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"That hasn't changed" Stannis grunted. The man was biased towards the Lannister agenda still now.
Rhaegar's frown deepened.
"How many years has it been? You were a young man."
"And you served another King."
"You will find that Maesters are like that, Lord Stark. They serve the position rather than the man who holds it" Tyrion pointed out with a smile.
Ned ignored him.
"How forgetful of me. This belongs to you, now."
[He hands the badge of the Hand to Ned.]
"Should we begin?"
"Without the King?"
"Winter may be coming, but I'm afraid the same cannot be said for my brother."
"His Grace has many cares. He entrusts some small matters to us that we might lighten the load."
"We are the lords of small matters here."
"How often do you attend the meetings?" Ned looked at his friend.
"When I need to" Robert shrugged. Which was another way of saying he did not attend. It made Ned frown.
"My brother instructs us to stage a tournament in honour of Lord Stark's appointment as Hand of the King."
"Mmm, how much?"
"40,000 gold dragons to the champion, 20,000 to the runner-up, 20,000 to the winning archer."
"Can the treasury bear such expense?"
"Why can't it? 80,000 is nothing with the kind of gold we had" Rhaegar frowned. He had missed the wince from Jon Arryn.
"I'll have to borrow it. The Lannisters will accommodate, I expect. We already owe Lord Tywin 3 million gold. What's another 80,000?"
"Are you telling me the Crown is three million in debt?"
"Impossible!" Rhaegar stood, accusing eyes on Robert. "You should have ten times that amount! How are you in debt?!"
Robert had nothing to say to that.
"I'm telling you the Crown is six million in debt."
Rhaegar's eyes nearly popped out from the looks of him.
"Lord Arryn... what the fuck?" Rhaegar almost whined.
Jon Arryn threw Rhaegar an apologetic look and the man fell on his ass. All that gold... how the fuck had Robert managed to spend it all?!
"How could you let this happen?"
"The Master of Coin finds the money. The King and the Hand spend it."
"And the Master of Coin is there to advise against it" Rhaegar growled. "He is not just there to count coins and find people to borrow from! Who put him there?!"
"Petyr has proven to be quite a handy Master of Coin. He has, in his tenure, doubled the crown's profits and found more avenues to add to the royal treasury" Jon Arryn defended his choice of Master.
"And yet the Crown is in debt! He is supposed to advise you and the King to not spend as you wish! The Master of Coin is not just a coin counter and a profit maker, he's also there to make sure the treasury does not take a large hit!" Rhaegar fumed.
Jon Arryn frowned in silence.
"I will not believe Jon Arryn allowed Robert to bankrupt the realm."
"Lord Arryn gave wise and prudent advice, but I fear His Grace doesn't always listen."
" "Counting coppers," he calls it."
"Counting coppers!"
"Rhaegar please calm down" Elia whispered to her fuming husband.
"I'll speak to him tomorrow. This tournament is an extravagance we cannot afford."
"As you will. But still, we'd best make our plans."
"There will be no plans until I speak to Robert."
"Sadly you are fighting a losing cause here, Lord Stark. My brother is not someone you can convince to do things he does not like" Renly smiled at the man.
Ned stared at Renly and then gave Robert 'that' look. The King shifted in discomfort.
[Scene changes to Cersei tending to Joffrey's "wound".]
"Please, it's nearly healed."
"It's ugly."
"What is he, a southern girl?" Yara snorted.
"A King should have scars, you fought off a direwolf. You're a warrior like your father."
Multiple people snorted in unison.
"I'm not like him. I didn't fight off anything. It bit me and all I did was scream. And the two Stark girls saw it, both of them."
"That's not true. You killed the beast. You only spared the girl because of the love your father bears her father. When Aerys Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne, your father was a rebel and a traitor. Someday you'll sit on the throne and the truth will be what you make it."
"That woman is giving the idiot dangerous teachings" Olenna muttered.
"Is she the one responsible for teaching Joffrey about his Kingly duties?" Joanna whispered to Jaim, who nodded.
"She does not allow anyone else to teach him anything."
"Stupid girl" the mother hissed in distaste.
"Do I have to marry her?"
Sansa flinched. The Prince no longer wanted to marry.... all cause her stupid horse-faced sister was a wild animal! She did not say that out loud, knowing full well her father would be majorly displeased.
"Yes. She's very beautiful and young. If you don't like her, you only need to see her on formal occasions and when the time comes, to make little princes and princesses. And if you'd rather fuck painted whores, you'll fuck painted whores. And if you'd rather lie with noble virgins, so be it. You are my darling boy and the world will be exactly as you want it to be."
"She's creating a spoiled monster" Elia stated in shock. How could a Queen prepare a Prince and heir like this? What was she thinking?!
"She's already done it," Tyrion said darkly.
"Do something nice for the Stark girl."
"I don't want to."
"No, but you will. The occasional kindness will spare you all sorts of trouble down the road."
"We allow the northerners too much power. They consider themselves our equals."
"I'm not sure it's the Northerners who think they are better than the rest" Lyanna scoffed, sharp eyes piercing through Cersei. She did not like the vile woman.
"How would you handle them?"
"I'd double their taxes and command them to supply 10,000 men to the royal army."
"A royal army?"
"Why should every lord command his own men? It's primitive, no better than the hill tribes. We should have a standing army of men loyal to the Crown, trained by experienced soldiers... Instead of a mob of peasants who've never held pikes in their lives."
"That boy is going to cause a civil war when he takes the throne" Renly grunted in distaste. This nephew of his was always his least favourite, and now he had more reasons to despise the little monster.
"And if the northerners rebel?"
"I'd crush them. Seize Winterfell and install someone loyal to the realm as Warden of the North. Uncle Kevan, maybe."
"Good luck with that" Robb scoffed. There was a reason the Andals couldn't conquer the North. The enemy would choke at The Neck before they could even reach Winterfell.
"And these 10,000 northern troops, would they fight for you or their lord?"
"For me. I'm their King."
"But you've just invaded their homeland, and asked them to kill their brothers."
"I'm not asking."
"Very Aerys of him to do so," Oberyn said out loud for Robert to hear. The man turned and glared at him. Oberyn simply smiled.
"The North cannot be held... not by an outsider. It's too big and too wild. When the winter comes, the Seven gods together couldn't save you and your royal army. A good King knows when to save his strength... And when to destroy his enemies."
"So you agree... The Starks are enemies?"
"Everyone who isn't us is an enemy."
The wall turned dark and Olenna Tyrell stood, using the cane that had magically appeared to do so.
"I'm going to sleep, my mind's a much with so many things being shown to me all a once."
And with that, she walked away.
"I believe a little rest might do us all some good" Jon Arryn stood next.
The rest murmured their consent and slowly one after the other left the room and entered the corridor, each choosing a door and walking through it.