk was shot down, then I would also be dead.

"Yes, I understand what you want, Ser Will," I told him carefully with restraint. "Everyone would like to see the rightful king on the throne."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "I am glad you understood my lord," he pulled out a sealed letter and put it on my desk. "This is only for your eyes my lord."

I nodded. "Your message has been received, Ser Will. Let the Golden Company know this. But never expect me to fight in a senseless war."

"I understand my lord," he bowed. "We must also be wary of The Spider in King's Landing. The man can hear songs even from the other side of the sea."

Oh? So they want me to think that Varys wasn't involved in this? Heh, thankfully from the books I knew better. The Spider had a part of the pie in every part of the war, no matter who won, at least Varys wouldn't lose.

Sure he preached a lot about wanting peace in the realm, but he never really delivered in the whole peace thing. His words said one thing and his actions said another.

He never told Ned about the betrayal that would happen in the Throne Room. He just walked off before even the betrayal happened. Varys had betrayed every person he had served, for the realm of the people? Right… that was a damn lie, a big one too.

He didn't know Viserys was mad? Even though he had the best spy network at the time and his best friend was housing the young prince. 

Yeah, as a soldier of mine used to say when we went hunting. Why don't you piss in my ear and tell me it's raining too. Because sure as hell Varys wasn't being honest. To me, it seemed like he was just trying to let chaos reign in the realm and even made the chaos itself sometimes.

Like letting Tyrion go like that, knowing that he would find his father and the whore Shae betraying him.

As Will walked out, my eyes were glued to the door. I needed to get rid of Aegon, this guy would have to go. It was clear that Varys was encouraging chaos in the realm, only to have this guy come here to fix everything. If he was able to do that then people wouldn't care whose son he was. 

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It took almost a month for my 'merchandise' to arrive here and here she was in all her glory. She wore dark tight clothes and a cloak. Arianne looked nervously at me, her eyes didn't hide anything. She was filled with desperation and broken at her father's 'betrayal'. Just like I needed her to be. 

"Arianne Martell, many rumors have been spreading around. Some say that you have run away from Dorne with a lover, is that true?" I asked her, trying to put as much suspicion as I could in my voice. Acting as if this whole situation hadn't been orchestrated by me.

"No!" She refused the rumors wholeheartedly. "That is untrue! My father orchestrated it all, he was going to have me killed!"

I frowned at her words. "Why would your father want to kill you?"

"Because he doesn't like how I acted till now." she reasoned, causing my frown to deepen and made myself appear as if I was thinking hard about what I should say.

But in reality, she was acting dumb and like a slut in the making. Dorne might have their own culture about these kinds of matters, but Doran Martell probably wanted his daughter to marry outside of the family. The rest of Westeros' Lords wouldn't want to marry their sons to a lady that might come to be known as a loose woman.

"But would your father truly do something like that? Is your behavior that bad?"

"No, I haven't even slept with a man yet. Even my purity is intact," she said with eyes full of conviction. "Though I do admit to having asked some people to spend the night with just to irritate my father."

Well, I don't care about any of that. She could have slept with 40,000 Dothraki horses and it wouldn't matter one bit to me. Arianne Martell's value came solely from her bloodline and name. But her virginity will be valued in my alliance with Dorne.

If my memory serves me right, she was offered to Viserys for her hand in marriage. Just knowing that fact was enough to turn Westeros upside down and give Robbert a reason to obliterate Dorne. The place might not have been conquered by dragons before, but they forget that it had been conquered.

"How did you come to such an assumption? Your father doesn't seem like the man to do something like that even though I haven't met him personally before so my assessment might be wrong." My words seem to annoy her. 

"One of the guards said before he tried to kill me. Though he was killed due to the chaos some soldiers came upon us and tried to kill him. They probably weren't aware of the situation. I just ran away and met with Davos and as they say, the rest is history." 

Cmon now lady, don't make my plans sound so simple. It took endless hours to get everything right and have other people keep a watch just in case and eliminate each loose end in the plan. Only Davos was left alive and even he had no idea what had gone on in there.

"Since Davos has guaranteed your trustworthiness, then I will decide to trust you too… for the time," I said with a gentle smile. "Though we will have to hide your identity."

I didn't point out any of the holes in her story, after all, the 'truth' will soon come out. Meaning that something that everyone believes will come out and that will be taken as the truth on the matter. 

...

[ Arianne ]

As Arianne walked out of Lord Redhawk's room, she felt a weight leave her shoulders. She had heard rumors about the man's father, Arthur, but Oliver was relatively unknown to most people. He didn't have anything like his father's undefeatable record whether in a sword fight or battle. Arthur never lost. 

But now seeing Oliver, he truly lived up to the Redhawk name. Just his presence alone was suffocating, though he seemed to not be a bad guy. 

She walked along the hall and didn't look at the two guards in front of Lord Redhawk's door. They radiated a creepy feeling for some reason. 

As she was walking she came upon a familiar bald man, she couldn't help but smile at this.

"Did everything go alright?" Asked Davos, the bald middle-aged man. He had helped her come across the sea and was truly a kind soul. Also, he seemed to have Oliver's trust, so that was a bonus too.

"Yeah, it won't be long before I seduce your Liege Lord, Davos," Arianne said jokingly. He was like the father she never really had during her childhood. Doran always seemed to put his plans and schemes above everything else, raising her had been just a side-job.

Davos was genuinely happy when he heard that everything had gone well. "I am glad, Lord Oliver will keep you safe. He is a good and smart man, but please don't cause him trouble. I wouldn't want to be the reason he had to start a war with Dorne."

"Yeah~ Yeah~," she said, waving him off. "Don't worry too much, I will be careful."

Though she said it dismissively, she truly heeded his advice. After all, she didn't want to bring trouble to the person who had saved her. 

Davos then excused himself as he went to speak to Oliver for some matters. Arianne was tempted to try and listen in on such matters. But decided not to since the creepy guards were still there, and Davos might get in trouble because of her.

It felt weird, having to hold herself back so she doesn't cause problems to the people around her. This was something she never even cared about before. 

But as she traversed the castle, Arianne got lost and walked into an empty hallway and saw two maids talking to each other in whispers. Suddenly one of them, an old woman with green eyes like wildfire, looked at her. 

"She heard us!" yelled the old woman in panic and the one she was talking to, another old woman with blood-red eyes seemed even more on edge.

"I -I didn't mean to. Also, I heard nothing," said Arianne as she slowly tried to back off. She could see that the situation just started growing tense

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PDon't forget to throw some power stones :)

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