68 Chapter 68: Too Old

[Oberyn Martell POV ]

"Lord Oliver!" The guard entered and called out, "Something disastrous has happened!"

I saw the look on Oliver's face… it didn't change one bit. Now even a twitch on his face of panic or fear, what a scary man. It wasn't because he wasn't able to feel fear, but because he had such control over his own emotions, that made him a very scary man.

People like me were a little reckless, and our bravery was foolhardy, I knew that inevitably I would die in some battle. Though by then dying wouldn't be too bad, as I won't be able to even get my tool up. Rather die out there in battle than wait for my body to rot.

"So, what happened?" Asked Oliver as he walked towards the panicked man and put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you will get rewarded for your speed at arriving here so fast. Your family will get a small manner to live on and you will become head of the guards."

"Yes sir!" The guard yelled back, his exhaustion all but forgotten. "News has come that Lord Davos has been kidnapped by pirates from the Three Sisters!"

It was quite amazing seeing how fast the guard's demeanor changed, from being panicked and worried to having a bright look and being expectant for the future. People like Oliver made twisting someone's mind and manipulation seem like an art form.

But once again, a chill went down my spine at the silver-haired man's demeanor. He looked worried but smiled in the end. "You are a good man," he complimented the guard.

"Go and notify the Guard Captain, I will be taking care of some matters. Some two-bit pirate dared to kidnap my people? I will raze their islands to the ground!"

The Three Sisters were known to be ruled by Pirates and have deep connections with Braavos. Yet Oliver made it seem like it was an obvious fact that he would destroy them all. He looked at me and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about this, but it seems like I have some war matters to take care of."

With that, he walked off with the guard, and for a second I contemplated that the silver-haired man might not be so bad.

He seemed like the kind old guy who would offer help to the people on the road without asking anything in return. One of his people got captured and he was willing to go to war for them, this was a powerful message to his subordinates.

It declared that no matter who or how small, as long as you worked for him, then no one would dare mess with you. Even Pirates who hadn't been attacked by Targaryens would feel Oliver's wrath now.

"He isn't such a bad guy is he?" Arianne smiled while looking at the doors her husband walked out of. That was when I saw the look on her face, those eyes were the eyes of someone who was head over heels in love with him.

How? Not even a day before we had met and while she didn't hate Oliver at the time, she was suspicious of him. Yet now? So fast? I knew that anything I said to her would be the same as saying it to Oliver. 

"Yes," I agreed with her. Not daring to test what my niece would do if anything bad about him came out of my mouth. "Then how do you feel about coming to Dorne for some time in the future, your father misses you dearly and doesn't want your last memory of him to be something bad."

Arianne smiled at me gently and sat on the bed looking at my leg. "There is no need, uncle, this is the only place I am safe."

"Well, I am sure that Doran will instate some new-"

"As I said," I got interrupted by her before even finishing. Her smile only widened a little, it was a kind smile on her face, but why did it feel so creepy? "Only here I am safe uncle.

Oliver can offer the protection Dorne never could. Also, he told me about my father's plan to marry me off to Viserys, the 2nd coming of the Mad King."

Hearing that, I got a little worried, Arianne here seemed to have been taking some things Oliver said as facts. No one knew what Viserys was like at all. The young man was hiding and no one knew what he even looked like except his silver hair. "There are no people that say-"

"I know who to believe uncle," she intervened once more. "Do you think that I would trust Oliver so easily? He has given me the facts to prove his words true."

Did he? That would mean that he either had a very close spy in the Targaryen Children, and that was bad, or he could be lying to Arianne. His words seemed to be always like an absolute truth, what did he do to Arianne to make her think like this?

I didn't know which was worse, and for someone like Oliver, he left Arianne alone with me, knowing that previously we had been in contact and exchanged information. Yet… he just left us like this again. This just showed that he was confident that no matter what, Arianne wouldn't be swayed by my words.

How annoying! This guy is very dangerous and troublesome!

My anger spiked and I winced as pain shot through my leg due to the tightening of the muscles. I will never be able to fight again like I used to, an injury like this had made me lose my speed even when fully recovered. There will be some awkwardness during movement. 

...

[Jon Arryn POV]

As one got old, the less they slept, that was what I noticed. So here I was, in the Small Council, everyone telling what they had found. 

"The Targaryen children are still hiding, even though Willem Darry's death has been confirmed.

Sadly the news traveled too slow and by the time we know their location, they will move," explained Varys, his emotionless eyes and small smirk made the eunuch look like a creepy puppet.

"People kicking them out of places so they can't stay in for too long is the thing saving them."

"Is that so?" I asked, looking at the cockles spider straight in the eyes. "Recently your news hasn't been too good… maybe…"

I didn't finish my words, but I had learned all these years in the Small Council that handling these rats wasn't like the people in the Vale.

These guys were all scheming rats and snakes. Except for Petyr, Stannis, and the Master of Laws, Yohn Royce. The others were untrustworthy, trusting a snake not to bite you would be better than these spineless folk.

"I promise to try harder next time, Lord Hand," the eunuch bowed his head slightly. 

Tch, these people, they sure had no shame in it all. I couldn't replace the Spider, there was no man with as big of a spy network as the eunuch. If there were, then the owners of such a network were good at hiding it.

Anyway, Varys and Pycelle were people I didn't trust at all. Though they were outnumbered in the Small Council, that didn't mean that they couldn't cause harm.

After all, they served the Mad King, and although they serve Robert well from what it seems. They would also serve Viserys Targaryen if he came with an army and took over King's Landing.

"Lord Hand," this time Pycelle called me. "There has been a letter sent by Lord Oliver Redhawk, quite the remarkable young man. Heard that he took after his father… some of his new merchanting tactics are nothing short of brilliant-"

"Get to the point," I interrupted the senile old man. Everyone knew that House Redhawk had truly grown powerful, if Arthur was alive he would be proud of his legacy. 

"Well," the old man seemed unsure of what to say at first. "Oliver Redhawk has said that the Three Sister Islands have kidnapped his right-hand man, and he would like the King's permission to hunt down the pirates and kill them all."

Damn… that… 

I sighed, rubbing my brows in frustration. Another war, something that the realm didn't need. Also, wars weren't cheap, they cost both gold and working men. "Give me the letter."

After taking the latter and getting a quick read, I had to stop myself from sighing loudly. I was too old for these shit games.

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 Don't forget to throw some power stones :)

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