"My Queen, you called for me." An old servant woman stood in front of Cersei with a frightened look on her face. She had served in the Red Keep for half of her life, and never once had she felt the dread she did now in front of the queen.
"What's your name?" Cersei asked, an ugly expression on her face.
"Mary, Your Grace." The old woman spoke with a trembling voice.
"Do you remember who used to tend to me back when I was first with a child?" Cersei asked, looking at her with fire in her eyes.
"Your Grace, perhaps we have mistaken something?" A voice attempted to interject, but a glare from Cersei shut him up. It was none other than Grand Maester Pycelle, standing there with sweat forming on his forehead.
"Y… yes, Your Grace. Besides me, there were two more maids who looked after you back then," Mary replied, stuttering. She had tended to the queen back when she wasn't this old. Now, she no longer had the energy she once did, so she had been replaced by younger maids.
"Call both of them here," Cersei commanded.
"Your Grace, they are no longer here. Mila died a few years ago—a fever took her—and as for May… she left King's Landing a long time ago." Mary spoke hesitantly, unsure why the queen was so angry but praying to the Seven that she wasn't the target of her wrath.
As soon as she finished speaking, silence spread through the room. Cersei looked at her with piercing eyes.
"Where?"
"…" Mary didn't respond; she didn't know.
"Where did she go?" Cersei asked again, raising her voice.
"I… I don't know, Your Grace. She didn't tell me before leaving. I don't know." Mary kept her head down, clenching her skirt, trying to look smaller. Only the Seven knew how she had found herself in this situation.
For a few seconds, no response came from Cersei before she finally asked,
"Do you recall why she would have left? Any particular reason?" This time, her voice was calm.
Mary immediately started recalling everything she could.
"Aye, Your Grace. I do recall her quitting her job here long before she left. We used to live near each other. After she left, she had no job. She struggled, and soon she had to leave the city."
"What more?" Cersei wasn't satisfied with only this much.
"I… I can't say for sure, but there was gossip that she slept with a noble and got herself pregnant. That's why she left her job. I can't be sure, but when she left, she had a babe with her—only a few months old." Mary stuttered, recalling everything she could.
"Is that all?" Cersei asked.
"I swear to the Seven, Your Grace, I don't know anything else." Mary was now trembling. The longer she stayed, the more she felt like she was in a lion's den, being stared down by a lioness.
"Get out." After a long pause, Cersei spoke, and Mary was happy to rush out as soon as possible.
"Your Grace, I think there is a misunderstanding. I myself checked—" Pycelle started, but Cersei cut him off.
"Misunderstanding? It's a MISUNDERSTANDING, IS IT?" Cersei's glare toward Pycelle became fiery.
"My firstborn's body is missing from its grave, and you think it's a misunderstanding?" she all but roared, making Pycelle flinch.
That morning, the queen had suddenly called him, interrogating him about her firstborn. Everyone knew the Queen's firstborn hadn't survived long after birth. This was the first time in years she had even brought up the subject.
She had asked to be taken to his grave. She had never done that before, never even knew where her firstborn was buried. So they had taken her. Then, strangely enough, she had wanted to dig up the grave. Even for a woman like her, this was too much. But it was the queen's order, so they had done it—only to find the grave empty.
"You gave the body of my dead child to that bloody whore to bury. I want her. I don't care how—you bring her before me. If you don't, I swear, Pycelle, I'll have your head on a pike and everyone in this damn castle if I don't find out what happened to his corpse…
What are you looking at? GO FIND OUT. WHERE IS MY CHILD?"
—
"Here he is."
Ned Stark was startled when his study room's door opened without a prior knock, and he saw Thor drag a man in, his face covered.
"Who's he?" Ned Stark looked at the man. Not recognizing him, he turned to Thor.
"Jon Arryn's squire. Recently knighted just after his death. The Seven have been kind to him—he just acquired a full plate steel armor, castle-forged. Fits him like he was born for it. Lovely craftsmanship." Thor spoke with his usual smile, but Ned understood the implication.
"You were Jon's squire?" Ned asked Hugh, who remained silent. He knew who stood before him, but if he opened his mouth, things would turn out badly for him.
"Speak. We are all friends here. No need to be shy," Thor encouraged while placing his hand behind the man's neck. Ned saw Hugh visibly flinch. He wondered what Thor had done to the man.
'Maybe putting him on this task wasn't the right decision,' Ned thought but soon shook his head. This was necessary, and he knew it.
"Tell me, what do you know about Jon's death?" Ned Stark asked in a calm tone, while Thor sat a little further away, playing with his newly acquired dagger in front of Ser Hugh, just to apply more pressure.
"I… I don't know anything. He was fine that morning, and then suddenly, the fever attacked him. It all happened so fast that—" Hugh was speaking when Thor threw the dagger. It missed Hugh by only a hair's length and dug into the wall.
"Apologies. Been a while since I used a dagger. Thought I could use some practice. What do you say, Ser Hugh? Mind helping me out? I'm sure you'd be pretty good at it."
Ned Stark was about to interject, but Hugh spoke. "I… I didn't do it. It wasn't me. It had nothing to do with me." Hugh sputtered.
"Nothing to do with what?" Ned Stark seized the opportunity.
"The poison! I don't know how he consumed the poison! I swear to the Seven, my lord, I am innocent!" Hugh stuttered, and Thor smiled, retrieved his dagger, and left.
"Make sure no one sees him here. He'll be targeted soon enough. As a friend, it's my responsibility to find him safe passage out of here."
—
[Castle Black]
"This is madness… what are you thinking." Tyrion all but shouted seeing his brother and probably the only family he cherished going out to give away his life.
"Not if it's works." Jaime shrugged with a charming smile.
"You'll be freezing your balls off beyond the walls, searching for those things while not even knowing how to kill them. Works or not this is maddest. If father knew this…" Tyrion trail of as he figure that if his father knew then it's most likely all the blame will be shifted onto him.
Jamie Lannister in all his wisdoms one day woke up and decided to go to north can capture a white walker of his own.
"What if he knew ? He won't do nothing. In fact this is the reason why I'm going out there little brother. Father won't believe this children's tale until he has a proof and that old bear is guarding that cellar like it was a gold mind. Let alone a body part we can't even get fart from that white." Jaime said making Tyrion shut up.
"Sigh, We both know Jeor Mormont not gonna let us take any part of that undead to show father. Without proof Father won't believe even if it's me telling him.
Ned Stark is a fool, he thinks that the King could help him. He should have learn by now that Captial is in debth, there won't be any help from the captial.
The only three places which help north right now are Hightower, Reach and us Lannisters. If can't convince father then seven's know when those undead fuckers will show up.
If the wall falls, then we all are doomed." Jaime said with a little heat.
"You can't, we don't even know how to…" Tyrion after a little while tried to convince his brother again but Jaime shook his head.
"That foreigner captured one, do you think I can't do it."
"Since when it's competition?" Tyrion said with fustration.
"Do you know what will happen to me if our dear father and sister learn that I didn't do anything while you go out there to alone to die." Tyrion said with irritation.
"I'm not gonna die and I'm not alone either. I got professional help." Jaime said, he was actually going out there with Benjen and few more ranger to shout the area.
"As for our sister and father. Here give them this, they won't cause you any trouble." He said as he toss two letters at Tyrion.
"Some times I appreciate seven choose to gave me a bigger head than longer legs…"
xxx
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