40 Chapter 40: Fools, Rats, and Survival

(Year 293 AC)

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(General POV)

"MY LORDS! THE MAGICIAN, WILLIAM CASTIAN, IS ATTACKING THE CITADEL!" The servant shouted as loud as he could, not bothering with the kneeling and subservience that was expected of him.

Given his statement, no one in the room could even fault the poor guy. After all, why bow when the end was in sight?

Everyone in the room froze at the sudden declaration, all of them sharing one of two reactions. One group noticeably paled as looks of horror appeared on their faces, while the other group was the exact opposite.

Oberyn couldn't help the smirk that curled his lips, while his children were all smiling. Aegon, Jon, and Daenerys all shared a look of relief for a second, but it was soon replaced by one of confusion.

Yes they were happy Will was on their side, but how did he know to attack? That was the thought that appeared first in Jon's mind, then Aegon's as they realized that something else must be happening.

"He shouldn't know about this situation just yet, so I wonder what they did to make him so upset." Oberyn said as he came into step beside Drox, asking what was on Jon's mind.

"Who knows. With his temper, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something trivial. Then again, given why he went there in the first place, it might actually be serious." Drox spoke, actually sounding a little worried at the end.

As soon as Drox and Oberyn got to where Aegon and the other two Targaryens were standing, Drox looked pointedly at one of the knights that was carrying the weapons belonging to Aegon and Jon.

"Those aren't yours." He told the man as he held his hands out towards him. The knight looked nervously over Drox's shoulder, most likely towards one of the Tyrells for confirmation before he pulled the swords and daggers from her person and placed them in Drox's open arms.

"Let's go. I don't imagine things went too well for Will." Drox told them all as he ushered them towards the door.

It was weird. Even though he was the least noble person in the room, he seemed to be the one with the most power and authority. He seemed more of an equal to those around him than a servant, which one person in the room took note of. She however was too busy being scared and holding her mother to really think about it.

"Please inform, Lord Castian, that I wish to speak with him." Olenna said to Drox, who only nodded before he ushered everyone towards the door.

"This was fun! We'll have to do it again sometime!" Oberyn called out to no one in particular before they left the room.

"You damn fool... You might very well have just destroyed our House." Olenna said coldly to Mace, who was struggling to get to his feet.

The room was quiet now as everyone processed what the hell just happened. The silence ended suddenly when Willas ordered a few of the knights to follow him, then left the room with his great Uncle Moryn Tyrell by his side.

The man might have been old, but he was still Lord Commander of the City Watch, and his authority would go a long way.

Knowing his brother, Garlan had an idea of where he was going, and not wanting to be left out of it, he ran out alone after the knights trailing behind Willas, leaving the rest of his family alone in the room with a few personal guards.

Seeing her grandsons leave, a small bit of the weight Olenna was shouldering seemed to disappear from her shoulders as she let out a quiet sigh. If they managed to live through this, there would be hope for their House.

'So long as Mace stops trying to get us all killed.' She reminded herself.

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(Willas Tyrell POV)

Not about to just lay down and wait for his death and the deaths of his family, Willas decided he would try to fix the damage his father had caused.

He wasn't sure what happened at the Citadel, or even why William was at the Citadel to begin with, but he knew if he could just speak to Will to figure out what was going on, he could resolve the matter.

Hopefully in doing so, Will would also agree to listen to him and his grandmother so they could tell him that they had no hand in what happened to his brothers and sister.

'His brothers and sister...' Willas thought.

He himself had two younger brothers and a younger sister, and would do everything in his power to make sure they lived happy lives.

If Will cared even remotely the same about his own family as he did, Willas could already see that it would take some quick explaining to the man to stop whatever unfortunate thing he might do to them.

It took a little over 15 minutes to ride to the Citadel from his great uncle's home, and it appeared that they were only a few minutes behind Oberyn's group, only the group itself was much smaller than before.

All of the women in their group hadn't come with them, which made sense to Willas. He knew the older Sand Snakes could hold their own in a fight, but the children stood no chance.

Oberyn obviously trusted them to guard his paramour and the rest of his children, as well as Castian's sister, which was the only reason Willas could think of as to why they weren't here.

Getting back to why he came here, Willas looked towards the Citadel's main building, and he couldn't help but open his mouth in surprise.

Almost a hundred armored knights were laying on the ground, scattered around the area. Dead or unconscious, Willas didn't know, but either way it didn't bode well for them.

Looking at the bodies, Willas saw a few maesters and acolytes of the Citadel laying amongst the soldiers, which was really bad.

He was trying to find William, but his attention was drawn towards Oberyn when he saw him run over towards two women who looked to be trapped in a revolving wind storm, which was strange considering there wasn't the slightest breeze around Willas.

'Where is...' His thoughts trailed off when the sound of steel clashing together pulled his attention towards an alleyway to the left of him. Looking over towards the noise, Willas was shocked to see a knight get sent flying over 50 feet from a kick to the chest, and the only reason he stopped was because of the building he slammed into.

Looking towards the cause of the kick, Willas saw the very same man he had seen years ago when he strolled through the doors to the great hall in Highgarden, only he was a bit taller, his shoulders were broader, and he looked absolutely terrifying.

Willas immediately noticed how William was holding a maester by the throat and was dragging him towards the trapped women that Oberyn had run towards. Despite the old man's kicking and pleading, Castian didn't seem to be phased in the slightest as he carried him along as though he was dealing with an unruly child.

"Lord William!" Willas shouted to get the man's attention, which he honestly wasn't sure was the right move at the moment.

He had no idea why Castian was attacking, but attacking he was, and he was doing a very good job of it, and there might be a real possibility that he might turn his ire towards him and the group of knights with him.

Willas expected some form of reaction from Castian when he shouted to get his attention, but Castian hadn't so much as glanced in his direction. Instead he continued on towards where Oberyn and the two women were, which was a little worrying.

Making up his mind, Willas told his great uncle and the guards with him to check for survivors from the fallen men around them, while he went forward to try and get some answers and hopefully not make the situation worse.

Deciding to follow along behind Castian, Willas slowly jogged towards the man who was only a dozen yards away from Oberyn.

When he got within speaking distance, Willas could hear Castian say, "How exactly are you going to execute my wife and mother without your shields?!"

The words were spoken so coldly, Willas felt a chill run down his spine, but he continued onward towards Castian, only now he had a few missing pieces to the puzzle.

The two women trapped by the tempest of wind weren't actually trapped like he thought, they were being shielded. Not only that, but they were Castian's wife and mother. That revelation alone was already shocking enough, given how no one in Westeros knew Castian was married, or at least there were no rumors about it.

Another thing Willas learned, or more accurately, he suspected, a maester had threatened Castian's mother and wife, which in turn caused the chaos and destruction around him. There of course were other things he was obviously missing, but it all fit given Castian's personality.

Willas didn't know it yet, but he had actually hit the nail right on the head with his speculation.

Castian had only intended to disarm the knights surrounding the Citadel, but before he could even reach the first knight, one of the maesters had shouted something along the lines of, 'For breaking the rules of the Citadel and attacking the Order of Maesters, you and the two women who violated the rules of the Citadel, shall be be branded with the mark of treason before you are executed!'

Willas of course wouldn't find this out until later, but his guess was already so close that it didn't really matter too much in the end. Willas watched Castian stop before the tempest of wind before it suddenly vanished.

"I know I said I wouldn't kill anyone here, but he is the exception." Castian said to the older of the two women, who only nodded sadly at his words.

'Most likely his mother.' Willas reasoned as he recorded her appearance to memory.

When he looked at the other woman who he reasoned to be Castian's wife, he was a little confused. She looked more like a younger copy of his mother with a few slight differences, looking more familial to the woman than Castian did. Hell, he looked nothing like the two women.

'Maybe she's just his mother-in-law?' Willas thought, right and wrong at the same time. It was true Elia would technically be Will's mother-in-law through Rhaenys, but he thought of her as a real mother long before he and Rhaenys ever hooked up.

Ignoring their similarities for now, Willas focused on what was happening in front of him. He was about to shout to get Castian's attention again, when a very audible crunching noise sounded about the area and silenced the words in his throat.

The maester, Will had been holding, was dropped to the ground like a piece of rubbish, his neck clearly broken from Will's bare hands. With just a glance it was obvious the man was dead, but if Willas' suspicions were correct, he kind of asked for it.

He of course knew how the maesters of the Citadel were snobby pricks, and felt they were above everyone else, but he didn't think they were stupid enough to threaten someone like Castian. That was a death sentence, which the man had learned firsthand.

With the maester dead, Willas watched Castian walk up to the younger of the two women and hold her in a warm embrace as the two shared a kiss.

'Clearly his wife.' Willas thought as he stopped less than 10 feet from the group. He would wait to try and get their attention when they weren't... preoccupied.

When they finally broke apart, Willas watched as Will turned to Oberyn and the other guys with him before asking, "What are you guys doing here?"

He looked confused, which Willas didn't understand. I mean, you cause a big scene and people show up, it's how it works in the world.

"Lunch took a turn, so we decided to find something more fun to occupy ourselves with." Drox answered, speaking in a way that sounded like there was a double meaning to his words.

Not wanting things to get out of hand before he could explain himself, Willas picked that moment to step forward.

"Excuse me, Lord William! Might I have a moment of your time?!" Willas asked respectively, trying to keep the nervousness and fear out of his voice.

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(General POV)

Hearing someone shout at him, Will turned to look for the speaker, immediately seeing a somewhat familiar man behind him. It took a few seconds, but he quickly realized it was Willas Tyrell. It had been a few years since they first met, but Will recognized him easily enough.

"Hey, Willas! How've you been?!" Will greeted the young Lord as if they were friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time.

One might think Will was trying to be rude by not using the titles and crap that was expected for someone such as Willas, but if he took offence, Willas didn't show it. On the contrary, he was actually happy that Will greeted him like he did, as it felt more friendly than formal.

"I've been well. I hope it's been the same with you." Willas answered, relaxing slightly under Will's friendly smile.

"Well..." Will paused as he looked to all of the unconscious men surrounding them, then looked down to the corpse of the maester at his feet before continuing, "Things were going pretty good before this happened." He said as he gestured to all of the destruction he had caused.

"I... see. Might I inquire as to what happened here?" Willas asked nervously. His plate was already full of conversations that would no doubt upset Will, he didn't want to add to it.

Though he didn't want to, Will still summarized the events that transpired leading up to the confrontation. He didn't mention anything super specific, but knew it would only take questioning the Archmaesters to find out about Rhaenys being pregnant, so it wasn't really a big secret that needed guarding.

When he finished explaining himself, Willas seemed to nod in understanding, as if he already suspected what happened.

"These guys will be a bit sore for a while, but maybe they'll learn from it." Will said as he looked at all of the people laying around them, his words visibly surprising Willas.

"Sore? You mean they're not dead?!" Willas asked in surprise and confusion as he surveyed the bodies around him.

"This guy is the only dead one." Will paused to kick the maester at his feet before adding, "Everyone else just has a broken bone or two, and maybe some small scrapes here and there. I was careful to not go too far with them."

Now that was something Willas could be thankful for! Things were not nearly as bad as they appeared, which was the first good thing that happened all damn day!

"So how was your lunch?" Will asked good naturedly, looking between Oberyn, Drox, and Willas. The smile on Willas' suddenly disappeared, and he looked nervously towards Oberyn and Drox.

Clearly being left in the dark about something, Will's smile also disappeared as he looked pointedly at Drox for an answer. However before Drox could speak, Willas beat him to it.

"My apologies, Lord William." Willas paused to bow his head low, then continued, "Without telling anyone, my father had your brothers and sister brought to us against their own will. As you well know, my father isn't the most well thought out man, and failed to see the consequences of his actions."

Willas paused to gauge Will's reaction to his words, and seeing as how he was still breathing he concluded that he might actually live through this.

"Were any of them harmed?! Where is the girl?!" Elia asked quickly, suddenly joining the conversation. Rather than look to Willas for an answer, Will looked to Aegon and Jon.

Seeing him looking at them, Aegon answered, "We are all fine. She is with Ellaria and the others now. They caught us off-guard in the market with crossbows."

Elia let out a breath of relief and visibly calmed down, but Will didn't look all that happy.

"What was the point of taking them?" He asked Willas, who actually didn't know the answer. He had guesses though.

"Without questioning my father, I can't be sure what the purpose of taking them was, but if I had to guess... He let the pride of our House cloud his judgement. After your brother put hands on my youngest brother, and Prince Oberyn and Drox held weapons to my other brother, my father took it as an insult, even though by all accounts we were in the wrong." Willas explained nervously, doing his best not to start running as fast as he could.

No one said anything for a few seconds as they waited for a response from Will, and eventually they did get one, only it was not one any of them were expecting.

"*Sigh* I always knew Mace was an idiot, but I didn't think he was completely brainless. Makes me wonder if he really is your father or Olenna's son." Will said, actually quite calm given the situation.

"So what now?" Drox chimed in, looking back and forth from Will to Willas, clearly wondering what Will wanted to do about Mace and the rest of House Tyrell. Willas also wanted to know, but he was far more nervous than Drox.

"Well, I don't know about all of you, but we haven't eaten lunch yet, and I'm starving. I can only imagine how Rhaenys is feeling now that she's eating for two." Will said with a smile, his words causing everyone to pause.

It took Drox, Aegon, and Jon a few seconds longer than Oberyn to understand the meaning of Will's words, given the man had eight children, but eventually they all understood the fact that Rhaenys was pregnant.

Even Willas figured that out, only he took a bit more information from the news. First and most importantly, it seemed that Will did not hold it over his head or his family's heads about what happened. Well, his father's head was still up for debate, but at least it didn't seem like their house was going to be eradicated.

Secondly, it gave Willas a bit more of an idea as to why Will was so angry. Not only had the maester threatened his mother and wife, but also the life of his unborn child. That was unforgivable, and Willas knew that anyone in Will's position might have done the same, even if they had to face someone in a higher position of power.

And finally, the name of Will's wife was, Rhaenys. Willas had no idea what her family name was, or if she even had one, but it was something. There was even something familiar about it, but he couldn't remember where he heard it from.

Like Will expected, Aegon and the rest of the boys were excited for them, and congratulated him and Rhaenys. Even Willas congratulated him, making him smile.

Anyway, with everything taken care of, Will and the others decided to make their way back to the Inn where the others were. Thankfully with Willas with them, he was able to clear things along with the knights that had accompanied him there.

Moryn Tyrell looked relieved to know that his men lying on the ground were all alive, and after finding out they were just unconscious he didn't bother to try and detain Will, even though he already knew that would have been a losing battle.

Garlan, who had remained behind with his great-uncle when Willas went to speak with Castian, had been in a sort of dazed state as he watched everything unfold.

When they had first arrived, he had been shocked at the scene of chaos around him, and like everyone else, assumed that the men laying on the ground were all dead. When Willas had moved forward to speak, Garlan had held his breath and said a silent prayer to the Gods to watch over him.

Despite not being able to hear what was being said, Garlan didn't so much as turn away from his brother, and it wasn't until Willas began walking back towards him with everyone else around him in tow, that Garlan took a long deep breath.

'Thank the gods!' He thought, wanting nothing more than to go back home and forget this nightmare.

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Later that evening, Will went to go and meet Olenna to discuss the day's events. Willas had of course invited him before they departed from the Citadel, and Will didn't see a need to refuse.

However rather than going straight to meet with Olenna, Will went a bit early and stealthily made his way to the Tyrell's location, and snuck into the building without anyone knowing.

He had to maneuver through a few walls and floors to keep from being seen, but eventually he did find what he was looking for, or rather who.

Mace's room was under guard, but Will guessed that was more to keep Mace from harming others with his stupidity than it was for his own protection.

'Probably Olenna's doing.' Will thought.

Looking into the room, Will saw that Mace was the only occupant in the room, which is what he was hoping for.

Silently coming out of the wall in the corner of the room, Will slowly crept over to the table where Mace was sitting. The fat bastard was gorging himself on a pie, not the slightest bit aware of Will's presence behind him.

Moving over so he was crouched down directly behind the chair, Will pulled a piece of cloth from his inventory and wadded it up, then waited.

As soon as Mace swallowed the mouthful of food he had been chewing, Will waited until he was reaching over for another piece before he jumped into action.

Faster than Mace realized, Will pulled his head back and stuffed the cloth into his mouth and held it there with his left hand, while his right hand brought the blade of a Valyrian steel dagger to Mace's throat, making this the second time the man was in such a situation today.

"Make one wrong move, and I'll be cutting off a few pounds to help you lose some weight!" Will growled into Mace's ear, causing the man to nod his head furiously in fright.

Now that he had Mace where he wanted him, Will stood back up to his full height while still keeping the blade to Mace's throat.

"You know, I would be doing your family a favor if I just killed you here and now. Maybe then they wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of your actions." Will told the Warden of the South, who's eyes widened and his body stiffened.

"But then again, unlike you, I know how to keep my promise!" Will said as he thought back to the promise he had made to Olenna.

'House Tyrell will have nothing to fear from me! I'll not move against you in any way, so long as you don't break faith with me, and that is no small promise!' Will remembered the words he had spoken that day in Highgarden.

By all accounts, House Tyrell had broken faith with him the moment Mace ordered the capture of Aegon, but the man had ignored the warnings of his mother and son to stroke his own ego.

Will knew from talking with Willas that none of the other Tyrells knew of what Mace had planned, and Oberyn and Drox had even confirmed it based on the reactions at the lunch.

It was true Mace had broken the agreement, but Olenna hadn't, and was actually trying to abide by it by having lunch with Oberyn in the first place.

On that line of thought alone, Will had decided that he wouldn't punish the whole family for the sins of one moron. Especially when that moron was Mace Tyrell.

"I'm not going to kill you, Mace. Despite everything you've done, and how much I want to, I won't. But you still need to know that there are consequences to your actions, and maybe you'll think twice before you give an order against someone." Will said to the terrified Lord, who had already pissed himself.

'I'll not kill you, YET!' Will thought after he finished speaking, knowing full well this would not be the end.

Mace tried to speak, but the gag muffled whatever he was trying to say, which was what Will wanted. He didn't want to hear any excuses from the man, nor did he care what he had to say.

So without further ado, Will began breaking limbs, cutting flesh, and just really causing a whole lot of pain. He of course healed everything as he went along, making sure Mace was still completely healthy.

All he was trying to do for now was terrify the man to the point where he wouldn't try to go against him or his family in the future, and he was doing a damn good job.

It only took him a little over 20 minutes to finish everything up, and to his expectations, Mace had blacked out minutes prior to finishing the final bit of healing.

If anyone checked Mace over, they wouldn't find even the slightest sign of injury on the man. Other than being overweight, Mace was as healthy as could be.

Even his clothes looked pristine after Will removed the blood stains from them. Will had actually spill a little wine and food crumbs on him so his clothes didn't look so clean.

When he was done, Will left mace passed out in the chair with his head on the table next to the pie, sitting in his own urine.

He would have killed Mace right then and there, but doing so would destroy any alliance with the Reach. That wasn't to say that he was just going to let Mace get away with what he did, oh no.

Mace would die in due time, only it would be done in such a way that it wouldn't be pointed back to him. He could even make it look like an accident, though how the man died was still up for debate.

He was leaning more towards a bloody attack by assassins or something, but he knew he would have to come up with a reason why someone other than him would want Mace dead.

If anything, enemies of Highgarden would want Mace to live longer so he could screw his family over even more. The fool. Anyway, all thoughts for another time.

After a quick check around the room to see if anything was out of place, Will disappeared through the wall and back down to the ground outside. He had to circle back towards the Inn a ways, before he began making his way back towards the Tyrell estate on foot, making a very public showing of his arrival when he showed up at the gates.

Will was immediately escorted to a private room where only Olenna was waiting for him, which was a little weird.

He expected to at least see Willas in the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. There weren't even any guards or servants in the room, which led Will to believe that Olenna didn't want the contents of their discussion to be known to anyone else but them.

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(Olenna POV)

Hours before the meeting with Castian, Willas had informed Olenna of everything he had learned about the events that transpired for the day.

The information had been eye opening to say the least, and it definitely answered a few questions she had, but it also added a few more questions she wanted answers to.

One of the biggest bits of information was that William was married, and that his wife was with child. That had almost given her a heart attack, mostly because it ruined a somewhat half-thought out plan she had over the last few years.

Olenna had off-handedly wondered if it was possible to increase House Tyrells connection with Castian through a marriage between him and Margery, but that plan was thrown out the window now.

Willas had told her, Castian's wife was named Rhaenys, though what House she belonged to was still unknown to them.

Thinking about the name, a young princess came to Olenna's mind, but she shook that thought away. She knew the one she was thinking of had been killed during the sack of King's Landing, so there was no point in going down that dark road.

Still, Rhaenys wasn't a very common name, and was actually Valyrian. It was a name typically given to Targaryen princesses ever since Aegon's Conquest almost 300 years previously.

From what Willas had told her, this Rhaenys did have the same purple eyes that were common among Valyrians, and she did have a few striking features, but other than that there was no proof that she was descended from the Valyrians.

Olenna was thankful that her grandson had managed to get as much information as he had, while still being able to keep the monster that was, William Castian from ending their house.

It showed just how smart he was, and how suited he was to rule. Olenna couldn't wait for the day when Willas took over as Warden of the South, as she wouldn't have to worry about the bumbling oaf that was her son.

It was good that Willas had been able to clean up after his father, as that took away some of the problems that Olenna would have to deal with.

About an hour after Will had left the Citadel, a messenger informed Olenna that Lord Baelor Hightower, son of the current ruler of Oldtown, Lord Leyton Hightower, requested her presence at the Citadel.

Olenna was glad to be meeting with Baelor instead of his father, Leyton. He had a decent head on his shoulders, and had a good strategic mind. His subjects loved him, and he knew how to run a city. All good qualities of a Lord.

Leyton however, had none of those qualities. The old goat had been locked in the top of the Hightower for 4 years now, and had it not been for the servants attending him, and the weekly meetings with his sons, Olenna would have thought the man to be dead.

She often hoped the man would die so she didn't have to read letters about him researching magic atop his tower. Apparently he really wanted to become a magician, and somehow thought he could find the answers to becoming one in some random books. It was getting so bad, even the knights of Oldtown thought him touched in the head.

Anyway, after getting the request from Baelor, Olenna summoned her carriage before setting off to the Citadel. On her way, a servant pointed down a road to one of the more popular Inns for nobility, informing her that it was where Castian was residing.

She made a note of it, and planned to stop there on her way back home so she could meet the mysterious woman that was married to the strongest man in the world.

When she got to the Citadel, she was led into a nearby building where Baelor and a few Archmaesters were waiting for her. She would have preferred to meet in one of the more comfortable rooms, but that would require going into the main building, and despite her position of authority, women weren't allowed in the Citadel.

It was a shame too, because had the idiots in the place had a woman around, she would have been able to tell them that they should stay away from William Castian.

Walking into the room, Olenna sat down in the chair next to Baelor, then looked to all of the men present as she waited to hear whatever complaints they no doubt had.

"Lady Olenna. Thank you for joining us." Baelor greeted her kindly. And not that fake kindness either. He was actually truly happy that she had shown up to help them.

"No problem at all, Lord Baelor. I actually wanted to come here myself to hear a first-hand account of what transpired today." Olenna said, being equally as kind to the man.

Smart men were a rare thing in the world, so Olenna thought it best not to treat this one like the fool that was her son. Gods she wanted to hit her son.

What followed in the meeting was an accounting of what transpired in the Citadel from the maester's point of view, and their rendition of everything that happened.

Clearly they had overplayed everything, making it seem like Castian was out to kill them all, but from the report she had read, only one maester had been killed in Will's assault, and that was for threatening his family.

Olenna was actually surprised the Citadel wasn't burned to the ground after saying something stupid like that to a man like Castian.

When the lies were finished, Olenna looked to the Archmaester wearing a silver mask, and was holding a silver rod. There was a very obvious silver ring on his finger as well, but it was almost inconsequential when the man was wearing the mask.

'Honestly, these people need something that makes them feel more important than everyone else.' Olenna thought, wondering if all of them were compensating for something.

"When Lord Castian came to you in the Citadel, what was his purpose? Surely he didn't come all the way from his home in the North just to attack the Citadel, correct?" Olenna asked, the man in the silver mask.

The man in the mask, Archmaester Ebrose if Olenna wasn't mistaken, stood from his chair and looked about the room before saying, "You are correct, Lady Olenna. He came to us to help diagnose what was wrong with his wife. Like all new mothers, she was suffering from morning sickness, only her's was more severe than any case I can recall. Once he got our diagnosis, he thanked us before promptly leaving the Citadel."

Archmaester Ebrose told them all a summarized version of everything he and his colleagues had experienced in dealing with William, but the words somewhat contradicted the words from the first report.

"Archmaester Vaellyn, you stated before that William was murderous and violent, and that he caused heavy damage to the Citadel. From what I've been able to find out, only one maester in the entire Citadel was killed, and that was only after he threatened William's family. I have also not received a damage report on anything as of yet. Care to explain?" Olenna said to a man whose mask, rod, and ring were made of bronze.

He was Archmaester Vaellyn, also known as Vinegar Vaellyn, and is one of the teachers at the Citadel of Oldtown. Vaellyn teaches and judges the subject of the heavens, presumably astronomy, which has led people to call him "the Stargazer".

Though a smart man, he had a poisonous tongue, and liked to punish people rather than build them up.

"This barbarian storms into the Citadel, causing destruction to anything in his path, then kills a member of our order, and here you sit, trying to defend him?! Need I remind you, your house has sworn an oath to defend the Citadel from those who would do us harm!" Archmaester Vaellyn spat out, clearly outraged at being questioned about what happened.

If she was bothered by his words, Olenna didn't show it. Rather, a small smile crept its way onto her lips, making a few of the Archmaesters frown. They all knew of Olenna's reputation, so her smiling did not bode well.

"From the report, an acolyte by the name of Lorcas was the one who led Castian to Archmaester Ebrose, correct?" Olenna asked, sounding as though she was building up to something, but what it was, no one else knew.

"That is correct." Archmaester Ebrose answered when no one else was forthcoming. It helped that he had seen the acolyte first-hand, so he could say with absolute certainty who had been the one to guide Will to them.

"Excellent. This acolyte will escort Lord Baelor through the Citadel, and show him exactly what damage William caused, and who he hurt. This way we, as the defenders of the Citadel, can make arrangements so something like this doesn't happen again, and so that we can properly compensate the Citadel for its damages." Olenna said brilliantly, making most of the room go silent.

The Archmaesters anyway. Lord Baelor seemed quite happy about the idea. Archmaester Vaellyn did not look pleased, and a few of the other Archmaesters who had given their own reports on damages looked quite nervous.

'Just like a rat. Trying to get more than you deserve!' Olenna thought as she surveyed their expressions. 'Clearly these men aren't the brightest in the world.' She thought as waited for what was to come.

Things went about how she expected after that, with Baelor finding out that the damages weren't nearly as extensive as they were made to believe.

There would still need to be some compensation to the Citadel for the dead maester so they didn't get their rods stuck up their asses, but all things considered, it wasn't that bad.

The meeting had taken a little over 2 hours, and there would no doubt be more meetings in the days to come, but Olenna could deal with that later.

On the carriage ride back towards the estate, she ordered the driver to stop by the road leading to the Inn Will was staying at, but when she was about to order the carriage to turn down the road, Olenna's breath was caught in her throat and she swore her heart stopped beating.

There, walking down the road from the Inn was a ghost.

She knew the rumors the Martells had been spreading over the last few years about finding someone who looked like the deceased Elia Martell, but looking at her, Olenna could say with absolute certainty that she was no look-alike, and that she was in fact the real thing.

She had met Princess Elia on a number occasions, and though she wouldn't consider them close friends, they were quite familiar with one another.

As she stared at the ghost of the not dead princess, Olenna saw a tall boy, maybe a year or two younger than Garlan, exit from the Inn and walk towards the ghost.

The woman and boy spoke some words to one another before the woman pulled the boy into a loving embrace. When the embrace ended, the two of them walked back towards the Inn, and it was then that Olenna got a clear look at the boy, and again she caught her breath.

The boy was the spitting image of Prince Rhaegar, with the exception of his hair. It was a bit darker than was typical for the Targaryens. Still, she couldn't help but make the comparisons, and it was at that point that a few things clicked into place.

'They never found an Elia look-alike, they found Princess Elia. Rhaenys was the daughter of princess Elia and Prince Rhaegar, and that just so happens to be the name of Castian's wife... The boy! Rhaegar had a boy!' Olenna thought, putting names to who they belonged to, while also figuring out things that just didn't make sense before.

"Continue on!" Olenna ordered, not feeling like it was a good time to go visit William to congratulate him on his child. No, she had many things to think about, and she wanted to get her thoughts in better order before the meeting in a few hours with William.

When it was actually time for Will to arrive, Olenna had the guards and servants leave the room, as she knew the topics said tonight could not be leaked to anyone else. Not even her grandchildren were permitted in the room, despite their obvious objections.

Olenna couldn't tell them yet for fear that the information would get them killed. Hell, just saying what she was going to say might get her killed, but she hoped that Will would at least be able to see that she was not his enemy.

Anyway, moments after his arrival was announced, Olenna sat down at the table and waited for him. When he got into the room, Olenna saw the look of confusion on his face, most likely from the lack of people in attendance, but she knew he wouldn't care too much.

"Lord William, so good of you to meet with me." Olenna said calmly, still remaining in her seat.

"Lady Olenna." Will replied before he dipped his head as a show of respect, then took the chair across from the Queen of Thorns.

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(General POV)

Sitting down in his chair, Will eyed Olenna with a practiced gaze. With it being only the two of them present, Will could already guess that the conversation was going to be sensitive in nature, but with how Olenna was staring at him, he wasn't sure what the conversation might be about.

"I was wondering if you might explain something to me." Olenna said, making Will even more curious about where this was going.

"That depends on what you want to know." Will replied evenly as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table.

Olenna didn't ask anything right away, but eventually she decided to bite the bullet and asked, "How did you keep Princess Elia Martell and her two children from dying during the sack of King's Landing?"

Will certainly wasn't expecting the question, but he didn't let it show on his face. He knew there might be a problem with saying Rhaenys' name in front of Willas, but he didn't think Olenna would figure everything out with just her name alone.

Clearly Olenna knew something else that made her confident enough in her assumption to confront him about it, so Will decided to be a little more straight forward than usual.

"First you tell me how you know they're alive?" He asked, not denying the fact that they were alive.

It wouldn't do to try and lie right now, and to be honest, he was tired of lying, especially when it came to Rhaenys. That was why he said her name earlier. She was his, and his alone, and the gods themselves could come and try and take her from him, and he would kill them all.

"Your slip of the tongue when you mentioned your wife's name to my grandson was the first piece of the puzzle. I immediately thought of the dead princess when I heard the name, but I had dismissed it shortly after due to it being common knowledge that the princess was dead. However, that changed when I glimpsed your 'mother' walking to the Inn earlier this evening. It's been a few years since I last saw princess Elia, but not long enough that I would forget her. I was there at her wedding to Prince Rhaegar, and spoke with her at every event since then up to her death. Then there was the boy, Prince Aegon I assume. Rhaegar's son if there ever was one. You've obviously colored his hair, but I have no doubt it's him. I'm not sure who the other boy and girl are, as they're too young to be Princess Elia's, not to mention she only had two children. Finally there was Dorne itself. I know there are many ways for men to grieve, but Oberyn would never replace his sister. Despite his countless faults, his one redeeming quality was that he loved his sister more than life itself. I would even go so far to say that he would have given his life for her that day in King's Landing. The effort the Martells went through to protect her was too much for some random woman, but all of Dorne would have sacrificed themselves for Princess Elia. She was loved that much by her people. I doubt King Robert would have gone to war over a woman with no claim to the throne, so it wouldn't have been a big deal to reveal her true self to the world, but that's only if her children had died that day in King's Landing. If there was someone in Westeros with a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne, King Robert would have had an army knocking at Dorne's doors within the week, which is why there couldn't be children that came with the new 'Lady Martell'. What I still don't understand is, how they survived, and why they are so important to you." Olenna calmly explained her reasoning.

Will was impressed with how much thought she had put into everything, and decided that she deserved a few answers. Plus if he thought she might be a threat to them in the future, he'd just kill the Tyrells and be done with it.

However, Will knew full well that the Tyrells had been the last supporters for the Targaryens, and had only bent the knee to Robert when everyone thought the dragons had all been killed off. It wouldn't do for him to kill off his family's greatest supporters.

"Elia and Oberyn were the first people I really met when I arrived in Westeros. Though it was a rough start, things worked themselves out in the end. Oberyn saved my life, and even got me healed after a... confrontation I had with some slavers." Will paused here, letting Olenna think on that bit of information.

"I was there, you know. In King's Landing when Tywin came to sack the city. In all of the chaos, I had snuck into the Red Keep to find my own treasure. As you now know, I got more than I could have ever hoped for." Will said, not-so-subtly referring to Elia, Rhaenys, and Aegon.

"It wasn't hard to find corpses in King's Landing at the time, especially women and children. I did have to make them unrecognizable of course, otherwise the ruse wouldn't have lasted as long." Will finished speaking, then studied Olenna for her reaction.

"Why stay with her? Why name her your mother?" Olenna asked calmly, taking the information she already received as though it wasn't new to her. She didn't even bother to ask how it was possible for a child to do all of that, even if the child had magic.

Will could see the thoughts playing across her aged face, and he could tell that she had her own conclusions as to how he had done it. Whether they were right or not, he didn't know, and he honestly didn't care.

"She couldn't have survived on her own, even if I had immediately taken her to Oberyn. Armies or assassins, Robert would have succeeded one way or another. As for naming her my mother... It's because she is. She raised and guided me on how this world works. She took care of me, and loved me. Even when raising two children of her own, and the world was against her, she made room in her heart for me. What else can she be if not my mother?" Will spoke softly, a slight smile gracing his lips.

Olenna could see that just thinking about the woman he considered a mother, the monster that most of the world feared became slightly more human than he would care to let on.

It confirmed a few of her thoughts, while giving her more things to think upon. One more important thing than she realized.

'Willas needs to become Lord of the Reach!' She thought, knowing full well that Mace was just going to dig the graves of the rest of her family if he was allowed to remain in power. It was on this line of thought which led Olenna to her next line of questioning.

"About what happened earlier this afternoon. My-" Olenna said, but before she could get too far into it, Will raised a hand to silence her.

"I already knew Mace was a fool! His stupidity is nothing new to me! However, the fact that he went, not only against me, but your orders as well, proves that he is unfit to rule. Had he actually hurt or killed a member of my family, I would be making a new alliance with whoever becomes Lord of the Reach after the Tyrells. It would be in your family's best interest to have Willas take his place, and let him retire to the kitchen." Will stated, making Olenna frown at him.

All members of a family couldn't be held responsible for the crimes of one of them, but Olenna knew that if Will killed any member of her family, there is no way he would ever trust them again, nor would they trust him.

She could already see Loras or Garlan try to take vengeance for their murdered father if Will killed Mace. Naturally, Will would kill them too, which would earn Willas' hatred, with Margery and Olenna following suit.

No, Olenna knew there was a reason Will was telling her he would be doing business with whoever replaced them. The Tyrells would be no more.

"It will not happen again, this I can assure you." The old woman said, sounding as though her words were fact.

"For your sake, I do hope so, Lady Olenna... There will be no more second-chances." Will told her, confirming the grim fact that he would kill them all if they crossed the line again.

There was quite a bit of tension in the air for a few minutes following Will's words, but it slowly dissipated when Olenna changed the topic to that of Rhaenys and her pregnancy.

She congratulated Will on him soon becoming a father, but then she said something that killed the mood once again.

"Though they might appear old and weak, the maesters of the Citadel have more power and influence than you know. I warn you now, after today's events, they might try plotting something against you. Some of them anyway. They preach about magic not existing in the world, so you can only imagine how upset they are when they get attacked by something that they have no knowledge about." Olenna warned, making a good point.

To be honest, Will had completely put the maesters out of his mind, mostly because he didn't care about them, but also because he didn't see them as a threat.

Every castle in Westeros had a maester, and there were more than a few castles across the Narrow Sea that had one as well. All of them most likely reported certain findings to the Citadel, so it was likely anything anyone learned about him would be reported now.

It also wouldn't be hard for a maester to slip a bit of poison into his food or drink, or even sabotage a healing or something like it with someone he was close to.

When he was really thinking about what kind of threat the Citadel might hold for him, Olenna spoke, "The Conclave is the governing body of the Citadel and the order of maesters. All meetings of the Conclave, which is composed of Archmaesters, are confidential in nature and conducted behind closed doors at the Citadel. They have called for a meeting tonight, most likely to discuss you."

Will had heard about the Conclave from a discussion he had had with Oberyn years ago, but he didn't know they were all Archmaesters. The fact that they were meeting right after his assault on the Citadel, Will could confidently say that they were going to discuss him.

"Thank you for the information, Lady Olenna." Will dipped his head in thanks. Had she not told him, he would have set out in the morning without giving the Citadel a second thought.

The topic changed once again to something which Olenna actually knew about, and one that would hopefully help her House. Trade.

Will asked about purchasing an extremely large quantity of food. Anything Highgarden could spare, Will wanted, and he was more than willing to pay.

When they finally finished their discussions for the evening, Will stood from his seat, and just as he was about to leave, Olenna asked him one final question.

"Are you going to take the Iron Throne?"

The question wasn't all that surprising, given his power and influence, not to mention the fact that he was having a child with one of the last remaining Targaryens.

"I can't think of a worse way to live my life than to be king. No, I'll not be claiming the Iron Throne. My brother, Aegon might. He won't remain hidden to the world forever, and I can't see Robert Baratheon or his children ever leaving my family alone when he does. As long as there is a threat to their rule, they won't stop until we're dead. If I have to kill the Baratheons and Lannisters to keep my family safe, so be it." Will answered, then left the room shortly after, leaving Olenna alone to think about the future of House Tyrell.

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When he got back to the Inn, Will ate dinner with everyone before they all decided on what to do for the evening.

Aegon, Jon, and Daenerys didn't seem too excited to go out and explore again after what happened last time, but Will insisted that they go out and see some places before they departed in the morning.

Both he and Rhaenys would be going with them, so it wouldn't be anything like earlier that day.

They divided up into groups, with the Sand Snakes going off to do their own thing, even going so far as to take their younger sisters for the night so Oberyn and Ellaria could go visit a brothel or two.

Drox would have gone with them, but Will pulled him aside while telling Oberyn that Drox was going to be busy.

Elia, Rhaenys, Aegon, Jon, and Daenerys went outside of the Inn to wait for Will, so he and Drox could have a talk.

"I need your help." Will told Drox in an unusually serious voice, letting him know that this was no joking matter.

Shortly after, Will exited the Inn with Drox in tow, only Drox split off from the group a few minutes after they left the inn.

For hours the group explored Oldtown, buying anything that caught their eye. Will actually bought a number of things he knew he couldn't find in the North, and he knew they would be helpful to Asteria.

All in all, they had a very memorable night in Oldtown. Come morning, the group departed for Sunspear.

When they were about an hour out to sea, Drox walked over to where Will was sitting alone on the deck of the ship, then sat down in a chair that appeared out of nowhere.

Taking a deep breath, Drox looked directly at Will before saying, "Depending on how many enemies you want to make, this could be really easy or really hard."

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(A.N. I'm doing some work on my room for the week, so there might not be a chapter next week, but I will try. The reason I've been having so much trouble breathing lately is mold under the carpet from a cracked foundation. My health takes priority, so we'll see.)