[20] Spreading A Network

Chapter 20: Spreading A Network

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"I'm no Ser," I said. "What do you usually do for your customers?"

She blinked, her smile widening, her eyes flashing briefly with something sly. "Ah, you're the talking type~" she giggled. It was a fake, airy sound—the kind meant to charm a stranger. "Well, usually I start by..." she leaned closer, whispering a litany of acts, her tone dripping with the seductive allure she was famous for.

I laughed softly, letting the sound drift between us, the echo swallowed by the walls. "Sounds fun," I said, sliding my hands away from her waist, my fingers brushing the silk of her dress as I let go. "But, tonight… I think I'll take you for the whole night, Ros." My words made her eyes light up briefly with hope. "But first, I want to talk. Get to know each other. It's dull to just fuck and leave, isn't it?"

She stilled, her gaze lingering on my face as if trying to gauge my intentions. She tried to hide it, but the flicker of irritation was unmistakable. She wanted to get this over with. "Trust me, love, the night will be far from boring," she purred.

I laughed again, louder this time. "If all I wanted was a quick drain of balls, Ros, I'd have done it with my hand in the privacy of my own quarters. I came here to find a woman for a reason. Women are charming—they're more than just bodies. They're stories. They're someone to brag to, to laugh with. Sex is just… a fraction of that."

She giggled, something real slipping into the sound. "So you want to brag about yourself? Go on then, traveler," she said, her head tilting as her smile turned teasing. "You're not from here, are you?"

I nodded. "Sharp eyes."

"A necessity in my line of work," she replied, arching an eyebrow. Her gaze carried a hint of mischief, her curiosity piqued despite herself.

I leaned back, making myself comfortable, one arm resting behind my head. "Yep, from Essos actually," I said and launched into my story, spinning a web of half-truths and careful lies—how I was part of the Second Sons, which she didn't know about, so I had to explain how companies of sellswords worked in Essos, and how the Second Sons was a big name among them.

I told her why I was here, that I'd passed through Dorne earlier, traveling alongside a rather fervent Red Priestess. "She's good at ruining the mood," I added with a grin. "When all a man wants is to have his balls empty and a night to himself, she's there talking about some Lord of Light—"

Ros' giggle interrupted my story, it was a sound more real than before. "I can imagine. A priestess isn't exactly who a man like you would want to travel with, is it?"

"No," I said, sighing dramatically. "I wanted to sleep with her once, but…" I paused, my lips quirking upward. "Apparently, 'fire' isn't just metaphorical."

She laughed out loud, her head falling back, her eyes crinkling in amusement. The tension she carried seemed to dissolve with each shared laugh, each joke exchanged. Her earlier impatience had faded entirely, and her body had lost the stiffness from before. She rested her head on my arm, her red curls brushing against my skin as she nestled closer, her body relaxed against mine. I could feel her breaths evening, her laughter still lingering.

"So," she murmured, her fingers trailing down my chest, "how about you show me the dragon in your pants, hmm?" Her hand slipped lower, but I caught her wrist, stopping her.

Her gaze darted up, confusion sparking in her eyes. "You want to talk even more? It's been hours."

"And the night is far from done," I replied, my tone light. I let my fingers trace her wrist, my eyes holding hers. "Besides, I've been the one talking all this time. I want to hear about you, Ros. It'd be dull to just fuck after talking so much about me, especially with someone like you. Tell me… what's been weighing on you? Why were you sad earlier?"

She blinked, the smile on her lips faltering, her expression hardening slightly. "Ah… traveller, if you're not in the mood, I can call someone else—"

"No," I said quickly, cutting her off. "I'm in the mood for you. You're gorgeous. But more than that, I want to understand why the woman I'm going to spend the night with is sad. What happened?"

She frowned, her eyes narrowing at me, and then she grinned. It was a cynical grin that barely hid the bitterness underneath. "Oh, I see. You're into that, aren't you?" she said, her voice dropping, a mocking edge creeping into her tone. "You want the sad story of the whore, so you can feel like a hero when you fuck her… thinking, oh, how great I am, making this broken woman smile and moan again. Is that it?"

Her words hung in the air, biting, the bitterness sharp enough to cut. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd just said, the venom she'd let slip. She tried to pull away, her body stiffening, but I burst out laughing—a genuine, full-bodied laugh that filled the space between us, diffusing the tension.

Ros stilled, staring at me, then hesitated before a small smile crept onto her lips, growing into laughter of her own. She shook her head, her laugh growing freer I pulled her, and she rolled with me on the bed, her laughter infectious, carrying away the sharpness of her words.

"Ah, you do have a way with words," I sighed, the laughter fading from my lips as I sat up, reaching into my coat. I pulled out a small pouch, tossing it beside her. It landed on the mattress with a soft jingle.

She blinked, her gaze flicking to the pouch before back to me. I nudged my chin toward it, and she hesitated before reaching for it, her fingers loosening the strings. Her eyes widened at the amount inside—more than any single night was worth. She looked up at me, surprise written across her face.

"Your payment," I said, my voice softening. "For tonight, let's suppose we've already slept together. Now, entertain me with your story, Ros. Why is such a pretty face like yours sad, yet still forced to work?"

She stared at me for a long moment, her expression softening, her eyes shimmering with something unspoken. She sighed, sitting up, her gaze drifting down to her hands. "You said you're from Essos, right?" she began, her voice quieter now, almost unsure. "Fair why you won't know."

"Yes. I've only been in King's Landing for a little while," I said, lying on my side, my eyes never leaving hers. "What happened here, Ros? What's got you like this?"

She hesitated, biting her lip, her eyes flicking away. "It's… it's the crown," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "The crown's ordered… they've been killing all of Robert Baratheon's bastards." She paused, her gaze lowering, her voice breaking slightly. "My friend, Mhaegen… her baby… it wasn't even his. She'd never been with the King. But they killed him anyway. They killed so many—so many babies, innocent children, just because they might be his…"

Her voice cracked, her eyes filling with tears, her breaths shuddering as she spoke. I sat up, reaching out, my hand running gently through her hair, my other arm pulling her closer. She looked up, startled at the gesture, her eyes wide, her tears spilling over. I didn't say anything, just held her, her trembling form pressed against me as her sobs finally broke free.

She cried against my chest, her body trembling with the force of her grief. "They dove a dagger through the poor baby's heart… for nothing," she whispered, her voice muffled against my shirt. "And now I'm here, pretending everything is fine… working like it's just another day…"

"The man who runs this place—he's got to be a piece of shit, making you work like this," I muttered, my voice darkening.

She froze, her body tensing against me. She hesitated, pulling back slightly, her gaze flicking up to mine, a conflicted look in her eyes. She shook her head, her voice wavering. "He's… he's not a bad man. He's done a lot for me… for all of us."

She was lying—I could see it in her eyes, hear it in the way her voice wavered. But I liked that about her. She was smart, cautious, unwilling to speak ill of Baelish to a stranger. That was why I was here tonight—not to claim her body, but her loyalty, to make her a seed, someone I could trust, someone who could become my eyes and ears against Littlefinger and the rest of King's Landing.

"If he's so kind," I said, my voice soft, "why not stop working here? Become his assistant, or a manager, or something. Surely, you're capable of more than… this."

She hesitated, her brow furrowing, her gaze dropping. "You think… someone like me could do that?" she murmured, her voice almost lost to the shadows.

I reached up, ruffling her hair gently, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "You're stronger than you think, Ros. You could have let those girls take me, avoided working tonight, but you didn't. You have ambition. You should use it."

She looked up at me, her eyes shimmering, her lips parting slightly. "You really think…?"

"At least try," I said, smiling. "I think you can do it."

She blinked, her eyes softening, her lips curling into a hesitant smile. "Sure…"

"And don't worry about anyone else coming for you for the next few days," I added, lying back on the bed, pulling her down beside me. "I'll come here every night. I'll hire you, and we can just… talk. You can work on becoming his assistant during the day, and at night, I'll be here, keeping everyone else away. Sound good?"

She stared at me, her eyes wide, her lips parting, then she smiled—a real, soft smile, one that reached her eyes. "You're… a strange man," she whispered, her voice filled with something I couldn't quite place. She nudged closer, resting her head against my chest, her body relaxing against mine.

"Maybe," I said, wrapping an arm around her, my gaze drifting to the ceiling, a smirk tugging at my lips. At this rate, I'd have her loyalty soon enough.

"But for now… sleep, Ros. I'll take care of it if someone looks for you, and everything else."

She sighed softly, her body sinking into mine, her breaths evening out as she drifted to sleep, her warmth seeping into me. I lay there, staring at the shadows on the ceiling, my smirk widening.

I guess this was a step towards the beginning of my own personal spy network.

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Author Note: Its Sunday again! That means another goal, bonus chapter day. Same goal as usual, 100 stones in 60 mins and I post chapter 21 right away. I'll post it if we're close enough to 100 too. So start voting!!

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