GoT : (regular): The
conspirator
A/N: touching upon the
conspiracy that nearly took Bäahal’s life. Giving a quick nod to the princess
and the golden Lion before focusing on the traitors.
Xxx
Summer was kind this year.
Instead of the suffocating heat that would mercilessly invade King’s Landing,
the weather was kinder and softer due to a light fresh breeze that constantly
blew over the Red Keep. Bäahal did make progress since she’d arrived at the castle.
Following Jon and Tyrion’s pieces of advice, she left her room more often and
socialized again, regaining the confidence and trust that had been shattered by
the betrayal she was a victim of. There was little time to discuss the matter
of the heart with Daenerys and convince her that her affection for the Golden
Lion was genuine and that he returned said feelings in what was a healthy
relationship. Who would have thought that Bäahal, once an orphan and a slave
would somehow meet her family, reclaim her name, embrace her titles and find
love ? Who would have thought about having such an opportunity in a world
that was hostile to her very existence? Bäahal was well aware that she would
need time to reconcile with Daenerys, therefore she didn’t press the matters
onto her, hoping that with time, the silver queen would agree to bless this union.
There was no time to
discuss Love when politics and conspiracies were at the heart of the very
issues dealt with by the queen. Her marriage to Jon enraged the old nobles who
saw this as an insult to their traditions and culture. Daenerys wanted to avoid
war at all costs given the one she’d just won against Cersei. It already cost
her a dragon and several true companions along the way and she realized that it
would be best if she could win the hearts and minds of the people she was
supposed to be ruling over. To help her, Bäahal traveled the seven kingdoms to
meet those who had not seen their queen yet. She was listening to the people
and was met with either curiosity, appreciation, or utter hatred and mistrust. It
was during one of those visits that she was ambushed and nearly killed and that
was the second pressing matter that weighed on the queen and her council minds.
Why was Bäahal targeted and who did this? Jaime had an idea, one he already
submitted to Commander Targaryen. Based on the princess testimony of the few
days before the siege, Jaime suspected House Redwyn to have fomented the siege.
It was a serious accusation
and both Jon and Jaime knew they couldn’t just accuse the house without any
proof. Jaime submitted his plan to Jon, to use Bäahal as bait during a « diplomatic »
visit only to ambush the current head of the house Paxter Redwyn. The plan was
still rough on the edges and Jon wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t strong enough
to convince Daenerys to put her sister in danger once more. Was it this ludicrous
to imagine House Redwyn behind the attacks ? Ser Paxter would have laughed
at the face of such suggestion, knowingly blowing the hot flames of suspicion
far away from him. A former loyal ally to the Targaryens, he switched gears to
support King Robert Baratheon. Daenerys return provoked a sense of persecution in
him. Convinced that Daenerys would double-cross him as he did with Aerys II and
Rhaegar, he feared that his sons' lives would be taken by the vengeful queen. From
the moment she crowned herself queen of the seven kingdoms, Ser Paxter decided
he would be the first to strike. On top of his paranoïa, the head of house
Redwyn genuinely hated the desire Daenerys had to break the wheel and bring in
change. He considered her a threat to his well-being and to the traditional way
of living of Westeros and was hell-bent on destroying the queen. What broke the camel’s back and
led to the idea of the siege was the discovery of the « bastard »
Targaryen being considered family and becoming a princess. How could the queen
choose to give a title to a former slave?
Despite hearing the rumors
of the death of the princess, Ser Paxter was still reeling from the simple
memory of their encounter. In his typical brutish ways of talking, he tried to
make her feel unwelcomed. After all, what did she know of the ways of Westeros?
what did she know about being a noble? what did she know about being a
princess? yet he found himself lusting after her and could tell that most of the
people if not all of them were either envious, mesmerized or lusting after the
princess. How could they not, when princess Bäahal was indeed a unique beauty? Her
enchanting smile haunted his dreams and the supple and soft skin of hers was tantalizing
even when he wasn’t thinking of her. She had been a slave and yet maintained a
youthful innocence that fueled his appetite for her. The purple eyes drew him
in and the plump lips were tempting him. He hated it, he hated her. He hated
her curves that kept him awake at night, was jealous of the contact she had
with his twins who seemed to be drawn towards her. He hated the fact she refused
that either of his sons courts her, claiming that her heart didn’t belong to
her anymore. He hated the idea that he thought she was utterly gorgeous and he
wanted to make her his.
Despite the memories of
her taunting him, Ser Paxter was even more disgusted and angry at her attempt
to « reach out » to the masses and the dirt-poor Westeros. Who did
she think she was? She acted as if she were a saint, ready to come to bless the
poor souls and give them ideas of revolution. Daenerys was threatening his
livelihood and the natural order of things. Some lords were to rule the masses.
The peasants, the poor, the uneducated. The lords couldn’t possibly begin to
care for those in need or entertain the idea of giving them more rights than
they had. He hated the fact that she attracted more and more people to her side
and had to teach her a lesson. Targeting Bäahal became an obvious and natural
choice. The princess might have been a warrior, she wasn’t familiar with the ways
of the North. She would mostly easily navigate blindly and they would be able
to kill her and teach Daenerys a lesson. Rumors appeased him for he wasn’t sure
the low nobles he paid to do the siege would succeed. But they did. Bäahal was
dead and surely the queen was losing her mind by now. Surely they would be able
to pierce through her defense and foment another plot to directly attack and
depose the queen. Oh... Sweet revenge! Sweet
sweet revenge. Would you come and appease a tormented man and his sons?
-TBC-
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