The Small Council of King Robert had gathered in the Small Council hall for a meeting. As was the norm for Robert Baratheon, he was absent from the meeting. And in the few council meetings that had been held in the past couple of months, apart from the regular issues of the empire, there was only one thing, or one person, who had gotten the most prominent feature in the meeting. Lucas Lannister.
"So," Renly was the first to open his mouth once everyone had taken up their seats around the large rectangular table.
"Are we going to act blind?" he questioned. He was angry. Livid even.
"Are we going to act as if we did not see that Lucas Lannister just executed two men, two soldiers of the City Watch, in the middle of a street? In front of an entire city? Is he free to do so as he wishes?I know as per the king's decree, we cannot question him. But does this decree extend to whatever action he takes? Everything he does?"
"Lord Renly," Varys, who rarely gave his opinion unless asked, said. "Though soldiers of the City Watch, the men were corrupt and criminal."
"They allowed a pair of twin sisters to be abducted for money. And even their past records are very tarnished. They were evil. Whatever Lord Lannister did was the right thing to do, and his action is being widely seen by the smallfolk as an act of heroism. They are celebrating Lord Lannister and his actions."
"I am not debating whether he is right or wrong," Renly's voice rose higher. "I am asking if he has the authority to carry out a trial, establish the crime of the accused on his own, and then pass on the sentence."
"If this council has forgotten, let me remind it that Lucas Lannister is not the king of the seven realms. He is neither the Hand of the King nor the Master of Laws. He is but a mere Lord Commander of the City Watch."
"He has no authority to pass judgments on any matter, let alone carry out executions. In fact, he does not even have the right to imprison the soldiers of the City Watch or dismiss them. All these rights only belong to three people. Me, as Master of Laws, Lord Jon Arryn, as the Hand and the King himself."
"But he has been constantly doing it all in the past two months and we have been sitting with our eyes closed," Renly continued. "He has been imprisoning people, sentencing them to punishment, dismissing soldiers and even banning a couple of merchants from ever trading in King's Landing."
"But the public execution he had carried out could not and should not be tolerated. If he had evidence, he should have brought it to us and we would have judged the matter."
"Whatever you are saying is indeed correct, Renly," Jon Arryn sighed. "But I do not think we can actually do anything against him."
"He has got the full support of King Robert, and Lord Lannister will justify his acts as doing whatever is necessary to maintain law and order in the city. A thing which has been decreed to him," he said. "We can try to bring this matter to his grace but I doubt he would actually do anything."
"I agree," Grand Maester Pycelle interjected. "Unless Lucas does something wrong, we cannot really do anything to him."
The Grand Maester, himself, was in a great conflict. Personally, he was quite worried and anxious about the drastically rising influence of Lucas Lannister. The more that man grew in power, the more everyone in the Small Council would lose their authority and influence. Also, Lucas's intimidating and heavy presence made Pycelle very nervous. He had a feeling that the man was very very dangerous.
But on the other hand, Lord Tywin Lannister, the man whom Pycelle actually served, was related to Lucas Lannister. And the Lannister Lord, currently, wanted Lucas to be protected. Pycelle had been ordered by Tywin Lannister to become a voice for Lucas in the Small Council, and that was what Pycelle was trying to do, albeit, he was not fully committed to the act. He was trying to sit on the fence on this matter but for appearances he was leaning very slightly towards the young Lannister.
"Then you mean to say that we do nothing and let him swallow all our power and authority?" Renly almost snarled. "He has basically made my position, the Master of Laws, worthless. He does everything that was in my authority. He has eaten up half the powers of the Master of Coin. And soon, he will also transgress the powers of the Hand of the King."
An uncomfortable silence reigned in the Small Council. No one could refute Renly. In only a couple of months, he had accumulated a great deal of authority in his hands. Be it recruiting soldiers to the City Watch, paying them from his own purse, writing laws and regulations for the conduct of city soldiers, or delivering justice on his own, every act of his had eaten away the power of the Small Council.
"If I may," Stannis, the least speaking member of the council, broke his silence. "There are a few things which we need to accept before we decide to take any action."
"Firstly, Lord Lannister is a very highly efficient, hardworking, and intelligent man," he said. "In only a couple of months, we can see the outline of whatever he has promised to us. I do not think he is going to fail in the very difficult responsibility he has taken upon him."
"Secondly, Lord Lannister is no roadside knight or a minor lord. He is a very powerful man. He has five thousand men in this city, and from my experience, I can say that the loyalty of the City Watch is greater to Lucas Lannister than to the Master of Laws or even to the King."
"He has immense wealth, enough to fund projects as huge as this, and a lot of lords are very eager to get into his good books. His metals and his wine are trump cards, he is holding in his hands."
"So, we should not ignore his tremendous influence," he continued. "And this is not counting the fact that he most likely has the full backing of House Lannister. A Great House. And is most likely to inherit the Casterly Rock."
"And finally," he added. "My brother, the King, trusts him fully and completely. And he backs Lucas Lannister completely."
"What are you trying to suggest, Lord Stannis?" Jon Arryn questioned, an uncomfortable expression on his face.
Stannis did not answer and instead stood up from his seat.
"I am not suggesting anything," he said. "I am merely trying to remind you of a few facts before you all decide to make any move. Facts that you must accept and keep in mind."
"And if this council has nothing other than Lucas Lannister to discuss, I will take my leave," Stannis stated before he turned and walked away from the hall, leaving a contemplating Small Council behind him.
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