Chapter 46: Highgarden

(Year 294 AC)

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(General POV)

Upon reaching the gates to Highgarden, Will was met with the sight of Drox, Aegon, and Jon standing off to the side of the gates near the wall with a bunch of knights beside them. Thankfully no one had weapons drawn, and everyone looked like they were just talking peacefully amongst each other.

"What's going on?" Will asked once he got within speaking distance.

"I don't know if you know this, but apparently it's frowned upon for dangerous animals to wander around the city." Drox told him, making Will frown in thought as he looked at the two wolves and the shadowcat laying on the ground near them.

'Ah... That makes sense.' Will thought, realizing that it was in fact not normal anywhere in Westeros besides Asteria and Dorne for wolves and shadow cats to wander about.

"Now that you point it out, that does make sense." Will said, getting a chuckle from Drox who knew that Will hadn't even given it a second thought before now.

Turning to look at the guard who he assumed was the one in charge, Will spoke, "I can assure you that the animals are well trained, and will not cause you problems. I'll stake my name on it, and I'll even discuss it with Lady Olenna if I need to."

The guard looked confused for all of 5 seconds, at which point he looked to the side of the carriage where he noticed the fiery red bird painted on the carriage door. There was only one person in all of the known world who had that sigil, and he was someone every knight in Highgarden had been warned of.

Once he knew whose carriage it was, the guard quickly looked back at Will causing his eyes to widen with recognition. Clearly, he recognized Will from somewhere, and though it had taken him a minute, it was understandable given how no one in their right mind expected a Lord to be driving a carriage, let alone William Castian of all people.

"O-Of c-course! Right this way Lord Castian!" The guard shouted, causing the men near him to also widen their eyes in shock. Hell, even the civilians entering the city all stopped to stare at the mention of 'Castian'. Will was famous after all.

The guard whispered something to another guard before the other guy took off towards the castle, most likely to inform the Tyrells of his arrival. Not minding, Will followed along the guard through the gates of Highgarden with Aegon and the others in tow.

Upon Will's request, the guard led them to a very popular inn amongst the nobility. Will had picked an inn rather than request to stay inside the palace as one of the reasons for coming here was so Aegon and Jon could explore the city, and they couldn't very well do that inside the castle walls.

Plus, he didn't want to be near Mace, as he wasn't sure he could stop himself from punching the man in the throat. Olenna couldn't keep track of the fool 24/7, and he didn't want to kill the Warden of the South with Rhaenys and the others here. That would not go well.

Before they could get too settled in the inn, Willas Tyrell and his brothers, Garlan and Loras arrived, welcoming them to Highgarden and inviting them to dinner in the castle, to which everyone agreed.

There were a few hours yet until then, so everyone decided to get a tour of the city from the Lords themselves, who seemed all too happy to give the tour.

For a while, things were going at a slow and steady pace, but eventually Loras and Garlan invited Aegon and Jon to split off from the group to go see some better things, to which the two agreed.

Drox went off to "gather information", but Will knew he was simply heading towards the brothels. Drox was at least sensible enough to leave Shade with him, as he would bet every bit of gold, he had that the terrifying shadowcat would not win him any favors with the whores.

Plus, it was just more protection for the others with Shade here to keep watch. The cat was extremely intelligent, and both Will and Drox had faith that it would be keeping an eye out for potential threats.

Will didn't mind just walking with Rhaenys, Daenerys, Missandei, and Willas. The five of them and a dozen guards leisurely made their way towards a square that Willas assured them they would enjoy.

Upon arriving, Will was pleasantly surprised to see all of the different crowds gathered around certain areas. Looking at what all the fuss was about, Will saw some singers, pipers, fiddlers, and harpers entertaining their respective crowds.

"It's like this every day." Willas told them, surprising them all. Will honestly thought there was a festival going on with how many people were gathered and entertaining, and he couldn't fathom how they could do this every single day.

They listened to the variety of musicians, watched some dancers, and even listened in as a bard recited a battle from the past. It was actually quite entertaining, and everyone enjoyed it for a while before they set off towards the castle for dinner.

Arriving at the castle, Will found Drox, Aegon and Jon waiting for them with Loras and Garlan, all of them talking amongst each other. Even Jon looked to be really into the conversation, which was a welcome sight compared to just seeing him sitting off to the side and silently watching everything.

Will attributed Jon's change in demeanor to Aegon, because he had seen first-hand how Aegon treated Jon like a true brother. Though they were only half-brothers, you'd never be able to tell by how Jon was treated.

They studied together, trained together, fought together, and helped each other out when needed. Neither Aegon or Rhaenys acted superior to Jon, and they genuinely wanted the best for him, and he in turn wanted the best for them. He had even got their advice on a number of personal matters, showing just how much trust he had for them.

It probably also helped that Jon had a mother figure who showed genuine love for him. To never know a mother's love in your life, then to suddenly have it, it must have been something else for him. Will could somewhat relate to Jon, though he had in fact known the love of a mother before Elia, it had just been stolen from him.

Catelyn was anything but a mother for Jon, and Will hoped that the boy could finally be happy now. Hell, just based off what he was seeing, Jon was happy.

"How was Highgarden? Did you see anything interesting?" Will asked the group once they got close enough to them. Entering the castle, both groups regaled each other about the things they had seen and what they had done.

They were all chatting away as they entered the great hall, at which point the conversations seemed to come to an abrupt halt. Willas did the introductions for his family, then looked to Will, who got the hint and introduced his own.

"This is my wife, Rhaenys, my brothers Aegon and Jon, my sister Daenerys, and of course you all know Drox. And finally, this young lady here is my personal translator, Missandei of Naath." Will spoke, surprising most everyone in the room.

Those were not casual names, and Olenna knew it well. She had no idea Daenerys Targaryen was also with Will's group, but she knew the little girl standing before her could be no one else. She wondered about Viserys, but she wouldn't ask about that. At least not for now.

The fact that Will also casually revealed their names also meant that he didn't care who knew, which meant he didn't care if there was a war with Robert. Olenna would have to discuss things with him later in privacy, as she wasn't sure how much she could reveal by first discussing things with Will.

Olenna looked over to Willas and Margery, and judging by their expressions, Willas had made the same connection as she had, though Margery was blissfully unaware. Granted she was not privy to some of the information that she and Willas knew, but she should have suspected something by the names alone.

Three of those names were of Valyrian origin, and they were most commonly used by the Targaryens. Margery should have picked up on that, as Olenna had drilled the importance of history into her head.

Will caught Olenna staring at Jon, most likely trying to figure out where he came from, but he knew she wouldn't dig too deep into it. She mostly just put pieces of the puzzle that was their life together, and more often than not the pieces fit too well to be refuted.

No one said anything when Missandei sat at the table next to Daenerys, though the discomfort the little girl felt was almost palpable. She only spoke when spoken too, which was mostly initiated by either Will, Daenerys, or Jon. Still, the fact alone that she was with Will made so no one dared to even look at her wrong.

Once everyone was introduced, they proceeded to sit at the table that was already prepared before their arrival. Will had made a point to dip his head in greeting towards everyone at the table respectively, aside from Mace of course.

It was petty for sure, but it served to remind the Tyrells that he had not forgotten what Mace had done, and that it would be in their best interest to not test him again. There would be no more chances. Besides, he didn't see a point in being nice to a walking corpse. It was all just a matter of timing now.

"You're the spitting image of your mother." Olenna said to Rhaenys in a hushed voice, barely above a whisper.

The Queen of Thorns was sitting at the far end to one side of the table, with Willas sitting next to her on her right, and Margery next to him with the rest of the Tyrells following suit.

On her left, Will was sitting with Rhaenys next to him and the rest of his group on his side of the table with Drox at the far end sitting next to Mace.

When Drox had sat down, he grinned at Mace as he slowly picked up the knife next to his plate, reminding Mace what happened the last time they ate together. Drox had been seconds away from opening up Mace's throat, and the grin on his face told Mace that he could very easily do it again if he needed to.

Olenna had spoken so only Willas and Margery could hear on their side of the table, while only Will and Rhaenys heard from his side.

"Thank you, My Lady." Was all Rhaenys said in response as she dipped her head in a show of respect.

Willas of course already knew about Rhaenys, Elia, and Aegon, having been told about it by Olenna back in Oldtown. She had thought it prudent to inform him of it in case something happened to her, then he would at least be able to make an informed decision for their house based on the information.

Having seen Elia and Rhaenys before in Oldtown, Willas knew that Rhaenys did in fact look like her mother, but Margery looked lost, as this was the first time that she had met Rhaenys and had yet to meet Elia.

The table was engrossed in pleasant conversation, everyone doing their best to stick to common topics that wouldn't make anyone at the table upset. At least until Garlan asked, "So where will you go after you leave Highgarden?"

It was obvious he was just making polite conversation, and that he expected them to say either Dorne or Asteria, but when Aegon cheerfully answered, "King's Landing." The Tyrells seemed to all go silent.

"Is something wrong?" Daenerys asked, looking over to Margaery, who she had been speaking to before. Rather than answer her, Margaery looked to her grandmother for help, which Olenna gave.

"No, child. Nothing you need concern about. It's just that things have been a bit chaotic in the Capital since Lord Arryn's passing. Not to mention the rumors going around about the Queen and her... nightly activities." Olenna said calmly, surprising Will.

He had of course heard the rumors about Cersei and all of her fuck buddies days ago from Doran, who had learned the information through his spies in the Capital. Will also knew they were not rumors, but in fact true, knowing this from his past life.

Cersei and Jamie were responsible for setting off the whole cluster fuck of a mess that was the War of the Five Kings, which Will thought was pretty fucking important.

What surprised him was that Jon Arryn was dead. He knew he had fucked the whole plot of the show over a million times by this point, but he didn't think that it would cause rumors about Robert's children to spread earlier than in the show, nor did he think that Jon Arryn would die years before he should have.

'Did Baelish kill him this time too?' Will wondered, trying to decide who would want to kill Jon Arryn, and why?

He knew that Baelish and Lysa killed him in the show but adding into the rumors about the legitimacy of Robert's children, it didn't bode well to think that things would play out the same as they did in the show. With Robert being alive and hearing about the rumors, Will wondered if an all-out war was on the rise.

"When did Jon Arryn pass?" Will asked.

"A few days ago. He got very sick one night, then died the following day. It surprised us all to hear of it. Despite his age, Lord Arryn was not a weak man." Olenna explained, eyeing Will to see his reaction. She wasn't disappointed.

Will had creased his brows as he stared blankly off into space. It was obvious he knew something about Jon Arryn's death, but Olenna doubted anyone else at the table saw what she did.

Looking between Willas and Margery, she only saw confusion on their faces, letting her know they hadn't caught the change in Will. She didn't even bother looking at her other two grandchildren, nor did she bother looking at Mace and dimwitted wife.

"So, what's happening in the Capital now?" Aegon asked, curious to know why the city was in chaos.

If Lord Arryn was dead, a new Hand of the King would be selected to help keep the peace, but he didn't see why there would be chaos with the Hand's passing. Surely the rest of the council could be trusted to govern over one city while they selected a new Hand.

"I can't say for certain I know exactly what's going on right now, but the last report we received, King Robert was turning the castle upside down in a billow of rage. We have also received word of the Westerlands gathering their numbers, with a host of knights riding towards the capital only recently." Olenna explained the situation, surprising Will and his group, while even surprising Garlan and Loras, who looked to be hearing the information for the first time.

"So, in other words, there will be war..." Aegon said grimly. He always knew he would be dragged into a war someday whether he wanted to or not, he just didn't think it would be so soon.

The rest of the dinner passed by with nothing else of importance being brought up, but before they departed the castle, Olenna asked for a private meeting with Will the following day.

After that, Will and the others went back to their inn, all of them chattering about the things they had seen and done today, and about what they would be doing the following day.

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Will was sitting in a large fancy room in the castle with Rhaenys seated beside him. In front of him, Olenna was sitting with Willas beside her, the both of them looking calm and collected despite the little amount of sleep they had gotten the following night.

They had discussed at length what they should do, but ultimately it all depended on what they learned from Will, so any planning was kind of moot.

"I would like to formally invite you and your family to Asteria in 1 year to attend a tournament in honor of my child." Will said to the two Tyrells, who looked somewhat surprised at the invitation.

"Is that why you came to Highgarden?" Willas asked. He was curious if that was their whole reason for coming here, and why they seemed to not have anything important planned out.

"Yes. We want to do a big tournament and invite everyone to it, and naturally we thought of our friends and allies. If you don't want to attend, that's okay, but if you do, it will be in one year." Will told them.

Honestly the invitation was more of an afterthought, but that was actually one of the reasons they decided to ride to King's Landing instead of sail, which would have been many times faster.

Willas seemed elated to be invited and accepted the invitation on behalf of the Tyrells. Olenna didn't sound too excited about travelling that distance, but she agreed to come as well. It would give her an excuse to leave Mace in charge and let him attempt to rule while he could.

They spent a while ironing out the details for the tournament and whatnot before they changed the topic to something more important.

"What will you do when you get to the Capital?" Olenna asked bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush with Will. There was no point in that, as neither of them liked that, and she would get nothing from it.

There was also no point in feigning worry for Will either, as she knew he had nothing to worry about. Not even the faceless men dared come after him, so any other would-be assassin would be fucked if they tried going that route, and a head on confrontation against him was arguably the dumbest decision someone could make.

"I'm going to find a smith to forge me something, then maybe do some exploring. It has been more than a decade since I was last there, I bet a lot has changed." Will answered honestly.

"You once told me that your brother wouldn't remain hidden forever, and that he might claim the Iron Throne. You've now revealed him... does he now seek to claim the throne?" Olenna asked the question that would decide on the outcome of the war.

"That will be entirely up to him. I just know that he's done hiding. If Robert wants to do something about it, he'll find out quickly that he never should have sat on the throne." Will answered unhelpfully.

"What about the Lannisters?" Willas asked, wanting to know where Will stood on them. After all, House Martell and House Lannister did not get along.

"What about them?" Will asked.

"Will you get rid of them as well?" Willas clarified.

"If the rumors about Cersei and her children are true, which they are, then the Lannisters have no claim to the throne. They've also kept out of my business, so I don't see a need to change that. As long as they don't cause problems for me, I don't care what they do." Will answered, again being unhelpful.

"What about the Martells? Will they standby and do nothing? Will your brother not seek out vengeance against them for the betrayal of King Aerys?" Olenna asked, hoping to get some useful information in regard to House Lannister.

"My grandfather was a cruel man." Rhaenys cut in. "He held my mother, brother and myself in Kings Landing so Dorne wouldn't abandon him. He brought the rebellion on himself, and he should have either died sooner or have been replaced before he brought the realm to chaos."

Olenna and Willas were not expecting to hear that from Princess Rhaenys, and their surprised expressions told as much.

"It was war, and they did what was best for their house." Rhaenys finished solemnly. She understood things better now that she was older, and though she didn't like House Lannister, she didn't hate them either.

It had been the topic of many conversations between her, Aegon, Will, and their mother, and eventually she had come to terms with the whole situation.

She didn't believe that children should ever be punished for the crimes of their parents, but her grandfather had been the one to start that whole thing.

He had called for Eddard Stark's and Robert Baratheon's heads for fear that they would rise up against him, but in doing so he had forced them into a war that could have been avoided had someone simply found her father and Layanna Stark and discussed what was going on.

Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Rhaenys looked at Olenna before saying, "What they did was horrible, there is no denying that. But what lengths would you go to for your family? I know I would do anything for mine."

Hell, the Citadel incident was proof enough, as she had watched Will injure a man just so she could be looked at. On top of that, Will's kill count was well into the thousands, and many of those deaths were horrible. She wouldn't condemn an entire family for doing something she herself would do.

The room was silent for a few seconds, but it was quickly replaced by more questions and talks of Aegon taking the throne, which somehow led to the topic of marriage.

"If he is to be king, he will need a queen." Olenna stated.

"And you feel that should be your granddaughter?" Rhaenys asked, smiling at the not-so-subtle suggestion.

"Of course! Margaery is beautiful, kind, and would solidify his hold on the throne." Olenna stated, building up Margaery to sound enticing.

"That will be up to him." Will said. He could see that Olenna was going to say something else on the matter, so he held up a hand to stop her.

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be advantageous for him or even for my family, but I'll not decide this for him. He is his own man, and I'll support whoever he chooses. He could marry a common girl from a town in the woods and I would support him. I only want him to be happy." Will finished, clearly not wanting to hear more on the subject, as he felt it was none of his business.

Just sitting here talking about all of this made him feel like a politician, and it made his stomach turn. He did many things that were very political, but despite his hatred for doing them, he knew they were required.

Still, he didn't want to become one, so he hoped that someday soon he could get away from this whole mess.

"Does she know who Aegon really is?" Rhaenys asked abruptly before Will could change the topic.

"No, not yet." Willas answered. He and Olenna hadn't been sure of what Will would let them share, as the less people who knew something important, the better kept it would be.

"Are you sure? She's getting very touchy with him." Will asked curiously. He was only asking because using Magic sense, he could literally see Margaery and Aegon outside in the castle grounds, and Margaery was quite literally hanging off Aegon's arm. Any closer and he would be wearing her.

"Ah, well... she thinks he's very handsome." Willas answered awkwardly.

"Please don't tell her yet. I want to see how she feels about him before she knows he is going to become king." Rhaenys said, getting nods of agreement from both of the Tyrells.

They continued talking for another hour, at which point they decided they had had enough talking. Will still wanted to go see more of Highgarden, and Rhaenys was hungry.

After leaving Olenna, Will and Rhaenys met up with the others and they went to explore more of the city as a group, minus Drox of course. He was busy getting more information at the brothels.

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The following morning, Will and the others departed Highgarden after saying their farewells to the Tyrells, then continued on their way along the Roseroad towards King's Landing.

"That was fun! We should do it again!" Daenerys exclaimed excitedly as they spoke about the things they had seen and done.

"This one very much enjoyed it as well." Missandei said, calmer than Daenerys, though she was clearly holding herself back. Obviously, she wasn't going to forget all of her training, even if she was technically free.

By how she referred to herself as 'this one', it was clear she still had a long way to go before she could lead a somewhat normal life. Still, she was smiling more, and she was getting much better at not keeping her arms folded, and she didn't stare at the ground nearly as much as she had before.

Currently she was smiling and couldn't stop touching the sapphire necklace that hung from around her neck. It was round and smooth on the bottom, but the top of it was shaped into a butterfly.

She had been staring at it whenever she thought no one was looking at her, but clearly, she hadn't been good enough at hiding her desires, because the second they got back to the Inn, Daenerys walked up behind her and placed it around her neck.

She almost wept from the gesture. It was the most beautiful present she had ever been given. The fact that it was the symbol of her home made it even more precious to her. Naath was also known as the Isle of Butterflies.

Naathi people revere butterflies as messengers of the Lord of Harmony, charged with protection of the island and its people. These legends come from the butterfly fever that has laid waste to conquerors throughout history.

Missandei could never repay the kind of wealth that these people threw about so casually, but what she had in spades was her mind.

The only thing she could do to repay the gesture was read aloud from one of the books Will wanted to hear. and if they permitted, she could teach them about the languages she had been taught.

Daenerys would try reading along silently beside her, and sometimes she would interrupt Missandei because she was having trouble with a word. Missandei actually looked forward to those moments, and you could tell because of her smile.

Anyway, the trip was relatively fast, and after a few short days the walls of the capital came into view. This time though, Aegon and Jon did not race there, as if anyone there found out who they were, they would be executed on the spot.

They slowed their pace as they approached the city, but that was mostly because the road was crawling with people trying to get into the city and soldiers marching along the city walls, both on the ground and atop the walls.

"I said, NO ENTRY!" A guard at the gate shouted at a man who was trying to take in a wagon full of goods.

Curious as to what was going on, Will stopped the carriage, then hopped onto the ground before he walked over to one of the patrolling guards.

"Excuse me, but what's going on?" Will asked the man politely.

The guard turned towards him, but before he could answer, Will held up a bottle of arbor gold wine, something that would have cost the guard half a month's pay.

Smiling now, the guard took the bottle and stashed it into a bag on his hip before looking back to Will.

With a half-smile, the guard answered, "The king is hunting Jamie Lannister."