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"The King has named Qyburn the new Master of Whisperers."
"Your Grace, him? This man? This embarrassment to the Citadel?"
"The Citadel has nothing to do with any position other than that of the Grand Maester. His outrage will do no good" Rhaegar scoffed. Not that he liked Qyburn either. He didn't know the man, but there was something about him that left a bad taste in Rhaegar's mouth.
"Your Grace, what qualifications can he possibly have for this post?
"The qualification of loyalty, Grand Maester. That's far more than the eunuch ever had. Far more than many ever have."
"I must say I cannot see-"
[CERSEI cuts him off]
"Uncle Kevan, in light of your position as commander of the Lannister armies, it would please the king if you would serve as his Master of War. No man living better deserves the title."
"Does such a title even exist?" Jon frowned. He had heard none of it...
"Not that I know" Ned frowned. He turned to Jon Arryn, who was equally frowning.
"That is kind of you to say. I would like to hear it from the king himself."
"The king is very busy at this moment."
"He should be here, learning what it means to rule."
"He is learning."
"Shouldn't I be there if I am to learn?" Tommen asked, a little panicked. "How can I learn if I'm not there!?"
Myrcella held his hand gently. She knew what their mother was doing, gathering power under her skirt. She did not care that Tommen was King, she only wanted the power for herself...
"This time, I will make sure you learn how to be a good Lord. We'll both learn together" Tyrion said with a smile.
Tommen turned to him. He did not want to be a Lord, he wanted to be the King! If Joffrey couldn't be King then it should be him! He was a Baratheon too!
The poor boy, still young, was aware but did not understand the implication of what Jaime being his father meant. To him, his mother was married to the King, which meant that she was Queen and he as her son was Prince.
"I returned to the capital to pay my respects to my brother. And to you. And to serve the king. I did not return to the capital to serve as your puppet. To watch you stack the small council with sycophants. Sending your own brother away so he wouldn't be"
"My brother has left the capital to lead a sensitive diplomatic mission."
"What mission?"
"That is not your concern as Master of War."
"I do not recognize your authority to dictate what is and is not my concern. You are the Queen Mother. Nothing more."
[KEVAN gets up from his seat.]
"Good old Uncle Kevan. Cersei will not find him as amiable" Tyrion smirked. He'd spent a lot of time with his uncle and knew well enough that his father loved this brother of his best because he was another Tywin, less cruel and borderline evil, but equally prideful and if necessary, ruthless. His nature was not as highlighted because of his elder brother and the shadow he cast.
But now, now they will all see what kind of a man he is.
"You would abandon your king in his time of need?"
"If he wants to send for me, I will be waiting for him. At Casterly Rock."
[He exits the room and closes the door.]
Joanna smiled fondly at her good brother. The years had not changed him like it had his brother.
[CASTLE BLACK-LIBRARY]
[SHIREEN runs her finger over the letter "S" in her book. She is GILLY how to read. SAM is reading in a different aisle in the library.]
"I expected Sam to teach her" Lyanna frowned. The boy loved him sure enough, that was why she expected it.
"Did you know that the youngest Lord Commander in history, Osric Stark, was elected at the age of 10?"
[GILLY and SHIREEN look at him and then back at their book.]
"You'll learn, I promise. I taught Ser Davos, and old people are terrible at learning new things."
"He wouldn't like that comment" Renly snickered.
"It's Shireen, he is fond of her like a daughter" Stannis reasoned.
"Even if what you said was not kind..."
"I am sorry Father" Shireen lowered her head.
"Well, you're a wonderful teacher. Very patient!"
"I only said that the more time you spend practising, the faster you'll be able to read."
"He expected her to run before she learned to walk" Lyanna snorted. Now it made sense.
"That's alright. We're doing just fine. I'm sure you and Ostrich Stark have a lot to talk about."
Arya snickered.
[GILLY to SHIREEN]
"How old were you when you learned to read?"
"Three."
"That's young" Jon Arryn blinked in surprise. He had seen the child around the capital In her formative years until the Greyscale had her isolating, even after she'd recovered. But he didn't know this.
"My daughter is something of a prodigy when it comes to the written words," Stannis said proudly, a hand on his blushing daughter's head.
Jon Arryn smiled. Stannis Baratheon was not an expressive man... unless it came to his daughter. That man loved his daughter dearly.
[SAM interjects]
"Three?! Who taught you, your mother?"
"No. Old Maester Cressen did."
Stannis frowned from guilt and sadness. The man was a father to him... and what had become of him because of the choices Stannis made...
"I had a lot of time to practice. My mother kept me inside because..."
"What do you call it in the South, what happened to your face?"
"At least she was gentle" Daenerys murmured softly. No doubt the poor girl was ostracized for her face.
"Greyscale. What do you call it north of the Wall?"
"I don't know. But two of my sisters had it. They both died. How did they cure you?"
"I don't remember. I was a baby. Lots of people came and tried, I think. Whatever they did, it went away."
"How did they cure me?" Shireen asked her father.
"A healer from Essos" Stannis answered but added no more.
"What happened to your sisters?"
"My father made them move out of the keep into the huts outside. None of us were allowed to go near them. But we heard them. Especially at night. They started to sound... not like themselves."
"Did you ever see them?"
"Only once at the end. They were covered with it. Their faces, their arms. They acted like animals."
"They were terminal then" Oberyn frowned softly. "It is a surprise to see Greyscale so far North when the origin is usually Essosi."
"Must have contracted it from some Night's Watch Ranger" Brandon the Elder reasoned. That was the only way it could touch them.
"My father had to drag them out to the woods on a rope."
"What did he do to them in the woods?"
[GILLY is afraid to answer. SELYSE enters the room before she can.]
"He killed them didn't he."
"At that stage, it is a mercy to do so," Stannis said to his daughter
"Would you have killed me too if I got that bad?"
"Mayhaps" there was no use lying.
Shireen nodded. That was expected if she acted like an animal and started attacking people.