GOT : Chapter 83

( Cletus POV )

Cletus adjusted his doublet, making sure that he was perfectly presentable. Appearances mattered a great deal in the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, and the heir to Yronwood was under scrutiny after all.

Of course, this time, there were advantages. Because Quentyn and prince Oberyn were here, he was eclipsed, but because so many Dornishmen had joined the party, he was hardly even bothered, since there were so many other important guests.

This left Cletus with his hands completely free to do whatever he liked. Especially since Quentyn chose to stay around his uncle. He could have scoffed at the fact that Quentyn was touring the whorehouses of the capital, but he understood why he chose to stay with Prince Oberyn.

In the meantime, this allowed him to delve into the personalities of the Red Keep. He hardly shared the other Dornishmen's desire to provoke the Reachers and Westerlanders. He had had his share during the stay at Bitterbridge, and such a game became tiring. No, this time he had been well-behaved, for Dornish standards.

At it had paid off. By now, he had been able to come to know quite a great deal of people in the Red Keep itself. Not the Westerlanders, of course, but the Reachers themselves.

Actually, not even the Reachers.

The Reacher ladies.

But it was a start!

Especially since he had friendly relations with a lot of Lady Margaery's handmaidens, most of which fawned over him, and he did not reject this attention.

Although, he had to be careful. After all, they all were roses, and roses had thorns.

Cletus wasn't completely stupid. He knew the games that were played in the capital and knew that there were essentially no rules. Everyone talked with a flowery voice, but secretly held daggers behind their back. Dorne knew how to play this game too, ever since the days of Queen Myriah.

And so, Cletus had to be careful of what he said and did. To avoid compromising the Dornish position in the great game, especially since he talked to people so close to the queen-to-be.

A sudden strong smell of perfume suddenly grasped at his throat.

Speaking of avoiding trouble…

"Ser Cletus, what a wonderful surprise!"

Stay calm, Cletus, stay calm…and smile.

"Lord Varys." He nodded and smiled.

If there was ever a man Cletus did not want to run into, it was him. Varys was fat, bald, and plump, and spoke in a pitched voice that did not hide the fact that he was a eunuch. However, the man also knew a great deal, whether it is about him or other people. And if Cletus knew anything about the game these people played, the man also probably hid a lot more. And that made him extremely dangerous.

Cletus liked to pride himself on his tongue, he would need to hold it on a tight leash this time around.

"I am glad to have found a Dornishman to talk to." The Lysene – or was it Tyroshi? – man almost giggled. "It is quite interesting, you know. Everyone talks about you, but I have not spoken to a single one of you. I have not had the pleasure of talking to either Martells, yet."

I wonder why…

"I fear there is not much to say, Lord Varys." Cletus hoped the answer would allow to shrug the eunuch off. It didn't.

"No?" Lord Varys asked in a surprised voice. "A host of Dornishmen appears in the capital, wreaks havoc, and amidst them both the prince of Dorne's brother and his heir? Now, now, Ser Cletus, I think that there is a lot to say, on the contrary!"

"Perhaps…" Cletus shrugged. "I've only been invited; I fear I know nothing of what the princes prepare."

"Ah, but you know enough to say they are preparing something."

Fuck you, Cletus, you dumb idiot. You let your tongue take you places again. And this time, the taste of it won't be sweet.

"Don't look at me like that." The Spider laughed. "All of the capital knows they are preparing something. But what, I wonder…it is true that Prince Quentyn has been spending almost all of his time with his uncle ever since his arrival. A lot of rumors are flying…"

"Baseless, as you probably know." Cletus did his best to keep a smile on his lips.

"Of course. What kind of Master of Whispers would I be if I trusted every single rumor? After all, this city can announce one person to be a murderer in the morning and the purest person in the known world in the evening!" the eunuch laughed again. "I trust only what my little birds tell me."

"Then I fail to see how I may be of help." Cletus frowned.

"Help? Now, now, Ser Cletus…" the eunuch smiled. "I am the one who wishes to help you."

Cletus stood confused for a moment and inwardly shook his head.

Be careful.

"Help me?" Cletus looked at him with a disdainful eye. "I do not see how you could be of help."

"There has been talk, amidst the Reachers, my little birds tell me…of wishing harm to prince Quentyn." The eunuch started.

"The Reachers." Cletus looked surprised. "What do the Reachers want?"

"You don't know?" Varys asked, humming slightly. "All the time with the Tyrell girls didn't give you a hint?"

"Get to the point, Lord Varys." Cletus sighed.

"To the point…well, the Reachers do not appreciate your prince fawning over Lady Margaery. They see in it an act of seduction in order to draw her away from an alliance with the Lannisters."

"He's not fawning." Cletus raised an eyebrow. "Much less seducing."

"Oh, he isn't!" the Master of Whispers shook his head. "But there are others who think otherwise. I would advise you to keep your friend out of harm's way."

"Harm? They wouldn't dare."

"Many thought they were invulnerable within these walls before…" Varys shook his head. "Good men. Honorable men. Despicable men. They all fell down."

Cletus looked confused and annoyed. If there was an attempt on the prince's life, could this man just not say so?

"How?" he asked.

"I fear I do not know."

Liar.

"When?" Cletus continued, impassable.

"I heard them talking about acting today when the prince will regain his rooms." Varys shrugged. "All the same, they are well guarded, I hear. Good day, Ser Cletus."

With that, the eunuch disappeared with astonishing speed and left him alone in the corridors of the Red Keep.

Cletus frowned. Was the eunuch lying? If he was, what would be the point? He could just as well shrug this off, but if Quentyn's life was in danger, he could not take the chance and at least make him aware of that fact.

And what would he gain if he wasn't lying? Their sympathy? Hardly something a lot of men would want, especially when the Tyrells owned the capital.

Cletus continued to think but in vain. He could find nothing.

Oh, well.

Better find Quentyn and tell him. Can't be too careful.

It was then that a feminine voice cut in.

"Cletus!"

The heir to Yronwood breathed a sigh of relief at it being an actual girl for once. One of Lady Margaery's ladies-in-waiting, in fact.

The girl was four-and-ten namedays, or a little over that, had a slender figure, brown hair, and willowy brown eyes. She wore a light green dress embroidered with hundreds of little roses, leaving little to no doubt to where she hailed from. Her hair was flowing down to her elbows, being freshly cut, and she smelled of lavender.

"Good afternoon, Alla." He smiled back. "How fare you and the girls?"

"Oh, I'm fine!" she giggled, quickly closing the gap between him and her. "Ser Garlan has finally arrived at the capital!"

"Oh." Cletus nodded. "I hear he is a good fighter."

"Oh, the best!" Alla replied with stars in her eyes, before her smile fell slightly. "Ever since Ser Loras died…"

Cletus shifted uncomfortably. Luckily, Alla quickly got her emotions under control and giggled.

"But you should have seen Ser Garlan at the morning spar!" she almost jumped in excitement. "He dispatched every opponent, sometimes many at once!"

"He sounds talented." Cletus nodded.

"I had hoped you would face him, but I didn't see you there." She continued, with a disappointed look.

"I was a bit tired, and slightly occupied." Cletus laughed nervously.

Occupied at trying to get out of bed with the splitting headache he had because of how he tried to show the Tyrell girls how much he could drink. Turns out, a contest with his cousin Arch was the last thing he needed. And he doubted the girls were impressed by that sort of feat anyways.

"Oh, that's fine." Alla shrugged. "He's staying a while, probably. You'll have your chance!"

"Why did you come to me, exactly?" Cletus tried to not-so-subtly change the subject.

"Oh, Lady Margaery wants a bunch of embroideries for this afternoon, but they're stuck on a really high shelf and I cannot reach them. Can you help me, my Dornish knight?" she pleaded playfully.

Cletus laughed.

"How can I refuse a pretty maiden's wish?" Cletus replied teasingly. "It's no dragon-slaying, but if it will earn my lady's favour..."

Alla giggled and took his arm, leading him down the twists and turns of the keep.

"How are the other girls?" Cletus asked.

"Oh, all well." Alla smiled back. "Ser Garlan has brought many knights and boys we have not seen for a while from Highgarden, a lot are eager to meet them again. We've grown up with them in Highgarden, you know? Elinor in particular will be very eager to meet her betrothed, an Ambrose knight, really sweet."

"I'm glad for her. She said a lot of good about him." Cletus nodded.

"Oh, he's quite cute as well." Alla laughed. "There were also a few ladies in there."

"More ladies-in-waiting?" Cletus looked at her with wide eyes. "How many does Lady Margaery need?"

"Oh, not a lot. Just a dozen or so. A lot are coming just for the wedding." Alla shrugged, holding a door for him to enter.

The Tyrell girl then pointed to a shelf on top of which were stacked cloth and fabrics of various colours.

"Damn, they did put them really high up…" Cletus frowned.

Alla only nodded.

"You know," she continued while Cletus got a stool to stand on in order to reach the top of the shelf, which was decidedly very high. "Among Ser Garlan's party, there was Lord Lorent Caswell and his daughters."

Cletus nearly fell from his stool, but kept his composure. Slowly, he grabbed the pile of cloth and descended from his vantage point.

"Oh?" he feigned ignorance.

"Do you know Lady Helena Caswell?" she asked sweetly.

"We've met." Cletus nodded, trying not to blush. "Did she say anything?"

"Only that you had a good tongue." Alla shrugged. "What did you say to her?"

Cletus breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"A lot of things." Cletus nodded at her. "Do you want me to carry this somewhere?"

"Oh, that would be splendid!" she reacted with that wicked smile of hers.

The things we do for girls…

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I'm considering the decision to drop this fanfic and start a new story, since I don't have anyone at my P atreon.